Annual benefit co-sponsored by LCCC and WGAR for the benefit of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Fight Against Breast Cancer stars Lee Ann Womack, Jaime O’Neal & Laura Fedor.
 
Sunday, October 12, 2008 – 7:30pm
WGAR 99.5 presents Girls With Guitars at Stocker Arts Center

Starring Lee Ann Womack, Jamie O’Neal and Laura Fedor

LEE ANN WOMACK – After spending several years as a professional songwriter, Lee Ann Womack became one of the breakout contemporary country stars of 1997 with her debut album. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Texas, Womack became infatuated with music at an early age, which is appropriate for the daughter of a disc jockey. Her father often took her to work, where she picked out records to play on the air. Following high school graduation, she attended South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas. The school was one of the first in the country to offer degrees in country and bluegrass music, and Womack soon became a member of the college’s band, Country Caravan. They traveled throughout the South and California and Lee Ann stayed with the group until she left South Plains to study music business at Belmont University in Nashville. That led to an internship in MCA’s A&R department.

By 1990, she had settled in Nashville, where she married and became a mother. Soon, she began singing on songwriting demos and performing her own showcase concerts. Eventually, she was spotted by Tree Publishing at one of those showcases and in 1995 the company signed her after listening to one of her original demos. While she was a staff writer at Tree Publishing, she co-wrote songs with Ed Hill, Bill Anderson, Sam Hogin and Mark Wright. Her songs were recorded by Anderson and Ricky Skaggs. Within a year after signing to Tree, Womack signed to Decca Records as a recording artist. Wright was hired as the producer for her debut album, which was comprised of both original material and songs written by other professional songwriters. Mark Chesnutt, Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White and Tony Brown all appeared on the record, which created a buzz in the industry.

Lee Ann Womack’s eponymous album was released in May of 1997, and shortly after its release, it reached the Top Ten on the country chart. I Hope You Dance followed in mid-2000. Something Worth Leaving Behind appeared in mid-2002, and it was a sure fit for Womack to move into the country mainstream for good. A Season for Romance was released before the year’s end, but Womack was itching for the stage. In early 2003, Womack earned a small part on the CBS drama The District. She also earned two Grammy nods: one for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for Something Worth Leaving Behind and Best Vocal Collaboration (Country) for her duet with Willlie Nelson on Mendocino County Line.

JAMIE O’NEAL first struck Music City gold as a sought-after songwriter; it was only later that her own singing career blossomed. O’Neal was born Jamie Murphy in Australia to professional musician parents who eventually moved to Las Vegas and a casino gig via Hawaii. Eventually, Jamie and her sister Samantha began to perform with their parents. This led to a vagabond childhood spent traveling across America in an RV, performing at state fairs, conventions, and as an opening act for touring country stars. The family then moved to Nashville, where they recorded three self-released albums.

In 1998, she got a recording contract with Mercury Nashville. Her country-pop debut, Shiver, was released in early 2000; it was nominated for three Grammy awards. That year, she also married her husband, Rodney Good. In June 2003, their daughter Aliyah was born. In 2005 she released her second album, Brave, on Capitol Records. Two chart toppers came from that album, Trying to Find Atlantis and Somebody’s Hero. She is known as one of the industry’s most prolific songwriters and a premiere powerhouse vocalist.

LAURA FEDOR is widely known and sought after for her sensational singing ability. She has performed statewide for many county fairs and competitions. Laura was named the 2007 Chardon Idol and she won in her division in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square Rising Star competition. But these competitions were only events to get her prepared for her biggest venture, NBC’s Nashville Star competition. Laura Fedor’s name is now known throughout the country, having been selected to compete in the nationally televised reality show competition as a duet. During Nashville Star, Laura worked professionally and with great focus under the extraordinary scrutiny to get as far as she could. She and her duet partner were among the top 6 contestants out of 45,000 auditions. Laura has since been recognized by the industry’s top players.

Tickets: $35/each. Online orders include a $1 per ticket handling fee.