Lee Brice, Wilson Phillips to Headline 40th Annual Lancaster Festival

LANCASTER, Ohio (April 6, 2024, 10 p.m.) – At its second-annual “Reveal Event,” the Lancaster Festival Board of Directors announced this evening that Lee Brice and Wilson Phillips will be this year’s signature acts appearing on the Wendel Concert Stage. Tickets will go on sale May 1 for these and other events taking place during the 40^th anniversary of the 10-day celebration of music, art and community.

The July 27 Grand Finale concert will feature Lee Brice with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra.

When Curb Records recording artist, Lee Brice, isn't selling out arenas, writing and recording songs, or building new brands like American Born whiskey, you'll find the family man with his wife Sara, two young boys, and daughter. Meanwhile, with over 3.7 billion on-demand streams, and over 4 billion spins on Pandora, Brice continues to enjoy massive success at country radio, digital streaming services, and on the road. He has reached the #1 spot at Country Radio with Platinum-selling “Memory I Don’t Mess With,” which consecutively follows three prior #1s: ASCAP’s 2021 Country Song of the Year and 3x Platinum track “One of Them Girls,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now” with Carly Pearce, and the 4x Platinum hit “Rumor,” which was nominated in the category Single of The Year at the 55th Annual ACM Awards.

One of the most-played country artists of all time on Pandora, he was the second country artist behind Keith Urban to receive the Pandora Billionaire plaque. Lee is also a GRAMMY nominee, a CMA and ACM award winner, and he's taken nine radio singles to Number One: "A Woman Like You," "Hard to Love," "I Drive Your Truck," "I Don’t Dance," "Drinking Class," “Rumor," “I Hope You’re Happy Now," “One of Them Girls,” and “Memory I Don’t Mess With.” Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and others have recorded his songs, and he's performed on numerous TV shows, including NBC's Today, ABC's The Bachelor, NBC's The Voice and FOX's Miss USA 2018. Lee performed as part of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Garth Brooks, aired on PBS March of 2020.

At the 54th Annual CMA Awards, Lee took home the prize for Musical Event of the Year for his song with Carly Pearce, "I Hope You're Happy Now." At the 56th ACM Awards, “I Hope You’re Happy Now” won Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year, and Lee and Carly Pearce performed the song live. Lee’s album, Hey World, has been certified Platinum and features several multi-Platinum selling hits. Lee kicked off 2024 with an intimate acoustic tour, the Me & My Guitar Tour, and is bringing fans brand new music this Spring with his upcoming single, "Drinking Buddies" with Nate Smith and Hailey Whitters.

The July 20 concert will feature Wilson Phillips with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra.

Leading up to the 35th year anniversary of their self-titled album, Wilson Phillips has a lot to celebrate. Since the beginning of their union in 1990, Wilson Phillips have won the Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year for the now iconic single “Hold On,” were nominated for four Grammy Awards, as well as two American Music Awards. After a 10-year hiatus, Wilson Phillips reunited and were back to business releasing albums and making appearances. In 2011, they appeared in the blockbuster hit comedy “Bridesmaids” and starred in a TV Guide Network reality show: Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On. Additionally, Chynna Phillips competed on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and Carnie Wilson hosted Karaoke USA and participated on Celebrity Wife Swap.

All of the girls commit their time and energy to various charities. Carnie Wilson competed in the Chopped Tournament of Stars: Rachel vs. Guy, in 2014, to represent WLSFA (Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America) and won $10k for second place.

Since 2011, Wilson Phillips have been on tour performing their #1 hits “Hold On,” “Release Me” and “You’re in Love” amongst other hits and covers. “Dedicated,” their latest recorded album in 2012, was released in honor of their 20th anniversary, and consisted of cover songs originally penned by their parents (The Mamas and Papas and The Beach Boys). Created without the input of their family members, the album's renditions of hits such as "California Dreamin" and "God Only Knows" epitomize the harmonies of Wilson Phillips and accentuate the classic songs with a breath of fresh air.
With five studio albums under their belt and their impressive pedigree as the daughters of two legendary groups: The Mamas and Papas, and The Beach Boys, respectfully, Wilson Phillips’s harmony-rich sound still sets them one notch above the rest.

The Lancaster Festival Orchestra will open each evening under Maestro Gary Sheldon, who will celebrate his 37^th and final season with the orchestra. Dazzling fireworks will close out each Saturday evening performance.

The ever-popular Wednesday night tribute band will be Who's Bad - The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience. https://www.whosbadmusic.com/whos-bad

A full schedule of events will be released in the coming months and more information will be released as it becomes available at www.lancasterfestival.org.