By David Burger
The Salt Lake Tribune

If you think the drive to Wendover is long, consider that country artist Jo Dee Messina could probably run the whole way there. Messina, who is performing at the Wendover Peppermill Concert Hall Saturday, recently completed the Chicago Marathon, during which one person died and scores more were sent to the hospital due to unseasonable heat.

It won't be the redhead's only long race. She called The Salt Lake Tribune on her way to train with a running coach so she will be ready for a January half-marathon in Phoenix.

Follow up:

"It wasn't the easiest thing I've done," Messina said of the Chicago race. "The heat index was 94 degrees."

She comes to Wendover to promote her upcoming album, "Unmistakable," which she said is finished and has been sitting on the shelves of her record company for six months.

"It's totally inside label politics," Messina said. It's doubly frustrating, she added, because the crowds at her recent shows have responded so well to her new material. "People making the decisions are those just sitting in a cubicle" instead of hearing fans cheer for her new songs.

Messina's old songs have done well. She's had nine No. 1 country hits and is the first female country artist to have three multiple-week No. 1 songs from the same album: "Bye Bye," "I'm Alright" and "Stand Beside Me," all from her album "I'm Alright," were lodged atop the charts for weeks.

Messina broke into the Nashville scene with a little help from her friends. Upon moving to Nashville at a young age, she early on met a struggling singer named Tim McGraw. Once his career started to ascend, he helped her sign to a label and co-produced her first record. She lamented that the only time she gets to see him nowadays is at awards shows.

This will be Messina's second appearance at the $19 million, 1,000-seat concert hall in Wendover that is barely a year old.
John Spillman, marketing director for the Resorts at Wendover group, said Messina gave an exciting show last year and fans should expect another. The worst seats in the venue, he said, are only 90 feet from the stage.