Alabama postpones concert at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre again due to illness
From a press release:
A week before their rescheduled date, Country Music Hall of Famers Alabama announced today that they must postpone their 50th anniversary performance at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township again due to illness.
Alabama is postponing the remainder of their 50th Anniversary Tour due to lead singer Randy Owen’s ongoing complications with cluster migraines and vertigo. The group had hoped to continue its record-breaking 50-city tour, but doctors have advised more time is needed for Owen to fully recover.
Bass player and vocalist Teddy Gentry released the following statement:
“The 50th Anniversary Tour has been very special to us. The support of the fans and their energy at all of our shows has led to some of the most fun we’ve ever had onstage. As disappointed as myself, Randy, and Jeff are to have to postpone this tour for all of our incredible fans, we know that Randy’s recovery is what is most important for everyone at this time. We would like to thank our fans, promoters, and venues, and we look forward to seeing you all soon.”
Rescheduled dates for the tour will be announced in the coming weeks. Refunds can be made at the original point of purchase, the NBT Bank Box Office at Mohegan Sun Arena (255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre), ticketmaster.com, and all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets for the originally scheduled performance will be honored on the new date.
The band was first scheduled to stop in Wilkes-Barre on April 12 with The Charlie Daniels Band, then rescheduled for Aug. 29 when Owen came down with “a severe sinus infection and an infected throat.”
It’s been 50 years since Randy Owen, Jeff Cook, and Teddy Gentry left the cotton farms of Fort Payne, Alabama to spend the summer playing music in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina bar called The Bowery. It is a classic American tale of rags to riches, from humble beginnings picking cotton in the fields to international stars that went on to sell 80 million albums while changing the face and sound of country music.
Quality songs that have become the soundtrack for American life are the foundation for Alabama’s stellar career. Alabama introduced rock-style guitars, lights, pyrotechnics, and sounds to the country audience that has inspired many of today’s brightest country stars, including Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan.
“I thank God I’m here to see these great artists see fit to sing some of the songs we did,” says Owen, with the everyman sincerity that has helped so many identify with the humbly born superstars.
“More than anything, our longevity is a tribute to the hard work we did in selecting songs because it’s the songs that people remember,” Gentry says.
“We were renegades in sneakers and T-shirts. We had long hair and played loud and some of the country folks resisted us for a while. But then, of course, they did accept us, and then after that, our success made it lots easier for other bands to try it in country music.”
While their music continues to stand the test of time, their numbers and stats are beyond compare. Five decades since starting the band, Alabama has charted 43 No. 1 singles, including 21 No. 1 singles in a row, and have won over 179 CMA Awards, Grammy Awards, and ACM Awards. They are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame and have their own star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They are also world-class philanthropists who have raised over 250 million dollars for charity.
“A lot of fans will start a conversation with, ‘I don’t want to bother you,'” says Cook, “but what they don’t understand is that everything that’s happened to us, every one of those awards, happened because we’ve been accepted and supported by our fans.”
