Tickets For Swift's "Speak Now…Help Now" Benefit

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Taylor Swift is opening the final dress rehearsal for her Speak Now Tour to the public, with 100 percent of ticket proceeds going to tornado relief efforts. She announced the benefit last week and has now revealed ticketing details.
Tickets to “Speak Now…Help Now” will go on sale Thursday, May 12, at 10 a.m. CT. All tickets are $50, and will be available through TaylorSwift.com, and Ticketmaster.com.
The show will be held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, May 21. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and the rehearsal will start at 7:30 p.m. Attendees will receive a complimentary commemorative event T-shirt.
Through this unprecedented step of opening the last dress rehearsal to the public, 13,000 fans will get a first look at Swift’s new show almost a week early. “We’ll probably still be doing some fine-tuning to the show that night, since this will be a true rehearsal,” she says, “but I feel like it is so important for me and my fans to help if we can.”
100% of ticket sales will go directly to help victims of the recent tornadoes in the southeast via the Speak Now … Help Now Fund established through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
“I was watching the coverage of the tornadoes backstage at rehearsals, and I wanted to do something for the families affected by the damage,” explains the star. “I’ve never opened a rehearsal to the public before, but I felt that inviting my fans to the last rehearsal for the Speak Now Tour would be a great way to raise money. So, tickets will be available for people to come see us in the Bridgestone Arena, where we’ve been rehearsing for the last five weeks.”
The North American portion of the Taylor Swift Speak Now World Tour 2011 kicks off May 27 in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Speak Now…Help Now” event details will be updated daily on TaylorSwift.com.

Little Big Town Tour Provides Music Lessons For Kids

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Little Big Town’s tour is helping provide music lessons for children through the “Road Trips and Guitar Picks” initiative, sponsored by Country Financial. The band’s April 16 show at Bridgestone Arena with Sugarland will fund 2,000 music lessons for children at Nashville’s WO Smith Music School. Fans who visit facebook.com/tripsandpicks can enter to win LBT prizes.

Back row (L-R): Country Financial’s Corey Hodges; Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook; W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School’s Jonah Rabinowitz; Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, and Phillip Sweet; Front row (L-R): W.O. Smith Students

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Legendary songwriters Don Schlitz and John Ford Coley have been added to tonight’s (5/3) ReTune Nashville Anniversary concert. The flood relief benefit at Soundcheck will also feature The Harters, Keith Anderson, Chad Warrix, Craig Wayne Boyd, and Australian guitar phenomenon Joe Robinson, with GAC’s Nan Kelley as host. Tickets are $40 at the door. Doors open at 5:30 and the music begins at 6:30. More than 70 pieces of art made from flood damaged instruments will be up for auction.

Jason Sturgeon played in Winston Salem, NC and visited WPAW, The Wolf 93.1. (L-R): WPAW's Charley McCain, Jason Sturgeon and WPAW PD Randy Bliss

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Toolpusher recording artist Jason Sturgeon scored a sponsorship from Jägermeister for his 2011 summer Rolling On Tour. The outing launched last weekend and hits more than six cities through the end of May, including Pensacola, FL; Johnson City, TN; Indianapolis, IN; and Lynchburg, VA.

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Head to the Country Music Hall of Fame for Cookin’ Out Country, an outdoor lunch going on Wednesdays in May. Performing will be Richie McDonald (5/4), Darryl Worley (5/11), and Bryan White (5/25). Music from 11:45-12:15.

 
 

"BMI Live" Debuts Mobile Version

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BMI has debuted a mobile version of its BMI Live service, which allows artists to submit live performance information to be considered for royalty payments. The new mobile service enables songwriters to upload venue and set-list data from their smartphones into BMI’s systems. This helps the musicians submit info in a timely manner while they are on the road, which could generate additional royalties for BMI writers and publishers.
BMI Live launched three months ago and has since registered thousands of songwriters and logged hundreds of thousands of performances from venues of all sizes.
BMI Live is available to users of iPhones and Android devices. For Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users, the BMI Mobile App may be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store (keyword: bmi mobile).
In addition, a special mobile version of the BMI.com website has been created. Songwriters must have an active BMI Live account and must have signed up for direct deposit to utilize the new mobile-access opportunities.

Chesney's Latest No. 1 Leads String of Hits From Sony

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Kenny Chesney notched his 22nd career No. 1 with latest single “Live A Little,” creating his own milestone and one for his label group, Sony Music Nashville. This week each of Sony’s four country imprints—Arista Nashville, BNA Records, Columbia Nashville, and RCA Nashville—have artists occupying the top four positions on the country airplay charts. Following BNA’s Chesney are: Sara Evans’ “A Little Bit Stronger,” Miranda Lambert’s “Heart Like Mine,” and Jerrod Niemann’s “What Do You Want.”
On the heels of this feat, Chesney announced that his next single will be the Grace Potter duet “You And Tequila,” shipping to radio later this month. This will be the fourth single from his critically acclaimed Hemingway’s Whiskey—the first three all reached No. 1.
“I’ve always loved the song ‘You and Tequila,’” he says of the Matraca Berg/Deana Carter tune. “I’ve had that song for years and lived with Matraca’s demo for a long time. I was looking for somebody to record it with me and I thought of Grace Potter because I love her singing and love her records. I didn’t know her, but I got in touch with her, played her the song and literally three days later she was in Nashville, and we cut it.”
Chesney and Potter shot the video in locations throughout Malibu last week, and it will be released next month.
Potter will join Chesney for his recently added tour stop on July 8 at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado—the date sold out in ten minutes on Friday (4/22). He’ll play three nights at the famed venue, which will be his first performance there. His Goin’ Coastal Tour has already sold 850,000 tickets this year.
 

Tour Press

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Following the success of his overseas tour dates last year, Toby Keith will be returning to Europe this fall. He is set for a run of 12 shows on his Locked & Loaded Tour, visiting arenas and concert halls in the UK, Holland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Keith’s 2010 American Ride Tour ranked as one of Pollstar’s top outings of the year, bringing more than a million fans to venues worldwide.
His new album Bullets In The Gun debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre chart in October 2010, rolling Keith into his 18th-straight year with a chart-topping album and/or single.
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Billy Currington set a record at famed San Antonio establishment Cowboy’s recently. His headlining show sold close to 5,500 tickets, breaking the record at the venue for pre-sales and total tickets sold. The show set an all-time high for total revenue for the venue.
Currington is also on Kenny Chesney‘s 2011 Goin’ Coastal Tour, and recently celebrated his fifth consecutive No. 1 single—and seventh overall—with “Let Me Down Easy.”
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Joe Nichols will kick off his The Shape I’m In Australian Tour April 29 in Toowoomba, QLD. This tour marks the third visit to Oz for the singer, and follows his well-received performance there at last month’s CMC Rocks The Hunter festival. Promoter Rob Potts says, “He sold out of product at each of his previous shows. He has been diligent and consistent about coming back to Australia to develop his fan base here, and I feel like that’s paying off for him.”
Back in the states, Nichols recently teamed up with Billy Bob’s in Ft. Worth, Texas for a benefit concert for victims of the tsunami and earthquake in Japan.
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Lady Antebellum just made the long trek back to the States from their first ever tour to Australia and New Zealand. The trio won over fans and critics during their six shows opening for Keith Urban before heading to New Zealand for their own headlining show at Auckland’s Civic Auditorium. Australia and New Zealand left Lady A with additional souvenirs, Platinum plaques signifying the certification of their album Need You Now in both countries.

Artist Action: Dolly Plans Album, Tour

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Dolly Parton caught up with former collaborator Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) while in London as part of a European press tour in support of her forthcoming Better Day album. Featuring 12 original songs, the album will be released on Dolly Records this summer. She will debut the first single “Together You & I” with a live performance May 26 on Ellen and will launch a worldwide tour in July.

Pictured (l-r): Neil Warnock, CEO of the Agency Group (Dolly and Yusuf's agent), Yusuf Islam, Dolly Parton, and Danny Nozell (Dolly's manager).


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Jake Owen’s new single “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” scored over 20,000 first-week downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan. It is the lead single from his forthcoming third album, due in stores late summer, with tracks produced by Joey Moi (Nickelback), Rodney Clawson and Tony Brown.
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Matraca Berg has signed with Keith Case & Associates for booking representation. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee will release her new album May 17. The Dreaming Fields is her first album in 14 years. For booking info call 615-327-4646.
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Alan Jackson performed at the “Coming Home Concert” in Rogersville, TN recently. The sold-out event was organized by veteran country radio and TV personality Charlie Chase – a Rogersville native – to benefit the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life of Hawkins County.”
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Margaret Durante premiered the video for her new single, “Maybe Tonight,” on Tuesday (4/19) exclusively through AOL’s The Boot.   The video, directed by Kristin Barlowe for Taillight TV, was shot in downtown Nashville. The song was co-written by Durante along with Rachel Proctor and Blair Daly and is on the singer’s new four-song digital EP for Emrose/Stroudavarious Records.

Photo: Ann-Marie Hensley


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Kenny Rogers is working on his autobiography, tentatively scheduled for a fall 2011 release by HarperCollins. Rogers is also gearing up for his first tour of South America – a five-date run in May that includes stops in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Punta del Este, Uruguay; Santiago, Chile; and Bogotá, Columbia.

Ticketmaster To Try Dynamic Pricing

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Ticketmaster will introduce dynamic ticket pricing this year, which will change the cost based on consumer demand. The company has partnered with MarketShare to develop a suite of tools to help clients adjust prices before and after the on-sale date. The tools will use a wide range of data sources, such as historical ticket sales, search and video activity, and social media data.
Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard says that with the new system “clients will be able to retain economic value that is normally siphoned off by the secondary market, and to sell more of their tickets that go unsold today. Meanwhile, more fans will have more opportunities to enjoy live entertainment events because tickets will be more accessible and pricing options will broaden.”
Ticketmaster plans to roll out dynamic pricing starting with sporting events and concerts. As part of the initiative it has launched its own LiveAnalytics.

MarketShare is a leading company that has worked with entertainment outfits as well as numerous global brands.

Sugarland Sells Out Nashville Arena, Debuts Video

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Sugarland's The Incredible Machine Tour. Photo credit: Valarie Allyn Bienas


Sugarland played a sold-out show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Saturday night (4/16), drawing a crowd of 14,000 fans for the event with special guests Little Big Town and Matt Nathanson. This stop on The Incredible Machine Tour marked Sugarland’s first headlining gig in Music City.
Kristian Bush says that a highlight of the show each night is the performance of new single “Tonight.” “When Jennifer gets to the first big ‘Always’ and holds it forever, and the band finally kicks in, and the electric guitars rumble to life under her note, it really turns the room into a stadium,” he says. “I love how the audience starts to cheer and scream and how that energy carries us and the song to a new place. It makes a man want to play guitar!”
Yesterday (4/19) the duo released the video for “Tonight” exclusively through iTunes. AOL will begin streaming it tomorrow (4/21). Directed by Marcus Raboy (Santana, Mary J. Blige, Avril Lavigne), the video shot at the old Woolworth mansion in New York City plays like a striking fashion spread with numerous lighting and wardrobe looks.

Jennifer Nettles in the "Tonight" video.


In more news from Jennifer Nettles, she is spearheading the Attic Community Playground online auction, which will run through May 11 on CharityBuzz to benefit music education. Up for bid is the chance to see and/or meet Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Sheryl Crow, Jon Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, Kid Rock, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and, of course Sugarland.
The Mercury Nashville duo is the reigning CMA and ACM Vocal Duo of the Year and has sold more than 9 million records to date.
 

CMA Fest Nightly Tickets; City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge

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Beginning April 16, at 10:00 AM/CT, tickets to the individual CMA Music Festival Nightly Concerts at the LP Field will go on sale for $35 (plus applicable handling fees) for general admission in the upper deck of the venue. Fans can purchase their tickets through Ticketmaster or CMAFest.com. The 2011 CMA Music Festival takes place Thursday through Sunday, June 9-12, in downtown Nashville. The event, which celebrates its 40th birthday since beginning as Fan Fair® in 1972, will once again be filmed for an ABC television special to air in late summer.
Artists currently scheduled to appear at LP Field include (in alphabetical order):

Thursday, June 9: Jason Aldean, Easton Corbin, Sara Evans, Brad Paisley, and Zac Brown Band.
Friday, June 10: Sheryl Crow, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Ashton Shepherd, Keith Urban, and more to be announced soon.
Saturday, June 11: Trace Adkins, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Josh Turner, and Chris Young.
Sunday, June 12: The Band Perry, the JaneDear girls, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Blake Shelton.
Artists and schedules are subject to change. Additional artists will be announced soon.

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As an official part of the 2011 CMA Music Festival, the 21st annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge will be played on Saturday, June 11, at Greer Stadium. Longtime rivals Grand Ole Opry and After MidNite with Blair Garner will face off once again in an entertaining morning of celebrity antics, fan contests and friendly competition. The game supports research, treatment and education for cancer and other life-threatening diseases at City of Hope.
This year’s event sponsors include PEOPLE Country as presenting media sponsor, Staples, Humana and Carhartt, among others.
The CMA Music Festival pass does not include the game – a separate ticket is required. Game tickets are available now for $15, $20 and $50 per person through Ticketmaster. The $50 Super Fan package includes a limited edition Hatch Show Print and an opportunity to play in game antics. All ticket sales benefit City of Hope. In addition, an online auction of exclusive autographed memorabilia will be posted after the game at www.auctionsforhope.org. For more details visit www.cityofhope.org/softball.
 
 

Colt Ford Prepares New Release

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Average Joes Entertainment artist Colt Ford will release his third studio album, Every Chance I Get, to digital and physical partners on May 3. Sales of existing Ford albums have passed the 500,000 mark and he has sold almost two million digital singles. Since his first release three years ago, he has performed over 500 dates. These are unique milestones for an artist that has yet to achieve the kind of radio success that normally drives this level of response in terms of ticket and music sales. However, Ford did score a Top 10 hit with “Chicken And Biscuits” in 2010.
The new album was produced by label head Shannon Houchins, Jayson Chance and Phivestarr Productions and features guest vocals from Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Charlie Daniels, Josh Thompson and others. Ford wrote or co-wrote many of the new set’s songs including “She Likes To Ride In Trucks,” a song he wrote for his 16-year old daughter.

While performing to a packed house Colt Ford was joined on stage at The Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville, by WIVK Program Director Mike Hammond. (L-R) AVJ's Tom Baldrica, WIVK PD Mike Hammond, Colt Ford, AVJ's Tony Morreale.


“I wrote this song for my daughter,” says Ford. “She’s 16, coming of age, and I’m not the man in her life anymore, her boyfriend is. She wants to do her own thing, chase her own dreams, and she doesn’t need me as much as she used to. Whenever I do this song live, it’ll choke me up. It’s about real life, and real life is hard sometimes.”
 
 
 
Every Chance I Get track listing:
1. Country Thang f/ Eric Church
2. Work It Out f/ Luke Bryan
3. Waste Some Time f/ Nappy Roots and Nic Cowan
4. Do It With My Eyes Closed f/ Josh Thompson
5. This Is Our Song f/ Danny Boone of Rehab
6. Titty’s Beer f/ Trent Tomlinson
7. She Likes To Ride In Trucks f/ Craig Morgan
8. Pipe The Sunshine In f/ Tyler Farr
9. Every Chance I Get
10. What I Call Home f/ JB & The Moonshine Band
11. Overworked & Underpaid f/ Charlie Daniels
12. Skirts & Boots f/ Frankie Ballard
13. Twisted f/ Tim McGraw