CRS Agenda Committee Accepting Applications

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CRS14The CRS Agenda Committee is currently taking applications. The committee is comprised of volunteer professionals from all areas of the Country radio and record industries.
The committee is responsible for planning events for the upcoming year’s Country Radio Seminar. Heading up this year’s agenda committee are, re-elected members, Annie Sandor of Curb Records serving as chairman, alongside Jeff Green of Stone Door Media Lab and John Trapane of Capitol Nashville as vice chairs.
Prospective applicants must be available to attend agenda meetings in Nashville on June 19 and 20, 2013 and are expected to attend panels and meetings at CRS 2014, held Feb. 19 – 21, 2014.
Agenda committee applications for CRS 2014 are now available here and will be accepted through Friday, April 5, 2013.
Please direct agenda committee inquiries to Sheree Latham at (615) 329-4492 or [email protected].

Wildhorse Announces Fifth Annual Battle for the Saddle Competition

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indexNashville’s Wildhorse Saloon will host its fifth annual Battle for the Saddle band competition with the new formatting and enhanced prizes, held between April and May.
Ten contestants will advance past the April 30 auditions to gradually be eliminated during four rounds of competition (May 15, 16, 20 and 21), with the final two advancing to the finals on May 29.
Premiere Networks’ syndicated morning show duo Big D & Bubba will be brought in for the competition. Battle for the Saddle will offer prizes including a day in the studio with Michael Knox (Jason Aldean), an industry showcase, a photo shoot and an annual contract with the Wildhorse Saloon including a headlining at the venue during CMA Music Festival in June.
“This series is already unique in the way it focuses on bands as a whole and not just the singer or individual band member, but we’re mixing it up this season by introducing band challenges that will give the challenge winner a leading edge in the next round,” said Ron Kerere, general manager of the Wildhorse Saloon.
Applications will be considered through April 19 at www.WildhorseSaloon.com.

DISClaimer: A Good Stack of Platters

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Missouri MIle

Missouri Mile


For me, it’s a good day when most of the new music I hear is as good as this stack of platters is. I was particularly smitten with the Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison duets package, the Ron Davies tribute album and Erica Nicole, Gretchen Wilson and Justin Moore. Lend all of them your ears. The Disc of the Day honor belongs to the always superb Pistol Annies for “Hush Hush.” The DisCovery Award goes to the surprisingly accomplished newcomers of Missouri Mile.
PHILIP CLAYPOOL/I’m Gonna Lie
Writers: Gary Hannan/Ira Dean/Aaron Baker; Producer: Michael Lloyd; Publishers: Gary James Hannan/Little Biscuit/Chobe/Sony-ATV Tree/Hillbilly Rich/Skymonkey, BMI
-The grinding, distorted, screaming rock guitars are hugely irritating, but his vocal performance is solid, and the song’s a winner.
GRETCHEN WILSON/Still Rollin’
Writers: Gretchen Wilson/Vicky McGehee; Producer: Gretchen Wilson; Publishers: On Cloud 27/Calhoun Enterprises/peermusic/February 4, ASCAP/BMI
-The rumbling, gently rocking track has a vaguely Bob Seger vibe, which makes me automatically predisposed to love it. Gretchen remains a vocalist of immense personality, and she gives the “survivor” lyric warmth and likeability. Stay tuned for the cool instrumental coda at the song’s end.
ERICA NICOLE/Better Beer
Writers: Kevin Fisher/Darby Orr; Producer: Michael Lloyd; Publishers: Stone Poet/Surface and Dream, BMI/ASCAP
-It’s a happy handclapper about a working girl raising her glass and toasting to a brighter future. Totally catchy and addictive, as well as irresistibly good-natured. This is this artist’s second consecutive delightful disc.
Hush-Hush11PISTOL ANNIES/Hush Hush
Writers: Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley; Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell and Glenn Worf; Publishers: Sony-ATV Tree/Pink Dog/Reynsong/Ayden/Angaleena Presley/Ten Ten/EMI April, BMI/ASCAP
-Miranda, Ashley and Angaleena try on some country-rock slippers, and they fit just fine. The ultra witty lyric about a dysfunctional family with secrets is delivered with winks and sly smiles all around. A total hoot from start to finish.
SARA BETH/Kickin’ and Screamin’
Producer: Dean Sams
-Lonestar’s Dean Sams has formed his own record label, and this gal is his first project for it. She sings with winning assurance. His crisp production is utterly contemporary. The song is about holding onto your good times, no matter what.
KELLY WILLIS AND BRUCE ROBISON/Cheater’s Game
Writers: Bruce Robison/Liz Foster/Savannah Welch; Producer: Brad Jones; Publishers: Bruce Robison/W.B.M./Dueling Poets/Shimmy Shake, BMI/SESAC
-Their new duets album has been out for awhile, but I can’t get it out of my head. This is the title tune to a collection that ranks as one of the best of the year so far. Kelly’s lead vocal on the ballad about a woman hitting the bottom aches with emotion, and Bruce’s harmony work is pitch perfect. The rest of the CD is packed with equally dandy tunes by the likes of Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll and Dave Alvin (plus chestnuts from Don Williams and Razzy Bailey), as well as originals by the oh-so-talented Bruce. Buy this record.
MAKKY KAYLOR/A Little Sentimental
Writers: Joseph Babcok; Producers: Mark T. Jordan and Makky Kaylor; Publishers: Noma/Unichappel/Elvis Presley, BMI
-Makky is a top Music Row session singer, jingle vocalist and songwriter. The idea behind his album is to recapture the class and style of the classic Nashville Sound of the 1960s. To that end, he reinterprets classics by Don Gibson, Eddy Arnold, Dottie West and Jim Reeves, as well as offering some of his own compositions in the style. The album’s title tune is a 1961 Marty Robbins song. Makky gives the shuffle ballad a warm reading with just a teardrop touch of vibrato. Co-producer Mark T. Jordan’s deft acoustic piano filigrees anchor the lustrous arrangement. Recommended.
MANDY BARNETT/Long Hard Climb
Writer: Ron Davies; Producer: Gail Davies
-The late Ron Davies wrote more than 600 songs, including the Three Dog Night favorite “It Ain’t Easy,” also covered by David Bowie, Mitch Ryder, The Raconteurs and others. Twenty-two of Ron’s tunes are revived on Unsung Hero, an excellent all-star collection featuring John Prine, Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, John Anderson, Rodney Crowell, Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Bramlett and more. Helen Reddy had success in the 1970s with Ron’s ballad “Long Hard Climb,” which is also associated with Maria Muldaur. Mandy sings it in a languid, dreamy, jazzy fashion. Soft strings cushion the arrangement. Produced by Ron’s younger sister Gail Davies, Unsung Hero is consistently terrific. Sales benefit Nashville’s W.O. Smith Community Music School.
MISSOURI MILE/Exit 214
Writers: Sheena Persons/Sheila Rochelle/Byron Hill; Producer: Byron Hill; Publishers: Song Source/Triage/Byron Hill, ASCAP/BMI
-Songwriters Sheena and Sheila are sisters who comprise the duo Missouri Mile. They harmonize as only siblings can. The lilting title tune to their seven-song EP reveals them to be simply audio awesome. The song is completely captivating as both a melody and a lyric, and Byron Hill’s production frames their vocals with a lovely, luscious mix of mandolin, bass and acoustic guitar. In a word, enchanting. Producers and A&R folks take note: All of these songs are worth cutting, pronto.
JUSTIN MOORE/Point at You
Writers: Ross Copperman/Rhett Akins/Ben Hayslip; Producer: Jeremy Stover; Publishers: EMI Blackwood/Ross Copperman/4 Tunes/WB/Tar-Cam-Knox/Get a Load of This, BMI/ASCAP
-He drawls his tale with gusto. He has a wild side, but if you want to see his soft, sweet, best side, look at his gal. Sonically, it’s a jumbo joyride that romps along with all the goofy best of intentions. This will sound splendid on the radio.

Artist Growth Debuts Version 2.0

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ArtistGrowthArtist Growth, the Nashville based artist career management software company, recently released version 2.0 which includes new partnerships with Sound Healthcare and BMI.

The mobile software platform offers the tools to manage and track daily tasks and larger projects in a single interface. Over 10,000 active users have signed up to use it since its launch a year ago. The cloud-based platform integrates finances, gig calendars, inventory, industry contacts, social media, performing rights organizations, and other leading third party music technology services.
AG’s in-house developers completely redesigned the platform which is being released as AG 2.0. Through Sound Healthcare, headed by CEO RJ Stillwell, AG users in participating states can gain access to affordable health care and insurance. Additionally, BMI members can easily register their setlists for live performance royalties.
Said Artist Growth Co-Founder and CEO Matt Urmy, “AG 2.0 has been built so both independent artists and major management companies can use the system. This, along with our integrated APIs, opens doors to some very exciting possibilities for future business models in the industry, and I am thrilled to be working with industry leaders to bring some of these new models to fruition.”
Major acts using Artist Growth include Kings of Leon, Emmylou Harris and Ke$ha.

Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival Adds Top Songwriters

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tin pan south 2013This year’s Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival Presented by Regions Bank, slated for April 2-April 6, will have an added wow factor for attendees.
Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, Jake Owen, Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, Amy Grant, Pistol Annies’ Ashley Monroe and more will trade arena stages for intimate venues as part of Tin Pan South.
Last year, close to 350 talented songwriters performed 92 shows at several of Nashville’s music venues.
Owen will take the stage at The Listening Room Cafe’s early show at 6 p.m. on April 2, and Kelley will be featured during the late show beginning at 9 p.m. On April 3, Monroe will perform during the late show at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville, which starts at 9 p.m.  Grant will take the stage during the Listening Room Cafe’s early show, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on April 6. Bush and DioGuardi will entertain during The Listening Room Cafe on April 5 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The event has also added two shows at 3rd & Lindsley, bringing the total number of music venues to 10.
Popular Fast Access passes have sold out. Tickets will be available at the door on a cash-only basis for most shows, on a first-come, first-served basis.
For up-to-date lineups, tickets, venues, schedules and other festival information, visit tinpansouth.com.
 

Video Debuts

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Kip Moore
MCA recording artist Kip Moore premiered the music video for “Hey Pretty Girl” here. The song follows two No. 1 singles from his debut album Up All Night.

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rose falcon11
 
Show Dog-Universal Music recording artist Rose Falcon‘s new video for “If Love Had A Heart” premiered yesterday (March 18) on CMT and CMT Pure.
The music video, directed by Greg Travis for Travis Television, features Rose in the actual studio where she recorded her five-song EP entitled 19th Avenue (Volume 2).
 

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kershaw video1 GAC’s Daily Countdown with Suzanne Alexander exclusively debuted “All in the Same Boat,” the hilarious new music video featuring country music legends Aaron Tippin, Joe Diffie and Sammy Kershaw. The show will re-air tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET on GAC.

On the direction of the video, Tippin says, “of course all of us men like to think we’re in charge at our house but this video shows who’s really the boss.”

Diffie notes, “It was such a blast making the video with Sam, Aaron and the girls. The whole day was easy and lighthearted and we all really enjoyed it.

“Even though the weather changed on us to cold and rainy, we sure had a great time doing this video together,” says Kershaw. “We had to do a lot of improvising but Joe and Aaron were great sports.”

Industry Ink (3-19-13)

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family band logo1Several Nashvillians were involved with making a new document currently airing on Showtime. Family Band: The Cowsills Story was co-produced by Nashville based Thinking Bee Productions in association with Palcorp out of Los Angeles. The film was co-directed and edited by Nashville director Bill Filipiak. Also involved were Gamma Blast, David Shamban and Jo Hunt. 
The Cowsills was a charttopping family band from Rhode Island comprised of six siblings ranging from eight to 19, and their mother Barbara. The film is an honest look at the battle between the public image of charm and talent and their private reality of secrets and fear. It airs tonight (March 19) and through the month of March.

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glorianaGloriana will take part in Brides‘ magazine’s first-ever Brides Live Wedding event, where everything–from the winning couple to the color scheme to the first-dance song, performed by Gloriana–will be decided upon by Facebook “likes.” Hundreds of couples entered to win and Briana Hainley and Jason Schnitzer from Anaheim, Calif. were chosen. Fans can see Gloriana perform at the St. Regis Monarch Beach at Dana Point, Calif. by tuning in to the live-streamed wedding on April 7 at 4 p.m.
Fans can vote at Facebook.com/brideslivewedding starting today (March 19) and Wednesday (March 20) for the song Gloriana will perform for Briana and Jason’s first dance.
For each “like” that takes place leading up to the Brides Live Wedding, Brides will donate a dollar to the charity of the couple’s choosing, American Cancer Society. To further the charitable impact of the Brides Live Wedding, Gloriana and Brides will give $10,000 to the band’s charity of choice, ACM Lifting Lives, which is dedicated to improving lives through the power of music.

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unsignedThe deadline for the 2013 Unsigned Only Music Competition has been extended to April 16.
Unsigned Only is a music competition designed for solo artists, bands, and singers who are not signed to a major label record company or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or imprints. Judging criteria includes vocals, performance, originality and songwriting. There is also a category just for Vocal Performance which accepts songs that are not original, and a Teen category for artists 18 years and younger (which includes a scholarship to Berklee College Of Music’s five-week Summer Performance Program as part of the prize package).
The judging panel is comprised of leading recording artists and music journalists. Judges include: Chrissie Hynde; Cyndi Lauper; Iggy Pop; Carly Simon; John Oates; Eve; 3 Doors Down; Neon Trees; Brandi Carlile; Hunter Hayes; Manchester Orchestra; Black Francis; Ryan Bingham; Faith Evans; David Crowder; Craig Morgan; Robert Smith ; Darryl McDaniels; Of Monsters and Men; Wynonna; Aaron Shust; Kirko Bangz; G. Love; Jason Gray; Dustin Lynch; The Mountain Goats; Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone); Josh Jackson (Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Paste Magazine); Vanessa Satten (Editor-In-Chief, XXL Magazine); Christopher Weingarten (Senior Editor, Spin) and Chris Richards (Pop Music Critic, The Washington Post).
For more information, visit unsignedonly.com.
 

 

Sara Evans, The Band Perry Set For Rock The South Festival

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rock the south image11Sara Evans, The Band Perry, Scotty McCreery, Hank Williams, Jr., Gregg Allman, Jamey Johnson and Drake White are set to perform at the Rock The South Festival on June 21 and 22. In addition to performing, Evans will host the event.
The two-day outdoor festival, held in Cullman, Ala., will celebrate all aspects of southern life, including food, music, sports and personalities. The festival will include a “Barbeque Row” featuring some of the finest barbecue in Alabama and a special meet and greet with SEC football legends, hosted by Alabama sports figure Jay Barker.
“I’m so excited that Jay and I are bringing the Rock the South Festival to Alabama,” said Evans. “Living in the South, we know what good music sounds like, what good BBQ tastes like, and have a deep love for our sports heroes. Rock The South brings those three things together in a way that has never been done before, and I can’t wait to share the experience with the fans.”
Tickets go on sale to the general public March 29. A limited number of special festival packages will also be available. 1,000 2-Day Platinum packages ($89) including seating directly behind the VIP section and an official festival t-shirt will be available as well as 500 2-Day VIP packages ($169) that includes seating in the VIP area in front of the stage, an official festival t-shirt, laminate, VIP parking, private VIP concessions and more. One-day General Admission is $30, two-day General Admission is $49. Admission is free for children age 5 and under.
 
 

Berklee To Honor Willie Nelson, Carole King, Annie Lennox

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berklee college logoBerklee College of Music president Roger Brown will present Willie Nelson, Carole King and Annie Lennox with honorary doctor of music degrees at Berklee’s commencement ceremony on May 11. Brown will present the degrees at the 7,000-seat Agganis Arena at Boston University. Commencement speaker Lennox will address more than 900 Berklee graduates, their parents and invited guests.
This year’s honorary doctorate recipients are being recognized for their achievements and influence in music and for their enduring contributions to American and international culture. Past recipients include Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Dizzy Gillespie, Smokey Robinson, Steven Tyler, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Juan Luis Guerra, Loretta Lynn, Paco de Lucía, David Bowie, the Edge, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Chaka Khan, Bonnie Raitt, George Clinton, Alison Krauss, Kenneth Gamble, and Leon Huff.
On commencement eve, as is Berklee’s tradition, students will pay tribute to the honorees by performing music associated with their careers at the Agganis. The concert and ceremony are not open to the public.

Pistol Annies Release 'Annie Up' Album Cover, Track Listing

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pistol annies annie up

Pistol Annies has revealed the album cover and track listing of its upcoming sophomore album, Annie Up, which releases on May 7. The second release from Pistol Annies members Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley will also be available anywhere vinyl is sold, including http://smarturl.it/AnnieUpVinyl.

The project features 12 songs wrestling with raw life experience, from the bluesy temptation-filled “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On” to the drudgery of a couple resigned to stay together in “Unhappily Married.”
The confessional “Being Pretty Ain’t Pretty” was inspired by a Tweet that Monroe sent that she had just bought a ton of makeup and makeup wipes to take it all off. “Women are warriors and we go into battle everyday with the stuff we wear,” said Presley. Lambert adds, “You spend all this money for make-up and eyelashes and spray tanners just to wipe it all off at the end of the night.”
Track Listing for Annie Up:
1. I Feel A Sin Comin’ On – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
2. Hush Hush – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI)
3. Being Pretty Ain’t Pretty – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
4. Unhappily Married – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
5. Loved By A Workin’ Man – Angaleena Presley (ASCAP)
6. Blues, You’re A Buzz Kill – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
7. Don’t Talk About Him, Tina – Miranda Lambert/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
8. Trading One Heartbreak For Another – Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
9. Dear Sobriety – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe (BMI)
10. Damn Thing – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
11. Girls Like Us – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)
12. I Hope You’re The End Of My Story – Miranda Lambert/Ashley Monroe/Angaleena Presley (BMI/ASCAP)