Jul 20, 2022

Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith Christmas Tour coming to Salina

Posted Jul 20, 2022 5:31 PM
<b>Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant are bringing their nine-stop Christmas tour to Salina.</b> Photo courtesy Stiefel Theatre.
Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant are bringing their nine-stop Christmas tour to Salina. Photo courtesy Stiefel Theatre.

Stiefel Theatre

A highly anticipated Christmas show is coming to Salina's Stiefel Theatre in late November.

The Amy Grant & Michael W. Smith Christmas Tour, with special guest Michael Tait of the Newsboys, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Stiefel Theatre, 151. S. Santa Fe Avenue. The Stiefel performance will be one of only nine stops on the tour.

Tickets start at $89 and go on sale at noon July 29. Buy in person at the Stiefel Theatre Box Office, online at stiefeltheatre.org, or by calling the box office at 785-827-1998.

Multi-platinum, GRAMMY® winners Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith are joining forces once again to co-bill their popular Christmas tour this upcoming holiday season, where they will be joined by special guest Michael Tait of the Newsboys. Presented by Balsam Hill®, this iconic pair is set to kick off their combined holiday show on Nov. 26, in Memphis and travel to nine markets, including Salina.

The highly anticipated Christmas concert will feature selections spanning the artists’ expansive Christmas repertoires and combine the vast collection of critically-acclaimed holiday albums between them. Both Grant and Smith’s recordings have become part of the backdrop of Christmas for families all over the world, and their holiday tour is one of the most heralded events of the season to the delight of fans at sold-out shows throughout North America.

"I look forward to every chance I have to share the stage with Michael...especially at Christmas," Grant said. “He is such a gifted musician and I enjoy creating these special memories with him on stage. This tour is one we both can’t wait to do every single year.”

“It’s no secret how much I love Christmas music,” Smith added. “And performing some of these classic holiday songs with Amy makes it even more special. This time of year is made even better because we get to spend the Christmas season on stage together.”

“Having Michael Tait join us this year is something Amy and I are both looking forward to,” Smith said. “We’ve been friends for years, and to now have his voice and energy incorporated into this show is going to make it even more incredible!”

In support of their longstanding relationship with Compassion International, Grant and Smith will be bringing awareness to their child sponsorship experience at each show.

Smith and Grant will also be supporting Heartlight Ministries, a ministry and residential facility offering healing and hope for parents and struggling teens.

About Amy Grant

Grant's career spans more than 40 years and stretches from her roots in gospel into becoming an iconic pop star, songwriter, television personality and philanthropist. With three multi-platinum albums, six platinum albums and four gold albums, her total career album sales have exceeded 30 million and over one billion global streams.

Grant’s chart success has been consistent throughout her career with six No. 1 hits, 10 Top 40 pop singles, 17 Top 40 Adult Contemporary tracks and multiple Contemporary Christian chart-toppers.

In addition to her six GRAMMY® Awards, Grant has earned 26 Dove Awards (including four Artist of the Year Awards) and has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as the Music City Walk of Fame and the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame. Conventional wisdom has it that Grant put Contemporary Christian Music on the map becoming the first Contemporary Christian artist to have a platinum record, the first to hit No. 1 on the Pop charts and the first to perform at the GRAMMY® Awards. With that, her legacy as one of the most influential artists of the past four decades is assured.

Grant’s philanthropic work dates back to the beginning of her career having come from a long line of philanthropists in her family. Her work with St. Jude Children’s Hospital, The Red Cross, Compassion International, Second Harvest Food Bank, MusiCares, The Nashville Symphony and Nashville Rescue Mission to name a few, has been a passion for decades.

Grant said, “My heroes are people that help other people” and she has devoted her life to live that example.

Over the course of the last decade, through her Helping Hands Foundation, Grant has opened her farm to various organizations including Barefoot Republic, Citygate Network, Music Therapy For Veterans and several others as an oasis for hope and healing. In February 2020, The T.J. Martell Foundation – the music industry’s leading nonprofit to fund innovative medical research focused on treatments and cures for cancer – honored Grant with the Tony Martell Outstanding Entertainment Achievement Award at their 2020 Honors Gala.

In April of 2021, Grant celebrated the 30th anniversary of her 5x platinum album Heart In Motion, which featured her iconic No. 1 pop-hit Baby Baby, with a year-long tour, television appearances and a double disc 30th Anniversary Edition with previously unreleased tracks. 2022 has already been a busy year with touring as well as a new single release, a cover of the classic song Put A Little Love In Your Heart which closes out Grant’s current shows.

Additionally, 2022 marks anniversaries of her platinum-selling classic Age To Age album and the gold-selling, critically acclaimed Behind The Eyes album which will receive an expanded edition release on Sept. 9, 25 years to the day of the original release, including 30 songs and an extensive vinyl collection for the very first time. The remainder of 2022 will have Grant on on the road for a fall tour, a Christmas tour with Michael W. Smith, and ending the year with Christmas At The Ryman, the annual 12-show residency she shares with her husband, Vince Gill.

About Michael W. Smith

Smith has been releasing new music regularly and performing around the world to sold-out crowds for the last 35+ years. During his storied career, he's written and recorded more than 36 No. 1 songs, been honored with three GRAMMY® Awards and 45 Dove Awards, one American Music Award, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and has sold more than 15 million albums.

Amassing an in-depth catalog of achievements, Smith was also recently honored with a star-studded tribute concert in Nashville to celebrate his 35 No. 1s, by a myriad of legendary performers.

His recent USA Today, Yahoo! Music and Billboard-acclaimed studio album A Million Lights and Parade, Good Morning America-featured and GRAMMY nominated live worship album Surrounded have together become his 30th and 31st Top 10 hits on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart, more than any other solo artist in history.

In October 2020, he released a longtime passion album, STILL Vol. 1, an atmospheric listening experience of improvisational music coupled with inspirational scriptures.

More than just an outstanding songwriter and performer, Smith has given back to the global community throughout his career. Smith has raised funds to battle AIDS in Africa, started Rocketown, a safe haven for young people in Tennessee to meet and find hope; and has helped more than 70,000 children through Compassion International.

He has also written several bestselling books, including Old Enough To Know and Friends Are Friends Forever.