Country Music Television Launches 2008 Tour
Jason Aldean Headlines Fall Concerts with Lady Antebellum, Durrance
Beginning Oct. 8 at Western Carolina University, the network-sponsored tour—officially dubbed CMT on Tour ’08: Jason Aldean—will kick off the first of 20 dates across the U.S. with the musical aid of featured-openers Lady Antebellum and newcomer Eric Durrance.
On Aug. 12, CMT representatives announced that Aldean “had been handpicked to lead the (CMT tour) tradition into its seventh consecutive year” behind former tour-headliners such as Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts and Sugarland.
According to a statement issued by CMT, “Aldean was selected … for his electrifying stage show honed from years of performing in live in bars and clubs across the Southeast" and for leading "the new crop of young country music stars with almost 2 million albums sold. ..."
Coming to A City Near You
CMT executives, in turn, have ensured that CMT on Tour ’08 will make its way to a number of tour stops where college-aged fans are in residence. Such concertgoers, CMT reported, “make up the majority of Aldean's wildly passionate fan base.”
Regarding the CMT tour dates, which will conclude Nov. 22 in Bangor, Maine, “We’ll do about 90 minutes,” Aldean confirmed in a recent telephone interview from Michigan, referring to what showgoers can expect from his performances.
“I am not sure if we’re going to do something (on stage with Lady Antebellum), but we are going to talk about it the first week of the tour that we’re out and see if there’s something we can do,” he added. “It’s definitely something I want to do, so we need to see if we can get on the same page with those folks (and perform for fans).”
Jason Aldean: In Relentless Pursuit of Success
A native of Macon, Ga., Aldean has spent some 170 days on the road in support of his now-gold Relentless CD, his second for Broken Bow Records, and the disc’s title track and third single. For the week ending Oct. 4, 2008, the “Rentless” tune was in the No. 15 position and one of the fastest movers on the Billboard country charts. The song is the follow-up to recent hits We Laughed Until We Cried and Johnny Cash.
Now 31, Aldean made his official commercial foray into country radio and the world of music videos with his 2005 self-titled debut album. The Jason Aldean CD yielded three top-10 singles—Hicktown, Amarillo Sky and Why, his first No. 1, and sold more than a million copies.
Subsequently, Aldean took home the 2006 trophy from the Academy of Country Music for Top Male Vocalist and currently is nominated for New Artist of the Year, a new category, in the Country Music Association’s 42nd annual awards contest. Conveniently, concert organizers have booked Aldean and company in nearby Murfreesboro, Tenn., just 35 miles east of Nashville, on Nov. 13 so the acts may attend the Music City-based CMA Awards on Nov. 12.
Lady Antebellum: Rising Fast
Joining headliner Aldean on the CMT on Tour ’08 circuit are featured players Lady Antebellum, a group whose members—lead singers Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott, along with multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Dave Haywood—are the reigning ACM Top New Group winners.
Together just two years, Lady Antebellum’s self-titled debut for Capitol Records swiftly made its No. 1 mark on the Billboard charts earlier this year with its freshman track, Love Don’t Live Here, which was penned by the trio. The current single, Lookin' for A Good Time, recently hit No. 19 on the country singles list.
Currently, the act’s on something that bandmate Haywood, in a telephone interview from Indiana, jokingly called “the corndog and funnel-cake world” circuit, meaning a string of state fair show dates. However, come October, the Lady A lineup is anxious to hit the CMT touring trail, where—like Aldean—they’ll take a break to attend the CMA Awards, but with their respective moms in tow. (They're nominated in the Vocal Group and New Artist of the Year categories.)
“We’re flying them in and taking’em down the red carpet,” remarked Haywood, 26. “We’re really proud of them and want to … buy’em new dresses and take them with us (to the CMAs),” where Lady Antebellum, like Aldean, is nominated in the New Artist category.
One mom, though, won’t need to be flown in for the awards, because she’s already nearby. That is, Grammy Award-winning country artist Linda Davis, who’s no stranger to country music’s red carpet, also happens to be mom to Lady A songstress Scott, 22.
Probably best known for her hit duet, Does He Love You, with Reba McEntire, Davis noted in a March 19, 2008, MySpace post that she “wanted to flex her ‘braggin’ rights’ muscle” on behalf of her singing daughter and thank fans “for the support you’ve always given me and my career … and now … thank you even more for your support of my first born.”
Eric Durrance Gets His Chance
Newcomer Eric Durrance, a native of Tallahassee, Fla., nabbed the coveted CMT tour's opening slot. Still largely unknown in country-music circles, his debut for Wind-Up Records, Angels Fly Away, entered Billboard’s Top Country Albums at No. 70 during its Oct. 4 release week.
Influenced by the singer-songwriter sounds of The Eagles, as well as by the tunesmithing of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, Durrance credits his southern upbringing and family with instilling in him a love of country music.
The CD’s first single is its title track, a touching ballad that aims to stir and inspire. Durrance’s debut was produced by Teddy Gentry, founding member of supergroup Alabama, and Mark Bright, who’s worked with Rascal Flatts/Carrie Underwood.
With heavy-hitter production, the singer-songwriter said his CD is “a strong collection of musical stories that I think will turn the listeners’ ear and then they’ll hear it with heart."
References
2008 CMT On Tour, Country Music Television. Retrieved Sept. 27, 2008, at www.cmom.
Billboard Hot Country Songs, Sept. 27, 2008, and Oct. 4, 2008. issues.
Eric Durrance Biography, Great American Country TV. Retrieved Sept. 27, 2008, at http:/w.gactv.com
Linda Davis, MySpace post, March 19, 2008. Retrieved Sept. 27, 2008, at htt/www.myspace.com/thelindadavis
Personal communication, Dave Haywood, Sept. 25, 2008.
Personal communication, Jason Aldean, Sept. 26, 2008.
Trio Lady Antebellum and Jason Aldean
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Jason Aldean performs Sept. 23, 2008, in Nashville
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Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum
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Eric Durrance
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CMT Tour '08 poster
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