LYNYRD SKYNYRD AND BIG & RICH TEAM WITH ATLANTA’S COUNTRY STATIONS TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR 173RD AIRBORNE BRIGADE NATIONAL MEMORIAL
Show At HiFi Buys Amphitheatre, in Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday Oct. 7, 2006 with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Big & Rich, John Anderson, Cowboy Troy, The Lost Trailers and Others
Internet Pre-sale Wednesday, August 23 & 24 Public On Sale August 25 Through http://TicketMaster.com
Goal Is To Raise $500,000 In One Day “They Have Waited Long Enough” Recent Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd and hot country duo Big & Rich will team up with Atlanta’s Country Stations – KICKS 1015 and EAGLE 106.7 - at the HiFi Buys Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 6:00PM for a fundraising concert that will also include performances by John Anderson, Cowboy Troy, The Lost Trailers and others.
All profits from the show will go to a fund to build a memorial to all who have served in the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The memorial is to be built at the new National Infantry Museum campus in Ft. Benning, Georgia.
The goal is to raise $500,000 in one day. Ticket prices range from $15 lawn tickets to $1000 VIP packages that included premium seating, an autographed guitar and a private event with the artists. Tickets will be available through http://TicketMaster.com. (tickets available for $15, $30, $45, $60, $150 & $1000)
“They have waited long enough,” stated John Rich of Big & Rich. “We’re just glad we are in a position to help these guys out,” chimed in his partner Big Kenny. “These guys have put their lives on the line and over 1600 members of the 173rd have lost their lives serving this country. When we heard that they expected it to take 3 – 5 years of a capital fundraising campaign to build a memorial to these guys we decided we had to find a way to raise the money in one day. Then the guys in Skynyrd heard about it and we decided we’d jump in on their scheduled concert down there and now it’s growing everyday. We look forward to an amazing show down there.” continued Rich.
“Lynyrd Skynyrd is honored to be part of this event,” said Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd. “It’s the least we can do to help build a memorial for the 173rd Airborne who have lost so many and helped protect this country. We look forward to sharing the stage with Big & Rich and playing for one of our favorite towns - Atlanta, GA. It’s been too long!”
About The 173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade was created on Okinawa in 1963 as the quick-response “fire brigade for the Asian-Pacific area. It was the first regular combat unit in Vietnam, arriving May 5, 1965. Its six years of continuous combat service in Vietnam is a record unequalled since the American Revolution. The brigade’s historic combat jump in Operation Junction City was the only combat parachute assault of that war. Its 13 Medal of Honor recipients, 42 Distinguished Service Cross awardees, and scores and scores of Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Unit Citations mark a proud combat record in Vietnam. The brigade was disbanded in 1972 and reactivated in 2000 in Vincenza, Italy to serve as the “fire brigade” for Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The reactivated brigade made the only combat jump of Operation Enduring Freedom and has served a year in Iraq and a year in Afghanistan, with distinction.
"We thought this memorial would take five years or more. Now, because we can make it happen in one night, many more Sky Soldiers will be able to see its dedication," said Terry Modglin Chair, president of the 173d Airborne Brigade National Memorial Foundation. “Sky Soldiers everywhere are deeply grateful. This is a great night for a great cause. This concert benefits the 173d Memorial but it honors everyone who has ever answered our nation's call." The memorial, which will feature a central circle with all names of those from the brigade (and allied forced) who were killed or missing in action inscribed together with key brigade achievements. The centerpiece will include a column on which a steel sculpture of the wing and sword, central elements of the Brigade shoulder patch, will rise above the memorial as a beacon. Construction of the project, assuming funds are at hand, should take only 12 to 18 months. Everyone involved was making plans for a long-term fundraising effort when Kenny and Rich stepped in.
“We knew we wanted to do something to help,” said Marc Oswald, Big & Rich’s manager. “I had received a call from Victor Sansone, who runs WKHX and WYAY, and is a Vietnam veteran himself. He had already called and expressed to the guys and me that he felt like this was an important song. So I knew he was the right guy to talk to when we decided to do a show. It was a short conversation. I barely got the idea out before he said ‘I’m in. Just tell me what we need to do.’”
A Personal Connection - Big & Rich and "The 8th of November" Big & Rich spent the second half of this year touring coast to coast on the “Prilosec OTC Coming To Your City Tour” and promoting the third single from Comin’ To Your City, “The 8th of November.” The song tells the story of Purple Heart veteran and member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Niles Harris, who, as a 19-year-old army private, was shot down in a jungle fire fight during the Vietnam War on November 8, 1965. In 2002, Kenny and Rich befriended Harris when they visited his hometown of Deadwood, South Dakota. The friendship has continued and Kenny and Rich wrote “The 8th of November” to honor his legacy. Last year the duo accompanied Harris on a trip to Vietnam to try to make sense of the battle that took his comrades’ lives that fall day in 1965. A documentary of the experience began airing in July. Prilosec OTC is distributing over a million copies of the documentary through a special on-pack offer available to consumers at select retailers.
Also joining the bill will be Cowboy Troy, recent co-host of the 4th season of “Nashville Star” and member of the MuzikMafia, The Lost Trailers, and country music icon John Anderson who has just released his first single from his new album, Easy Money, produced by John Rich.
In addition to the concert other daytime activities are planned that will be announced soon.
