Clear Channel Names Hunnicutt VP, GM National Programming

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Clay Hunnicutt


Clear Channel Media and Entertainment has named Clay Hunnicutt Executive Vice President and General Manager of National Programming Platforms. Hunnicutt will work in New York City and report to Tom Poleman, President of National Programming Platforms.
He will work closely with Clear Channel’s Senior and Executive Vice Presidents of Programming to emphasize the connection between Clear Channel’s 850 local radio stations and the National Programming Platforms assets, such as live events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival, iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party, iHeartRadio Country Festival and iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, while also leveraging groups like the Brand Management in-house format team. He will manage a team of programmers focused on sales integration with station programming , as well as the Programming Operations Center and the Premium Choice network to ensure all content is executed and seamlessly integrated for Clear Channel’s national programming and advertising initiatives. Hunnicutt will also continue as the company-wide Brand Manager for Clear Channel’s Country stations.
“Clay has an unmatched connection with our local markets and knows how to link our national capabilities to our local assets,” said Poleman. “He has a great understanding of the day-to-day programming of our local radio stations and what it takes to drive ratings and revenue. His expertise will ensure our national platforms are of benefit to all of our radio stations nationwide, which gives us a huge competitive advantage.”

Hunnicutt most recently served as Executive Vice President of Programming for Clear Channel’s largest markets. He began his 23-year career at US-101 FM in Chattanooga and moved through the ranks ­previously Program Director of the nine-time CMA Radio Station of the Year, WUSY-FM; held the position of Director of Programming for Clear Channel Nashville and Atlanta; Vice President of Programming for the Southeast markets; and Senior Vice President of Programming for the Eastern Region.

For more information, visit clearchannel.com.

UMG Hosts Nettles, Bannen, Brothers Osborne At CRS Ryman Show

Pictured (L-R): Gellman Management’s Gail Gellman, Mercury’s VP Promotion Damon Moberly, UMG Nashville’s SVP Promotion Royce Risser, Jennifer Nettles, UMG Nashville’s Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan, UMG Nashville’s SVP & COO Tom Becci and Kelleigh Bannen.

Pictured (L-R): Gellman Management’s Gail Gellman, Mercury’s VP Promotion Damon Moberly, UMG Nashville’s SVP Promotion Royce Risser, Jennifer Nettles, UMG Nashville’s Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan, UMG Nashville’s SVP & COO Tom Becci and Kelleigh Bannen.


For the second afternoon, Chairman/CEO of UMG Mike Dungan welcomed a lunching CRS crowd to the Ryman Auditorium for a more in-depth CRS showcase from his label group. Sack lunches contented the audience through substantial, full-band sets that showcased Kelleigh Bannen, Brothers Osborne, and Jennifer Nettles.
Leading the pack was Bannen. Extending appreciation for the audience’s time, Bannen helped define her musical motivations, saying, “An artist is more than what your voice sounds like singing a song – you have to know who you are and lead people with your brand.” The newcomer promises a Country sound while delivering pop-infused performances of “Broken Hearted,” and her latest single, “Famous.” Additional titles were previewed, including a co-write with fellow EMI Records Nashville artist Eric Paslay, titled “Oh My My.” Her Jedd Hughes and Jason Lehning-produced debut project is yet to be announced.
John Osborne and T.J. Osborne

John Osborne and T.J. Osborne


Maryland family duo, Brothers Osborne, emphasized the hard work of nearly 10 years it has taken to prep for the opportunities they are now experiencing. Glimmering with promise and raw talent, John Osborne and T.J. Osborne performed outstanding titles “Stay A Little Longer” and “21 Summer.” The band was on tour with David Nail through last fall, with a debut album on the way.
Before Nettles took the stage for “That Girl,” fans with VIP Nation tickets for her headlining show that evening filed in to empty seats for a peek at the “soundcheck.” The premium passes are offered for many of her That Girl Tour stops, in promotion of her Rick Rubin-produced solo debut, That Girl, which hit shelves Jan. 14. The tour continues with stops around the country through April.

CRS Photo Roundup (2/21/14)

Warner Music Nashville celebrated CRS during its annual “Warner Wednesday” party at Rosewall in Nashville.

Pictured (L-R): Hunter Hayes and Warner Music Nashville President/CEO John Esposito

Pictured (L-R): Hunter Hayes and Warner Music Nashville President/CEO John Esposito.


Pictured (L-R): WUSN PD Jeff Kapugi, Warner Music Nashville VP Promotion Kristen Williams and Atlantic/WMN artist Brett Eldredge.

Pictured (L-R): WUSN PD Jeff Kapugi, Warner Music Nashville VP Promotion Kristen Williams and Atlantic/WMN artist Brett Eldredge.

 • • •

APA Nashville Celebrated its 20th Anniversary during a party at the Hard Rock Cafe in Music City.

APA’s Steve Hauser, Gil Cunningham (Neste Event Marketing President), Renee Alexander (MN State Fair entertainment buyer), Troy Vollhoffer (Country Thunder music festivals Exec. Producer), APA’s Jim Gosnell and APA’s Steve Martin.

Pictured (L-R): APA’s Steve Hauser, Gil Cunningham (Neste Event Marketing President), Renee Alexander (MN State Fair entertainment buyer), Troy Vollhoffer (Country Thunder music festivals Exec. Producer), APA’s Jim Gosnell and APA’s Steve Martin. Photo: Jeremy Westby


APA’s Jim Gosnell & Steve Martin, Little Texas’ Dwayne O’Brien, Sawyer Brown’s Jim Scholten, Crystal Gayle, Little Texas’ Duane Propes, Big Smo and APA’s Bonnie Sugarman & Steve Lassiter.

Pictured (L-R): APA’s Jim Gosnell & Steve Martin, Little Texas’ Dwayne O’Brien, Sawyer Brown’s Jim Scholten, Crystal Gayle, Little Texas’ Duane Propes, Big Smo and APA’s Bonnie Sugarman & Steve Lassiter. Photo: Jeremy Westby

• • •

SESAC’s Tim Fink and recording artist Craig Campbell visit at SESAC’s Networking Lounge.  Campbell, a SESAC affiliate, is promoting his new single, “Keep Them Kisses Comin’” at the annual event held in Nashville.

Pictured (L-R): SESAC's Tim Fink and artist Craig Campbell

Pictured (L-R): SESAC’s Tim Fink and artist Craig Campbell

Dee Jay Silver Launches Radio Show

dee jay silver111

RCA Nashville recording artist Dee Jay Silver is set to launch a weekly syndicated country radio show, “The Country Club with Dee Jay Silver.”

Hosted by the touring dj/remixer/producer, the new show will provide from one hour up to five hours of up-tempo mixes and mash-ups, with radio veteran Keith Kaufman serving as Operations Manager, programming and producing the show, and Compass Media Networks providing syndication. Each week’s program will feature hits from Country music’s biggest stars and newcomers, with an infusion of unique rhythms and occasional hits from other genres.
“I love radio!” mixer Silver enthuses. “Although my schedule is very hectic and I’m always on the road, whenever I’m on the radio, it feels like home. This is going to be tons of fun!”
Over the past 10 years, Dee Jay Silver has entertained fans during tours for Brad Paisley (current), Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts, and Eric Church, among others. He also performs regularly at top clubs and high profile events in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Silver’s Country Club EP released this past summer.
“Dee Jay Silver is a star,” declares Kaufman. “He’s built a very unique brand. Creating a radio show makes perfect sense. Silver will be ratings gold. We’re going to have a blast!” Kaufman is owner of Center Stage Tour Promotions which develops artist promotions and events with country radio stations nationally. Prior to starting his company, Kaufman was Director, Broadcast Operations and Director, Promotions & Marketing for Clear Channel Radio, and program director at WSIX-FM in Nashville.
Radio stations interested in bringing the party to their listeners can contact Adam Wilbur, Compass Media Networks’ Vice President, Affiliate Sales, at (310) 791-7744.

Weekly Chart Report (2/21/14)

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Shazam, VEVO Among Early Predictors of Radio Success

crs sliderThe CRS 2014 panel, “Cracking the Code: Using Data to Discover the Hits” revealed new research on predicting a hit song, on Thursday (Feb. 20) in the Nashville Convention Center.
The data was collected by MusicMetric, a music data analytics firm, and by Stone Door Media Lab, headed by industry veteran Jeff Green.

Green, along with Mark Tindle of MusicMetric, revealed their findings about consumer activity on social and online media, including Facebook, Twitter and BitTorrent. Nick Fishbaugh of Shazam also participated in the panel, the results of which could give radio programmers and record promoters a competitive edge in discovering and predicting new music.
“A funny thing happened on our way to determining the role social and online media have on making Country hits. We discovered a predictive model,” said Tindle, Sr. VP/Sales and Business Development at MusicMetric. “Being able to reliably predict a hit song within the first four weeks of its release has a major impact on the business of music. Key social and online media sites such as Facebook, Shazam, Soundcloud, VEVO and even BitTorrent are showing ever-increasing roles in that success.”
“There is no foolproof method for determining probabilities for hits, but we’re seeing that data can provide a competitive edge in identifying a new single’s potential many weeks earlier in the artist development process,” added Green. “These statistics prove that what many thought were hunches are really true. We plan to dig into the numbers further to help provide additional insights.”
Here are some of the main takeaways from “Cracking the Code: Using Data to Discover the Hits” panel:

  • Emerging Social and Online media outlets have fragmented the once linear exposure channel for music, making it harder to identify hits. By tracking 81 Country radio charting singles over 28 social and online metrics (including radio plays), Musicmetric was able to determine milestones in the journey of a hit and find the significant online drivers of that success.
  • While more time and development is needed to perfect the model, MusicMetric found conclusive evidence that by achieving certain thresholds in online and social media consumer activity, it is possible to predict hit songs (top 10 and even No. 1s) in as little as 4 weeks from the track’s debut on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart.
  • Key online drivers for Country genre success include: An increase in Facebook Fans, SoundCloud plays, Shazam tags, VEVO plays, Shazam tags per Radio Spin and BitTorrent file sharing.
  • The Stone Door Media Lab found that Shazam and sales-per-spin ratios are powerful new tools to predict airplay success at an early stage. The data also supports a link between being No. 1 most added and reaching No. 1.
  • The average peak on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart of a No. 1 Most Added single is 6, while the average peak of a No. 2 Most Added single is 12. These songs far outperform the average peak of all Country singles, which is 20.

Country Radio Seminar takes place Feb. 19-21 in downtown Nashville.

CRS Photo Roundup

Carrie Underwood was presented the CRS 2014 Artist Humanitarian Award at the opening ceremonies of the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.

Pictured (L-R): Gary Overton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville; Bill Mayne, Executive Director, Country Radio Broadcasters; Carrie Underwood; Charlie Morgan, Sr. VP & Market Manager, Emmis Indianapolis, and President, Country Radio Broadcasters.Photo credit: Sara Kauss

Pictured (L-R): Gary Overton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville; Bill Mayne, Executive Director, Country Radio Broadcasters; Carrie Underwood; Charlie Morgan, Sr. VP & Market Manager, Emmis Indianapolis, and President, Country Radio Broadcasters. Photo credit: Sara Kauss

• • •

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, Jamie O’Neal and Rachele Lynae entertained a standing room only crowd of CRS attendees in the Renaissance Hotel Music City Ballroom. The concerts took place immediately following the DJ Hall of Fame Dinner & Ceremony.

Pictured (L-R):Joel Raab (Country Radio & Media Consultant), Jamie O'Neal, Rachele Lynae,Becky Brenner (VP/Consulting Partner, Albright & O'Malley & Brenner), James(Jimmy) Murphy (Managing Partner, Momentum Label Group)Photo Credit:Shea Photography

Pictured (L-R): Joel Raab (Country Radio & Media Consultant), Jamie O’Neal, Rachele Lynae, Becky Brenner (VP/Consulting Partner, Albright & O’Malley & Brenner), James (Jimmy) Murphy (Managing Partner, Momentum Label Group). Photo Credit: Shea Photography

 • • •

RCA Nashville’s Love and Theft performed Tuesday (Feb. 18) during a CBS Radio luncheon at Sony Music Nashville.

In addition to the CBS programmers and Love and Theft’s Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson, are Sony Music Nashville’s Chairman & CEO Gary Overton and Keith Gale, Sr. VP, Promotion, RCA Nashville, and the RCA Nashville promo team. Photo: Ivor Karabatkovic

In addition to the CBS programmers and Love and Theft’s Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson, are Sony Music Nashville’s Chairman & CEO Gary Overton and Keith Gale, Sr. VP, Promotion, RCA Nashville, and the RCA Nashville promo team. Photo: Ivor Karabatkovic

 • • •

Arista Nashville’s Jerrod Niemann and The Swon Brothers made an appearance at the CBS Radio luncheon at Sony Music Nashville.

Arista Nashville’s Jerrod Niemann and The Swon Brothers made an appearance today at the CBS Radio luncheon at Sony Music Nashville. Pictured here, in addition to the CBS programmers, Colton and Zach Swon and Jerrod Nieman, are Arista Nashville Promo VP Lesly Tyson and the entire Arista Nashville promo team.Credit: Ivor Karabatkovic

Pictured here, in addition to the CBS programmers, Colton and Zach Swon and Jerrod Nieman, are Arista Nashville Promotions VP Lesly Tyson and the entire Arista Nashville promo team.
Credit: Ivor Karabatkovic

• • •

Columbia Nashville’s Leah Turner performed during a CBS Radio luncheon at Sony Music Nashville.

Pictured here, in addition to the CBS programmers and Leah Turner are Sony Music Nashville’s Chairman & CEO Gary Overton and Norbert Nix, VP, Promotion, Columbia Nashville and the Columbia Nashville promo team. Photo: Ivor Karabatkovic

Pictured here, in addition to the CBS programmers and Leah Turner are Sony Music Nashville’s Chairman & CEO Gary Overton and Norbert Nix, VP, Promotion, Columbia Nashville and the Columbia Nashville promo team. Photo: Ivor Karabatkovic.

• • •

WHN New York was celebrated with a panel Monday (Feb. 17) at Two Old Hippies in Nashville prior to a book signing for “WHN: When New York City Went Country” by Ed Salamon.

Pictured (L-R): Ed Salamon, Jeff Cook, Pam Green and Charlie Cook

Pictured (L-R): Ed Salamon, Jeff Cook, Pam Green and Charlie Cook

• • •

Big Machine Label Group celebrated Country radio with two nights of performances at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. Performers on Wednesday (Feb. 19) included Brantley Gilbert, RaeLynn, Justin Moore, The Band Perry and more.

 Pictured (L-R): Republic Nashvile's Jimmy Harnen, Big Machine Label Group President & CEO Scott Borchetta, and CMT's Anne Oakley and Cody Alan; (front row, l-r): Brantley Gilbert, RaeLynn, Justin Moore; and The Band Perry's Neil, Kimberly, and Reid Perry at the 2014 Big Machine Label Group Show At Country Radio Seminar on February 19, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Big Machine Label Group)Photo Credit - Getty Images for Big Machine Lab

Pictured (L-R): Republic Nashvile’s Jimmy Harnen, Big Machine Label Group President & CEO Scott Borchetta, and CMT’s Anne Oakley and Cody Alan; (front row, l-r): Brantley Gilbert, RaeLynn, Justin Moore; and The Band Perry’s Neil, Kimberly, and Reid Perry at the 2014 Big Machine Label Group Show At Country Radio Seminar on February 19, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Big Machine Label Group)
Photo Credit – Getty Images for Big Machine Lab

Premiere, CMT Launch 'CMT All Access With Cody Alan'

Cody Alan 2014

Cody Alan


Premiere Networks and CMT have announced the launch of CMT All Access with Cody Alan. The one-hour, Country music and entertainment program will feature news, information and interviews with artists, along with the top Country songs. Available to Country music stations beginning the weekend of March 22, CMT All Access with Cody Alan will also be heard on iHeartRadio.com and the iHeartRadio mobile app, Clear Channel’s all-in-one free digital listening service.
Premiere Networks and CMT will also launch iHeartRadio CMT Updates, set to be produced and distributed twice daily, beginning Monday, March 24. The updates will launch on iHeartRadio and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Country stations nationwide.
The weekend program and daily updates add to the robust lineup of Premiere Networks programming hosted by Alan, which includes CMT After MidNite, the highly-acclaimed Country music radio program reaching nearly two million weekly listeners on more than 200 radio stations, as well as the award-winning nightly program CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan. All three programs, as well as the daily updates, will originate from the CMT studio in Nashville.

BMLG and CMT Radio Host Star-Studded CRS After-Hours Show

The Cadillac Threee is joined by Thomas Rhett, Eli Young Band's Mike Eli, and Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley.

The Cadillac Three is joined by Thomas Rhett, Eli Young Band’s Mike Eli, and Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley.


Ready or not, CRS is off to another bold start this year. Last night (Feb. 18) Big Machine Label Group and CMT Radio proved after parties are no exception. The two powerhouse brands joined forces for night one, of two, at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. A full open bar and spread of finger food and dessert was adorned by steel link chain decorations, while plexiglass illuminated artist-themed tables dotted the schmoozing floor.
Pictured (L-R): Republic Nashville President/BMLG EVP Jimmy Harnen, Brian Kelley, BMLG President/CEO Scott Borchetta.

Pictured (L-R): Republic Nashville President/BMLG EVP Jimmy Harnen, Brian Kelley, BMLG President/CEO Scott Borchetta.


Founder/Pres./CEO of BMLG, Scott Borchetta welcomed the crowd with CMT After Midnite With Cody Alan’s, Cody Alan. During the event, Alan took the stage with CMT SVP of Music Strategy, Leslie Fram, to whet the radio crowd’s appetite for a weekend show planned by the radio giant.
The BMLG lineup included Rascal Flatts, Eli Young BandCadillac Three, and Tim McGraw. The absence of Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard, due to a motocross injury, kept the duo from performing its previously scheduled slot. FGL’s Brian Kelley joined his labelmates onstage though.
The VIP crowd was treated to new music from nearly every act. Rascal Flatts tempted attendees with music, due May 13, including “Payback,” “Memphis,” “Night of our Lives” and current single “Rewind.” The Cadillac Three welcomed Kelley, Mike Eli and Thomas Rhett to the stage for the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart’s No. 61-and-rising title, “The South.” Eli Young Band took to the room’s other stage, offering staples from its catalog as well as latest single “Dust” from album 10,000 Towns, due on March 4.
CMT

Pictured (L-R): CMT After Midnite’s Cody Alan, CMT’s Leslie Fram, Tim McGraw, and CMT’s John Hamlin and Anne Oakley.


BMLG’s Jimmy Harnen, Borchetta and Kelley led the audience in a Fireball whiskey round, delivering Hubbard’s “doctor’s note” and priming the audience for tonight’s festivities which will feature Justin Moore, The Band Perry, Brantley Gilbert, Danielle Bradbery and Vince Neil of Motley Crue. Borchetta plugged the heavy metal band’s final tour reiterating the finality of the forthcoming run, “Motley Crue legally signed a document stating they can never play again together.”
McGraw wrapped the evening, taking the stage with a music stand to hold new song lyrics. Around May 2014, a new album is expected to contain songs he previewed: “Overrated,” “Singin’ to the Radio (Shotgun Rider),” and “Keep on Truckin’.” Standout titles also included “City Lights,” about gazing at the diamond dusted lights of town in summertime with a slowly burning cigarette; and “Words of Medicine,” with lyrics speaking of the healing power of compassion and empathy.
Upon exit, attendees were gifted a memory foam and hydraluxe cooling bed pillow from Comfort Revolution with a note reading, “Rest Up & Stay Tuned for details…”
Photos: Rick Diamond
 

Bobby Karl Works 37th DJ Hall of Fame Induction

BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM
Chapter 448

crs hall of fame dj

Pictured (L-R): Ed Hardy, Jim Denny, Paul Schadt, Mike Brophy, Larry Wilson, Vince Gill, Bill Mayne


The current radio industry paused to honor its past as the Country Radio Seminar convention cranked up Tuesday evening (Feb. 18).
Staged at the old Nashville Convention Center, this was the 37th induction of Country DJ’s into their Hall of Fame. Note that I didn’t say “annual.” The event has a checkered past. Actually, it took many years for Country Radio Seminar to embrace it. There were no DJ inductions in 1986, 1987 and 1997. Organizers began adding radio executives to the Hall of Fame in 2001, but no one was inducted in 2004. This latter category will doubtless assume greater prominence in years to come since disc jockeys no longer have the personalities or the influence that they used to.
“This year marks a milestone,” said R.J. Curtis. It’s the Hall’s 40th anniversary.” Correct. The first inductions were in 1974.
One of the Hall’s founding fathers, Chuck Chellman, was there to see what his baby had grown up to become. That is, more than 500 people at a sit-down Convention Center banquet with a show that is professionally staged and managed.
Here’s a revelation: Chuck’s sister is Carol Mascolo, who is married to country-industry legend Ed Mascolo. I have known these people for years, yet never knew this.
At any rate, Ed is now with the management company Turner & Nichols & Associates, so he introduced me to the company’s new Republic signee Jackie Lee. Jackie is tall, friendly and handsome and is being produced by Carson Chamberlain, so those are good signs. I believe there is also a female “Jackie Lee” who competes on The Voice, which is not a good sign. Stay tuned.
Other artists working the room at this prestigious gig included J.T. Hodges, Mike Eli & James Young, Kellie Pickler, Jamie O’Neal  and Jack Ingram.
Among the industry mavens schmoozing were Karen Clark, Karen Tallier, Charlie Chase, Charlie Cook, Dan Rogers, Dan Halyburton, Dan Hollander, Bobby Young, Bobby Craig, Robby Lynn, Bob Kingsley (who had a big doo-dah at the Opry House on Monday for his 40th anniversary of counting down the hits), Debbie Linn, Deborah Evans Price, Mike Wilson, Mike Hammond, Mike Kraski, Jimmy Murphy, Bill Mayne, Andrew Kintz, Chuck & Kelly Shultz (of Maverick magazine), Pete Fisher, Lon Helton, Kim Leslie, Phyllis Stark, Todd Cassetty, Lorianne Crook, Lisa Harless (whose Regions Bank sponsored the Green Room and is giving away an eco-friendly green bike during CRS, too), Cathy Martindale, Ed Morris, Tim McFadden, George Briner, Phil Sweetland, Rick Murray, Paul Allen and Sarah Trahern. Did you know that MR’s own Jessica Nicholson was once the intern of attendee Schatzi Hageman? Now you do.
Larry Wilson, Alpha and L&L Broadcasting, and Mike Brophey, WKLB in Boston, Mass. The inductees in the On-Air category are Paul Schadt, WKKT in Charlotte, N.C., and Jim Denny, WFMS in Indianappolis, Ind.

CRS DJ Hall of Fame


The award ceremony was presented with surprising alacrity, and was mercifully free of long-winded speeches.
This year’s radio-exec inductees were Mike Brophey and Larry Wilson. Brophey is a veteran of 30 years in Boston and Philadelphia and is also a consultant. “Our format has become almost mind boggling in its strength,” he said. “This organization…really is a fraternity. It’s a real camaraderie that you don’t find anywhere else. The induction is beyond belief.”
Wilson has been a mogul at Citadel Communications and Alpha Broadcasting. “This [CRS] is what makes country music so great,” he observed. “I don’t think there’s ever been a better time than right now. I’m truly blessed to have done what I’ve done in my career.”
The on-air personalities inducted this year were Paul Schadt and Jim Denny. Schadt is the longest consecutive on-air personality in Charlotte, NC radio history. “Tonight is definitely the highlight of my professional career,” he said. He’s very much at his peak: He not only was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he is also the ACM major-market air personality of the year.

Denny had the most colorful induction. He’s the 25-year host of the morning show at WFMS in Indianapolis. He was introduced by his wife, Mimi Pearce, who is the traffic reporter on the show. How cool is that? Even cooler was the person doing the actual inducting. Denny is a bluegrass picker, and a 12-year-old fiddler named Alison Krauss was once a member of his band. She did the honors. “What a night, what a night,” he exclaimed. “I have been so lucky. I have worked with some of the best people in the world.” Also cool is the fact that he is an Indianapolis native, still working in his hometown.

The President’s Award went to Ed Hardy. You know him in Nashville as the former head of GAC and as the acting chairman of the CMA board. But Ed also has a solid radio background as an exec at stations in Cleveland, Portland, Louisville and Denver. He is the current chairman of the board of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau and the past president of the board of the W.O. Smith Community Music School. Here’s something I didn’t know: good-guy Ed is a 20-year vet of the Army Reserves who has attained the rank of Major. Salute!
This year’s Career Achievement Award honoree was Vince Gill. “We’re here to honor this young man who has come of age before our very eyes,” said Rodney Crowell. “Hasn’t he done well?” added Emmylou Harris. “We’re proud to know you, Vince.” They sang “Go Rest High on That Mountain” in Vince’s honor.
“Life is good when your biggest heroes become your best friends,” said Vince. “What I want to share with all of you is sheer gratefulness for what you did for a kid. I made my first record 40 years ago. Radio stations where I grew up were kind enough to play that record. It gave me such hope that I could do this. I never forgot that feeling of when I first heard myself on the radio. I can still drive you to that spot. And I still feel that way….And I promise you I’m going to keep coming, beating on your door” with more music.
We dined on tender, medium-rare filet mignon, with broccoli and roasted squash and tomato slices, plus cheesy rice with cheesecake desserts. The wine was from The Dreaming Tree, the vineyard of pop star Dave Matthews. I had the white, and it was quite crisp and good.
The after party starred Rachele Lynae and Outshyne, plus Jamie O’Neal.