Nelly, Ludacris, Flo Rida part of all-star lineup at first Columbia ballpark concert

The first concert at Spirit Communications Park has an all-star lineup.

Hip-hop stars Nelly, Ludacris, Flo Rida and the Ying Yang Twins are scheduled to perform at the home of the Columbia Fireflies, a Class A minor league baseball team.

The event, United Music Fest, is scheduled for Sept. 7, according to the Fireflies.

“We’re extremely excited to have the United Music Fest be the first major concert at Spirit Communications Park,” Fireflies team President John Katz said in a news release. “Nelly, Ludacris and Flo Rida are all headline acts in their own right, and having all three play the same gig is going to be amazing.”

Tickets will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at the Spirit Communications Park Box Office, online at www.FirefliesTickets.com and via telephone at 803-726-4487.

Should the Fireflies make the South Atlantic League playoffs, they would still be playing on the night of the concert. But Katz told The State that they would be on the road for that date.

He also said there was another lure to holding a concert at the stadium in the fall, something that has been in the works for a while.

"We wanted to have it on Friday when there is a home (South Carolina) football game in town," Katz said of the show. "We couldn't ask for a better first show. ... All three acts appeal to a wide demographic."

Nelly is a Grammy award-winning rap superstar. Perhaps best known for his hit "Hot in Herre," Nelly entered the spotlight with the release of Country Grammar in 2000, spending seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and spawning the massive hits “Ride Wit Me”, “Country Grammar” and “E.I.” The album landed Nelly four Grammy Award nominations and sold more than nine million copies worldwide. Country Grammar is Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling more than 8.4 million copies in the U.S.

Ludacris is a rapper, songwriter, philanthropist and actor. He has won Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, MTV and Grammy awards. Ludacris was one of the first and most influential "Dirty South" rappers to achieve mainstream success during the early 2000s. In 2014, Ludacris was featured in Forbes list titled "Hip-Hop Cash Kings."

Since his 2008 breakout single "Low" was No. 1 for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release, Flo Rida has been a force in music.

Flo Rida has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists. His catalog includes the international hit singles "Right Round," "Club Can't Handle Me," "Good Feeling," "Wild Ones," "Whistle," "I Cry," "G.D.F.R." and "My House."

While this is the ballpark's first concert, Katz is optimistic there will be more to follow. He said there are no current plans for another show at Spirit Communications Park in 2018, but that it was designed to be a multiuse venue, with concerts in mind.

"We'd certainly love to do another show," Katz said. "It was important that for the first show, we do it right."

This story was originally published July 3, 2018 at 4:12 PM.