Chris Janson added to lineup of performers for Garfield County Fair
Janson to open the August 5 concert before Josh Turner performs
PRESS RELEASE
May 4, 2016
GARFIELD COUNTY, CO – Chris Janson, who played the Grand Ole Opry May 3, has been added to the lineup for the Garfield County Fair August 5. Janson received iHeartRadio’s Music Award for Country Song of the Year in 2015, and was also recently nominated for two Academy of Country Music Awards, including Single Record of the Year and New Male Vocalist of the Year.
Janson hits the stage August 5, 2016, at 7 pm, at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Rifle, Colo., followed by Josh Turner on the main stage, in a concert that could break all records for this county fair.
Chris Janson has never doubted who he is. He’s a devoted husband, a passionate father, a hit songwriter, a wildly entertaining performer and, now, a Number One country artist. All those elements influence Buy Me a Boat, his debut solo album for Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Nashville.
Janson does the hard work and showmanship in his own style, and insists on writing his own songs. He’s a songwriter first and foremost, penning hits for other artists, most notably Tim McGraw’s Top 10 Truck Yeah.
The down-to-earth Janson – who upon moving to Nashville ten years ago would play for tips in honky-tonks all day and sleep in his car at night – remains unchanged. “Sometimes ego gets in the way in life, along with baggage and pride,” he observes. “I don’t have that stuff in my life – and that’s what makes this music so beautiful and easy to make.”
In the greasy “White Trash” tune, the blue-collar hero recalls his hardscrabble Missouri upbringing of playing as a kid in a dirt front yard, surrounded by trailers and cars on blocks. In the breezy “Under the Sun,” the avid outdoorsman decries our gadget-obsessed culture, delivering one of the best vocal performances in country music this year. And in the true-to-life “Back in My Drinkin’ Days,” Janson documents his run-ins with the law, fueled by booze and a rebel spirit – while these days, he prefers the sugar high of Mountain Dew.
Buy Me a Boat, which Janson produced with Chris DuBois, Brent Anderson and Byron Gallimore, also contains two of the most personal songs the singer has ever written. “Holdin’ Her” nets a surefire standing ovation when he performs at the Grand Ole Opry (he’s played the esteemed institution more than 100 times), while “Where You Come In” is his favorite. Both ballads are about Janson’s wife, Kelly.
“I don’t know why people are scared of cutting ballads, because there is a place for meaty songs like those that talk about relationships,” Janson says. “My wife inspires me and ties up every loose end I ever had.”
Kelly, in fact, inspired and co-wrote Buy Me a Boat’s centerpiece, “Messin’ With Jesus,” a show-stopping duet with Tim McGraw on the album. A warning to avoid life’s temptations, the gritty lyrics acknowledge that, try as we might, we’re all sinners, with Janson and McGraw trading lines about smoking, speeding and fighting until the song explodes in a “hallelujah” chorus. “It’s a full-blown duet and it gives me chills,” says Janson.
Janson has succeeded in his chief goal: making an album of songs that are not only radio hits, but songs that he could take on the road. “Some people might say playing a song live and having a hit on the radio are two different things, but you have to want to go sing it live. I love singing my songs,” he says.
Tickets go on sale June 1 at www.garfieldcountyfair.com.