CHARLOTTE, NC. (Top40 Charts/ IPAK Records) - IPAK recording artist Ansel Brown kicks off a preview of his Bigger
Heart Tour with appearances at five children's hospitals in North and South Carolina, January 14-18. At each stop, the Carolina native will perform an acoustic set and will visit hospital rooms. Dates and locations:
January 14 at 2 p.m. Levine Children's Hospital/Charlotte, NC
January 15 at 2 p.m. McLeod Children's Hospital/Florence, SC
January 16 at 2 p.m. Palmetto Health Children's Hospital/Columbia, SC
January 17 at 2:30 p.m. Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital/Charleston, SC
January 18 at 2 p.m. Greenville Hospital Systems Children's Hospital/Greenville, SC
Ansel will also visit radio stations in each city, discussing the importance of these hospitals and the specialized care that they provide their very special patients, and sharing the story behind the Bigger Heart Tour. "The idea for all this began two years ago," Brown says. Acting on a friend's suggestion, Ansel donned his big Stetson and strolled into a room at Levine's Children's Hospital to kick off his signature song, "Waikiki Cowboy." The professionals marveled at the extraordinary connection Brown formed with the kids, and they encouraged the singer to broaden his efforts and repeat his success on a national level. Now, that vision is a reality, and these Carolina dates are just the start of the Bigger Heart Tour. Brown plans to take his one-man, one-of-a-kind show on the road and bring his music and larger-than-life personality to hospitals across the nation. "It's all about connecting through the music," Ansel says. "It's about reaching out and touching one heart, one hospital at a time."
Brown has already touched one very special heart - that of his new friend, Haley Cook. Haley has repeatedly beat the odds to become an inspiration to everyone around her. Her health permitting, Cook intends to act as an "ambassador" for a few of the Bigger Heart Tour stops. "Haley missed my first performance in the hospital because she was having her 29th brain surgery," Brown says.
"She was a cocaine baby born prematurely. She's 10 years old and she's had over 300 major procedures in her life. She wasn't supposed to live past a week, and then she wasn't supposed to live past a year. She was never supposed to talk or walk, and she does all of those things. Haley is a living, breathing miracle, and she changes the life of everyone she meets. I want the world to know about her, and all the other children like her who face unbelievable challenges every day."
You can connect with Ansel, and hear his IPAK Records' debut single, "Mine's Bigger," at www.anselbrown.com or www.MySpace.com/anselbrown.
