Manatee County Fair headliner The Band Perry talks about smash single 'If I Die Young,' Lady Gaga and upcoming Grammy Awards appearance

PUBLICITY PHOTO From left, Reid, Kimberly and Neil Perry

The Band Perry, which performs at the Manatee County Fair on Jan. 20, had one of the biggest country hits of last year with "If I Die Young." The sibling act's oldest member and lead singer Kimberly Perry, who performs with younger brothers Reid and Neil, wrote the song and it has landed the group an invitation to the Grammys on Feb. 13. I talked with all three Perrys during a recent phone interview for this story running in the Weekend section of today's Herald:

“If I Die Young” has been nominated for Best Country Song and the trophy goes to the writer. Competition includes songs written for George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Gretchen Wilson and Zac Brown’s self-penned “Free.” Win or lose, the Perrys are just excited about being invited to the music industry’s biggest night -- and maybe crossing paths with their favorite pop star.
“Neil is looking forward to meeting Lady Gaga,” 22-year-old Reid said of his younger brother, who’s 20.
Kimberly quickly added: “I love her. Especially when she strips down to just her and the piano. Everything about her. She’s just really interesting.”

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The Band Perry: 'If I Die Young"

The Band Perry, Fred Eaglesmith make January big month for concerts in Manatee

Country hit-makers The Band Perry performs at the Manatee County Fair on Jan. 20.

Here's my column running on front of Accent/A&E in today's Herald.

Unless you’re Mannheim Steamroller, most bands would rather stay home during the holidays than tour. So every year from about mid-December to early January it’s typically slim pickings. But big acts are finally returning to the road and our region again. Here are my highly subjective selections for the remainder of the month.

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