Tickets are still available for next weeks concert at Western Kentucky Universitys E.A. Diddle Arena featuring rapper Chingy. Brian Walker, head of Walk With John Entertainment, the group organizing the event, said he hopes the Chingy concert will be the first of several high-profile concerts in the Bowling Green area. I decided to do this because theres nobody really doing anything on the hip-hop scene in Bowling Green, Walker said. Were hoping we can sort of get the town on the map. If this concert goes well, Walk With John is working on potentially bringing an even bigger name to Bowling Green in the spring, he said. Theres nothing official yet, but were looking at maybe trying to get somebody like Kid Rock or the Dave Matthews Band in the spring, Walker said. In the past, many music tours have by-passed Bowling Green for bigger venues in Louisville to the north or Nashville to the south, he said. I guess they figure, why stop in a town of 60,000 people when theres 200,000 in Nashville and 600,000 in Louisville, Walker said. But were hoping we can start bringing some bigger acts to Bowling Green. Walker and his staff have traveled to the Billboard Music Awards and other events over the past several months, meeting with stars and their agents to discuss the potential to bring tours here, he said. Ive met a lot of the stars, and its just a matter of seeing if we can get something worked out, Walker said. Basically, were just trying to see where Bowling Green fits into the picture. Ticket sales for the Chingy show have been fairly slow thus far, but are likely to pick up as the concert approaches, said Rachel Manning in Westerns office of special events. Weve only sold about 200 or so tickets so far, but a lot of the sales will probably happen as walk-ups, Manning said. Even when Grammy-award-winning rap group and local celebrities the Nappy Roots played E.A. Diddle Arena last year, ticket sales were sluggish at first, she said. I expect a lot of people will just show up the day of the show to buy their tickets, she said. After spending 2002 opening for rap superstar Nelly, the St. Louis-based Chingy is on his own tour to promote his debut album, Jackpot. Right Thurr, the first single from the album, was a smash hit this summer, and the video for the follow-up single, Holidae In, which features guest performances from Snoop Dogg and Ludacris, has been very popular on MTV since debuting in mid-August. The latest member of Ludacris Disturbing Tha Peace family, Chingy has been a staple of St. Louis recording studios since age 8, when he began recording covers of hits by Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and others. Opening the show for Chingy will be Atlanta-based duo The Ying Yang Twins. In addition to recording several albums of their own, the Ying Yang Twins have worked on tracks with artists including Britney Spears. They also worked with Bowling Green-based rap group Nappy Roots on remixes of Po Folks from Nappys first album, Watermelon Chicken & Grits, and Round the Globe from this years Wooden Leather. Tickets for the show, which begins at 7 p.m. Oct. 23, are $28, and may be purchased at the Diddle Arena Box Office or by phone at 745-5222.