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| CMA Music Festival: Headline Event The legendary Hank Williams Jr., CMA's most awarded duo Brooks & Dunn, and 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd will perform live in concert at The Coliseum in Nashville on June 8. The triple headlining bill of superstars will be joined by special guests Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Pat Green, Little Big Town and Blake Shelton. "This is Nashville's concert event of the year and a first for CMA Music Festival to have these three amazing entertainers bringing their unique and wildly popular stage shows to our fans, " said CMA Chief Operating Officer Tammy Genovese. "Add to that the incredible talents of our special guests and surprise artists and you will definitely have a night to remember. This Festival is building a reputation of presenting unique musical collaborations and this one features all our rowdy friends." Winner of seven CMA Awards (including two consecutive wins asEntertainer of the Year in 1987 and 1988), Williams has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, achieving 20 Gold, five Platinum, one double-Platinum and one quadruple-Platinum album thus far in his career. Among his many hits are "Family Tradition, " "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight, " "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, " "A Country Boy Can Survive, " "Born to Boogie, " "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down), " There's A Tear In My Beer" and more. His four-time, Emmy award-winning rallying anthem "Are You Ready For Some Football?" was the musical signature of ABC Television Network's "Monday Night Football" national broadcasts for more than a decade. The Curb recording artist will release his new album, That's How They Do It In Dixie, on June 6. Williams last performed at CMA Music Festival in 2004. On Mar. 18, Brooks & Dunn broke the all-time Houston Livestock andRodeo attendance record with an audience of 72, 867. The superstars, who were previously announced as performing at CMA Music Festival, have won 15 CMA Awards thus far in their career, including Entertainer of the Year in 1996 and an unprecedented 13 wins as CMA Vocal Duo of the Year. The pair, who has sold more than 28 million albums, hosted the CMA Awards in 2004 and 2005. Their most recent album is Hillbilly Deluxe, featuring the hit singles "Play Something Country" and "Believe." Southern rock royalty Lynyrd Skynyrd will make their CMA Music Festival debut in 2006. The group has performed their unique mixture of blues, rock and Country Music to sold-out audiences nationwide for more than 30 years. Some of their most-loved hits include "Sweet Home Alabama, " "Gimme Three Steps, " "What's Your Name, " and "Free Bird." Lynyrd Skynyrd has sold more than 27 million albums worldwide, achieving 16 Gold, 13 Platinum and 7 multi-Platinum albums thus far. Their most recent album is Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour. The band remains an inspiration to their fans, having continually triumphed over tragedy by surviving the deaths of several key members, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and background vocalist Cassie Gaines in a tragic 1977 plane crash (a subsequent 10 year hiatus for the band ended in 1987 with Ronnie's younger brother Johnny assuming the duties of lead vocalist); as well as guitarist Allen Collins in 1990; and bassist Leon Wilkeson in 2001. Outside of Lynyrd Skynyrd, lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant also performs with brother Donnie (the lead singer of rock band 38 Special) as the Country Music duo Van Zant. They were nominated for CMA Vocal Duo of the Year in 2005. Van Zant's debut album, Get Right With The Man, was released on Sony Nashville in 2005. This one-of-a-kind concert event is also included in the full four-dayticket package to 2006 CMA Music Festival, which takes place Thursday-Sunday, June 8-11. All of the artists participating in CMA Music Festival donate their time. They are not compensated for performing. In appreciation of their continued support, CMA recently launched "Keep the Music Playing, " a program which donates half the net proceeds from the event to the Nashville Alliance for Public Education, to support music education in metro Nashville's public schools on behalf of the artists. To date, CMA has donated more than $800, 000 on behalf of the artists who participate in the Festival. CMA Music Festival is organized and produced by the Country MusicAssociation. CMA Board member Tony Conway is the Executive Producer of CMA Music Festival. Premiere Radio Networks is the official radio broadcaster. Promotional partners include Crisco, Greased Lightning and Wrangler. Fan Fair is a registered trademark of CMA. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |