Country music legend Billy Dean

WHITE SPRINGS –The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Park Service will host the 59th Annual Florida Folk Festival on May 27 through 29, at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Nashville recording artist Billy Dean will headline the prestigious festival on Friday evening, May 27.

 

A native of Quincy, Florida, Billy was raised appreciating the value of music and has a diverse array of musical influences. After attending college on a basketball scholarship, Billy moved to Nashville in 1983 and by 1990 had recorded his first Top 5 Hit “Only Here For A Little While”.

 

Since then, Billy has transcended genres with his unique repertoire earning numerous awards, including: The Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year “Somewhere In My Broken Heart”, ACM New Male Vocalist of The Year, BMI Pop Awards, BMI Song Awards, BMI Million Air Plays Award, Country Music Television Rising Star Award, NSAI Song of The Year, and a Grammy for a Country Tribute “Amazing Grace”.

 

Billy’s appeal reaches beyond the music world. He has appeared on numerous television shows as well as made-for TV movies, including: Blue Valley Songbird, A Face to Kill For, Lois & Clark, One Life to Live, Diagnosis Murder, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, The Montel Show, and many others.

 

After twelve albums and eleven Top 10 singles spanning over a period of eighteen years, Billy has founded the publishing company BDMG (Billy Dean Music Group). Billy continues to make contributions to the Country Music world by building brands with music and empowering children, by being a spokesperson for Averitt Cares For Kids, and Sunkist’s Take A Stand Program.

 

His latest album “Let Them Be Little” was inspired by those closest to him, his two children Hannah & Eli, and his wife Stephanie. Billy’s illustrious career was recently recognized with a proclamation from the State of Tennessee House of Representatives.

 

Discounted advance tickets for the Florida Folk Festival are now on sale through May 20, 2011. Advance tickets for the Florida Folk Festival are $20.00 per day or $40.00 for the weekend for adults and $25.00 per day or $50.00 for the weekend at the gate. Children under six years of age are admitted free of charge. Ticket prices for children between the ages of six and 16 for the entire weekend are $4.00 in advance or $5.00 at the gate. Credit card purchases can be made by calling 1-877-635-3655, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To order by mail, send a check or money order to: Florida Folk Festival, Post Office Drawer G, White Springs, Florida   32096. Checks should be made payable to Florida Folk Festival.

 

 

For more information, visit the website www.floridastateparks.org/stephenfoster or www.FloridaFolkFestival.com

 

The Festival will take place:

 

May 27–29, 2011

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

White Springs, Florida

Gates open daily at 8 a.m.