Tate Stevens with Special Guests: The Outlaw Junkies
Sponsor: Super 8 of Kearney
7:00pm Saturday, September 6th, 2014 Kearney Amphitheater
Price: $25.00 at the Gate Day of Event
Tate Stevens
Tate Stevens has captured America's
hearts by doing the one thing he does best: being himself.With his powerful
vocals, compelling life story and irresistible personality, Tate has won Fox's X
Factor and scored a Top 5 album. He's also found success when his
song "Holler If You're With Me," which debuted during a Pepsi commercial
that aired during the Grammys, was chosen to be featured during the
Southeastern Conference basketball tournament.
It's no surprise that he's also quickly built a fan base numbering in the
millions, especially among working men and the women who love real men. Tate
has emerged as a sex symbol of the flyover states, where men are valued for
accepting responsibility, respecting women and relishing the simple joys in
life. He has a down-to-earth accessibility, a sense of humor that rivals Bill
Engvall's and the ability to put into words what men want to say.
"Music
drives me," he says. "It is really deep down in my soul. That is who I am, the
music," he says. "I love performing for people because music makes people feel
good. I love it when people say, 'That song spoke to me.'"
Tate is a stand-up guy in a world of superficiality and instant
gratification. In life, love and music, he's in it for the long haul,
while never losing that mischievous twinkle in his eye. He's a man's man and an
expert outdoorsman who would rather install a mirror than peer into one.
"I think people see that there's a realness there," he says. "I don't know
too many guys that get manicures or shave their chests. I don't think the majority
of people wear fancy clothes. I am the guy next door; everybody knows me.
I am your neighbor, the guy who lives down the street."
Tate became a seemingly overnight sensation when he won Fox's X Factor in
2012. "I think it was because I am a real person," he says of his win. "I
believe that country music fans are the most loyal and giving and they are the
ones who pulled me through that show. "As Simon Cowell said, when "you hear how
good his voice is and his story, you could not NOT root for him. I think America got it
right."
After his victory, Tate quickly released his self-titled first album, which
debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Music
critic Chuck Dauphin says, "What really sets Stevens apart is his way with a
ballad. ... He demonstrates a depth that brings to mind artists such as one of
his biggest influences, Garth Brooks. Tate Stevens shows on his debut album
that he's got the talent to be a long-term voice in this business."
His second album, which was also produced by Blake Chancey, takes his music
to the next level in every area, from the songwriting and song selection to the
vocal performance and production. He has captured a fresh sound that fits
comfortably with today's chart-topping hits, but features a strong foundation
of substance and timeless messages. With the life he's led, it would be
impossible to create music devoid of meaning or real emotion.
"When I am looking for songs, it has to grab me in a couple of ways," he
says. "I have to be able to relate to it in some way. It doesn't have to be so
meaningful that it is my life story, but it has to speak to me in some way, "
he says. "'Better at Night' is a party song, and it grabs me because things
tend to happen at night. That is when the fun starts and I can relate to that.
"Then you have a song like 'That's My Girl' that really talks about all
women, meaning my wife. 'She is a Carolina walk
on the beach, she is an Alabama sunset, a Georgia
peach.' It is all women, if you will. It is the everyday woman, but also the
one who is the rock."
Tate can't remember a time when music wasn't at the center of his
life. The youngest of five children of an Air Force airman, he was born
in Japan and soon moved to Wichita Falls, Texas,
where his father played in a country band. When Tate was 5, he joined his
father onstage to sing Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings." "I remember all of the
people staring at me and that feeling of acceptance," he says. "I just knew
that I didn't want that feeling to go away, whatever that was. From then on,
all through my early childhood and high school, I would sing anywhere and
everywhere that I could."
In 1981, he moved to Belton,
Mo., an area where he remains to
this day. A star athlete in football and wrestling, he declined college scholarships
in both sports to pursue music. He joined a band called Dixie Cadillacs
and hit the road in December 1994, just seven months after graduating.
Bookings came easily, and the band performed 250 shows a year, six days as
week, for five years. The band covered songs by Tate's influences, such as Garth Brooks,
George Strait, Gene Watson, Merle Haggard, John
Conlee and George Jones. These performances allowed him to develop his
stagecraft and hone his unique sound, but their popularity meant long absences
from his wife, his high school sweetheart, and their young family.
One night in 2000, after he tucked his 3-year-old son into bed, he stood up
to leave the room. "He sat up and grabbed me and said, 'No! No, Daddy, no!'
Finally I said, 'Daddy is tired. I have to go to bed. You have to go to sleep.'
He said, 'No, you will leave." I realized it was time to come home and do what
I'm supposed to do." His family came first, so his dreams would have to
wait.
For the next decade, he worked in construction and machinery before working
for the city's water, public works and street departments. "I kept playing
music on the side. I was always playing on the weekends. At that point, I
realized that music was going to have to be a hobby. I didn't like it, but that
was the right decision."
"I was always happy, because I'm a dad first. My kids are my life, and I
don't regret anything. If I did, I couldn't live with myself. I wasn't happy
with my professional life, but other than that I had a great life."
Fortunately, his wife and children hounded him into auditioning for the X
Factor after signing him up without his knowledge, and there was no turning
back. His talent and destiny couldn't be denied, so after a necessary detour to
do the right thing, Tate Stevens is now right where he's supposed to be.
"It's hard to describe what having this chance means to me because this is
really all I have ever wanted to do. This is what I dreamed about when I was a
little kid. Getting to walk off of a bus and walk onstage and perform now means
the world to me."
The Outlaw Junkies
The Outlaw Junkies are one of today's hottest regional country acts in the Midwest! They have performed for fairs, festivals,
concert venues nationwide and opened for many national acts including RCA
recording artist ALABAMA.
They were the 2002 regional finalist in the Colgate Country Showdown as well as
the back up band for the competition previous years.
In 2005 Tate Stevens (Winner of X Factor) joined the group and they attended
their first showcase for the Kansas and Missouri fairs and
festivals associations. This led the band to perform for over 300 county fairs,
state fairs and festivals working with The Oak Ridge Boys, Bellamy Brothers,
Mark Chesnutt, Trent Tomlinson and rock groups including Starship, the Nelsons
and the legendary Jordanaires.
The Outlaw Junkies are passionate when it comes to entertaining by blending
new and old, rock and country and original music. There is never a dull moment
or a tune you don't know, which leads to a foot stomping hand clapping good
time. Don't miss this act!
Ryan L. Marcotte
Assistant Director, Parks & Recreation
The City of Kearney
100 E. Washington
P.O. Box 797
Kearney, Mo. 64060
816-903-4730 (office)
816-903-4747 (fax)
info@kearneyamphitheater.com
Eric Marshall
Director, Parks & Recreation
Emarshall@ci.kearney.mo.us
816-903-4724
Directions from Kansas City, Missouri:
- Take I-35 N towards Des Moines
- Take the MO-92 exit (6th street), EXIT 26, Turn Right onto MO-92
- Follow MO-92 (6th Street) to Jefferson, Turn Left
- Take Jefferson N through town to Jesse James Park (~ 2-3 miles)
Directions from St. Joseph, Missouri:
- Take I-229 S to I-29 S
- Continue to the MO-92 exit, EXIT 18, toward Smithville Lake (~25 Miles)
- Turn Left onto MO-92, continue on until Jefferson St in Kearney (~23 Miles),
- Turn Left
- Take Jefferson N through town to Jesse James Park (~ 2-3 miles)
Click here for a Google Map
Children 10 and under are free, unless otherwise noted
*Gates open 1 hour before each event
Blankets & Lawn Chairs are suggested.
Be courteous, kind, and helpful to your fellow festival goers.
Kearney Amphitheater Rules:
- No Tents (Pop-up or otherwise)
- No Outside Food/Drink or Coolers
- No Pets in Amphitheater Area
- No Fireworks at Any Time
- Non-Alcoholic Tailgating Only
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