Colgate Country Showdown at Indiana State Fair

Paris Beacon News -

Area band to compete at Indiana State Fair
The local country band “Jackie Lawson and her Hillbilly Rockstars” has earned a spot in the competition for a state title at the Indiana State Fair.

The group includes two Paris musicians - Darren Elmore, guitar and vocalist, and Dennis Rowell, bass, both of Paris, as well as Jackie Lawson and Tad Freezeland of Charleston and Darrell Wilson of Mattoon.

The band earned first place at the Terre Haute local-level Colgate Country Showdown music competition on Memorial Day, and now advances to the state competition.

Winners of the national Colgate Country Showdown are awarded $100,000 and the title. The competition begins each spring with more than 450 local shows, sponsored by local radio stations.

Elmore said lead singer Lawson is a national recording artist, who they met through mutual friends. The other four have played music together for about four years. They have an “alternate ego” band, “Black-n-Blues”, which plays classic rock and blues, he said.
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