CMA Songwriters Series Returns to New York

/by

Craig Wiseman

The CMA Songwriters Series returns once again to New York City’s Joe’s Pub on May 9 with shows scheduled at 6:30 and 9:00 PM.

Fans will once again receive insight into the stories behind some of their favorite songs during each show. Featured songwriters at the May 9 event include Phil Vassar (“Bye, Bye,” “My Next Thirty Years,” and “Right On the Money”), Al Anderson (“The Cowboy In Me,” “All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down”), and Craig Wiseman (“Hillbilly Bone,” “Live Like You Were You Dying,” “She’s Got It All”), who will join host Bob DiPiero (“Southern Voice,” “Blue Clear Sky,” and “You Can’t Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl”) in performing their hits.

Tickets for the series go on sale today online or by phone (212) 967-7555.

ASCAP, BMI and GAC are the official partners of the CMA Songwriters Series.

Belmont University To Honor Mike Curb

/by

Mike Curb

Belmont University’s College of Entertainment and Music Business will salute its benefactor and namesake Mike Curb during the annual Best of the Best showcase on April 14.

The event will honor Curb with the 2012 Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence, for his nearly five decades of success as a songwriter, producer and record company owner. In addition to his musical accomplishments, he serves as the chair of his Mike Curb Family Foundation which has made contributions to the greater Nashville community including The Curb Pediatric Center at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, The Curb Theater at the downtown library, the Nashville Alliance for Public Education, and the Nashville Symphony. It was through the foundation Curb backed the construction of the Curb Event Center and contributed to Belmont’s studio facilities, including Historic RCA Studio B and the newly renovated Quonset Hut.

Belmont’s free Best of the Best showcase features compilations of student winners from the yearly Showcase Series, including Urban/Pop (Tre Houston), Christian (Haley Hamilton), Country (Tristen Smith), and Rock (Christopher Wild). Winners from the ASCAP Writers Night series will also perform.

Rachele Lynae to Debut With Momentum

/by

Twenty-four-year-old Rachele Lynae is the first artist to release music from Jamie O’Neal’s newly launched Momentum Label Group. O’Neal has been producing the young singer-songwriter, whose debut “Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home,” is set to impact country radio on April 16.

Lynae co-wrote the single with O’Neal, Jimmy Murphy and Stephanie Bentley. The accompanying music video, filmed in Nashville by Trey Fanjoy, will debut online in the coming weeks.

Lynae built a following from touring the West Coast, and came to Nashville to attend Belmont University. O’Neal came across Lynae’s five-song EP, and signed her as the flagship artist for Momentum. Lynae’s debut album is slated for release later in 2012.

More info on Lynae here.

Keen, Lovett, and Van Zandt Inducted to TxHSA Hall of Fame

/by

(L-R) Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Robert Earl Keen performing at the 2012 Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards Show. Photo: Jenny Hartgrove

The Texas Heritage Songwriters Association held its 7th Annual Hall of Fame Awards Show March 4 at Austin City Limits Live at Moody Theater in downtown Austin. This year’s honorees included beloved singer/songwriters Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and the late Townes Van Zandt. Keen and Lovett performed at the show, along with Steve Earle and other Texas artists.

The Awards Show is part of a two-day celebration which coincides with Texas’ Independence Day. On March 3, a private homecoming party was held at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum with performances by Bob DiPiero, Jeffrey Steele and David Lee Murphy.

As an ongoing supporter of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, The Texas Heritage Songwriters Association donated five dollars of every ticket sold directly to the organization, which provides access to affordable health care for Austin’s low income, uninsured musicians.

Past honorees and performers include Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Clint Black, Allen Shamblin, Gary Nicholson, Bruce Channel, Red Steagall, Lee Roy Parnell, Mac Davis, Larry Gatlin and Kris Kristofferson.

L-R: David Lee Murphy, Jeffrey Steele, Jody Williams, Bob DiPiero. Photo: Rick Henson

Artists Added To CMA Music Fest Evening Concerts

/by

Dierks Bentley, Brantley Gilbert, Alan Jackson, Scotty McCreery, and CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Blake Shelton have been added to the Nightly Concerts lineup at LP Field during 2012 CMA Music Festival.

The evening concerts will run from Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10.

These additions join previously announced performers Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, and Zac Brown Band. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

Fans can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster or by calling 1-(800)-CMA-FEST (262-3378). Ticket prices range from $125 to $325 plus handling fees. Children 3 years and younger are admitted free.

For the ninth consecutive year, CMA Music Festival will be filmed for a national television special to air at a later date on ABC.

The McClymonts – I Could Be A Cowboy

/by

Australian natives The McClymonts have released their second US single “I Could Be A Cowboy,” which was produced by Nathan Chapman. Co-written by the three McClymont sisters (Brooke, Samantha and Mollie) and Chapman, “I Could Be a Cowbody” was released in January, during Nasvhille’s CRS Radio Convention. The country trio also performed the number at MusicRow’s 10th Annual CRS Meet & Greet.

“I’ve always been fascinated by cowboys and what they do,” said Brooke. “So I started to think about what it would be like if one of us started to date a cowboy. It seemed to me, they would never be home. So when we wrote this, we came from the woman’s perspective. Obviously we could never be cowboys, ‘cause we’re women, but it was a concept that we’d never explored before. This ballad says a lot without saying too much.”

The sisters have been met with great success in Australia. Their first four singles topped the Country Music Charts in Australia and their first two albums achieved Australian Recording Industry (ARIA) Gold certifications.

In June 2011, The McClymonts relocated to Nashville, TN, and released Wrapped Up Good on BSM Music (distributed by Fontana Distribution). Wrapped Up Good was produced by Nathan Chapman and Adam Anders (Fox TV’s Glee, Shania Twain, Hannah Montana). The album’s title track peaked at No. 28 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart. They are scheduled to release their third album, Two Worlds Collide, in the states later this year.

www.themmcclymonts.net
www.facebook.com/themcclymontsau
www.twitter.com/themcclymonts

Management : Stephen White Management
Stephen White – 760 846 0754Zac Taylor – 419 371 4636info@themcclymonts.net

Publicity : Webster and Associates
Montine Felso – montine@websterpr.com
Kirt Webster – kirt@websterpr.com

[wpaudio url=”https://music-row-website-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/10192258/mcclymonts-cowboy.mp3″ text=”The McClymonts – I Could Be A Cowboy” dl=”0″ autoplay=”1″]

Joanna Smith – We Can’t Be Friends

/by

Columbia Nashville is proudly releasing “We Can’t Be Friends,” the new single from Joanna Smith, to country radio. The song was written by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, and Shelley Skidmore and produced by Buddy Cannon.

Smith was raised on a farm in tiny Crestview unincorporated, Georgia, and has displayed her rural roots in songs like “Farm Girl” and “Gettin’ Married.” After arriving in Nashville, she honed her live performance chops in front of the rowdy nighttime crowds at legendary Broadway hang Tootsie’s. She has landed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV-Monument, as well as opened for Glen Campbell at the Ryman Auditorium. Smith is currently working on her debut album for Columbia.

“I want to sing country songs that hard-working, real people can relate to,” says Joanna. “Songs that folks can connect with through the ups and downs of life.”

http://www.joannasmithofficial.com
http://www.facebook.com/JoannaSmithOfficial

Rachel Holder – In Your Arms

/by

In a town full of attractive country singers, it takes a lot for a young female artist to catch the attention of Nashville’s music industry crowd. But that’s exactly what 19-year-old Curb Records artist Rachel Holder is doing, and she’s pleased to present her new single “In Your Arms,” written by Scott Lynch and Billy Aerts, to country radio.

“I’ve already learned that it takes more than a few good songs to make it in Nashville,” says Holder. “These days, I don’t think that there’s any one formula for success, necessarily, but I know you have to have faith in yourself, passion for the music and a serious will to succeed. And great songs!”

Though still in her teens, Rachel’s artistic talent began to mature at an early age. Rachel spent a section of her childhood splitting time between school in Chattanooga and performing theater shows in Pigeon Forge, one of Tennessee’s most popular tourist destinations. By the time she was old enough to drive, she had more than 800 Broadway-style shows on her resume, often performing two or three shows per day to packed houses. With the experience she gained on the small stages of Pigeon Forge, the singer-songwriter decided it was time to make the jump to the big stages of Music City.

As “In Your Arms” arrives at radio, Holder has also completed work on her debut album. She’s a confident young artist with a penchant for performing, and she’s poised for success.

 

 

 

http://www.rachelholder.com

http://www.facebook.com/rachelholder

Contact info:
Lynne Connolly
PCL Music Promotions
lynne@pclmusic.com

In Your Arms (Rachel Holder) by Blair Vickroy Munday

JT Hodges – Goodbyes Made You Mine

/by

This has a certain “presence.” He’s not only a solid writer, but his vocal performance is up-close and personal, packed with personality and exuding confidence. The deep-twang guitar and driving production are also pluses. A star is born?
—Robert K. Oermann, MusicRow

Show Dog-Universal’s JT Hodges has released his second single “Goodbyes Made You Mine,” which he co-wrote with Ross Copperman and Jon Nite, to country radio. Official add date is Feb. 13.

A Texas native born to musicians who started Fort Worth’s first multi-track studio Buffalo Sound, Hodges grew up surrounded by music. Growing into his own as an artist and songwriter, he’s learned to mix the early rock sounds of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis with contemporary American twang-rockers like Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, and Don Henley. His first single for Show Dog-Universal, “Hunt You Down” made it to No. 24 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart and his forthcoming album was produced by Mark Wright, Don Cook, and Mark Collie.

“I just look forward to getting my songs and story to the people’s ears because I’m very proud of the record I’ve made,” says Hodges. “It’s true to me, and I think any artist would say he or she has no regrets and can hold their head high if that’s the case. I know I’m hitting the road now with mine up.”

Hodges will also perform on MusicRow’s 2012 CRS CountryBreakout Awards Showcase Feb. 21 to kick off radio seminar week in Nashville.

http://jthodges.com/
http://www.facebook.com/jthodgesmusic
http://twitter.com/HelloJTHodges

Acklen Park – Great American Song

/by

Country duo Acklen Park released their single “Great American Song” to Country Radio on Jan. 26. It is also available for purchase and download on iTunes and Amazon.

“Great American Song” is the first single off Acklen Park’s new record (Otter Rapids Music) due for release later in 2012. “Great American Song” will also be featured on an EP, along with two more songs, scheduled for release by April.

The Nashville duo, comprised of Marcum Stewart from Huntington, WV and Andrea Villarreal from Chesapeake, VA, is working with producer/engineer Chris Utley. Stewart wrote the up-tempo anthem “Great American Song” with Nashville songwriters Bill DiLuigi and Shantell Ogden.

The tag-line of the song says it best, “Big city, small town, we’re all country proud … sing along to the Great American Song.”

Also available on PlayMPE

www.AcklenParkOnline.com
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Acklen-Park/126220874067385
Twitter : https://twitter.com/#!/AcklenPark

Contact:
theband@acklenparkonline.com
otterrapidsmusic@gmail.com