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Frankie Ballard to headline at SLS Las Vegas28 October 2016(PRESS RELEASE) -- The Foundry at SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino welcomes Frankie Ballard to the stage 2 December. The chart-topping country singer brings his hits "Young & Wild" and "Sunshine and Whiskey" to the live music venue during the 2016 National Finals Rodeo. Tickets starting at $25, not including applicable service charges, can be purchased at The Foundry website. On sale now, fans can also purchase tickets for other upcoming concerts at The Foundry. When Frankie Ballard was growing up in Battle Creek, Michigan, his father played him one classic album over and over again: Marty Robbins' Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, featuring Robbins' signature hit "El Paso." Now Ballard, a quick-draw guitarist and rough-hewn singer, has cut his own metaphorical gunfighter album, decamping from Nashville to a gritty El Paso studio to record the follow-up to his 2014 breakout Sunshine & Whiskey. For Ballard, who scored three consecutive No. 1 singles off Sunshine & Whiskey — "Helluva Life," the title track and "Young & Crazy" — it was imperative that he leave behind the safety of Nashville for the wilds of the Mexico border. Setting up shop at the famed Sonic Ranch, just south of El Paso in Tornillo, Texas, Ballard, producer Marshall Altman (Sunshine & Whiskey) and his band threw themselves headlong into the music, eating and sleeping at the studio. Their goal: Make a bona fide album. Ballard has created an urgent, thriving record, a project that showcases Frankie the artist. It's the type of album his heroes like Bob Seger and the Rolling Stones made, a collection of 11 songs with a sonic through-line, driven along by swagger but also respect for the music. First single "It All Started With a Beer" is buoyed by equal parts nostalgia and hope. The hard-charging "Cigarette," meanwhile, is unapologetically carnal. With a dirty guitar riff and winking lyrics to match, it's an explosive bit of country-rock, and the first song Ballard worked up at Muscle Shoals. "There is something you have to fundamentally understand about me: my dream goes the whole way. It goes all the way. So I want more people hearing my music," he says. "So what are you going to do, Frankie? Well, I guess I'm going to try to make some better music. And if it's not better than what I did before, there's no reason for it to come out. I don't want to maintain altitude. I want to fly, man." |