‘American Idol’ winner Lee DeWyze among noteworthy artists to perform in Marshfield

By Adam Hocking

Editor

MARSHFIELD — The Vox Concert Series has landed some big-name performers over the years. Lee DeWyze, “American Idol” winner, will soon be added to that list. DeWyze won “American Idol’s” ninth season in 2010 and recently wrote the tune “Blackbird Song” for the wildly popular AMC show “The Walking Dead.” This summer he will perform for Vox audiences on July 8 at Wildwood Station Pavilion.

Vox Founder and President Brian Sauer said that DeWyze, along with artist Emerson Hart from the band Tonic and a few others, would be one of the most high-profile performers the concert series has ever booked.

“As people come and support musicians, we will continue to ratchet up the caliber,” Sauer said. “I hope people come to see Lee not just because he was on ‘American Idol’ but because he’s a very talented musician.”

Sauer described DeWyze’s sound as “newgrass,” a mixture of styles combining Americana and bluegrass.

“It’s a hodgepodge of a variety of different sounds, but when they come together they just make a really cool, unique, distinct style of music, and that’s what I want people to come and see and hear because he’s just a great musician, bottom line,” Sauer said.

Throughout the summer Vox will stage more shows than in past years at Wildwood but will still hold a handful of performances at Columbia Park. The concerts at Columbia Park are free to attend.

Vox will have a loaded schedule this summer with 17 events planned from May 21 through September 3. Among that packed schedule will be a trio of shows from July 16-18 timed to complement Small Town Baseball, which will bring teams from small communities around the Midwest to compete in their version of the “World Series.”

“We have people coming in from out of town. We want to be able to give them something to do between games,” Sauer said.

Among the artists that will come to Marshfield during this three-day Vox Music Weekend will be Chuck Cannon, who has written hugely popular songs like “I Love The Way You Love Me,” which was performed by John Michael Montgomery, and “How Do You Like Me Now” and “American Soldier,” both performed by Toby Keith. In addition to songwriting, Cannon is also a performer and will entertain for Vox on July 17.

Sauer said that Vox is coming up on its 300th concert in May and that average attendance for his shows is around 100 fans per event. More information on the Vox Concert Series is available at voxconcertseries.com.