Published: July 31, 2007 01:27 am      

Paramount welcomes home its favorite son

Concert tonight; Billy Ray to sign CDs at Wal-Mart

ASHLAND — Billy Ray Cyrus and his Sly Dog band will play for a full house tonight at the Paramount Arts Center.

Tickets for the show sold out in a record breaking six hours a week ago today, said Judy Cornett, the vice president and market manager of Clear Channel Radio.

“Everybody and their brother is coming out of the woodwork for these tickets,” Cornett said. “It’s almost crazier than it was 1992. Then, he was hitting the charts but was still an unknown. Today, he’s not only amazingly popular but also much more established.”

This will be Cyrus’ seventh show at the Paramount and the first since his father, Ron Cyrus, died last year.

“He knew it would be a sad show for him playing here again for the first time since his father’s passing,” Cornett said. “So he’s put it off for a while.”

Cyrus signed his first contract on stage at the Paramount in 1991, filmed his “Achy Breaky Heart” video there in 1992 and also played concerts in 1997, 2002, 2003 (two) and 2005, when his daughter Miley joined him on stage. Miley Cyrus, then just 12 years old, became star of the “Hannah Montana” series on the Disney Channel just a few months later.

It was in 2003 that the concert sold out so quickly he performed another the next day.

Cornett said she and WTCR 103.3-FM, the show’s sponsor, attempted to talk Cyrus’ management team into booking another show, either two shows today or another performance on Wednesday, but to no avail.

“They said Billy Ray already has obligations in Nashville and can’t do it,” Cornett said. “Some people are upset about the lack of notice they got but what they don’t know is that even I had only 11 days to prepare for this show.”

“Nothing of this magnitude is just dumped in your lap. But we had been asking and asking for a show and when they saw a window of opportunity, we had to just go with it.”

Cornett said she wanted to give kudos to the Paramount staff for its successful operation on such short notice.

“They are currently constructing a new box office and had only one phone line and a little tiny space to work in,” she said. “But we are thankful they handled everything as graciously as they could.”

WTCR will be giving away last minute tickets during a live broadcast today from 5 to 8 p.m. at Wal-Mart in Ashland. Cyrus will also be there signing his new CD, “Home at Last.” Registration to win the free tickets will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Winners will be announced at Wal-Mart at approximately 7:10 p.m.

“We are excited about the music and the success of Billy Ray’s career. He is a fantastic human being,” Cornett said.

Today, she and other organizers will continue preparing for the hundreds flocking to the Paramount tonight. Some concertgoers, Cornett said, are coming from places as far away as California and Canada.

“They love him that much,” she said. “I’m really thrilled that we could have this concert here (tonight).”