Billy Childers

HEIDI NEWFIELD W/ BILLY CHILDERS

Thursday September 25, 2008

@ Joe’s Bar in Chicago, IL



BILLY CHILDERS – With a solid year behind him that included winning the Chicago “Next Big Star” competition which earned him an opening spot on Kenny Chesney’s Solider Field show this past summer, a main stage spot at Country Thunder, and more. On this night Billy and his band took another step in going forward, cranked it up a notch, and brought their modern honky-tonk sound to the Joe’s Bar stage as the opener for Heidi Newfield’s Chicago CD release party.



“This one has sort of become our theme song,” stated Childers as the crowd began to filter in and they dove into their set with the title track from their debut album, the up-tempo, rocking, “A Man’s Gotta Do, What A Man’s Gotta Do.” The crowd was tapping along as Billy and the gang bopped around the stage. As the song came to a close, Billy let out a rousing “yeah!!!!” and told the crowd, “Strap on your seatbelts cause we are about to take you on a little ride,” as they pressed forward with their cover of John Fogerty’s “Southern Streamline.” Wasting no time they continued to dive into their set without taking a breath and had the crowd singing along with them as they played the recent Keith Urban hit, “You Look Good In My Shirt,” and followed with another original song, and their first slower paced one of the night, “June 99,” which kicked off the “summer” part of their set.



With the crowd already digging what they were experiencing with Billy’s set he won them over when the drums pounded and they kicked into the feel good song of the summer, Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long.” The crowd screamed the lyrics along with him and began to dance. Continuing their set with another summertime inspired song, Billy brought the crowd down south once again with “Panama,” an upbeat original penned by his guitarist Mike Aquino.



“So just across town tonight one of my favorite bands of all time is playing and they should be going on stage right about now, so what we are gonna do is put this song in stereo around the city of Chicago right now,” stated Billy as the band kicked into the Eagles recent mainstream hit “How Long.” By this time the venue had filled up and the crowd was singing along with the familiar songs and dancing right along with the originals as Billy Childers was delivering one of his most solid sets yet. He slowed things down one last time in his set with an original song, “Lonely Side of Love,” and got the crowd right back in the palm of his hand with his version of Chesney’s “Beer In Mexico.” He closed the set with his usual set closer “Cowboy Up,” a song he explains is about getting back up with everything is stacked against you and just as they did all summer long, the crowd shouted back the simple lyric of “Cowboy Up” to Billy and the gang as the bridge came along on the upbeat song.

- Today's Country Magizine

Nashville, TN (July 21, 2008) – Two artists currently utilizing STAR COUNTRY MEDIA services are enjoying the aftermath from “The Next Big Star”! Named after one of Kenny Chesney’s previous hits, thirty-three (33) Hard Rock Café locations across the country have been hosting “The Next Big Star” competitions in conjunction with Kenny’s current Poets & Pirates tour. Local radio stations affiliated with the contest invited interested acts to submit a career biography, promotional photos, a live performance video, and/or audio for one original song. Four finalists from each city are then chosen to compete in front of a panel of judges and a live audience at the local Hard Rock Café. The winner named from each city wins the opportunity to open for the reigning Country Music Association (CMA) and Academy of Country Music (ACM) Entertainer of the Year!

On July 19, BILLY CHILDERS was one of the four finalists to compete at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Chicago, Illinois! His set included “A Man’s Gotta Do… What a Man’s Gotta Do” (his current single), “Southern Streamline,” “June 99,” and “Cowboy Up.” Billy was the first to take the stage first at the Hard Rock Café and later that evening was named the WINNER for Chicago’s “The Next Big Star”! His prize included the opportunity to open for Kenny Chesney, playing for an estimated 50,000-60,000 fans who turned out to Soldier’s Field for the July 20 Poets & Pirates concert that also included Gary Allan, Luke Bryan, LeAnn Rimes, and Keith Urban - Chicago Music Guide

BILLY CHILDERS To Play Country Thunder USA Festival!
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Twin Lakes, WI. (Top40 Charts/ BILLY CHILDERS Official Website) - BILLY CHILDERS is scheduled to perform THREE different sets Country Thunder USA festival in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin!! First, he'll take the Main Stage at 12:30pm (Central time)! Billy will move over to the Miller Lite Stage in the evening, playing at 6:30pm AND 8pm - sharing the bill with Luke Bryan, Sara Evans, Danielle Peck, Kellie Pickler, and Jessica Simpson. Tickets for Country Thunder, Wisconsin are available at www.countrythunder.com.
Billy's schedule continues to fill up with shows booked through the end of this year! Highlights include joining Sony BMG recording artists Jypsi on the Q98.5 Stage at the On the Waterfront Festival in Rockford, Illinois on August 29.

October 11 and 12 will mark Billy's 3rd consecutive year playing the Chicago Country Music Festival, continuing his relationship with corporate sponsor Best Buy! Later in the year, it's off to Las Vegas to open the first three nights - December 4, 5, and 6 - of the National Finals Rodeo at South Point Casino, which serves as the host hotel for the official awards ceremonies for this event.

Last month, Billy took home the title of Kenny Chesney's "The Next Big Star" in Chicago! Upwards of 400 fans filled the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Chicago, Illinois, on Friday, June 20, to cheer on Billy and three other regional finalists. Billy was up first and his energetic set included "A Man's Gotta Do... What a Man's Gotta Do," "June 99," and "Cowboy Up" - all from his debut release, A Man's Gotta Do... What a Man's Gotta Do! The following afternoon - also the first official day of Summertime - Billy kicked off the Poets and Pirates show at Soldier Field, sharing the stage with an all-star artist lineup: Luke Bryan, Gary Allan, LeAnn Rimes, Keith Urban, and of course, the man who made it all possible: Kenny Chesney! Billy is grateful to Kenny for creating this new and unique opportunity for unsigned artists across the country to be heard. With his win, Billy also advances to the national competition to compete for the Grand Prize. The package includes the opportunity to open for Kenny Chesney on the THREE final dates of his Poets and Pirates Tour, a $25,000 cash prize, and an audition for record company executives at Sony BMG Music!

Billy's debut album is titled A Man's Gotta Do...What a Man's Gotta Do. He recorded the album in Nashville at The Grotto, the studio owned by Rodney Good and his wife, singer/songwriter Jamie O'Neal ("There Is No Arizona," "When I Think About Angels"). Rodney co-produced A Man's Gotta Do... What a Man's Gotta Do, and one of the highlights on the album is "This Night," a romantic ballad featuring a guest performance by Jamie

- Top-40 Radio