Joe Diffie in Concert at Hempstead Hall

MOVED TO HEMPSTEAD HALL 2500 SOUTH MAIN, HOPE, AR 71801 Grammy and Academy of Country Music Award-winner Joe Diffie will perform at the 41st Annual Hope Watermelon Festival on Saturday, August 12, at 8:30 p.m. The concert will be held on the CMC Stage inside Hope Fair Park. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. Diffie has charted 35 cuts on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including 12 number one singles including his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)", "Third Rock from the Sun", "Pickup Man" (his longest-lasting number one, at four weeks) and "Bigger Than the Beatles". In addition to these cuts, he has 12 other top ten singles and 10 other top 40 hits on the same chart. He also co-wrote singles for Holly Dunn, Tim McGraw, and Jo Dee Messina, and has recorded with Mary Chapin Carpenter, George Jones, and Marty Stuart. The concert will also feature opening performances by Arkansas natives Dillan Cate and Rachel Hale at 7:30 p.m. and the winner of the Watermelon Idol singing competition at 8:25 p.m. General admission ticket prices are $15 for adults and $6 for children ages four to ten. Reserved seating tickets are available for $40. Adult general admission prices will $20 on the day of the event. Tickets are available at www.uacch.edu or at the Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce.