NPAC releases Christmas show tickets

VW independent/submitted information

The highly anticipated Niswonger Christmas show lineup begins its release this week. Together with Season Sponsors StateWide Ford Lincoln and Van Wert Federal Savings Bank, the NPAC offers ticket sales to some of the seasons most sought after events: MercyMe, Dave Koz & Friends Christmas and Home Free Christmas.

On Tuesday, September 1, starting at noon, Christian crossover sensation MercyMe tickets go on sale. Celina Moving & Storage presents this concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 5. Since its debut in 2001, Grammy®-nominated, American Music Award and multiple Dove Award winner MercyMe has sold more than 8.5 million units in CD, single and DVD sales, garnered 26 No. 1 multi-format Christian radio singles and four consecutive mainstream radio hits with “I Can Only Imagine,” “Here With Me”, “Homesick” and “So Long Self.”

The group’s radio success has continued with its recent single “Greater,” which held the No. 1 spot on Christian radio for 16 weeks. MercyMe made history in 2014 as “I Can Only Imagine” surpassed 2 million digital downloads, making it the first song in Christian music to go platinum and double platinum in the digital domain. In 2009, Billboard named MercyMe’s “Word Of God Speak” the “No. 1 Song of The Decade” and the group the “No. 1 Artist of the Decade” in both the Christian Songs and Christian AC Songs categories, recognizing the group as one of the industry’s most notable talents.

MercyMe has sold out venues across the nation, including Radio City Music Hall, and has appeared on “The Today Show”, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, CNN, Fox New Channel’s “Fox & Friends”, “ABC News”, “CBS This Morning” and in the pages of Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, USA Today, Billboard and more. The group’s eighth studio album, Welcome to the New, garnered Billboard Music Award nominations in all three Christian categories and two Grammy® nods. Tickets range from $30 to $45. Supporting sponsors are The Laurels of Shane Hill, Maplewood of Shane’s Village, Star 88.3, and WTLW 44. The Willow Bend Prime Rib Buffet is featured for this show.

This Wednesday at noon, Home Free Christmas tickets release for sale. Back by very popular demand, First Federal Savings & Loan of Van Wert presents Home Free in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 12.

When country a cappella band Home Free was crowned Season 4 champions of NBC’s “The Sing-Off”, its victory was by no means the beginning of a career for the five country stars from Minnesota … rather it was a satisfying culmination of nearly a decade of hard work and commitment to a vocal craft growing in popularity.

It was Home Free’s experience on the road that carried it to a “Sing-Off” victory, swelling the group’s fan base and bringing its homegrown country style into a national spotlight. Home Free continues to entertain audiences with its high-energy shows, which are peppered with quick-witted humor that meshes Nashville standards with pop hits dipped in country flavor.

Tickets range from $25 to $40. Supporting sponsors are Taylor Auto Sales Inc., Mercer Landmark, Dark Horse Productions and Your Hometown Lima Stations. The Willow Bend Prime Rib Buffet is featured for this show.

Next, on Thursday, September 3, jazz favorites Dave Koz & Friends tickets release for sale. Presented by Charles and Karen Koch and Jim and Theresa Robideau, multi-Grammy® nominee and saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz returns with the must-see show of the holiday season on Sunday, December 6. “By all rights, smooth jazz should own the holiday season, and the saxophonist Dave Koz is better positioned than anyone to make it so,” said The New York Times in a review of his latest Christmas album, The 25th of December.

The 2015 Dave Koz & Friends Christmas tour will feature Koz, along with three special guests. Koz will be joined by two tour “alumni” — the irrepressible Jonathan Butler, who has earned accolades in the R&B, contemporary jazz and gospel fields, and Dutch saxophone star Candy Dulfer, who was introduced with the smash pop single “Lily Was Here” and has since released 10 studio albums and performed with such artists as Prince, Dave Stewart and Lionel Ritchie — and the legendary Bill Medley, who will be touring with Koz for the first time.

Medley, who co-founded The Righteous Brothers with Bobby Hatfield, has released 14 solo albums, including the Grammy®-winning Dirty Dancing. Together, the four musicians will put fresh spins on holiday classics, as well as other selections that beautifully capture the spirit of the season.

Special for Dave Koz fans is the exclusive “Dave Koz VIP Experience”. Spend 30 minutes with Koz before the show and get to know the extraordinary man behind the music. Available online or through the Box Office, concert tickets range from $30 to $50. Supporting sponsors are the Rex and Bev Fortney family, WANE-TV and Dark Horse Productions. The Willow Bend Prime Rib Buffet is featured for this show.

Tickets are available online at NPACVW.ORG or through the Niswonger Box Office at 419.238.6722 Tuesday through Friday, from noon to 4 p.m. The Niswonger is located at 10700 Ohio 118 on the south edge of Van Wert.