Trace Adkins Reaches 10-Year Mark As Opry Member

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Trace Adkins 10th anniversary trade shot by Chris Hollo-8133 8-23-13111111

Pictured (L-R): Steve Buchanan, President Grand Ole Opry Group; Adkins, J.W. Williams, Vector Management; Ken Levitan, President, Vector Management; Pete Fisher, Vice President and General Manager Grand Ole Opry. Photo By: Chris Hollo


Trace Adkins 10th anniversary with Pete on stage by Chris Hollo-8081 8-23-13111111

Pictured (L-R): Pete Fisher and Trace Adkins. Photo: Chris Hollo


Trace Adkins celebrated his 10th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member last Friday night (Aug. 23), performing for fans on the legendary stage. Adkins was first inducted into the Opry 10 years ago on that very same day by Ronnie Milsap, and he received congratulatory messages via video from Milsap, Blake Shelton, the Oak Ridge Boys, Gene Watson, and Hunter Hayes as well during the anniversary celebration.
In recognition of the milestone, Adkins closed out the evening’s show with a special 30-minute segment of his music.
“It’s been a great ten years with Trace as an Opry member, Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher said. “He’s made trips to the top of the charts, toured from coast to coast and beyond, and become a national television personality, taking the Opry with him wherever he’s gone and also always coming home to the Opry stage. Here’s to the next ten years.”

Industry Ink (8-26-13)

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Songwriter Charley Stefl has signed with Eleven Eleven Music Group for representation. The award-winning singer-songwriter-producer stopped by SESAC’s Nashville headquarters to celebrate the signing with Eleven Eleven execs.

SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Eleven Eleven’s Jason Morris, Stefl, Eleven Eleven’s Jewel Coburn and SESAC’s Tim Fink

SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Eleven Eleven’s Jason Morris, Charley Stefl, Eleven Eleven’s Jewel Coburn and SESAC’s Tim Fink.

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The Academy of Country Music recently made a $700,000 contribution to ACM Lifting Lives on behalf of the artists who participated in the taping of ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night in Las Vegas earlier this year. Ticket proceeds from the taping also went to ACM Lifting Lives. The taping included appearances and/or performances from Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, John Fogerty, Brantley Gilbert, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Nelly, Ne-Yo, Pitbull, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry. More than 11 million viewers tuned in on CBS to watch the special.

PHOTO 2 (L-R): ACM Treasurer Duane Clark, ACM Lifting Lives Chairman Bruce Bowman, ACM Chairman of the Board Ken Robold, outgoing ACM Chairman of the Board Butch Waugh, ACM President Darin Murphy, ACM Parliamentarian Paul Moore

Pictured (L-R): ACM Treasurer Duane Clark, ACM Lifting Lives Chairman Bruce Bowman, ACM Chairman of the Board Ken Robold, outgoing ACM Chairman of the Board Butch Waugh, ACM President Darin Murphy, ACM Parliamentarian Paul Moore.

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MSO PR Nashville is celebrating its fifth anniversary since opening its Nashville office (helmed by Nashville Director and publicist Lyndie Wenner) in July 2008. Wenner works with company President Mitch Schneider, Sr. VP Todd Brodginski, Account Executive Angela Villanueva and Tour Press Director Bari Lieberman, who are all based in the company’s Los Angeles headquarters. The client roster for both offices includes Dwight Yoakam, Dave Stewart, Dee Jay Silver, Lonestar, Jo Dee Messina, John Fogerty, Truth & Salvage Co., and Wynonna Judd. The company celebrated its fifth anniversary with a media mixer at the historic Union Station Hotel in Nashville.

Pictured (L-R): MSO President Mitch Schneider, influential radio personality/musician Billy Block, MSO Nashville Director/Publicist Lyndie Wenner and MSO Account Executive Angela Villanueva. Photo: Randi Radcliff.

Pictured (L-R): MSO President Mitch Schneider, radio personality/musician Billy Block, MSO Nashville Director/Publicist Lyndie Wenner and MSO Account Executive Angela Villanueva. Photo: Randi Radcliff.

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Singer and actress Lucy Hale, known for her work on the ABC television series Pretty Little Liars, has teamed with DMG Nashville, Hollywood Records, Bigger Picture Group and Monarch Publicity to introduce her debut country album. Hale is currently working with producer Mark Bright on the project. This fall, she will visit radio stations across the country before her single is released next year.

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Lucy Hale in the studio working on her debut country project.

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musiciansThe Hard Rock Café Nashville and Musicians On Call’s Young Professionals Committee have joined forces to present Rumble at the Rock, a fundraising event for the Nashville branch of Musicians On Call. The all-ages event will include a giant inflatable obstacle course, ring toss, dunking booth, Twister games, and more, and tickets are on sale now for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. The first hundred tickets sold will receive a free gift on the day of the rumble. Advance tickets can be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/RumbleattheRock. Proceeds will go to help patients in local Nashville hospitals. 

CRS 2014 Core Panel Moderators Announced

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crs2014Country Radio Seminar representatives have announced Ken Boesen (Operations Manager, WKIS/Miami), Erica Farber (President and CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau/New York), Lon Helton (Editor and Publisher, Country Aircheck/Nashville), Bob Richards (Operations Manager, Emmis Radio Indianapolis), and Todd Schumacher (VP/Market Manager, Summit Media Louisville) as core panel moderators for CRS 2014. This marks Boesen’s and Schumacher’s second consecutive year to serve as core moderators; all five moderators have previously served.
Collectively, they will oversee and direct the majority of the educational panels throughout the seminar, which will be held Feb. 19-21, 2014 inside the downtown Nashville Convention Center.
The CRS 2014 early bird registration rate of $399 is now available at CountryRadioSeminar.com.

MusicRowPics: Sherry Lynn

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New Jersey native Sherry Lynn visited the MusicRow offices on Thursday (Aug. 22) to showcase several songs, including “Beautiful Life,” which was recorded as a duet with Country legend Crystal Gayle. According to Lynn (no relation to Loretta Lynn), after opening a concert for Gayle, the well-known singer asked if Lynn would sing a duet with her. They recorded “Beautiful Life” at Gayle’s studio in Nashville. Lynn recently made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry, after Gayle asked her to perform the duet on the historic stage.
For MusicRow, Lynn also performed “I Like Them Like That,” penned by Karen Rochelle and Edward Monroe Hill, followed by “Girls Will Be Girls,” written by Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace.
Most recently, Lynn and her team have been on the road visiting MusicRow reporting stations across the country. The singer plans to record a Christmas single this September.
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Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament Raises More Than $75,000

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The 27th Annual Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament raised more than $75,000 to benefit United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee this year. The event, held Monday (Aug. 19) at the Old Natchez Country Club in Franklin, Tenn., welcomed nearly 200 female music industry professionals, with their male counterparts serving as caddies, refreshment providers and cart drivers.
Recording artists taking part in this year’s event included Jessi Alexander, Frankie Ballard, Sarah Darling, Jamey Johnson, Jaren Johnston, Eric Paslay, Morgane Hayes Stapleton, Matt Warren and more.
Major sponsors for the 2013 MRLGT included ASCAP, City National Bank, Tim McGraw, McGhee Entertainment, Kenny Chesney and Clint Higham. To date, the Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament has raised nearly $2 million for United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee.

Sponsor Toby Keith's Wild Shot Mezcal's booth in "Tent City"Pictured (l-r): TKO Artist Management's Misha WIlliams, Paradigm Agency's Jenn DeLamar, and TKO's Laura Covington and Michelle Garramone, with ASCAP/MRLGT's Alison Toczylowski

Sponsor Toby Keith’s Wild Shot Mezcal’s booth in “Tent City”
Pictured (L-R): TKO Artist Management’s Misha WIlliams, Paradigm Agency’s Jenn DeLamar, and TKO’s Laura Covington and Michelle Garramone, with ASCAP/MRLGT’s Alison Toczylowski.


Pictured (l-r): Team ASCAP's Southern Ground Artists' Lynn Oliver, ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan and Evyn Mustoe, BMLG recording artists The Cadillac Three's Jaren Johnston, Three Ring Circus Music's Casey LeVasseur, and ASCAP's Anna White and Ryan Beuschel

Pictured (L-R): Southern Ground Artists’ Lynn Oliver, ASCAP’s LeAnn Phelan and Evyn Mustoe, BMLG recording artists The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston, Three Ring Circus Music’s Casey LeVasseur, and ASCAP’s Anna White and Ryan Beuschel.


3rd Place Costume Contest Winners, Team Martin Allbee & AssociatesPictured (l-r): SchlitzLaw's Stacey Schlitz, Discovery Center's Tara MacDougall, Martin Allbee & Associates' Lainie Allbee, and Dodd Drennan & Associates' Melinda Drennan

3rd Place Costume Contest Winners, Team Martin Allbee & Associates
Pictured (L-R): SchlitzLaw’s Stacey Schlitz, Discovery Center’s Tara MacDougall, Martin Allbee & Associates’ Lainie Allbee, and Dodd Drennan & Associates’ Melinda Drennan.


2nd Place Costume Contest Winners, Team Major BobPictured (l-r): Major Bob's Wendi Crosby, songwriter Karyn Rochelle, and Major Bob's Mike Doyle, Jesse Frasure, Kates Snyder and Camille Kenny

2nd Place Costume Contest Winners, Team Major Bob
Pictured (L-R): Major Bob’s Wendi Crosby, songwriter Karyn Rochelle, and Major Bob’s Mike Doyle, Jesse Frasure, Kates Snyder and Camille Kenny.


1st Place Costume Contest Winners, Team Huskins-HarrisPictured (l-r): Songwriter Anthony Smith, Huskins-Harris's Dorothy Leonhardt, Becky Harris, Jen Sackett and Donna Huskins, and Warner Bros. recording artist Frankie Ballard

1st Place Costume Contest Winners, Team Huskins-Harris
Pictured (L-R): Songwriter Anthony Smith, Huskins-Harris’s Dorothy Leonhardt, Becky Harris, Jen Sackett and Donna Huskins, and Warner Bros. recording artist Frankie Ballard.

Thomas Rhett Preps Debut Album with Headlining Dates

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It-Goes-Like-ThisThomas Rhett’s debut album, It Goes Like This, will release Oct. 29 on The Valory Music Co. The singer-songwriter will celebrate with a string of headlining club shows.
The “It Goes Like This” singer will hit major markets through release week including Jacksonville (Oct. 31), Atlanta (Nov. 1), Chicago (Nov. 2) and Minneapolis (Nov. 3). Rhett will continue with Jason Aldean’s Night Train Tour through October.
As for the 12-track debut (full list below), producers include Jay Joyce, Michael Knox, Luke Laird, and Dann Huff. Fans were able to help Rhett reveal the album cover from a social media campaign. Watch the 16-video collection to get a glimpse of childhood videos used in the effort, including rare images with his dad, songwriter Rhett Akins.
For dates and more info, click here.
It Goes Like This Track Listing:
1.) Whatcha Got In That Cup (Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Craig Wiseman)
2.) Something To Do With My Hands (Rhett, Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton)
3.) Get Me Some Of That (Michael Carter, Akins, Cole Swindell)
4.) Call Me Up (Luke Laird, Akins, Shane McAnally)
5.) It Goes Like This (Akins, Ben Hayslip, Jimmy Robbins)
6.) Make Me Wanna (Rhett, Bart Butler, Larry McCoy)
7.) Front Porch Junkies (Remix) (Rhett, Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Mark Irwin, Josh Kear) *Remixed by Huff
8.) In A Minute (Rhett, Akins, Ashley Gorley)
9.) Take You Home (Gorley, Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawson)
10.) Sorry For Partyin’ (Rhett, Barry Dean, Robbins)
11.) All American Middle Class White Boy (Rhett, Jay Joyce, Brett Warren, Brad Warren)
12.) Beer With Jesus (Rhett, Rick Huckaby, Lance Miller)

Josh Thompson Hosts Free Online Show For Environmental Education

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Josh Thompson

Josh Thompson


Josh Thompson has teamed up with NRA Country to perform an exclusive, free online StageIt concert today (Aug. 26) to benefit the National Environmental Education Foundation. The show will begin at 8 p.m. ET. Thompson will perform and also answer questions in a live Q&A session during the event, and the top tipper will receive two tickets for an exclusive meet-and-greet with Thompson at a future show of their choice, as well as a Josh Thompson/NRA Country merchandise prize pack. The second and third highest tippers will also receive prize packs as well.
NRA Country will also offer fans the opportunity to win an exclusive VIP experience including the chance to hang with Thompson on his tour bus at each of his upcoming shows. Signups will be at Thompson’s merch booth at each tour stop, where fans can also find a new, limited edition Josh Thompson/NRA Country hat.
“My love for the outdoors started as a kid, and it plays a big role in my life still.  I think it’s important to get kids interested in the environment, especially now when it’s so easy to spend hours playing on a phone or computer all day,” says Thompson.  “Allowing me to champion this cause is just another reason I value my partnership with NRA Country.”
The show can be viewed and tickets reserved here.

Chesney Wraps No Shoes Nation Tour

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Chesney performs at Gillette Stadium.


Kenny Chesney recently wrapped his No Shoes Nation Tour with two nights at Massachusetts’ Gillette Stadium, bringing the crowds totaling 109,207 people on their feet, singing along with the entertainer’s two hour-plus set.
To celebrate the milestone, the Kraft family had a Super Bowl-style banner hung permanently near an end zone to commemorate the naming of the No Shoes Nation in 2012. The blue and white vertical flag rippled in the wind as Chesney and his band ran through a 27-song set that included guest appearances from tourmates Kacey Musgraves, the Eli Young Band, and Eric Church for the current single “When I See The Bar.”
“It’s an incredible life,” Chesney says. “Looking over and seeing all those faces, it was like ‘When I See This Bar’ was happening right there on stage right… and having Eric sing it with me, a guy who knows what it means to punch it out in a little dive bar with nobody there, well, that’s everything that song is! And everybody’s been there.”
Being the end of tour, there were several additional surprise “guests.” NoShoesRadio.com’s Mark Tamburino free-rapped “Blister in the Sun,” while production steward Robin Majors blew some tasty harp on the set closing “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”
It was an acoustic debut of “Happy On the Hey Now,” considered to be the emotional center of Chesney’s recent album Life On A Rock, that quieted the second evening’s nearly 55,000 fans. Never played in concert, it was a starkly acoustic debut for the song written about living in the moment, the sudden loss of a dear friend and the preciousness of what is shared with friends.
“I was a little nervous about doing a song so quiet and so personal in a venue that big,” Chesney said. “But so many of the people who were part of that song were there… I knew those fans were just as much a part of my life, and I wasn’t going to see them again until 2015… and I wanted something to bind us all together. It was a risk, and when I saw all the lighters and cell phones with flames aloft, I knew it was the right decision.”

Artist Action (8-26-13)

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Carrie Underwood


Carrie Underwood, who is slated to portray Maria in the upcoming three-hour live broadcast of The Sound of Music on NBC, now has a leading man for her performance. True Blood star Steven Moyer has been cast as Captain Georg Von Trapp. The Sound of Music will be broadcast on Dec. 5.

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Pictured (L-R): Red River Entertainment’s Chuck Rhodes, Michael Martin Murphey, and Murphey’s producer, Ryan Murphey.

Pictured (L-R): Red River Entertainment’s Chuck Rhodes, Michael Martin Murphey, and Murphey’s producer, Ryan Murphey.


Singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey will perform a benefit concert for the Fiona Rose Trust for Osteogenesis Imperfecta on Friday, Sept. 20 at Two Old Hippies in Nashville. For more information, visit twooldhippies.com.

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Dierks Bentley


Dierks Bentley has partnered with Country radio stations nationwide to release the official lyric video for his current single, “I Hold On.” Fans can visit 120 radio station websites to watch and share Bentley’s first-ever lyric video, which includes memorable images pulled from Bentley’s own photo collection. To see the video, visit tweematic.com.
 

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Lisa Matassa performed the national anthem for one of the singer’s favorite hometown MLB teams, the New York Mets, as they faced the Atlanta Braves recently. The game was held at Citifield in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

Pictured (L-R): Greg Gibson, Lisa Matassa, Jerry Layne, Alan Porter, Hunter Wendelstedt.

Pictured (L-R): Greg Gibson, Lisa Matassa, Jerry Layne, Alan Porter, Hunter Wendelstedt.

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Lizzie Sider performed recently at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon. The 15-year-old South Florida native penned her debut single, “Butterfly,” with Jamie O’Neal, Lisa Drew and Jimmy Murphy; its corresponding video has received more than 1 million views on YouTube.

Lizzie Sider performs at the Wildhorse Saloon.

Lizzie Sider performs at the Wildhorse Saloon.

Taylor Swift Wins at MTV Video Music Awards

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Taylor Swift


Taylor Swift was one of the top winners last night (Aug. 25) during the MTV Video Music Awards, as she accepted the mini moon man for Best Female Video for “I Knew You Were Trouble.” The star bested Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Pink, and Demi Lovato for the award, and got plenty of camera time during the awards show.
“I want to thank the fans because I tweeted about this a lot,” she said as she accepted her trophy. “I really, really wanted this, and thank you so much for doing this for me. I feel really lucky because I have both the video director Anthony Mandler and my co-star Reeve Carney here tonight, and I’m so happy that they are here.”
With one of her exes, Harry Styles of One Direction, in close range, Swift got a bit of vindication as she continued her acceptance speech. “I also want to thank the person who inspired this song — who knows exactly who he is — because now I’ve got one of these.”
She may have lost her cool just a little though when Styles and the band took the stage and thanked the fans for their support, since the cameras caught her dropping the F-bomb as she sat watching with close pal Selena Gomez.

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