Joe Nichols & Uncle Kracker to Perform at 2012 Richland County Fair

The fair board is pleased to announce the 2012 concert lineup for Aug. 4 at the Richland County Fair. Joe Nichols & Uncle Kracker will be performing on the evening of Aug. 4. Tickets will be available beginning Wednesday, May 30.

Uncle Kracker Bio

2011 has been a busy year for Top Dog/Atlantic recording artist Uncle Kracker, spending most of it on the road performing at stadiums and arenas in nearly every major U.S. market with country superstar and friend Kenny Chesney along with a number of headlining shows of his own. And yet, the Detroit-based singer-songwriter still found time to write and record much of his as-yet-untitled forthcoming album (expected out in 2012). The first taste of the new music is “My Hometown” – a track produced by Keith Stegall (Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson, George Jones), who also sat behind the board for Uncle Kracker’s previous release, 2010’s “HAPPY HOUR – THE SOUTH RIVER ROAD SESSIONS.”

“HAPPY HOUR – THE SOUTH RIVER ROAD SESSIONS” featured the hit singles “Smile” and “Good To Be Me.” After enjoying tremendous success on the pop radio charts, “Smile” crossed over to become the singer-songwriter’s first solo Top 5 hit at Country Radio and proved to be one of 2010’s biggest Country songs with single sales exceeding 2 million. In addition, the “Smile” companion video enjoyed top 5 success on Great American Country’s Top 20 Country Countdown and a top 20 rotation favorite at CMT. “Good To Be Me” - a track produced by and featuring guest vocals from longtime friend/songwriting partner Kid Rock - also became a staple on country radio playlists nationwide. The single’s companion video clip made its world premiere on Great American Country and was in heavy rotation on both GAC and CMT. Summer 2010 saw Uncle Kracker and Kid Rock steal the show with a joint performance of the song on the ABC special, CMA Music Fest: Country’s Night To Rock. The performance earned them an ACM award nomination for Vocal Event of the Year. Uncle Kracker closed that year with a performance of “Good To Be Me” at the inaugural American Country Awards.

Despite his relatively recent breakthrough solo success in Country music, Uncle Kracker is actually no stranger to the audience, scoring a #1 hit with "When The Sun Goes Down", his collaboration with Kenny Chesney. He also co-wrote Kid Rock's multi-format smash "All Summer Long" which peaked at #3 on the Billboard country charts.

“I’ve always had a genuine passion for country. I think that audiences appreciate that, and that’s why they’re giving me a chance,” Uncle Kracker explains. “Country music was one of the types of music I grew up with, so elements of it naturally come out in my songwriting. Listening to a lot of my songs - all the way back to ‘Follow Me’ - I feel like I’ve been making country music for years.”

* * * *

Initially known for his role as DJ in Kid Rock’s legendary Twisted Brown Trucker band, Uncle Kracker made a stunning solo debut with 2001’s “DOUBLE WIDE.” Fueled by the #1 smash, “Follow Me,” the album exploded onto the Billboard 200’s top 10 on its way to 2x-platinum certification from the RIAA.

“NO STRANGER TO SHAME” followed in 2002, highlighted by the top 10 Hot AC hit, “In A Little While,” as well as Uncle Kracker’s biggest solo single to date, a cover of Dobie Gray’s classic “Drift Away.” The track reached the top 10 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” while also setting the record for most weeks at #1 on the AC chart, remaining atop the format’s ranking for a remarkable 22 straight weeks.

2004’s “SEVENTY TWO AND SUNNY” saw Uncle Kracker emphasizing his melodic songwriting and a unique stylistic synthesis of pop, rock, country, soul, blues, and even doo-wop. That same year saw “When The Sun Goes Down,” the aforementioned duet with Kenny Chesney, reaching #1 on its way to becoming an RIAA gold certified country-pop crossover classic.

Uncle Kracker returned with the 2009 release of “HAPPY HOUR,” which features the multi-format smash “Smile.” The album’s version of “Smile” peaked at #2 on the Hot AC chart with the companion video becoming a fixture on the VH1 Top 20 Countdown. Uncle Kracker performed the song on a number of high-profile TV performances, including NBC’s The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, CBS’ The Early Show Saturday Edition (where he premiered “Smile”), Fox & Friends and ABC’s Live! With Regis and Kelly (as part of a special Las Vegas edition).

Known to his parents as Matt Shafer, Uncle Kracker has also maintained his role as one of Kid Rock’s closest friends and collaborators. His co-writing credits alongside the one and only Rock N Roll Jesus includes such blockbuster hits as “Bawitdaba,” “Cowboy,” “Forever,” “Only God Knows Why,” and 2008’s #1 classic, “All Summer Long.”

For further news and information, please visit

http://www.unclekracker.com or http://www.myspace.com/unclekracker.

Joe Nichols Bio

The true measure of an artist lies beyond the milestones and the hardware. Joe Nichols, of course, has plenty of both, but a legacy relies just as surely on an intangible that is just as surely a part of Joe’s makeup--authenticity. Legends like George Jones and Merle Haggard have given Joe their public seal of approval, adding real luster to accomplishments that reflect the respect he has earned across the board:

--New artist awards from the Country Music Association, Billboard, Radio & Records, Music Row magazine and the Academy of Country Music, which jump-started his incredible career;

--Four Grammy nominations, a CMA Album of the Year nomination, and a New York Times Best-Albums-of-the-Year nod;

--Multiple RIAA platinum and gold albums and singles;

--And a stream of hits, including chart-toppers like "Brokenheartsville," "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," and "Gimmie That Girl," and Top Ten smashes like "The Impossible," "If Nobody Believed In You," "What's A Guy Gotta Do," "Size Matters," and "I'll Wait For You," that made all the rest possible.

All those accomplishments are fired by the passion for excellence Joe brings to what he does, and it’s a passion the artist brings in spades to It’s All Good, his sixth studio album and the follow-up to his well-received Greatest Hits project.

"Yes, this is about commercial success," he says, "but if you want to make something that lasts, it's about art too. I want to bring a traditional sound into 2011 and 2012, to keep it faithful and make sure we're still connecting with today's listener. On every album, we're looking for hit singles, but every time out I want to satisfy the artistic part of my soul too."

Joe has long been recognized as an artist who digs deep for songs that touch listeners' hearts and souls and yet who is not afraid to take the lighter side just as far as it will go. With Greatest Hits, he summed up a decade of success on both sides of that fence. Now, his follow-up takes Joe and his fans on the next part of the journey. For Joe's take on how that future looks, look no further than the project's title. "It's All Good as a title has got a deeply personal meaning to me," he says. "I've been through the ups and downs of life and I'm better at knowing what to hold onto. There was a lot of pain and suffering on my earlier albums. Sometimes it was in balance and sometimes there was an unhealthy amount. This one has a lot of love on it. It's got more of a fun and uplifting feel than any record in the past."

The CD's first single, "Take It Off," is a case in point, a bit of breezy summertime fun that became his fifteenth chart hit and a video that quickly passed a million good-time views. There is more fun in tunes like "This Ole Boy," about enjoying the luck of the draw when it comes to love, "No Truck, No Boat, No Girl," a "guy song" if there ever was one, and the title track, an easygoing nod to keeping an upbeat outlook. But, as is always the case with Joe, there is much more here. Love gets its due in "I Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "Never Gonna Get Enough," nostalgia and regret in "Somebody's Mama," and the poignant and powerful "How I Wanna Go," a powerful album-closer with special meaning to Joe.

Throughout It's All Good, Joe shows himself again to be a true country artist, a singer in whom the genre's traditions, sounds and themes meet the future. It probably shouldn't be surprising, given Joe's roots in Rogers, Arkansas.

He grew up with his bank-teller mother, Robin, but spent time with his dad Mike, a long-haul trucker who played classic country at the local VFW. Riding with his dad over school breaks and watching him play on weekends instilled in Joe a love of Haggard, Jones, and Marty Robbins, among others. At 15, he determined to follow in his father's footsteps, and at 21, he was in Nashville, working any number of day jobs and singing at a BBQ and beer spot called Rippy's on Lower Broadway.

In 2001, Joe became the flagship artist on Universal South Records. By the next year, he was on top of the country singles charts, and "The Impossible" and "Brokenheartsville" amounted to a one-two debut that earned him Grammy nominations and a host of awards and established him as one of the genre's most promising young voices. Tours with Alan Jackson and Toby Keith allowed him to prove himself as a riveting live performer, and soon the aforementioned legends were weighing in on Joe's place as their heir apparent.

"It's a wonderful thing," says Joe, "for the legends, the guys who are my heroes, to give me any kind of props. For them to say, 'This guy's got something we like' makes me feel great, like I've done something important."

Along the way, his movie star looks and at-ease-with-the-world personality led him into new realms. He caught the eye of Broadway producers and recently hosted the ACM Honors show at the historic Ryman Auditorium. The wide-ranging nature of his appeal led to a couple of tours of Australia, and his appreciation for the nation's service men and women took him to the Middle East.

Through the years, he established himself as one of country music's best judges of material. In addition to his hits, his albums are loaded with strong material--he recorded "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" long before Blake Shelton turned it into a smash. In fact, he says, "The one thing I see in looking at the greatest hits album is that it's incomplete. There's so much more I want to do and so much more I have done. There are a lot of songs that were never released as singles that mean a lot to me, a lot of really cool stuff that never got its due. Moving forward, I want to make sure the best stuff, the best moments I have, people are able to hear."

It is something his fans are looking forward to as well, and Joe is working to extend his legacy.

"We're always trying to put more pieces into the puzzle, to take more steps in the right direction," he says. "It's simple, really--put out good music, make fun videos, do great live shows, keep the visibility up, and pay attention to the business end. The bottom line, though, is one of the key things I've learned from my heroes--go into the studio and produce a quality product. Put in the time to do good work. At the end of the day, that's what they're going to remember."