Panczak to headline Phillips County Fair

When the flood lights click on this Friday night at the Phillips County Fair, rising country music superstar Trevor Panczak and the Rough Stock Band will grace the stage playing original songs in good time fashion.

"We are going to play some traditional country music and have fun doing it," said Pankzak. "We like to entertain people and if I can make them laugh, and maybe even make them cry, with my music then that is a job well done. Hopefully we will be able to touch some people with our music and make some new friends in Phillips County. "

Panczak has years of playing country music under his belt and has been at it since the age of 14 when he decided to follow in his father's footsteps.

"My dad was a heavy influence on me and he was one on my heroes," said Panczak. "Whatever he did, I did. He was a farmer and I wanted to be a farmer. He played the guitar and I wanted to play the guitar."

Panczak started playing music with his late father, Johnny Panczak, while the two also worked the family farm in Magrath, Alberta, Canada. Before picking up the guitar and joining his father's band, Panczak started his foray into music with piano lessons.

"That didn't really tickle my fancy," admitted Panczak. "So I latched on to the guitar and my dad wrote out a bunch of cords for me to learn. I learned everything he knew and then we started to learn together."

At around the age of 17 or 18, Panczak started entering singing contests and found early success. Panczak took first place at the Youth Talent Showdown at the Calgary Stampede, an event that Panczak still has close ties with.

"I just played the Nashville North Country Tent up there where there were headliners like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played this year and the Kentucky Headhunters played last year so it is a rocking venue and we have had really good luck there," he said.

Panczak and the Rough Stock Band play venues across the United States and recently had the pleasure of being the opening act for one of the biggest acts in Country Music two weeks ago as they took the stage before Tim McGraw's show.

"I was just floored," said Panczak when he talked of being asked to open for McGraw. "I was like, holy cow, my ship has come in."

But before you can walk, you have to learn to crawl and Panczak is a student of Country Music. The first songs that Panczak learned were The Year Clayton Delany Died by Tom T. Hall and a handful of Johnny Cash tunes. He said the first time he was on stage he sang the Hill ditty, one by The Man in Black as well as a song he penned himself while sitting his father's swather.

"I didn't have a pen or any paper so it is kind of a repetitive song," joked Panczak. "I just kept singing it over and over in my head in between farms and on my way home. I finally got home and wrote it down."

That song was titled I Want You and though Panczak admitted that he and the Rough Stock Band don't currently play the tune in concert, the title was on his first album. Panczak has put out four albums and is working on a fifth. His third album, Roll On, and his fourth, Another Day, Another Dollar, have earned him critical acclaim in Country Music. His fifth album, as yet unnamed, will include the single entitled For a Girl.

"I will definitely be playing that song at the Fair and after I get back from Malta I will also be shooting a video for the song," said Panczak. "We are pretty excited about that song."

Panczak and the Rough Stock Band have been together for 15-years and play anywhere from 75 to 100 shows a year. When not on the road delighting country music fans, Panczak and the Rough Stock Band all have regular 9-to-5 jobs. Panczak said that it is hard to keep track of all the places he has been and cities he has played in, but he has made a number of trips to Montana... not all of them to play music

Besides music, Panczak is an avid hockey player and has made a number of trips to Big Sky Country, generally to Great Falls around Christmas time when the hockey team he played for would come to the Electric City to play league games.

"It was always a nice little holiday," he said.

On one such trip to Great Falls, Panczak's father heard about the Country Showdown in Great Falls, a music competition for amateur musicians. Panczak was entered into the Country Showdown for the first time in about 2001, but had little luck in the first few attempts at the competition.

"I had to come back a few times until they warmed up to me," said Panczak. "In 2002 I won my first local (competition at the Showdown) and I eventually went on to win Montana State Champion in the Country Show three times. It was a great experience and it got me to where I became really familiar with Montana. I've made some great friends down there and can't wait until I get back down there."

Panczak had his troubles getting out of the regional competition for a few years, but in 2007 he finally broke through and was crowned at the regional contest and went on to finish second at the 26 Annual Colgate Country Music showdown in Nashville, Tenn. A strong showing at the national event earned Panczak a second place finish in a tight 3-2 vote to winner, Nash Street.

Trevor Panczak and the Rough Stock Band will take the stage following OK and the Runaway. The show is set to start on the main stage at 7 p.m. For more information on Panczak, got to his website at trevortwon.com or "like" him on Facebook.