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United 2008 debuts at racing hall of fame
Concert to follow Youth Car Show
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United 2008, a concert showcasing 5 Atlanta-area bands, will debut at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame as part of the museum's summer music festival, June 28.  "This is probably one of the biggest shows that Dawson County has had in a while," said United 2008 organizer and local business owner Bob Johnson. "We have five bands coming in and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame will be doing a youth car show at the same time, so it should be a pretty decent sized event," added Johnson, who is no stranger to bringing Christian-based musicians to Dawson County.  Johnson, owner of His Rock Caf, a youth oriented coffee and concert house, has been showcasing performances by Christian artists and musicians for more than six months and said that United 2008 promises to be a unique opportunity and event for young people to attend.  "The bands are going to be setting up tables where they can talk and meet with the kids personally," said Johnson.  Georgia Racing Hall of Fame representatives who were interested in putting together a youth rally to go along with the museum's upcoming Youth Car Show approached Johnson with the idea of planning a concert.  "I knew that if we were going to do this, I wanted to step it up a little bit. We wanted to do something that was going to become an annual event. So we're trying to make this very high-quality and get some really good bands in," said Johnson, speaking of the concert's performance lineup which includes The Breakdown, Anacey, 11thour, Radio City Playhouse and the Chris Coleman Band.  Johnson said United 2008 is the product of several churches coming together to do something that's positive for local youth.  "We want to introduce kids to a different kind of music that's the same quality as what they hear on the radio, but with a different message," said Johnson. "You can have fun and be a Christian. That's a message that I think is lost on a lot of kids today who either don't go to church anymore or never went to church," the former youth pastor added.  United 2008 starts at 5 p.m., immediately following Georgia Racing Hall of Fame's Youth Car Show.  "It's directed toward youth, but not limited to youth," said Georgia Racing Hall of Fame President Annie Dean Samples. "This will be fun for the entire family with games, music, vendors and plenty to do," she added.  Registration for the Youth Car Show will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Tickets for the United 2008 concert are $8 per person.  For more information on either event, call the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame at (706) 265-3522.  E-mail Adam C. Stapleton at adam@dawsonnews.com.