Lampe, Mo. — Black Oak Amphitheater has ramped it up for a spectacular spring and summer season. Headlining is country superstar Tim McGraw, who has made it a stop on his “Two Lanes of Freedom” tour, on June 23; legendary southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd on July 5; long-time rock band Journey on Aug. 16; and country singer Trace Adkins on May 26.
The Amp says tickets are still available for all acts but that Journey sold 1,500 tickets the first hour they went on sale last week.
Country and Rock — That’s what it’s all about!

Tim McGraw opens his show at 7 p m on Sunday, June 23, promoting his new album “Two Lanes of Freedom” that has been described as showing off his broadest emotional range yet. McGraw today easily sits astride that bucking bull at the top of the country music field with over 40 million albums sold, 23 Number One singles, Three Grammys under his belt, 14 ACM Awards, 12 Country Music Association Awards, and 10 American Music Awards.
Some of the songs McGraw will sing from his new album include “Annie, I Owe You a Dance,” “Mexicoma,” and of course “Two Lanes of Freedom.”
To view the official video of the song “One of Those Nights” from the new album, click HERE.
Talking about cutting this album, McGraw said it “was like the old days of making a record, like a bunch of guys going into a submarine and making music.”
Opening for McGraw is southern country rocker Brantley Gilbert, who is also a songwriter and has penned several songs for Jason Aldean. Also on the opening ticket is country duo Love and Theft featuring Stephen Baker Liles and Eric Gunderson. They have been signed by RCA Nashville and sing songs with lots of harmony based on their Bible Belt background.
Tickets for the McGraw concert are: Bistro, $129; Platinum, $128; Gold; $89, Silver, $59; White, $39; Handicap, $89; and General Admission $35.

If you are one of the 2 million who have the Lynyrd Skynyrd signature song “Sweet Home Alabama” on their phone ringtones, you will be glad to hear that the legendary southern rock band will play the Black Oak Amp right here in the Ozarks over the Fourth of July weekend — Friday July 5.
This resilient group of rockers rose from tragedy like the phoenix when in 1977 band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Honkette Cassie Gaines (Steve’s sister) were killed in a plane crash in a Mississippi swamp.
Core members still leading the band are Gary Rossington, guitar; Ronnie’s younger brother Johnny Van Zant, vocals; and Ricky Medlock, guitar. A new bass player is Johnny Colt, formerly of the Black Crows and Train; Mark “Sparky” Matejka, a Nashville cat, on guitar; and on keyboard, Peter Keys.
The band is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and put out 60 albums with 30 million sold worldwide. Their latest album was released last August and was “Last of a Dying Breed” following up on “God and Guns.” To see and hear the official video of “Homegrown” from the new album, click HERE. To to hear “Something to Live For” from their new album, click HERE.
Opening for Skynyrd are freak rockers from Oklahoma City, Hinder. The band, signed to Republic Records, has just released “Welcome to the Freak Show,” their fourth release. Their debut album “Extreme Behavior” sold 3 million in the U.S. Their breakthrough single “Lips of an Angel” hit Number One on the Billboard Pop Chart. The group has been together for about 10 years.
Black Stone Cherry is also opening for Skynyrd. They have toured with Nickelback and Motőrhead and recently took a year off to work on an album, “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” The young rock group says its influences are Skynyrd, Marshall ‘Tucker and the Kentucky Headhunters, who just happen to be Cherry’s drummer and vocalist John Fred Young’s dad and uncle, Headhunters Richard and Fred Young.
Tickets for Lynyrd Skynyrd are: Bistro, SOLD OUT; Platinum, $79; Gold, $59; Silver, $39;White $29; Handicap, $59; and Lawn, $17.

Another rock band with a long history will take the Black Oak Amp stage on Friday, Aug. 16. It’s Journey. This is another group of rockers who have undergone personnel changes over the years but are persevering to retain their original sound and direction. This group has acquired a new lead vocalist, Arnel Pineda, and is out with originals Neal Schon, guitar and back up vocal; Jonathon Cain, keyboard and backup vocals; Ross Valory, bass and backup vocals; and Deen Castronovo, drums and backup vocals.
Journey got together in 1973 and has 19 Top 40 singles and 25 gold and platinum albums to their credit. Some of their hits include “Don’t Stop Believing” “Who’s Crying Now” and “Open Arms.”
After Pineda joined Journey, they released “Revelation” in 2008 and it gave them their 11th certified Platinum album.
To see and hear the official video of their song “City of Hope,” click HERE
Journey has been performing world wide tours for the last two years and have drawn more than a million fans.
Ticket prices for Journey are: Bistro, $299; Platinum, $129; Gold, $89; Silver, $59; White $39; Handicap, $89; and General Admission, $35.

Opening the season for Black Oak Amp is country singer Trace Adkins, who is coming in on Sunday, May 26. Trace is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and quit his day job as an oil rigger to become a country star who keeps his hands in several fields including TV acting and writing. Adkins has sold over 10 million albums. His latest Album “Love Will . . .” was released last week.
To see and hear the video of (Tough Times Don’t Last, but) “Tough People Do,” click HERE.
Some of his hits include “Arlington,” “Ladies Love Country Boys” and “Just Fishin’.” Adkins recently won the All-Star Celebrity Apprentice competition on TV.
Adkins’ opening acts include Aaron Lewis, frontman for the band Staind, who recently released a country EP Town Line that had a single with George Jones and Charlie Daniels “Country Boy” go gold. Lewis has two AMAA nominations for vocal event of the year for “Country Boy.”
Hardworking road band Blackberry Smoke will also open for Adkins. The band plays 250 dates a year, and when you listen to them, you can hear gospel , bluegrass, and outlaw country. They say they are as blue collar as their bandanas. Blackberry Smoke has released three albums, their last “Whippoorwill” is with the Zac Brown Southern Ground label.
In their forays on the road they have toured or played with the Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and George Jones. They were invited to play at the late great country singer’s 80th Birthday Concert.
Tickets for Trace Adkins are: Bistro, sold out; Platinum, $59; Gold, $45; Silver, $35; White, $25; Handicap, $45 and no general admission.

All shows start at 7 p.m. The parking lot opens at 3 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Black Oak Amp is located on State Hwy. H, off Missouri 13, just off Table Rock Lake. For directions from wherever you are, go to the Amp’s web site www.blackoakamp.com, and click the Parking tab.
To order tickets for any of the concerts, go HERE.
— C.L.