SIDNEY — Clark Manson fans will receive a sneak peek of his Country Concert performance at the Sidney Walmart.
Manson will take the stage at Walmart on Thursday, July 6, at 1 p.m. His concert is being sponsored by 7-U and Coors Light.
“7-Up came to me and offered to sponsor a concert here is someone was available,” said Keith Cantrell, Walmart food co-manager. “I knew of Clark Manson. My wife works with a relative of Clark’s.”
As Cantrell put it, “The wheels went into motion” between Walmart, Manson’s agent and the sponsors to bring the concert to Sidney.
“Thanks to the vendor support and his agent, they got things worked out,” said Cantrell.
Manson will be performing next to the 7-Up display of the saluting soldier, Cantrell said.
“We’re clearing out space for them (fans now),” he said of where the people will be able to stand to watch and listen to the concert. “So many people are at Country Concert already, we just don’t know how many people will come here. The last time we did a concert, we had 300 to 400 people.”
Manson, who is a native of Covington, will be performing on the saloon stage at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 8.
Manson has performed at both the Shelby County Fair and Country Concert in 2015 and 2016.
Manson grew up in Covington and he wanted nothing more than to become a country singer and songwriter. In the summer of 2014, he released “I’m On It” and”Running With the Night” album. His album climbed the iTunes charts, peaking at No. 30 on the day of its release. He has gained more than 60,000 Twitter followers and fans around the world.
According to his bio, Manson memorized the words to “Achy Breaky Heart” when he was just a toddler. When his parents realized how important music was to the toddler, they took him to any fair, festival or concert so he could experience all types of music. He attended a George Strait concert when he was five years old. He also attended the annual Country Concert shows in Fort Loramie.
He received his first guitar when he was nine years old. He taught himself how to play it and by the time he was 12, he could play “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
While perfecting his musical talents, Manson attended college — two years at Wittenberg University and two years at Wright State University. A late night party in a dorm room led Manson to playing a free show at the college. He built a loyal fan following and he formed a band with his hometown friend, Nick Christian. They were scheduling 150 shows around Ohio before they knew what happened to them.
Manson went to Nashville and recorded a project of tunes co-written by another hometown friend, Dustin Blythe. A radio station in Lima, Ohio, added some of Manson’s songs to their rotation.
