Local Talent Opening Performer For Celebration 2014

A rocking country band rising on the charts will join an old favorite and a retro-act playing favorites from the 1980s for a full evening of fun and diverse music at Celebration 2014.

The Cadillac Three, with a sound somewhere between radio-ready country, hard-hitting rock and tradition Southern folk, will headline Celebration 2014 at Martinsville Speedway on July 3.

Domino, a Roanoke-based horn band making its eighth Celebration appearance, and Superhold, a 1980s cover band from the Roanoke Valley, will round out the evening of musical fun.

The music will begin at 4 p.m., earlier than in past years. Celebration 2014 will kick off at 3 p.m. when the carnival rides open. The night will culminate with the fireworks display at about 10 p.m.

There is no admission charge to Celebration 2014 and the carnival rides are also free. Concession items will be on sale.

The Cadillac Three have spent most of 2014 as the opening act for Eric Church and Jake Owen and recently performed in Las Vegas on stage with Rascal Flatts. They have also made two appearances on the hit TV show "Nashville."

The band's latest single "The South" sold over 10,000 downloads the first day of its release earlier this year and has been drawing rave reviews ever since.

Billboard magazine has described The Cadillac Three as "an exciting new sound on the airwaves of country music." CMT put them on its list of top 10 new artists to discover, saying "[the] shaggy-haired three-piece band have already made tons of friends in country music, as you can see in their video for their loud-and-proud single, 'The South.'"

"We call our sound ‘country fuzz.' It's the best of both of those worlds - a little lap steel, some Southern vocals and story songwriting with big drums. Really, a combination of what we all grew up listening to - Bocephus and Skynyrd - infused with some of what's going on today - a little Eric [Church] and Dierks [Bentley]," said Jaren Johnston, the group's lead vocalist and guitarist. "Being born and raised here (Nashville), we're just excited to do something a little different for Nashville."

Johnston is also an accomplished songwriter, having penned hits for Tim McGraw ("Southern Girl"), Keith Urban ("You Gonna Fly") as well as several others for Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen and Dierks Bentley.

Sponsors for Celebration 2014 include: American Global Logistics, Ameristaff, Applied Felts, Bassett Furniture, Bassett Office Supply, BB&T, Blue Ridge Aquaculture, Brad Parker Insurance Agency - Nationwide Insurance, Carter Bank & Trust, Carter Machinery, Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth, City of Martinsville, Collinsville Printing, Commonwealth Laminating, Cool Knobs and Pulls, Dillon Insurance, First Piedmont, Eastman, Frith Construction, Henry County, Henry County Baptist Association, Henry County Sheriff's Department, Hooker Furniture, Martinsville DuPont Credit Union, Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville Speedway Children's Foundation, Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County, Nelson Automotive, RTI Martinsville, River Community Bank, Shenandoah Furniture, Southwestern Virginia Gas, Stanley Furniture, Steve Martin Trenching, TR Properties, Taco Bell, Tarheel Paper and Supply Company, The Lester Group, Virginia Mirror, West Window and Zenith Logistics.