Padua Academy grads playing Big Barrel

Muddy Waters once sang, "The blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll."

This weekend, they will be singing a slightly different tune in Dover: "Firefly had a baby and they named it Big Barrel."

The organizers of the 90,000-person Firefly Music Festival, which just wrapped up a successful fourth year with Paul McCartney as a headliner, will launch their second festival in Delaware starting Friday: the Big Barrel Country Music Festival. (Three-day passes are $149-$499.)

And while the new fest has plenty of its own big-time headliners – Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Big Barrel does stray from Firefly's formula in one area: the inclusion of a Delaware-based act.

Over the years, everyone from Rehoboth Beach blues band Lower Case Blues and Wilmington indie rock act The Spinto Band has had their opportunity for Firefly glory. Six Delaware bands have found themselves on one of Firefly's stages in the festival's four years.

Even though none of Big Barrel's 39 acts are from Delaware – to be fair, rock bands easily outnumber country bands in the state – there will be a taste of The First State opening Saturday's performances.

Kennett Square, Pa.-based country act Born Sisters, led by Padua Academy graduates Kristen and Kara Zagorskie, will be the first act on the main Big Barrel stage at 2:45 p.m. – the same main stage used at Firefly and the same stage that Shelton, Lambert and Underwood will strut across.

A total of 35,000 country/Americana/folk fans are expected for the festival's debut – 5,000 more than the first Firefly in 2012. And the opportunity to perform to the biggest crowd in the young act's career comes at an exciting time.

Kara, 17, just graduated from Padua. She and her sister, who is 21 and graduated from Padua in 2012, moved to Nashville two week ago to pursue their dreams. They've already performed at the CMA Music Festival in their new, adopted hometown.

Born Sisters has played plenty of shows in Delaware throughout its 7-year run, whether it be a pair of sold out CD release shows at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington or a concert at the Delaware State Fair in Harrington.

When they heard about Big Barrel and its A-list line-up, they knew they had to do everything they could to get on the bill.

So the sisters sent in a submission.

And then another.

And another.

And more.

How many exactly?

"Let's just say we sent a lot. We don't want to make ourselves sound crazy," Kristen says. "We sent in so many, it was just short of harassment, basically. You have to be annoying to make it to the top."

The strategy worked. They received a phone call about a month ago from a festival representative telling them they made the cut. "We thought it was a joke and one of our friends calling, but it was really them," Kara says.

Kristen (guitar, banjo, piano) and Kara (mandolin, guitar, piano) will be joined by their three-piece band in The Woodlands of Dover to make the most out of their 40-minute slot.

The sisters have been supported year after year by their parents Chuck, a salesman, and Janet, an office manager. The couple just might move to Nashville one day to continue to shepherd their daughters' budding careers.

"Some people think we're crazy to try to break into the music industry and my dad always says, 'You have to be a little crazy to do this,'" Kristen says. "There's never a question about their support. It's always, "I'll drive you to the show. Let's pack up the car. I just got off the phone with this guy and the gig is here...'

"It's in their blood."

A week after McCartney stood at the center of the festival's main stage and loaded a lifetime of hits, Born Sisters will now get their shot while standing at the very same spot.

No pressure. No pressure, at all.

IF YOU GO

What: Big Barrel Country Music Festival

When: Friday through Sunday

Where: The Woodlands near Dover International Speedway, Dover

Cost: $149 (three-day pass) or $499 (reserved seating/standing)

-- Ryan Cormier, The News Journal. Facebook: @ryancormier. Twitter: @ryancormier. Instagram: @ryancormier.