Just announced, Universal Records South recording artist Phil Vassar will appear in St. Charles next month.

He is just one of the artists taking part in Winterfest, a two-day country music festival produced by AStar Promotions, and featuring artists including Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes, Jason Aldean, Julianne Hough and others. Storme Warren of GAC’s “Country Music Across America” is the official host of Winterfest each day. An after party, hosted by Drew Walker of US99.5 FM, will be held Saturday night, Jan. 17.

Vassar will perform at 8:25 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, in the Pheasant Run Resort Mega Center, 4051 E. Main St. Tickets start at $54 and are available online through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling the Pheasant Run Box Office at (630) 584-6342.  More information is available at www.pheasantrun.com/concerts/index.htm.

Vassar is celebrating the successful release of his fourth studio album, “Prayer of a Common Man,” which hit stores earlier this year. The first week of its release, it came in as the number three record on the Country Charts and in the top 10 on the Top Current Album National Chart, and was the fourth highest debuting album of the week across all genres.

His first single, “Love is a Beautiful Thing,” reached the second spot on the country radio charts. The video featured the real-life wedding photos of thousands of Vassar’s fans and can be seen on GAC and CMT along with his Web site at www.philvassar.com and www.myspace/philvassar.

The Virginia-born singer-songwriter has made his mark in Nashville as a performer and musician. Known not only for his knack for songwriting, but for his skills on the piano, he has achieved a long list of Top 20 hits on country radio, including nine number one songs  throughout his career.

Some of his accolades include two time ASCAP Songwriter of the Year, Billboard Magazine Top New Country Artist, Billboard Country Songwriter of the Year, Music Row Magazine Breakthrough Artist of the Year and The Academy of Country Music  Top New Male Vocalist of the Year.

Most recently, Vassar became a national spokesman for Feeding America (formerly Second Harvest) in an effort to help increase public awareness of hunger in the United States.