RAYS ANNOUNCE THREE MORE ACTS OF SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, PRESENTED BY HESS EXPRESS

courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays
Miranda Lambert, REO Speedwagon, Goo Goo Dolls Will Play Postgame Concerts at Tropicana Field
 
ST. PETERSBURG, FL—Miranda Lambert, REO Speedwagon and the Goo Goo Dolls will be among the acts performing at Tropicana Field this summer as part of the Rays popular Summer Concert Series presented by Hess Express as part of Rays Saturday Nights presented by Bright House Sports Network.
The Rays previously announced that Darius Rucker will perform at Tropicana Field following the Rays-Orioles game on Saturday, May 14.  The concerts are free with the purchase of that night’s game ticket.  As part of its Saturday partnership, Hess Express will have an exclusive in-store ticket offer. 
Tickets for these games and all other Rays home games are currently available online, at the Tropicana Field Box Office, Rays Tampa Office & Pro Shop, via the Rays official website (raysbaseball.com), all Ticketmaster locations and by calling 888-FAN-RAYS.
Full season ticket holders who purchased all 81 games in the Home Plate Club, Whitney Bank Club, Fieldside Box, Lower Infield Box or Lower Box locations will receive wristbands for special on-field access to each concert.  Season ticket plans including all the Summer Concert Series games offer the biggest discounts, best seat locations and include postseason privileges.  For more information on season tickets or group sales, call 888-FAN-RAYS. 
Since the concert series debuted in 2008, the Rays have gone 25-3 and averaged more than 30,000 fans on those dates.
REO Speedwagon – April 30, Rays vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 1:10 p.m.
Formed loosely in the late ’60s at college, REO Speedwagon is an American rock band that grew in popularity during the ’70s and dominated the early ’80s.  Hi Infidelity is the group’s most commercially successful album, selling over 10 million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US.  With hits like “Ridin’ The Storm Out,” “Roll With The Changes,” “Keep On Loving You,” “Take It On the Run” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” their live show is packed with classic hits.  Over the course of their career, the band has sold more than 40 million records and has charted 13 Top 40 hits. The band will release the 30th anniversary deluxe edition of Hi Infidelity this year.
 
Darius Rucker – May 14, Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles, 4:10 p.m.
Darius Rucker first became famous as the lead singer for the monster band Hootie and the Blowfish, performing such hits as “Let Her Cry,” “Hold My Hand” and “Only Wanna Be With You.” The group earned a Grammy Award and produced one of the top-selling albums in history with Cracked Rear View.  In 2008, Rucker burst onto the country music scene with his chart-topping album Learn to Live. The album led him to the podium with a CMA for Best New Artist in 2009.  The Charleston, S.C., native recently released an album that paid homage to his hometown and southern roots.  Charleston, SC 1966 is currently climbing the charts with the lead single “Come Back Song.”
 
Goo Goo Dolls – August 6, Rays vs. Oakland Athletics, 7:10 p.m.
Since forming in 1986, the Goo Goo Dolls have evolved from a scrappy, punk-influenced trio into the platinum-selling, chart-topping act behind such radio staples as “Name,” “Slide” and “Here is Gone.” The group was enjoying great success when they released their fifth album, A Boy Named Goo, which went on to become one of the most successful rock albums of the mid-’90s.  It was not until 1998 that the group sky-rocketed to stardom with the chart-topping single from the film City of Angels. “Iris” topped the charts for a record-breaking 18 weeks and ultimately earned the band three Grammy nominations and sealed their place in music history. The Goo Goo Dolls have recorded 14 Top 10 singles and sold nine million records in the United States.
Miranda Lambert – September 24, Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7:10 p.m.
Miranda Lambert made her debut with the release of her first album, Kerosene, in 2005. This album, which was certified Platinum in the United States, also produced the singles “Bring Me Down,” “Kerosene” and “New Strings.”  All four singles were Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Her second album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, was released in early 2007 and won Album of the Year at the ACA awards.  It included the singles “Famous in a Small Town,” “Gunpowder & Lead” and “More Like Her,” which were all Top 20 hits.  “Gunpowder & Lead” became her first Top 10 country hit in July 2008.  Lambert’s third album, Revolution, was released in September 2009. Five singles have been released from the album, including her No. 1 hit “The House That Built Me,” which spent four weeks at the top of the chart. Lambert has also been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the Country Music Association awards. Miranda was nominated for nine CMA awards in 2009, most ever by a female in a single year. She won the CMA award for Female Vocalist of the Year and Revolution won Album of the Year. On February 13, 2011, Lambert won her first Grammy Award in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category for “The House that Built Me.”
 
The Rays Summer Concert Series is produced by Ruth Eckerd Hall on the Road.
 
14 DAYS UNTIL OPENING DAY, FRIDAY, APRIL 1 vs. ORIOLES at TROPICANA FIELD
 
—RAYS—