Earthquake Ravaged Town Wins Free Alan Jackson Concert

Back in August, Alan Jackson announced a contest aimed at rewarding his most loyal fans. With the help of Eventful's Demand it! website, the country star pledged to play a free show in whichever city could garner the most online votes.

The numbers are in, and earlier today, the winner was revealed to be Mineral, Va., a tiny town best known as the epicenter of of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred on Aug. 23. Although it's only home to about 500 people, the badly shook burg amassed more than 31,000 votes. The second place finisher, Kansas City, managed only a quarter of that amount.

Mineral's vice mayor, Bernice Wilson-Kube, is a longtime fan of Alan's music, and according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, she played his music at both of her parents' funerals.

"It's on people's minds right up there with the earthquake," Wilson-Kube said of the upcoming concert.

The announcement comes at a time when Mineral could use some good news. Residents still feel aftershocks almost daily, and last week, the federal government denied the town emergency funding to help with rebuilding efforts.

Now all Mineral needs to do is figure out where to hold the concert. Officials are reportedly looking at two sights -- Walton Park and the Louisa County High School football stadium -- for the show, which is expected to draw between 1,000 and 3,000 people.

Speaking to local WVIR-TV prior to the contest's conclusion, as Mineral began to jump out in front, Mayor Pamela Harlowe admitted that staging the event would pose a series of logistical challenges.

"We don't have any areas big enough to accommodate the number of people expected," she said. "So, it's a lot of thought we're going to have to put into it."