(www.cmt.com)
Big & Rich's John Rich and Alabama's Randy Owen will join Dierks Bentley, Kellie Pickler, Gretchen Wilson and several rock musicians at a Feb. 25 charity concert in Providence, R.I. The event, billed as "Phoenix Rising! Musicians United to Benefit the Victims of the Station Nightclub Fire," commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Station nightclub tragedy in Rhode Island, the fourth largest nightclub fire in U.S. history which claimed 100 lives and seriously injured 200. All proceeds from ticket sales and charity auctions will be used to provide relief to the survivors, including costs of ongoing treatment and rehabilitation. Rich and Twisted Sister's Dee Snider will host the arena concert at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Others scheduled to perform at the concert include Aaron Lewis, Tesla, Twisted Sister, Stryper and Tom Scholz, lead guitarist for the band, Boston. Rich and Snider are featured on Gone Country, a new CMT series premiering Friday (Jan. 25) at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Birmingham country music fans were already enthusiastic when they attended George Strait's concert at the BJCC Arena last week; after all, George is a great show on his own, and he'd enlisted Little Big Town and newcomer Sarah Johns for a tough-to-beat ticket.
But just like a late-night TV commercial — "Wait, there's more!" — George's concert had an added bonus. During the encore, George launched into "Amarillo By Morning" with a surprise guest: Kenny Chesney, making his first on-stage appearance of 2008.
"You know," Kenny says, "it's amazing to think about the fact that you've just gone to visit and get onstage and sing with George Strait."
The fans were certainly surprised, though there was good reason for Kenny to be in town. In mending from rotator cuff surgery, he's been spending time of late at a sports training facility in Birmingham. Kenny expects to be back at 100 percent when he kicks off his own Poets & Pirates Tour later this year.
