Bass, along with Kathy Ford Band and PRIM, will perform at Oktoberfest at Block 36 apartments in East Lansing on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event, hosted by Float Presents, will be complete with food trucks, a beer tent and vendors. MSU students will receive $5 off the admission price if they show their student ID. 

Before she moved to Nashville, Bass said music had always been on the backburner – her stage fright was keeping her from performing in front of as many people as she wanted.

When Bass got a recruiting email from NBC’s “The Voice,” her manager was the one that convinced her to audition. 

“She said, ‘Hey, I really think you should try this. You’ve been talking about your stage fright and if you want to conquer it, this is kind of the time to do it,’” Bass said.

Bass’ audition for The Voice has collected over 545,000 views on YouTube. After sharing her story of overcoming her stage fright to perform on the show, Bass chose Gwen Stefani – who has a history of stage fright herself – to be her coach over popular country star Blake Shelton. Her decision was a shock to even herself.

“Gwen just spilled out her guts about all the ways that she would help me,” Bass said. “I really didn’t think I was gonna choose anybody but Blake, but it really felt so heartfelt.”

After performing in front of such large crowds, Bass is happy to be back in the comfort of her hometown, singing for a crowd of familiar faces. Her Oktoberfest performance will be her second show for locals after recently giving a free concert in Laingsburg, which also neighbors her hometown.

“My favorite thing so far is being able to play at home,” Bass said. “I just couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. And for this East Lansing one coming up this weekend … I'm pretty sure it's gonna be like a block party, probably a lot of college kids. It should be pretty upbeat (and) fun.”

Kathy Ford Band will also perform at Oktoberfest, playing country and rock music. Ford has been in the music industry for over 40 years. Like Bass, she spent time in Nashville during her twenties to jump-start her career within the music industry. She opened for artists like Randy Travis and Garth Brooks before she came back to Michigan to pursue teaching music. 

Ford said she can relate to what Bass is feeling, and is happy she has the chance to perform close to home.

“It was great coming back, doing things around here because your hometown wants to support you. They want to know a star,” Ford said. “(I’m) just blessed by the Lord to be able to play as long as I have.”

Andrea Pawlak, who performs under the moniker PRIM, will DJ the event. Pawlak has performed for artists such as T-Pain and Juice Wrld, but she’s excited to immerse herself into the country music setting Ford and Bass will bring. 

“I know how to read a crowd, I can play every kind of genre of music to every age,” Pawlak said. “I’m sure I can find some tunes that would mesh in with them really well and that's what I plan to do, just find a good medium ground for everyone.”