{"id":1453316,"date":"2018-12-20T09:07:13","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T14:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/?p=1453316"},"modified":"2018-12-20T09:08:14","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T14:08:14","slug":"not-so-silent-night-tour-brings-lonestar-phil-vassar-to-weinberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/2018\/12\/20\/not-so-silent-night-tour-brings-lonestar-phil-vassar-to-weinberg\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Not So Silent Night Tour&#8217; brings Lonestar, Phil Vassar to Weinberg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XmJ2XPg6yzk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Christmas season typically abounds with images of Santa and \u201cSilent Night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not this year, Santa.<\/p>\n<p>It will be a \u201cNot So Silent Night\u201d when singer\/songwriter Phil Vassar\u2019s holiday tour, featuring Lonestar, stops at the Weinberg Center on Saturday. Show time is 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 to $75.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia native Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s and, in addition to songwriting, is known as a piano-pounding powerhouse on stage. His signature songs include \u201cCarlene,\u201d \u201cJust Another Day in Paradise,\u201d \u201cSix-Pack Summer\u201d and \u201cWhen I Love You.\u201d He\u2019s also written hit songs for other artists, including Alan Jackson\u2019s \u201cRight on the Money,\u201d Tim McGraw\u2019s \u201cFor A Little While,\u201d Collin Raye\u2019s \u201cLittle Red Rodeo,\u201d and \u201cBye Bye,\u201d recorded by Jo Dee Messina.<\/p>\n<p>Joining him on this tour is the 1990\u2019s chart-topping band Lonestar, whose hits include \u201cAmazed,\u201d \u201cNo News,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m Already There,\u201d \u201cMr. Mom,\u201d \u201cWhat About Now\u201d and \u201cWalking in Memphis.\u201d The band members all hail from Texas \u2014 Michael Britt, lead guitar, backing vocals; Richie McDonald, lead vocals, piano; Keech Rainwater, drums; and Dean Sams, keyboards, acoustic guitar and backing vocals.<\/p>\n<p>For this tour, Vassar joined with Lonestar to record the new Christmas single, \u201cNot So Silent Night.\u201d One hundred percent of the proceeds from sales of the single will benefit the Salvation Army, nationwide. The video was filmed at Vassar\u2019s home over two nights, with the performance being filmed on one night and the not-so-silent-night craziness on a second night.<\/p>\n<p>The tour kicked off Nov. 30 in Biloxi, Mississippi, and it will end here in Frederick on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been so much fun,\u201d said Lonestar\u2019s Britt in a recent phone interview from the Nashville area, where all the band members live \u201cwithin a dart\u2019s throw\u201d of each other. The show \u201chas so many moving parts with two bands and two sets of equipment on the stage,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s a logistical nightmare! We spent three days rehearsing before the first show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, he said, by the time the 12-date tour gets to Frederick, \u201cwe\u2019re going to be having a blast!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Britt said the audience will hear \u201csome Lonestar hits, some Christmas songs, some of Phil\u2019s hits and some more Christmas songs,\u201d some featuring new arrangements as both artists join together to sing them. Vassar and McDonald unite to sing \u201cWalking in Memphis\u201d at the piano. Vassar will sing some Lonestar songs; Lonestar will sing some Vassar-penned songs, including \u201cJust Another Day in Paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a song we almost recorded,\u201d Britt said.<\/p>\n<p>Actually, they did record it for an album but before it was released, Vassar got his first recording contract and wanted the song back.<\/p>\n<p>He said Lonestar has always included some holiday music in their show at this time of year, but this is the first time they have been part of a tour like this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve known Phil over the years,\u201d Britt said. \u201cDean Sams talked to Phil one day and he suggested the tour and invited us along. We said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At each show, a female representative from the local Salvation Army will join Lonestar and Vassar on stage to sing a song with them. The representative in Frederick is slated to be Lt. Carla Raymer, corps officer with the Frederick office. Volunteer bell ringers with the SA\u2019s signature red kettles will be set up at the Weinberg to accept donations, too, one hour before doors open.<\/p>\n<p>Carla Raymer will rehearse the two songs she will be singing with Lonestar and Phil Vassar during soundcheck the afternoon of the concert.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s ready,\u201d said her husband, Lt. Chris Raymer, also with the Frederick Salvation Army office. She will join the artists for \u201cWonderland\u201d and \u201cLet It Snow,\u201d he said. She has a degree in early childhood education with a focus on music from Georgia State University. Her performance experience includes church and choral music.<\/p>\n<h5>From Kiss to Lonestar<\/h5>\n<p>As an air-guitar playing young teen, Britt\u2019s dream was to be in a rock band, like Kiss. A few years later, living in Austin, Texas, he discovered blues, then country music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI realized I could play all the blues licks and the rock licks in country, plus it has its own style and it\u2019s more fun to play,\u201d Britt said.<\/p>\n<p>All the band members are from Texas and in the very early years, they played several sets a night, four to five nights a week on the Texas bar circuit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you add all those shows up, we played about 280 dates a year,\u201d Britt said.<\/p>\n<p>Once they signed a record deal as Lonestar, 26 years ago, they played about 160 to 180 dates a year, he said. Today, it\u2019s about 70 to 80.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are so few places to play Monday through Wednesday, we generally do weekends and play like rock stars,\u201d Britt said, and that leaves time for family and other interests, like the latest in technology for musicians. Sams, for instance, works in lighting, Rainwater produces and edits music videos and McDonald is the bus mechanic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s his way of tinkering. He keeps us off the side of the road,\u201d Britt said.<\/p>\n<p>The bus pulls into Frederick on Saturday. For tickets or more information, call 301-600-2828 or visit www.weinbergcenter.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Christmas season typically abounds with images of Santa and \u201cSilent Night.\u201d Not this year, Santa. It will be a \u201cNot So Silent Night\u201d when singer\/songwriter Phil Vassar\u2019s holiday tour,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1453317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-1453316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-concerts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1453316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1453317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1453316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1453316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1453316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}