NEW-GENERATION COUNTRY...TIM MCGRAW, SONS OF THE DESERT AT SHOW ME CENTER FRIDAY

Youth and energy will command the audience's attention when Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center welcomes a new generation of country music stars to its concert stage Friday.

Headliner Tim McGraw, the seasoned veteran among the performers, will share the microphone with relative newcomers Sons of the Desert for the 8 p.m. concert.

Mindy McCready, also new on the country scene, was scheduled to perform as well but came down with a case of tonsillitis at the last minute.

At press time, no replacement had been found for McCready. Show Me Center officials doubted one could be found at such short notice.

Though McGraw just recently turned 30 and became a father for the first time in May, he has already established himself as a superstar, a feat which he accomplished in near record time. He debuted as a recording star in 1993 with an album entitled simply "Tim McGraw." Since then, he has returned to the studio three times, recording and releasing 1994's "Not A Moment Too Soon," '95's "All I Want" and this year's "Everywhere."

The single "Everywhere" is currently No. 10 on the Billboard chart.

McGraw was named for his great-grandfather, Samuel Timothy McGraw, a saloonkeeper who was killed in a gunfight. His father Tug is a former major league relief pitcher known for his flamboyance.

The younger McGraw was offered college scholarships in baseball, football and basketball but chose singing instead.

"They say when you find your passion you know it," he said in a phone interview from Nashville.

"...I would be doing it if I made $10 or $10,000 a night."

McGraw's music often defies categorization. At times, he borrows from very traditional country roots, complete with fiddles and banjos, sounding like a cross between Merle Haggard and George Strait. At other times, he performs in a manner more like a rock musician than a country singer from Louisiana.

Strait and Haggard are two singers he'd go to hear no matter where and no matter when. Rod Stewart, Elton John and Keith Whitley are the others.

McGraw can belt out dance club favorites, like his popular "Indian Outlaw," or just as easily croon sentimental ballads, like his heart-wrenching number one hit, "Don't Take the Girl."

The public has rewarded McGraw for his efforts and talent. Two of his albums have gone platinum and seven singles have reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top 200. His 1994 album, "Not a Moment Too Soon," was not only the best-selling country album for the year, staying in the No. 1 spot for 52 consecutive weeks, but was the fifth-best-selling album of all genres that year. His 1995 single, "I Like It I Love It," hit the top position in the charts in a record six weeks.

The music industry has awarded McGraw as well. He captured honors as 1994's best new artist from the Academy of Country Music, the American Music Awards, the American Jukebox Awards, the Country Radio Awards, Billboard, and the TNN/Music City News Awards. He has also been honored as Male Video Artist of the Year and Best New Touring Artist, and for Best Dance Album.

The Academy of Country Music awarded him Album of the Year honors for 1994. Just last week, at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, McGraw and his recording artist wife Faith Hill were presented the vocal event prize for their song, "It's Your Love."

Being a husband and father changes everything, he says.

"It used to be you were all you had to think about. Now you have a little baby in your life that you put before anything and anyone else.

"You find a place in your heart you never thought was there," he said.

He loves being a singing star but, like most, says he wishes for a little more privacy. "It's not a complaint because you want to be successful," he said. "It's a paradoxical career."

The freshest faces on stage will belong to the members of Sons of the Desert, a honkytonk band from Waco, Texas, that has captured the attention of the music industry with the June release of their debut album, "Whatever Comes First." Though the band was originally formed back in the late '80s, the members just recently moved to Nashville. They became the city's newest Cinderella story, landing a record deal and a management contract in 36 hours. The album's title track made it to Billboard's Top 10 and the video went to No. 1.