Caroline Watkins Named Second Recipient Of Miranda Lambert ‘Women Creators’ Scholarship

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Caroline Watkins, Nashville native and sophomore in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, was recently selected as the second recipient of the ‘Women Creators’ scholarship.

The scholarship was established in 2015 by Miranda Lambert to honor a female Belmont student who is majoring in music business, songwriting or entertainment industry studies and is actively working towards pursuing her dream of working in the music industry. The scholarship will provide Watkins with more than $40,000 in scholarship funds for the 2017-18 academic year.

Watkins grew up playing guitar and writing songs. After playing throughout the city in recent years, including shows at Nashville’s Bluebird Café, she was signed last year to a worldwide publishing agreement with Warner/Chappell Nashville.

“I am extremely pleased to send my congratulations to Caroline Watkins for being selected as the recipient of the Miranda Lambert Women Creator’s scholarship, and to give my deepest respect and gratitude to Miranda for backing her beliefs with actions by providing another young female creator this life-changing opportunity,” said Doug Howard, Dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.

“Receiving this scholarship is by far the greatest honor I have ever received,” said Watkins. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Belmont and Miranda for believing in me. Anyone familiar with Belmont knows the amount of talent at our school, so to have somehow been chosen among all of the other deserving young women is incredibly humbling and encouraging. Miranda Lambert has always been one of my music heroes. She is part of the reason I started writing songs. I honestly know every word to every song she has ever recorded, so I still just can’t believe it! There are so many women doing great things in Nashville right now, but there is not a better example for those of us working towards a career than Miranda. I know this honor comes with a lot of responsibility, and I will do my best to make Miranda, Belmont and all of the other women creators who have come before and after me proud.”

Music Modernization Act Introduced In Senate

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Pictured: Songwriter Roger Cook, NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison and TN Senator Lamar Alexander discuss music issues outside the U.S. Senate chamber.

The Music Modernization Act will be introduced Wednesday (Jan. 24) in the United States Senate, following the House version of the bill that was filed in December.

Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Bob Corker (R-TN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and  Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined in introducing the Senate version of the bi-partisan legislation.

The Senate bill mirrors the House bill introduced by Congressmen Doug Collins (R-GA) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) which reforms Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act to create a single licensing entity that administers the mechanical reproduction rights for all digital uses of musical compositions. On the performance rights side, the bill also replaces the current rate court system with the random assignment of judges used in most federal court cases, and allows the rate courts to review all relevant market evidence into the valuation of how songwriters are compensated by digital services.

This new system ensures that songwriters are paid when digital music services use their music, improves transparency, provides for better royalty rates, and gives songwriters increased involvement in how mechanical rights are licensed. It includes the benefits of the previously introduced Songwriter Equity Act which addresses two significant inequities under current copyright law that prevent songwriters and music publishers from receiving compensation that reflects the fair market value of their work.

Representatives from several music industry organizations have praised the bill.

“Songwriters will finally get a market-based mechanical rate standard, which should result in more equitable royalties from interactive streaming companies,” said Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) President Steve Bogard. “Until now, we have been tied to outdated rate standards Congress first adopted for player piano rolls back in 1909. In addition, American songwriters will, for the first time, by law, receive at least half of all unclaimed digital mechanical royalties. I want to extend my deepest thanks to all of our introducing Senate sponsors. The Music
Modernization Act represents the most significant copyright reform in a generation.”

“This bill puts music publishers and songwriters in control of the digital mechanical licensing process and brings a marketplace rate standard that should lead to higher streaming royalties,” said NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison. “And for the first time in history songwriters will receive more than half of unclaimed digital mechanical funds. When you consider the streaming services have agreed to pay associated costs, the MMA is the most beneficial legislation for songwriters in the digital era.”

NMPA President & CEO David Israelite said, “The MMA is the best hope for songwriters to achieve fair royalties and payments in the digital age. We are grateful to Senators Hatch, Alexander, Whitehouse, Corker, Durbin, Coons, Isakson and Jones for their attention to the struggles of music creators and for introducing the MMA, which we hope continues to gain momentum in the Senate.”

BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill said, “The Music Modernization Act is an important step forward in protecting the rights of the American songwriter, and we thank Senators Hatch, Alexander, Whitehouse, Corker, Durbin, Coons, Isakson and Jones for their support of this important legislation. While we believe there is still more to do to protect the value of the performance right, we are encouraged by the inclusion of two important provisions that go a long way towards ensuring that songwriters and composers receive fair compensation for their creative work; the wheel assignment for rate court judges and the repeal of 114 (i) application to digital services. While we know this bill is not yet final, it represents an unprecedented cross-industry effort to introduce comprehensive music reform, and we look forward to working with all of the interested parties to further support this much needed legislation.”
 
ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews said, “We thank Senators Hatch, Alexander, Whitehouse, Corker, Durbin, Coons, Isakson and Jones for ensuring that the Music Modernization Act addresses some of the most critical issues facing America’s songwriting community, including rate court reforms.”

Pennington Entertainment Promotes Three

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Pennington Entertainment has announced the promotion of three employees. Cara Kozulak has been promoted to Director of Marketing, Nick Estrem moves to Associate Manager and Kelly Ann Rickert has been upped to Director of Digital Strategy at the company.

“These three talented individuals embody the word “team,” said CEO, Shawn Pennington. “I couldn’t be more thankful to have them on our team, and proud to see them grow within our company. They are each going to crush it in their new roles!”

Pennington Entertainment plans to announce additional hires and staff changes in the coming months.

Pennington clients include Thompson Square, Hudson Moore, Kaylee Rose, and Tyler Steel.

Highlights And Winners: The 6th Annual CMA Touring Awards

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Winners of the sixth annual CMA Touring Awards on Monday at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. (L-R): Rob Beckham, WME Nashville and CMA Board President Elect; Jody Williams, BMI and CMA Board President; Kix Brooks; Ashlee Stokely; Danny Shelnut; David Kells; John Breslin; Logan Kornegay; Dave Butzler; Mark Earp; Brian O’Connell; Duane Clark; Clarence Spalding; Louis Messina; John Garriott; Darin Murphy; Nathan Barlowe; Arpad Sayko; Jake Basden; Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer; Jerrod Niemann; Bill Simmons, The Fitzgerald Hartley Company and CMA Board Chairman. Photo: Donn Jones/CMA

The 6th annual CMA Touring Awards was held Monday, January 22 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. The event, which highlights members of the Nashville music industry, was hosted by Curb recording artist Jerrod Niemann, standing in for Kristian Bush, who had recently come down with the flu.

“The CMA Touring Awards offer us an opportunity to celebrate all of our vital, behind-the-scenes industry members,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “They are true road warriors who night after night commit themselves to bringing live music straight to country music fans around the globe.”

After a brief cocktail reception, guests were invited into the newly renovated event space for a buffet dinner followed by the awards ceremony (formerly known as the SRO Awards). The original SRO Awards were originally created by the CMA Board of Directors in 1990.

Thomas Rhett surprises Tour Manager of the Year Logan Kornegay onstage at the 2018 CMA Touring Awards hosted by Jerrod Niemann at Marathon Music Works in Nashville on January 22, 2018. (l-r) Niemann, Kornegay, Rhett

Setting the stage for a fun and relaxed evening, Niemann greeted the guests stating, “Obviously Kristian Bush was supposed to be here. It’s a little weird ‘cause most of the time musicians give people diseases—they don’t usually receive them.” He then added a serious note of sincerity admitting this sudden hosting role for him was “a huge honor.”

CMA members were eligible to vote in the 15 categories up for awards. Ballots were tabulated by the professional services organization of Deloitte & Touche, LLP.

Video tributes congratulating the winners were shown as each recipient was announced and brought on stage to receive their award and give remarks. These tributes included artists Kelsea Ballerini, Eric Church, Keith Urban, Ed Sheeran, Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Terri Clark, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts, Reba, Darius Rucker, Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Cole Swindell, Danielle Bradbery, Vance Joy, Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers, Midland, Eddie Montgomery, George Strait and Brad Paisley.

Angie Gentry (widow of Troy Gentry) presents Danny Shelnut with Coach/Truck Driver of the Year at the 2018 CMA Touring Awards hosted by Jerrod Niemann at Marathon Music Works in Nashville on January 22, 2018.

Several artists attended in person including Thomas Rhett who took the stage to personally give his tour manager Logan Kornegay the award for Tour Manager of the Year including a custom Masters-style green jacket.

“You’re one of my favorite people in the world, and you work harder than anybody I’ve ever met in my life,” Thomas Rhett shared from the stage. “And I got you this—it’s like a Masters jacket, but it says ‘CMA 2017 Tour Manager of the Year.’”

Angie Gentry, widow of Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry, made a surprise appearance to present Coach/Truck Driver of the Year Award to Danny Shelnut, while Chris Stapleton honored two members of his touring family with awards—Arpad Sayko received the FOH (Front of House) Engineer of the Year Award and John Garriott received the Production Manager of the Year Award.

Chris Stapleton (center) makes a surprise appearance Monday during the sixth annual CMA Touring Awards to congratulate John Garriott (left) and Arpad Sayko (right), both winners of Stapleton’s touring family. Photo: Donn Jones/CMA

“I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for always taking care of us,” Stapleton said from the stage. “These guys make us look so good. I don’t make your job easy because I do know I have a lot of weird request on both ends. I do make them put up large sonic domes every day just because I felt like it. You know, that’s the job. These guys do it every day without fail. I do appreciate you guys and everything you do.”

Additionally, CMA Board member and Moo TV CEO Scott Scovill presented the Tour Video Director of the Year Award to John Breslin.

CMA Awards winner and Board member Kix Brooks bestowed honors to his manager Clarence Spalding for Manager of the Year and shared a humorous story of their first meeting together—when Kix, on his bus, left the venue after a show, accidentally leaving Clarence behind.

Kix Brooks (left) surprises long-time manager Clarence Spalding to present his trophy for CMA Manager of the Year during the sixth annual CMA Touring Awards Monday in Nashville. Photo: Donn Jones/CMA

Brooks also presented Live Nation’s President of Country Music Touring Brian O’Connell with the Lifetime Achievement honor, with additional remarks shared by Dierks Bentley and CMA Board President Elect and Co-Head of WME Nashville Rob Beckham.

This award is for an individual who has achieved both prominence and stature at the highest level in the country music field of touring and has positively impacted and contributed to the growth of touring with an unprecedented historical impact on country music fans and the industry alike.

Beckham poignantly described his feelings about working with O’Connell and said, “One of the things I love about you being my brother, my friend, my family is that you’re part of us. You’re one of us. You don’t go around us… you do it the right way and we all appreciate you and we love you.”

Bentley recalled a saying often uttered by O’Connell, “Who cares?” and has adopted that phrase, not as something flippant, but as a powerful mantra when faced with obstacles. He explained, “It falls somewhere between ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’ and understanding in life that the only thing you can control is your attitude towards what life throws at you. The philosophy of ‘who cares?’ involves caring so much that you just don’t care. And I’ve never met somebody that cares more or cares less than Brian O’Connell. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Among the many artist video tributes, CMA Board members Tony Conway and Mike Moore, recorded video messages that played during the ceremony to congratulate O’Connell.

O’Connell’s growing legacy includes tours with artists: Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban. His accomplishments continue to grow in a vibrant festival division within the company including Watershed, Faster Horses, LakeShake and more.

Upon taking the stage to receive his award, O’Connell called all of his staff to join him on stage. “There is no celebration, there is no trophy, and there is none of this without these guys. These guys do all the work. I need every single one of them.” Looking at the guests who filled the room and his team members nearby on stage, he told the crowd, “This is your lifetime achievement award.” “It’s about all of us.”

Before leaving the stage, O’Connell concluded, “Nashville, Tennessee is the greatest collaborative community on planet fucking earth! Period!”

 

For more information, visit CMAworld.com. To watch CMA Touring Awards video highlights at CMA’s YouTube Channel, click here.

6TH ANNUAL CMA TOURING AWARD WINNERS (highlighted in red):

CATEGORY 1 – BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.
Cheryl Harris – O’Neil Hagaman, PLLC
Lou Taylor – Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group
Rob Taylor – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC
Dwight Wiles – Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC

CATEGORY 2 – COACH/TRUCK DRIVER OF THE YEAR
Caleb Garrett – Luke Bryan
Jerry Martin – Darius Rucker
Larry Phye, Jr. – Chris Stapleton
Danny Shelnut – Montgomery Gentry
Kavin Spears – Eric Church
Dean Tubb – Charlie Daniels Band

CATEGORY 3 – FRONT OF HOUSE (FOH) ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Jared Blumenberg – Florida Georgia Line
Dan Heins – Garth Brooks
Arpad Sayko – Chris Stapleton
Frank Sgambellone – Luke Bryan
Chris Stephens – Jason Aldean

CATEGORY 4 – LIGHTING DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Dave Butzler – Garth Brooks
Scott Cunningham – Florida Georgia Line
Philip Ealy – Kenny Chesney
Justin Kitchenman – Luke Bryan
Gavin Lake – Eric Church

CATEGORY 5 – MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Bob Doyle – Bob Doyle & Associates
Clint Higham – Morris Higham Management
Jason Owen – Sandbox Entertainment
John Peets – Q Prime South
Clarence Spalding – Maverick

CATEGORY 6 – TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Todd Bunch – Eric Church
David Farmer – Kenny Chesney
Tracy Greenwood – Garth Brooks
Logan Kornegay – Thomas Rhett
Mark Sizemore – Luke Bryan

CATEGORY 7 – MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Marc Earp – Eric Church
Juan Gomez – Florida Georgia Line
Ed Janiszewski – Luke Bryan
Phillip Robinson – Kenny Chesney
Martin Santos – Garth Brooks

CATEGORY 8 – PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Drew Brown – Jason Aldean
Gary Chrosniak – Luke Bryan
John Garriott – Chris Stapleton
Todd Ortmeier – Florida Georgia Line
Brian Petree – Garth Brooks

CATEGORY 9 – PUBLICIST OF THE YEAR
Jake Basden – Big Machine Label Group
Tyne Parrish – The GreenRoom
Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt Relations
Nancy Seltzer – Nancy Seltzer & Associates, Inc.
Jensen Sussman – Sweet Talk Publicity

CATEGORY 10 – TALENT AGENT OF THE YEAR
Rob Beckham – WME
Joey Lee – WME
Darin Murphy – CAA
Kevin Neal – WME
Nate Ritches – Dale Morris & Associates

CATEGORY 11 – TALENT BUYER/PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Ben Farrell – Lon Varnell Enterprises
Patrick McDill – Live Nation Nashville
Louis Messina – Messina Touring Group
Brian Traeger – Live Nation Nashville
Ed Warm – Joe’s Bar

CATEGORY 12 – TOUR CATERER OF THE YEAR
Center Stage Events
Concert Kitchen
HSG Catering
Knoxville Catering
Mike Maxwell + Co. Motion Picture Catering

CATEGORY 13 – TOURING MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Nathan Barlowe – Keith Urban
Wyatt Beard – Kenny Chesney
John Thomasson – Little Big Town
Lee Hendricks – Eric Church
Jimmy Mattingly – Garth Brooks

CATEGORY 14 – VENUE OF THE YEAR
Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN
Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
Grand Ole Opry House – Nashville, TN
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO

CATEGORY 15 – TOUR VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
John Breslin – Garth Brooks
Houston Creswell – Dierks Bentley
Milojko Dobrijevich – Jason Aldean
Chris Jones – Eric Church
Ryan Rushing – Luke Bryan

Weekly Register: Kane Brown, Carrie Underwood, FGL Make An Impact

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Kane Brown tops the Nielsen Soundscan country albums sales chart this week, with 14.5K units of his self-titled debut sold this week (total consumption). Thomas Rhett‘s Life Changes comes in at No. 2, with 14K, followed by two Chris Stapleton entries. Stapleton’s 2015 album, Traveller, is at No. 3 this week with 11K, followed by From ‘A’ Room: Vol. 2 at No. 4 with 10K. Luke Bryan‘s What Makes You Country is at No. 5 with 9.4k.

Wheelhouse Records’ Walker McGuire had the top debut at No. 23 with 1.1K

Carrie Underwood has this week’s top singles debut, though not on the country charts. Her song “The Champion,” ft. Ludacris, debuts at No. 3 overall, moving 61K.

The top country song this week is again Bebe Rexha with Florida Georgia Line on “Meant To Be,” which moved 39K this week. Dan + Shay‘s new single is this week’s top country debut; “Tequila” is at No. 2 with 30K. Thomas Rhett‘s “Marry Me” lands at No. 3 with 20K. Kane Brown‘s “Heaven” is at No. 4 with 14K, and Walker Hayes has the No. 5 song with “You Broke Up With Me” moving 12K.

Upchurch & Colt Ford debut at No. 10 Country and No. 60 overall with “Shoulda Named It After Me,” selling 9K.

Information courtesy of Nielsen Soundscan.

 

SXWorks Launches Notice Of Intention Lookup

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SXWorks, a subsidiary of SoundExchange, today launched NOI LOOKUP, a new free-of-charge service to help music publishers and songwriters search the more-than 60 million address unknown Notice of Intention to Use (NOI) filings made with the U.S. Copyright Office. Additional premium capabilities will be launched for the service later this year.

“Music publishers and songwriters finally have a way to gain visibility into address unknown filings made by some service providers using their songs,” said Michael Huppe, Chairman of the Board of SXWorks. “Publishers and songwriters can search the NOI submissions via a simple web-based interface. The service makes a complex process much more transparent, supporting our goal of trying to improve how the music industry operates.”

An NOI is a notice sent by a proposed user of a musical work informing the copyright owner that it intends to distribute the musical work pursuant to the compulsory license set forth in Section 115 of the Copyright Act. The proposed user must send an NOI to the copyright owner before or within 30 days of making, and before distributing, any phonorecords of the work. If the music user sends the NOI to the copyright owner, it must account and pay statutory royalties to the copyright owner for all uses of the song.

If the proposed user can’t locate the copyright owner in the registration or other public records of the Copyright Office, it may file an address unknown NOI with the Copyright Office. If a service files an address unknown NOI with the Copyright Office, the service isn’t obligated to pay a royalty to the copyright owner of the song until after that copyright owner becomes identifiable in the public records of the Copyright Office, and the service is free to exploit the work under the statutory license.

Music services filed as many as 4.5 million address unknown NOIs with the Copyright Office in a single month in 2017 and filed an average of 2.5 million address unknown NOIs each month last year. Address unknown NOI filings are made available to the public by the Copyright Office in separate compressed files, which makes searching the records individually difficult. The SXWorks NOI LOOKUP tool indexes all the NOI address unknown filings and provides the information to publishers and songwriters in a comprehensive, searchable database.

Steeldrivers Add Kelvin Damrell As Lead Singer/Guitarist

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The SteelDrivers have announced that Kelvin Damrell has officially joined the group as lead singer and guitarist. The group’s lead singers have previously included Gary Nichols and Chris Stapleton.

The band posted this message on their Facebook page welcoming Damrell into the fold: “Hello folks. We have some great news to share tonight. We are officially announcing that Kelvin Damrell will be our new singer and guitar picker! Most of you know that we had to part ways with our long time partner Gary Nichols last year. It took us a while to heal up and get it together. To be honest, we didn’t know for sure if we’d ever be able to replace such a massive talent. But we eventually found this young fella from the hills of Kentucky who can absolutely rock the grass! Much like G-Ray, Kelvin grew up singing and playing electric guitar in local rock bands. He’s a great musician. His singing is soulful and from the heart with a big dose of bluesy grit. We’re thrilled to have Kelvin join us.”

A native of Berea, Kentucky, Damrell grew up in a family of bluegrass Gospel singers, but he counts his father, who worked in construction, as his greatest musical influence.
“I started out as a drummer but quickly switched to guitar once I found out my Dad and I could jam together. I found my voice as a child in a little country church. My first song was ‘I’ll Fly Away’ sang hidden behind Juanita Hounshell’s piano. I was a big fan of The SteelDrivers before I got the call. Coming on board with such amazing musicians is an honor and a dream come true.” 
The band is heading back into the studio soon to work on their next project.

ACM Announces 6th Annual Party For A Cause Events Schedule

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The Academy of Country Music has announced the schedule of events for The Week Vegas Goes Country, Thursday, April 12–Sunday, April 15, including on-sale ticket information for the 6th Annual ACM Party for a Cause.

This year’s ACM Party for a Cause will consist of fan events across the Las Vegas Strip leading up to and immediately following the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music’s Party of the Year, which will broadcast Live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday April 15.

A portions of all event proceeds will benefit the ACM Lifting Lives program, which works to lift lives through the power of music.  Tickets will be available Thursday, Jan. 25 via pre-sale and to the general public on Friday, January 26 for marquee ACM Party for a Cause events, including:

·    ACM Stories, Songs & Stars, an upscale evening modeled after an old-fashioned guitar pull, featuring today’s best songwriters in the round alongside superstar country artists performing songs they composed and the stories of how those collaborations came together.

·    The first-ever ACM Topgolf Tee-Off, an update to the ACM Lifting Lives Golf Classic, where fans can watch their favorite country artists compete in a tournament of golf skills – and also take in LIVE performances by hot new acts (to be announced). 

·    ACM Awards Official After Party, the biggest party of the night featuring all-star performances following the big show.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018
7:30 p.m. 95.5 The Bull’s 10th Annual All-Star Guitar Pull
Location: The Pearl, Palms Casino Resort

10 p.m. ACM After Party for a Cause: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018
12 p.m. ACM Party for a Cause: Tailgate Party
Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

6 p.m. ACM Party for a Cause
Location: Sandbar Pool, Red Rock Casino Resort

7 p.m. ACM Party for a Cause: WME’s Bash at The Beach
Location: The Beach, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

8 p.m. ACM Stories, Songs & Stars
A Songwriter’s Event Benefitting ACM Lifting Lives
Location: The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

10 p.m. ACM After Party for a Cause: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2018
10 a.m. ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off
Location: Topgolf, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino

12 p.m. ACM Pool Party for a Cause
Location: Flamingo GO Pool, Flamingo Las Vegas

12 p.m. ACM Party for a Cause: Tailgate Party
Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

7 p.m. ACM Party for a Cause: WME’s Bash at The Beach
Location: The Beach, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2018
8 p.m. ACM Awards Official After Party
Location: The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Hit Singer-Songwriter Lari White Passes

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Lari White

Multi-faceted Nashville entertainer Lari White has died at age 52.

She is best known for her string of RCA hits of the 1990s, including “That’s My Baby” (1994), “Now I Know” (1994), “That’s How You Know (When You’re In Love)” (1995) and “Ready, Willing and Able” (1996). White was also a stage and screen actor, a songwriter, a record producer and a label owner.

In addition to co-writing most of her hits, she also had her songs recorded by Tammy Wynette, Rebecca Holden, Patti Page, Danny Gokey, Sarah Buxton and Pat Green, among others.

Her vocal collaborators on disc included Rodney Crowell, Toby Keith, Hal Ketchum, Trisha Yearwood, Shelby Lynne, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Faith Hill and Radney Foster.

White was born in Dunedin, FL and was a performer from childhood on. She began singing and playing piano in her family’s band at age 4, wrote her first song when she was 8 and had toured performing pop, gospel, rock and soul by the time she reached her teens.

She majored in audio engineering in college and launched her solo career singing ad jingles and studio backup vocals. Lari White came to Nashville in 1988 to compete, and win, on the TNN TV talent contest You Can Be a Star.

This led nowhere, so she became active in Nashville theater. White acted in the play Crimes of the Heart and in the musical Fiddler On the Roof in those days. As a songwriter, she signed with Ronnie Milsap’s publishing firm, then with Almo-Irving. She also briefly sang with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.

In 1990, she unsuccessfully auditioned to become the lead singer of Highway 101. She then became Rodney Crowell’s backup vocalist on a 1991 tour. The star produced her 1993 RCA debut LP Lead Me Not, which led to her nomination as the ACM’s Top New Female Vocalist of the year. The album’s song

“What a Woman Wants” became the first country video to be filmed in Rome, Italy.

In 1994, White had a major role in the CBS-TV movie XXX’s And OOO’s. White’s second RCA album, 1994’s Wishes, made her a country star. It became a Gold Record and yielded her first top-10 hits. She branched out from country sounds to incorporate more of her musical influences on 1996’s Don’t Fence Me In.

Her 1997 Best Of Lari White CD included her hit duet with Travis Tritt “Helping Me Get Over You,” which they co-wrote. After being dropped by RCA, she bounced back by singing the title tune of the Grammy winning Amazing Grace LP, performing on the NFL Country album and placing her recording of “Power in the Blood” on the soundtrack of Robert Duvall’s acclaimed movie The Apostle.

She signed with Disney’s Lyric Street label and returned to the country hit parade with her 1998 performance of “Stepping Stone,” the title tune from her CD for the company.

Lari White returned to acting via a plumb role in the 2000 Tom Hanks movie Cast Away. Then she was featured in the Kate Jackson indie feature of 2004, No Regrets.

White formed her own label, Skinny Whitegirl Records to market her later albums. She and husband Chuck Cannon also founded the Nashville Underground label to distribute the works of their fellow singer-songwriters. They built their own recording studio, The Holler.

She issued her r&b effort, Green Eyed Soul, in 2004, and it became especially successful in Great Britain. She also produced the Billy Dean hit “Let Them Be Little” that year.

In 2006, she starred on Broadway in the Johnny Cash-themed musical Ring of Fire. This led to her debut appearance at Carnegie Hall and a concert with Marvin Hamlisch and The Nashville Symphony.

White co-produced Toby Keith’s 2006 album White Trash With Money and its hits “Get Drunk and Be Somebody” and “A Little Too Late.” She was also behind the star’s “Mockingbird” duet with his daughter, Krystal Keith. In addition, she began producing Mac Davis in 2006. These efforts led to a flurry of articles about women breaking through in Nashville as record producers.

Lari White issued My First Affair as her second Skinny Whitegirl CD in 2007. She launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund her 2016 double album Old Friends New Loves. One CD contained re-recordings of her hits and the other compiled her new songs.

She passed away Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018.

Lari White is survived by her husband, Chuck Cannon, by daughters M’Kenzy Rayne and Kyra and by son Jaxon.

Dolly Parton Honored With Two Emmy Awards

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Dolly Parton (Dolly Records/RCA Nashville) received her first two Emmy awards Saturday night (Jan. 20) at the Midsouth Regional Emmy ceremony at the Music City Center in Nashville, both focused on her work giving back to those in need. Parton, who was first nominated for an Emmy in 1978, is the only country artist to have received nods from the Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, Golden Globes and Grammys.

At this weekend’s Emmy event, Parton was awarded the Best Community Service program trophy for her Smoky Mountains Rise telethon, which raised more than $13 million dollars for her My People Fund. Parton, who was not in attendance, shared this honor will fellow telethon collaborators Nicholas E. Dugger, Danny Nozell, Pete Owens, Scott Durand, Shanna Strassberg, Edie Lynn Hoback and John Zarling.

The National Association of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) Midsouth also recognized the legend’s lifetime of giving back with the Governor’s Award. In her acceptance, Parton noted that she is most proud of her efforts on behalf of Dollywood, the Dollywood Foundation, including the Imagination Library, the My People Fund and Mountain Tough.

“I am so excited to receive these awards tonight,” noted Parton, who is currently working on new music for the upcoming film Dumplin’. “When people ask me what I want them to say about me 100 years from now, I always joke that I want them to say ‘boy, she sure does look good for her age!’ But, in all honesty, I want the work we’ve done through the Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library to stand the test of time. Of course, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I want my music to be a part of that story, but in all honesty, my music has been a part of everything I have ever done in this business. My music has given wings to my dreams ever since I was a child, and as I sit here tonight, I am so thankful for the fans who have stood by me and supported me all of these years.”

Parton’s latest release, her first children’s album I Believe In You, is directing proceeds from the project to the Imagination Library, which has sent nearly 100 million books to children from birth to five years of age in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The album project will be featured in select Kroger grocery stores during the Easter season, spotlighted in check-out displays with Jesus Calling children’s devotionals.

Shanna Strassberg with Scott Durand. Photo courtesy Shanna Strassberg