Country Music Showdown Is Tonight

Pickit Line, a bluegrass band from Dana Point, will be one of nine acts competing today at the Bandstand in Anaheim in the regional finals of the Marlboro Country Music Talent Roundup.

Pickit Line (guitarist Marshall Andrews, bassist Fred Wade, mandolin/guitar player Garrison Shirreffs and banjoist Janet Beazley) was the lone Orange County act to survive semifinal rounds held last week at the Palomino in north Hollywood and the Rusty Horn Saloon in Ontario. Four other Orange County contestants--Christine Pagano and Katee Gadette of San Juan Capistrano, Nancy Shaw of Costa Mesa, and Tim Parker of Brea--had been chosen for live semifinal rounds based on taped submissions.

Besides Pickit Line, the regional finalists are Ric Kirk & the Sidewinders of Burbank, T. Cane Honey of Manhattan Beach, Silver Spurs of West Hollywood, Robin Pearl of Long Beach, Southland Express of Corona, Lisa Scott of Beverly Hills, Jolene Kay of North Hollywood, and Wylie and the Wild West Show of Hollywood.

The regional winner, as judged by a panel of industry figures, will receive $7,500 and the chance to compete against 10 other regional winners at the national finals in Nashville Nov. 14-16. The grand prize is $30,000, plus 40 hours of recording sessions with producer Barry Beckett. Second and third place in the regional competition are worth $3,000 and $1,000.

The Talent Roundup, which is open to the public, starts at 7 p.m. at the Bandstand, 1721 S. Manchester Ave., Anaheim. Information: (714) 956-1412.