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Country music icon Willie Nelson has canceled his performance at the 2008 Foothills Fall Festival, leaving the festival at least temporarily without a closing headliner.

Festival organizers learned Thursday that Nelson had rescheduled dates around Oct. 6-16. Since the festival, scheduled Oct. 10-12, could not be rescheduled, Nelson canceled the Oct. 12 date in Maryville.

Nelson’s representatives and festival officials had negotiated for several weeks to confirm the date, said Jane Groff, Maryville events coordinator.

“Learning that the date would be canceled after having confirmation and announcing our lineup is very disappointing,” she said. “We know our festival guests are as disappointed as we are. This is an unexpected situation for the festival.”

Ticket sales, originally scheduled for July 18, have ben postponed until July 25 in order to better communicate the change in schedule.

Meanwhile, festival radio sponsor WIVK radio is searching for a new act for Sunday night’s closing show. One idea is to put a list of available performers on the station’s Web site and let people vote on which artist should come.

“We are working hard to find a great option for Sunday night’s closing act,” said Mike Hammond of WIVK radio. “We will be making this announcement soon.”

Even without the Red-Headed Stranger, the lineup for this year’s festival remains strong. Acts performing this year include legendary rock band Foreigner, country music superstar Billy Ray Cyrus, country rocker Jason Aldean, popular Josh Turner, Dancing with the Stars champion country music start Julianne Hough, and rising star Jason Michael Carroll.

Officials anticipate other additions to the weekend lineup in the coming days. Tickets are $35 for a three-day pass to all shows in the Theater in the Park in downtown Maryville.

More information is available at www.foothillsfallfestival.com or by calling (865) 273-3445.