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LOCASH to headline Downtown Country Jam in FD

New event to take the place of Oktoberfest

-Submitted photo Country music duo LOCASH will headline the first Downtown Country Jam in Fort Dodge on Sept. 23.

A nationally known country music duo will headline a new event that will bring country music to downtown Fort Dodge this fall.

LOCASH will be the main performers at the Downtown Country Jam, which will be held on Central Avenue on Sept. 23.

The event is being put on by Shellabration Inc.

The Downtown Country Jam will replace Oktoberfest, which Shellabration President Jim Reed said has taken place at Oleson Park over the past eight years.

“The reconstruction of the Oleson Park pond scheduled to take place late this summer and into the fall necessitated finding a new venue for our September event,” Reed said. “Given the need for a location change, we saw it as an opportunity to try something different.”

Reed said he has been wanting to do a downtown music festival for the past 10 years, and with Oleson Park being unavailable for this year’s Oktoberfest show, he and other organizers decided to try the new format this year.

“It’s disappointing that we won’t be able to do an Oktoberfest because of circumstance,” he said. “It’s also equally exciting that we have the opportunity and cause to do something new and different this year.”

Reed and other organizers consider the new concert exciting for two reasons.

“It’s exciting, No. 1, because we recognize, as an organization, that there are a lot of modern country music enthusiasts out there,” he said. “From Shellabration’s standpoint, it’s an unserved population.”

It’s also exciting because it’ll contribute to the city’s focus of revitalizing downtown Fort Dodge.

“With all the focus through the city of Fort Dodge of wanting to revitalize, re-energize our downtown, how cool to be able to show the greater Fort Dodge area a large concert event downtown and get them excited about a street corner they’ve driven many times in their lives, but probably never stopped to think what it looked like with a concert going on,” Reed said.

The concert will be held between the Trolley Center and Olde Boston’s Restaurant & Pub, with the stage being located on North Ninth Street.

Reed described it as Market on Central, but with a smaller footprint.

LOCASH, the headliner, is comprised of Chris Lucas and Preston Brust.

The duo released their debut album in 2010, which included the singles “Here Comes Summer,” “Keep in Mind” and “You Got Me.”

They also wrote Keith Urban’s No. 1 single, “You Gonna Fly,” in 2011.

In 2015, LOCASH released its second album. The first single, “I Love This Life,” peaked in the top 10.

The band achieved its first No. 1 single, “I Know Somebody,” in 2016.

Reed said the band has songwriting “prowess.”

Shellabration Vice President Ted Bodensteiner agreed.

“I’ve seen them four times now, and they put on a great show,” he said. “So we know they’re going to have the crowd into it.”

In addition to LOCASH, there will also be two opening acts.

Fort Dodge native Jessica McClintock will take the stage at 6 p.m. and will perform an acoustic set.

Reed called her “a natural” for the Downtown Country Jam, which not only wants to bring in big-name country acts, but also support local artists as well.

Following her performance, Farm Rock will perform at 6:45 p.m.

The band was supposed to open for Sawyer Brown at last year’s Oktoberfest, but Bodensteiner said because of bad weather they were unable to take the stage.

Reed said the three acts combined will build a crescendo that evening.

“You’ve got a solo acoustic performance from Jessica,” he said. “You’ve got a regional act in Farm Rock, who will have their own constituency that will be there for Farm Rock and Farm Rock alone. And that’s going to build to a hot country, modern national country headliner in LOCASH.”

In addition to the entertainment, Reed said there will be plenty of vendors as well.

“When I think of country music, I think of barbecue,” he said. “I think of camping or grilling out. This is going to be a chance to get your carnivore on.”

Tickets go on sale at midnight July 29.

They will cost $15 until Sept. 10, increasing to $20 on Sept. 11. Tickets will be $25 at the gate on the day of the show.

They will be available online at ticketweb.com or by phone at (866) 468-3401, and can also be purchased locally at Hy-Vee.

Additional Fort Dodge retailers will be announced at a later date.

Reed said that if the Downtown Country Jam is successful it has the potential to grow.

“We’ve been dreaming about doing a downtown show for a long time,” he said. “We know that we want to build and grow our country headliners and serve this audience. We really hope that the public will come out.”

He added that the show will be a “proving ground.”

“There’s the opportunity to make it even bigger for the country fans,” Reed said.

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