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Multiple Gold-selling comedienne Chonda Pierce and Platinum-selling, GRAMMY and Dove Award-winning Word recording artist Sandi Patty join forces for one of the biggest-selling tours of the season. Their 30-plus-city The Girls Are Back in Town tour is causing tens of thousands to flock to the box office, selling out arenas across the country.



As Chonda tours in support of her latest best-selling video, Have I Got A Story For You, and Sandi Patty continues to support her critically acclaimed CD, Take Hold of Christ, the duo’s The Girls Are Back in Town tour launched Sept. 18 with more than 4,000 people attending a sold-out performance at the Civic Center in Asheville, NC. Just over two weeks into the tour, Pierce and Patty have also already packed more than 4,000 people into several venues including, Viking Hall (Bristol, TN, 9/19), Civic Center (Montgomery, AL, 9/25), Timmons Arena (Greenville, SC, 9/27), Township Auditorium (Columbia, SC, 9/28) and Mabee Center (Tulsa, OK, 10/4).

Further sellouts and capacity crowds were recorded at the Civic Coliseum (Knoxville, TN, 9/29), the Convention Center (Fort Smith, AR, 10/1), Shrine Mosque (Springfield, MO, 10/2) and Bethany First Church of the Nazarene (Oklahoma City, 10/3), which sold out three weeks in advance. Pierce’s solo appearance at Memorial Auditorium (Chattanooga, TN, 9/26) also sold out more than three weeks in advance.

"Premier Productions has the privilege of promoting 17 dates on the fall The Girls Are Back In Town tour," said Gary Gentry, Premier Productions president, after promoting and producing eight of these events. "It is a joy to work with Chonda and Sandi. Every single night, thousands of women relate and respond to their music and words of encouragement. They laugh, they cry, they just have fun…

"The Girls Are Back In Town tour is not only working in a big way for us, but working for all the right reasons. It's rare to see a tour where ticket sales are up 25% to 100% in repeat cities and where everyone involved, both the artists and the fans, are winning in a big way!"

"The Girls Are Back In Town event was the best tour we did this year," boasts Bristol promoter Mike Parry. “Almost 5,000 ladies (and a few brave men) joined us for WCQR 's The Girls Are Back In Town with Chonda Pierce and Sandi Patty and it was a blast. What a great combination of comedy, music and ministry. This was more than a concert. It was an event that ministered to ladies and men alike. I saw everything from teenagers to grandmothers ‘busting a gut’ with laughter. Chonda and Sandi gave all they had. They really care about the people that come to spend the evening, laughing and crying and connecting with them. We can't wait to do it again."

"Rush Concerts is very excited to be a part of this tour," adds Jacob Reiser, Rush Concerts. "There are very few tours that can create the kind of excitement that this tour has. Our first show in Bethany, OK [Oklahoma City] sold out 3 weeks in advance! Chonda and Sandi offer a combination of comedy, musical artistry and ministry that provides a breathtaking night of fun and ministry for the community. The Girls are Back in Town Tour provides ladies of the church a night out together to fellowship, as well as an amazing night of entertainment. We have events in Columbus, OH and Cincinnati, OH coming up in November. We anticipate that these shows will sell out as well."

Fans can still catch the tour as it hits Alltel Arena (North Little Rock, AR, 9/23), First Baptist Church Of Raytown (Kansas City, 9/24), Northrup Auditorium (Minneapolis, 10/25), Family Arena (St. Louis, 10/27) and more. Traversing the nation into 13 states this fall, bringing their brand of comedy, music and friendship to audiences across the country, Pierce and Patty wrap up the fall tour in Wheeling, WV, Nov. 16.

Although not originally planned, and due to the significant momentum and public demand, The Girls Are Back in Town tour is being extended into the West Coast in January and February.

"I have been blessed in my career to have an enthusiastic audience!” exclaims Chonda Pierce. “But there is something different about this concert. It's an event, for sure! It's like: The Grand Ole Opry meets Carnegie Hall! It is the most diverse display of artistry in one concert! Two women that communicate the same truth in two totally different ways! And yet that's the true definition of the unconditional love of a girlfriend – and THAT is what is translated on our stage every night."

“I am so honored to be part of this tour,” says Sandi Patty. “There is of course laughter and music. But there is something so much more – it feels so purposeful. It truly is about one thing – Christ and His amazing love for us. That is a message that I need to hear often myself.

“The ladies (and a few men) who come to the shows are so ready to give back to us. That is one of the most amazing things about this experience. We ALL leave feeling encouraged and inspired by one another. It is one of the great joys of my life to be able to share the love of Christ with my girlfriend, Chonda.”

Further information on Chonda Pierce and Sandi Patty, including The Girls Are Back in Town tour updates, can be found on their respective websites: www.chonda.org and www.sandipatty.com.

Chonda Pierce:
With three Gold-selling videos and a regular schedule of 90-plus tour dates per year performing for packed audiences nationwide, Chonda Pierce has garnered numerous covers and features in such respected publications as Southern Living, Today’s Christian Woman, Dallas Morning News, etc. Pierce has also made special guest appearances on virtually every major Christian talk show including The 700 Club, Life Today and more. She has further received honors as the 2000 and 2001 Gospel Music Association’s Grady Nutt Humor Award recipient and has appeared more often than any other special guest for the nationally acclaimed conference, Women of Faith.

Sandi Patty:
Honored with 39 Dove Awards, five Grammy Awards, three Platinum and five Gold recordings, Patty is the most-awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music history. She has appeared on "The Tonight Show," "Entertainment Tonight," "A Capitol Fourth with the National Symphony," and ABC's 2002 "In Search For America: A July 4th Musical Celebration," among other programs. In addition, Patty has been a familiar voice in such settings as three United States Presidential Inaugural Gala events, the rededication of the Statue of Liberty and Billy Graham Crusades in the United States and Argentina.