Press Contacts: Harry Forbes, WNET 212-560-8027 or ForbesH@wnet.org
Press materials: http://pressroom.pbs.org or http://www.thirteen.org/13pressroom
Website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GreatPerformances Twitter: @GPerfPBS
New Arts Strand Landmarks Live In Concert Continues with Brad Paisley on Great Performances Friday, January 27 at 9 p.m. on PBS Hosted By Chad Smith from The Red Hot Chili Peppers
The best-selling country artist returns home to perform before a crowd of 35,000 at West Virginia University
Brad Paisley – Landmarks Live in Concert – A Great Performances Special continues the new arts strand on Friday, January 27 at 9 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.) Each Landmarks Live in Concert special features an artist or band performing at a legendary destination of personal significance. Country music superstar Paisley returns to his roots in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains for a special outdoor concert before an audience of 35,000 from the Mountainlaire at West Virginia University. As the hit-maker behind 23 number one singles and the winner of just about every Country music award imaginable, Brad brings his unique skills as a singer songwriter, guitarist and entertainer back to his home state. 2
In addition to the WVU performance, Brad takes viewers on an up-close and personal tour of the campus and some of his special “hometown” places from a perspective and history that is his alone, in the process exploring his passion for sports and love of WV Athletics, some thoughts on the next chapter of his remarkably successful career, and of course his lifelong relationship with the place that started it all: the beautiful Mountain State of West Virginia.
Musical Program • Crushin’ It • American Saturday Night • Country Nation • This is Country Music • Southern Comfort Zone • I’m Gonna Miss Her • Take Me Home, Country Roads • Mud on the Tires • Alcohol
Eight episodes in all are planned for the first season. Chad Smith , the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, serves as host for the series and conducts one-on-one interviews with the artists exploring their favorite locations around each Landmark . The show is being shot in locations around the world, including London, Paris, New York, Havana, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Jamaica, West Virginia and many more with major artists performing shows for their fans in front of landmarks to which they have a connection. The travel component of the show, which is co-produced with Bungalow Media + Entertainment, shows how the particular cities influenced the artists’ careers and shaped their music. The series premieres on January 20 with a native New Yorker from Hell’s Kitchen, Grammy Award-winning artist, Alicia Keys . The final roster of artists to appear on Landmarks Live in Concert ’s first season, as well as the locations, will be announced shortly. Landmarks Live in Concert is a production of City Drive Film s. Daniel E Catullo III, CEO of City Drive Films s creator, director and executive producer. The series is co-produced with Bungalow Media + Entertainment. Its CEO, industry veteran Robert Friedman also serves as executive producer. For Great Performances , Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer. Stephen Segaller is executive-in-charge for WNET. Great Performances is produced by THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. Throughout its more than 40 year history on public television, Great Performances has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. 3
Major support for Great Performances is provided by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the Irene Diamond Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, The Agnes Varis Trust, The Starr Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, The Abra Prentice Foundation, and PBS. Visit Great Performances Online at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/ for additional information about this and other programs.
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About WNET WNET is America’s flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 . WNET also operates NJTV , the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature , Great Performances , American Masters , PBS NewsHour Weekend , Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET’s groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math , Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US , the award- winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS , Reel 13 , NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus , the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person , and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill . In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport .
About City Drive Films City Drive Films, LLC is a subsidiary of The City Drive Group, LLC, a finance, production and distribution company with offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, Stockholm and New York. City Drive specializes in documentaries and live concert specials. Recent projects include Alicia Keys (multiple projects), 2013 Academy Award Nominee & 3 Time Emmy Winner The Square , “2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award Winner Alive Inside , Mariah Carey Live In Central Park ; THE SQUARE; TED x Hollywood ; Rage Against The Machine-Live From London, Shiprocked, Total Slaughter (A co-production with Electus and Shady Films) and Alter Bridge Live From Milan . The Company currently has a number of productions in the works including four new documentaries and several high profile music projects. For more information please visit www.thecitydrivegroup.com . For more information on Landmarks Live in Concert, please visit www.landmarkslive.com
About Bungalow Media + Entertainment, LLC Founded in 2013, Bungalow Media + Entertainment, LLC is an integrated media & entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes scripted, unscripted and branded entertainment across all media platforms, including television, film, live events and digital. Bungalow is managed by Bob Friedman, an accomplished media and entertainment executive with more than 30 years’ experience having held senior roles at RadicalMedia, AOL, New Line Cinema, and MTV. Projects include NBC’s “GIVE”, the upcoming FOX series “APB”, Showtime’s “Spring Broke” documentary with Alex Gibney, Amazon’s new comedy series “Highston” and Paul Simon’s “Under African Skies” among many others. Joint venture and strategic partners include Horizon Media, Inc., the largest independent media buying company and Cisneros Group, a global leader in Latin media & entertainment. For more information, please visit www.bungalowentertainment.com