Sept 18, 2008 issue
Country Star Gary Allan To Play Holmes Center October 10
Story by David Brewer
Hot on the heels of last week’s Lynyrd Skynyrd show, the Holmes Convocation Center will host the second in a pair of major shows as country music chart-topper Gary Allan will perform at the ASU venue on Friday, October 10.
Allan has released eight CDs since first coming to the attention of country music fans in 1996 with his first release, Used Heart For Sale. In 2007, Allan’s song “Watching Airplanes,” the leadoff track from his latest release Living Hard, peaked at number two on the country music charts followed by the hit song “Learning How To Bend.” Overall, Allan’s seven studio albums and Greatest Hits package have produced 21 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three number one hits: “Man to Man” and “Tough Little Boys” in 2003, and “Nothing On but the Radio” in 2004. Seven more of his singles have reached the Top 10 on this chart as well, including “Her Man”, “It Would Be You”, “Right Where I Need to Be”, “The One”, “Best I Ever Had” (a cover of a Vertical Horizon song) and “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful.”
A California native, Allan’s raspy voice is atypical of Nashville’s current crop of smooth singers and his sound is a combination of the classic Bakersfield Sound and more rock-oriented modern country. The bio page on Allan’s website describes his music as “raw and emotional. It’s freight-train-to-nowhere lonely.
It’s hard-rockin’, no-apologies country music that has traded in its twang for a gravelly growl millions of fans recognize.”
Hailing from a musical family, Allan began performing in honky tonks with his father at age 13 and was offered his first record deal at age 15.
Since his last studio album, 2005’s Tough All Over, which drew on his experiences coping with the suicide of his wife, Angela, in 2004, Allan has become known for putting all his emotions on the line in his songs.
“[Living Hard] has taken about a year to make and I think the whole thing reflects change,” said Allan on his webpage. “I think every record sort of reflects where I’m at, and I’ve made a ton of changes this year, just mentally and in how I’m approaching everything. And I think it’s much more rockin’ than anything I’ve done.”
Ticket’s for Allan’s show at the Holmes Center are $29.50 for floor seats, $25 for lower level and $22 for upper level. All seats are reserved. Doors to the concert open at 7:00 p.m. and the show will start at 8:00 p.m.
To purchase tickets or for more info, call the Holmes Center at 828-262-7890 or click to www.theholmescenter.com.
Want To Go?
Date: Friday, October 10
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Holmes Convocation Center
Cost: Floor seats $29.50/Lower Level $25/Upper Level $22
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