Country Voices Abound On New Holiday Albums

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darius rucker home for the holidaysCountry artists are known for their love of releasing holiday music, and the 2014 Christmas season abounds with offerings featuring country voices, along with collaborations and releases from other musical genres. Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Sara Evans, The Henningsens and Darius Rucker are just a few of the names releasing holiday albums in 2014.
Below is a smattering of the new musical gems available this holiday season.
Jim Brickman, On A Winter’s Night: The Songs and Spirit of Christmas—Kenny Rogers and Jana Kramer are just a few of the vocalists who join piano man Brickman on this holiday collection. Rogers lends his voice to “That Silent Night,” while Kramer contributes to the bonus track “Clouds.”
Sara Evans, At Christmas—This CMA Female Vocalist of the Year winner offers several Christmas classics, including “O Holy Night,” “Run Rudolph Run,” and a special rendition of “12 Days of Christmas,” featuring vocals from two of her daughters, Olivia, 12, and Audrey, 10. The title track of this Mark Bright-produced project is an original penned by Shane Stevens and Toby Lightman.
The Henningsens, Our Family Christmas—Family trio The Henningsens have released their first holiday album, a 10-song digital project that includes gems such as “Silent Night,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” and two originals, “Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Baby Jesus,” and “Christmas Kissin’,” featuring vocals from Jerrod Niemann.
claire lynch bandAlan Jackson, Let It Be Christmas (re-release)—The traditional country stalwart brings his southern baritone to 11 Christmas chestnuts on this project, which originally released in 2002. Jackson composed the title track. Let It Be Christmas has earned gold certification from the RIAA.
Jamey Johnson, The Christmas Album—This five-song holiday EP is the first project released on Johnson’s own Big Gassed Records. The project includes the Johnson composition “South Alabam Christmas,” penned with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon, and recorded in RCA Studio A. The Secret Sisters join Johnson on “Mele Kalikimaka,” as does Lily Meola on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”
sara evansThe Claire Lynch Band, Holiday!—IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year winner Lynch embodies a retro ambiance in her take on several holiday standards including “White Christmas,” “Home For The Holidays,” and “Scarlett Ribbons,” featuring harmonies from Lynch’s daughter, Christy. Ace musicians Mark Schatz, Matt Wingate, and Bryan McDowell back her on this sterling 10-track offering.
Darius Rucker, Home For The Holidays—The 12-track album features Rucker’s renditions of songs including “Winter Wonderland” and “Please Home For Christmas.” One album highlight, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” features vocals from Sheryl Crow. The project also features two originals co-written by Rucker. “What God Wants for Christmas” was penned with Frank Rogers (who also produced the album) and Monty Criswell. “Candy Cane Christmas” was penned by Rucker, Rogers, and Steve Leslie.
NAS_ART_ALBUM_Christmas_Cover_2014.08.26_FNL11Tim Rushlow, Tim Rushlow & His Big Band Classic Christmas—Former Little Texas lead singer Tim Rushlow offers a big band, Sinatra-style spin on 10 holiday favorites, as well as two songs penned by Rushlow specifically for the project. “What Do I Do With the Blue” and “A Soldier’s Gift” were penned by the singer with producer Jimmy Ritchey and Don Poythress.
Michael W. Smith & Friends, The Spirit of Christmas—Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Jennifer Nettles, Michael McDonald, Martina McBride, and U2’s Bono join legendary Christian artist Michael W. Smith for a mix of hymns and Christmas classics, backed by orchestral arrangements. Co-produced by Robert Deaton, Smith, and maestro David Hamilton.
Various Artists, Christmas With Nashville—The cast of ABC’s hit television drama Nashville get into the Christmas spirit on this Jay DeMarcus-produced project. Guest artist Vince Gill joins Charles Esten, who portrays “Deacon Claybourne” on the show, on the classic “Blue Christmas.”

Artist Updates: Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line, Kenny Chesney, Linda Davis

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florida georgia line11Florida Georgia Line will join MAGIC! and Idina Menzel to perform live for more than one million fans in Times Square as part of the lineup on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2015.” Menzel will sing the winter wonderland instant classic “Let It Go,” Florida Georgia Line’s medley of songs will include their smash “Cruise,” as well as “This Is How We Roll” and current single “Sun Daze,” and MAGIC! will perform their chart topper “Rude” and recent release “Let Your Hair Down.” They will join headliner Taylor Swift. New Year’s Rockin’ Eve programming begins at 8:00 pm ET/PT on ABC Television Network.

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Carrie Underwood performed earlier this week as part of U2’s surprise World AIDS Day (RED) event in New York City’s Times Square, by personal invitation from Bono. Underwood performed “Change” from her Play On album, and was joined by U2 guitarist The Edge. Other appearances included Kanye West, U2’s Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr., Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and former president Bill Clinton.

Carrie Underwood and The Edge. Photo: Kavin Mazur/Getty Images

Carrie Underwood and The Edge. Photo: Kavin Mazur/Getty Images

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tortuga logoKenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band are set to headline the third annual Rock The Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival at Fort Lauderdale Park Beach in Florida on April 11-12, 2015. Joining them will be Jake Owen, Little Big Town, Trace Adkins, Sublime with Rome, David Nail, The Mavericks, Colt Ford, Chase Rice, Sam Hunt, Frankie Ballard, Chase Bryant, Dirty Guv’nahs, The Cadillac Three, Old Dominion, Maddie & Tae, Nikki Lane, Brooke Eden, Drake White and The Big Fire, and Judah & The Lion. Additional acts will be announced in coming weeks.

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Linda Davis

Linda Davis


Linda Davis, along with Commander Nash, Benton Stokes, Jenny Tolman, and Donna Ulisse, will perform at You Have The Power’s third annual Powerfully Original Christmas Songs Event and Auction on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at Douglas Corner Cafe in Nashville. The event will take place beginning at 6 p.m., and will feature an auction.
Tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite.
 

Entertainment Lawyer Joel Katz Joins Berklee Trustees

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Joel Katz

Joel Katz


Berklee College of Music has named Joel Katz, a leader in the field of entertainment law, to its board of trustees. Katz is former Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Entertainment & Sports Law Section.
His clients include Kenny Chesney, Julio Iglesias, Willie Nelson, Ludacris, Michael Jackson’s estate, the Country Music Association, Dick Clark Productions, and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS).
“As I have spent my entire working life in the entertainment and music business, being now included on Berklee’s board will give me a chance to give back even more to an industry that has been so good to me,” said Katz. “I look forward to working with the school administration, the teaching and professional team, and of course the students. I hope to be able to give of my experiences in the artistic community directly to the students.”
“Joel Katz has advised and represented a who’s who of the music industry, and is someone who cares about giving opportunities to musicians and to students, and at Berklee, we have both,” said Berklee president Roger H. Brown. “His vast knowledge of the music and music makers will be extremely valuable to the college.”
 

Jamey Johnson Launches Big Gassed Records With Christmas Album

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jamey johnson christmas
Jamey Johnson is releasing new music through his own Big Gassed Records. The label’s first project is a five-song holiday EP called The Christmas Song, which unveils the first new Johnson composition in four years, “South Alabam Christmas.” The song was written with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon on the same day it was recorded in the famed RCA Studio A.
The Secret Sisters join Johnson on “Mele Kalikimaka,” and Hawaiian singer Lily Meola guests on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” The Christmas Song also includes “Pretty Paper,” which was written by one of Johnson’s heroes, Willie Nelson. Johnson recorded the vocals in the same studio in Garland, Texas where Willie recorded Red Headed Stranger. A limited number of autographed copies of The Christmas Song are available at www.jameyjohnson.com.
Through Big Gassed, Johnson says he will be releasing his new songs as soon as they are recorded, without waiting for a full album release. The label will put out its own projects as well as partner with other record companies to release music by other artists, which could include projects produced by Johnson.
Johnson has won Song of the Year Awards from the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music.

 His Mercury Nashville 2008 album, That Lonesome Song, was certified platinum, and his 2010 double album, The Guitar Song, received a gold certification. His fifth studio album was a star-studded tribute project to late songwriter Hank Cochran.

Reba, Brooks & Dunn Set For Las Vegas Residency

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reba brooks & dunn111Reba, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are set for a country music residency in 2015. Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas will open June 24, 2015 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Tickets for select performances in 2015 go on-sale tomorrow, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m. PT.
Presented jointly by Caesars Palace and AEG Live, the initial dates announced for 2015 are:
June 24-27; July 1, 3, 4; December 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12
The residency marks Brooks & Dunn’s first performances together since their final concert tour date at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in 2010.
The residency also marks a reunion for the trio, who toured together in 1997, and had a hit with “If You See Him/If You See Her” the following year. The song was included on McEntire’s If You See Him project, as well as Brooks & Dunn’s If You See Her album. Reba also provided a guest vocal on the duo’s hit “Cowgirls Don’t Cry,” in 2008.
Both Reba and Ronnie Dunn recently announced signings to Big Machine Label Group’s Nash Icon label, which is a co-venture between Big Machine Label Group and Cumulus Media (though the label has not made an official comment or announcement on the Dunn signing). Kix Brooks hosts Cumulus’ syndicated radio show American Country Countdown.
Tickets for Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas, may be purchased in person at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Box Office, by calling 866-320-9763 or online at thecolosseum.com or axs.com. Orders are subject to additional service charges and fees. Ticket prices are $205/ $155/ $105/ $85/ $59.50 (prices include 10% Live Entertainment Tax). For groups of 10 or more, call 866-574-3851. All shows are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Watch below for a behind-the-scenes video of Reba and Brooks & Dunn during their photo shoot for the Las Vegas residency.

YouTube video

'CMT Artists of the Year' Honors Haggard Alongside Today's Stars

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Merle Haggard is honored with the first CMT Artist of a Lifetime award.

Merle Haggard is honored with the first CMT Artist of a Lifetime award, presented by Billy Bob Thornton. Photo courtesy of CMT


CMT held an elegant soiree Tuesday evening (Dec. 2) at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, an upscale music venue known for its impeccable acoustics and hosting everyone from bluegrass musicians to the Nashville symphony.
The event, which aired live, honored Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, and Florida Georgia Line as CMT Artists of the Year for their career accomplishments in 2014.
However, the star of the evening was clearly Merle Haggard, who was presented with CMT’s first Artist of a Lifetime award. Billy Bob Thornton was on hand to present the honor, and went off-script to add his own words of tribute.
Keith Urban performs with an all-female band at CMT Artists of the Year.

Keith Urban performs with an all-female band at CMT Artists of the Year. Photo courtesy of CMT.


“I’d just like to add something to what they’ve got here,” said Thornton, “which is that I wouldn’t only include Merle Haggard in the greatest songwriters of all time. But I would put him up there alongside people like Tennessee Williams and William Faulker, Erskine Caldwell and John Steinbeck because he is truly a storyteller. That’s something that has been lost over the years, and I’m glad to see that it is coming back a little bit. And Merle Haggard personifies the storyteller.”
Haggard was nearly in tears as he accepted the honor. “Anything I would say would be short of the mark, so thank you very much and God bless you,” he told the audience. Off-camera, industry members and artists including Aldean and Florida Georgia Line were quick to welcome the legend as he entered the room.
Florida Georgia Line performs during the CMT Artist of the Year airing.

Florida Georgia Line performs during the CMT Artist of the Year event. Photo courtesy of CMT.


Jason Aldean and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden opened the show with Aldean’s latest single, “Just Gettin’ Started.” Kenny Chesney was in attendance to honor his future tourmate. Chesney and Aldean will combine their headlining shows for several stadium concerts in 2015. “His fire and passion is one of the reasons he’s one of CMT’s Artists of the Year,” said Chesney.
Host Larry the Cable Guy kept the elegant evening from getting too stuffy, with his repertoire of one-liners.
Luke Bryan could not be in attendance. He is in Georgia with his family, following the death of his brother-in-law Ben Lee Cheshire over the weekend. Cheshire was 46, and the husband of Bryan’s late sister Kelly.
2014 CMT Artists Of The Year

Chris Stapleton and Lady Antebellum perform “Drink A Beer” to honor Luke Bryan during the CMT Artists of the Year. Photo courtesy of CMT.


Lady Antebellum and Chris Stapleton stepped in to honor Bryan with an emotional rendition of his single, “Drink A Beer,” (co-written by Stapleton and Jim Beavers), which drew the first standing ovation of the evening. Other artists, including fellow Georgian Jason Aldean and Keith Urban, offered their condolences to Bryan’s family throughout the broadcast.
Miranda Lambert was honored by friend and fellow songwriter Ashley Monroe. Lambert gave a soulful, refined performance of “Holding On To You,” an album cut from her recent album Platinum. She also teared up while thanking husband Blake Shelton. “You are my rock,” she said. “I think he’s on a TV show somewhere tonight.”
Wiz Khalifa honored genre-melding duo Florida Georgia Line as CMT Artists of the Year. “As musicians, we are all brothers and sisters,” he said. Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard gave a rousing rendition of their single, “Sun Daze.”
Miranda Lambert performs during CMT Artists of the Year.

Miranda Lambert performs during CMT Artists of the Year. Photo courtesy of CMT.


Another highlight of the evening was Urban’s guitar-driven rendition of James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” backed by a 15-piece all-female band, complete with a string and horn section.
Urban was quick to praise his fans after receiving his CMT Artists of the Year honor. “Why are fans so important? Because without them it’s just one long sound check,” he said.
Chris Cornell and Jason Aldean kick off the CMT Artists of the Year.

Chris Cornell and Jason Aldean kick off the CMT Artists of the Year. Photo courtesy of CMT.


Eric Church, Ashley Monroe, and T Bone Burnett rounded out the evening’s performances with a tribute to Haggard on his 1969 classic, “Workin’ Man Blues.”
Encore presentations of Artists of the Year will air Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 1:30 a.m., 8 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. ET/PT, and Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. ET/PT.

Combustion Atlas Announces First Songwriter To Joint Venture

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Pictured (L-R): Scott Safford; Chris Van Belkom, Vice President, Combustion Music; Jameson Rodgers; Chris Farren, President, Combustion Music; Robert Filhart; and Kenley Flynn, Creative Director, Combustion Music.


Combustion Music and Atlas Music Publishing have signed the first writer to the new joint venture Combustion Atlas, which was announced last month.
Jameson Rodgers has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Richard Stumpf (Atlas CEO) and Chris Farren (Combustion owner/President).
Rodgers was born and raised in Batesville, Miss. After a baseball career at Northwest Mississippi Community College, he headed to University of Southern Mississippi where he performed at bars with a band named Silky Smooth.
“Jameson has impressed me not only as a gifted artist and songwriter, but as a self starting manager of his own career,” said Chris Van Belkom, Vice President, Combustion Music. “We’re so excited to get to work with him and add to the relationships he’s been able to create for himself.”
Rodgers joins a prolific and diverse roster of songwriters who have eared a total of 10 ASCAP Country Music awards, including Ashley Gorley being named ASCAP’s 2014 Country Music Songwriter of the Year.

LifeNotes: Services To Be Held For Jackie Pillers

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Jackie Pillers

Jackie Pillers


Longtime Nashville media member Jacqueline Ann “Jackie” Pillers passed away Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. She was 53.
Pillers, who was known to many members of the local media and music industry, spent nearly 20 years working at WSMV Channel 4. She also worked for WTVF News Channel 5, and WKRN News 2 during her career.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 1:00 p.m., at the Chapel of Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home in her hometown Clarksville, with Demetria Kalodimos officiating. Visitation will be Friday, Dec. 5, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., and on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 11:00 a.m. until the hour of service, at the funeral home.
Arrangements are entrusted to Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home, 1510 Madison Street, Clarksville, TN 37040. Online condolences may be made at www.neal-tarpley.com.

Weekly Register: Revamped Chart Debuts

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Craig Wayne Boyd. Photo: Trae Patton/NBC

Craig Wayne Boyd. Photo: Trae Patton/NBC


The updated Billboard 200 albums chart debuted this week. The new version takes into account album sales, on-demand streaming and digital track sales. This formula is designed to represent total album activity and more accurately reflect consumption, instead of only including album purchases. Details here.
The formula is:
album sales + TEA (defined as 10 tracks = one album) + streaming activity (defined as total streams divided by 1500) = total activity
Even without the boost from streams of her newest album 1989 (which has been withheld from streaming sites), Taylor Swift landed at No. 1 on the new Top 200, with total activity of 339K.
Black Friday shopping gave a 33 percent increase to all-genre album sales, totaling more than 7 million units. By comparison, the same week last year experienced a 62 percent jump, thanks to then-new releases by One Direction (546K) and Garth Brooks hits (164K).
Country album sales are up 46 percent week-over-week, selling 1 million units TW. Brooks stays put at No. 1 on the Country album chart with 63K, and 255K RTD in its third week. The methodology for the individual genre charts has not changed.
Top 5 Country Albums
Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine, 63K
Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt, 31K
Darius Rucker, Home For The Holidays, 30K
Sam Hunt, Montevallo, 26K
Miranda Lambert, Platinum, 26K
Tracks: Craig Wayne Boyd, the indie star from The Voice, has the top-selling country track this week, moving 46K of his version of “I Walk The Line.”
As we zoom to the end of 2014, sales stats are down across the board:
Total albums YTD -12.3 percent (222.297 million TY/ 253.563 million LY)
Country albums YTD -11 percent (28.551 million TY/ 32.091 million LY)
Total digital tracks YTD -12.6 percent (1.009 billion TY/ 1.155 billion LY)
Country tracks YTD -17.3 percent (125.7 million TY/ 151.8 million LY)
Info according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Briggs Exits New West Records

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Gary BriggsIndustry veteran Gary Briggs has exited New West Records, where he was Sr. Vice President of A&R and Artist Relations, to pursue new ventures. During his 10 years at the label, Briggs was responsible for signing and developing new talent including Nikki Lane and Max Gomez, while also advising established artists including John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin and Dwight Yoakam.
Before being promoted to the A&R/Artist Relations position, Briggs oversaw all AAA radio promotion campaigns for New West in addition to producing their Live From Austin, TX CD and DVD Line in conjunction with PBS and Austin City Limits. He is based in Austin.
Prior to New West Records, Briggs was Owner/President of Beyond Rust Management representing Lucinda Williams, M Ward and Beth Orton in partnership with Azoff Music Management. Briggs also previously served as President of Vapor Records, a label founded by Neil Young and his managers, Elliot Roberts and Frank Gironda. Additionally, he held the title of VP of Artist Relations/Creative Marketing at Warner Bros. Records, where he worked on projects involving Wilco, Chris Isaak, Eric Clapton, Don Henley, Mark Knopfler and Neil Young.
Briggs can now be reached at gary.beyondrust@gmail.com