I have been a professional entertainer and recording artist for the last 45 years. I graduated from Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Florida in 1965, with Don Felder & Bernie Leadon from the Eagles. Tom Petty was in the 9th grade there. I attended Florida State University from 1965 to 1968, majoring in music. From 1968-1970 I served as a paratrooper in the U.S Army. I was an Airborne Military Policeman in the 18th Airborne Corps in 1968-69, and in 1970, I did a tour in Vietnam as a Criminal Investigator with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, where I received the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. After Vietnam, I attended Northwest Missouri State University, graduating in 1972, with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education. In 1972-73, I studied for a Masters Degree in Music, and in June 1973. I went on the road with my band FESTIVAL. I married Jonnie K. Oleson in 1976, and we live with the Festival Family on the Festival Farm, in Skidmore, Missouri. Our son, Marty was born in 1977, and our daughter, Anna was born in 1983. In 1998, I received a Bachelors Degree in Mass Communications, also from Northwest Missouri State University. BRITT SMALL & FESTIVAL toured the United States and Canada for 27 years, recording 18 albums in the process, and building our own recording studio, Max Stout Stdio, and establishing our own record label, Max Stout Records. We headlined in 9 different casinos in Las Vegas, performed at 4 Worlds Fairs, and many state and county fairs. We came to national prominence in 1982, when we walked down into the angry crowd before the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, singing to calm the anger. We were featured on the national news that night, and this changed history. We subsequently performed at the dedications of the Three Fighting Men Statue in 1984, the Vietnam Womens Memorial in 1993, and the Korean War Memorial in 1995. We were the only group to stand on top of The Wall and sing at Veterans Day ceremonies. We led the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally for Prisoners of War and Missing in Action for many years, and performed 44 concerts in front of the Lincoln Memorial for POW-MIAs. In 1984, while performing in front of the US Capitol Building, we helped start the live prisoner of war movement. BRITT SMALL & FESTIVAL headlined the show at Grant Park in Chicago during the Chicago Welcome Home Parade, and on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid in New York Harbor, during the New York Welcome Home Parade. We played in RFK Stadium during the 50th Anniversary of the US Airborne in 1990, and were named "The Band of the Airborne". We played at the dedications of many state veterans memorials from New York to California to Florida, and many veterans reunions. We toured with many famous groups, backed-up many legendary entertainers, and performed in several different theaters in Branson, Missouri. We played in many places that most entertainers never get to perform, like Mt. Rushmore. FESTIVAL retired from the road in 2000, but I still entertain with the digital tracks of the group doing one man shows, singing at VA hospitals, state veterans homes, nursing homes, and anywhere that I can entertain America's veterans.No Veterans = No Freedom, Thank a Veteran!
Get this MySpace Layout from pYzam.com , it's where I got mine from!
On top of The Wall (1989)Cross Country Album cover (1993)At the Lincoln Memorial (1992)Britt Small
I changed my font at pYzam.com
