Happy Harry's Hot Valley Nights features multiple national acts, beginning Friday, Aug. 16
Aug. 15—EAST GRAND FORKS — Country music of the 1990s and early 2000s will fill the outdoor festival venue when "Happy Harry's Hot Valley Nights" rolls out the entertainment for the two-day event in East Grand Forks.
The festival is set for Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17, in the Riverwalk Center Parking Lot near the River Cinema theaters at 211 DeMers Ave.
Neal McCoy and Craig Morgan are the headliners, performing at 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both artists are performing at the event for the first time, said Justin LaRocque, who is organizing the show.
Other artists performing Friday are: Paint the Town, which will open the music festival at 5:30 p.m., and Mark Wills, who performs at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the artists are: Jimmy River Band at 3:30 p.m., Ty Herndon at 5:30 p.m., and Phil Vassar at 7:30 p.m.
General admission tickets are $35 per day; VIP tickets are $75 per day. For ticket information, go to
www.hotvalleynights.com/lineup/
or call (701) 746-0444.
For the first time, the event will include a fireworks display, set for about 9:15 p.m. Saturday. The display has been made possible with assistance from the City of East Grand Forks, LaRocque said.
"This has been a goal of mine for many years," he said, noting that Mayor Steve Gander approached him with the idea this year. East Grand Forks has not had fireworks since the Sertoma Club moved its Fourth of July display to Grand Forks' sound end several years ago.
LaRocque said his event team has partnered with Leighton Broadcasting this year, and others involved in the planning are Tyler Piper, Jenny Milling and Mike Boushee.
At the Aug. 16-17 event, visitors will find an area reserved for yard games and three food trucks, including a first-timer Bubba's Barbecue, LaRocque said.
Another first for the annual event, now in its seventh year, is a Blue Peak Party Zone, LaRocque said. The stage-front area will be cordoned-off — opposite from the VIP section — for members of the event's Loyalty Club and other selected guests. The area will feature a separate beer stand, and some samples will be given away, LaRocque said.
The distinct area is intended as a means of thanking people who have been loyal to the event and have kept up with new developments, as announced by organizers.
McCoy, who has released 15 studio albums, broke through with back-to-back No. 1 singles, "No Doubt About It" and "Wink" from his platinum-certified album "No Doubt About It."
His commercial success continued into the late '90s with two more Platinum albums and a Gold album, as well as six more Top 10 hits. He scored a seventh Top 10 hit with "Billy's Got His Beer Goggles On."
His studio album, "XII," co-produced with Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, was followed by "Pride: A Tribute to Charley Pride," his longtime friend and mentor.
McCoy released a CD of big band standards, "You Don't Know Me," in 2015, and "Neal McCoy's Favorite Hits" in 2017. He has entertained troops on 17 USO Tours around the world and continues to say it's one of the achievements he's most proud of.
McCoy has also been the recipient of multiple humanitarian awards from the Academy of Country Music, The Country Radio Broadcasters and the Masonic Grand Lodge.
Morgan has built a reputation as a country music icon, TV personality, author, celebrated outdoorsman and patriotic military veteran.
One of country music's best-loved artists, he has amassed more than 1.5 billion career streams and charted more than 25 songs on Billboard, thrilling crowds with signature hits such as "Redneck Yacht Club," "International Harvester" and "That's What I Love About Sunday."
In 2018, he received the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, one of the highest awards the Department of the U.S. Army can bestow upon a civilian.
Morgan, who recently re-enlisted in the Army, has released an album which features remakes of his hits and new songs, collaborating in duets with artists including Trace Adkins, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Gary LeVox, Blake Shelton and Lainy Wilson.
Wills has released 19 Billiard-charting singles across seven albums, including Gold and Platinum albums and some of the most enduring and recognizable country music hits of the last 25 years.
His songs "Wish You Were Here," "Jacob's Ladder" and "I Do (Cherish You)" secured his country status in the late '90s and in the early 2000s. Will's debut single, "Jacob's Ladder," released in 1996, became the first of his eight Top 10 hits.
One of his biggest hits to date is the RIAA Gold-certified "19 Something," a six-week No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Wills, who earned the Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Male Vocalist in 1998, has made numerous trips to entertain U.S. troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Korea and Italy.
Herndon took the country music scene by storm and made his chart debut in 1995 with "What Mattered Most," which became his first No. 1 song and captured a Song of the Year award. It was also the title track to his first album, which debuted on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts and had the biggest first-week shipment in the history of Epic Records Nashville.
From 1995 to 2002, Herndon charted 17 singles, including his three No. 1s and numerous Top 10 hits, such as "I Want My Goodbye Back," "Loved Too Much," "A Man Holding On" and "Hands of a Working Man."
He topped the charts in 1996 with the single "Living in a Moment" and again in 1998 with "It Must be Love."
Vassar's hits include 10 No. 1 singles and 27 Top 40 hits, including "Carlene," "Just Another Day in Paradise," "Six-Pack Summer," "When I Love You," and many more.
Described as a "piano-pounding power house," the songwriter saw his career blossom in the mid-'90s when he secured a publishing contract with EMI and penned hits for Collin Raye ("Little Red Rodeo"), Alan Jackson ("Right on the Money"), Tim McGraw ("My Next Thirty Years"), Jo Dee Messina ("Bye Bye, Alright") and Blackhawk ("Postmarked Birmingham").
Vassar signed a record deal of his own with Arista in 1998 and was named ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year in 1999 and 2001.
During his solo recording career, Vassar has released nine albums, won the Academy of Country Music's Top New Male Vocalist honor.
Returning to the Hot Valley Nights stage, a local band, Paint the Town, will kick off the festival at 5:30 p.m. Friday and is among the hometown favorite groups that always delivers, according to the event's website.
"Playing a great mix of hits, 'Paint the Town' has something for everyone. See for yourself why they were voted the area's best hometown band."
Also making a return appearance, the Jimmy River Band will kick off the musical entertainment at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and perform between acts both nights, LaRocque said. "If you made it to the festival last year, it's easy to see why these guys ended up being a fan favorite for the weekend."
"(These bands) do a great job," he said.
LaRocque encouraged everyone to attend the festival.
"If you haven't come out before — even if you're not an avid country fan — you'll have a good time."