Photos by Samantha Davis. Multi-platinum country recording artist and Grand Ole Opry member Lauren Alaina headlines Prairie Jam Thursday night at Mattke Field. Below: Marshall mayor Robert Byrnes presents Alaina with a proclamation before the show. Below: Local country artist Blake Schmitz performs at Prairie Jam.

MARSHALL — The third annual Prairie Jam filled the Schwan Regional Event Center Thursday night with eager country fans to see multi-platinum recording artist and Grand Ole Opry member Lauren Alaina, and local artist Blake Schmitz.

Alaina, 29-years old, was the first female headliner to take the Prairie Jam stage. She currently has three studio albums, Wildflower, Road Less Traveled, Sitting Pretty On Top Of The World, and a recently released 2023 EP, Unlocked. She also has a handful of singles that have gone multi-platinum.

“I’m pretty excited about it [Prairie Jam]. I have some family coming,” Alaina said before the show.

The family members live outside the Twin Cities.

“Anytime we go to Minnesota, I get really excited, because I pretty much always have family there,” she said.

Alaina started her career at 15 years old, and was the runner-up on American Idol in 2011. The growing relationship with her fans is what continues to inspire her.

“The interaction with the crowd, probably just being up on stage and connecting with people. I literally live for it,” Alaina said. “It’s the best thing in the world, especially when there’s young girls in the crowd. They’ll bring me bracelets, or they make signs, and it just really means a lot to me.”

Before taking stage, Alaina and her crew have a tradition of rituals they partake in, to create a positive atmosphere before a night of entertainment.

“We have a whole routine before we go on stage. We get together as a group, we take a shot, we say a prayer, and I have a secret handshake with everybody in the band and crew,” Alaina said. “In fact, if we don’t do them, I get a little bit freaked out. Sometimes we get behind and we don’t do them, and I’m like, ‘Oh no, are we going to be able to do this show?’ It’s a good, little thing that we all just get together.”

Marshall mayor Robert Byrnes earlier this summer proclaimed the week of July 15 as “Lauren Alaina Week,” and presented her a proclamation in an intimate meeting before the show.

“It’s pretty special to have a rising country music star in the city of Marshall,” Byrnes said. “I mean, it’s a first-class performer right here in Marshall. People go to Nashville to see this type of entertainment.”

This is the first time Byrnes has created a proclamation for an artist visiting.

“The proclamation was a way of not only recognizing that [Alaina’s talent], but also helping to promote, so people knew what a nice event this is,” Byrnes said. “It’s a great evening.”

Alaina herself felt taken aback about the mayor’s honor.

“I don’t even know how to feel about that. That is pretty amazing,” Alaina said . “I don’t get that everywhere I go. So tell your mayor, I said a big thank you.”

With living life on the road, the country artist tries to make it a point to indulge herself into the places she visits.

“I typically try to get out into every town I go to. I’m actually doing a little series on my TikTok with my song, Smaller The Town,” Alaina said. “I try to go to local spots and show them off a little bit, and hopefully promote them. We try to get out everywhere we go. I don’t like just sitting on the bus.”

As people filled the stands, lined up to buy merchandise and take pictures with one another, local farmer from Currie, south of Marshall, Blake Schmitz opened up the night with his own songs.

“I’m super pumped and super excited, because I’ve been playing some smaller gigs here and there, trying to just work out or fine tune, get a little more experience and more knowledge on the subject,” Schmitz said before his set. “I’m most excited for the crowd, the crowd is what’s going to be awesome … The more people there, the more fun it is.”

Schmitz, 21-years old, has been a growing country artist over the last year, and released his first album All Of You & Me in June 2023.

At the beginning of this year, he had 400 monthly listeners on music streaming services. He now has nearly 160 thousand monthly listeners.

“I’ve met so many people from across the world that I would have never met if I didn’t do this,” Schmitz said. “I believe life is short, and if you don’t take risks, it’s not worth it. Taking that bet on myself and just believing in myself, I think I’ve grown so much personally just chasing this dream of mine.”

Fans enjoyed and danced the night away to both artists for another successful Prairie Jam.

Alaina is currently working on her next record.

“I am finishing up my album now. Actually, I’ve been working on it for a minute, but I’m just trying to make sure I get it exactly right,” Alaina said. “It’s very country. I spent a lot of time back home over the last couple of years, I just got married, and I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family. So, I really tapped into my roots and I’m really proud of the project. I can’t wait to get it out.”