ElevenEleven Records /Republic Nashville’s artist Savannah Keyes recently stopped by BMI Nashville to become an official BMI songwriter. Keyes is currently recording her debut album, which is being produced by Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus.
Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Mark Mason, Keyes, 19 Entertainment’s Jim Weatherson, and BMI’s Jody Williams.
Photo: Drew Maynard
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Creative Agency Mountain celebrated its official Nashville launch with “Party Like A Boss” on Friday, April 10 at a space on Demonbreun Hill. The event was billed as the “inaugural celebration of Nashville’s movers and shakers, artists, doers, creators, entrepreneurs and hustlers.”
Pictured (L to R): Henry Pile, VP Sales and Marketing, Consensus Point; Jacob Jones, owner/founder Mountain;
Austin Gray, Owner, Entire World.
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Charles Esten
Actor
Charles “Chip” Esten, who plays “Deacon Claybourn” on ABC’s hit television show
Nashville, is the featured guest at today’s (April 17) installment of “NSA Presents…” hosted by
Nashville School of the Arts. The event held in the Roxy Theatre on the school’s campus is described as having a format similar to “Inside the Actors Studio” and “CMT Crossroads.” Created by and for the students, the program allows students to learn from their featured guest through a Q&A session, interspersed with performances by the students including Chip Esten.
Wells Adams, the morning radio personality on Lightning 100 will moderate the event.
Julia Hoge, NSA school counselor and organizer of the “NSA Presents…” series (and wife of Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter
Will Hoge) says, “It is both our duty and mission as Nashville’s arts school to provide each student with a complete education, which includes helping them find ways to translate their passions into careers and exposing them to professionals who have created their own artistic success.“
Country Singer Kevin Sharp Dies at 43
/by Sherod RobertsonThe singer, author, and motivational speaker made his big debut in Country music in 1997 with the No. 1 hit, “Nobody Knows,” a cover of a song originally made popular by R&B artist Tony Rich. The single topped the Billboard country charts for four weeks. Sharp’s debut album Measure of a Man was released the same year, producing additional Top 5 singles “If You Love Somebody” and “She’s Sure Taking It Well.”
Being a cancer survivor, he was an active supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He authored an inspirational book, Tragedy’s Gift, about his experience and toured the U.S. as a motivational speaker.
Born December 10, 1970, Sharp grew up in Weiser, Idaho in a musical family of seven children and many foster children. They moved to Sacramento, California as Sharp was entering his second year of high school. A gifted athlete who excelled in several sports, he began experiencing fatigue and unexplained pain that was later diagnosed as a rare form of bone cancer (Ewings Sarcoma) that had spread to his lungs. During his senior year of high school, Sharp was told that his chance of survival was slim.
Uncertain if he would live six months, he was introduced to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. They honored his wish of meeting producer/performer David Foster. That friendship sustained Sharp through two grueling years of chemotherapy, experimental drugs, and radiation treatments. It also opened the door for Sharp to pursue his dream of becoming a Country artist, and he eventually landed a deal with Asylum Records in Nashville.
To the surprise of many, he went into remission in 1991 and the disease did not return. However, he experienced lifelong health issues as a result of the aggressive treatment.
Sharp’s musical career garnered many accolades including New Male Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music, New Male Touring Artist of the Year from the Country Music Association/SRO, Favorite New Country Artist from the American Music Awards, Billboard Magazine’s Best New Country Video and TNN/Music City News Male Star of Tomorrow.
His last single was 2011’s “Let Me Rock You To Sleep.”
Donations can be made in his memory to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Memories of Sharp can be emailed to sharp@kevinsharp.com, and cards for the family can be sent to:
Kevin Sharp
c/o Cupit Music Group
7309 Tidwell Road
Nashville, TN 37209
A memorial service celebrating Sharp’s life is being planned for Nashville. More information will be released in the near future.
He is survived by his mother, and siblings Lisa, Mary, Ron, Gregg, Richard, Larry and Genni.
Weekend Music Roundup (4/18/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonDolly
• Dolly Parton will perform Friday evening (April 18) at Nashville’s Red Tent Conference, which was founded by her sister Stella Parton. The conference will be held at Doubletree Hotel in Nashville. Admission is $399 for the weekend (not including lodging) or $75 for the concert and keynote session. Tickets will be available at the door. For more information, visit redtentconference.com or call 931-721-6738.
• Glen Campbell‘s documentary, Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me, will be shown this weekend at the Nashville Film Festival. Showtimes include Friday, April 18 at the Green Hills Cinema at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Green Hills Cinema, and Saturday, April 26 at 1:30 p.m. at the Green Hills Cinema. For tickets, visit nashvillefilmfestival.com.
• Miley Cyrus has postponed her concert Friday evening (April 18) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena after the singer was hospitalized earlier in the week due to an allergic reaction. The concert has been moved to Aug. 7, and all tickets for Friday’s showdate will be honored at the new tour date.
MusicRowPics: Kira Isabella
/by Jessica NicholsonKira Isabella
Kira Isabella, a petite Ottawa, Canada native with a big, expressive voice, isn’t afraid to grab the attention of U.S. Country radio listeners with her timely HitShop Records debut single.
The haunting, socially conscious “Quarterback” marks a daring first choice to send to radio. The song tackles the aftermath of a date rape in a small town, made public via the internet. The crime threatens the reputations of a “no name” freshman girl and the community’s high school senior football star.
She always heard that a girl’s first time / Is a memory she’ll never forget / She found out the hard way about love / When she saw those pictures on the internet / Who are you going to blame / the star of the game or the no name girl from the freshman class?
The song’s writers, Rivers Rutherford, Bobby Hamrick and Marti Dodson, were inspired by recent events splashed across media headlines, including situations in Steubenville, Ohio, and Nashville’s Vanderbilt University.
“When I heard it, I immediately realized the subject resonated with people in my generation. It’s a reality that they deal with,” says Isabella. “I’ve had people write to me, thanking me for recording this song because they’ve gone through a very similar situation to what is depicted in the lyrics.”
Isabella may be a newcomer stateside, but she is no stranger to the spotlight. In 2009, she signed with Sony Music Canada and released the project Love Me Like That in 2012. Isabella has had several singles at Canadian Country radio, including the Top 20 hits “Songs About You” and “Blame It On Your Truck.” She earned the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA)’s Rising Star Award in 2012; the next year was named the CCMA’s Female Artist of the Year. That same year, Isabella notched her first Juno Award nomination (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards) for Breakthrough Artist.
“I wanted to bring her on [to the label] when I was at Sony,” says HitShop Records founder Skip Bishop. “She’s such an engaging artist and a strong vocalist.” He made good on the intention by making Isabella one of his first signings at his new HitShop Records label in 2013. She is currently working on tracks for her upcoming debut U.S. project, which will be produced by Mark Liggett and Jerry Lane.
After previewing the single for MusicRow staff, she gave a brief acoustic performance, showcasing her powerful and controlled soprano during “Little White Church,” a tender ballad she co-penned with Jason Phelps, and the bluesy “A Little More Work,” a previous single from her Love Me Like That project.
Isabella has been in Nashville working with various songwriters, in addition to embarking on a recent radio tour to perform her music for radio programmers across the country.
For more information, visit kiraisabella.ca.
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Hank Williams' 'The Garden Spot Programs' Out Next Month
/by Troy_StephensonHank Williams’ daughter Jett Williams says, “It’s incredible to me that we’re still finding new recordings by my dad. Great ones, at that! No one even suspected that these recordings existed. We partnered with Omnivore Recordings for this release, and I especially love it that they’re taking my dad back to vinyl.”
Industry Ink (4/18/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonWendy Newcomer
Wendy Newcomer will exit her post as Sr. Editor for GACtv.com on April 30. Newcomer will continue freelancing for GAC and other media outlets.
Prior to her work at GAC, she served as an associate editor at Country Weekly magazine.
She can be contacted at wendynewcomer14@gmail.com
• • •
• • •
The campaign currently targets film company Lionsgate (Twilight, The Hunger Games), which the AFM claims offshores film scoring work.
A petition has been set up as part of the Listen Up! campaign.
MusicRow Adds Production Manager/Graphic Designer
/by Jessica NicholsonKelsey Grady
MusicRow has added Kelsey Grady to its team as Production Manager/Graphic Designer. Grady will oversee art and design for all of the media company’s products and manage advertising-related artwork and production.
The Chicago native graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. in 2011. She also received a certification from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her interest in working in the Country music industry in graphic design brought her to an internship in Nashville with RLM/Mission Management in 2013.
Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson says of Grady, “She really hit the ground running on her very first day! It’s this type of talent we have in our group, which allows us to excel at what we do. I’m very excited to welcome and have Kelsey as part of the MusicRow team. Her drive and positive spirit brings a valued addition to the company.”
She is a huge Eric Church fan and Tim McGraw was her first love, followed now by Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean.
She can be reached at kgrady@musicrow.com.
Artist Updates (4/18/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonBill Anderson
MusicRow sends its condolences to Whisperin’ Bill Anderson. Anderson’s son-in-law, Charles Louis (Chuck) Robeson, succumbed to brain cancer on Wednesday, April 16. He was 49. A native Nashvillian, Robeson was a graduate of Antioch High School, and is survived by wife Jenni, and their four children.
• • •
Singer-songwriter Kelly Lang, TG Sheppard, Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, Amy Grant, Danny Gokey, Kip Winger of rock group Winger, Seleca Westbrook, Buddy Hyatt of Toto and others performed recently during a charity concert benefitting Agape International Missions (AIM), which rescues children from sex trafficking. The event took place April 3 at EAU Palm Beach Resort in Manalapan, Fla., and raised $100,000 to help AIM build a new school in Svay Pak, Cambodia, which will provide protection and education for more than 1,500 children.
“One of the highlights of the evening was a special duet, “Islands In The Stream”, performed by Barry Gibb and Kelly Lang which just about brought the house down” said Eva Hill of the EAU resort.
Pictured (L-R): TG Sheppard, Linda Gibb, Barry Gibb, Kelly Lang.
• • •
Bluegrass musician, songwriter and singer Rhonda Vincent was recently featured on The Better Show. She joined hosts JD and Rebecca to discuss her new project, Only Me, as well as working with Willie Nelson, her songwriting style and Vincent’s family bluegrass festival.
Rhonda Vincent
BMG Chrysalis Signs Drew Ramsey
/by Jessica NicholsonBMG Chrysalis has signed songwriter Drew Ramsey. Ramsey and production partner Shannon Sanders are a Grammy-winning team with hit songs recorded by artists including India.Arie (“I Not My Hair,” “The Truth”), John Legend (“Good Morning”), Jonny Lang (“Turn Around”), Nicole C. Mullen (“Dancin’ In The Rain”), and Robert Randolph and the Family Band (“Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With That”).
Ramsey is part of the songwriting program at Nashville’s Belmont University.
Pictured (L-R): Daniel Lee, John Allen, Drew Ramsey, Sara Johnson, Kevin Lane and Kos Weaver.
Weekly Chart Report (4/18/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonIndustry Ink (4/17/14)
/by Sherod RobertsonElevenEleven Records /Republic Nashville’s artist Savannah Keyes recently stopped by BMI Nashville to become an official BMI songwriter. Keyes is currently recording her debut album, which is being produced by Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus.
Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Mark Mason, Keyes, 19 Entertainment’s Jim Weatherson, and BMI’s Jody Williams.
Photo: Drew Maynard
• • •
Creative Agency Mountain celebrated its official Nashville launch with “Party Like A Boss” on Friday, April 10 at a space on Demonbreun Hill. The event was billed as the “inaugural celebration of Nashville’s movers and shakers, artists, doers, creators, entrepreneurs and hustlers.”
Pictured (L to R): Henry Pile, VP Sales and Marketing, Consensus Point; Jacob Jones, owner/founder Mountain;
Austin Gray, Owner, Entire World.
• • •
Charles Esten
Actor Charles “Chip” Esten, who plays “Deacon Claybourn” on ABC’s hit television show Nashville, is the featured guest at today’s (April 17) installment of “NSA Presents…” hosted by Nashville School of the Arts. The event held in the Roxy Theatre on the school’s campus is described as having a format similar to “Inside the Actors Studio” and “CMT Crossroads.” Created by and for the students, the program allows students to learn from their featured guest through a Q&A session, interspersed with performances by the students including Chip Esten. Wells Adams, the morning radio personality on Lightning 100 will moderate the event.
Julia Hoge, NSA school counselor and organizer of the “NSA Presents…” series (and wife of Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Will Hoge) says, “It is both our duty and mission as Nashville’s arts school to provide each student with a complete education, which includes helping them find ways to translate their passions into careers and exposing them to professionals who have created their own artistic success.“