COUNTRY THROWDOWN TOUR: FIRST ANNUAL MULTI-STAGE COUNTRY TOUR WILL RUN FROM MAY 13 THROUGH JUNE 20, 2010

Press Release Content:
DT: NOVEMBER 2, 2009

FR: LIBBY COFFEY/MITCH SCHNEIDER/CHELSI SCHRIVER

4FINI ANNOUNCES THE
COUNTRY THROWDOWN TOUR® 2010

FIRST ANNUAL MULTI-STAGE COUNTRY TOUR WILL RUN FROM
MAY 13 THROUGH JUNE 20 AND FEATURE:

MONTGOMERY GENTRY, JAMEY JOHNSON, LITTLE BIG TOWN, JACK INGRAM
ERIC CHURCH, ELI YOUNG BAND, JONATHAN SINGLETON & THE GROVE, LOST TRAILERS, RYAN BINGHAM, EMILY WEST AND MORE

THE BLUEBIRD CAFÉ TENT WILL FEATURE NINE EMERGING
SINGER-SONGWRITERS

WWW.COUNTRYTHROWDOWN.COM
SITE LAUNCHES TODAY

TICKET PRE-SALE FEBRUARY 2010

4 FINI, Inc.–producers and creators of the hugely successful Vans Warped Tour, the longest running traveling music and extreme sports festival in the world today–has announced the first-ever COUNTRY THROWDOWN TOUR®. The outdoor amphitheater trek will feature a diverse lineup that brings together iconic and emerging artists in the country music scene, as well as a full concourse of lifestyle attractions and vendors (to be announced soon)–all with an affordable ticket price–plus pre-show tailgaiting parties. A title sponsor will soon be announced.

Headliners Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town and Jack Ingram are among the 10 initial acts to be announced for this nationwide country music tour running from May 13 through June 20. Other artists confirmed for the first annual multi-stage country tour include Eric Church, the Eli Young Band, Jonathan Singleton & The Grove, Lost Trailers, Ryan Bingham and Emily West, with more artists to be announced.

In addition to the 12 main artists performing on three stages (one main stage and two side stages), the Bluebird Café Tent will feature nine extraordinary singer-songwriters. Fans will get to see these artists perform intimate “In the Round”-type sets in the Bluebird Café Tent throughout the day, as well as see them play nightly on a specially designed stage during the main stage set changes.
Tour founder and co-producer Kevin Lyman says, “Very much like other projects we have been involved with, this project is about bringing together a great group of artists and attractions at a fair ticket price for music fans.”

“We feel Country music will welcome this type of touring festival,” explains Sarah Baer, co-producer for the tour and Head of Marketing for 4FINI, Inc. “Fans of any music genre are looking for a place where they can experience a full day of quality music from new faces, along side well known acts, and at a value price. The music we’ve had the pleasure of booking on this tour is going to surprise and excite a lot of people come May. It’s a group of truly talented musicians and singer-songwriters that have never toured in this capacity. I’m expecting great things."

Brian O’Connell, President of Country Music Touring for Live Nation, says, “I’m looking forward to bringing the Country Throwdown Tour to Country Music fans across the U.S. next summer. Kevin and I have known each other for a long time, and he and his team have obviously been very successful with their other projects, most notably the Vans Warped Tour, and I am proud that he and his team and Live Nation are in business with this exciting project. The opportunity that we have to collectively bring an unprecedented number of artists on tour at once, and to expose their music to fans at an affordable price is what really brought me on board. The fans are the real winners here with all of the great artists we have the honor to work with on this tour. Breaking new acts is the lifeblood of this business, and I look forward to this new and innovative Tour….you never know what magic can happen with this much talent gathered in any given market….not the Tour you want to miss in 2010!”

“This is a tour for the passionate County music fan,” says Scott Durand, VP Marketing, GAC. “The great lineup of acts and the opportunity to interact with these fans on-site at every stop make it a truly unique tour.”

Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry says, “When Eddie and I were approached about doing the Country Throwdown Tour we immediately said yes. We loved the idea of it being like a big festival, a big party. I mean, that’s what Montgomery Gentry is all about! We’re keeping the ticket prices low because we know it’s hard out there. Fans are going to get a lot of entertainment for their money. This tour is going to be a great experience for us, the other artists and especially the fans.”

Mike Eli of the Eli Young Band says, "Being part of this tour is a very exciting prospect for us. It brings together a group of similar-minded artists. And the organizers have done some impressive things with other tours in the past, and from what we've seen…we're excited about what they're going to do with country music!"

COUNTRY THROWDOWN is proud to announce the Throwdown Ticket Takeover which gives fans a chance to get up close and personal for one fair ticket price. Instead of the traditional front-to-back tiered ticketing–where fans who pay more get closer–THROWDOWN will split the seats down the middle. For a limited time during the pre-sale which begins February 2010, anyone who buys early can get the Ticket Takeover priced ticket and be as close as the front row. Regular tiered ticketing will still be available for purchase for half of the amphitheater seating. Stay tuned for the pre-sale date announcement and for more information visit: WWW.COUNTRYTHROWDOWN.COM.

About 4FINI, INC. and Kevin Lyman.
Kevin Lyman is the producer and creator of the hugely successful Vans Warped Tour, the longest running traveling music and extreme sports festival in the world today. With the Vans Warped Tour, Lyman pioneered the successful integration of corporate sponsors with the extreme lifestyle, creating a blueprint for sponsorship integration widely duplicated in the marketplace today. In 2005 Kevin teamed up with John Reese to form Taste of Chaos, LLC (TOC, LLC) and produce the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour. In 2007, TOC, LLC presented the first annual Rockstar Mayhem Festival, a summer metal festival featuring 15 metal bands including headliners Slipknot and Disturbed. A success by all standards, Rockstar Mayhem Festival perhaps most notably integrated the camaraderie Lyman had created on The Vans Warped Tour into a metal festival. Kevin and his company 4 Fini, Inc. have produced numerous other successful tour productions. Kevin is a music industry authority on multiple corporate branding projects, helping companies maintain the valuable street level credibility that endears their products to the youth market.

About Great American Country (GAC):
Great American Country is the leader in country music entertainment. GAC delivers to viewers the widest variety of country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence. GAC broadcasts original country music programming, country music performance specials, live concerts and music videos. GAC is available in more than 58 million households and online at http://www.GACTV.com. GAC is owned by Scripps Networks, the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, including HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living Network. Scripps Networks is based in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Nashville, and is a unit of Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE:SNI).

For general COUNTRY THROWDOWN TOUR sponsorship inquiries, contact 4 FINI, Inc.:

Sarah Baer sponsorshipsthrowdown@4fini.com

For COUNTRY THROWDOWN TOUR Publicity Contacts, MSO, (818) 380-0400:

Libby Coffey LCoffey@msopr.com ext. 224

Mitch Schneider MSchneider@msopr.com ext. 235

Chelsi Schriver CSchriver@msopr.com ext. 231

###

Press Release Date:
Mon, 2009-11-02 19:00

Press Release Link:
http://

Press Release Teaser:

COUNTRY THROWDOWN TOUR: FIRST ANNUAL MULTI-STAGE COUNTRY TOUR FEAT. MONTGOMERY GENTRY, JAMEY JOHNSON, LITTLE BIG TOWN, JACK INGRAM, AND MORE; SET TO LAUNCH MAY 13-JUNE 20, 2010