By Adam Studzinski
BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts announced Tuesday morning country music singer/songwriter Phil Vassar will headline the opening night of the Bloomington Beer Fest on Aug. 21.
BCPA Director Tina Salamone told WJBC’s Susan Saunders the fact Vassar has spent much of his career as a songwriter means he’s able to play smaller venues.
“It gives performers the luxury of going out and trying new things, playing small venues, taking other opportunities that maybe a person that’s just hammering to be a performer couldn’t otherwise take,” she said.
Vassar is known as one of Nashville’s top songwriters. During his career, he has hit the Top 5 seven times with songs like “Carlene,” “Last Day of My Life” and “American Child” and topped the charts with “In a Real Love” and “Just another Day in Paradise.” His songs other artists have taken to the top of the charts include “My Next Thirty Years” by Tim McGraw, “She’s Right On the Money” by Alan Jackson, and Jo Dee Messina’s “Bye, Bye” and “I’m Alright.” New artist David Nail had a hit with Vassar’s “The Sound of a Million Dreams,” which Billboard named the #1 song in their Top 10 Country Songs of 2012.
The BCPA announced Monday Bloomington-Normal native Matthew Curry will be the Beer Fest’s second night headliner on Aug. 22.
Tickets for the Bloomington Beer Fest are available online at www.artsblooming.org or by calling the BCPA Ticket Office at 309-434-2777; toll-free at 866-686-9541. Tickets can also be purchased at the BCPA Ticket Office, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].
