Travis Tritt returning to the NPAC

VW independent staff/submitted information

Country music superstar Travis Tritt is coming back to Van Wert.

Van Wert Live has announced Tritt and his band will perform a full night of country classics at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. The show is presented by founding sponsor the Niswonger Foundation and the 2024 spring sponsors, JoAnne Wolford, Gary Taylor, Jim and Mary Pope, Ken and Marilyn Merkle, Roger and Kay Okuley, Danfoss, TekniPlex, Van Wert Federal, Mercy Health, and Laing Family Dentistry. Tritt previously performed locally in January of 2019, and the show was sold out.

30 years after launching his music career, the southern rock-influenced artist continues to sell-out shows and stay true and relevant to country music fans across the globe by performing shows and withholding a heavy appearance schedule.

The highly abbreviated Tritt timeline started when the young Marietta, Georgia native incorporated his lifelong influences of southern rock, blues, and gospel into his country during a honky-tonk apprenticeship that led him to Warner Bros. in 1989. Over the course of a decade, Travis released seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label. His 1990 debut Country Club and its succession of hits put him in the vanguard of the genre’s early ’90s boom, dubbing him as one of “The Class of ‘89,” which included country music superstars Garth Brooks, Clint Black, and Alan Jackson; all who dominated the charts in the early ‘90s.

“Country Club,” “Help Me Hold On,” “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” and “Drift Off to Dream” peaked at No. 2 and 3 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, all which led for Tritt to win Top New Male Artist award from Billboard and the CMA Horizon Award (now known as the Best New Artist Award). Additionally, in 1991, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) marked Tritt’s debut album Country Club as certified platinum, then in 1992, the world-famous Grand Ole Opry extended an invitation for Tritt to become a member.

Two years after his debut, his sophomore album, It’s All About to Change, was released. Literally speaking, this album changed everything when the album shipped three million copies and all four of its singles reached the top five on the country music charts. Along with his first album, this release became triple-platinum certified by the RIAA.

At the same time, Tritt’s conspicuous lack of a cowboy hat and musical assertiveness set him apart. The next series of albums, seven of which are certified platinum or higher, scored him more hit singles and led him to amass more than 30 million in career album sales, two Grammys, three CMA Awards, and a devoted fan base that has filled venues coast-to-coast.

He performed at the 1996 Olympics, two Super Bowls, a World Series Game, the opening of the Georgia Dome, the final Braves game at Atlanta-Fulton Country Stadium, and, in 2013, the NCAA men’s basketball championship.

In 2012, Tritt formed his own label, Post Oak Recordings, and shortly after released his album, The Calm After… In 2016, Tritt released a new project, a special live two-disc CD and DVD, titled A Man and His Guitar – Live From The Franklin Theatre. The release shot and recorded at the historic Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee, spotlights Tritt’s distinctively soulful voice and his exceptional guitar prowess in an intimate theater setting.

In late 2014 and throughout 2015, Tritt’s compilation album, Very Best of Travis Tritt, that was originally released in 2007, saw a sales resurgence as it topped the SoundScan Top 200 Catalog Country Albums chart for over 60 consecutive weeks with 15 weeks spent at No. 1 and 35+ weeks notched in a Top 5 position, while earning RIAA certified gold status by selling over 500,000 copies. The 20-track album features some of Tritt’s biggest hits, including “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive,” “Here’s A Quarter,” and “Anymore.”

In 2018, Tritt appeared on the music showcase series, Real Country, alongside Grammy Award-winning artist, Shania Twain and ACM Award-winning singer-songwriter, Jake Owen who hand-selected emerging solo artists, duos and groups to perform in showcases that spotlight the rich traditions, songs and themes of specific country genres. The show aired on USA Network.

In 2021, Tritt released a new album with award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, The Highwomen, Sturgill Simpson) through Big Noise Music Group. The album marked Tritt’s first original album release in over thirteen years.

Tickets from $59 are available now to Van Wert Live Members and will release to the public on Friday, December 15. VWLive Memberships begin as low as $100 and provide 365 days of early buying opportunities and a 10 percent discount for Van Wert Live events. Memberships and tickets can be purchased at vanwertlive.com or through the box office from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday, 419.238.6722.

The Van Wert Area Performing Arts Foundation presenting VWLive events is powered by the Van Wert County Foundation. 2023 Annual sponsors helping keep ticket prices low are Central Insurance, Statewide Ford, and First Federal Bank of Van Wert. The box office is located within the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, 10700 Ohio 118 S., Van Wert.