For most, Labor Day weekend means relaxing with family and friends or taking a quick trip out of town. For Casey Jamerson, it means getting ready for her freshman year at Indiana University and continuing to pursue her dreams as a country music artist with two shows in downtown Indianapolis.

Saturday, Jamerson and her band are scheduled to perform at the 97.1 Hank-FM Sky Concert. Two days later, they’ll be back on stage at Rib America in Military Park. And the next day, Jamerson starts her first semester of classes down in Bloomington.

The Labor Day weekend shows will cap off what Jamerson describes as a very busy summer.

“We’ve been playing show after show, but I love it,” Jamerson says. “People ask me, ‘Why aren’t you hanging out, enjoying your last summer before college?’ I tell them, ‘I am getting to the things I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl. And there’s nothing I would rather do!’”

First trip to Nashville

In 2005, then-15-year-old Jamerson traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to record her first album. What started out as a five-song demo evolved into a 10-song disc on which Jamerson’s powerful vocals sounded more like a seasoned veteran than a teenage newcomer.

Earlier this year, a copy of the CD ended up at 97.1 Hank FM, where, according to the station’s director of operations and programming, it met with a lot of positive response from listeners.

“Casey came to our attention earlier this year when she sent in a CD and a profile of her story,” 97.1 Hank FM’s David Edgar says.

“We’ve been playing the song ever since — almost 300 times — and had her perform at many Hank FM events.”

Jamerson admits that “listening to the CD now reminds me of how much I love everything about music: from writing to recording to performing. The CD is an example of my life, how as I mature, my music will mature. We put 16 months of hard work into that little compact disc, but the end result was well worth it!”

Jamerson says that she comes by her musical talents naturally. “My father is a musician who, from the moment I could talk, he had me singing along to the music,” she explains. “I had no choice! I sang at church on Sundays growing up, and still do.”

In addition to helping Jamerson develop her musical talents, her parents also made sure that Jamerson went about it the right way.

“I was 14 years old the first time I went to Nashville to sing,” Jamerson recalls. “I was offered several record deals then, but my parents told me I was going to live a normal teenage life. I’ve since told them thank you many times for setting me straight back then.”

Opening for Simpson

Earlier this month, Jamerson played two shows during this year’s Indiana State Fair: one on the Main Street Stage, and the other as the opening act for Jessica Simpson.

Jamerson says that opening for Simpson “was my favorite concert that we’ve done this summer. The atmosphere at the show was incredible. I spoke to Jessica’s mom while we were watching Jessica’s show. I thought we did a good job getting the crowd ready for the show.”

So what was Jessica Simpson really like?

“She’s everything that her newlywed reality show made her out to be,” Jamerson laughs.

Jamerson says she made the decision to attend Indiana University on a softball scholarship after a phone call from the school’s softball coach.

“I wanted to go to Butler where my brother Jason is a student and a second baseman on their baseball team,” she says. “But a week before I signed on to attend Butler, I got a call from Stacy Phillips, who was the softball coach at IU, to come to Bloomington and visit the campus. Well, I fell in love with the campus, so I decided to go to IU.”

Jamerson plans to major in sports communication with a minor in journalism, and eventually attend law school. A hectic schedule for sure, but Jamerson believes that she can make it all work out.

“It’s going to be hard, but I plan on taking it day by day. I think I can handle it.”

WHAT: HANK-FM Sky Concert featuring Eastern Wing Band, Casey Jamerson and River County
WHERE: White River State Park
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 30, 4 p.m., all-ages, free

WHAT: Rib America
WHERE: Military Park
WHEN: Casey Jamerson performs Monday, Sept. 1, 12 p.m., free admission before 1 p.m., $5 afterwards, all-ages