Playing themselves: Country duo Third Town leaves impersonating to go original

Local band Third Town is a little bit of country, a little bit of rock ’n’ roll and a little bit reality TV, too. Dual lead singers Jeff Fairchild and Tony Mosti perform a mix of original tunes and covers like “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” or Blues Brothers classics, and the duo gained national attention last year after becoming finalists in the Nashville Star competition which piped them into millions of homes.

Before their turn on the small screen, the pair had actually entertained international audiences onstage as celebrity impersonators in the Legends in Concert tours. The band, so named because Las Vegas is the third town they’ve performed in after San Antonio, Texas and Pigeon Forge, Tenn., has performed locally in Legends and American Superstars.

After a string of successful gigs at Palace Station, Third Town has now moved on to two new residencies. They will be spending Friday nights at Aliante Station doing a set before Yellow Brick Road and Saturdays at the Las Vegas Country Saloon. Starting in September, you can also catch the duo in Primm, where they’ll impersonate Big & Rich in the Country Superstars show. Read on to see what the band has to say about their country roots, impersonations and how they like their new residencies.

What brought you to Las Vegas?

Jeff Fairchild: Well, a long, long time ago my older brother became a Garth Brooks impersonator and he was working for a company called Legends in Concert. I went to Branson, Missouri, to see the show and I looked up at my brother on stage and thought who could I be? … So, I got with Tony [Mosti] and we put a Blues Brothers act together and started working for Legends.

Tony Mosti: Back in San Antonio, we were writing and performing our own country music. It was what we really wanted to do, but that isn’t what brought us to Vegas. Impersonating brought us to Vegas. … It was just so lucrative and sexy to say, “Yeah, we’ve been to Greece and Italy.” They send you all over the place!

What is it like getting into character when you’re doing impersonations?

JF: We used to impersonate Big & Rich, too. Probably back then I would have said the costumes were weird, but now it’s just normal. It’s fun because we are incorporating our impersonations into our Third Town show. People who come see our show will get Third Town, Big & Rich and the Blues Brothers.

How has your act changed as you moved from Palace Station to Aliante Station?

TM: At Palace Station we really read the crowd and it was more of a pub feel, but at Aliante Station we turn it into more of a show and it really feels like you’re at a real Las Vegas show.

JF: There’s a huge stage up front and a huge dance floor in front of that. There’s a lady who comes frequently and teaches line-dancing lessons.

TM: She and her crew get all these people to line up and start dancing and it really creates a lot of energy… We’re not avid line dancers ourselves, but we love to promote line dancing. We are great at the Electric Slide!

How did you feel about the whole reality show experience with Nashville Star?

JF: It was one of the best things that we have done as Third Town. That’s how we really took off. It was our first national performance as us performing as ourselves. There is a girl that comes out to hear us play every gig here in Vegas, and this past weekend she came up to us and said, “I just wanted to tell you that my uncle watched you on Nashville Star and he thinks that you guys are extremely talented.” I thanked her and she said, “I didn’t tell you, but my uncle is Randy Travis.” When you’re on national television, you never know who’s watching!

Besides your new residencies, what is next on the horizon for the band?

TM: We are going to be opening up for Aaron Tippin on September 26th at the Henderson Super Run. It’s a big car show that will be taking over all of Water Street with up to 5,000 people in attendance.