Snapshots: Tracy Lawrence and Colt Ford

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Tracy Lawrence received two special honors from his community on Tuesday (9/25) evening at the Wilson County Humanitarian Award Gala for his philanthropy and charitable efforts. Community leaders showed their appreciation to a sold out crowd during the gala event, hosted by Storme Warren, by honoring Lawrence with the first ever Wilson County Humanitarian Award and proclaiming September 25th as Tracy Lawrence Day. “I feel very blessed to be the first to receive the Humanitarian Award,” said Lawrence. “I hope this will inspire others to the take time, give back and realize that we all can make a difference in the community.”

Special guests told the story of how Lawrence has helped make a difference in the community through his efforts with charities such as New Leash On Life, Golf & Concert For A Cure, Music with a Mission, and the annual Mission Possible Turkey Fry. Casey Beathard, the songwriter of Lawrence’s song, “Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” shared his thanks to the entertainer and performed for the audience. In addition, the event served as a benefit for New Leash On Life, an organization dedicated to providing care and improving the welfare of stray and abused animals in need.

(L-R): Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto, Tracy Lawrence, Mayor of Lebanon Philip Craighead Photo: Alex Torrez

• • • •

At the first annual Colt Ford & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic benefiting St. Jude, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, Justin Moore, John Anderson, John Michael Montgomery and Ken Block (Sister Hazel) surprised Colt Ford during his performance with a No.1 plaque commemorating his fourth studio release, Declaration of Independence. The album, released August 7, marked a career-high debut for Ford.

Others in attendance but not pictured at the inaugural event, were PGA stars Stewart Cink and Boo Weekley, NFL alumni Corey Miller, Atlanta Falcons placekicker Matt Bryant, NASCAR Driver David Ragan, and many others.

Pictured L-R: Justin Moore, Colt Ford Jake Owen, John Anderson, Ken Block, John Michael Montgomery and Darius Rucker.

40th Anniversary American Music Awards

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The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards will take place Sunday, November 18 from 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/PT live on ABC from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE. Produced by Larry Klein and executive producers Orly Adelson and Barry Adelman of dick clark productions, inc., the American Music Awards will once again feature a star-studded line-up of the music industry’s top artists and performances, while celebrating 40 years of AMA history and memorable moments.

The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards will honor artists in the categories of Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Latin and Contemporary Inspirational. Nominations will be announced Tuesday, October 9th at the J.W. Marriott L.A. LIVE. For the sixth year, fans will determine the winners by online voting at www.ama.abc.com

 

The Gibson Brothers Take Top Bluegrass Awards Prize

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It was destined to be a bittersweet evening.

The 23rd Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, held last night (9/27) at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium will be the final one in Music City before the Conference and Awards move east to Raleigh in 2013. On top of that, the past year has dealt the bluegrass community some tough blows with the losses of bluegrass icons Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson.

So it was destined to be bittersweet, but it was also a time to celebrate and bring joyful sounds to life.

The opening number featured Del McCoury, Laurie Lewis, J.D. Crowe, Bobby Hicks, Jerry McCoury, and Bobby Osborne in a roof-raising all-star collaboration. Lewis and McCoury stayed on stage to serve as the evening’s hosts.

“Thank you, and welcome to the, uh, I didn’t bring my glasses, folks,” said McCoury as he tried to read the prompter. No worries, Lewis was there to back him up until he was seeing clearly.

Lewis also acknowledged the upcoming move of the Awards and surrounding World of Bluegrass Week, saying there was excitement but compared hosting the IBMA Awards at the Ryman to “holding the Gospel Music Awards in Heaven.” After all, the Ryman stage did play an integral role in the growth and nurturing of the musical form.

As one might expect, that stage had some fantastic performances. Highlights included The Gibson Brothers’ “We Called It Music,” with some lickety-split mandolin work; newcomers Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen turning in a cool, moody interpretation of The Box Tops’ (or Joe Cocker’s, if you prefer) “The Letter”; and perhaps most memorable of all, Dailey & Vincent’s heart-stopping gospel quartet a capella rendition of “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.” The performance was so stirring, it induced wild cheers by the second verse and left audience members collecting their jaws off the floor. That’s how you do the Mother Church proud.

The Gibson Brothers performing at the Ryman. Photo: Alane Anno for IBMA

Other performers included nominees Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out, Dale Ann Bradley (with her “Somewhere South of Crazy” co-writer Pam Tillis), Special Consensus (with Josh Williams, Chris Jones and Sam Bush), The Boxcars, Blue Highway, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (on Lee Greenwood’s “Dixie Home”).

Lest you think I’ve forgotten, there were also awards. (The full list appears below).

The coveted Entertainer of the Year prize went home with The Gibson Brothers, who also also picked up the award for Gospel Recorded Performance for “Singing As We Rise,” which they recorded with Ricky Skaggs.

Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice also came up big, picking up awards for Song of the Year for “A Far Cry From Lester & Earl” and Album of the Year for Heart of a Song. “I’ve had speeches made up for years,” said an emotional Sisk, “and I’ve had to can them for a long time. This time it’s for real.”

Vocal Group of the Year went to Blue Highway, and its member Rob Ickes earned the Dobro player honor. Multiple nominee Russell Moore picked up the Male Vocalist of the Year award, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers earned the Emerging Artist Award, and Dale Ann Bradley took home the Female Vocalist Award.

“The Lord gave us this particular genre because the songs are so heartfelt and true to life,” said Dale Ann.

Lonesome River Band’s “Angeline the Baker” won the Recorded Instrumental Performance Award and, rather conveniently, LRB banjo player Sammy Shelor was already onstage presenting the award.

Best Instrumental Group went to the Boxcars and then its member Adam Steffey nabbed the Mandolin Player Award. “I don’t consider myself the best at anything but I love this music and I consider it an honor to get up and play for y’all every night,” said Steffey.

Doyle Lawson and the late entrepreneur Ralph Rinzler were the 2012 Bluegrass Hall of Fame inductees.

Broadcaster Eddie Stubbs introduced Lawson, pointing out how at age 5 the artist heard Bill Monroe play bluegrass on the Ryman Stage during WSM’s broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry, and would now enter the Hall of Fame on the very same stage and radio station.

Clad in his signature sparkling scorpion-emblazoned jacket, Lawson rhapsodized about how bluegrass music had allowed him to play in every state in the country and 49 foreign countries as well.

“Because they’re putting me in the Hall of Fame, that don’t mean I’m done,” said Lawson. “I’ve got a lot of fuel left in my tank.”

The evening concluded with a spectacular tribute to the late, great Earl Scruggs. A visibly choked up Steve Martin hailed the banjo master as an inspiration to all banjo players. “Before Earl Scruggs, no one played like him. After him, everyone played banjo like him. Or at least they tried,” said Martin.

The tribute performance featured an ensemble cast of over 30 banjo players onstage. Everyone was there: Martin, Kristin Scott Benson, J.D. Crowe, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Sammy Shelor, Chris Pandolfi, Sleepy Man Banjo Boys (with 10-year-old banjo wiz Johnny Mizzone), and many more. Del McCoury led the entire gang through a rousing version of Scruggs “Little Girl of Mine in Tennessee” to close out the evening.

From us folks in Nashville, farewell Earl, Doc, and the Bluegrass Awards. We’ll miss you.

Participants in the Scruggs tribute included Tom Adams, Eddie Adcock, Jessie Baker, Terry Baucom, Sam Bush, Kristin Scott Benson, Alison Brown, Jason Burleson, Greg Cahill, Jason Carter, J.D.Crowe, Jason Davis, Joe Dean, Steve Dilling, Glenn Gibson, Eric Gibson, Mark Johnson, Doyle Lawson, Laurie Lewis, Del McCoury, Rob McCoury, Lynn Morris, Joe Mullins, Mike Munford, Chris Pandolfi, Graham Sharp, Sammy Shelor, Sleepy Man Banjo Boys (Jonny, Robbie & Tommy Mizzone), Ron Stewart, Mike Sumner, Tony Trischka, Scott Vestal, Pete Wernick, and Roland White. Photo: Alane Anno for IBMA

The 2012 International Bluegrass Awards
Bluegrass Hall of Fame Inductees: Doyle Lawson, Ralph Rinzler
Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients: Byron Berline, Joe & Lil Cornett, Orin Friesen, Pee Wee Lambert, Kitsy Kuykendall
Entertainer of the Year: The Gibson Brothers
Vocal Group of the Year: Blue Highway
Instrumental Group of the Year: The Boxcars
Emerging Artists of the Year: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Male Vocalist of the Year: Russell Moore
Female Vocalist of the Year: Dale Ann Bradley
Song of the Year: “A Far Cry From Lester & Earl” Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice
Album of the Year: Heart Of A Song, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice
Gospel Recorded Event of the Year: “Singing As We Rise” by the Gibson Brothers w/Ricky Skaggs
Instrumental Performance of the Year: “Angeline The Baker” by Lonesome River Band
Recorded Event of the Year: “Life Goes On”
Banjo Player of the Year: Sammy Shelor
Bass Player of the Year: Marshall Wilborn
Fiddle Player of the Year: Stuart Duncan
Dobro Player of the Year: Rob Ickes (dedicated to Mike Auldridge)
Guitar Player of the Year: Doc Watson
Mandolinist of the Year: Adam Steffey
Broadcaster of the Year: Kyle Cantrell
Bluegrass Event of the Year: ROMP,produced by the International Bluegrass Music Museum; Owensboro, KY
Print Media Person of the Year: Marty Godbey, author of Crowe on the Banjo: The Music Life of J.D. Crowe (Univ. of Illinois Press)
Best Graphic Design: Bedrock Manufacturing (designer) for Nobody Knows You, by the Steep Canyon Rangers (Rounder Records)
Best Liner Notes: Marian Leighton Levy (liner notes), for Tony Rice: The Bill Monroe Collection, by Tony Rice (Rounder Records)
Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year: Jon Weisberger

Earlier in the week, IBMA’s new Momentum Awards, designed to recognize promising new talent, were presented. This year’s recipients are:
Band of the Year: Monroeville
Vocalist of the Year: Emily Bankester (performs with The Bankesters)
Instrumentalists of the Year: bassist Samson Grisman (son of legendary mandolinist David “Dawg” Grisman, performs with The Deadly Gentlemen), fiddler Alex Hargreaves (performs with Sarah Jarosz), and fiddler Christian Ward (performs with Sierra Hull)
Event/Venue of the Year: Appalachian Uprising, produced by Steve Cielic (new festival in Scottown, Ohio)
Industry Achievement: Crash Avenue publicist Emilee Warner
Mentor of the Year: Five-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year and producer Mike Bub

Weekly Chart Report (9/28/12)

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Arista Nashville’s Kristen Kelly recently performed at KSSN’s “Black Top Boogie” show in Little Rock, AR. Pictured (L-R): Chad Heritage KSSN PD, Kristen, Jeremy Guenther KSSN MD

SPIN ZONE
Sometimes it’s a long ride to the top of the MusicRow Chart, but that’s definitely not the case for Jason Aldean’s “Take A Little Ride,” which moves into the No. 1 spot after only 11 weeks. Luke Bryan’s “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” moves up to No. 2 and within 100 spins of Aldean. It’s an intriguing mix of new and established stars in this top 10, from Rascal Flatts at No. 3 (“Come Wake Me Up”) and Tim McGraw at No. 6 (“Truck Yeah”) to Greg Bates at No. 7 (“Did It For the Girl”) and Florida Georgia Line at No. 9 (“Cruise”).

Newcomers also making headway include Joanna Smith, whose “We Can’t Be Friends” hit monitored radio recently and now moves up to No. 13; and Jon Pardi, whose “Missin’ You Crazy” is still gaining spins at No. 15. Thomas Rhett’s “Beer With Jesus” is off to a great start at No. 29 after only 5 weeks, and Miss Willie Brown’s “You’re All That Matters to Me” is picking up some steam at No. 35.

But the biggest splash this week is Brad Paisley’s new single “Southern Comfort Zone.” Released to radio late last Thursday after the MusicRow chart closed, Paisley’s latest had a whole week to pick up spins and earned a huge debut at No. 38. Kudos, folks. Other debuts include Lisa Torres’ “Car That Runs” at No. 78 and Taylor Swift’s latest “Begin Again,” which hits No. 79 and will almost certainly leap next week.

Frozen Playlists: WKWS, WLJE

Upcoming Singles
October 1
Faith Hill/American Heart/WMG
Little Big Town/Tornado/Capitol
Heartland/The Sound a Dream Makes/R&J Records
Taylor Swift/Begin Again/Big Machine
Zac Brown Band/Goodbye In Her Eyes/Atlantic-Southern Ground

October 8
Brett Eldredge/Don’t Ya/WMG
Danielle Peck/Impossible Dreams/Namaste-9 North
Uncle Kracker/Nobody’s Sad On A Saturday Night/Sugar Hill-Vanguard-EMI Nashville

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New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Brad Paisley/Southern Comfort Zone/Arista Nashville – 38
Lisa Torres/Car That Runs – 78
Taylor Swift/Begin Again/Big Machine – 79

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Brad Paisley/Southern Comfort Zone/Arista Nashville – 842
Kenny Chesney/El Cerrito Place/Blue Chair-Columbia Nashville – 372
Zac Brown Band/Goodbye In Her Eyes/Southern Ground/Atlantic – 323
Darius Rucker/True Believers/Capitol – 305
Luke Bryan/Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye/Capitol – 278

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Brad Paisley/Southern Comfort Zone/Arista Nashville – 57
Zac Brown Band/Goodbye In Her Eyes/Southern Ground-Atlantic – 21
Kacey Musgraves/Merry Go Round/Mercury – 18
Taylor Swift/Begin Again/Big Machine – 17
Little Big Town/Tornado/Capitol – 16
Gary Allan/Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)/MCA – 15
Kenny Chesney/El Cerrito Place/Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville – 12
Trace Adkins/Tough People Do/Show Dog-Universal – 12
Thomas Rhett/Beer With Jesus/Valory – 11

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Chelsea Bain/ What If I – 225
Montgomery Gentry/I’ll Keep The Kids/Average Joes – 172
Branch & Dean/Your Ol Lady’s Gone/SSM Nashville – 170
Randy Rogers Band/One More Sad Song/MCA Nashville – 167
Clinton Gregory/She Did/Melody Roundup – 161
Joanna Mosca/Dream On Savannah/Dolce Diva Music – 159

While promoting his new self-titled country album, Mac Powell stopped by Hank FM in Indianapolis to perform his new single, “Mississippi.” Pictured (L-R): Powell producer Jason Hoard; Bob Richards Hank FM OM; Mac Powell; Fritz Moser Hank FM MD; percussionist Heath Balltzglier

High Valley recently visited Go Country in Los Angeles to promote the new single “Love You For A Long Time,” which hits No. 76 on this week's MusicRow Chart. Pictured (L-R): Bryan Rempel/HV, Lori Hartigan/Rodeowave, Brad Rempel/HV, Tonya Campos/PD KKGO, and Curtis Rempel/HV.

Toby Keith closed his ‘Live In Overdrive’ Tour this past weekend in Boston with a few "Girls Who Drink Beer," or at least ones who drink from red solo cups. Pictured (L-R): WKLB/Boston's on-air Carolyn "Kruser" Kruse, SDUs Rick Moxley, MD Ginny Rogers, SDUs Macy Morgenthaler, Promotion Director Dawn Santolucito; With Photobomb courtesy of Scotty Emerick

Marc Driskill Joins Sea Gayle

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Marc Driskill

Chris DuBois, managing partner, Sea Gayle Music, has announced the hiring of Marc Driskill as executive VP & GM, to oversee the operations of the company. Driskill comes to Sea Gayle Music from ASCAP Nashville, where as VP & GM, he managed ASCAP’s Nashville operations.

“I have known Marc for over 25 years and have had the pleasure of working closely with him during his tenure at ASCAP,” said DuBois. “He will be a great asset to me and our company providing leadership and guidance as we continue to establish ourselves as one of the top music publishers in Nashville. On behalf of my business partners, Brad Paisley and Frank Rogers, we are thrilled to welcome Marc to Sea Gayle Music.”

Driskill has served ASCAP’s songwriter and publisher members for over 10 years and along with his music publishing experience, he has been a part of the Nashville music community for almost 14 years. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Country Music and the Music City Music Council.

“I have such respect for what Sea Gayle Music has been able to accomplish as an independent music publisher in Nashville and am excited about joining their team,” said Driskill. “I’m grateful to everyone at ASCAP for 10 wonderful years and look forward to working with them as an integral business partner to Sea Gayle Music.”

ASCAP Executive VP of Membership, Randy Grimmett commented, “Marc’s leadership has helped us to build a truly excellent team in Nashville, who will continue to offer stellar creative and business services to our members. We look forward to working with Marc in his new role at Sea Gayle, founded by ASCAP members Brad Paisley, Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois. We are delighted that Marc’s role there will keep him in the extended ASCAP family.“

Charlie Cook On Air: Where Are the Women?

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Why do females struggle to find chart success in our format? Particularly when the No. 1 seller is Taylor Swift. Carrie Underwood has had 15 No. 1 records and sold millions of CDs. Miranda Lambert is a legitimate chart performer and CD seller but it really doesn’t go much deeper.

I looked at Mediabase information for 2012 and Miranda was the most played female, coming in at No. 16 with “Over You.” Carrie’s “Good Girl” came in at No. 24 and “Ours” by Taylor was No. 26. Newcomer Jana Kramer was at No. 29 with “Why Ya Wanna.”

That is only four females in the top 30 most played songs in the first 9 months of 2012.

When you look at the five finalists for the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year award, some would say they had to step a little outside of the format to round out the category.

The ACM has to move in and out of New Female vocalist of the year because most years there are not enough candidates that qualify.

Look at AC Music on the radio.

Thirteen of the top 30 played songs in that format are by female artists. To be fair, those 13 songs are done by only seven different women.

In CHR, 12 of the top 30 songs are by females. Again, a limited number of different women/girls, but 9 different females are in the top 30.

What is the difference between Country and the other contemporary formats? Well, as I mentioned above, one thing is that these other formats are not averse to playing two or even three songs by a female superstar at the same time in the current category.

The list I do for McVay/Cook AC clients has two songs by Adele in current this week and just as easily could have two Kelly Clarkson songs and two by Katy Perry. Seven of the 13 currents this week are females.

I understand that over the nine months the gender trend might be compromised so I took a look at just this past week. Nothing different. Not another name shows up in the top 30.

It’s not like the format is lacking female voices. There is a long list of great singers that are on and off of the radio but there isn’t the kind of consistency in the way country radio works for male performers. It seems like their success is driven by an individual song.

Male performers apparently have a “slot” sewn up for them on the chart. When one of their songs peaks you have their follow-up serviced and moved right in.

Male acts like Luke Bryan, Brantley Gilbert and Jason Aldean have not been off the charts for more than two weeks at time this year while performers like Sara Evans and Martina McBride have chart achievement and then seem to wait for the girl slot to some open again.

I love all the acts in the last paragraph and I am glad for their triumphs. I have written here how excited I am about the music in the format today but I cannot understand how our contemporary format is so different than the others on the radio.

Even Urban/Hip Hop, often with lyrics and an attitude that can be characterized as misogynist, has five females in the top 30.

There does seem to be a very long list of new females coming onto the chart in the last month or so. So far the songs have not become top 20 or top 10 songs. Based on history these ladies are going to have a hard time reaching those milestones.

Jana Kramer has broken through, and may even reach the top spot, but WB has been working that song since February and KKGO played it last December. The song has played more than 1200 times on KILT and more than 1000 times on KFRG.

Fortunately Ms. Kramer has another source of income. But she is great for the format, as is any new female that can get through the testosterone of country radio today.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow.)

Karen Tallier Departing Average Joes

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Karen Tallier.

Veteran entertainment publicist, Karen Tallier, will be exiting her post as in-house publicist for Average Joes Entertainment effective October 5th.

“I have truly enjoyed my tenure at Average Joes,” said Tallier. “Working with Tom Baldrica and the Average Joes team made everyday a new adventure. I am leaving knowing that I was able to help build the brand and make a difference.” Average Joes will be looking to fill the vacant position left by Tallier.

Tallier also noted an announcement involving her own Loudmouth PR firm will be forthcoming. Reach her at [email protected].

MySpace Unveils Redesign

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Since MySpace sold to Specific Media last year, the social destination has received a major remodel from investors including Justin Timberlake. Apparently, the site is almost ready to premiere, as seen in a video preview (below) released this week (9/25).

Taking design techniques from popular sites Pintrest and Tumblr, the MySpace preview suggests content will post via a horizontal pin board, including photos, videos and most importantly, music.

The redesign will reportedly offer the capability to integrate music platforms, including radio, playlists and interactive features on each page. The new landing site hints at the commitment with a spinning record as the sole image depicted: https://new.myspace.com 

In 2005, a rebranding attempt was attempted by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corps., when it purchased the property for a whopping $580 million. Murdoch eloquently described these attempts on his Twitter feed earlier this year (1/13), as having “screwed up in every way possible.”

Last year, the social site was acquired for $35 million by Specific Media (including a 5% stake by News Corps. in Specific Media), in preparation to undergo a major transformation.

As of yet, a launch date has not been announced, however the new page currently accepts requests for invites.

Does this mean it’s time to dig up our old password?

Reba Will Not Return to Co-Host ACM Awards

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Reba has revealed that for the first time in over a decade, she will not return to host the Academy of Country Music Awards show next April. The singer broke the news to countryweekly.com when asked if she would be back to co-host with Blake Shelton, who first joined her in 2011, for next year’s show.

“No. [I’ve] passed the torch to Blake. I’m a huge Blake Shelton fan,” was Reba’s reply.

The Academy of Country Music has issued a statement backing Reba’s decision and hinting at exciting plans in the works for Shelton at the 2013 Awards.

“Reba has hosted the ACM Awards a record 14 times since 1986, and we fully understand and support her decision to focus her energies on her new television project,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “We’ve known about this for a while and have something very special planned with Blake returning—he’s got something big up his sleeve!—that we’ll be announcing soon. Stay tuned!”

Reba’s new television show Malibu Country is scheduled to premiere on ABC Friday, November 2 at 7:30 pm/CT.

New Radio Revenue Sharing Model Multiplies

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When Big Machine Label Group and Clear Channel announced a royalty sharing agreement in June, industry observers deemed it groundbreaking. Proof of how that model paved the way comes with the recent news of two similar agreements. Today (9/27) Clear Channel announced a deal with Glassnote Entertainment, and last week BMLG reveal a similar contract with Entercom.

Glassnote is home to Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, GIVERS, Childish Gambino, Oberhofer, The Temper Trap, Daughter, Robert DeLong, Little Green Cars and Flight Facilities.

These deals are designed to drive digital radio growth because the labels and artists will share in a smaller percentage of digital revenue than in the past. In exchange, they will share in broadcast revenue for the first time in history.