A little bit of country keeps Show Me Center rolling

Country duo Brooks & Dunn are well-known in country music -- they've been named "Entertainers of the Year" four times by fans. With Tuesday's announcement of a concert in Cape Girardeau this spring, the big-name band expanded a large lineup of events for families scheduled in coming months at the Show Me Center.

Concerts are planned almost every two weeks from March through April at the Show Me Center. Concert promoters are learning that the facility is a nice one and ideal for smaller concerts and shows, said Brad Gentry, marketing director for the center.

"Concerts are realizing that they need to hit the secondary and tertiary markets," Gentry said.

Initially, performers wanted the largest venues they could find because that meant lots of money, but now performers tend to like intimate crowds. The Show Me Center usually has a sell-out show when ticket sales reach between 6,000 and 7,000.

Brooks & Dunn last played in Cape Girardeau in 1995 to a near sell-out crowd. Tickets for the April 1 "Red Dirt Road" concert tour go on sale Saturday.

The tour has added some new dimensions with video images and technology that will draw the audience into the show, said Brooks & Dunn video engineer Mike Bischof.

In the past year, the Show Me Center has been host to Christian musicians Zoegirl and Audio Adrenaline with MercyMe, country music acts Toby Keith, Neal McCoy and Rascal Flatts and rock bands Nickelback and matchbox twenty.

In the next two months, the arena will host the Imagine Tour with MercyMe, Amy Grant and Bebo Norman on March 4 and a WWE wrestling event March 27. The Brooks & Dunn show is followed by a performance of "CATS" on April 23 and then the Lipizzaner Stallions a week later. Comedian Ron White, part of the Blue Collar Tour, will take the stage May 6.

With the addition of the university's River Campus, the Show Me Center is trying to add some fine arts shows and plays to get the community "warmed up to that type of entertainment," Gentry said. A series of Broadway-style shows could be offered later.

Right now most of the shows being planned are family shows, and those also offer lower ticket prices which help to bring in crowds, Gentry said.

"There's always a need for family entertainment," he said.

That's why comedian Ron White is considered a hit -- he's an entertainer on the Blue Collar Tour who critics have compared favorably to Larry the Cable Guy, who sold out in his Show Me Center performance last month.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126