(COLUMBIA, Tenn. – July 26, 2019) - - -Celebrating its eighteenth season, Columbia State Community College is pleased to announce the artist roster for the 2019-2020 First Farmers Performance Series season.

“We sincerely appreciate the continued support and interest in Columbia State’s First Farmers Performance Series,” said Dr. Janet F. Smith, Columbia State president. “As we approach our eighteenth season, we are exceptionally proud of the growth of the Performance Series, and exceedingly grateful for the tremendous support of our surrounding communities, our patrons, and especially, First Farmers and Merchants Bank, our long-time title sponsor.”

Opening night, Oct. 3, features Brandy Clark. Clark received her first of an impressive six GRAMMY nominations in 2013 in the Best Country Song category for co-writing Miranda Lambert’s No. 1 hit “Mama’s Broken Heart.” Her talent as a storyteller propelled her into critical acclaim as one of Nashville’s best tunesmiths. Her own debut album “12 Stories”was nominated for two GRAMMYs, including Best New Artist and Best Country Album. In 2016, the release of her sophomore album “Big Day In A Small Town” garnered two GRAMMY nominations for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance and once again topped critics' “Best of” lists.

Nov. 7 will showcase Shaun Johnson. The Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience is a rare newcomer to traditional pop ... fusing a big band spirit with an inventive edge ... at once more risky than Bublé, more modern than Sinatra. Johnson, an Emmy award-winning crooner, and lead singer of the internationally known vocal group, Tonic Sol-fa, indelibly stamps vocal jazz and swing with a contemporary punch. To the delight of both traditionalists and newcomers, Johnson is emerging as an original voice in the continuing tradition of the American singer.

On Dec. 5 Summer Brooke & the Mountain Faith Band will offer a musical experience that sets them apart from other musicians with their Sounds of Christmas. With their unique blend of country, pop, bluegrass and Americana, they became a household name on season 10 of “America's Got Talent.” Their ability to add their own personal style to songs immediately captivated audiences throughout homes in America, appealing to lovers of all genres of music.

Performing Feb. 20 is The SteelDrivers. Nashville, Tennessee may be the only town around where salaried songwriters and full-time session musicians are as common as accountants and school teachers. And only Nashville could give birth to a band like The SteelDrivers: each distinguished in his or her own right, each valued in the town’s commercial community – who are seizing an opportunity to follow their hearts. In doing so, they are braiding their bluegrass roots with new threads of their own design, bringing together country, soul and other contemporary influences.

March 19 Matt Dusk will perform. Sinatra. All that cool, classy style and energy from the Rat Pack shows of yesterday are right here, right now. Take a journey with award-winning, multi-platinum selling crooner, Matt Dusk, as he whisks you away to Las Vegas in 1966 where he pays homage to his hero Frank Sinatra. With new arrangements by GRAMMYAward winning arrangers Pat Williams and Sammy Nestico, Dusk transports you back in time to one of music’s most elegant eras. A time when “Come Fly With Me,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Fly Me To The Moon” and “One For My Baby” dominated the charts.

Closing the series April 23 is Steve Dorff. Newly inducted into the prestigious Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in New York, Dorff's career as a songwriter spans five decades and includes more than forty BMI awards, twenty Top 10 hits, twelve No. 1 hits and an American Music Award. The GRAMMYand Emmy-nominated songwriter and composer has had songs recorded by more than 400 artists from all genres of music, as well as 28 movie scores and countless theme songs and placements on TV series. He has had No. 1 records across four decades. Now he travels the world sharing the music that made his critically acclaimed memoir, “I Wrote That One Too ... A Life in Songwriting from Willie to Whitney.”

Season tickets go on sale Aug. 1 and are $135 each plus tax. Individual tickets go on sale Aug. 14 and are $30 each plus tax for adults and $20 each plus tax for students. To charge tickets by phone using a major credit card, call 931.540.2879 or purchase them in person in Room 113 of the Pryor Administration Building on the Columbia Campus, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

On performance nights, the box office opens at 6 p.m. in the Kenneth and Ramona Cherry Theater, located in the Waymon L. Hickman Building on the Columbia Campus. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and all shows begin at 7 p.m. The Columbia Campus is located at 1665 Hampshire Pike in Columbia.

For more information, visit www.ColumbiaState.edu/Performance-Series.    

Photo Caption: Brandy Clark

Photo Caption: Matt Dusk

Photo Caption: Shaun Johnson

Photo Caption: The SteelDrivers 

Photo Caption: Steve Dorff

Photo Caption: Summer Brooke & the Mountain Faith Band