DEADWOOD, SD. (10/03/22) – Now in its 8th year, the Deadwood Red Dirt Music Festival at Deadwood Mountain Grand has fast become one of the biggest music festivals in the upper mid-west. The event, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, January 13th and 14th will feature Casey Donahew and Kody West as headliners along with a roster of some of the best performers in Red Dirt music.
The event produced by Deadwood Mountain Grand, debuted in 2015 with nearly 5,000 fans attending two days of the best in music from the Red Dirt genre. Red Dirt is the color of soil found in Oklahoma and Texas. They are the homes of a music genre that spawned Outlaw Country legends like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and created a home grown movement of Americana, folk and alt-country sounds. Some define Red Dirt music as “country music with attitude”. Others say it’s a state of mind as much as it is a sound – a sound that successfully closes the gap between rock and country.
Regardless of definition, Red Dirt fans are loyal and have come in droves in previous years to Deadwood Mountain Grand. “We absolutely love this event,” said Susan Kightlinger, General Manager of Deadwood Mountain Grand. “The music is incredible, the fans come to party and the atmosphere is electric. Plus, it’s nice to bring 5,000 people to Deadwood in the middle of January.”
Headlining the festival is the wildly popular Casey Donahew. Donahew has released eight independent albums to critical and commercial acclaim. Donahew’s “Standoff”, quickly topped the iTunes Country Chart at #1, upon its release, and his follow-up album “All Night Party”, out on August 19, 2016, immediately rocketed to #3 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart, #13 on the Top Album Sales Chart and Top Current Album Sales Chart and #40 on the Billboard 200 Chart. The project also took the #2 spot on the Internet Albums Chart and landed at #3 on the Independent Albums Chart.
His 15th anniversary record titled “15 Years, The Wild Ride”, a collection of Donahew’s most popular songs, and the ones that droves of fans sing night after night at his live concerts, was inspired by and became a gift for those fans who remain loyal in Donahew’s standing-room-only audiences. His current album “One Light Town”, garnered Donahew his latest #1 single, “Let’s Make A Love Song, which was the #1 most played independent song on country radio for 2019 and had BILLBOARD spouting upon its release “…’Let’s Make A Love Song’ has radio written all over it”.
Supporting Donahew on Friday night will be Corey Kent and Josh Meloy. Rising singer/songwriter Corey Kent has been writing and performing for nearly 2 decades. His tenacity, entrepreneurial mindset and drive matched with his vocal prowess and raw, relatable lyrics have helped Kent rise among the many.
Self-described as an “old soul,” Kent finds himself musically at the intersection of rock-infused country, heartland values and red dirt grit. His Texas hustle has poised him as Nashville’s next star power.
Having developed his live show for over 15 years, the entertainer has shared stages with acts such as Parker McCollum, Cody Johnson and Eli Young Band. Drawing inspiration from The Eagles, Keith Richards, Turnpike Troubadours and more, Kent’s undeniable stage presence and bandana-wearing Rock ‘N’ Roll spirit comes to life on the stage.
In December of 2021, Corey released his sophomore album, ’21, to an overwhelmingly positive reception, with the record making its way up to the #4 debut album on Spotify in the U.S. that week, landing the covers of Amazon Music’s Texas Music Forever playlist and Spotify’s Texas Country Now as well as being named Country Riser of the Month on Apple Music for March 2022.
In March of 2022, Kent released his smash hit single, “Wild As Her,” which hit the #1 spot on Apple Music’s Country Chart for ten days and landed on Spotify’s U.S. Viral Top 50 Chart (all-genre) at #7 and GLOBAL Viral Top 50 Chart at #36 as the only Country act featured. Since then, it has racked up over 50 Million streams in the first 100 days and can be heard on SiriusvXM’s The Highway, Spotify’s Hot Country, Apple Music’s Today’s Country, and Amazon Music’s Country Heat!
Oklahoma native, Josh Meloy recently released his new record “Oklahoma” in May of 2020. The record consists of a collection of songs written over the past 5 years. Meloy considers this his “best and most honest work to date”. Meloy recorded and produced the album at home giving it an undeniably authentic sound.
Meloy didn’t plan on playing music in the beginning. In a family with strong ties to music, he chose sports. It wasn’t until attending Oklahoma State University at the age of 19 that he first picked up a guitar. Meloy, now 26, has since matured as a musician and songwriter while earning a strong fan base touring the Oklahoma/Texas region.
Saturday’s headliner is one of the fastest growing stars in country music. Kody West started playing music in the beginning of 2014, eager to take on as many acoustic gigs and songwriting competitions in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area that he could. As a frequent support act of the Texas Country/Red Dirt band Dalton Domino and the Front Porch Family, he took on the role of tour manager beginning of 2015. On the road with the band, he rapidly gained valuable hands-on experience working and playing music across the state of Texas. Thanks to his time on the road and his ability to fill in and play when needed, he was quick to gain a fast following of loyal fans.
Kody recorded his first full production EP later that year in Stephenville, Texas with producers Ben Hussey and Josh Serrato. The EP titled Higher Ground released January of 2016 with “Playing Cards” as the first strong, poignant single. Kody’s music has been described as a mix of Texas Country and Bluegrass with some good-for-the-soul grooves.
Shortly after his EP release, Kody formed a full band in order to continue his commitment to travel across the country playing his tunes to the masses.
Warming up for West on Saturday includes Red Dirt stalwarts, Randall King and Jake Worthington.
Take a seat at any old roadhouse bar and look to your left and right. Some people will be there drinking for fun, and others to forget. But on “Shot Glass”, the major label album debut from Warner Music Nashville’s Randall King, none of them are drinking alone.
A country-music purist whose style carries on an original American art form –with all its highs and lows included –King is something of a study in contrast, and his album is too. He often sounds like he just stepped out of a time machine, full of upbeat honky-tonk swagger and flashing the thoughtful gaze of Western poet. But he’s also got a thoroughly modern edge, driven to prove timeless tradition can co-exist with the pop-country mainstream. And it all comes together on “Shot Glass”.
Four years after his independent self-titled album kicked things off, the West-Texas native has now made the move to Music City, marking the start of a whole new chapter. He’s following a pair of visionary EPs with a top-shelf concept album–and in the process, buying all of classic country another round. “I’m that rowdy honky-tonk artist,” King says with conviction. “But I’ve got music and roots that go deeper than just beer-slingin’ tunes. There’s a lot of depth.”
Inspired by everyone from George Strait and Keith Whitley to Dierks Bentley and Eric Church, King grew up on the endless plains and endless highways of a mythical place in the American story –but its famous ways were never mere fantasy to him. The hardscrabble days, wild nights and heartbreaks were all just part of an everyday cycle, and his music continues to capture that mystique.
Kicking off the festival will be rising star and “The Voice” runner-up in 2014, Jake Worthington. In 2014, Jake Worthington was named “Runner-Up” on Season 6 of the hit NBC TV Show “The Voice”. While on the show, Jake released three songs that reached top 20 on Billboard. Success from “The Voice” led to a Social Media presence that reaches nearly 250,000 people across the US.
In October 2015, Jake released his first EP debuting at #16 Billboard Heat Seekers and #44 Billboard Country Albums. The first single off the EP “Just Keep Falling In Love” reached Top 50 on The Music Row Chart and Top 30 on The Texas Regional Radio Report. The Video was featured on GAC, CMT, and many other outlets.
In the summer of 2016, he released his follow-up single “How Do You Honky Tonk” and hit the road on the “How Do You Honky Tonk” Summer Tour sponsored by Amspec, Cinch Jeans, and Ernie Ball. The tour featured 26 stops in 16 states.
In 2017, Jake released his sophomore EP “Hell of a Highway” featuring hit songs “Don’t Think Twice” and “A Lot of Room to Talk”. He is currently working on a new album and is ready to hit the road in 2023.
Tickets for the Deadwood Red Dirt Music Festival go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, October 7th. They will be available at The Spotlight Box Office at Deadwood Mountain Grand – or at ticketmaster.com. Both hotel reservations and ticket arrangements may be made by calling 877-907-GRAND.
For more information, visit www.deadwoodmountaingrand.com or call 605-559-1188. To open your free Grand Rewards Center membership and enjoy the benefits of purchasing advance tickets ahead of the general public, bring a photo ID to the Grand Rewards Center counter, located in the Deadwood Mountain Grand Resort Casino.
Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel, a Holiday Inn Resort is the restored 1906 Homestake Mining Co. ore processing plant that overlooks Historic Deadwood, which features a 98-room luxury hotel, full service restaurants, 210 state-of-the-art casino games, high stakes gaming action including Dale’s Sportsbook Bar & Grill, a 3,000 person entertainment and event center and a multi-level parking garage.
