The 48th Annual CMA Awards will be held this November, and will be broadcast on ABC.
The official voting schedule for the awards has been released. Awards voting will be processed entirely online. Only CMA members in good standing are eligible to vote.
First ballot
Tues., June 17—Renewal payments must be received to vote on all ballots
Thurs., July 3— First ballot emailed at 10 AM/CT
Mon., July 14—Ballot site closes at 5 PM/CT
Second ballot
Fri., Aug. 8—Renewal payments must be received to vote on second and final ballots
Tues., Aug. 12—Second ballot emailed at 10 AM/CT
Fri., Aug. 22—Ballot site closes at 5 PM/CT
Final ballot
Thurs., Oct. 9—Final ballot emailed at 10 AM/CT
Mon., Oct. 27—Ballot site closes at 5 PM/CT
The eligibility period for the 2014 CMA Awards is July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014.
 

BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM
Chapter 455
The entire music community rejoiced on Wednesday (May 14). Any event celebrating the christening of a new record-label office—rather than a closing or a consolidation—is cause for celebration. So the open-house party for the new Rounder Records headquarters was packed with people from throughout Music Row.
From the publishing world came Ree Guyer-Buchanan, Woody Bomar, Walter Campbell, Leslie DiPiero, Dale Bobo, Judy Harris, Daniel Hill and John Ozier.
Management folks in attendance included Ken Levitan, Don Light, Tamara Saviano, Al Bunetta, Kathi Whitley and John Ingrassia. Producers Steve Fishell, Ben Fowler and Gary Paczosa were there, too.
Artists and songwriters adding spice to the party recipe included Carlene Carter, Paul Burch, J.D. Crowe, Tammy Rogers of The SteelDrivers, Carl Jackson, Larry Nager, Mandy Barnett, Jett Williams, Tommy Sims, Jerry Salley and Jon Randall Stewart, plus Kenny Sears and Ranger Doug Green of The Time Jumpers.
Hacks and flacks working the room included Jon Freeman, Steve Betts, Chuck Aly, John Weisberger, Jules Wortman and Jeff Walker.
You kinda have to be looking for it to find the new Rounder office. You know that little parking lot behind Two Old Hippies and across the street from the Turnip Truck in the Gulch? Well, if you park there and walk a little eastward, you get to a nifty, semi-hidden office building (called, I think, “Pine Street Flats”).

The Rounder door there opens into a very nice suite of about 10 offices plus a small conference room. Everyone has already decorated their spaces with posters, photos, awards and memorabilia. Rounder dug into its archives to mount photos of artists and events illustrating the label’s nearly 45-year history. These hang in the complex’s public spaces.
A&R VP Tracy Gershon has spruced up her space with photos of herself with Miranda Lambert, Van Zant, Carlene and others, plus the cool, moderne, deluxe rust-gold colored chairs she bought from the prop guy of Nashville Star for 50 bucks apiece.
Among the A-listers touring and talking were Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, self-proclaimed Music Row “mayor” Charlie Monk, Pete Fisher, Terry Hemming, Lori Badgett and Hank Adam Locklin.
It really was a fabulous party. So much so, that it was a crowded, tough room to work. And since it was raining outside, many didn’t want to leave.
Not only that, the food was fantastic. The buffet included lobster mac & cheese bites, hummus, spinach con queso, flatbreads, pita crisps, cheeses, seasonal fruits and over-the-top delicious bahn mi sliders (carmelized beef pate, Vietnamese dikon and carrot slaw on a mini-bun).
Schmoozers and chompers included Leslie Fram, John Beiter, Jim Zumwalt, Tracy Thomas, Paul Lohr, Katharine Richardson, Bobby Rymer, Lynn Morrrow, Sherrill Blackman, Preston Sullivan, George Marinelli, the IBMA’s Nancy Cardwell, NARAS’s Susan Stewart, IEBA’s Pam Matthews and the AMA’s Jed Hilly. Rounder VP Scott Billington says he will be commuting back and forth between home with his new bride in New Orleans and his office in Music City.

Rounder founders Bill Nowlin, Marian Levy and Ken Irwin were all there. They continue to contribute as consultants. The catalog they have built is awesome. Rounder’s vaults contain records by Willie Nelson, The Del McCoury Band, Riders in the Sky, Maura O’Connell, David Olney, Marshall Chapman, Deanna Carter, Jo-El Sonnier, New Grass Revival, Joe Diffie, Aaron Neville, John Hartford, Joe Ely, George Thorogood, Los Straightjackets, Rhonda Vincent, Tim O’Brien and The Nashville Bluegrass Band.
The current roster includes Alison Krauss, Dailey & Vincent, Bela Fleck, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Gregg Allman, Alecia Nugent, The Time Jumpers, The SteelDrivers, NewFound Road, Tony Trischka, Della Mae and Son Volt.
The party favors were Rounder tote bags containing the new Carlene Carter CD, a Rounder T-shirt, the Steve Martin/Steep Canyon Rangers DVD, a Rounder drink coaster, a card offering free Rounder music downloads and the Gregg Allman all-star tribute concert DVD with its commemorative button.
The label’s parent company is the L.A.-based Concord Music Group. All of its music is distributed by UMG. Its other imprints are home to Nashville’s Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere, not to mention Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Carole King, Kenny G, George Benson, and Esperanza Spalding. Those other imprints include Fantasy, Stax, Specialty, Milestone/Prestige/Riverside, Hear Music, Telarc and Concord Jazz, as well as Rounder’s subsidiaries Philo and Zoe.
The Concord Music Group is said to be the fifth largest record-label group in the world, with annual sales of $90 million and annual publishing income of $3 million.
So-o-o-o…..Party On!

Nashville’s music industry gathered under a balmy sky on Tuesday (May 13) at Owen Bradley Park on Music Row to celebrate the Recording Academy’s 16th annual Grammy Block Party.

Warner Music Group’s For King and Country captured the attention of all who gathered, making the most of their brief set by offering “Fine Fine Life” and “Light It Up” while performing in the middle of the industry throng, standing on chairs, and even climbing on production rigging.
The band, fronted by brothers and Australia natives Joel and Luke Smallbone, now calls Nashville home. “We love Australia, but Nashville-Franklin, Tennessee is definitely home now, so this is sort of a home crowd audience,” Joel Smallbone said.
After engaging the crowd in an a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace,” they concluded with their 2012 hit “Proof Of Your Love.”
Industry stalwart Jim Lauderdale offered several musical gems, including the Buddy Miller-penned “Hole In My Head,” and welcomed Randy Kohrs for “Halfway Down” and “King of Broken Hearts,” a song he dedicated to Gram Parsons and George Jones. “Halfway Down” was penned by Lauderdale and became a hit for Patty Loveless in 1995.

The evening’s entertainment factor kicked up another several notches thanks to Martina McBride, who brought a color-coordinated horn section and superb background singers for the set, which included soul covers from McBride’s recent chart-topping project Everlasting. McBride was clearly right at home on covers of “Wild Night,” “In The Basement” “My Babe” “Come See About Me,” and Pink’s “Perfect,” as well as a rendition of her own 2001 hit “When God-Fearin’ Women Get The Blues.” The flawless production kept McBride’s powerful voice at the center of the musical spiral, and her revered vocal captured the audience with her signature ballad “A Broken Wing.”
As the industry crowd dined on burgers, hot dogs and drinks, two surprise guests for the evening offered samples of their music. Lennon & Maisy (best-known for their roles on ABC’s Nashville) enchanted the industry audience with their family harmonies and polished stage presence, offering “A Life That’s Good,” while Brandy Clark thrilled the crowd with her smart songwriting on “Stripes” and “Hold My Hand.”

Kacey Musgraves’ all too short set included her breakout hit “Merry Go ‘Round” and “Follow Your Arrow.”
The music-filled evening closed with sets from Chris Young and rock band Vintage Trouble. “I’m lucky to have gotten to do so many things in my career,” Young said. “One of my favorites is the Grammy nomination,” referring to his 2010 nomination in the Best Male Country Vocal Performance category for “Gettin’ You Home.”
The Recording Academy’s Nashville chapter is the organization’s third largest in the nation, and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.