Zac Brown Band performs at Nashville’s 2013 Southern Ground Festival.
Zac Brown’s
Southern Ground Music and Food Festival took over Nashville’s Lawn at Riverfront Park last weekend (Sept. 27-28) for a two-day extravaganza featuring performances from
Kenny Rogers, Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson & Family, Kacey Musgraves, Eli Young Band, Grace Potter, John Fogerty, Lennon & Maisy and their parents
The Stellas, Jason Mraz,
Amos Lee and many more.
Zac Brown Band’s (ZBB) familiar hits including “Keep Me In Mind,” “Colder Weather,” “Goodbye In Her Eyes,” “No Hurry,” and “Free” indulged guests. A real treat for patrons were last-minute performance announcements from 2013 CMHoF inductee
Kenny Rogers (“Just Dropped In – To See What Condition My Condition Was In,” “The Gambler”) on Friday, and 1993 CMHoF inductee
Willie Nelson the following day.
Kenny Rogers performed Friday (Sept. 27) with Zac Brown Band at Nashville’s Southern Ground Fest.
Nelson’s Saturday set extended 20-minutes beyond the schedule, while the legend played through his broken shoulder. Tunes included self-penned cuts (“Crazy,” “Good Hearted Woman”), covers (“Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” “Always On My Mind,” “Georgia On My Mind”), signature hits (“On The Road Again,” “Whiskey River” “Angel Flying Too Close To the Ground”), recent duets (“Beer For My Horses,” “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die”) and gospel tunes (“Circle Be Unbroken/I’ll Fly Away,” “I Saw The Light”).
Musgraves gave a bold performance on the Landshark satellite stage just 48 hours prior to boarding an airplane to begin her European tour. The six-time CMA Award nominee’s show featured just one cover, which she wrote (“Mama’s Broken Heart”) in addition to her own album cuts including “Stupid,” “Silver Lining” and debut single “Merry Go ‘Round.” Musgraves additionally performed her self-proclaimed latest single, “Follow Your Arrow,” which was again featured on the main stage with ZBB later that evening.
Chesney and Fogerty performed a handful of titles with the ZBB on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Chesney offered vocals on “Knee Deep” and “Running Down A Dream.” Fogerty’s performance wrapped Saturday guests with songs “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Centerfield” and “Bad Moon Rising,” which was featured as a duet on Fogerty’s
Wrote A Song For Everyone album with the ZBB.
Southern Ground’s food and drink offerings also took center stage. Organizers partitioned the park’s space even more efficiently than last year’s inaugural Nashville event, to include an expanded food court complete with a ferris wheel for viewing perspective. Vendors included Margot/Marche, Watermark, Peg Leg Porker, among others, while over eight food trucks including Jeni’s ice cream and the Grilled Cheeserie lined the walkway to the Landshark satellite stage. The Listening Room Cafe was also incorporated into this year’s events.
Southern Ground Nashville Map.
VIP tents offered particular patrons an unlimited beverage and food throughout both evenings, including oyster po’ boy, rib eye with corn and okra, shrimp and grits, ribs, wings, jambalaya, cornbread, beans and rice. Dessert included banana pudding, brownies and individualized pie selections. Exclusive stage boxes, which maintained a wait list due to the immediate sell-out, treated patrons to even more exclusive delicacies from ZBB’s personal chef,
Rusty Hamlin.
Charleston, S.C. will
host the festival Oct. 19-20.
Avenue Bank Welcomes Music and Entertainment Division VP
/by Jessica NicholsonEllen May
Avenue Bank has welcomed Ellen May as a VP, Senior Relationship Manager and Mortgage Loan Originator in the Music and Entertainment Private Banking division. In addition to mortgage loans, she will also focus on all facets of business development, including consumer and commercial loans and deposits. May has more than 25 years of banking experience.
She most recently worked with SunTrust Bank’s Sports and Entertainment Division as a mortgage loan originator for the past 14 years.
“We are thrilled to have Ellen join our team, bringing her wealth of experience, relationships and commitment to client service. She is one of the most respected financial professionals in the music industry, and it is truly a pleasure to work with Ellen,” stated Ron Cox, Sr. VP and Director of Avenue’s Music & Entertainment Division.
May is an active member of the Tennessee Mortgage Bankers Association, the CMA, ACM, and NARAS. She is also involved in various volunteer efforts with her church as well as supporting many music industry events and activities.
William Morris Endeavor Signs Turner
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L to R): William Morris’ Lane Wilson, Doug Neff, Abby Baas and Rush Davenport; Columbia Nashville’s Leah Turner; William Morris’ Barrett Sellers and Risha Rodgers.
Columbia Nashville artist Leah Turner has inked with William Morris Endeavor for booking. Risha Rodgers will serve as her main point of contact along with Rob Beckham. Signed to Columbia in July 2013, Turner is releasing her debut single, “Take The Keys,” to radio on Oct. 7. She is managed by Morris Management’s Clint Higham.
MusicRow‘s Robert K. Oermann recently praised Turner’s “winning, confident vocal performance” on her debut single.
Daniel Miller, Regina Stuve Launch Fusion Music
/by Jessica NicholsonDaniel Miller
Music industry veterans Daniel Miller and Regina Stuve have launched Fusion Music, a new artist management and development company. The Fusion Music team includes Miller as CEO/managing partner and Stuve as EVP, Publicity & Marketing, along with Brian Wolf (VP, Touring and Live Entertainment), Emma Poliseno (Director, Digital & Social Media) and Zach Sutton (Director, Artist Development).
Fusion Music’s current artist roster includes MCA recording artist David Nail, recently signed Show Dog-Universal Music duo Native Run and finalist from last season’s The Voice, Amber Carrington.
“As the industry shifts, so does the artist-manager relationship,” says Miller (CEO/managing partner). “In today’s rapidly changing music climate, it is increasingly difficult for one person to remain educated and effective in all areas. At Fusion Music, we have put together a dedicated team of specialists from the fields of publicity, marketing, digital/social media, live performance and artist development.”
Regina Stuve
Miller adds, “Our team will bring their unique experiences and expertise into a collective effort and we will be able to tailor a specific long-term plan for each act to reach their individual goals. We are not reinventing the wheel, we’re just changing out the spokes.”
While primarily serving the country music community, Fusion Music will be structured in a way through partnerships in other genres to allow for crossover opportunities both in the United States and internationally.
Stuve can be reached at regina.stuve@fusionmusicmgmt.com or at 615-988-9010.
For more information, visit fusionmusicmgmt.com.
Southern Ground Expands Nashville Festivities
/by Eric T. ParkerZac Brown Band performs at Nashville’s 2013 Southern Ground Festival.
Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Music and Food Festival took over Nashville’s Lawn at Riverfront Park last weekend (Sept. 27-28) for a two-day extravaganza featuring performances from Kenny Rogers, Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson & Family, Kacey Musgraves, Eli Young Band, Grace Potter, John Fogerty, Lennon & Maisy and their parents The Stellas, Jason Mraz, Amos Lee and many more.
Zac Brown Band’s (ZBB) familiar hits including “Keep Me In Mind,” “Colder Weather,” “Goodbye In Her Eyes,” “No Hurry,” and “Free” indulged guests. A real treat for patrons were last-minute performance announcements from 2013 CMHoF inductee Kenny Rogers (“Just Dropped In – To See What Condition My Condition Was In,” “The Gambler”) on Friday, and 1993 CMHoF inductee Willie Nelson the following day.
Kenny Rogers performed Friday (Sept. 27) with Zac Brown Band at Nashville’s Southern Ground Fest.
Nelson’s Saturday set extended 20-minutes beyond the schedule, while the legend played through his broken shoulder. Tunes included self-penned cuts (“Crazy,” “Good Hearted Woman”), covers (“Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” “Always On My Mind,” “Georgia On My Mind”), signature hits (“On The Road Again,” “Whiskey River” “Angel Flying Too Close To the Ground”), recent duets (“Beer For My Horses,” “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die”) and gospel tunes (“Circle Be Unbroken/I’ll Fly Away,” “I Saw The Light”).
Musgraves gave a bold performance on the Landshark satellite stage just 48 hours prior to boarding an airplane to begin her European tour. The six-time CMA Award nominee’s show featured just one cover, which she wrote (“Mama’s Broken Heart”) in addition to her own album cuts including “Stupid,” “Silver Lining” and debut single “Merry Go ‘Round.” Musgraves additionally performed her self-proclaimed latest single, “Follow Your Arrow,” which was again featured on the main stage with ZBB later that evening.
Chesney and Fogerty performed a handful of titles with the ZBB on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Chesney offered vocals on “Knee Deep” and “Running Down A Dream.” Fogerty’s performance wrapped Saturday guests with songs “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Centerfield” and “Bad Moon Rising,” which was featured as a duet on Fogerty’s Wrote A Song For Everyone album with the ZBB.
Southern Ground’s food and drink offerings also took center stage. Organizers partitioned the park’s space even more efficiently than last year’s inaugural Nashville event, to include an expanded food court complete with a ferris wheel for viewing perspective. Vendors included Margot/Marche, Watermark, Peg Leg Porker, among others, while over eight food trucks including Jeni’s ice cream and the Grilled Cheeserie lined the walkway to the Landshark satellite stage. The Listening Room Cafe was also incorporated into this year’s events.
Southern Ground Nashville Map.
VIP tents offered particular patrons an unlimited beverage and food throughout both evenings, including oyster po’ boy, rib eye with corn and okra, shrimp and grits, ribs, wings, jambalaya, cornbread, beans and rice. Dessert included banana pudding, brownies and individualized pie selections. Exclusive stage boxes, which maintained a wait list due to the immediate sell-out, treated patrons to even more exclusive delicacies from ZBB’s personal chef, Rusty Hamlin.
Charleston, S.C. will host the festival Oct. 19-20.
Nielsen Acquires Arbitron
/by Michael_Smith“This is a great day for Nielsen and a natural step in our evolution,” said Nielsen CEO David Calhoun. “Arbitron will allow us to analyze and understand an additional two hours of the U.S. consumer’s day while bringing us another opportunity to provide advertisers with metrics on the effectiveness of the mediums that they advertise on.”
Arbitron has been rebranded Nielsen Audio and will be integrated into Nielsen’s U.S. Watch business segment, which primarily provides information to the media and advertising industries across different mediums. Nielsen’s newest acquisition will allow it to measure eight hours a day per person of media consumption.
“Our combined capabilities offer opportunities to measure unmeasured areas that are important to the industries and clients we serve, like streaming audio, out-of-home measurements for television consumption and deeper measurement of multicultural audiences in the U.S.,” said Calhoun. “Globally, this is an opportunity to expand our measurement of consumer behavior and introduce audio measurement capabilities in new markets.”
On Dec. 17, 2012 Nielsen agreed to purchase all of Arbitron’s outstanding common stock for a total of $1.3 billion. Nielsen expects $0.26 of accretion to adjusted net income per share during its first full year of operation and $0.32 during its second year.
Nielsen will provide further information on its upcoming year during the Q3 2013 earnings conference call, which will be held on Oct. 23.
Nashville's Omni Hotel To Open Monday
/by Jessica NicholsonA sketch of The Omni Hotel Nashville.
The Omni Hotel is set to open in downtown Nashville on Monday (Sept. 30). To commemorate the opening of Nashville’s newest hotel, a ribbon-cutting ceremony has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m., though the hotel will not be open to the public until 7 p.m.
The Omni Hotel boasts 800 guest rooms and suites, more than 80,000 square feet of meeting and event space, five culinary and entertainment venues, a rooftop pool and other amenities. The hotel is located at the corner of Demonbreun Street and 5th Ave. S., adjacent to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The Omni will fully integrate with an expansion of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on three levels; the expansion is expected to be complete in 2014.
Eating establishments at the hotel include restaurant Barlines, Bob’s Steak & Chop House, and a Bongo Java coffee establishment.
In April 2013, the hotel booked its 250,000th room, a full four months ahead of schedule.
Luke Bryan, Brett Eldredge Join Miles & Music For Kids Ride
/by Lorie HollabaughRegistration for the ride begins at 11 a.m. on Nov. 3, while gates will open at 1:30 p.m.
Combo tickets for the ride and concert are available for $50 and individual concert tickets are $30 through Ticketmaster. VIP packages are also available, and more ticket information can be found at dierks.com.
Industry Bands Battle It Out For CRS
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Chris Palmer (VP, Promotion), Terry Watson (Sr. Manager, Studio Services), Stephanie Haymes (Assistant, A&R), Scott Allender (VP, Global Human Resources), John Esposito (President & CEO, WMN), Cris Lacy (VP, A&R), Scott Hendricks (SVP, A&R), Kristen Williams (Dir., National Promotion), Geoff Turner (Music Ministry Representative), Rick Young (Regional Promotion Mgr.), Tony Bakker (Owner, Six String Country)
Representatives from labels and other music-affiliated companies rocked the second annual “CRS Battle of the Bands” event on Thursday night (Sept. 26), at Nashville music venue 3rd & Lindsley. The line-up of performers included employees from Hard Rock Cafe, Renaissance Hotel, Sony Music Nashville, SunTrust Sports & Entertainment and Warner Music Nashville.
Based on an audience applause-meter and monetary donations from the crowd, Warner Music Group took home the title of the 2013 CRS Battle of the Bands winner. The proceeds from the industry event went to the CRS Scholarship Fund and The Country Radio Hall of Fame.
MusicRowPics: Jo Dee Messina
/by Jessica NicholsonJo Dee Messina Artist Visit
Jo Dee Messina visited MusicRow‘s offices on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 26).
Messina, no longer signed with Curb Records, has taken an innovative approach to the making and recording of her forthcoming album. She put fans in the driver’s seat on the new project, allowing them to choose the first single (fans selected “Peace Sign,” a sly kiss-off to a bad relationship) and the title of the album, Me. Messina says the project should be completed by the end of October.
The singer-songwriter kicked off her visit with “Peace Sign,” backed by four musicians.
“Last year, I got off my label and I wanted to do something for the people,” explained Messina. “I started posting songs on YouTube, Twitter and other sites. I asked fans whether certain songs should be on the album.” She also began using Kickstarter, which provides tools to raise funds for creative projects via crowdfunding. Messina received $121,000 worth of investments toward the project in 30 days. Fans contributed at different levels, allowing them to receive various levels of rewards, including CDs, t-shirts, the chance to have Jo Dee perform a private concert for them, and more. Some fans who invested in the project came to Nashville to sing on one of the album’s songs. The entertainer has delved into every part of the album and Kickstarter process, from responding to fans’ investments to sending out 8x10s, t-shirts and other items.
The past few years have been non-stop work for Messina, who has learned to balance her roles as singer, songwriter and businesswoman with roles as daughter (caring for her mother who has been in the hospital), wife and mother to an 18-month-old son. “I felt pulled so thin. I’m somebody’s mother, daughter, teacher. When I look into the mirror I had to see Wonder Woman, but instead I see me,” said Messina. That realization led to the writing of the album’s introspective and emotional title track, “Me.”
After performing the ballad for MusicRow staff, Messina performed another highly-voted new fan favorite, “A Woman’s Rant,” an uptempo country romp laced with banjo. Later, she performed a series of her earlier radio hits, including “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” “A Lesson In Leavin'” and “Bring On The Rain.”
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THiS Music Adds Two
/by Jessica NicholsonJeff Carlton
THiS Music has hired additional staff. Kendall Lettow has been named the new Creative Director. She is an MTSU graduate and previously worked with Still Working Music. Publishing veteran Jeff Carlton comes aboard as Creative Consultant.
Carlton will represent THiS Music while continuing his affiliation with Parallel Entertainment’s Publishing arm. He was previously with Bigger Picture Publishing and spent numerous years as the head of independent publishing company Hamstein.
Kendell Lettow
“We’re having a blast at THiS Music and I couldn’t be happier to add Kendall’s passion and Jeff’s experience to our family,” said THiS Music’s GM/Partner, Rusty Gaston.
Lettow can be contacted at klettow@thismusic.com, while Carlton can be contacted at jcarltontn@comcast.net.
THiS Music is home to songwriters including Tim Nichols, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary, Ben Hayslip, Leah Turner, Marv Green, Molly Reed and others.