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Country Artist Ryan Weaver to Perform at Tampa Bay Storm Home Opener

March 22, 2011 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


TAMPA BAY - The Five-Time World Champion Tampa Bay Storm will host Country Night with a performance by local country music artist Ryan Weaver on Sunday, March 27 prior to the game against the Cleveland Gladiators. The performance will be held on the West Plaza Stage at the St. Pete Times Forum prior to the Storm home opener. Access to the concert is free with the purchase of a Storm game ticket.

Representing the Post 911 Foundation, Army Blackhawk Aviator and rising country music star, Central Florida native Ryan Weaver is a high energy, All-American, rockin' country music artist who proudly serves as an active duty soldier, Chief Warrant Officer 3, in the United States Army. To understand Ryan Weaver and his passion for music, you need to hear his unique story: Ryan Weaver's life is an example of how an individual's dedication, discipline, focus and perseverance can help them achieve greatness in the face of adversity.

Adopted at 10 months of age, along with his older brother Aaron, Ryan grew up in the State of Florida with seven siblings and the youngest of three Weaver boys. Older brothers Steve and Aaron joined the military and attended flight school. When his time came, Ryan followed in their shoes.

Ryan's brother Aaron died in 2004 when his Black Hawk was shot down by enemy fire in Iraq. At that time Ryan was also deployed in Iraq as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. Ryan certainly understood mortality and the risks of combat; after all, Aaron had survived the bloody 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia that became the basis for the movie, Black Hawk Down. When Aaron died, however, something changed for Ryan Weaver. He returned from combat and took a position training the next generation of Army aviators and officers at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

In July 2004, six months after the death of his brother, Ryan attended a Jeffrey Steele concert at a local Alabama club. During Steele's show he performed a song titled "Nineteen," about a boy who joins the military and dies in combat at the age of nineteen. The song touched Ryan and he shared his personal story with Steele when he met him in the autograph line after the show. In 2007, Ryan began traveling to Nashville on a regular basis to write and record his music. It was on one of those trips to Music City that Ryan re-connected with Steele. "I got a meeting with Jeffrey Steele," explains Weaver. "He recalled meeting me at that concert in Alabama [in 2004] and remembered my story." As fate would have it, Steele not only remembered Ryan Weaver, but agreed to produce him. The first song they recorded together was Nineteen."

Currently stationed at Fort Rucker, Ryan spends his weekends and free time writing and recording music, as well as performing at fairs, festivals and clubs in the Southeastern United States. He is actively involved in charity work with the American Cancer Society and The Post 911 Foundation, and has performed on numerous television shows and at various events in support of both causes.

2011 Tampa Bay Storm season tickets are still available as well as single-game tickets, four-game packs and corporate entertainment packages. To get tickets please call 813.301.6600, visit the Box Office at the St. Pete Times Forum or ticketmaster.com. The Storm opens the 2011 home schedule at the St. Pete Times Forum Sunday, March 27 at 7:30 PM against the Cleveland Gladiators.



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