BIG SPRING, Texas – What do an American Idol and Red Dirt royalty have in common?

They’ll be part of this year’s concert series during the Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo. John Foster – who finished as the runner-up in Season 23 of “American Idol” last spring – will kick off two nights of music and dance Friday, June 5, in the concert pavilion at the Surge Energy Rodeo Bowl.

This year’s concerts will also feature a double-headliner Saturday, June 6, with Jason Boland & The Stragglers alongside William Clark Green. Both concerts will follow the performances of the rodeo, which begin at 7:30 p.m.

“Our concerts this year are the perfect match with our rodeo changing its dates to the first weekend in June,” said Cash Berry, chairman of the volunteer rodeo committee that produces the annual event. “I know our Saturday night is going to be exceptional. Jason Boland and William Clark Green have a huge following, but to also get John Foster is a big deal for our community.”

Foster’s style blends a rich voice with strong ties to classic country music. Since his rise on television, he has performed 10 times at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Though he was a student at Louisiana State University while on “American Idol,” Foster has taken a break from studies to chase his musical dreams.

“ ‘American Idol’ has consistently produces so many stars in the music industry,” Foster told TV Insider. “I was inspired to audition in hopes that I can become one of the successful musicians that the show has produced her its 23-year history.”

The program has produced several top artists, highlighted by Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson and Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, both of whom made it big through country music. Others have followed suit, like Scotty McCreery, who won Season 10.

Boland and the band have been playing Red Dirt music for better than 25 years, a true pioneer to the movement. Boland & The Stragglers released their first album in 1999, and anyone who has listened to the genre has certainly heard the high-energy anthem “Pearl Snaps.” Those that know Red Dirt music have likely paid close attention to the rest of the band’s collection.

Like Boland & The Stragglers, Green has generated a substantial following since he first began playing years ago. He cut his teeth on the music industry by being part of the live-music scene in Lubbock, Texas, and it’s taken off. His seventh album, Watterson Hall, released in March.

“Like every record I’ve done, this record is a biography, but it doesn’t have breakup songs or first-love songs, because that’s not where I’m at,” Green told Billboard. “My mom always said, ‘Follow your heart and you’ll never go wrong,’ so I just wrote what I know.”

Fans have come to follow and love what the Texas-born artist has created. The folks in Big Spring are about to prove why.