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The Ribz 4 Kids benefit to feature The Roys

LEWISBURG – The Ribz 4 Kids benefit will be held on Saturday at Ard’s Farm, 4803 Old Turnpike Road and will feature a performance that night by Inspiration Country Music’s Bluegrass Artist of the Year, The Roys.

After Justin Midkiff’s wife went into labor two months early and delivered a premature baby, the Midkiff’s stayed at a nearby Ronald McDonald house. Midkiff thought the Ronald McDonald house treated his family great and started the Ribz 4 Kids benefit to help raise money for their organization. The benefit will have many fun games for kids, a silent auction, a barbecue competition, as well as live performances by The Roys as well as the Rocky Allen Band.

Participants in the benefits barbecue competition will be treated to a sausage and pancake breakfast before the competition starts that day. People may also camp overnight at Ard’s Farm.

At 10 a.m., the kids activities and bounce plex will open along with the food vendor Emily’s Lunch Box, the grand opening of Ard’s famous corn maze will commence and fifty-fifty raffle tickets will go on sale. At noon, the silent auction will kick off. The Rocky Allen Band will take the stage at 1 p.m. at the same time that the Kids Build a Burger Competition begins. For the hearty-eaters, a rib-eating competition will take place at 2 p.m. The awards and trophies for the car show will be given out at 4 p.m. The last awards ceremony for the barbecue competition will commence at 6 p.m.

The benefits biggest attraction for the night, the band The Roys, will be performing on the stage for the first time at 5 p.m., and again after the last awards ceremony to finish out the night.

“Anytime we can give back and do our little part we love to do so. This event was no different it’s helping kids and we get to do what we love is play music. Win-win all around,” said the duo about performing at the benefit.

Made up of siblings Lee and Elaine, The Roys are signed to Rural Rhythm Records, and will be performing music from their brand new EP, “Gypsy Runaway Train,” as well as their previous CD’s “New Day Dawning” and “Lonesome Whistle.”

The Roys are known for their outstanding vocals, memorable songs and top-notch musicianship, and are one of the fastest-rising successes in the Bluegrass music industry right now. “Gypsy Runaway Train” debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart at No. 5 and at No. 1 on Airplay Direct’s APD Global Radio Indicator Charts.

Born in Fitchburg, Mass., Lee and Elaine were raised across the border in Coal Branch, New Brunswick, Canada. The duo moved to Nashville, Tenn., to pursue their musical dreams.

Their signature sound has been described as, “a delightful and genre-bending mix of bluegrass, country, folk, roots and inspirational styles.” Their debut album, “Lonesome Whistle,” scored them a spot on Billboard’s Top 50 Bluegrass Albums of the Year in 2011, as well as giving them two singles, “Coal Minin’ Man” and “Trailblazer.”

“I would call it new grass. It’s traditional country music and bluegrass together. We love both genres and you can hear both of them in the songs that we write and sing,” said the pair on their sound.

As well as achieving chart success, the pair has won the coveted Inspirational Country Music’s Bluegrass Artist of the Year award for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012). In 2009 and 2010, the ICM first awarded them the Duo of the Year award. They have been continuing to go on extensive tours across the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia, partly thanks to a new global booking agreement with prestige agency Moonstruck Management. The tour is sponsored by the Team RealTree Outdoor Energy Drink, and because of this the duo travels to shows in a distinct RealTree camouflage bus.

During the past two years, The Roys have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with country superstars such as George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Doyle Lawson, Lady Antebellum, Eric Church, John Rich, Rhonda Vincent, Lonesome River Band, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Janie Fricke, The Oak Ridge Boys, Darryl Worley and Chris Young.

On the future of their band, The Roys stated, “We want to continue to write music that touches people and inspires them and gives them hope. We have many personal goals too but that is the one that we strive for the most to just put a smile on someone’s face with the music that we love to write and play!”

For more information regarding The Roys, visit www.theroysonline.com. For more information about the Ribz 4 Kids benefit, visit www.ribz4kids.com.

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