Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Sony Records) - The venues ranged from cozy lunches to large concerts; the crowds ranged from intimate and reverent to completely out of control. And when the dust settled on Gretchen Wilson's 10-city coast-to-coast 'Back to the Bars' tour, over $1.5 million was raised for charity.
'My musical roots are in clubs and bars,' said Wilson . 'We've done all these huge arenas and stadiums over the past three years – which has been amazing, but there's nothing like playing for people standing just a few feet away. It was really rewarding to be able to go back to these cities and these radio stations who supported us from the very beginning and give something back.'
Highlights of the 10-city tour included:
- A performance for KSON San Diego listeners who had pledged $320 per ticket to be St. Jude Partners In Hope. Over $585,000 was raised!
- Performing for an estimated 800 KMPS/Seattle listeners at the unique interactive music museum – the brainchild of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Station PD Becky Brenner gave credit to Gretchen for helping the station increase donations on their $608,670 St. Jude Radiothon total by 20% over last year.
- In Portland , Oregon , KWJJ PD Mike Moore said demand for tickets was 'crazy,' and the 600 people who packed in the small venue literally never stopped screaming from start to finish. The event that night raised over $23,000 for the Dornbecker Children's Hospital in Portland .
- The fire marshal started turning fans away after 2000 people had entered the Clear Channel Metroplex to see Gretchen play KSSN's St. Jude fundraiser. Blocked and backed up streets and fist fights ensued among the throngs of fans who were turned away at the door. 'This was the biggest promotion we have EVER done here," said Clear Channel Regional VP of Programming Phil Hunt. 'There were fights, traffic jams, lives threatened and police called at every location where tickets were distributed. People wanted to see Gretchen Wilson in concert!!'
- A sold-out event at the Gibson Beale Street Showcase in Memphis , where WGKX Program Director Lance Tidwell raved, 'There really aren't many people who would want to follow Gretchen on stage. Jerry Lee would be proud; she's the female killer!' The event drew 600+ fans who donated an incredibly generous $108,000 to St. Jude.
- A sold-out concert at Nashville 's Wildhorse Saloon netted over $182,000 for WSIX-FM's St. Jude Radiothon.
Individual events with KASE radio in Austin, WGH in Virginia Beach , WPOC Baltimore and KBQI Albuquerque netted close to $70,000 for St. Jude, Make-A-Wish and the American Heart & Stroke Association.
Gretchen will kick off her summer tour with a free concert at the famed Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience Sunday evening, May 13. Her long-awaited third album One of the Boys hits stores Tuesday, May 15, 2007.
