BOWIE, Md. – Two talented singer-songwriters will provide the musical entertainment at the Tire Industry Association’s 100th Anniversary Celebration Nov. 1 in Las Vegas, the association just announced. TIA encourages those planning to attend to register promptly.
Tom Douglas, who has written songs for such country artists as John Michael Montgomery, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, George Straight and Keith Urban, and Lori McKenna, who earned back-to-back Grammy Awards for Best Country Song as songwriter for Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind,” each will perform during the program. Their appearance is sponsored by Bridgestone Americas Inc.
TIA is pulling out all the stops for its 100th anniversary celebration, which takes place the day prior to the opening of the Global Tire Expo/SEMA Show. The event will begin with a glamorous cocktail reception at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel and casino, followed by the anniversary program in the hotel’s iconic theater, The Chelsea.
Along with the entertainment, the anniversary program will include an inspirational address by Vietnam war hero and Super Bowl Champion Rocky Bleier, sponsored by Goodyear, a look back at TIA’s fascinating 100-year history and speeches by TIA’s 2021-22 President Mason Hess, Past President Dan Nothdurft and CEO Roy Littlefield III, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Capping the evening will be performances by Douglas and McKenna.
Douglas is an accomplished country music songwriter who describes himself as a “songwriter-singer” rather than a “singer-songwriter,” because he fell in love with the song first. “So out of my love for the song comes the singing,” he said.
He emerged in the country music world at age 41 following the success of his first co-written single, “Little Rock,” recorded by Collin Raye. The song reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart in 1994, earned a nomination for Country Music Association (CMA) Song of the Year and won the Million-Air Award from Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) for receiving 1 million spins on country radio.
Since then, Douglas has written numerous No. 1 hits including “I Run to You” by Lady A, “Southern Voice” by Tim McGraw and “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert.
McKenna has had success both as a songwriter and as a performer. Her 2018 album, The Tree, received critical acclaim and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2019 American Music Awards. Another album, “The Bird & The Rifle,” was nominated in 2016 for three Gammy Awards and three Americana Awards.
In 2017 she became the first female to be named the Academy of Country Music’s (ACM) Songwriter of the Year. Her latest album, “The Balladeer” was released in 2020.
To register for this and other TIA events at GTE/SEMA, visit: https://www.tireindustry.org/sites/default/files/GTE21_SchedDescrip_9.27.... For additional questions, contact LaKisha Pindell at lpindell@tireindustry.org.