YouTube Videos Lead Dupre To Deal With Warner

/by

An interesting path led James Dupre to Warner Bros. Records. He was working as a paramedic in Louisiana, singing in bars and making music at night. Eventually one of his many YouTube videos caught the attention of the team at Ellen, who invited him to come on the show.

Last March Dupre visited the fellow Louisiana native’s show and sang the Matchbox Twenty hit, “3 AM” (see video below). That put him on the radar of Warner Bros., which signed him to a record deal.
Dupre has posted over 100 YouTube videos and garnered over 500,000 channel views.
He is working with producers Kyle Lehning and Jerry Douglas, and has an album available at iTunes and CDbaby .com.

Bonnaroo Line-Up Revealed On Vevo

/by

Alison Krauss and Union Station are among the first acts announced for this year's Bonnaroo Festival.


Bonnaroo revealed its 2011 festival line-up this morning exclusively on music video site Vevo.
Conan O’Brien helped with the big announcement (see video below).
Taking the stage at the 10th annual event in Manchester, Tennessee will be Eminem, Arcade Fire, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Loretta Lynn, Buffalo Springfield, Widespread Panic, Robert Plant & Band of Joy, the Black Keys, The Del McCoury Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, My Morning Jacket, Karen Elson and many more.
The party runs June 9-12. As usual, that’s the same time as CMA Music Festival.

Faith Hill Set For Symphony Fashion Show

/by

Faith Hill will be the guest musical artist at the 2011 Symphony Spring Fashion Show. The April 26 event at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center will showcase the 2011 fall collection of internationally recognized design team Marchesa.
All proceeds will benefit the Nashville Symphony and its music education programs, including the Thor Johnson Scholarship Fund.
The fashion show will be presented by Marissa Collections of Naples, Fla., and the fundraiser is being co-chaired by Janet Bentz and Johnna Watson.
In related Nashville Symphony news, the upcoming Pops Series will showcase the talents of country artists Wynonna (September 15-17, 2011), Kathy Mattea (March 22-24, 2012) and Steve Wariner (April 5-7, 2012).

Grammy Party Pics [updated 2/16]

/by

On February 12, 2011 Bigger Picture Group and its partners hosted a Pre-Grammy Celebration in The Foundation Room at The House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard. (L-R): Shane Victorino (Philadelphia Phillies), Melissa Victorino, Alana Grace, Rod Essig (CAA). Photo: Stefanie Keenan


On Saturday night, February 12, 2011 Bigger Picture Group and its partners hosted a Pre-Grammy Celebration in The Foundation Room at The House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard. (L-R): Gary Veloric (Bigger Picture Group), Bob Ezrin (Bigger Picture Group), Dan Aykroyd, Alan Kates (Bigger Picture Group). Photo: Stefanie Keenan


the JaneDear girls with Warner Music Nashville’s President & CEO John Esposito and Sr. VP of A&R Scott Hendricks at the Warner Music Group’s 2011 Grammy After Party. (L-R): Danelle Leverett (the JaneDear girls), WMN’s President & CEO John Esposito, Susie Brown (the JaneDear girls) and WMN’s Sr. VP of A&R Scott Hendrick. Photo: Picture Group


RCA Nashville's Chris Young was nominated for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for “Gettin’ You Home” at the Grammy Awards. Pictured at Sony Music Entertainment’s post-show reception at Bar Nineteen 12 (L-R): Young, Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, and Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Gary Overton. Photo credit: Larry Busacca/WireImage


Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman at the Patron Tequila VIP room at the EMI Grammys After-Party in Los Angeles, held at Milk Studios. Other attendees included Little Big Town, Katy Perry, Natasha Bedingfield, Dave Navaro and Lady Antebellum. Photo: Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup


On Feb. 12 Bigger Picture Group and its partners hosted a Pre-Grammy Celebration toasting Zac Brown Band' nominations at House of Blues on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Guests in attendance included Philadelphia Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino, actor Dan Akroyd and Bigger Picture Group sibling trio The Harters. Pictured (L-R): Bill Hein (Bigger Picture Group), Keith Stegall (Bigger Picture Group), Michael Harter (The Harters), Scott Harter (The Harters), Alan Kates (Bigger Picture Group), Leslie Harter (The Harters), Bob Ezrin (Bigger Picture Group), Gary Veloric (RS Planes). Photo: Stefanie Keenan

ACM Reveals Radio Winners

/by

ACM radio award winners were announced this morning (2/15). They will not be televised due to time constraints during the live telecast of the ACM Awards on April 3. Winners in radio categories will be invited to receive their awards at a private reception in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 2.
This marks the third ACM National On-Air Personality of the Year Award win for Blair Garner, for his show After MidNite with Blair Garner. With nearly 260 affiliates, Garner is recognized as being one of the Top 10 Most Listened To Disc Jockeys in America.
On-Air Personality Of The Year Winners
National – Blair Garner – After Midnight With Blair Garner
Major Market – Cliff And Brooks (Cliff, Brooks And Tori) – KSON-FM – San Diego, CA
Large Market – Chris Carr, Jason Statt And Maverick – WUBE-FM – Cincinnati, OH
Medium Market – Andy Ritchie, Alison Mencer And Jimmy Holt – WIVK-FM – Knoxville, TN
Small Market – Dex And Mo – WUSY-FM – Chattanooga, TN
Radio Station Of The Year Winners: (Note Tie In Major)
Major Market – KEEY-FM – St. Louis Park, MN (Tie)
Major Market – KNIX-FM – Phoenix, AZ (Tie)
Large Market – WGH-FM – Virginia Beach, VA
Medium Market – WIVK-FM – Knoxville, TN
Small Market – WYCT-FM – Pensacola, FL

New Paisley Project Coming In May

/by

It’s the first major release date revealed this year, but SoundScan watchers will have to wait until May to see a sales boost.
Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Brad Paisley is slated to release his new album, This Is Country Music, on May 24 via Arista. Paisley once again teamed with longtime producer Frank Rogers for the upcoming release, which will be his first all-new studio album since 2009’s acclaimed American Saturday Night. In between studio efforts, he also released Hits Alive in November 2010.
The lead single and title track is already a hit at radio, climbing to No. 4 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart this week.
The digital single for “This Is Country Music” is available, and fans who pre-order the album for $9.99, will also receive an immediate download of the single. In addition, pre-orders will entitle purchasers periodic access to exclusive content.
Amid work on the new album, Paisley is currently headlining his H2O Frozen Over Tour.
Paisley has proven to be a consistent hitmaker, with 18 No. 1 singles to his credit (including the last 14 in a row) and career sales in excess of 12 million albums.

Matraca Berg Plans New Release

/by

Plus news on projects from George Jones, Ralph Stanley, Jeff Bates and Kenny Rogers.
>>Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Matraca Berg will release her first album in fourteen years on May 17. “I knew when I was writing these songs that they where a bit deeper and darker,” she says of The Dreaming Fields, “so I knew it was up to me [to share them]. When I perform and look at the audience, I realized these stories I’m writing are their stories too.”
Berg’s new collection covers sensitive issues like domestic violence (“If I Had Wings”), fading beauty (“Silver and Glass”), selling the family farm (“The Dreaming Fields”), and a son sent off to war (“South of Heaven”).
Berg scored her first No. 1 at age 18, and has since provided pivotal hits for the Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Gretchen Wilson, Linda Ronstadt and Dusty Springfield. Her most recent 1997 release Sunday Morning To Saturday Night was critically acclaimed.
>>George Jones is back with new material for the first time in more than 5 years. “I Ain’t Ever Slowin Down,” written by Al Anderson and Stephen Bruton; and “I Should Have Called,” by Eddie Raven, are on a new greatest hits compilation. The tracks were produced by Jones’ longtime producer Keith Stegall in 2006. From Bandit Records, George Jones: The Hits will be available exclusively at WalMart starting today (2/15).
>>Kenny Rogers will become the first artist to release a second album through the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® exclusive music program when The Love of God becomes available March 7. The CD is an inspirational collection of classic songs, along with new recordings of contemporary songs. Guests include The Whites, Winfield’s Locket, and Point of Grace.
>>Black River artist Jeff Bates’ new release hits the streets today (2/14). One Day Closer, his second album for the label, covers the circle of life he has experienced in recent years with the deaths of his parents and the birth of his daughter. In addition to the six song EP, Bates recorded a live DVD that features all the music from One Day Closer with bonus tracks highlighting previous singles.
>>Ralph Stanley will release A Mother’s Prayer, a newly recorded collection of hymns and spirituals, April 19 on Rebel Records. Among the project’s contributors are Sara Evans, Billy and Terry Smith, Clinch Mountain Boys’ fiddler Dewey Brown, and grandson Nathan Stanley.

TV Round-up with Red, Steel Magnolia, Aaron Lewis

/by

>>Nashville-based rock group Red performed “Faceless” on Conan last week (2/8). The Provident Label Group act will also perform on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow (2/16). Red’s latest release, Until We Have Faces (2/1/2011) was the highest debut in the country, claiming the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Top 200 its first week out. Further, it remained in the Top 5 on both iTunes’ Overall Album and Rock Album charts its entire street week. www.redmusiconline.com.

Pictured on Conan (L-R): RED band members: Joe Rickard, Randy Armstrong; Host Conan O'Brien; Anthony Armstrong, and Michael Barnes. Photo: Meghan Sinclair/Team Coco


>>Stroudavarious Records artist Aaron Lewis recently stopped by CMT for a series of interviews in support of his debut solo single, “Country Boy,” from his forthcoming Town Line EP, due for a March 1 release.

Pictured (l-r): Jordan Berliant, Partner, The Collective; Derek Simon, Vice President, Marketing & Artist Development, Stroudavarious Records; Stephen Linn, Sr. Director Music Programming & Promotion, CMT; Aaron Lewis; and Jay Frank, Sr. Vice President Music Strategy, CMT.


>>Steel Magnolia performed on The Late Show with David Letterman Monday, Feb. 7.

Pictured: Meghan Linsey (R) and Joshua Scott Jones (L) of Steel Magnolia hang with Green Bay Packers quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers (C) backstage.

Morning News From The Web

/by

>>Online radio outfit Pandora has filed a $100 million initial public offering, which could value the company at $1.2 billion. Pandora has 80 million users. More here.
>>A post-Grammy sales bump is expected for Lady A, Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire, and more, according to HitsDailyDouble.
>> Rumors of an Apple streaming music service have been circulating for a while. The latest clues are an expected upgrade of its cloud-based MobileMe media storage service, and the debut of a smaller, less expensive version of the iPhone. Read more from the Wall Street Journal.
>>Bonnaroo promoter AC Entertainment has signed on to present the Louisville Forecastle Festival. Read on.
>>CAA has teamed with Qualcomm to launch Creative Mobile Labs. The company will pair the creative minds CAA represents with mobile app developers. More here.

Grammy Reaction Around The Web

/by

Lady A celebrates backstage. Photo: Rick Diamond/WireImage


Nashville is on a Grammy winning streak. Last night’s wins by Lady Antebellum marked the third year in a row that a Nashville act has been the show’s top winner. Last year Taylor Swift scored big, and in 2009, the most trophies went to Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.
It is a testament to the versatile sounds coming out of Music City, and to the far-reaching visibility of Country music in particular. It gives a boost to the genre that will hopefully translate into album sales.
While Lady A stole the show, the band was shut out for Album of the Year in a night of several key upsets. Instead, the coveted Album prize went to Arcade Fire. It was equally surprising that Esperanza Spalding was named Best New Artist, and that leading nominee Eminem went into the show with ten nods, but left with just two trophies.
Many morning-after critics point to these eye-opening wins as evidence of shifting industry dynamics between old and new schools of thought. And a few of them are picking on Lady A’s name.

The LA Times called the show “a generational takeover and an airing of the widening gap between the traditional corporate music industry and the dynamic, diverse culture that’s redefining the very nature of popular music right now.
The contrast the night’s most notable winners embodied is stark. On the one hand, Lady Antebellum, whose easy-listening country pop typifies the kind of commercial crossover sound that’s moved units and won industry awards for at least half a century.
The Nashville trio’s success seemed like a victory for the commercial old guard identified with carefully crafted, highly accessible golden hits, an impression reinforced by the group’s Nashville affiliation and its weirdly conservative-seeming name, which seems to celebrate the pre-Civil War South.”

The Washington Post pointed out the show’s performance collaborations pairing young and revered faces: “And as the beleaguered recording biz continues to unravel, Grammy organizers tried to hold things together the only way they know how: with a big trans-generational group hug.” The paper also called Lady A “the adorable country-pop trio with the slavery-era name.”
On a lighter note, Dierks Bentley helped jump-start Grammy festivities with a show at Troubador in West Hollywood. It was a who’s-who of Nashville nominees including Miranda Lambert, Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Blake Shelton, Zac Brown, Del McCoury, Sam Bush, Lady A, Hayley Williams and more. Read about it here.