Tickets are $15.00 and available for purchase through PayPal at www.honkytonkhitman.com. Every person who purchases a ticket will automatically earn one entry into the raffle with prizes being announced throughout the event. Additional raffle tickets may be purchased during the event for $5 each.
Guests are asked to bring their purchase receipt, as it will serve as their ticket into the event.
Nashville’s own’ “Honkytonk Hitman” Mike Rodgers – also the event’s founder – will host as well as perform. In addition to Mike, the 2010 Indie Outlaw Show featured lineup includes:
Stephen Cochran
Mike Galaway
Guy Gilchrist
Matt Howard
Buddy Jewell
john Arthur martinez
Tori Mason
Rick Monroe
Jeff Otwell
Shelly Rann
Ray Scott
Matt Snook
Seth Turner
Jessica Urick
Veda
Tonya Watts
Clint Woolsey
Billy Yates
“This year we have some surprise guests that will not be announced,” Mike shares. ”The show continues to get better every year because we have learned what works and what doesn't from previous experiences.”
Proceeds from ticket sales, raffle, and silent auction will be donated to Middle Tennessee Golden Gloves and The LaVergne Boxing Club. In addition, $5.00 from every ticket sold will be donated to a local charity that is helping families in Middle Tennessee who were affected by the flood.
The Honkytonk Hitman’s Indie Outlaw Show originally started out as a great big party. It has since evolved into a platform that gives extremely talented indie acts a chance to be seen and heard during CMA Music Festival week. The event’s success led to the opportunity to make a difference for the children in Middle Tennessee who are interested in competing in Golden Gloves boxing stay off the streets. Today, the Honkytonk Hitman’s Indie Outlaw Show has settled into all of the above.
Michael Peterson, Bret Michaels, Toby Keith, Chris Cagle, Jeffrey Steele, Trent Tomlinson, and Buddy Jewell are all previous performers on the show. The show celebrates its 7th year in 2010.
About Mike Rodgers and Honkytonk Hitman’s Indie Outlaw Show:
A man moves to Nashville, Tennessee, from Little Rock, Arkansas, to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a country-music star. After living out of his car for a week or two, he ventures into the world of professional boxing to earn rent money. He doesn't know if he can recapture his past ring glory as a distinguished amateur boxer. Much to his own surprise, he wins bout after bout, culminating in a world championship. One may imagine this scenario outlines the plot of a fictional, Hollywood screenplay from the fertile mind of a creative genius. But it is not. Rather, it represents the life story of Mike Rodgers, a country music singer and former professional boxing champion.
In June 1997, Rodgers entered the boxing ring at the Mix Factory with a pair of tennis shoes, swimming trunks and his cowboy hat because he refused to pay a $30 rental fee that all of the opponents were charged to wear the same boxing trunks and boots. Before his introduction, a drunk in the crowd yelled: "Hey cowboy, who are you supposed to be, the Honkytonk Hitman?" When Mike knocked out his 6'6" opponent in the first round, the nickname stuck and the legend of the Honkytonk Hitman began. The promoters had thought Mike would serve as a tomato can, a mere opponent for pampered prospects, unaware of his extensive amateur boxing career (155 wins-26 losses) in which he compiled numerous State and Regional Golden Gloves titles 8 years earlier. Instead, the underdog became the crowd favorite and a local folk hero after kayoing a string of foes in dramatic fashion. "I went from homeless to hero with one punch," Rodgers says. As his hit song “Honkytonk Hitman” tells his fans, he fought his way up the WBC rankings and continued to make a name for himself in the sport of boxing. Rodgers reached his ring aspirations in 2002 when he won the WBF World Cruiserweight championship with a 2nd round knockout over Art Jimmerson while legendary boxing trainer of Mike Tyson, Kevin Rooney worked his corner. Those knowledgeable about combat sports may know that Jimmerson was not only a world class boxer but also the first professional opponent in the octagon for mixed martial arts legend Royce Gracie back in the first (UFC) Ultimate Fighting Championship Tournament.
After retiring from the sport of boxing with a shoulder injury in 2003, Rodgers continued to pick up his guitar and perform all over. In 2004, Rodgers had critically acclaimed success with respected producer and hit songwriter Robert Ellis Orrall who produced a record on Rodgers for Infinity Cat Recordings (ICR) appropriately titled “Honkytonk Hitman.” During the CMA Music Festival week in 2004 the first Indie Outlaw Show was conceived with Bret Michaels (Poison) and Chris Cagle taking the stage with the Honkytonk Hitman, Mike Rodgers in a jam packed back room of the world famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. The show drew so many people that the fire marshal shut it down. Rodgers focuses the majority of his time in music now writing songs and running his annual Honkytonk Hitman’s Indie Outlaw Show during CMA Fest that features several talented independent singer/songwriters and a few National acts.
About the Middle Tennessee Golden Gloves:
As an official franchise of the Golden Gloves of America, Inc. and a feeder tournament to the Southern Golden Gloves in Knoxville, the Middle Tennessee Golden Gloves strives to provide an activity and safe environment that promotes and enhances the physical and emotional well-being and social development of young athletes. They help children develop individual athletic skills, work ethic, discipline, sportsmanship, self-respect and pride. This program is free to all children.
