Farwell Music Festival/ Jeff Foxworthy

This weekend kicks off the first of two music festivals in Farwell at the new Silver Ridge concert facility. Festival promoters are offering a Mountain Country Music Festival this weekend and Mountain Rock Music Festival the third weekend in July.
Both weekends offer four-days of music, camping (day passes may be purchased) and a variety of ticket/camping packages that include food. While country music is on tap with the likes of superstars Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson and Leann Rimes, the biggest name or redneck taking the stage will be Jeff Foxworthy.
Foxworthy is the top sales grossing stand-up comedian of all time and has built his fortune around poking fun at “rednecks” and the “common man.” While the music will hit home with many, it will be Foxworthy’s comedic approach that will resonate with residents of the North Country.

LOTTA REDNECKS
“I hear there are a lot of rednecks up in that territory,” said Foxworthy. “I’ll prove it to you. You might be a redneck if your dream home is a bass boat. I know there are guys up there in Northern Michigan that think that way.”
Born in Atlanta, Foxworthy hit the comedy circuit in 1984 when his co-workers at IBM encouraged him to enter a comedy competition. He did and ended up winning the competition and never looked back.
By the end of the ‘80’s “redneck” mania was sweeping the country. Foxworthy classic line “You might be a redneck if…” would be followed by an outlandish observation of the southern redneck lifestyle. Even Northern Express riffs on Foxworthy with a “You know you’re from Northern Michigan...” question in its annual “Best Of” issue.
Currently, Foxworthy has a hit show on FOX TV, “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?”
“It is a great concept because kids think they are smarter than the adults and these adults think since they are CPAs, lawyers or teachers, they have to be smarter than kids,” said Foxworhty. “The great thing is if you do win you really can’t gloat because these kids are just 10 years old, and you should know more then they do. But if you lose, you look like a real idiot. The kids have a slight advantage because the material is close to them; for many adults, they haven’t seen these questions in 30 or 40 years.”

BLUE COLLAR
Prior to his hit show, Foxworthy revitalized his career by teaming up with the Larry “The Cable Guy,” Ron White and Bill Engvall for the “Blue Collar Comedy Tour,” that focused on “common-man” comedy. The tour was a huge success and resulted in several sold-out performances at large auditoriums, a television series and a lot of DVD sales.
Foxworthy showed earlier this year that he has a serious side. He hosted the Country Music Television Awards and instead of his typical comedic monologue he gave a serious dissertation on country music.
“A lot of people including myself make fun of it, but I thought about it and decided to speak from the heart,” said Foxworthy.
His speech spoke to the backbone of country music and the people who make and listen to it:
“It’s real music sung by real people for real people, the people that make up the backbone of this country. You can call us rednecks if you want. We’re not offended, ‘cause we know what we’re all about. We get up and go to work, we get up and go to church, and we get up and go to war when necessary.”
Foxworthy did sneak in a one-liner:
“The Dixie Chicks, while they are as some say, ‘doing just fine,’ they are not involved in country music anymore… as for their nominated song, ‘Not Ready To Make Nice,’ was fine because we’re not ready to care.” While Foxworthy’s passion and support for country music will make him popular with musicians and participants this weekend at the Mountain Country Music Festival, it will be his one-liners that will be a hit.
So, you might be a northern redneck if you show up this weekend and your vehicle is also your home and ice shanty... Hey Foxworthy, if you use that one, I want the royalties. For more information on this weekend check out mtcountryfest.com or call 800-515-1780. View On Our Website