Martina McBride launches rare UK and Ireland tour (Reuters)
LONDON (Billboard) – Country mainstay Martina McBride is preparing for her first concerts in the United Kingdom and Ireland for some 15 years.
The dates will pave the way for a yet-to-be-announced American tour in November, McBride told Billboard.com
McBride, whose ninth studio album "Shine" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums earlier this year, will play London's Indig02 July 31, and then six shows in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Aug 2-8. RCA will release "Shine" in those markets on July 27.
"I've got such a limited amount of time I can tour, with the kids and their schedules," said the married mother of three. "So finding the time to pull back from my touring here and make the trip was a challenge.
"But finally this year, we got offered these dates and I said 'You know what, we hadn't planned to tour this summer in the U.S. so it's a perfect opportunity, and the perfect window for me to do it.'"
McBride said she was pleases with the reaction to "Shine," which also reached No. 10 on The Billboard 200. "The challenge when you've made nine records is to just figure out a way to move things forward, creatively, and trying not to make the same record over and over again ... Luckily I'm still making music and people still seem to be interested in buying it."
(Editing by Dean Goodman at Reuters)