CMHoF Re-Elects Many Board And Trustee Posts

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (CMHoF) tapped cultural arts activist Steve Turner, founder of Butler’s Run LLC., for a 10th term as chairman and re-elected its Hall of Fame member Vince Gill to a 16th consecutive term as president during the museum’s quarterly board meeting held Thursday, Dec. 7.

Ken Levitan, Ernie Williams (treasurer) and Jody Williams were re-elected trustees for three-year terms. They join remaining trustees Mark Bloom, David Conrad, Bill Denny, Rod Essig, Keel Hunt (secretary), Mary Ann McCready, David Ross and Turner.

Re-elected board members include Al Giombetti (executive vice president); and vice presidents Earl Bentz, Mike Dungan, Randy Goodman, John Grady, Lon Helton, Donna Nicely, Gary Overton, Jim Seabury, Bill Simmons, Clarence Spalding, Chris Stewart, Troy Tomlinson, Marcus Whitney and Tim Wipperman.

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern serves as an ex-officio member. Chris Horsnell and Mike Milom of Milom Horsnell, Crow, Rose, Kelley, PLC. continue as the not-for-profit educational organization’s legal counsel.

Dennis Gwiazdon Exits Midwest Communications

Midwest Communications’ long-time Nashville VP/Market Manager Dennis Gwiazdon has exited the company for a new opportunity outside the Nashville market. Midwest Communications, Inc. owns and operates WJXA, WCJK and WNFN Nashville.

Dennis Gwiazdon

Midwest Communications acquired the Nashville cluster along with the Knoxville and Evansville markets from South Central Communications in 2014. Gwiazdon worked for South Central for 13 years and Midwest Communications for three years.

“In Dennis’ 16 years at South Central and Midwest Communications, he has amassed an amazing record of accomplishments and it was indeed terrific to have him as a valued member of our management team,” says Midwest Communications President/CEO Duke Wright.

“While I’m truly excited about the future, it’s bittersweet to leave such an extraordinary team in Nashville,” says Gwiazdon, a member of Leadership Music’s Class of 2012. “Duke and his team always provided us with the tools to win and I’m confident they will continue to make history in Music City.”

A search for Gwiazdon’s replacement is underway. Resumes can be sent to Michael Wright at michael.wright@mwcradio.com.

ACM Lifting Lives Grants $260K To 25 Beneficiaries

ACM Lifting Lives has announced the recipients of its 2017 fall grant cycle, with grants totaling more than $260,000. Partnerships with artists and generous giving from fans and the Nashville community enable ACM Lifting Lives to provide funding to these 25 organizations that share the same mission, and strive to improve lives through the power of music.

“ACM Lifting Lives is honored to have such amazing support from artists, industry members and fans, and that allows us to continuously increase the amount of beneficiaries we are able to help support every year.” said ACM Lifting Lives Chairman Debbie Carroll.

Programs funded through this grant cycle include:

Barefoot Republic, Inc. – Serves more than 2,100 youth through Day Camp, Overnight Camp, and year-round service, learning and performance opportunities in Kentucky, Tennessee, and California. Approximately one-third of campers participate in music programming. In 2018, offering will expand to include Day Camp in Compton. Funds from this grant will be used to assist with costs of opening the new camp and will allow 10 disadvantaged youth to attend the camp for free. www.barefootrepublic.org

Camp Sunshine Inc. – Enriches the lives of Georgia’s children with cancer and their families through year-round recreational, educational and support programs. This grant will support the Music Program, with the funds being used directly to pay for the musician hired for 2 weeks of summer camp, for the purchase of new musical instruments and equipment, and to hire musicians for 2 weeks of Sunshine 2U – a hospital program for children too ill to leave the hospital setting. www.mycampsunshine.com

COPD Foundation – Established Harmonicas for Health, the first nationwide harmonica program created especially for individuals with COPD and other chronic lung diseases, with PEP (Pulmonary Empowerment Program). Funds from this grant will go toward supporting this program. www.copdfoundation.org

CreatiVets – Provides combat veterans struggling with PTSD and traumatic brain injury with opportunities to use music, art and writing to heal their unseen wounds of war. This grant will be used to support the Combat Veteran Songwriting Program and to create a compilation CD of songs written in the program to distribute to other veterans recovering in hospitals, VA clinics, and other Veteran Service Organizations. www.creativets.org

El Paso Symphony Orchestra Assn., Inc. – Partnered with the El Paso Independent School District to provide a free after-school music program five days a week in one of the poorest and least educated neighborhoods in the country, with 60% of households below the poverty level, 70% not completing high school, 95% Hispanic, and 56% speaking little or no English. Funds from this grant will support the El Paso program, which serves an elementary school and plans to expand to a middle school this year. www.epso.org

Every Child Counts – Located in the Bahamas, Every Child Counts is a special needs school that provides education for children with learning, developmental or physical disabilities to maximize each child’s ability to become a productive, successful and independent citizen. Funds from this grant will help support the school’s music programs. www.everychildcountsabaco.org

Follow Your Heart Arts Program, Inc. – The Follow Your Heart Arts Program provides music education opportunities in the hometown of country music artist Charlie Worsham in rural Mississippi. Funds will be used to purchase 30 guitars for guitar lessons, to begin a songwriting program for at-risk youth, to conduct field trips to the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, and to advocate for music education by sharing the success of the program with key state and national representatives www.FollowYourHeartArts.org

Foundations of Music – Foundations of Music brings music education to underserved classrooms and communities across Chicago. Funds will be used to support its Songwriting/Production Program for students in grades 6-8, which teaches students to write and produce original rap/hip-hop songs. www.foundationsofmusic.org

Girls Rock Santa Barbara – Empowers girls through music education. This sleep away camp includes instrument lessons, forming a band, collaboratively writing an original song, participating in workshops, recording in a professional studio, and performing with their band at a live showcase event. The grant funding will support program costs and scholarships. www.girlsrocksb.org

High Hopes Development Center – Pre-school with on-site pediatric clinic, serving children with special needs and long-term disabilities alongside their typically-developing peers. The Center offers a Music Enrichment Program for 148 preschoolers, 60% of whom are typically-developing and 40% having special needs. Funds will be used to assist with music teacher salary, instruments, and curriculum. www.highhopesforkids.org

Legacy Music Alliance – Provides children access to music education through its Instruments to Schools Program, which repaired 1,332 instruments used in schools last year, and its Clinicians in the Classroom program, which conducted 300 hours of in-classroom music lessons taught by professional musicians. Funds from this grant will be used to support these programs in an economically disadvantaged school district, continuing the work started with last year’s Lifting Lives grant. www.legacymusicalliance.org

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra – In its 27th season offering performing concerts and providing education and community engagement programming. The Orchestra’s Soul Strings program uses the talents of orchestra members to increase the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities through music therapy. Funds from this grant will be used to provide 17 weeks of music therapy to 20 seniors with dementia and cognitive disorders. www.lpomusic.com

Middle Tennessee State University Foundation – Received a grant to support the ‘Music Row Murfreesboro’ program – launched in the spring 2016 with ACM LL grant money. This enhanced curriculum is within MTSU’s Commercial Songwriting concentration. Each semester, invited industry professionals came to campus to lecture and interact with students in a weekly three-hour class. Fund from this grant will go to continuing the program, covering travel stipends, studio times, music supplies, and Songspace memberships for each of the students. www.mtsu.edu/development/foundation.php

Music for Seniors – Connects area musicians with older adults through live and interactive programs designed to engage, entertain and educate seniors, by 1) delivering programs to groups in recreational and care settings, 2) offering public daytime concerts at accessible venues, and 3) teaching group classes in instrument and vocal performance. Funds will be used to provide Music-Making Kits to utilize during outreach, reaching 435 individuals with dementia. www.musicforseniors.org

Music Mends Minds – A non-profit organization founded to serve seniors and patients afflicted with PTSD, cognitive decline, and neurodegenerative disease, by building musical support groups. It currently consists of a network of seven bands of musicians who are affected by these conditions. Funds from this grant will be used to create five new bands in five additional communities in Southern California, and to hire a part-time music therapist to work with them, reaching at least 525 additional patients, caregivers, community volunteers, and/or community members. www.musicmendsminds.org

Musicians On Call – Brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients across the country. The Bedside Performance Program enlists local volunteer musician to give in-room performances to patients who are unable to leave their hospital beds, serving over 600,000 individuals to date. Funds will be used to support the development of in two new expansion markets, Boston and Dallas, growing the program infrastructure to reach thousands more patients. www.musiciansoncall.org

Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. – Owns the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, launched The Songwriters TV show on Nashville Public Television, and operates an after-school songwriting program for middle school students called Express Yourself. Funds will be used to expand the Express Yourself program to two additional schools and will finance the stipend for a weekly Song Coach, refreshments, and teaching supplies. www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com

Operation Song Inc. – Will use funds from this grant for a 10-week songwriting program open to veterans and active duty military who suffer from service related issues and injuries. Two professional songwriters, along with a qualified therapist, will lead a weekly 2-hour group of 4-6 participants, to share their stories with their peers and have their experiences and emotions validated, culminating in a professionally co-written and recorded song, and a performance for family and friends. www.operationsong.org

Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington – A contemporary, multidisciplinary facility presenting and promoting the performing, visual and digital arts. Through their television program, Songs at the Center, which is nationally distributed by American Public Television, the half hour TV series features songwriters performing in an in-the-round format. Grant funds will be used to produce two shows that focus on ‘Music and Healing’. www.mcconnellarts.org

Porter’s Call – Serves recording artists and their families by providing them with counsel, support, and encouragement to deal with issues off-stage. The staff currently sees 30 plus artists and/or spouses per week, often referred by record companies. Funds will be used toward counseling hours, so they can continue to offer counseling free of charge to artists and expand available hours. www.porterscall.com

Rocketown of Middle Tennessee – Offers out-of-school enrichment and youth development programs, youth arts initiatives, intramural sports and sporting events, youth ministry and outreach programs, and attraction based activities and services. Funds from this grant will be used to expand key partnerships with audio departments at public high schools to provide skill development within the field of audio production. www.rocketown.com

St. Anna’s Episcopal Church – Promotes healing and wholeness of body, mind and spirit in the Treme/7th Ward and Greater New Orleans community by offering academic, cultural and arts enrichment, holistic healthcare and healthy lifestyle education. Funds will go to oversee the coordination of activities between the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Loyola Music Therapy Department, as well as teach clarinet, vocal music and Project Learning. It will also purchase instruments and repair costs for existing instruments. www.annasplacenola.org

Tennessee Alliance for Kids – Serves as a liaison between the faith-based community and the State of Tennessee with the goal of meeting the immediate needs of children and youth currently in foster care and those aging out of the system. Funds from this grant will be used to start a marching band to motivate students in the Metro School area to help them discover musical talents and to possibly provide them opportunities for college scholarships. www.tnallianceforkids.org

The Quest Center for Art & Community Development – A non-profit music education and resource center with year-round instrument instruction and music education programs serving children grades 4-12, including those with special needs. No child is turned away for financial reasons. Funds will go direct to operating costs year-round. www.qcdickson.org

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center – The grant will support the organization’s existing mission to facilitate discoveries and best practices that make positive differences in the lives of persons with developmental disabilities and their families through innovative research, services, and training for over 50 years. www.vanderbiltkennedycenter.com

DISClaimer: Chris Stapleton, Cale Dodds Offer Superb Vocals

Chris Stapleton, Cale Dodds

Veterans, shooting stars and newcomers are the ingredients in this week’s country-music recipe.

Toby Keith, Lee Ann Womack and Shania Twain all demonstrate that they have enduring appeal. Kip Moore, William Michael Morgan and Chris Stapleton are here to show us why they are all hot right now. Lindsay Ell and Cale Dodds are the promising newcomers.

It will come as no surprise that Chris Stapleton wins the Disc of the Day prize. The man can do no wrong.

This week’s DisCovery Award goes to social-media sensation Cale Dodds. He’s not only super handsome; he can also sing.

KIP MOORE/Last Shot
MCA (download)
-It’s an anthem-style rock power ballad delivered in his trademark, raspy, impassioned voice. I like the “shot” imagery of drinking and romantic chances.

SHANIA TWAIN/We Got Something They Don’t
Mercury (ERG)
– Kinda rumbling. Kinda thumpy. Kinda bluesy pop. Kinda groovy and catchy. I kinda like it.

LEE ANN WOMACK/All The Trouble
ATO (download)
– She could sing the phone book and make it sound soulful. Happily, this blues lament is much, much more than that. Her whole The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone album is essential.

 

KID ROCK/Tennessee Mountain Top
Red Bow (ERG)
– Suffering in L.A., he waxes nostalgic about home, where folks pack guns and sing karaoke in a double-wide thick with cigarette smoke. If that’s his idea of heaven, he’s welcome to it.

CHRIS STAPLETON/Millionaire
Mercury
-Searing and seething with emotion. It’s a classic country message: Love is more precious than money. If you’ve got love, you’re rich. Amen, bro.

LINDSAY ELL/Criminal
Writers: Lindsay Ell/Chris Stevens/Fred Wilhelm; Producer: Kristian Bush; Publishers: Magic Mustang/BMG Rights/Lindsay Ell/Moody Producer/Capitol CMG, BMI; Stoney Creek
– This multi-talented gal is still looking for the song that will put her over the top. This is a pleasant, percolating outing, but I don’t think it’s the one.

 
TOBY KEITH/Shitty Golfer
Writers: Toby Keith; Producers: Keith/Bobby Pinson; Publishers: Tokeco, BMI; Show Dog/Thirty Tigers
– This will make you grin, I guarantee it. By the way, Toby’s CD The Bus Songs also contains his immortal reefer ditties “Wacky Tobaccy” and “Weed With Willie.”

WILLIAM MICHAEL MORGAN/Vinyl
Writers: Wade Kirby/Ashley Gorley/Carson Chamberlain; Producers: Jimmy Ritchey & Scott Hendricks; Publishers: Round Hill Works/External Combustion/Songs of Southside Independent/WB/Atlas/Carson Chamerlain, BMI/ASCAP; Warner Bros.
-I remain a fan. This sweet, lilting love song compares old-fashioned romance with the warmth and comfort you feel from hearing classic music. Gently persuasive.

CALE DODDS/Out Of My System
Writers: Cale Dodds, Zach Abend, Corey Crowder; Producer: none listed; Publishers: Songs From The Rose Hotel (ASCAP)/WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)/Cale Dodds Publishing (ASCAP); Bendable Music (BMI)/Nashville International Music (BMI); Songs From The Rose Hotel (ASCAP)/WB Music Corp. (ASCAP); Warner Bros.
-He knows he’s addicted to her. But he’s not ready to de-tox just yet. The jumpy, nervous track has lots of stuttering electric guitar, but his pleading, urgent vocal remains the focus. An intriguing debut. The track is paired with a number called “People Watching.” What the two share is a certain monotonic quality that favors likable energy over any kind of distinctive melody.

 

Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam XX Set For March 2018

Charlie Daniels. Photo: Terry Wyatt

Charlie Daniels is hosting Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute To Charlie, an all-star concert event at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.

This year’s Jam will feature performances by Daniels and his band, Alison Krauss, Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top, Blackberry Smoke, Bobby Bare, Chris Janson, Chuck Leavell, Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ricky Skaggs, and many more special guests to be announced in the coming weeks. Storme Warren will be returning as host. For the first time ever, rock great Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top will honor Daniels at the Jam.

Tickets go on sale Dec. 8, 2017, at 10 AM CT online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745- 3000, all Ticketmaster locations and the Bridgestone Arena box office. A portion of the proceeds from 2018’s Volunteer Jam will be donated to The Journey Home Project, a non-profit co-founded by Daniels and manager David Corlew to help Veterans.

Brittany Schaffer Joins Spotify Nashville Office

Brittany Schaffer, Troy Carter and John Butler of Spotify attend Spotify Nashville Open House on December 6, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Spotify

Brittany Schaffer has signed on to join Spotify’s Nashville office as Head of Artist & Label Services, and will officially begin her new role on Jan. 2. Prior to Spotify, Schaffer has spent more than seven years with law firm Loeb & Loeb, where she rose to the position of Senior Counsel.

Schaffer has also been heavily involved in the development of artists including Devin Dawson, Midland, and The Shadowboxers throughout her career.

The Shadowboxers recently performed in Nashville as part of Spotify’s “Open House” event, which is taking place this week at the newly-opened Analog at The Hutton Hotel.

Schaffer can be reached at brittanys@spotify.com.

 

Jason Isbell Kicks Off Residency At Country Music Hall Of Fame® And Museum

Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell attend the kick off of Jason Isbell’s sold out residency at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on December 5, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

Jason Isbell kicked off his residency at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Tuesday night (Dec. 5). The first of three intimate performances hosted in the museum’s CMA Theater featured Americana star and Isbell’s wife, Amanda Shires.

Peter Cooper, Senior Director for the museum, was on hand to welcome the sold-out crowd and introduce the duo. “These songs and the way that Jason presents them with his voice, his guitar and his band the 400 Unit have won praise from legends and raised the bar for a new generation of songwriters,” Cooper praised.

Isbell and Shires took the stage, with Isbell on guitar and Shires on fiddle, to perform an acoustic 90-minute set which included hit songs “Different Days,” “24 Frames,” “Tired of Traveling Alone,” Alabama Pines,” Something To Love,” and more.

“I’m certainly honored to be up here…I feel very comfortable in saying that I’m the least qualified person that has held this Artist-in-Residence position…but I’m fine with that. That’s never stopped me before,” a humbled Isbell told the audience.

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires perform onstage during the kick off of Jason Isbell’s sold out residency at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on December 5, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

Between songs the couple shared personal experiences and stories behind their songs and exchanged playful banter with each other. They closed the show with Isbell’s lastest hit with his band the 400 Unit “If We Were Vampires,” which is off the recently Grammy-nominated and CMA Award-nominated album The Nashville Sound. After a standing ovation from the audience, Isbell and Shires returned to the stage for an encore performance of two more songs, “Flagship” and “Cover Me Up.”

“This is quite an honor to be able to do this. I was overwhelmed when they told me about it. I just really still feel like I’m in a dream because all the people who have come before me have been so incredible and so impactful and so important to American music over the years so it really means the world to me. Thank y’all very much,” Isbell concluded.

The Artist-in-Residence series began in 2003. Isbell is the 14th Artist-in-Residence and follows previous artists including Rosanne Cash, Guy Clark, Cowboy Jack Clement, Jerry Douglas, Vince Gill, Tom T. Hall, Alan Jackson, Kris Kristofferson, Buddy Miller, Kenny Rogers, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs and Connie Smith. Isbell will continue his sold-out residency on Dec. 12 and 19, at 7 p.m., with completely unique performances that reflect his musical values.

Pictured (L-R): Co-founder of Carter Vintage Guitars Walter Carter, Senior Director, Producer and Writer at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Peter Cooper, Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell, co-founder of Carter Vintage Guitars Christie Carter, and Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Sharon Brawner. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

Dierks Bentley To Receive CRB Artist Humanitarian Award

Dierks Bentley has been named the recipient of the CRS 2018 Artist Humanitarian Award. He will be recognized at Country Radio Seminar 2018 following the opening ceremonies on Monday, Feb. 5, 2018.

Bentley has demonstrated his dedication to giving back through many charitable initiatives and events, raising over four million dollars for charities through his “Miles & Music For Kids” all-star motorcycle ride and concert, including Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country. In 2013 he partnered with KMLE and KAFF as they organized and hosted the Country Cares Concert in Arizona, raising more than half a million dollars for the families of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Bentley has also put the spotlight on local Nashville non-profits such as Safe Haven Family Shelter, as his video for “Riser” magnified a true story and the struggles of a formerly homeless mother.

The CRB Artist Humanitarian Award was created in 1990 by the organization’s board to honor artists who have exhibited exceptional humanitarian efforts during their career.  Past recipients have included Zac Brown, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, and Charlie Daniels, among others.

Country Radio Seminar 2018 will be held February 5-7, 2018 at the Omni Nashville.

Train Inks With WME

Train has signed with WME for exclusive representation. The agency will now represent the band in music, film, television, books, and endorsements. They continue to be managed by Crush Music.

Since the release of their debut in 1998, Train has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide, more than 30 million tracks, with multiple Platinum/Gold albums, and three Grammy awards, two Billboard Music Awards and dozens of other honors.

Earlier this year, the band released their eighth studio album, A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat, on Columbia Records which spawned the lead single, “Play That Song,” hitting Top 5 on the iTunes chart, Top 10 at Hot AC radio, and charting at Adult Top 40. The band recently finished its 48-date North American tour.

The signing follows as several executives have exited CAA and joined WME’s Nashville office, including Scott Clayton, Matthew Morgan, Brandi Brammer, and Buster Phillips. The Train signing announcement furthers a bolstering to the company’s rock roster, with the recent addition of Kings of Leon.

Wendy Goldstein To Give Keynote At Music Biz Leading Ladies Speak Out Program

Wendy Goldstein

Wendy Goldstein, Executive Vice President of A&R at Republic Records, will be the keynote speaker at the Music Business Association’s third annual Music’s Leading Ladies Speak Out program on May 15, 2018, during the Music Biz conference at the Omni Nashville Hotel in Nashville.

Goldstein will discuss her journey through the industry, her work experiences and achievements, and her advice for those building careers in the music business in an interview conducted by Billboard Senior Correspondent Gail Mitchell. Goldstein began her career at 19 as an assistant at Epic Records, and quickly graduated to A&R posts at RCA Records, East West Records, Geffen Records, and Priority/Capitol Records. During that time, she was responsible for signing acts such as The Roots, Common, GZA, and The Bloodhound Gang. In 2008, she joined Republic Records as a consultant and was soon promoted to Executive Vice President/Head of Urban A&R before becoming Executive Vice President of A&R at the label.

“Wendy has played a critical role in launching the careers of some of today’s biggest artists, including Music Biz 2018 Breakthrough Artist Julia Michaels, Music Biz 2014 Breakthrough Artist Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, DNCE, and Hailee Steinfeld, among many others,” said James Donio, President of Music Biz. “Her example is an inspiration to young women working their way up the music industry ladder, and we know that she will leave our Music Biz 2018 attendees feeling ready to take on the world.”

“I’m honored that Music Biz reached out and enlisted me for this incredible program,” said Goldstein. “I’ve been lucky to have many wonderful mentors throughout my career, and it’s amazing to share what I’ve learned with the next generation.”

The event will kick off with a presentation from Erin Crawford, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Nielsen Music, the industry’s leading source of music data, insights and analytics.