Published: December 03, 2008 12:24 pm         

John Michael Montgomery to play low-price show at Indiana Theatre

TERRE HAUTE — National-caliber music acts have been scarce in Terre Haute this year, especially after the economy tightened in the fall. But cheap jams are on the way.

Country artist John Michael Montgomery, whose biggest chart hits include "I Swear" and "Letters From Home," will perform Saturday, Jan. 31, in the Indiana Theatre, along with opening act Katie Armiger, said Rich Mischelle of Mischelle Productions. Ticket prices will be $15 for front-section seats, and $10 for the remainder in the historic, 1,500-seat theater at the corner of Seventh and Ohio streets.

The 43-year-old Montgomery — younger brother of Montgomery Gentry's Eddie Montgomery — topped the charts in the mid-1990s with two albums, "Life's a Dance" and "Kickin' It Up." Those discs included hits such as "I Love the Way You Love Me," "I Swear," "Be My Baby Tonight," "If You Got Love" and "Rope the Moon." He also sang a caricature of auctioneers, "Sold."

In 2003, his paean to soldiers "Letters From Home" became popular as the war in Iraq raged. Montgomery's latest album "Time Flies" features the single "Forever."

Armiger, a 16-year-old who played as a support act in the Indiana Theatre earlier this year, has a current single "Unseen" on the country charts. It comes from her album "Believe."

Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 12, at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster.com and at its local outlet, FYE, in Honey Creek Mall, as well as at the Indiana Theatre box office during its regular showtime hours.

A limited number of VIP seats, at $50 each, will be available and will include a meet-and-greet with Montgomery.

Mark Bennett can be reached at mark.bennett@tribstar.com.