Verizon Presents Kenny Chesney & Friends in Tampa Bay

Verizon Presents Kenny Chesney & Friends in Tampa Bay

Concert Features the Biggest Names in Country Music; Verizon Adds More Music with Country Night and Tailgate Party Event

TAMPA, Fla., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Country music's many styles come together when Verizon returns to Tampa Bay June 29 to July 1, presenting Kenny Chesney & Friends plus Verizon Country Nights. With two concerts at Skipper's Smokehouse and the super show at Raymond James Stadium, the festival features some of the world's hottest country performers, including platinum-selling artists Kenny Chesney, Gretchen Wilson and Carrie Underwood.

This year's music festival promises to be Verizon's biggest ever to hit the Bay area. Tickets for Verizon presents Kenny Chesney & Friends went on sale April 22 and set a record for the largest Ticketmaster pre-sale to date. Tickets are still available by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

"We are happy to bring this music to Tampa," said Jerri DeVard, senior vice president of marketing and brand management for Verizon. "Verizon has a tradition of supporting musical events, and this sponsorship is an extension of the Verizon Music Festival so popular in various cities across the country."

George Wein, CEO of Festival Productions Inc., said, "This is the first time we'll be at Raymond James with Verizon, and we can't wait to offer Tampa Bay the best of contemporary country, rising country stars, outlaws and groups from the 'alt' country tradition."

Kenny Chesney headlines the festival, which kicks off July 1 at 1 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium. The Verizon Tailgate Party, which will be held just outside the stadium, begins at 1 p.m., and the show inside the stadium begins at 4:30 p.m. Chesney, the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year, who was recently honored for selling 25 million albums, stands ready to rock the audience and is supported by an all-star cast.

Country Music Association's top female vocalist, Gretchen Wilson, will be -- in the words of her hit album and title song -- "Here for the Party." In addition to being country's self-proclaimed "Redneck Woman," Wilson is a quadruple-platinum artist who was discovered by Big & Rich.

Big & Rich are the dynamic duo of country music and will also perform. Their original brand of country makes for quirky songs like "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" and "Drinkin' 'Bout You." Even more unusual than Big & Rich's song titles is their vaudeville-like show, which can include members of an eclectic cast of characters from their Muzik Mafia.

Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood are relative newcomers to the country scene and round out the show's who's who of country music. Bentley is a winner of the Country Music Association's Horizon Award and has a distinct sound that blends bluegrass with traditional and modern country. With a debut single, "What Was I Thinkin,'" which reached No. 1, Bentley is one of country's fastest rising stars. Carrie Underwood quickly entered the world of country after her win on television's "American Idol." Though she may be best known for that show, she's quickly proving that she can pick up where the program left off; her debut album went triple platinum.

The Verizon Tailgate Party, hosted by WQYK, is free and features performances by Bobby Bare Jr., the Deadstring Brothers, Garrison Starr, and Redd Volkaert, guitarist from Merle Haggard's group. Bobby Bare Jr. is a country rock artist with music in his blood; at the age of five, he was nominated for a Grammy with his father, classic country singer Bobby Bare.

The Deadstring Brothers mix it up with a musical combination of country, rock and blues, while Garrison Starr performs an arrangement of honest, edgy music that comes straight from her heart.

The Verizon Country Nights starts at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa June 29 with performances by New Riders of the Purple Sage, a band whose country harmony and pulsing rock have kept it going since the 1970s. The New Riders have been described as a psychedelic cowboy band and have ties to Jerry Garcia. Another band heavily influenced by Garcia is Uncle John's Band. This Grateful Dead tribute band is based in Tampa Bay and will open the show.

Skipper's Smokehouse continues the festival on June 30 with the headline act Cracker, a band well known to many for its 1990s MTV/radio hit, "Low." The band just released its seventh studio album, "Greenland, and brings its alternative, grunge and country mix into one rocking package. Garrison Starr will open the show and will also perform at the Verizon Tailgate Party.

Tickets for Verizon presents Kenny Chesney & Friends are on sale now.

* For the show at Raymond James Stadium, buy tickets at all Ticketmaster
outlets, online at ticketmaster.com and by phone at 813-287-8844 or 727-
898-2100. Ticket prices are $32, $62, $82 and $92. Service charges
apply. The Verizon Tailgate Party before the show at Raymond James
Stadium is free.

* Purchase tickets for the Skipper's Smokehouse shows Monday-Friday, 10
a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Skipper's Smokehouse box office at 910 Skipper Rd.,
Tampa, or by calling 813-971-0666. You can also buy tickets through
Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at
813-287-8844 or 727-898-2100. Ticket prices are $12 in advance and $15
at the door for the June 29 event, and $15 in advance, and $18 at the
door for the June 30 event.

For more information on tickets and other Verizon events, please visit the Web site at www.festivalproductions.net.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 53 million customers nationwide. Verizon Business operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks. Verizon Telecom is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 250,000 and generates annual consolidated operating revenues of approximately $90 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Bob Elek, +1-813-483-2541, bob.elek@verizon.com, or Ellen Yu,
+1-908-559-3496, ellen.yu@verizon.com, both of Verizon

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.verizon.com/news
http://www.festivalproductions.net/
http://www.ticketmaster.com/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/618232.html

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