Bluegrass and country headliner Marty Stuart and the 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association's Entertainers of the Year, Cherryholmes, will perform at the 2008 Wartrace MusicFest on June 6-7.

Don Gallagher, Mayor of Wartrace and chairman of the town's MusicFest committee explains, "Our 4-year-old music and craft festival continues to grow, and by securing two nationally known headliners with a large fan base, we hope to put MusicFest, and Wartrace, on the summer festival map."

Cherryholmes is a genuine family band with a bass playing dad, a mandolin playing mom and two sons and two daughters playing the rest of the usual bluegrass band instruments. The group is once again nominated for the 2007 IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award and Cia Cherryholmes as the Banjo Player of the Year.

Marty Stuart has been described as country music's "renaissance man." He's scored six Top 10 national hits, has recorded one platinum and five gold albums and has won four Grammy Awards.

At age 13 Stuart joined Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass as a mandolin player. After Flatt's death, he toured with Vassar Clements and Doc & Merle Watson. Before his 20th birthday Stuart joined Johnny Cash's band as guitarist.

The two-day Wartrace MusicFest will also feature nationally recognized musicians Chris Jones and the Nightdrivers; Jack Lawrence, who has been Doc Watson's performing partner since the passing of Merle Watson; Steve Rector, the most recent inductee into the Living Legends Thumbpicker's Hall of Fame; Grandpa Jones's great-nephew Phillip Steinmetz; and many others. Arts and crafts, food booths, a Kid's Zone and an open mike segment will also be part of the 2008 festival.

MusicFest is a joint project of the Town of Wartrace and the Wartrace Chamber of Commerce and is sponsored by Gallagher Guitars, The Historic Walking Horse Hotel, Linda and Doug Howard, First Community Bank of Bedford County and the Green Hills Music Group. Proceeds will be used for community betterment projects.

To inquire about vendor space or about becoming a MusicFest sponsor call 389-6144. Additional information can also be found at www.wartracemusicfest.org.