Nashville Radio Station WKDF Adopts Nash-FM Brand

nash logo111The Nash-FM brand was adopted by 11 Country Cumulus stations at noon local time today (Feb. 3), including Nashville radio station WKDF.
Stations include WKDF/Nashville, Tenn.; KRMD/Shreveport, La.; WIWF/Charleston, S.C.; WKOR/Columbus-Starkville, Miss.; WXTA/Erie, Pa.; WFBE/Flint, Mich.; WYZB/Fort Walton, Fla.; WTNR/Grand Rapids, Mich.; WZCY/Harrisburg, Pa.; and WXBM/Pensacola, Fla. WPSK/Blackburg, Va. will launch the brand at 12 noon ET on Wednesday (Feb. 5).
The stations will bear the “Nash FM” logo on their websites and on-air promotions will use the “Nash FM” and “Powered by Nash” language.

Keith Urban Brings Fans Closer During 'Light The Fuse Tour'

keith urban show11111On Saturday evening (Feb. 1), Keith Urban got a warm welcome from the musical city he’s called home for the past 20 years. Urban, Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch brought the last night of their Light The Fuse Tour to Music City.

Prior to Urban’s headlining set, the arena was treated to the airtight harmonies of Little Big Town. “I remember playing our songs at 3rd and Lindsley and dreaming about this night,” said Karen Fairchild. “All we ever wanted to do was sing. Thank you to all the songwriters who let us sing your songs. Keith gave us our first shot at performing in arenas about nine years ago.” Little Big Town performed several of their hits including “Boondocks,” “Pontoon,” “Tornado” “Your Side of the Bed,” and covers of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Elvira.”
Eschewing the expected dramatic entrance favored by many musicians, Urban’s concert opening was refreshingly sparse. Urban reversed the typical concert opening, which involves band members taking the stage and vamping until the crowd is whipped into a frenzy that welcomes the star of the evening onstage. Urban walked onstage alone, practically taking the audience by surprise. As a swell of recognition filled the arena, Urban greeted the crowd before taking up his banjo for an instrumental solo. One by one, his band members joined in, creating a wall of sound.
Urban and his band of talented musicians offered a substantial palette of hits, including “Long Hot Summer,” “Sweet Thing,” “Better Life,” “Even The Stars Fall 4 You,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” and even a quirky cover of “Rocky Top.” Urban made great use of his talented tourmates as well, bringing out Little Big Town to lend harmonies on “Fly,” and Lynch to add some country boy swagger to “Kiss A Girl.” Fairchild gave a soulful rendition of Miranda Lambert’s female vocal on “We Were Us.”

keith urban 222222Kudos to Urban’s lighting and video team for the creative and effective design. The video screen was divided into five panels, separated by vertical rows of lights, which allowed for a myriad of configurations. At points during the concert, the panels displayed one image, while at other times, each member of the band was featured on a separate panel simultaneously, creating a close-up look at what was happening onstage from all angles. A small camera was attached to the headstock of Urban’s guitar, allowing fans an extremely close look at those guitar riffs Urban is famous for.

Creating a personal, intimate feel in a cavernous arena has always been one of Urban’s strengths, and the Fuse tour is no different. He used an arsenal of tricks to get close to fans in every section of the venue, including walking through the crowd and shaking hands along the way (while playing Blake Shelton‘s “Boys ‘Round Here,” no less). He ventured to a smaller stage in the back of the arena, and also into the “cheap seats” to perform. One lucky fan got a signed guitar from the star.
Urban gave another attendee, Alexis, the best seat in the house. After using a spotlight to get a better look at signs that die-hard fans brought to the show, Urban selected Alexis’ sign, which bore the questions “Can I Have A Hug?” Urban did one better. Not only did Alexis get the hug she hoped for, but a recliner was brought onstage and Alexis got a personal serenade from Urban on “Back To Me.”
He not only got close to his fans, he let them get close to him, via personal stories scattered throughout the concert. He mentioned that he performed “Memories of Us” during his wedding to Nicole Kidman. He told fans how he penned “Once In A Lifetime” after a conversation with then-fiance Kidman. “We were talking about getting married,” he recalled. “She was scared about making a commitment to a guy like me and I was trying to convince her. The next day, I didn’t plan on it, but I was writing a song and this is what came out.”
keith urban3331111The crowd also got an extended concert. “We might be a bit late tonight—a little later than normal,” said Urban, to the audience’s delight. His set began at 9 p.m. and didn’t end until after 11:30 p.m.
It wouldn’t be a Nashville concert without special guests. Eric Church appeared for “Raise ‘Em Up,” while Peter Frampton joined Urban for a sizzling guitar duel. Unfortunately, a technical issue kept the audience from hearing a brief portion of Urban’s masterful guitar melodies. The two clearly enjoyed the moment, trading guitar licks on The Beatles’ “Get Back.”
After closing the show with his signature “Somebody Like You” amid blasts of confetti, Urban returned to the stage after a brief pause. Taking a seat solo at a piano, Urban offered a medley of ballads, including “But For The Grace of God,” “Raining On Sunday,” and “Tonight I Wanna Cry,” before closing with the romantic Rodney Crowell-penned ballad “Making Memories Of Us.”
Though the tour ended in Nashville, Urban didn’t stay in town long. He told the crowd he would be flying out the next day to visit his wife and children in Morocco, where Kidman is currently shooting a movie.

CRS "Team UMG at the Ryman" Lineup Announced

team umg111Country Radio Seminar has announced its lineup for the “Team UMG at the Ryman” luncheon, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19 during CRS 2014.
Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Easton Corbin, Billy Currington, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Scotty McCreery, Kip Moore, Kacey Musgraves, David Nail, Jon Pardi, Eric Paslay, Darius Rucker and Josh Turner are among the performers this year.

“Team UMG always puts together an amazing lineup,” says CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne. “The show is definitely one of the seminar’s entertainment highlights and it is always popular among the attendees.”
The luncheon will commence at noon inside the Ryman Auditorium. This will be the fifth consecutive year the event is held at the historic venue.
Seminar registrants will receive a box lunch prior to the event.

Artist Action: Dolly Parton Inks With APA

Dolly Parton has signed with APA for North American touring and personal appearances. Parton kicks off her Blue Smoke World Tour later this month with dates across the U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Her Blue Smoke CD is slated for release this May from Sony Masterworks.
Parton is also repped by Danny Nozell of Nashville-based CTK Management. Neil Warnock from The Agency Group represents Parton worldwide, excluding North America.

Danny Nozell, Dolly Parton and Steve Nozell

Danny Nozell, Dolly Parton and Steve Martin


• • •
The Band Perry is paying for the funerals of a family who died in a fire last week.
Eight members of the Watson family, including mother Nikki Watson and seven children ages 4 to 15, died in a fire at their home in Greenville, Ky. Father Chad Watson and an 11-year-old daughter survived and are being treated at Vanderbilt Medical Center. According to reports, the band also offered to pay hotel expenses for family members staying near the hospital.
Coincidentally, The Band Perry is from Greeneville, Tenn.
• • •
Blake Shelton performed at an event surrounding the Super Bowl on Friday, Jan. 31 where PepsiCo saluted veterans with a $1 million donation to the Bob Woodruff Foundation. The night was hosted by Jon Stewart at #PEPCITY in Bryant Park in New York City.
Jon Stewart, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi and Shelton.

(L-R): Jon Stewart, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi, and Shelton


 
• • • •
Lady Antebellum surprised tourmate Kacey Musgraves backstage on Jan. 30 with a cake celebrating her two Grammy wins. They celebrated during a Take Me Downtown tour stop in Philadelphia, PA.
Photo L to R: Dave Haywood, Kacey Musgraves, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley

(L-R): Dave Haywood, Kacey Musgraves, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley

Lyor Cohen's Company 300 Teams With Twitter

lyor cohen at midem

Lyor Cohen delivers the keynote address at Midem.

Twitter has entered a partnership with 300, a new company started by music execs Lyor Cohen, Todd Moscowitz and Kevin Liles.

300, backed in part by Google, is a label and music rights company founded last year which will use a nimble infrastructure and online marketing as keys to its strategy.
Cohen shared news of the Twitter partnership, which aims to discover rising talent and the habits of music fans, during his keynote Sunday at Midem in Cannes, France. The companies hope to discover artists and songs sparking an early buzz, and yield an understanding of how fans communicate and react to music.
According to the New York Times, Twitter will share information not publicly available with 300, such as tweets’ location tags. 300 will help Twitter organize data and develop software that could be used by artists or labels.
“We’re going to create A&R tools to find artists early, and help develop them,” Cohen said at Midem. “I’m really happy to be working with them. Certainly the modern A&R business, we all are looking for talent in various places, and certainly Twitter is a terrific place to look at talent, just like YouTube. If you wanna get signed, I think you have to engage with Twitter, and of course YouTube. And we’ll be looking and trying to develop tools that the rest of the music community can utilize. That’s super-exciting for us.”
The company’s name is a reference to the 300 Spartans that fought against thousands of Persians in 480 BC. “It was a battle that changed the way wars are fought,” Cohen explained last year. “These guys found that if you were well synchronized, strategic, loyal with great planning and preparedness you could do much more with less and be highly effective.”

Mark Your Calendar – February 2014

CRS12Industry Events

February 18
MusicRow’s 12th Annual CRS Meet & Greet CountryBreakout Awards
February 19-21

  • CRS 2014
  • Pollstar Live conference at the Omni Nashville Hotel

February 21
25th annual PollStar Live awards show at the Ryman Auditorium
February 24

  • BMI’s Broadcasters Foundation Of America annual black-tie fundraising gala at New York’s Plaza Hotel
  •  TNT to air Private Lives of Nashville Wives

EYB-dustSingle Releases

February 3
Jake Owen/Beachin’/RCA Nashville
Natalie Stovall And The Drive/Baby Come On With It/Hitshop Records
Parmalee/Close Your Eyes/Stoney Creek
Hunter Hayes/Invisible/Atlantic-WMN
Eli Young Band/Dust/Republic Nashville
Erica Nicole/I Listen To My Bad Girl
Lucy Hale/You Sound Good To Me/DMG Nashville-Bigger Picture
Darius Rucker/Miss You/Capitol
Blair Mathews/It’s About Us/Stoneyhill Records
Stephanie Grace/How’s That Workin’ For Ya/SMG
February 5
Miranda Lambert/Automatic/RCA Nashville
February 10
Adrianna Freeman/No More/AFM Entertainment
Downday/The Last Song/Render
Sherry Lynn/Girls Will Be Girls/Steal Heart
Scott Coner/Feels Like Friday/Reedy’s Dream-MRI-Red
SaraBeth/That’s The Sound/Circle S
February 17
Gloriana/Best Night Ever/Emblem-Warner Bros.-WAR
North 40/Tell Me Something Good/Rhymetown Entertainment
Stevie Lee Woods/Hey, What Do I Know/Krazy Town Records
Clinton Gregory feat. Collin Raye/Some Real Good People/Melody Roundup Records
Homer Hart/The Good Drugs/Integrity Nashville
February 24
Lexi Larsen/You Can Leave/OWC Records

eric paslay111Album Releases

February 4
Eric Paslay/Eric Paslay/EMI Records Nashville
Suzy Bogguss/Lucky/Loyal Dutchess Records
Moonshine Bandits/Calicountry/Average Joes Entertainment-Suburban Noize Records
The Haden Triplets/The Haden Triplets/Third Man Records
February 11
Eric Church/The Outsiders/EMI Nashville
Frankie Ballard/Sunshine & Whiskey/Warner Bros.
Irene Kelley/Pennsylvania Coal/Patio Records
Shania Twain/The Discovery Of Eilleen Twain/MVD Entertainment Group [DVD/CD]
February 18
Cole Swindell/Cole Swindell/Warner Bros. Records
February 25
Dierks Bentley/Riser/Capitol Nashville

Nickel Creek Reveals New Song, Tour

Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek


Bluegrass trio Nickel Creek kicked back to life today (Feb. 3) with the promise of a new album, a new song – “Destination” (listen below) – and a string of eight tour dates posted to their official website.
The announcement was echoed on the band’s recently created Twitter account. Two Nashville dates (April 18-19) at the Ryman Auditorium go on sale tomorrow (Feb. 4), at 10 a.m. local time. Dates also include New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Oakland, and at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
The trio has been on a hiatus since the conclusion of the Farewell (For Now) tour, which ended Nov. 29, 2007 with two performances at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
During the hiatus, Thile was named a 2012 MacArthur Fellow while releasing multiple projects including a T Bone Burnett-produced soundtrack for Inside Llewyn Davis with his band, Punch Brothers. Sara Watkins and her brother Sean have, for years, held an informal residency in Los Angeles. Nonesuch released Sara Watkins, in 2009 and she has toured as a solo artist and as guest fiddle player/vocalist with the Decemberists, for Garrison Keillor‘s tour and broadcasts, and recently opened for Jackson Browne—joined by Sean. Sean Watkins formed the acoustic folk/pop band Fiction Family (alongside Jon Foreman of the band Switchfoot) and assembled the eight-member Americana group WPA (Greg Leisz, Benmont Tench, Pete Thomas, Davey Faragher, Glen Philips, Luke Bulla, and Sara Watkins), in addition to co-producing its self-titled record. This year, Watkins will release All I Do Is Lie, his first solo record in eight years.

LifeNotes: Trace Adkins' Father Dies

candle lifenotes11MusicRow sends its condolences to Trace Adkins and his family. Adkins’ father, Aaron, has died. The elder Adkins was a longtime mill worker.
Trace Adkins left rehab recently to be with his ailing father. The singer-songwriter had entered the facility last month after a heated exchange with an impersonator while on a Country music cruise ship. Adkins’ representatives released a statement saying that the singer had a setback in his battle with alcoholism, and had taken his first drink in more than a decade.