In 2014, the CMA Foundation has awarded a record $1.72 million in grants to national and local programs supporting music education for children. Since 2006, the country organization has donated a total of $10 million from funds raised during its CMA Music Festival.
“What began as a very grassroots, local initiative to support music education in Metro Nashville Public Schools on behalf of our artist community, has grown tremendously,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer.
“The Foundation dramatically increased our support around the country,” said Joe Galante, Chair of the CMA Foundation. “It impacted more cities and students nationally than ever before. This couldn’t be accomplished without the generosity of the country music artists.”
Studies show students who participate in the arts are more likely to graduate, have better attendance rates, and higher GPAs than students not enrolled in arts classes. The CMA Foundation recognizes the importance of music education.
The CMA has granted the following programs:
Education Through Music: In September, Darius Rucker and Little Big Town presented a grant for the organization’s work to provide music as a core subject to inner-city schools in New York City. Twenty-thousand students and 40 teachers in 38 inner-city schools have been served this current school year. Another 8,000 children have been reached through their model, licensed to an affiliate organization in Los Angeles.

Pictured (L-R): Sarah Trahern (CMA CEO); Darius Rucker; Education Through Music’s Peter Pauliks and Katherine Damkohler; Little Big Town. Photo: Kevin Yatarola

Pictured (L-R): Eric Paslay; the CMA’s Sarah Trahern and Joe Galante; Jay Steele (Metro Nashville Public Schools Chief Academic Officer); Shannon Hunt (Nashville Public Education Foundation President); and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. Photo: Donn Jones

Pictured (L-R): (kneeling) Notes for Notes students Will Flores and Cameron Cassel; (row 2): The CMA’s Sarah Trahern and Joe Galante; Juliana Lee (Notes for Notes Director of M.A.T.H); students Jen Hodges and Mary-Grace Williams; Damon Whiteside (CMA Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships); Mike Weidman (Chevrolet National Promotions Manager); (back row) Notes for Notes’ Jarrad James and Rod Hare; Jayda Carlton and Sentwuan Gooch, Notes for Notes; Phillip Gilley, Co-Founder and CEO of Notes for Notes; and Mike Slay (student). Photo: Caitlin Harris

Pictured (L-R): Cari C. Gates (Supervisor of Fine and Performing Arts, Roanoke City Public Schools); Paul Cothran (Executive Director, VH1 Save The Music Foundation); Foundation For Roanoke Valley’s Michelle Eberly and Alan E. Ronk; Hunter Hayes; Jaclyn Rudderow (Program & Communications Manager, VH1 Save The Music Foundation); Tiffany Kerns (CMA Community Outreach Manager); and Dr. Rita Bishop (Superintendent, Roanoke City Public schools). Photo: Getty Images for VH1

Newly available domains ending in .country are now available to the public from registry operator Minds + Machines in association with Uniregistry.
Early adopters of the registry include Dolly Parton, Eli Young Band, Sam Hunt and the Academy of Country Music, which registered ACM.country, ACMawards.country, and Academy.country and more. The Academy will use the new .country domains to promote events throughout 2015 and beyond.
“The Academy of Country Music was the first to have the vision to promote country music with a country music awards show and it is only fitting that we have current Academy visionaries join us in promoting country music through a massive transformation of the Internet,” said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines.
The launch of the top-level domain is part of a restructuring of the Internet’s naming system that gives consumers and businesses alike a choice in relevant and affordable domain names.
To register a name within .country visit Minds + Machines or Uniregistry or contact any leading registrar.

After a sold-out show earlier in 2014 at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley, songwriting trio The Peach Pickers (Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip, and Rhett Akins) will return to host the second annual Jameson Irish Whiskey Presents Georgia On My Mind: Peach Pickers and Friends Host a Night of Georgia Music, on Tuesday, May 12, 2015.
The show moves to a larger venue next year, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 12, with proceeds benefiting the Georgia Music Foundation. The benefit’s first show at 3rd & Lindsley featured surprise appearances from Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell, along with Georgia songwriters Pat Alger, Tony Arata and Brent Cobb.
“Ben, Rhett and I were so humbled to have so many friends come together last year,” explains The Peach Pickers’ Davidson. “All of us in Nashville today who are from Georgia share this bond that’s connected to the land, but also to the deep musical roots in our state. As chair of the Georgia Music Foundation, I had the opportunity to see the students from the James Brown Academy perform this fall, I was so moved to see what a profound impact that programs that provide music education and teach about music heritage have on students.”
Tickets are $49.50 and $39.50, and will be available at Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, ryman.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Farrah Usmani

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Reviver Records has added singer-songwriter Samantha Landrum to its roster. Her upcoming single, “I’ll Still Need Your Shoulder,” is slated to release in 2015. The Laurel, Miss., native began performing by joining her family’s business, The Landrum Homestead & Village, a recreation of a late 1800s settlement.

Landrum’s latest release for Reviver is the Christmas single, “Light A Candle.”

“Samantha brings a unique talent to our brand,” says Reviver Records President and CEO David Ross. “The entire team is excited about bringing her music to the forefront of the music industry and to lead the Samantha Landrum charge at radio. We truly think that Samantha has the talent, drive and determination to become one of the industry’s most respected female vocalists. We can’t wait to be part of that story.”

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Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group (11 Music Circle South) is facilitating donations to Second Harvest Food Bank by providing donation boxes to Music Row area business. This will make it easy for employees and visitors to those businesses to make donations of canned food items. Tri Star will then pick up the boxes and goods on or around Dec. 23. Companies who would like to receive a box should email Sonja@team-tristar.com for more information. In addition, Tri Star has a donation box at their office where individuals can drop off food. The most-needed items this season include: peanut butter, canned meat (chicken or tuna), canned vegetables, canned fruit, pasta, and cereal.