The Bonnaroo Works Fund (BWF), the charitable arm of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, is accepting online applications for the 2015 grant cycle beginning today. The Fund gives back to communities that need it the most by awarding funding to arts, education and environmental nonprofits.
Those interested should visit bonnarooworksfund.org for more information or apply directly online at app.wizehive.com/appform/menu/Bonnaroo. The deadline is March 15, 2015, and grants will be announced in May 2015.
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ASCAP will present a DIY-U course on health insurance on Tuesday, Jan. 13 from 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. ASCAP has partnered with Music Alliance for the informational workshop, which is aimed at helping songwriters and industry members understand their options for health insurance, and how to navigate the healthcare system.
To reserve a spot, email awhite@ascap.com.
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Debbie Zavitson and David Kent
Debbie Z Entertainment will be representing the catalog of songwriter David Kent. A writer of Blake Shelton’s No. 1 hit “Austin,” Kent moved to Nashville to focus on songwriting in 1990 after being on the road with Hall & Oats playing keyboards.
Kent has had top 10 hits and cuts with Martina McBride, Rodney Atkins, Neal McCoy, Tracy Lawrence and others.
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paNASH Style LLC continues to grow its staff with the hiring of Associate Stylist Mackenzie “Teddy” Robert.
Robert has experience in styling and artist brand development, and has styled artists from Kacey Musgraves to Hunter Hayes. She most recently worked on the brand development behind Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass” release. She has also held positions with the Annie Moses Band, Big Yellow Dog Music, Sony RED Music, Show Dog – Universal Music, and 12 South Entertainment.
“I am excited about the expertise Mackenzie brings to the table, including her knowledge and experience in branding for recording artists,” says Lori Bumgarner, owner of paNASH Style.
Big Machine Records Signs Waterloo Revival
/by Jessica NicholsonWaterloo Revival with Big Machine Records CEO/founder Scott Borchetta.
Big Machine Records is set to release new music from duo Waterloo Revival. The duo’s debut single “Hit The Road” is already gaining traction on Sirius XM’s The Highway. The single was penned by George Birge (lead vocals/guitar) and Cody Cooper (guitar/backing vocals), as well as songwriters Dustin James and Jason Carter.
“Hit The Road” will impact country radio Feb. 9, with Waterloo Revival currently working on additional music for their debut album. The duo began collaborating on songs in the Austin, Texas, area at age 15. In 2012, Waterloo Revival was created, combining southern rock influence with a touch of Nashville country.
“’Hit The Road’ hit me over the head first on listen – great voice, great melody, great song.” expressed Big Machine Label Group President and CEO Scott Borchetta.
“We’ve had such a great time performing for the people of Austin but are so excited to take the next step musically with our move to Nashville,” said Birge. “It is a dream come true to work with Scott and the team at Big Machine. We are so thankful for their support with ‘Hit The Road’ and can’t wait for more fans to hear it.”
Cooper adds, “The love that we have received for the single has been so overwhelming. We’ve worked hard to make music that the fans will enjoy and are excited to share more soon.”
Waterloo Revival joins Superstars Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts as well as talented newcomers Danielle Bradbery, Laura Bell Bundy, The Cadillac Three, Seth Alley and Lauren Jenkins on Big Machine Records.
Weekly Register: 2015 Starts With Sales Slump
/by Sarah Skates“Old Boots, New Dirt” starts 2015 at the top of the chart.
Album sales took a deep dive between the last week of 2014 and the first week of 2015. Overall sales sank 47%, moving 5.274 million this week, while country sales fell 55%, moving 561K. This holiday shopping hangover is on par with the same time period last year.
The overall top new artist album belongs to Louisa Wendorff. The Belmont student’s EP, Arrow, sold 2.8K TW and 3.2K RTD. She gained recent popularity thanks to her mash-up cover of two Taylor Swift songs.
At the top of the country album chart, Garth Brooks is replaced by Jason Aldean who sold 20K this week. On the all-genre chart, Swift stays put at No. 1 with 244K of 1989.
Top 5 Country Albums TW
Jason Aldean 20K
Luke Bryan 19K
Carrie Underwood 19K
Sam Hunt 16K
Garth Brooks 14K
Top 5 Country Tracks TW
Carrie Underwood “Something in the Water” 46K
Tim McGraw “Shotgun Rider” 45K
Jason Aldean “Burnin’ It Down” 40K
Florida Georgia Line “Sun Daze” 37K
Eric Church “Talladega” 34K
Maddie & Tae’s “Girl in a Country Song” shimmies past the 500K mark this week, with 516K RTD.
Numbers according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Underwood, Hayes, Lady Antebellum Win at People’s Choice Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonHunter Hayes and The Band Perry at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images
Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, and Taylor Swift were among the top winners at Wednesday evening’s (Jan. 7) People’s Choice Awards.
Hunter Hayes earned Favorite Male Country Artist, while Underwood was named Favorite Female Country Artist, bringing her to a total of seven career People’s Choice Award honors. Lady Antebellum earned a nod for Favorite Country Group.
In the pop categories, Taylor Swift earned Favorite Pop Artist, as well as Favorite Song for “Shake It Off.”
NBC musical competition The Voice, which features coach Blake Shelton, earned an honor for Favorite Competition TV Show.
Lady Antebellum performs at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images
Artist Pics: Tyler Farr, Josh Abbott Band, WME
/by Kelsey_GradyTyler Farr performed this past Saturday (Jan. 3) during halftime of the NFL Wild Card Game of the Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Tyler Farr performs at the NFL Wild Card Game
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Josh Abbott Band kicked off 2015 with two back-to-back shows at the World’s Largest Honky-Tonk, performing new music from their forthcoming full-length album for over 5,000 eager fans each night at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas.
Josh Abbott Band perform at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas
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An American flag flown over special forces base, Camp Montrond, in Bagram, Afghanistan has returned to its homeland after being purchased by William Morris Endeavor’s Greg Oswald to benefit Charlie Daniels‘ Journey Home Project.
Pictured (L-R): David Corlew, Mercedez Longever, Greg Oswald, CW3 Chief Warrant Officer Scott Schroeder, and wife Laura Schroeder. Photo: Jeremy Westby
McGraw, Hill Offload Leiper’s Fork Farmland For $3 Million
/by Jessica NicholsonMcGraw and Hill at the 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards.
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have sold 131 acres of farmland in Nashville’s Leiper’s Fork area to a Texas family for approximately $3 million, according to The Tennessean.
The land is part of more than 750 acres of land the couple listed for sale more than a year ago. The remaining 621 acres are available as a whole or in two parcels. The remaining acres are available for $18.5 million.
Gigabit Technology Coming To Nashville?
/by Eric T. ParkerBroadcom, a leader in semiconductors announced the world’s first DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem system-on-a-chip (SoC). With it, home speeds could increase to faster than a Gigabit per second (Gbps). Video speeds are said to see a 50 percent increase in efficiency. Downstream speeds will probably be about four times that of upstream speeds, notes PCworld.
Comcast currently advertises the “fastest Internet download speed” of up to 505 Mbps, at $400/mo. Google Fiber offers gigabit speeds in specific markets, and AT&T’s GigaPower is also expected in the city soon. Comcast executive vice president Tony Werner estimates that the Internet service provider will service 1 Gbps speeds to customers in 2015 and beyond. Liberty Global, the London-headquartered broadband provider, also spoke within the same timeframe.
“DOCSIS 3.1 is a critical technology for Comcast to provide even faster, more reliable data speeds and features such as IP video to our subscribers’ homes by harnessing more spectrum in the downstream,” said Werner.
In a recent WPLN article, Emily Siner interviewed Todd Oney with Nashville Electric Service who noted the fiber optic cable Nashville began laying in the 90s is theoretically capable of supporting 50 terabits per second (50,000 times faster than a gigabit), but equipment to convert that data is not yet capable of handling those speeds.
John Oates Taps Brett Eldredge, Ashley Monroe For TJ Martell Benefit
/by Sarah SkatesJohn Oates
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member John Oates will lead a benefit for the T.J. Martell Foundation at City Winery in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 26. Special guests for the evening include Brett Eldredge and Ashley Monroe.
The event will celebrate the release of his documentary/concert DVD Another Good Road which will be available Jan. 20.
Oates will perform songs from Another Good Road, selections from his previous release Good Road To Follow as well as some classic Hall & Oates hits. In addition to the DVD release, which includes a bonus live CD (PS Records /Warner Elektra), Another Good Road will debut as a TV special on music channel Palladia, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015 at 9 PM.
To purchase tickets visit www.CityWinery.com.
* This event has been previously rescheduled. All tickets purchased prior will be honored for the Jan. 26 show. For more information please visit www.tjmartell.org.
Gretchen Peters To Be Honored at CMHoF ‘Poets and Prophets’ Series
/by Jessica NicholsonGretchen Peters
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Gretchen Peters will offer stories and songs during the Country Music Hall of Fame series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. Peters will perform at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m.
Museum editor Michael Gray will host the 90-minute program, which will include recordings, photos and film clips from the museum’s Frist Library and Archive. The Poets and Prophets series is included with museum admission, and is free to museum members. The interview and performance will be streamed live on the museum’s website. Following the program, Peters will sign limited edition, commemorative Hatch Show Print posters.
Atlanta’s Shaky Boots Festival To Debut With Star-Packed Lineup
/by Sarah SkatesSet to perform are genre leaders Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry and many more, alongside numerous artists from outside of mainstream country.
The three-stage event is from the producers of the established rock event Shaky Knees Festival and will be held at the KSU Sports and Entertainment Park in Kennesaw, Ga.
“Country music has such a rich history in the South,” says Shaky Boots co-founder Tim Sweetwood, “and I was surprised that Georgia doesn’t have a first-class festival dedicated to the genre. Music is my absolute passion, and with the overwhelmingly positive response to Shaky Knees in three short years, it just felt like the right time to launch Shaky Boots.”
Two-day weekend passes go on sale Thurs., Jan. 8 at 10 a.m. EST starting at $169. VIP ticket packages and exclusive luxury suites are also available. For more information, visit shakyboots.com/tickets.
The confirmed Shaky Boots 2015 lineup includes:
Blake Shelton
Brad Paisley
Dierks Bentley
Rascal Flatts
The Band Perry
Dwight Yoakam
Jason Isbell
Old Crow Medicine Show
Sara Evans
Justin Moore
Joe Nichols
Eli Young Band
Kip Moore
Jana Kramer
Josh Thompson
Kristian Bush
The Devil Makes Three
Brothers Osborne
Cracker
The Cadillac Three
The Whiskey Gentry
Drake White and the Big Fire
Amanda Shires
Claire Dunn
The Railers
Brooke Eden
Jim White vs. The Packway Handle Band
…and more to be announced
Industry Ink: Bonnaroo, ASCAP, Debbie Z Entertainment, paNASH Style
/by Jessica NicholsonThose interested should visit bonnarooworksfund.org for more information or apply directly online at app.wizehive.com/
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To reserve a spot, email awhite@ascap.com.
• • •
Debbie Zavitson and David Kent
Debbie Z Entertainment will be representing the catalog of songwriter David Kent. A writer of Blake Shelton’s No. 1 hit “Austin,” Kent moved to Nashville to focus on songwriting in 1990 after being on the road with Hall & Oats playing keyboards.
Kent has had top 10 hits and cuts with Martina McBride, Rodney Atkins, Neal McCoy, Tracy Lawrence and others.
• • •
Robert has experience in styling and artist brand development, and has styled artists from Kacey Musgraves to Hunter Hayes. She most recently worked on the brand development behind Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass” release. She has also held positions with the Annie Moses Band, Big Yellow Dog Music, Sony RED Music, Show Dog – Universal Music, and 12 South Entertainment.
“I am excited about the expertise Mackenzie brings to the table, including her knowledge and experience in branding for recording artists,” says Lori Bumgarner, owner of paNASH Style.