Just five minutes away from the ALABAMA Fan Club and Museum, country musicians and Fort Payne natives ALABAMA will return to the city’s fairgrounds once more.
The city of Fort Payne will host its first June Jam music concert in 26 years. ALABAMA will headline the event, renewing a tradition held from 1982 to 1997. In fact, ALABAMA members Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry were who got the event back off the ground again.
The event is Saturday, June 3rd from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the DeKalb VFW Fairgrounds. This year’s June Jam will accommodate 10,000 visitors, and DeKalb Tourism anticipates the event to sell out.
The festival has a long line of performers including Country Music Hall of Famers Randy Travis and the Oak Ridge Boys, America’s Got Talent finalists Chapel Hart, Jake Owen, Neal McCoy and country supergroup The Frontmen.
John Dersham is the president of DeKalb Tourism. He said this week’s June Jam will positively impact DeKalb County’s growing tourism industry.
“Number one, the music is so good. In addition, people when they’re visiting here and they go to Fan Appreciation Week, there’s in between times,” he said. “Plenty of time for them to go to Little River Canyon National Preserve and DeSoto State Park. We’ve got major waterfalls. People are making this an annual vacation. We’re getting return visitors for this.”
The event is part of an annual tradition for Fort Payne, its ALABAMA Fan Appreciation Week. Among the events this week are a brunch for the Jeff & Lisa Cook Foundation today at 11 a.m., a songwriters showcase tonight at 7 p.m. and a public celebration of the life of late ALABAMA co-founder Jeff Cook tomorrow at noon. All proceeds will go to local charities offering disaster relief to Alabamians.
The city of Fort Payne has had annual visitors since it began its ALABAMA Fan Appreciation Week, which began in 1997 after the last June Jam. Fan Appreciation Week encompassed three to four days of ALABAMA-themed events, concerts and fundraisers that culminated in a concert for paying fans. When fans were not attending these events, Dersham said they would hike, bike, zipline or simply tour the area. He expects June Jam to reinforce this process.
“Those fans love the group,” he said. “When they’re coming to DeKalb County, and there’s a family of four paying maybe $200 for a hotel room, and then they’re also spending money on attractions, food [and] gas. It comes out to about $636 a day that they are spending just in this market. And that’s all money coming from the outside.”
All tickets are sold exclusively through TicketMaster. This event has three tiered ticket options with the lowest ticket purchase at $50. However, most tickets at this point have sold out. There are nearby parking lots and shuttling for people who park away from the event. There is additional parking at the event itself.
More information can be found at www.visitlookoutmountain.com and by visiting the ALABAMA Fan Club and Museum’s website or Facebook page.