Friday Photos: On The Road, At The Beach

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Troy Olsen Visits CMT
EMI Records Nashville flagship artist Troy Olsen recently stopped by the downtown Nashville offices of CMT to meet the staff and perform a few songs including his current single “Summer Thing.”

(l to r) Jay Frank, SVP, Music Strategy/CMT; Troy Olsen; Stephen Linn, Sr. Director, Music Programming and Promotion/CMT; Chet Flippo, CMT Editorial Director.

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Mark Chesnutt’s Country Vibe
Saguaro Road Records artist Mark Chesnutt recently stopped by The Stage on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville for a chat with Chuck and Becca for this week’s The Country Vibe. Chesnutt talked about recording his fourteenth studio album, which includes covers of outlaw classics such as Hank Williams, Jr.’s “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” The Texas native also performed his current single, “Lovin’ Her Was Easier.”

Mark Chesnutt (right) with The Country Vibe co-host Chuck Long

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Bucky Goes For The Gold
Bucky Covington was recently in Ottawa, Ontario Canada where he played the 2010 Capital Hoedown and met Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Weatherston backstage at the show.

(l-r): Bucky Covington and Katie Weatherston (Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist, Hockey)

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Easton Corbin In West Palm
Mercury Records artist Easton Corbin recently enjoyed some hang time in West Palm Beach with WIRK’s Sammy Cruise and mid day host Keith Van Allen.

(l-r) Sammy Cruise, Easton Corbin and Keith Van Allen

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BMI Takes Sandestin
The inaugural Sandestin Music Festival took place August 13 and 14 in the Florida  beach community. Sponsored by BMI, the multi-genre event lineup featured legends Steve Cropper and Delbert McClinton; guitarist, singer and songwriter Lee Roy Parnell; country songwriters Jeffrey Steele, Danny Myrick, Marty Dodson and James Slater; multi-media star Lari White; and up-and-comer Kree Harrison at the 2,400-acre Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.

(l-r): BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations Jody Williams; Delbert McClinton; Danny Myrick; Marty Dodson; Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort Events Director Shawna Meisner; Steve Cropper; James Slater; and Lee Roy Parnell. Photo by Steve Lowry

Weekly Chart Report (8/20/10)

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SPIN ZONE
Congratulations to Capitol Records and its promoters on earning a second consecutive week as the CountryBreakout Chart’s No. 1 song with Lady Antebellum’s “Our Kind Of Love.” Lady A currently has a comfortable margin of victory, but Billy Currington’s “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer,” Kenny Chesney’s “The Boys Of Fall,” and Darius Rucker’s “Come Back Song” are healthy and packing on the spins as well. UMG Nashville has two more entries moving up through the top 10—Josh Turner’s “All Over Me” at No. 5, and Easton Corbin’s “Roll With It” at No. 7.

The story of the chart of late is that of new singles from big artists rapidly making their way to the top. At four weeks or less, the top 30 includes Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue” at No. 18, Rascal Flatts’s “Why Wait” at No. 20, Taylor Swift’s “Mine” at No. 21, Brad Paisley’s “Anything Like Me” at No. 26, and Luke Bryan’s “Someone Else Calling You Baby” at No. 29.

Soon to be joining them and competing for top-of-the-chart space is Zac Brown Band’s “As She’s Walking Away.” With a little vocal assistance from Alan Jackson, the Georgia group’s latest picks up over 600 new spins and the biggest debut of the week at No. 39. Also making big debuts are Dierks Bentley’s “Draw Me A Map” at No. 49 and Burns & Poe’s “How Long Is Long Enough” at No. 58.

Rascal Flatts' Nothing Like This Tour rolled through Columbus last weekend for a performance at Crew Stadium. Backstage before the show the band presented WCOL/Columbus with plaques recognizing ten years of support. (L-R): WCOL PD John Crenshaw, Gary LeVox, WCOL MD Dan E. Zuko, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus.



Upcoming Singles
August 23
Trailer Choir/Shakin’ That Tailgate/Show Dog – Universal
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol
Blaine Larsen/Leavin’/Treehouse/Stroudavarious
Burns & Poe/How Long Is Long Enough/Blue Steel
Jamey Johnson/Playing The Part/Mercury
Jesse Lee/Like My Mother Does/Atlantic/WMN

August 30
Gwyneth Paltrow/Country Strong/RCA
Adam Brand/Ready For Love/Arista
Crossin Dixon/Lovin’ In The Country/Stoney Creek
Joanna Smith/Gettin’ Married/Columbia
Jason Sturgeon/Rollin’ On/Toolpusher/Nine North
Due West/The Bible and The Belt/Black River
Frank Ortega/My Old Man/Villa One/Quarterback

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New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson/As She’s Walking Away/Atlantic/Bigger Picture — 39
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol — 49
Burns & Poe/How Long Is Long Enough/Blue Steel — 58
Trailer Choir/Shakin’ That Tailgate/Show Dog – Universal — 71
Clay Walker/Where Do I Go From You/Curb — 74
Josh Gracin/Cover Girl/Average Joes — 76
D.J. Miller/A Little Naughty is Nice/Evergreen — 77
Mark Cooke/Can’t Cheat In A Small Town — 78

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson/ As She’s Walking Away/Atlantic/Bigger Picture — 666
Taylor Swift/Mine/Big Machine — 641
Rascal Flatts/Why Wait/Big Machine — 516
Brad Paisley/Anything Like Me/Arista — 514
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol — 429

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Randy Rogers Band/Too Late For Goodbye/MCA — 256
James Wesley/Real/Broken Bow — 247
Melanie Denard/All I Ever Did Was Love You/StarPath — 240
Richie Fields/Wichita/Joint Journey — 231
Vickie Raye/Face/PCL — 177

Two Week Most Added*
Artist/song/label — New adds
Zac Brown Band with Alan Jackson/As She’s Walking Away/Atlantic/Bigger Picture — 43
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol — 35
Burns & Poe/How Long Is Long Enough/Blue Steel Records — 27
Jason Aldean/My Kinda Party/Broken Bow — 27
Taylor Swift/Mine/Big Machine – 19
Brad Paisley/Anything Like Me/Arista — 15
Luke Bryan/Someone Else Calling You Baby/Capitol — 14

Warner Bros/Reprise artist Blake Shelton took time with KCYE staffers before his recent concert in Las Vegas. (L-R): Tyler Brady, Josh Greene, Shelton, Paul Knight and PD Justin Chase.

Columbia Nashville newcomer Joanna Smith recently visited with her friends at WQYK/Tampa while watching Justin Moore and labelmate Josh Thompson perform on the Brad Paisley H20 World Tour. Joanna's debut single, "Gettin' Married," hit country radio earlier this month, and officially goes for adds on 8/30. (L-R): Thompson, Moore, Smith, WQYK MD Jay Roberts and WQYK PD Mike Culotta.

Universal Ups Putnam, Adds Tyrell

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Joe Putnam

Universal Group Music Nashville has expanded its promotion staff with the promotion of Joe Putnam to Vice President of National Promotion and the appointment of Michelle Tyrrell to Director of Promotion/Northeast for MCA Nashville. The announcement was made today by Royce Risser, Senior Vice President of Promotion for Universal Music Group Nashville.

In his new role, Mr. Putnam will work with both the MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville labels. Most recently, Mr. Putnam served as Senior Director of Promotion for the company. He will report directly to Mr. Risser.

Ms Tyrrell joins MCA Nashville from Lyric Street Records, where she served as Director of Regional Promotion. She will report to Van Haze, Vice President of Promotion for MCA.

Michelle Tyrrell

“Joe has risen through the ranks to become one of the most reliable promotion execs in our company,” stated Mr. Risser. “He has become an integral go-to player at MCA, and he is always the one you depend on during challenging situations. His relationships and instincts are second to none, and I am absolutely confident he will transition into this expanded role with ease.”

On Ms. Tyrrell’s appointment, Mr. Risser commented: “Michelle’s passion, work ethic, personality, and her slew of PD/MD fans will be a welcome addition to our staff.  We are proud to make her the newest member of Team UMG!”

CAA’s Dennis and Murphy, Pretty Good At Beer Pong

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Creative Artist Agency’s Marc Dennis and Darin Murphy (team name: The CAA Chupacabra) took home the coveted Bud Light trophy after winning UMG Nashville’s amazingly-named First Annual, Last Ever, Inaugural Billy Currington For Your CMA Consideration Music Row “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer” Beer Pong Tournament yesterday (8/18) at Nashville’s Tin Roof. MusicRow’s own David Ross and Jon Freeman (team name: Breakin’ News) were ousted handily in the second round by Dennis and Murphy, and are reported to be lobbying UMG for more effective measures in testing for beer pong performance enhancing drugs.

The event was hosted by the evanescent Storme Warren who called the matches and kept the tournament bouncing along.

(L-R): CAA's Darin Murphy and Marc Dennis

Currington Set To Release “Enjoy Yourself”

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The fourth record from Mercury Nashville artist Billy Currington is set for release September 21. The album is entitled Enjoy Yourself and includes the Currington’s Top 5 smash, “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer,” written by Troy Jones. Enjoy Yourself, featuring the Georgia native’s trademark mix of country, R&B and beach music, is produced by Currington and Carson Chamberlain.

“It’s a great mix,” Currington says about the collection of 10 songs. “It reflects who I am. I’m definitely not just one thing. I’m the beach guy, I’m the country guy, I love my dirt roads and fishin’, but I love New York City and L.A. and Miami, too.”

Billboard claims first single “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer” “is the kind of ditty worth spinning on loop. Currington is pretty good at more than just knocking back a few cold ones and this lead single sounds like a sure thing.”

The album features some of Nashville’s top songwriters, including Dave Barnes, Shawn Camp, Scotty Emerick, Jones and Mark Nesler.

“This record was about recording songwriter’s songs,” says Billy. “I could have gone back and recorded a bunch of mine that I’ve written, but there were a lot of writers I wanted to record, like Shawn and Troy. I had to put their songs on this album.”

Currington is a multi Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music award nominated artist who’s garnered five career No. 1 singles. This fall he joins Carrie Underwood on a 46-city tour which kicks off September 25 in Portland and includes stops in San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Kansas City, Tampa, Charlotte, Toronto and Vancouver, to name a few.

Sales Magic Might Turn Deficit

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This week the smart money is on the Trickster who says, “Watch my magic wand and you’ll see the current country music album sales deficit of 11.8% rise back up to flat or even positive when the revelers welcome 2011.” Considering the scheduled torrent of superstar product, the feat may be more treat than trick. But I digress, let’s return to the present…

Country album sales were off again this week—2%—despite the debut of Blake Shelton’s second six pak, All About Tonight, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Blake’s offering scanned over 32,000 units, 8,000 of which were digital albums (25%). The set’s title track, also debuting this week, was downloaded over 27,000 times, placing it at No. 9 on the digital genre country tracks chart. (At the top of the same chart was Taylor Swift’s current new single, “Mine” which was downloaded over 176,000 times and Zac Brown Band debuted “As She’s Walking Away” at No. 7 downloading over 29k copies.) Shelton’s first six-pak on March 7 was driven by “Hillbilly Bone” and sold about 71k its first week.

All genre Album sales hit a new SoundScan-era record low this week of 4.95 million units, the lowest since the bar code stat keeper began tracking in 1991. Country’s Top 75 current albums chart is also showing the decline, routinely falling below the 300k mark. (Week ended 8/15=258k; week ended 8/8=241k.) At some point, shrinking album sales will cause the radio promotion cost equation to be reconfigured, even for country music. But the relationship between airplay and sales remains powerful. A quick glance at the many similarities between the top of the SS digital country tracks chart and the BDS country airplay list tell the tale.

Trace Adkins’ newest is now on shelves, and next week Little Big Town and the Randy Rogers Band will become available inventory. That’s all for now…

Warner Adds Niederhauser; CRS Liner Registration Open

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Mark Niederhauser

Mark Niederhauser will join the Warner Music Nashville promotion team as Southwest Regional Promotion Manager starting September 7. He will report directly to Vice President of Promotions Bob Reeves.

Warner Music Nashville is home to Atlantic Records, Warner Bros. Records and Word Label Group.

Niederhauser can be reached after September 7 at [email protected].

•••••••••••••

Following its successful debut at CRS 2010, Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has announced artist registration for its CRS 2011 digital liners program is now open.

The all-digital process replaced the Artist Radio Taping Sessions at CRS 2010 and provides artists with more flexibility to record liners at their leisure. Artists will receive the liner requests directly from CRB by Nov. 3, 2010, and must submit the finished product back to CRB at [email protected] by Dec. 15, 2010. Stations wishing to participate in the program must register for CRS 2011 and submit their liners to CRB for review by Oct. 31, 2010.

Artists who sign up for the program are obligated to record up to three custom liners per station, up to 150 stations. One generic liner set will also be recorded by the artists for stations registering after Oct. 31.

Sixty-eight artists participated in the program’s debut at CRS 2010, from emerging acts to superstars such as Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Reba.

For specific radio attendee inquiries, contact Kristen McRary at (615) 327-4487 or [email protected]. For specific artist inquiries, contact Chasity Crouch at (615) 327-4487 or [email protected].

Friday Photos: Artists Out And About

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Josh Thompson in Dallas
Columbia Nashville’s Josh Thompson caught up with KSCS Dallas PD Chris Huff last weekend while he was there with the Brad Paisley H20 World Tour.  Thompson’s current single, “Way Out Here,” is Top 20 and climbing the country charts.

(l-r) Josh Thompson and KSCS PD Chris Huff

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Josh Kelley in the Twin Cities
With his debut country single, “Georgia Clay,” impacting radio, MCA artist Josh Kelley was in Minneapolis last week visiting with KEEY’s Gregg Swedberg and JD Greene.

(l-r) Gregg Swedberg, Josh Kelley and JD Greene

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Adam Brand’s Stateside Radio Tour
Arista Nashville’s Australian import, Adam Brand, made a Music City stop on his radio tour, visiting WSIX (the Big 98)/Nashville. After a live performance, photos were snapped, hands were shaken, and cake was served. Brand’s debut single is the groove-filled “Ready for Love.”

(l-r): WSIX PD Keith Kaufman, Adam Brand.

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Eric Church Smokin’ In Ft. Wayne
EMI Records Nashville’s Eric Church performed at WQHK’s 3rd annual Country Fest this past weekend in Ft. Wayne, IN. Church, who’s current single “Smoke A Little Smoke” is currently climbing the country charts, will kickoff the Miranda Lambert-headlined “CMT On Tour” in New York City on September 29.

(l-r): Brian Rhoades (EMI Records Nashville Regional Director Promotion), Rob Kelly (WQHK / Ft. Wayne, IN OM), Church & Dave Michaels (WQHK Asst OM).

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Down On The Corner
BMI is a proud sponsor of Musicians Corner, a designated community green space in Nashville’s Centennial Park. Launched with a free weekly concert series running from 3:00-6:00 PM every Saturday through October 16, Musicians Corner offers a pastiche of musical performances, food, and artisan vendors. Musicians Corner is also sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, American Songspace, Metro Parks, Lightning 100, Vitamin Water, Simon Ripley’s Music & Art, Guitar Center, and The Conservancy for the Parthenon & Centennial Park. Former Mavericks front man Raul Malo was a recent Musicians Corner featured performer.

(l-r) John Styll; BMI’s Jody Williams; Skyline Music’s Paul Worley; featured performer Raul Malo; Musicians Corner Executive Director Kristen Dabbs; and Sylvia Rapoport, President, The Conservancy for the Parthenon & Centennial Park.

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Reba Conquers Facebook, Announces New Album

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Valory Music Company artist Reba surpassed the one million fan mark on Facebook this week, propelling her into an elite group of only 10 country artists to achieve the popularity milestone.

Reba, who continues to gain over 11,000 new Facebook Fans each day, joins Taylor Swift, Johnny Cash, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw and the Zac Brown Band, in country music’s million+ fans club on the social-networking giant. Currently, Reba’s fan number stands at 1,036,589. Reba fans can keep up with the latest news, photos and thoughts posted by the superstar herself at www.facebook.com/Reba.

Also this week, Reba revealed the title of her 34th career album. All The Women I Am will be in stores on November 9th. All The Women I Am is the follow-up to the Gold-certified Keep On Loving You, and will be the singer’s second album for The Valory Music Co.

Produced by Dann Huff, All The Women I Am includes Reba’s latest smash hit, “Turn On the Radio.” The song is already a Top 30 hit on both Billboard’s Top Country Songs Chart and the Mediabase chart.

Keep On Loving You garnered a string of hits, including the Top 10 “Strange” and the history-making, “Consider Me Gone,” which spent 4 weeks at #1.  With the success of “Consider Me Gone,” Reba joined Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Gretchen Wilson as the only female Country artists to log more than 3 weeks at No. 1 in the past 10 years. The Top 10 title track, “I Keep On Loving You,” became Reba’s 63rd Top 10 hit.

With the RIAA Gold certification of Keep On Loving You, Reba’s unprecedented run of sales successes extended the superstar’s lead as the female artist with the most RIAA sales certification in country music history.

Reba recently became only the 4th person in history to receive the National Artistic Achievement Award in recognition of her dedication to enriching the national legacy of the performing arts as well as her lifetime of musical contributions.

Weekly Chart Report (8/13/10)

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SPIN ZONE
And the hits keep on coming. Capitol Nashville locks the CountryBreakout Chart’s top spot as Lady Antebellum’s “Our Kind Of Love” ascends, following a multi-week stay at No. 1 by Keith Urban’s “I’m In.” Urban slips to No. 2, followed by another recent No. 1, Blake Shelton’s “All About Tonight.” Yet another previous No. 1, Little Big Town’s “Little White Church,” sticks at No. 4. Close behind is Billy Currington’s “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer,” which moves up to No. 5.

In recent weeks several singles have made a massive impact upon release. First, Kenny Chesney’s “The Boys of Fall” debuted at No. 49 a month ago. Then Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue” hit big a couple weeks later, debuting at No. 45. The following week, Rascal Flatts one-upped them both by landing at No. 42 with “Why Wait.” And now, Taylor Swift’s “Mine” trumps them all by gaining 1022 spins to enter the chart at No. 31.

That’s the greatest single week gain in spins since Garth Brooks’ “More Than A Memory” earned a 1577 spin gain and debuted at No. 26 back in 2007. Other members of the 1000+ gainer club include Gretchen Wilson’s 2005 hit “All Jacked Up,” Brooks’ 2005 offering “Good Ride Cowboy,” and Toby Keith’s “High Maintenance Woman” from 2007.

Frozen Playlists: KITX, KNCQ, KXIA, KYEZ, KYKX, WAKG, WIFE, WKBQ, WKSR

Capitol Nashville’s Little Big Town made a stop in Orange Beach, AL last Friday (8/6) while on Sugarland’s The Incredible Machine tour. The quartet will release their new studio album The Reason Why August 24. The lead single from the project, “Little White Church,” is Top 15 and climbing. (L-R): Jimi Westbrook, Karen Fairchild, WKSJ/Mobile, AL PD Bill Black, Kimberly Schlapman and Phillip Sweet.

RADIO NEWS

Covington Broadcasting’s WKBQ/Covington, TN PD/MD Gary Murdock recently departed the station, where he had worked since 2007. WKBQ Prod. Mgr./Promo Dir./mornings Jimmy Hicks has been named the station’s new PD/MD and can be reached at [email protected]. Murdock’s previous experience includes time at WLAY/Muscle Shoals, AL; WXFL/Florence, AL; and KIAI/Mason City, IA. Reach him via email at [email protected] or by phone at 256-394-7486 (Cell) and 901-476-8674 (Home).

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week

Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Taylor Swift/Mine/Big Machine — 31
Jason Aldean/My Kinda Party/Broken Bow — 62
Jackie Arredondo/Someone Like You/Gold Voice/Big 7 — 75

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Taylor Swift/Mine/Big Machine — 1022
Rascal Flatts/Why Wait/Big Machine — 655
Brad Paisley/Anything Like Me/Arista — 578
Kenny Chesney/The Boys Of Fall/BNA — 460
Sugarland/Stuck Like Glue/Mercury — 425

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Melanie Denard/All I Ever Did Was Love You/StarPath — 234
Trailer Choir/Shakin’ That Tailgate/Show Dog – Universal — 230
Mark Cooke/Can’t Cheat In A Small Town — 226
D.J. Miller/A Little Naughty is Nice/Evergreen — 225
Josh Gracin/Cover Girl/Average Joes — 211

Two Week Most Added*
Artist/song/label — New adds
Taylor Swift/Mine/Big Machine — 55
Brad Paisley/Anything Like Me/Arista — 39
Rascal Flatts/Why Wait/Big Machine — 27
Jason Aldean/My Kinda Party/Broken Bow — 22
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol — 16
Zac Brown Band/As She’s Walking Away/Atlantic/Bigger Picture — 16
*adds rec’d over two week period

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Upcoming Singles

August 16
Emerson Drive/That Kind of Beautiful/AMDIAN Music Co./Nine North
Jason Aldean/My Kinda Party/Broken Bow
Brad Paisley/Anything Like Me/Arista
Gretchen Wilson/I Got Your Country Right Here/Redneck/CO5

August 23
Gwyneth Paltrow/Country Strong/RCA
Trailer Choir/Shakin’ That Tailgate/Show Dog – Universal
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol
Blaine Larsen/Leavin’/Treehouse/Stroudavarious
Burns & Poe/How Long Is Long Enough/Blue Steel
Jamey Johnson/Playing The Part/Mercury
Jesse Lee/Like My Mother Does/Atlantic/WMN

Columbia Nashville artist and Crestview (Unincorporated), GA's own Joanna Smith took some of her homemade Peach Preserves on a recent visit to Greenville, SC to promoter her debut single "Gettin Married." (L-R): WESC PD John Landrum, Smith and WSSL OM Steve Geoffries

EMI Records Nashville artist Troy Olsen performed a backyard BBQ for some lucky WDXB listeners last Friday (8/6) in Birmingham, AL. The Ciulla family and their friends gathered for bar-b-cue and some great music courtesy of Troy Olsen. (L-R): winner Holli Ciulla, Olsen, WDXB Morning Host Dollar Bill, and WDXB Mktg. Dir. Lacey Walker.