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Adrian College Spring Concert to Feature Uncle Kracker and Frankie Ballard

Posted Monday, March 04, 2019

ADRIAN (March 1, 2019) — On April 12, Adrian College (AC) will host its annual Spring Concert featuring co-headlining artists Uncle Kracker and Frankie Ballard, as well as opening act and AC student, Bubba Klutch. The styles of Uncle Kracker’s and Ballard’s music are known to defy typical limits of genre, as it appeals to pop, country, rock and blues fans.

Uncle Kracker, also known as Matthew Shafer, grew up in Mount Clemens, Mich., and was initially popular as a DJ in Kid Rock’s Twisted Brown Trucker Band. His solo career took off shortly after and he produced five studio albums over the course of 12 years. He is best known for his songs, “Follow Me” (2000), “Drift Away” (2002) and “Smile” (2009), but his newest hit, “Floatin’,” was released in August of 2018. As an artist, Uncle Kracker is best known for his interactive performances. He says his shows are “meant to be a party.”

“I want everyone to be involved,” Uncle Kracker said in an interview regarding his shows. “Each time we go on stage, I want to leave people smiling.”

Ballard is also a Michigan native, spending his childhood in Battle Creek. His humble beginnings started close to home when he won Kenny Chesney’s Next Big Star competition in 2008. This title gave him the opportunity to open shows for Chesney at Michigan venues, immediately attracting his own fan base. Ballard released his first album in 2014, which included some of his most popular songs like “Sunshine and Whiskey,” “Young and Crazy” and “Helluva Life.” His most recent album, “El Rio,” was selected by Rolling Stone as one of the 25 best country and Americana albums of 2016. He has labeled this interaction of styles as his “own brand of American music.”

“There’s rock and roll. There are country stories and country lyrics and country songs,” Ballard said after the designation. “And there’s a lot of blues swagger and blues guitar playing. [My music] is all of those things together.”

AC’s annual Spring Concert will be hosted in the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free to students with an AC email, $20 for high school and college students, and $25 for general admission. These tickets are available for purchase online at adriantickets.com until 7:00 p.m. the night of the show or until they are sold out.

For more information on AC’s 2019 Spring Concert contact Lesley Dempsey at 517-264-3197 or concert@adrian.edu. Follow the event @ACspringconcert on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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