Lady Antebellum brings their headlining show to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Lady Antebellum owned the night Friday (Sept 11), as they played their first-ever headlining show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena as part of their Wheels Up Tour. Taking off with dramatic smoke and lasers to complement the Fleetwood Mac–like energy of “Long Stretch Of Love,” Lady A members Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood flawlessly flowed through a set that took the crowd on an emotional ride through the past nine years they’ve been together.

Cruising into a crowd (and beer vendor) favorite, “Hey Bartender,” the trio had the crowd drinking and dancing in full swing throughout the arena before slowing it down with their No. 1 hit “American Honey.” The Capitol Nashville group gave a nod to the writers on this song, specifically Cary Barlowe, who was present.

They continued full speed with “Freestyle” and “Our Kind Of Love,” only to pull on the emotional strings once again as everything went silent, except for Haywood in the spotlight playing the piano opening to “Just A Kiss.” As the song continued with a night-themed backdrop of a full moon and stars, Scott took time to humbly thank the crowd, saying, “Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, this is such a bucket list moment for us, thank you!”

Running through the crowd during “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,” and onto a center platform, Lady A broke it down to a special acoustic performance of “One Great Mystery,” as well as “Dancing Away With My Heart,” and a cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” In honor of Sept. 11, dedicated a special a cappella version of “Hello World” to all servicemen and women. As Haywood came slowly in with the guitar and Kelley took a strong vocal lead, he exclaimed, “It’s a special day and it’s also my birthday. This means the world to us.”

The show continued back onto the main stage as they moved from anthem “Downtown” into a fierce rendition of Shania Twain’s “Any Man Of Mine,” which brought everyone to their feet as Scott strutted down the runway. During the Nathan Chapman-produced “Compass,” show opener Hunter Hayes joined on banjo, with Chapman on guitar. Hayes soon after reappeared, sporting a Preds jersey, along with fellow show opener Sam Hunt in an American flag tank, to help close the show as Lady A rocked Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”

The trio returned for an encore with smoke and silhouette lighting to capture a powerful version of their title track “747.” Continuing with fan favorites “Need You Now,” and “We Owned The Night,” the Wheels Up Tour touched down with dramatic close, a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”

Opener Hunt started off the show with a high-energy set, moving around the premise of the floor seats and hugging fans along the way. Hayes kept the energy alive playing up and down the stage and engaging the audience to sing and dance to Walk The Moon’s “Shut Up And Dance.”

Pictured (L-R): FairTrade Services vice president of A&R James Rueger and FairTrade Services president/founder Jeff Moseley; Newsboys’ Jeff Frankenstein, Jody Davis, Duncan Phillips and Michael Tait.

CCM band Newsboys have signed an exclusive recording agreement with FairTrade Services. The band is working on their FairTrade Services debut project, which is slated to release in March 2016.

“It’s great to be reunited with Wes Campbell and the Newsboys again,” said Jeff Moseley, president/founder, FairTrade Services. “Our association goes back a long way and I am excited to be working alongside this iconic band and team again. The music is fantastic and we are working diligently on a promotion plan that will match the outstanding music.”

“The Newsboys have had a long relationship with Jeff Moseley and his team,” said Campbell, president/founder, First Company Management. “FairTrade’s commitment to the artist, their passion for helping challenge artists’ musical talents and creativity, and their out-of-the-box marketing and distribution concepts are exciting to us, and we look forward to continuing to push the envelope together for many years to come.”

Comprised of lead vocalist Michael Tait, Jody Davis (guitar), Jeff Frankenstein (keys) and Duncan Phillips (drums), Newsboys will launch their We Believe…God’s Not Dead 2015 Fall Tour on Sept. 18, and will travel to more than 40 markets across the country.

FairTrade Services, LLC launched in June 2011 by music industry veteran Jeff Moseley. Located in Brentwood, Tenn., FairTrade’s roster includes MercyMe, Laura Story, Audio Adrenaline, The Afters, Hawk Nelson, Shane & Shane, Sara Groves, Phil Wickham, and more. FairTrade Services is distributed by Provident Distribution and Sony Music.

Gord Bamford (left) presented ole Chairman and CEO Robert Ott with the Leonard T. Rambeau International Award at the 2015 Canadian Country Music Awards.

Canadian Country Music Week culminated last night (Sept. 13) with the 2015 CCMA Awards Show at the Scotiabank Centre. Hosted by Jessi Cruickshank, the show was broadcast on CBC-TV with an encore airing on CMT (Canada). See the list of winners below.

Additionally, music publisher ole was named Publisher of the Year for the ninth consecutive year, making ole the first publishing company to take home the honor for nine years running.

As previously reported, the Industry Awards were handed out last week.

2015 CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

ARTIST INDUCTEE Dianne Leigh

STAN KLEES BUILDER AWARD – BUILDER INDUCTEE Elizabeth “Ma” Henning

CCMA AWARDS OF ACHIEVEMENT

2015 SLAIGHT MUSIC HUMANITARIAN AWARD MusiCounts

LEONARD T. RAMBEAU INTERNATIONAL AWARD Robert Ott

ARTIST AWARDS

FANS’ CHOICE AWARD Johnny Reid

ALBUM OF THE YEAR Lifted – Dallas Smith

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Jess Moskaluke

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Gord Bamford

GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR High Valley

SINGLE OF THE YEAR “Where A Farm Used To Be” – Gord Bamford

VIDEO OF THE YEAR “Upside Down” – Dean Brody

SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR
“Where A Farm Used To Be”
(Written By: Gord Bamford, Buddy Owens, Phil O’Donnell, Performed By: Gord Bamford)

ROOTS ARTIST OF THE YEAR Lindi Ortega

INTERACTIVE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR Brett Kissel

RISING STAR Madeline Merlo

CCMA DISCOVERY AWARD Raquel Cole

MUSICIAN AWARDS

BASS Lisa Dodd

DRUMS Chad Melchert

FIDDLE Denis Dufresne

GUITAR Ryan Davidson

KEYBOARDS Tie: Mike Little/Bart McKay

SPECIAL INSTRUMENT Robin Pelletier (Mandolin)

STEEL GUITAR Ed (Peewee Charles) Ringwald

RADIO AWARDS

MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
Scott Phillips – CKRY – FM, Calgary, AB/CISN-FM, Edmonton, AB

MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM OR SMALL MARKET
Paul Ferguson – CHCQ – FM, Belleville, ON

ON-AIR PERSONALITY(S) OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
CISN in the Mornings with Chris, Jack & Matt – CISN Country 103.9

ON-AIR PERSONALITY(S) OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM OR SMALL MARKET
The Casey Clarke Show with Roo Phelps – CIGV-FM, Country 100.7

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
KX 94.7, New Country FM – Hamilton, ON

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM OR SMALL MARKET
CKGY 95.5, KG Country – Red Deer, AB

Lady Antebellum in Nashville. Photo: Lady Antebellum Twitter

BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM

Chapter 504

Friday was homecoming night in downtown Nashville.

The fabulons gathered at Bridgestone that evening (Sept. 11) to greet Lady Antebellum at the group’s first Nashville arena show as headliners. It had been pouring rain earlier, but the skies cleared, just for us.

“It feels good to be home; we’ve waited a long time for this,” said the group’s Hillary Scott.

“This is our first sold-out Bridgestone show,” added Lady A’s Charles Kelley. “You don’t know what this means to us. This is going to be a great night.”

The occasion was the Music City stop on the group’s “Wheels Up 2015” tour. Its pre-show reception was staged at the “Pre-Flight V.I.P. Lounge,” a room off the AT&T Information Center, previously unknown to me. I love finding new places to party.

The room was bedecked, floor to ceiling, in billowy white drapes. A small stage was backed by a glowing, pale-blue tour logo. Alas, the party space was too small for the number of people invited, so we sweltered in there.

The trio took the stage and favored us with acoustic renditions of its hits, interspersed with Q&A with its fans. For the opening tunes, Lady A was joined by Hunter Hayes (on mandolin!). “We Own the Night” was followed by Hunter’s “Wanted,” embellished with Lady A vocal harmonies.

“Give Hunter a big ol’ hand,” exclaimed Charles. “Give it up for Lady Antebellum,” responded Hunter. We did.

Excerpts of “American Honey,” “I Run to You,” “Downtown” and “Need You Now” ensued. As usual, the trio’s performances became stellar whenever Dave Haywood added his elusive third-harmony voice. He also provided the acoustic-guitar accompaniment.

“It’s my birthday,” said Charles. “I’m 34 years old: Life is just getting started.” The backstage fans sang “Happy Birthday,” and one of them gave him a wrapped birthday present.

“Your life is going to change in a very few months,” Hillary told him. “It will never be the same.” Charles and his wife are expecting their first child. Band mates Hillary and Dave already have their first babies in the touring entourage.

“We have an exciting announcement to make tonight,” Hillary continued. “A couple of years ago, we formed a Foundation. We want a portion of every concert ticket sold to go to children’s charities.”

The Lady A Foundation funds are administered by Nashville’s Community Foundation. That organization’s Ellen Lehman was brought to the stage and presented with a jumbo check for $400,000.

Fans held their devices high to capture all the party moments. The rest of us schmoozed.

Charlie Cook, R.J. Curtis, Erika Wollam-Nichols, Amy Kurland, Bob Paxman, Ashley Gorley, Lori Badgett, Doug & Linda Edell Howard, Jay Frank, Karen Clark, Julie Boos, Eric Parker, Debbie Carroll, Diane Pearson, Lon Helton, Bobby Young, Chuck Dauphin, Chandra LaPlume, Tom Douglas, Tom Roland and fabulous hosts Donna Hughes and Royce Risser worked the room.

Then Sam Hunt opened for Hunter Hayes and Lady A. This was many fans’ introduction to tunes from the group’s new 747 CD.

Earlier in the day (9/11), the luckiest of the lucky went to RCA Studio A for a “secret” So There album-release party by Ben Folds. Only a few dozen were invited, but Lightning 100 did broadcast the hour-long show.

Ben Folds performs at his secret show.

The Nashville-based piano popster celebrated his 49^th birthday on Saturday, so he was another one serenaded by fans with “Happy Birthday.” Juli Thanki, Dave Paulson and Jae S. Lee documented the doings.

Another homecoming, album release event was the sold-out Blue Sky Riders show at City Winery that night (Sept. 11). Well, it was a homecoming for two of trio’s members, anyway, Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman. Their partner Kenny Loggins remains West Coast based.

What a team they are. Georgia’s effervescent showmanship, plus Gary’s angelic voice and witty repartee bolster Kenny’s star power for an outstanding combination. Their breath-taking song craftsmanship and awesome vocal harmonies complete the stunning package.

The new, Nashville-recorded, self-produced CD is titled Why Not, and you could buy a “limited pre-release” copy of it at the gig. The trio favored us with “The Rodeo,” “Nothing Matters More Than Love,” “No Fool Like an Old Fool,” the audience-participation tune “I’m Lucky Like That” and other instantly catchy songs from it.

During an acoustic segment, Kenny sang his evergreen “House at Pooh Corners” and “Danny’s Song.” Everyone sang along with both.

Victoria Shaw, Bob Locknar and Rob Simbeck were among those applauding enthusiastically.

I highly recommend City Winery’s chicken fricassee. The Lady A event was surprisingly foodless, so we were starved.

Meanwhile, the late-night crowd was up on the Metro Courthouse lawn, boogie-ing in the dark with the rocking Passion Pit. Nashville’s own Turbo Fruits, Smooth Hound Smith, Colony House and The Vespers entertained earlier in the evening.

This free, “Live on the Green” 2015 concert series concluded on Saturday with an afternoon and evening lineup including such Nashvillians as Lennon & Maisy, Mr. Steve, Steelism, Anderson East, Future Thieves, Elle King, All Them Witches and aforementioned headliner Ben Folds.