Carrie Underwood’s “Storyteller Tour - Stories in the Round” launched on Saturday in Jacksonville, FL, and continued Monday in Atlanta, GA, both to sold-out 360-degree crowds. The tour's 17 semi-trucks and 8 buses rolled into Greensboro, NC for the third show tonight to continue its highly-successful 2016 run. Already fans and critics are raving about her stand-out performances coupled with the dramatic in-the-round stage production.
The show “is a no-expense-spared spectacle that highlights her approachable beauty, her roar of a voice and a substantive set of songs that have commanded the charts since her ‘American Idol’ victory a long decade ago,” expressed the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “The in-the-round setup commissioned by Underwood allows for unparalleled vantage points – and even those in the arena’s highest peaks could watch one of four oval video screens situated above each side of the stage.” And says the Florida Times-Union, “Lasers and swaying spotlights and fireworks and explosions all added to the spectacle. But make no mistake, Underwood was the star of the show.”
Underwood, known for her vocal prowess and the ability to create stellar performance moments in any realm, concert, television, or recordings, spent much of 2015 working with her team to create her most spectacular concert tour to date. Barry Lather (Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Usher, Michael Jackson) is the tour’s Creative Director and Butch Allen (Metallica, The Eagles, Eric Church, No Doubt) is Production & Lighting Designer. "The Storyteller Tour” required many weeks of technical planning and rehearsing to program lighting cues, automation, and special effects, followed by numerous full-on performance rehearsals with Underwood and her band. "The Storyteller Tour” features a staple in any Underwood production, wardrobe changes. She worked with Emmy-winning costume designer Marina Toybina to create varying costume options for each of the five acts so fans will see a variety of outfits every night during her 100+ minute set. Marina also designed the wardrobe for Underwood’s 2012/2013 “Blown Away Tour.”
The massive stage has seven elevator lifts and spans over 150 feet across the arena floor, with a main center stage expanse of 48 feet in diameter that rotates 360-degrees. The center lift can raise to 18 feet high. There are four satellite stages and three concentric LED rings that hover in the air and move throughout the show for visual moments and effects, plus four larger oval screens that provide video for fans on all sides of the arena. A very unique spotlight technology, the Black Track system, follows Carrie where ever she travels across the massive stage with aide by special beacons that have been built into her wardrobe.
Underwood will take a short break from the tour following this weekend to perform on the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards®, where the seven-time GRAMMY winner is nominated this year for “Little Toy Guns” in the Best Country Solo Performance category. The GRAMMY Awards® will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
The Storyteller Tour:
Feb-3 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
Feb-5 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
Feb-17 Pittsburgh, PA CONSOL Energy Center
Feb-20 Hampton, VA Hampton Coliseum
Feb-22 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Feb-23 Boston, MA TD Garden
Feb-25 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Mar-4 Stockholm, Sweden C2C/Hovet*
Mar-5 Oslo, Norway C2C/Spektrum*
Mar-11 Glasgow, Scotland C2C/ Clyde Auditorium*
Mar-12 London, England C2C/ O2 Arena*
Mar-13 Dublin, Ireland C2C/ 3 Arena*
Mar-17 Youngstown, OH Covelli Centre
Mar-19 Allentown, PA PPL Center
Mar-22 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
Mar-24 St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena
Mar-26 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena
Mar-29 Colorado Springs, CO Broadmoor World Arena
Mar-30 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Apr-1 Las Vegas, NV ACM Party for a Cause Festival*
Apr-5 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Apr-8 Reno, NV Reno Events Center
Apr-10 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
Apr-12 Stockton, CA Stockton Arena
Apr-14 Phoenix, AZ Talking Stick Resort Arena
Apr-16 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center
Apr-18 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
Apr-19 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Apr-22 Bossier City, LA CenturyLink Center
Apr-24 Lafayette, LA Cajundome
Apr-27 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
Apr-28 N. Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena
Apr-30 Indio, CA Stagecoach*
May-3 Madison, WI Kohl Center
May-5 Green Bay, WI Resch Center
May-7 Grand Forks, ND Ralph Engelstad Arena
May-10 Casper, WY Casper Events Center
May-12 Billings, MT Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark
May-15 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
May-17 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
May-18 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena
May-24 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
May-27 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
May-28 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
May-30 London, ON Budweiser Gardens
*festival date
“Storyteller Tour- Stories in the Round,” in association with ALMAY, and Carnival in support of Operation Homefront, is promoted by AEG in North America and includes special guests Easton Corbin and The Swon Brothers. For tickets and more information visit stocktonlive.com