Murray State’s Lovett Auditorium may be the first stop for the up and coming Little Big Town’s soon to be Tornado Tour.

The group will visit Murray State on Thursday, Jan. 31 where they will perform some of their newly famed songs such as “Pontoon” and “Tornado.”

Little Big Town reached higher levels of fame than ever with their first number one hit “Pontoon” on the Hot Country Songs chart in September of 2012. The group has since become known as country music’s rising star, as they have experienced more success than ever.

The possibility of being the first date on such a prominent group’s tour has Murray State officials excited about what this could mean for the future of Murray State’s concerts.

“They leaked out to us about possibly of being the first date on the tour, so obviously we were excited about that,” said Matt Parker, assistant facility manager of the CFSB Center. “We hope that with this new platform in pop country we can get bigger and bigger names to come out.”

The chance to host Little Big Town was one that was created by a number of different changes that have happened within the past year.

“We were able to get Little Big Town to commit to come to Murray with really a combination of factors,” Parker said. “It really had more to do with the structure of Lovett Live because it changed when we came underneath new direction. It changed because we now partner with Froggie radio station, so we’re beginning to promote more up and coming pop country artists.”

Public tickets for the group’s performance in Lovett went on sale Friday Nov. 2nd, and will be available until all seats are sold.

Ticket costs range from $22.50-$42.50 plus applicable fees and are available at ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-745-3000 or by calling the CFSB Center box office.

Story by Shannon MacAllister, Staff writer.