WILLIE NELSON’S COUNTRY THROWDOWN TOUR 2011
TO CONCLUDE WITH
WILLIE NELSON’S 4th OF JULY PICNIC & THROWDOWN
AT BILLY BOB’S IN FORT WORTH
Drake White Joins Tour and Country Weekly Signs on as
Additional Sponsor
Nashville, Tenn. – April 27, 2011 – Billy Bob’s Texas and 4Fini announce the return of Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic to Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Stockyards hosted the iconic “Willie’s Picnic” in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Willie is currently on the Country Throwdown Tour 2011 which will wrap up with the always-anticipated Willie Nelson’s annual 4th of July Picnic. The long-standing Texas tradition will break new ground as it will be held outside and inside of the famed Billy Bob’s Texas. Headliners at Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic & Throwdown will perform on the venue’s main stage outside with many artists taking the stage indoors for a full complement of multi-talented entertainers.
Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic & Throwdown is designed to provide guests a not-to-be-missed afternoon and evening of exceptional performances by artists from all musical genres, along with some unexpected jam sessions. Country Throwdown tour artists include Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice, Craig Campbell, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, plus recent tour addition, Drake White, an Alabama native known for his unique brand of freestyle twists on original country songs, ad-libs and audience participation antics. Willie’s Picnic will feature many artists who are traditionally featured on the Willie’s Picnic lineup, including Ray Price, David Allan Coe, Paula Nelson, and more.
This year’s unique setup will feature the air-conditioned comfort of Billy Bob’s opening to the landscaped beauty of Rodeo Plaza in the Stockyards. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. with the first artist taking the stage at 12 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance, available through www.ticketmaster.com, and tickets through Billy Bob’s box office will go on sale May 2 at 10 a.m. Because of the unique inside/outside nature of this year’s event, it will be the first time that “Willie’s Picnic” in Fort Worth will set a ticket and headcount limit, and organizers are expecting a quick sellout.
“Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic is a long-standing tradition, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it. We couldn’t think of a better way to end this tour than by bringing together the legendary picnic talent with the big-name artists performing throughout the Country Throwdown Tour,” said Kevin Lyman of 4Fini. “Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth is known as the World’s Largest Honky Tonk, so I can’t think of a better place to host this year’s finale.”
The tour also is known for spotlighting emerging singer-songwriters on the Bluebird Cafe Stage. Adam Hood, Caitlyn Smith, Austin Lucas, Brent Cobb, Dani Flowers, and Erin Enderlin have signed on for this special tour attraction, giving fans the opportunity to hear some of Nashville’s best in the “in-the-round”-style sets made famous at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe. This unique singer-songwriter showcase will be a first for Willie’s Picnic in Fort Worth.
4Fini also announced today that Country Weekly has signed on as an official sponsor of the tour. Country Weekly will produce the official souvenir program, which will be distributed free of charge at all Throwdown dates, provide extensive coverage in Country Weekly and on CountryWeekly.com and will host a sponsor tent on the tour where fans can sign up for a special Throwdown subscription offer and get autographs from Throwdown artists.
“Country Weekly is beyond thrilled to be teaming up with Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour,” says Editor in Chief Lisa Konicki. “Our two organizations are a perfect fit, and we’re happy to be joining together to bring great music and news to the core country music fan.”
Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour 2011 sponsors include COUNTRY WEEKLY, HARLEY-DAVIDSON, DICKIES, CMT, NAMM, THE BLUEBIRD CAFE, BMI, Y’ALLWIRE, KEEP A BREAST, SHIRTS FOR A CURE, AZUNIA, WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE, and U.S. MARINES.
For more information about Willie’s Picnic event, visit www.williespicnic.com. For more information about 2011 Country Throwdown dates and venues, visit www.countrythrowdown.com.
Confirmed Dates:
5/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ The MANN
5/28 – Gilford, NH @ Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion
5/29 – Essex Junction, VT @ Champlain Valley Expo
5/30 – York, PA @ Sovereign Bank Stadium
6/3 – Nashville, TN @ The Woods at Fontanel
6/4 – Little Rock, AR @ North Shore Park at the Arkansas River in North Little Rock
6/5 – Orange Beach, AL @ The Amphitheater at the Wharf
6/9 – Southaven, MS @ Snowden Grove Amphitheater
6/10 – Columbia, MO @ Midway Exposition Center
6/11- Sparta, IL @ World Shooting & Recreation Complex
6/12 – Lawrenceville, GA @ Coolray Field
6/16 – Roanoke Rapids, NC The Rapids Jam Festival*
6/17 – Simpsonville, SC @ Charter Amphitheater at Heritage Park
6/18 – Waldorf, MD @ Regency Stadium
6/19 – Knoxville, TN @ World’s Fair Park
6/21 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater
6/23 – Del Mar, CA @ Grandstand
6/24 – Ontario, CA @ Citizens Business Bank Arena
6/25 – Pozo, CA @ Pozo Saloon
6/30 – Mission, TX @ Las Palmas Race Park
7/1 – Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street Amphitheater
7/2 – Eufala, OK @ Eufala Cove Amphitheater
7/3 – Siloam Springs, AR @ Osage Creek Amphitheater, Willie’s Throwdown and Picnic
7/4 – Fort Worth, TX @ Billy Bob’s, Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic & Throwdown
* Rapids Jam is a three-day country music and camping festival in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, June 16, 17, 18. The first day of the festival kicks off with the Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour featuring Willie Nelson, etc. Single day and weekend general admission tickets, plus reserved tickets are available at www.rapidsjam.com.
About 4 FINI, Inc.
4Fini is the creator and producer of Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown 2011 Tour. 4Fini partners Kevin Lyman and Sarah Baer also are co-producers of the highly successful annual Rockstar Mayhem Festival, a summer metal festival featuring 15 metal bands including headliners Slipknot and Disturbed. A success by all standards, Rockstar Mayhem Festival perhaps most notably integrated the camaraderie Lyman had created on the Vans Warped Tour into a metal festival. Best known for the successful Vans Warped Tour, the longest running traveling music and extreme sports festival in the world today, Lyman pioneered the successful integration of corporate sponsors with the extreme lifestyle, creating a blueprint for sponsorship integration widely duplicated in the marketplace today. Kevin and his company 4 Fini, Inc. have produced numerous other successful tour productions. Kevin is a music industry authority on multiple corporate branding projects, helping companies maintain the valuable street level credibility that endears their products to the youth market.
About CMT:
A unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 91 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
About Country Weekly
As America’s premier country entertainment source for 17 years, Country Weekly and CountryWeekly.com deliver the inside stories on country music’s hottest stars, featuring late-breaking news and the scoop on star lifestyles, families, homes, favorite foods and latest fashions. Country Weekly is published 52 times a year by parent company American Media, Inc.
About Y’allWire:
Y’allwire takes pride in creating a rich community of diverse country music entertainment, serving the artists and the lives they impact. Launched in 2006, Y’allwire features music videos and high-definition (HD) original productions that include live concert footage, behind-the-scenes interviews, and an inside look at the industry’s most renowned events. Through its network of on- and offline platforms, Y’allwire can reach over 18 million music enthusiasts every month and is continually growing its viewer base.
Y’allwire’s online entity, Yallwire.com, is the leading independent provider of on-demand country music entertainment on the web, creating a homespun place for fans to gather and celebrate their country roots. And Y’allwire has broadened its reach beyond the net by striking distribution partnerships with Verizon FiOS TV, Roku and out-of-home network indoorDIRECT, along with many more partners in the pipeline. Additionally, Y’allwire has launched a companion 4G mobile video site for on-the-go fans to catch the latest music videos and exciting original content.”