CONWAY — CONWAY — Grammy Award-winning country music artist LeAnn Rimes will continue the UCA Public Appearances season with a performance at 4 p.m. today in the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas.
Rimes is performing in support of her new cover album of country songs titled Lady and Gentlemen.
In 1997, at the age of 14, Rimes won a Grammy for Best New Artist for her song “Blue” and had a No. 1 hit with “One Way Ticket.” She is one of the most successful country artists in the world with 16
albums, two Grammys and Academy of Country Music awards for Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Top New Female Vocalist.
Jerry Biebesheimer, director of UCA Public Appearances, said Rimes wanted to come to Conway.
“She has been doing several concerts in smaller venues,” he said.
Rimes has also done some television work, including being a judge for one season on the country music competition Nashville Star. She also did the made-for-television movies Holiday in Your Heart and Northern Lights as well as film work for Coyote Ugly and Evan Almighty.
But while Rimes has expanded her career, she was excited to get back to work on a new album. She gave details about her new album in the spring with a post on her Twitter account.
“I went back and found that all my favorite country love songs were all songs originally made famous by men,” she said. “I decided to make a record covering all of these songs from a woman’s point of view and in a modern way. It was so much fun.
“Some songs you will know right away, and others have been reconstructed and rearranged a bit. It’s a way to bring great classic songs to a new generation and a way to bring them back to the fans who loved them the first time around.”
It is Rimes’ first studio album in three years.
Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $40-$50 for adults, $37-$47 for senior citizens, $35-$45 for UCA alumni, $33-$43 for UCA faculty and staff and $10-$20 for UCA students with a current student ID. For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at (866) 810-0012 or visit www.uca.edu/tickets.