91st Season at the State Theatre Kicks Off with The Oak Ridge Boys on 9/8

Theirs is one of the most distinctive and recognizable sounds in the music industry. The four-part harmonies and upbeat songs of The Oak Ridge Boys have spawned dozens of Country hits, a Number One Pop smash, earned them Grammy, Dove, CMA, and ACM awards and garnered a host of other industry and fan accolades. The Country Music Hall of Fame quartet will kick off the State Theatre's 91st season on Friday, September 8.

Show time is 7:30 PM. Tickets are $55/$45/$39 and can be purchased by visiting the State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton Street, Easton, by calling 1-800-999-STATE, 610.252.3132 or online at www.statetheatre.org. Sponsored by Cat Country 96 and N. Pugliese, Inc.

The Oaks represent a tradition that extends back to World War II. The original group, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, began performing Country and Gospel music in nearby Oak Ridge where the atomic bomb was being developed. They called themselves the Oak Ridge Quartet, and they began regular Grand Ole Opry appearances in the fall of '45. In the mid-fifties, they were featured in Time magazine as one of the top drawing Gospel groups in the nation.

The current lineup was formed in 1973 with William Lee Golden, Duane Allen, Richard Sterban and Joe Bonsall. For a while, the group remained at the pinnacle of the Gospel music circuit. It was there they refined the strengths that would soon make them an across-the-board attraction. The group has scored 12 gold, three platinum, and one double platinum album-plus one double platinum single-and had more than a dozen national Number One singles and over 30 Top Ten hits.

Their career has spanned not only decades, but also formats. In 1977, Paul Simon tapped the Oaks to sing backup for his hit Slip Slidin' Away, and they went on to record with George Jones, Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers, Billy Ray Cyrus, Bill Monroe, Ray Charles and even Shooter Jennings, the son of their old friend Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. Most recently, the group recorded a duet with Merle Haggard for their 2015 Rock of Ages hymns and Gospel favorites album.

The Oaks produced one of the first Country music videos. In 1977, Easy, although not released in the U.S., reached the Number Three slot in Australia. They also participated in the first American popular music headline tour in the USSR and have appeared before five U.S. presidents. In 2000, the Oak Ridge Boys were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

For more visit OakRidgeBoys.com

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