The Heart of Texas Country Music Association will celebrate its 21st Anniversary on Friday and Saturday, March 19th and 20th, and Friday and Saturday, March 26th and 27th at the Ed Davenport Civic Center in Brady.

The festivities will include a Welcome Party and Dance on the Friday nights, an afternoon Matinee Concert at 1:00 PM on the Saturdays followed by the Dinner and Dance on Saturday night beginning at 7:00 PM.

Only 2,400 tickets will be sold for the festivities. Tickets are now on sale by calling (325) 597-3491.

The entertainment this year will be full of Traditional Country Music legends including Johnny Rodriguez, Moe Bandy and the Americana Band, Leona Williams, Amber Digby, Darrell & Mona McCall, Jake Hooker and the Outsiders, Dottsy, Justin Trevino, Tony Booth, Curtis Potter, Frankie Miller, Kimberly Murray, Rance Norton and Landon Dodd.

The Welcome Party and Dance on Friday night, March 19 and March 16, will feature Jake Hooker and the Outsiders, Tony Booth and Amber Digby. The dances will be from 8:00 PM until Midnight and admission is $15.00 per person and BYOB.

The Saturday Matinee Concerts will feature Tony Booth, Curtis Potter, Amber Digby, Kimberly Murray, Leona Williams, Frankie Miller, Darrell & Mona McCall, Rance Norton and Justin Trevino. Moe Bandy and Rance Norton will appear on the March 20 events and Johnny Rodriguez, Dottsy and Landon Dodd will be included on the March 27 events. Admission to the concert is $20.00 per person. The concert will be held from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM.

The Saturday Night Dinner and Dance will begin with a bar b que meal at 7:00 PM and a dance will follow from 8:00 PM until Midnight. Admission is $20.00 and it is BYOB.

The Heart of Texas Country Music Museum will have special hours during the 21 Anniversary Celebration. The museum will be open Thursday from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM, Friday from 12:00 PM until 5:00 PM, Saturday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Several special guests will be at the museum during some of these times. The museum is located at 1701 South Bridge in Brady. The Heart of Texas Country Music Association grew from the Hillbilly Hits Fan Club, a group established to promote the Hillbilly Hits Radio show from KNEL FM 95.3 in Brady. The traditional Country Music radio show is hosted by Tracy Pitcox and features requests and interviews with the legendary figures of the industry including George Jones, Willie Nelson, Kitty Wells, Ray Price, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. The association, which boasts 950 members, promotes the Mason and Llano Country Opry shows at the Odeon and Lantex Theaters. The organization has sponsored many entertainers at those venues including Ray Price, Gene Watson, Kitty Wells, the Bellamy Brothers, Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush, Ferlin Husky, John Conlee, Freddie Hart, the Geezinslaws and Jean Shepard among others.

The Heart of Texas Country Music Museum located in Brady, opened in August of 2000. The museum contains items from over seventy five country music entertainers including Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Hank Thompson and even Jim Reeves’ 1956 tour bus and Ferlin Husky’s 1975 Cadillac.

The organization, Heart of Texas Records, was formed in 2003, giving many of the established artists an outlet to record and promote their music. Leona Williams, Ferlin Husky, Floyd Tillman, Hank Thompson, Joe Paul Nichols, Johnny Bush, Curtis Potter, Darrell McCall, Pretty Miss Norma Jean, Big Bill Lister, Justin Trevino, Amber Digby, Tony Booth, Frankie Miller, Kimberly Murray and Landon Dodd are all currently under the Heart of Texas Records banner.

"We are excited about celebrating our 21 Anniversary," Tracy Pitcox said. "We have enjoyed a great relationship with many of our KNEL listeners. Our group grew from a small core of listeners to a 950 member organization that promotes Traditional Country Music throughout our state."

For more information about the Heart of Texas Country Music Association, log on to www.heartoftexascountry.com.

Moe Bandy

Johnny Rodriquez