Miley Cyrus Can’t Escape Heritage

Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus present "Song of the Year" at "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: Donn Jones / Provided by Country Music Association.

June 4, 2009 — Miley Cyrus is one of the top entertainers on the planet, but even though she’s been ranked by Forbes among the 30 most powerful celebrities, she still can’t quite get past the legacy of her father.

Not that she’s tried. Billy Ray Cyrus has a role in Hannah Montana, the Disney TV series that brought her to fame. He’s featured on her current soundtrack, Hannah Montana: The Movie, and he shared a Top 10 country hit with her on "Ready, Set, Don’t Go." As it turns out, he’s also one of the most-anticipated elements in her live shows — whether he’s there or not.

"At my concert — no lie — the biggest scream that I had all night was when my dad came out," she told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "It was like so crazy because every time I go off for the encore, everyone was yelling ‘Where’s your dad?’ thinking my dad is going to come out. And the very few times that he does, it just like totally sends them like crazy. It’s so cool."

Miley’s set a Sept. 14 kick-off date for her next concert tour , sponsored by Wal-Mart. In conjunction with the shows, she has a clothing line on tap at the retail chain beginning in August with everything priced below $20.

Dates for her North American tour follow:

• Sept. 14 Portland, Ore.
• Sept. 16 Tacoma, Wash.
• Sept. 18 Oakland, Calif.
• Sept. 20 San Jose, Calif.
• Sept. 22 Los Angeles, Calif.
• Sept. 23 Anaheim, Calif.
• Sept. 25 Glendale, Ariz.
• Sept. 26 Las Vegas, Nev.
• Sept. 29 Salt Lake City, Utah
• Oct. 2 Omaha, Neb.
• Oct. 3 Kansas City, Mo.
• Oct. 4 St. Louis, Mo.
• Oct. 6 Auburn Hills, Mich.
• Oct. 7 Columbus, Ohio
• Oct. 9 Des Moines, Iowa
• Oct. 10 Milwaukee, Wis.
• Oct. 12 Tulsa, Okla.
• Oct. 15 San Antonio, Texas
• Oct. 18 Dallas, Texas
• Oct. 20 New Orleans, La.
• Oct. 21 Memphis, Tenn.
• Oct. 23 Birmingham, Ala.
• Oct. 24 N. Little Rock, Ark.
• Oct. 27 Chicago, Ill.
• Oct. 29 Minneapolis, Minn.
• Oct. 31 Louisville, Ky.
• Nov. 1 Lexington, Ky.
• Nov. 3 Washington, D.C.
• Nov. 4 Philadelphia, Pa.
• Nov. 5 University Park, Pa.
• Nov. 7-8 Newark, N.J.
• Nov. 9 Boston, Mass.
• Nov. 12 Hartford, Conn.
• Nov. 15 Cleveland, Ohio
• Nov. 16 Indianapolis, Ind.
• Nov. 18-19 Long Island, N.Y.
• Nov. 22 Greensboro, N.C.
• Nov. 24 Charlotte, N.C.
• Nov. 25 Nashville, Tenn.
• Nov. 28 Columbia, S.C.
• Nov. 29 Atlanta, Ga.
• Dec. 1 Tampa, Fla.
• Dec. 2 Miami, Fla.