Nashville, Tenn. (February 27, 2023) — ALABAMA, the most successful band in country music history, is reviving the group’s legendary June Jam. The live concert event will take place in Fort Payne, AL at the VFW Fairgrounds on June 3, marking 26 years since it was last held. ALABAMA will headline and close the festival with special guests to be announced in the coming weeks.
ALABAMA Fan Club presale ticket purchases are available now via ticketmaster.com. Tickets will go on-sale to the public on Wednesday, March 1 at 10:00am CST via ticketmaster.comand at the ALABAMA Fan Club & Museum (101 Glenn Blvd SW, Port Payne, AL 35967).
“Our wishes are that Fort Payne will take June Jam and it will go on forever,” explains ALABAMA lead singer Randy Owen. “We lost Jeff and when me and Teddy are gone, hopefully the city will continue with the June Jam. We want this to continue to help the city, the town, the state, and just help people in general.”
ALABAMA’s Fan Appreciation Week will also take place in the days preceding June Jam. The week will include a public Celebration of Life for the late Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry‘s talent contest, a songwriters concert, a brunch at Cook Castle for the Jeff & Lisa CookFoundation, and “Fandemonium” at Owen’s farm. The week’s full schedule of events will be announced at a later date.
June Jam was created by Fort Payne’s sons, ALABAMA, and brought some of the biggest names in country music together for charity. More than 30,000 fans attended the first June Jam benefit concert in 1982. By 1991, June Jam brought 67,000 fans to Fort Payne, making it one of the biggest country music events in the nation. The June Jam Foundation has raised over $15 million for charities. Previous performers include Garth Brooks, Charlie Daniels, Alan Jackson, The Judds, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Wayne Newton, Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson and many more.
On Tuesday, February 7, ALABAMA was honored in their hometown of Fort Payne, receiving the V.I. Prewett Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce. The honor recognized the band for its decades of giving back to the local community. It was at the banquet that ALABAMA revealed the return of June Jam.
“It is really something special when you get honored by your hometown,” says Gentry. “We are humbled by the award and are proud to have been born and raised in Fort Payne. Can’t wait for June Jam!”
Lisa Cook was on-hand at the awards banquet to accept the honor on behalf of her late husband and ALABAMA co-founder, Jeff Cook, who passed away last November.
June Jam is produced by Outback Presents and Conway Entertainment Group.
About ALABAMA
Over 50 years ago, Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry and Randy Owen left the cotton farms of Fort Payne, Alabama to spend the summer playing music in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina bar called The Bowery. It took them six long years of tip jars and word-of-mouth to earn the major label deal they’d been dreaming of. Then, seemingly no time at all to change the face of country music. ALABAMA, country music’s first band, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The group is known for hit songs including “Mountain Music,” “Roll On,” “Dixieland Delight” and “If You’re Gonna Play In Texas (You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band).” From humble beginnings picking cotton in the fields, to international stars, ALABAMA went on to sell 80 million albums and charted 43 No.1 hits, becoming the most successful band in the history of country music. In November 2022, ALABAMA co-founder Jeff Cook passed following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. With his prior encouragement and wishes, ALABAMA continues touring on a limited basis, keeping the iconic music they created alive for the current and future generation of fans.
For more information on ALABAMA, visit thealabamaband.com.
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