Final concert to feature country music artists

On Wednesday, Aug. 19, the final concert in the Pittsburg Virtual Festival for the Arts will feature three talented country music acts from Southeast Kansas: Dustin Treiber, Tim Nowell, and BJ Pruitt of BJ Pruitt and the Barnstormers. 

The festival, which kicked off on July 1 and has featured weekly concerts streamed across several channels, has been a collaboration of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, the Pittsburg State University Department of Music, and local performers, as a means of providing entertainment during the pandemic.    

Treiber, who is program director at KRPS 89.9 FM, graduated from Pittsburg State and became a songwriter. He recorded his first album in Nashville, and one of his music videos was a finalist in CMT’s Music City Madness. When he’s not on the radio, he’s performing at area bars, casinos, events, and parties.  

Nowell grew up listening to family members play country and folk music around campfires, and after attending Pittsburg State began blazing a path for himself with his guitar. The lead single on his first album made the charts. He became an opening act for major artists and toured through the Midwest as a Country Male Artist of the Year nominee.  
 
Pruitt, who also attended Pittsburg State, taught himself to play the guitar at age 25. By day, he is the principal at the middle school in Girard, Kansas. In the evenings and weekends, he’s part of BJ Pruitt and the Barnstormers. They play a mix of red dirt, classic country, and rock originals and cover tunes throughout the region.  

The concert will be streamed on the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts Facebook page, YouTube.com/pittstate, www.vimeo.com/pittstate, and broadcast on CAPS 13 TV.