Artist Action (10/14/13)

• RCA Records singer-songwriter Chris Young recently performed a version of Eric Clapton’s classic hit “Change The World” for an installment of ReImagined, a new online series launched by the GRAMMY Awards® and The Recording Academy®, which spotlights contemporary artists talking about and performing their own take on GRAMMY®-honored songs. Young’s performance, shot in Los Angeles late last month, can be seen at grammy.com.
 
• The recently-created Outlaw Music Hall of Fame is holding a major concert event Oct. 25-27 featuring three days of performances by artists like Shooter Jennings, Wayne Mills, Bridgitte London, Stone the Crow, Chris Gantry, Billy Don Burns, and many more.
Held at the Chopper Hill Rally site in Altamont, Tenn., the show will also be available to fans around the world on pay-per-view for a minimum donation of one dollar.  All money raised will go to develop the headquarters of the Outlaw Music Hall of Fame in Lynchburg, Tenn., which is slated to open in the spring of 2014.
The weekend will also include a songwriters in-the-round on Oct. 26 featuring Chris Gantry, Steve Young, James Austin, Tom Ghent, Burns, Billy Gant, and a special surprise guest. The Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductees will also be announced during the evening.
The new Outlaw Hall of Fame will be dedicated to musicians and songwriters whose work best exemplifies the qualities of the Outlaw movement of the 1970s. Placing the spotlight firmly on the roots of country, the Hall will educate the public about Outlaw country, memorialize founders of the genre like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Jessi Colter,  and recognize current Outlaw artists, providing a platform for them and the independent record labels who give them a home. The museum will be housed in a 5000 square-foot facility on the town square in Lynchburg, Tenn. and will include interactive displays and a studio for live internet broadcasts. A concert series showcasing independent roots country artists will also be held each April-Nov.
 

• JT Hodges has been cast in an upcoming made-for-TV holiday movie, Finding Christmas, which will air Dec. 15 on the Hallmark Channel. The film, which also stars Tricia Helfer, Mark Lutz, and Cristina Rosato, is part of the network’s annual “Countdown To Christmas” programming campaign.
Hodges will release a holiday single, “Joy To The World,” in conjunction with the TV movie on Nov. 5 on iTunes. He performs the tune in the movie, in which he stars as an aspiring musician acclimating to life in New York City.
“I’ve always loved performance art period, said Hodges. “It was choir and musicals in high school and then on to theatre and television studies in college. I’ve always been passionate about cinema, as a viewer and an actor. Being able to work on this movie with Hallmark Channel was an amazing experience and opportunity for me. I’m very thankful and excited that all of my fans now get to see another side of my artistry.”