The Murphy Arts District is continuing to roll out its entertainment lineup for 2024 and recently announced that country-music hitmaker Mark Chesnutt will headline a show on Feb. 23 in the First Financial Music Hall, 101 E. Locust.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale, with prices ranging from $34 to $79.
"We are thrilled to have Mark Chesnutt performing at the First Financial Music Hall," said Pam Griffin, MAD president and CEO. "It's an honor to have such a legendary Country music artist grace our city. I hope to see all the community come out for a great night of music," Griffin continued.
Chesnutt is considered one of country's "true musical treasures," according to a press release.
The Beaumont, Texas native, fits into the "neo-traditionalist country" category, which places a strong emphasis on traditional county-music vocal stylings, an instrumental background and a honky-tonk influence.
Critics have hailed Chesnutt "as a classic country singer of the first order" and that sentiment has been echoed by some of country music's most elite and iconic voices, including George Strait and the late George Jones, to which Chesnutt has often drawn comparison.
Chesnutt's stature within the country music industry is easily gauged with 14 number one hits, 23 top 10 singles, four platinum albums and five gold records to his credit.
He achieved his greatest chart success between 1990 and 1999. Chesnutt made his major record-label debut in 1990 with his second studio album, "Too Cold at Home."
The album spawned five singles that charted and the title song, "Too Cold at Home," reached number one on the country music charts.
The album was certified as platinum and set the stage for a string of Billboard number one singles that followed throughout the 90s, including "Brother Jukebox," "Blame It On Texas," "Old Flames Have New Names," "Old Country," "It Sure Is Monday," "Almost Goodbye," "I Just Wanted You To Know," "Going Through The Big D," "It's A Little Too Late," and "Gonna Get A Life."
One of Chesnutt's biggest singles, "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," a held its position at the top of the charts for four consecutive weeks.
Now, more than 30 years after the release of "Too Cold at Home," Chesnutt is a much sought-after country music artist and maintains a front-and-center presence with a
hefty tour schedule each year, the press release said.
With a trademarked voice, music critics have said that Chesnutt set the bar for his generation and those that who have followed in his footsteps in shaping the sound of today's country music newcomers and the new country music format, just as Strait, Jones and Waylon Jennings did for Chesnutt.
An announcement is forthcoming about the opening act for Chesnutt's show in February.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.eldomad.com or by calling the MAD box office at 870-444-3007. Also, stop by the box office at 101 E. Locust from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday - Friday.