12th Annual Country Thunder USA Arizona
April 14-17, 2005
Florence, Arizona

Country Thunder USA 2005 - Florence, Arizona Photos by Glenda S. Paradee
		Billy Dean
Jamie O'Neal	Big & Rich	Blake Shelton
Miranda Lambert	Brooks & Dunn	Brooks & Dunn with fans backstage
Carolyn Dawn Johnson Laurie Hayes Phil Vassar Katrina Elam

COUNTRY THUNDER USA ANNOUNCES ONLINE ‘YOUNG GUNS’ TALENT COMPETITION 

Contest Offers Aspiring Acts a Chance To Perform on the Main Stage and Win $3000 Cash!

(Nashville, TN) – Country Thunder USA in Florence, Arizona announced today that they are accepting applications for their 3rd fan-based, online, reality, talent competition --The Young Guns Contest-- where the public votes a winner onto the CTUSA main stage. The Young Guns Competition began in 2004 for both CTUSA events in Arizona (April) and Wisconsin (July). The contest is back as a result of immense interest and participation. For this year’s Arizona event, one lucky contender will win cash and share the marquee with some of the biggest names in country music, including Rascal Flatts, Brooks & Dunn, Big & Rich, Darryl Worley, LeAnn Rimes, and many more. Last year’s Young Guns Arizona 1st Place winner Laurie Hayes is also scheduled to return this year as a CTUSA performer.

Aspiring artists are encouraged to submit their music and information to the online talent competition in order to win a coveted spot on the Country Thunder USA main stage by visiting www.countrythunder.com. 

From March 7-25, fans all over the world can elect their favorite artist from the nearly 50 competitors by visiting www.countrythunder.com. The winners will be announced by the end of March.

The 12th annual Country Thunder USA Arizona festival returns April 14-17 to the Canyon Moon Ranch in historic Florence, Arizona. Tickets and campsites are on sale now. Prices increase March 1. For information, or to order your tickets, call (480) 966-9920 or visit www.countrythunder.com.

COUNTRY THUNDER USA ANNOUNCES ARIZONA "YOUNG GUNS" COMPETITION WINNER!

Web-Based Reality Competition Comes to an End with the Public's Favorite "Young Gun" Contestant to Perform at This Year's Arizona Festival, held April 14th-17th 

(Nashville, TN) - The 12th Annual Country Thunder USA festival officials have announced the 2005 reality web-based talent competition results, otherwise known as the "Young Guns" competition, and the winner is Los Angeles based KANE! Officials were overwhelmed with thousands of votes cast daily for the 50 acts competing for the coveted spot on the Country Thunder USA main stage and a cash prize of $3,000. Due to an unprecedented number of votes, KANE is now slated to open for country music's favorite duos, Brooks & Dunn and Big & Rich!

Held at historic Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence, Arizona April 14-17, Country Thunder USA will include performances from Brooks & Dunn, Big & Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Chris Cagle, Katrina Elam, Darryl Worley, Blake Shelton, and more. With the results from the competition, Country Thunder USA is proud to announce that all performance slots are now full, and fans should expect KANE to bring additional ammunition to the stage as the "Young Guns" winner! 

KANE has very quickly gathered a following unequaled by any L.A. band in their genre, voted one of L.A.'s 100 Hottest Unsigned Bands by industry magazine Music Connection. Front-man Christian Kane spent the last part of 2004, and the beginning of 2005, filming a Steven Spielberg-produced six-part, 12-hour epic about the settling of the American West called INTO THE WEST. The project, which will air on TNT in June, has found Christian riding horses and shooting scenes in both the US and Canada. Hopefully they will find a place in the film for KANE's music as it is a film about the West. Christian has spent any time not filming busy writing and recording new songs in Nashville, LA, and even on the set. The only question remaining for Christian Kane is which career will launch him to superstardom first-music or acting? With the results of this year's Country Thunder USA competition, it looks as if his music is steppin' up the pace. Be sure to check out KANE at this year's ! festival on the main stage. More information about KANE is available by visiting http://www.kanemusic.com. 

The Country Thunder USA festival is a four-day event, considered a premiere country music experience, featuring top outdoor camping, food, and arts attracting over 140,000 fans each year. Tickets are available now starting at $39 for a single day and $129 for a four-day pass, and they are available for purchase at http://www.countrythunder.com/ or by calling (480) 966-9920. 

Thanks For The Music!