The annual Lake Show, presented by the John Jarrard Foundation, will return to Gainesville’s Lake Lanier Olympic Park Saturday, June 4 at 6 p.m. for an evening of music, fireworks and fun.
Otis Redding the III, son of the late Otis Redding, is a major addition to the event’s lineup. Other notable artists include: Joanna Cotton, who is a member of Eric Church’s band, Grammy-nominated songwriter Greg Barnhill who is known for writing “Walkaway Joe” and local Gainesville act The King Daddy Polecats.
John Jarrard Foundation executive director Jody Jackson said they wanted the lineup to feature songwriters, especially since the foundation’s purpose is to support songwriters.
“In our meeting last year, [we] wanted to get back to what we are as a songwriter foundation,” Jackson said. “That was all built and started on songwriters like John Gerard and Bruce Burch.”
This is the 7th Lake Show, but it will be the first without an important John Jarrard Foundation member. Bruce Burch, a songwriter and one of the nonprofit’s founders, passed away in March.
Burch created the nonprofit foundation 21 years ago to honor his late friend Jarrard, who had passed away. He then established the Lake Show to further this effort and benefit other Gainesville nonprofits.
“Bruce was kind of the liaison between Nashville and Gainesville, because he was a songwriter from Gainesville,” Jackson said. “He saw what all John went through with his health problems with diabetes. Right after John passed away, it was easy for him to call a lot of guys from Alabama and guys from Diamond Rio. Different bands and different artists that John had written songs for, and Bruce got them involved. Bruce was the one that got everyone in Gainesville excited about it.”
Jackson said this year’s concert will be a celebration of life to honor Burch’s legacy.
“We are changing the name of the foundation after 20 years,” Jackson said. “It's going to be called the Jarrard Burch Foundation. After the Lake Show, starting next month we're changing all our logos and our name with the state, with the nonprofit and everything.”
In the past, the John Jarrard Foundation held First Verse, a songwriting education program. Jackson said the foundation will amp up the program in the next couple of years.
“We bring songwriters and musicians in with kids to show them how to write songs,” Jackson said. “Because not every kid in America wants to play baseball or football or basketball. A lot of them need some direction in music.”
Lake Show tickets cost $25 and attendees will have access to food trucks, beer and wine provided by Leon Farmers, restrooms and fireworks.
Some of the charities that will benefit from the concert are the Boys and Girls Club of Lanier, the Good News Clinics, the Good News Shelter, and Sisu Integrated Learning.
“It's just been really a neat thing,” Jackson said. “People just love it. They love giving and helping, and we're all doing it in a fun manner of music. It's just very unique, the whole concept, and we couldn't do it without all the support.”
According to Jackson, the Lake Show also revitalized the once-overgrown Lake Lanier Olympic Park. Its location on the lake will allow attendees to pull up to the concert on their boats.
“In 1996, they put millions of dollars into [Lake Lanier Olympic Park] to make it an Olympic rowing venue,” Jackson said. “And then 10 to 15 years after that, they didn't do anything with it. The weeds had grown up around it. We went out there, looked at it, and just thought, ‘Man, this is a great place.’ It's less than five minutes from downtown Gainesville. There's parking, there's bathrooms, there's a built-in amphitheater and there's a lake behind it for boats.”
According to Jackson, there is not anything else in Gainesville quite like the Lake Show.
“You just can't go into a town and see Otis Redding singing,” Jackson said. “Joanna Cotten, who every night is singing with Eric Church in front of 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000 people… Greg Barnhill sings on every one of Tim McGraw's records. This is very unique. If you like music and you like boats, water and food it's just the perfect setup for all that.”
