Stadium of Fire lets fans vote for headliner

PROVO — Stadium of Fire fans want the 2010 headliner for the popular Fourth of July event to be either David Archuleta, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Bon Jovi or Eric Dodge.

At least that's the list that resulted from an online poll that has solicited 15,000 votes since Oct. 15 to narrow 27 potential performers down to five, prompting the question: Who is Eric Dodge? (For the answer, see www.ericdodge.com.)

Chad Mustard of Blue Helm Communications, who is working with America's Freedom Festival at Provo to promote the event, said fans of the southern-Utah-born country singer had coordinated their efforts to get Dodge in the final five, despite his relative anonymity.

The Freedom Festival is now asking fans to vote for one of the five finalists on its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/freedomfestival, before Jan. 1. But the top vote-getter isn't guaranteed to appear at the Freedom Festival in 2010.

"We haven't made a promise," Mustard said. "But I think good choices are there."

He said the effort to involve the public in selecting this year's performer has been successful in at least one area: "People are talking about the Stadium of Fire in November, which is great for us," he said.

— Marc Haddock