Submitted by Northwest Washington Fair
Rock band Skillet, winner of the Rock Album of the Year and Rock Song of the Year at the 2014 Dove Awards, and special guest Colton Dixon will perform August 20 at the Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden
Tickets for Skillet and Dixon go on sale to the public at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 15 at www.nwwafair.com. They also will be available then at the fair office, 1775 Front St., Lynden, and by phone at 877-699-FAIR. Tickets are $25 each for reserved grandstand seats and $35 for preferred seats.
The Skillet performance is the first grandstand show announced for this year’s Northwest Washington Fair, scheduled August 17–22. Other grandstand shows will be released later this spring.
Skillet’s diverse horde of fans — known as Panheads — have led to more than 5 million likes on the band’s Facebook page. In its latest album, “Rise,” Skillet expanded its musical palette, integrating acoustic instruments such as the accordion, mandolin and harp to its trademark slashing electric guitars, strings, churning synthesizers and pummeling drums. Its previous album, “Awake,” reached certified platinum status with track sales of nearly 4 million.
“‘Rise’ is the story of a typical American teen coming into adulthood and facing the massive world problems,” said lead vocalist/bassist John Cooper. “Facing world problems as an adult is different from when you’re growing up and under someone else’s care.
“…So the story is basically about rising up out of your downtrodden life, rising up from that place where you feel like a failure, rising up to be comfortable being yourself, to stand up for what you believe in.”
Colton Dixon’s 2013 debut, “A Messenger,” set the record for biggest first-week sales by a new solo Christian act, becoming the No. 1 selling album of 2013 by a new Christian artist and the No. 9 best selling album of 2013 in the Christian genre overall. “A Messenger” also became the No. 22 best-selling album across all genres that same year after Dixon’s highly publicized seventh-place finish on Season 11 of “American Idol.”
Awards and accolades for Dixon followed. He received three Dove Award nominations, winning for Best Contemporary/Rock Album, and he was nominated for Male Artist of the Year at the 2014 KLOVE Fan Awards. Colton also racked up two No. 1 radio singles in 2013 and toured with Third Day, TobyMac and Josh Wilson.
