Exile, Dixie Echoes among acts to visit area in October

A slate of seven acts was officially unveiled last week as the headliners for Franklin County’s Homochitto River Festival and Market set for Saturday, Oct. 28 in downtown Meadville.

The festival’s highly anticipated “Reveal Party” was held on Thursday, April 6 at Ridge Point Ranch off U.S. Highway 84 with Larry Wallace, who serves as entertainment chairman for the popular celebration, outlining who would take part on three main musical stages during the day-long event.

“We have booked, this year, people who have appeared on ‘American Idol,’ ‘The Voice’ and ‘America’s Got Talent’ to come to Meadville, and the ones who are coming weren’t just on those shows, but also did well on them,” Wallace said.

“Our goal is to continue attracting world-class entertainment for the festival, and the seven headliners we have booked offer the very best in terms of music everyone will enjoy.

“There will be some great gospel performances the morning of the festival starting at 9 a.m., wonderful classic country beginning at 1 p.m., and new country gets kicked off at 5 p.m.”

The festival’s East “Gospel Music Experience” stage (at the corner of Main and Edison streets near the Family Dollar store) will welcome:
• Jeff and Sheri Easter, a Lincolnton, Ga., husband and wife duo, who are frequent performers on the “Gaither Homecoming” videos and recordings and have won numerous gospel music awards.

The Easters will take the stage beginning at 9 a.m.

• The Dixie Echoes of Pensacola, Fla., which trace their quartet roots to 1960, have traveled across the country as well as to Mexico and Canada since their founding to perform for appreciative audiences.

The Southern Gospel act has released almost 70 albums through the years, and will perform locally at 10:30 a.m.

• Todd Tilghman, an American pastor-singer with ties to Nashville, Tenn., and Meridian, was the winner of season 18 of “The Voice,” and became the oldest winner of the popular NBC-TV series at the age of 42.

Performing at 11:45 a.m., Tilghman blends county, gospel, worship and classic rock music with his unique raspy, soulful voice.

The West “Legendary Country” stage (at the corner of Main and Walnut streets near the Bank of Franklin) will host a pair of well-known acts:

• Exile, one of America’s longest-running bands, got its start in 1963 and was known as a rock band in the 1970s before crossing over to country with a Southern rock flavor in the 1980s and 1990s.

This act, which will perform at 1 p.m., has 11 CMA and ACM award nominations and 10 consecutive No. 1 records on the Billboard charts, and has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry stage more than 100 times.

• Gene Watson, a Texas native who is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, has a decades-long career in country music that has included six No. 1 hits, 23 Top 10 singles and 72 charted singles. He is slated to take the stage at 3 p.m.

The South “New Country” stage (on Second Street between Walnut and Williams streets) will serve as the venue for a pair of modern country acts:

• Elvie Shane, a Kentucky native and singer-songwriter, competed on season 15 of FOX TV’s “American Idol” in 2016 and is best known for songs such as “Country Roads” and “My Boy.”

He has written songs with Russell Sutton, Lee Starr and Nick Columbia, and will play and sing starting at 5 p.m.

• Drake Milligan, from Texas, is a singer and actor best known for portraying Elvis Presley on the CMT series “Sun Records,” and made appearances on “American Idol” and NBC TV’s “America’s Got Talent.”

Milligan’s music was greatly influenced by both Presley and Merle Haggard.

Milligan is scheduled to perform beginning at 7 p.m.

Other local and regional soloists, groups and bands will be featured on the festival stages either before or after the headlining acts.

Those performers will be announced closer to the day of the festival.

Last week’s “Reveal Party” featured a meal and refreshments for spectators with a performance by The Lincoln Outfit, a regional band with ties to both Franklin and Lincoln counties.

The Homochitto River Festival and Market is coordinated annually through the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and will, once again, be a destination for food as well as arts and crafts vendors, who will take to the streets to sell their wares.

Booth fees for the 2023 event are:

• Food vendors (limited spaces available) — $75 for one space, $150 for two spaces and $225 for three spaces.

• Food vendors (wanting to sell drinks, excluding beer and Coca-Cola or Pepsi products) — $200.

• Non-food sites for arts and crafts displays with electricity — $55 for one space and $110 for two spaces.

• Non-food sites for arts and crafts displays with no electricity — $45 for one space and $90 for two spaces.

Vendor booth rental fees are non-refundable with participants asked to maintain and occupy their spaces until at least 5 p.m., the day of the festival.

Other planned activities are scheduled to include an automobile show, an art show, a pet parade and competition and a wide variety of children’s activities.

There will be a $10 admission fee for adults — and for children under age 12 there is no charge — to enter the event, which entitles spectators to take in performances on every stage.

Information related to the festival can be found on the organization’s website, www.homochittoriverfestival.org, as well as on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HRiverFestival.