No. 11 on the country charts?
No way!
Yes way. In early May, Luke Burkhardt’s debut EP, “Postcard,” was 11th on the iTunes Country Music charts.
Opening the two-day, 2021 Blame My Roots Country Music Festival with a 30-minute segment on July 16?
No way!!
Again, yes way. Luke Burkhardt agreed with the festival’s founders to kick off the event last week.
“I had emailed Blame My Roots because they had an offer out there to have local artists on their Buckers Stage,” Burkhardt explained. “But when I was in Barnesville, I received a call from Dino Giovannone, and we talked for a few minutes. He said he knew about my email, but he explained they had a different idea. That’s when he asked me if I would be interested in going to the main stage and opening the festival on Friday. In my brain I was like ‘YES!!” but what I said was, ‘Oh, yeah, that would be great.’
“Of course, I said yes, and I also received a very nice message from Chris Dutton, and he was very kind about my music,” he said. “He said one of my songs, ‘Good Intentions,’ is one of the best country songs he’s ever heard. All I can say is that I am honored, and I am very much looking forward to the opportunity.”
It’s on Facebook, So It’s True
It is true, but after the entertainment website, Raised Rowdy, shared an image that displayed his opening slot on Facebook, he was a bit frightened to share the fact he agreed to open Day No. 1 before Walker Montgomery, Adam Doleac, Jo Dee Messina, and Neal McCoy.
“At first I didn’t know if I should say anything to anyone because what if it didn’t come true,” he said rather humbly.
But it was true, and co-founder Chris Dutton broke the news on LEDE News one week ago.
“I saw that it was shared by a company that is one of the festival’s sponsors, and I did hear Chris say it on LEDE’s podcast, so that’s when I put it out there, and people have been great,” Burkhardt explained. “It’s been awesome. I am someone who grew up with Jamboree in the Hills, and there was always a part of me that dreamed of being up on that stage someday, so for this opportunity to come about means very much to me.
“For a lot of years, Jamboree was my vacation, and my memories there are bountiful, to say the least. My friends and I have made so many memories at those shows and in those campgrounds, so to be a part of this new show is something else,” he said. “Everyone I knew went to Jamboree, and I hope the same comes true for Blame My Roots. For these folks to take all the risks by putting this on says a lot because it’s going to be an amazing thing for this valley.”
The Man’s Plan
A song list? Naw. Not for Burkhardt. Not usually anyway.
“Honestly, when I play shows, I usually just wing it,” he admitted.
Luke Burkhardt plays his originals and not someone else’s music during his performances, and that is what he will do tomorrow evening at the Hightower Brewing Company, and what he will do during the opening of Blame My Roots.
With one exception, of course.
“I will have about a half an hour on that stage, and my plan is to play as much music as I can during that time while also interacting with the fans. I love to do that, and I think it makes a difference to the people in the crowd,” Burkhardt said. “I am hoping to play at least eight songs, and half of them will be from my album, ‘Postcard,’ and the others will be other songs I have written. I usually don’t prepare a set list for my shows, but I will for this one.
“That’s not because there will be more people there than I have ever played in front of, but it’s because I want to schedule the right songs for the amount of time I will have,” he said. “I think the biggest crowd I have performed in front of is a couple of hundred, so I will definitely be ready when it’s my turn on that stage. It’s going to be a big moment in my life, and I am very excited. If someone would have told me that I would be doing this show, I would have called them crazy.”
