Photo (L-R): Jason Gambill (guitar, Lady Antebellum), Dave Haywood, Bruce Springsteen, Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley. Photo: Adam Boatman
Lady Antebellum took a break from headlining its own European tour to open for Bruce Springsteen in London’s Hyde Park.
The show caused quite a stir when organizers cut off the microphone when Springsteen’s set, which featured Sir Paul McCartney, ran overtime. The Daily Beast reports the license obtained by Live Nation expired at 10:30 p.m. Only two nights into a three-day festival, organizers pulled the plug at 10:43 pm.
Lady A will continue its Own The Night 2012 World Tour with another show in London, followed by stops in Birmingham, UK (7/17), Zurich, Switzerland (7/19), Frankfurt, Germany (7/20) and Munich and Germany (7/21). For a full list of upcoming tour dates, click here.
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Pictured (L-R): Mike Kennedy, Jeff Garrison, Anthony Anderson, Clay Walker
Clay Walker hosted his 5th Annual Charity Golf Classic at the Pebble Beach Resort June 29 – July 2. The event raises money and awareness for his charity, Band Against MS (BAMS). Walker has been battling MS since 1996.
NBA All Stars Clifford Robinson and John Starks, WFAN’s Radio & TV Talent Ann Liguori, artist/songwriter/producer T Bone Burnett, actor/comedian Anthony Anderson and singer/songwriter Sarah Marince joined Walker for the week.
The Grand Gala included dinner, cocktails, live and silent auction and a concert by Walker with appearances by Marince, Anderson, and Burnett.
For more information or to make a donation to Clay Walker’s Foundation click here.
Kix Brooks Hosts Album Preview Party
/by Sarah SkatesPictured (L-R): Ryan Dokke (Arista Nashville), Cary Rolfe (The Country Network Exec VP of Programming), Kix, Robin Rhodes (Premiere Radio Networks Senior Director, Music Initiatives), Gary Overton (Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO), Arista Nashville’s Tyler Waugh & John Sigler. In front: Lauren Thomas (Arista Nashville), and John Marks (Sirius/XM Head of Country Programming). Photo: Alan Poizner
Kix Brooks celebrated the upcoming release of his Arista Nashville debut solo album, New To This Town, last night (7/16) at a listening party at Nashville’s Flyte. The project will hit shelves Sept. 11. Brooks produced the 12-song collection and tapped Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts to co-produce the title track. Brooks also co-wrote nine of the songs.
“I made an album that really is close to my heart, and it’s a whole lot of fun,” shares Brooks. “For the most part, the music’s just…it’s kind of fun and games and hangin’ it out there and thinkin’ about gettin’ back in a lot of those clubs and festivals and gettin’ to play again. It’s like, you know, people come to enjoy themselves, and I think this album in a lot of ways is about that.”
On July 10 Brooks made his solo debut on the Grand Ole Opry.
Track listing for New To This Town:
1. New To This Town (ft. Joe Walsh)
2. Moonshine Road
3. Bring It On Home
4. There’s The Sun
5. Complete 360
6. My Baby
7. Tattoo
8. In The Right Place
9. Next To That Woman
10. Let’s Do This Thing
11. Closin’ Time At Home
12. She Knew I Was A Cowboy
Fans can pre-order New To This Town at http://amzn.to/KVBaHE.
Snapshots: Lady A w/ Springsteen, Clay Walker’s Golf Classic
/by Eric T. ParkerPhoto (L-R): Jason Gambill (guitar, Lady Antebellum), Dave Haywood, Bruce Springsteen, Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley. Photo: Adam Boatman
Lady Antebellum took a break from headlining its own European tour to open for Bruce Springsteen in London’s Hyde Park.
The show caused quite a stir when organizers cut off the microphone when Springsteen’s set, which featured Sir Paul McCartney, ran overtime. The Daily Beast reports the license obtained by Live Nation expired at 10:30 p.m. Only two nights into a three-day festival, organizers pulled the plug at 10:43 pm.
Lady A will continue its Own The Night 2012 World Tour with another show in London, followed by stops in Birmingham, UK (7/17), Zurich, Switzerland (7/19), Frankfurt, Germany (7/20) and Munich and Germany (7/21). For a full list of upcoming tour dates, click here.
• • • •
Pictured (L-R): Mike Kennedy, Jeff Garrison, Anthony Anderson, Clay Walker
Clay Walker hosted his 5th Annual Charity Golf Classic at the Pebble Beach Resort June 29 – July 2. The event raises money and awareness for his charity, Band Against MS (BAMS). Walker has been battling MS since 1996.
NBA All Stars Clifford Robinson and John Starks, WFAN’s Radio & TV Talent Ann Liguori, artist/songwriter/producer T Bone Burnett, actor/comedian Anthony Anderson and singer/songwriter Sarah Marince joined Walker for the week.
The Grand Gala included dinner, cocktails, live and silent auction and a concert by Walker with appearances by Marince, Anderson, and Burnett.
For more information or to make a donation to Clay Walker’s Foundation click here.
Pop/Rock Run-Down
/by Sarah Skates• A recent article in the Nashville Scene features Infinity Cat Recordings, the label started by Robert Ellis Orrall and his sons who comprise duo JEFF the Brotherhood. The band celebrates today’s (7/17) release of its major label debut with its first performance on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.
• The Wallflowers’ Nashville recorded album Glad All Over will be released Oct. 2 by Columbia Records. Recorded at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio, the album was produced by Jay Joyce and mixed by Rich Costey (Bruce Springsteen). For the project, frontman Jakob Dylan was joined by band members Greg Richling, Rami Jaffee, Stuart Mathis and Jack Irons. Lead single “Reboot The Mission” is a Clash-inspired track featuring Mick Jones on vocals and guitar. The song will impact radio July 23 and will be available for free download beginning Tues., July 24 at www.thewallflowers.com.
• Nashville rockers Turbo Fruits have signed with Kings of Leon’s Serpents & Snakes Records, which will release Turbo Fruits’ new album Butter on Sept. 11. The group’s schedule includes a hometown show July 26 at Marathon Music Works with Guided By Voices. Turbo Fruits recently wrapped a 65-day tour with Deer Tick and is set for headlining shows this fall. The second single from Butter, “Harley Dollar Bill$,” can be streamed here.
• Mat Kearney is on the road with Train this summer, following almost a year of non-stop touring in support of his latest album Young Love (Aware/Universal Republic). The tour includes an Aug. 5 stop at Nashville’s Woods at Fontanel. The third single from Young Love, “Sooner or Later,” ships to radio this month.
ACM Honors Tickets On Sale Aug. 17
/by MichelleThe 6th annual ACM Honors will be held Sept. 24 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The evening of musical tribute performances and presentations celebrates the non-televised award winners from the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which were held earlier this year in Las Vegas.
Host, presenters and performers will be announced later this summer. Tickets start at $37 and will be on sale at Ticketmaster.com and the Ryman box office starting August 17.
Special Awards Recipients:
MBI (Musician/Bandleader/Instrumentalist) Award Winners:
Industry Award Winners:
Songwriter of the Year Winner:
[Updated] Robert Plant Elopes with Patty Griffin
/by Eric T. ParkerPatty Griffin and Robert Plant. Photo: Amy Price
Update: E! News received word from Plant’s U.K.-based manager that the couple is not married. According to the manager, Plant was “being cheeky” when he made the remarks. “Robert has not married Patty Griffin. He was just referring to the fact that he’s been residing in Texas.”
Earlier this week Plant made international headlines when he told British newspaper The Independent that he “eloped” with songwriter Griffin, who is also a member of his Band of Joy.
“I eloped and ran off to Texas,” he told the paper. “So now I spend half my time there and half here.”
Griffin, 48, has had success as a songwriter and performer with hits recorded by the Dixie Chicks, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Jessica Simpson and Kelly Clarkson.
Plant, 63, was married to Maureen Wilson for 15 years before they divorced in 1983. They have three children together.
UMPG Signs Shane McAnally
/by MichelleUniversal Music Publishing Group has signed Nashville hitmaker, Shane McAnally and Smack Ink (ASCAP), to an exclusive, worldwide administration agreement.
McAnally has written hits for Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, Chris Young, Miranda Lambert, and Luke Bryan, to name a few. McAnally first gained recognition on the songwriting scene for co-writing Womack’s Top 20 single “Last Call.” Since then, he has used his talents to pen the No. 1 singles “Somewhere With You,” recorded by Chesney, and “Alone with You” recorded by Jake Owen.
Other tracks Shane McAnally has collaborated on include: “Neon” (Young), “Mama’s Broken Heart” (Lambert), “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (Bryan), and Chesney’s current single “Come Over.”
McAnally also recently completed production on the debut album for Universal Music Nashville recording artist Kacey Musgraves (co-produced with Musgraves and UMPG writer Luke Laird).
(L-R): (front): Smack Ink's Robin Palmer, Shane McAnally, attorney Jason Turner; (back): UMPG Nashville VP Creative Cyndi Forman and UMPG Nashville Exec. VP/GM Kent Earls
Kip Moore Earns First Platinum Plaque
/by Caitlin Rantala“I can’t wrap my head around platinum,” Moore says. “I had a hard enough time wrapping my head around gold, so there’s no way I can wrap my head around platinum. It’s something that every writer and artist dreams to be a part of, something that is working like this.”
Earlier this month, Moore released his new single “Beer Money.” He is scheduled to perform its national television debut today (7/17) on TBS’ Conan.
“Conan is so special for me because when my sister was in her car accident and in the hospital for seven months, Conan was one of the few people who could make her smile,” he says. “She thinks he is so funny and so do I. I have always been such a fan of the show and him as a person. It’s definitely amazing to get to play on national TV with that many people watching, and I am so glad that this is the first late-night show I am playing.”
Moore has been touring extensively, performing his own shows and opening for Billy Currington and David Nail. He will join Eric Church’s The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour this fall.
Swift to be Honored with Ripple of Hope Award
/by Caitlin Rantala“Taylor Swift’s dedication to advocacy at such a young age continues to inspire me, and I’m delighted to honor her as one of our 2012 Ripple of Hope Award recipients,” said the center’s president Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert Kennedy.
Kennedy noted Swift’s support for arts education, disaster-stricken communities, and her fight against bullying and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) discrimination.
Past award honorees include President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bono, George Clooney and Vice President Al Gore.
Details on the event here.
Bassist Bob Babbitt Passes
/by Sarah SkatesBabbitt performs on "American Idol."
Renowned bass player Bob Babbitt died yesterday, July 16, in Nashville. His session work can be heard on countless classic recordings, including many as a member of revered group the Funk Brothers. He was 74 and had been battling brain cancer.
He was born Robert Kreinar in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and went on to become a member of the Motown Records studio band the Funk Brothers from 1966-1972. During this time Babbitt’s bass licks contributed to seminal hits “My Girl,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
During his career Babbitt played on over 100 million recordings, including the landmark songs “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder, “Mercy Mercy Me” and “Inner City Blues” by Marvin Gaye, and “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Babbitt moved to Nashville in the mid 80s and continued working here and elsewhere.
When The Funk Brothers were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007, Musicians Hall Pres. Joe Chambers stated, “The records that Bob played on have not only become hit records; they have become their own genre. Much like the music of the A Team became known as the Nashville Sound, the music of the Funk Brothers became the sound of Motown. There are very few musicians whose music has impacted so many generations with no signs of slowing down. Bob Babbitt and the Funk Brothers have done just that.”
Babbitt was honored with a star on the Music City Walk of Fame on June 5, 2012.
Bucky Covington Teams With Shooter Jennings, Kellie Pickler
/by Eric T. ParkerShooter Jennings and Bucky Covington
Bucky Covington tapped Shooter Jennings for his new self-produced single “Drinking Side of Country,” and recruited Kellie Pickler for the video. Now at radio, it is the first music available from his Sept. 11 sophomore release Good Guys.
The up-tempo party song, written by Covington, twin brother Rocky Covington, and friend Donald Medlock, was first recorded after it was written in 2010. Covington wanted to add Shooter Jennings to the track so he waited to release it. “Getting to produce your own music rocks, but being able to say you produced Shooter Jennings just takes it to a whole other level,” Covington said.
Covington and Jennings recently shot a video for the song in Greensburg, KY. The video will feature appearances by Pickler, TNA Wrestler Mickie James, and Motocross Freestyler and X Games medalist Cowboy Kenny Bartram.