Aaron Tippin, one of the Greater Greer Area's native sons, returns to highlight the 2012 Village Hospital Greer Family Festival musical lineup with a free concert May 5 at Greer City Park.

“Aaron exemplifies a lot of the values that we hold near and dear with the Family Fest and we look forward to having him at the 28th Annual event,” festival chairman Rudy Painter said.

A Blue Ridge High School graduate, Tippin has maintained close ties to boyhood home. He contributed 1,050 CDs to the high school in 2011 as a fundraiser deemed “The Blue Ridge Project, Giving Back.”  The CD included nine songs and sold for $10 each to help fund school programs and activities.

When he takes the stage at 8 p.m. on May 5, Tippin and his band will give back live performances of his biggest hits as the biggest "name" Village Hospital Greer Family Festival has ever presented.

Tippin is described in the music industry as a force of nature, a man whose passion for music fuels an array of other vigorous enthusiasm. Apart from writing and recording songs and wowing crowds with his live appearances, Tippin is also a pilot, farmer, winemaker, outdoorsman, avid bodybuilder and devoted family man. He even runs his own record label. It’s no surprise then that so many in the music industry regard this tireless South Carolinian as the “Hillbilly Hercules.”

Fresh from unveiling He Believed, his exclusive album for Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, Tippin has now released a second collection of songs, one that salutes America’s truck drivers. It’s called In Overdrive and features the trucker classics, “East Bound and Down,” “Drivin’ My Life Away,” and “Movin’ On” to name a few.

Tippin has crusaded for the working man and woman since he ripped country music wide open in 1990 with his uncompromising “You’ve Got to Stand for Something.” On the strength of that remarkable song, comedian Bob Hope invited Tippin to appear with him when he toured the Mideast to entertain the troops of Desert Storm. Tippin has been a favorite of – and a standby for – America’s fighting forces ever since.

In the years that followed, Tippin’s voice continued to ring loud and clear with such hits as “I Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way,” “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With The Radio,” “My Blue Angel,” “Working Man’s Ph.D.,” “The Call of The Wild,” “I Got It Honest,” “That’s As Close As I’ll Get To Loving You,” “For You I Will,” and “Kiss This.”

Tippin became immediately enraged by the sneak attacks of 9/11 and quickly remembered a song he’d recently penned, “Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly.” He instantly booked studio time and rushed to Nashville and tracked this emotional anthem that reminds countless people as to what it means to be an American. Tippin has since journeyed to Iraq and Afghanistan to sing for the troops. Tippin’s honest lyrics and direct vocals have built a large and devoted audience. Five of his albums are certified “Gold” and one, “Platinum.” He has sold more than five million records and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country chart.

In keeping with his take-charge attitude, Tippin established NIPPIT Records in 2005.

Tippin’s retreat is a 500-acre farm in middle Tennessee, where he labors, relaxes and revels in the outdoors with wife and musical collaborator Thea and their two sons, Tom and Ted.

His performance will close the two-day festival that will take place throughout downtown Greer and Greer City Park.  Sponsorships are available at many levels. For more informatuion on the concert or Village Hospital Greer Family Festival, please call the Greater Greer Chamber at 877-3131.

Aaron Tippin invites fans to his May 5 concert