Stephen Wilson Jr. added as first opening act for Miranda Lambert concert 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Singer/Songwriter Stephen Wilson Jr. has been added to the lineup as the opening act before the Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives for the Miranda Lambert concert on Saturday, Sept. 28 at AutoZone Park as part of the launch of “Music on the Diamond”, the Memphis Redbirds announced Thursday.

“Music on the Diamond” is a nationwide concert series featuring top artists performing against the backdrop of iconic Minor League ballparks. “Music on the Diamond” is a first-of-its-kind offering from Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), the owner/operator of the Redbirds, and is promoted by William Morris Endeavor (WME) and Doussan Music Group (DMG). The series provides fans with an unparalleled opportunity to witness their favorite stars in a uniquely intimate atmosphere, such as nestled amidst the downtown Memphis skyline.

Lambert, a GRAMMY award winner and Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, will be the first musician to hit the stage at AutoZone Park for a full-scale production since Bob Dylan over 10 years ago. Wilson Jr. Joins the lineup that also includes Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, as announced May 10.

“Our goal is to continue to bring unique events to the city of Memphis and make AutoZone Park a 365-day venue,” said Craig Unger, Redbirds President and General Manager. “With the support of DBH, hosting an artist at the caliber of Miranda Lambert is something we are very proud of, and we are excited for the opportunity to bring her concert to the Mid-South.”

“Bringing exciting new events and experiences that foster community and draw more people to our ballparks has been a goal of ours at DBH since the very beginning, so launching ‘Music on the Diamond’ is a momentous occasion for us,” said Pat Battle and Peter Freund, Executive Chairman and CEO of DBH, respectively. “Minor League ballparks provide some of the most unique atmospheres for entertainment and we’re thrilled to see these cornerstones of the community open their doors to the public as often as possible.”

Tickets are currently available at memphisredbirds.com. For more information on upcoming events at AutoZone Park visit www.memphisredbirds.com.

About AutoZone Park

AutoZone Park is the home of Triple-A Baseball’s Memphis Redbirds and Memphis 901 FC of the USL Championship and is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024. Over 12.7 million fans have passed through its gates since its debut in the spring of 2000, and the venue is home to numerous conventions, meetings, receptions, charity races, and more each year, in addition to sports.

About Diamond Baseball Holdings

Founded in 2021, Diamond Baseball Holdings is committed to elevating fan experiences, creating “centers of energy,” fostering dynamic engagements for brands and highlighting the evolution of the Minor League Baseball environment. It is grounded in a deep-rooted appreciation for traditions, community and the sport of baseball. For more information visit diamondbaseballholdings.com.

About Stephen Wilson Jr.

A rural southern Indiana native, Stephen Wilson Jr. is a singer/songwriter who started the indie rock band AutoVaughn after finishing his Microbiology degree at Middle Tennessee State University. Wilson Jr., who was raised by a single father, was an accomplished boxer in the state of Indiana, reaching as high as an Indiana State Golden Gloves finalist. The artist released his first single “The Devil” in Sept. 2019. Later that year, he released “Year To Be Young 1994”, a song that was featured on Spotify’s Next From Nashvill playlist, Apple Music’s 5th Gear playlist and was in rotation at Nashville’s Lightning 100. Wilson Jr. Is known for his late-70's gut-string acoustic.

About Miranda Lambert

Already a decorated songwriter, Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, passionate shelter animal advocate, restaurateur and business woman, superstar Miranda Lambert adds New York Times best-selling author to her impressive list of titles with the arrival of her debut book, “Y’all Eat Yet?,” available everywhere now.

Palomino, her eighth solo album, arrived in 2022 as the largest female Country album debut of the year and earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album. Named among the best of the year by the New York Times, TIME, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, People and many more, it marks the latest installment in a storied career that has spanned seven previous No. 1 solo albums, 11 No. 1 hit radio singles, more than 80 prestigious awards and countless sales certifications, earning the most-awarded artist in ACM history praise from NPR as “the most riveting country star of her generation.”

With her headlining Velvet Rodeo Las Vegas residency extended through April 2024 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s Bakkt Theater, the top streaming female Country artist of 2022 was also named to the TIME100 list honoring the world’s most influential people, with Pitchfork declaring that she “manages the hat-trick of both timelessness and timely activism.” Whether challenging conventional gender notions in her recent Top 10 hit “If I Was A Cowboy” or using her voice to write and record the inclusive “Y’All Means All” anthem for Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” the Texas native continues to expand the tent of the Country genre via her music, including with her latest release, the cross-genre collaborations “If You Were Mine” with Leon Bridges and “Space In My Heart” with Enrique Iglesias.

Idyllwind, her clothing and cowboy boot collection, is an exclusive brand sold at all Boot Barn stores nationwide, while her home goods collection, Wanda June Home, is available exclusively at Walmart. She is also the first female artist to have her own venue on Broadway in Nashville with her Casa Rosa Tex-Mex cantina. An avid animal lover, Lambert’s MuttNation pet product line is available exclusively at Tractor Supply Co. with proceeds benefiting her MuttNation Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit that has raised over $10 million since its inception in 2009. The Foundation’s mission is to promote the adoption of rescue pets, support animal shelters across the country, advance spay & neuter and assist with the transport of animals during times of natural disaster.

About Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives

Altitude, Stuart’s exhilarating new album, is proof of that. Recorded in Nashville with his longtime band, The Fabulous Superlatives, the collection finds Stuart picking up where he left off on 2017’s Way Out West, exploring a cosmic country landscape populated by dreamers and drifters, misfits and angels, honky-tonk heroes and lonesome lovers. There’s a desert flare to the music here, a sweeping, spacious feel that conjures up wide-open horizons and endless stretches of two-lane highway, and the production is raw and cinematic to match, tipping its cap both to Bakersfield and Laurel Canyon as it balances jangle and twang in equal measure. It would be easy for an artist as accomplished as Stuart to rest on his laurels at this point in his career, but Altitude instead showcases the work of a searcher with an insatiable appetite for growth and reflection, one whose ambition, much like his keen wit and rich imagination, only seems to grow with each and every release.

A Country Music Hall of Famer, five-time Grammy Award-winner, and AMA Lifetime Achievement honoree, Stuart knows a thing or two about standing the test of time. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Mississippi, he landed his first big gig in Lester Flatts’ band at the tender age of thirteen, and by twenty-one, he was working on the road and in the studio with Johnny Cash. Though Stuart built his early reputation backing up country and bluegrass royalty, it wasn’t long before Nashville recognized him as a star in his own right, and over the course of forty-plus years as a solo artist, he would go on to release more than twenty major label albums, scoring platinum sales, hit singles, and just about every honor the industry could bestow along the way.

Stuart emerged as an unofficial caretaker of the culture, too, spending much of his career rescuing and collecting country music artifacts from throughout the genre’s history. The first piece he picked up? Patsy Cline’s makeup kit, which he bought from a junk shop for $75. These days, Stuart, who Rolling Stone calls “one of the world’s foremost country experts and archivists,” has roughly 20,000 pieces in his collection, including a handwritten copy of Hank Williams’ “I Saw The Light” and Johnny Cash’s first black performance suit. While select items have been exhibited everywhere from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to the Louvre, Stuart is hard at work building a dedicated arts and cultural center to preserve and display it all in his hometown of Philadelphia.

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