By Dave Parsons
It has been a decade since Randy Travis was fighting for his life after suffering a stroke trigged by a rare form of heart failure. Although Travis’ mind is fine, his speech and mobility are limited. However, on October 24, 2023 he and his wife got to enjoy sitting on the stage at the Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena stage in Huntsville, Alabama. And watch a tribute show dedicated to him called ‘A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis -1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time.
A portion of the proceeds from the evening will go to the Randy Travis Foundation, which focuses on stroke and aphasia awareness and supporting music education in schools. The large crowd at the arena that evening were treated to an all-star concert put on by entertainers of many different genres. Each act did a song that Randy Travis had a hit with during his multi-decade career in country music. Travis’ band that he used on the road during his career provided the backing for the evening.
James Dupre, who competed on the Voice a few years ago, was hand picked by Randy and Mary Travis as the guest vocalist to tour with Travis’ band in 2019. Dupre opened the show, and performed two other classic Randy Travis songs during the 2 hours show. He set the tone for the evening at the outset before giving way to country legend T. Graham Brown and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.
Hicks was followed by veteran country music artists Mark Collie, Jamie O’Neal and John Berry. Self-taught piano prodigy, Jacob Tolliver, offered a great performance of “Honky-Tonk Side Of Town” , followed by David Nail’s acoustic offering of “Promises” and newer traditional country artists Tony Jackson and Garrett Miles each showing the staying power of Travis’ music to a third generation of country fans.
Longtime country artists Lorrie Morgan, Jerrod Niemann, Shane Owens, Thompson Square and Darryl Worley each took their turn telling of stories of time on the road touring with Randy Travis, or just the influence he had on their careers.
New country sensation, Kane Brown wowed the crowd with his version of “Three Wooden Crosses”, and the following acts of Shenandoah, Craig Campbell and Aaron Lewis showed again how much Travis’ music is still relevant and viable today.
The encore of the evening was a rendition of “Amazing Grace” was the highlight, with most of the acts on the stage together, which brought down the house. As billed, it was “1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time” that no one in the audience will ever forget.
Randy Travis Tribute Show Setlist:
1 JAMES DUPRE – It’s Just A Matter Of Time
2 T. GRAHAM BROWN – Digging Up Bones
3 TAYLOR HICKS – Honky Tonk Moon
4 MARK COLLIE – Deeper Than The Holler
5 JAMIE O’NEAL – Before You Kill Us All
6 JOHN BERRY – Point Of Light
7 JACOB TOLLIVER – Honky Tonk Side Of Town
8 DAVID NAIL – Promises
9 TONY JACKSON – Is It Still Over?
10 GARRETT MILES – A Horse Called Music
11 LORRIE MORGAN – I Told You So
12 JAMES DUPREE – On The Other Hand
13 JERROD NIEMANN – Look Heart, No Hands
14 SHANE OWENS – Heroes And Friends
15 THOMPSON SQUARE – If I Didn’t Have You
16 DARRYL WORLEY – 1982
17 KANE BROWN – Three Wooden Crosses
18 SHENANDOAH – Baptism
19 CRAIG CAMPBELL – He Walked On Water
20 AARON LEWIS – The Hole
21 JAMES DUPREE – Forever and Ever Amen
Encore:
22 ALL CAST – Amazing Grace
Photo Gallery : Randy Travis All-Star Tribute Concert – Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena (10.24.2023)
