Jamey Johnson Welcomes Friends for Nashville Benefit Show

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Jamey Johnson


Jamey Johnson will welcome friends and fellow musicians Shooter Jennings, Jessi Colter, Jerrod Niemann, Chris Stapleton and other special guests for a musical tribute to Waylon Jennings and Hank Cochran at Nashville’s Marathon Motor Works on July 9.
Full Moon Full Life presents “A Night Of Influence Celebrating Waylon Jennings & Hank Cochran,” will raise money for the Nikki Mitchell Foundation, which aids in the early detection and cure of pancreatic cancer. Doors open at 6 p.m., the live auction begins at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 for Golden Circle and $25 for general admission.
Nikki Mitchell passed away in July 2013 of pancreatic cancer. She had served as President and CEO of Waylon Jennings’ music for more than 23 years.
For more information, visit nikkimitchellfoundation.org.

BMLG Reveals Artist Performance Lineup for Brickyard 400

BMLG1The Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com will feature a lineup of Big Machine artists for the fourth consecutive year.
The Band Perry, Justin Moore and Brantley Gilbert will headline concerts at the Brickfest Music Festival on Saturday (July 26) and Sunday (July 27) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Additionally, music and racing fans will be introduced to newcomers A Thousand Horses and Drake White during the weekend of entertainment, which is free with track admission each day.
For more information, visit brickyard.com.

Through The Lens (6/23/14)

Lucy Hale made her Grand Ole Opry debut on Saturday, June 21, when the Memphis native performed her new single, “Lie A Little Better.”
“Lie A Little Better,” written by Melissa Peirce, Mike Daly and Chris DeStefano, will be released to Country radio on July 21. Hale shot a video for the song over the weekend at the Grand Ole Opry house.

Lucy Hale at the Grand Ole Opry. Photo: Chris Hollo

Lucy Hale at the Grand Ole Opry. Photo: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry

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The Academy of Country Music welcomed singer Kree Harrison to the office while she was in Los Angeles recently. While at the Academy, she signed up for professional ACM membership, as part of the Academy’s complimentary one-year membership offered to support emerging artists.

Kree Harrison

Kree Harrison signs up for membership with the Academy of Country Music

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Chris Lane‘s debut single, “Broken Windsheld View,” broke into the Top 10 recently on the iTunes Country Songs chart, with 11,247 downloads in its first week. The guitar-driven song was written by Rodney Clawson, Shane Minor, and David Lee Murphy, and produced by Joey Moi.

Chris Lane performs in Charleston, S.C., opening for Florida Georgia Line’s This is How We Roll Summer Series 2014 tour. Photo: Lloyd Norman / Big Loud Mountain

Chris Lane performs in Charleston, S.C., opening for Florida Georgia Line’s This is How We Roll Summer Series 2014 tour. Photo: Lloyd Norman / Big Loud Mountain

'Rising Star' Debut Earns Second-Place Ratings

rising starABC’s new singing competition Rising Star debuted with a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating, averaging 5 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s preliminary ratings on Zap2it.com.
Brad Paisley, Kesha and Ludacris make up the panel of experts on the show, where their votes are added to real-time votes from at-home viewers as the contestants attempt to “raise the wall.” The show, hosted by Josh Groban, airs live so that voting can be conducted in real-time via app. If the contestant scores enough points, the video wall between them and the experts is raised and they move on to the next level.
According to Variety, NBC planned a special edition of America’s Got Talent opposite the premiere of Rising Star to intercept the new show’s viewers. Talent won the 9 PM ET hour for NBC.
Country singer Sarah Darling was among the first round of contestants and received enough votes to return to the competition (see video below). Teenage boy band Beyond 5, who recently moved to Music City, also competed but did not receive enough votes to continue on the show.
In recent months, talent competitions have saturated TV line ups. Fox cancelled The X Factor, and American Idol had its lowest-rated year ever. NBC’s popular series, The Voice, also experienced a ratings slip.

UK Singles Chart Adds Streaming Data

Official-Charts-CompanyThe UK’s Official Singles Chart will incorporate song streams into its rankings beginning with the July 6, 2014 edition. To date the Official Singles Chart was based purely on sales of singles, whether downloads, CD singles, cassette singles, 7 or 12″ vinyl.
As music streaming has grown in popularity, there has been a decline in single track sales. The chart’s new methodology reflects these changes.
100 streams will be equivalent to 1 single purchase (whether download, CD or vinyl). The streaming data represents on demand plays via services such as Spotify, Deezer, Napster, O2 Tracks (Musicqubed), rara, Sony’s Music Unlimited and Xbox Music, all members of the Entertainment Retailers Association, co-owner of the Official Charts Company.
ERA already supplies data from physical and digital stores to the Official Charts including specialist chains such as HMV, internet retailers like Amazon, the UK’s big four supermarkets and hundreds of independent retailers.
The Official Singles Chart is compiled from midnight on Sunday morning to midnight on Saturday evening every week. Streams will be counted for the first time in the chart measuring the period from Sunday, June 29, 2014 through Saturday, July 5 (week 27). Read more here.

Industry Ink (6/23/14)

Brett Eldredge

Brett Eldredge


Brett Eldredge recently signed with Sony/ATV Music.
Eldredge co-wrote his chart-topping debut single, “Don’t Ya,” as well as his current hit single, “Beat of the Music,” co-written with Ross Copperman and Heather Morgan.
 
 

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Outshyne

Outshyne


Country band Outshyne has signed a music distribution deal with Sony RED. The company will assist in the distribution of Outshyne’s project Startin’ Over, which includes the single “Moonlight Crush,” penned by Marv Green, Rodney Clawson and Blake Wise.
“I have been a huge fan since the first time I heard them back in October 2013,” said Dewayne Brown, Southeastern Director of Artist & Label Development at RED Nashville. “The song ‘Moonlight Crush’ is written by some of the most unbelievable songwriters here in Nashville, and Waylon [Owings]’s vocal blew me away. But it’s not just Waylon, I love what the boys – Josh, Casey, Jason and Smiley – bring to the party.”
 

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yep11Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) will hold a YEP Mixer on June 30 at Nashville’s Bar Louie from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Bar Louie is located at 314 11th Ave. S.

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umgUMG’s Fount Lynch and his wife welcomed daughter Cordi Ki Lynch, born June 20 at 5:15 a.m. Cordi was 21 inches long and 9 lbs, 5 oz.
 
 

Luke Bryan Sets Attendance Record At Pittsburgh's Heinz Field


Luke Bryan headlined his first stadium concert at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday, June 21. With more than 50,000 people at the show, it marked the largest number of tickets sold for a Country event at the stadium.
The night included openers Cole Swindell, Lee Brice, and Dierks Bentley.
“I want to thank you so much for selling Heinz Field out,” said Bryan. “As long as I live I will remember the great city of Pittsburgh.”
The That’s My Kind of Night Tour continues through the fall with three more stadium dates planned this summer: Aug. 10 in Boston at Gillette Stadium, Aug. 15 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and Aug. 31 in Chicago at Soldier Field.
Additionally, Bryan made recent Billboard chart history when he reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “Play It Again,” while “This Is How We Roll” with Florida Georgia Line claimed the No. 2 spot. Bryan becomes the first artist to ever hold the two top positions since the chart began in 1990.

LifeNotes: Opry Star Jimmy C. Newman Dies

Jimmy C. Newman

Jimmy C. Newman


Grand Ole Opry star Jimmy C. Newman died Saturday night (June 21) in Nashville after a brief illness. He was 86.
A public service will be held Wednesday, June 25 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium at 10 a.m., followed by a private visitation and a memorial service for close friends and family. Contributions can be made to the Grand Ole Opry Trust Fund.
Newman joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1956; his final performance at the Opry was Friday, June 6, 2014.
Newman was born in Mamou, La., in 1927. As children, he and his brother Walter helped support the family farm. Later, Newman formed a band and hosted a show on KPLC-TV (Lake Charles) and joined the Louisiana Hayride.
Newman’s first Nashville deal was a publishing contract with Acuff-Rose Music, which led to a recording deal with Dot Records. His hits included “A Fallen Star,” “Cry, Cry Darling,” and the Cajun-laced singles “Diggy Liggy Lo,” “Alligator Man,” and “Bayou Talk.” He was later inducted into the Cajun Hall of Fame, Cajun Music Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
In his later years, he enjoyed spending time on his ranch in Rutherford County with his wife, Mae.

BMLG's Dot Records Signs Drake White

Pictured (L-R): Back Row – Vector Management’s Ross Schilling, Ken Levitan, Trey Wilson;Front Row – BMLG SVP A&R Allison Jones, Dot Records GM Chris Stacey, Dot Records artist Drake White, BMLG President & CEO Scott BorchettaSeth Hellman for Dot Records

Pictured (L-R): Back Row – Vector Management’s Ross Schilling, Ken Levitan, Trey Wilson;
Front Row – BMLG SVP A&R Allison Jones, Dot Records GM Chris Stacey, Dot Records artist Drake White, BMLG President & CEO Scott Borchetta. Photo: Seth Hellman for Dot Records


Big Machine Label Group’s Dot Records has added soulful singer-songwriter Drake White to its artist roster. BMLG revived the Dot Records brand earlier this year.
“Drake White is one of the most dynamic live performers I have ever seen,” shared General Manager Chris Stacey. “He is a phenomenal songwriter and a powerhouse vocalist. I believe he can be a force in today’s musical landscape and I welcome him to the Dot Records’ family.”
White has toured with artists including Willie Nelson, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Blackberry Smoke, Toby Keith, and Kid Rock. White was previously signed to MCA Nashville, where he released the single “The Simple Life.”
White comments, “All an artist could ever ask for is at Dot. Excitement surrounds the revitalization of this nostalgic name and the band and I are ecstatic to be working with this team! I want to be around dreamers, people that are not afraid to push boundaries. It’s gonna be a great ride with this diverse, talented family. Scott is a doer and Chris has great ears and a straight shooting gun. I’m so blessed to be working with these great folks.”

MusicRowPics: Blackhawk Brings The Harmonies

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Blackhawk performs for MusicRow staff.

Blackhawk, one of Country music’s premier harmony groups of the ’90s, has returned with its latest single, “Brothers of the Southland,” the title track from Blackhawk’s first project in 12 years, due out in early July.

Now signed with Loud & Proud Records, Blackhawk’s Henry Paul, Dave Robbins and Randy Threet showcased pitch perfect harmonies on “Brothers of the Southland,” as well as classic Blackhawk singles “Every Once In A While” and “That’s Just About Right” during a performance for MusicRow staff.
The group originally comprised Henry Paul, Van Stephenson and Dave Robbins, and signed with Arista Nashville in 1993. The band’s debut single, “Goodbye Says It All,” reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks, and their self-titled debut album went double platinum. The album’s four additional singles, “I Sure Can Smell The Rain,” “Every Once In A While,” “Down In Flames,” and “That’s Just About Right,” all made the Top 10. The follow-up project, 1995’s Strong Enough, went on to be certified Gold and produced the hit songs “I’m Not Strong Enough To Say No,” and “Like There Ain’t No Yesterday.”
“We were very lucky to be in the right place at the right time,” says lead singer Paul. “Our sound was just left of center, and now, promoting our new single, it reminds me so much of when were started, visiting all of the radio stations across the country.”
In 2001, Stephenson lost his battle with skin cancer. Brothers of the Southland features a few demo songs recorded with Stephenson during the early days of Blackhawk. The first single and title track first appeared on Blackhawk’s 2002 album Spirit Dancer, the first project the group recorded after Stephenson’s death.
The group currently plays approximately 100 dates per year. For more information, visit blackhawklive.com.
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