A Hollywood actor and musician is bringing his country band to Iowa. The tour will include a gig in a Winnebago County barn. Kevin Costner and Modern West have a song called "Leland Iowa" on their debut album, which was released in November of last year.
It’s become quite a hit around the small, north-central Iowa town thanks to heavy rotation on KIOW in Forest City. Mark Skaar, the radio station’s program director, says he first heard about the tune from a listener’s email.
"We did a little bit of digging around, a couple of us at the radio station, and found out that a gentleman by the name of John Coinman wrote the song," Skaar said. Coinman, who plays guitar in Costner’s band, has relatives that live in Leland. Skaar also noticed that Costner and Modern West scheduled a tour through the Midwest and there was an open date between shows in Omaha and Minneapolis.
Skaar proposed filling the date with a gig in Leland. "We shot a couple emails to (Costner’s) management company and to John, they were very receptive to coming and lo and behold, it’s going to happen," Skaar said. The show will take place this afternoon (Wednesday) at a barn at Jim Ambroson’s residence, located on the west of Leland. Skaar believes the barn will hold a few hundred people.
Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and while there’s no cover charge, free-will donations will benefit community projects in Leland. Costner and Modern West will perform a short, stripped-down acoustic set and then return to the bar circuit with shows in Omaha on Thursday and Des Moines on Friday.