
Ports to Host Dylan, Mellencamp, Nelson in Concert
May 14, 2009 - California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release
Bob Dylan has just announced an ambitious line-up for this year's summer concert tour. Along with fellow troubadour Willie Nelson, this summer's tour will also feature John Mellencamp, marking just the second time in the past 24 years that these three performers have shared the concert stage. Since first embarking on a tour of minor league baseball parks in 2004, over a half-million fans have come together to spend a night under the stars. With free admittance for children*, these tours draw a multi-generational fan base rarely seen on the concert circuit, causing one reporter to describe it as, "more like a backyard party than a rock concert." The Boston Globe ranked the tour amongst "the most relaxed, enjoyable shows of the year. "You Can't Beat Fun At The Old Ballpark," came a headline from the Chicago Sun Times.
Besides performing over 100 concerts each year for the past 15 years, Bob Dylan drops into millions of households each week with his highly popular satellite radio program Theme Time Radio Hour. In recent years, he has also received the big-screen treatment, courtesy of film director Martin Scorcese, with the critically acclaimed release of No Direction Home, the first feature-length film biography of Bob Dylan. Prior to that, he spent over 20 weeks on the New York Times best seller list with the publication of Chronicles: Volume One, the first in a series of the artist's self-penned personal histories. In between these high-water marks, Bob has earned multiple Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Kennedy Center Honor (the highest honor of artistic achievement given in the United States). As a recording artist, he continues to hit the long ball. After debuting at #1 with his last record, Modern Times, Bob Dylan just released a brand new studio album through Columbia Records. Entitled Together Through Life, it has already received 4-star reviews from MOJO, The London Telegraph and the New York Times.
Over the course of a career that has spanned more than 30 years, John Mellencamp, consummate songwriter and performer, has released 23 albums with worldwide sales of over 40 million units while amassing 22 Top 40 hit songs. In 2008, the same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Life Death Love and Freedom, was issued which Rolling Stone called "one of the most compelling albums of Mellencamp's career" and placed it among the top 5 albums of the year. Mellencamp's ties to Willie Nelson date back to 1985, the year they joined forces to mount the first Farm Aid benefit concert that also featured a stellar set from Bob Dylan. Besides rallying his friends each year to support Farm Aid, Willie Nelson is quite possibly the most prolific recording artist in any genre of music. In the past five years alone he's released no less than a dozen records, and when he's not in the studio recording new albums, he fills time writing books, acting in feature films and generally keeping a pace unimaginable for someone half his age.
Tickets On Sale Saturday, May 30 at 10:00am. All tickets $68.50 and are general admission, allowing fans to grab a seat in the stands or find a place to watch from the field. Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 30 at Banner Island Ballpark Box Office, online at www.Stocktonports.com or by phone at 209-644-1900. *Children 14 and under get in free with each adult ticket holder. Showtime is 5:30pm and gates open at 5:00. There is no baseball game on the day of the show.
California League Stories from May 14, 2009
- Late Inning Rally Gives Ports Victory Over 66ers - Inland Empire 66ers
- Ports to Host Dylan, Mellencamp, Nelson in Concert - Stockton Ports
- Quakes Squander Chances, Lose 7-3 - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- New Look Lineup Leads JetHawks Past Storm - Lancaster JetHawks
- 66ers bats come alive in 6-5 win - Inland Empire 66ers
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