Jason Craig wrapped up Saturday's Grant City Sesquicentennial activities with his brand of country music, including the Holy Trinity of Country. He plays regularly in Kansas City and St. Joseph, but he said that it means a lot to him whenever he is invited back to Worth County. Around 200 people of all ages showed up Saturday evening.
During the concert, he made a video of one of his signature songs, "Worth Countin' On," recalling the flashing light that used to be at the intersection of 169 and 46 that let everyone know that they were home again after a long drive. One fearless young man took up Craig's invitation to dance out in front of the stands and after a while, many other kids did as well as band members threw out footballs and frisbees from time to time. It was cooler Saturday than it was Friday, when there was sweltering 104 degree heat, a near record for this time of year. However, Craig stopped once to drink water; the Allendale and Grant City Masonic Lodges provided free water and sold meals through most of the performance.
Craig sold CD's, shirts, and other items; he is working on a second CD album and he played some of the songs off of that album. Some of the numbers are original compositions while others are covers of popular songs; one is a rewrite to a popular rhythm that Craig felt was too upbeat for a sad song.
Some of Jason's old friends made the trip to see him play; Claudia Gladstone came all the way from Chicago while Marcy (Ruckman) Richardson came from Kansas City with her three daughters. Eddie Costin, another member of the gang that Craig ran with, was helping with the filming. And brother Scott was on the bass guitar. Les Pointer was in the audience as well.
The biggest cheers came from the "Worth Countin' On" song. Craig, whose real name is Jason Parman, has a history of making up stage names for himself; one time when he was a junior in high school and he was DJing for a teen dance on the square, he said he was a hotshot DJ from St. Louis for those who didn't know him. Craig brought his band, the Wingmen, with him this time and they provided a beat that was lively, yet provided entertainment that was wholesome and fun for people of all ages.
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