My East Ky

For you country fans Merle Haggard will be coming to the East Ky Expo center on Friday August 15th. Ticket master is having a pre sale on Thursday June 26th 10am to 10pm with special code: MERLE08

Prices range from $31.50 to $51.50

For you rock of love fans Poison with Bret Michaels is coming to the East Ky Expo Center on July 20 with special guests Dokken and Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) will be joining them for most of the tour dates. Tickets go on sale May 2nd @ 10:00am est.

Price range $23.50 thru $47.50

For you die hard Poison fans there are also VIP packages available. Price range $200.00 - $500.00

Here are a list of events and activities going on this year.

(Source Hillbilly days.com)

Live Entertainment: (Bands)

Thursday April 17th:

• 1:00 to 1:45 Drifters Melody
• 1:45 to 2:15 Tierra Fonner
• 2:15 to 2:45 Jessie
• 2:45 to 3:15 3rd Base
• 3:15 to 4:00 Full House Band
• 4:00 to 4:30 Break
• 4:30 to 5:00 William King
• 5:00 to 5:30 Break
• 5:30 to 6:00 Will and Rachel Hays
• 6:00 to 6:30 Break
• 6:30 to 7:30 Poaceous
• 7:30 to 8:30 Southern Badlands
• 8:30 to 9:00 Break
• 9:00 to 10:00 Downtrend

Friday, April 18

• 1:00 to 1:30 Break
• 1:30 to 2:00 Robbin Little
• 2:00 to 2:30 Holly Rice
• 2:30 to 3:30 Whitehouse
• 3:30 to 4:00 Break
• 4:00 to 5:00 Southern Steel
• 5:00 to 6:00 Lonnie & Andrews Perkins
• 6:00 to 9:00 Thrillious Competition (dance competition)
• 9:00 to 10:00 X-plicit

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s #88 car will be on show. A corn hole tournament will also be played on all 3 days with prize money awarded. And of course the parade will be held on Saturday April 19th @ 2:00 p.m. For more info visit the official Hillbilly days website here.

To be honest it seems more of the same. I have only been to hillbilly days a couple of times and will not miss it if I don’t go back. All these festivals ( Apple days, Hillbilly days, Jenny Wiley festival) are essentially the same, same carnival rides, same food vendors, same merchandise vendors. Plus with the new parking rules this year at Hillbilly days where is everybody going to park?

This year at hillbilly days ( April 19th) were going back into time with artists Brian Howe (Former lead singer of Bad Company), Molly Hatchet & BlackFoot, Should be a redneck shooter up good time!

FYI Brain Howe is not the lead singer of bad Company anymore but just uses the name to boost ticket sales. He could not make it own his own (had a solo album flop “Tangled in blue”) so we are getting first class there.

Molly Hatchet, to be honest I not heard any of there stuff except one song “Flirtin’ with disaster”.You know

“Im travelin down the road,
Im flirtin with disaster.
Ive got the pedal to the floor,
My life is running faster.
Im out of money, Im out of hope,
It looks like self destruction. ”

and could not be more burned out on it. I remember back a few years ago it was a song on Nascar 98 (PS2) I believe and got so sick of it, and still sick of it to this day. Even today when I hear it on John boy and Billy I turn the radio off. I turn it off because it’s the only station I am able to pick up when I am on the road.

And then there’s Blackfoot…again the only song I know of them is that train song. Sorry that’s all I feel like typing on them.

Way to go expo center (more on them later) or whoever booked these talents. But you know what they say, one mans garbage is another treasure, and I’m sure they are going to be plenty drunk shirtless (or drunk peeps with wife beaters on) reliving the the eighties, partying away to this concert. Hillbilly Days never disappoints!

I will say that Hillbilly days supports a great cause, the Shiners Hospital. I don’t know the specifics on how or much of the funds they receive (hopefully a lot) but I can say the Shiners Hospital is top of the line in children’s health care, specifically the one in Lexington. When my little girl had to go there I was really impressed with the facility, my first thought was this is the way a hospital should be. If you want to help out the Shriners Hospital but don’t want to or can’t go to hillbilly days you can donate via there website @ Shrinershq.org  and click on donate. They probably receive more funds percentage wise this way then thru hillbilly days.