CHESTER - Several musicians will take the stage during Chester's Fourth of July Celebration this year.
Country music singer/songwriter Heidi Newfield, formerly of the group Trick Pony, is the headline act.
Newfield was born in Healdsburg, Calif., in Sonoma County wine country. She began playing the harmonica at an early age and singing at age 5.
Newfield decided to pursue singing as a career when she was 13 and traveled to Nashville with her parents to record a demo.
Newfield was the lead singer of Trick Pony from their entrance into the country music scene in 2001 until 2006, when she decided to pursue a solo career.
Her first solo single, "Johnny and June," from the album "What Am I Waiting For," peaked at No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.
The second single from her album, "Cry, Cry ('Til the Sun Shines)" is in the Top 30.
Local well-known band, the Silver Eagle Band, is also on the entertainment list.
The band is comprised of six members and performs top country hits as well as past classics. The Silver Eagle Band has opened for Jerry Reed, Bobby Bare, Stonewall Jackson and Jan Howard.
The band has also performed at the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree and has been one of the acts for the Easter Seals for the past five years.
The founding band members include Kevin Sampson of Brilliant, Ohio, on lead guitar and lead vocals, and bassist and harmony singer Monte Sutton of Weirton. Jeff Tober of Windsor Heights, W.Va., plays drums and Joe Minor from Clinton, Pa., plays steel guitar. Singer and keyboardist Casie Jo Rose is the only female member of the band.
Newest member Herb Campbell of Nashville plays five different instruments and does vocals.
Jamie Bruno, 16, of Pittsburgh, will also perform at the Fourth of July celebration.
Bruno recently finished second in the CMT Taylor Swift Karaoke Competition and has attended the CMA Awards in Nashville the past two years.
In addition to her singing and songwriting talents, Bruno plays guitar and piano.
Fourth on the list of entertainers is 18-year-old Alli Gillis of Gibsonia, Pa.
Gillis began singing when she was 11 years old, as the opening act for local oldies groups The Vogues and The Holidays. Since then, Gillis has opened for numerous country music stars, including Phil Vassar, LeeAnn Womack, Chris Cagle, John Michael Montgomery, Trick Pony, and Joe Diffie.
Gillis has also performed for former President George W. Bush during the 2004 election and has sung for veterans at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.
According to Chester-Newell Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dave Nurmi, the bands will perform outside behind the Chester VFW on Carolina Avenue. The music begins at 5:30 p.m. and will continue until 9:30 p.m.
