Chris Stapleton Announced for this Summer at Thunder Ridge

The first show has been announced for the Thunder Ridge Nature’s Arena for 2024.

The release comes from Live Nation Concerts with news that Chris Stapleton has added a show to his All-American Road Show Tour at Thunder Ridge on June 13.

Thunder Ridge has been in development by Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge and hosted shows by Garth Brooks in 2022 which were sold out but plagued by traffic issues going in and out of the venue. Since that time, Bass Pro has worked with the Missouri Department of Transportation on improvements to Highway 86 in the Ridgedale area which includes four lanes from Highway 65 to the venue plus a new roundabout at the entrance to Thunder Ridge plus expansion of the roundabout by the entrance to Big Cedar in Ridgedale. Expanded parking is also one of the features that is in development. 

According to the release, Thunder Ridge is scheduled to reopen in late May with the Chris Stapleton concert the first to be announced. 

The full release including information on the purchasing of tickets to the Chris Stapleton Concert is below:

Chris Stapleton will bring his “All-American Road Show” tour to one of the most iconic amphitheaters and arenas in all of North America, the newly expanded Thunder Ridge Nature’s Arena in Ridgedale, MO, a natural amphitheater that overlooks Table Rock Lake and the Boston Mountains of Arkansas, on June 13, 2024. He will be joined by special guests Marcus King and Allen Stone. 

Tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 2 at 10 am. Ticket details can be found at www.chrisstapleton.com/tour. Citi is the official card of Chris Stapleton’s “All-American Road Show.” Citi cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets beginning on Tuesday, January 30 at 10 am until Thursday, February 1 at 10 pm through the Citi Entertainment program. For pre-sale details visit www.citientertainment.com.

Thunder Ridge Nature’s Arena, the breathtaking, nature-based outdoor venue set to re-open in late May, is a project of noted conservationist Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge.

The upcoming performance adds to yet another landmark year for the 8x Grammy, 16x CMA and 15x ACM Award-winner, who recently released his highly acclaimed new album, Higher, November 10 on Mercury Nashville. Produced by Dave Cobb, Morgane Stapleton and Chris Stapleton, Higher was recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A and showcases his supernatural voice and musical versatility across 14 songs that defy genre.

Already receiving critical attention, Stapleton has unveiled three album tracks: “It Takes A Woman,” “Think I’m In Love With You” and “White Horse,” of which Billboard praises “a hell-raising anthem, meant to be blared with windows down and enjoyed with ears ringing. ‘White Horse’ finds Stapleton pairing an outlaw swagger with some heaven-scraping vocals, going for the gusto throughout the chorus to try and match the guitar snarl.” Furthermore, Consequence declares, “‘White Horse’ certainly suggests that Stapleton is leaning into his strengths as a cross-genre act” and Brooklyn Vegan proclaims, “one of the most jaw-dropping singles yet from an artist who rarely if ever misses.” 

Additionally, Stapleton is nominated for three Grammy Awards for Country Song (“White Horse” with Dan Wilson), Country Solo Performance (“White Horse”), and Country Duo/Group Performance (“We Don’t Fight Anymore” with Carly Pearce).

Alongside Stapleton (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide electric guitar), the new album features Cobb (acoustic guitar, eclectic guitar), J.T. Cure (bass), Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Derek Mixon (drums), Morgane (background vocals, synthesizer, tambourine) and Lee Pardini (organ, piano).

One of the country’s most respected and beloved musicians, in the past year Stapleton was named Entertainer of the Year at the 58th ACM Awards—resulting in a prestigious ACM Triple Crown Award—and Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards—his seventh time earning the award, extending the record for most wins ever in the category. Additionally, in February, he performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVII and has collaborated in recent years with Adele, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Sheryl Crow, Santana and many more. 

The new album follows 2020’s acclaimed Starting Over, which went on to win three awards at the 67th Annual GRAMMYs: Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance (“You Should Probably Leave”) and Best Country Song (“Cold”) in addition to earning Album of the Year honors at both the CMA and ACM Awards. Called a “a sure-footed masterpiece” by the Associated Press, the album landed on “Best of 2020” lists at NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Esquire, Vulture, The Tennessean and The New York Times, who declared, “Chris Stapleton’s roar isn’t designed to scare you off. It’s regal, an announcement of an alpha figure asserting his primacy…on this, his fourth album, the thrill is back.” Prior to Starting Over, Stapleton released a pair of Platinum-certified releases in 2017—From A Room: Volume 1 and From A Room: Volume 2—as well as his x5 Platinum breakthrough solo debut album in 2015, Traveller.

In addition to their work as musicians, the Stapletons are founders of the Outlaw State of Kind charitable fund, which supports a variety of causes that are close to their heart.

HIGHER TRACK LIST
1. What Am I Gonna Do
2. South Dakota
3. Trust
4. It Takes A Woman
5. The Fire
6. Think I’m In Love With You
7. Loving You On My Mind
8. White Horse 
9. Higher
10. The Bottom
11. The Day I Die
12. Crosswind
13. Weight Of Your World
14. Mountains Of My Mind