"We"ve got next March" with Kenny Rogers

The legendary Kenny Rogers - loved in this country so snap your tickets up the minute they go on sale - is to perform at The O2, Dublin, on Tuesday March 24 next.Raglane Entertainment is bringing Rogers over, and tickets, at €66.25 including booking fee will be on sale from 9am on Friday August 22nd, from Ticketmaster outlets.With more than 70 hit singles across various music genres and hundreds of awards including American Music Awards, Grammy Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, Kenny Rogers is one of the most influential artists of all time.By now, Kenny Rogers has become such an icon that it"s easy to forget how he got there. On his most recent compilation release, 42 Ultimate Hits, he brings together the top songs of his career from the late 60s First Edition years up to his current return to the charts, offering a crash-course reminder that Rogers is a star because he excels at his craft.Just look at the roll call of classic titles: 'Lady,' 'Ruby Don"t Take Your Love to Town,' 'The Gambler,' 'She Believes in Me,' 'Islands in the Stream,' 'We"ve Got Tonight,' 'Buy Me A Rose.'The sweetly raspy vocals are instantly identifiable as Kenny Rogers - he sounds like nobody else. More importantly, he inhabits each song, making it vivid and tangible. For more than five decades, Rogers has delivered memorable songs, drawing fans among rock, pop, soul and country audiences. .Houston-born Rogers formed his first band while in high school in 1956 and never quit making music from that point on. The rockabilly group, called The Scholars, got a record deal and released two singles that had local success, and led to a performance spot on American Bandstand. Soon afterward, Rogers joined the Bobby Doyle Trio, playing stand-up bass in the jazz band, and appearing on their album. In 1966 he became a member of the New Christy Minstrels, the popular folk group, leaving a year later to form The First Edition with other members of the troupe.His song 'The Gambler,' a story song so vivid it not only delighted country and pop fans, became a TV movie, starring Rogers himself in the title role. The movie spawned four follow-ups, making it the longest running miniseries franchise on television. It started Rogers on a second career as an actor on television and movies, including another TV movie based on one of his hit songs, 'Coward of the County.'As the 1980s wound down, so did Rogers " chart success. Gone from the radio, Rogers kept busy in other ways. He would establish himself as a well-respected photographer, publishing several books, and being invited to the White House to shoot a portrait of First Lady Hillary Clinton. He authored several short stories, and appeared off-Broadway in his Christmas musical, The Toy Shoppe which he subsequently toured. And he never stopped making music.Success in recent years includes the Billboard Country Charts Top 5 album Water & Bridges. Kenny Rogers will also play The Odyssey Arena in Belfast on Wednesday March 25th, 2009.Tickets from usual Ticketmaster outlets and Ticketmaster 24 hour credit card line on 0818 719 300 or online at www.ticketmaster.ie