Tim McGraw brings his “Emotional Traffic” Tour to Florida this month with stops in Tampa on April 29th, West Palm Beach on April 30th, and Orlando on May 1st. With The Band Perry and Luke Bryan opening up, this will be one of the hottest tickets of the year!
The Band Perry - photo by Mike Carroll
The Band Perry recently won the ACM Award for Best New Artist and Best New Group/Duo. They are currently supporting their 3rd single, “You Lie,” which follows up their debut hit “Hip To My Heart” and their #1 smash, “If I Die Young.” The Band Perry is comprised of 3 siblings…Kimberly, Reid, and Neil, and are signed to Republic Nashville Records. They were discovered by Garth Brooks‘ manager and produced by Paul Worley and Nathan Chapman. Kimberly single-handedly wrote the hit “If I Die Young,” which helped push their debut album to over 1 million copies sold. Based on how big they’ve gotten in such a short amount of time, they have a bright future ahead!
Luke Bryan - photo by Mike Carroll
Luke Bryan got started in the music business as a songwriter. One of his first cuts ever recorded was by Travis Tritt, and it was the title track of his 2005 album, “My Honky Tonk History.” The biggest hit he wrote for someone else was the #1 smash hit for Billy Currington, “Good Directions,” which spent 3 weeks at #1. “Good Directions” was peaking on the charts as Luke’s debut single, “All My Friends Say” (from his debut album, I’ll Stay Me), was climbing the charts. It peaked at #5 on the charts, and was followed up by “We Rode in Trucks,” which struggled by peaking at #33. His next single is a crowd favorite titled “Country Man,” and it peaked at #10. His efforts helped him score the 2010 ACM Award for Top New Solo Artist.
His second album, Doin’ My Thing, was full of radio-ready hits, but his label chose to only release 3 songs from it. The first one was “Do I,” which Luke co-wrote with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum. Not to be left out, Hillary Scott sings background vocals on the track. In a cruel twist of irony, “Do I” got stuck at #2 on the charts, as Lady Antebellum’s smash hit “Need You Now” stayed at #1 for multiple weeks, blocking Luke from his first ever #1. It didn’t take him long to get that under his belt, however, as his next single, “Rain is a Good Thing” hit #1 a few months later. His last single, “Someone Else Calling You Baby” also hit #1, making for a pretty successful 2nd album. Also of note on that album was a remake of a the R&B song, “Apologize.”
His new single, “Country Girl (Shake it for Me)” has just been released, and is quickly moving up the charts. It will be the lead single off of his upcoming album, which has yet to be named or given a release date. In the meantime, Luke is currently promoting his 3rd Spring Break EP album, Spring Break 3…It’s a Shore Thing. He’s filling the slot on the Tim McGraw tour that Lady Antebellum held last year, and I’m sure he will live up to the hype!
Tim McGraw - photo by Mike Carroll
Tim McGraw is married to Faith Hill, is the son of the late MLB pitcher Tug McGraw, and has even starred in several movies. The numbers behind is career are mind-boggling. Check out these achievements…
- 12 #1 Albums
- over 40 million albums sold
- 2 albums that sold 6 million +
- 2 albums that sold 4 million +
- 4 albums that sold 3 million +
- 1 album that sold 2 million +
- 2 albums that sold 1 million +
- 51 career singles and counting
- string of 31 straight top 10 hits (broken by “Drugs and Jesus” which peaked at #14)
- 23 number one singles
- 42 top 10 hits
- 4 CMT Awards
- 10 American Music Awards
- 8 Billboard Awards
- 7 CMA Awards
- 9 ACM Awards
- 3 Grammy Awards
- 3 People’s Choice Awards
After his self-titled debut album fizzled, he came back with “Indian Outlaw,” which peaked at #8 on the charts. If that song made fans take notice, his next single, “Don’t Take The Girl” put him on the map as a star. Tim McGraw has gone on to produce such an extensive list of hit songs that even non-country music fans are familiar with at least some of his music.
Which opening act are you more excited to see, The Band Perry or Luke Bryan?
Which Tim McGraw song are you most looking forward to hearing him perform?