The International Festival of Country Music has announced that legendary country trailblazer Charley Pride will join the festival’s stellar line up alongside nine-time Grammy Award winners Asleep at the Wheel.

Charley Pride is one of the true legends of country music. In the early to mid-1970s, he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley and has notched up an incredible 36 number one hits throughout a career that spans decades. Pride is one of the few black country artists to have achieved considerable success in genre, and the only black artist to have been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Charley will be performing at the Wembley date only.

Since the early '70s, Asleep at the Wheel have been the most important force in keeping the sound of Western swing alive. The Wheel earned enthusiastic critical praise throughout their lengthy career; they not only preserved classic sounds that had all but disappeared from country music, but were also able to update the music, keeping it a living, breathing art form. The band will be performing in both Wembley and Belfast before the festival travels to mainland Europe.

The line-up additions have been released alongside an announcement that Little Big Town will no longer be appearing at the festival dates due to scheduling conflicts. The band said: “Due to a scheduling conflict and the recording of our new album, we regretfully have to cancel our upcoming appearances in Europe. We were very much looking forward to these shows and will be rescheduling very soon.”

Festival promoter Mervyn Conn comments: “We’re absolutely delighted to be able to announce two such fantastic acts for the festivals and we are sure fans will be very excited to see these legendary performers on stage. Plans for the festivals are shaping up very well and we can’t wait to see everyone in February.”

The line up for all dates of the festival is headed up by international country superstar Reba McEntire. With a career that spans over five decades and includes two Grammy Awards, 55 million worldwide album sales and 63 U.S. top ten hits, Reba is one of the biggest selling female artists of all time. Having last performed in the UK 12 years ago, the Wembley appearance will give British fans a rare opportunity to enjoy a true legend, live on the London stage.

Reba will be joined by fourteen-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Skaggs, a country trailblazer who struck his first chords on a mandolin over 52 years ago. Ricky, who has collaborated with numerous artists including Bruce Hornsby, Emmylou Harris and Jack White, will be bringing his own inimitable take on bluegrass and roots music to the festival.

Acclaimed country music band Lonestar, who first made their debut on the Billboard country music charts in 1995 and have recently reformed their original line-up, are also featured on the bill. Lonestar have gained international respect and acclaim with ten number one singles on the U.S. country charts alone. British fans will instantly recognize their song ‘Amazed’ which spent eight weeks at number 1 on the Billboard chart.

The International Festival of Country Music ran for 23 years from 1969 to 1991 at Wembley Arena. The shows, promoted by the legendary Mervyn Conn, were the first to introduce country music to the British public and featured a host of (now) legendary artists including; Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Jerry Lee Lewis, Crystal Gayle and many more.

After the Wembley and Belfast dates, the festival will travel to Zurich and Germany.

Wembley Tickets are priced from £53:

Tickets can be purchased via;
General Box Office: 0844 815 0815
Accessible seating: 020 8782 5629
Online: ^{www.ticketmaster.co.uk}

Belfast Odyssey Arena Tickets are priced from £33:

Tickets can be purchased via;
General Box Office: 028 90739074

Online: ^{www.ticketmaster.co.uk}

Website: ^{www.festivalofcountrymusic.com}

Twitter: @intlfestofcm

Additional dates and venues;
Belfast: Odyssey Arena – 29/02/12
Zurich: Hallenstadion – 02/03/12
Mannheim: SAP Arena – 04/03/12