‘ALL IN FOR THE GAMBLER: KENNY ROGERS FAREWELL CELEBRATION’ FULL OF SURPRISES AND EMOTIONAL MOMENTS
Of course, the main focus of the evening was on the record-setting solo career Rogers embarked on in the mid-1970s, and those hits were on full display during the evening. Justin Moore nodded to the beginning of the singer’s hit making era with “Lucille,” with spellbinding performances taking place from Aaron Lewis (“Coward Of The County”, The Oak Ridge Boys (“Love Or Something Like It”), Chris Stapleton (“The Gambler”), Little Big Town (“Through The Years”), and Lady Antebellum (“She Believes In Me”). A special moment took place with the appearance of Don Henley – who once lived with Rogers and his family – to perform the classic “Desperado,” which Rogers cut in 1977 for his Daytime Friends album.
There were several other great musical moments during All In For The Gambler, with Naomi and Wynonna Judd reuniting for “Back To The Well,” and an all-star group of Rogers’ former opening acts paying tribute to the icon with a sing-along performance of his 1982 hit “Blaze Of Glory,” including Travis Tritt, The Gatlin Brothers, Kim Forester, T.G. Sheppard, Crystal Gayle, Lee Greenwood, T. Graham Brown, and Billy Dean.
Blackbird Presents’ Keith Wortman, creator and executive producer of Nashville’s recent highly acclaimed “Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard,” is the creator and executive producer of “All In For The Gambler.” GRAMMY® Award Winner Don Was served as music director, and presided over a stellar house band backing the performers at this historic concert event taping. Kenny Rogers’ manager, Ken Levitan, also served as executive producer. The event was filmed and recorded for multi-platform distribution throughout traditional media (worldwide broadcast, music, and digital).
About Blackbird Presents:
Blackbird Presents is a global media company that produces premium content via a range of strategies including large-scale concert events and festivals, broadcast series and specials, and music releases featuring major music stars across all genres and demographics.
Blackbird’s recent concerts, broadcast specials and releases include “Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard,” “The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson,” “Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert,” “Outlaw: Celebrating The Music of Waylon Jennings,” “I’ll Take You There: Celebrating 75 Years of Mavis Staples,” “The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris,” “Lynyrd Skynyrd: One More For The Fans,” “The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: Celebrating Mac and His Music,” and “All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman,” the latter of which earned a 2014 GRAMMY® Award nomination for Gregg Allman and Taj Mahal’s awe-inspiring performance of “Statesboro Blues.”
Blackbird Presents is also creator and producer behind the Outlaw Music Festival Tour, in partnership with Willie Nelson; the American Roots Music & Arts Festival, in partnership with Eric Church; and The Last Waltz 40 Tour.
Visit us at www.blackbirdpresents.com