Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley To Launch Solo Tour

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Charles Kelley

Charles Kelley has revealed that he will bring music from his upcoming debut solo album to fans, via The Driver Tour, with special guest Maren Morris. Presented by Enterprise, the 22-city club tour will make its first stop at House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio on Nov. 28 and continue through the winter with tickets on sale this Friday (Oct. 16) at 10 a.m. local time on www.charleskelley.com.

“I’ve played some great shows at arenas and amphitheaters, but I’m definitely looking forward to getting into clubs with people grabbing on your legs and being able to see every face,” Kelley says. “I can’t wait to get right up there in it with the fans and try out some of this new stuff we’ve been working on. I’m pretty excited about just scrapping the set list and playing whatever we feel like playing.”

Kelley’s lead single, “The Driver,” features vocals from Dierks Bentley and Eric Paslay. Kelley offered members of the music industry an early look at the project during an album preview concert on Oct. 1 in Nashville.

Morris, one of Columbia Nashville’s newest roster additions, has garnered more than 2.5 million streams of songs from her self-titled EP. She is one of CMT’s Next Women of Country, and has been on tour dates with Sam Hunt, Little Big Town, and Chris Stapleton.

 

 

 

THE DRIVER TOUR Dates:
11/28/15 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
11/29/15 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Stone Pony
12/01/15 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
12/03/15 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Theatre
12/04/15 – Tallahassee, FL – The Moon
12/05/15 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
12/10/15 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
12/11/15  – Oklahoma City, OK- Diamond Ballroom
12/12/15 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
12/17/15 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
12/18/15 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
12/19/15 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
1/07/16 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
1/08/16  – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
1/09/16 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
1/16/16 – Washington D.C. – The Fillmore Silver Spring
1/17/16 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
1/22/16 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
1/23/16 – Springfield, IL – Boondocks
1/24/16 – Sioux City, IA – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
1/26/16 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
1/28/15 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues

Trace Adkins Kicks Off ‘Power Through Tour’

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Trace Adkins

Trace Adkins

Trace Adkins has teamed up with KIOTI Tractor to kick-off a year long promotion benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project on his Power Through Tour. For a $25 donation to the Wounded Warrior Project, KIOTI Tractor and Trace Adkins fans alike can enter to win Adkins’ autographed KIOTI DK65 tractor and attached front-end loader and backhoe. Participants may enter multiple times by donating in increments of $25.

The promotion is currently open for entry, and will close on Oct. 19, 2016 at 11:59:59 a.m. EST. All valid entries will be entered into the drawing for the grand prize. The winner will be announced within 30 days of the end of the Power Through Tour.

Power Through Tour:
Oct. 3 – NCSU Ag Day – Raleigh, N.C.
Oct. 20-22 – Sunbelt Ag Expo – Moultrie, Ga.
Dec. 4 – ACC Football Championship – Charlotte, N.C.
Feb. 3-5 – Southern Farm Show – Raleigh, N.C.
Feb. 10-13 – National Farm Machinery Show – Louisville, Ky.
Aug. 16-18 – Penn State Ag Progress Day – State College, Pa.
Sept. 20-22 – Ohio Farm Science Review – London (Columbus), Ohio

Blake Shelton Announces Nashville Stop On Upcoming Tour

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Blake Shelton plays LP. Photo: CMA

Blake Shelton plays LP. Photo: CMA

Blake Shelton will make a tour stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on March 4, 2016, as part of his upcoming Blake Shelton presented by Gildan Tour.

The tour currently includes 11 stops, launching Feb. 18, 2016 in Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena.

Tickets for Shelton’s Nashville tour stop go on sale Saturday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster. A Blake Shelton BS’er Fan Club pre-sale will begin Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. CT.

“Man, I’m just so excited about 2016,” says the CMA’s reigning five-time Male Vocalist of the Year. “We’ve got a new album coming and I can’t wait to get back out on the road and play some new music for my fans. As an artist, my favorite thing to do is go on the road and play shows. I’ve missed it, and it’s gonna be like old times. So y’all get ready to party, ‘cause Blake Shelton is comin to see ya’!”

Ticket prices for the tour range from $29.75 – 69.75. All other on sales will be announced soon.

Blake Shelton presented by Gildan Tour stops:
2/18/2016 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena
2/19/2016 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
2/20/2016 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
2/25/2016 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena
2/26/2016 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
2/27/2016 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
3/3/2016 Memphis, TN FedEx Forum
3/4/2016 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
3/17/2016 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
3/18/2016 Wilkes-Barre, PA Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
3/19/2016 Pittsburgh, PA CONSOL Energy Center

Pandora to Acquire Ticketfly for $450 million

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PandoraTicketfly

Pandora will acquire Ticketfly in a move valued at $450 million of nearly equally balanced cash and stock. The move is aimed at creating music platform connecting fans, artists and event promoters, says the Oakland, Calif. publicly traded company.

Ticketfly provides ticketing and marketing software for approximately 1,200 venues and event promoters across North America including 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., the 19,000-capacity Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, Burning Man and the Pitchfork Music Festival.

Pandora claims 80 million monthly active users will have access to enable artists and promoters to sell out more shows. Its recent track record includes helping the Rolling Stones sell 55,000 tickets in 24 hours, streaming Jack White’s Madison Square Garden concert to reach 38 times the number of concert attendees. Additionally, the streaming company live-streamed Mumford & Sons from Merriweather Post Pavilion, resulting in more than 1 million people’s interest two weeks.

“With Ticketfly, we will thrill music lovers and lift ticket sales for artists as the most effective marketplace for connecting music makers and fans,” said Brian McAndrews, chief executive officer at Pandora.

Ticketfly was founded in 2008. In 2014, the ticket company sold 16 million tickets to more than 90,000 live events, generating more than $500 million in transaction volume and crossing the $1 billion mark in cumulative transaction volume. Ticketfly powers more than 600 websites on behalf of its clients with an average of 14 million visitors each month. Moving forward, Ticketfly will continue to support its music and non-music clients alike.

In a statement, Andrew Dreskin Ticketfly co-founder & CEO said:

“We share a common goal of wanting to the make the end-to-end experience better for all participants in the music ecosystem. We are both ridiculously passionate about music, and want to make music and live entertainment a bigger part of people’s lives. And it just so happens that we like each other.

“This combination will be transformative for the industry. Our clients will gain access to the largest and most powerful music marketing platform in the world, which will help them to sell more tickets and generate more revenue. We will tackle the problem of event discovery for fans and make live events a bigger part of people’s lives, which is why we all got into this crazy business anyway.”

Touring facts from the announcement:

  • Top artists currently earn 80 percent of their revenue through touring.
  • Per capita spend on live music grew 65 percent from $29 in 2008 to $48 in 2014.
  • North American concert ticket sales grew 22 percent since last year, fueling a rapidly growing industry now estimated at $6.2 billion.
  • Music lovers often don’t know their favorite musician is in town. 40 percent of live event tickets go unsold, primarily due to lack of awareness.

Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Ranks Second in U.S. Ticket Sales

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Bridgestone Arena

Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville has sold the second-highest amount of concert tickets in the U.S. over the last nine months, according to a third-quarter report from Pollstar, a touring trade publication. The arena ranks sixth in concert tickets sold worldwide so far this year.

Based solely on total concert and show attendance, Bridgestone Arena’s ticket sales have reached total of 504,153. When including the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and Nashville Predators home hockey games, Bridgestone Arena has hosted nearly 1 million people in the building year to date.

“Bridgestone Arena continues to set the standard of excellence for sports and entertainment venues in the United States,” Bridgestone Arena Senior Vice President of Booking David Kells said. “This ranking is due to the support of our fans, building staff, great performers, promoters, Metro Davidson County and the entire music community. We still have work to do to make us the No. 1 venue in the U.S., but we are pleased with the progress we’ve made.”

Bridgestone Arena underwent $11.2 million in renovations this summer, and included the addition of metal detectors at each entrance, in-bowl LED lights, 7,000 seats in the Lower Bowl, new concession stands and renovated restrooms.

Here are Pollstar’s Top-10 U.S. Venues (Show & Concert Ticket Sales):

1. Madison Square Garden (New York)
2. Bridgestone Arena (Nashville)
3. Staples Center (Los Angeles)
4. Forum (Inglewood, Calif.)
5. Allstate Arena (Rosemont, Ill.)
6. Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
7. American Airlines Center (Dallas)
8. Sprint Center (Kansas City, Mo.)
9. Phillips Arena (Atlanta)
10. Amalie Arena (Tampa Bay, Fla.)

Jana Kramer To Release Sophomore Project on Friday

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JanaKramerthirtyone

Jana Kramer will release thirty one, her 11-track sophomore album with Elektra/WAR on Friday, Oct. 9.

Kramer co-wrote six of the tracks. Additional writers on the project include Maddie & Tae, Jamie Lynn Spears and Alyssa Bonagura. Kramer worked with producer Scott Hendricks. The lead single is “I Got The Boy.”

An exclusive album preview is available from Pure Silk Shave with an exclusive track not for sale titled, “Hey Hey, Kiss Kiss.” Pre-orders are a immediately available with a thirty one Intro Pack (19.99) including a digital and physical album, select immediate download tracks and an autographed poster (limited to the first 250 purchasers). A Deluxe Pack ($39.99) includes the same as the Intro Pack, in addition to a tee shirt and a now sold-out Snapchat option.

A pregnant Kramer will be traversing the country from New York to California to Florida through November (full dates below).

thirty one Track Listing:
1. Boomerang (Chad Carlson, Maddie Marlow, Taylor Dye, Aaron Scherz)
2. Don’t Touch My Radio (Jana Kramer, Blair Daly, Catt Gravitt)
3. I Got The Boy (Tim Nichols, Connie Harrington, Jamie Lynn Spears)
4. Pop That Bottle (Kramer, Phil Barton, Lindsay Rimes, Michael Hughes)
5. Love (Catt Gravitt, Jimmy Robbins)
6. Circles (Brandon Hood, Alyssa Bonagura, Jeffrey Steele)
7. Bullet (Kramer, Catt Gravitt, Marti Frederiksen)
8. Dance In The Rain (Kramer, Emily Shackleton, Phil Barton, Lindsay Rimes)
9. Said No One Ever (Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby, busbee)
10. Just Like In The Movies (Kramer, Gravitt, Brian Kierulf)
11. Last Song (Kramer, Robbins, Gravitt)

Jana Kramer Tour Dates
Oct. 07 – Blarney’s Twisted Irish Pub, Harrisburg, Pa.
Oct. 08 – Patchogue Theatre For The Performing Arts, New York, N.Y.
Oct. 09 – Maryland Live! Casion – Rams Head Center Stage, Baltimore, Md.
Oct. 10 – Scope, Norfolk, Va.
Oct. 16 – Red Rock Saloon, Madison, Wis.
Oct. 17 – Red Rock Saloon, Milwaukee, Wis.
Oct. 20 – B 93.9’S Bra-Country, Raleigh, N.C.
Oct. 21 – Visalia Fox Theater, Visalia, Calif.
Oct. 22 – Rodeo Club, San Jose, Calif.
Oct. 23 – Ace Of Spades, Sacramento, Calif.
Nov. 06 – Florida Veteran Field, Gainesville, Fla.
Nov. 17 – James Brown Arena, Augusta, Ga.
Nov. 19 – Coyote Joe’s, Shelby Twp, Mich.
Nov. 20 – Firekeepers, Battle Creek, Mich.
Nov. 21 – Belterra Resort & Casino, Florence, Ind.

The Oak Ridge Boys Announce 26th Annual Christmas Tour

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The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Tour

The Oak Ridge Boys will embark on their 26th annual Christmas Night Out Tour on Nov. 17 in Branson, Missouri. With more than two dozen stops, the tour will conclude on Dec. 23 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

“There is nothing quite like an Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Show. This tour has become an Oak Ridge Boys tradition and is a tremendous experience for the entire family. With a revamped stage and a fresh approach, this year’s show will be a dynamic mix of music representing every aspect of Christmas from presents and snow, to romance and Santa Claus, on to the real meaning of the season celebrating the birth of Jesus,” said The Oak Ridge Boys’ Joe Bonsall.

“Folks can expect to hear old favorites like ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Jingle Bells’ mixed with some very poignant newer songs like ‘Getting Ready for A Baby’ and ‘Mary Did You Know.’ A highlight of the evening is the much-loved ‘rocking chair’ segment where each Boy rocks by the fireplace and shares personal thoughts about Christmas. So we hope you’ll come out and see us… and Merry Christmas!” Bonsall added.

The group will be formally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this month.

Christmas Night Out Tour dates are listed below:

Nov. 17-19: Branson, Mo.; The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre

Nov .21: Canton, Ohio; Canton Palace Theatre

Nov. 22: Newport News, Va.; Ferguson Center For The Arts

Nov. 24: Portsmouth, Ohio; Vern Riffe Center For The Arts

Nov. 27: Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Paramount Theater

Nov. 28: Sioux Falls, S.D.; Washington Pavilion

Nov. 29: Des Moines, Iowa; Hoyt Sherman Place

Nov. 30: Topeka, Kan.; Topeka Performing Arts Center

Dec. 1: Cheyenne, Wyo.; Cheyenne Civic Center

Dec. 2: Colorado Springs, Co.; Pikes Peak Center

Dec. 3: Richfield, Utah; Sevier Valley Center

Dec. 4: Boise, Idaho; Morrison Center at Boise State University

Dec. 5: Kennewick, Wash.; Toyota Center

Dec. 6: Lewiston, Idaho; Clearwater River Casino Event

Dec. 7: Spokane, Wash.; INB Performing Arts Center

Dec. 8: Eugene, Ore.; Hult Center

Dec. 10: Shelton, Wash.; Little Creek Casino Resort

Dec. 11-12: Lincoln City, Ore.; Chinook Winds Casino

Dec. 13: Redding, Calif. Redding Convention Center

Dec. 15: Deadwood, S.D.; Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel

Dec. 16: Saint Joseph, Mo.; Civic Arena

Dec. 17: Paducah, Ky.; Carson Center

Dec. 18: Manistee, Mich.; Little River Casino Resort

Dec. 19: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Crystal Grand Music Theatre

Dec. 20: Merrillville, Ind.; Star Plaza Theatre

Dec. 21: Evansville, Ind.; Old National Events Plaza

Dec. 22: Atlanta, Ga.; Philips Arena

Dec. 23: Nashville, Tenn.; Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Ticketmaster Revamping Early Ticket Access

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TicketmasterThe New York Times is reporting Ticketmaster will introduce a revamped system for handling ticketing services like V.I.P. packages and early allotments at a New York City event today, Oct. 5.

The event is said to gather musicians’ managers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to apparently do away with the industry accepted norm of acts allowed to sell around eight percent of tickets through fan clubs, etc.

“A growing number of managers say Ticketmaster has lately been enforcing archaic rules about what counts as a fan club, making it harder for bands to obtain these tickets and work with third-party companies that specialize in these packages,” says the paper’s Ben Sisario talking to Traci Thomas, manager of Jason Isbell. “Among Ticketmaster’s more irksome requirements, several managers said, were that an artist’s website must have a chat room — which they say is an anachronism in the age of social media.

“For Ticketmaster, which last year sold $23 billion in tickets, these fan club sales represent a negligible amount of income, particularly for midlevel acts like [Isbell]. But they are part of a growing market of ticket services that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have moved into aggressively.”

So far, the paper notes complaints over fan club tickets have been mostly confined to smaller acts, with only a few managers speaking publicly.

Since its Live Nation merger in 2010, Ticketmaster has been in a state of flux in an effort to capture more revenue from the ticketing sphere.

George Strait Adds Two Las Vegas Concerts

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Strait 2015b

George Strait has added two more Las Vegas concerts to his calendar. He will perform at the new Las Vegas Arena on Dec. 2 and 3, 2016.

During a press conference last week, Strait announced four Las Vegas concerts in 2016 – scheduled for April 22, April 23, Sept. 9, and Sept. 10. Tickets to all six shows go on sale Friday, Oct. 2. Kacey Musgraves will open for Strait on all dates.

“I said all along I wasn’t going to tour anymore, but I also said that I wasn’t retiring by any means and I still wanted to do some dates,” Strait said. “I’m very excited to be coming back out and playing for the fans out there. I’m looking forward to it so much, singing those songs that I love so much and haven’t done in a while. I’m really, really looking forward to being able to play in the new Las Vegas Arena. I hear it’s just unbelievable. I can’t wait.”

Rick Arpin, senior vice president of entertainment and development for MGM Resorts International, said, “We always knew George was the King of Country, but the unprecedented fan reaction following last week’s announcement has been incredible. It is exciting to be able to offer fans worldwide two additional opportunities to see this exclusive engagement during the National Finals Rodeo. These performances will add to the star power of the Las Vegas Arena’s opening season.”

Strait released a new album, Cold Beer Conversation, on Sept. 25.

Ashley Monroe Cancels Six Shows On ‘The Blade Tour’

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ashmonroe300x300Singer-songwriter Ashley Monroe has canceled several dates on her The Blade Tour in October and November.

She posted the following notice on social media:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I’ve had to postpone the following dates of The Blade Tour. I am so sorry and will post rescheduled dates as they appear

10/1 – Macon, GA @ Cox Capitol Theatre
10/8 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
10/9 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Intersection
10/10 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
11/13 – Springfield, IL @ Boondocks
11/21 – Birmingham, IL @ Workplay Theatre

Monroe’s album of the same name released in July. She is also slated to join Miranda Lambert on several tour dates this fall.