Owen Bradley Festival To Kick Off This Weekend

Ralph Emery will serve as host of the first annual Owen Bradley Music Festival and Talent Search this Saturday, Sept. 7, in Westmoreland, Tenn. Brenda Lee, Dee Twitty, members of the Bradley family, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Westmoreland Mayor Mike Carter, and Mandy Barnett will all be on hand for the festivities celebrating the life of Bradley, who hailed from Westmoreland and is often referred to as one of the architects of the “Nashville Sound.” His production style launched the careers of many stars of the 1950s including Patsy Cline, Lee, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and Kitty Wells.
The festival begins at 9 a.m. with various events and free music on two stages in downtown Westmoreland. Clinton Gregory, Stella Parton, Becky Hobbs, Gerald Smith, Bluegrass Vibrations, Happy Hearts, and Sons of the South are among the artists slated to perform during the day-long celebration. The day’s events culminate at 4 p.m. with the Owen Bradley Talent Search in the Westmoreland Expo Center. The winner of the talent search will receive a free recording session with Larry Beaird of Beaird Music Group and free distribution of their CD single by CDX and Anyway Mailing to 2,300 country radio stations across the country.
Admission for the day’s activities is $5. Additional details and a complete schedule of talent, times and locations can be found at westmorelandchamber.org.