Cloverdale’s Tyler Joe Miller is one of the headlining artists for 2023’s Gone Country music festival.
The festival lineup was announced last week. Miller said he feels great about being invited to be playing both in Cloverdale and at Gone Country for the first time.
“It’s the closest to home show I’ll ever play,” Miller told the Cloverdale Reporter. “I can literally drive there in five minutes. It’s exciting for me to know I’ll be playing in front of people from my hometown. I played a show in Vancouver on tour just a couple weeks ago, but this a true, hometown show. I can’t wait.”
Miller, along with the Reklaws, Tanner Olsen Band, Karen Lee Batten, Kadooh, Geoff Moore, and DJ Jaxon Hawks have all been announced for the summer, 2023, concert.
Gone Country, the annual fundraiser “for a cure,” is set for July 22 at the Bill Reid Amphitheatre on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.
Miller said the “cure” component to the concert—Gone Country is strictly a charity event that raises money to help those battling cancer—is what really endeared him to the show. He said the whole reason he became a Country singer is related to his own non-profit, The Climb Outreach Society, which has done initiatives Guatemala such as, building projects, baby rescues for malnourished children, water infrastructure work, and they’ve raised money for scholarships for underprivileged students there.
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“I love what the twins are doing,” added Miller “My mentality is very non-profit based and charity based.”
Those twins, Chris and Jamie Ruscheinski, started Gone Country in memory of their mom “who lost her battle with breast cancer eighteen years ago,” the pair write on their website, twinscancerfundraising.com. “Since then, we have lost our step-sister, our grandfather, as well as our great friend Shaun G. This has only added gasoline to our fire.”
After humble beginnings in their dad’s backyard, they moved the concert to the Fairgrounds and have raised more than $4.7 million to fight cancer over the last decade.
“It’s an easy ‘yes’ for me when I know all the funds are going to such a good cause,” explained Miller. “I think Country has a really good heartbeat for helping people and bringing people together and I think this is a really good pairing. Charity and Country Music go hand in hand.”
The 9th annual “Gone Country—Here for the Cure—Cancer Fundraiser” is set for July 22nd, 2023. Gates open at 2 p.m. Plans are to have two live stages, 20 bars, 15 Food Trucks, Cann Gro Games area, and a beer garden.
Tickets are available now on twinscancerfundraising.comf. Super Early Bird Tickets are already sold out, but early bird tickets are still available. The Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheater is located at 17728 64th Avenue in Cloverdale.
“I’ve played a couple shows with the Reklaws,” added Miller. “I’m excited to get back with those guys. I think we’re gonna have a big party and it’s gonna be a good time.
“Hopefully the whole damn town shows up!”
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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