FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Audra Fleming, Elite Racing
800-311-1255
Kim Dettwiller, Elite Racing
615-330-5656
PHIL VASSAR TO HEADLINE CONCERT
WITH VERY SPECIAL GUESTS, BERING STRAIT,
FOR THE
2005 COUNTRY MUSIC MARATHON™ & ½ MARATHON
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 8, 2005 --- Arista recording artist Phil Vassar will
entertain runners at the sixth annual Country Music Marathon™ & ½
Marathon concert with Universal South Recording Group, Bering Strait,
as very special guests.
The concert, which takes place at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in
Nashville at 7:00 p.m., Sat., April 30, 2005, culminates a weekend of
running and music featuring over 16,000 marathoners and half-marathoners
with more than 50 live bands staged along each mile of the 26.2
and 13.1-mile courses.
Tickets for the concert will be sold to the public for $20.00 and will go
on sale March 2, 2005. Tickets can be purchased through TicketMaster
charge-by-phone at 615/255-9600 or at www.ticketmaster.com.
The Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon starts at West End Avenue near
Centennial Park, winds its way in and out of the downtown area
and finishes at The Coliseum. The two-day Health & Fitness Expo,
expected to attract 35,000 attendees, will be held at the Nashville
Convention Center.
The Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society through their Team In Training program. The fundraising goal for
the 2005 event is $2.5 million.
Entries to the Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon are available at
www.cmmarathon.com, by calling 615/742-1660 or contacting the Country Music
Marathon office at 240 Great Circle Rd., Ste. 340, Nashville, TN 37228.
About Phil Vassar Singer-songwriter Phil Vassar has been enjoying the
success of his third Arista Nashville album, "Shaken Not Stirred."
The acclaimed album boasts the single "In A Real Love," which
spent two weeks atop the country music charts. Phil’s latest single, I'll
Take That As A Yes (The Hot Tub Song)," is climbing the charts. He recently
performed the hit on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show and the steamy music video
for the song is in rotation on CMT and GAC. Vassar’s tour schedule keeps
him out on the road presenting his energetic performances that have earned
fan support and widespread critical acclaim.
Taking a different approach in the studio for this album, Phil used his own
band on much of the record rather than the familiar Nashville studio
players. The aim was to tap his strength as a vocalist and musician by
recreating the sound of his performances that have helped this native
Virginian develop a reputation as a potent live performer. In a three out
of four star album review, People Magazine says of Phil's talent, "[he]
decorates his vocals with his keyboard work in a way that evokes
the best singer-pianists, from Nat 'King' Cole and Hoagy Carmichael to
Ronnie Milsap and Diana Krall." Music Row Magazine raves, Vassar delivers
one of the best crafted country albums of the year.
Vassar began his career performing his growing repertoire of
original songs at his Nashville club- restaurant. Before embarking on
his solo career, which has produced more than half a dozen Top 10 hits
(including his break out #1 single "Just Another Day In
Paradise"), Vassar penned hits for a number of top artists including
Tim McGraw ("My Next Thirty Years"), Alan Jackson ("Right on the Money"),
and Jo Dee Messina ("Bye, Bye"). Englebert Humperdinck also recorded Once
in a While, a composition that Vassar penned in the beginning of
his career with a fellow bartender. He has earned numerous
songwriting awards as well as new artist distinctions from ACM, CMA, R&R
and Gavin.
About Bering Strait
After years of classical training and later playing together in a
country-bluegrass-fusion band in their native Russia, Bering Strait moved
to Nashville in the late '90s to a pursue a recording career in America.
Upon arriving in the U.S., the band found themselves the subjects
of the Emmy Award winning documentary, The Ballad Of Bering Strait,
produced and directed by Nina Gilden Seavey. The film chronicled the
band’s many struggles as they try to make their dream happen. The
documentary was released theatrically and is now available on DVD.
In January of 2003, their hard earned efforts were rewarded with their
self-titled album, released on Universal South Records—the joint venture
between Universal Records and highly respected music executives Tony Brown
and Tim DuBois. They were also nominated for a Grammy Award for their
instrumental original composition, "Bearing Straight."
The group’s unique story has been the focus of many high profile
outlets—they have been profiled in The New York Times, The Washington Post
and on CBS 60 Minutes, just to name a few.
Their second album, titled Pages, will be released in June 2005.
About Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon
The Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon is produced by Elite
Racing, Inc. The annual event attracts over 16,000 runners and
100,000 spectators and benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ,
which has raised over $9.5 million in its five-year history with the
Nashville-based event. In addition, the race receives extensive national,
regional and local media coverage and will be taped to broadcast nationally
on FSN and regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast.
Elite Racing, Inc., a sports marketing and management company based in San
Diego, Calif., is the leader in producing world-class running events.
In addition to the Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon, Elite
Racing produces eight events each year, including the Rock 'n' Roll
Marathon, P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half
Marathon and the Carlsbad 5000, the world's fastes 5K.
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