Tickets Are Now on Sale for the Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound Competition

BASKING RIDGE, NJ--(Marketwire - July 20, 2009) - Fans across the U.S. can now purchase tickets to the regional concerts of Verizon Wireless's How Sweet the Sound™ national competition to find "The Best Church Choir in America."

The 2009 How Sweet the Sound competition brings choirs together to perform and compete for a chance to earn the title of "Best Church Choir" in their region, as well as cash, prizes and the opportunity to represent their city in the grande finale of How Sweet the Sound. Ultimately, one choir will be named "The Best Church Choir in America."

How Sweet the Sound floor seats are $7 and lower and upper tier seats are available for $5. Performances will take place at the following venues this fall:

--  Houston - Sept. 19, Toyota Center
--  St. Louis - Sept. 21, Scottrade Center
--  Washington, D.C. - Sept. 24, Verizon Center
--  Newark, N.J. - Sept. 25, Prudential Center
--  Philadelphia - Sept. 26, Wachovia Center
--  Detroit - Sept. 28, Joe Louis Arena
--  Chicago - Sept. 30, United Center
--  Atlanta - Oct. 2, Philips Arena
--  Memphis, Tenn. - Oct. 5, FedExForum
--  Los Angeles - Oct. 8, The Forum
--  Oakland, Calif. - Oct. 10, ORACLE Arena
    

For more information on purchasing tickets, visit www.HowSweetTheSound.com.

Donald Lawrence, GRAMMY®-winning, songwriter, producer, arranger and music director, will emcee the tour for the second full year, and award-winning gospel artist, Marvin Sapp, will also be back as a judge. Once again, Verizon Wireless will select a local artist in each city to create a fine art piece to reflect the competition in their home city.

Details about How Sweet the Sound, including schedules, online voting, judging criteria, tickets and official rules, are available online at www.HowSweetTheSound.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 86.6 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 86,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) (LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.