Talented acts to highlight Fortune Williams Music Festival

BY MINDI WESTHOFF/STAFF
MWESTHOFF@NEWSLEADER.COM
MAY 14, 2008

John Anderson, Grandstaff, Lori McKenna, Tim O'Brien, Karen Staley, The SteelDrivers and Trent Wagler and the Steel Wheels will perform Sept. 26 to 28. The show will kick off Friday night with Fortune, the Williamses and hit songwriters O'Brien and Staley during the festival's annual Songwriters' Night. The festival's hosts said they enjoy that show in particular because of the spontaneous and easygoing mood it generates for the performers and the audience.

"It's so intimate," Fortune said. "It's laid back, no pressure. We feel it and the audience feels it: We're just there to have a great time with it all." O'Brien also will perform on Saturday, along with the local four-piece string band Trent Wagler and the Steel Wheels. Songwriter McKenna, who has written for country stars like Faith Hill, will close Saturday's show.

Sunday will include Fortune and the Williams, along with local duo Grandstaff and the up-and-coming, Nashville-based bluegrass ensemble The SteelDrivers. Grammy winner Anderson will close Sunday's show. Anderson has been performing since the early '80s with songs like "Swingin,'" the 1983 Country Music Association's Song of the Year.

"We're just thrilled to have someone of his stature," Linda Williams said. "He's a legendary guy," Robin Williams said.

As renown as Anderson is, Fortune and the Williamses said they are just as excited to feature the less established local bands at the festival. McKenna hopefully will bring in a younger audience, and O'Brien's following of traditional music and bluegrass lovers also will help diversify the crowd, Linda Williams said.

"It's a music festival," Linda Williams said. "It's not a festival of names."