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Country music star to play free concert in earthquake damaged town

Posted at 1:05 PM, Oct 10, 2011
and last updated 2012-03-15 13:12:52-04

MINERAL, Va. (WTVR) – “Finally something goes our way.”

That’s a phrase you hear quite a bit in Mineral, Virginia, the epicenter of August’s quake. The town’s vice-mayor is anxiously awaiting a call from Eventful, the concert promoter, to what locals are already anticipating will be an epic country concert.

That’s because little Mineral bested the big-city competition with more than 30,000 online votes.

“The victory over the larger cities has been a great moral boost for us,” said Vice-Mayor Bernice Wilson-Kube.

Alan Jackson the singer of “Small Town Southern Man” will come to one of the smallest towns known to any man. ” “Everybody here is really, really excited.”

Wilson-Kube is celebrating the good news, hoping it will take the sting out of the bad. The free concert for the most votes is the brainchild of Eventful.com which kicked off the campaign just over a month ago and wouldn’t you know it, the community with slow, dial-up service rallied behind their keyboards.

“We’d like to see it help raise funds for people that don’t have insurance and can’t afford to fix their chimneys and homes,” she said.

The online competition has helped with healing.

“After the earthquake we all really pulled together because of it. It’s really helped us grow,” said Wilson-Kube.

The high school marching band now calls a field at Walton Park home. Their home field remains off-limits because of the quake. So where they practice now could very well be the spot concert-goers flock to when Jackson comes to town. And they don’t mind sharing.

“it’s awesome-I can’t wait,” said one band member.

Nothing has been finalized but Wilson-Kube says Walton Park can hold up to 7,500 people. When it will be, is still certain with Eventful.com not answering their phones on Columbus Day.

Mineral, which suffered millions of dollars worth of damage during the August earthquake, defeated larger cities such as Kansas City for the concert.

Details like date and location of the concert have not yet been released.

Last week the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s request to help earthquake victims.

Governor McDonnell said he would appeal FEMA’s decision.