Sawyer Brown at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center -- February 24.
Saturday, February 24, 8 p.m.
Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA
The winners of a Country Music Association Award, three CMT Country Music Awards, and an Academy of Country Music Award citation for Vocal Group of the Year, the chart-topping touring artists of Sawyer Brown headline a February 24 concert at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, the group's 43 years of performance boasting such career highlights as a Star Search championship win and three number-one singles on the Billboard Hot County Songs chart.
Currently composed of founding members Mark Miller (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards and vocals), and Joe "Curly" Smyth (drums) alongside guitarist Shayne Hill, Sawyer Brown originated in Apopka, Florida, in 1981 with additional bandmates Bobby Randall (lead guitar and vocals) and Jim Scholten (bass guitar). The group's members were originally part of country pop singer Don King's road band, and after King stopped touring, the other musicians decided to stay together. Playing up to five sets a night six days a week, Sawyer Brown auditioned for TV's competition series Star Search in 1983, and eventually won the grand prize of $100,000 and a recording contract. The musicians consequently signed with Capitol Records and scored a top-20 hit with their first single "Leona" in 1984, with that success followed by Sawyer Brown's first chart-topping smash "Step That Step" the next year. By 1990, with additional top-10 singles including “Used to Blue,” “Betty's Bein' Bad,” and “This Missin' You Heart of Mine,” Sawyer Brown had accumulated enough hits for a Greatest Hits package, and were wildly successful on the touring circuit.
To date, Sawyer Brown's discography is composed of 18 studio albums, one live album, and five compilation albums, with three of their recordings certified gold by the RIAA: 1992's The Dirt Road, 1993's Outskirts of Town, and 1995's Greatest Hits 1990-1995. Meanwhile, 1989's The Boys Are Back is certified platinum by Music Canada, with the group's top-10 hits on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart including their self-titled 1982 debut, 1985's Shakin', 1986's Out Goin' Cattin', 1995's This Thing Called Wantin' & Havin' It All, 1997's Six Days on the Road, and 1999's Drive Me Wild. Sawyer Brown has also released 60 singles, of which 51 have charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 1984 and 2005. Three of their singles have topped this chart – "Step That Step" in 1985, "Some Girls Do" in 1992, and "Thank God for You" in 1993 – while 16 additional singles have reached the top 10.
Sawyer Brown plays their Event Center engagement on February 24, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event is $30-60, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)328-8000 and visiting RhythmCityCasino.com.
