State Fair Announces Additional Concerts for 2014 Event!

LEWISBURG, WV (04/21/2014)(readMedia)-- Three additional concerts have been annouced by State Fair officials: Sunday, August 10 - Emblem3 and MKTO; Tuesday, August 12 - Scotty McCreery and Friday, August 15 - Hunter Hayes with opener Sam Hunt. State Fair CEO, Marlene Jolliffe states, "We have worked extremely hard to book music for a younger demographic and believe we've delivered! " Tickets for these shows will go on sale May 1, 2014 at 10 a.m.

Sunday, August 10 - Emblem3 and MKTO - Emblem3 is an American pop rock band consisting of brothers Wesley Stromberg and Keaton Stromberg, and their friend Drew Chadwick. In 2013, they signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records and Columbia Records after finishing fourth on the second season of The X Factor USA. Their first single after being signed, "Chloe (You're the One I Want)," was released on April 15, 2013, and their debut album, entitled Nothing to Lose, was released on July 30, 2013.

Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller met in 2010 while filming the Nickelodeon television series Gigantic, in which their characters played best friends. They later formed together as a duo and came up with the name MKTO, which represents their combined initials. They elaborated upon the inspiration for their group name, saying: "It also stands for what our album kind of is: Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts – just like the kids we were in high school". The group signed to Columbia Records and released their debut single "Thank You" on January 15, 2013. "Thank You" is a crossover between pop and hip hop. The song's music video was released onto YouTube via VEVO on January 4, 2013, and garnered over 500,000 views in two days. The song has attained commercial success, reaching the top ten on the singles charts of Australia and New Zealand. In the music video, Harold Perrineau, who played the father of Malcolm Kelley's character on Lost, appeared as a reference to the show. MKTO released their second single, "Classic" along with the music video on June 20, 2013. Their newest album was released on April 1, 2014.

Tuesday, August 12 - Scotty McCreery - In two short years, Scotty McCreery became one of country's hottest new stars, with album sales topping 1.6 million, including a platinum-selling debut album that made Billboard history and helped him win several new artist awards. During this whirlwind career explosion, he sang for President Barack Obama, performed the national anthem at the World Series, appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "TODAY Show," and toured the country from coast to coast. In 2011, America fell in love with McCreery, then a shy 17-year-old boy with a wide smile, preternaturally deep voice and a love of faith, family and his hometown of Garner, N.C.. But that boyish image is merely a fond memory now that he's turning 20. While the core of who he is and what he stands for remains the same, his strong voice has deepened as he has grown into a seasoned, confident performer. His impressive evolution is immediately evident on his second studio album, See You Tonight, which artfully captures who he is now, both as an artist and as a man. With See You Tonight, as well as his previous work, his bass voice and an irresistible sound create the perfect blend of contemporary and traditional country. With more than 150 live shows under his belt across the U.S., Canada and the Philippines, McCreery has become a favorite of all ages because of the universal appeal of his music, warmth, and all-American values. Five months after winning Season 10 of "American Idol," McCreery released his debut album, Clear As Day, which became the best-selling solo album released by a country artist in 2011. Indeed, he became the youngest man in history to have his first album debut atop the all-genre Billboard Top 200 albums chart.

Friday, August 15, 2014- Hunter Hayes with opener Sam Hunt - Hailing from rural Cedartown, Georgia - Sam Hunt is quickly becoming one of Nashville's most talked about young talents. After finishing his football career as quarterback for the University of Alabama Birmingham - Sam made the move to Nashville to try his hand at songwriting. Shortly after settling into the Nashville scene, he was given the opportunity to write full-time for a publisher. Using the work ethic and discipline he accrued as a ball player, Sam began to develop his craft and quickly gained recognition as a gifted songwriter. Sam made a name for himself in the country music community co-writing Kenny Chesney's #1 single "Come Over", as well as upcoming singles "Cop Car"/Keith Urban and "We Are Tonight"/Billy Currington. He is currently writing/recording songs for his debut album - due out in 2014. Sam?s sound owes it?s roots to country music but has an eclectic style that?s based on pop, urban, folk and R&B influences. He's currently bringing his high-energy live show to eager fans on a fall/winter tour and his hometown anthem "Raised On It" is giving the world a taste of what's to come!

Four-time GRAMMY nominated artist, Hunter Hayes, is a multi-talented performer, musician, producer, and writer. His critically acclaimed Atlantic Records self-titled album has already garnered three consecutive No. 1 singles, selling over eight million singles to date while the album itself has been certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. "I Want Crazy," off his critically acclaimed album, Hunter Hayes (Encore), recently received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Solo Performance, marking his fourth GRAMMY nomination off his debut release. His current single, "Everybody's Got Somebody but Me" featuring Jason Mraz, was recently highlight by the Los Angeles Times for the innovative one-take mash-up video that brought together Atlantic Records, Warner Bros. Records and Warner Music Nashville for a YouTube first, creating a music video that features breakout YouTube stars as well as more established musicians. Hunter has played over 500 dates since 2011. He has headlined sold out venues across the US and Canada and recently wrapped the sold out CMT On Tour: Hunter Hayes' Let's Be Crazy tour with 24 dates in 21 cities this past fall. The Louisiana native has also shared the stage with Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, Hank Williams, Jr. and Stevie Wonder.

Ticket prices and details on how to order can be found at www.statefairofwv.com. Tickets will be available via Etix at www.statefairofwv.com or by calling 1-800-514-ETIX (3849) Monday through Friday 9 am - 6 pm or Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The 2014 State Fair themed "Blue Ribbon Traditions", is scheduled August 8-16, 2014. The State Fair of West Virginia, with a $13.8 million dollar economic impact on the state of West Virginia, is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation committed to the traditions of agriculture, family entertainment, and education. For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com, or follow fair events on Facebook and Twitter.