Citadel looking for some ‘rising stars’
Winners will perform during Country Spirit USA music fest
Three local bands will have the opportunity to be a part of the line-up at this summer’s Citadel Country Spirit USA music festival in Glenmoore.
Citadel has kicked off its “Rising Star” local band contest — to find local singers/bands to perform on the Citadel Rising Star stage at Citadel Country Spirit USA, Aug. 24 to 26.
Each selected artist or band that wins, will perform two sets between acts on the Main Stage during the festival: one winner will perform Friday, one Saturday and one Sunday.
“Citadel is hosting this contest to recognize local talent from the Greater Philadelphia area. As a community-based organization, it is important to have these rising stars represented at Citadel Country Spirit USA,” Jeff March, president and CEO, Citadel said in a press release. “Our goal is to give local talent the opportunity to shine at this spectacular event.”
The three-day country music festival will feature headliners Alabama (Aug. 24), Toby Keith (Aug. 25) and Brad Paisley (Aug. 26), along with Dustin Lynch, Trace Adkins and Jake Owen (Aug. 26). The event will be held on the grounds of Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Grounds Chester County’s Brandywine Valley, features more than 20 country music artists on two stages.
In order to be eligible for the contest, the artists must be from, or frequently perform around the Greater Philadelphia area. For full eligibility rules, visit CitadelBanking.com/RisingStar. Contestants have until 11:59 p.m. on June 8 to sub-
mit their video to be considered.
According to Abigail Brooks, spokeswoman for Citadel, the artists/bands must nominate themselves for the contest.
“It can’t be a fan or friend, to ensure the band actually wants to be involved,” she said. Artists can submit a video entry through the entry form at CitadelBanking. com/RisingStar.
Once entries are in, Brooks said a selection committee will choose the top “five to ten” finalists based on criteria that includes: quality of performance, the artist’s or band’s experience and original song variety.
“Then, we will open it up to online fan voting, giving fans the chance to vote for their favorite artist/band. This way the performers can share with their fanbases and encourage voting,” Brooks added.
In between acts on the main stage, there will be performances on the Citadel Rising Star stage, and Rising Star artists will be listed as part of the schedule each day.
“The chance to be an opening act for artists such as Alabama, Toby Keith, or Brad Paisley is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Brooks added. “This is an extremely exciting and unique opportunity for country musicians in the Greater Philadelphia area.”
Citadel held a similar contest for its October Citadel Palooza in Pottstown, which featured headliner Hunter Hayes. Fifteen bands nominated themselves for that event, according to Brooks.
“We’re really excited to see who we end up with this year,” Brooks added.
Citadel Country Spirit USA comes to Chester County from the producer of Country Summer, Northern California’s biggest country music festival and is hosted by the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau.
View the main stage lineup and schedule at CountrySpiritUSA.com.
Tickets are on sale now, with single-day tickets priced from $79, and threeday Early Bird passes priced from $219. Ticket prices will increase on June 1. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.