Industry Ink (12/18/2012)

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John Fullbright

Americana singer-songwriter John Fullbright has signed a co-publishing agreement with New York’s BMG Chrysalis offices. Fullbright’s From the Ground Up was released this year, earning him a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. He has also been recognized with ASCAP’s Harold Adamson Lyric Award.

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Ticket Summit has announced its Spring 2013 series of educational webinars, to begin Feb. 20 with Mike Lorenc of Google with Go Mobile, for a discussion about mobile and tablet technology for event tickets. On March 20, Dan Pullium from TicketNetwork will discuss legal issues facing the industry. Ticket Summit’s Executive Director, Molly A. Mérez, will offer tips on drawing traffic at trade shows on April 17. The Spring series concludes May 22 with Improve Your Inventory Management, led by Scott Barrows of Symbioticks.

The Spring 2013 webinar series is a continuation of the year-round Ticket Summit Plus series. The organization’s 2013 conference and trade show will be held at Las Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel, July 17–19.

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Austin native Kyle Park has topped the Texas Music Chart and Texas Regional Radio Report this week with his lead single, “The Night Is Young.” The song, included in his forthcoming self-produced album set for release in March 2013, marks Park’s first No. 1.

Tim & Faith Debut Soul2Soul at Venetian in Vegas

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Photo:Denise Truscello/WIREIMAGE

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill kicked off the first of 10 select engagements this weekend (12/7-8) at The Venetian in Las Vegas for their latest revival of Soul2Soul.

The 1,800-seat Venetian theatre, previously home to Phantom — the Las Vegas Spectacular, features the Country couple sharing the stage for an intimate evening of hits including opening number, “Let’s Go To Vegas,” performed as the two entered through the back doors of the venue. The two tag-teamed through an evening of hits including “Breathe,” “Like We Never Loved At All,” “Live Like You Were Dying” alongside mainstay duets “It’s Your Love” and “I Need You” according to reports.

During the set, McGraw performed “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “Life in the Fast Lane” tributing musical influences The Eagles in addition to mentioning Merle Haggard, George Jones, Charlie Rich, Rush, and Led Zeppelin. Meanwhile, Hill performed “Dr. Feelgood (Love is Serious Business)” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” in tribute to her own musical icons including Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, Tammy Wynette, and Elvis Presley.

McGraw wore a black suit during the Dec. 8 early performance, and a gray suit for the late show while Hill made four costume changes, revealing five outfits in total. Under the current deal, the singers perform two 90-minute shows during each select date through April.

Show Producer, Robert Deaton, revealed the Vegas production will include a combination of musicians selected from each Nashville star’s band.

Soul2Soul joins Shania Twain’s spectacular already running on The Strip at The Colosseum, and comes after Garth Brooks’ final show in Las Vegas this past month (Nov. 17) at the Wynn.

Ticket prices for upcoming Soul2Soul dates range from $110.00-302.50, click here for more information.

Chris Young Cancels Weekend Shows

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Chris Young has been placed on precautionary vocal rest, forcing the postponement of his Liquid Neon Tour shows this weekend in Huntsville, Ala. (12/6), Savannah, Ga. (12/7) and Chattanooga, Tenn. (12/8).

Tickets for the canceled run, which includes special guests Thomas Rhett and Joanna Smith, will be honored during forthcoming rescheduled dates. If ticket holders are unable to attend the rescheduled dates, refunds are available at the point of purchase.

“I hate to disappoint everybody but my voice is pretty ragged out,” said Young via a statement. “Thanks for understanding and I look forward to seeing y’all next year.”

Young is slated to present during tonight’s (12/5) Grammy Nominations concert in Nashville.

Swift’s ‘Red’ Certified Triple Platinum; Adds Appearances

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Taylor Swift’s fourth studio album, Red, has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA for three million U.S. shipments.

International sales have exceeded 1 million units to date, pushing the singer’s overall worldwide numbers past 26 million albums and 75 million song downloads.

For Swift’s North American tour, tickets continue to be a hot commodity, having sold-out Philadelphia’s July 20 Lincoln Financial Field stop in five minutes. Due to the demand, an additional date at the stadium has been added for the night prior (7/19). A complete listing of tour dates and on-sale information, is available here.

On Monday (12/3), Swift received The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights’ Ripple of Hope Award in New York, recognizing her international leadership for social change. Twenty-two-year-old Swift is the youngest winner of the prestigious award, alongside other recipients Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bono and George Clooney.

Tonight, Swift will co-host The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! – Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night, with LL Cool J, airing from Nashville at 9 p.m. CT on CBS. At the end of the year (12/31), she will headline New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2013, live from Time Square in New York.

Carrie Underwood Adds International Tour Dates

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Carrie Underwood will take The Blown Away Tour overseas in 2013. The tour will visit Dublin on March 14, Belfast on March 15, and then London, England on March 17, where Underwood will headline the first-ever “Country To Country” music festival being held at London’s O2 Arena.

Four stops in Canada have been added next year, bringing the total number of shows on the tour’s run to over 100. The Canada dates include stops at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw, SK on May 17; at EnCana Events Center in Dawson Creek, BC on May 20; at CN Centre in Prince George, BC on May 21; and at Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre in Abbotsford, BC on May 23.

New Music Venue Coming to Gulch

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Nashville’s Gulch area will soon be home to a new live music venue, Anthem, which will be located at 125 12th Ave. N., across from 12th & Porter. The space was formerly home to night club Mai. Anthem is scheduled for a soft opening on New Year’s Eve.

The venue will include space for entertaining 1,000 attendees, as well as a 400-capacity VIP room that will overlook the main floor. Anthem also boasts a 3,000-square-foot staging/green room for artists and their entourages and a full kitchen headed by Chef Chad Combs, who previously oversaw the menu at Whiskey Kitchen, Lime and Radius10.

“The architectural renderings have gone through several evolutions as we explored all the opportunities to maximize the space while still making it feel cozy,” Austin Ratliff of The Status Group (who co-owns Anthem with London Parfitt) said via a release. “And now that we are under construction, I can’t wait to see the final results of our efforts.” Ratliff and Parfitt have previously worked with Nashville-area restaurants including Virago, Whiskey Kitchen and Tavern.

Big Ride Launches Booking Division

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Pictured (L-R): Kim Leiske and Silver Treft

Big Ride Entertainment has launched an in-house booking division to join the newly relocated label services, management and artist development departments. Booking agent Silver Treft has been tapped lead the new division.

“In-house booking allows us to better provide complete services to our artists, specifically in the early stages of their careers,” said Big Ride Entertainment President Kim Leiske.

The new booking branch of the company is focusing on its roster including Marlee Scott, Craig Wayne Boyd, and Donny Fallgatter.

Treft was previously a booking and management services provider at West Virginia Radio Corporation. Her additional experience includes work as an event promoter and talent buyer for various artists.

For more information on the company, visit bigride.us.

Jerrod Niemann To Livestream Chicago Concert

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Jerrod Niemann fans around the world will be able to view his Chicago Joe’s Bar concert over the web via laplive.tv this Thursday (11/29) at 9 p.m. CT.

“The concept of my new album is celebrating where country music has been and where it is headed,” said Niemann. “So we’re using the internet to bring fans worldwide all together to one room.”

Access to view the HD stream will be $4.99 in advance, $6.99 day-of-show­ with twenty-five cents per ticket donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The night of the show, Niemann is asking fans to tweet their location using the hashtag #jrodlive and handle @jrodfromoz to find out the most bizarre, outlandish places where fans are watching.

To purchase tickets, visit https://laplive.tv/watch/jerrodniemann.

Jon Pardi Seeks Ultimate Party Animal in Contest

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Jon Pardi is gearing up to award a trip for two to his “End of the World Party” in Chicago on 12/21/12 through a contest on his Facebook page.

Known for his high energy stage performances, the Capitol Records Nashville artist seeks like-minded fans to send in photos that answer the question “Are You A Pardi Animal?” Personally chosen by Pardi, the grand prize winner and guest will receive airfare and hotel accommodations for the “predicted” end of the world in a party he will host at Joe’s on Weed Street.

The top 10 finalists who receive the most fan votes by Dec. 5 will receive an autographed copy of Pardi’s single, “Missin’ You Crazy.”

“We’ve named this the Year of the Pardi and if the world is really going to end that day, I can’t think of a better place to be than Joe’s on Weed,” said Pardi.

Pardi is currently touring on the Tie One On Tour with Frankie Ballard and Miss Willie Brown in support “Missin’ You Crazy.”

The Roys Set Sail, Join Pink Arrow Project

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Brother and sister duo, The Roys, are sounding “last call” for Danny Stewart’s Bluegrass Cruise on Carnival Cruise Line’s spectacular ship, Sensation, January 20-24. Bluegrass lovers will enjoy a seafaring festival including jam sessions and workshops. Joining Lee and Elaine Roy will be Bluegrass artists Dave Nichols Band, The Spinney Brothers, Nu-Blu and Ernie Evans & The Florida Bluegrass Band.

The vessel departs from Port Canaveral, Florida, and ports of call include the islands of Freeport and Nassau. Fans can reserve their spot here.

The Roys have also joined the Pink Arrow Project organization to help raise awareness of their cancer fighting campaign. What began as an organization of Archers Helping Archers has now expanded into helping cancer survivors and their families outside the archery community and funding ground-breaking cancer research.

“We are so proud to have brother-sister duo, Lee and Elaine Roy, help represent the Pink Arrow Project,” said Mary J. Hale, Founder and CEO of the Pink Arrow Project. “They are such sweet and talented people, and we are so happy to have them on board. We recently announced The Roys’ label-mate and acclaimed vocalist Carrie Hassler as our first musical artist to help introduce our organization to the music world. We are extremely proud to have The Roys also bringing awareness to folks that might otherwise never have known about our project. “