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del.icio.usCountry star brings hits to the festival
Tracy Lawrence says he plans to stop touring in a couple of years to spend more time with his family.
BY ALICIA SPATES
McClatchy-Tribune News
In his 18-year music career, country artist Tracy Lawrence has amassed 17 No. 1 singles and several platinum and double-platinum albums. He has won an array of awards, including an Academy of Country Music award for Top New Vocalist of the Year in 1993, and has become an advocate for many causes, including his own, the Tracy Lawrence Foundation.
Lawrence has plenty to feel good about when he ends his performing career.
It will be a sad time for his fans, though.
Lawrence said he plans to quit performing eventually to stay home with his family and venture into other areas in music.
"It's hard to do touring with kids," Lawrence said about leaving his two daughters. "I want to hit it hard for a few more years and back off."
For now, he's maintaining a heavy tour schedule, playing more than 60 dates until September, including one in Wichita on Wednesday for the River Festival.
Lawrence also plans to begin recording his first gospel album in June and is writing his next studio album.
He said he will continue in music, but he has found joy in other aspects of the industry besides performing. The Nashville resident a year ago began his own record label, Rocky Comfort Records, with his brother.
Lawrence said he was frustrated with record companies closing or bouncing him around to other labels. He doesn't have to worry about that with his own label.
He added that besides himself, he has additional acts set for the label.
"It's done extremely well," he said. "I have a lot more freedom to do some of the things I think are important to me and to build something of substance over the next several years.
"I have a desk full of people looking for (record) deals, but we're being selective with the process."
Lawrence's latest album, "For the Love," was released on the Rocky Comfort label. The CD was his first studio album in nearly three years and contains the No. 1 single "Find Out Who Your Friends Are," his first time atop the Billboard chart since "Time Marches On" went No. 1 in 1996.
The singer said he always has taken pride in giving back. The Tracy Lawrence Foundation benefits his hometown of Foreman, Ark., and he raises funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Alzheimer's Association. He began working for the latter organization after watching his grandmother's mind "being robbed of all her memories and life experiences," he said.
If you go
TRACY LAWRENCE
What: Country singer Tracy Lawrence with opening act Phil Stacey
Where: Kennedy Plaza Stage
When: About 7:45 p.m. Wednesday
How much: Free with a River Festival button
