Kelly Clarkson will host her inaugural benefit concert, Miracle on Broadway, on Saturday, Dec. 20 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. More of the Nashville industry’s top vocalists will be joining her, including Reba, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, Kacey Musgraves, Hayley Williams (of Paramore), Charles Esten, and Meghan Trainor. Performers will give their renditions of Christmas classics, and join Clarkson in performing songs from her Christmas album, Wrapped in Red.
Proceeds benefit Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Monroe Harding Children’s Home, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Thistle Farms.
“I love my adopted hometown of Nashville with all of my heart and I am so honored to be able to give back to the community alongside some of my favorite artists and friends for my first annual Miracle on Broadway benefit concert!” says Clarkson. “I thank all of the artists joining me, as well as the people of Nashville for making me feel so welcome over the last 7 years I have called it home!”
Tickets go on sale Saturday, Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. via livenation.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or box office.
• • •
Thomas Rhett
and
Steve Moakler have joined the lineup of performers for Creative Nation’s Preston Taylor Ministries benefit on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 3rd & Lindsley. Previously announced performers include
Luke Laird, Barry Dean, and
Natalie Hemby, as well as new artist Maggie Chapman.
All proceeds from the event benefit Preston Taylor Ministries. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the event begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at
ticketweb.com.
• • •
Jason Aldean‘s ninth annual “Concert For The Cure” raised $660,909 to benefit Susan G. Komen and breast cancer research. the event took place Saturday (Oct. 11) in Detroit.
Photo (L-R): Tina Binson (Komen Detroit Planning Committee member and sponsor), Aldean and Denise Stewart (survivor and Komen Southwest Michigan Development Director). Photo: Loreen Sarkis/Getty Images
Cole Swindell Makes Grand Ole Opry Debut
/by Jessica NicholsonWarner Bros. Records artist Cole Swindell made his Grand Ole Opry debut last week, introducing a three-song set including his two consecutive chart-topping hits “Chillin’ It” and “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” as well as his latest song, “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey.”
“Standing in that circle where other artists who have paved the way for country music has stood is something a new artist like me will never forget,” said Swindell. “Of all the places I have played so far in my career from a club to an arena to a stadium I have never experienced a feeling like I did on that stage. I’m glad I was able to share that moment with my family and friends.”
Cole Swindell during his Grand Ole Opry debut.
CMHoF To Honor Musicians with 'Dylan, Cash and the Nashville Cats' Exhibit
/by Jessica NicholsonThe Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will pay tribute to the Nashville of the 1960s and 1970s, when artists such as Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and others came to record with Nashville’s top notch cast of musicians, known as the Nashville Cats.
A core group of Nashville musicians, including David Briggs, Kenny Buttrey, Fred Carter Jr., Charlie Daniels, Pete Drake, Mac Gayden, Lloyd Green, Ben Keith, Grady Martin, Charlie McCoy, Wayne Moss, Weldon Myrick, Norbert Putnam, Jerry Reed, Pig Robbins, and Buddy Spicher, played on influential records including The Byrds’ “Hickory Wind,” Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay,” Baez’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and other classics.
The CMHoF’s new major exhibition, Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City, will open Friday, March 27, 2015 for a nearly two-year run, ending Dec. 31, 2016. The exhibition will be accompanied by educational programs, live performances, panel discussions and more.
For more information, visit countrymusichalloffame.org.
‘Can You Duet’ Singer/Songwriter Signs Publishing and PRO Deals
/by Eric T. ParkerPictured (L-R): Green Hills Music Group’s Woody Bomar, SESAC’s John Mullins, Karg, SESAC’s Tim Fink and Grin Like A Dog Songs’ Leslie Mitchell. Photo: Bev Moser
Singer/songwriter Rich Karg recently celebrated signing of a co-publishing deal with Woody Bomar‘s Green Hills Music Group and Steve and Leslie Mitchell‘s Grin Like A Dog Songs at the SESAC offices, where he concurrently signed for representation by the PRO.
Karg has recently performed across the country after being featured with his brother on CMT’s Can You Duet.
Charity Events: Kelly Clarkson, Creative Nation, Jason Aldean
/by Jessica NicholsonProceeds benefit Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Monroe Harding Children’s Home, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Thistle Farms.
“I love my adopted hometown of Nashville with all of my heart and I am so honored to be able to give back to the community alongside some of my favorite artists and friends for my first annual Miracle on Broadway benefit concert!” says Clarkson. “I thank all of the artists joining me, as well as the people of Nashville for making me feel so welcome over the last 7 years I have called it home!”
Tickets go on sale Saturday, Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. via livenation.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or box office.
• • •
Thomas Rhett
Thomas Rhett and Steve Moakler have joined the lineup of performers for Creative Nation’s Preston Taylor Ministries benefit on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 3rd & Lindsley. Previously announced performers include Luke Laird, Barry Dean, and Natalie Hemby, as well as new artist Maggie Chapman.
All proceeds from the event benefit Preston Taylor Ministries. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the event begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at ticketweb.com.
• • •
Jason Aldean‘s ninth annual “Concert For The Cure” raised $660,909 to benefit Susan G. Komen and breast cancer research. the event took place Saturday (Oct. 11) in Detroit.
Photo (L-R): Tina Binson (Komen Detroit Planning Committee member and sponsor), Aldean and Denise Stewart (survivor and Komen Southwest Michigan Development Director). Photo: Loreen Sarkis/Getty Images
Fourth Annual 'No Shave November' Launches Nov. 1
/by Troy_StephensonParticipants can register now at www.nsn4sjk.com, where they can compete for several different titles and rally friends to their team. Partakers will gather on Friday, Oct. 31, at the CMA building to photograph their freshly shaved faces before the competition gets underway. This year, Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood, who has been appointed as 2014 Chairman of the Beard, is ready to put his best beard forward.
“I’ve visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital many times and participated in No Shave November last year and loved it, so for me it was a no brainer to say yes to being Chairman of the Beard,” says Haywood.
Keifer Thompson, of the duo Thompson Square and last year’s Chairman of the Beard, hopes to defend his crown as the multi-year top fundraiser. “It’s another year and team Thompson Square, once again, is going to bring the beard baby!” Thompson added, “We’ve been blessed to raise the most money for the last two years and we plan on raising even more this year.”
No Shave November is using all platforms to encourage the music industry to recruit as many men (and dedicated women) as possible to join the team, and to donate at least $30 to St. Jude. In 2013, NSN raised an impressive $220,000 for the organization, with $396,000 raised over the past three years to support St. Jude.
Lee Ann Womack Reveals Fall Tour
/by Jessica NicholsonSugar Hill artist Lee Ann Womack will embark on her The Way I’m Livin’ Tour this fall. The singer has lined up nine dates on the trek so far in support of her The Way I’m Livin’ album, released September 23. The outing will begin in Tucson, Ariz. on Oct. 16, and ending Nov. 14 in Washington, D.C.
For more information, visit leeannwomack.com.
Lee Ann Womack The Way I’m Livin’ Tour Dates
Oct. 16 | Fox Tucson Theatre in Tucson, Ariz.
Oct. 17 | Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Oct. 18 | Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge, Calif.
Oct. 22 | City Winery in Napa, Calif.
Oct. 23 | Cascade Theater in Redding, Calif.
Oct. 24 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Grass Valley, Calif.
Nov. 12 | World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Del.
Nov. 13 | Bergen County Performing Arts Center in Englewood, N.J.
Nov. 14 | Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
Swift Samples New Track from '1989'
/by Eric T. Parker“Out of the Woods” will be available for download on iTunes once the clock strikes midnight (Tuesday, Oct. 14). The track is co-written and co-produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff (lead singer of fun.), with vocal production by Max Martin.
“‘Out Of The Woods’ is one of my favorite songs on 1989,” said Swift. “A goal of mine on this album was to make sure the songs sounded exactly the way the emotions felt. This song is about the fragility of some relationships…where you never feel like you are standing on solid ground. This song stresses that even if the relationship is breakable and fragile, it doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile and beautiful.”
1989 will be released by Big Machine Records on Oct. 21. Swift’s current single is promoted to pop radio by Republic Records. The international star just wrapped a trip to France and London where she appeared on the X Factor UK, Graham Norton Show and BBC Radio. Promotional partnerships for the 2014 release include Subway, Diet Coke, Target and Keds.
Swift has career record sales in excess of 30 million albums and almost 80 million song downloads worldwide. Her album RED, released almost two years ago, has sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, including more than 1.2 million copies in the U.S. in its first week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_PZKYtu5hM&feature=youtu.be
MusicRowLife: Holly Williams, Bucky Covington, Jerrod Niemann
/by Kelsey_GradyStella June Coleman
Holly Williams and Chris Coleman welcomed their baby girl, Stella June, to the world Tuesday, September 30th at 1:45 p.m. in Nashville. The newborn weighed 7 lbs., 12 oz., and measured 21 inches long.
Williams, 33, is the granddaughter of Hank Williams, and daughter of Hank Williams, Jr.
• • •
Kennedy Taylor Covington. Photo: Donna Cook
Bucky Covington and Katherine Cook welcomed their baby girl, Kennedy Taylor Covington, to the family Oct. 10.
“We are beyond excited to start our life as a family and can’t wait to see what adventures this little blessing has in store for us,” the first-time father said.
Covington recently released “Buzzin,” his first single as an independent artist, and is currently in the studio working on new music and co-producing a project alongside producer Dale Oliver.
• • •
Jason Aldean To Host Westwood One Thanksgiving Special
/by Jessica NicholsonAldean will share songs from his new album, Old Boots, New Dirt, as well as stories behind the songs during the four-hour special. Those songs include his single “Burnin’ It Down,” along with “Two Night Town,” Just Gettin’ Started,” “Tonight Looks Good on You,” and the title track.
Stations can air A Thanksgiving Weekend Special from Thursday, Nov. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 30 between 6:00 am and 12 midnight. For more information, contact Donny Walker at dwalker@westwoodone.com.
BMG And Maxx Music Publishing Sign Songwriter Sam Mizell
/by Troy_StephensonBack Row (L-R): Justin Nicolet (Maxx Music Publishing), John Allen (BMG Chrysalis), Sara Knabe (BMG Chrysalis), Chris Oglesby (BMG Chrysalis). Front Row (L-R): Mitchell Solarek (Maxx Music Publishing), Kevin Lane (BMG Chrysalis), Sam Mizell, Kos Weaver (BMG Chrysalis), Daniel Lee (BMG Chrysalis).
BMG and Maxx Music Publishing have just signed a joint venture together, and the first writer signed under this JV is Sam Mizell. Mizell’s cuts include “Whiskey” (Jana Kramer), “Peaches and Caroline” (The Band Perry), “Was I The Only One” (Jordin Sparks), “The Motions” and “You Are Everything” (Matthew West), among others.
Mizell has earned two ASCAP Song of the Year honors, one BMI award, and 11 ASCAP Top 25 Most Played awards.