McGhee Entertainment has aligned with Alan Bullington’s 1 Degree Sports Management, whose roster includes NBA player Rajon Rondo, PGA Tour golfer Kenny Perry and many others. The two companies are located at 21 Music Sq. W. in Nashville.
Doc McGhee, CEO of McGhee Entertainment comments, “Managing any celebrity’s career, whether the client is an artist or an athlete, centers around the ability to have a well-crafted platform in place with a team structured to deliver in today’s fast-paced environment, and we are doing just that through partnerships with companies like 1 Degree Sports Management.”
Bullington, Managing Partner of 1 Degree, shares his thoughts about the collaboration, “Our objective and responsibility is to help each client realize his professional goals, on and off the course, court or field. Our alliance with McGhee Entertainment will allow us to jointly capitalize on the pervasive overlap between sports and entertainment and maximize each athlete’s international exposure, sponsorship evaluation, and activation through the relationships McGhee has developed over the last three decades.”
McGhee Entertainment was formed in 1983 with offices originating in New York City. The current artist roster includes KISS, Ted Nugent, Night Ranger, Chris Cagle, Hootie & The Blowfish, Darius Rucker, Drew Davis, Rodney Atkins, Adam Brand, Heidi Newfield, Jeremy Lister, Sacha Edwards, Down, Cheyenne Kimball, Vintage Trouble, Dirty Guv’nahs, and The Willis Clan. McGhee Entertainment currently has offices located in Nashville, and Los Angeles.
Bullington may be reached via email at alan@1degreesportsmanagement.com.

Last week’s tornadoes in Mississippi left much of the Malaco Records complex in ruins in Jackson.
According to WJTV in Jackson, the label headquarters and recording studio were completely destroyed. The company’s warehouse and archives, however, were spared. Many of the employees were inside the buildings when the storm hit last Friday. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Malaco Records opened in 1967, and has been the home of many major blues and gospel artists. “Misty Blue” by Dorothy Moore was on Malaco in 1975, and the label’s studio has also produced Jean Knight’s “Mr Big Stuff” (1971), King Floyd’s “Groove Me” (1970), Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell” (1979) and other hits. The label’s slogan was “The Last Soul Company.”
Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Mississippi Mass Choir, Eddie Floyd, David Porter, Z.Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, Little Milton Campbell, Johnnie Taylor, Walter Hawkins, the Rev. James Cleveland, Dorothy Norwood, Tyrone Davis and many other blues, soul and gospel veterans flocked to the company.
Malaco Christian Distribution was based in Nashville, and the label helped launch the recording-studio careers of such Nashville notables as J. Fred Knobloch and James Stroud.
Label director Tommy Couch Jr. plans to re-open the company next Tuesday in temporary offices in North Jackson.

With more films yet to be viewed today (4/20) and tomorrow (4/21), the 2011 Nashville Film Festival has already broken its previous records for attendance and number of tickets sold. The event kicked off last Thursday (4/14) and wraps tomorrow night with the Closing Night Party at Mercy Lounge.
The festival’s top jury prizes have been awarded to Andrew Haigh’s Weekend, a tale of two men in a weekend affair, and Marshall Curry’s If A Tree Falls, a documentary about extreme environmentalist collective Earth Liberation Front. Weekend took the Bridgestone Grand Jury Prize for the narrative competition, and If A Tree Falls earned the Documentary Channel Grand Prize in the documentary competition. Weekend’s Tom Cullen earned best actor recognition and Guadalupe Alonso of Last Summer of La Boyita (an Honorable Mention in the narrative category) was named best actress.
Other honors included the New Directors Competition, with the grand prize going to Mike Magidson’s Inuk. Jacob Hatley’s music profile Ain’t In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm was presented with the Gibson Impact of Music Award, the top prize in Music Films/Music City Competition.
Still to come tonight (4/20) are the Tennessee premiere of Michael Tully’s Septien, which was filmed entirely in and around Nashville, as well as Will Gray’s Broke, a documentary about music artists struggling to find ways to thrive in a rapidly changing industry.

The GMA Dove Awards will be handed out tonight (4/20) in Atlanta, as the show moves from its longtime Nashville home for the first time. Thanks to the new location, organizers are reporting a 60% boost in ticket sales versus the same time last year.
Jason Ingram is the leading nominee heading into the ceremony with 12 nods—the most ever received in one awards season.

Among the other top nominees are Chris Tomlin, TobyMac, Jason Crab, and Francesca Battistelli. For a complete list click here.
The View’s Sherri Shepherd will host the event at the Fox Theatre, which is being taped to air on GMC on Easter Sunday, April 24 at 7 p.m. ET.
Set to perform are Kenny Rogers with Point of Grace, as well as Francesca Battistelli, Natalie Grant, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Kirk Franklin, Chris Tomlin, and more.
There will also be a pre-show event hosted by Jason Crabb with a performance by Guy Penrod.