Sheryl Crow, Ricky Young Plan Nashville Shows

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Sheryl CrowTickets for Sheryl Crow‘s upcoming New Hope Academy benefit concert at the Franklin Theatre will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 26) at the theater box office, online at www.franklintheatre.com/tickets/music or by calling 615-538-2076.
The shows will be held April 19-21 at 8 p.m.
Tickets for Crow’s two 2011 shows sold out in six minutes — so quickly that a third concert was added to the 300-seat downtown theater.
Tickets are $125 for classic seating, $150 for balcony and lounge and $1,500 for VIP cabaret tables of four seats.
“New Hope Academy has impressed my family with their dedication to three commitments: the promise of an excellent, classical education; their mission to the underprivileged; and the belief in connected, purposeful community,” said Crow in a release from the Franklin Theatre. “These shows are one way I can contribute to that mission and, combined with the generosity of patrons we look forward to seeing at the shows, help foster their success.”

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ricky young1

Ricky Young


Ricky Young will visit Nashville’s The Listening Room Cafe at its new downtown location on 217 2nd Ave. South. on Tuesday (Feb. 19).
Young’s current single, “Could You Love Me Again,” was written by Lee Brice, Jon Stone and Tyler Farr and was recently made available on Play MPE. Jerry Duncan Promotions will promote the song through Applause Records.
“When I was looking for songs for the album, it was the first song that immediately hit me. Lee [Brice] sent me probably 80 songs and said, ‘cut what you want.’ I listened to every song at least five times, and when I first heard ‘Could You Love Me Again,’ I just thought, ‘that’s a winner.’ It’s one of the tracks that best represents me as an artist,” says Young of the song.
For more information, visit listeningroomcafe.com.

The Civil Wars Team With T Bone Burnett

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table
The Civil Wars teamed with T Bone Burnett to work on the soundtrack for new documentary, A Place at the Table. Featuring 14 original tracks, the album is set for release Feb. 26 through Sensibility Music.
Burnett and The Civil Wars perform on the album, which includes the new single “Long Time Gone” (listen below).
From the producers of Food, Inc., A Place at the Table explores American food and hunger issues. The film will be released March 1.
The band and Burnett are offering 100 percent of the label’s net profits and producer/artist royalties to the Participant Foundation, an organization that “exists to support programs that support a sustainable and peaceful world.”
In November, The Civil Wars cancelled tour dates, citing “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.”
The Nashville Scene reports the soundtrack was recorded in 2011.

YouTube video

Will Hoge Visits The Academy of Country Music

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Pictured (L-R): Jordan Powell, Relationship Music; Tiffany Moon, ACM EVP/Managing Director; Will Hoge; Bob Romeo, ACM CEO. Photo: Michel Bourquard.

The Academy of Country Music recently welcomed singer-songwriter and first-time ACM nominee Will Hoge to its Los Angeles office. Hoge performed “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” which earned Hoge his first ACM nomination as a writer in the Song of the Year category.

The song, a hit for Eli Young Band, will compete in both the Song of the Year and Single of the Year categories at the 48th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 7.
Watch Hoge’s performance during his ACM visit below.
http://youtu.be/IquVs_L86es

Beats Music Service To Debut This Summer

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LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 10: (L-R) Ian Rogers, CEO of Daisy LLC, Dr. Dre, Founder of Beats Electronics, Jimmy Iovine, Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman and Beats Electronics CEO & Co-Founder, and Luke Wood, President & COO of Beats Electronics, arrive at the Beats by Dr. Dre CES after-party at Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on January 10, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for Beats by Dre)

(L-R): Ian Rogers, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Luke Wood at the Beats by Dr. Dre CES after-party at Marquee Nightclub in Las Vegas on Jan. 10. Photo: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for Beats by Dre


Beats Electronics, the audio brand best known for high-end headphones, will launch a music service this summer. Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine, who co-founded Beats with legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre, shared details of the Beats music service last week at the AllThingsD Dive Into Media conference.
Iovine told attendees that the service will focus on playlists curated by music/creative experts for every possible occasion. According to reports, Iovine also said his service would offer a marketing advantage to artists, who could learn about the fans who listen to their music.
Ian Rogers, most recently the CEO of Topspin and formerly the GM of Yahoo! Music, is on board as CEO of Beats and is also leading MOG, the streaming music service Beats acquired in 2012. Trent Reznor is the Chief Creative Officer of Beats, which is based in Santa Monica.
Rogers reports directly to Iovine and President and COO Luke Wood.
“What’s missing from the digital music landscape is a cultural context,” said Iovine in prepared statement. “We need to bring an emotional connection back to the act of music discovery. With Trent and now Ian we have the right team in place to do it.”
Rogers stated, “After years of fighting and uncertainty, it’s now undeniable all the world’s music will be available on every device by just clicking play. However, the current streaming experiences aren’t good enough. They aren’t good enough for fans, who need it to be easier to find music they love. And they aren’t good enough for artists, who want to grow their audiences and make money. This is the opportunity I’ve been working toward my entire career.”

Aldean, Bentley, Bryan to Headline Faster Horses Festival

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faster horses festival1Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan will headline the previously announced Faster Horses Festival, slated for July 19-21 in Brooklyn, Mich.
The inaugural event will include additional artists Kix Brooks, Chris Young, Colt Ford, Thompson Square, Jerrod Niemann and more.

The Faster Horses Festival will feature two stages, nine campgrounds, late night jam sessions, food trucks, bonfires and more to highlight the unique summer lifestyle experience in the area.

“Anyone who has ever been to this part of Michigan gets how special this place is,” said LIve Nation promoter Brian O’Connell. “There is so much activity happening in the summer around those parts that it only made sense to drop a huge country music festival right in the middle of it.  We are definitely continuing the theme of Watershed with the caliber of talent and laid back country vibe, but the locations of these two events make each one unique and different. We have a lot of work to do before July to transform the now empty field into a huge country event, but it’s gonna be killer.”
Three-day festival passes start at $170 and go on sale Monday (Feb. 25) at www.fasterhorsesfestival.com.

BMG To Acquire Sanctuary Records

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bmgBMG continues to beef up its recorded music division. The music rights management company has signed an agreement to acquire Sanctuary Records from Universal Music.
The Sanctuary catalog includes over 170,000 recordings from legendary artists such as Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, The Kinks, Toots and the Maytals, select Bob Marley recordings, Donovan, Grandmaster Flash and The Sugarhill Gang. According to the New York Times, the purchase is estimated at $60 million.
This is the latest acquisition resulting from Universal’s purchase of EMI’s recorded music division. European regulators required UMG sell off some of EMI’s assets in order to gain approval for the transaction.
BMG also agreed to buy Universal’s Mute Records catalog, featuring Depeche Mode, Erasure, Moby and Nick Cave.
Earlier this month, Warner Music Group Corp. entered an agreement to acquire the Parlophone Label Group from Universal for around $765 million. Parlophone’s artist roster and catalog includes Coldplay, Daft Punk, Danger Mouse, David Guetta, Deep Purple, Duran Duran, Iron Maiden, Jethro Tull, Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Tina Turner.
Still on the auction block are EMI’s share of the “Now That’s What I Call Music!” compilation series and Universal’s Co-Op Music label.

Magic Mustang Music Signs Jason Delkou

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Pictured (L-R): BBR Music Group President/Owner Benny Brown, Magic Mustang Music Sr. Creative Director Juli Newton-Griffith, Jason Delkou. Photo: Magic Mustang Music


Magic Mustang Music has signed Australian songwriter Jason Delkou to the publishing company’s roster. Delkou has landed cuts for Dierks Bentley, Joe Nichols, Eric Paslay and Jennette McCurdy.
“I am very excited about the addition of Jason Delkou to Magic Mustang Music,” said Juli Newton-Griffith, Sr. Creative Director of Magic Mustang Music. “He is an extremely talented writer, and I think we got him at just the right time.”
“I’m honored to be a part of such a great team at Magic Mustang and BBR Music Group,” said Delkou. “I couldn’t have landed in a better place!”

Part of the BBR Music Group, Magic Mustang Music also represents songwriters Jason Aldean, Thompson Square, Steve Bogard, Sherrie Austin, Lindsay Ell, David Fanning, Rob Hatch, Kristy Lee Cook, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Edwards, Rich Redmond, Erik Habig and Westin Davis. The company is administered by Big Loud Bucks. For more information visit www.magicmustang.com

Free Admission & Events at Country Music Hall of Fame

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CMHOF logo1The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to partner with Ford Motor Company Fund for the sixth consecutive year to offer free museum admission on Saturday (Feb. 23). Highlights include performances by Josh Turner at 12:30 p.m. and Lauren Alaina at 3:30 p.m.
The museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. as a courtesy to the Middle Tennessee community and for out-of-town visitors.
In addition to touring the exhibit galleries, visitors will be able to attend a variety of event programs including a fiddle and banjo demonstration with Matt Combs and Dave Talbot at 10:30 a.m.; a Songwriter Session featuring Chris Janson and Phil O’Donnell at 11:30 a.m.; a Hatch Show Print demonstration from noon to 4:00 p.m.; the museum’s quarterly Poets and Prophets program, featuring Red Simpson, at 1:30 p.m.; and a Musical Petting Zoo, which allows children a hands-on experience with a variety of musical instruments, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the Crump Terrace (weather permitting).
“Ford Motor Company and the Nashville Area Ford Dealers are looking forward once again to offering this exciting opportunity to enjoy the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s educational experiences,” said Jim Graham, manager for Ford Fund. “This is our sixth consecutive year providing this experience, and the initiative is part of a longstanding commitment to preserving and enhancing Middle Tennessee’s important contribution to American history.”
Ford Community Day visitors who show their Ford car-key in the Museum Store or Two Twenty-Two Grill will receive a 10 percent discount on merchandise; visitors who wish to purchase a museum membership on this day will receive a 30 percent discount.
Please visit the museum’s website for complete event details.

Artist Updates (2-18-13)

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MerleFest LogoMerleFest, slated for April 25-28, has announced several additional performers for the festival’s lineup: American Legacies–The Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Gov’t Mule and Warren Haynes, Leon Russell, John Cowan, Steep Canyon Rangers, Della Mae and Delta Rae.
The four-day festival will take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C. Tickets for MerleFest 2013 can be purchased at www.merlefest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. An early bird ticket discount is available through March 10, 2013.

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Sarah Darling

Sarah Darling


Sarah Darling will make her second appearance on ABC’s  The Bachelor on Tuesday (Feb. 19) as part of The Bachelor: Sean Tells All Special. The episode begins at 8 p.m. CT.
The one-hour special will feature The Bachelor star Sean Lowe sitting down with host Chris Harrison to talk about his journey on the reality show and will feature never-before-seen footage including Darling’s concert in Whitefish, Mont., where she performed for Lowe and his date Lindsay Yenter.

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Darius Rucker and Randy Houser recently appeared on NBC Nightly News as part of its “Making A Difference” segment, plus a “Web Extra” on the Nightly News tab of NBCNews.com featuring an extended interview with Rucker. The segment featured both artists performing as part of Musicians On Call for patients at Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University. For more information on Musicians On Call, visit musiciansoncall.org.
darius rucker musicians on call

Country Singer Mindy McCready Dead At 37

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mindymcreadyCountry singer Mindy McCready has died at the age of 37.
Reports indicate she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to a statement from the Cleburne County Sheriff’s office in Arkansas, deputies were dispatched to a report of gunshots fired Sunday afternoon (2/17) and found McCready’s body on the front porch. An autopsy is pending.
The sheriff’s office posted this report: At 3:31 PM, Sunday, February 17th Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a report of gun shots fired in the area of 1132 Fox Chase Drive in Heber Springs. Officers arrived on the scene at 3:58 PM and discovered the body of 37 year old Melinda Gayle McCready on the front porch of the residence at 1132 Fox Chase. Ms. McCready was pronounced dead at the scene from what appears to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. At this time family members have been notified of the incident. Ms. Mcready will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy and the matter will be fully investigated.

David Wilson with McCready

David Wilson with McCready


David Wilson (34), partner to Mindy McCready and father-figure to her two boys, 6-year-old Zander and 10-month-old Zayne, passed away last month (Jan. 13). Wilson was from Heber Springs, Ark. and also died of an apparent suicide; however, his death continues to be under investigation.
McCready was best known for her 1996 hit, “Guys Do It All the Time,” from her double platinum album, Ten Thousand Angels.
Arrangements are being planned by McCready’s family, and Nashville friends are organizing a memorial in Music City. Details to follow.
 
Mindy McReady 6-12-96 Fanfair #2

Mindy McCready performs at Fan Fair 1996. Photo: Alan Mayor