IEBA Adds Conference Performers

/by

IEBA (International Entertainment Buyers Association) has announced additional performances at this year’s 40th Anniversary conference. On Monday, October 4, the legendary “I Will Survive” singer Gloria Gaynor will follow this year’s keynote speaker, Jim Morey, with a performance in the main ballroom at the Hilton Suites in downtown Nashville. CAA will provide a host of stars during their after-lunch showcase featuring Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Danny Gokey and rock band Tonic.

“IEBA is in the midst of celebrating its 40th anniversary and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the talent assembled for this year,” says IEBA Executive Director Tiffany Davis. “We have an amazing keynote speaker with Jim Morey, and the list just keeps getting stronger on talent everyday. We are thrilled to see so many of the agencies involved in showcasing, and they are always here to see that the buyers are having a great time watching some of the touring industry’s top talent.”

Luke Bryan Partners With NRA

/by

The National Rifle Association’s NRACountry has announced a partnership with ACM Top New Artist Luke Bryan’s 2010 Farm Tour. The tour across Georgia kicks off on September 28.

“I just love what the NRA family has been doing for the kids in my home state of Georgia,” said Bryan. “They have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to support farming and outdoor programs for many of the same organizations I was involved in as a kid like 4-H, youth hunting and gun safety programs. These are also the same organizations and programs that many of the people and their families who attend my Farm Tour have been associated with their entire lives. This is such a natural partnership for me because we are both celebrating and highlighting the qualities of the American farmer and their way of life.”

“We look forward to being a part of Luke Bryan’s Farm Tour and reaching out to NRACountry fans and country music lovers who share our core values of patriotism, freedom and pride in America,” said NRA Country’s Chris W. Cox. “Now more than ever, it is important to foster these core beliefs and NRA is proud to support a talented star like Luke Bryan who embodies those principles.”

Luke’s Farm Tour dates include:
September 28 – Coffee Weed Plantation, Valdosta, Ga.
September 29 – Hurricane Branch Plantation, Statesboro, Ga.
September 30 – VFW Fairgrounds, Carrollton, Ga.
October 1 – Luther Williams Field, Macon, Ga.

The National Rifle Association has offered more than 350 grants, totaling more than $700,000 to support Georgia’s youth, farming and outdoor programs like 4-H, Boy Scouts of America, Future Farmers of America and numerous others.

“Our freedom is the cornerstone of our rich American heritage. This year’s Farm Tour brings together all the elements for a fantastic celebration of American values,” concluded Cox.

Alan Jackson Announces Fall Tour

/by

Country superstar Alan Jackson has announced a fall tour with special guests Chris Young and The Band Perry. Jackson’s fall tour kicks off November 4 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, and makes its way through California (including Nokia Theater at L.A. Live on 11/5), Nevada, Texas, Louisiana and the Carolina’s before ending up at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati on November 20. For a complete list of dates and to purchase tickets go to www.alanjackson.com.

This year, Jackson is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of his debut album with the November 23 release of 34 Number Ones, a career-spanning, double-disc collection featuring all 34 of Jackson’s No. 1 hits. With 37 songs in all, the project will also include two rare tracks and the new single, “As She’s Walking Away,” with Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson. The video for the track, featuring both artists, will make its premiere on CMT Top 20 tomorrow (9/11) at 10 AM/CT.

From his debut release in 1990, Here in the Real World, to his latest album, Freight Train, Jackson has sold more than 50 million albums and scored 34 No. 1 hits. On September 14th, he will be honored with ASCAP’s Founders Award, its most prestigious honor.

TOUR DATES:
November 4                       Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA
November 5                       Nokia Theater at LA Live, Los Angeles, CA
November 6                       Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
November 11                    State Farm Arena, Hidalgo, TX
November 12                    Cedar Park Center, Cedar Park, TX
November 13                    The Pavilion at Coushatta, Kinder, LA
November 18                    North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, SC
November 19                    LJV Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC
November 20                    US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH

Buddy Lee Attractions Adds Scott Studdard

/by

Scott Stuttard

Buddy Lee Attractions has announced the addition of Scott Stuttard to handle sponsorship acquisition on behalf of the agency. Stuttard, a 15-year veteran of the sponsorship marketing industry, most recently served as president and CEO of in2it Marketing, and has subsequently been named Executive Sponsorship Director for Buddy Lee Attractions.

“We are very excited about Scott’s addition to BLA, and this continued growth to the company that his addition represents,” said Kevin Neal, President of BLA. “His vast experience in the sponsorship realm will greatly enhance opportunities for our artists.”

“Music Sponsorship is my passion,” adds Stuttard. “The connection of artists, fans, and brands in meaningful ways creates an experience that is truly memorable for all involved. Joining BLA is part of that connection. BLA is not simply a talent agency, but a client-focused team of professionals. I am proud to be asked to be part of the BLA team, and look forward to providing new and exciting opportunities for each of our clients.”

While at in2it, Stuttard produced, promoted and created sponsorship partnerships for more than 400 productions across multiple genres, including country, rock, comedy and Broadway. Stuttard developed multiple artist-brand partnerships, with many high profile brands such as Anheuser Busch, Chrysler, Chevrolet, The United Way and Major League Baseball.

For full client roster, visit www.buddyleeattractions.com. Stuttard can be reached by calling 814-327-9054 or at [email protected].

Dierks Bentley Sets Up NYC Residency

/by

Dierks Bentley is planning a four-night run in New York City next month, bringing special guests with him to a different venue each night.

Bentley will kick off his New York City residency on Oct. 18, with each show focusing on a different aspect of his career. The first evening Bentley will play all his chart-topping country hits at the Bowery Ballroom. He will spend the next evening with bluegrass legends the Del McCoury Band at City Winery. The week will progress with an intimate singer/songwriter night at Joe’s Pub where Bentley will be joined by award-winning songwriters Jessi Alexander, Jim Beavers and Jon Randall Stewart. The run will conclude in Brooklyn with acoustic virtuosos the Punch Brothers.

“This entire year has been about following my heart, musically,” says Bentley. “Getting the opportunity to be in New York in the Fall, playing with my heroes and my friends is really exciting…it’s a cool way for me to take everything we’ve done this year and pick it apart and really focus on each different element of the music for an entire night.”

A limited number of four day passes will be available on dierks.com beginning Fri., Sept 10 with single tickets available both on his web site and through each venue. Sirius/XM will also give fans across the country the opportunity to listen in as they stream the shows on both The Highway and Bluegrass Junction channels.

Bentley snagged three CMA Awards nominations last week for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Up On The Ridge, and Musical Event of the Year for the album’s track “Bad Angel” featuring Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson. The new music video for “Bad Angel” features appearances by both guest stars and was taped in front of a live crowd on Nashville’s historic Lower Broadway.

UP ON THE RIDGE – NEW YORK CITY DATES:
10/18    Bowery Ballroom       Country Concert
10/19    City Winery               Featuring the Del McCoury Band
10/20    Joe’s Pub                 Songwriter Night
10/21    South Paw                Featuring the Punch Brothers

Currington Show Breaks 20-year Attendance Record

/by

Members of Currington's Mercury Nashville/UMG team turned out to support him at the Kentucky State Fair, where he broke the attendance record. (L-R) Brian Wright, Senior Vice President, A&R, Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN); Amber Williams, Senior Director, Artist & Media Relations, UMGN; Currington; Michael Deputato, Vice President, Digital, UMGN; Tom Lord, Vice President, Marketing, UMGN. Photo: Stephen Shepherd

Billy Currington set an attendance record during his recent show at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. He drew 20,000 fans, breaking a 20-year-old Kentucky State Fair attendance record set by Charlie Daniels. Check out Currington’s acoustic version of his hit “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right” recorded live in Kentucky.

Currington is gearing up for the release of his fourth album, Enjoy Yourself, coming out Sept. 21 through Mercury Nashville. The lead single “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer” has hit No. 1 on the radio chart. A preview of the album is on YouTube.

Fans can also pre-order it on iTunes and receive a bonus acoustic track of the single.

Currington on stage at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo: Stephen Shepherd

Brooks & Dunn’s Final Ride

/by

After 20 years of making hit records together, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn called it a day as a duo, and they did it in grand style, as Brooks & Dunn played their final show last night (9/2) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, as a benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum.

Brooks & Dunn are joined by their Arista team members, past and present. (l-r): ASCAP VP, Managing Executive Tim DuBois; former Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante; Brooks; Dunn; Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Gary Overton; and Capitol Nashville President & CEO Mike Dungan. (Photo credit: Thien Phan)

• • •

Sony Music Nashville presented Brooks & Dunn and manager Clarence Spalding with gifts commemorating the duo’s 20-year career together. (l-r): R.J. Curtis, Bobby Kraig, Allen Brown, and Lauren Thomas. Pictured back (l-r): John Sigler, Butch Waugh, Skip Bishop, Maurice Miner, Ronnie Dunn, Gary Overton, Clarence Spalding, Kix Brooks, Laura McKinley, Lesly Tyson, Heather McBee, and Joe Galante. (Photo credit: Thien Phan)

• • •

Members of the Arista Nashville promo team gather with Kix and Ronnie and a bevy of radio friends for this celebratory group hug. (Photo credit: Thien Phan)

Nashville Continues Eco-Friendly Concert Series

/by

Live On the Green, a free, outdoor concert series on Nashville’s Public Square, starts its second season on Sept. 9 with a star-studded lineup including platinum recording artists Five for Fighting and Tonic. The six-week concert series is produced by locally-owned radio station Lightning 100 in partnership with the Nashville Mayor’s Office and takes place every Thursday night from Sept. 9–Oct. 14, starting around 6:00 PM.

“Nashville is Music City and to live up to our name, we should have as much live music entertainment as possible,” Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said. “Live On the Green is a chance for people to enjoy our beautiful Public Square park – the only green roof on a municipal building in Nashville – and hear a diverse array of musical talent performed right on the steps of our Metro Courthouse.”

Held on a green roof that sits atop of a five-level subterranean parking garage with a rainwater collection system, Live On the Green is an eco-conscious concert series. A report compiled by Lightning 100 and ZERO Events found that efforts to minimize the carbon footprint of Live On the Green in 2009, including pledged future efforts, eliminated or prevented a total of 246 tons of CO2 emissions from entering the environment, which is the equivalent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 42 passenger vehicles.

Carbon offset efforts made throughout the entire event series last year included recycling, use of reusable, sustainable and biodegradable materials, healthy food vendors, organic merchandising, drinking water tents, engaging participants with green initiatives, leased equipment and energy-efficient lighting and sound. In addition, Lightning 100’s Team Green Adventures continues to organize efforts, such as tree plantings, to further offset the event’s carbon footprint. These same sustainable practices will continue with this year’s concert series.

Lester Turner Jr., President of Tuned In Broadcasting, Inc. and Live On the Green Executive Producer said: “Live On the Green is an opportunity for us to showcase the incredible talent of Nashville’s emerging rock artists in a free outdoor series that includes national touring acts.”

Artists confirmed to date include:
Sept. 9 – Tonic, Five For Fighting, Hightide Blues
Sept. 16 – Dr Dog, Special Guest, The Apache Relay
Sept. 23 – The Wailers, Special Guests
Sept. 30 – Next Big Nashville Night
Oct. 7 – Band of Horses, Bryan Cates, Special Guest
Oct. 14 – JJ Grey & Mofro, Jonathan Tyler and The Northern Lights, Special Guest

Live On the Green is presented by Lightning 100, Miller Lite, Hard Rock Cafe, Team Green Adventures, Now Playing Nashville.com, TVA “Green Power Switch”, Second Harvest Food Bank, Coca-Cola, DoubleTree Hotel Downtown, Sitemason and Friendly Artic Printing & Design.

More information about Live On the Green is available online at www.liveonthegreen.net.

CMA Music Fest On ABC Tonight

/by

Attention country music fans. Tonight’s the night. Tune in to ABC for CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock. The three-hour special, which attempts to capture all the music and excitement of Nashville’s annual country music extravaganza, kicks off at 8:00 PM/ET, with country superstar Tim McGraw serving as host.

The special features performances by Jason Aldean, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, McGraw, Justin Moore, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton with Trace Adkins, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band filmed in front of a sold-out audience in June during CMA Music Festival in Nashville at LP Field, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.

One highlight of the show is a special performance by reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Taylor Swift, who premiered her soon-to-be-released new single “Mine” for her fans at a top-secret private event in Nashville during the festival. The song is the first single from her upcoming album Speak Now, in stores Oct. 25.

Viewers will also enjoy two collaborative performances filmed at Fuel Bar & Nightclub in Downtown Nashville in front of a jam-packed crowd of Festival attendees. First, Dierks Bentley and Jamey Johnson join Lambert to sing “Bad Angel,” a track from Bentley’s current CD, Up on the Ridge. Later, Uncle Kracker and Kid Rock perform “Good To Be Me,” featured on Uncle Kracker’s recently released CD, Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions.

Offering an insider’s glimpse at the Festival, Lady Antebellum allowed cameras to follow them for a day at the event. Viewers will see the reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year perform at their fan club party, interact with Festival attendees during an unplanned appearance in the Fan Fair Exhibit Hall, and more.

Humorous segments involving several of the participating artists, surprise guests, and more will be featured in the special as well.
This year, CMA Music Festival served as the Grand Re-Opening of Nashville, after the city and surrounding areas experienced a devastating flood in May. The flood, the recovery efforts, and the coming together of the Nashville community to help its fellow citizens will be spotlighted in the television special. CMA is donating 50 percent of this year’s net proceeds from the Festival to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for flood relief. As always, the other 50 percent of net proceeds will be donated to the Nashville Alliance for Public Education through CMA’s Keep the Music Playing program to purchase instruments and supplies for music education in Metro Nashville Public Schools.

This is the sixth time ABC will broadcast this special – which invites the whole country to America’s biggest country music bash – since the original Fan Fair® was launched in 1972. This year an average of 65,000 fans from every state and 26 foreign countries attended each day of CMA Music Festival, its biggest turnout yet.

CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock is executive produced by Robert Deaton and directed by Gary Halvorson. The 2010 CMA Music Festival is organized and produced by the Country Music Association. CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock is filmed in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

A Big Week For Little Big Town

/by

With a No. 1 album and a CMA Awards nomination for Vocal Group of the Year, Capitol Nashville’s Little Big Town has a lot to celebrate this week. The vocal quartet’s new album, The Reason Why, debut this week at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart across all genres with 41,940 albums sold, making The Reason Why the highest debuting album of their career. Little Big Town’s Vocal Group nomination marks their eighth nomination and fifth in that category.

“This will be a week we never forget, and we owe that to the incredible fans, country radio, and our new label Capitol Records,” says LBT’s Karen Fairchild.

“We are so blessed to have our album debut at the top of the charts, and to have news of this nomination in the same week is just amazing,” adds band member Kimberly Schlapman.

The group, which consists of Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook, co-produced the The Reason Why alongside Wayne Kirkpatrick and co-wrote eight of the 12 tracks.

The band launched their new album in Chicago with a sold-out album release party at Joe’s Bar and then in New York City with performances on ABC’s Good Morning America and FOX News Channel’s Fox and Friends “All American Concert Series,” with additional appearances throughout the week. LBT will play the New York State Fair on Sept. 2 before rejoining Sugarland on The Incredible Machine Tour on Sept. 3 at State College, PA’s Bryce Jordan Center.

For additional information and appearances, visit www.littlebigtown.com.