Country Tonite and First Class Productions
are proud to bring you this year's Celebrity Concert
Series line-up. Some of the most legendary performers in the
history of country music will be onstage here at the Country
Tonite Theatre .
Tickets for the first half of the concerts (April thru July) go on sale Monday, February 11th at 9:00 am. Tickets for later concerts (August thru November) go on sale Monday, February 25th at 9:00 am. All Ticket Sales Final 1-800-792-4308 or 865-453-2003
Loretta Lynn
Friday, April 12, 2013 at 8:00 pm
$44.50 + tax
For over fifty years now, Loretta Lynn has fashioned a body of work as artistically and commercially successful, and as culturally significant, as any female performer you'd care to name. Her music has confronted many of the major social issues of her time, and her life story is a rags-to-riches tale familiar to pop, rock and country fans alike. The Coal Miner's Daughter, the tag refers to a hit single, an album, a best-selling autobiography, an Oscar-winning film, and to Lynn herself, has journeyed from the poverty of the Kentucky hills to Nashville superstardom to her current status as an honest-to-goodness American icon. Some of Loretta's other classics include "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)", "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)", and "Fist City".
"Roots & Boots" Tour
Aaron Tippin, Joe Diffie
and Sammy Kershaw
Friday , May 24, 2013 at 8:00 pm
$39.95 + tax
This will be an evening filled with stories and songs, getting back to the roots of their music. These three great artists will be performing on stage together, acoustic versions of more than 40 Top Ten Hits. A few of Aaron's hits include "There Ain't Nothin' Wrong with the Radio", "You've Got to Stand for Something", "Kiss This", and "Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly". Joe's hits include "Home", "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)", "Third Rock from the Sun", and "Pickup Man". Sammy has quite a list of hits as well, including "Cadillac Style", "She Don't Know She's Beautiful", "National Working Woman's Holiday", and "Third Rate Romance".
This is another show that will be packed with hits. Two great artists in one big show! Â There is only one T. Graham Brown, His "T-Ness", and that uniqueness has made him one of the most enduringly popular singers performing today. Â T. Graham has had tons of hits including "I Tell It Like It Used To Be", "Hell and High Water", "Darlene", and "Wine Into Water".
Jimmy Fortune toured with Country Music Hall of Fame members The Statler Brothers for 21 years. He wrote the group's second Number One hit, "Elizabeth", and followed that with two more Number One hits, - "My Only Love" and "Too Much On My Heart". Fortune also wrote the Top 10 hit "Forever" and co-wrote the Top 10 hit "More Than A Name On a Wall". Â Jimmy is now having a very successful solo career.
They've been called the Rolling Stones of country music, and really, that's no exaggeration. For 30 years, Sawyer Brown has set the pace and continues to go the distance with fresh, fun and relevant songs that challenge themselves as musicians while creating personal experiences for their listeners. And their live shows - over 4,000 (and counting!) - are legendary for the excitement, energy and emotion they generate. Herein lies the secret of the band's youthful longevity. Some of Sawyer Brown's hits include "Step That Step", "Betty's Bein' Bad", "Some Girls Do", "Thank God for You", and "The Dirt Road".Â
Bobby Bare has been in the music industry for over fifty years. Â With hits like "Detroit City", "500 Miles Away from Home", "Marie Laveau" and "(Margie's At) The Lincoln Park Inn", he has enjoyed a great career in country music, as well as having success on the Pop charts. In addition to being a singer and songwriter, Bobby also hosted the popular television show Bobby Bare and Friends on The Nashville Network. Â Â
Dolly Parton once noted, famously, that there were just three real female singers around, Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, and Connie Smith. "The rest of us," she said, "are only pretending." It's less well-known that when Ms. Smith was introduced to Keith Richards, he grabbed fellow Connie Smith fan (and Rolling Stone) Ron Wood and brought him up to meet her, too, exclaiming "She's the real deal!" We are thrilled to have our friend, who was recently inducted into The Country Music Hall of Fame, back to perform some of her classics. Connie's hits include "Once A Day", "Then and Only Then", and "Ain't Had No Lovin'".
Since the early '70s, Asleep at the Wheel have been the most important force in keeping the sound of Western swing alive. In reviving the freewheeling, eclectic sensibility of Western swing godfather Bob Wills, the Wheel have earned enthusiastic critical praise throughout their lengthy career; they have not only preserved classic sounds that had all but disappeared from country music, but have also been able to update the music, keeping it a living, breathing art form. Â Ray Benson, the 6'7" frontman, has held it together for four decades, keeping Asleep at the Wheel a viable recording and touring concern and maintaining their devotion to classic-style Western swing.
As a teenager, Mandy Barnett starred as country music legend Patsy Cline in the stage show “Always . . . Patsy Cline” at the celebrated Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The performances were sold out nightly and received rave reviews across the country.  She has reprised this role in recent years and received equally wonderful comments.  In addition to releasing her own albums over the last several years, Mandy has been featured on movie soundtracks, including “A Walk On the Moon,” “Traveller,” “Space Cowboys,” “Election,” “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” and “Crazy.”  She tours regularly and is a frequent guest on the Grand Ole Opry.
During the last five decades Jim Ed Brown has had an amazing career - with his sisters, as a solo artist, and with his duet partner, Helen Cornelius. Â In 1959, Jim Ed and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie, 'The Browns', released "The Three Bells". Â It sold over a million copies and created a sensation as the first Number One Country song ever to cross over to Number One on the Pop and Rhythm & Blues charts as well. Â The group enjoyed many more hits before Maxine and Bonnie decided to retire. Â Jim Ed then had a string of solo hits including "Pop-A-Top Again", "Southern Lovin'" and "Morning". Â In 1976, he teamed up with Helen Cornelius to form one of the most successful recording duos of all time.
For Helen Cornelius, it was her songwriting that initially swung open the doors along the corridors of Nashville's Music Row. Â By the mid-70's, Helen had songs recorded by a number of major artists, including The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Jeannie C. Riley and Connie Smith... just to mention a few. Â While it was her writing that first won her major credibility, it was the voice that RCA Records executives heard that won Helen her first major recording contract in 1975. Â With it, history was about to be made. Â Jim Ed and Helen had an amazing string of hits including "I Don't Wanna Have To Marry You", "Sayin' Hello, Sayin' I Love You, Sayin' Goodbye", "Lying In Love With You", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", and "Fools".
Billboard currently ranks Lynn Anderson among the Top-10 most successful female country artists for all-time record sales. Â In a career that spans four decades, Lynn has charted 11 #1, 18 Top-10, and over 50 Top-40 recordings. This country music icon has earned 17 Gold albums and won virtually every award available to a female recording artist: CMA Female Vocalist, ACM Female Vocalist, American Music Award, and the prestigious Grammy Award. She was also named "Billboard's Artist of the Decade" (1970-1980). Â Her signature tune, "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", remained the biggest selling recording by a female country artist for over 27 years. Lynn Anderson is not only a singer, she's an entertainer - an entertainer who shows no sign of slowing down. Some of Lynn's other hits include "Cry", "Top of the World", "Keep Me in Mind" and East Tennessee's anthem, "Rocky Top".
Friday, October 18, 2013 at 8:00 pm
and
Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 8:00 pm
$39.95 + tax
There are few American classics these days, but Don Williams is certainly one of them. With a warm hickory baritone that balances strength with a gentle concern, he draws his listener into the intimate world of an old friend, someone who cares deeply about you and the quality of your life…and who will always offer a hand when you need it. With hits such as "Good Ole Boys Like Me", "Amanda", "Tulsa Time", "You're My Best Friend" and "I Believe In You", this member of the Country Music Hall of Fame always delivers an amazing show.
2012 marked the Golden Anniversary of one of our greatest living country vocalists. In 1962, Gene Watson began his professional career by recording his first single. Â Performances such as “Fourteen Carat Mind,” “Love in the Hot Afternoon,” “Farewell Party,” “Memories to Burn,” “Got No Reason Now for Going Home,” “Speak Softly,” “Paper Rosie” and “Sometimes I Get Lucky and Forget” have forged Gene Watson's reputation as a “Singer's Singer.” He is the envy of his peers and the idol of such younger performers as Joe Nichols, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack and Randy Travis. Â Gene says, “Every time I step out on that stage and see that audience, it's a new beginning. Even though I've sung these songs millions of times, I look at each one like it's brand new to me. Every night, I try to deliver that song the best that I can. Â Being called a ‘Singer's Singer' humbles me. It's flattering, but what I do is just what I do. The Good Lord just gave me the voice.”
Jeannie Seely has been a member of The Grand Ole Opry for more than forty-five years. Â Among many achievements, she can claim Number 1 country songs as a solo artist, duet partner and songwriter. Â Her recording of "Don't Touch Me" not only hit the top of the charts, but also earned her the 1966 Grammy Award for the Best Country Vocal Performance by a Female. Â With fellow Opry member Jack Greene, Jeannie scored another Number 1 hit in 1969 with "Wish I Didn't Have To Miss You". Â That song launched one of the most popular duos and road shows in country music for over a decade. Â Her deeply moving vocals solidified her reputation as a country torch singer and earned her the nickname of "Miss Country Soul", a title still frequently used today.
