“A small bit of history” taken from the Bay Country website…
“We were the opening act for many popular country music artist such as Daryle Singletary, Ty Herndon. Trace Adkins, Tracy Byrd, Gary Alan, The Lynns and Rhett Akins.”
1995-96 “Bay Country Recorded our CD “Band Overboard” with the Help of Wal-Mart in 1996. Our CD’s were sold in Wal-Mart Stores from Buffalo, New York to a few stores in Virginia. The members at that time were, Matt Odell, Joe Huffman, Daryl Williams, Scott ‘Bubba’ Smith and Bill Coley. Bay Country won the Southern Maryland Jimmy Dean True Value Country Showdown in 1996. We continued on to Courtland Virginia, South Hampton County Fair, to compete in the next tier. We didn’t win there but we had a great road trip.”
Bay Country – Band Overboard CD
1997 “Bay Country went through a few changes during this period and with Joe Huffman leaving to work with “Cindy Astlin and Country Thunder,” Bobby Murphy took over as the lead guitarist. Bay Country again won the Southern Maryland Jimmy Dean True Value Country Showdown for 1997. We then went to Lynchburg Virginia to compete in the next tier at Cattle Annies night club. The group that won that night went on to claim the grand prize at Disney World later that year. There was another road trip and we loved those road trips!”
1998 “Bay Country again went through more changes in 1998. Bobby Murphy and Bill Coley left to form the band “Murphy’s Law.” Joe Huffman Returned on lead guitar, Joan Johnson was added on fiddle and John Gorsch on steel guitar. After only a few months Scott Smith left to work in Syracuse New York, so we added Steve Garner on bass. And for the last time, Bay Country won the Southern Maryland Jimmy Dean True Value Country Showdown for 1998. No other contestant had won the Southern Maryland competition 3 straight years, before or since that time. We competed at Hershey Park, Hershy Pennsylvania for the next tier of the competition and again, that’s as far as we got. Once more we had a great road trip where we booked an entire motel with the band and our great fans…. We really wanted to take them to Disney World for the finals, but it just didn’t happen. John Gorsch left the band shortly after the last competition…”
