Reba McEntire at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK -- March 18.
Saturday, March 18, 6:30 p.m.
Vibrant Arena at the MARK, 1201 River Drive, Moline IL
A oountry-music superstar boasting sales of more than 90 million records worldwide, Reba McEntire brings her eagerly awaited national tour to Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK on March 18, the beloved entertainer's many accomplishments including more than 100 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, a well-reviewed lead in a Broadway musical, and a six-season run on her eponymous sitcom that earned the star a Golden Globe nomination.
One of four children, McEntire was born and raised in Oklahoma, and with her mother's help, she and her siblings formed the Singing McEntires, which played at local events and recorded for a small label. Although McEntire later enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and studied to become a public school teacher, she also continued to occasionally perform, and was heard singing at a rodeo event by country performer Red Steagall. Drawn to her voice, Steagall helped McEntire secure a country-music recording contract with PolyGram/Mercury Records in 1975, and she relocated to Nashville with her mother later that year.
In 1977, she released her self-titled album debut that yielded four singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and two years later, McEntire had her first major hit as a solo artist with a remake of Patsy Cline's "Sweet Dreams." In the early 1980s, the singer had several more top-10 country hits including 1980's "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven," 1981's "Today All Over Again," and 1982's "I'm Not That Lonely Yet, and finally, in 1983, she reached the number-one spot on the Billboard country chart with the singles "Can't Even Get the Blues" and "You're the First Time I Thought About Leaving". After signing with MCA Records, McEntire's My Kind of Country became her breakout release in 1984, spawning two chart-topping Billboard singles that pointed toward a more traditional musical style. Through the remainder of the 1980s, McEntire released seven more studio albums and had 10 additional number-one country-song smashes, among them "One Promise Too Late," "The Last One to Know," and the Grammy Award-winning "Whoever's in New England."
In 1991, McEntire lost eight of her band members in a plane crash in San Diego, California, a tragedy that led to the creation of the artist's critically acclaimed For My Broken Heart, which remains her highest-selling album to date. She followed it with several commercially successful albums during the 1990s, including 1994's Read My Mind, 1996's What If It's You, and 1998's If You See Him. These albums featured such chart-topping singles as "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," "How Was I to Know," and a duet with Brooks & Dunn ctitled "If You See Him/If You See Her."
Also a familiar film and television presence, McEntire's acting career began in 1990 when she made her movie debut in Tremors, with subsequent big-screen appearances including roles in The Little Rascals,One Night at McCool's, and the 2020 comedy Barb & Star Go to Vista del Mar. In 2001, the WB launched the TV series Reba, which starred McEntire as a fictionalized version of herself and earned McEntire a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. And that same year, she earned raves playing Annie Oakley – an iconic and vocally demanding role made famous by talents including Ethel Merman and Bernadette Peters – in the Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun.
Reba McEntire brings ner national tour to the Moline amphitheater with special guests Terry Clark and The Isaacs, admission to the 6:30 p.m. concert event is $69-249, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting VibrantArena.com.
