Jack Ingram, Eli Young Band + More Ready to ‘Throwdown’

The Country Throwdown tour, featuring such acts as Jack Ingram, Montgomery Gentry, Eric Church, Jamey Johnson, Ryan Bingham and the Eli Young Band, kicks off tonight in Tampa and Jack, for one, can't contain his excitement.

"It's really going to be cool," Jack tells The Boot of the multi-stage traveling show. "We used to have these package shows where they'd have one band and 10 to 15 artists, but it hasn't happened in this genre in a long, long time and I think it can be very exciting, like a moving festival."

Jack also likes that the Country Throwdown Tour tickets prices top out at $35 and are as low as $15. "I love the idea of giving people the bang for their buck. A couple of years ago, I was on tour and I was signing autographs after the show and I saw the price of the [lawn seats] and I was like, ' Holy crap, oh my God!' And then you talk about $8, $12, $14 beers, not to mention $15, $20, $25 parking, that's a big freaking investment. The idea of giving people more, especially in this day and age, I'm all for it."

The members of Eli Young Band have something else on their minds -- namely the pranks that come when several acts get together in confined spaces. "There's already rumors and stuff floating around about who's going to get who, who's gunning for who," says the band's Chris Thompson. "We heard that Montgomery Gentry already has their sights set on us for a little Jim Beam competition, so we'll see how that goes."

In case you need another reason to go to the Country Throwdown Tour, which ends June 20 in Mountain View, Calif., how about the fact that 50 cents from every ticket will go to charity, including a portion to Nashville flood relief efforts. Additionally, a number of the acts, including Montgomery Gentry, Jack Ingram, Eric Church and Eli Young Band, as well as several artists on the Bluebird Café songwriters' tent, will donate net proceeds from their merchandise sales at select dates to Hands On Nashville.

Click here for Country Throwdown tickets and more information on the tour.