Paul McCartney will perform at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on May 31, in what AC Entertainment President Ted Heinig calls a “career highlight” and “a dream come true.”
“For someone who has lived in Knoxville for over 30 years, to be able to bring someone like Paul McCartney and to be part of the team that made it happen is an experience I will never forget. I can’t think of anyone bigger than Paul McCartney,” Heinig said. “In my mind, this is the greatest show to ever play Thompson-Boling, and I mean that with no offense to anybody else.”
The show, which is part of McCartney’s Got Back Tour, a 13-city return to U.S. stages, will kick off April 28 with the superstar’s first-ever show in Spokane, Washington, and will run through to June 16 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium.
The Knoxville show is one of only a handful of arena shows on the schedule, and one of only four that Live Nation has booked. The other three Live Nation shows are in Los Angeles, Seattle and Boston. The rest of the tour is being promoted by AEG and being staged in baseball or football stadiums. Heinig said in a telephone interview the fact that Knoxville got it is no accident and the result of years of work and relationships.
Thompson-Boling Arena seats a little more than 21,000 people but will be configured for a crowd of around 16,000 for the concert.