Bayou Country Superfest To Begin Saturday In La.

A horn section backs up country singer Jerrod Niemann this weekend in south Louisiana’s Bayou Country Superfest, a two-day festival that includes Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean, Sara Evans and others.

“We’re going to be in an area with a history of jazz and horns,” said Niemann, who performs Saturday, along with Little Big Town, Eric Church, Underwood and Urban. “I can’t think of another place I’d like to take a horn section.”

Photo: Corbey R. Dorsey

Viaero Event Center, Kearney, Neb.

This will be the third annual Superfest held at Tiger Stadium on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge, La.

Though fairly new, the festival is one of the state’s largest entertainment events outside New Orleans, drawing some 75,000 country music fans from around the U.S. and Canada the past two years.

Niemann, whose hits include “Lover, Lover” and “What Do You Want”, said the horns will back him when he performs his newly-released single, “Shinin’ On Me.”

Singer Joe Nichols, whose hits include “Brokenheartsville,” ‘‘Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” and “Gimmie That Girl”, says Superfest is going to be like playing at “the world’s largest back porch party.”

The festival includes tailgating with beer, food and music before the concert even starts, said producer Quint Davis, who also produces the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

“It’s going to be a great show to be a part of,” said Nichols, an Arkansas native who now lives in Tyler, Texas, with his wife, Heather, and 13-year-old daughter, Ashelyn. Nichols said his family just welcomed a baby daughter, Dylan River, one month ago. Nichols said he hasn’t had much sleep since the baby’s arrival but he wasn’t letting that stop him from the opportunity to perform at Superfest.

“I heard it was fairly new, but I heard it was big,” Nichols said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity.”

Nichols kicks off Sunday’s lineup, which also includes Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean, Sara Evans and Dierks Bentley.

Photo: James P. Hendershot

Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Md.

“I’m going to be one of the happiest country fans out there,” said Niemann, who said he plans to catch every act in addition to performing.

Niemann was raised in southwest Kansas and now lives in Nashville, Tenn. He said he can’t wait to “soak up the moment” of performing at Tiger Stadium.

Niemann is wrapping up a yet-to-be-named album that will include “Shinin’ On Me.” The new album dabbles in Dixieland-style music and the use of horns. It is due out later this summer. He is currently on the tail end of a six-month tour with Miranda Lambert that started in January.

Nichols said his next venture may be a lullaby album, a tribute to his newborn.

“My wife’s been pressuring me to do it for years,” he said. “Now seems like a good time to do it.”