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Trick Pony, John Popper to bring troops holiday greetings

  • Published
  • AF Reserve Command Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, GA --  After riding their third CD to No. 4 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart, Trick Pony will entertain American troops and their families in Europe Nov. 21 to Dec. 3.

Joining the headliners will be John Popper of the platinum-selling band Blues Traveler, New England Patriot Cheerleaders and musicians from the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve and the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band.

Called Operation Season’s Greeting, the tour will perform at Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany; Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; Keflavik, Iceland; and at least one deployed location in Southwest Asia.

Trick Pony's newest CD – “R.I.D.E.” -- was in the top 20 of the Billboard 200 all-genre chart during its first week in stores. The band members are Heidi Newfield, vocals and harmonica; Keith Burns, acoustic guitar; and Ira Dean who plays bass as well as acoustic and electric guitar.

Blues Traveler’s John Popper will perform as a solo act and is expected to perform some of the band’s hits including the Grammy-winning single “Run Around.”

“Operation Season’s Greetings will put on a show that’s on par with any high-dollar concert tour back home,” said Dave Ballengee, deputy director of the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. “This Air Force tour group will bring a cargo plane full of state-of-the-art sound, stage and lighting equipment and will put on a show that our troops will never forget.”

Trick Pony’s first self-entitled album went gold, and they won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Vocal Group and Favorite New Country Artist awards in 2001. Their second release was “On a Mission” in 2002 and they have been nominated for a Grammy Award and by the Country Music Awards for Vocal Group of the Year for 2004.

The band supports several charitable causes including Farm Aid, March of Dimes, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospitals, Arthritis Foundation, Tsunami Relief and programs that support music education.

Performing as the opening act for Trick Pony, the Air Force bands will play well-known rock-and-roll, rap and contemporary favorites. To help warm up the crowd, the world champion New England Patriots are sending four members of their cheerleading squad to accompany the tour.