Party Country-Style Through Labor Day

Jodi Robbins and Julie Taylor love country music, have made country music and now plan to promote country music. Robbins, a songwriter, and Taylor, a performer, tapped into their Nashville connections and their visions of what a country music festival should be, and came up with California Country Jam ’95.

With the help of sponsors--including Budweiser and the Wherehouse, the Long Beach gals are putting on the festival in their own back yard of sorts--the Shoreline Aquatic Park in Long Beach.

Headliners for the three-day fest include Pirates of the Mississippi on Saturday; Michelle Wright on Sunday, and the Kentucky Headhunters on Monday, along with an appearance by Branscombe Richmond (from the TV show “Renegade”) and his band, appropriately called Renegade.

In addition to the concerts, there will be a 14,000-square-foot dance floor, with DJs from KFRG-FM and KIK-FM throughout the weekend. Music on two stages and a “Taste of Country” food fair, with lots of barbecue, beans and the like, will keep festival-goers busy, but there will also be a Country Casino gambling hall and a karaoke stage; about 100 vendors selling country lifestyle merchandise; a Kiddie Korral; Dunk the DJ Tank, and, each night a fireworks display.

Admission is $18 daily; $45 for all three days. Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Monday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Backstage Party Package available. Shoreline Aquatic Park, Shoreline Drive, Long Beach. (800) 279-5774.