More than 4,000 people of all ages packed downtown Greeneville's Academy Street area, and beyond, on Sunday afternoon for a free mini-concert by The Band Perry.

The country music trio, who call Greeneville home, gave their local fans a special treat by singing several songs from their debut, self-titled CD and then having an autograph session.

While most fans nationwide cannot purchase the CD until Tuesday, the band had copies of the CD for sale on Sunday for local residents -- two days before it hits store shelves.

More than 1,500 copies of the CD were sold here on Sunday, with the band members taking time to sign copies as well as other items following their performance.

The Band Perry consists of siblings Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry. They are the children of Greeneville pediatrician, Dr. Stephen Perry and his wife, Marie.

The family moved to Greeneville from Mobile, Ala., in 2002.

As the trio went on stage on Sunday, Kimberly Perry called out enthusiastically to the hometown crowd, "Hello, Greeneville!"

"We're so excited to see your faces. We're home for 24 whole hours. We've already had Peggy Ann's donuts and been to Monterrey's for lunch -- and now we're going to play some country music for you!" she said.

The Nashville Republic artists are scheduled for a whirlwind tour around the nation in the coming weeks to promote the release of their self-titled debut CD.

The Perrys were scheduled to head back to Nashville on Sunday night, then head to Minneapolis today.

The Greeneville-based trio is then scheduled to visit the following cities:

* Wednesday -- Annapolis, Md., and Woodbridge, Va.;

* Thursday -- Boston, and Warwick, R.I.;

* Friday -- Taylor, Mich.;

* Saturday -- Downer's Grove, Ill.;

* Oct. 18 -- New York City;

* Oct. 20 -- Buffalo, N.Y.;

* Oct. 21 -- Kansas City, Mo.;

* Oct. 22 -- The Woodlands, Texas, and

* Oct. 23 -- Houston, Texas.

Other planned appearances by the country trio and news about The Band Perry can be found on its website, http://www.thebandperry.com.

In November, the band will be opening shows for country music superstar Alan Jackson.

Also, on Nov. 10, the country trio will learn how they will fare at the Country Music Association's annual awards.

The Band Perry have been nominated for a prestigious CMA award in the "Vocal Group of the Year" category. It is the first time in decades that a group has been nominated for the award before the release of a debut CD.

At 9:30 p.m. this Tuesday, Oct. 12, Great American Country (GAC) will air a special television event on the trio, entitled "Introducing The Band Perry."

According to the band's website, the show "follows the band on the road, in the studio, and offers a glimpse of how their life at home in Greeneville, Tennessee, helps keep them grounded."

Prior to Sunday's performance, Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles read a joint city-county proclamation, signed by himself and Greeneville Mayor W.T. Daniels, declaring the week of Oct. 10 to be "The Band Perry Week in Greeneville and Greene County."

Both mayors were on-stage Sunday to present the band with the proclamation.

The country trio was met with thunderous applause as they were introduced to the stage.

The band then kicked things off with its debut hit single, "Hip To My Heart."

The group played other songs from their new CD, including "Independence," "Postcard From Paris" as well as their major hit, "If I Die Young."

Kimberly Perry said that during the past year she and her brothers have traveled to nearly every state in this country, with the exceptions of Alaska and Hawaii.

"Everywhere we go -- far, far away from Greeneville -- all we're thinking about are you guys back here," Kimberly said. "We appreciate you always giving us somewhere to come home to.

The Perrys said they were proud to debut their CD here at home.

"You guys are like the very first people on the whole planet to get to hear it," Kimberly said. "And we just appreciate you coming out.

She said many people helped to make the event Sunday happen in downtown Greeneville.

Kimberly thanked two radio stations, WXBQ and WIVK for their sponsorship of the event.

She also sent a shout-out to Nate Humbard, of Radio Greeneville, for his support of the band.

Kimberly also thanked the Greene County Partnership's Tom Ferguson and Lori Collins for helping to organize Sunday's event, Scott Niswonger for loaning the band his company's bus, and Idell Construction Company and Verizon Wireless for the stage and equipment.