Blueberry Bluegrass Concert in the Park (Nacogdoches County)

The Texas Blueberry Festival kicks off with the Blueberry Bluegrass Concert in the Park, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, June 9 at Festival Park in downtown Nacogdoches. This free family-friendly concert is made possible by Presenting Sponsor Rex Perry Autoplex and will feature three well-known musical acts, The Little Roy and Lizzy Show, The Purple Hulls, and The Blake Brothers, as well as a special appearance by up-and-coming group the Gent Mountain Grassburs, who are sure to make you smile!

THE ACTS

Little Roy and Lizzy are renowned bluegrass musicians from Georgia. Elizabeth Long, or Lizzy as her friends and fans know her, has played with acts such as Mac Wiseman, Jim and Jesse, The Lewis Family, and Earl Scruggs. At the 2015 GMA Dove awards she was awarded Best Bluegrass Song of the Year for “God is There,” a duet with Rhonda Vincent. She is one of the youngest fiddlers to be inducted into “America’s Old Time Fiddler’s Country Hall of Fame” in LeMars, Iowa. “Little Roy” Lewis, from the legendary Lewis Family, has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, SPGBMA Hall of Greats, IBMA Hall of Honor, and the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

“Having Little Roy and Lizzy return to Nacogdoches is a dream come true for us!” said Scott Waller, Blueberry Bluegrass Concert in the Park co–organizer. “These two are legends in their own right, and they are absolutely amazing on stage together. It’s going to be a magical night.”

The Purple Hulls are identical twins Katy Lou and Penny Lea Clark. The Clark sisters were raised on a working family farm in Kilgore and they paid for college with money from the family’s purple hull harvest. After graduation, they moved to Nashville, where they began touring with various country artists and writing songs for Nashville’s largest publishing company, Sony Tree. The sisters returned home in 2012 to care for their terminally ill father and they stayed in East Texas after he passed away, helping their mother with the farm while continuing their music career. This will be the Purple Hulls’ fifth appearance at the Blueberry Bluegrass Concert.

The Blake Brothers, formed in 2000 by Tim and Bruce Blake, feature Britt Green on mandolin and vocals and Nancy Blake on bass. The North Louisiana band played at the inaugural Blueberry Bluegrass Concert and has performed extensively across East Texas and the Ark-La-Tex area over the years.

FOOD, PARKING, AND MORE
The concert also will feature food trucks and vendors. Organizers encourage attendees to bring blankets and lawn chairs. The event is family-friendly, so please leave your coolers and alcohol at home. Pets on a leash are also welcome.

Organizers are grateful for the enthusiastic partners that make the concert possible, especially Presenting Sponsor Rex Perry Autoplex, Sound Sponsor Cataract, Glaucoma and Retina Consultants of East Texas, Shuttle Bus Sponsor Harry’s Building Materials, Golf Cart Sponsor Commercial Bank of Texas, T-Shirt Sponsor XETX Solutions, the City of Nacogdoches, the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce, the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, First Baptist Church, SFA Alumni Association and Motorhomes of Texas.