Craig Morgan’s 6th annual charity weekend kicks off Saturday, August 11, in Dickson, TN, and an assortment of celebrity guests will be joining the singer for the events. Motocross stars Destry Abbott, Fred Andrews, Cowboy Kenny Bartram, Randy Hawkins, Kevin Windham and singer Bucky Covington will all participate in an exhibition and trail ride on Saturday (8/11). Later that evening, Darryl Worley and Morning Express host Robin Meade will join Morgan for a special concert hosted by GAC’s Nan Kelley.
On Sunday (8/12), the Celebrity Sporting Clay Event will take place at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex in Nashville and feature an exhibition by “The Ultimate Shooter” Tim Bradley. Proceeds from the weekend events will benefit the Craig Morgan Charity Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Tickets are here.
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Billy Gilman helps distribute a pair of shoes last Friday in Jacksonville, FL. Photo: Jodi Arnold, courtesy of Soles4Souls
More than 30,000 people around the globe were given new pairs of shoes, thanks to the success of the country charity single “The Choice.” The song features contributions by 19 major country artists, including Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Josh Turner, Vince Gill and more to benefit Soles4Souls. “I always took for granted the significance of owning a pair of shoes, but I never will again,” said Billy Gilman, who co-wrote the song and spearheaded the effort to bring the artists together.
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Inpop Records artist Karyn Williams recently made an appearance in Cincinnati, OH for a benefit in support of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation’s Madonna Jam. Williams entertained attendees with selections from her new album Only You, which is due out August 28. She was joined onstage by Blessid Union of Souls frontman Eliot Sloan and singer-songwriters Reggie Hamm and her husband Brian White. Williams is also slated to play the Music With a Mission benefit for Nashville Rescue Mission at the Schermerhorn Center on Oct. 14.
(L-R): Eliot Sloan, Brian White, Karyn Williams, Regie Hamm
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A collection of local rockers will unite at 3rd & Lindsley Thursday, August 16 for Nashville Takes on the Blues, a benefit for Cold Stares singer/guitarist Chris Tapp who is currently undergoing a year of treatment for melanoma. Performers for the evening include Matthew Perryman Jones, Jeremy Lister, Mark Huff and more. More info here.
Aldean to Premiere New Music Video
/by Caitlin Rantala“It’s always really cool to be at the front of a new project and to see the music start coming to life,” said Aldean. “Shaun was really great to work with, and he used some editing techniques I’ve never seen before in a music video that really give the song an extra shot of energy.”
People.com has an exclusive behind the scenes look at the video shoot here. “Take A Little Ride” is the first single from Aldean’s upcoming fifth studio album.
Aldean has sold out every date so far of his 2012 My Kinda Party Tour, presented by State Farm. For a full list of appearances and upcoming tour dates, visit www.jasonaldean.com.
Google Launches Tennessee Get Your Business Online Initiative
/by Eric T. ParkerTennessee business owners are invited to the free kickoff event August 16, 8:30 am – 3 pm at aVenue in Nashville. The event will demonstrate how to build a website and provide sessions devoted to growing and promoting business online.
Google worked with local partners to design the program, which is intended to drive economic growth for Tennessee by giving more businesses an online presence. Additionally, Google has partnered with Intuit to provide participating Tennessee businesses with free websites (including domain and web-hosting) as well as free tools, training and resources for a year.
“As a leading provider of small business solutions, we have witnessed the growth small businesses have seen from getting online,” said Jennifer Creager, Product Manager at Intuit.
Information on both the website and event registration is available here.
Benefit News (8/9/12)
/by FreemanOn Sunday (8/12), the Celebrity Sporting Clay Event will take place at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex in Nashville and feature an exhibition by “The Ultimate Shooter” Tim Bradley. Proceeds from the weekend events will benefit the Craig Morgan Charity Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Tickets are here.
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Billy Gilman helps distribute a pair of shoes last Friday in Jacksonville, FL. Photo: Jodi Arnold, courtesy of Soles4Souls
More than 30,000 people around the globe were given new pairs of shoes, thanks to the success of the country charity single “The Choice.” The song features contributions by 19 major country artists, including Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Josh Turner, Vince Gill and more to benefit Soles4Souls. “I always took for granted the significance of owning a pair of shoes, but I never will again,” said Billy Gilman, who co-wrote the song and spearheaded the effort to bring the artists together.
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Inpop Records artist Karyn Williams recently made an appearance in Cincinnati, OH for a benefit in support of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation’s Madonna Jam. Williams entertained attendees with selections from her new album Only You, which is due out August 28. She was joined onstage by Blessid Union of Souls frontman Eliot Sloan and singer-songwriters Reggie Hamm and her husband Brian White. Williams is also slated to play the Music With a Mission benefit for Nashville Rescue Mission at the Schermerhorn Center on Oct. 14.
(L-R): Eliot Sloan, Brian White, Karyn Williams, Regie Hamm
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Weekly Register: Can We File An Inquiry?
/by Sherod RobertsonZac Brown Band’s latest offering Uncaged remains in the top position on the country albums chart with almost 40k units sold in its 4th week on the chart and 400k units sold RTD. Finishing out the top 5 are Kenny Chesney’s Welcome To The Fishbowl, Luke Bryan’s Tailgates & Tanlines and Carrie Underwood’s Blown Away.
Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” shows no signs of slowing its mmmmmmm…motorboatin’ sales by moving another 94k units to reach 789k RTD. The group’s album Tornado, slated for a September 11 release, will be one to watch as we currently wade through an overall summer sales slump these past few weeks.
Just like in the Olympics, we love to look at our stats. Unfortunately the overall numbers seem to be slipping. Unlike the coach’s inquiry filed this week in the balance beam competition which gave the U.S.A. a changed higher score and took the bronze literally away from Romania, we don’t have that option. Our YTD album sales year over year have fallen from 6% increase as of 7/15 to 3.8% increase as of 8/5. On the positive side, our digital albums year over year increase remains strong at 15.8%, increasing a bit over the last few weeks.
Stay tuned.
Snapshots (8/9/12)
/by MichelleThe August installment of ASCAP at The Bluebird Cafe featured veteran Nashville songwriter-artist Rob Crosby, rising songstress Kalisa Ewing, up-and-coming songwriter-artist Aaron Goodvin, and MuzikMafia member Shannon Lawson. The songwriters performed “in the row” instead of the usual in-the-round format.
(L-R): ASCAP's Mike Sistad, Shannon Lawson, Aaron Goodvin, Kalisa Ewing and Rob Crosby
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Momentum Label Group’s CEO/producer and country hitmaker Jamie O’Neal hung out backstage with fellow country star, Craig Morgan recently at the Country On The River Concert (8/3) just outside Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin. The two-day family-friendly country music festival has established itself as one of the premiere music festivals in the U.S. Other artists who performed over the weekend included Eric Church, Darryl Worley, Luke Bryan and Travis Tritt.
Jamie O'Neal (L), Craig Morgan (R)
Snapshots (8/08/2012)
/by Eric T. ParkerPictured (L-R): BMI’s Bradley Collins and Jim Beavers. Photo: Drew Maynard
Songwriter Jim Beavers received two Million-Air certificates from BMI, celebrating his hits “Watching Airplanes” (Gary Allan) and “Don’t” (Billy Currington), for amassing more than one million performances each.
The presentation took in Nashville August 1, after the songwriter treated BMI licensing employees to an acoustic set.
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Pictured (L-R): Michael Johns, K'naan, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Chevy Chase, Norm Crosby, Starkey Co-Founder Tani Austin, President Clinton, Starkey Founder Bill Austin, Billy Crystal, Forest Whitaker, Billy Ray Cyrus, Glenn Frey, Okello Sam
Billy Ray Cyrus recently attended and performed at the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s 12th annual So The World May Hear Gala on August 4 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. The event brings awareness and funds to the organization’s efforts of fitting more than 100,000 hearing aids globally.
“It is about the gift of love,” said Cyrus. “It is just incredible that they go all around the world to give people their first chance ever to hear, to sing, to dance, to communicate. It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of it.”
Cyrus is currently finalizing his forthcoming album, Change My Mind to be released October 23. He is set to make his debut in the Broadway play Chicago on Nov. 5, and will continue his run through Dec. 23.
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Tim McGraw and Mike Shepherd
Tim McGraw was surprised with an induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame during the middle of his concert set at the Superdome in New Orleans on Friday, (8/3).
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame President Mike Shepherd presented a plaque honoring the Louisiana native for contributions to the state’s musical heritage.
McGraw joins the ranks of Louis Armstrong, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, among others.
Maggie Rose to Make Opry Debut
/by Caitlin Rantala“I am honored and excited to join the many amazing artists that have come before me to perform on that hallowed stage,” says Rose. “I am beyond words to explain my excitement and all I can say to everyone that asks me how I feel is that dreams really do come true.”
Rose recently wrapped up her first big summer tour and her new single “I Ain’t Your Mama” has climbed up into the top 40. The single was produced by James Stroud and written by Judson Spence and Candy Cameron.
For a complete list of tour dates, visit www.maggierosemusic.com.
Songwriters Join Inaugural South Dakota Festival
/by Eric T. ParkerSongwriters and artists participating include Wayne Kirkpatrick, Jaren Johnston, Steven Dale Jones, Brandy Clark, Tyler Hilton, Bonnie Baker, Danny Myrick, Shane McAnally, Cary Barlowe, Josh Osborne, Carl Bell (of Fuel), Emerson Hart (of Tonic), Marc Beeson, Billy Burnette, Andrew McMahon, and Catilyn Smith.
The Festival will be held day and night at Deadwood’s historic establishments, including The Deadwood Mountain Grand, Saloon #10, The Bullock Hotel, and The Deadwood Loading Dock.
The weekend-long festival will host Nightcap Socials, Happy Hours, and other events for Weekend Pass Holders, available for $75. Single-Day tickets are available for $25-35. For more information, click here.
Artist Growth Launches Concert Series
/by FreemanThe September showcase will feature performances by Reptar, Rubblebucket, and Cherub. Tickets are $15, and go on sale Friday, August 17 at www.tpac.org.
Launched in early 2012 by musician/entrepreneurs Matt Urmy and Jonathan Sexton, Artist Growth offers cloud-based business management tools for artists. Joe Galante, Dr. Harry Jacobson, Mark Montgomery, and Moontoast’s Joe Glaser are also investors in the company.
Bentley to Play CMA Songwriters Series in NYC
/by Freeman“The CMA Songwriter series is a really cool gig,” said Bentley. “Joe’s Pub is so intimate and the audience is a huge part of those shows because they’re so close. It’s like everybody in the room is in on a secret or something. You’ve got four guys with guitars, telling stories and drinking whiskey…anything can happen!”
Joining Bentley for the performances will be songwriters Jim Beavers (Dierks’ “5-1-5-0,” Josh Turner’s “Why Don’t We Just Dance”), Jaren Johnston (Keith Urban’s “You Gonna Fly,” Sara Evans’ “Anywhere”), and series host Bob DiPiero.
Tickets are $35 and $40. Visit www.joespub.com for more info.
Bentley also recently announced the release of his Country & Cold Cans EP, available Aug. 21, which features his new single “Tip It On Back.” Bentley will kick off college football season with the Country & Cold Cans: Back to College Tour, which includes performances by Jaren Johnston’s band The Cadillac Black. Dates here.