The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is ready and the first concert of 2019 to held this weekend is Alabama.  

Alabama changed everything for country music. Since 1980, Alabama has delivered hit after hit, starting with their first Top 20 hit “My Home’s In Alabama.” Since then, Alabama brought country music to the mainstream and from side stage to the main stage by introducing rock style guitars, lights, pyrotechnics and sounds to the country audience.

It’s the kind of story you read about in books and watch on the big screen at the movies. For the band Alabama, it’s not just a story; it’s their life. It is a classic American tale of rags to riches. From humble beginnings picking cotton in the fields to international stars that went on to sell 73 million albums while changing the face and sound of country music.

It's been over 40 years since Randy, Jeff and Teddy, left the cotton farms of Fort Payne, Alabama, to spend the summer playing in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina bar called The Bowery. Having grown up working in the fields, the cousins were no strangers to hard work. They didn’t flinch when it took six long years of working for tips and living hand to mouth playing in the bar.

"We were renegades in sneakers and T-shirts," says Teddy. "We had long hair and played loud and some of the country folks resisted us for a while. But then of course they did accept us and then after that, our success made it lots easier for other bands to try it in country music," concluded Gentry. Bands benefitting from that breakthrough include Zac Brown Band, Florida Georgia Line and Eli Young Band.

They have also inspired many of today’s brightest country stars including Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan as well as pop and rock stars from Ed Sheeran to Jon Bon Jovi.

While their music continues to stand the test of time, their numbers and stats are beyond compare. The band has sold over 80 million albums. They have charted 43 #1 singles including 21 #1 singles in a row, a record that will likely never be surpassed in any genre. They have won over 178 CMA Awards, Grammy Awards, ACM Awards and counting. They’ve earned 21 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum albums and were named the RIAA's Country Group of the Century. They are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame and have a start on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They are also world-class philanthropists who have raised over 250 million dollars for charity.

The band continues to perform to legions of loyal fans, selling out venues night after night. They were honored with the ACM Career Achievement Award at the Ryman Auditorium in the Fall of 2015 and were named “Album Of The Year” at the 2015 Dove Awards for ANGELS AMONG US: HYMNS & GOSPEL FAVORITES.

Tickets:

$129.00 - Seated Pit and Level 102 Rows A-E

$104.00 Level 101, Level 103 and Level 102 Rows F and beyond

$74.00 - Level 200

$64.00 - Level 300

$52.00 - Obstructed view