Mac Wiseman. Photo: Stacie Hukeba
HALL OF FAME GREAT MAC WISEMAN PASSES
By Robert K. Oermann
Mac Wiseman, a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, has passed away at age 93. He died Sunday, Feb. 24.
Known as “The Voice With a Heart,” Wiseman was a hit recording artist, a record-label executive, a radio host and a music-festival impresario. He was one of the founders of the Country Music Association.
His hits included “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” “Jimmy Brown the Newsboy” and “Your Best Friend and Me.” He is also associated with such enduring favorites as “Tis Sweet to Be Remembered,” “Love Letters in the Sand,” “I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home,” “I’ll Still Write Your Name in the Sand” and “Shackles and Chains.”
During his long career he recorded with such diverse talents as Flatt & Scruggs, John Hartford, Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe, Woody Herman, Charlie Daniels, The Osborne Brothers, Johnny Cash and John Prine. He recorded for Dot, Capitol, MGM, RCA, CMH, Music Mill, Hilltop, Churchill, Starday and many other labels.
Born Malcolm B. Wiseman in 1925, he was raised in rural Virginia. He survived polio as an infant, and this affected his mobility later in life. Wiseman began playing guitar at age 12. His fluid work on the instrument and his clear, expressive tenor singing were the hallmarks of his performing style.
He started his career as a Virginia radio disc jockey in 1944. He joined Molly O’Day’s band two years later and played bass on her big hit “Tramp on the Street.”
In 1947, he was the host of WCYB radio’s Farm and Fun Time in Bristol, Virginia. He shared airtime there with country-music patriarch A.P. Carter of The Carter Family.
Wiseman then became a member of Flatt & Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys. Bill Monroe hired him in 1949, and Wiseman sang lead on the star’s bluegrass standards “Travelin’ Down This Lonesome Road” and “Can’t You Hear Me Calling.”
Mac Wiseman next joined the Louisiana Hayride on KWKH in Shreveport. While there, he toured with the legendary Hank Williams. He then moved on to the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond, Virginia in 1953.
Jo Walker-Meador inducts Mac Wiseman into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014. Photo: Donn Jones
By this time, he was leading his own band. He had signed with Dot Records in 1951 and had a top-10 hit in 1955 with “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” the theme song of a Disney TV show. He served as Dot’s A&R executive in 1956-63, moving to Los Angeles and overseeing a roster that included such stars as Jimmy C. Newman, Reno & Smiley, Bonnie Guitar, Pat Boone and Leroy Van Dyke. While on the West Coast, Wiseman became a regular on TV’s Town Hall Party and starred at The Mint in Las Vegas with The Stonemans as his backing band.
In 1958, Wiseman became one of the creators of the Country Music Association and was elected as the CMA’s first secretary. He was the youngest of the association’s organizers, and at the time of his death was the last living CMA founder.
Mac Wiseman’s Dot Records success as an artist continued with 1959’s “Jimmy Brown the Newsboy.” His next country hit came on Capitol Records in 1963. This was with the Hank Cochran song “Your Best Friend and Me.”
During the 1960s, Wiseman became popular on the collegiate folk-music circuit. He performed at The Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl and other prestigious venues.
In 1965, Mac Wiseman was hired as the manager of the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia. He moved to Nashville in 1968 and signed with RCA Records. The following year, he tasted chart success with the novelty tune “Johnny’s Cash and Charley’s Pride,” produced by Jack Clement. This became Wiseman’s last top-40 country hit.
He subsequently re-emphasized his bluegrass roots. Mac Wiseman ran his own bluegrass festival at Renfro Valley, Kentucky in 1970-83 and recorded most of his 50+ albums with bluegrass instrumentation.
Ronnie Milsap and Mac Wiseman celebrate their induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Photo: Alan Poizner / CMA
But in 1979, he returned to the country charts with a version of the pop oldie “My Blue Heaven,” recorded with jazz great Woody Herman. During the 1980s, Wiseman made albums with collaborators including Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Del McCoury and Brother Oswald.
In 1986, Wiseman was one of the founding members of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). He was the narrator of the 1992 film documentary High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music. He was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame the following year.
He was elected the president of R.O.P.E. (the Reunion of Professional Entertainers) in 1990 and remained so for the next four years. This organization’s goal is to build a retirement home for country entertainers in Music City. Beginning in 1997, Wiseman was also a four-term secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Musicians Local 257 on Music Row.
He was saluted with a career-overview, six-CD, boxed set in 2003. A second, four-CD set appeared in 2006. Both were issued by Germany’s Bear Family label.
Mac Wiseman and folk star John Prine joined forces for the acclaimed 2007 album Standard Songs for Average People. In 2008, Wiseman was given a National Heritage Fellowship award from the National Endowment for the Arts. His election to the Country Music Hall of Fame came in 2014.
This was the same year that he re-ignited his solo recording career with the homespun CD Songs From My Mother’s Hand. At age 90, he collaborated with writer Walt Trott on his 2015 autobiography All My Memories Fit to Print. His collaborations with Americana artists Peter Cooper and Thomm Jutz resulted in the 2017 album of newly composed material, I Sang the Songs.
Wiseman has five children, including Randy, Sheila, Christine, Maxine, and Scott.
The public memorial service was held Wednesday (Feb. 27) at the Spring Hill Funeral Home in Madison, Tennessee.
Bonnaroo Adds Updates To Plaza Areas For 2019
/by Lorie HollabaughThe 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will see a variety of unprecedented experiences throughout the Plazas, including live performances and light-based art installations unlike anything previously seen in the festival’s long, creative history.
Plaza 2 will be transformed into “Roo’s Sanctuary Of Self Love,” curated By Hayley Williams of Paramore. Bonnaroovians visiting the BougieRoo area will have the opportunity to get festival ready with hair styling by Good Dye Young, mini spa treatments, glitter stations and flower crowns. In addition, Services In The Sanctuary will offer feature everything from and nightly themed dance parties to alternative therapies and panels on mental health and self-love. Fans will also get a chance to win a makeover with Brian O’Connor of Good Dye Young and meet Williams herself.
Among the new Plazas will be “Where In The Woods,” located on the Eastern woods of Bonnaroo’s campground, near both VIP camping and Plaza 2. “Where In The Woods” will transform the forest into an unforgettable magical landscape for late-night fun and daytime escape from reality. The Where Stage will feature DJs and surprise sets late into the night with an otherworldly dance floor.
Plaza 9 will be dubbed “Bayou Libre,” curated by the New Orleans entertainment collective FREEWATER. An interactive experience inspired by the landscape and the spirits of the swamp, Bayou Libre will be a place where Bonnaroovians can relax in the shade during the day and experience parties late into the night. FREEWATER will bring musical acts as well as some secret performances from New Orleans-based artists featured on the main Bonnaroo lineup.
Plaza 7 will feature “Whiskey Jam At The Ville,” curated by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and local maker-space Fort Houston. Located right next to The Grove, “Whiskey Jam At The Ville” will give festival attendees a chance to sample the best in Nashville’s live music, food, art, and more. Whiskey Jam, a local Nashville favorite for weekly live music events, will host a Wednesday night kick-off part and present surprise musical acts throughout the weekend.
Brooklyn’s House of Yes and Little Cinema return to Plaza 3 in 2019, once again offering up thrilling performance spectacles and one-of-a-kind dance party madness. Dirty Circus will feature jaw-dropping circus acts, drag queens with fantastic feats of skill, while Little Cinema and Cinema Club will present interactive immersive screenings. The new Day Lounge and Night Owl Cinema series will also provide shade and late night entertainment. Bonnaroovians are also all invited to Plaza 3’s opening night and closing night parties, as well as what will be a certain highlight of this year’s event – the first-ever Bonnaroo pride parade. The festival has always provided a place of inclusiveness and innovation, though Bonnaroovians will now see the spirit manifest into a trail of radical expression and celebration.
The Grove at Plaza 7 is back again in 2019 with plenty of shade along with art installations, hammocks, and much more. At night, Nashville’s Fort Houston will transform the beautiful tree-filled space into something even more special with the promise of more lights and experiences than ever before, including the return of “Tonalism,” an all-night ambient music experience by DUBLAB. The “Tonalism” events will feature live performances and DJ sets in an environment transformed by light projections, art installations, and other various multimedia elements. Visitors will be encouraged to lie down and listen for a transformative and contemplative experience.
The Boogaloo Of Wonder at Plaza 6 will be Bonnaroovians’ go-to spot for comedy performances, artistic exploration, and entertainment of all sorts. Lineup details and more will be unveiled soon.
The Tower at Plaza 4 offers attendees a convenient stop to or from their camp to grab food, crafts, coffee, and more. Located right near the entrance to Centeroo, The Tower will also host festival favorites like the Bonnaroo Census as well as inspiring art, and more.
The newly revamped VIP Campground Plaza will feature air-conditioning, private bars, complimentary Wi-Fi, daily yoga classes, games, live video feeds of the festival performances, and some special surprises. Located close to Plazas 2 and 3, the VIP Campground Plaza is available exclusively to VIP patrons.
Tickets, including General Admission (four-day), VIP (4 Day), Platinum (4 Day) and more, are on sale now. Tier 4 tickets are nearly sold out but fans can lock in GA tickets for just $47 via ticket layaway plans.
Wide Open Music Inks Worldwide Publishing Agreement With Sony/ATV
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): Matt Stell; Josh Van Valkenburg, SVP, Sony/ATV; Paul Sikes; Victoria Goodvin, Wide Open Music; Ash Bowers; Jimmie Allen; Troy Tomlinson, President/CEO, Sony/ATV; Tom Luteran, VP, Sony/ATV
Wide Open Music has entered into a worldwide publishing agreement with Sony/ATV Nashville. The principals of the indie publishing company are songwriter/producer Ash Bowers and business partner Steve Williams.
The Wide Open Music writer roster includes Jimmie Allen, Ash Bowers, Matt Stell and Paul Sikes.
“Steve and I are very proud of our songwriters and want the best opportunities and the best team surrounding them, which is why we are excited to partner with Sony/ATV,” said Bowers.
“We admire what Ash and Steve have built in a relatively short period of time and feel fortunate to be able to come alongside them in building for the future,” said Sony/ATV Nashville’s President/CEO Troy Tomlinson.
Chicago-Based Company Acquires Fontanel Property
/by Jessica NicholsonChicago-based BlueRoad Ventures has acquired the 167-acre Fontanel property, located at 4133 Whites Creek Pike, for $14.5 million, according to the Nashville Post.
The property includes the Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheater, as well as The Inn at Fontanel, and was sold by owners and music industry veterans Dale Morris and Marc Oswald. The property has been on the market for approximately one year.
The site, which was originally built in 1988 for country artist Barbara Mandrell, also includes Natchez Hills Winery and Tasting Room, Adventure Works Ziplines, Cafe Fontanella, and Prichard’s Distillery, among others.
BlueRoad Ventures had not responded to requests for comment at press time.
Tayler Bock Named Chief Business Officer At Tempo
/by Lorie HollabaughTayler Bock has been appointed Chief Business Officer for Nashville-based music business software company Tempo. Bock will oversee Tempo’s day-to-day business operations and all future projects for the company.
Prior to his role at Tempo, Bock was most recently an agent at Buddy Lee Attractions. He also previously worked as an agent at ArtistLive, and has worked in many aspects of the industry including tour management, venue hospitality, artist management, booking, talent buying, merchandising, and royalty collection. He has worked with artists including Wheeler Walker Jr, Ty Herndon, Terry McBride, Jon McLaughlin, Joe Denim, David Adam Byrnes, Evan Bartels, and more.
“Right now as the music industry moves further and further into a digital age, I could not be more excited to be a part of the Tempo team,” said Bock. “Bringing new aged technology to aspects of the music business that are becoming more dominant than they were years ago is a very exciting, yet challenging future!”
The company celebrated its eight-year anniversary in 2018, and offers software product lines for booking, publishing, touring and talent buying. With over 3,000 users, Tempo provides support for all aspects of the industry. Tempo staffers include founder Brittany Wegusen, Vice President of Client Relations Gwen Gude, and Alex Dolezal in client relations.
Tempo’s client roster includes Rob Thomas, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts, Lee Brice, Cole Swindell, Jon Langston, Red 11 Music, Conway Entertainment, Cara Lewis Group, Romeo Entertainment, and Kinkead Entertainment.
Major Bob Music Signs Andy Sheridan
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (Back row, L-R):: BMI’s Leslie Roberts; Landon Dirickson of Dirickson Law; Bob Doyle, President Major Bob Music. (Front row, L-R): Major Bob’s Chandler Thurston; Andy Sheridan; Tina Crawford, VP/Major Bob Music.
Major Bob Music has signed writer/producer Andy Sheridan to a worldwide publishing agreement. Sheridan is also a multi-instrumentalist and has served as Music Director on the road for artists including Hunter Hayes, Phil Vassar, and Ben Rector.
busbee Celebrates Altadena Launch With Nashville Bash
/by Lorie Hollabaugh(L-R): Alison Junker; Bethany Mako; Daniel Lee; busbee; BJ Hill; Katie Jelen; Noreen Prunier
Producer and songwriter busbee celebrated the launch of his new company, Altadena, Sunday night (Feb. 24) at The Cordelle in Nashville with a crowd of music industry friends, including top brass from partner companies Warner Music Nashville, Warner/Chappell Publishing, and Red Light Management.
A growing force in the launching and development of careers of artists, producers, and songwriters in a variety of genres, Altadena has offices in Los Angeles and Nashville. The company’s staff includes GM and VP of Creative Daniel Lee, Nashville Creative Director Noreen Prunier, and LA Creative Director Kelly Benini.
The opening included catered barbeque from Nashville’s Peg Leg Porker and a performance from attendees of Nashville’s W.O. Smith Music School, one of three local non-profits highlighted by busbee during the evening’s festivities. In addition to the W.O. Smith school, special attention was given to Porter’s Call, a Nashville organization that provides gratis counseling services to members of the arts industry, as well as Corner to Corner, a local organization that invests directly in underestimated entrepreneurs in an effort to foster the creation and growth of small businesses in Nashville’s most economically-challenged communities.
Pictured (L-R): busbee, Warner Music Nashville CEO John Esposito
Hall Of Fame Great Mac Wiseman Passes
/by Robert K OermannMac Wiseman. Photo: Stacie Hukeba
HALL OF FAME GREAT MAC WISEMAN PASSES
By Robert K. Oermann
Mac Wiseman, a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, has passed away at age 93. He died Sunday, Feb. 24.
Known as “The Voice With a Heart,” Wiseman was a hit recording artist, a record-label executive, a radio host and a music-festival impresario. He was one of the founders of the Country Music Association.
His hits included “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” “Jimmy Brown the Newsboy” and “Your Best Friend and Me.” He is also associated with such enduring favorites as “Tis Sweet to Be Remembered,” “Love Letters in the Sand,” “I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home,” “I’ll Still Write Your Name in the Sand” and “Shackles and Chains.”
During his long career he recorded with such diverse talents as Flatt & Scruggs, John Hartford, Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe, Woody Herman, Charlie Daniels, The Osborne Brothers, Johnny Cash and John Prine. He recorded for Dot, Capitol, MGM, RCA, CMH, Music Mill, Hilltop, Churchill, Starday and many other labels.
Born Malcolm B. Wiseman in 1925, he was raised in rural Virginia. He survived polio as an infant, and this affected his mobility later in life. Wiseman began playing guitar at age 12. His fluid work on the instrument and his clear, expressive tenor singing were the hallmarks of his performing style.
He started his career as a Virginia radio disc jockey in 1944. He joined Molly O’Day’s band two years later and played bass on her big hit “Tramp on the Street.”
In 1947, he was the host of WCYB radio’s Farm and Fun Time in Bristol, Virginia. He shared airtime there with country-music patriarch A.P. Carter of The Carter Family.
Wiseman then became a member of Flatt & Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys. Bill Monroe hired him in 1949, and Wiseman sang lead on the star’s bluegrass standards “Travelin’ Down This Lonesome Road” and “Can’t You Hear Me Calling.”
Mac Wiseman next joined the Louisiana Hayride on KWKH in Shreveport. While there, he toured with the legendary Hank Williams. He then moved on to the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond, Virginia in 1953.
Jo Walker-Meador inducts Mac Wiseman into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014. Photo: Donn Jones
By this time, he was leading his own band. He had signed with Dot Records in 1951 and had a top-10 hit in 1955 with “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” the theme song of a Disney TV show. He served as Dot’s A&R executive in 1956-63, moving to Los Angeles and overseeing a roster that included such stars as Jimmy C. Newman, Reno & Smiley, Bonnie Guitar, Pat Boone and Leroy Van Dyke. While on the West Coast, Wiseman became a regular on TV’s Town Hall Party and starred at The Mint in Las Vegas with The Stonemans as his backing band.
In 1958, Wiseman became one of the creators of the Country Music Association and was elected as the CMA’s first secretary. He was the youngest of the association’s organizers, and at the time of his death was the last living CMA founder.
Mac Wiseman’s Dot Records success as an artist continued with 1959’s “Jimmy Brown the Newsboy.” His next country hit came on Capitol Records in 1963. This was with the Hank Cochran song “Your Best Friend and Me.”
During the 1960s, Wiseman became popular on the collegiate folk-music circuit. He performed at The Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl and other prestigious venues.
In 1965, Mac Wiseman was hired as the manager of the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia. He moved to Nashville in 1968 and signed with RCA Records. The following year, he tasted chart success with the novelty tune “Johnny’s Cash and Charley’s Pride,” produced by Jack Clement. This became Wiseman’s last top-40 country hit.
He subsequently re-emphasized his bluegrass roots. Mac Wiseman ran his own bluegrass festival at Renfro Valley, Kentucky in 1970-83 and recorded most of his 50+ albums with bluegrass instrumentation.
Ronnie Milsap and Mac Wiseman celebrate their induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Photo: Alan Poizner / CMA
But in 1979, he returned to the country charts with a version of the pop oldie “My Blue Heaven,” recorded with jazz great Woody Herman. During the 1980s, Wiseman made albums with collaborators including Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Del McCoury and Brother Oswald.
In 1986, Wiseman was one of the founding members of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). He was the narrator of the 1992 film documentary High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music. He was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame the following year.
He was elected the president of R.O.P.E. (the Reunion of Professional Entertainers) in 1990 and remained so for the next four years. This organization’s goal is to build a retirement home for country entertainers in Music City. Beginning in 1997, Wiseman was also a four-term secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Musicians Local 257 on Music Row.
He was saluted with a career-overview, six-CD, boxed set in 2003. A second, four-CD set appeared in 2006. Both were issued by Germany’s Bear Family label.
Mac Wiseman and folk star John Prine joined forces for the acclaimed 2007 album Standard Songs for Average People. In 2008, Wiseman was given a National Heritage Fellowship award from the National Endowment for the Arts. His election to the Country Music Hall of Fame came in 2014.
This was the same year that he re-ignited his solo recording career with the homespun CD Songs From My Mother’s Hand. At age 90, he collaborated with writer Walt Trott on his 2015 autobiography All My Memories Fit to Print. His collaborations with Americana artists Peter Cooper and Thomm Jutz resulted in the 2017 album of newly composed material, I Sang the Songs.
Wiseman has five children, including Randy, Sheila, Christine, Maxine, and Scott.
The public memorial service was held Wednesday (Feb. 27) at the Spring Hill Funeral Home in Madison, Tennessee.
Todd Milsap, Son Of Ronnie Milsap, Dies
/by Jessica NicholsonJoyce Milsap, Ronnie Milsap, and Todd Milsap. Photo: Ronnie Milsap
Todd Milsap, son of country entertainer Ronnie Milsap, has died. He passed Saturday (Feb. 23) on his houseboat at Four Corners Marina in Antioch, Tennessee. Todd Milsap was 49. According to Metro Nashville PD, the death appears to be medically related.
No funeral arrangements have been released at this time. Todd Milsap is the son of Ronnie and Joyce Milsap.
“Our son Todd was a force of joy, life, creativity and giving from the moment he was born,” says the six-time Grammy winner Ronnie Milsap. “He made such a mark on our world in his years on this planet, everyone who met him was richer for it. It is too soon to even understand this loss, and I hope it’s something no one else has to bare. Please keep his three children, their mothers and Joyce and I in your prayers at such a fragile time.”
A gathering of friends and family was held on Tuesday (Feb. 26) at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home. A celebration of life was held at Woodlawn’s Dignity Hall on Wednesday (Feb. 27).
Dierks Bentley Climbs The Mountain To Bridgestone Arena
/by LB CantrellDierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, and Keith Urban perform Friday (Feb. 22) in Nashville. Photo: Dierks Bentley/Instagram
Dierks Bentley packed out Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on a dreary, rainy Friday night (Feb. 22) and reminded everyone why we all love Dierks Bentley. The sold out show was full of surprise guests, full-circle moments and authenticity.
Bentley opened the show with his latest hit, “Burning Man,” while a large LED screen displayed atmospheric videos of the desert. It was clear from the start that visuals play a big part in The Burning Man Tour.
The light rigs then lowered and Bentley’s band broke out the fiddle and the banjo for the bluegrass-flavored title track to his 2010 album Up On the Ridge.
Just when the crowd thought from the mountainous imagery that Bentley was going into another song from his latest project, The Mountain, he threw his arm up as a huge wave took over the screen and looked as if it would crash onto the stage.
“Y’all look like you’re going to the beach!” he said as he went into “Somewhere on a Beach.”
Dierks Bentley at Bridgestone Arena. Photo: Zach Belcher
When Bentley sang “Woman, Amen,” black and white images of Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Brandi Carlile, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn appeared on the screen.
Bentley then brought his stellar opener, Tenille Townes, back out to sing Elle King’s part of “Different for Girls.”
“I think things are finally starting to look up for us to hear more females on the radio,” he said. “It is different for girls, but it shouldn’t be.”
Townes was not the only guest Bentley invited out to sing with him. Fans roared when Keith Urban wandered out to shred on guitar and harmonize as Bentley sang “The Mountain.” He compared Music Row to a mountain. A photo of him, Urban and Kenny Chesney displayed on the screen as he talked about the climb to success as an artist.
Bentley then showed a photo of Urban winning the CMA Entertainer of the Year award back in November and Urban shook his head as Bentley said that he had reached the top of the mountain.
The crowd roared even louder when Miranda Lambert made her way to the stage to harmonize with the guys on some Hank and Merle.
Lambert and Urban found their sweet spot, harmonizing seamlessly on “Blue Kentucky Girl” as Bentley sat down on the stage in front of them and enjoyed their stellar harmonies with the rest of us, raising his solo cup in the air.
Before they left, Lambert thrilled the audience with a “Cowboy Take Me Away” cover.
Later, Bentley’s daughter Evelyn Bentley made an appearance to sing Brandi Carlile’s part on their collaboration from The Mountain, “Travelin’ Light.” It seems as if having a country star father has rubbed off, as she held her own for the Grammy-winning Carlile’s part; and she did it all while flossing. Bentley shook his head.
“Quit flossing and go to bed!” he said as she made her way backstage.
At one point, Bentley ‘came a little closer’ to the fans at the back of the arena to sing on a smaller stage. It was clear that Bentley wanted to be close to his fans, as he shook and slapped everyone’s hands on his way to and from the small stage. He even invited a lucky fan to shot-gun a beer with him during the party anthem “Am I the Only One.”
“It’s been a lot of years,” he said with his hand on his heart. “We’ve made a lot of fans. Thank you for holding onto us.” Bentley went into “I Hold On” reaching out to his fans and the sky when the song mentioned his father and God.
The sentiment of the night at the “largest honky tonk on lower broadway” wasn’t lost on Bentley. He was grateful, present, intentional and entertaining, leaving some wondering when he will top that mountain and be recognized as an entertainer of the year. Odds are, after Friday night, the crowd already has.
Jon Pardi got the crowd warmed up for Bentley with a plethora of hits from his Platinum California Sunrise.
Kicking the night off with his 2014 “What I Can’t Put Down” and then not wasting any time, Pardi went into his most recent MusicRow No. 1, “Night Shift.”
“We’re gonna be working that night shift tonight!” he said.
The crowd roared as the fiddle whined for the smart, “She Ain’t In It.”
“Shout out to all my hard-working men and women out there enjoying their time off in music city tonight,” he said as the audience raised their drinks and fists in the air for “Paycheck.”
Pardi also promised a new record would come out this year, and teased two tunes from the upcoming project, one called “Heartache Medication” and the other with the lyric it isn’t always the cowboy that rides away.
Audience members swayed and square danced when Pardi went into “Head Over Boots” and sang the words loudly when he performed “Heartache on the Dance Floor.”
“I know y’all got some dirt on your boots!” Pardi yelled as he closed his set with “Dirt on My Boots.”
Tenille Townes was visibly honored to open up the night at the Nashville arena. The folk-rock goddess, draped in burnt orange, performed her debut “Where You Are” and “Somebody’s Daughter,” as well as U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
“I consider it a great honor to open up this night of music for you,” Townes said. “I’m not going to forget this night, Nashville. I’ll hold it close.”
Hot Country Knights. Photo: Zach Belcher
The Hot Country Knights got everything started with their covers of 90s classics like Travis Tritt’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”
A cousin of one of the band members made an appearance to cover Rhett Akin’s “That Ain’t My Truck.” Coincidentally, his voice was uncannily similar to Akin’s son Thomas Rhett. The opening band also had a Dierks Bentley sound-alike, but there’s no way he could have pulled Bentley’s style off.
The Knights also invited Sawyer Brown’s Mark Miller out to sing “Some Girls Do.”
Friday night was a night of great music, real fan connection and a lot of fun. Dierks Bentley’s Burning Man Tour is one not to forget.
NSAI Reveals Winners Of The 19th Annual Song Contest
/by LB CantrellPictured (L-R): Jacob Noe, Michael Roth
NSAI, along with presenting partners CMT and C.F. Martin & Co., is proud to announce Jacob Noe as the Grand Prize Song+Lyric winner of NSAI’s annual Song Contest with his entry “Weight of Words” (co-written with Canaan Stanley), and Michael Roth as the Lyric Only Winner with his entry “The Price Of A Song.”
With the addition of presenting partner C.F. Martin & Co. this year, the Grand Prize winning package was bigger than ever and included $5,000 cash, a one-year single-song contract with ole, mentoring sessions with legendary hit songwriter Craig Wiseman and musician, writer, performer and Martin ambassador Hunter Hayes, and a Martin guitar. Additional prizes included a round-trip flight to Nashville, TN, tickets to the 2019 CMT Music Awards, a mentoring session with a CMT executive, a performance slot during the 2019 Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival and more. The total prize package was valued at over $15,000. All eight runner-up entrants in the Song+Lyric category also each were awarded their very own Martin Dreadnought Junior acoustic electric guitar, as well as an industry meeting and a year membership to NSAI.
Roth, the winner of the Lyric-Only category won a prize package that included a mentoring session with hit songwriter Lori McKenna, a Martin guitar, industry access, a round-trip flight to Nashville, TN, a pass to the annual Music Biz conference and more.
Beating out nearly 2,600 entries, each placing song advanced through several levels of judging with the final judging event taking place on February 5, 2019, where the Grand Prize-winning song was determined by a panel of elite judges.
Pictured (L-R): Chris Martin, Craig Thatcher, NSAI’s Bart Herbison and Lindsay Gum, John Ozier, Jordan Walker, and Brett James
Judges included Chris Martin (Chairman & CEO, C.F. Martin & Co.), Craig Thatcher (Recording artist and International Clinician/Ambassador for C.F. Martin & Co.), Brett James (Grammy-Winning Songwriter/Producer), Jordan Walker (Manager, Music & Talent, CMT) and John Ozier (Vice President, Creative, ole). For the final judging, each song was played and received a score of 1-10 from each panelist. The song with the highest score in total was declared the winner.