Home Big & Rich headlining Flying Squirrels’ All-Star Country Music Jam
Sports

Big & Rich headlining Flying Squirrels’ All-Star Country Music Jam

Contributors

Richmond Flying Squirrels 10th season logoThe Richmond Flying Squirrels and Richmond Raceway will host the All-Star Country Music Jam headlined by Big & Rich with special guests Cowboy Troy and DJ Sinister at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway on Monday, July 8 at 7 p.m. as part of the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Week presented by Genworth.

Tickets will go on sale to the public online at vaculive.com, via phone at 866.455.7223 and at the Richmond Raceway ticket office at 600 E. Laburnum Ave., Richmond, Va. on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. Virginia Credit Union, RICHMOND NATION, Flying Squirrels season ticket holders and Eastern League All-Star Week sponsors will receive access to an exclusive presale for the All-Star Country Music Jam beginning on Monday, Jan. 28.

“We’ve been saying All-Star Week will be big, and we are now taking that literally with the announcement of Big & Rich featuring Cowboy Troy performing at the All-Star Country Music Jam,” Flying Squirrels VP & COO Todd “Parney” Parnell said. “We are grateful for not only our partnership with Richmond Raceway on this All-Star Country Music Jam, but also the enthusiasm Big & Rich’s team has for this event. It will be a special night of memory making for all involved.”

The All-Star Country Music Jam is part of the four-day Eastern League All-Star Week presented by Genworth with the Flying Squirrels in Richmond, Va. The concert will also welcome All-Star players, dignitaries, and guests on the red carpet as part of the event.

“As the community comes together for the first All-Star Week in Richmond since 1992, it’s fitting we’re hosting the All-Star Country Music Jam at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! as it opened the same year,” Richmond Raceway President Dennis Bickmeier said. “We look forward to welcoming Eastern League All-Stars and fans, along with our friends at the Richmond Flying Squirrels, to Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway as part of All-Star Week.”

Kenny Alphin and John Rich, Big & Rich, have blazed an indelible mark on modern country music. They have captivated a multi-generational community of listeners with their sterling songcraft and performances. Now a decade and a half into their storied career they continue to tour the country for over 100+ dates annually presenting electrifying concert spectacles of ceaseless energy and outrageous personality. In 2019, Big & Rich are on the road for the “Redneck Riviera Whiskey Presents Big & Rich’s Peace, Love & Happy Hour Tour.”

“I want to be a fun and entertaining positive voice and entity in my community, in my country, and in the world,” said Virginia native Alphin. “I hope people know that those are the things that are important to me. And when they leave a Big & Rich concert, they should feel like they’ve just witnessed the greatest show on earth.”

From Big & Rich’s 2004 debut, the triple platinum “Horse of a Different Color,” and their hit “Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy,” the duo evolved into one of country music’s most auspicious partnerships. The record was recognized with multiple Grammy®, ACM, CMA and CMT Music Award nominations. Their subsequent best-selling collections include “Comin’ to Your City”, “Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace”, “Hillbilly Jedi”, and “Gravity”, which delivered three consecutive Top 10 hits – and their most recent collection, “Did It For The Party,” debuted at Number One on the sales charts.

“In the pursuit of the American Dream, if you want something, think hard, work hard, and go after it,” said Rich. “There’s no guarantee you’re going to get it, but the fact you’re allowed to pursue it is where you should find your happiness.”

When they first joined forces, Kenny Alphin, from Culpeper, Va., was a solo artist and writer signed to his first major record deal at Hollywood Records. John Rich originally from Amarillo, Texas, who had been a vocalist and bassist for the band Lonestar, was collaborating on songs with other Nashville artists, and envisioning a solo career. Alphin, Rich and their friends created a loose community of artists known as MuzikMafia. This collective of marginalized Music City musicians gave birth to a powerful movement of diversity and inclusion.

Over the past 12 years, their signature anthem “Comin’ to Your City,” has fired up football fans as the theme song for ESPN College Game Day. The band has expanded their presence immeasurably through music videos and television appearances, including Rich’s victorious stint as the winner of Celebrity Apprentice when he raised $1.2 million dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Big & Rich were honored with the 2016 CRS Artist Humanitarian Award for their support of a spectrum of humanitarian efforts, from visiting individual patients in hospitals, to staging benefit concerts for the Country Music Hall of Fame and the 173rd Airborne Memorial, to their well-documented U.S. and international outreach. The duo has made a point of helping underprivileged children and families at home and abroad in struggling countries like Uganda, Sudan, Haiti and Kenya, among others. St. Jude Children’s Hospital, The T.J. Martell Foundation, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the 173rd Airborne Memorial Fund, Clean Water, the Special Olympics and Second Harvest Food Bank are just a few of their worthy causes.

The Commonwealth Mall at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! will feature concessions, displays, and merchandise on the day of the event, with gates opening at 6:00 p.m. Parking for the event is located in Lot D, at the corner of Laburnum and Carolina Avenues, and can be accessed through Gate 4 on Laburnum Avenue. Parking is $10 cash only for the public and free for Virginia Credit Union members with lots opening at 5:00 p.m.

Tickets to the All-Star Country Music Jam will be available for purchase online at vaculive.com, via phone at 866-455-7223 and at the Richmond Raceway Ticket Office at 600 E. Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, Va. on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m.

For the first time ever, the Flying Squirrels host the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game presented by Genworth on July 10 at The Diamond. Tickets can be purchased at the Flying Squirrels Ticket Office, located on the first-base side of The Diamond, or online at squirrelsbaseball.com.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.