Lee Brice Partners with Zippo Encore for Summer Tour Dates

briceZippo Encore will hit the road with breakout country artist Lee Brice from May 9 through August 24 when Brice joins Brad Paisley as special guest on the Beat This Summer Tour presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store®.
This marks Zippo Encore’s first partnership in the country music market, as part of their efforts to continue to engage all genres of music fans.
“I’m ready to get the ‘Beat This Summer’ tour started and welcome Zippo Lighters out on the road! The Zippo Encore program is a great way to bring some extra time to meet those fans,” says Brice. “I had a lot of fun designing my custom lighter and can’t wait to see them flickering in the crowd every night.”
As part of the Zippo Encore Artist Custom Series, Brice is designing two custom Zippo lighters for sale exclusively on the road this summer. One lighter will feature South Carolina’s palm tree and crescent moon flag and the other a wooden guitar with an authentic printed Lee Brice autograph, both designed by Lee himself.
Fans can download the free Zippo Lighter app available for iPhone and Android and receive a Lee Brice design for their virtual lighter that he created featuring South Carolina’s flag.
Brice will also be doing autograph signings at the Zippo Encore booth in five markets during the tour. Autograph signings are scheduled for May 10 (Noblesville, Ind.), June 8 (Raleigh, N.C.), July 12 (Darien Center, N.Y.), July 27 (Dallas) and August 24 (San Bernadino, Calif.).
Concertgoers can visit the Zippo Encore booth to spin the prize wheel for prizes from Zippo like seat upgrades and lighters. Also, fans are given the opportunity to design their own custom lighter and enter it into the daily design contest. One lucky winner at each tour stop will receive a Zippo Lighter. At the end of the tour, a grand-prize winner will have their custom lighter design made into a real lighter by Zippo.
 

Pistol Annies Preview New Album

pistol annies annie upMiranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley are giving fans an early listen to their Pistol Annies album with an exclusive stream on Amazon.com starting today (April 30).

Fans can listen to each of the 12 songs, which were penned by the band, before Annie Up hits shelves May 7.
“We are so ready for this album to be out and hear what y’all think about the music,” said Miranda.
“And when it’s in stores, I’ll be in there moving our record to the front of the shelf and puttin’ everyone else’s album behind ours,” laughed Anagaleena.
“And she will,” added Ashley.
Next Tuesday, Pistol Annies will celebrate the release on the Today Show. That evening, the group will perform their latest single, “Hush, Hush” on the Late Show With David Letterman.
On May 8, the trio returns to The View to debut the ballad and album’s closing track “I Hope You’re The End of My Story.”
Track Listing for Annie Up:
1. I Feel A Sin Comin’ On (Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley)
2. Hush Hush (Lambert/Monroe/Presley)
3. Being Pretty Ain’t Pretty (Lambert/Monroe/Presley)
4. Unhappily Married (Lambert/Monroe/Presley)
5. Loved By A Workin’ Man (Presley)
6. Blues, You’re A Buzz Kill (Lambert/Monroe/Presley)
7. Don’t Talk About Him, Tina (Lambert/Presley)
8. Trading One Heartbreak For Another  (Monroe/Presley)
9. Dear Sobriety  (Lambert/Monroe)
10. Damn Thing  (Lambert/Monroe/Presley)
11. Girls Like Us (Lambert/Monroe/Presley)
12. I Hope You’re The End Of My Story (Lambert/Monroe/Presley)

MusicRowPics: Jordan Anderson Artist Visit

Yesterday (April 29), Jordan Anderson stopped by MusicRow headquarters. Anderson was born in Colorado but was raised primarily in Orlando, Fla., where she got her start performing.
“I got to be a part of Night of Joy,” she said of a Christian music festival hosted at Disney World each year. “I actually performed on a pirate ship near The Pirates of the Caribbean ride!”
Since then, Anderson has relocated to Nashville, where she continues to share her music. She shared several songs with MusicRow including “Key To My Heart,” “Take It All Back,” and her current single, “Toxic.”
Anderson noted that new music is on the way this summer. For more information on her, visit jordanandersoncountry.com.
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Instrumentalist and Artist Tim Hensley Dies

timAccording to The Tennessean, multi-instrumentalist and recording artist Tim Hensley died today (April 30) at age 50. Hensley was a member of Kenny Chesney‘s touring band and studio musician team for 11 years. He suffered from liver failure.
Hensley released one solo album, Long Monday, in 2008. Chesney and Buddy Cannon produced the project containing a mixture of bluegrass and Americana songs and it became a Top 10 album on the bluegrass charts.
Prior to his work with Chesney, Hensley toured with Patty Loveless for a decade and also worked with Ricky Skaggs.
 

Weblinks: Natalie Maines, Sirius XM

Natalie Maines' new album, Mother, comes out May 7.

Natalie Maines’ new album comes out May 7.


• Natalie Maines’ solo album Mother is streaming on NPR.org. The project, co-produced by Ben Harper,  is a collection of cover songs originally recorded by Harper (“Trained”), Patty Griffin (“Silver Bell”), Eddie Vedder (“Without You”), Pink Floyd (“Mother”) and more.
Sirius XM Radio has appointed James E. Meyer chief executive officer. He has served as the interim CEO since December. Yesterday (April 29) the company announced first quarter 2013 financial and operating results, including revenue of $897 million, up 12 percent from the first quarter 2012. Net income for Q1 2013 and 2012 was $124 million and $108 million, respectively. The total paid subscriber base reached a record 24.4 million, up 9 percent from the prior year.
MTV debuted a docu-series about Nashville native Ke$ha last week. Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life was shot by her brother Lagan Sebert over the last two years. The series airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. CT.
Third Man Records will release the vinyl version of the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film The Great Gatsby. The soundtrack, executive produced by Jay Z and produced by Luhrmann, features Jack White, Jay Z, Florence + The Machine, Beyoncé, André 3000, will.i.am, Fergie and more.

Hillary Lindsey Re-Signs with BMG Chrysalis US

hillary lindseySongwriter Hillary Lindsey has re-signed her administration agreement with BMG Chrysalis US.

“Hillary is one of the most respected songwriting talents of our generation and her music has greatly impacted the Nashville community and beyond,” said Laurent Hubert, President, Creative & Marketing, BMG Chrysalis North America. “It’s an honor she choose BMG to handle her timeless songs.”
Lindsey commented: “I am so excited for the opportunity to continue my relationship with BMG and work with my BMG family. I’m looking forward to our future together!”
Lindsey’s hit songs include “Jesus Take The Wheel,” “So Small,” “Two Black Cadillacs” “Last Name,” Just A Dream,” and “Wasted” (all recorded by Carrie Underwood), “American Honey” (Lady Antebellum), “A Little Bit Stronger” (Sara Evans), “This One’s For The Girls” (Martina McBride), “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” (Gary Allan), “Kiss Goodbye” (Little Big Town) and “Fearless” (Taylor Swift), among others.
 
 

Curb Records Sues Tim McGraw For Copyright Infringement

timmcgrawNashville-based Curb Records has sued country entertainer Tim McGraw and his new record label, Big Machine Records, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee for copyright infringement, according to The City Paper.The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims that the copyright to McGraw’s debut Big Machine album Two Lanes of Freedom should actually belong to Curb Records. Curb Records alleges that McGraw recorded the songs while he was still under contract with the label.The suit further claims that McGraw also owes Curb a sixth album due to a 2001 settlement agreement regarding “greatest hits” albums that weren’t fulfilled.
“Curb Records, the recording industry and other industries that rely on personal service contracts … will suffer broad harm if McGraw and others can ignore the provisions of such agreements, selecting which provisions they may choose to follow and refusing to acknowledge others,” the suit states.
The lawsuit asks for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction to prevent McGraw from recording material until he has fulfilled the Curb contract. In September 2012, a Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a 2011 Chancery Court decision to deny Curb Records’ request for an injunction to bar McGraw from recording for another record label. McGraw signed with Big Machine in May 2012.
In May 2011, Curb sued McGraw for breach of contract, claiming the tracks on the Curb-released Emotional Traffic album were recorded outside of a contractually designated time period.
 
 
 
 
 

Industry Ink (4-30-13)

Tom Long and Mike Stewart are hosting a workshop titled “WordPress – Blogging, Marketing and Video Training for the Music Industry” on Saturday, May 18. The event will be at the Timothy Demonbreun House in Nashville, from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Cost is $125 per person. A writers’ night will follow at Douglas Corner with performances by Doug Johnson, Greg Hanna, Kim Tribble and Alaska’s Hobo Jim. For more information, visit thataflydigital.com.

• • •

BMI and CMT Edge recently co-sponsored a showcase entitled “Your Next Soundtrack” for the 2013 Nashville Film Festival at CMT’s Nashville headquarters. The event, which featured the music of Escondido, Dugas, Will Hoge and Johnnyswim, connected some of Nashville’s best Indie talent with film executives and music supervisors visiting Nashville for the festival.

Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Penny Everhard, CMT’s Leslie Fram, Escondido, Dugas, Will Hoge, JOHNNYSWIM and CMT’s Craig Shelburne.

Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Penny Everhard, CMT’s Leslie Fram, Escondido, Dugas, Will Hoge, JOHNNYSWIM and CMT’s Craig Shelburne.

• • •

Songwriters Chris McClarney and Anthony Skinner were recently honored for their song “Your Love Never Fails,” which took the No. 1 chart position at Christian Hit Radio (CHR), as performed by the Newsboys.

Pictured (L-R): Mike Murray, Creative Director for Integrity Music Publishing; Chris McClarney; Anthony Skinner; Jimi Williams, Director of WorshipTogether; Matt Ewald, Creative Director for Capitol CMG Publishing.

Pictured (L-R): Mike Murray, Creative Director for Integrity Music Publishing; Chris McClarney; Anthony Skinner; Jimi Williams, Director of WorshipTogether; Matt Ewald, Creative Director for Capitol CMG Publishing.


• • •
Quaker City Night Hawks signed with Paradigm for exclusive booking representation recently.
 
Pictured (L-R): Sam Anderson (QCNH), Andrew Skates (QCNH), David Matsler (QCNH), Matt Runner (Paradigm), Brian Hill (Paradigm), Matt Mabe (QCNH), Patrick Adams (QCNH), Wayne Floyd (QCNH Tour Manager)

Pictured (L-R): Sam Anderson (QCNH), Andrew Skates (QCNH), David Matsler (QCNH), Matt Runner (Paradigm), Brian Hill (Paradigm), Matt Mabe (QCNH), Patrick Adams (QCNH), Wayne Floyd (QCNH Tour Manager)

Chesney Establishes Fund For Boston

spreadKenny Chesney has established the Spread The Love Foundation to support patients who need prosthetics as a result of the Boston Marathon bombing.

All proceeds from digital single sales of “Spread The Love,” his track co-written and recorded with the Wailers, go to the foundation.

Chesney teamed with local station WKLB-FM for the effort and is donating a sizable amount of seed money to start the fund which will be used at Boston Medical Center or other area hospitals.

“It’s hard to imagine a world where taking your children to school, going to the movies or witnessing something as iconic as the Boston Marathon is a dangerous thing to do,” Chesney says. “For me, I want to help give these people as much of their lives back as possible, but I’d also like to counteract some of the negativity in the world… Remind people that there are more good people out there, and it’s up to us to ‘Spread the Love.’”

Boston Medical Center has established a dedicated link for the Spread the Love Fund at www.bmc.org/kenny.

T.J. Martell Hosts 14th Annual Nashville Best Cellars Dinner

Back Row (L to R) Chef Sam Tucker, Chef Bob Waggoner, Sheryl Crow, Gary Allan, Laura Heatherly (CEO, T.J. Martell Foundation), Luke Bryan, Chef Sean BrockFront Row (L to R) Co-chair Bill Hearn (President, EMI Christian Group), Co-chair Tom Black, Co-chair John Esposito (President & CEO, Warner Music Nashville), Founder Billy Ray Hearn (Founder, EMI Christian Music Group)

Back Row (L to R) Chef Sam Tucker, Chef Bob Waggoner, Sheryl Crow, Gary Allan, Laura Heatherly (CEO, T.J. Martell Foundation), Luke Bryan, Chef Sean Brock
Front Row (L to R) Co-chair Bill Hearn (President, EMI Christian Group), Co-chair Tom Black, Co-chair John Esposito (President & CEO, Warner Music Nashville), Founder Billy Ray Hearn (Founder, EMI Christian Music Group)


Attendees of the 14th Annual Nashville Best Cellars Dinner hosted by the T.J. Martell Foundation celebrated a night of exclusive wine and food pairings Monday night (April 29) that benefited cancer research at the Frances Williams Preston Labs at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Sheryl Crow, Gary Allan and Luke Bryan were a few of the artists to take part in this year’s event.
The event paired “Best Sellers,” popular chart-topping artists including this year’s Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year winners, with “Best Cellars,” some of the top wine collectors in the United States, who shared rare wines from their collections with guests at their tables. Guests also enjoyed a gourmet four-course dinner created by Bob Waggoner, executive chef of Watermark and Sean Brock, executive chef of McCrady’s and Husk in Charleston and Husk in Nashville while featuring the world-class wines from the private collectors.
Since the event’s inaugural dinner, created by Nashville wine enthusiast and music executive Billy Ray Hearn in 1999, the Best Cellars Dinner has raised more than $1.65 million to support the foundation’s mission of funding ground-breaking leukemia, cancer and AIDS research.