Chris Stapleton announces new spring 2016 tour dates

Rising country star Chris Stapleton has had a hell of year since the release of his acclaimed debut solo album Traveller. He won four Grammys, topped the Billboard 200 chart and appeared on SNL just to name a few highlights of the last year. Now he has announced some new spring tour dates that will bring him to the Triangle.

Stapleton will play Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Friday, May 20. Sam Lewis will open. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today, March 18, via Etix for $43 to $50.

Check out Chris Stapleton's poignant new video for "Fire Away" from Traveller below.

New show announcements: Modest Mouse & Brand New, Ringo Starr, Phil Cook

The spring and summer show announcements just keep coming and there are a few big ones to let you know about, so let's get started.

First up, rockers Brand New and Modest Mouse are teaming up for a co-headlining tour this summer that will bring them to Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary on Wednesday, July 6. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, January 29, via the venue box office and Etix for $39.99 to $49.99.

Next up, Ringo Starr will bring His All Star Band back to the Triangle this year, this time to play Koka Booth Amphitheater on Saturday, June 18. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 5, via Etix for $50 to $129.50.

Colbie Caillat & Christina Perri announce 'The Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too' Tour

Singer-songwriters Colbie Caillat and Christina Perri are teaming up this summer on The Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too tour that will take the pair to venues across North America.

The pair will play Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Wednesday, August 5. Rachel Platten will open. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 10, via the venue box office and Etix for $36.

Caillat and Perri each released new albums last year titled Gypsy Heart and Head or Heart respectively. Check out videos from each album below.

Culture Club announces new album 'Tribes,' summer tour

Boy George and the lads of Culture Club will release their first new album in 16 years later this year titled Tribes and the band has just announced a North American summer tour that will bring them to the Triangle.

Culture Club will play Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Tuesday, August 11. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 27, via the venue box office and Etix for $35 to $65.

Check out Culture Club performing their hit "Karma Chameleon" at Edinburgh Castle last year below.

Tedeschi Trucks Band & Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings announce 'Wheels of Soul' summer tour

Tedeschi Trucks Band and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings will team up this summer on the Wheels of Soul tour that will take them to amphitheaters across the U.S.

One of the stops on the tour will be at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Saturday, July 18. Doyle Bramhall II will open. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 27, via the venue box office and Etix for $44.50 or $75.

Check out Tedeschi Trucks Band performing "Keep on Growing" at a show from Boston in December and also a video of a full Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings show in Paris below.

Greg Allman & The Doobie Brothers announce summer tour

Southern rock icon Greg Allman will team up with classic rock and rollers The Doobie Brothers for a series of co-headline dates this summer and the pair will make a stop in the Triangle.

The pair will play the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Tuesday, September 1. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 20, via the venue box office and Ticketmaster for $49.50 to $59.50.

Check out a clip of Allman's show in Macon, Georgia earlier this year below.

Robert Plant announces summer 2015 dates with Pixies

Legendary singer-songwriter Robert Plant will hit the road this summer with his band the Sensational Space Shifters on a tour in support of their latest album Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar released last fall. In June they will head out on a few dates with the Pixies as support that includes a date in the Triangle.

Plant and the Shifters as well as the Pixies will play Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Monday, June 15. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 20, via the venue box office and Ticketmaster for $50 to $80.

Check out Robert Plant and the Space Shifters performing "Turn It Up" from Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar at the iTunes Festival in London last year below.

Alabama Shakes announce 'Sound & Color' 2015 tour

Fresh off a performance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend promoting their forthcoming sophomore album Sound and Color, southern rockers Alabama Shakes have extended their 2015 tour plans and will return to Cary this June.

The band will once again play the Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Wednesday, June 10. Courtney Barnett will open. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 6, via Etix for $35 to $45.

Check out the aforementioned Saturday Night Live performances of "Don't Wanna Fight" and "Gimme All Your Love" below.

Old Crow Medicine Show & Sturgill Simpson announce spring 2015 tour

String band Old Crow Medicine Show will team up with rising star Sturgill Simpson for a short string of spring tour dates that will bring the pair to the Triangle for a big show in May.

They will play Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Saturday, May 2. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 27, via Etix for $35 or $40.

Simpson was scheduled to play a sold-out show at the Lincoln Theatre on February 26 but it has been canceled due to illness. Those with tickets to the show will get a refund as well as access to a special pre-sale for the Cary show.

Peter Frampton & Cheap Trick announce co-headline 2015 summer tour

Classic rock and rollers Peter Frampton and Cheap Trick are teaming up for a co-headline tour that will take them across North America this summer.

The two bands will play the Koka Booth Ampitheatre in Cary on Wednesday, August 12. Tickets for the show will go on sale soon, though a specific on sale date has yet to be announced.

Frampton released a new album last summer titled Hummingbird in a Box. Check out the song "Heart to My Chest" from the album below.

"Weird Al" Yankovic announces massive 2015 'Mandatory Fun' tour

Comedian and musician "Weird Al" Yankovic had one of his best years in quite a while last year with the release of his 14th studio album Mandatory Fun which parodied popular songs such as "Happy," "Royals," Fancy," and "Blurred Lines" among others. It was the first comedy album to hit the number one spot on the Billboard albums chart since 1963.

Now Yankovic will take his return to stardom on the road in 2015 with a massive world tour. He will make a stop at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Thursday, June 18. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, January 30, via the venue box office and Etix for $35 to $45.

Check out the music video for the song "Word Crimes," a parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," below.

Nickel Creek dazzles Cary on reunion tour with new songs, classics

Thursday night brought incredibly mild weather and the perfect conditions for a big outdoor show at Cary's Koka Booth Amphitheater. The venue hosted reunited bluegrass/newgrass group Nickel Creek who are celebrating their 25th year in 2014.

The band hit the stage and it immediately seemed as if no time had passed since they last toured in 2007. They kicked things off with "Rest of My Life," the opening track from their new album A Dotted Line. The playful onstage antics were back, they sounded fantastic and they seem energized by the hiatus and the new music.

Nickel Creek extends 25th anniversary tour, coming to Cary

Contemporary bluegrass trio Nickel Creek has sprung back to life this year after about a seven year hiatus to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the group and to release their first new album in nine years, A Dotted Line. The band has extended their 2014 tour and they'll return to the Triangle for the first time in eight years (they played Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill in September 2006; read the review HERE).

Nickel Creek will play the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Thursday, August 14. Josh Ritter will open. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Friday, April 11 via Etix for $50 (reserved seats), $40 (tables) or $35 (lawn). The band pre-sale will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 9, HERE.

Check out the song "Love of Mine" from A Dotted Line below.

Josh Groban announces orchestral summer tour, show with NC Symphony

Singer Josh Groban is hitting the road this summer to play shows on the east coast with local orchestras and the tour will kick off right here in the Triangle.

Groban will perform with the North Carolina Symphony at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Saturday, August 16. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 28, via Etix for $49.50 to $75.

Check out a live performance of the Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová song "Falling Slowly" that Groban recorded for his latest album All That Echoes below.

Amos Lee announces 2014 tour, coming to Cary

Singer-songwriter Amos Lee has risen through the venue ranks over the last few years in the Triangle. When he comes to town on his 2014 tour he'll make another big step up after playing DPAC last fall.

Lee will play the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Friday, June 13. Rising stars Lake Street Dive will open. Pre-sale tickets are available now HERE. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 7, via Etix.

Lee's latest album, Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, was released last fall. Check out a solo performance of the album's opening track, "Johnson Blvd," below.

Willie Nelson & Alison Krauss & Union Station announce big 2014 tour

Country legend Willie Nelson and superstar bluegrass group Alison Krauss and Union Station are teaming up for a big spring/summer tour that will bring them to both the Triangle and the Triad.

They'll play the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Monday, May 19. The Devil Makes Three will open. Ticket information is not available yet. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 28, via Etix for $49.50 to $59.50.

[UPDATE: This show was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 4, but postponed "due to an unforeseen and urgent health concern that requires immediate attention," according to a press release. All tickets for the original May 4 concert date will be honored at the May 19 performance. A full refund will be offered at the original point of purchase, etix.com, by phone 1-800-514-3849, or the amphitheatre box office, to anyone unable to attend the rescheduled date.]

Jack Johnson announces 2014 tour, coming to Cary

Singer-songwriter Jack Johnson is hitting the road this spring and summer on a big North American tour in support of his latest album From Here to Now to You released last fall. Johnson visited the Triangle on his intimate solo tour last fall supporting the release, but this time he'll play a much bigger venue.

Johnson will play the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Wednesday, May 21. ALO will open. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, January 31, via Etix for $49.50.

Check out the music video for "I Got You" from From Here to Now to You below.

Alabama Shakes bring powerful soul to Booth Amphitheatre

All photos by Kevin Norris

Soulful roots rock band Alabama Shakes have experienced an unlikely launch into superstardom in the last few years leading up to and following the release of their 2012 debut album Boys & Girls. That rise brought them to Cary's Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Friday night, a massive step up from the Cat's Cradle, which they played last year.

The band came out swinging, opening with "Rise to the Sun" and following it with the fiery "Hang Loose" and the band's hit single, "Hold On." It's a tricky strategy to front load the set like that and some of the crowd definitely got really chatty pretty early on, but the band continued to deliver a fantastic set.

Win tickets to Robert Plant at Booth Amphitheatre

Robert Plant is currently making his way across the country with his band the Sensational Shape Shifters, and we have a pair of tickets for one lucky reader for Plant's show at Cary's Booth Amphitheatre this Saturday, July 20.

For a chance to win, email us at trianglemusiccontests at gmail dot com no later than noon on Thursday, July 18, and tell us what song you hope Plant and his band will play at this Saturday's show. We'll notify the winner Thursday afternoon. Congratulations, Justin M!

Tickets to the show are $65 for reserved seats and $50 for lawn and are available via Etix. There is a BOGO deal running through Wednesday, July 17, at midnight to get two lawn tickets for $50 with no fees.

Willie Nelson & Family extend 2013 tour, coming to Cary

Country lengend and regular Triangle visitor Willie Nelson has added some new dates to his 2013 schedule in support of his latest album Let's Face the Music and Dance and he'll be stopping in the Triangle in September.

Nelson and the family will return to Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on Saturday, September 14. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 12, via Etix for $35 (lawn) or $54.50 (reserved or table seats).

Check out the music video for Nelson's version of the Django Reinhardt song "Nuages" from Let's Face the Music and Dance below.