Scott Brown’s daughter to open for Clint Black in Lynn

LYNN – A Massachusetts singer had to go all the way to Nashville to land a gig in her own backyard.Ayla Brown, daughter of former Sen. Scott Brown, will perform at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium May 9 when she opens for country superstar Clint Black.”The neat thing about Ayla is we didn’t push it,” said Community Development Director James Marsh, who oversees the auditorium. “Nashville called us.”Marsh had booked Black, who has made a name for himself with hits like “Nothing but the Taillights,” “A Better Man,” “Killin Time” and “A Good Run of Bad Luck,” and it turns out he has the same agent as Brown. Marsh said the agent called him back and asked if he had booked an opening act, when he said no, he suggested Brown.”You would have thought we would be trying to push it for the local angle,” Marsh said.It has only been in the last year that Brown has gone country, however.The former Boston College basketball forward garnered national attention when she landed on American Idol in 2006. She made it to the top 16 before getting cut. Post Idol Brown released four albums including her first foray into country music with her 2012 album, “Goodbye for Good.”Marsh calls headliner Black the first true country star to play the auditorium.”We had Kenny (Rogers) and Charlie (Daniels) but they’re both really crossover,” he said. “Clint Black is our first bona fide country artist that plays nothing but country.”The auditorium has done well booking classic rock acts such as Peter Frampton, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and George Thorogood, who will be performing Thursday. Latino artists have also performed before largely sold out shows but Marsh said he is unsure if there is an appetite for country in the city or surrounding communities.”I know there is a market for country; I just don’t know if it’s in Lynn,” he said.He admitted that adding Brown to the ticket could boost sales, however, bringing in people who remember her from Idol as well as folks who are fans of her father.Scott Brown is no stranger to the venue either. Marsh said he attended last year’s Peter Frampton concert.Tickets are already on sale for the duo and can be ordered online at www.lynnauditorium.com, by calling the box office at 781-586-6770 or by visiting room 311 in City Hall during regular business hours.”This will tell us a lot about if we go down this country road more often or not,” said Marsh.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].