Jack White To Take A Break From Performing

jack white1Jack White has announced that he will stop touring for a “long period of time,” according to a post on the Third Man Records website. He is scheduled to headline two shows at Coachella and is part of the Lazaretto world tour. After that, he will perform acoustically during a short tour where he will visit the only five states in the U.S. that he hasn’t yet played. The state and location of these shows will not be announced until the day of each show at 8 a.m. local time.

Tickets for these shows are $3 per ticket and limited to one ticket per person. All tickets will be sold at the venue door starting at 12 p.m. local time on the day of the show — first come, first served and cash only.

Joining White on his jaunt across these locations will be musicians making up an acoustic quartet, including Fats Kaplin, Lillie Mae Rische and Dominic Davis.

To keep up to date, fans can visit www.thirdmanrecords.com or follow them on Twitter @ThirdManRecords.

Alan Jackson’s 25th Anniversary Tour Visits Nashville

Alan Jackson onstage in Nashville Saturday night.

Alan Jackson onstage in Nashville Saturday night.

“I came to Nashville in 1985 to play real country music,” Alan Jackson told the audience at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night (April 11). Mission accomplished. The entertainer is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut album with a tour and more country music, coming this summer.

Onstage, music videos playing in the background showed the evolution of Jackson’s career (and the simultaneous evolution of video technology). His set went from 1991’s “Midnight In Montgomery” to 2008’s “Country Boy” and beyond. What hasn’t changed much is Jackson’s image and penchant for quality songs. Two and a half decades later, he’s still a classic in a cowboy hat, a laid back performer who mostly lets the songs speak for themselves. He played hit after hit: “Little Bitty,” “Summertime Blues,” “Livin’ On Love,” “Small Town Southern Man,” “Don’t Rock The Jukebox,” “As She’s Walking Away,” and too many others to list.

“Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning),” is just one example of Jackson’s knack for poignant observation. “I’m just a singer of simple songs, I’m not a real political man,” he wrote in the Grammy-winning, post-9/11 song. It hit home with the crowd in Nashville, which was largely populated with NRA conventioneers who cheered loudly for the lyric “did you go out and buy you a gun?”

Throughout the night Jackson offered brief glimpses into how his personal experiences relate to his music. He explained that after his father died he wanted to honor him but didn’t want to write a sad song, so he wrote “Drive (For Daddy Gene).” He dedicated “Remember When” to his mother-in-law who recently passed away. And he introduced “Here In The Real World” by recalling how it saved his career at a pivotal point. An early single “died a miserable death on the chart” around the same time wife Denise found out she was pregnant, but “…Real World” became the hit he needed.

“I had more hits on the radio,” he said. “I can’t even remember all the hits anymore… And I sold more records than I could have ever imagined.” Jackson thanked his fans, band and the people who helped him along the way, and he previewed “You Never Know,” from his forthcoming album Angels and Alcohol, set for release July 17.

Openers Jon Pardi and Jeff Foxworthy revved up the crowd with lively entertainment.

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VIP Ticket: Tortuga Music Fest Preps For 85k

AJ Niland. Photo: Chad Riley.

AJ Niland. Photo: Chad Riley.

This weekend (April 11-12), Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., will host Rock The Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival. The country music event will double in size for its third year, reaching its maximum attendance record of 85,000 over the course of the weekend, according to AJ Niland, co-founder and chairman of HUKA, the entertainment company behind the festival.

HUKA came in as the creative visionary to curate talent and develop the event alongside Dot Records’ GM Chris Stacey, who is also founder of the non-profit conservation organization, Rock the Ocean—a stakeholder in the event.

“The conservation aspect of Tortuga was conceived by [Chris’] passion,” said Niland via phone from the festival site in Florida. “Chris and his team execute the programming for the Conservation Village [exhibitions throughout the weekend] and distribution of conservation funds.”

Last year $100,000 was raised for conservation efforts.

This year VIP ($799) and Super VIP ($1,299) attendees will be treated to the largest menu of luxuries available. For 2015, those include a swimming pool, art displays, and furniture, and stadium suite-style cabanas overlooking the main stage. Full commercial waterslides will also be available.

The artist catering tent will feature a glass wall looking out on the beach stocked with jet skis available for use. Artists enjoying those amenities this year include Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown BandJake Owen, The Band Perry, Little Big Town, Trace Adkins, Josh Turner, David Nail, The Mavericks, Colt Ford, Chase Rice, Sam Hunt, Frankie Ballard, Will Hoge, Chase Bryant, The Cadillac Three, Old Dominion, Maddie & Tae, Brooke Eden, Dylan Scott and Drake White.

“Even though Tortuga is a country music festival, we also tapped acts outside the country genre that we feel complement the lineup,” said Niland. Those acts include Nikki LaneDoobie BrothersJudah The Lion, Sublime with Rome, Dirty Guv’nahs and The Big Fire.

Niland continued to discuss the origins of his company, the festival’s environmental impact, and what the future may hold in the Q&A below.

Tortuga-Music-FestivalOn improving operations year after year:

Niland: We’re constantly making tweaks to improve the operation. We make a pretty big investment into year-one. As an organization, we generally don’t start very organically. We tend to launch projects with very large talent and very expensive site builds. This year we’re adding the pool.

The lessons we’ve learned is from feedback from artists and fans or internal. We’ve got festivals in their sixth year, and we don’t ever stop tweaking. The first couple years of a festival, cash is tight. You’re planning for a loss to hopefully rapidly grow attendance. The goal is to become profitable between years 3-5. In those times you can start to spend more, but until you’ve reached a point that you’re sold out, it’s difficult to call your site set. Until you reach the maturity of the festival, your goal is to make tweaks to accommodate more sales.

Background and HUKA:

I’m the co-founder of HUKA, chairman of the company and the Chief Experience Officer. HUKA started in 2004 and is based in New Orleans, La. Our first major festival was the Hangout Festival in 2010. My job is to run the direction of the company as a whole. We do an average of four major festivals a year in addition to regional concert promotion for all genres, mostly club and theater level. We have a full-time staff of 30, and a myriad of part timers. Our core festival staff travels to manage security and specific projects. At each site, we’ll have upwards of 1,000-1,500 hourly laborers during the events.

On last minute concert site preparations:

We’re pretty far along from a week ago. The site is pretty much deconstructed from a public beach/city park to a concert venue. Steel and scaffolding is moving around—a lot of heavy lifting. We’re moving light posts, signage for parking lots. Stages are going up.

On planning a festival:

It starts about 12 months out. We’re already on next year—booking talent. It starts with stage layout. Then we build out to cover event needs and cool features. We’ve been known for quite some time for having pretty crazy amenities that go above and beyond other festivals. Hangout Fest was the first time we implemented features with VIP and elevated the GA experience. We have full commercial water slides and zip lines at various events. Then we place bathrooms, concessions, bars, etc. At the end we have the design site. The next step is programing the stages. Marketing is all done in-house. Then it comes to implementing. We’ll arrive anywhere from three weeks to three months to do land work if needed.

On hiring outside consultants:

The very first year we bring in safety and traffic engineers from experienced firms. Those engineers are part of the initial design with production management (sound, stage lighting, stage labor), site management (fences, porta-potties, trash cans). The safety liaison is over security and medical. There’s also a festival relations staff for handling our own festival staff lodging, travel, etc. in addition to artist hospitality.

On environmental challenges:

For any site, we make sure we leave it as we found it. Tortuga (Spanish word for a turtle) is even more challenging because this area happens to be a turtle habitat. Tortuga is a benefit for ocean awareness and turtles are protected species. We go the extra mile to make sure nothing on site endangers their habitat, working very closely with local wildlife authorities as well as universities and research institutes. For example, structures and fences are built in such a way to accommodate any turtle who has come ashore—we’ve got a whole emergency plan built around those scenarios. It is still early in the season for turtle nesting, but we have a team who searches the shoreline through the night before giving us the all-clear each morning.

On future plans:

The idea was to grow this to multiple sites for the same cause. The priority right now is to make sure Tortuga succeeds. Once we feel comfortable at Tortuga’s maturity, we’ll look forward to other events. In a lot of respects, we’re going into this year with a new sense of sight. This year is when we can really take our notes and tweak for the future because we can’t go any larger than we are now.

CMT Debuts ‘Next Women of Country’ Tour With Jana Kramer, Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea Ballerini and Jana Kramer CMT tour

(L-R): Jana Kramer and Kelsea Ballerini will be on the CMT “Next Women of Country” tour.

CMT today (April 9) announced it’s leaving the guys at home and hitting the road this spring for its inaugural CMT “Next Women of Country” Tour headlined by Jana Kramer, with rising singer/songwriter Kelsea Ballerini. The network’s first-ever ladies-only tour will make 10 stops across the country.

The tour is the latest extension of CMT’s “Next Women” campaign, which launched in 2013 as a way to give more attention and airplay to emerging female country artists across all screens. Among the “Next Women” alumnae are Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, Cassadee Pope and Ashley Monroe. CMT also has a long history of launching artists on the road, having recently capped year 13 of its CMT On Tour, most recently headlined by Kip Moore.

“The ‘Next Women of Country’ campaign seamlessly connects music fans with the rising generation of female country artists,” said Leslie Fram, Sr. VP of Music Strategy for CMT. “With the tour, we’re now able to create zero-distancing between fan and artist and deliver an amazing night of discovery.”

The tour plays May 12 in Nashville at 3rd and Lindsley, with Ballerini, but not Kramer, and special guests from CMT “Next Women of Country.”

Both Kramer and Ballerini are rapidly climbing at country radio with their respective current singles, “I Got The Boy” and “Love Me Like You Mean It.” In its first week out, Kramer’s single “I Got The Boy” from her forthcoming sophomore album was the most-added female at country radio. Ballerini co-wrote her debut single, “Love Me Like You Mean It” and this week it broke the Top 20.

“My first summer in Nashville, I was 15 and didn’t have a driver’s license yet,” said Ballerini. “So I spent it at home, writing songs and watching music videos on CMT. That was a way I knew I could learn and feel like I was growing. Since then it’s always been a dream of mine to have a music video on CMT. To now have that and for me to be part of the CMT ‘Next Women of Country’ Tour is a huge honor.”

“I am beyond excited to be a part of the first ‘Next Women of Country’ tour,” Kramer noted. “I’m a big advocate for us girls sticking together and encouraging each other. I can’t wait to see everyone on the road!”

CMT “Next Women of Country” Tour:
• April 30, 2015 – Grand Rapids, MI (The Intersection)
• May 1, 2015 – Cincinnati, OH (Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill)
• May 7, 2015 – Cleveland, OH (House of Blues)
• May 8, 2015 – Chicago, IL (Joe’s Sports Bar)
• May 10, 2015 – St. Louis, MO (The Pageant)
• May 12, 2015 – Nashville, TN (3rd and Lindsley)**
• May 14, 2015 – Orlando, FL (Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill)
• May 15, 2015 – Fort Walton Beach, FL (The Swamp)
• May 17, 2015 – Charlotte, NC (The Fillmore Charlotte)
• May 28, 2015 – Myrtle Beach, SC (House of Blues)

**Kelsea Ballerini only, featuring special guests from CMT Next Women of Country.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 10 at participating venues.

APA Signs Rock Band Kansas

kansas

Kansas

Rock band Kansas has signed with agency APA for worldwide representation. The company will represent band members Phil Ehart, Billy Greer, David Manion, Ronnie Platt, David Ragsdale, and Richard Williams as they bring their music to fans around the world.

“Kansas has been a part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll landscape for over four decades,” commented Steve Lassiter, SVP/Partner and Head of Concerts at APA Nashville. “Their fans are extremely devoted, and we at APA are excited to continue to unite the band with their fans for more stops along their musical journey.”

Kansas released its debut album in 1974, and went on to sell more than 30 million records, and earn eight Gold albums, three sextuple-Platinum albums (Leftoverture, Point of Know Return, and Best of Kansas), one Platinum live album (Two For The Show), and more.

The documentary Miracles Out of Nowhere, which chronicles the band’s rise to fame, premiered in February at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and debuted on television on both VH1 Classic and Palladia on March 20. The film and companion CD released March 23, debuting at No. 37 on Billboard‘s album sales chart, and at No. 61 on the Billboard Top 200.

Ali Harnell Named TJ Martell’s Ambassador of the Year

aliharnell2013HEADshot3

Ali Harnell

The TJ Martell Foundation is honoring Ali Harnell, Sr. VP, AEG Live/The Messina Group, as its 2015 Ambassador of the Year.

The roast-style event highlighting her career achievements will take place Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. at Zanies in Nashville.

Last year’s inaugural event honored Rob Beckham, co-head of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment’s Nashville office.

Tables and tickets are available now. “The Hecklers’ Lounge Single Tickets” are $75 each and include two drinks. “Back 40 Café Tables” include four seats, a bites food basket and two drinks per person for $400. Sponsorship options go up to tables of 10 for $2500.

For more information or to purchase tickets/tables go to tjmartell.org.

Artist Pics: A Thousand Horses Bring “Smoke” To Hollywood

A Thousand Horses, made up of the four core members, Michael Hobby (lead vocal), Graham Deloach (bassist), Zach Brown (guitarist) and Bill Satcher (guitarist), performed two 30 minute sets at The Sayers Club in Hollywood on Monday night. Their current single “Smoke,” is making waves at radio, currently standing at No. 8 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart. The single is off of their upcoming album, Southernality, which will be released by Republic Nashville on June 9.

Pictured (L-R): Bill Satcher, Michael Hobby, Graham Deloach, Zach Brown. Photo: Chris Polk for Getty Images

Pictured (L-R): Bill Satcher, Michael Hobby, Graham Deloach, Zach Brown. Photo: Chris Polk for Getty Images

The band hits the road May 14 on Darius Rucker’s Southern Style Tour and will also be making appearances at ACM’s Party For A Cause, Bonnaroo, and CMA Fest.

Pictured (L-R) Back Row: Scott McGhee, Scott Borchetta, Rob Light, Jimmy Harnen, Matthew Hargis; Front Row: Bill Satcher, Graham Deloach, Michael Hobby, Zach Brown. Photo: Chris Polk for Getty Images

Pictured (L-R) Back Row: Scott McGhee, Scott Borchetta, Rob Light, Jimmy Harnen, Matthew Hargis;
Front Row: Bill Satcher, Graham Deloach, Michael Hobby, Zach Brown. Photo: Chris Polk for Getty Images

Rolling Stones To Play Nashville For First Time In 13 Years

rolling-stone-zip-code-tourThe Rolling Stones officially announced today (March 31) they will play Nashville’s LP Field Wednesday, June 17 in the middle of a 15-city Zip Code Tour. This is the first time the band has not only played North American stadiums since 2007, but the first time they have played Nashville since 2002.

The concert will take place three days after the CMA Music Festival wraps.

To prepare, the legendary band will re-release the classic 1971 album Sticky Fingers with Universal Music on May 25, featuring previously unreleased material and re-workings in a variety of formats.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood will begin the outing in San Diego on May 24 and extend it through July 15 in Quebec. Tickets, ranging in price from $65-$350, will become available at 10 a.m. local, Monday, April 13 at rollingstones.com/tickets. American Express cardholders will have early access from April 8-12. Additional pre-sales and packages are expected.

AEG Live’s Concerts West is the promoter.

Zip Code Tour Full Dates
May 24 – San Diego, CA Petco Park
May 30 – Columbus, OH Ohio Stadium
June 3 – Minneapolis, MN TCF Bank Stadium
June 6 – Dallas, TX AT&T Stadium
June 9 – Atlanta, GA Bobby Dodd Stadium
June 12 – Orlando, FL Orlando Citrus Bowl
June 17 – Nashville, TN LP Field
June 20 – Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Field
June 23 – Milwaukee, WI Summerfest / Marcus Amphitheater
June 27 – Kansas City, MO Arrowhead Stadium
July 1 – Raleigh, NC Carter-Finley Stadium
July 4 – Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis Motor Speedway
July 8 – Detroit, MI Comerica Park
July 11 – Buffalo, NY Ralph Wilson Stadium
July 15 – Quebec, QC Le Festival D’Été de Québec*
*wristbands will go on sale at 12 p.m. local on Saturday, April 11

Brett Eldredge Added To WME Roster

Brett Eldredge

Brett Eldredge

WME has added Brett Eldredge to its artist roster. The Illinois native co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on his debut project, Bring You Back (Warner Music Nashville) and has penned songs for Trace Adkins, Gary Allan, Jake Owen, Neal McCoy, and others.

He recently notched his third No. 1 single with “Mean To Me.”

Eldredge will join Darius Rucker‘s Southern Style tour, which launches May 14 in Holmdel, N.J.

He is managed by Longshot Management’s Rob Baker.

Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Shakes Up Nashville

Kenny Chesney launches The Big Revival Tour in Nashville. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Kenny Chesney launches The Big Revival Tour in Nashville. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

“Feel the vibration of the No Shoes Nation,” warned an old New Orleans street preacher in the opening video of Kenny Chesney’s show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville last night (March 26).

The vibration that ensued was more like an earthquake as Chesney celebrated the opening night of his tour—and his birthday—with a three-hour, sold-out show that included surprise guests Joe Walsh, Taylor Swift, Uncle Kracker, David Lee Murphy, and Grace Potter. It was the first of a two-night run at the arena.

“To say I missed you guys is an understatement,” said the performer who had taken a break from the road since 2013.

Kenny Chesney welcomes Taylor Swift during his Nashville concert. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Kenny Chesney welcomes Taylor Swift during his Nashville concert. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Back with the aptly named The Big Revival Tour, Chesney was a sleeveless-shirted preacher sprinting across the stage under a spinning disco ball, telling his congregation to live in the moment God gave them. It’s that offering of escapism—and too many hits to count—that make him the entertainer of every year. Just like his song “Reality” advises, “everybody needs to break free from reality.”

His “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” attitude permeated, singing the worry-free hits “Beer in Mexico,” “Keg in the Closet” and “Summertime.” Even when he offered the moody “Somewhere With You,” he rebounded with upbeat “I Go Back.”

As the night went on, Chesney went further back in his catalog, leading singalongs of early career hits “There Goes My Life,” “How Forever Feels” and “Never Wanted Nothing More.” Murphy appeared to offer the songs he made famous, “Dust On The Bottle” and “Party Crowd.”

Grace Potter joins Kenny Chesney onstage in Nashville. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Grace Potter joins Kenny Chesney onstage in Nashville. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Potter joined him for their current hit “Wild Child” as well as “You And Tequila.” Uncle Kracker came out for “When The Sun Goes Down.”

Walsh led the crowd in “Happy Birthday” and performed four other songs, closing out the concert with “All Night Long.”

By the end of the show, everyone wanted to move to No Shoes Nation, but were forced back to reality in the chilly night.

Joe Walsh joins Kenny Chesney for several songs in Nashville. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

David Lee Murphy joins Kenny Chesney for several songs in Nashville. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

Chesney’s Sony Music Nashville labelmates Jake Owen and Chase Rice opened with strong performances.

Owen’s beach scene set included palm trees—an inviting backdrop as he reminded how many hits he’s tallied, including “Alone With You,” “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You,” “Days of Gold,” “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “The One That Got Away” and a spotlight solo of “What We Ain’t Got.”

The tour continues for an encore tonight in Nashville, before hitting cities across the country this summer.

Kenny Chesney Kicks Off "The Big Revival" Tour

Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images