Corey Smith comes back to Track 29
Tickets on sale now for September concert
The last time country music bad boy Corey Smith was in Chattanooga, the sold-out show at the just-opened Track 29 concert hall made headlines, created headaches for the club owners and heated up tension with the local police.
But that is all water under the bridge as venue management announced this week that Smith will be returning for another show this September, almost a year to the day of his news-making concert in 2011.
Tickets for the Sept. 14 show are on sale now, and venue owner Adam Kinsey said any artist as popular as Smith is always welcome to play Track 29.
Smith said in the past five years he has played 650 concerts, selling more than 600,000 tickets and grossing $7.5 million in revenue. His six albums, each independently released, have sold more than 150,000 copies, according to Smith.
"Regardless of what happened, when there is an artist who sells out and people in Chattanooga want to see, we want [that artist] to come back," Kinsey said.
The 2011 show ended abruptly over a disputed song on Smith's set list, which he wrote about a Chattanooga police officer. Last year, Smith said he was asked by venue staff not to perform the song "F the Po Po," a request he ignored. Audio to Smith's mic was cut after he started the song, and the concert ended early.
At the time, Smith told Nooga.com he is often asked well in advance not to play that or other songs that are inappropriate for certain audiences, but not when he is about to walk on stage.
Kinsey said that this year contract negotiations for the upcoming show may have gone a bit differently, "but I think both parties might be a little bit more sensitive to the nature of his music," he said.
Fans will have to wait and see if Smith performs the song in September, according to Kinsey, who would not comment on specific details discussed during the recent negotiations or if the artist agreed not to perform the song this time.
The concert will, no doubt, feature music from Smith's new release, "The Broken Record," which is already charting singles on iTunes.
"It contains old songs brought to life with more color and drama, as well as new songs stripped down to their essentials. For newcomers, 'The Broken Record' will be a definitive and comprehensive introduction, while longtime fans will discover it is my most revealing self-portrait, underscoring the familiar alongside the unexpected," Smith wrote in his bio.
Click here to find more information about the show and tickets.
