This past weekend marked not only a celebration of America, but another Red, White and Boom! festival in our back parking lot. This year the talent was amazing, the rain was non-existent, and the entry was FREE! Between sets, we managed to catch up with Lexington’s own Laura Bell Bundy, one of the artists performing this year. Check out our interview with her below:

Rupp Arena Blog: What’s your favorite part about coming back to Kentucky. Obviously, you’re from here…

Laura Bell Bundy: Seeing my family and friends, and picking up my dog. Kentucky is the most beautiful place, and home to me. There is a sense of serenity that comes over me, that makes me just happy as soon as I arrive. Being able to come home and play my own music, is a crazy different, amazing experience. This is the first time I have played anything off this record here, and really any of my own music for that matter. I’ve done a Christmas concert at the Lexington Opera House, but that wasn’t really my own music. So this is all just super exciting for me!

RAB: How long have you been performing? As many probably know, you did broadway before this.

LBB: I came out of the womb and started dancing around! [laughs…] I started doing dance competitions when I was a little. I was four when I did my first Nutcracker with the Lexington Ballet at the Lexington Opera House. As for New York City, I did the Radio City Christmas Spectacular when I was nine.

RAB: What’s your favorite song to play live?

LBB: Today it was “Bourbon and Boys Give Me the Blues,” because it was the first time I have ever done it live. I really like “If You Want My Love,” and love performing “I’m No Good (For Ya Baby)” and “Proud Mary.” Actually, it’s safe to say I like them all.

RAB: What would you say has been the biggest moment of your career so far?

LBB: Probably singing at the ACM Awards. That, and being nominated for a Tony Award for Legally Blonde.

RAB: What dream artist(s) would you like to collaborate with?

LBB: I have so many artists I would love to work with, like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. I would love to do a duet with Miranda [Lambert], since we are friends, and maybe Blake [Shelton]. I’m talking to Jake Owen about doing a duet with me.

RAB: Are there any outside of country music? Like Snoop Dogg, or Lady Gaga…

LBB: Beyonce would be a dream! Lady Gaga and Beyonce! [laughs…]

Our thanks goes out to Laura Bell Bundy for the interview, as well as everyone else for making Red, White and Boom! such an amazing day! We hope everyone enjoyed the music and fireworks! If you missed the show, or are interested in hearing more of Laura’s music, you can listen to the songs off her “Achin’ and Shakin’” album on her website, and purchase them through iTunes. Also, you can see Laura on October 1st at the Courthouse Plaza stage downtown for Spotlight Lexington.

With close to a million people coming through the doors of Rupp Arena each year, you can imagine that we sell quite a bit of food at our concession stands. Since another arena season has come to an end (June 2009 – June 2010), we decided to tally up all those hot dogs, ice cream cones, and other food and drink to give you some statistics, courtesy of our concessions manager. Enjoy!

During the 2009/2010 season at Rupp Arena events:

• 6,564,100 ounces of Coca Cola soft drinks were served, which is 51,282 gallons.
• 3,175 gallons of Flavorich soft serve ice cream were served.
• 655 kegs or 10,152 gallons of draft beer were consumed. The average 4 ft. deep, 12 foot wide above ground pool contains approximately 3,400 gallons.
• 1,010 gallons of Nacho Cheese were consumed.
• 2.8 tons of Nacho Chips were consumed.
• 4.8 tons of popcorn were consumed.
• 108.6 miles of Ball Park Franks and Hillshire Farms Polish Sausage served. That’s three round trips from Lexington to Georgetown.

Although Kentucky is losing an amazing player, the NBA is getting one of the best prospects in a while. ESPN The Magazine is featuring an article about the upcoming NBA Draft and who better to have on the cover than John Wall, the projected first pick of the draft. Below is a behind-the-scenes video of Wall’s photoshoot with ESPN. Hit the jump to check out the cover of the magazine.

My husband and I had the privilege to attend the concert in Taylor Swift’s 2010 Fearless Tour on April 29th. It was nice to get away from all the hecticness of college classes and get to have a night out with my husband and enjoy some music that I love.

The night started with Gloriana opening. I had never listened to much of their music, but seeing them tonight has made me interested in listening to more of their music. They were energetic and fun to watch. Following them, was Kellie Pickler, another artist I hadn’t heard much from, but I also found myself enjoying as well.

Soon after, Taylor Swift came out, and she came out with a bang! She put on an amazing performance! This concert was the best concert I have EVER been too! I absolutely adore Taylor and I expected her to have a good concert, but this was much better than anything I had expected. The sound was great, the lights were awesome, and I loved all of the graphics that were projected on the screens behind her. They really made the concert amazing! Her costumes and clothing were awesome and the way her dancers were in costumes to portray the song was awesome as well!

I was thrilled that Taylor actually came out in the audience and gave hugs while she sang. It was nice to see her interacting with her fans. I also found the videos in between the songs to be pretty interesting to watch. The videos showed that funny, humorous side of Taylor and I really enjoyed seeing that. She also put some humor into her performance tonight. It’s always fun to be able to laugh and enjoy yourself. The rain at the end was a perfect way of ending the concert. My husband and I were just in awe of how cool that was showing the words in the falling water and Taylor standing under it. Taylor is such an inspiration; so young, but yet, she is so famous and known in the world. It was touching to watch her as she just stood and listened to all of her fans screaming for her.

This concert was an all-around AWESOME show and I am so glad that I was able to attend it!

Blogged by: Brittany Shockley
Photography by: Paul Hooper (unless stated otherwise)

Joe Bonamassa will be at the Lexington Opera House on April 30 (8:00pm Sharp!) and we have an awesome prize package you could win! We always do our best to bring you exciting and fun giveaways with great prizes and we can truly say this is the best prize package we have ever offered. The winner will receive all the following:

2 Tickets to the Joe Bonamassa Concert
Access to the Meet & Greet Before the Show
Brand New Guitar Signed by Joe Bonamassa

• Click here and “Like” the Lexington Opera House on Facebook (if you haven’t already).
• Then suggest all your friends like the page as well (located underneath the profile picture on the facebook page).
• After doing the above, comment on THIS post (on the Rupp Arena Blog) with what artists you would like to see come to the Lexington Opera House in the future. Be sure to use the email/account you would like for us to use to contact you, should you be chosen as the winner. NOTE: COMMENTING ON FACEBOOK WILL NOT ENTER YOU INTO THE GIVEAWAY. YOU NEED TO LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST.

For those who haven’t heard of Joe Bonamassa before, enjoy this video below of his performance of “Stop” at the Royal Albert Hall. For those who have heard of him, check it out anyways. You won’t be disappointed…

Avenue Q is coming to the Lexington Opera House this weekend as part of the Broadway Live series. We’re doing something fun for this show; choosing a select number of fans who will get a pair of tickets to opening night (Friday at 8:00pm). We’re calling these “Social Seats,” as the winners will be asked to tweet and/or post Facebook updates from their phones throughout the show. It’s a fun way for people to share their experience and to let everyone know how hilarious it is (and it WILL be hilarious). If you’re interested in going to the show and sitting in our Social Seats, read below for the details on how to enter.

• If you skipped over the details, go back and read them before entering (Yeah, I saw your eyes drift down the page).
• Leave a comment on this post using the email address you would like for us to use to contact you.
• In your comment, include your twitter handle and/or a link to your facebook profile.

We will choose and contact the lucky fans this Wednesday (April 7) at 4:00pm. Keep an eye on your inboxes…

On March 25th, Disney on Ice came to town and we could not pass up the chance to see the show. So I surprised my daughter and son with tickets and off we went to Rupp Arena. Let me start by saying I have not been to Disney World in 7 years so I was curious to see what the show had in store for us. Boy was I impressed!! We had such a great time! From the minute we entered Rupp, the lobby was decked out in all that is Disney… from adorable snow cones to light-up princess wands. They even set up 2 small photo areas with Disney characters. Everyone was very polite and helped us to our seats.

The show was wonderful for kids especially because they skated to the climax of every well known princess story. Even Mickey, Minnie, & Goofy made an appearance. It kept the kids attention and the skaters interacted with the audience when possible. I personally loved the creative skating and the wonderful costumes!! It was a lot of fun! I can also report there were no falls on the ice. The only complaint I have is that it was not a longer show. I could have watched it 10 more times. As a matter of fact, we are planning our trip to Disney this summer… the kids won’t stop talking about it!

Blogged by: Ana Crane-Simpson
Photography by: Paul Hooper (unless stated otherwise)

Everybody know what time it is? No, not tool time, time for a giveaway! We think it’s only right that Rupp Arena have at least 20,000 Facebook fans, and that’s where you come in. We have been hard at work assembling some awesome packages to give away to five lucky winners. You could win Taylor Swift tickets, tshirts, gift cards or Rupp Arena umbrellas. Below are the various packages you could win. Read through them, then check out the details and how to enter. It’s easy, I promise…

2 Tickets to the Taylor Swift Concert
2 Taylor Swift Tshirts from the Merch Stand
$15 Rupp Arena Concessions Gift Card

$50 Gift Certificate to deSha’s
2 Rupp Arena Blog Tshirts
1 Rupp Arena Umbrella (Limited Production)

$50 Gift Certificate to Rupp Arena Box Office
2 Rupp Arena Blog Tshirts
1 Rupp Arena Umbrella (Limited Production)

$20 Rupp Arena Concessions Gift Card
2 Rupp Arena Blog Tshirts
1 Rupp Arena Umbrella (Limited Production)

$10 Papa John’s Gift Card
2 Rupp Arena Blog Tshirts
1 Rupp Arena Umbrella (Limited Production)

• Become a fan of Rupp Arena on Facebook (if you haven’t already).
• Then suggest all your friends become a fan as well (located underneath the profile picture on the facebook page).
• After doing the above, comment on THIS post (on the Rupp Arena Blog) with either your favorite event you’ve attended, or an event you would like to see come to Rupp Arena in the future. Be sure to use the email/account you would like for us to use to contact you, should you be chosen as a winner. NOTE: COMMENTING ON FACEBOOK WILL NOT ENTER YOU INTO THE GIVEAWAY. YOU NEED TO LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST.

I could insert any number of cheesy phrases here such as “I had a feeling, that tonight was gonna be a good night” or “Boom boom pow! That Black Eyed Peas show was amazing!” but that would only degrade how great the show actually was. Black Eyed Peas are nothing short of pop megastars right now, with four of the songs off their new record selling extremely well and playing throughout every major sporting event across the country. Paired with a superstar in his own right, Ludacris, this show was set up to not only be something special, but easily one of the biggest tours of the year. The question though, is when the rubber met the road, was it really all it was cracked up to be? I’d definitely say so. It exceeded my expectations, which were already pretty lofty.

LMFAO were the first group to take the stage. While I wasn’t particularly fond of their music, they did a nice job of setting the pace, getting everyone on their feet, and warming up the crowd for two big acts that were to follow. I can only imagine what it must be like for them to tour around with Black Eyed Peas and Ludacris. I see it as a blessing and a curse. It would be tough to compete with two huge acts like that, especially if concert goers show up late and miss half of your set. On the flip side though, it could also be a shot of adrenaline to your success. Touring arenas with two big names like that will get you lots of exposure.

As I said, they did a nice job of getting everyone on their feet and active. All of their songs are very upbeat full of energy. If you came to the show because you like a fusion of hip-hop and pop, then chances are you liked LMFAO, since they were a nice blend of both genres. Only time will tell if they are about to be the next big thing, or another one-hit-wonder, soon to fizzle.

This man needs no introduction, and could have easily been headlining this very tour five years ago. Between songs from his own albums and featured tracks he did with other artists for theirs, Ludacris has a huge selection of hits to pull from that easily exceeded the time he had for his set. Nearly all of the audience knew most of his songs and were singing/rapping along to hit after hit.

Ludacris aka Chris Bridges has been taking it easy on rapping lately and pursuing a career in acting, doing nine movies in the last six years. During that time, while he may have fallen outside the radar for music buffs, he was still very active in the celebrity scene. With two singles coming out in the last couple months, and this tour with Black Eyed Peas, it looks as if he is on the rise again.

With will.i.am and Fergie each having successful solo careers during the group’s downtime, Black Eyed Peas has almost become a supergroup of sorts. Fergie had a ton of hit songs off her solo album, while will.i.am just had his big screen debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. On top of their strong solo careers, the Black Eyed Peas’ lastest album, The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies), has exploded on the charts, earning them Grammy awards, performance spots on Oprah and the Victoria Secret Fashion Show, and making them easily one of the biggest artists of the past two years.

It’s no surprise that the Black Eyed Peas put on an amazing concert. As teased in their performances on various shows, they had extremely elaborate costumes, lighting, dancers and stage design, which turned out to be the full package. Fergie at times looked like she was channeling her inner Lady Gaga; having an elaborate transforming mirror dress that sprawled in every direction, while will.i.am channeled his inner masquerade with various masks he wore throughout their set. Overall, not only did they put on a great show, but they seemed to love what they were doing. It’s always nice to see the artist enjoying themselves, and really helps to get the crowd to enjoy themselves as well. As will.i.am said (paraphrasing), “We have never been to Kentucky before, but after seeing how crazy and fun you all are, I’m sure we will be back soon.”

Following the Black Eyed Peas show, and an after party meet-and-greet, will.i.am headed over to Buster’s Billiards & Backroom, a bar/club and music venue about a block away from Rupp Arena on Manchester Street. Although he is known for his role in Black Eyed Peas, and as the mastermind behind the tracks on their albums, he has a passion for DJing. When time allows, he will do DJ sets at local clubs and venues. As he said following his set, “That other stuff I do is fun and all, and how I make money. This though, is what I love to do.” It was definitely more than just a hobby for him. He strung together an amazing line of beats and tempos into his own masterpiece. He spun some remixed versions of Black Eyed Peas songs, doing his own vocals when the parts came, and even premiered a new song they are planning on releasing in the future. One of the members of LMFAO joined him on stage for a couple remixed versions of their songs, as well as some freestyle scatting to some of the beats. It was a real treat to see will.i.am in a more intimate setting, doing something that you could tell he really enjoyed.

Although the night was long and I didn’t get home until well past my preferred bed time, it was definitely one to remember. There were huge scaled stage shows by some of the biggest artists out there today, and a small, intimate DJ set by a passionate mixer. I have no problem sacrificing a little shut-eye for something like that.

Blogged by: Paul Hooper
Photography by: Matt Goins (unless stated otherwise)