Archives for May 2014

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is Atlantic City’s leader in live entertainment and has put together another amazing summer schedule of live shows. From comedians such as Billy Gardell and Lewis Black to rock legends like Santana and John Mellencamp, Borgata’s summer line-up has got everyone’s tastes covered.

And that’s especially true if you’re feeling a little bit country.

Country superstars Keith Urban (July 17) and Darius Rucker (July 25) swing into the Borgata Event Center this summer.

Don’t be surprised. Country acts have long been a mainstay at Borgata and Atlantic City has seen some of the biggest stars in country music make regular stops here.

And they don’t come much bigger than Urban, who kicks off his “Raise ‘Em Up Tour” this month in Australia with its first American stop at Borgata July 17. He’s been making the rounds lately on American TV (Ellen, Good Morning America) debuting his new single “Good Thing”  even as his single “Cop Car” is currently No. 7 on the country charts.

That follows up his hit “A Little Bit of Everything” off his 2013 album Fuse—which debuted at No. 1 on the country album charts—as well as “We Were Us” with Miranda Lambert, another No.1 single.

He’s even been conquering mobile online games as “Good Thing” is prominently featured in the new release of Farmville 2.

That’s when you know you’ve really made it. Well, that and being the first country artist to be a judge on American Idol.

Urban’s a superstar plain and simple. Get tickets for Urban’s Borgata concert here.

As for Darius Rucker, the former Hootie & The Blowfish frontman’s “True Believers Tour” hits Borgata July 25, supporting Rucker’s fourth solo studio album True Believers.

The album includes the hits “True Believers”, “Radio” and the Grammy winning “Wagon Wheel”.

Pretty good for a guy first thought of as a rock and pop star from his days with the Blowfish. Rucker took a risk going country about five years ago he admits, but there’s no doubt country music has found a star in Rucker.

“When I cut a record, I really think about what it will be like to play live,” Rucker says on his website. “We’re already doing some of these – ‘Radio,’ ‘Shine,’ ‘Wagon Wheel’ – and I can’t wait to start playing a song like ‘Heartbreak Road.’ These songs were all fun to play in the studio, even just as a jam session, and that’s what it’s all about. If I don’t have fun, I know that the audience won’t. So when I make a record, I look for songs that I’ll want to play for the rest of my life.”

Tickets for Rucker’s Borgata appearance are available here.

Feeling a little bit country? Borgata has got you covered.

Since Avril Lavigne “Sk8erboi”’d her way onto the music scene in 2002, she’s managed to get a hold of the pop scene that just doesn’t seem to fade.

Her current tour—which stops at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa June 27—has been grabbing headlines as if Twitter was made just for her.

Whether she’s showing off her half-shaved hairstyle with bestie Demi Lovato (actually, she dropped in on Lovato’s tour), sharing pics from a meet-and-greet with fans in Brazil or just releasing her latest video “Hello Kitty”, there’s hardly a moment when Avril isn’t being Avril online.

Really, it’s much easier to just look at her latest bikini shots from Mexico—which hit the web while this item was being written. It never ends with Avril.

Lavigne’s tour comes back to the U.S. from Mexico later this month and swings into Borgata June 27, the next to last date on the tour and the only New Jersey stop scheduled.

Lavigne released her fifth album late last year titled simply Avril Lavigne, which was co-produced by her husband Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. The first single off the album was “Here’s to Never Growing up,” followed by “Rock n Roll” and “Let Go”. And now we have the video release of “Hello Kitty”.

Lavigne has said that after more than decade on the scene, it was time for a self-titled album.

“It’s the fifth record and truthfully this record is just stylistically all over the place. It’s really diverse, all over the spectrum,” Lavigne told Time magazine. “It’s nostalgic, there’s summer songs, there’s an electronic feel, there’s a rock song, there’s ballads. We couldn’t really sum it up. I think with it also being styles from the past and exploring and trying new sounds, it felt like it was time for a self-titled record.”

And now Lavigne brings it all to Borgata’s Event Center June 27. Tickets are still available from $56 to $45.

So why just read her tweets when you can get in on the live Lavigne experience at Borgata?