Darryl Worley will conduct his first live chat via Twitter on Monday (5/7) at 8 pm CT, using #CMchat, one of the site’s largest hashtag communities. Jessica Northey, creator of #CMchat, will host the talk. Worley’s brand new single “You Still Got It” (Tenacity/Crazytown Records) is currently at No. 33 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.
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Grammy-winning artist Dwight Yoakam has signed with Paradigm for booking representation, reports Billboard. Yoakam is also planning to release his first album since 2005’s Blame The Vain.
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Joe Nichols will discuss his musical journey, the abuse he suffered in childhood, and his ongoing struggles with alcoholism in Backstory: Joe Nichols, which will premiere on GAC Saturday, May 12 at 10 pm CT. Featured in the special are Nichols’ brother, wife, manager, producer and more.
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Show Dog-Universal has released newcomer Rose Falcon’s 19th Avenue EP to iTunes, and she’s already finding some high profile fans. Bon Jovi leader Jon Bon Jovi recently updated the band’s Facebook page and called Falcon a “true artist who has the ability to make you listen as well as feel.” Grab the EP here.
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Sony Music Nashville’s Joanna Smith ran 13.1 miles at the St. Jude Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon presented by Nissan on Saturday (4/28), and started the morning off by singing the National Anthem for the runners. Prior to the race, she visited with St. Jude executives at the start line.
(L-R): ALSAC/St. Jude’s Teri Watson, Sr. Director, Radio &Music Industry Marketing; Chris Boysen, VP Field Operations; CEO RickShadyac; and Joanna.
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WMN’s The Dirt Drifters have canceled all upcoming tour appearances, according to a Facebook status update. Yesterday, the band posted the following: “Hi all…we hate to disappoint you guys, especially after all the support you have given us over the past few years, but due to some private, personal issues we will not be going out on the road and will be canceling all upcoming shows and appearances. We apologize for any inconvenience to anyone who had plans to come see us this summer, you know there is nothing we love more than playing music and we will miss you. We cannot thank you enough for your support and for standing by us. Peace. The Dirt Drifters.”
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Trace Adkins will help send 33 World War II veterans to Washington, DC, courtesy of Brookshire’s/Super 1 Foods WWII Heroes Flight on May 31. That day, Adkins will perform the national anthem at a public sendoff in Tyler, TX, and the veterans will fly to DC to visit the WWII Memorial, Capitol, and more through June 2. Brookshire Grocery Company, the exclusive retailer of Adkins’ Hightower’s Country Smoked Sausage, is sponsoring the trip.
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University of South Carolina alumna Julie Roberts has written and recorded “Sweet Carolina,” a song honoring her home state and university, as part of USC’s “Carolina Promise” campaign. Roberts will perform the song live Thursday, May 10, in Columbia, SC, at the official kick off for the campaign. More info here.
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Singer and actress Claudia Lee will present at the 33rd Annual Young Artist Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday (5/6). The program honors performing artists under the age of 18 in TV, film, theater, and music and raises scholarship money for physically and financially challenged young performers. Lee’s “Hollywood Sunset” recently charted on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart, and she also plays Magnolia Breeland on the CW Network’s Hart of Dixie.
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Cody Collins, the former singer of Lonestar and now headliner of Country Superstars in Las Vegas, recently released his self-titled solo EP to iTunes. The collection was produced by John Edwards in Nashville at Benchmark Sound.
Bill Ivey To Receive Honorary Doctorate From Watkins
/by Eric T. ParkerPhoto: Steve Green (Vanderbilt University)
Bill Ivey will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film on May 12 when he delivers the commencement address for the 2012 graduating class.
The ceremony is free and open to the public starting at 2 pm at the Downtown Presbyterian Church.
Ivey, one of the nation’s leading scholars and writers on art, expression and cultural policy, was director of the Country Music Foundation in Nashville (1971-1998) and was twice elected board chairman of NARAS. He is also a four-time Grammy nominee (best album notes category) and author of numerous articles on U.S. cultural policy and folk and popular music.
Additionally, Ivey is the founding director of Vanderbilt’s Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, of which he directs the Arts Industries Policy Forum. The Center is dedicated to designing a new road map for cultural policy in America.
Ivey served on Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Transition Team for the arts and humanities, and as seventh chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts where his Challenge America Initiative has garnered more than $20 million to date for the arts endowment.
“Bill Ivey’s contributions to the arts and cultural policy are large and ground-breaking,” said Ellen L. Meyer, president of Watkins College of Art, Design & Film. “His insights will certainly benefit the graduating seniors as they pursue their careers and consider issues of cultural life and heritage.”
A former president of the American Folklore Society, Ivey holds a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in folklore and ethnomusicology from Indiana University.
Musicians Corner Kicks Off Cinco de Mayo Tomorrow
/by Eric T. ParkerSugar & the Hi Lows
Musicians Corner will kick off its third season tomorrow Sat., May 5 with a beer & wine garden and Cinco de Mayo celebration with main stage performances from 3 – 6 pm.
The afternoon of music will include Latin Salsa band Afinke, Sugar & The Hi Lows, The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Escondido, Anderson East, Rayvon Owen and Punchinello. Additionally, a mobile food court lunch is available from 11 am – 3 pm with The Dog of the Day Award presentation, Kidsville activities including decorating maracas, and giveaways.
The Musicians Corner Seasonal Beer Garden opens at 2 pm, one hour before the main stage performances each Saturday. The garden will be located next to the main performance stage for attendees 21 and up.
Next week’s May 11 performances feature Emily West, k.s. Roads, Julie Lee, Jason Eskridge, Cyndy Fike, Cassie Peterson, and Coleman.
The 2012 Spring Season will also involve Capitol Records artist Lighter Ray (June 9), The Hogslop String Band (June 17), Kopecky Family Band (June 23) and The Farewell Drifters (June 30).
For more information, click here.
Vince Gill Gathers All-Star Band For Bluegrass Tour
/by Sarah SkatesBluegrass prodigy Sarah Jarosz will open dates June 13-23.
“After the passing of Earl Scruggs [on March 28],” Gill says, “it means the world to me to do these dates with this world-class band playing the music that Earl defined. I absolutely adore this music.”
The tour opens June 13 and runs through June 30. It includes a June 21 stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
Duncan, a four-time Grammy winner and member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band, has recorded with Alison Krauss, Yo Yo Ma, Elvis Costello, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Jeff White, a regular member of Gill’s band, has also made records with Del McCoury, Lyle Lovett, The Chieftains and Keith Whitley. Mills, who earned five Grammys as a member of Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder, appears too on albums by Doyle Lawson, Bruce Hornsby and Garrison Keillor. Crouch, like Gill, is a member of the Nashville cult band, The Time Jumpers, and has recorded with such luminaries as Ralph Stanley, John Fogerty, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash and Elton John.
Photo Friday (5/4/12)
/by MichelleTo celebrate the recent release of her fourth album, Blown Away, Carrie Underwood performed an exclusive, private show for Clear Channel listeners at the iHeartRadio Theater presented by P.C. Richard & Son. The show was also streamed live on iHeartRadio’s website.
(L-R): Ann Edelblute (XIX Entertainment), Lesly Tyson (Arista Nashville VP National Promotion), Tim Castelli (Clear Channel Media and Entertainment President of National Sales, Marketing and Partnerships), Underwood, Gary Overton (Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO), Andrew Berkowitz (Sony Music Entertainment VP Artist Relations)
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Justin Timberlake along with his best friend/WilliamRast business partner Trace Ayala were recently hanging backstage with country music legend Hank Williams Jr. Williams was in town doing a concert in Southhaven, Mississippi, where Timberlake along with fiancée Jessica Biel, mother Lynn Timberlake, and Ayala all took in a night of some ‘Rockin Randall.’
(L-R): Timberlake, Williams Jr., Ayala
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A mix of Country stars and former football players gathered at The Governor’s Club in Nashville, Tenn., recently to show support for ex-NFL player Kevin Turner at the Kevin Turner Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament. The fundraising event was held to help further ALS research efforts.
(L-R): Randy Merrill (Winterset Concert Events), Mike McGuire (Shenandoah), Louis Newman (Flying Island Entertainment), Brian Eckert (Verge Management).
Artist Updates (5/4/12)
/by Freeman• • •
Grammy-winning artist Dwight Yoakam has signed with Paradigm for booking representation, reports Billboard. Yoakam is also planning to release his first album since 2005’s Blame The Vain.
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Sony Music Nashville’s Joanna Smith ran 13.1 miles at the St. Jude Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon presented by Nissan on Saturday (4/28), and started the morning off by singing the National Anthem for the runners. Prior to the race, she visited with St. Jude executives at the start line.
(L-R): ALSAC/St. Jude’s Teri Watson, Sr. Director, Radio &Music Industry Marketing; Chris Boysen, VP Field Operations; CEO RickShadyac; and Joanna.
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Trace Adkins will help send 33 World War II veterans to Washington, DC, courtesy of Brookshire’s/Super 1 Foods WWII Heroes Flight on May 31. That day, Adkins will perform the national anthem at a public sendoff in Tyler, TX, and the veterans will fly to DC to visit the WWII Memorial, Capitol, and more through June 2. Brookshire Grocery Company, the exclusive retailer of Adkins’ Hightower’s Country Smoked Sausage, is sponsoring the trip.
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Singer and actress Claudia Lee will present at the 33rd Annual Young Artist Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday (5/6). The program honors performing artists under the age of 18 in TV, film, theater, and music and raises scholarship money for physically and financially challenged young performers. Lee’s “Hollywood Sunset” recently charted on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart, and she also plays Magnolia Breeland on the CW Network’s Hart of Dixie.
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Cody Collins, the former singer of Lonestar and now headliner of Country Superstars in Las Vegas, recently released his self-titled solo EP to iTunes. The collection was produced by John Edwards in Nashville at Benchmark Sound.
CountryBreakout No. 1 Song
/by FreemanEric Church gets it, and the new CountryBreakout No. 1 song “Springsteen” is a fine example of the phenomenon. It’s not about the titular rockstar so much as it’s about how his extensive body of work conjures up a sacred (and enduring) memory for the song’s narrator. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t relate to that idea, Springsteen fan or not.
The No. 1 is well-timed for Church, who is returning home to perform at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday (5/5). Church’s Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour with Brantley Gilbert has been selling out venues nationwide, and he will also play CMA Music Fest at LP Field on Saturday, June 9.
Team Rio Raises Over $90,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters
/by Caitlin RantalaLast year Olander, Team Rio’s Celebrity Running Captain, accomplished his goal of finishing the half marathon in less than two hours, but this year the high temperatures in Music City slowed him down.
“I finished about 30 minutes later than I had anticipated,” explains Olander. “The heat zapped me this year and my hamstrings said, ‘no sir!’ around mile 14. That and my Chatty Cathy nature probably added another half an hour to my finish time.”
New this year, Team Rio added a spinning component to the fitness and fundraising efforts at the official Team Rio cheer station, FIT in the Gulch. Situated at the mile two marker, spinners participated by spinning 13.1 miles, while DJ Silver spun his own musical mash-ups to help pump up not only the spinners, but also the passing runners.
“Ebie and I came up with this idea last year while cheering on the runners and wishing there was a way for us non-runners to be active while supporting Team Rio,” shares Bryan Berndt, the owner of FIT in the Gulch. “We had an amazing time and we’re looking forward to an even bigger spin-off next year!” Passing runners showed their appreciation for the spinners with waves, thumbs up, and dancing to the music as they ran.
To make a pledge on behalf of Team Rio please visit www.teamrio.kintera.org.
International Songwriting Competition Announces 2011 Winners
/by Eric T. ParkerWriters Blake Bollinger (Parallel Music), Neal Carpenter (Bug Music) took home first place honors in the Country category. Second and third place Country category winners went to Rodney Clawson, Lynn Dutton, Dustin Lynch, Joshua Dorr, Bruce Wallace, and Kaci Bolls. Nashville’s Rory Feek was honored with a second place Americana title, “Sweet Emmylou,” written with Catherine Britt.
Celebrity judges for the competition included Wynonna, Billy Currington, Craig Morgan, Tom Waits, Kelly Clarkson, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael W. Smith, Jeremy Camp, and industry executives Allison Jones (Big Machine Label Group), Monte Lipman (Universal Republic Records), David Massey (Mercury Records), Kim Buie (Thirty Tigers), and Trevor Jerideau (RCA Records) among others.
Established in 2002, the ISC has grown to accept more than 16,000 song entries and awards more than $150,000 in cash and prizes to both amateur and professional songwriters worldwide. Entries for the next year are now being accepted here.
To sample some of the winning songs and see a complete list of winners, click here.
Honorable mentions for the Country category include:
“Do What You Gotta Do” – Dave Bastien – Londonderry, NH, USA
“Lie” – Ruben Estevez, Jason Massey, Brad Ramsey – Nashville, TN, USA
“Nothing Sweet About Alabama” – Bill DiLuigi, Jesse Stern, Dave Tough – Cane Ridge, TN, USA
“Quicksand” – Lou Penta – Ventura, CA, USA
“Stone Cold Crazy” – Michael McGee, Scott Miller (McGee) – Locarno, Switzerland
“This Feels Good” – Lee Johnson, Scott Miller – Washington, DC, USA
“When It All Goes South” – Jaylene Johnson, Sharlene Loveless, Jolene Keats – Winnipeg, MB, Canada
“When It Hurts Like That” – Matthew Ullman, Kyle Marion – Mt. Juliet, TN, USA
“With Love” – Josh Finlayson, Willie Mack – Nashville, TN, USA
Charlie Cook On Air: Radio Chips in Cell Phones
/by contributorBut we all have our own agendas and in this one case I am not such a small government guy. I would love to see the government mandate the addition and activation of radio chips in cell phones. I am happy to admit to being self-serving here. I guess it would be redundant to say I am self-serving and I don’t care.
We know House members have met with smartphone manufacturers in the last two weeks and while the government may not force this issue, just scheduling the meeting may very well push the phone folks in the right direction.
Adding a radio chip would save lives, be a real convenience and would be fair. One of the best parts of having a radio chip in your cell phone is you get the local weather, news, sports and music without having to worry about eating up your data plan.
I lost my smart phone about 6 weeks ago while on a road trip. I ran across the street to a Best Buy and picked up a “load as you go” Nokia phone and was pleasantly surprised to learn that this $25.00 phone came with radio included. I found my $400 smart phone a few days later at Delta’s lost and found at Hartsfield. Yeah I have a million radio station apps and all of the push apps on the smartphone. But when I am on the treadmill and I want to listen to the Mountaineers game, I can do it on the cheapo phone. The Mountaineers cannot be streamed by their local affiliates.
And I am not using up my data plan.
When enjoying a beautiful West Virginia afternoon, hiking the magnificent mountains, and I want to check the local weather forecast, I can also do it on this cheapo phone. (Okay, I have never actually hiked the beautiful West Virginia Mountains, but I would feel much more comfortable doing do so if I had a radio on my cell phone.)
What about the safety issues? I have never heard an Amber Alert on Pandora. Spotify has yet to warn me of a tornado in the area. What happens if the school bus is going to be 2 hours late? Darn! I missed that announcement on Last-FM.
I mentioned fair above. Usually people cry “unfair” when they have no case to make, but players like Pandora and Spotify have lobbied the auto manufacturers to include them on the dashboard while CD makers were blindsided and lost their space in new Fords.
Radio has the right to lobby smartphone makers to get on the handheld units. But you have Consumer Electronics President Gary Shapiro saying that mandating radios in cell phones is, “not in our national interest.” WHAT!? Allowing al Qaeda to set up a recruitment booth in Times Square is not in our national interest. Releasing killer bees on the Mall in Washington, DC during the 4th of July celebration is not in our national interest. But not being able to tune in Brad Paisley on my cell phone while I grill hot dogs on my deck, really? Heck, the NAB and RIAA can not agree on what day it is most of the time and they BOTH think putting radios in cell phones is a good idea. They know this is good for both of their businesses. At the recent NAB meeting in Las Vegas, the talk was about HD Radio on phones. Think of the additional 40 or 50 options in a city like LA. Mr. Shapiro must be looking for new ways to warn the nation.
We are a society of choices. We watch television shows on our phones and tablets. We listen to push and pull audio on our smart phones.
Does it make me a self-serving SOB to want to hear “God Gave Me You” by Blake Shelton while I read his tweets on the same device?
Americana Music Assoc. Recruits Stellar Line-Up For Fundraiser
/by Sarah SkatesClockwise: Rosanne Cash, John Leventhal, Jim Lauderdale, John Oates
Rosanne Cash, John Oates, Jim Lauderdale and John Leventhal will perform at the Americana Summer Celebration at Blackberry Farm resort. The fundraiser for the Americana Music Association will be Friday and Saturday, July 20-21.
“We are honored that artists of this caliber will be participating in our Americana Summer Celebration,” said Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association. “This event has become an important fundraiser and highly anticipated precursor to our ever-growing fall festival in Nashville. We’re curating our third musical weekend at Blackberry Farm and it just gets better and better.”
The weekend will highlight pairs of performers. Cash will perform with producer husband Leventhal. Oates and Lauderdale will take the stage together.
Blackberry Farm is a luxury property situated on 9,200 acres in the Smoky Mountains. The Relais & Châteaux resort is home to an award-winning culinary program and wine cellar. It was voted the No. 1 resort in North America for 2011 by Travel + Leisure readers in the World’s Best awards.
For reservations, please contact Blackberry Farm at 1-800-557-8864 or reservations@blackberryfarm.com.