Gilley takes show to China

China might not exactly be going country, but the most populated country in the world will get a taste of American country music next year when Ronnie Gilley Entertainment takes BamaJam China to the Communist nation.

Ronnie Gilley says it will be the first country music event of its kind ever held in China.

“I think it will be received very well,” Gilley said of the potential country music fans in the Communist country. “It is an exciting event and they expect over 1 million people to attend.”

Gilley, whose Country Crossing project is underway on U.S. 231 South, believes it is a good way to make inroads into the country, where American businessmen continue to seek trade agreements.

“People are spending a lot of money trying to do business within China. This festival is an unorthodox approach to economic development,” Gilley said. “What better way to expose them to American culture and create in-roads into China than through this opportunity.”

The agreement, between Ronnie Gilley Entertainment and Investors Equity of Nashville and the People’s Republic of China, specifically calls for a cross-cultural exchange of music and cultural values.

BamaJam China will be held on May 21, 2009, in the south central Province of Hunan, just two weeks before the second annual BamaJam Music & Arts Festival in Enterprise.

James Stroud, president of Ronnie Gilley Entertainment and Stroudavarious Records in Nashville, put the agreement together with Long Yuxiang, executive chairman of the China International Cultural Communication Center. The chairman attended the Country Music Association’s annual awards last week in Nashville.

Stroud, a Country Crossing partner, is currently working on a line-up for the China event, which will be different from the local festival’s roster, to include Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift and Montgomery Gentry.

Gilley said what could have been a difficult deal to put together on the other side of the world, is not. “A lot of the red tape is circumvented because of Chairman Long,” he said.

As part of the agreement, there will be a second BamaJam event in Beijing at the end of the year and there will be Chinese artists and other multicultural singers performing at BamaJam in Enterprise for the June 4-6 event.

“It is wonderful to have the friends and allies we do in Nashville,” Gilley said. “James Stroud pole-vaults us to a whole new level. We are able to do this through our entertainment component and our Nashville relationships.

About 50 of Gilley’s staff and associates from the Wiregrass will attend the China event.

“I may even get over there and decide to sing,” he said.

In the meantime, cows on the about 400-acre Country Crossing site are now off the farm. Heavy equipment is moving dirt on the multi-million dollar complex that will include a 1,500-machine electronic bingo component.

“It’s full-speed ahead,” Gilley said of the progress. “We hope to go vertical in 90 days. We are still on pace.”

Houston County officials are expected to issue Gilley a bingo permit in December.

Among the 30-plus entertainers signed on to play BamaJam in Enterprise are .38 Special, Charlie Daniels, Gary Allan, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Jamey Johnson, Jason Aldean, Heidi Newfield and Houston County.

Last year’s event was headlined by Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ZZ Top.