Round-Up & Happy Canyon Concert entertainment announced

PENDLETON, Ore. – Tickets go on sale Tuesday for the Round-Up & Happy Canyon Concert on Sept. 7 at the Happy Canyon Arena. The headliner for the event is award-winning country music performer Chris Young. The opening act will be the Texas alternative-country band Micky and The Motorcars.

"We're very excited to put together such a great night of entertainment for our concert this year," Happy Canyon Director Michael Corey said. "Chris Young has had a host of number-one songs and Micky and The Motorcars is the one of the biggest draws on the Texas music circuit.  Combined, they will make a great kick-off for Round-Up week."

Round-Up Director Tygh Campbell is also excited – especially about the opening act.

"We're excited to bring more Red Dirt music to Pendleton," he said. "We know Micky and The Motorcars has a large fan base in the Pacific Northwest."

Young has been nominated for the both the male vocalist and single record of the year categories at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards. He won as breakthrough artist of the year at the American Country Awards and was a new artist of the year nominee for the Country Music Association awards in 2011. Also that year he was nominated for a Grammy for his smash hit, "Gettin' You Home."

His third studio album, "Neon," produced a gold record with its first single release, "Tomorrow." As a matter of fact, the last four singles Young has released have all hit number-one on the charts. "Neon" sold almost 73,000 copies in its first week.

Young's career began as a boy in Murfreesboro, Tenn., when he first began to sing on stage.

"I love to sing," he said. "I was the kid in high school who lived and breathed music every moment of every day."

He dropped out of college, where he was a music major, to hit the road full time and has never looked back.

"I knew without a shadow of a doubt that music is what drives me and it was what I had to do," he said.

He's come a long way since the crowded honkytonks of his early years. With three albums under his belt, he's proud to be in the record books as the first artist in 25 years who has had a song hit the country charts twice. "Voices" was first released  in 2008 and hit the made it into the Top 40. When he re-released it about a year later, it soared to number one. The last time that happened was with "On the Other Hand" by Randy Travis – one of Young's musical heroes.

Micky and The Motorcars is a five-piece band that has packed crowds in on the lucrative concert circuit in Texas. Micky is none other than Micky Braun, the younger brother of Willy and Cody Braun of the Austin-based Texas band Reckless Kelly.

The band was formed in Stanley, Idaho and then moved to Austin, Tex. Micky and the Motorcars has released four mainstream albums, the latest is "Naive." Braun collaborated on many of the songs on that album with musicians like his brother, Willy Braun, Randy Rogers, Kevin Welch and bassist Robert Kern.

- Chris Young "Neon" Video

- Chris Young "Gettin' You Home" Video

- Micky and the Motorcars "Careless" Video

Concert tickets are on sale beginning at 8:30 a.m. (PDT) on Tuesday at the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon office on Southwest Court Avenue or by telephone at 800-457-6336. Online ticket sales start at 6:30 a.m. (PDT) Tuesday online at PendletonRoundUp.ticketforce.com.

Bulls and barrels return on Independence Day

PENDLETON – Plans for the second annual PGG Independence Day Bulls and Barrels Extravaganza is are in full swing and this year promises even more fun than the inaugural 2012 celebration. Admission to all events is free, except for the two nights of heart-stopping PBR action.

Still in its infancy, the PGG Independence Day Bulls and Barrels Extravaganza was such a success last year, that it looks to become another long-running tradition. Round-Up and Happy Canyon directors began planning for the second year shortly after the first celebration ended.

"Happy Canyon and the Round-Up are proud to again offer these events to the people of Eastern Oregon and Washington to help celebrate our nation's birthday," Happy Canyon Director Harper Jones said.

PGG was the title sponsor for the event last year, and Public Relations Manager Chelle Hall says the company was happy to return in supporting the Independence Day celebration.

"Pendleton Grain Growers is honored to partner with the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon in sponsoring the second annual PGG Independence Day PBR," Hall said.  "This year promises to be a delightful diversion packed full of family fun with two nights of PGG's finest bunch of mutton busters to the fearless cowboys coming head-to-head with the grittiest of bulls." 

The bulls!

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation circuit of PBR on July 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. is sure to be a sell out as it was last year. In the intimate confines of the Happy Canyon Arena, some of the world's best bull riders will mount up on some of the world's nastiest bulls. With laser lights, driving music and thrills, chills and spills, this bull-riding event is a chance for locals to enjoy a taste of the PBR Classic held during Round-Up week a few months early. Also, on the Fourth of July, when the bull riding is done, an amazing display of fireworks will light the night sky.

The PBR tickets go on sale Friday (March 15) at the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon office on Southwest Court Avenue as well as online at http://pendletonroundup.ticketforce.com. To order tickets by telephone, call the Round-Up office at 800-457-6336.

The barrels!

The Round-Up Grounds will be showcasing the longest barrel racing course in the barrel-racing world to test the stamina of the cowgirls and their horses in this exciting event. Time Onlys (barrel lingo for practice runs) will be on July 3. The ladies will mount up for the actual race on the morning of July 4. The times and exact number of barrel racers will be announced closer to July 4.

All the trimmings!

The all-American traditional Fourth of July fun isn't just about bulls and barrels. The Let 'er Buck Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars is hosting a parade featuring floats, various youth groups and marching bands. The third annual July Fourth Fun Run will give everyone a chance to exercise their freedom to run (or walk). Family activities will be going on all day in Roy Raley Park, next to the Round-Up Grounds. There will also be vendors, live entertainment, and the chance to view the PBR action on the big screen for those who aren't able to get tickets.

More details about the various events will be announced closer to July Fourth.