By James Rea
Don’t miss Garth Fundis’ second appearance on The Producer’s Chair on Thursday, April 26, 6 p.m. at Douglas Corner. Details at www.theproducerschair.com.
Since his arrival in Nashville in the early ’70s, Garth Fundis has become one of the city’s most respected producers, earning countless Platinum and multi-Platinum plaques and trophies from the CMA, ACM and Billboard. He received early career encouragement from fellow producer Allen Reynolds, and went on to work with artists Trisha Yearwood, Keith Whitley, Don Williams, Crystal Gayle, Sugarland, Alabama, Colin Raye, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, New Grass Revival, Doc and Merle Watson, Townes Van Zandt and many others.
When Fundis was growing up on his parents’ 80-acre farm in Kansas, he had his sights set on being a singer. He joined his first band at 14 and by the time he was a music education major in college, he was playing brass, guitar and becoming a sought-after vocalist.
After college, he got a gig as the lead singer of Nebraska-based band Smoke Ring. Interestingly, Fundis was with the band for a few months before he discovered they had previously released a couple of records and appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. The band’s records were being co-produced by Reynolds, writer of “Five o’clock World” (a big hit for The Vogues). In late 1969, Reynolds and co-producer Dickey Lee asked Fundis to fly to Memphis to overdub vocals on Smoke Ring’s previously recorded sides. There he learned that Reynolds and Lee had been signed by Sam Phillips’ protégé Cowboy Jack Clement to Sun Records. On that visit they also introduced Fundis to Bob McDill, who had written some of the songs Fundis was recording in the studio.
Shortly thereafter, Reynolds and Lee relocated to Nashville to rejoin Cowboy Jack who had recently built the Jack Clement Recording Studio (JCRS).
“One of the songs that I sung in Memphis started to get some action at radio,” recalls Fundis. “So the record company, Certron, picked up the option on the album. Instead of the whole band coming down from Nebraska, I was the lead singer, so they just flew me into Nashville to make the record with studio musicians at Jack’s new studio.”
As Fundis began to lose interest in the band in Nebraska, Reynolds encouraged him to move to Nashville. He made the move in 1971 at age 22 and was hired a few months later by Charlie Talent at Jack Clement’s studio, earning $ 2.50 per hour as an intern. Talent, Ronnie Dean and David Malloy showed Fundis the world-behind-the-glass and he received his first engineering credit on a Don Williams album.
“Becoming one of their regular engineers, I ended up getting to be a part of the first two Don Williams records,” adds Fundis. “I also put some harmony parts on it. The high soaring female vocal on ‘Amanda’ is me.” It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between Fundis and Williams, resulting in collaboration on 19 albums.
Clement also owned a building across the street from his publishing company at 16th and Horton, so in 1975 he turned it into demo studio Jack’s Tracks. Fundis became head engineer there, and was Reynolds’ go-to engineer for albums he was producing by artists including Crystal Gayle.
In 1979 JCRS was sold to Larry Butler, the name was changed to Sound Emporium and Fundis returned to the studio as an independent producer/engineer. Throughout the 80s, he experienced incredible success with Don Williams, Keith Whitley and New Grass Revival.
“I brought Keith ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ and ‘When You Say Nothing At All,’” remembers Fundis. “I’m pretty sure bringing in those songs helped me get the [producer] gig.” Whitley’s project resulted in five consecutive No. 1s. Known for his patience, Fundis was able to rein in Whitley’s reckless energy, creating a sanctuary in the studio in the midst of the artist’s uneasy personal life.
In 1992 Fundis purchased Sound Emporium and added a lobby and offices to the front of the building. He redesigned Studio B but left Studio A virtually untouched. Along the way, Reynolds bought Jack’s Tracks, where he produced Garth Brooks’ record-setting albums. He eventually sold the studio to the superstar. [In February 2012 when Brooks celebrated his 50th birthday at the studio and surprised Reynolds by renaming it Allentown Studios in his honor.]
Beginning in 1993, Fundis spent two years as VP of A&R at RCA, followed by three years in a similar position at Herb Alpert’s label, Almo Sounds.
Since then Fundis has served as chairman of the board of The Recording Academy, as well as Trustee and President of the Nashville Chapter. He has been on the boards of the GRAMMY Foundation, MusiCares, and LARAS (Latin GRAMMYs), and is an alumnus and former board member of Leadership Music.
Last year, Fundis sold Sound Emporium, where some of Nashville’s most renowned recording projects in all genres have been produced including numerous film soundtracks such as O’ Brother Where Art Thou, Cold Mountain and Walk The Line under the guidance of Grammy winning producer T Bone Burnett, who also recorded most of the heralded Alison Krauss/Robert Plant collaboration there.
Fundis is currently working on Trisha Yearwood’s new album, as well as Due West and newcomers Morgan Tobias and Autumn Rose.
Producer’s Chair: Has working with a singer like Trisha spoiled you?
Garth Fundis: Yes. A couple of weeks ago we were in the studio doing vocal overdubs, and after about three or four passes we decided to just do one more. And it was perfect, front to back, just one performance. It’s a beautiful thing to sit there and look at it in one long Pro-Tools file—no edits, no tuning. I was influenced by Ella Fitzgerald who had this graceful power. She never ripped your head off with it, she’d just blow you away with soul, interpretation and phrasing. It’s not about volume and licks. It’s about style, phrasing and making the lyrics of those great songs come through. Trisha is in that league.
What is the biggest challenge facing new artists today?
If you [the artist] can’t figure some of it out on your own, you’re not likely to have a record company want to partner with you. You have to be able to build something on your own. You have to be a self-starter, ambitious, care about details and constantly follow up. If you’re a flake or irresponsible, it’s not likely there’s going to be a place for you.
Napster changed everything, will the industry ever recover?
It’s never going to go back to what it was. It’s going to evolve into the next thing.
What is the biggest challenge facing our industry?
Fear of failure. It’s hard to make big gambles, take chances. It’s hard to finance dreams and an idea. It’s a commitment. You’re attaching yourself to someone’s career long-term. When you enter into someone else’s dream, there’s a responsibility that comes with it. But there’s a lot of independent money out there and people are finding ways to access it. I think Kickstarter is a fantastic thing.
Can producers today earn the same amount of money they were making in the ’90s?
Today it’s definitely different. But I’m not going to ask for a piece of someone’s publishing, that’s not right. Some people don’t seem to have a problem with that. I try to get as much on the front end as I can. My fees are not going to go down. I will make deals with a young artist when the budget is lean. When I really want to work with them, I’ll make it work. I have a much better chance of having a career and feeling good about it if I stay not where the money is, but where the music is. I’m not saying the money will always find its way to you, but it’s a lot more gratifying.
During your time as chairman of the NARAS board, what did you learn about the P&E wing?
Maureen Droney is the best thing that’s happened to the P&E Wing. She’s fantastic. I think she’s done a really wonderful job. She can speak the language and converse with anyone about the issues.
What projects are you working on right now?
I just finished a brand new Don Williams record. It’s the first record Don and I have made in 20 years and it is awesome. It may be one of the best records we’ve ever made and he sounds fantastic. It will be out June 19 on Sugar Hill and when you hear it, it’s going to be like hearing from an old friend. We had a lot of folks play and sing on it like Vince Gill, Keith Urban and Alison Krauss.
Leadership Music Digital Summit: Q&A with Jay Frank
/by Sherod RobertsonThis upcoming Wed., Apr. 25 at TPAC’s Polk Theater, the 2012 Leadership Music Digital Summit will dedicate its full agenda to social media and its impact on the music space. MusicRow recently sat down with DigSin Founder/CEO Jay Frank, Co-Chair of this year’s event, for a discussion about the upcoming one-day seminar. Full schedule is available here.
We wanted to have a summit that was extremely productive. We wanted a conference where someone could come for the day, receive a lot of valuable information, and then go apply it to their music business. Right now, social media is the one element in the digital world that everybody has to be working effectively. This agenda allows the Nashville community to really learn how to better improve their businesses with proper knowledge on the subject.
What can someone expect to take away from the Summit after attending?
Somebody is going to come and fill up a notepad or in their phone with many, many ideas that they can easily apply to their daily interactions on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other places. This conference was designed to bring the smartest and best minds in the social media sphere and really give actionable usable ideas and tips.
What was your ultimate goal in setting the agenda for the Summit?
The ultimate goal for me would be to have someone attend the Digital Summit and a week later email me and say, “I already made more than what it cost to go to the conference in less than a week.” That would be the greatest compliment.
Livenation.com General Manager and former BigChampagne CEO Eric Garland will keynote the event. What excites you about having him at the Summit?
Eric Garland is going to deliver an amazing keynote speech. In a very short period of time in this position, he has made waves and created several products that integrate with all aspects of the music business in a very social capacity. What he is doing within Live Nation is extraordinarily aggressive and exciting because it allows artists, big and small, to have a much stronger presence. It will be not only be something that will grow the Live Nation business but all the artists which touch that world.
Another topic, “Subscription & Social” looks to be a very interesting panel. Can you expand on what we can expect to see?
We have one of the senior artist relations execs at Spotify, Steve Sovoka. He will actively discuss how their relationship with Facebook is important for the artist. I think it’s a relationship that everybody in Nashville sees daily on their Facebook page but still doesn’t understand how that may help their careers. Having a Spotify executive on hand to explain how that works is a real treat.
People are going to be very interested in the panel about monetizing social media. Will you be covering how to profit from it?
It was very important to bring this to the program. A lot of people look at social media and see it as a necessary component to their lives but fail to see the profitability in it. In truth, there are many artists that are profiting greatly from it. The panel includes Paul Steele, who manages an artist who debuted in the top 100 of the Billboard chart. I asked him, “How did you get such a large debut from a self release artist?” He said they do two things: live touring and social media. Obviously if he’s able to sell thousands of units in one week, he is able to monetize social media. And there are many other ways.
With your digital background, what do you see as the biggest deficiency in our music industry regarding social media?
The biggest deficiency regarding social media is not recognizing the importance of it. The country music community has always valued the relationship between fan and artist. These new platforms have put that relationship closer than ever. The artists that embrace it are nearly always seeing measurable results in the growth of their career. There is an expectation from a large subset of fans that there should be much more active communication and engagement and it’s essential to do that. When an artist does it, it pays off both short and long term. People need to recognize it’s a marathon, not a sprint and that the investment requires time, energy, and consistent care. This conference will emphasize how important it is to be spending that time.
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Leadership Music Digital Conference is offering 5 pairs of FREE tickets to MusicRow’s readers. Email your name, company name, and email address to tickets@musicrow.com and we will randomly select 5 winners from the emails on Monday, Apr. 23 at noon.
The Producer’s Chair: Garth Fundis
/by contributorDon’t miss Garth Fundis’ second appearance on The Producer’s Chair on Thursday, April 26, 6 p.m. at Douglas Corner. Details at www.theproducerschair.com.
Since his arrival in Nashville in the early ’70s, Garth Fundis has become one of the city’s most respected producers, earning countless Platinum and multi-Platinum plaques and trophies from the CMA, ACM and Billboard. He received early career encouragement from fellow producer Allen Reynolds, and went on to work with artists Trisha Yearwood, Keith Whitley, Don Williams, Crystal Gayle, Sugarland, Alabama, Colin Raye, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, New Grass Revival, Doc and Merle Watson, Townes Van Zandt and many others.
When Fundis was growing up on his parents’ 80-acre farm in Kansas, he had his sights set on being a singer. He joined his first band at 14 and by the time he was a music education major in college, he was playing brass, guitar and becoming a sought-after vocalist.
After college, he got a gig as the lead singer of Nebraska-based band Smoke Ring. Interestingly, Fundis was with the band for a few months before he discovered they had previously released a couple of records and appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. The band’s records were being co-produced by Reynolds, writer of “Five o’clock World” (a big hit for The Vogues). In late 1969, Reynolds and co-producer Dickey Lee asked Fundis to fly to Memphis to overdub vocals on Smoke Ring’s previously recorded sides. There he learned that Reynolds and Lee had been signed by Sam Phillips’ protégé Cowboy Jack Clement to Sun Records. On that visit they also introduced Fundis to Bob McDill, who had written some of the songs Fundis was recording in the studio.
Shortly thereafter, Reynolds and Lee relocated to Nashville to rejoin Cowboy Jack who had recently built the Jack Clement Recording Studio (JCRS).
“One of the songs that I sung in Memphis started to get some action at radio,” recalls Fundis. “So the record company, Certron, picked up the option on the album. Instead of the whole band coming down from Nebraska, I was the lead singer, so they just flew me into Nashville to make the record with studio musicians at Jack’s new studio.”
As Fundis began to lose interest in the band in Nebraska, Reynolds encouraged him to move to Nashville. He made the move in 1971 at age 22 and was hired a few months later by Charlie Talent at Jack Clement’s studio, earning $ 2.50 per hour as an intern. Talent, Ronnie Dean and David Malloy showed Fundis the world-behind-the-glass and he received his first engineering credit on a Don Williams album.
“Becoming one of their regular engineers, I ended up getting to be a part of the first two Don Williams records,” adds Fundis. “I also put some harmony parts on it. The high soaring female vocal on ‘Amanda’ is me.” It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between Fundis and Williams, resulting in collaboration on 19 albums.
Clement also owned a building across the street from his publishing company at 16th and Horton, so in 1975 he turned it into demo studio Jack’s Tracks. Fundis became head engineer there, and was Reynolds’ go-to engineer for albums he was producing by artists including Crystal Gayle.
In 1979 JCRS was sold to Larry Butler, the name was changed to Sound Emporium and Fundis returned to the studio as an independent producer/engineer. Throughout the 80s, he experienced incredible success with Don Williams, Keith Whitley and New Grass Revival.
“I brought Keith ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ and ‘When You Say Nothing At All,’” remembers Fundis. “I’m pretty sure bringing in those songs helped me get the [producer] gig.” Whitley’s project resulted in five consecutive No. 1s. Known for his patience, Fundis was able to rein in Whitley’s reckless energy, creating a sanctuary in the studio in the midst of the artist’s uneasy personal life.
In 1992 Fundis purchased Sound Emporium and added a lobby and offices to the front of the building. He redesigned Studio B but left Studio A virtually untouched. Along the way, Reynolds bought Jack’s Tracks, where he produced Garth Brooks’ record-setting albums. He eventually sold the studio to the superstar. [In February 2012 when Brooks celebrated his 50th birthday at the studio and surprised Reynolds by renaming it Allentown Studios in his honor.]
Beginning in 1993, Fundis spent two years as VP of A&R at RCA, followed by three years in a similar position at Herb Alpert’s label, Almo Sounds.
Since then Fundis has served as chairman of the board of The Recording Academy, as well as Trustee and President of the Nashville Chapter. He has been on the boards of the GRAMMY Foundation, MusiCares, and LARAS (Latin GRAMMYs), and is an alumnus and former board member of Leadership Music.
Last year, Fundis sold Sound Emporium, where some of Nashville’s most renowned recording projects in all genres have been produced including numerous film soundtracks such as O’ Brother Where Art Thou, Cold Mountain and Walk The Line under the guidance of Grammy winning producer T Bone Burnett, who also recorded most of the heralded Alison Krauss/Robert Plant collaboration there.
Fundis is currently working on Trisha Yearwood’s new album, as well as Due West and newcomers Morgan Tobias and Autumn Rose.
Producer’s Chair: Has working with a singer like Trisha spoiled you?
Garth Fundis: Yes. A couple of weeks ago we were in the studio doing vocal overdubs, and after about three or four passes we decided to just do one more. And it was perfect, front to back, just one performance. It’s a beautiful thing to sit there and look at it in one long Pro-Tools file—no edits, no tuning. I was influenced by Ella Fitzgerald who had this graceful power. She never ripped your head off with it, she’d just blow you away with soul, interpretation and phrasing. It’s not about volume and licks. It’s about style, phrasing and making the lyrics of those great songs come through. Trisha is in that league.
What is the biggest challenge facing new artists today?
If you [the artist] can’t figure some of it out on your own, you’re not likely to have a record company want to partner with you. You have to be able to build something on your own. You have to be a self-starter, ambitious, care about details and constantly follow up. If you’re a flake or irresponsible, it’s not likely there’s going to be a place for you.
Napster changed everything, will the industry ever recover?
It’s never going to go back to what it was. It’s going to evolve into the next thing.
What is the biggest challenge facing our industry?
Fear of failure. It’s hard to make big gambles, take chances. It’s hard to finance dreams and an idea. It’s a commitment. You’re attaching yourself to someone’s career long-term. When you enter into someone else’s dream, there’s a responsibility that comes with it. But there’s a lot of independent money out there and people are finding ways to access it. I think Kickstarter is a fantastic thing.
Can producers today earn the same amount of money they were making in the ’90s?
Today it’s definitely different. But I’m not going to ask for a piece of someone’s publishing, that’s not right. Some people don’t seem to have a problem with that. I try to get as much on the front end as I can. My fees are not going to go down. I will make deals with a young artist when the budget is lean. When I really want to work with them, I’ll make it work. I have a much better chance of having a career and feeling good about it if I stay not where the money is, but where the music is. I’m not saying the money will always find its way to you, but it’s a lot more gratifying.
During your time as chairman of the NARAS board, what did you learn about the P&E wing?
Maureen Droney is the best thing that’s happened to the P&E Wing. She’s fantastic. I think she’s done a really wonderful job. She can speak the language and converse with anyone about the issues.
What projects are you working on right now?
I just finished a brand new Don Williams record. It’s the first record Don and I have made in 20 years and it is awesome. It may be one of the best records we’ve ever made and he sounds fantastic. It will be out June 19 on Sugar Hill and when you hear it, it’s going to be like hearing from an old friend. We had a lot of folks play and sing on it like Vince Gill, Keith Urban and Alison Krauss.
Coeur d’Alene Songwriters Festival Offers Some of Country’s Finest
/by Eric T. ParkerPerformers include Even Stevens (“I Love a Rainy Night”); Paul Overstreet (“She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”); Hugh Prestwood (“The Song Remembers When”); Kostas (“Ain’t That Lonely Yet”); Leslie Satcher (“Troubadour”); and up-and-comer Dustin Lynch.
Attendees will be treated to open mic nights, a guitar pull for up-and-coming artists presented by The Big 99.9/Coyote Country, and a Songwriter Sunset Cruise on the lake. The event, produced by Too Far North Productions, follows the format of the songwriting festivals presented by BMI in Crested Butte, CO and Destin, FL, as well as the largest-of-its-kind, Key West Songwriters Festival.
For ticketing information click here.
Industry Ink Thursday (4/19)
/by Sarah SkatesShow Dog-Universal recording artist JT Hodges visited CMA staffers recently and performed songs including "Goodbyes Made You Mine" and "Hunt You Down." (L-R): President of TKO Management, TK Kimbrell; Paradigm Talent Agency Agent, Mike Snider; Bridge Artist Management Owner, Alex Bridge; Paradigm Agent, Curt Motley; CMA Sr. Coordinator of Member Relations and Services, Betsy Walker; JT Hodges; CMA Sr. VP of Marketing and Communications, Sheri Warnke; Paradigm Agent, Brian Hill; Paradigm Agent, Bob Kinkead; and Show Dog-Universal VP of Sales, Marketing & New Media, Bill Kennedy.
• Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge announced that Zach Horowitz will become Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group. Horowitz currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer at UMG.
• LadyAntebellum.com, built by MusicCityNetworks, is nominated for Best Celebrity/Fan website in the 16th annual Webby Awards, the web’s preeminent awards handed out by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Vote here.
Congrats to Joe Nichols and wife Heather on the birth of daughter Dylan River Nichols. She was born April 17, weighing 7 lbs 5 oz and 21 ¼ inches long. This is the first child for the couple who married in 2007 and have been trying for several years to have a baby. Mother and child are doing fine and want to thank everyone for their well wishes.
• Clay Walker and Ben Folds took part in the 25th Annual Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, DC Tuesday (4/17) to discuss the importance of funding arts and art education in front of members of Congress. Alec Baldwin, Nigel Lythgoe and others were part of the artistic delegation for the nonprofit organization Americans for Arts.
• Warner Music Nashville’s third season of Pickin’ On The Patio returns May 24. Subsequent dates are June 28, July 26, Aug. 23, and Sept. 27.
• The Sony-led acquisition of EMI Music Publishing has been approved by European antitrust regulators.
• Reunion Records group Tenth Avenue North recently earned its first RIAA Gold certification for 500,000 paid downloads of “By Your Side.” Forefront Records artist TobyMac earned his fourth Gold album for the 2010 release Tonight.
Congrats to SunTrust Sports & Entertainment Managing Director Andrew Kintz and wife Towles on the birth of son Peter Charles Kintz on April 16. He weighed 6 lbs 11oz and is 20 inches long. He is the couple’s third child and everyone is healthy and happy.
• Artist Growth is rolling out weekly “AGtv Tuesday” videos featuring insight from industry leaders. The series debuted April 17 with Rolling Stone contributor Christian Hoard. Upcoming guests include John Grady, partner at Crush Management (Train, Matt Nathanson, Cobra Starship) on May 1, and songwriter Chris Gantry (“Dreams of the Everyday Housewife”) on May 15. Check out the first video here.
• ATP Records artist Tammie Davis has partnered with Bojangles’ Restaurants for the second year in a row. The co-marketing/ sponsorship deal includes appearances, social networking, marketing and promotions. Her debut single charted on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart and she is now releasing the follow-up, “It’s A Beautiful Life.”
• Writer/publicist Estella Pan has launched Rock Stellar Relations offering social media services, bio and press release writing, and website management. Details at www.rockstellar.com.
Campbell and Parker-Davis Join Forces For New Venture
/by FreemanThe company is launching with first client Angie Johnson from NBC’s The Voice. Johnson gained attention with a YouTube video of her military band performing Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” in Afghanistan surfaced and caught the eye of Voice host Carson Daly. To date the clip has over 2.8 million views.
Campbell and Davis will both retain ownership and continue to operate their respective companies, Campbell Entertainment Group and Splash! Public Relations.
Campbell’s career includes time as VP Publicity for Sony Music Nashville, as well as with AristoMedia before launching CEG in 2008. Current clients include .38 Special, Joey+Rory, Joanna Smith, Phil Vassar, Gretchen Wilson, Weston Burt, and Darren Warren. He also works with corporate clients Grandaddy Mimm’s Moonshine, NSAI, and Fontanel Mansion and Woods Amphitheater.
Parker-Davis opened Splash! in 2003, and spent time working in publicity for Arista/Nashville, Atlantic/Nashville, and as Sr. Dir. of Media and PR at Capitol Records. She currently works with The Band Perry, John Michael Montgomery, Casey Donahew Band, peerMusic, Michael Knox, Jeremy McComb, Jason Sturgeon, Steve Richard, and the Swon Brothers.
POD is located at 1520 16th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212. Phone: 615-321-1383.
Levon Helm Dies at 71 [Updated]
/by FreemanPhoto: Ahron R. Foster
According to a post on his website, Levon Helm, singer and drummer for The Band, passed away at age 71 today (4/19):
Yesterday (4/18) the music community expressed grief over the announcement that Helm was in the “final stages” of throat cancer. Helm’s wife and daughter gave the following statement:
Born in Arkansas in 1940, Helm joined up with rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins’ band after finishing high school and the group moved to Canada. Along with Hawkins, he joined with fellow Band members Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson in backing up Bob Dylan for the icon’s mid-60s switch to rock music.
As the drummer and one of the lead singers for The Band, Helm’s talents propelled classic hits like “Up On Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and inspired a generation of roots-oriented musicians. The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Helm is the third member of the group to pass away, following Richard Manuel (in 1986) and Rick Danko (in 1999).
Helm has also appeared in a handful of movies, notably as Loretta Lynn’s father in Coal Miner’s Daughter, as well as in The Right Stuff, Shooter, Fire Down Below, and more. The Band also got its own film treatment when director Martin Scorcese documented the group’s 1976 farewell performance in The Last Waltz (see video below).
In the late ‘90s, Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer and endured intense radiation treatments that left his vocal cords damaged. The sickness nearly ended his career, but he returned to the stage with his Midnight Ramble and eventually regained his singing ability. His 2007 album Dirt Farmer earned a Grammy Award for Traditional Folk Album, and he won Best Americana Album Grammy Awards for 2009’s Electric Dirt and 2011’s Ramble At the Ryman. Guest performers at Ramble concerts have included Elvis Costello, Allen Toussaint, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Kris Kristofferson, Norah Jones, and many more.
GAC’s “Noteworthy at the Opry” to Premiere with Urban’s Induction
/by Caitlin Rantala“Keith Urban’s Opry induction this Saturday will provide the perfect sneak peek of our new series, Noteworthy at the Opry, which is set to rollout in late May,” said GAC GM/SVP Sarah Trahern. “Keith will share career highlights that brought him to this place in the Opry family while Trace Adkins and Josh Turner will be featured in performances and in-depth interviews.”
While musical performances and personal, inside stories from the top acts in country music are at the heart of this new series, fans will also hear from other celebrities and stars of other musical genres interviewed about the artists and music featured in each episode.
“The one thing that could make Keith Urban’s Opry induction this Saturday even more exciting is to let fans watch the induction live on GAC as an exclusive early look at our new series,” said Opry VP/GM Pete Fisher. “We are thrilled to work with GAC to share Keith’s Opry moment with fans across the country, and we’re looking forward to the launch of a great new series later this spring.”
Noteworthy at the Opry premieres as a 16-episode series Saturday, May 26, on GAC.
Inspirational Country Music Week Set For October
/by FreemanInside Edition correspondent Megan Alexander and Headline Country host Storme Warren will return to co-host the 18th Annual ICM Faith, Family & Country Awards at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center October 18.
Also among the week’s events is the ICM Faith Family and Country 20 Year Home Coming Concert Celebration, a tribute to the past 20 years of inspirational country music that is open and free to the public. Additional festivities include showcases, a songwriting contest, seminars, a talent competition, and more.
Tickets go on sale May 1. More info here.
Nashville Film Festival Begins Today
/by FreemanThe Nashville Film Festival (NaFF), presented by Nissan, starts today (4/19) at the Regal Green Hills Cinemas, running a full week until next Thursday (4/26).
The festival will open with dual premieres of After, directed by Ryan Smith, and Beauty is Embarassing, directed by Neil Berkeley.
Big Easy Express
Musical films are always a highlight of NaFF, and this year’s selections will include co-closer Big Easy Express, co-presented by the Americana Music Association and Nashville Scene. The film follows Old Crow Medicine Show, Mumford & Sons, and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros on a train journey from California to Louisiana. The film will screen for free at 8 pm Thursday (4/26) in Nashville’s Centennial Park. Also closing the festival is the documentary Paul Williams: Still Alive, about the legendary songwriter and music executive.
Just in time for Record Store Day on Saturday (4/21), record store documentary Brick and Mortar and Love will screen Friday (4/20) during NaFF and again at Grimey’s New and Pre-Loved Music on Saturday.
Also included is Welcome to Nash Vegas, a documentary directed by Julie Dove about the long and tough road to stardom in Nashville. Interviewed in the film are Darius Rucker, Lee Brice, Sherrie Austin, Joe Galante, Wayne Halper, Lisa Johnson, Trey Bruce, and more. The film shows at 8:30 pm Monday (4/23).
The popular music supervisors panel will also return with Evyen Klean (Hemingway & Gellhorn), Tricia Holloway (Middle Men), PJ Bloom (Glee, American Horror Story), Wende Crowley (Friends With Benefits), Jenee Deangelis (Cold Case), and Michael Freeman (music producer, Ogilvy & Mather). Music supervisor panels take place Tuesday (4/24) and Wednesday (4/25).
For tickets, laminates, and a full schedule visit nashvillefilmfestival.org.
CMT Music Awards Noms Coming Monday
/by Sarah SkatesCMT is heading to Rockefeller Plaza with platinum-selling group Little Big Town to reveal the nominees for the 2012 CMT Music Awards on NBC’s Today show. The announcement will be made Mon., April 23 live during the 10 a.m. EDT hour of Today.
This is the second year in a row that CMT and NBC have partnered to announce the CMT Music Awards nominations. Voting will begin on CMT.com immediately following the announcement.
Little Big Town, who will be releasing brand new single “Pontoon” this month, will sit down with Today host Hoda Kotb and guest co-host Willie Geist to reveal the nominees in select categories and give their predictions for the night’s big winners.
The 2012 CMT Music Awards mark the 11th anniversary of the awards show, which will air live from Nashville Wed., June 6 on CMT and CMT.com. More details to be announced.