Gord Bamford, Dean Brody Lead CCMA Noms With Six Apiece

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ccma awardsThe Canadian Country Music Association has announced the nominees for the 2015 CCMA Awards, and Gord Bamford leads the pack with six nods, including Male Artist of the Year, Single and Songwriter of the Year, Video, Producer of the Year, and Fan’s Choice. Dean Brody also boasts six nominations for Fans Choice, Album, Male Artist, Single, Songwriter, and Video of the Year.

Brett Kissel and Dallas Smith each racked up an impressive four noms. Kissel is up for Male Artist of the Year, Single, Video, and Interactive Artist of the Year, while Smith received nods for Fans Choice, Male, Album, and Single of the Year. Jason Blaine is up for Songwriter, Video, and Producer of the Year, while Tim Hicks received nods for Album, Male Artist, and Interactive Artist of the Year. Duo High Valley also landed noms for Album, Group or Duo, and Interactive Artist of the Year, and Jess Moskaluke is up for Female Artist, Album, and Single of the Year.

Eight out of the 34 awards will be presented on the CCMA broadcast, which will air Sunday, Sept. 13 on CBC-TV at 8 p.m. NT with an encore airing on CMT (Canada) at 10 p.m. ET. The event is part of Canadian Country Music Week, taking place Sept. 10-13 in Halifax, NS.

Carole-Ann Mobley Launches CAM Creative Services

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Carole-Ann Mobley

Carole-Ann Mobley. Photo: Keith Thomas

With more than 25 years of music industry experience, former A&R executive Carole-Ann Mobley has formed CAM Creative Services to meet the artist development needs of independent and emerging artists in Nashville. She is working with singers, musicians and songwriters, offering customized A&R, artist development and writer management services.

Mobley’s impressive resume includes Vice President A&R at Warner Music Nashville, where she signed standouts Brett Eldredge and Frankie Ballard, and Senior Director A&R at Sony Music Nashville, as well as stops at Starstruck Entertainment, Beckett Productions and Austin City Limits.

She has worked with Nashville’s emerging stars from companies including Red Light Management, Shackelford, Bowen, Zumwalt and Hayes, and Butler Snow LLP.

Mobley has also founded Girls On The Row with award winning writer and former BNA recording artist Rachel Proctor. The quarterly workshops develop branding, positivity, self-confidence and healthy lifestyle skills for young girls.

For more information about CAM Creative Services and Girls On The Row, reach Mobley at 615-473-6840 or [email protected].

Kings of Leon to Headline New Year’s Eve Bash Downtown

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Kings of Leon

Kings of Leon

The Kings of Leon will help Nashville ring in the New Year in a big way by headlining the free Jack Daniels Bash on Broadway.

The event has continuously grown since it began seven years ago and last year drew a record crowd of over 130,000, resulting in $17 million in direct visitor spending, 22,000 hotel rooms booked, and national exposure for the city on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast.

“The purpose of this event is to bring in significant direct visitor spending to Nashville and to market the brand of Music City, and it has been increasingly successful each year on those fronts,” said Ken Levitan, chair of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Center board of directors and president of Vector Management, home to the Kings. “With the Kings headlining this year, our opportunity to grow both of those areas—particularly with an international audience—is significant.”

The NCVC is logistically planning for 150,000 fans on Broadway, the largest crowd size ever for a Nashville concert and the largest Music City New Year’s Eve event to date.

“I can think of no place I’d rather play New Year’s Eve than at home with 100,000 of my closest friends,” said Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill about the burgeoning event.

Country is Choice Among Teens as Nominees Announced

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teen choice logoCarrie Underwood, Hunter Hayes, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, and Megan and Liz will all vie for Choice Country Song at the upcoming Teen Choice Awards 2015 on Fox August 16. Nominees for the category include Underwood’s “Little Toy Guns,” Bryan’s “Kick The Dust Up,” FGL’s “Sippin’ On Fire,” Hayes’ “21,” Megan and Liz’s “That Ghost,” and Sam Hunt‘s “Take Your Time.”

Jack Black, Sarah Hyland, Bella Thorne, and other stars are slated to appear on the broadcast, which features teen picks of the hottest things happening in television, movies, and music. The show will air live on FOX at 8:00 p.m. EST. For more information on the show, go to www.teenchoice.com. 

Luke Bryan Crashes Riviera Maya Again in January

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Luke BryanLuke Bryan and buddies are beach bound again this January when year two of his Crash My Playa concert/vacation event takes place Jan. 22-26 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The all-inclusive concert vacation features four nights of concerts, two headlined by Bryan and the other two by Dierks Bentley and Cole Swindell. Other artists on the bill for the country fiesta include Brett Eldredge, Sam Hunt, Dustin Lynch, and Chris Stapleton.

Bryan once again partners with CID Presents for this ultimate fan experience, where fans can choose from three tropical resorts and receive royal treatment all weekend long including all-inclusive food and drink, 24-hour concierge service, offsite excursions, an official Crash My Playa merchandise package, and more. For more information on the beach bash, visit www.crashmyplaya.com.

Ascend Amphitheater Unveiled, Preps Free Open House

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Riverfront Park and Ascend Amphitheater. Photo: Metro Photographic Services.

Riverfront Park and Ascend Amphitheater. Photo: Metro Photographic Services.

Over two years since it was announced, Riverfront Park’s Ascend Amphitheater will celebrate its grand opening ribbon cutting July 30.

Eric Church will then christen the venue during the Live Nation Concert Series presented by Journey’s (the Nashville-headquartered teen retail chain) with two sold-out acoustic evenings July 30-31. A free, four-day community open house will be held Aug. 2 from 1:00-5:00 p.m complete with tours of the amphitheater and performances by local bands and DJs.

The park includes a 1.5 acre lawn known as “The Green,” as well as previously announced multi-use greenway trails, which serve as a connection to city greenways and parks north, south, east and west. Also featured are ornamental gardens (with 267 trees representing over 38 species helping achieve Level 1 arboretum status), Nashville’s first downtown dog park, WiFi access, exercise and sports facilities, including two basketball half-courts and over-scaled customized swings.

The 11 acre parcel is currently on track to receive LEED Gold Certification for its green roof (with solar panels and media charger), 400,000‐gallon rain harvesting tank, geothermal heating, cooling and ice machine system, 48 bike parking spaces and bike repair station.

Ascend-ampatheater-areal

Aimed at becoming the “front porch” of Nashville, the project’s design is intended to reflect the Cumberland River it sits beside. Sinuous curves throughout the park and multi‐coursed limestone walls and building face are intended to feel as if they are being carved out of the earth. Site walls (rebar fence and railing) and the amphitheater steel skeleton and open roof structures reflect those of abandoned gantry cranes from the barge industry and steel structured bridges.

“Ascend Amphitheater and Riverfront Park transform a prime piece of downtown real estate with great music and beautiful green space for all of our residents and visitors to enjoy,” said Mayor Karl Dean.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean leads Riverfront Park Project Team tour. Photo: Metro Photographic Services.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean leads a Riverfront Park Project Team tour. Photo: Metro Photographic Services.

Ticketed events will close the park, where the state‐of‐the‐art electronic shell accommodates acoustic performances through small microphones over the orchestra to feed advanced digital signal processing and loudspeakers to create the same reflections an orchestra would hear from a physical hall. It is one of only a handful of outdoor electronic shells in the world.

The amphitheater provides seating for approximately 6,800 (2,200 removable chairs, lawn capacity of 4,500 and approximately 100 premium box seats between the reserved seating and lawn). A 45‐foot grade overlook offers sightlines of no more than 300 feet to the 55‐foot x 100‐foot stage.

The artist wing of the amphitheater supports five dressing rooms of varying sizes with private baths. In addition, “The Alley” is an artist lounge area where a private outdoor deck is provided. “The Mockingbird Cafe” has a full kitchen and provides dining for the stage crew or a small event. The 2500‐square‐foot “Riverfront Room” sits below the stage facing the park green with an adjacent outdoor, natural stone terrace to accommodate meet‐and‐greet events with artists or private community events.

2015 Ascend Amphitheater Dates

7.30-31 – Eric Church (sold-out)
8.1 – Chicago & Earth Wind and Fire
8.4 – Phish (sold-out)
8.5 – Jill Scott
8.6 – My Morning Jacket with Moon Taxi
8.7 – Counting Crows with Citizen Cope and Hollis Brown
8.8 – Steely Dan with special guest Elvis Costello
8.9 – Sublime with Rome, Rebelution, Pepper and Mickey Avalon
8.14 – NEEDTOBREATHE, Switchfoot, Drew Holcomb, and Colony House
8.15 – Idina Menzel
8.16 – Peter Frampton & Cheap Trick
8.18 – Sublime With Rome, Rebelution, Pepper and Mickey Avalon
8.22 – Australian Pink Floyd with LedZeppelin2
8.28 – Old Crow Medicine Show
8.29 – Under the Sun Tour
9.1 – ZZ Top with Blackberry Smoke
9.5-6 – Widespread Panic
9.23 – Daryl Hall and John Oates
9.27 – Janet Jackson (sold-out)
10.2 – Lynyrd Skynryd
10.8 – Chris Tomlin with Rend Collective
10.9 – Florence and the Machine
10.10 – Grace Potter with Lake Street Dive
10.11 – Jackson Browne
10.13 – All Time Low and Sleeping with Sirens

Haber Business Management Becomes Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman

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grfllp.title.foundedHaber Business Management has officially changed its name to Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman. The California-based firm maintains its Music City office at 1920 Adelicia St., Ste. 300, Nashville, TN 37212.

The name change was prompted by the passing of founder Gary Haber in April 2014.

Founded in 1967, Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman (“GR&F”) is a leading full-service business management firm for entertainers, executives and select high net worth individuals. Clients include Carrie Underwood, Mike Fisher, Julianne Hough, Boyce Avenue, Peter Frampton, and more.

The firm has eighteen partners and over 200 staff members delivering comprehensive financial services in the fields of music, motion pictures, television, sports, literature and other creative and performing arts.

 

Average Joes Signs Trailer Choir

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Pictured (L-R): Big Vinny, Butter.

Pictured (L-R): Big Vinny, Butter

Average Joes Entertainment has welcomed Trailer Choir to its roster of artists for the record label.

The duo, Big Vinny (also featured on NBC’s The Biggest Loser) and Marc Fortney (Butter), are currently in the studio writing and recording new music due out next year in addition to being featured on the upcoming Mud Digger 6 album, set for release in the coming weeks.

“We’re very happy to have Trailer Choir as part of the family,” said Shannon Houchins, CEO of Average Joes. “Their fans have been waiting a while for new music and we’re thrilled to be releasing their upcoming project.”

The group was previously a trio signed with Show Dog.

Average Joes launched in 2008 with flagship artist Colt Ford. Since its inception, the entertainment company has expanded to housing three labels, a management company, a publishing entity and a film and television production company. Additional projects includes Colt Ford, The LACS, Bubba Sparxxx, Charlie Farley, Lenny Cooper, Moonshine Bandits, Demun Jones, Sarah Ross, Twang and Round, Moccasin Creek, I4NI, Cypress Spring, Exit 24 and Redneck Social Club.

Industry Walks Into Winners Bar To Celebrate ‘A Guy Walks Into A Bar’

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(L-R): BMI’s Bradley Collins, Patrick Joseph Music’s Pat Higdon, ASCAP songwriter Brad Tursi, ASCAP’s Beth Brinker, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, BMI singer-songwriter Tyler Farr, ASCAP songwriter Jonathan Singleton, Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, BMI songwriter Melissa Pierce, Big Deal Music’s Pete Robinson, and Disney’s Patrick Clifford.

(L-R): BMI’s Bradley Collins, Patrick Joseph Music’s Pat Higdon, ASCAP songwriter Brad Tursi, ASCAP’s Beth Brinker, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, BMI singer-songwriter Tyler Farr, ASCAP songwriter Jonathan Singleton, Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, BMI songwriter Melissa Pierce, Big Deal Music’s Pete Robinson, and Disney’s Patrick Clifford.

Winner’s Bar in Nashville was the location for the No. 1 party to celebrate Tyler Farr’s “A Guy Walks Into A Bar.” Even though several similes were used to describe the warm temperature inside, the venue held sentimental value. Farr saw songwriter Jonathan Singleton perform “A Guy Walks Into A Bar” acoustically during a publisher event at that very location. It took off from there.

Along with co-writers Melissa Peirce and Brad Tursi, Farr and Singleton were honored during the ASCAP and BMI hosted event.

Leslie Roberts from BMI welcomed those in attendance and praised Peirce for her first No. 1 song. With it, Peirce was presented a guitar for reaching the top for the first time. Mike Sistad of ASCAP applauded Tursi for writing his first No. 1 song and Singleton for his sixth.

The song is published by Patrick Joseph Music, Big Machine Music and Big Deal Music.

Those taking the stage recognized all of the publishers, producers Jim Catino and Julian King, 377/Red Light management, and Columbia Records.

Also there to bestow honors were members of CMA and CRB. Cooper Samuels of Avenue Bank announced a donation to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital on behalf of the songwriters.

Peirce took to the microphone and gave special acknowledgement to Columbia’s radio promo team. “You all have been working this for as long as I’ve been pregnant.” Peirce is due to give birth to a baby boy in three weeks. Peirce continued with reference to her soon-to-be-born son, “I look forward to being able to tell him that if he works really hard then things will happen. There is still magic left in this world.”

Brad Tursi celebrated his first No. 1 song while he has co-writing credits on two other songs that are currently on the chart. Kenny Chesney’s “Save It For A Rainy Day” and, his band, Old Dominion’s “Break Up With Him.” After college and then living in New York for a while, Tursi decided to move to Nashville. “Moving here was that best thing that I ever did, so thank you Nashville,” he said.

For Farr, this is his third No. 1 song as an artist. He ended the party by thanking the writers for making a “real country song with a hook.” He added, “I’ll stand by that kind of music until they put me in the ground.”

L-R (Front row) Brad Tursi, Columbia Nashville’s Mary Allison, Brooke Meris, co-writer Melissa Peirce; Columbia Nashville’s Samantha Borenstein, Dave Dame, co-writer Jonathan Singleton; Columbia Nashville’s David Friedman L-R (Back row): Columbia Nashville’s R.J. Meacham, Tyler Farr.

(L-R Front row): co-writer Brad Tursi (Old Dominion); Mary Allison, Events & Promotion Specialist, Columbia Nashville; Brooke Meris, Manager, Regional Promotion, Columbia Nashville; co-writer Melissa Peirce; Samantha Borenstein, Manager, Regional Promotion, Columbia Nashville; Dave Dame, Director, Regional Promotion, Columbia Nashville; co-writer Jonathan Singleton; David Friedman, Director, National Promotion, Columbia Nashville; (Back row): R.J. Meacham, Director, National Promotion, Columbia Nashville; Columbia Nashville recording artist Tyler Farr. Photo: Steve Lowry

L-R: Columbia Nashville’s Norbert Nix, Sony’s Jim Catino, Tyler Farr; and new Sony Music Nashville senior leadership executives Ken Robold, Executive Vice President & COO; and Steve Hodges, Executive Vice President, Promotion & Artist Development.

(L-R): Norbert Nix, VP, Promotion, Columbia Nashville; Jim Catino, VP, A&R, Sony Music Nashville; Columbia Nashville artist Tyler Farr; new Sony Music Nashville senior leadership executives Ken Robold, Exec. VP & COO; and Steve Hodges, Exec. VP, Promotion & Artist Development. Photo: Alan Poizner

CRB Elects New Board

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CRS 2016 Logo The Country Radio Broadcasters recently completed their elections for the 2015-2016 Board of Directors. Charlie Morgan, Sr. VP and Market Manager for Emmis Communications/Indianapolis, has been re-elected as President of the Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. for the 2015-2016 term. In addition, returning as officers are R.J. Curtis (All Access Music Group) as Vice President, Carole Bowen (WKIS-FM) as Secretary and Jeff Walker (The AristoMedia Group) as Treasurer.

Appointed to the Board are: John Crenshaw (Cumulus Media), Keith Kaufman (Center Stage Promotions), Mike Culotta and Scott Huskey (RWPC) as well as Kurt Johnson (Townsquare Media) and George Couri (Triple 8 Management), who are new to the Board.

Re-elected to the Board are: Chuck Aly (Country Aircheck), R.J. Curtis (All Access), John Esposito (Warner Music Nashville), Dan Halyburton(Falls Media Group), Jeff Kapugi (WUSN-FM), Jon Loba (BBR Music Group) and John Shomby (Max Media).

Board members with continuing terms are: Carole Bowen (WKIS-FM), Beverlee Brannigan (Scripps Co.), Becky Brenner (Albright & O’Malley & Brenner Consulting), Johnny Chiang (KKBQ-FM), Andy Denemark (United Stations), Mike Dungan (UMG), Clay Hunnicutt (Big Loud Records), Nick Martin (Big River Broadcasting), Mike McVay (Cumulus Media), Charlie Morgan (Emmis Communications), Gary Overton, Joel Raab (Country Radio Consultants), Tim Roberts (WYCD), Royce Risser (UMG), Annie Sandor (Curb), Jeff Walker (The AristoMedia Group) and John Zarling (Big Machine Label Group).

Charlie Monk continues as a Lifetime Director Emeritus.

In other CRB news, the Country Radio Seminar is offering a special, limited-time $349 super-saver registration rate for CRS 2016, which will be held Feb. 8-10. The special rate will only be available July 15 through Aug. 15 or to the first 349 registrants, whichever happens first. The first 349 registrants will also be guaranteed a coveted ticket to the New Faces Show, which has been sold out in advance for the past four years, and will receive access to artist digital liners. Following the expiration of the Summer Super Saver rate, an early bird rate of $429 will then be offered. Registrations will be available for purchase at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.