HUNTINGTON — Arista Nashville recording artist Jason Michael Carroll will join country superstar Carrie Underwood at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 14.
Tickets are $35, $45 and $55, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 304-523-5757 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
Carroll recently left many people in the Tri-State buzzing about his performance at the Highway 23 Jamboree at Ashland’s Paramount Arts Center.
With the release of his debut album “Waitin’ in the Country,” Carroll took the country music scene by storm with his rich baritone vocals and uniquely talented songwriting skills. His first two self-penned singles, "Alyssa Lies" and "Livin’ Our Love Song," became back-to-back Top 5 hits, with Carroll becoming Billboard’s Top New Country Artist of 2007. The CD made its entry on the charts at No. 1, selling 58,000 copies in the first week. The 11-track collection, five of which were written by Carroll, also debuted at No. 8 on Billboard’s Top 200 all-music chart, which hadn’t happened by any new male country star since Tri-State native Billy Ray Cyrus hit the scene in 1992.
Some of Nashville’s best songwriters also appear on this album, including multi-platinum recording artist Jewel, who calls Carroll’s music "refreshing" and says "he’s got one of the greatest voices of all time." Jewel is featured on "No Good in Goodbye," which she co-wrote with Carroll and Shaye Smith.
Carroll’s third single, "I Can Sleep When I’m Dead," was recently released to radio and has rapidly become the singer’s third hit, cracking country music’s Top 40 singles and still heating up the charts. The song was spawned during a writing session with one of Nashville’s legendary songwriters, Rivers Rutherford. Carroll said that he used to play all night on Saturdays and drive more than eight hours after the show to be home with his four children on Sunday. Rutherford asked him, ‘When do you sleep?’ Carroll said, "I can sleep when I’m dead," and became the song they wrote that day.
Born in North Carolina to a preacher, Carroll spent years not being allowed to listen to "secular music," so church music was an early influence. As a teen, his big break came when he won a pop radio station’s karaoke contest. As a result, he was asked to join a local country band that was losing its singer. After being terminated because they felt his dreams and goals were different from theirs, he was fired from his first band.
"I thought my music career was over and I actually cried," he said.
But with a strong will and determination to succeed, Carroll began to spread his writing wings and, after many years of performing, landed a recording contract with Nashville-based Arista Records.
Carroll’s dynamic and energetic stage performance has kept fans buzzing coast-to-coast as he packs them in night after night. However, fans aren’t the only ones taking notice. In his rapid rise to stardom, Carroll has received praise from such outlets as USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, People, Billboard, Country Weekly, Reader’s Digest, and many others. He has also made several national television appearances including, Good Morning America and Fox & Friends.
Since his debut release, Carroll has taken the stage opening shows for country superstars like Trace Adkins, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley and also spent several months in 2007 co-headlining the Raisin’ the Bar Tour with Bucky Covington.
Carroll will also be headlining many of his own shows throughout the summer.
For a complete list of dates and news, visit www.jasonmichaelcarroll.com or www.myspace.com/jasonmichaelcarroll.
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