“I Am What I Am” Music Festival and Benefit will be held on August 18 at the Bedford County Agricultural Center in Shelbyville, TN. The local rock band, The Ghost Ballerinas, and Elympic Entertainment are hosting the event which will raise money for autism in OUR community.

The alternative rock band, The Ghost Ballerinas, has been called “modern day troubadours”.  They have made an incredibly bold statement with their 11-song sophomore album, PLAY ME ON THE RADIO, which was released in April, 2012.  The band features Cameron Burnette on guitar and vocals, Justin Berry on bass guitar, and A.J.Vanderpool on drums.  The Ghost Ballerinas originally formed as a garage band in 2008 in Nashville, TN.  The group is actually from Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and Shelbyville.  If you know anything about this area, it is not far from where a man with the initials J.D. started making great whiskey.

Like Tennessee whiskey that gets its world-class taste from being hidden away year after year and blended ever so slowly by time and patience, the flavor of The Ghost Ballerinas music comes from years they spent scribbling song lyrics into old school notebooks and from the countless nights they made raw noise come from old, cheap amplifiers.  They are not as polished as the best Scotch, but who from Tennessee drinks Scotch anyway?

Just like a Mason jar, The Ghost Ballerinas do not have a fancy label but they have got the best fans, friends, and supporters in the world.  Family is important to the group and they are very appreciative to their families who bought them their first guitar and drum set.  They believe that music is like Tennessee whiskey . . . you’re not suppose to keep it all for yourself.  So, here they are!  We hope you will enjoy them and that you will put the Music Festival and Benefit on your schedule.

The Music Festival will kick off at 10:00 a.m. with the National Anthem and a send off  to hundreds of bikers heading out on the annual “Aut 2 Be Kids Motorcycle Benefit run”.  One hundred percent of the proceeds will be donated!  Ninety percent of all proceeds will go to the Bedford County Association for Exceptional Students, Inc, a 501c3 Tennessee charity committed

to helping families in the Middle Tennessee area who live with autism. Ten percent of all proceeds will go to the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee for research and development into finding the cause of autism, which now affects 1 out of 100 children.

To make donations or for further information, contact Kenda Berry at 931-492-2771.