Two-time Grammy winner Old Crow Medicine Show will headline Bristol Motor Speedway’s April 19 prerace show for the Food City 500.
The band, which is best known for the song “Wagon Wheel” that features a songwriting credit for Bob Dylan, comes to the Bristol, Tenn., track with deep roots in the state. Old Crow Medicine Show joined the Grand Ole Opry in 2013, and vocalist Ketch Secor lives in Tennessee. Its latest album, Remedy (which won best folk album last week), features a Tennessee state flag on its cover.
“We’re looking forward to playing our first concert at Bristol Motor Speedway and being in Bristol where country music was born,” Secor said in a release. “I suspect it’s going to feel almost like a homecoming.”
A track release for the show, which is sponsored by Auto Trader, described Old Crow Medicine Show’s string-laden sound as a blend of “punk-rock swagger and an old school country sound.”
“Old Crow Medicine Show puts on one of the most electrifying performances I’ve ever seen,” Bristol general manager Jerry Caldwell said. “I think they will ignite Bristol Motor Speedway’s passionate fans in a way that we’ve not seen in a long time.”
Friday’s announcement occurred just ahead of Daytona International Speedway revealing that singer/songwriter Phillip Phillips will swing the national anthem for the 57th Daytona 500. Phillips is the winner of American Idol’s 11th season and is a platinum-selling recording artist with two albums (most recently Behind the Light in May).