Honoring A Legend: Randy Travis’ Iconic Career To Be Celebrated At Tribute Concert

The legendary career of Randy Travis will be celebrated in a special tribute concert this fall. Outback Presents will proudly bring A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis – 1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time to Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama on Tuesday, October 24.

In 2013, Travis suffered a stroke that unfortunately left him with a rare condition known as aphasia, which has greatly impacted his ability to speak and sing. Since he is unable to perform due to his condition, this tribute event will serve as an opportunity to showcase Travis’ incredible impact on the music industry through the voices of his fellow singer/songwriters.  

Many of the 23 global No. 1 hits that he has compiled over the course of his career will be performed live by some of his musical ‘Heroes and Friends’ in a once-in-a-lifetime event. 

“Alabama’s kind of been the place where we’ve been this year several times and can’t wait to get back,” Mary, Randy Travis’ wife, told Country Now and other outlets while speaking on his behalf. “To sit and listen to all of these great musicians sing Randy’s songs, it’s heartwarming. And since he can’t, and they do, we’re happy for them to step in. So we’re passing the torch onto him and they’re filling some beautiful shoes.”

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The artists participating in the upcoming event have yet to be announced, but Mary went on to share that the lineup is expected to feature an array of singers who have personally been inspired by the country icon in their own music careers. 

“There are so many great artists, like we said, and there’s so many of ’em that love Randy’s music and their legacy is based on the fact that they loved Randy’s legacy and [he’s] the reason they got into country music,” Mary shared. “So when you start filtering through the ones that would love to be there, of course, scheduling has a lot to do with it, but we just throw names out there…If we could have a three-day event and cover all of Randy’s songs and all of Randy’s music and all of the people that Randy had some sort of an influence on, we would do that, but just getting down to the few that will be there, and we’re hoping 18 to 20, it’s going to be hard. But it’ll be such a great mix of people. It’ll be an exciting evening.”

Over the course of his career, the “Three Wooden Crosses” singer has racked up many high honors and accolades including seven Grammy Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music statuettes, 10 American Music Awards, two People’s Choice awards, seven Music City News awards, eight Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association and five Country Music Association honors. With lifetime sales in excess of 25 million, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee is also considered to be one of the biggest multi-genre record sellers of all time. 

Even though his life and career came to a halt after his near-fatal stroke, with the help of his wife Mary and rigorous physical therapy, Travis continues to make improvements in his speaking, walking, and even singing. 

“It’s an exclamation point. It’s not a period at the end of the sentence, it’s an exclamation point, and it’s just God’s way of saying there’s a reason why you’re still here and making a difference,” said Mary. “And to be there, it’s confirmation that the music doesn’t really ever die. And it kind of makes me emotional because there’s nothing more that Randy would want them to be up on that stage singing his own music, but since we know that he can’t, to have these artists that give their time, that give their affection and their heart into making his music means a lot to us. And like I said, it’s an exclamation point. It’s not a period and we look forward to it. And we’re just so happy with the open arms that we’ve gotten.”

A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis – 1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time will serve as a follow-up to 2017’s star-studded tribute to Travis that was held in Nashville’s Bridgestone Area. Much like this night, the upcoming event will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Randy Travis Foundation. The foundation focused on stroke and aphasia awareness and supporting music education in schools.

“With the Randy Travis Foundation, we formed that not long after the stroke, but spent so much time in rehab that we were not able to really focus on it. Now we are focusing on it and we want people to understand more about stroke and stroke rehab and the identification of stroke before it happens and does its damage. He was in a coma for three days, so they did not identify that he was having the stroke. So it was too late for some of the modern medicine to help out there,” Mary explained. 

“But also the aphasia, which affects a certain part of the brain, it takes the speech and of course the singing away. We would just want people to understand more about that,” she continued. “It’s an education process and of course music in the hands of children, it means so much to us that they get instruments in music, whether it be in school or at home.”

Past tribute concerts at VBC Propst Arena have included artists such as Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice, Big & Rich, Gavin DeGraw, Sara Evans, Riley Green, Home Free, Jamey Johnson, Tracy Lawrence, Dustin Lynch, Justin Moore, Sam Moore, Lorrie Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Jelly Roll, Michael W. Smith, Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, Gretchen Wilson, Wynonna, and many more. 

“We are excited to host this fantastic tribute concert in the VBC Propst Arena,” said Steve Maples, Executive Director at Von Braun Center. “Other tribute shows received great support from the Huntsville community. We anticipate a lot of excitement for this tribute to Randy Travis and look forward to what is sure to be another historic musical event!”

“We are thrilled to be able to come to Huntsville, Alabama for our ‘A HEROES & FRIENDS TRIBUTE TO RANDY TRAVIS.’ This will be an unforgettable night with many of Randy’s superstar friends singing his biggest hits,” added Tony Conway, manager for Randy Travis. “One night, One place, One Time. Be sure to attend this very special concert with Randy Travis.”

Tickets will go on sale Friday, August 4 at 10:00 am Central Time at the Von Braun Center box office as well as ticketmaster.com and randytravis.com.