Riverfest taps Corbin as headliner artist

Published 11:48 am Thursday, October 27, 2011

Country music singer Easton Corbin will headline the 25th year of Vicksburg’s annual spring festival, Riverfest, at the new stage location in downtown Vicksburg, organizers announced Wednesday.

Corbin, who won Single of the Year for Breakthrough Artist and Music Video by Breakthrough Artist at the 2010 American Country Awards with his single “A Little More Country Than That,” will appear at the April 20-21 festival that will have a main stage at the Levee Street Depot.

Another act signed up — in addition to New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band, whose signing was announced two weeks ago — is roots rock band Honey Island Swamp Band, also from New Orleans. The four-man band calls its sound “bayou Americana,” created with a mandolin, acoustic and electric guitars and vocals.

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Others scheduled to appear are Mississippi bluesman Bobby Rush and Vicksburg’s Band Camp, a 1980s rock band.

Riverfest officials reported on the event’s website Wednesday that they were still looking for three more acts and interested entertainers may apply at www.riverfestms.com.

“Easton Corbin is another up-and-coming country music artist like Brantley Gilbert we had last year,” said Katrina Shirley, Riverfest board president for the second year. “Country music has always been a big draw for this region.”

The stage move from Washington Street to Levee Street will provide a “natural amphitheater,” Shirley said.

“We’re hoping to capitalize on that big open space,” she said. “Also, a larger stage will allow us to have bigger acts and bands.”

As in years past, vendors will be lined along downtown Washington Street, a block east of the depot, and the annual Vicksburg‑Warren County Riverfest Arts & Crafts Show will be Saturday along Walnut, South and Crawford streets.

Tickets for Riverfest, which saw about 10,000 people last year, will be made available locally and via an online ticket service, Front Gate Tickets. Ticket prices and availability have not been finalized.