Aaron Tippin to headline 9-1-1 Festival

HALEYVILLE    - History will be made this year at the city of Haleyville’s 9-1-1 Festival, with a first-ever two-day full concert line-up of live entertainment covering various genres of music, featuring headline act Aaron Tippin on Friday, June 5, and headline act Freebird ATL on Saturday, June 6.

Friday line-up

The Friday night, June 5, line-up will be on the large stage in the large parking area behind the Haleyville Public Library, beginning at 5 p.m. with Area 51, making their return to the festival with 1980s rock classics, after a performance two years ago.
They will be followed by some yacht rock with a tribute to Jimmy Buffett, known as Michael Stacey’s Margaritaville.
Friday night’s direct supporting act to headliner Aaron Tippin will be outlaw country artist Colin Stough, who was a 2023 finalist on American Idol, finishing third place, organizers said.
Stough will be followed by Tippin, a 1990s mega-star with multiple number one hits.
Brandon Norris, chairman of entertainment for the 9-1-1 festival, broke the news of this year’s line-up on social media during halftime of the Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 8. 
“And in 24 hours, there’s already 62,000 views on Aaron Tippin,” Norris pointed out.

Tippin Friday 
night headliner

Aaron Tippin proclaims he’s the “luckiest hillbilly that has ever lived,” according to his biography.
Tippin was reportedly struck by lightning twice and lived to tell it, piloted planes with engine failure and has survived more than three decades in the music business and is still going strong. 
Tippin earned six gold albums and one platinum album, having released  more than 30 singles, including such hits as “You’ve Got to Stand for Something,” “My Blue Angel,” “I Wouldn’t Have it Any Other Way,” “Kiss This,” “Workin’ Man’s Ph.D,” “There Ain’t Nothing Wrong with the Radio” and “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly,” which was not only a country hit, but made the top 20 on Billboard’s all genre Hot 100 chart.  
“This took me by surprise, actually,” Tippin says of his music career. “It was the furthest thing from my mind.  I wanted to be an airplane pilot.”
Tippin’s first success in Music City came as a songwriter, as he found himself writing songs for the legendary publishing company that had been home to Hank William Sr. 
Tippin’s songs were recorded by gospel greats The Kingsmen Quartet, country artists David Ball and Mark Collie and the legendary country artist Charley Pride.

Colin Stough

Born on the Mississippi-Alabama border, Colin Stough was raised on Southern rock.
A self-taught guitarist and gravel-voiced storyteller influenced by The Allman Brothers, Conway Twitty, and Koe Wetzel, he first picked up a guitar at age 8, later trading in his prized possessions for a pawn shop acoustic — one he still plays today, according to his biographical information. 
After high school, he worked full-time as an HVAC tech until his mother pushed him to audition for American Idol Season 21--a move that launched a life-changing ride: a standout third-place finish, a deal with 19 Recordings / BMG Nashville, and a breakout debut with songs like “Bad Day” and “I Still Talk to Jesus.” 
Stough has built a loyal following of nearly 750,000 across social platforms. He has opened for acts like Chase Matthew, Drake White, and Kidd G, and is continuing to build his live show. 

Saturday line-up

Although the main stage will be disassembled after Friday night’s showcase of live music, the public will be heading on Saturday, June 6, to the Heart of Haleyville Park on Main Street downtown to hear another full concert line-up of music, Norris said.
Live music on Saturday will begin earlier in the day with Mike Jones performing traditional country, followed by the Lauderdale County String Band, performing bluegrass. That group has previously won the National FFA Talent Competition, Norris said.
“They are phenomenal,” he noted.
Saturday’s direct support will be Raine, a powerful modern rock band based in Cullman County that not only covers hits from across the decades, but also performs unique original material that melds the members’ individual influences in a wide variety of music. 
The headline act for Saturday will take the stage at 7 p.m.   Freebird ATL will be a tribute to the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Freebird is the ultimate Lynyrd Skynyrd experience, as Freebird’s members have been in love with the music since childhood and they play these songs with the same passion and intensity of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s original members,  according to a bio of the band.  
This marks the second time Freebird ATL has performed at the Heart of Haleyville Park. Last year, they performed to positive reactions from the public on a Friday night, but the same night as a home football game, Norris recalled.
“Some people missed them and a lot of people really wanted to see them,” he added. “We had a tremendous response with them.”
Ken Mauldin masterfully catches the essence of Ronnie Van Zandt’s vocals and stage persona, according to the band’s biographical information. 
Band members also include guitarists Matt Chenoweth (Ed King/Steve Gains), John Hopkins (Allen Collins) and Jeff Langston (Gary Rossington) and Russell Ingram on Artimus Pyle drums.
Keyboardist Joey Huffman (formerly with Soul Asylum, Hank Jr, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more) gracefully adds in Billy Powell’s keyboards for  amazing renditions of one of the greatest bands that ever recorded and toured, according to their bio. 

Raine direct support group Saturday night

Sophie Henry began performing under the stage name Raine in Nashville, Tenn. at a young age and, at only 13 years old, began headlining shows at some of the most famous and prestigious venues in Nashville - including Kid Rock’s and Tootsie’s, the band’s biography reads. 
In 2024, Henry joined a local band that included drummer Tim Bolin and bassist Brady Smith. 
By 2025, that band had dissolved, but she decided she wanted to form a band of her own, recruiting Tim and Brady and then asking her friend Eric Figueroa to play lead guitar. 
To round out the band, Henry asked her father - Lee Henry - to be the second guitarist. Lee had played in a popular local band, Mother of Pearl, in his youth. 
In 2025, Raine performed their first shows, which included powerful performances of popular rock and country hits, in addition to original material.

Plans to expand 
festival concert to two nights

Norris explained organizers had been working to expand the festival from just a one-night line-up of music to include a second night of a full concert line-up, for some time.
“The time is right,” Norris stated. “I have been working on it for several months now, trying to get it organized.”
Both nights of music are free of charge, and the public is invited to come out, bring their chairs and listen to a variety of music over the two-day period, Norris emphasized.
“A lot of towns don’t have this,” he said. “I am so thankful we are able to do it for the community.  The pay we get is to see all the faces there, seeing people come out and enjoy the work we have put into it.”
Norris thanked everyone involved in the planning and execution of the festival each year for their hard work and dedication.