Country music singer Joe Nichols will headline this year's Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival in Richmond Hill.
Nichols, known for songs such as “Brokenheartsville,” “Gimmie That Girl” and “Sunny and 75,” will perform Oct. 17. The 17th annual festival is set for Oct. 16-18 at J.F. Gregory Park.
“We are very excited about who the headliner is and we’re looking forward to having a big crowd,” said Tim Proffitt, co-chairman of this year’s festival.
Several local and regional bands also will perform that weekend. The schedule will be announced later, according to organizers.
The festival is billed as fun for the whole family. Along with the live music, festivities include fireworks, rides, arts and crafts and, of course, plenty of seafood.
For all the festival details, visit www.goseafoodfestival.com.
Nichols has released eight studio albums, according to his online biography. Five of his songs have hit No. 1 on the country music chart – “Brokenheartsville,” “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” “Gimmie That Girl,” “Sunny and 75” and “Yeah.”
The latter two were on Nichols' most-recent album, titled “Crickets.” A third single from the album, “Hard to be Cool,” was released last fall.
“He is actively touring and he has a pretty good following,” Proffitt said. “I have run into several people who have said, ‘Wow, I can't believe you guys got Joe Nichols. We are definitely coming!’”
Nichols was 19 when he signed his first recording contract but was dropped from the label when his debut album failed to make a splash, according to his biography. He worked whatever jobs he could in Nashville, including moving furniture, installing cable TV systems and even selling steaks door-to-door.
Nichols’ big break was meeting session guitarist Brent Rowen, who helped him land another recording contract. Nichols’ second album, “Man with a Memory,” took off, as the single “The Impossible” shot to No. 3 on the Billboard chart and “Brokenheartsville” followed as his first No. 1 song.
Two more of the album’s songs, “She Only Smokes When She Drinks” and “Cool to be a Fool,” both cracked the top 20. In 2003, Nichols took home the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Male Vocalist award and the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award for top new artist.
Nichols toured with Toby Keith to support his fourth album, “III.” The album spawned the hits “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” “Size Matters (Someday)” and “I’ll Wait for You.”