Collin Raye, Dave Gibson headline at Music on the Square festival

IF YOU GOWhat: Music on the Square.When: Noon-11 p.m. Saturday.Where: Town square, U.S. 27 and Main Street, downtown LaFayette, Ga.Admission: Free.Phone: 706-639-9250.Email: mark@musiconthesquareonline.com.

Country music star Collin Raye and singer/songwriter Dave Gibson, formerly of the Gibson-Miller Band, will headline Music on the Square, a new Memorial Day weekend festival scheduled Saturday in LaFayette, Ga.

Local bands will begin the day at noon on the town square. Scheduled to perform are The Boys at Heart, Bounty Hunter, Level Mountain, Bruce Chastain and The Death Dealers, Casey Adams Band, Southern Love Kills and The Dennis Brown Band.

Radio personality Tommy Jett will emcee the free event. Lawn chairs are recommended for seating.

Spokesman Mark Hise said organizers intend for the festival to become an annual event.

FOR ASPIRING SONGWRITERS

July 8-10: Award-winning songwriters Dave Gibson, Ira Dean and Aaron Barker will lead a Smokin' Hit Songwriters seminar at Jim Oliver's Smokehouse in Monteagle, Tenn., along with host Marla Sitten and singer/songwriter/music publisher Daisy Dern. Cost of the retreat is $150. For details, visit www.smokinhitsongwriters.com.

ABOUT THE HEADLINERS

Collin Raye

In the 1990s, this five-time nominee for Male Vocalist of the Year produced five platinum albums, 25 Top 10 hits, 15 No. 1 singles and 12 videos. He is known for such songs as "One Boy, One Girl" and "That Was a River," but his standards range from ballads ("Love, Me," "In This Life," "Not That Different" and "Little Rock") to rockers ("My Kind of Girl," "That's My Story," "I Can Still Feel You" and "I Want You Bad)." His latest release is "Twenty Years and Change."

Dave Gibson

When he arrived in Nashville in 1982, Gibson was signed to a publishing deal with Silverline Music. He eventually would write hits for artists including Steve Wariner, Joe Diffie, Confederate Railroad, Tanya Tucker, Alabama, Pam Tillis and Montgomery Gentry. He realized his dream of performing in 1990 when he teamed with rocker Blue Miller, famed guitar player for the Bob Seger band, to form the Gibson-Miller Band. They scored multiple Top 10 hits and an Academy of Country Music Award for New Vocal Group or Duo in 1994. They toured together for four years.

DAVE GIBSON CHART-TOPPERS

At last count, Dave Gibson had written or co-written 19 Top 40 hits, including these No. 1 singles:

* "Queen of Memphis," Confederate Railroad

* "Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind," Confederate Railroad

* "Ships That Don't Come In," Joe Diffie

* "If It Don't Come Easy," Tanya Tucker

* "Jukebox in My Mind," Alabama

Source: www.savannahmusicgroup.

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