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Cowboy hats and boots were the order of the day recently at the Kazabra Club on Pulaski Barracks as country music star Aaron Tippin pulled into Kaiserslautern as part of his “Stars for Stripes” Armed Forces Entertainment tour.
Tippin, a longtime supporter and advocate of the U.S. military, got his life, as well as his career, started in the military.
“My daddy was an Air Force flight instructor the day I was born,” Tippin told the crowd. “The day my first single broke on country radio, I was in Saudi Arabia with Bob Hope performing for the Soldiers. Country radio didn’t start my career, the military did.”+
So it was only fitting that the country crooner is touring various Army and Air Force installations across Europe, playing hits and enjoying every minute he spends with the troops.
“Somebody asked me last night what’s the favorite part of your show,” Tippin said backstage. “I said, ‘When it’s over. When I can get down off stage and interact and say thanks.’ If I didn’t sing a note, I just want to personally go out there and shake their hand and tell them Merry Christmas.”
This is Tippin’s seventh year doing the “Stars for Stripes” tour. Last year he played acoustic sets for the Soldiers in Afghanistan. For most artists, the grind of touring and being on the road wears them down, but watching Tippin during his show, you get a sense that he completely enjoys traveling and doing these performances.
“These are fun,” he said with a grin. “Especially when I’m downrange. I mean, that’s a pretty captive audience.”
Joining Tippin on his tour were The Lowry Sisters, an Americana/country trio hailing from Northridge, Calif. They, too, have strong ties to the military. One of their grandfathers was the recipient of the Silver Star in World War II. They look at a tour like this one as their way of saying thank you to the troops and bringing them a little piece of home.
“A lot of our family was military,” said lead singer Allison Lowry. “So being able to do this is really special. To be able to give back, you know, and just have them enjoy our show and bring some joy to them and thank them for what they do for us every day.”
