An All-Star cast of motorsports and entertainment talent will descend on North Wilkesboro Speedway May 19-21, thrilling fans in an unrivaled weekend of NASCAR All-Star Race excitement. Midland, a GRAMMY Award-nominated country music group, will join multi-Platinum certified country singer and songwriter Chase Rice in performing for fans at North Wilkesboro’s All-Star Friday presented by Raymer Oil Company – which owns a number of IGA Marketplace grocery stores and is the Official Grocery Store of North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Nominated for a GRAMMY and a CMT Music Award for their hit song, “Drinkin’ Problem,” Midland will rock the Wilkesboro mountains with a performance featuring songs from albums including “On The Rocks” and “The Last Resort: Greetings From,” as well as the Texas-based band’s chart-topping album, “Let It Roll.”
In addition to “Drinkin’ Problem,” Midland has four singles featured on Billboard’s Top Country Songs chart: "Burn Out", "Make a Little", "Mr. Lonely," and "Cheatin' Songs."
“We are honored to be even a small part of this celebrated all-star event,” said Cameron Duddy, Midland’s bass guitarist. “We don’t race cars (legally) but we sure do enjoy watching the best of the best lay it all on the line for the greatest fans in the world: NASCAR fans!”
Chase Rice – set to release his eagerly anticipated album I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell on Feb. 10 – is deeply rooted in North Carolina. A graduate of A.C. Reynolds High in Asheville, Rice played football at the University of North Carolina and won NASCAR Cup Series championships as a pit crew member at Hendrick Motorsports, however his star-studded career as a singer and songwriter trumps his accomplishments on the gridiron and on pit road.
One of Country music’s rare Diamond-certified songwriters (as a co-writer on Florida-Georgia Line’s genre-changing hit “Cruise”), Rice topped the charts with his own Triple-Platinum hit “Eyes On You” in 2019, one in a series of hits that he will perform alongside brand new music off the forthcoming album during his one-hour set at North Wilkesboro.
“As a kid who was born in Daytona and grew up not far from Charlotte, racing has been in my life for as long as I can remember,” reflects Rice. “I’m a big fan of NASCAR and always love spending a day at the track, so I can’t wait to get out there for All-Star Race Weekend and bring this new music to the fans.”
Raymer Oil Company’s sponsorship of All-Star Friday continues a relationship with North Wilkesboro Speedway, dating back to the track’s reopening last year.
A full race weekend schedule will be revealed at a later date.
TICKETS:
A limited number of tickets will be available Feb. 22 for Saturday, May 20, which features a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in addition to NASCAR All-Star Race qualifying. Single-day tickets for Friday, May 19, will also be on sale Feb. 22, and include the Midland and Chase Rice concerts, as well as practice sessions for the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series – which mark NASCAR’s first race-weekend action on the iconic five-eighths-mile oval since 1996. Single-day tickets will not be available for the NASCAR All-Star Race.
MORE INFO:
Fans can obtain the latest news and information surrounding NASCAR All-Star Race week by following North Wilkesboro Speedway on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or by visiting www.NorthWilkesboroSpeedway.com.
ABOUT MIDLAND:
Hailing from Dripping Springs, TX lead vocalist Mark Wystrach fronts Midland’s rich sound that is rounded out with lead guitarist/ vocalist Jess Carson and bass player/ vocalist Cameron Duddy. Rooted in tradition in both sound and style, the trio initially garnered attention playing clubs in the region. Their critically-acclaimed sophomore album LET IT ROLL (Big Machine Records) earned the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Top Country Album Sales chart upon release,receiving praise from outlets such as Rolling Stone, Variety, NPR and Entertainment Weekly among others. Wystrach, Carson and Duddy all played an integral role in writing the 14-track album with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne as a follow-up to the critically acclaimed, GOLD-certified debut album, ON THE ROCKS (Big Machine Records). Launching in 2017 with rave reviews, ON THE ROCKS was declared “the year’s best Country album” by Washington Post. Their 2x Platinum-certified chart-topping debut “Drinkin’ Problem,” which offers an intentional nod to Country music reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s, earned the band their first GRAMMY® Awards nominations for Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The trio was also named New Vocal Group of the Year at the 2018 ACM Awards and are bringing listeners a resurgence of their thick harmonies, sad melodies, tart lyrics and steel guitar with their latest album THE LAST RESORT: GREETINGS FROM (Big Machine Records). Growing from bar band to an in-demand headliner the trio has spent the past few years on the road selling out headline tours from coast to coast as well as getting to support some of Country music’s biggest stars like George Strait, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw and Little Big Town. The band is currently on the road for their headlining THE LAST RESORT TOUR.
ABOUT CHASE RICE:
With nearly 2.4 million albums sold and over 2.4 billion total streams, plus a legion of passionate fans at his high-energy concerts across the globe, Chase Rice has established himself as a powerful force in Nashville and beyond. With the forthcoming album I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell crafted in his rural Tennessee home-turned-studio, his sound continues to evolve to reflect the realities of his life, as evidenced by recent releases “Bench Seat,” “Way Down Yonder,” “I Hate Cowboys” and “Key West & Colorado.” The new music serves as a follow up to his three-part project, The Album, featuring his latest Platinum-certified No. 1 hit, “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen. (feat. Florida Georgia Line)” and Platinum-certified Top 10 hit “Lonely If You Are.” This is the same gravelly-voiced Chase Rice fans first fell in love with years ago – but better, freer; unbeholden and uninhibited. The new music builds upon the success of his sophomore album, Lambs & Lions, which featured the triple-Platinum, two-week chart topper “Eyes On You” – Rice’s first No. 1 as an artist and the most-streamed song of his career. Lambs & Lions followed Ignite the Night, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums and No. 3 on the all-genre chart, producing a pair of Top 5 hits; “Gonna Wanna Tonight” and Platinum-certified “Ready Set Roll.” In addition to guesting on sold out arena tours with Kane Brown and Jason Aldean plus stadium shows with Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks, Rice is set to get back on the road this spring in support of the new music. For more information, visit www.ChaseRice.com and follow Rice on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok @ChaseRiceMusic and on Instagram @ChaseRice.