Paisley To Make Waves On “H20 Tour”

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Brad Paisley revealed plans for his 2010 summer tour this morning (3/22). The 75-city H2O World Tour presented by Chevy opens in late May with special guests Darius Rucker and Justin Moore. Promoted by Live Nation, the H2O World Tour will visit the United States, Canada and Europe over the next 12 months. His recently wrapped American Saturday Night Tour played for nearly 1.2 million fans at 74 dates, including 42 sell-outs.

It’s no coincidence that Paisley selected today to announce the new tour; March 22 is World Water Day, which raises awareness about the worldwide need for safe drinking water.

Paisley, whose current single is “Water,” is planning a “Water World Plaza,” sponsored by Sea Ray Boats and Skinny Water, for the tour stops, featuring performances by newcomers Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia and Josh Thompson. There will also be multiple aqua-themed activities – including a Chevy H2O FLW fishing simulator, dunking booth, Hope Through Healing Hands’ campaign booth, and more. Donations from each tour stop will go to Hope Through Healing Hands’ campaign for clean, safe water. Chevy will be providing a Corvette driving simulator for concert goers to test the latest Corvette ZR1 series as well as their racing skills against Paisley himself. “If they can beat me, they can meet me,” laughs Paisley.

“Brad has always considered the fans first and foremost when planning a tour, and the H2O Tour is no exception. Brad’s vision was to have a full day of activity at each of the shows, and also provide a great value for the fan’s dollar,” says Brian O’Connell, President, Nashville Touring, for Live Nation.

The tour will kick off May 21-22 in Virginia Beach, VA and Washington, DC.

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Fun facts from Paisley’s most recent tour:

1,196,312 Fans
1,151,880 total miles of tour
340,000 watts of power
230,376 gallons of diesel fuel
80,000 lbs total show flying weight
41,000 total bottles of water
34,000 tour photos taken by tour photographer (400 kept)
17,955 meals served
12,840 Guitar picks
4,165 local tour personnel
3,570 AA Batteries
1,056 packs of strings
924 Hotel rooms booked
855 people who took backstage tour
840 9 Volt Batteries
836 sq feet of video
240 rolls of gaff tape
214 pair of drumsticks
95 minute show
74 shows
74 cowboy hats
45 stage jumpers
42 sell outs
12 semi trucks
10 tour buses
9 people arrested for lewd behavior in Charlotte
8 people arrested for lewd behavior in Tampa
7 people arrested (several cities) (you get the picture)
2 births
1 Las Vegas wedding
1 large bruise

Eagles, Urban, Chicks Hitting The Road

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A superstar tour featuring The Eagles, Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban will open June 8 in Toronto. Eight stops at North American arenas were announced today (3/16), with Urban set for five of those shows. It will be the first time these artists have toured together.

With 35 years of hits, The Eagles (Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit) are one of the highest grossing touring acts ever. Urban has been touring steadily with sold-out shows; meanwhile this will be the first time The Dixie Chicks (Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison) have performed a concert together in four years.

Promoter Live Nation is offering American Express® Cardmembers early access to tickets beginning Monday, March 22 at 10:00 AM. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Monday, March 29, 2010 at 10:00 AM. The run is also using All-In ticketing, which allows fans to purchase tickets without any added fees.

June 08 – *Toronto, ON: Rogers Centre
June 10 – East Rutherford, NJ: New Meadowlands Stadium
June 12 – Boston, MA: Gillette Stadium
June 14 – Philadelphia, PA: Citizens Bank Ball Park
June 15 – Washington, DC: Nationals Park
June 19 – Chicago, IL: Soldier Field
June 22 – *Winnipeg, MB: Canad Inns Stadium
June 24 – *St. Louis, MO: Busch Stadium

*Keith Urban is not appearing at these concerts.

Photos: Underwood Starts Tour; Lambert Scores Gold Single

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Carrie Underwood’s Play On Tour opened March 11 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA with special guests Craig Morgan and Sons of Sylvia. The Play On Tour, hydrated by vitaminwater® and sponsored by PEDIGREE® Brand, is currently slated to run through June 20 in Saskatoon, SK at the Credit Union Centre.

(L-R): Donna DiBenedetto, AEG; Carrie Underwood; and Zane Collings, SMG Regional General Manager.

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Miranda Lambert’s first No. 1 hit single “White Liar” scored big recently with the announcement of its RIAA Digital Single Gold Certification. Her follow-up single, “The House That Built Me,” impacted country radio last week with support from over 100 stations. Both songs are from her Gold certified studio album, Revolution.

Pictured (l-r): Sony Music Nashville Marketing VP Tom Baldrica, Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante, Sony Music Nashville EVP A&R Renee Bell, Lambert, Sony Music Nashville SVP Sales & Operations Paul Barnabee, Sony Music Nashville Digital Business VP Heather McBee.

Dierks To Debut Music On Tour

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Dierks Bentley will debut music from his upcoming bluegrass/roots album at dates across the country this spring. His Up On The Ridge Tour opens in Portland, OR on April 21 and will make more than 24 stops before the end of May. He is set for a hometown show on May 22 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Bentley’s roadshow includes Texan Hayes Carll in the opening slot, and Bentley’s backing band the Travelin’ McCourys—featuring Ron McCoury (mandolin), Rob McCoury (banjo), Jason Carter (fiddle) and Alan Bartram (bass) as the latest incarnation of bluegrass stars The Del McCoury Band. The outing will visit rock clubs and major bluegrass festivals, such as the just announced April 30 date at MerleFest 2010 in Wilkesboro, NC.

Fans can expect new music and surprising new arrangements of his hits during the run. Contributors to Bentley’s summer release include Del McCoury Band, Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Tim O’Brien and Sam Bush. For the project, Bentley teamed with award-winning singer/songwriter/producer Jon Randall Stewart and recording engineer Gary Paczosa.

Tickets for the Ryman show go on sale April 2, other dates on sale Fri., March 19. Visit www.dierks.com for pre-sale info and for details on the upcoming album.

Strait Adds Nashville Date; Victoria Shaw And Friends At Limelight

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On April 28 George Strait will bring his full tour to Nashville for the first time since 2004. With guests Reba and Lee Ann Womack, the Strait tour hits the newly renamed Bridgestone Arena, where he set an attendance record during his last visit.

Tickets for the Nashville show go on sale March 20 at 10:00 AM at www.ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at 800-745-5300 and at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office.

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Victoria Shaw has lined up some big name songwriter and artist friends for a benefit at Limelight on Sat., March 27. The 8 PM show features star songwriters Desmond Child, Gary Burr, Alex Call, and Chuck Jones, along with Bryan White, Ty Herndon and of course, Shaw.

The show will feature national syndicated radio personality Blair Garner (After MidNite) and CNN Headline News anchor Robin Meade, who will perform.

This is the second year Shaw has organized a fundraiser for the Arts Program at Abintra Montessori School.

Tickets are $15 per person at www.limelightnashville.com or www.abintra.org.

Underwood’s “Play On Tour” Opens Thursday

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Carrie Underwood’s Play On Tour will kick off this Thursday, March 11 in Reading, PA with special guests Craig Morgan and Sons of Sylvia. The Play On Tour, hydrated by vitaminwater® and sponsored by PEDIGREE® Brand, is currently slated for more than 50 dates running through June 20. She is scheduled mostly for arenas in the U.S. and Canada.

Tour Director Raj Kapoor put together what is likely to be one of this year’s biggest country music tours by bringing in top name collaborators including Michael Jackson’s This Is It Production Designer Michael Cotten, and Emmy Award winning Costume Designer Soyon An. Underwood’s camp reports that fans will get a few surprises at the shows, world-class production and special effects.

Underwood’s previous tour, 2008’s highly successful Carnival Ride Tour, wrapped after 137 shows with over 1.2 million fans in attendance.

Swift Launches iPhone App, Brings Tour Back To US

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Taylor Swift’s Fearless 2010 Tour began its run through the US over the weekend, with sold-out shows in Tampa, Orlando, and Ft. Lauderdale/Sunrise, FL. The 39-date tour is visiting arenas and stadiums in 31 cities throughout the US and Canada over the next three months. Last month, she took the Fearless tour overseas, playing eight sold-out shows in Australia and Japan.

In other Swift news, this week Big Machine Records launched the official Taylor Swift iPhone application. The free app features Facebook and Twitter connectivity and is available here. Built using Mobile Roadie’s leading mobile app platform, the app is enabled with push notification so that any time the superstar releases new music, videos or photos, fans will be instantly updated on their iPhones. Fans can also see her most up-to-date tour information, find and connect with other fans in their area, and share photos with each other.

Country Acts Throwdown On Multi-Stage Tour

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This summer the Country Throwdown Tour will make its way across the U.S. with a star line-up, festival atmosphere and affordable tickets. Kevin Lyman of 4Fini Inc. modeled the country outing after his successful Vans Warped Tour, which is the longest running traveling music and extreme sports festival in the world today.

The Country Throwdown Tour Presented by Rockstar Energy Drink will commence May 14 in Tampa, FL and wrap June 20 in Mountain View, CA.  Headlining the run is Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town and Jack Ingram. Other artists confirmed for the first annual multi-stage tour include Eric Church, the Eli Young Band, The Lost Trailers, Heidi Newfield, Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses, Jonathan Singleton & The Grove and Emily West.

A Bluebird Café tent offering daytime sets, and music during the mainstage set changes, will feature emerging songwriter-artists Ashley Ray, Brad Tursi, Cory Branan, Dave Pahanish, Jedd Hughes, Sarah Buxton, Troy Olsen, Heather Morgan and Walker Hayes.

Among the other activities will be a full concourse of lifestyle attractions and vendors, happy hour, autograph sessions, and chances for seat upgrades. Country Throwdown is building interest with an iPhone app and free Mp3s on its web site.

Organizers are also offering numerous deals on tickets. The limited time Throwdown Ticket Takeover splits the amphitheater seats down the middle, with one side offering a flat price for any seat during the pre-sale, while regular tiered ticketing will be available for later purchase for the other half of the amphitheater. Pre-sale tickets are available via Ticketmaster and also serve as a jump-the-line pass for first access into the venue. Customers of tour sponsors Rockstar Energy Drink and Wrangler jeans will also be eligible for discounts.

In addition, a select number of Country Throwdown shows are included in the 2010 Country Megaticket package. This limited-time offer gives fans the same seat of their choice in the same venue for several top shows throughout the year such as Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Sugarland, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw. Country Throwdown is also teaming up with Tickets-for-Charity® to offer fans premium seats and exclusive VIP Packages to benefit great causes.

Tour dates

5/30    Saratoga Springs, NY
5/31    Gilford, NH
6/4    Virginia Beach, VA
6/6    Bristow, VA
6/9    Houston, TX
6/10    Dallas, TX
6/12    Salt Lake City, UT
6/13    Denver, CO
6/16    Bakersfield, CA
6/17    San Diego, CA
6/18    Phoenix, AZ
6/19    Irvine, CA
6/20    Mountain View, CA

CMA Fest Adds Performers


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The Country Music Association has announced the latest additions to the artist lineup for the upcoming 2010 CMA Music Festival, which will be held Thursday through Sunday, June 10-13 in Nashville. Newly added artists include Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Kellie Pickler and superstar Tim McGraw, who will make his first appearance at the Festival since 2001.

Previously announced artists include Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band. All of the announced artists will perform during the Nightly Concerts at LP Field.

Thompson and Buxton Debuts Deliver

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Way Out Here, the debut album from Columbia Nashville newcomer Josh Thompson, entered the country album sales chart this week with sales in excess of 15,000 units. The album hit the No. 9 spot on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and rose to No. 28 on the Top 200 chart. Way Out Here is the highest debut from a new country act this year, and the highest debut from a new solo male since Justin Moore back in August 2009.

Thompson is currently following up his Top-20 debut single, “Beer On the Table,” with his second single and the album’s title track, “Way Out Here.” The song goes to country radio next week, officially impacting on March 29. Thompson is currently on the Jagermeister Country Tour which runs through March, and he’ll be on the road this summer as part of Brad Paisley’s H20 2010 World Tour.

Meanwhile, over at Lyric Street, Sarah Buxton’s eponymous debut album bowed at #12 on Nielsen Soundscan’s Country Top 75 chart this week. With first-week sales reaching 8,000 units, Sarah Buxton is the best selling debut from a female country artist since 2008.

Buxton recently made history with the album’s leadoff single, “Outside My Window,” when it sold more than 12,000 paid downloads in its first week of release, making it the biggest opening digital single sales from a debut album for any female country artist in the history of Nielsen Soundscan. Buxton is currently on the road with Martina McBride and Trace Adkins on McBride’s Shine All Night tour.