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.