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Mule Days '08 headliner set |
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
 Country music performer Tracy Lawrence will be appearing on the concert stage at Mule Days on May 22. Tickets will go on sale Friday, Feb. 1 at 8:30 a.m. for the show, which is expected to sell out. Photo courtesy: Comfort Rock Records By Ken Koerner
Register Staff 1-12-2008 With some folks still needing to stash away holiday decorations, it might seem a bit early to be focusing on the premiere “summer” kick-off event, Bishop’s Mule Days. But that’s not the case when you’re the event’s concert chairman and you’ve had your sites set on signing a top performer as this year’s headlining act.
That’s why “visions of sugarplums” haven’t been center-stage for Randy Van Tassell lately … and why he can now confirm that country music superstar Tracy Lawrence will be center-stage come May 22. “You can’t wait until the last minute,” said Van Tassell, “because artists are putting their tour dates together and we wanted to ensure our Mule Days headliner would be someone people really want to come out and see.”
Lots of people, particularly country music fans, have been eager to see and hear Tracy Lawrence ever since he began recording. When his 1991 debut album, “Sticks And Stones” generated four, Top-10 country hits, Lawrence was immediately launched into the forefront of promising young talent. The very next year, the music industry publication Billboard named Lawrence the “Top New Male Vocalist” for 1992. In 1993, Tracy’s success and momentum continued to build when his second album, the double-platinum Alibis, delivered four no. 1 smashes – the title cut, “Can’t Break It To My Heart,” “My Second Home” and “If The Good Die Young.” With more records and more hits to follow, Lawrence has enjoyed a career that now spans more than a decade of generating hits.
“Tracy Lawrence continues to rank among country music’s most popular acts,” said Van Tassell, “and bringing him to Mule Days was helped alongthanks to some coordination with two other interested parties.” Van Tassell noted that an approach made to event planners in Chico and Livermore created a “mini-tour package” that worked with Lawerence’s schedule and helped spark his interest. “Recognizing that fitting a single-performance trip to Bishop into a high-demand artist’s plans isn’t always easy,” said Van Tassell, “we entered into discussions with parties in the other two cities and found Tracy could perform on adjacent dates – and we could make a collective offer that sealed the deal.”
While Lawrence may be best known for his hit songs “Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” “Time Marches On” and “Alibis,” the music-maker’s successes are many. Lawrence has posted more No. 1 Billboard country singles than greats like Glen Campbell, Keith Whitley, Ernest Tubb, Wynonna or Barbara Mandrell; more Top 5s than Shania Twain, Faith Hill or The Judds; and more Top 10s than Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Rich, John Michael Montgomery or Dwight Yoakam.
During the mid-’90s, Lawrence, a Foreman, Ark. native, was among the most-played artists in all genres. The hit-production Tracy generated with his second album was followed by more of the same with his next release, when yet another quartet of major hits rose from the platinum “I See It Now” (1994), including “If The World Had A Front Porch” and “Texas Tornado.” Then, Lawrence hit a creative and sales peak with “Time Marches On,” a “blockbuster” that led the 1996 album of the same name to double-platinum status and earned Lawrence nominations at all the major awards ceremonies.
Lawrence’s next album, 1997’s “The Coast Is Clear,” produced the trademark hit “Better Man, Better Off.” It preceded “Lessons Learned” in 2000, which found the singer re-energized by his country roots.
Both discs earned critical praise and kept Lawrence’s radio presence and catalog sales chugging along.
It’s no surprise that over the years Lawrence has received widespread recognition: He’s won the Academy Of Country Music’s “Top New Male Vocalist” trophy a year after claiming that same prize from Billboard magazine, then went on to earn the Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards’ “Video Artist Of The Year” prize in 1995 and its Editor’s Choice “Platinum Pick” crown in 1996, among other honors.
Lawrence has produced his own and others’ work and co-wrote a number of the songs he’s recorded. Moreover, he has had considerable impact beyond the record industry. Lawrence contributed the song “Renegades, Rebels and Rogues” to the “Maverick” soundtrack and has starred in two CMT specials, one of which included footage from a USO tour that saw him entertain troops in Kosovo.
He also co-produced nine of the 13 songs on “The Civil War: The Nashville Sessions,” a collection of songs written for the Broadway theater production “The Civil War: An American Musical Event.” It features Travis Tritt, Deana Carter, Trace Adkins, Kevin Sharp, Michael English, Trisha Yearwood and John Berry.
Lawrence has always been active in charitable causes, and he is annually at the helm of two events that are especially meaningful to him: a homecoming concert in his hometown that funds the Tracy Lawrence Foundation and a golf tournament in Texarkana, Texas, benefiting both the Tracy Lawrence Foundation and the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Lawrence’s foundation has endowed scholarships and, most recently, provided funds to equip a high school computer science lab, a room that has been named after him.
Lawrence helped raise more than a million dollars for the fight against Cystic Fibrosis; he’s participated in numerous fundraisers for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; generated awareness and funds for CASA, a nonprofit organization providing trained volunteer advocates to abused and neglected children caught up in the legal systems; and supported a lengthy list of the charitable causes of fellow celebrities and media outlets through live concert appearances, autograph signings, auction item donations, and interviews. “People have a duty to help each other out,” he says. “I’m happy I can give something back to society through my efforts to raise funds and awareness for these important causes.”
“You don’t frequently get an act like Tracy Lawrence performing in Bishop,” said Van Tassell, “and a goal of the Mule Days committee has always been to make sure we can enhance the overall experience for our local residents.” Van Tassell noted that by scheduling the concert on Thursday, it makes it possible for locals to “really get out and enjoy Mule Days, even if they would prefer to avoid the largest crowds on-hand during the weekend days … and this is one way can we try to give back to a community that welcomes so many visitors into our midst.”
While it may seem hard to imagine Mule Days without the headliner concerts that draw such enthusiastic audiences every year, that star-driven performance hasn’t always been a part of the Mule Days tradition, noted Van Tassell. “The concert really came about when Mule Days grew from its initial two days and began to span a full five days,” noted Van Tassell, adding, “we wanted to provide something more for people to do during those additional evenings and the concert seemed a wonderful option.”
If shoulder-to-shoulder crowds – and even audience members dancing in the aisles – are any indication, the concert event seems to have earned a permanent place among Mule Days traditions.
“We feel certain that the Tracy Lawrence concert will sell-out,” said Van Tassell, “so folks should get out there and get their tickets early.”
The concert is set for Thursday, May 22, 7 p.m. in the Mike Boothe Memorial Arena at the Tri-County Fairgrounds. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 1, 8:30 a.m. at the Mule Days Office, 1141 N. Main St., Bishop. Prices are $40 for Grandstand seating and $35 for General Admission.
The Mule Days committee notes that the concert is sponsored in part by the Paiute Palace Casino and KIBS-FM, 100.7.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 22 February 2008 )
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