Upcoming Events...
Jeff Dunham
"Identity Crisis" Tour
Thurday, May 13th, 2010
7:30 pm
Canada Games Arena
On Thursday, May 13th Jeff Dunham brings his undeniable talent and unstopable laughs to the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie, AB. Dunham has taken the art of ventriloquism to new heights and has transformed it into a cutting-edge comedy experience that has gained worldwide appeal.
JEFF DUNHAM’S COMEDY PHENOMENON CONTINUES TO SPREAD WORLDWIDE By Selling Out Arenas Around the Globe, Topping DVD Sales Charts & Breaking International Rating Records
(Los Angeles) While Time has hailed him as “perhaps the most popular comedian in the U.S.” and Slate called him “America’s favorite comedian,” Jeff Dunham has transcended his national praise to become an international sensation who packs top venues on tour, enjoys top DVD chart action, record TV viewers, hot-selling ringtones and more in a number of markets around the globe. As The New York Times Magazine notes in a recent feature story on Dunham, a video clip with his character Achmed the Dead Terrorist “has been viewed almost 100 million times and has made Dunham a star overseas,” emphasizing how the online fortune has fostered fertile ground for his international expansion.
His three DVDs — “Spark of Insanity,” “Arguing With Myself” and “A Very Special Christmas Special” — have been released on television, DVD, and mobile platforms in Canada, Great Britain, the Benelux countries, South Africa, Scandinavia and Australia.The holiday special went to #1 on the Danish Entertainment Chart when it was released, while “Spark” hit #2 on the Dutch DVD charts and #5 on South African DVD charts — scoring against all DVD releases including best-selling movies. When “Spark” and the Christmas DVD were released in the U.K. they were the only titles by an American in the nation’s comedy Top 20.
Echoing Dunham’s multiple ratings records in the U.S., “Spark” is the most-viewed show ever on Comedy Central Holland, and all three specials are also heavily broadcast and widely-watched in Holland, Belgium, Germany and the UK. As well, Dunham’s comedic character ringtones have sold 300,000 copies and hit chart-topping ranks in the U.K., Denmark, Holland and South Africa.
After being named America’s top-grossing live comedy act of 2008 and 2009 by the concert industry trade Pollstar, Dunham and his cast of winning characters are also spreading their potent draw around the globe. 2009 saw him embark on his debut tours of Europe and Australia as well as his first full coast-to-coast Canadian tour. In Canada — where “The Jeff Dunham Show” series premiered as The Comedy Channel in Canada’s most-viewed show ever and then broke that record the following week — 20,000 tickets were sold in the first week of sale to his 10-show tour. This past April, Dunham sold a total of 25,000 seats at major venues in London, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki on his European tour. London’s influential Time Out touted his first-ever appearance there as both a critic’s choice and recommended show and the Guardian named it Pick of the Week. And he just returned from playing four sold-out Australian shows in Sydney and Melbourne — cities where he has never traveled or performed before.
He will return in April 2010 to perform in Amsterdam, Dublin, and five cities in the U.K, capping his second European run with an appearance at London’s world renowned O2 Arena. His three shows in Amsterdam have already sold out the 10,000 available tickets in a mere hour-and-a-half of being on sale.
There are requests and plans to play in South Africa, Middle East and Asia. Dunham happily discovered how his appeal straddles international borders as well as any cultural and language barriers in non-English speaking European cities earlier this year, when audience members would shout out his characters’ punchlines.
Jeff recalls, “it was pretty amazing. I had always hoped and dreamed that I’d do something important and special in this country but I never thought beyond the borders.”
Check out the new cool content at www.jeffdunham.com or www.myspace.com/jeffdunham
Charley Pride
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
7:30 pm
Canada Games Arena
Charley Pride returns to Canada in 2010 with a concert tour this spring. The legendary country singer is a perennial favourite from coast to coast and Canadians, for over 40 years have welcomed him with warmth and enthusiasm. His classic hits – “Kiss An Angel Good Morning”, “Crystal Chandelier” “Just Between You and Me” and “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger” have helped to catapult Charley to sales of 70 million records worldwide. He has been awarded 31 gold and 4 platinum albums, and one quadruple-platinum album.
This past summer, Pride was welcomed at the White House along with Brad Paisley and Alison Kraus and Union Station, to perform for President Obama and The First Lady. They were part of an education workshop promoting music and the arts in public education. This is the second time Pride has been to the White House – the last time was in 1993 during the Clinton administration.
This year the three time Grammy award winning singer also took a public stand against ticket resellers, making headlines both here and south of the border for returning over a thousand dollars to Leduc Alberta woman who paid many times the face value of two tickets. His website continues to remind fans – ‘buyer beware’.
Pride has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and is the first African-American to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Prior to his music career Charley was a pitcher and an outfielder for the Memphis Red Sox and the Birmingham Black Barons in the 50’s. Every spring he continues to train with the Texas Rangers.
Charley Pride - a legendary singer – timeless and treasured.
Reba McEntire
With Special Guests Crystal Shawanda & Melissa Peterman
25th Anniversary Fundraiser for the Alberta Cancer Foundation
Sunday, March 21, 2010
7:30 pm
Canada Games Arena
As Reba embarks on an exciting new chapter of her career with the much-anticipated release of Keep On Loving You, her debut album with The Valory Music Co., it is readily apparent that she’s not your typical icon.
Sure, she’s amassed the sort of career statistics that ensures legendary status in popular music– more than 55 million in album sales, 33 No. 1 hits, 2 Grammys, seven Country Music Association Awards (CMAs), 12 Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs), nine People’s Choice Awards and 15 American Music Awards. The Oklahoma quadruple threat has also found success in television, where her self-titled primetime TV series was a top-rated sitcom for six seasons, on Broadway, where she received rave reviews for her irresistible performance in Annie Get Your Gun, and in film. (And there’s a best-selling autobiography, as well as the popular Reba collection at Dillard’s featuring women’s clothing and footwear and bed and bath specialty items.)
But what separates Reba from other cultural trailblazers with decades-long careers is that she is hotter than ever. Her name remains a familiar sight atop the charts, now nestled among a generation of artists who have been strongly influenced by her music and career path. “Strange,” the sassy debut single from Keep on Loving You, is the fastest-rising solo single and highest solo chart debut of her 33-year career.
The new album is the follow-up to Reba Duets, which hit No. 1 on both pop and country album charts. Her last 13 studio albums have each received platinum status for reaching 1 million in sales.
“I think it’s a new chapter, I really do,” Reba says of her entertainment career. “I’m back to only my music. In the last 10 years, I’ve either had TV shows, Broadway or something else going on. Basically this is a time when I can really concentrate and focus on my music. This being the first solo album in six years is very exciting to me, as is the new chapter with the record label and new excitement in the music again.
Keep on Loving You is a collection of 13 songs that is quintessential Reba. It’s a sound that is contemporary, fresh and relevant, yet still true to her traditional country roots. “I still go with the same formula I always have,” she says. “When a song moves me, I will sing it and hopefully it will move you. I just like to sing different songs. I think it goes back to that attention-span thing for me. Mama always said I had the attention span of a 2-year-old. I like to sing an up-tempo kick-butt song and then a ballad. ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ is one of my favorite songs and then go into ‘Respect’ or something like ‘Strange’ or “Just When I Thought I’d Stopped Loving You.’”
“I’m excited about being with the new record label,” she says. “I’m excited about this new album. I’m excited where I am in my life, my age, that radio is still playing my music and that fans still want to hear my music and see me perform. I’m very grateful, appreciative and blessed.”
