Big Country Showdown
Date: February 26, 2026 7:00 PM
Open Rounds ● Thursdays, February 5, 12, & 19 • 7pm
Registration • 5:30pm
Performances • 7pm
Finale ● Thursday, February 26, 2026
Central Iowa’s Favorite Karaoke Competition
Everyone’s favorite country karaoke competition is back at Prairie Meadows. Sing your heart out or cheer on your favorite performers as they compete for the $2,500 grand prize.
OPEN ROUNDS • THURSDAYS, FEBRUARY 5, 12, & 19, 2026.
The competition is just starting to heat up! To register, stop by the Finish Line Show Lounge from 5:30pm – 6:30pm. Staff will draw up to 25 contestants to perform each night of open competition. Performances begin at 7pm.
FINAL • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Don’t miss the exciting conclusion! Come out to see who is crowned the 2026 Big Country Showdown karaoke star and takes home the $2,500 grand prize. Performances begin at 7pm.
HOW THE COMPETITION WORKS
- Competition is available to all Prairie Gold Rewards members 21 and over.
- Open round competitions are Thursdays, February 5, 12, & 19, 2026. The finale round will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
- A DJ will be present with a playlist of several different artists and songs. Contestants may provide their own music if they choose to. If contestant chooses to provide music, music must be formatted as a CD and be clearly labeled with their name and which track they need. Music must be within the country genre.
- Contestants will be scored by an independent panel of judges.
- You can also be a part of the competition by voting for your favorite contestant during Big Country Showdowns' open rounds. Each week, one fan favorite will advance to the finale.
- There will be a fan favorite vote each week. After all contestants have performed and the three highest scores are announced, the audience will be able to vote on one of their favorites to move on to the finale.
- Guests will be able to receive one ballot to deposit into the drawing cube located on the north dance floor at the registration table. Fan favorite voting will cut off 10 minutes after the top three moving on to the finale have been announced each week. Fan favorite votes will be counted and announced immediately following the end of the 10 minutes of voting.
- For the finale, the 12 performances that were previous winners from all three weeks of the open round competition, will be shuffled and drawn and posted on a board to display the order of performances.
Contestants will not be able to sing the same song in the finals they performed in open rounds. If a contestant/duo is not present by 6:30pm on the night of finals, they will be disqualified to compete that night and will receive no cash prize.
PRIZE ALLOCATION
1st Place: $2,500 Cash
2nd Place: $1,250 Cash
3rd Place: $1,000 Cash
4th & 5th Place: $500 Cash
6th & 7th Place: $250 Cash
8th & 9th Place: $200 Cash
10th & 11th Place: $100 Cash
12th Place: $50 Cash
Must be a Prairie Gold Rewards member to compete. Not a member? Sign up on Casino Level 2 today.
Must be 21 or older to participate. Contestants must be prepared to provide their own music if the song chosen is not a part of the disc jockey’s library. See Prairie Gold Rewards for complete promotion details.