2 June 2014

Little Big Town will return for the second year to host CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock. “We could not be more excited to be coming back as hosts for CMA Music Fest,” exclaimed Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet. “Last year was incredible and we can’t wait to be back in LP Field surrounded by 50,000 screaming fans!” Bandmate Karen Fairchild added: “Country Music truly has the most dedicated fans in the world and we’re looking forward to spending another four days with them.” “It is great to have Little Big Town back to host Country’s Night to Rock,” said Deaton. “They have impeccable timing, a terrific sense of humour, the respect of the artistic community, and the admiration of the fans. They are the perfect ensemble cast to host this special.” Critically acclaimed Country group Little Big Town – consisting of members Fairchild, Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, and Jimi Westbrook – first entered the music scene more than 14 years ago with hits such as “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home,” “Good As Gone,” and the Grammy-nominated single “Little White Church.” The quartet’s fifth studio album Tornado was released on Sept. 11, 2012 and debuted at the top of the Billboard Country Chart where it stayed in the No. 1 position for five consecutive weeks. The album has been certified Platinum with sales of more than 1 million copies. Filmed during CMA Music Festival Thursday through Sunday, June 5-8, the show features many of today’s most exciting country music stars as they hit the stage during the four-day party and celebration of America’s music. The annual event is unlike any other, with autograph signings in the AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X, live music on 11 stages, more than 430 artists and celebrities, and a guest list of 80,000 avid singing-and-dancing-till-dawn fans.

Billboard released their list of the Top Live Acts of the past quarter century (1990-2014), and only one country artist made the Top 10: Kenny Chesney. Topped by the Rolling Stones, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, the songwriter from Luttrell, Tennessee arrived at number 9 on the list – in spite of taking 2010 and 2014 off the road – with 12,681,629 tickets sold. “You look at a list like this… with so many iconic rock acts, people like Madonna, or Elton John, and you think, ‘Man…’.” says the 4-time Country Music Association and 4 consecutive Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year. “When you get on the bus for the first time, you’re just hoping people will come. You never expect to be in this kind of company, unless you’re buying a ticket.” Many people bought tickets for Chesney’s high energy shows. Since becoming a full-fledged headliner in 2002, playing a homecoming show at Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium, then into NFL Stadiums in decidedly uncountry Boston, Pittsburgh and Washington, DC in 2005, his tours have become rites of summer for over a million people each tour and a breaking ground for many of today’s biggest headliners. “Knowing people work hard, have stress whether it’s their family or their job or their friends, you strive to create a place where they can forget all that for a few hours,” Chesney offers, “They’ll come out, and they come back with their friends. Just like when you sing songs that speak to how they really live, they listen. They listen and they hang onto those songs like it’s their life – because it is.” Though taking 2014 off to focus on the follow-up to 2013’s deeply personal LIFE ON A ROCK, Chesney is anxious to get back out there. As he says: “The fans feed me as much as I feed them… And that’s why I wanted to step back, really think about this record and give them something as hardcore as they are! These songs are gonna rock live; but more importantly, they say a whole lot about how the fans live. I can’t wait to play’em onstage.”