From The Archives: 1992 June Jam draws fans from all over the country

We look back at the Fort Payne country music festival that is returning this year after 26 years

FORT PAYNE, Alabama (WDEF) – We still don’t know exactly who will be performing, but tickets went on sale anyway this week for the return of the June Jam.

The music festival returns to Fort Payne on Saturday, June 3rd after a 26 year break.

The surviving members of the group Alabama promise they will be there.  But the other artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

Alabama started the festival in their hometown as a way to give back.

It ran from 1982-1997, and grew along with the fame of the band.

June Jam would eventually become one of the top draws in country music for both fans and stars.

Garth, Willie and Dolly all performed there over the years.

It also, quite literally, paid back the town that produced the boys from Alabama by drawing fans and by serving as a fundraiser for their Christmas giveaway each year.

But a whole new generation of fans have grown up without knowing of the June Jam or the band that started it all.

So we have dug back into our archives to remember a preview to the 1992 show (Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Doug Stone, Trisha Yearwood, Aaron Tippin and Diamond Rio).

Our reporter, Ted Perry, found people lining up for a good seat before show day, from all over the country.