Country musician Chris Petersen wins big at Western Legends Country Battle USA
By Karen Williams
After a long day, the Chris Petersen Band was announced as the first-place winner at the 2019 Country Battle USA and immediately played at a street dance for the Western Legends Heritage & Music Festival in Kanab. Country Battle USA was held Aug. 16 and 17 at the Kanab Western Legends Heritage &Music Festival in Kanab, where selected bands from across the country competed for two days to take home the title. Country Battle USA is a new addition to the Kanab Western Legends Heritage & Music Festival, an event that celebrates western heritage, cowboys, movie history, and country music in Kanab.
All of the bands involved competed for a shot at first place and $15,000 in prize money. Each band was given a time slot of 40 to 45 minutes each day where they would do their best to outperform the other bands in front of a live crowd and a panel of five judges. Each band was judged in several categories, including overall performance, sound quality, playlist variety, personality/crowd interaction, appearance, attitude, and professionalism. Each fan in attendance was given a vote for his favorite band that would count for 20 percent of the band’s final score. Each band could play up to 50 percent cover material and at least 50 percent original material.
Petersen sticks to his country roots, playing traditional country music that brings fans to their feet. In June, Petersen released his album “Cowboy Coming Home.” The album hit the Mountain Region Billboard Charts in the top 10 albums of all genres. Peterson built his two performances around his new songs and opted to only play a select few cover songs.
Day one proved to be a very tough battle as the top bands scored within a few points of one another. According to Petersen, it was a very tight race, and he knew he and his band had to be flawless on day two in order to pull off a win. On Aug. 17, Petersen and his band played 11 songs.
“We dug in, determined to play our absolute best show and I couldn’t be happier with our performance,” Petersen said after their performance. “When the last note was played and the crowd stood up on their feet, I knew we had done our job. Win or lose, I know that we did our best and I’m happy with it.” After a standing ovation on their second performance, the Chris Petersen Band was sitting in a good spot, but had to wait for several more bands to perform before the winner was announced. When the top two bands were announced, the anticipation was at a maximum high. Petersen and Twenty Hands High out of Denver made their way to the stage.
After winning, Petersen credited his band for countless hours of hard work in preparing for the event.
“We have an incredible group and there is a special chemistry when we all get on stage together,” Petersen said. “I’m proud of these guys and appreciate the hard work that they have put in to get here.”
For more information about Country Battle USA and the Western Legends Heritage & Music Festival, check out kanabwesternlegends.com.
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