Country Music Star Among Those Set To Perform at Free Event
RISON - GRAMMY and Academy of Country Musicnominated, multi-platinum artist David Nail will headline this Saturday's Rison in the Fall Festival, Oct. 7, in downtown Rison.
Nail will close out an evening of free performances at 8 p.m. on the Rison Up Rison stage following the Cleveland County Community Theater, Chad Marshall Band and Midnight South. The festival will also feature more than 40 vendors, food trucks and activities.
"We are so excited to welcome David Nail to Rison this weekend," said Douglas Boultinghouse, organizer of the festival. Nail is excited to kick off fall and play the show here in Rison as it marks a return to the Natural State.
Hailing from Kennett, Missouri, just across the Arkansas line, Nail attended Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and has connections throughout the state.
"I've been fortunate to play some really big places, some football stadiums, and I've been fortunate enough to play some really small venues and towns," Nail said. "I don't know if it's because it reminds me of where I grew up, and how I grew up, but I always enjoy the smaller venues and the smaller events just because I feel like it's a lot more personal." Nail said he gets an idea of where he is playing, and who he is playing for at those events, which is why he is looking forward to Rison in the Fall.
"Anytime someone invites you to play, it's an honor and a privilege, and something we don't take lightly," he said.
"I can assure you, we're going to put on the best show, the show we'd put on if we were playing Madison Square Garden, or if we're playing Rison, Arkansas," he said. "It's going to be the same show and have the same energy." Nail is well-respected up and down Music Row, having topped the charts twice with the No. 1 songs "Let It Rain" and "Whatever She's Got," plus entering the top 10 with the hit "Red Light." Some might even call him a "tour de force" as his songs pull no punches in evoking the demons with which he has wrestled through much of his life.
The singer/songwriter's early releases, "I'm About To Come Alive," "The Sound Of A Million Dreams," "I'm A Fire" and "Fighter," ignited his reputation as an innovator and creative risk-taker yet left Nail feeling restless.
This led to the departure of the only record company home he'd ever known, MCA Nashville, where he'd formed friendships that endure even now.
Through dealing with his own journey of mental illness and the feeling of needing to "rebel against what people expect you to be," Nail began making his most "organic" work to date, David Nail & The Well Ravens, with Jason Hall and Andrew Petroff.
That project liberated Nail and propelled him into his next adventure. Writing solo for the next few months led to his debut solo independent EP "Oh, Mother," a reflective piece of work.
Of the title track, Rolling Stone noted that "the song creeps in like a sunrise - quiet, restrained cello and keys are the only underpinning for Nail's powerful vocals at first. But then it slowly builds to something more massive and majestic." That release was followed by Bootheel 2020 and Bootheel 2021, projects dedicated to the singer/songwriter's hometown in the "bootheel" of Missouri.
This summer he released his critically-acclaimed EP "Best of Me," Nail plans on releasing more music before the year ends, some of which he will perform at Rison in the Fall, leaving behind any self-imposed restrictions.
"My philosophy has always been, I just hope to have a good enough year that I can have a next year while staying as true to myself as I possibly can," Nail said.
His visit to Rison in the Fall, will also include a career first for him, judging the Rison Paws for a Cause dog pageant, which benefits the local animal rescue.
"I'm looking forward to getting there," he said.
Fans attending the shows should bring their lawn chairs to set up for the free concerts.
The entertainment schedule for the Rise Up Rison stage is as follows:
3:30 p.m. - Cleveland County Community Theater Talent Showcase
5 p.m. - Delta Blues Trio Chad Marshall Band
6:30 p.m. - Country Rock Band Midnight South
8 p.m. - David Nail