Sawyer Brown to perform April 27 at East Grand Forks Civic Center

Feb. 26—EAST GRAND FORKS — Sawyer Brown, a renowned country music band, will be performing in concert April 27 at the East Grand Forks Civic Center as part of the band's 40th Anniversary Tour, according to Justin LaRocque, event organizer.

Doors open at 6:45 p.m. The event will open with acoustic sets by "Love & Theft" and Trent Tomlinson at 7:30 p.m.; Sawyer Brown will take the stage at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets for the all-ages show are available at

https://forksdeals.bigdealsmedia.net/category/4977/hot-valley-nights-spring-thaw

. All tickets are general admission. Floor tickets (standing room only) are $40 and bleacher seats are $30. Handicapped seating will be available, but limited. On the show date, walk-up ticket prices will increase to $45 for floor tickets and $35 for bleacher seating.

The concert, dubbed Happy Harry's Hot Valley Nights Spring Thaw, is the first of its kind to be held at the Civic Center since May 1978, when the band Rush performed there.

"This April 27th, we're stoked to be bringing back live music to the East Grand Forks Civic Center, and what better band to do it than Sawyer Brown and their 40th Anniversary Tour," LaRocque said in an email to the Herald.

With a concert that features the band's hits, including "Some Girls Do," "Thank God for You," "This Time" and "The Walk," LaRocque said, "it's sure to be a great night of country classics."

The East Grand Forks concert is among 33 scheduled dates that Sawyer Brown is playing in venues throughout the United States.

"It feels good to be able to continue to provide experiences for people in the Greater Grand Forks area," said LaRocque, who's been a steady organizer of the Happy Harry's Hot Valley Nights events held annually in August.

"Continuously, you hear people complaining about how there's never anything to do in town, so trying to add to the entertainment landscape and expanding to test smaller venues that have previously not been utilized for things like this, is a part of what makes promoting and organizing so cool," he said.

"Hopefully, this concert goes amazing and it's just the start of another mid-level venue that can provide a more economical concert- and event-going experience for our community."

This November, if East Grand Forks voters approve the sales tax increase, then several million dollars' worth of maintenance and repair projects in this arena can go forward.

"With the need for a facility upgrade, we're hoping to show that the venue can be used in a multifaceted way," LaRocque said.

In 1983, Sawyer Brown won the grand prize, $100,000, on the former television show "Star Search" and, in 1984, was signed to a major label deal with Capitol Records.

The band was founded in 1981 in Kokomo, Indiana, by Mark Miller, lead vocals, rhythm guitar and the band's main songwriter, and four other members. It was named the 1996 Academy of Country Music Vocal Group of the Year.

The group released 18 studio albums and one live album, and has charted more than 50 times on the Hot Country Songs Chart, including three No. 1 singles: "Step That Step," "Some Girls Do" and "Thank God for You." Other hits include "Heart Don't Fall Now," "Betty's Bein' Bad," "The Race is On" and "When Love Comes Callin'".

Their sound is largely defined by country pop and rock music influences, music reviewers say.

Originally, the band chose the name Savanna, but another band with a similar name emerged. The members met with their manager in Nashville and, opening the phone book in search of inspiration, spotted the name Sawyer Brown Road, a nearby thoroughfare — hence, the name Sawyer Brown was chosen.