LISLE, Ill., June 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich announced the winner of their second “Music City Sing-Off” qualifying event at Sunday’s Buckeye Country Superfest in Columbus, Ohio. Karla Davis was crowned the winner and will move to the final round for the opportunity to win a $50,000 brand ambassador contract with Eckrich and the chance to record a single with Grammy-nominated producer, Dave Brainard.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bc9115cb-8034-4a92-9494-3685e93a581f
Davis was the last person standing after competing against three other qualifiers. Davis, from Franklin, Tenn., wowed the judges during her performance. Davis received a trophy and $1,000 in free groceries at Kroger for winning the qualifying round.
Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, has been an integral part of the country music landscape for several years. The brand is a partner of two of today’s most popular country music artists, Randy Houser and Easton Corbin. In addition, they support several up-and-coming country music artists across the country. Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
“We want to congratulate Karla Davis for winning the second round of our ‘Music City Sing-Off’ competition in Columbus,” said Chuck Gitkin, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. “The event continues our national competition to find aspiring country music artists and support them as they further their careers. We congratulate our winner and are looking forward to seeing her perform again at the finale in October.”
Davis was honored to be the winner of the Columbus regional competition.
“This was my first time to Columbus and it’s been a great experience,” said Davis. “This is an awesome contest that Eckrich is hosting and everyone was so talented today. I was clapping for all the singers and I’m really happy to be today’s winner. I am looking forward to going to Nashville in October.”
Two more qualifying events will occur this summer, Summerfest on July 2 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Oregon Jamboree on July 31 in Sweet Home, Oregon. The winner of each qualifying event will compete in Nashville on October 12 where the champion will be crowned at the competition’s final round at Tootsies World Famous Orchid Lounge Birthday Bash.
For more information about the Eckrich “Music City Sing-Off,” please visit www.eckrichsingoff.com.
About Eckrich
Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Nathan's Famous®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook's®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly's®, Carando® and Healthy Ones®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.
About Dave Brainard
Dave Brainard's deciBel Nashville is a laboratory of creativity and invention for adventurous and passionate musicians, and Dave is the mad scientist of sound. Dave is a self-taught producer who started in the demo business, working with Chris Tompkins, Dierks Bentley, and a famous Country music underdog – Jamey Johnson, producing They Call Me Country, the album that kick-started Johnson’s career. “Creative effort is such a personal pursuit,” Dave explains. “I am more driven by artistic curiosity than I am by someone’s sales potential. I’m inspired by the thrill of creation and how the story unfolds.” Those stories have unfolded great success for Dave, including producing albums for Ray Scott, Jerrod Neiman (including the #1 hit “Lover Lover” and the top five “What Do You Want”) and earning him a Grammy nomination for Brandy Clark’s acclaimed and Grammy-winning album, 12 Stories. “12 Stories is one of those rare albums whose every song is worth hearing,” said NPR’s Ken Tucker. “Every one is that striking, that textured and finely detailed… smoothly crafted, emotionally rough compositions.”
Also an accomplished songwriter, Dave's songs have been recorded by Brooks & Dunn, Neal McCoy, Sammy Kershaw and Ricochet. He co-wrote his most recent hit with Jason Mraz, “Everyone’s Got Someone But Me,” which Hunter Hayes ran up the charts.