BLA Launches Talent Competition

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Buddy Lee Attractions is launching a country and southern rock talent competition, Bands, Bourbon & B.A.S.S. in association with Evan Williams Bourbon and Bassmaster.

The talent search includes solo artists and bands from across the nation. Five finalists will perform Sept. 6 at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon and will be judged on showmanship, musicianship and vocal abilities by a committee of music and entertainment industry executives.

The grand prize is $1,000 cash, a professional photo shoot in Nashville and the opportunity to open for RCA/Sony recording artists Bush Hawg. Second and third place winners will receive cash prizes of $500 and $250, respectively.

“We see extraordinary talent come and go on Music Row, and this talent search was created to give artist hopefuls the chance to be seen and heard…and treated like an ‘artist for a day,’” explains Donna Lee, Vice President & General Manager/Buddy Lee Attractions.

The entry fee is $75.00 and must be received by Aug., 22. Click here for details.

Jimmy Rector Joins EMI Records Nashville

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Jimmy Rector

Capitol Records Nashville has hired country radio promotion veteran Jimmy Rector as Director of Promotion, Midwest for EMI Records Nashville. Rector will begin his new gig Aug. 1 and will report directly to EMI VP of Promotion, Kevin Herring.

Rector was most recently VP of Strategic Planning & Promotion for Show Dog Universal.

“I feel like the Miami Heat when they signed LeBron James!” says Herring. “We are thrilled to have a promotion pro and boxer of Jimmy’s caliber on the EMI team.”

The move brings Rector’s career full circle. His promotion career began at Capitol Records in 1990 as a coordinator, working with artists such as Garth Brooks. Of his return to the Capitol family Rector says, “very rarely do you get to go back to where it all began and join the choir. My mom will be proud!”

Rector’s other stops include regional rep for Decca Records, regional Director at Capitol and BNA Records, Head of Promotion for RAYBAW Records, and VP of Promotion for Columbia Records.

Starting Aug. 1, he can be reached at [email protected].

Paisley Teams With Pepsi and Dollar General For Giving Campaign

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PepsiCo, Brad Paisley and Dollar General recently kicked-off the “Tune in to Giving” campaign to help support the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Paisley will be featured on in-store displays and digital marketing materials to help draw consumer awareness and participation in the program.

From now until Aug. 19 when Dollar General shoppers buy a 10-ounce or larger bag of Lay’s potato chips and a 2-liter Pepsi product together, and enter the code from their receipt at www.dollargeneral.com, $1 will be donated to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The minimum donation is $50,000, with a maximum donation of $75,000.

Fans who enter their receipt code online will receive a free music download and be entered for the chance to win Dollar General gift cards, Brad Paisley memorabilia and concert tickets to Paisley’s Virtual Reality World Tour. The tour kicked-off in January 2012 and has played to nearly one-half million fans so far. The Virtual Reality World Tour continues through mid-October.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (7/18/12)

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Eric Church and Kelleigh Bannen

I hope you’re ready to rock, because tempo tunes dominate this week’s musical menu.

One of them, “Creepin’” by Eric Church, captures the Disc of the Day award. Don’t go accusing me of hopping onto a star’s coattails: This boy was winning Disc of the Day prizes from me long before radio got on board and Mr. Platinum came calling. Even if he’d never become a Somebody, I’d be in the Church Choir.

Newcomer Kelleigh Bannen is rocking, too. And for her efforts, she wins this week’s DisCovery Award. Coincidentally, both of these artists record for EMI.

Speaking of DisCovery winners, the two non rockers in this stack of platters both come from previous winners. Katie Armiger continues her nearly perfect string of A-plus performances with “Better in a Black Dress,” and Tim Culpepper remains our most potent young heir to the honky-tonk throne with “Pouring Whiskey on Pain.” Perhaps not coincidentally, both singles are the most “country” sounding things on tap today.

KELLEIGH BANNEN/Sorry on the Rocks
Writer: Kelliegh Bannen/Troy Johnson; Producer: Paul Worley & Jerry Smith; Publisher: No Such Thing/Yacht Haven, BMI/SESAC; EMI (CDX)
—Feisty and forceful. She’s a punchy belter with something to say to a wayward beau who’s being shown the door. I dig both her singing and her song.

BUCKY COVINGTON & SHOOTER JENNINGS/Drinking Side of Country
Writer: William J. Covington/Robert Covington/Donald Medlock; Producer: Bucky Covington; Publisher: Travelin’ Zoo/EMI CMG, ASCAP; eone (CDX) (www.eonemusic.com) —The thumping backbeat is cool, and the lyrics are loads of fun. All in all, a raucous good time. Songwriters “William J.” and “Robert” are Bucky and his twin brother Rocky.

LONESTAR/The Countdown
Writer: Jaren Johnson/Manny Medina/Ryder Lee; Producer: Lonestar; Publisher: Sony-ATV Harmony/Texa Rae/Manny Medina/OCTPOB, ASCAP/SESAC; 4 Star (CDX) (www.lonestarnow.com)
—Not previously noted for rockers, these guys prove they have the uptempo goods with this pile-driving road song. The “countdown” is the time and miles it takes to get back to the one he loves.

THE WHEELER SISTERS/This Is Gonna Get Ugly
Writer: Kelly Archer/Jim McCormick/Justin Weaver; Producer: Jim McCormick; Publisher: Universal-Careers/Little Blue Lizard/Crape Myrtle, BMI; Ocala (www.wheelersisters.com)
—The track is kinda junky sounding in its attempt to sound “exciting.” But the song is sturdy, as is the vocal delivery.

ERIC CHURCH/Creepin’
Writer: Eric Church/Marv Green; Producer: Jay Joyce; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree/Sinnerlina/Warner-Tamerlane/The Good The Bad The Ugly, BMI; EMI (track)
—Veteran readers already know how crazy I am about this artist. I believe he has won more Disc of the Day awards than any other act in the long history of this column. This time around, he’s rocking so righteously that you might not catch what an extraordinary lyric this is. “Since the day you left… I can feel the lonely, I can hear the crazy, just a creepin.'” “What the dreams forget, the whiskey remembers.” “Your cocaine kiss and caffeine love got under my skin and into my blood.” If the crunchy production doesn’t knock you up the side of your head, his biting vocal will.

CHASE RICE/How She Rolls
Writer: Chase Rice/Brian Kelley; Producer: Chad Carlson; Publisher: Dack Janiels/Big Red Toe, BMI; Artist Revolution (track) (www.chaserice.com)
—Promising. The frothing production threatens to overwhelm his performance, but the solid song and his boy-next-door vocal carry the day.

BRANTLEY GILBERT/Kick it in the Sticks
Writer: Brantley Gilbert/Rhett Akins; Producer: Brantley Gilbert & The Atom Brothers; Publisher: none listed; Valory Music (track)
—I am becoming weary of artists writing rural-themed lyrics paired with screaming electrified rock tracks and calling the result “country music.”

BREAKING SOUTHWEST/Reckless & Wild
Writer: Kent Bell/Kyle Gaston; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed, BMI; BS (830-253-8813)
—Galloping across the plains and kicking up a cloud of dust, this is classic country-rock music with a decidedly contemporary spin. Send more.

TIM CULPEPPER/Pourin’ Whiskey on the Pain
Writer: none listed; Producer: Elbert West; Publisher: none listed; HonkyTone (track) (615-452-9844)
—This guy earned a DisCovery Award with his “Ghost” debut single back in January. This title tune of his CD confirms his status as a masterful new traditionalist. On it, he has a boxed set of Hank, a bottle of Jack and a honky-tonk heartache as big as a house. Somewhere, Keith Whitley is smiling.

KATIE ARMIGER/Better in a Black DressWriter: Katie Armiger/Blair Daly; Producer: Chad Carlson; Publisher: Purple Monkeys/Southside Independent/Internal Combustion/Kickin’ Grids, SESAC/BMI; Cold River
 —Put away that wedding gown, because she’s hitting the road to live her life before she settles down. The imaginative, minor-key arrangement, the haunting “woh-oh” interjections and her semi-whispered punctuations all conspire to seduce your ears. I continue to be impressed with this young artist’s efforts. Play her. Producer Carlson, by the way, is notable as the engineer/mixer on the records of a little nobody named Taylor Swift.

Industry Signings (7/17)

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Standing (L-R): SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Dennis Lord and Magic Mustang Publishing’s Juli Newton-Griffith. Seated: Shawna Thompson and Keifer Thompson.

SESAC has announced the signing of Keifer Thompson of Thompson Square for representation. Thompson along with wife and duo partner, Shawna Thompson, took home the ACM’s Top Vocal Duo of the year in 2012. Thompson Square stopped by SESAC’s Nashville headquarters recently to visit and celebrate the new partnership.

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Kingston is the newest edition to the management roster of Parallel Entertainment. The country duo was introduced to the Nashville music scene in 2009 with their debut EP The Carter Twins which featured the CMT award-nominated track “Heart Like Memphis.” Josh and Zach Carter have written with some of the top writers in town and shared the stage with acts such as Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean and Phil Vassar. With the support of the Parallel Entertainment team, Kingston is entering chapter two of their career as they work on their new album. “We are extremely happy to welcome Kingston to the Parallel Entertainment family,” said CT Wyatt, talent management. “Being such talented artists, they are destined to have a long and successful career and we can’t wait to be a part of it.”

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Mitch Schneider Organization recently signed Dave Stewart, Wynonna Judd, Lonestar, and Aerosmith for publicity representation. They join the roster that already includes Dolly Parton, Jo Dee Messina and more.

Stewart’s upcoming album The Ringmaster is slated for release Sept. 4. The 13-track album was recorded by John McBride at his famed Blackbird Studio and features guests Alison Krauss, Diane Birch, Joss Stone and Jessie Baylin.

Meanwhile, Judd’s eighth studio album will be released in 2013, and Lonestar is back in the studio with original lead singer Richie McDonald.

 

Kix Brooks Hosts Album Preview Party

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Pictured (L-R): Ryan Dokke (Arista Nashville), Cary Rolfe (The Country Network Exec VP of Programming), Kix, Robin Rhodes (Premiere Radio Networks Senior Director, Music Initiatives), Gary Overton (Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO), Arista Nashville’s Tyler Waugh & John Sigler. In front: Lauren Thomas (Arista Nashville), and John Marks (Sirius/XM Head of Country Programming). Photo: Alan Poizner

Kix Brooks celebrated the upcoming release of his Arista Nashville debut solo album, New To This Town, last night (7/16) at a listening party at Nashville’s Flyte. The project will hit shelves Sept. 11. Brooks produced the 12-song collection and tapped Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts to co-produce the title track. Brooks also co-wrote nine of the songs.

“I made an album that really is close to my heart, and it’s a whole lot of fun,” shares Brooks. “For the most part, the music’s just…it’s kind of fun and games and hangin’ it out there and thinkin’ about gettin’ back in a lot of those clubs and festivals and gettin’ to play again. It’s like, you know, people come to enjoy themselves, and I think this album in a lot of ways is about that.”

On July 10 Brooks made his solo debut on the Grand Ole Opry.

Track listing for New To This Town:

1. New To This Town (ft. Joe Walsh)
2. Moonshine Road
3. Bring It On Home
4. There’s The Sun
5. Complete 360
6. My Baby
7. Tattoo
8. In The Right Place
9. Next To That Woman
10. Let’s Do This Thing
11. Closin’ Time At Home
12. She Knew I Was A Cowboy

Fans can pre-order New To This Town at http://amzn.to/KVBaHE.

 

Snapshots: Lady A w/ Springsteen, Clay Walker’s Golf Classic

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Photo (L-R): Jason Gambill (guitar, Lady Antebellum), Dave Haywood, Bruce Springsteen, Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley. Photo: Adam Boatman

Lady Antebellum took a break from headlining its own European tour to open for Bruce Springsteen in London’s Hyde Park.

The show caused quite a stir when organizers cut off the microphone when Springsteen’s set, which featured Sir Paul McCartney, ran overtime. The Daily Beast reports the license obtained by Live Nation expired at 10:30 p.m. Only two nights into a three-day festival, organizers pulled the plug at 10:43 pm.

Lady A will continue its Own The Night 2012 World Tour with another show in London, followed by stops in Birmingham, UK (7/17), Zurich, Switzerland (7/19), Frankfurt, Germany (7/20) and Munich and Germany (7/21). For a full list of upcoming tour dates, click here.

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Pictured (L-R): Mike Kennedy, Jeff Garrison, Anthony Anderson, Clay Walker

Clay Walker hosted his 5th Annual Charity Golf Classic at the Pebble Beach Resort June 29 – July 2. The event raises money and awareness for his charity, Band Against MS (BAMS). Walker has been battling MS since 1996.

NBA All Stars Clifford Robinson and John Starks, WFAN’s Radio & TV Talent Ann Liguori, artist/songwriter/producer T Bone Burnett, actor/comedian Anthony Anderson and singer/songwriter Sarah Marince joined Walker for the week.

The Grand Gala included dinner, cocktails, live and silent auction and a concert by Walker with appearances by Marince, Anderson, and Burnett.

For more information or to make a donation to Clay Walker’s Foundation click here.

Pop/Rock Run-Down

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• Ben Folds Five is releasing its first new music in 13 years when The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind hits shelves Sept. 18 via ImaVeePee Records/Sony Music Entertainment. Ben Folds, Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee reunited in 2011 to record three new studio tracks for The Best Imitation Of Myself: A Retrospective, a career-spanning Ben Folds anthology. For the newest album, a grassroots direct-to-fans campaign was conducted through PledgeMusic, and fans who contributed will received the music early. A portion of PledgeMusic funds will be used to support music education and music therapy. BFF will return to the road this fall for the first time in 12 years with a major North American tour with overseas dates to follow.

• A recent article in the Nashville Scene features Infinity Cat Recordings, the label started by Robert Ellis Orrall and his sons who comprise duo JEFF the Brotherhood. The band celebrates today’s (7/17) release of its major label debut with its first performance on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.

• The Wallflowers’ Nashville recorded album Glad All Over will be released Oct. 2 by Columbia Records. Recorded at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio, the album was produced by Jay Joyce and mixed by Rich Costey (Bruce Springsteen). For the project, frontman Jakob Dylan was joined by band members Greg Richling, Rami Jaffee, Stuart Mathis and Jack Irons. Lead single “Reboot The Mission” is a Clash-inspired track featuring Mick Jones on vocals and guitar. The song will impact radio July 23 and will be available for free download beginning Tues., July 24 at www.thewallflowers.com.

• Nashville rockers Turbo Fruits have signed with Kings of Leon’s Serpents & Snakes Records, which will release Turbo Fruits’ new album Butter on Sept. 11. The group’s schedule includes a hometown show July 26 at Marathon Music Works with Guided By Voices. Turbo Fruits recently wrapped a 65-day tour with Deer Tick and is set for headlining shows this fall. The second single from Butter, “Harley Dollar Bill$,” can be streamed here.

• Mat Kearney is on the road with Train this summer, following almost a year of non-stop touring in support of his latest album Young Love (Aware/Universal Republic). The tour includes an Aug. 5 stop at Nashville’s Woods at Fontanel. The third single from Young Love, “Sooner or Later,” ships to radio this month.

ACM Honors Tickets On Sale Aug. 17

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The 6th annual ACM Honors will be held Sept. 24 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The evening of musical tribute performances and presentations celebrates the non-televised award winners from the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which were held earlier this year in Las Vegas.

Host, presenters and performers will be announced later this summer. Tickets start at $37 and will be on sale at Ticketmaster.com and the Ryman box office starting August 17.

Special Awards Recipients:

  • Bobby Braddock – Poet’s Award
  • Kenny Chesney – Crystal Milestone Award
  • Vince Gill – Career Achievement Award
  • Emmylou Harris – Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award
  • Gayle Holcomb –Mae Boren Axton Award
  • Alan Jackson –Jim Reeves International Award
  • Roger Miller (posthumously) – Poet’s Award
  • Billy Sherrill – Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award
  • Ricky Skaggs – Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award
  • Dwight Yoakam – Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award

MBI (Musician/Bandleader/Instrumentalist) Award Winners:

  • Stuart Duncan – Fiddle Player of the Year
  • Shannon Forrest – Percussionist/Drummer of the Year
  • Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar Player of the Year
  • Kenny Greenberg – Guitarist of the Year
  • Aubrey Haynie – Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year
  • John Hobbs – Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year
  • Frank Liddell – Producer of the Year
  • Justin Niebank – Audio Engineer of the Year
  • Michael Rhodes – Bass Player of the Year

Industry Award Winners:

  • Jimmy Jay, Jayson Promotions, Inc. – Don Romeo Talent Buyer of the Year
  • Brian O’Connell, Live Nation – Promoter of the Year
  • Billy Bob’s Texas (Ft. Worth, TX) – Nightclub of the Year
  • Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, TN) – Venue of the Year
  • Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, NV) – Casino of the Year

Songwriter of the Year Winner:

  • Dallas Davidson – Songwriter of the Year

 

[Updated] Robert Plant Elopes with Patty Griffin

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Patty Griffin and Robert Plant. Photo: Amy Price

Update: E! News received word from Plant’s U.K.-based manager that the couple is not married. According to the manager, Plant was “being cheeky” when he made the remarks. “Robert has not married Patty Griffin. He was just referring to the fact that he’s been residing in Texas.”

Earlier this week Plant made international headlines when he told British newspaper The Independent that he “eloped” with songwriter Griffin, who is also a member of his Band of Joy.

“I eloped and ran off to Texas,” he told the paper. “So now I spend half my time there and half here.”

Griffin, 48, has had success as a songwriter and performer with hits recorded by the Dixie Chicks, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Jessica Simpson and Kelly Clarkson.

Plant, 63, was married to Maureen Wilson for 15 years before they divorced in 1983. They have three children together.