This week, THE CCM UPDATE launches an article series: "On the Road in 2001." In her report, Associate Editor Joan Brasher covers the acts and issues that will characterize next year's Christian touring market.
First-time Headliners Take the Stage in Spring 2001
AFTER A TYPICALLY glutted fall, few top acts are hitting the road in spring 2001, leaving the door open for a more diverse line-up of artists to compete for consumers' ticket-buying dollars. Without headliners Point of Grace, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, dc talk, Jars of Clay, Jaci Velasquez or Newsboys to fill their calendars, promoters are looking to others to fill out the spring tour season.
Amid what some are calling a "soft spring," the teen package of Plus One, Stacie Orrico and Rachael Lampa is becoming the most talked about bill available in spring 2001.
Tour organizers have recruited Amy Tinkham, well known on the genera l market tour circuit (Mariah Carey, Dixie Chicks), to produce the two-hour concert that will target 4,000-seat auditoriums and feature high-end production, lighting and choreography. The setup that includes four buses for artists, crew and full band, is atypical for a trio of acts who were all but unknown a year ago. But the speed with which they have broken in the Christian and general markets has shifted that paradigm dramatically.
"We've never seen anything like this in Christian music," said Charles Dorris, vice president of The William Morris Agency (Nashville), which books Plus One. "There will still be artists who will break in a more traditional fashion, but what is happening with these artists is indicating that just like the secular marketplace with Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, it can happen the same way -- very quick."
After studying other events that target a pre-teen crowd, decisions were made to do the Plus One tour differently from traditional Christian concerts. The show will be shorter with no intermission, and time has been set aside for post-show autographs. Pending a major pop hit in the mean-time, the Plus One tour is focused almost exclusively at the Christian marketplace.
Without dc talk and Newsboys as headliners, the path is clearer for The O.C. Supertones, to make their mark between Feb. 9 and May 12 in the rock market.
Rather than going for big production, the group is focusing on a concept tour, the "Loud and Clear Dance Party USA," to draw fans while keeping production costs and ticket prices low. With re:think/ Sparrow's Switchfoot and Gotee's Relient K as openers, The Supertones will trek to 60 cities nationwide, playing 1,500- to 2,500-seat auditoriums, gyms and all-purpose rooms.
The tour's theme, drawn from The Supertones' new recording, will focus on recreating the feel of a high school dance, complete with streamers, a photo booth, balloons, dance contests and even a tour book fashioned after a high school year book.
"We knew that dc talk, Newsboys and Audio A weren't really going to be out much, if at all, in the spring," said The Supertones' manager David Bahnsen. "We just thought it was a great opportunity to try to do something real extensive, so we bumped it up from 30 to 60 cities ... and started developing the concept."
"The Supertones dance party will be fun," said Road Home Productions' Robbie Marshall. We've always let kids mosh with supervision but we have never had a dance deal like this."
Nashville-based Interl'inc will get the word out to 10,000 youth pastors with a promo video, and tour materials will be available to promoters to create the mood in their respective venues.
Also in the rock vein is Gotee artist Jennifer Knapp, who after opening for major acts like dc talk, Third Day and Jars of Clay, will headline her first tour. She's bringing with her Watershed Records artist Bebo Norman and Five Minute Walk's Justin McRoberts. The "Back 40" tour will target 40 college markets Knapp has never visited, including some out-of-the-way places like Mount Vernon, Ohio, Northfork, Va., and Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). Venues will include college auditoriums and churches.
Also headlining their tour with only two albums under their belt is ForeFront Records artist Raze. "The Amazing Pop Invasion Tour," which includes Sparrow's Tammy Trent, Pamplin artist Aurora and a yet-to-be-decided fourth act, is geared heavily toward the church. The 40-city tour will hit major markets like Minneapolis, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Atlanta and Orlando and will target mostly 1,500-seat churches and civic centers. Raze plans to perform midweek concerts at school assemblies to help draw the six- to 18-year-old demographic -- a tactic that worked well in the fall on the Audio Adrenaline tour.
Integrating fans into the mix, the tour will include pre-show activities like "extreme" games, karaoke and auditions to be on- stage dancers.
Third Day has decided to extend their momentum from its recent fall 2000 tour to 30 spring dates rather than waiting until fall 2001. Sparrow artist Kendall Payne will return, and talks are underway with Vertical Music's Lincoln Brewster, according to Creative Artist Agency's John Huie.
"Third Day wasn't planning to go out until fall but was redirected because the fall will be log-jammed," Huie said. "They are on a roll."
NewSong returns to the tour circuit with its multi-artist bill in 24 winter "Jam" dates in January and February. This year's package will include NewSong, Audio Adrenaline, Bryan Duncan, new Flicker Records artist Pillar, Benson trio Whisper Loud and Reunion Records new artist Joy Williams. The show will hit cities in Texas, Oklahoma and the Southeast.
Part 2 of our series will report on other tours hitting the road in spring and fall 2001, plus concert ticket pricing in the Christian market.
