SUMMER FUN | Pitbull to Perform at Naperville's Ribfest

"MR. WOLRDWIDE" IS COMING TO NAPERVILLE

NAPERVILLE– The Exchange Club of Naperville is yelling “Dale!” today. The club, host to Naperville’s Ribfest, is thrilled to announce that internationally celebrated artist “Mr. Worldwide” Pitbull who often begins his songs with “Dale” or “Hit it!” will perform on the Navistar Main Stage at Ribfest on July 5th. According to Joel Carlsen, 2018 Ribfest Chair, “Pitbull’s performance at Naperville’s Ribfest is the final headliner announcement for 2018.” “It’s exciting”, Carlsen said, “to look at our lineup and see such amazing talent committed to playing each night of Ribfest.”

Ribfest 2018 opens Wednesday July 4th with guest artist Melissa Etheridge, the Stray Cats AND fireworks sponsored by Meijer®. The event, which continues through the 7th boasts Pitbull on July 5th, and country stars Jake Owen, Chris Janson and Jordan Davis on July 6th. Powerhouse rocker Steven Tyler and the Loving Mary Band close out the annual music festival on Saturday, July 7th.

ABOUT PITBULL

From Mr. 305 to Mr. Worldwide, Armando Christian Perez, aka Pitbull, rose from the streets of Miami to exemplify the American Dream and achieve international success. His relentless work ethic transformed him into a Grammy®-winning global superstar and business entrepreneur.

Along the way, he’s been the subject of specials for CNBC, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC and more; he has made appearances on Empire, Shark Tank and Dancing with the Stars. His music has appeared in Men In Black III and The Penguins of Madagascar, and he even had a starring voiceover role in the animated 3D movie Epic.

In addition to the United States, his sold-out world concert tours have taken him to North and South America, Europe and the Far East. He has also completed headlining tours in China and Japan.

Pitbull ushered in 2018 with his fourth annual New Year’s Eve event at Bayfront Park in Miami, which was broadcast in-part on Univision, and capped off another stellar year that included the release of his tenth full-length album, Climate Change, a second co-headlining U.S. tour with Enrique Iglesias, the release of his first-ever Greatest Hits, and a new Spanish single.

Climate Change includes the singles “Messin’ Around feat. Enrique Iglesias,” and “Greenlight feat. Flo Rida & LunchMoney Lewis,” both of whom also appear in the Gil Green-directed video filmed in Miami. Pitbull’s second headlining arena tour, “Bad Man,” was named after the Climate Change hit single performed on the 2016 Grammy Awards with singer Robin Thicke, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker. Greatest Hits features the two new tracks “Jungle” with Stereotypes feat. E-40 and Abraham Mateo and “Locas” feat. Lil Jon, along with his massive career-defining singles, including “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” “Give Me Everything (Feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer)” and “Timber (Feat. Kesha),” among many others.

Pitbull also teamed up with award-winning multi-platinum selling group Fifth Harmony for the Spanish single “Por Favor” [Mr. 305 Records, Sony Music Latin] and electrified audiences with the international TV premiere performance at the third annual Latin American Music Awards. Pitbull was also honored with the first-ever Latin AMA Dick Clark Achievement Award, presented by his friend and tour co-headliner Enrique Iglesias.

Landing # 1 hits in over 15 countries, 10 billion YouTube/VEVO views, 70 million single sales and 6 million album sales, Pitbull does not stop. His social networking channels include 56 million likes on Facebook (@Pitbull), 27 million followers on Twitter (@Pitbull) and 6 million followers on Instagram (@Pitbull), plus more than 10 million subscribers on YouTube (PitbullVEVO and PitbullMusic). Pitbull continues his ascent in the era of streaming music. On Pandora, for example, his all-time metrics include 3.34 billion streams, 14.5 million stations created and 11.2 million active listeners per month, with “Give Me Everything” his most streamed song at 368 million.

The Miami native born to Cuban-American expatriates lives by the motto “turn a negative into a positive,” and this mindset has instilled in him a tenacity that fuels his drive for success. In fact, breaking barriers is in his blood. His grandmother was one of the first women who fled to the Sierra Maestra mountain range in Cuba, escaping the tyranny of Fidel Castro. His mother arrived in the United States as part of the historic “Operation Peter Pan,” and his father even picked up 547 people during the Mariel boatlift. His aunt became a Cuban political prisoner. Pitbull remains immersed in a culture of challenging the status quo and continues to defy the odds and emerge victorious.

Upon graduating high school, he turned his attention to music with a series of underground mixtapes. Merging hip-hop with Cuban swing, pop flavors and a Caribbean bounce, Pitbull flaunts a style that’s indisputably his own. Releasing his full-length debut, M.I.A.M.I in 2004, followed by the success of 2006’s El Mariel and 2007’s The Boatlift. In tribute to his father, he delivered his first Spanish-language album Armando in 2010. He grinded it out on the road and touched down everywhere from the Far East and South America to Europe and across the U.S.

The hustle yielded 2011’s Planet Pit, which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 and spawned one of the “best-selling singles of all-time”—“Give Me Everything” [feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, & Nayer]. The anthem would be his first to top Billboard’s Hot 100 and go RIAA quintuple-platinum, moving over 8 million units globally. Pitbull solidified himself as a superstar entertainer, selling out arenas and stadiums all around the world.

His 2013 Meltdown EP gave the world “Timber” [featuring Ke$ha], #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for three weeks straight, six-times platinum, and accumulated global sales surpassing 8 million dollars as the “sixth best-selling song of the year.” 2014’s Globalization boasted hit “Fireball” [featuring John Ryan] and the platinum “Time of Our Lives” [featuring Ne-Yo]. Always remembering where he comes from, his second Spanish-language album, Dale [pronounced Dah-Le and named after his signature phrase], buoyed some of his biggest international songs, including the gold-certified, “Piensas” and “El Taxi” and the platinum “Como Yo Le Doy,” VEVO-certified for views in excess of 100 million.

Pitbull hosted the American Music Awards two years in a row – 2013 and 2014. He received the honor of co-writing the 2014 FIFA World Cup official song and delivered a show-stopping performance alongside Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte in São Paulo, Brazil, seen worldwide during the opening ceremony.

His first Las Vegas residency, “Time of Our Lives” at the AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, has now accomplished multiple consecutive runs with dates set for the newly renamed Zappos Theater in Spring 2018. Pitbull has unveiled plans for the Summer 2018 opening of iLov305, a new restaurant and nightlife concept on Miami's famed Ocean Drive. Pitbull has signed on to the STX UglyDolls franchise, based on the ubiquitous pop culture Uglydoll characters. Slated for release in 2019, UglyDolls will be the first film for which Pitbull will write and perform an original song, as well as lend his voice talent to one of the film’s key characters.

Pitbull has also received numerous accolades throughout his career, including Madame Tussauds Orlando gave him his own wax figure; Miami awarded him a key to the city; and he received a star in Celia Cruz Plaza on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Whether it’s his Voli 305 Vodka or fragrance line “Pitbull,” his influence has catapulted. Norwegian Cruise Line handpicked him as Godfather to Norwegian Escape, one of the most innovative cruise ships ever built and the video-shoot location for Pitbull’s Climate Change track “Freedom.” He recently completed his Second Annual Pitbull Cruise. Globalization, his 24/7 commercial-free channel on Sirius XM (Ch.4), has become one of the platform’s fastest-growing channels following its 2015 launch.

Initially inspired to pursue his music dream by one of his high school teachers, Pitbull also understands the impact that education can make in one’s life. To spread that message and encourage quality education for children from all walks of life, he serves as an ambassador for SLAM!, the Sports Leadership Arts and Management charter schools he has helped to establish. Launched in the Little Havana section of Miami where he spent some of his youth, the SLAM! model has now expanded to Las Vegas and West Palm Beach, Florida. Always striving to implement its mission to bring relevant experiences to its students, the SLAM! Foundation recently announced a new initiative: The first student-run national radio broadcast is planned to launch fall 2018 on SiriusXM.

On “Freedom,” Pitbull sums up everything: Went from a poor kid to a well-known all-around-the-globe world class citizen, man I paid all my dues and earned my stripes took all the wrong in my life and I made it right.

That is the dream, and Pitbull continually shows everybody it’s entirely possible.

Dale!

TICKETS

Tickets for Pitbull go on sale Friday, April 6th, at 10am, through ribfest.net. Group sales and multi-day Ribfest packages available Thursday, April 5th, also at 10am.

Individual day tickets for guest artist Melissa Etheridge and The Stray Cats are on sale now as well as Jake Owen / Chris Janson / Jordan Davis, and Steven Tyler and the Loving Mary Band tickets.

There are a variety of ticket choices for Ribfest 2018. For the concert lover, options include all Park General Access (which includes the Navistar Main Stage concerts and South Park), Standing Room Only, Skybox, VIP and various combination ticket packs.

The South Park ticket option does not include access to the Navistar Main Stage music venue. South Park will feature local talent on the South Stage, and host the carnival, family area, and rib vendors, and offers a daily admission fee of $5 for ages 12 and older. Children 11 and under are free South Park General Admission every day. On July 4th, South Park admission is free after 5 pm. Veterans are admitted to the South Park for free all day on July 4th.

Current Ribfest 2018 Grand Sponsors are ABC7, Navistar, Meijer, Jewel-Osco, Naperville Bank & Trust, a Wintrust Community Bank, Great Lakes Coca – Cola, Sunbelt Rentals, Medical Risk Services, Inc.,

InnoDATAve Solutions, Nathan’s Famous Beef Franks, Coldwell Banker, The Real Estate Group, Guaranteed Rate, D & J Amusements, Miller Lite, and Euclid Beverage.

Visit ribfest.net and follow us at facebook.com/ribfestnaperville/ for all the up to date news.

ABOUT NAPERVILLE'S RIBFEST

Mission-driven and volunteer run, the Exchange of Naperville’s Ribfest is a premier midwestern 4th of July concert series and celebration. In cooperation with its partners, the City of Naperville and the Naperville Park District, Ribfest, in its 31th year, now draws more than 200,000 visitors annually. Net proceeds from Ribfest directly support 50+ agencies that work tirelessly to eliminate child abuse and domestic violence in all forms. To date, Exchange has donated over $16 million.

Agencies the Exchange Club supports include those who address daily challenges in the community: hunger, families in crisis, homelessness, sexual assault, advocacy, housing, addiction, respite care for families of special need children, adult daycare, teen pregnancy support, to name just a few. The Edward Care Center, Loaves and Fishes, Families Helping Families, Little Friends, Inc., and Project HELP, a nonprofit organization established by the Club in 1992 that supports whole family and parenting health, are among those receiving allocations from Ribfest 2017 proceeds.

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