Nashville, TN (Atlantic Records) - Two-time Grammy award winning Hootie and the Blowfish hosted an exclusive media event June 28, 2006 regarding their Homegrown Concert series at Nashville's Hard Rock Cafe. All four members of the band;
Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Jim 'Soni' Sonefeld and Dean Felber were present to announce details of the series and host a private acoustic performance in honor of the launch. Guests included Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, esteemed members of the press, and music industry heavyweights. The series will consist of twelve shows—all encouraging audiences to bring school supplies with them to the show to benefit less fortunate children in each market.
Hootie & the Blowfish is one of the most successful music groups in the world and since their first album debuted in 1994, the band has played to millions of fans and sold over 25 million albums worldwide. As one of the most recognizable bands in the world, Hootie & the Blowfish believe they have a responsibility to use their celebrity status to help improve the lives of those in need, especially children. They often take the lead in creating projects where they can join forces with other organizations to help make a positive difference in lives of today's youth. The Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation was founded just for that purpose. As a private non-profit organization, The Foundation was originally created in 2000 to benefit children of South Carolina through education and supporting school music programs—since it has spread to a nationwide campaign.
In 2003 the band members established an annual concert in their hometown, Charleston, SC, as a way to help raise awareness to the needs of local school children in the community. Every year many schools are forced to receive budget cuts that ultimately in one way or another affects the quality of education each child receives. The night of the concert, ticket holders were asked to bring school supplies of any kind to the concert held at Family Circle Magazine Stadium. The response was overwhelming, and the Charleston County School District children were the beneficiaries of a generous community effort. A 55-seat school bus was filled from top to bottom with school supplies and following the concert those supplies were distributed to the schools and teachers who were in most need.
Knowing the positive effect this project had on kids and the community, the band wanted to expand the concert into other markets of South and North Carolina. In 2004, In addition to Charleston, SC, the Homegrown Concert Series added Columbia, SC, Anderson, SC and Raleigh, NC to its list of markets, and successfully filled a school bus in each community with schools supplies. To date, the band and their loyal fans have helped fill seven busloads of much needed supplies for the Carolinas.
This year Hootie & the Blowfish, with the help of LiveNations and Hard Rock Café, will expand the concert series once more, picking up a total of 11 stops, kicking off in Nashville TN, and taking the band through Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina Pennsylvania and Florida. In addition to hosting the Homegrown Launch party, Hard Rock Café in Nashville has created a Homegrown Meal on their menu that provides tickets to the local Nashville show and presented the band with a check for $5,ooo for school supplies for the Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Live Nation enthusiastically signed on to the Homegrown Concert series by encouraging each local event and community to become inspired not only by the music but also by the efforts to support children in every market. Live Nation is a leading live event, venue, and digital distribution company focused on creating superior experiences for artists, performers, corporations and fans. Live Nation owns, operates or has booking rights for 153 venues worldwide and produced more than 29,500 events in 2005. Live Nation operates more than 60 websites globally. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol 'LYV.' For more information regarding Live Nation and its businesses, please visit the company's website at www.livenation.com
The Nashville show, scheduled for July 3rd at Starwood Amphitheatre will include special guests Danielle Peck and Cowboy Mouth. Reserved seating starts at $25.00, and can be purchased at all ticketmaster locations, ticketmaster.com, livenation.com and the Starwood box office. All ticket holders are encouraged to bring a school supply item with them to the show and help the band fill a school bus for the children of Nashville. All supplies will be donated to the Metro Nashville Public Schools with the help of the LP PENCIL Box. The Pencil Box will be on hand to collect the supplies and will be in charge of distribution to the schools. The LP PENCIL Box is the school supply center where teachers in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools can "shop free" for students whose parents cannot afford to purchase the materials essential for basic learning. For more information regarding the LP PENCIL Box, visit www.pencilfd.org
Homegrown Concert Series:
July 3 2006 Starwood Amphitheater, Nashville, TN
July 28, 2006 Cynthia Woods Pavilion, The Woodlands, TX
July 29, 2006 Billy Bob's Texas, Ft.Worth, TX
July 30, 2006 The Backyard, Austin, TX
August 18, 2006 Family Circle Magazine Stadium, Charleston, SC
August 19, 2006 Verizon Wireless Centre, Birmingham, AL
August 20, 2006 Alltel Pavilion, Raleigh, NC
September 1, 2006 Post-Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA
September 6, 2006 MeadowBrook Music Festival, Rochester Hills, MI
September 8, 2006 DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI
September 15, 2006 Ford Amphitheater, Tampa, FL
September 16, 2006 Sound Advice Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL
