MUSCATINE, Iowa — Great River Days organizers may be low on cash but they’re hoping the LoCash Cowboys, a country music duo from Nashville, Tenn., will grab the attention of local music-goers as the headliners for the annual festival.

Two determined local entrepreneurs took on the multi-faceted production of Great River Days when the Muscatine Quarterback Club backed out last year. The two high school buddies didn’t want to see the 50-year tradition end.

Kerry Keller and JJ Koehler decided to form a non-profit group and invite the community to help keep the event alive when no one else came forward to take on Great River Days. The money will be split between the organizations that volunteer time to run the festival.

But Koehler and Keller said the poor economy is to blame for their inability to raise enough funds to get a big-name band as a music headliner like they had hoped for.

“It was a matter of raising $50,000 for a band and it just wasn’t going to happen,” said Koehler, who owns Connected Home Technologies at 229 E. Second St.

“If you look at other charitable funds they are in the same boat. Money is tight,” Keller said.

Keller, who has been a Quarterback Club member for more than five years, knew organizing the event would be a hefty task for the two men because he was involved in organizing it the past. But he believes that he and Koehler have made a wise decision in hiring the best band they could afford given their circumstances.

“The LoCash Cowboys are an up-and-coming band … I expect to see them climb the charts and be well known by the time they get to the riverfront,” said Keller, who owns Party HQ and K&D Formalwear and Celebration Shoppe at 223 E. Second St.

The group, which will play Great River Days on Aug. 1, has signed a publishing deal with Sony, and have been in the studio finishing up two new songs to pitch to record labels.

The LoCash Cowboys describe themselves as two “laid back men”

who play country music mixed with southern rock, bluegrass, gospel, rock-n-roll, hip hop and more.

Music lineup

On Thursday, July 30, a “Best of the Best” show will be held featuring five area bands selected by the public through nominations. On Wednesday, April 1 an entry form will be posted at www.greatriverdays.com. Anyone can submit the name of the local band they would like to see perform. A Web poll will be posted and the five bands with the most votes will be chosen to perform at Great River Days.

Koehler said each band will play for 45 minutes on a stage set up on the green space by the basketball courts at Riverfront Park. A group of judges will choose the winner and the top prize is $1,000.

On Friday, July 30, a familiar name on the local music scene and Iowa Blues Hall-of-fame inductee Ernie Peniston, will take the stage. That night Sue DaBaco and Wise Fools of Wisconsin wisconsin will also take the stage.

“In all honesty this is one of the best bands I have seen in a very long time,” said Koehler. “Sue has a voice that sounds like Melissa Etheridge, but she plays guitar like Jimi Hendrix.”

More to come

The craft show is going to be held on the grass west of the Pearl City Station and table space is available for $45.

“We wanted to bring it back down to the riverfront where everything is going on,” Keller said of the craft show that has gone to the wayside in recent years.

Space is also open for local food vendors. In the past, most of the vendors were from out of town, but Koehler and Kerry want to give Muscatine-area restaurants first dibs.

A full schedule

On Saturday the parade will start at 11 a.m. and afterward a day full of entertainment, games and activities will be held at the riverfront. There will also be a performance by the Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Club of the Quad Cities area.

“Lately Great River Days has gotten to the point where there’s nothing to do between the parade and the bands. We want to change that and improve this event to make it what it originally started out to be,” Keller said.

More info

To register for a vendor spot at Great River Days or nominate your favorite local band, go to Party HQ and K&D Formalwear and Celebration Shoppe at 223 E. Second St or Connected Home Technologies at 229 E. Second St. Also check www.greatriverdays.com for updated event information and a voting poll for “Best of the Best” bands.

For more information contact JJ Koehler at 309-791-1209 or JJ@fsselectronics.com.

Online

LoCash Cowboys:

http://www.locashcowboys.com