http://tracybyrd.musiccitynetworks.com/
Thursday, November 12, 2009 • 7:30 PM
Mayo Civic Center - Auditorium | Tickets
This intimate acoustic, unplugged, storytellers style of show features Country superstars Tracy Byrd (hits include "Holdin' Heaven", "Watermelon Crawl" and "I'm From the Country"); Tracy Lawrence (hits include "If The World Had A Front Porch", "Texas Tornado", and "Time Marches On") and the former lead singer of the platinum-selling group Lonestar, Richie McDonald (hits include "Amazed", "No News", "Mr. Mom", and "I'm Already There").
Imagine eavesdropping on three of the most prolific American songwriters and biggest stars in country music today, people who have been on stage for so long they can pretty much be themselves in front of you. That's the idea Tracy Byrd had when he came up with the "Country Rat Pack Tour". He wanted to update the improvisational, storytelling shows of the 1960s Rat Pack - which included Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford - by featuring country artists. The concert will be an unplugged, singer-songwriters-storytellers show of the sort one would see at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. It will be a very intimate show where the principals tell the story behind a song people have heard on the radio but never knew how it came about or why it was written. The band includes Byrd and Lawrence on acoustic guitars and McDonald on piano, as well as a guitarist from Lawrence's band and Byrd's fiddle player.
Byrd has become one of country music's core artists, a Texas born traditionalist equally skilled at serving up playful hits like "Watermelon Crawl" and "The Truth About Men" as well as poignant ballads such as his signature song "Keeper of the Stars," which netted the Academy of Country Music's Song of the Year accolade in 1996.
Known for classics like "Sticks And Stones," "Alibis," "Texas Tornado," "Time Marches On," "Lessons Learned," and "Paint Me A Birmingham" from a catalog that has produced sixteen No. 1s and at least 20 top 10 hits, Tracy Lawrence is recognized as one of his generation's most important artists.
As the lead vocalist for the award-winning country group Lonestar, Richie McDonald's warm, evocative voice was the driving force behind such chart-topping country hits as "Amazed," "No News" and "I'm Already There".
This presentation is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Minnesota State Arts Board, General Mills Foundation, and Land O'Lakes Foundation.
