Photo courtesy of Patti McClintic and Think Country
Members of the media were invited to the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Wednesday, September 4th for a major announcement from country superstar, Randy Travis. Travis, who has been unable to tour for the last several years due to complications from a stroke, came bearing very good news. A new tour for 2019, with a twist. Travis’s wife Mary told the gathering that her husband always loved the road and that he will be right there on the tour, enjoying every minute of it, including engaging with fans, but he won’t be singing his songs.
Video courtesy of Patti McClintic, Think Country and YouTube
That’s where country artist James Dupré comes in. Dupré was hand-selected by Randy and Mary Travis to sing all of Travis’s songs on this tour. He is a close family friend and they feel his voice comes closest in delivery to Travis’s. They are completely comfortable with him standing in for Travis, and we were given a taste of how he’ll sound on the tour when Dupré sang Randy Travis’s hit, “Diggin’ Up Bones” in the Ford Theater. It was only one song, but that was all I needed. They absolutely chose the right guy.
Video courtesy of Patti McClintic, Think Country and YouTube
When the show hits the road Dupré will be singing all 16 of Travis’s number one hits, and the big bonus is he’ll be backed by Travis’s original band. This is going to be one tour you won’t want to miss. There are 12 cities on the schedule and as Mary Travis told me, they are just looking to “have a whole lot of fun”, and from what I can tell, fans are going to feed off the fun they’re having, and it’s going to be such a good time.
Be sure to check out the tour schedule (link below) to see if they’ll be coming to a city near you. If not, this one may be worth a little road trip. Good luck finding tickets to what’s bound to be one of the best tours of 2019!
The Music of Randy Travis 2019 Tour Tickets: https://www.randytravis.com/tour
James Dupré Website: https://www.jamesdupre.com/
