Big music names to perform at new Brandon Amphitheater as part of C Spire Concert Series

City officials and Red Mountain Entertainment Tuesday announced the first wave of acts that will perform on stage at Mississippi's newest state-of-the-art facility, including Dave Matthews Band, Alan Jackson, Hank Williams Jr., Alabama, Chris Young, Brantley Gilbert and a special I Love the 90's concert featuring Salt-N-Pepa, Rob Base, Kid N Play, Coolio and others.

C Spire, which has a reputation for bringing top musical talent to Mississippi, is the principal sponsor for all concerts at the amphitheater and plans to offer customers and employees special, online presale ticket purchase opportunities via email for selected upcoming performances.

Here is the initial performance schedule and dates for ticket availability:

• The 2018 season will kick off with an April 18 performance by contemporary country music star Chris Young, who was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry last year, one of the crowning achievements in country music. Young will be joined by special guests Kane Brown, Morgan Evans and Dee Jay Silver. Tickets go on sale Jan. 19.
• Country singer-song writer Brantley Gilbert will perform with special guests Aaron Lewis and Josh Phillips on May 3. Gilbert has four chart-topping country singles and was selected as the Academy of Country Music's New Male Artist in 2013. Tickets go on sale Feb. 2
• Hank Williams Jr., the son of country music legend Hank Williams, will bring his blend of Southern rock, blues and traditional country to the stage on May 12. Tickets go on sale Feb. 23.
• Dave Matthews Band, arguably the most popular touring band in the last two decades, will make their debut performance in central Mississippi on May 29. Tickets go on sale Feb. 2.
• Salt-N-Pepa, Rob Base, Kid N Play, Coolio and other urban music stars will be featured on June 8. Tickets go on sale Feb. 16.
• Alan Jackson, a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and one of the trailblazers in weaving traditional honky tonk sounds into country music, will be featured on June 22. Tickets go on sale March 16.
• Alabama featuring the Charlie Daniels Band will perform on Sept. 8. The country and southern rock group stormed the music scene in the 1980's with their hit singles "Mountain Music" and "Song of the South" and is the most successful band in country music history. The on-sale date will be announced in the coming months.

City officials and concert promoters said they will be announcing more high-profile performers and concerts in the coming weeks.

"We're excited about the initial line up of artists that will play at this new, high quality, fan-oriented music venue as part of our C Spire Concert series program," said Jim Richmond, vice president of Marketing for C Spire.  "We're especially pleased that fans will get to enjoy performances that showcase a variety of different music genres and backgrounds."

The Brandon Amphitheater sits in the middle of a 250-acre park, The Quarry, near downtown Brandon that will feature a running, bike and nature trail system, a dog park, a new baseball park facility and other outdoor amenities. The amphitheater design and construction is patterned after several other successful music venues in the Southeast region.

With a flexible seating capacity, the Amphitheater features lower and upper-level seating, box seats, state-of-the-art audio and video elements, including LED video walls adjacent to the main stage.  Concession and beverage kiosks line the venue and the facility boasts a private VIP club, the Community Bank Club, for Amphitheater sponsors and box seat holders.

Under development since 2014, the Amphitheater project is the culmination of efforts by Brandon Mayor Butch Lee and municipal officials to increase tourism, boost economic growth and enhance recreational opportunities and the quality of life for Mississippi's fastest growing city.

"We are extremely excited this day has finally come after all the effort has gone into this project," Lee said.  "Along with C Spire and all our other partners, we look forward to making this a success for both the city of Brandon and the state of Mississippi."

The city is working closely with concert promoter Red Mountain Entertainment to secure top-name artists for the venue. Noting its prime location in the Southeast region, the Birmingham-based company believes the city has developed a "world-class venue" that will attract a high caliber of artists.

"This venue is sure to have a positive economic impact on central Mississippi and create many lasting memories in this community for years to come," said Red Mountain Entertainment's Jay Wilson. In addition to C Spire and Community Bank, sponsors include Miller Lite-Capital City Beverages, Brown Bottling Group, Bob Boyte Honda, Merit Health, Entergy Mississippi, Ergon and Cathead Vodka.

In recent years, C Spire has staged a series of highly successful outdoor music concerts in Madison County near their corporate offices featuring artists ranging from Darius Rucker and Miranda Lambert to Florida Georgia Line and Kenny Chesney.

The concerts have provided a major economic boost to the region over the last four years – generating over $3 million in spending by more than 35,000 country music fans who travel to the area from other parts of the state, the U.S. and overseas and stay at local hotels, shop at local businesses and dine in local restaurants.

The Ridgeland-based technology company has been heavily involved in music for several years, designing an app and a program for emerging music artists in 2010 and forging sponsorship deals with the Memphis chapter of The Recording Academy (Grammys) and major music venues in Mississippi and Alabama, including The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama.

For more information and details on artists, performance dates, ticket prices and availability, go to www.brandonamphitheater.com or call 601.724.2726.

About C Spire
C Spire is a leading technology company committed to transforming Mississippi through the C Spire Tech Movement, which includes the massive deployment of broadband internet to homes and small businesses, a state-of-the-art digital experience for its customers and team members, technology innovation leadership and the creation and retention of a 21^st century technology workforce in its region.  The company provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses.  This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.

SOURCE C Spire

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