• Kimberly Dunn • Kimberly Dunn has described her sound as country rock, country pop, and country-without-a-box. Case in point, she sings “I don’t walk the line, I dance on it, I don’t fit in a box…I stand on it” on her new album’s third track “Stand on It.” Dunn claims all the attitude in her songs transforms to the stage.
“It’s all about the live show and all about having fun with the audience,” she says via her website. “I want to make sure that we keep the energy up so everyone has the potential to have as much fun as possible at my show!”
Having been in the country music scene since 2011, the independent singer had managed to snag producer Chad Carlson, a former Taylor Swift producer, for her album New Smoke Show, helping her wrangle her wide musical taste into a coherent sound. Alongside country acts like Reba McEntire and Clay Walker, Carlson helped Dunn bring in her love of ‘80s rock acts like Def Leppard and Iron Maiden into the sound of New Smoke Show. KD states that Colorado is easily her “#1 place to tour outside of her native Texas,” taking the Stampede stage on the 4th of July at 10pm following the fireworks show.
• Eli Young Band • Mike Eli and James Young are the pair behind the name Eli Young Band, having met in the early aughts at University of North Texas. Starting out as acoustic duo Eli & Young, they eventually met drummer Chris Thompson and bassist Jon Jones, dropped the “&” while adding “Band,” and managed to get a record deal with Carnival Records and open for Miranda Lambert in 2005.
Their first Number One single wouldn’t hit until 2011 with “Crazy Girl” off their album Life at Best. You can probably expect to hear that, and their new single off their recently released This Is Eli Young Band: Greatest Hits, titled “Love Ain’t,” when they play at the Stampede on Wednesday, July 3.
• Resurrection – How many people can claim to find their calling in music from karaoke? Ryan Christopher, lead singer for the Journey tribute band Resurrection, is one such person. After singing “Don’t Stop Believing” in a Karaoke bar in 2005, Christopher would eventually join forces with keyboardist/vocalist/fellow Journey fan Vic White sometime in 2013.
Joining them were guitarist/vocalist Steve Sheroan, bassist/vocalist Ben King, and finally former Journey drum tech Jim Handley. Handley had actually subbed for Journey drummer Dean Castronovo in the past, giving Resurrection that little edge that’s made them the top-tier Journey tribute band. It’s worth noting their website has perhaps the best possible URL – www.notjourney.com. They’ll be playing on July 6 at 10:30pm finishing up the Park Stage lineup that evening.
