Music City Roots, Nashville’s weekly radio broadcast for Americana and roots music, will air a webcast from the United Airlines 10th annual Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival at the Empire Music Hall in Belfast, Ireland on March 1 at 1:30 p.m CST. The event will be filmed and featured on Music City Roots’ second season on American Public Television.
“As part of our global vision, we’re very excited to be planting our first flag in the U.K.,” said Music City Roots co-founder and executive producer John Walker. “It’s important to acknowledge the roots of our roots. Also, it’s giving us the opportunity to interface with the BBC, something that we’ve wanted to do for quite some time.”
Music City Roots went international last year with its trip to the Tamworth Country Music Festival in Australia. Jim Lauderdale will host and perform in this year’s event, which will also feature Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Donovan, American songwriter Chip Taylor and Belfast songwriter Gareth Dunlop. BBC Radio Ulster host Ralph McLean will emcee the event, and Music City Roots co-host and journalist Craig Havighurst will report on the event and interview artists.
The show will visit Nashville with an Irish artistry event on March 19. For more information, visit musiccityroots.com.

Patton House Entertainment, the company that signed Rush of Fools in 2006 and The Rhett Walker Band in 2012, is conducting a search for new talent. The company seeks male and female solo artists ages 17-22. Applications are being accepted at the Patton House Entertainment website and online applications will close in late March. Invitation-only live auditions will take place in Nashville on April 24 and 25, 2014.
In 2012, PHE hosted their first open auditions, which resulted in more than 120 artists applying and resulting in the creation of the five-member all-girl pop group 1 Girl Nation.
“Our company has had the opportunity to create and develop some amazing talent through the years,” says Patton House Entertainment president Andrew Patton. “From signing RUSH OF FOOLS in 2006, to breaking THE RHETT WALKER BAND in 2012, and creating and launching 1 GIRL NATION in 2013, our team continues to be focused on finding the best young musicians to bring to the forefront of radio and touring worldwide.”

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Artiphon’s Instrument 1 is a new iPhone-powered, Nashville-designed and -built digital instrument/interface. The company is currently taking pre-orders ($10 will get you $20 toward the $799 purchase price). Instrument 1 is a musical controller, a multi-instrument with an ergonomic hardwood body that is playable in five positions, with a virtual string interface.
The company is currently seeking beta testers, and according to the product’s official twitter, Nashvillians get priority in beta testing.
Watch a demonstration video below. For more information, visit artiphon.com.

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Jon Loba

BBR Music Group‘s Jon Loba was featured prominently in The Tennessean’s Sunday Business section, discussing the relationship between country record labels and country radio. “When I got into the business, at my first CRS in 1997, I remember radio stations saying, “It is not our job to sell records. Our job is to keep listeners tuned in to our station. That is it. If we happen to sell records as a byproduct, that’s fantastic, but it’s not our job,'” said Loba.

Garth Brooks is slated to perform five sold-out shows at Dublin, Ireland’s Croke Park in July 2014. About 400,000 people are expected to attend the shows, which run from July 25-29.
However, according to BBC News, a legal document shows Croke Park operators agreed to limit the number of concerts it hosts to three per year. Residents of the area have threatened a High Court injunction if licenses are allowed for the fourth and fifth Brooks concerts.
Promoters have 10 weeks to apply for a license before the first show, and residents are allowed five weeks to protest the application. Dublin’s city council has only rejected one application for a license in 30 years.
Approximately 25,000 people live in the area of Croke Park, with 6,000 of them living in a zone that is supposedly adversely affected during large events. Pat Gates with the Clonliffe and Croke Park residents’ association, residents experience significant disruption to their lives in the weeks leading up to major concert events, including noise pollution, traffic congestion, litter, and drunken concert-goers.
It has been 17 years since Brooks’ last concert in Dublin.

2nd Gear Used Music Consignment store has officially opened its doors for business on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) in Berry Hill at 442 East Iris Dr.
The store will encompass a wide selection of used musical equipment for purchase, from high end vintage to budget workingman’s equipment, including used electric & acoustic guitars, basses, amplifiers, effects, accessories, keyboards, recording gear, drums, and more.
Services include outright package purchases, trade-ins, and consignment services in store or on eBay. A 20 percent fee for items valued less than $1,500.00 sold from the store and a 15 percent fee on items $1,500.00 or more, while a 25 percent fee is retained from eBay sale prices.
Hours are from 11 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday -Saturday. For more information call, (615) 297-1556.