George Jones

Country legend George Jones passed away at the age of 81 on April 26th, following an illness in which he had been hospitalized for earlier in the month.

In August, Jones had announced plans for a farewell tour, "The Grand Tour," which was to take him to 60 cities throughout the country. This was to be Jones' last concert tour before his retirement. In November, George told fans that the Nashville portion of the event would take place at the Bridgestone Arena on November 22nd, 2013. Immediately, several of his celebrity friends hopped onboard, to make the concert a spectacular.

Tickets went on sale November 16th, 2012 and were quickly sold out. "'The Grand Tour' will have surprises throughout the shows - you never know who may show up! The Possum has lots of friends, so it is going to be the most exciting thing to see who shows up during the final show," said Jones.

And indeed he was right! By March 2013, artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Garth Brooks, Kid Rock, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Lorrie Morgan, Gene Watson, Jamey Johnson, Don McClean, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tanya Tucker, Josh Turner, Sam Moore, Clay Walker, Aaron Tippiin, Colin Raye, Larry Gatlin, Crystal Gayle, The Kentucky Headhunters, Jett Williams, Jeanne Pruett, Lisa Matassa, The Whites, Ricky Skaggs, Mandy Barnett, Mark Collie, Ronnie McDowell, Ballie & The Boys, Daryle Singletary, Shelby Lynne, The Oak Ridge Boys, Montgomery Gentry, Pam Tillis, Patty Loveless, T. Graham Brown, Mark Chesnutt, Joe Diffie, Travis Tritt, Tracy Lawrence, Kathy Mattea and many others had signed on to be a part of the historical concert. Jones' camp released 100 VIP packages at $1000 on a first-come-first-serve basis. The package included a "meet-and- greet" opportunity. Those tickets sold out quickly as well.

It was apparent that this show was going to be like no other... so when George Jones passed away in April, many questioned what would happen to the show that they were so looking forward to.

George's wife Nancy issued a statement shortly after The Possum's Nashville funeral on May 2nd. She assured fans, "Everyone has been asking if we will still do the show. I have asked Garth Brooks, Kid Rock, Travis Tritt, The Oak Ridge Boys, Montgomery Gentry, Charlie Daniels, Sam Moore, Jamey Johnson and others and they all said 'yes, I am still going to do it' so with all the artists still planning on coming, we are going to honor George one final time."

The planned farewell concert will indeed be George's final farewell to Country music and his fans. The tribute concert will go on as scheduled, in his honor.

By Misti Douglas

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