(Photo by Randy M. Cauthron) Shawn Mayer of May City will perform Nov. 22 at the Clay County Regional Events Center as part of the "Nashville Star" concert tour. Tickets can be purchased now through Ticketmaster and by using the charge-by-phone number at 262-4557. Use the password "star" to complete the order. On and after Monday, Sept. 15, tickets can also be purchased at the events center box office. [Order this photo]

Remember all the free time "Nashville Star" finalist Shawn Mayer was going to have now that the show is over?

Well, it isn't going to happen anytime soon for the 21-year-old from May City in Osceola County.

Songwriting and the "Nashville Star" tour have been her focus since the NBC country music competition came to a conclusion a month ago. Independent labels have made offers and major recording companies could be looming, according to the artist who conducted a series of interviews Monday at the Clay County Regional Events Center.

Major labels are likely holding off on signing the northwest Iowan because she remains obligated to tour producers. She'll then get to explore options as an industry-free agent.

Turnout at concerts, like the "Nashville Star Tour" date Nov. 22 in Spencer, could factor into Mayer's future as a recording artist. Companies want to see artists who can entertain an audience and have the vocal and physical stamina to tour on behalf of a record label.

"It's a whole different ball game," she said. "It's way different from performing for a minute-and-a-half (for the show's live, competition segments) to doing 25 minutes. You might be able to hold a crown for a minute-and-a-half, but you might not be able to hold a crowd for 25-minute shows."

Mayer will be joined on the tour by "Nashville Star" winner Melissa Lawson, runner-up Gabe Garcia and fourth-place finisher Coffey. The Spencer concert will be held at 8 p.m. Nov. 22, at the Clay County Regional Events Center. Tickets range from $44 to $22 based on seat location and go on sale Monday. Doors open an hour before the show.

Iowa and the Midwest are really making a statement, according to Mayer. She said it can be hard to get booking agents to take Spencer seriously as a concert stop because nobody knows where it's at. Mayer said she had the same problem on the show -- people mistakenly assume an entertainer can't draw crowds from rural northwest Iowa.

Fans who come to the Spencer concert can expect the performers to do a lot of the cover songs they performed on the show. Their original songs will also be part of the tour.

Mayer promises a few new wrinkles for her Iowa fans as well.

"I really hope that it is sold out," Mayer said. "There are a couple of different things going on -- it will be a couple of surprises and I'm not allowed to say, but if it is sold out, some good things will be coming from it."

Mayer and the other performers are working hard to make the night enjoyable for the Spencer audience.

The singer said her fans proved the industry wrong by showing up in the thousands for a hometown concert episode of "Nashville Star."

"I think a lot of people in Nashville -- industry people, producers, even contestants, I think -- everybody underestimated, you know, coming from a small town: 'Oh, she'll just have a couple hundred people there,' but when thousands of people showed up, it really opened the eyes of industry people in Nashville.'"

She added: "I have to say thank you to the fans because without them I wouldn't have made it this far and I wouldn't be doing the tour."

She also appreciated the efforts of the Clay County Fair manager and board, as well as the KICD family of stations for sponsoring her trip back to northwest Iowa. She wants to see more of the fair and may try to spend some personal time wandering to her favorite stops. Mayer also said she regrets not being able to individually thank everyone who came out to see her at the Clay County Fair on Sunday.

In the days leading up to her fair appearance Sunday, Mayer was in the studio, cutting a couple of acoustic demos of songs she's been writing. Friday she had rehearsal for the tour until about 10 p.m. and Saturday she had rehearsal and left early to catch a flight to Omaha, Neb. She drove to Melvin and arrived at about 1 or 2 a.m. early Sunday.

She arrived at the fairgrounds for interviews at about 10 a.m. that day.

"The tour schedule, to me, I think it is a little more tedious," compared to the 'Nashville Star' preparations, Mayer said.

"First of all, you have the exhaustion of being on the road," she continued. "As much as you don't want to think it does, it takes its toll on your body. Not just that, but, on the show, we're learning a song and we're only doing 1 minute, 30 (seconds) total. That's not much singing time on our voice. We rehearse during the week, but we have rehearsals for the tour now. We're doing 25 minutes apiece so we're doing about four or five songs apiece and I'm doing a lot of press trying to promote the tour, and songwriting and tour dates, you have bus times, travel dates and the tour dates. Sometimes you're gone for two weeks at-a-time. I think it is going to be really, really exciting. It's going to be a great experience."

Her original song night performance of "I'm Not Looking Back," has helped her secure a publishing deal.

"I've been writing songs since the show ended. I've been writing every single day," Mayer said. "I have four to five songs completely finished and I have three others started, so I've written nine or 10 songs since then."

She flies back to Nashville on Wednesday. She'll pack again on Thursday for tour shows Friday and Saturday in St. Louis. Then from Sunday to Thursday of next week, she'll try to do some more song writing. "Family time" doesn't make its way onto the schedule very often -- even on those rare opportunities when she gets to come home.

"They understand," she said. "My family definitely understands and my friends who know me really well and know the craziness of the business kind of know what I'm going through. They know they take what time they can get -- even if it is following me around and coming with me to interviews and coming with me to autograph sessions. At least they get to see me."