The most diverse prerace concert line-up in Kentucky Speedway history will bring fans the new country sounds of Rissi Palmer May 10, rock group Smashmouth June 14, fusion artists Blood, Sweat & Tears July 19 and Indie artist Josh Kelley Aug. 9.
“This line-up offers something for everyone and will certainly be entertaining for our fans. Each group and artist will bring distinct, unique elements to our event atmosphere while adding value to an event ticket purchase,” Kentucky Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark F. Cassis said.
Emerging country artist Palmer will perform prior to the season-opening ARCA RE/MAX Series “Buckle-Up! Kentucky 150.” The 26-year-old vocalist from St. Louis, Mo., possesses a deep love for country music founded in her admiration for the songs of Patsy Cline. Palmer placed herself on the industry fast track with a passionate country sound evident the singles “Country Girl” and “Hold on to Me” from her self-titled debut album. Her bid for stardom has been the subject of feature stories in such prominent publications as “The Wall Street Journal,” “Parade” and “Vibe”. She’s also been featured on Great American Country (GAC) Television, Country Music Televison Insider News, Delta Airlines In-Flight Radio as well as Sirius and XM satellite radio services. Along with her independent label 17.20 Entertainment, she’s pursuing new avenues to market her genuine sound. Her “Country Girl” single was played more than 800,000 times on the well-trafficked Myspace Web site and was a top-five selling Starbucks EP on the popular iTunes site. Fans can learn more at http://www.rissipalmer.com.
Smashmouth will take the prerace concert stage on the Turn 1 Concourse June 14 before the NASCAR Nationwide Series “Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo,” which is aiming to attract an eighth consecutive capacity crowd of 66,089 to the speedway. The trio formed in San Jose, Calif., adopted its name from the playing style of the Mike Ditka led NFL Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears and spotlights the vocal and musical talents Steve Harwell, guitarist Greg Camp and bassist Paul DeLisle. The band made its most recent appearance on the charts with the single “Story of My Life” from its fifth studio collection “Summer Girl” and also is well known for its hits “Walkin’ on the Sun,” and “All Star,” which was featured on the 2001 soundtrack to the hit motion picture “Shrek.” The band also is known for its creative interpretations of popular previously record hits such as “Can’t Get Enough of You, Baby” by ? and the Mysterians, "Why Can't We Be Friends" by War, "I'm a Believer" by Neil Diamond (also part of the “Shrek” soundtrack), "Centerfold" by The J. Geils Band, "The Lady is a Tramp" by Frank Sinatra, "Getting Better" by The Beatles and "I Wanna Be Like You," from Walt Disney’s “The Jungle Book.” Fans can visit the band online at http://www.smashmouth.com.
The Blood, Sweat & Tears 40th Anniversary Tour will make a Kentucky Speedway stop July 19 to set the stage for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series “Built Ford Tough 225 Presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers.” The musical institution was founded in Greenwich Village, N.Y., in 1968, and evolved into one of the most decorated, widely-renown jazz bands of all time with a horn section manned by an alumni roster made up of a Who’s Who of the world’s best jazz and rock musicians. While traversing the world, the band has generated album sales in the millions and a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Vocalist Rob Paparozzi, will join bassist Gary Foote, trumpeters Steve Janikowski and Teddy Mullet, keyboardist Glenn McClelland, drummer Andrea Valenti and trombonist Jens Wendelboe to perform favorites such as “Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die,” “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” “More and More,” “God Bless the Child” and many more. The band can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.bloodsweatandtears.com.
Kelley will be in concert Aug. 9 prior to the green flag start of the IndyCar Series “Meijer 300 Presented by Pepsi and Edy’s.” As with his last album, “Just Say the Word,” the Augusta, Ga., artist released his most recent and fourth collection, “Special Company,” Feb. 5, 2008, on his own label, DNK Records. Kelley displays his versatility on the new release through 14 tracks he personally wrote and produced. Many songs in the new collection were inspired by his wife, actress Katherine Heigl, who is referred to as Katie. Performing since his college days, Kelley has produced hits that put him on the public’s radar immediately. He scored a No. 5 single with “Amazing” from his 2003 debut, “For the Ride Home,” that also produced the No. 10 hit “Everybody Wants You.” Kelley released his second album “Almost Honest” in 2004, which was well received by critics and topped the Billboard Magazine New Artist Chart upon release. He also wrote and produced his third album, “Just Say the Word,” which served as his first DNK Records release in 2006. His work also has been featured on episodes of popular TV shows, including Smallville (“Almost Honest” and “Cain and Able”), the “Scrubs” digital soundtrack, “Brothers and Sisters” (“Opposite of Me”), and “What About Brian” (“Lady of Mine”). His life’s work is featured online at http://www.joshkelley.com.
All performances are included with the price of a race ticket.
Tickets for all 2008 Kentucky Speedway events are on sale now and can be reserved online through the tickets pages of http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com or by phone at 888-652-RACE (7223). Fans also can visit any Meijer store or the Kentucky Speedway ticket offices at 200 Buttermilk Pike, Suite 100, in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., next to Montgomery Inn or the speedway Fan Center off of I-71 Exit 57 and Ky. Hwy. 35 in Sparta, Ky. Season race plans also are available now and can be reserved by phone at 859-578-2300, online through the Kentucky Speedway Web site or through track ticket offices.
