Morris Stations To Broadcast Live From CRS

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The Morris Radio Group of Morris Communications will send crews from six of its country format stations to broadcast live from Country Radio Seminar 2010. The stations will set up in the exhibit hall beginning Wed. Feb. 24 and continue through Friday, Feb. 26. The six stations inlcude KGNC (Amarillo, TX), KBRJ (Anchorage, AK), KYEZ (Salina, KS), WIBW (Topeka, KS), KAYO (Wasilla, AK) and KKRV (Wenatchee, WA).

John Windus, from KKRV in Wenatchee, WA, will facilitate interview requests for each of the stations. “Nashville and CRS are so special because it’s the only time during the year that we can connect our listeners with so many of their favorite artists,” says Windus.  “The accessibility to artists that the labels provide remains unique to our format and is one of our ‘secret weapons.’  What the Morris Group is doing is special too, because we’re not just attending seminars, we’re also bringing listeners to the party.”

Radio consultant Jaye Albright, commented,  “These broadcasts will give listeners the ability to experience some of the entertaining and educational aspects of CRS and hopefully set a trend, as more stations take advantage of this opportunity at future Country Radio Seminars.”

Exhibitors already announced for CRS-2010 include Avid Path, Ad Mall, Country Fastball, Operation Troop Aid, Moby in the Morning and Radiolicious.

Texans Build Nashville Teams

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Brandon Rhyder

Nashville is experiencing an influx from the Lone Star state as Texans build teams made up of Music City mainstays. All of the acts listed here have several albums under their belt buckles and have pushed hits up the Texas charts. Now they are seeking bigger success stories and bigger audiences.

Brandon Rhyder is gearing up for the release of his sixth full length album, Head Above Water, and has made some new additions to his team, signing with Ambiance Artists for management and Sweet Talk Publicity for public relations. Rhyder is currently represented by Thirty Tigers for marketing/distribution, APEX Music for radio promotion and Red 11 Music for booking. The album’s lead single “Rock Angel” landed in the No. 2 spot on the Texas Music Chart this week.

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The band No Justice is signed to new Dallas-based indie Carved Records, and has inked with Scott Welch for management and Jon Folk of Red 11 Music for booking. Founded by CEO Tim Porter in 2009, Carved Records is anchored by VP of Operations Phil Thomas (formerly of UMG Distribution/Fontana, RED Distribution) and Label Director Jenn Littleton (CO5 Music, former Sr. Marketing Director/A&R Geffen Records). No Justice is currently in Nashville completing its debut album with producer Dexter Green.

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Aaron Watson with Pam and Billy Minick, proprietors of Billy Bob’s, where he performed for over 3,000 people, his largest attendance yet at the venue.

Aaron Watson is working on his tenth album, and already has a Texas hit with lead single “The Road.” For the project he has joined forces with David Haley’s Edgehill Music and Media, Larry Pareigis and Tom Moran of Nine North Records, Nancy Tunick’s Grassroots Promotion, and Jules Wortman’s Wortman Works Media & Marketing. This is in addition to working for over a year with Paradigm Agency and being distributed by Sony RED. Watson took home two “Gruene With Envy Awards” on January 13, then wrapped the week performing at “Honky Tonkin’ For The Hungry” at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, TX, where he helped raise over $10,000.

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Texas singer/songwriter Zane Williams appeared on WSMV's "Better Nashville" recently to promote his new project, "The Right Place," which was produced fellow Texas native Radney Foster. Williams is the writer of "Hurry Home," the hit for Jason Michael Carroll. Williams has signed with Vanessa Davis's Splash PR. Pictured (L-R) "Better Nashville" host Kacy Hagerty and Zane Williams.

Others Texans on the rise that have recently been reported on by MusicRow include Josh Abbott Band and Reckless Kelly. Josh Abbott Band is celebrating its highest single debut to date with “She’s Like Texas,” the title track from the album coming February 16 via Pretty Damn Tough Records and Thirty Tigers.

Off the helm of an Americana Music Award nomination for Best Duo or Group, Austin based Reckless Kelly releases its seventh studio album Somewhere In Time today (2/9). The group is crossing genres with recent features on  AOL’s The Boot Feb. 8-12th Listening Party, and Country Weekly.

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Mark McKinney has had six consecutive top five hits on the Texas chart as well as two videos on GAC and CMT. McKinney is signed to Rob Dennis’s Super Loud Music for recording and management and is booked by Red 11. During 2009 he was on the cover of Best in Texas, had music featured by NASCAR and scored a sponsorship deal with Budweiser.

Rider Named Stoney Creek GM

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Stoney Creek Records CEO/President Benny Brown announced today (2/8) the addition of April Rider as General Manager of Operations for Stoney Creek Records, effective Feb. 15.

Rider recently exited her position as Curb Records VP Promotion after ten years with the label. She now joins fellow former Curb promo exec Carson James at Stoney Creek, an imprint of Broken Bow Records.

“We are excited to have April join the Stoney Creek family. Her extensive knowledge and successful background will continue to move the Stoney Creek imprint to new levels of success,” says Brown.

Rider adds, “With such a great staff and artist roster to work with, I am thrilled for this exciting opportunity to grow my career. I look forward to working with my longtime colleague and friend Carson James, and the rest of the Stoney Creek family.”

April Rider can be reached at april@stoneycreekrecords.com and by phone at 615-320-1372.

Warner Ups Reeves To VP Promotion

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Bob Reeves

Warner Music Nashville announced today (2/8) the promotion of Bob Reeves from National Promotion Director to VP Promotion. In this new role, Reeves will continue to work with artists in the Warner Music Nashville family, which includes Atlantic Nashville, Reprise and Warner Bros. Nashville.

“When I came on board and saw all of the terrific A&R team we had working to develop our wonderful roster of artists, I also saw that we have in Bob an incredibly talented executive with the breadth of experience and creativity to help us take WMN to the next level,” says WMN Pres. John Esposito. “Throughout the course of his 20-year career, Bob has exhibited entrepreneurial initiative and has brought a very creative approach to getting the music of so many great artists to their fans. I look forward to working with him to drive even greater success for all of Warner Music Nashville artists.”

Reeves’ career includes time at Albany, NY’s WPTR radio; promotion gigs with CORE Records, River North, and Sony Music’s Monument and Epic; his own marketing and promotion partnership Integrity Nashville; and National Promotion Director stints with Midas and Montage. Since joining Warner Bros. Nashville in 2006, Reeves has been a part of No. 1 singles by Big & Rich, James Otto, and Blake Shelton.


Digital Rodeo Taps Blair Garner For Guilty Pleasures

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DigitalRodeo.com and CRB have announced After MidNite’s Blair Garner as a co-host of this year’s Digital Rodeo Guilty Pleasures Show, set for Feb. 26 at Cadillac Ranch during CRS 2010. The “Guilty Pleasures” theme encourages artists to choose and perform cover versions of one of their favorite songs from any artist, across any genre of music. Last year’s show featured performances from Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Jimmy Wayne, Julianne Hough, James Otto, Jamie O’Neal, Justin Moore, Brady Seals and more.

Garner will host segments of the show, as well as gather content for his website and nationally syndicated radio program, After MidNite with Blair Garner. The Guilty Pleasures show will kick off at 10 PM or immediately following the CRS New Faces Show at the Nashville Convention Center, whichever comes first.

“I heard about Digital Rodeo’s event last year during CRS, so I was already intrigued by the chance to see and hear so many artists perform their ‘guilty pleasure’ songs,” says Garner.  “But when I got the invitation to host, it was really a no-brainer. First, because it’s going to be a blast, but also because of the opportunity to get to see some rare performance moments with these artists in such a unique environment.”

“Having a such a respected radio personality like Blair Garner host the show is an incredible thrill for us,” says John Pyne, Digital Rodeo’s Director of Marketing and Promotions.  “We feel like last year’s show was a great success, especially for the first show we had done at Country Radio Seminar.  This year, we have even higher expectations for the show and I know Blair will help bring it to that next level.”

Artists appearing at this year’s Digital Rodeo Guilty Pleasures Show will be announced shortly.  Contact John Pyne at john.pyne@digitalrodeo.com for booking inquiries.

BBR Adds Ferris; Capitol CRS Lunch

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Dawn Ferris

Broken Bow Records VP of Promotion Lee Adams and SVP of Promotion Carson James have added Dawn Ferris as Manager Regional Promotion, Midwest. She takes office Monday, Feb. 8 and will report directly to Adams. Ferris is a veteran of the Midwest region, having worked over 10 years at Arista Nashville, followed by a year at Equity Records. She can be reached at dawn@brokenbowrecords.com or via phone at 214-924-1020.

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Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has announced Eric Church and Emily West as this year’s performers for the Capitol Nashville luncheon during CRS 2010, to be held Feb. 24-26, 2010. The Capitol Nashville luncheon will be held on Friday, Feb. 26, from noon – 1:50 p.m. in the newly renovated CMA Performance Hall inside the Nashville Convention Center.

Church recently released his sophomore effort, Carolina, which yielded the Top 10 single, “Love Your Love the Most,” and the current single, “Hell on the Heart,” which is Top 25 and climbing.

West is known for powerful vocals and an energetic and engaging stage presence. Her new single “Blue Sky” features Keith Urban. She co-wrote the song with Gary Burr.

Registration for Country Radio Seminar 2010 is available at www.CRB.org.

Nine North Staff Additions

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Nine North Records has announced the hire of Stephanie Keshe and Dave Collins to the posts of Regional Director in the NE/MW and WC/SW respectively. Both are officially on the job as of today (2/1/10), and both were previously regional promotion reps with Carolwood/Lyric Street Records.

“Both Stephanie & Dave were part of an excellent team that most recently broke Love & Theft Top 10 in a very challenging environment,” says Nine North/Turnpike Music President Larry Pareigis. “I look forward to them bringing their professionalism and magic to Nine North 2.0.”

Reach Collins at dave@ninenorthmail.com and Keshe at stephanie@ninenorthmail.com.

This news follows last week’s announcement that Pareigis has opened a new division of the company called Turnpike Music that will focus on promoting to secondary country radio. Existing Nine North staffers Greg Stevens (greg@turnpikemusic.com) and Ryan Barnstead (ryan@turnpikemusic.com) have shifted over to handle respective West and East regional duties for Turnpike, which opened for business today. Roster announcements are forthcoming.

Turnpike Staff Revealed; Republic Nashville Adds Blythe

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turnpikemusicNine North Records President Larry Pareigis has announced a new division of the virtual label/artist services company called Turnpike Music. The new division’s focus will be promotion and marketing of artists to secondary country radio.

“Establishing Turnpike will allow an entirely new level of highly targeted service to both new and existing clients moving forward,” says Pareigis. “This will fit hand-in-glove with what we’re already doing with mainstream Country radio at Nine North.”

Nine North staffers Greg Stevens (greg@turnpikemusic.com) and Ryan Barnstead (ryan@turnpikemusic.com) will transition to National Director roles for Turnpike. Stevens will handle the West region and Barnstead has been stations in the East region. Both have been on staff with Nine North since its opening in 2007. “I’m excited about what the future will bring with Ryan and Greg superserving currently underserved indicator, activator and secondary stations with Turnpike,” Pareigis says.

Turnpike opens for business Monday, February 1. Announcements about the roster are forthcoming.

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Stacy Blythe headshot

Stacy Blythe

Republic Nashville has hired Stacy Blythe for the newly-created position of Southeast Promotion rep. She will be based in Nashville and report to Republic National Promo Dir. Bobby Young.

“Stacy’s passion, creativity and professionalism makes her the perfect addition to our amazing promotion staff,” says Young. “Hiring her is another great catch for Republic Nashville, and I’m confident it won’t take long for her to get up and running in the Southeast, becoming another key component of our organization!”

Blythe’s resume includes stops at 1720, Category 5, and most recently, Stoney Creek Records. She is a graduate of MTSU’s Recording Management program. Reach her at 615-887-9860 or stacy.blythe@republicnashville.com. 

Crook & Chase On WSIX; Paradiso Hires King

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ccNashville’s Big 98/WSIX-FM has added The Crook & Chase Countdown to the station’s lineup, starting yesterday (1/24). The Nashville-based program will air Sundays from 6 – 10 p.m. CT. Each week, Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase count down the top 30 Country music songs and interview the genre’s superstars and rising artists. The show is nationally syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, and can be heard on nearly 200 stations.

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Paradiso Music, LLC has added Steve King as Creative Director and Staff Producer. He will oversee production and artist development for the company founded in 1994 by John Pisciotta. During his twelve years in the Nashville music industry, King has held a variety of positions, working with unsigned independents to multi-platinum superstars. He has recorded and toured with Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, and Big Kenny among others. 
Paradiso Music is part of the Ripcord Entertainment parent company.

Blue Steel Builds Promo Team

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bsrBlue Steel Records’ label head Steve Pope has been building the radio promotion team. Steve Freeman will head the division as Promotion Director and oversee the Southeast territory. Joining Freeman are Blake Hunter handling the Midwest region, and Faron Smith as the West Coast rep. First on the schedule is working Burns & Poe’s new single, “Don’t Get No Better Than That.” The duo is gearing up for a full album release and radio promotion tour. The single is set to impact country radio on Feb. 2, 2010, with a music video following in the coming weeks.

Freeman is a songwriter and producer who also spent 14 years in radio as on-air talent and Program Director. He held positions at KSSN/Little Rock, KMVK/Little Rock, WKXJ/Chattanooga, KFAY/Fayetteville and KTTI/Yuma. Contact: 615-478-4593;  radio@bluesteelrecords.com

Hunter began his radio career at KSSN/Little Rock as an on-air personality and image director. Over the last ten years, he’s spent time as an on-air talent at KCJC-KVOM/Russellville, AR, and others, and secured KCJC-KVOM and KCNY as reporters for the MusicRow Country Breakout chart. Contact: 501-553-2982; blake@bluesteelrecords.com

Smith has spent the last 10 years fine-tuning his relationships with all forms of media, including working promotional campaigns for BMW/MINI, Bronco Camp For Kids, and Texas Motor Speedway. He has also had experience handling radio promotion on the West Coast. Contact: 505-990-9641; faron@bluesteelrecords.com