July 11, 2019

TOM NETHERLAND | SPECIAL TO THE HERALD COURIER

Music Notes

“I love those bright lights and country music.”

So goes the country classic by Bill Anderson. Hear the Country Music Hall of Fame member sing that and many more when he makes his career-first appearance in Bristol on Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Paramount Center for the Arts.

Long beloved as Whisperin’ Bill, the veteran singer and songwriter of such standards as “City Lights” for Ray Price and “Still” for himself, expressed nearly a decade ago his wish to perform in the Birthplace of Country Music. That night, he sat backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and remembered some time spent in Bristol.

“That night, it was back in the ’60s,” said Anderson, “I did an interview on radio in Bristol. But to the best of my recollection, I have never performed in Bristol. But I want to.”

Tickets for Anderson’s concert are on sale now. At press time, prime tickets remain, including a handful on the front row. They start at $27, culminate at $47 and amount to priceless moments to come.

Announcement of Anderson’s date in Bristol accompanied two more. Fellow member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Mel Tillis, died in 2017. His son, Mel Tillis Jr., continues. With his band, The Memory Makers, the son of the late country legend drops by the Paramount on Friday, Sept. 13.

On sale now, tickets to see Mel Tillis Jr. run from $22 to $27.

Hold the hoss for one more. Country’s Lorrie Morgan turns up at the Paramount on Sunday, Oct. 6. Daughter of Country Music Hall of Fame member George Morgan, Lorrie Morgan emerged in the late 1980s and ’90s ablaze such hits as “What Part of No” and “Five Minutes.”

Paramount Bristol