Garth Brooks taking solo acoustic shows to Las Vegas casino
Garth Brooks (Associated Press photo)
Well, it was no shocker that Oklahoma country superstar Garth Brooks announced today that he is indeed casting off retirement to become the resident performer at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. Word of his Vegas deal had leaked far and wide over the Internet and in the music industry in the past few days.
But Brooks and Steve Wynn, chairman of the board and CEO of Wynn Resorts, did offer a surprise during this afternoon’s Vegas press conference officially announcing the Oklahoma native’s new gig.
Brooks, who in the 1990s changed the way country artists played live with his extravagant rock-inspired stadium shows, won’t be bringing Vegas-style glitz to his casino concerts.
Instead, he will be putting on solo acoustic shows, according to CMT.com. And he expects they will take him back to his college days of gigging in venues around his alma mater, Oklahoma State University.
“It’s a one-man show, so there’s going to be a lot of disappointment after that first weekend,” he joked. “Coming out and just playing – just me and a guitar – takes me back to the first days I got to play. I was lucky enough to do a place called Wild Willie’s Saloon in Stillwater, OK, before I moved to Nashville and started touring. That’s what this is going to be for me. It’s a chance to slowly get back into it to see what people like, what they don’t like. It’s going to be very intimate.”
He said the theater also presents his voice to its best advantage.
“I’m always in buildings that are built for sports,” he said. “I love sports, and I feel lucky to have arenas and stadiums. But I’ve never played in a place built for sound like this. When I hear myself, I go, ‘Who the hell is that?’ It’s a beautiful hall.”
Brooks will begin his stint at the Encore Theater Dec. 11. The shows are expected to last 90 minutes, according to CMT.
He will perform one show on Fridays, two on Saturdays and one on Sunday. Tickets are priced at $125 and will go on sale Oct. 24 for the first five weekends. The dates are Dec. 11-13, Jan. 1-3 and 22-24 and Feb. 12-14 and 26-28.
According to CMT, Brooks, who was born in Tulsa and raised in Yukon, inked a five-year deal that allows him to perform only during specific weeks each year to be announced on a quarterly basis.
Brooks said Wynn succeeded in drawing him out of retirement by catering to his desire to continue to spend time with his family. The star announced his retirement about nine years ago, stating then that he planned to delay any further recording and touring until his youngest daughter, Allie, then 4, graduated high school. Allie is now 13; her older sisters Taylor and August are 17 and 15, respectively.
“I am a fortunate guy that has got to live his life playing music for people, and the people have always taken care of me,” CMT quotes Brooks as saying. “In 2001, I announced my retirement to go home and raise our kids in Oklahoma. When Steve Wynn approached me about playing, he did something different than anybody else had. He didn’t throw money at me.”
Wynn is providing Brooks with a private jet so he can commute between Vegas and his Oklahoma home. Brooks, second wife Trisha Yearwood, his daughters and their mother, Sandy Mahl, all make their home in Owasso.
He apparently got a chance to try out that jet today, announcing the end of his retirement at a morning press conference in Nashville and then confirming his Vegas deal with an afternoon presser in Sin City.
According to CMT, the Brooks deal grew out of a series of conversations he had with Wynn. He eventually played an informal concert for some of Wynn’s friends and special guests, including Bette Midler. Brooks joins the ranks of star-level performers like Celine Dion and Prince who have gone the lucrative Vegas headlining route.
And judging from Brooks’ comments today, the deal will make the star significant coin. He said when Wynn first proposed it, he told the casino tycoon he couldn’t afford him.
Brooks then added, “I was wrong.”
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Video: Garth Brooks coming out of retirement
I’m in New York City today for the “Amelia” film junket (look for stories on that next week), but my excellent colleague Assistant Entertainment Editor George Lang and NewsOK host Angi Bruss discussed today’s big news that Oklahoma music superstar Garth Brooks plans to come out of his nine-year retirement.
In this NewsOK video, George talks about the rumors that Brooks will become a Vegas headliner and about other recording artists who have taken similar lucrative gigs.
He also breaks down the Oklahoma native’s impressive track record, which makes this news huge for not just country music but the music industry at large.
The Recording Industry Association of America honored Brooks in 2007 with a career award after he passed Elvis Presley to become the top-selling solo artist in U.S. history. At the time, he had sold more than 123 million albums.
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Garth Brooks coming out of retirement
Garth Brooks (Associated Press photo)
The speculation turned out to be true: Oklahoma music superstar Garth Brooks announced today that he is coming out of retirement.
Brooks, 47, made the announcement at a press conference today in Nashville, Tenn.
“We’re going to take the retirement roof off over our head, and I already feel taller,” Brooks said Thursday.
According to the Associated Press, Brooks said he has no immediate plans and will see how things go in the coming years.
But at www.GarthBrooks.com, visitors are invited to watch the Wynn/Encore live press conference at 2 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Central. Rumors have been swirling around the music industry that the Oklahoma native will headline a series of concerts next year at the Encore/Wynn Casino and Resort in Las Vegas.
Brooks, who was born in Tulsa and grew up in Yukon, announced his retirement in 2000. He said then and has often repeated that he didn’t plan to record or tour again until the youngest of his three daughters, Allie, then 4, went off to college.
He and second wife Trisha Yearwood, whom he married in 2005, live in Owasso near his three daughters and ex-wife, Sandy Mahl.
In the past decade, Brooks has occasionally put in special appearances at awards shows and charity events. He inducted fellow Oklahoman Carrie Underwood into the Grand Ole Opry last year, and he performed at President Obama’s inauguration earlier this year.
Brooks’ last studio album, “Scarecrow,” was released in 2001. His three-disc compilation “The Ultimate Hits” finished 10th on Billboard’s 2008 list of albums, proving he still has the fan appeal he did in the 1990s.
It will be interesting to see what Brooks has to say about his date with Sin City later today.
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Garth Brooks to come out of retirement?
Oklahoma star Garth Brooks performs at the “We Are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Jan. 18. Speculation is swirling that Brooks will come out of retirement to play a series of shows in Vegas. (Associated Press photo)
Oklahoma country superstar Garth Brooks may be coming out of retirement to become a Las Vegas headliner, according to multiple online reports
Celebrity blogger Robin Leach (of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” fame) started speculation swirling when he reported on his Las Vegas Weekly blog that the Oklahoma native will headline a series of concerts at the Encore/Wynn Casino and Resort in Sin City.
“It now looks definite after weeks of rumors and speculation that country superstar Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement to become a resident headliner at the Wynn. He’ll play in the theater that was to have been the longtime permanent home of the late Danny Gans,” Leach writes on his Luxe Life blog.
It is believed that Brooks will perform a total of 16 weeks of shows at the hotel in 2010, according to Leach.
On GarthBrooks.com, a message on the main page informs fans that “Something exciting is coming …” Thursday and invites them to watch it live on the site.
In a subsequent post, Leach blogs that Brooks will make the official announcement in two press conferences Thursday, the first in Nashville, Tenn., and the second in Vegas.
“Garth will break the news first in the capital of country music, Nashville. Then he’ll hop on a private jet to do it all over again here. That’s right: Two press conferences in about three hours in two cities!,” Leach writes.
If Leach’s information is correct, it will be a quick jaunt to Nashville and Vegas for Brooks, who will be back in Oklahoma over the weekend for his alma mater’s homecoming celebration.
The music superstar, along with football great Barry Sanders and baseball star Robin Ventura, will be honored Saturday as the 2009 inductees to the Oklahoma State University Alumni Hall of Fame.
On Saturday, the trio will be grand marshals for the OSU homecoming parade at 2 p.m. in Stillwater. Brooks, Sanders and Ventura also will be recognized at halftime of the OSU-Missouri game, which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
In addition, a press conference is planned for Saturday, and if the rumors are true, Brooks is sure to field many questions about his decision to come out of retirement earlier than his original time table.
Brooks, who was born in Tulsa and raised in Yukon, announced in 2000 that was planning to retire from recording and touring after releasing and promoting one more album. He said he wouldn’t consider touring again until the youngest of this three daughters, Allie, then 4, went off to college.
He left the road in 2001 after releasing the album “Scarecrow.”
He and second wife Trisha Yearwood, who wed in 2005, live on an Owasso ranch near his ex-wife Sandy Mahl and Brooks’ three daughters with her, Taylor, August and Allie.
Although Allie is only 13 now, her dad’s music career hasn’t been completely idle the past decade: In 2005, Brooks set a trend by inking a deal with Walmart to become the exclusive retailer of his back catalog.
He has released through Walmart a couple of box sets of old material with a few new singles, including 2007’s “The Ultimate Hits,” which included the new track “More Than a Memory.” “More Than a Memory” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that year, and Brooks performed a string of nine sold-out shows in Kansas City, Mo., to promote the set.
He also created some controversy in 2007 when he appeared at the Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular but didn’t perform at the star-studded event.
But most of Brooks’ shows during his retirement have been for charity, including televised performances for Hurricane Katrina and California wildfire relief. He also sang in January at President Barack Obama’s inauguration and also performed for Obama’s first late-night TV appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
The Oklahoma native received his advertising degree from OSU in 1984, but before he departed Stillwater, he built up a following with gigs at local watering holes such as the Tumbleweed Dance Hall.
He moved to Nashville in 1987 and signed with Capitol Records the following year. His 1989 self-titled debut album was an immediate commercial and critical success.
In 1990, he reached superstar levels with his follow-up record, “No Fences,” which spawned the smash hits “Unanswered Prayers,” “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House,” and “The Thunder Rolls.” His rock-inspired stadium shows changed the way country artists performed in concert.
He continued his multi-platinum success with subsequent albums “Ropin’ the Wind,” “The Chase,” “In Pieces,” “Fresh Horses” and “Sevens.” Even with the disappointing returns for “In the Life of Chris Gaines,” an album featuring Brooks performing as pop alter-ego Chris Gaines, Brooks has been affirmed by the Recording Industry Association of America as the No. 1-selling solo artist in U.S. history.
Brooks has sold in excess of 128 million albums and received practically every accolade the recording industry can bestow on an artist.
If the reports of a Vegas headlining job are correct, Brooks is sure to find runaway success there, too.
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Vince Gill to receive Will Rogers Spirit Award
Vince Gill (Photo by Chris Landsberger/The Oklahoman Archives)
Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill will receive the 2009 Will Rogers Spirit Award from the Tulsa-based Rotary Club of Will Rogers.
Gill, who was born in Norman and raised in Oklahoma City, will receive the award at the club’s 2009 gala, themed “Oklahoma Swing,” Nov. 8 at the historic Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main in Tulsa. The evening will begin with a reception at 5:30, dinner at 6:30 and the program at 7:30.
The Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/musician, who is known for his humanitarian efforts, joins fellow country stars Toby Keith and Garth Brooks as a Will Rogers Spirit Award winner.
Part of the proceeds from this year’s gala will go to Blue Star Mothers of America Inc., Oklahoma Chapter 1. The main focus of the Oklahoma Chapter 1 is to send Freedom Boxes to troops serving in Iraq , Afghanistan and on any hostile foreign soil.
Individual tickets are $125. Tables can be reserved for $1,700 to $10,000. At the elite ($10,000) and platinum ($6,000) levels, event-goers will get to attend a private VIP reception with Gill and special guests.
For more information, go to www.willrogersrotary.org.
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Garth Brooks, Barry Sanders, Robin Ventura to enter OSU Alumni Hall of Fame
Garth Brooks (Associated Press photo)
The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association will be inducting into the OSU Alumni Hall of Fame three of the most celebrated and famous names in OSU history when Garth Brooks, Barry Sanders and Robin Ventura take part in this year’s homecoming events.
According to a news release, Brooks, Sanders and Ventura will serve as grand marshals for OSU Homecoming on Oct. 17. The three will lead the Sea of Orange Homecoming parade and be recognized during OSU’s football game against Missouri. They also will present the student homecoming awards. The OSU Band will perform special music to honor the three OSU greats.
Here is more information on the 2009 honorees, who are all superstars in their respective career fields:
Garth Brooks, who was born in Tulsa, raised in Yukon and lives in Owasso, graduated from OSU in 1984 and is now certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as the No. 1-selling solo artist in U.S. history. Brooks has sold in excess of 128 million albums and has received every accolade the recording industry can bestow on an artist. His body of work – including the groundbreaking “No Fences,” “Ropin’ The Wind,” “The Hits” and “Double Live” – propelled country music as a genre to the front pages of newspapers and magazine covers worldwide.
Brooks is currently in retirement, but when called upon by events greater than his own self-interest, he returns to the stage. The latest of these was when the president himself requested that he be a part of President Obama’s Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. He performed as a crowd of more than 300,000 attended the historic event and did the “wave” to Brooks’ performance of “Shout” while the president sang along. Brooks also performed for President Obama’s first late-night TV appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
When the governor of California asked for Garth’s help, he responded by performing five concerts in two days, selling out all five shows (83,000 tickets) in less than an hour and generating more than $6 million for victims and firefighters of California wildfires in a single weekend. Portions of the live concerts were shown as a TV special titled, “Garth Brooks: Live in L.A.,” in which viewers donated to the organization Fire Intervention Relief Effort (FIRE).
Barry Sanders (AP photo)
Barry Sanders of Detroit, Mich., is one of the most electrifying running backs in the history of college and professional football. In 1988, Sanders had the greatest individual season in the history of college football on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. He rushed for 2,628 yards, scored 39 touchdowns, rushed for more than 300 yards in four games, and established 34 NCAA records in 11 regular season games.
After his record junior season at OSU, he joined the Detroit Lions and became one of the most thrilling players in the history of the NFL. The Wichita, Kan., native rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his 10 NFL seasons, making him the first running back to do so. In 1997, he became just the third person to gain more than 2,000 yards in a season. He finished his NFL career rushing for 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns.
A first- or second-team All-Pro all 10 of his NFL seasons, Sanders became the first NFL running back to record five 1,500-yard rushing seasons, in addition to being the only back to do so in four consecutive seasons (1994-1997). He is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.
Robin Ventura (AP photo)
Robin Ventura of Santa Maria, Calif., was one of college baseball’s greatest players and an All-Star major-league third baseman. Ventura had a remarkable three-year run at OSU from 1986-88. Baseball America named him Player of the Decade, the starting third baseman on its all-time team, and he was third in its Player of the Century poll. He was elected into the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
He was named All-America all three years at OSU and was Player of the Year his sophomore year in 1987. He still holds college baseball’s hitting-streak record at 58 games and had a .428 career batting average. He holds seven OSU batting records, including the highest single season average at .469.
Ventura was drafted by the Chicago White Sox following his junior year and spent 16 seasons with the White Sox, New York Mets and New York Yankees. He was a Gold Glove winner and All Star. In 1995, Ventura became the eighth player in major-league history to hit two grand slam home runs in one game.
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Brad Paisley receives leading six CMA Awards nominations
Brad Paisley won the top male vocalist prize at the 2008 CMA Awards. (Associated Press photo)
The final list of nominees for “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards” features fresh faces in 10 of the 12 CMA Awards categories with new artists layered throughout the finalist field, the continued dominance of the established superstars, and crossover favorites making huge gains in 2009.
“The 43rd Annual CMA Awards” will be broadcast live from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov.11 on ABC. Reigning CMA Male and Female Vocalists Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood return for a second year to host the show.
For the fourth year, the announcement of the final nominees in five of the 12 CMA Awards categories was made on ABC News’ “Good Morning America.” Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack delivered the news from the “Good Morning America” studios in the heart of New York City’s Times Square. The remaining categories were announced by Randy Houser on “Insider Special Edition: 2009 CMA Awards Nominations” live from CMT’s network studios in Nashville, hosted by CMT personalities Cody Alan and Alecia Davis.
At the conclusion of the announcements, Brad Paisley led the list of finalists with six nominations. Paisley was nominated for Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Album for American Saturday Night, which was produced by Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois; Single and Song for “Then” (DuBois and Ashley Gorley are also nominated as songwriters); and Music Video for “Start a Band” with Keith Urban, which was directed by Jim Shea.
Urban, along with Jamey Johnson, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and Zac Brown (frontman of the Zac Brown Band), each received four nominations.
George Strait received nominations for Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Music Video for “Troubadour” directed by Trey Fanjoy; and Musical Event with Lee Ann Womack for “Everything But Quits” (a category they won in 2005 with “Good News, Bad News”). Strait now has 79 career CMA Awards nominations, which ties him with Alan Jackson for the most nominations to date. He leads the trophy count with 22.
Taylor Swift has four nominations including her first for Entertainer of the Year. The last time a solo female artist was nominated for Entertainer of the Year was Faith Hill in 2000. Shania Twain was the last female artist to claim the trophy in 1999. Swift, who won the Horizon Award in 2007, is also nominated for Female Vocalist (she received her first nomination in the category in 2008); and Music Video for “Love Story,” which was directed by Trey Fanjoy. In another first for the 19-year-old artist, she is nominated for Album of the Year for Fearless. Swift may also receive a second trophy for producing Fearless with Nathan Chapman.
Keith Urban’s nominations include Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Music Video for “Start a Band” with Paisley; and Album of the Year for Defying Gravity. Urban is eligible to win a second trophy in the Album category for producing Defying Gravity with Dann Huff. Huff is also a nominee for Musician of the Year.
Jamey Johnson’s list of nominations includes New Artist; Single and Song for “In Color” (which Johnson co-wrote with Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto); and Album of the Year for That Lonesome Song, which was produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys. These are Johnson’s first artist nominations. In 2007, as a songwriter he won Song of the Year for George Strait’s “Give It Away,” which he co-wrote with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon.
Zac Brown claims his first CMA Awards nominations in 2009 – three with his self-named group and one for penning their hit “Chicken Fried.” The Zac Brown Band received nominations for New Artist; Vocal Group; and Single of the Year for “Chicken Fried,” which was produced by Keith Stegall. Zac Brown picked up the additional nomination for Song of the Year for writing “Chicken Fried” with Wyatt Durrette.
A powerhouse in the Entertainer of the Year category, Kenny Chesney has won the trophy in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008, which ties him with Garth Brooks for the most wins in the category. Chesney is nominated again in 2009, in addition to nods for Male Vocalist and Musical Event with Mac McAnally for “Down the Road.” McAnally is also nominated for Musician of the Year along with Eddie Bayers, Paul Franklin, and Brent Mason.
Darius Rucker wasn’t only handing out the good news today, he was a recipient. The lead vocalist and songwriter for the pop group Hootie & The Blowfish, received his first CMA Awards nominations as a solo Country artist in 2009 for New Artist and Male Vocalist of the Year. He performed on the 2008 CMA Awards.
“It feels great. It feels like I’m part of the family now. It’s an awesome feeling. I couldn’t be happier right now,” he said on “Good Morning America.”
After winning Female Vocalist of the Year in 2006, 2007, and 2008, Carrie Underwood is back in 2009 with two nominations for Female Vocalist and Musical Event for “I Told You So,” featuring Randy Travis. Travis picked up a second nomination for Song of the Year, for writing “I Told You So.” Travis’ version of the hit song was nominated for Single and Song of the Year in 1988.
If Underwood wins the Female Vocalist trophy again, it will tie her with Martina McBride (1999, 2002-2004) and Reba McEntire (1984-1987) for most wins in this category. McBride and McEntire are each nominated in the Female Vocalist category in 2009. Miranda Lambert is also a Female Vocalist nominee.
McEntire scored a second nomination for her performance with Brooks & Dunn on “Cowgirl’s Don’t Cry” for Musical Event of the Year. In doing so, she retains her position as the female artist with the highest number of nominations in the 43-year history of the CMA Awards with 48.
Brooks & Dunn have been presented 19 trophies during their career. In 2009, Brooks & Dunn have nomination for Musical Event with McEntire for “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” and are nominated for Vocal Duo, a category they have won a record 14 times.
The reigning Vocal Duo crown is in Sugarland’s hands. The duo was nominated in the category again in 2009 and also picked up a nomination for Album of the Year for Love on the Inside. Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles may also win an additional trophy each for producing the album with Byron Gallimore.
A new entry in the Vocal Duo of the Year category this year is Joey + Rory. Also nominated are Big & Rich and Montgomery Gentry.
Until 2008, there was a long dry spell for the Eagles between nominations for Vocal Group of the Year (1976, 1977, 2008) but they are back in 2009. The Zac Brown Band is the new addition to the category along with returning nominees Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, and Rascal Flatts, who have swept the Vocal Group of the Year category the past six years.
Reigning New Artist of the Year Lady Antebellum received a second nomination for Single of the Year for “I Run To You,” which was produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley.
Artists making their debut in the New Artist of the Year category (formerly the Horizon Award) include Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, and the Zac Brown Band. Artists can only be included in this category two times.
Houser received a second nomination for Music Video of the Year for “Boots On,” which was directed by Eric Welch. Rounding out the Music Video category is Billy Currington’s “People Are Crazy,” which was directed by The Brads. The song hit a chord with CMA Awards voters and picked up additional nominations for Single and Song of the Year for writers Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones. Currington, who has two nominations, can receive an additional trophy for producing the Single of the Year with Carson Chamberlain. Currington’s last nomination was in 2005 for Musical Event with Shania Twain for “Party for Two.”
Making their debut in the Musical Event category are The Raconteurs with Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe for “Old Enough.” Raconteurs’ frontman Jack White, of The White Stripes and The Dead Weather, is no stranger to the format as the producer of Loretta Lynn’s critically hailed album “Van Lear Rose.” Skaggs received his last nomination in this category in 1999 for “Same Old Train,” which included a veritable who’s who of Country stars.
The 2008 CMA Awards, held in Nashville during November Sweeps (Nov. 12), ranked behind only the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards during the 2008-2009 season for awards shows among total viewers. With “The 42nd Annual CMA Awards,” ABC won Wednesday evening in both total viewers (15.9 million) and adults 18-49 (5.0/13). According to Nielsen research, 34.6 million unique viewers 2+ watched six minutes or more of the program.
The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the 6,000 plus industry professional members of CMA, which was the first trade organization formed to promote an individual genre of music in 1958. The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards were broadcast on NBC television for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The show aired on NBC through 1971 and on the CBS Television Network from 1972 through 2005 before moving to ABC in 2006.
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George Strait’s new single “Living for the Night” coming to country radio Thursday
“Living for the Night,” the debut single from George Strait’s upcoming album “Twang,” will be available to radio stations across the country at noon Oklahoma time Thursday via PLAY MPE.
“Twang” is set to be released in early fall, according to GeorgeStrait.com.
Strait was recently named the Academy of Country Music’s Artist of the Decade for the 2000s, joining only four other artists who have received this distinction: Marty Robbins for the 1960s, Loretta Lynn for the 1970s, Alabama for the 1980s and Oklahoman Garth Brooks for the 1990s.
Several superstars of country music pay tribute to the “King of Country Music” on the “George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert” airing at 7 tonight on CBS. The special will feature a special appearance by Brooks and performances by Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Jamie Foxx, Faith Hill, Jack Ingram, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Montgomery Gentry, John Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Blake Shelton, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Lee Ann Womack.
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Wednesday Video Spotlight: George Strait
George Strait
Country Music Hall of Famer George Strait will be honored as the Academy of Country Music’s Artist of the Decade for the 2000s tonight on CBS (KWTV-9 in Oklahoma City).
“George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert” will air at 7 tonight. The concert was taped in Las Vegas in April and features Toby Keith, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, Jamie Foxx, Jack Ingram, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, John Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Blake Shelton and Lee Ann Womack.
For this week’s Wednesday Video Spotlight, I’m featuring some of Strait’s memorable performances, courtesy YouTube. If you want to see some of his music videos, you can also find them on YouTube, but Universal Music Group has requested embedding be disabled on them.
Strait is just the fifth country star to receive the Artist of the Decade accolade. The previous honorees: Marty Robbins in 1969, Loretta Lynn in 1979, Alabama in 1988 and Oklahoman Garth Brooks in 1998.
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Photo gallery: “George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert”
George Strait is all smiles at the “George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade” concert. The taped show will air tonight. (All photos Associated Press)
The Academy of Country Music’s big salute to George Strait will air at 7 tonight on CBS (KWTV-9 in Oklahoma City).
“George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert” is the first TV tribute special to honor the ACM Artist of the Decade winner. It was recorded in Las Vegas on April 6, the day after the ACM Awards.
Only four other artists have received the Artist of the Decade accolade: Marty Robbins in 1969, Loretta Lynn in 1979, Alabama in 1988 and Oklahoman Garth Brooks in 1998. Brooks presented Strait with his Artist of the Decade hardware at the concert.
The event definitely lives up to the “all star” moniker. Performers included Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, Jamie Foxx, Jack Ingram, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, John Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Blake Shelton and Lee Ann Womack.
This photo gallery provides a sneek peak at tonight’s special. All photos are from the Associated Press.
Oklahoman Garth Brooks poses backstage at the show.
Miranda Lambert of Tishomingo smiles backstage at the show.
Oklahoma star Toby Keith performs “Unwound” at the concert.
Kix Brooks, left, and Tulsa-raised Ronnie Dunn, of the country duo Brooks & Dunn, perform “The Cowboy Rides Away.”
See more photos after the break.
