AURORA Nashville Adds Director of Digital Entertainment & Communications

AURORA Nashville, the entertainment division of audio and technology company THIEL Audio, has hired Julia Bruck as Director of Digital Entertainment & Communications. Bruck will produce shows and content, including the weekly AURORA Live concert series. She will also oversee and create digital content for the website and lead AURORA Nashville’s communication and branding strategy.

“Julia is a great add for our team. She is an innovative, audience-minded professional with an extensive broadcast journalism background,” says THIEL Audio CEO Tom Malatesta. “She is all about communications excellence.”

Most recently, Bruck worked in Nashville at the NBC and CBS affiliates along with EXTRA.

“I’m thrilled to join a company leading the way in digital media and streaming music entertainment,” says Bruck. “4K is the future of media. Aurora Nashville by Thiel Audio provides a 4K live concert experience in the palm of the consumer’s hand.”

Bruck can be reached at [email protected].

 

ASCAP Hosts Writers Round At The Country

On Monday, Nov. 14, ASCAP hosted a songwriters round at The Country, showcasing students from ASCAP hit songwriter Odie Blackmon‘s Commercial Songwriting class at MTSU in front of representatives from Nashville’s music publishing industry.

 

BMI Hosts Eastside Sounds Showcase

BMI’s latest installment of Eastside Sounds at the Basement East featured Nashville native and soulful pop singer Kendall Morgan and energetic rock duo Bassh. Morgan co-wrote Tech N9ne’s No. 1 hit “Fragile,” featuring Kendrick Lamar and Mayday!, while Bassh is a new band launched by Band of Horses’ Bill Reynolds highlighting CJ Hardee and Jimmy Brown of Matrimony.

Featuring a “happy half hour” courtesy of Jim Beam, Eastside Sounds is the place to be to catch the best up-and-coming indie rock and pop acts in Nashville while hanging in one of the city’s best venues.

Voting to determine the winners in 15 categories for the CMA Touring Awards (formerly the SRO Awards) ends Wednesday, Dec. 7 (6:00 PM/CT).

CMA members in the following categories are eligible to vote: Advertising/Public Relations/Media, Affiliated, Artist, Entertainment Services, Marketing/Digital, Musician, Personal Manager, Record Label, Talent Agent, Talent Buyer/Promoter, Touring, and Venue. The professional services firm of Deloitte & Touche, LLP tabulates the voting.

“It is an honor to recognize the hard work these men and women devote to advancing Country Music on the road from coast-to-coast,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “These touring professionals are on the frontlines with the fans and each one is an important ambassador for the format and very deserving of our applause.”

Final nominees for the 2016 CMA Touring Awards are as follows (in alphabetical order):

CATEGORY 1 – BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Jamie Cheek – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
Cheryl Harris – O’Neil Hagaman, PLLC
Rob Taylor – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC

CATEGORY 2 – COACH/TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR
Ron Easley – Jason Aldean
Josh Easter – Kenny Chesney
Larry Phye, Jr. – Chris Stapleton

CATEGORY 3 – FOH (FRONT OF HOUSE) ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Jared Blumenberg – Florida Georgia Line
Billy Moore – Eric Church
Chris Stephens – Jason Aldean

CATEGORY 4 – LIGHTING DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Scott Cunningham – Florida Georgia Line
Philip Ealy – Kenny Chesney
Chris Reade – Dierks Bentley

CATEGORY 5 – MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Kerri Edwards – KP Entertainment
Clint Higham – Morris Higham Management
Clarence Spalding – Maverick

CATEGORY 6 – TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Tom Addison – Dierks Bentley
Todd Bunch – Eric Church
Logan Kornegay – Thomas Rhett

CATEGORY 7 – MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Marc Earp – Eric Church
Jordan Kolenc – Taylor Swift
Phil Wilkey – Keith Urban

CATEGORY 8 – PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Arthur Kemish – Taylor Swift
Ken Thomas – Florida Georgia Line
Ed Wannebo – Kenny Chesney

CATEGORY 9 – PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR
Ebie McFarland – Essential Broadcast Media, LLC
Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom
Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt Relations

CATEGORY 10 – TALENT AGENT OF THE YEAR
Rob Beckham – William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC
Kevin Neal – William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC
Jay Williams – William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC

CATEGORY 11 – TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Ben Farrell – Lon Varnell Enterprises
Louis Messina – The Messina Group
Brian O’Connell – Live Nation

CATEGORY 12 – TOUR CATERER OF THE YEAR
Dega Catering
HSG Catering
Mike Maxwell + Co. Motion Picture Catering

CATEGORY 13 – TOURING MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Wyatt Beard – Kenny Chesney (Keyboard)
David Cook – Taylor Swift (Keyboard)
Dan Hochhalter – Dierks Bentley (Fiddle)

CATEGORY 14 – VENUE OF THE YEAR
Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, Tenn.
Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook – Gilford, NH
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tenn.
Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, Tenn.

CATEGORY 15 – TOUR VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
John Breslin – Garth Brooks
Jay Cooper – Kenny Chesney
Milojko Dobrijevich – Jason Aldean

Ned LeDoux, son of country artist Chris LeDoux, has signed with Thirty Tigers to release his EP Forever A Cowboy on Dec. 2.

“I’ve been working around country music for a long time, long enough to have seen Chris LeDoux and understand how much he meant to the rodeo community,” said David Macias, President, Thirty Tigers. “He was them and became one of the most important chroniclers of that life through his music and artwork. Sometimes when a child of the truly great decides to follow in the footsteps of the parent, we hold our breath and hope for the best, but in Ned, we find something exciting, something informed by the tradition that he came from, but also very much his own. I should have known when I found out that he was working with Mac McAnally that it would be terrific, and it is. We are excited to welcome Ned into the Thirty Tigers family. I hope (and think) that this will be a long and fruitful relationship.”

Forever a Cowboy, produced by award-winning Mac McAnally, includes “We Ain’t Got It All,” the first new Chris LeDoux co-write in over two decades.

Ned took the song idea from a stack of his father’s papers that included unfinished song ideas and lyrics. He travelled to Nashville and began working with McAnally, where they fashioned one of the ideas into “We Ain’t Got It All.”

Forever a Cowboy Track Listing:
1) “We Ain’t Got It All” (Ned LeDoux, Chris LeDoux, Mac McAnally)
2) “Brother Highway” (Ned LeDoux, Mark Sissel)
3) “Forever a Cowboy” (Ned LeDoux, Chris LeDoux, Mac McAnally)
4) “Johnson County War” (Chris LeDoux)
5) “The Hawk” (Ned LeDoux)

The lakefront property in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where Johnny Cash and wife June Carter Cash resided for more than three decades is on the market, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The property was home to the Cash family from 1968 until their deaths in 2003. Their home was destroyed by fire in 2007, leaving only the stone foundation and a few walls. The 4 1/2 acre property now houses a one-bedroom apartment that was created in an outbuilding where Cash and Carter used to store costumes. According to listing agent Stan Peacock of Crye-Leike Realtors, a swimming pool, tennis court, garage and guard house escaped the fire, as well as a stone walkway leading to a covered boat dock.

Seller James Gresham has not specified an asking price for the property, and says prefers to sell to a buyer who will preserve the legacy of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. “In my mind it would be some person [who] is a huge Johnny Cash fan,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

Gresham bought the estate for $2 million in 2014 from Barry Gibb, of the pop group the Bee Gees, and his wife, Linda. The Gibbs were in the process of restoring it when the fire broke out.

The full listing is available at realtracs.com.

Photos courtesy Shorefire Media