Akins joins Labor Day Festival lineup
Aug. 1—The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma announced a change in its entertainment lineup for this year's Labor Day Festival in Tvshka Homma.
The three-day festival will be held from Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 at the Choctaw Nation Capitol grounds in Tvshka Homma — the original Choctaw-English rendering of Tuskahoma.
Honkey Tonk legend Mark Chestnutt was scheduled to play his traditional country hits that he has performed over his more than 30-year career on Aug. 31.
Chestnutt was sidelined when he required emergency heart surgery, according to People Magazine.
The Choctaw Nation has announced country music hit maker Rhett Akins will now perform on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the festival.
Akins, as a singer and songwriter, has had 35 No. 1 singles. His signature song "That Ain't My Truck," which he sang and co-wrote, became his first No. 1 hit. His song "Honey Bee" became the highest selling digital debut by a country male solo artist.
He's written chart toppers for many other artists, including Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Dustin Lynch, John Pardi and his son Thomas Rhett.
Rodney Atkins will perform his country hits beginning at 9 p.m. Aug. 31
Atkins has sold more than 14 million records, has more than 1.5 billion on-demand streams, and multiple No. 1 singles, including "If You're Going Through Hell," "Watching You," and "These Are My People."
Choctaw Artists Joey Green and The Close will open the Aug. 31 performances.
Green debuted his album "Heart Lessons" when he opened for CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson at Billy Bob's Texas in 2023. His music videos for "This House Ain't Big Enough" and "Heartbroke" continue successful runs on CMT. The alum of NBC's The Voice was recently added to the 2024-25 USO Tour roster.
The Close is made up of Lori Rowton, Shannon Walker and James Mckinney who share songwriting duties and lead vocals. Rowton is a member of the Choctaw Nation, originally from Tushka. The band released its debut album "Orbit" in 2023.
Sunday, Sept. 1 will be an evening of Christian music with Casting Crowns topping the bill at 8:30 p.m. Jason Crabb returns to the festival, going on at 7 p.m., and Gold City performs at 6 p.m.
Grammy and Dove award-winning Casting Crowns is a Christian rock band based in Georgia, where some members also work as ministers. Their single "Voice of Truth" spent a record-breaking 14 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in 2003.
Jason Crabb is a GRAMMY winning Christian artist. A repeat performer at the Choctaw Labor Day Festival, he has been named Gospel Music Association's Male Vocalist of the Year and received Song of the Year award.
Alabama-based Gold City is a southern gospel quartet, made up of Chris Jenkins, Josh Feemster, Daniel Riley, and Jeff Chapman. The group's music has charted 10 number one Christian hits.
A full schedule of events will be released in July, but events will consist of traditional events like gourd dancing, princess pageants, vendor booths, along with the free carnival.
Sporting tournaments and events such as chair volleyball, fittest Choctaw, horseshoes, softball, stickball, the tough touch Choctaw, volleyball, youth fitness challenge and War Hoops 3-on-3 Basketball will also be on this year's festival schedule.
Follow the event's Facebook page at Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival for further updates.