NASHVILLE, TN (March 11, 2013) – Singer/songwriter Corey Smith will help kick off March Madness with a FREE performance at Bridgestone Arena Plaza on Saturday, March 16, 30 minutes following the SEC Men’s Basketball second semi-final game.  Since signing with APA Nashville last year, Smith has sold out nightclubs and amphitheaters across the nation, building a grassroots following of hundreds of thousands of fans, 1.2 million single sales, and over $9 million dollars in revenue.  Following the game, Smith will take the stage for his own version of a “Pick and Roll,” presented by Texas Pete® Hot Sauce.  The all-ages show is not the first time Smith has appeared along with the SEC, as fans might remember portions of his performance at the famous Blue Note club in Columbia, Missouri,televised by ESPN during the Mizzou/Georgia football game last year.

Smith graduated from the University of Georgia, married his high school sweetheart, and settled into life as a high school teacher, just a few blocks away from where he was raised.  Music was a therapeutic refuge, and he dabbled in songwriting and performing in clubs across the southeast.  A natural writer with well-crafted lyrics drawn heavily from blues, country and rock traditions, Smith released his music independently and eventually found mass appeal through simple word-of mouth. After six successful albums, Smith released his latest LIVE IN CHATTANOOGA in 2012.

For more information on Corey Smith, please visit coreysmith.com.

“Live in Chattanooga is a solid and decidedly energetic representation of who Corey is as a performer and songwriter, an artist who may reside on the fringes of country music, but one who has earned the kind of rural cred that others can only dream of…”

— Country Weekly Magazine

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