Leadership Music alumni recently participated in Family Night at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, one of Leadership Music’s annual community outreach projects. The participants sorted food for the food bank, which serves 46 middle Tennessee counties.
Pictured (L-R): LM alums Chandra LaPlume, Carey Nelson Burch, LM Executive Director Debbie Linn, Lori Condon, President/CEO of Second Harvest and LM board member Jaynee Day, Stacy Widelitz and Jay Frank
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CBSSports.com and ACM Lifting Lives are partnering to create a celebrity fantasy football sweepstakes benefitting ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music. By making a donation to the charity, Country music fans can enter to win the opportunity to play in a CBSSports.com Fantasy Football Commissioner league with a Country star, including Sara Evans, Jana Kramer, Darius Rucker, Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook, Chris Young, Florida Georgia Line, Love and Theft and Montgomery Gentry. Visit www.ACMLiftingLives.org before Aug. 9 to make a donation and enter the sweepstakes.
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The 2nd Building Bridges Golf Tournament presented by the Juri Bunetta Friendship Foundation will be Oct. 6 at Fairvue Plantation Golf and Country Club in Gallatin, Tenn. The foundation was started by Dawn and Al Bunetta in memory of their son Juri.
The tournament will benefit Safe Haven Family Shelter, which helps the homeless, teens in crisis and others with life changing emergencies.
The Building Bridges event also includes a silent auction, online auction and dinner. Details, registration and sponsorship opportunities at www.jbfriendship.org.
Lineup For 'Country's Night to Rock' Gets Hotter
/by Sherod RobertsonLuke Bryan will perform during “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” airing Tuesday, Aug. 5 on the ABC Television Network.
Florida Georgia Line will perform on the TV special.
Reigning CMA Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town returns as hosts for this summer’s television music event CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock, which airs Tuesday, Aug. 5 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC.
The event brings together four sold-out evenings of live music from June’s CMA Music Festival, which celebrated Country music in its Nashville epicenter.
Adding their chops and charm to the show are Luke Bryan, Eric Church with special guest Lzzy Hale, Florida Georgia Line, Brantley Gilbert, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton with season 2 contestant of The Voice Gwen Sebastian, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell, The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban.
The primetime television special, CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock, debuted in 2004 on CBS-TV as a two-hour event. In 2005, it moved to the ABC-TV, and then expanded to three hours in 2009. The special will air annually on ABC-TV through 2021 and is executive-produced by Robert Deaton.
Photos: Donn Jones/CMA
Blake Shelton and Gwen Sebastian will appear on the show.
Brantley Gilbert will perform during “Country’s Night to Rock.”
Lady Antebellum’s LP Field performance will air.
ASCAP Announces Date for Country Awards
/by contributorBy: Laura Hostelley
The 52nd annual ASCAP Country Music Awards will be held Monday, November 3rd at downtown Nashville’s Music City Center for the second consecutive year.
The invitation-only, black-tie event will honor the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most performed Country music songs of the past year. Special awards will also celebrate ASCAP’s 100th anniversary. Throughout the evening, songwriters and artists will deliver live performances of the top five most performed songs of 2013.
Recent recipients of ASCAP Country Music Awards include George Strait, Alan Jackson, Ben Hayslip, Josh Kear, Lyle Lovett, Bob McDill, Brad Paisley, Don Williams and many more.
Facebook's New App for Public Figures
/by contributorBy: Laura Hostelley
On July 17, Facebook launched Facebook Mentions, allowing those with verified public figure pages to better interact with fans and each other on the go.
In a dedicated and streamlined newsfeed, the iOS-interface allows users to see what fans are saying about them as well as join conversations, post updates, host live Q&A sessions and see posts from people they follow.
Stars such as William Shatner, Whoopi Goldberg and Rachel Zoe have already begun using the app, which is currently limited to the U.S. Shatner’s analysis shares concerns and compares Mentions to the alternative Facebook Pages app.
To access Mentions, visit facebook.com/mentions.
The Band Perry, Miranda Lambert To Perform on 'Fashion Rocks'
/by Sarah SkatesFashion Rocks performers.
The Band Perry and Miranda Lambert are among the performers on Fashion Rocks, a television special celebrating the relationship between fashion and music. Ryan Seacrest will host the show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Sept. 9, airing live on CBS from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT. For the first time, Fashion Rocks will take place during Fashion Week.
The evening will also feature performances by Afrojack, Duran Duran, Jennifer Lopez, KISS, Nico & Vinz, Pitbull, Rita Ora, and Usher. Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets will go on sale Friday, Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. ET and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.
Artist Pics: Eli Young Band, Ray Stevens, Lucas Hoge
/by Troy_StephensonTuesday night (7/22), Eli Young Band performed their Top 20-and-rising new single “Dust” on the Late Show With David Letterman. Watch it here.
Eli Young Band
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Country star Ray Stevens packed the house at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater on Saturday, July 19 for a Songwriter Session. Backed by a ten-piece band and three backup singers, Stevens belted through some of his biggest hits including “The Streak” and “Everything Is Beautiful.”
Ray Stevens (L) and historian John Rumble (R) discuss Stevens’ career.
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Nashville singer/songwriter Lucas Hoge recently made a music video for his new summertime single “Flip Flops.” The clip features a guest appearance by ARCA Racing’s “fast-rising” star, Justin Boston who portrays Hoge’s character in a sequence of flashbacks.
(L-R) Lucas Hoge, Justin Boston
Benefit News (7/24/24)
/by Sarah SkatesLeadership Music alumni recently participated in Family Night at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, one of Leadership Music’s annual community outreach projects. The participants sorted food for the food bank, which serves 46 middle Tennessee counties.
Pictured (L-R): LM alums Chandra LaPlume, Carey Nelson Burch, LM Executive Director Debbie Linn, Lori Condon, President/CEO of Second Harvest and LM board member Jaynee Day, Stacy Widelitz and Jay Frank
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The tournament will benefit Safe Haven Family Shelter, which helps the homeless, teens in crisis and others with life changing emergencies.
The Building Bridges event also includes a silent auction, online auction and dinner. Details, registration and sponsorship opportunities at www.jbfriendship.org.
New Web Series Focuses on Songwriting Process
/by Sarah SkatesHeather Morgan in the documentary.
Esteban Pedraza and Aaron Pryka
the songwriter {Nashville}, a short documentary web series that captures the creative process of songwriters, will premiere at The Belcourt Theatre in Nashville tomorrow Thursday, July 24 at 7 p.m.
Season one features writers James House, Gordon Kennedy, Bill Miller, Danny Flowers, Heather Morgan, Rebecca Moreland and others and was recorded in Ben Fold’s Studio A, Fontanel Mansion and Castle Recording Studios.
Esteban Pedraza and Aaron Pryka created the series and founded Movie Time Picture Company. They are producing the series with Sharon Corbitt-House and Mike Kopp of HouseKopp Management.
At the premiere, the theatrical 40-minute version of the documentary series will be shown and there will be a Q&A with the creators. Although this is a free event, RSVP is required at http://bit.ly/thesongwriterpremiere due to limited seating.
City Winery To Open In September
/by Sarah SkatesAs its introduction to Music City, City Winery has partnered with the Americana Music Association’s Honors & Awards to host the event’s official VIP after party on Wednesday, Sept. 17, along with a full calendar of shows during the Americana Music Festival. The venue will also serve as the after-party location for the second annual Music City Food + Wine Festival.
City Winery founder and CEO Michael Dorf said, “We’ve been eyeing Nashville for a long time and we’re thrilled to finally become a part of its flourishing cultural and culinary scene. The heart of City Winery is its music and what better place than Music City to showcase all types of music in a unique, upscale setting with fine wine and food. We can’t wait to open our doors and provide our guests with a one-of-a-kind concert and dining experience.”
The initial calendar of events has been announced. The line up and details about the ‘VinoFile’ program is available at citywinery.com/nashville.
Swift Hits Silver Screen In 'The Giver'
/by contributorBy: Laura Hostelley
Taylor Swift will make her third appearance on the silver screen when the adaptation of Lois Lowry’s science-fiction novel, The Giver hits theaters next month, August 15.
Swift portrays “Rosemary,” the daughter of the Giver, who documents the memories of the utopian society. To save you from a spoiler, we’ll just say she eventually inherits his gift.
Also sharing the screen with Swift are superstars Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and Katie Holmes.
Swift Tweeted about the film July 11: “Just saw a screening of The Giver. Honestly, I can’t believe I got to be a part of something so poignant and beautiful. My head is spinning.”
Production of The Giver began in October of 2013 in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, just after the U.S. leg of her Red Tour wrapped. The film will premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York on August 11, before it opens to theatres nationwide.
An official trailer for the movie is available here.
Swift has also appeared in Valentine’s Day and voiced a character in The Lorax.
Ralph Stanley Elected Fellow Of American Academy Of Arts And Sciences
/by Sherod RobertsonStanley will be inducted formally into the Academy at its headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Oct. 11. The Academy was founded in 1780 to recognize America’s foremost “thinkers and doers.” Among its past members are George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Martin Luther King Jr. Current members include more than 250 Nobel laureates and 60 Pulitzer Prize-winners.
In May, Stanley was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Yale University. It was his second such distinction, the first having been conferred in 1976 by Lincoln Memorial University.
Recognized as the leading exponent of traditional Appalachian music and a founding father of bluegrass, Stanley has spread his sound around the world during his 68 years of touring and recording. He began his career in 1946 as the younger half of the Stanley Brothers, a group then headed by singer-songwriter Carter Stanley. The Stanley Brothers performed, recorded and appeared on television together until Carter’s death in 1966. In 2000, Stanley’s popularity skyrocketed with the success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.
Last summer, Stanley launched his farewell tour, billed as Man of Constant Sorrow Tour: The Dr.’s Farewell, however his website now states, “Dr. Ralph Stanley will NOT be retiring this year. Even though this was the original plan, Dr. Stanley still is feeling great and going strong.”
Stanley states, “God has had his hand on my career for the past 68 years. It’s up to him when I will quit. I have no plans of slowing down. I love my fans, and I love performing.”
Carry on, brother.