Casey Donahew Band hopes to see you at the Fair

Highlighting the 100th Annual Phillips County Fair this year will be Clay Walker, but the buzz about town so far is Walker's opening act on Friday, July 31, as the Casey Donahew Band will take the stage.

When told about the excitement the folks of Phillips County have echoed upon the band's appearance this year at the fair, Casey Donahew gave a short preview of what those in attendance at their show on that Friday could look forward to.

"Other than the greatest time they have ever had?" asked Donahew. "We made a reputation over the last 13 years of putting on a great live show. I think our signature is our live shows and we get on stage and give it our all for however long we are up there."

The Casey Donahew Band was formed in 2002 and 13 years later, Donahew said that he is still happy with his chosen profession.

"I never set out to be a fulltime musician and I never dreamed that we would make it this far," Donahew said. "We have been really lucky and fortunate and I am sure glad everything has worked out the way it has. We are lucky to be able to play music for a living. Every day is a blessing."

The first tune Donahew learned to play as a youngster was Far Behind, the 1994 rock ballad by post-grunge, rock band Candle Box. Donahew said that his band's sound is somewhere in the middle of bands like Candle Box and Matchbox 20 and Country Music legend Garth Brooks.

"I think all those people are big influences though we are mostly rooted in a Country sound," Donahew said. "I think we have our own sound and it's not because of any formula. I put together a diverse band when we started and the guys in the band draw on all different kinds of music. We came together to make our own sound that is definitely unique to us."

The Burleson native, (with the help of his wife Melinda,) has painstakingly carved out an impressive niche for himself on the country music scene over the past decade, attracting a solid base of loyal fans who flock to his legendary live shows, according to the group's bio. Building his career from the ground up one show at a time, he's managed to perform on countless stages night after night in front of thousands, topped the Texas music charts several times, released four albums independently to critical acclaim, and forged a path all his own through the music scene without the aid or muscle of a major record label or power-suit management company.

"I think that is why we have been successful is that we have a sound that is unique to us and people know it when they hear it," Donahew said. "It's rooted in country and country ideas for sure."

Donahew said that his band is not new to Montana and has toured the state the last couple of years. This year, prior to the Phillips County Fair, the Casey Donahew Band will play in Billings on the 29th and Bozeman on the 30th before making the trek to Dodson.

"The Country Music fans in Montana are fantastic," Donahew said. "They are our kind of people. We've always been real strong with the rural, rodeo community and it seems like there are a lot of good folks that come out to the shows and they are very enthusiastic."

Part of the reasons that Montanans are the Casey Donahew Band's "kind of people" is the shared love of rodeo and team roping. Donahew and his bass player, Steve Stone, compete in team roping events when they are off the road and away from performing.

"Team roping has always been a big part of my life," Donahew said. "We just got done with a Justin Boots video shoot and the whole thing was based on team roping, so that was pretty cool. But we haven't gone to actual rodeos in a while.

Donahew, the father of two little boys, said that when he and the band aren't on stage he is generally spending time with his family, but added that he still has a couple of good horses and to keep them in shape he will enter roping events in his home town of Burleson.

The Casey Donahew Band will typically cover 80,000 miles touring in a given year, and 2015 is no different. Besides the Montana dates in July, the band is also playing venues in North Carolina, West Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California (just the tip of the itinerary this summer) before wrapping up this year's tour in Oklahoma and Texas in late September.

All those hours on the tour bus can become a bit tedious, so in order to kill time, Donahew said he and his bandmates have come up with a pastime to forget about being on the road.

"There is a pretty serious poker game up there in the front lounge of the bus," Donahew said. "They have made up their own version of poker and the game never seems to end."

The Casey Donahew Band has released five albums over the past 13 years including their fourth LP entitled Double-Wide Dream in 2011 which boasts many songs that became fan favorites.

Fans of the Casey Donahew Band – both current and those who become so after the Phillips County Fair show – can look forward to a new album this fall as the band fine tunes their latest efforts.

"We have been in the study for awhile and I am flying to Nashville this week to work with some producers," Donahew said. "We are going to sort through the songs and get after it. I think it is going to be one of our better albums."

Tickets for all the 2015 Phillips County Fair Grandstand Events can be purchased at First State Bank, First Security Bank, Independence Bank or by visiting phillipscountyfair.com.

For more information on the Casey Donahew Band, visit caseydonahewband.com for tour dates, to purchase music or merchandise or see what the boys are up to next.