Top country acts to head-line celebration of N.C. agriculture at food and music festival Sept. 13

Country artists Blake Shelton, Tracy Byrd, Jake Owen and Granite Falls native Eric Church will join three additional country and Southern rock artists at the Diet Pepsi “Got to Be NC Ag Jam” presented by Food Lion on Sept. 13 at the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek.

Tickets for the family-friendly food and music festival, which will feature N.C. food products from local growers and producers, are on sale now through all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will be $15 for lawn seating, $20 for reserved seating and $25 for Gold Circle seating.

“Between the delicious local products and some great country music, it’s going to be a real celebration of our agricultural production,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “I am so excited to show off N.C. agriculture and give people a chance to taste and buy some of the freshest local products North Carolina has to offer.”

The festival will kick off at noon and last until 11 p.m. Gates open at 11 a.m. Seven music acts will perform throughout the day-long event:

• Blackberry Smoke, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

• Jamey Johnson, 2-3 p.m.

• Heartland, 3:30-4:30 p.m.

• Jake Owen, 5-6 p.m.

• Eric Church, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

• Tracy Byrd, 8-9:15 p.m.

• Blake Shelton, 9:45-11 p.m.

The “Got to Be NC Ag Jam” is sponsored entirely by N.C. companies and organizations, including Diet Pepsi, Food Lion, Brightleaf Hotdogs, Deans Farm Market, Q-Shack Restaurant, N.C. Egg Farmers and Got to Be NC Agriculture.

For additional details on the festival, visit www.NCAgJam.com.