now happening at c spire

Brisk Ticket Sales Continue for May 20 Day of Country Music Concert Featuring Kenny Chesney at Baptist Health Systems Campus in Madison

2017-05-11

C Spire Live event will pair the uber-talented Chesney with rising contemporary country music artists Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, the Thompson Square duo and Russell Dickerson in epic performance

Madison, Miss. (May 11, 2017) – Tickets are still available for an live outdoor concert next weekend (Saturday, May 20) at the Baptist Health Systems campus in Madison, Mississippi featuring performances by superstar Kenny Chesney and contemporary country music artists Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, Thompson Square and Russell Dickerson.

Dubbed Day of Country, the C Spire Live event, presented by Baptist FastPass, will feature Chesney, an 8-time Entertainer of the Year with 29 No.1 country songs and over 30 million albums sold. This will be the only appearance in Mississippi this year for the 48-year-old Grammy-nominated Knoxville, Tennessee native.

While ticket sales have been brisk in recent weeks, there is still limited seating available at the venue, a large, 30-acre open field at the health care provider’s campus just off Highland Colony Parkway near Highway 463 in Madison. Chesney, one of country music’s top touring artists, routinely performs in sold out stadiums and arenas across the U.S.

General admission and a limited supply of front stage, standing room only tickets are available for $150 and $80 each at cspire.com/concert and through Ticketmaster.com. An on-site box office also will sell tickets when gates open at noon on May 20. The concert starts at 2 p.m.

Free parking will be available for concert goers at the following locations: Broadmoor Baptist Church, 1531 Highland Colony Parkway; Madison Central High School, 1417 Highland Colony Parkway and St. Dominic’s Fine Arts Building, 106 Highlands Way, all in Madison and Holmes Community College, 412 W. Ridgeland Avenue in Ridgeland.

Free concert-day shuttle service is available from 11 a.m. to an hour after the concert’s conclusion. RV parking for the “No Shoes Nation,” the nickname for Chesney’s legion of tailgating fans, will be available at Holmes Community College’s Ridgeland campus parking lot.

ADA parking is available with a current permit and placard at the Baptist Health Systems building, 401 Baptist Drive, and parking for VIP ticket holders is available at the Madison Healthplex Performance Center, 501 Baptist Drive in Madison.

A variety of vendors also will provide food and beverages to concert goers, including Chick-fil-a, Mazzio’s, Pig & Pint BBQ, Backyard Burger, Penn’s, Snow Critters, Ma and Pa’s Kettle Corn and Deep South Pops. Credit and debit cards will be accepted and ATMs will be on site.

Joining Chesney on the big stage will be Rhett, who already has recorded three No. 1 hits and received Billboard’s top country song and single of the year from ACM, ACCA and CMA Artist and Single of the Year in 2016; Owen, a singer-songwriter with six Billboard No. 1 country songs; Thompson Square, one of the leading vocal duos in country music and Dickerson, a singer-songwriter with over 20 million streams on Spotify and 2 million views on YouTube who performed here in 2013.

This is the fourth major music concert hosted by C Spire in Madison County. In 2013, Darius Rucker, the former front man for Hootie and the Blowfish, rocked the stage with tracks from his True Believers album. In 2015, Lambert, the reigning queen of country music and its top female performer, was the featured headliner artist. Last year, Florida Georgia Line, the mega-popular country music duo, performed before a sellout crowd of over 10,000 country music fans.

City and company officials said they are looking forward to more top-caliber entertainment in Mississippi. “We’re proud to partner with C Spire to host some of the best country music entertainment around and excited to continue to provide these type of premium quality of life experiences for our residents and visitors,” said Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler.

The concerts already have been a major economic boost to the region over the last four years – generating over $3 million from more than 25,000 country music fans who travel to the area from other parts of the state and the U.S., stay in local hotels, shop at local businesses and dine in local restaurants.

“We’re pleased to partner once again with Baptist Health Systems and the city of Madison to bring Kenny Chesney and some of the best new country music artists to our state, which has a long, rich tradition for being known as the birthplace of America’s music,” said Jim Richmond, vice president of Marketing for C Spire.

Richmond said industry research, including Nielsen’s Soundscan, CMA and Billboard, all show that country music continues to be the most popular format in the U.S. today among all age groups and listeners with over 100 million fans. “As a company that gets our inspiration from customers, we’re pleased to provide them with opportunities to enjoy some of the best entertainment around,” he added.

About C Spire
C Spire is a diversified telecommunications and technology services company that provides premium experiences designed specifically for its customers, including wireless communications, high-speed Internet access and a range of other telecommunications products and services to consumers and businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.