PHOTOS
Eric Scicchitano
With a voice sometimes sweet, sometimes sultry, and all times attention grabbing, LeAnn Rimes has earned a stardom deserving of someone with undeniable talent.
But in today’s celebrity-obsessed culture, fame seems almost a curse as personal problems become very public. In Rimes’ case, she and her father had a nasty falling out (and have since reconciled), and the tepid reception of pop-oriented music she released earlier this decade netted poor reviews and endangered a devoted fan base that was smitten with the starlet since the release of her Grammy-award winning 1996 album, Blue, which debuted when she was just 13.
Despite continued strong record sales and amid a return to contemporary country music, her star seemed dimmed until earlier this year when a video captured by a security camera hit the Internet that allegedly showed Rimes, now 26, and her co-star in the Lifetime film Northern Lights, Eddie Cibrian, locking lips inside a restaurant. Bad publicity for sure, and almost certainly a disaster behind closed doors as both are married, but the timing couldn’t have been better for business as the pair’s supposed dalliance fueled gossip and the film drew 4.5 million viewers.
She’s since graced a slew of magazine covers, everything from US Weekly to Shape, but none of it about what earned Rimes the spotlight in the first place — her music. Rest assured, Rimes’s vocal prowess will be on full display Sunday night as she christens Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs’ inaugural Hot Summer Fun concert series.
It’s not as if Rimes has fallen off as a musician. Her 2005 album, several songs of which she penned herself, is certified gold and reached as high as No. 3 on Billboard’s 200 Album chart. Five singles charted in the top five on the country charts. On Family, her 2007 release, she co-wrote each track on the album, including the Grammy-nominated “What I Cannot Change.” In 2008, she opened every show on Kenny Chesney’s highly successful Poets and Pirates Tour. Her latest studio album is expected to be released this fall.
Rimes’ performance this weekend will be followed Peter Frampton, who comes alive at Mohegan Sun on July 19. Hall & Oates will perform July 30, followed by Bowzer’s Ultimate Doo-Wop Party on Aug. 9. And just announced, Montgomery Gentry will perform Aug. 23. All performances begin promptly at 6:30 p.m., and there are no opening acts. One more show remains under negotiation.
While the summer concert series is the local casino’s first, its parent company is well versed in the venture. In fact, Jim Wise, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs’ vice president of marketing, said the company’s reputation has made booking the local venue headache free.
“We have not had one available artist who we wanted (to book) who has opted not to accept,” Wise said. “We think this is kind of a springboard for doing even more shows.”
The concerts will be performed outdoors on the Pocono Downs race track. A 2,200-seat riser will be assembled, with other seating available in the existing grandstand, on the patio and on the track, with a total of 4,800 seats available.
Tickets for Rimes’s show, priced at $38-62, are available at the casino’s box office between noon and 8 p.m. seven days a week or by calling 1-888-WININPA (1-888-946-4672). Online sales for the remainder of the Hot Summer Fun concert series at Ticketmaster began July 1; however, this service is not available for the Rimes concert.