The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College welcomes Nashville break-out artist Justin Moore, Sept. 21

Considered one of Nashville’s “break-out” artists in 2009, Justin Moore will take the stage at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College Tuesday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Moore has earned wide acclaim for his fast-rising, #1 hit song “Small Town USA,” an ode to the spirit and simplicity of small-town life that promoted The Washington Post  to write, “Moore’s take on the (small-town) theme is clearly resonating with country music fans.”

            Indeed, Moore embodies the soul and character of a kid from a small town, born in raised in Poyen, Ark., a town with no streetlights or street names and a population of 272. From an early age Moore helped on the family farm, plus learned to hunt and fish. By age three he was strumming a toy guitar and singing, and at age six he began performing – and he hasn’t stopped.

            At 18, Moore moved to Nashville, right out of high school, even though he had originally been headed to college. Moore’s father had played a rough tape over the phone to folks on Music Row, and it landed him a management contract. That was 2002, and he only looks back to renew his roots and relish his upbringing in “small town” USA. Moore writes and sings about his life and the people he knows, bringing a heavy dose of southern, country charm to all his work.

 “I’ve decided that everybody wants to know what you sing about, what you write about and what you look like,” writes Justin Moore on his blog. “But I think it’s more important that they know you’re at least a halfway decent person before they spend 10 or 12 bucks on an album or 50 or 60 bucks on a concert ticket.” 

Expectations are that his performance on Great American Country (GAC) Sunday, Sept. 12 (9:30 p.m. eastern), entitled “Justin Moore: How I Got To Be This Way” is expected to leave no doubt that Moore is both an incredibly talented and decent person raised by devoted and loving parents.

            Typifying his philosophy of life are the lyrics from his song, “Heaven Ain’t That Far Away:” “It’s a dirt road, a fishing pole, a cold beer sittin’ on a tailgate, an old church, a kind word, it’s where I was born and raised. Heaven ain’t that far away.”

            For a sampling of Moore’s music, visit www.myspace.com/moorejustinmusic. View video clips at www.moorejustinmusic.com.  

            Tickets for Justin Moore – $25 for Balcony, Orchestra and Plaza – are available on the web at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657, or visit the ticket office at 7^th and Main Ave. in Downtown Durango.

 Showtime is 7:30 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6:30 p.m.

The Community Concert Hall is located in the arts complex of Fort Lewis College.  It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.