Well dang. I was hoping after Ty Herndon made his brave announcement on Thursday that he's gay, he'd disappear and then come back in a year or so with the most amazing country album ever recorded (hey, it could happen) and he'd officially become the first openly gay country mega-star.
Now comes word that he's got a tell-all book that he's working on and he's announced a new tour, which should give the publicity conspiracy theorists loads of ammunition to claim that Ty's coming out was all just part of a big publicity ploy.
Well let the the naysayers naysay, I guess.
On Saturday it was announced that Ty is heading out on tour with the always amazing Jamie O'Neal and Andy Griggs.
Here's the full press release:
There’s an old saying about there being strength in numbers. Country Music fans will no doubt find that out with the upcoming tour that teams up three of Country Music’s most distinctive stylists of the past two decades – Ty Herndon, Andy Griggs, and Jamie O’Neal. Separately, the numbers don’t lie – and together, they are staggering – over 40 chart singles on the Billboard Country Singles chart and millions of records sold. Each artist has their own success story to tell, but when they are on stage, it’s truly a magical combination – one that will stay in the minds of fans well after the last bow.
Talk to either Ty, Andy or Jamie, and you will find nothing but respect for the other two artists. Andy said that he’s excited to be teaming up with a pair of artists that are among his favorites, though he does admit that opposites do attract. “We all blend together about like Tupac, Bill Monroe and Joan Rivers but somehow it works on stage! Go figure! But when we’re not singing our hearts out together it's the most awkward, misplaced, dysfunctional, hilarious carnival that has ever been displayed!” Andy expects being on the road with Ty and Jamie to be nothing short of...entertaining.
When discussing Jamie, Andy says “Take a phenomenal female vocalist. Now add a husband to go with that that has to carry her 10 piece luggage all over God's creation. Then, mix it with her having to put up with 2 guys that are more different than night and day and can't even agree on having a vocal rehearsal which in return drives her so far up the wall that she's on verge of quitting the whole tour at any given moment of any given day and that's Jamie,” he says, adding that Ty is also an interesting character, as well.
“God certainly displays his amazing sense of humor each time he places me and Ty on tour together! I've never known a guy that I had half of the things in life in common with (born in the Spirit filled Bible Belt, completely southern, in love with the same kind of music...etc..) but then again can't be any more different than John Wayne and Prince! There's no way for us to completely understand each other's taste buds of life and we don't even pretend to try. That would be a total waste of each other's time. It's the strange ironies and upside down compasses in life though that makes us all rich. With Ty and myself, we share 2 of the rarest things in common. I suppose they out trump the mountains of shortcomings and differences that lay between us. Those two qualities we share are: being real and true to our natures, and being friends.”
Jamie feels that the new partnership will definitely be entertaining – on stage and off. “I'm so excited to be a part of this. Ty and Andy are two of the best male vocalists from any genre. They're so funny, good looking, and just a couple of goofy smart asses! I just couldn't resist. Ty is the most well put together, smoothest control freak I've ever met. Andy is a cute, lovable redneck with the softest heart. I only know when we sang together for the first time something very special happened and here we are, taking the next obvious step.”
Ty believes that the fans are going to get their monies worth when seeing their show live. He knows he’s been entertained from the stage. “The first time the three of us did a show together I wondered how in the world this would ever work. At first we did separate shows, but as time went on we started doing our shows together. The crowd seemed to love the fact that they got all these hits in one 2 hour show. Then we started singing harmonies with each other. I noticed pretty quickly that we had something special. Three powerhouse vocalists coming together and taking things to a new level. I first noticed it when something went wrong on stage and we had to save our asses by singing something acapella. ‘Amazing Grace’ never sounded so good. It was magic!”
So far no tour dates have been announced.
Recent Comments