Albert Tibbetts lead electric guitarist
		Photo to be posted soon
Pete Atkins, drummer		Reid Raymond, bassist

Lana Kress continues to get worldwide airplay of her debut CD, "Be Careful What You Wish For". DJs in Europe, New Zealand and Australia are playing several different songs from the CD which demonstrates the great selection of songs Lana recorded on her first record. Check out the playlists for yourself and see what songs the DJs are playing. Click on any of the playlists below to view the artists and songs the DJs are currently playing:

Total Knock Out Promotions Playlist board for Australian DJs only

Nashville Showcase Playlist Board

Dutch Country DJ Association

Texas Twister Radio & Records Playlist

Lana Kress joined about 30 other independent artists for a show in Frederickshavn, Denmark on Saturday, February 23rd. This was an opportunity to meet several of the DJs playing her music in Europe as well as festival organizers who were looking for artists to book. Some of the DJs traveled for hours to be at this 13-hour show which showcased about 30 different country artists from the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Lana says, "It was a terrific opportunity to showcase in front of booking agents and festival organizers. Hopefully I'll have opportunities to go back to Europe to perform again. It was also nice to have the chance to thank the DJs in person for playing my music over there. I met some wonderful people, made some great new friends and learned a lot from the other artists who were not the least bit hesitant about sharing their experiences and advice with me. That is so refreshing in this competitive business of music. It was a wonderful experience!" [See Photographs page for photos.]

LIVE PERFORMANCE ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 16TH at JOLLIE'S
BENEFIT FOR ROD WILSON WHO HAS PANCREATIC CANCER
Lana and her band will be performing one set on Sunday, Sept. 16th at Jollie's in Ridgefield, WA. The address is 17701 Union Rd, Ridgefield WA. Take I-5 north from Portland to the 179th St/Clark County Fairgrounds Exit. You can see Jollie's from the freeway on the east side. They will be performing sometime between 3pm & 5pm for 45 minutes. Check back here at the end of the week for the exact performance time or feel free to call (503) 667-9445 after Thursday.

Aug 4, 2001

COUNTRY SHOWDOWN ROAD ENDS IN SWEET HOME
Lana Kress and her band competed on Saturday, August 4th at the Oregon Jamboree in Sweet Home in the Oregon State Finals of the Country Showdown. While Lana and her band had a great performance, the judges' didn't award enough points to win the title. So the road to the national finals ends in Sweet Home. "Every band member is a winner in my eyes. They all played great! Because contestants get extra bonus points for performing material they write, we may have been hurt by that. We didn't perform any songs we wrote whereas the winner, John Ricketts, performed two songs he wrote with just his acoustic guitar as accompaniment. It's always good experience to perform in these contests. You just never know what may come of it. This is just one avenue to Nashville. We'll just have to take another route," says Lana.

May 13, 2001

To view photos associated with this story, go to the photographs page.
LANA KRESS WINS THE TRUE VALUE COUNTRY SHOWDOWN AGAIN!

This time with her own band! After four years of competing in the Country Showdown as a solo act, Lana has entered the contest with a band. And it's because of these great musicians Lana feels she has a really good shot at going all the way to nationals this year. "They are a very talented, dedicated and enthusiastic group of guys and I feel very lucky to have found such great musicians. It took me three years to put this group together and it was well worth the wait. Great things are gonna happen with this gang! I can feel it!!!"

They competed against six other acts in The Dalles' local True Value Country Showdown competition, three of them bands and the other three solo acts. The two songs they performed were "Little Bird" (originally recorded by Sherrie Austin) and an original off Lana's debut CD written by Bob Dellaposta called "Sorry, Sorry Won't Work This Time". In third place was a band named Alibi from Hood River and second place went to Sara Jo of The Dalles. Lana and her band took home a huge trophy (see photo above) and a $1,000 prize package. Lana Kress and her band will represent Y-102 of The Dalles at the Oregon State finals on Saturday, August 4th at the Oregon Jamboree in Sweet Home, Oregon. Check back for more details. And stay tuned to 102.3 FM in The Dalles for another acoustic performance on Alex King's morning show.

May 8, 2001

TRUE VALUE COUNTRY SHOWDOWN 2001
Lana Kress and her band will be competing in Y102's 5th Annual Country Showdown on Saturday, May 12th at 8:00pm in The Dalles, Oregon at the Granada Theater. Lana has competed in the Country Showdown for the last four years as a solo artist using the backup band each year. This will be her first year competing in the showdown as a band. Dave Schwanke will be playing bass. Chris Hobby will be playing drums. On keyboards will be Don McFadden. Gary LaPado will be on lead guitar. And Tim Thurston joins the band on acoustic guitar. Performing with a very talented group of musicians, Lana hopes to go all the way to nationals this year. In the last two years, she made it to the regional level. If it's meant to be…it will happen this year!

Y102 MORNING SHOW GUEST
On Tuesday, May 8th, Lana Kress and her lead guitarist, Gary LaPado, were guests on Alex King's morning show in The Dalles, Oregon on KYYT 102.3 FM. They sang acoustic versions of "Take That" (previously recorded by Lisa Brokop) and "Dancin' Round and 'Round" (a track on Lana's CD which was previously recorded by Olivia Newton-John).

March 29, 2001

SPOTLIGHT TALENT SHOWCASE BROADCAST DATES
Lana Kress and her band will be featured on Spotlight Talent Showcase which will broadcast in the Salem area on AT&T Cable channel 22 on May 1st  at 1pm, on May 3rd at 4pm, on May 4th at 9pm and May 5th at 10pm. It will be broadcast throughout the state of Oregon after the Salem broadcast dates. Check back for those broadcast cities, channels, dates and times. Photos from the show taping will be available on this site soon.

February 26, 2001

SPOTLIGHT TALENT SHOWCASE FEATURES LANA KRESS
Lana Kress will be featured on Spotlight Talent Showcase which tapes on Wednesday, March 7th at 5:00pm in Salem, Oregon at CCTV. The show will air throughout Oregon on AT&T Cable channels. Dates, times and channels will be posted on this site when they become available. Lana will be performing an hour-long set with her band for 10 songs and solo for four songs for the show. Fans, family and friends are welcome to view the taping of the show. CCTV Studio is located at the Salem City Library building on the Commercial Street side. Park in the library parking arcade and walk towards Commercial Street. CCTV is in large letters on the studio door. A mortuary and a furniture store are right across the street. If you have any problems, just ask at the library office. The address is 585 Liberty Street SE, Salem Oregon. Phone number is (503) 588-2288.

FRONT PAGE NEWS OF THE GRESHAM OUTLOOK
Lana Kress received some media attention on Saturday, February 24th when she was featured on the front page of the Gresham Outlook, a local newspaper. The article was written by Kim Wetzel of the Gresham Outlook staff and photos were taken by Fliint Carlton. Check back to view the article which will be posted here soon.

WORLDWIDE AIRPLAY OF LANA'S CD CONTINUES
EVERY SINGLE country track on Lana's debut CD, "Be Careful What You Wish For" is getting airplay in Europe and Australia. A trip to Europe is planned for June 2001 to perform live. Stay tuned to this web site for more details on that. On the Worldwide Mainstream Artists Charts, she ranked #14 for the period January 15-31, 2001 and #13 for the period February 1-15, 2001. Cilck on the dates to view the actual charts and see what other artists were on the lists. The following e-mail is the kind of feedback she is getting from DJs around the world about her CD:

From: Herman De Geyter
To: <info@lanakress.com>
Subject: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 17:36:14 +0100

Dear Lana,

Just a few lines to tell you how thrilled I was to receive the aforementioned album. After a first listen, I was wondering how it was possible that your album has not been released on a major, but then -- with the right people promoting and a little help from the radio over there, you SURE are destined to be a HIT.

If I may say so, although the picture was B/W, you've got the looks AND the voice to make it in country music. The production is modern, without hurting too much the fans of tradition. The title song of your album is on our playlist for the program of april 13th and I have also got Judy Rodman (who sings harmony on your CD) out of our discotheque and placed her right behind you. At the time she was successful as a solo-artist (1985-1990) we did get a lot of help from MTM (her record label).

Then there's another question, I would like to ask you; photographs of artists who carry my personal favor have a place in my office and since I count you among them, I was wondering if you could send me an autographed picture for my office. You would be doing me a great favor.

And last but not least, the Country Club, the weekly program I am producing for nationwide RADIO 2, covers the whole of Belgium, Holland, and parts of France and Germany (on FM and AM) This is an area of well over 25 million people...I do hope that on April 13th as many as possible will tune in to RADIO 2.

Wishing you the very best for your career,

Sincerely,

Herman DE GEYTER
DE COUNTRY CLUB
RADIO 2
Gentsesteenweg 229
B-9300 AALST
Belgium

January 23, 2001

LANA KRESS' SONGS HIT THE AIRWAYS IN EUROPE & AUSTRALIA! Thanks to Gary Bradshaw of Western Heart Promotions, Lana's debut CD, "Be Careful What You Wish For" is now in the hands of DJs all over Europe and Australia. And thanks to the DJs there, her songs are now being played on the radio overseas. Lana has plans to perform abroad in the near future. Check back to find out when and where.

REGIONAL FINALS SERVES AS MOTIVATION
Lana Kress' best wasn't good enough to pull off the win at the Northwest Regional Finals of the Country Showdown on Saturday, October 14th at Kelly's Grand Ole Opry in Post Falls, Idaho. Montana's Mike Ulvila will represent the Northwest Region in the National Finals in Nashville on November 29th. "I wasn't nervous on stage which is unusual for contest situations for me. I gave the best performance I could've given so I certainly don't feel bad about the outcome. I've done enough of these contests to know that sometimes that's just the way these go," says Lana. "Competing in the national finals could've opened some doors for me, but now I'll just have to find other ways to open them myself. I'll just use this as motivation to keep pluggin' away and show them I can still come out a winner."

Immediately after the competition Craig Morgan performed a set followed by The Kinleys. The other regional contestants were Dave Russell representing California, Jason Johnston representing Oregon, and J. Michael Bailey representing Utah and Nevada. Mike Ulvila was the winner and he represented Montana. Lana Kress represented Washington and Idaho.

Making it to the regional level did offer an opportunity for some exposure. Lana Kress received some media coverage in relation to the contest. On Saturday, October 7th the Gresham Outlook printed a little story about the contest. And then on Friday, October 13th The Oregonian published a big article along with a large photo in the East Metro edition of their paper. You can find the article on page C3 in the MidcountyExtra section or click here for a PDF file of the article.

LANA KRESS WINS WASHINGTON SHOWDOWN AGAIN—2nd YEAR IN A ROW!
For the second year in a row, Lana Kress won the Washington Finals of the Country Showdown and took home $1,000 on Sunday, September 24th in Yakima, Washington at the Central Washington State Fair. She now will represent KWJJ and the state of Washington in the Northwest Regional Finals on Saturday, October 14th in Spokane, Washington. (See "Next Schedule Performances" section below for location and time.)

She will compete against the state winners from California, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Nevada and Idaho...again! This year she's goin' for the win!!! A regional win would mean an all-expense paid trip to Nashville for the Finals which will be on Wednesday, November 29th at the Grand Ole Opry emceed by Lorrie Morgan.

The Country Showdown is America’s biggest talent showcase. Some well-known country superstars competed in the Country Showdown. LeAnn Rimes was a Texas local showdown winner. Garth Brooks was an Oklahoma local showdown winner. Sara Evans was a Missouri state showdown winner. Rick Trevino was a Texas state showdown winner. John Berry was a Georgia state showdown winner. Shane Minor was a California state showdown winner. Chad Brock was a Florida state showdown finalist. John Michael Montgomery was a Kentucky state showdown winner. Martina McBride was a national finalist. Neal McCoy was a national finalist. Sweethearts of the Rodeo were a national winner.

Lana Kress is one step closer to reaching her goal of going all the way to nationals. As you'll hear her say, "It's better to shoot for the stars and miss than to aim for a pile of manure and hit!" She sets high goals because even if she doesn't achieve them, she'll achieve much more than if she had set easily attainable goals. You'll also hear her say, "Dream big and never give up on your dreams!" This is her fourth year in the Country Showdown. She hopes the year 2000 proves to be her year. Click here for more showdown details directly from Lana Kress.

LANA KRESS WINS KWJJ COUNTRY SHOWDOWN!
Lana Kress won the KWJJ Country Showdown on Saturday, September 9th at the Bones 'n Brew Festival in Portland, Oregon at the Waterfront Park. It was the first year that a Portland Country radio station sponsored the 19 year running national country music talent search. KWJJ put on a great contest! MIke and Amy (morning show DJs) emceed the competition. Listen to Mike and Amy weekdays from 5am to 9am on KWJJ 99.5 FM. Jeff and the Revolvers was the backup band and they did a fantastic job with all the contestants songs. Echo Canyon provided the awesome sound production.

KWJJ received 30 entries for the contest. They narrowed it down to seven contestants. Ed Miller from Tigard, Melissa Moore from Gresham, Doug James from Beaverton, Sheri Karpa from Milwaukie, Bridgette Powell from Springfield, and Matt Swindell from Ridgefield, Washington all shared the stage with Lana Kress. Now Lana moves on to the Washington State Finals (KWJJ got into the contest too late to send their winner to the Oregon State Finals which was held on Aug. 8th). It will be held on Sunday, September 24th in Yakima, Washington at the Central Washington State Fair on the Oak Park Stage from 6pm to 8pm.

Lana is the 1999 Washington winner so she will be defending her own title. Last year she made it to the Regional Finals as the Washington winner. This is Lana's fourth year competing in the Country Showdown and this year her goal is to go all the way to Nationals.

The Washington winner will receive $1,000 in prize money and go on to compete in the Northwest Region Finals in Spokane, Washington at Kelly's Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, October 14th. Contest time has not been determined yet. The regional winner receives an all-expense paid trip to Nashville for the National Finals at the Grand Ole Opry on Nov. 29th. The national winner receives $50,000 in prize money. For more information about the Country Showdown, check out their web site at http://www.countryshowdown.com.

LANA KRESS HAS A BULLETIN BOARD AND CHAT ROOM NOW AT eCOWBOY.COM!
The eCowboy.com Editorial Staff recently received Lana's press kit and debut CD. Here's what they had to say:

"Congratulations, you now have a club on eCowboy.com. More importantly, we have mixed it in with all of the signed artists. We have continued to listen to your CD and like it more the more we listen to it. You've done a fine job. eCowboy.com believes in you and is behind you. You will be one of the only indies allowed on eCowboy. It has a bulletin board and chat room. It will soon have our review of your debut CD. We look forward to seeing your career grow.

Sincerely,

The eCowboy.com Editorial Staff

Lana was the spotlight artist on Eddie Bear's internet radio show during the week of September 4th thru the 10th. If you missed the show you can still listen to her interview and hear the full version of three of her songs from the archive realaudio file of the show, if it is still available at Radio ETC's web site. So listen today by clicking on the Radio ETC Country icon. It is a realaudio file so it requires Real Player to listen which can be downloaded at http://www.real.com.

Welcome to the official home page of Lana Kress. Lana is a singer/songwriter from Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. She is the 1999 Washington winner of the Country Showdown. She was the opening act for Travis Tritt on July 15, 2000 in Portland at Jubitz. Travis Tritt's steel player, Steve Sturm, played on Lana's CD along with some other great musicians. She recorded her debut CD titled, "Be Careful What You Wish For" in Nashville, Tennessee at ABM Recording Studio with producer, Dick McVey. It has received great reviews (which will be available to read on this site soon)! Buy one today! CREDIT CARDS NOW ACCEPTED.

Lana's CD features 12 contemporary country songs including an original Christmas song. The Christmas song is called "It Started in a Manger" and is available for free download from this site or the MP3.com web site. Check out "The Songs" for additional audio clips which are now available for all songs on the CD. They are in MP3 format.

For additional information, please send an e-mail to info@lanakress.com.