Dan Tyminski Hits the Road With His New Band

By Tad Dickens The Roanoke Times

A traveling man can have a lot of homes.

Ask Dan Tyminski -- raised in Vermont, lived in Ferrum, moved to Nashville, Tenn., a couple of years back.

"I rarely unpack my suitcase," he said.

He's been busy for years with his main gig, backing Alison Krauss and Union Station. These days, Krauss is on a worldwide jaunt with her latest musical partner, Robert Plant, of Led Zeppelin fame.

Seems like there's no better time for a sideman with a great voice of his own to get a band together, make a record and hit the road.

Read the entire article about Dan and his band on the road in the Roanoke Times.

Josh Turner will tour with Carrie Underwood and George Strait

Carrie Underwood will be headlining more than 30 concerts beginning in February during a tour with opening act Josh Turner. The shows are in addition to her co-headlining tour with Keith Urban that begins Jan. 31.

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In making the announcement, Underwood said, "I'm so excited to be hitting the road and doing the full show of my music that I have always dreamt of doing. I have been so fortunate to learn from so many other great artists while touring with them, and they have inspired me in so many ways. They have helped me to get to this stage of my first real headline shows, and now I finally feel ready. I can't wait to travel throughout the U.S. and Canada and see all my fans."

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Tickets to six of Underwood's Carnival Ride tour dates go on sale Saturday (January 12), including shows in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Feb. 18), Albany, N.Y. (Feb. 19), Amherst, Mass. (Feb. 20), Pittsburgh (Feb. 22), Providence, R.I. (Feb. 24) and Bridgeport, Conn. (Feb. 25).

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For more Carrie Underwood tour news visit her website.

For more Josh Turner tour news visit his website.

For more George Strait tour news visit his website.

Celine's Last Night

Sights and sounds of Celine Dion’s last night of “A New Day…”

At the end of the historic evening, 100,000 red rose petals fluttered onto the stage as Dion received a standing ovation that went on for minutes.

A super-sized bouquet of 723 white roses was wheeled onto the stage, a gift from director Franco Dragone, who created the many Cirque-inspired pieces.

The significance of the 723: Dion performed 717 shows, two charity events and was to have finished with 723, but an illness caused her to cancel four shows recently.

While meeting with reporters during a post-midnight gathering in front of the stage, Dion left the door open to returning to Las Vegas as a headliner.

“I’d love to come back. I hope so,” Dion said, as she sat on the edge of the stage with Dragone. “The people of Las Vegas made us feel so welcome here. We loved it so much we are keeping our home. I grew tremendously. Five years ago I was very fragile."

This comes from Las Vegas Review Journal. Visit to read the entire story.

Keith Urban Sets Sommet Center on Fire

Friday night Keith Urban walked onto the stage at Sommet Center in front of a nearly, if not sold out crowd of screaming fans and played his guts out.

“We made it back home,” said Urban at the conclusion of an audience-pleasing “Where the Black Top Ends,” which was the second song of the evening. “I can’t tell you how good it feels to be here tonight, but we’ll spend the next two hours explaining it to you, at least.”

And he did, and then some.

Urban engaged the crowd with blistering guitar solos, beaming smiles, infinite energy, multiple sing-a-longs and hit after radio hit.

He and his band, which is laden with jaw-dropping, first-rate players, kicked off the show with “Once in a Lifetime” and glided through songs including “Faster Car” and “Shine” before upping the intensity a step further with an acoustic version of “Raining On Sunday,” which morphed into a sing-a-long. “Stupid Boy” followed, wrapping with an epic, frenzied guitar solo in which the gold Les Paul he was playing got the beating of its life. The audience — dotted with stars including Martina McBride, The Warren Brothers and Rodney Crowell — couldn’t tear its eyes from the stage.

Read the full concert review in the Tennessean.

Keith Urban is Finally Back Home in Nashville

~Keith Urban has toured internationally this year, but it's tonight's Sommet Center show that really makes him excited.

~As he begins what he says is a new chapter in his life, he can't help but reflect on his career.

"It doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I was playing the Ace of Clubs and 12th and Porter.

To go from those little places up to this venue is just amazing. It's a great feeling; I certainly don't take it for granted."

The couple purchased a Middle Tennessee farm this year that they're currently renovating.

"Ironically, the first place I took her to was out near Leiper's Fork," he said. "That ended up being out in the general area where we will now call home. I just knew that she would love it for the exact same reasons I love it. There's a pace and a way of living that is much more spiritually satisfying to me than a lot of other places."

Of his farm, he says, "It's something that has quite a bit of room to walk around and grow some grass under our feet and have some privacy, but not feel like we're isolated. We don't want to live in a compound. It's the great thing about Tennessee and especially Nashville. The people are just real people, so they just accept you being neighbors.

He said the couple has a good rhythm here. "Nashville suited us as a couple very quicky. So having been away now for so long making this film, we are just both anxious to get back into that groove again."
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Read all about Keith being at the Sommet Center and loving Nashville in the Beverly Keel column in the Tennessean newspaper.

Big & Rich Concert Reviews From Around the Country

I love to hear the stories of our local boys while they are out on the road. Love to hear that they could entertain and blow away a crowd even if they aren't 100%.

Keep up the work Kenny and John....



Duo Big and Rich's brand of dynamic country music can rock any venue.

The band, part of Nashville's fraternal Musik Mafia, did just that last night when they brought their rebel-rousing exuberant show to Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Ind.

Big Kenny and John Rich, touring in support of their latest album "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace," performed a 90-minute show filled with their signature hard-driving country/rock tunes.

On the bill with Big and Rich were other Musik Mafia members rapping Cowboy Troy, James Otto and Two-Foot Fred who helped promote the fun-loving party atmosphere.

Audience members didn't stay in their seats for long at this concert. From the moment Cowboy Troy took the stage with his "Hick-Hop" sound to the opening strains of Big and Rich's guitars and the finale featuring all the musicians, fans remained up on their feet and dancing.

Read the entire review in the Daily Southtown.



Big & Rich are -- how shall I put this? -- the most unusual duo in the history of country music.
Their albums are a swirling, intoxicating blend of country, rock, gospel, pop and rap. Their concerts are like a collision between a circus and a freak show. But their career has been a roller coaster.

After playing to more than 14,000 at Xcel Energy Center in November 2005, Big & Rich returned Sunday to 2,100 fans at Mystic Showroom at Mystic Lake Casino. The duo didn't seem as wired, weird and wild as at Xcel. Early on, John Rich realized the odds were against him at a booze-free casino.

After Big & Rich's third number, "Wild West Show," Rich learned from fans that alcohol wasn't being served. "Are you kidding me?" he said. "Who needs a drink? I've got one. It's a Crown and 7. Ladies, pass that around the front row. We gotta rock extra hard if you aren't extra drunk!"

Visit the Star Tribune for the rest of the review.