Patriot Festival in Pigeon Forge Set to Rock the Smokies

Pigeon Forge’s 19^th annual Patriot Festival celebrating the Fourth of July has an entertainment lineup designed to please the “Greatest Generation,” nostalgic Motown devotees, rock ‘n’ rollers and fans of country music. Fireworks booming over the adjacent Great Smoky Mountains will cap off a day of entertainment. The cast of “Swing Time,” a Pigeon Forge show that highlights the Big Band music of the 1940s, will set a patriotic tone for the day with a tribute to America’s military and a stirring rendition of the national anthem.

More mellow music will come from the Temptations Revue, Pigeon Forge’s newest show, which celebrates the Motown Records success of an act that recorded more than 50 albums. Three performance spots are reserved for country music. John Berry (“Your Love Amazes Me,” “Standing on the Edge of Goodbye” and dozens more) will fill Patriot Park with his rich voice, and festivalgoers will get to know two new artists—Sarah Darling, who just released her first album on Black River Music, and Knoxville native Homer Hart.

The pre-fireworks act is the Classic Rock All-Stars, a superstar group that includes Pete Rivera from Rare Earth, Dennis Noda from Cannibal and the Headhunters, Jerry Corbetta from Sugarloaf and Mike Pinera of Blues Image, Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper. Members of the Classic Rock All-Stars have been part of songs such as “I Just Want To Celebrate,” “Land of a Thousand Dances,” “Get Ready” and “Green-Eyed Lady.”

Other Patriot Festival entertainers include the Pigeon Forge Community Chorus (more than 40 members) and the Twirling Medallion Majorette and Drum Corps from Elkton, Va. This performing group is widely traveled and even has opened a show for Billy Ray Cyrus. Entertainment begins at 1 p.m., and the fireworks will start about 9:45 p.m. WIVK-FM will broadcast the patriotic soundtrack to the fireworks show for observers throughout the city.

Pigeon Forge’s 19^th Annual Patriot Festival Entertainment Lineup

Schedules and artists subject to change without notice
*tentative performance times

TWIRLING MEDALLION MAJORETTE AND DRUM CORP (1:00pm)*

Visiting from Virginia, Tina Hughes’s Baby Doll, Tiny Tot, Junior, & Senior Majorette Groups, and Drum Corp will be performing in Patriot Park at Patriot Festival.

PIGEON FORGE COMMUNITY CHORUS (3:45pm)*

Pigeon Forge Community Chorus consists of over 40 members from Pigeon Forge and the surrounding areas. The chorus is under the direction of Dr. Deborah Hicks, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Professional Entertainment Program from Walter State Community College. The chorus will be performing a medley of patriotic and gospel music.

HOMER HART (4:30pm)*

Homer Hart is an aspiring country artist from Knoxville, TN. A trip to the 2005 CMT Awards show provided Hart with the opportunity to meet some of the biggest names in country music, a jam session with Jason Aldean’s band “The Three Kings”, and an offer to help record his first album at Big Records in Nashville.

GRAND MAJESTIC THEATER’S “SWING TIME” CAST (5:15pm)*

The “Swing Time” cast will be performing their Military Tribute to our Armed Forces and the National Anthem at this year’s Patriot Festival. “Swing Time” is the Musical Dance Production at The Grand Majestic Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN. Their heart warming and fun filled story takes you through the Swingin’ Big Band sounds of the 40′s with hits of Glenn Miller, Judy Garland and the Andrew Sisters all the way to the Rock and Rollin’ years of the 50′s with the classics by none other than Elvis and Buddy Holly.

THE TEMPTATIONS REVUE (5:30pm)*

The Temptations recorded over 50 albums…with 50 pop and 51 R&B singles in the top ten! They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in1989 and in 1990, four of the original lead singers joined with Nate Evans, fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with “Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions”, to form the Temptations Revue…traveling throughout the world receiving the same recognition as they did in the group’s heyday.

Today, Nate Evans is joined with Ritchie Stanley, Greg Lee, Curtis Taylor and Reggie Reed to bring the music of the ages straight to Pigeon Forge! Enjoy Nate…The Temptations’ timeless tunes, some special guests and a few wonderful stories from the history of Motown at the all new Smoky Mountain Theater.

SARAH DARLING (6:15pm)*

Sara is an up and coming country music artist, originally from Iowa. She’s a farm girl in florals, a riverbank girl with a poet’s soul, a deeply introspective writer with a childlike curiosity, not to mention a sophistication and maturity in her songs far beyond her 25 years.

In 2003, Sarah auditioned for an E Network reality show called “The Entertainer,” hosted by veteran Vegas showman Wayne Newton. She finished in the top three. Sarah also did modeling and appeared in a number of country music videos, with Kellie Pickler, Joe Nichols, David Ball, and Big & Rich.

Sarah was discovered by Black River Records through her MySpace page with her song “Stop the Bleeding.”

JOHN BERRY (7:00pm)*

John Berry has one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in country music. He has a stunningly rich, majestic tenor that he uses to its full effect. With multiple gold and platinum albums and nominations from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, and the Grammy’s, Berry has clearly forged an appreciation from the music industry and fans alike.

Berry has charted nineteen songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One single “Your Love Amazes Me” from 1994 and six additional Top Ten hits: “What’s In It for Me”, “You and Only You”, “Standing on the Edge of Goodbye”, “I Think About It All the Time”, “Change My Mind, and “She’s Taken a Shine”.

CLASSIC ROCK ALL STARS (8:15pm)*

The Classic Rock All-Stars is a supergroup composed of hitmaking artists in the 1960s and 1970s. Its lineup:

Pete Rivera: Original drummer and lead singer for Rare Earth

Dennis Noda: Bass guitarist for Cannibal and the Headhunters

Jerry Corbetta: Keyboardist for Sugarloaf

Mike Pinera: Lead singer of Blues Image and guitarist for Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper

Collectively, these musicians have been a part of hits such as “Green-Eyed Lady”, “School’s Out”, “Poison” “The Garden” (w/ Guns N’ Roses), “I Just Want to Celebrate”, “Get Ready”, and “Land of a Thousand Dances”. The Classic Rock All Stars will have an outstanding lineup of high-energy classic rock hits everyone is sure to remember.

FIREWORKS! (9:45pm)*

For more information on this FREE event, visiting the Pigeon Forge website or call the Pigeon Forge Office of Special Events at (865) 429-7350.

Schedule and artists subject to change or cancellation without notice.

Map to Patriot Festival at Patriot Park in Pigeon Forge, TN.

Co-sponsored by:
AT&T The Real Yellow Pages • Old Mill Square • WonderWorks
Accommodations by Sunset Cottage • Smoky Mountain Jubilee Theater
Papa John’s Pizza • Food City of Pigeon Forge