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Dont miss Stump Dodger Bash in Gays Mills
jason p
COUNTRY SINGER JASON PRITCHETT will perform on Saturday, July 7 at the Stump Dodger Bash in Gays Mills. Pritchett is a formal professional bull rider from Independence, Missouri, who just broke into the Top 20 of Country Music Hits with a song titled Good Show. One reviewer noted that Pritchett was putting the western back into country music. Pritchetts show starts at 8 p.m.

GAYS MILLS - Camping, country music, fireworks and food-it’s time for the Eighth Annual Stump Dodger Bash in Gays Mills.

Held on Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7 at the Kickapoo Stump Dodger Campground, the Bash will serve up nine musical acts over two nights.

Headlining for the two nights will be CJ Solar on Friday and Craig Wayne Boyd on Saturday.

CJ Solar has both southern rock and country music influences pumping through his veins. He has been named one of the ‘New Artists You Need To Know’ by Rolling Stone Country. Solar’s songs have been recorded by artist Jerrod Niemann and Justin Moore. He also co-wrote Morgan Wallen’s new song ‘Up Down’ featuring Florida Georgia Line, which is peaking at Number 12 on the Hot Country Songs List so far.

CJ Solar has spent this past year headlining his own shows and opening for such artists as The Cadillac Three, Old Dominion, Hank Williams, Jr., 38 Special and more. He has just completed his sophomore EP and the debut single, ‘Airplane,’ is ready to take off on country radio.

The Bash’s other headliner, Craig Wayne Boyd, is a country singer and songwriter. A Dallas native, Boyd currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.  He is best known for winning Season Seven of NBC’s reality TV singing competition ‘The Voice,’ as a part of Blake Shelton’s team.

The lineup for the Stump Dodger Bash is:

 

FRIDAY, JULY 6

• Smoking Gun Showdown—4:30 p.m.

• Brecken Miles—6:15 p.m.

• High Mileage—8 p.m.

• CJ Solar—10 p.m.

 

SATURDAY, JULY 7

• Terra Bella—2:45 p.m.

• Heidi Raye—4:30 p.m.

• Canaan Cox-6:15  p.m.

• Jason Pritchett-8 p.m.

• Craig Wayne Boyd-10 p.m.

 

Food and refreshments will be available on site and proceeds from the beer sales will go to support the Wheel of Todd Foundation.

Children’s games are planned in the morning on Saturday. Six bicycles will be given away in three different age brackets-children must be present with a parent in order to win. However, the children’s games are open to the public free of charge, according to Jim Showen, the Stump Dodger Bash organizer. So, local parents and children are urged to attend the children’s event on Saturday morning even if they are not attending the Bash. The children’s events should et underway about 11 a.m.

To purchase Stump Dodger Bash tickets and to reserve a campsite, please call 608-735-4929 or stop by the Showen Excavating office at 303 Main Street in Gays Mills. You can also order tickets online at www.stumpdodgerbash.com Tickets are $60 for both days and $40 for one day.

In addition to all the country music and kids games, there will also be helicopter rides offered at the fairgrounds on Saturday.

The American Legion beer stand will be staffed by members of the Societies Sons Motorcycle Club. The concession stands will include food from the Country Gardens and the Blackhawk Grill, as well as lemonade from J&Js on Main.

Adult beverage proceeds will benefit the Wheel of Todd, a locally based organization committed to donating Green Bay Packer tickets to kids who deserve a break in life.

In addition to the headliners, CJ Solar and Craig Wayne Boyd, the bash features two top country performers gaining a lot of notice these days, Jason Pritchett and Canaan Cox. Showen believes Pritchett or Cox could be the headliners. Pritchett, a former professional bull rider from Independence, Missouri, just broke into the top 20 of County Music Hits with ‘Good Show.’ Canaan Cox, a North Carolina native, is continuing to draw attention in Nashville for his recently released EP.

While lots of the talent at the Stump Dodger Bash hails from Nashville and beyond, there are two local acts featured, Smoking Gun Showdown and High Mileage.

Smoking Gun Showdown is a female-duo-fronted country band from the Prairie du Chien area, playing a mix of covers and originals. Since coming together in 2015, the powerhouse vocalists April Bouzek and Leigh Vorwald, have taken the area by storm.

High Mileage is a Viroqua-based classic rock band covering mostly 80-90s music. The band’s stated purpose is “to get you on the dance floor!”

The other acts at the Bash, Brecken Miles, Terra Bella and Heidi Raye each bring something unique to the show.

Brecken Miles is a well-known country musician, who grew up in Colgate, Wisconsin. For the past five years, Brecken had the honor to have been the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Milwaukee-based band, Bella Cain. After moving to his “second home” in Nashville, Brecken has begun his career as a solo artist. With the release of his second charting single ‘I’m Good With That’ currently on country radio, he’s well on his way.

Terra Bella is a dynamic husband-and-wife duo from California's San Joaquin Valley.

Both Joseph and Martina Costa’s roots are deeply planted in Central California, where they immersed themselves in agriculture. For years, Terra Bella toured up and down the West Coast playing clubs and rodeos as well as opening for national acts. In August of 2013, the pair moved to Nashville.

In 2016, their debut EP ‘Road To Forever’ came to fruition and scored the duo's first Billboard Indicator (#51) and Music Row (#42) charting song with the single ‘You've Got That Somethin'.’

Since the release of ‘Road To Forever,’ Terra Bella has been endlessly writing new material for a much-anticipated album.

Heidi Raye has proven herself to be Nashville’s charming and quirky go-getter. Raye is the initial artist on Hall of Famer Harlan Howard’s label, Harlan Howard Records.  Her first EP, ‘Worth A Shot’ was released in 2017.  In 2018, Heidi is working in the studio on her second release on Harlan Howard Records, a new single, ‘Sweat,’ which is coming soon.