CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Grammy nominated and CMA award-winning country musician Jo Dee Messina will headline the 2013 Rivers & Spires Festival.

Messina will take the Public Square stage at 7 p.m. as the main event on Saturday, April 20, in a concert that is free and open to the public, according to a news release Monday from Robin Burton with the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council.

Messina’s hits include “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” “Bye Bye,” “I’m Alright,” “Stand Beside Me” and “Bring On The Rain.”

“We are very excited to welcome Jo Dee Messina to Clarksville and have her headline the Festival this year,” said Doug Barber, festival director, in the news release. “Each year the caliber of artists we bring to the festival is more impressive, and we think booking Jo Dee to perform is proof of that.”

Previous Rivers & Spires headliners have included Little Big Town, Clint Black, Charlie Daniels, John Michael Montgomery, Lonestar, Lee Greenwood and Diamond Rio.

“This year we also have a wide variety of musicians taking our other stages, and the festival staff encourages everyone to check out our new website to see who is being added to the lineup,” Barber said.

About Messina
Massachusetts-born Messina was first attracted to country music by acts such as Alabama, Hank Jr., Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. At 19, she headed to Nashville, where she entered talent contests and got a regular gig on Nashville’s “Live at Libby’s” radio show, according to the release.

Producer Byron Gallimore heard her and introduced her to another then unknown newcomer named Tim McGraw. After struggling to find a label to call home, she had a chance meeting with a Curb Records executive and got a record deal on the spot, the release said. Since then, McGraw has produced some of Messina’s biggest hits and many have also been written by award-winning songwriter/musician Phil Vassar.

Messina also is a dedicated runner, wife and mother.

“On the road, I’ll get up and run, and since my steel player is training with me we run together,” said Messina in a prepared release. “Then I go to the gym and lift weights, have lunch, do the sound check and then my meet and greet, do the show and get to bed as early as I can. No staying up late partying!”

About the festival
The Rivers & Spires Festival will be April 18-20 in downtown Clarksville. Admission is free and open to the public.

A list of activities and entertainment is available on the newly redesigned festival website, www.riversandspires.com. Some of the popular events include BrewFest, Family Fun Zone and Teen Zone. More announcements will be made soon, as new events and entertainment are finalized, the release said.

Applications are available online now for bands, artists, businesses, vendors and those who wish to participate in the festival.

Booths are still available, as well as sponsorships. To participate as a vendor or sponsor, contact festival director Doug Barber at 931-245-4344 or dbarber@clarksville.tn.us.