[slide]
All photos by Alan Mayor.
The Music City Center will be true to its name during its grand opening celebration during the next few days.
Music plans are plentiful. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will present members Bill Anderson, Sonny Curtis, Bobby Braddock, Pat Alger, Don Schlitz, Thom Schuyler and Rory Bourke singing their award-winning songs on Sunday (May 19) from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. They’re saluting the opening of the organization’s exhibit gallery within the Music City Center.
Mayor Dean leads the media preview.
At 3 p.m.,
The Nashville Symphony Orchestra will be performing upstairs in the Grand Ballroom. Outside on the East Plaza,
Phil Vassar and the pop/rock bands from the
Ten Out of Tenn collective will also be performing on that afternoon, 2:30 to 6 p.m.
On Monday evening (May 20),
Sheryl Crow, The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Mikky Ekko and
The Time Jumpers will headline a multi-genre celebration, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., followed by a fireworks display. All of these events are free, as are tours of the massive, futuristic structure on both days.
Walking shoes are recommended. At yesterday’s media preview (May 15),
Mayor Karl Dean led reporters and TV crews on a two-hour hike through the five levels and six city blocks of the 2.1 million-square-foot Music City Center. And that did not include visits to all of the facility’s many features.
“Please try to keep up with our Fitness Mayor,” suggested his press secretary
Bonna Delacruz Johnson. Accompanying the media preview tour were such key Music City Center figures as
Charles Starks, Marty Dickens, Seab Tuck, Larry Atema, Rich Boyd and the facility’s director of marketing and public relations,
J. Holly McCall.
The tour began at the Sixth Avenue & Demonbreun entrance. Sixth Avenue now runs beneath the Music City Center, dividing the building from its 1,800-space parking garage on the street level. Just inside this entrance is the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame gallery.
“Members will be performing during our opening,” Dean noted. He also pointed out the stone steps leading to the Fifth Avenue & Demonbreun entrance of the building. Each step is engraved with the name of a member, plus a representative song title and induction year. At the foot of the steps is Songwriters Square, located at the two streets’ intersection. Walking up these steps is the optimal way to enter the gallery.
Dean demonstrated the gallery’s interactive touch screens by selecting Bill Anderson and playing “Still,” then Joe Allison’s “I’d Fight the World.” Some of the panels also play video footage of the songwriters performing. Adjacent display cases house a variety of artifacts.
Outside, next to Songwriters Square and running along Fifth, is a plaza outside the Music City Center where bands can play and festivals can be staged. This is directly opposite from the 800-room Omni Hotel now under construction. The hotel will be connected to the new exhibit space also under construction at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Inside, Mayor Dean’s tour continued up an escalator to an open area the construction workers dubbed “The Whale.” This Grand Lobby is where the Mayor will deliver his State of Metro speech at 10 a.m. on Monday.
“There are no square angles in this room,” he pointed out. “It’s a unique feature of this center.” Indeed, the entire building undulates architecturally, from top to bottom.
Also: “We have the ability to put music everywhere in this building.” As we walked to the main convention exhibit hall, Nashville hits could be heard over the excellent sound system. Dean pointed out that the hallways’ carpeting is patterned with images of sound waves.
The exhibit hall is the size of an aircraft carrier, covering eight acres, 350,000 square feet. “You could put four 747s in here and still have 50 feet left over,” said Dean. On the Korean Veterans Blvd. side of the building are ramps leading to 32 load-in docks. The hall’s concrete floors are five feet thick, allowing semi-trucks to drive into it, if needed. The trusses weigh a million pounds each. Some 300 automobiles could be suspended from the hall’s ceiling.
Electric panels are scattered on the gigantic floor space, so that each exhibit booth can be easily powered. Overlooking the exhibit area are four offices and conference rooms.
The Music City Center contains 101 art pieces, collectively valued at $2 million. Eight of them are large works built on site, and several have music themes. “Composition,” for instance, is a 51-foot wide, 19.5-foot high, suspended installation weighing 400 pounds. It is a “floating orchestra” containing white castings of trombones, saxophones, fiddles, guitars, keyboards, drums, French horns, trumpets and basses. Of the 52 visual artists represented in the building’s collection, 48 are Tennesseans and 32 are from Nashville.
Tour attendees ascended two long escalators which revealed how much glass the Music City Center contains. The building is flooded with natural light throughout and offers dozens of views of downtown. There are also seven covered outdoor balcony patios with views.
As the tour entered the cathedral-like Grand Ballroom, two massive, 5,000-pound, wooden accordion doors slowly opened to reveal a stage containing the a cappella vocal quartet Lunch Break. The group serenaded the ballroom viewers with a barbershop arrangement of Elvis Presley’s “Good Luck Charm,” the first music performed in the Music City Center.
“This is the room with the ‘wow’ factor,” said Dean. “It is 57,500 square feet and can hold 6,000 people, the largest ballroom in the state of Tennessee. You feel like you are inside a guitar when you are here.” The Grand Ballroom is encased in wood panels on all sides, including the ceiling. Despite its immense size, it contains no columns.
The next stop was the Green Roof. This will not be accessible to the public, but can be seen from from nearby skyscrapers, the air or the Interstate. Designed to mimic the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, it covers four acres, has 14 types of vegetation and will trap 360,000 gallons of water. This will be stored in an underground cistern and used for the toilets and landscape irrigation. The roof also holds 845 solar panels which help power the building.
Entering the jumbo, gleaming, white-and-silver kitchen, the tour goers were greeted by chef Max Knoepfel and sous chefs Richard Simms and Roger Keenan. Knoepfel, who hails from Switzerland, comes to Music City by way of New York.
“I came here for the opportunity to become friends and partners with the Nashville restaurant community,” he said. “We will be showcasing the food of Tennessee wherever possible,” as well as using local vendors and organic products.
Media personalities such as Blake Farmer, John Dwyer, Meryl Rose, Kate Richardson, Aundrea Cline-Thomas and Alan Mayor sampled the kitchen’s cookies, examined the displayed entrees and desserts, sipped from water bottles and watched the staff fry 1,500 pounds of ground beef to be used in chili. Off the kitchen is a carpeted dining room for client tastings.
The staff is capable of preparing 22,000 meals a day. The core menu has 290 items on it. On hand are 18,000 stackable chairs, a multitude of folding banquet tables and 46,000 pieces of stackable china dinnerware.
The next stop was “Euphony,” a three-story installation of 1,141 bead chains, ascending and descending. The artwork is 116 feet long, contains 28 miles of beaded material and changes colors depending on its lighting.
The tour descended down three escalators to a hallway art gallery overlooking the tree-lined plaza on Demonbreun. Down another flight of stairs was one of the Music City Center’s several furnished board rooms, complete with artwork.
Also on this level was the Davidson Ballroom, a 1,500-capacity, 18,000-square-foot, wood-paneled venue that can be subdivided into smaller spaces. Dean continued his tour down to Level 1 and another art-bedecked hallway.
“On this floor and on Level 2, there are 60 meeting rooms,” he said. “There is plenty of business opportunity in this building.”
Photo: Alan Mayor
Touring it is much like exploring a giant space ship, partly because of the Center’s unusual shape. “One of the things I was interested in was not seeing a box. This building is not that. It was important that it be something special. It makes a statement about our city. It’s the largest project we’ve ever done.
“People want to come to this city. You’ve got the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Symphony Center, the Bridgestone Arena, the honky-tonks of Broadway, the stadium, Cummins Station and the Frist all within blocks of here.
“This is the best convention center in the United States,” Mayor Dean concluded. “It is not the biggest, but it is the best. But then, I’m biased.”
One of the first events in the new Music City Center will be next month’s CMA Music Festival.
Music City Center Has 'Wow' Factor
/by Robert K Oermann[slide]
All photos by Alan Mayor.
The Music City Center will be true to its name during its grand opening celebration during the next few days.
Music plans are plentiful. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will present members Bill Anderson, Sonny Curtis, Bobby Braddock, Pat Alger, Don Schlitz, Thom Schuyler and Rory Bourke singing their award-winning songs on Sunday (May 19) from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. They’re saluting the opening of the organization’s exhibit gallery within the Music City Center.
Mayor Dean leads the media preview.
At 3 p.m., The Nashville Symphony Orchestra will be performing upstairs in the Grand Ballroom. Outside on the East Plaza, Phil Vassar and the pop/rock bands from the Ten Out of Tenn collective will also be performing on that afternoon, 2:30 to 6 p.m.
On Monday evening (May 20), Sheryl Crow, The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Mikky Ekko and The Time Jumpers will headline a multi-genre celebration, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., followed by a fireworks display. All of these events are free, as are tours of the massive, futuristic structure on both days.
Walking shoes are recommended. At yesterday’s media preview (May 15), Mayor Karl Dean led reporters and TV crews on a two-hour hike through the five levels and six city blocks of the 2.1 million-square-foot Music City Center. And that did not include visits to all of the facility’s many features.
“Please try to keep up with our Fitness Mayor,” suggested his press secretary Bonna Delacruz Johnson. Accompanying the media preview tour were such key Music City Center figures as Charles Starks, Marty Dickens, Seab Tuck, Larry Atema, Rich Boyd and the facility’s director of marketing and public relations, J. Holly McCall.
The tour began at the Sixth Avenue & Demonbreun entrance. Sixth Avenue now runs beneath the Music City Center, dividing the building from its 1,800-space parking garage on the street level. Just inside this entrance is the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame gallery.
“Members will be performing during our opening,” Dean noted. He also pointed out the stone steps leading to the Fifth Avenue & Demonbreun entrance of the building. Each step is engraved with the name of a member, plus a representative song title and induction year. At the foot of the steps is Songwriters Square, located at the two streets’ intersection. Walking up these steps is the optimal way to enter the gallery.
Dean demonstrated the gallery’s interactive touch screens by selecting Bill Anderson and playing “Still,” then Joe Allison’s “I’d Fight the World.” Some of the panels also play video footage of the songwriters performing. Adjacent display cases house a variety of artifacts.
Inside, Mayor Dean’s tour continued up an escalator to an open area the construction workers dubbed “The Whale.” This Grand Lobby is where the Mayor will deliver his State of Metro speech at 10 a.m. on Monday.
“There are no square angles in this room,” he pointed out. “It’s a unique feature of this center.” Indeed, the entire building undulates architecturally, from top to bottom.
Also: “We have the ability to put music everywhere in this building.” As we walked to the main convention exhibit hall, Nashville hits could be heard over the excellent sound system. Dean pointed out that the hallways’ carpeting is patterned with images of sound waves.
The exhibit hall is the size of an aircraft carrier, covering eight acres, 350,000 square feet. “You could put four 747s in here and still have 50 feet left over,” said Dean. On the Korean Veterans Blvd. side of the building are ramps leading to 32 load-in docks. The hall’s concrete floors are five feet thick, allowing semi-trucks to drive into it, if needed. The trusses weigh a million pounds each. Some 300 automobiles could be suspended from the hall’s ceiling.
Electric panels are scattered on the gigantic floor space, so that each exhibit booth can be easily powered. Overlooking the exhibit area are four offices and conference rooms.
The Music City Center contains 101 art pieces, collectively valued at $2 million. Eight of them are large works built on site, and several have music themes. “Composition,” for instance, is a 51-foot wide, 19.5-foot high, suspended installation weighing 400 pounds. It is a “floating orchestra” containing white castings of trombones, saxophones, fiddles, guitars, keyboards, drums, French horns, trumpets and basses. Of the 52 visual artists represented in the building’s collection, 48 are Tennesseans and 32 are from Nashville.
Tour attendees ascended two long escalators which revealed how much glass the Music City Center contains. The building is flooded with natural light throughout and offers dozens of views of downtown. There are also seven covered outdoor balcony patios with views.
As the tour entered the cathedral-like Grand Ballroom, two massive, 5,000-pound, wooden accordion doors slowly opened to reveal a stage containing the a cappella vocal quartet Lunch Break. The group serenaded the ballroom viewers with a barbershop arrangement of Elvis Presley’s “Good Luck Charm,” the first music performed in the Music City Center.
“This is the room with the ‘wow’ factor,” said Dean. “It is 57,500 square feet and can hold 6,000 people, the largest ballroom in the state of Tennessee. You feel like you are inside a guitar when you are here.” The Grand Ballroom is encased in wood panels on all sides, including the ceiling. Despite its immense size, it contains no columns.
The next stop was the Green Roof. This will not be accessible to the public, but can be seen from from nearby skyscrapers, the air or the Interstate. Designed to mimic the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, it covers four acres, has 14 types of vegetation and will trap 360,000 gallons of water. This will be stored in an underground cistern and used for the toilets and landscape irrigation. The roof also holds 845 solar panels which help power the building.
Entering the jumbo, gleaming, white-and-silver kitchen, the tour goers were greeted by chef Max Knoepfel and sous chefs Richard Simms and Roger Keenan. Knoepfel, who hails from Switzerland, comes to Music City by way of New York.
“I came here for the opportunity to become friends and partners with the Nashville restaurant community,” he said. “We will be showcasing the food of Tennessee wherever possible,” as well as using local vendors and organic products.
The staff is capable of preparing 22,000 meals a day. The core menu has 290 items on it. On hand are 18,000 stackable chairs, a multitude of folding banquet tables and 46,000 pieces of stackable china dinnerware.
The next stop was “Euphony,” a three-story installation of 1,141 bead chains, ascending and descending. The artwork is 116 feet long, contains 28 miles of beaded material and changes colors depending on its lighting.
The tour descended down three escalators to a hallway art gallery overlooking the tree-lined plaza on Demonbreun. Down another flight of stairs was one of the Music City Center’s several furnished board rooms, complete with artwork.
Also on this level was the Davidson Ballroom, a 1,500-capacity, 18,000-square-foot, wood-paneled venue that can be subdivided into smaller spaces. Dean continued his tour down to Level 1 and another art-bedecked hallway.
“On this floor and on Level 2, there are 60 meeting rooms,” he said. “There is plenty of business opportunity in this building.”
Photo: Alan Mayor
Touring it is much like exploring a giant space ship, partly because of the Center’s unusual shape. “One of the things I was interested in was not seeing a box. This building is not that. It was important that it be something special. It makes a statement about our city. It’s the largest project we’ve ever done.
“People want to come to this city. You’ve got the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Symphony Center, the Bridgestone Arena, the honky-tonks of Broadway, the stadium, Cummins Station and the Frist all within blocks of here.
“This is the best convention center in the United States,” Mayor Dean concluded. “It is not the biggest, but it is the best. But then, I’m biased.”
One of the first events in the new Music City Center will be next month’s CMA Music Festival.
Artist Updates (5-15-13)
/by Jessica Nicholson• • •
This morning (May 15) on The Bobby Bones Show, Kip Moore helped one radio listener with a dream proposal. Brandon Childers from Moultrie, Ga., called the program last week to ask if Bones could arrange for Moore to sing to Childers’ girlfriend Marisa as part of an elaborate surprise wedding proposal. Within a few hours, Moore was on board and the couple made the seven-hour drive to Nashville. Upon arrival to the studio, Marisa was introduced to Moore, who serenaded her with his hit “Hey Pretty Girl.” Once Moore finished the song, Childers took the microphone and proposed to Marisa. She said yes.
Pictured (L-R): Lunchbox, Marisa, Brandon Childers, Kip Moore, Bobby Bones and Amy
• • •
All proceeds from the event went directly to The Toby Keith Foundation’s OK Kids Korral, scheduled to open in October 2013. The OK Kids Korral features 16 guest suites, gourmet kitchen, Route 66 indoor playroom, theater, family resource room and areas for relaxation and congregation.
• • •
• • •
APA Nashville joined Lee Greenwood upon the opening of his exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. The Lee Greenwood: American Patriot spotlight exhibit run through April 25, 2014. The exhibit is housed within the museum’s permanent third floor exhibit.
Pictured (L-R): APA Nashville’s Steve Lassiter, Lee Greenwood’s manager Jerry Bentley, Lee Greenwood, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum Director Kyle Young, APA Nashville’s Bonnie Sugarman and Ray Shelide. (Credit: J. Westby)
Leadership Music Offers Exclusives In Online Auction
/by Jessica NicholsonCommunications and Events Manager Judi Turner says, “We are excited to partner with Charitybuzz as we embark on our first on-line auction targeting fans and consumers. Thanks to the generosity of a host of Leadership Music alums and friends, we have very special one-of-a-kind experiences available to the highest bidder. Susan Heard (LM ’03) has been invaluable to us here in the office in coordinating the offerings.”
• A one-hour meeting with Mike Dungan of Universal Music Group
• A one-hour mentoring session with Tim Dubois
• A 30-minute dialogue with Jimmy Harnen of Big Machine Label Group
• A four-hour songwriting session with Jim McCormick
• A one-hour songwriting critique with Odie Blackmon
• “Fly on the wall” experience in a Nashville Studio with Adam Shoenfeld (guitar player for Tim McGraw)
• Tickets to George Strait‘s Cowboy Rides Away farewell show and signed memorabilia
• The Vinny experience – Two tickets to the pairings party at the Embassy Suites, two passes for the two days of the invitation-only The Vinny Golf Tournament at the Golf Club of Tennessee, and a private post-tournament dinner at the home of Vince Gill and Amy Grant
• A personalized, signed guitar from Brad Paisley
• Concert tickets and meet-and-greets for a variety of artists including Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler and others.
• A CMA Awards Show package
To bid on any of the above prizes, visit charitybuzz.com.
Industry Ink (5-15-13)
/by Jessica Nicholson• • •
• • •
• • •
The arrival and celebration outside the Opry House will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. The Opry performance will begin at 7 p.m. and will include performances by Diamond Rio, Craig Morgan, Easton Corbin, Lee Greenwood, Maggie Rose and U.S. veteran and Sony recording artist Angie Johnson.
• • •
Singles Only and Fifth Third Bank recently hosted SOjourn, a private event for Music Row’s top A&R and producers. Held at M Street, the night showcased new material from Trent Willmon, Clint Daniels, Jeff Middleton, Ben Daniel, Caitlyn Smith and Gordie Sampson.
Pictured (L-R): Brad Peterson (5/3 Music), Cheryl Martin (5/3 Music), Scott Ponce (Liz Rose Music), Taylor Lindsey (BMG Music), Daniel Lee (BMG Music), Denny Carr (Roots Three/Ole), Penny Everhard (BMI), Eric Gallimore (Red Vinyl Music), Natalie Harker (Liz Rose Music), Shane Barrett (Shane Barrett, Inc.), Kari Barnhart (5/3 Music), Phillip Feemster (5/3 Music)
Google Play Music: All Access Launches Today
/by Eric T. ParkerExpected to compete with rapidly growing music companies including Pandora and Spotify, the pay-by-month service allows users to blend their current music collections with its licensed library of songs from major labels UMG, Sony and Warner. Additionally, customers can create radio stations based on any song or artist, browse recommendations from an expert music team or explore by genre. Free storage for up to 20,000 songs is available in the cloud for listening alongside the All Access catalog.
The new service will be available in the U.S. on smartphones, tablets and Web browsers with a free 30-day trial, then for $9.99 a month for millions of songs on demand. Trials beginning by June 30 will pay only $7.99 a month.
Google Play is the company’s online media hub, which already includes a download store and storage locker.
Additional announcements at today’s roll-out include tools for developers to monetize apps in the Google Play download store, a new Samsung Galaxy S4 exclusively for Google Play, a tablet program for educators, a new web platform payment feature for Chrome, and a standalone app for “Hangouts.”
Weekly Register: The Virtues Of Frugality
/by bossrossYes, country music is up 1.1% YTD, but that translates to less than 150k units at this time. And please note that all genre music sales (which includes country) is down 5.4% or over 5 million units! Saying, “Flat or slightly down is the new up,” was pretty cute a few years ago, but today it has become a somber reality describing the album sales business. Adding pathos is the fact that Nielsen SoundScan’s trusty sales yardstick, which accurately measures scans and digital downloads, is being inundated by a fast moving industry tsunami whipped by technology and a coalition of new revenue streams.
These weighty issues funnel down to this week’s prime example, Lady Antebellum. The trio’s latest album tops today’s country and all-genre lists with over 167k physical and digital debut units. But the trio’s previous album debuted the week ended 9/18/11 with over 347k units, more than double this week’s showing.
Does this mean that Lady A’s fame is in jeopardy? No way! The trio is at the top of its game, visible across a plethora of media channels, with great new music, headlining sold out tours, selling truckloads of merchandise and promoting brands like Lipton Tea.
Last week we saw the same effect with Kenny Chesney who debuted with 153k units, down from his previous release which sold 193k in 6/24/12. Like Lady A, Chesney’s career is bubbling on all fronts including his new signature rum rolling out with the new album and featured on his headliner tour. Brad Paisley’s latest came out about a month ago and also fits the pattern.
All right, let’s move on to this week’s Nielsen SoundScan results, the data we can measure.
The Nitty Grid-y
Two trios are nested at the top of the country album chart this week, the aforementioned Lady A at No. 1 (167k; 32% digital) and the Pistol Annies at No. 2 with over 83k; (47% digital). (The Annies’ last outing sold 42k units 8/28/2011. Does this somehow negate the above discussion? Not really because the trio’s first album was released digital only.)
With the two debuts and recent product from Chesney, Shelton and the Band Perry, we’re seeing the Top 75 Current Country total swell to over 676k units. Then next week we’ll get new offerings from George Strait and Trace Adkins, followed a week later with product from Darius Rucker and Restless Heart which should keep the good news flowing.
This week’s tracks discussion begins with the venerable “I Told You So” department, every writer’s self-indulgent delight. I’m talking about 16-year-old The Voice contestant Danielle Bradbery who sang “Maybe It Was Memphis” last week and was highlighted in this space for her great performance. This week she gets highlighted again, but for her performance on the tracks chart. “…Memphis” lands at No. 9 on the Digital Genre Country list selling over 49k units!
The top of the country tracks list shows few surprises as Florida Georgia Line continues to DOMN8 adding another 151k units to remain at No. 1. Next week they’ll pass the 3.3 million marker. The remainder of the Top 5 is as follows: Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies “Boys Round Here” 110k; Darius Rucker “Wagon Wheel” 95k; Tim McGraw/Taylor Swift “Highway Don’t Care” 86k; and Luke Bryan “Crash My Party” 58k.
For an interesting NYT read/review of the two trios at the top of the country album charts this week, click here. Here’s the opening line from the invincible Jon Caramanica, “For Lady Antebellum, lipstick represents optimism. For Pistol Annies, it’s a tool of the oppressor.”
See you next week…
DISClaimer: Trace Adkins Towers Above Them All
/by Robert K OermannDisc of the Day winner Trace Adkins.
There is no shortage of “name” attractions in this stack of platters. Worthy of your attention are such familiar folks as Tracy Lawrence, Natalie Maines, B.J. Thomas & Vince Gill, Opry star Jim Ed Brown and Nashville TV diva Hayden Panettiere.
But towering above them all is tall Trace Adkins. Paired with pop princess Colbie Caillat, he delivers the unchallenged Disc of the Day. Play and believe.
It turns out that there is yet another Cyrus making records. Billy Ray and Miley have company. Hailing from Kentucky is Bobby Cyrus, who earns a DisCovery Award for his debut effort.
TRACE ADKINS & COLBIE CAILLAT/Watch the World End
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Show Dog Universal (ERG)
—Arguably the finest vocal performance of Trace’s career. He brings so much warmth, depth of expression, soul, passion and believability to this extraordinary lyric that it feels like he’s sitting in the same room with you. Grammy-winning, million-selling pop star Colbie Caillat shadows him in harmony and breathes soft ad libs throughout the beautifully orchestrated ballad.
DisCovery Award winner Bobby Cyrus.
KIX BROOKS/Complete 360
Writer: Kix Brooks/Rafe Van Hoy; Producer: Kix Brooks; Publisher: Sony ATV Tree/Buffalo Prairie/Se-Lo-Tek/Zambala/Kobalt, BMI/SESAC; Arista (track)
—Loud and rocking. Despite the clever lyric, it is sonically irritating.
HAYDEN PANETTIERE/Hypnotizing
Writer: Cary Barlowe/Steve Robson/Caitlyn Smith; Producer: Ross Copperman & Buddy Miller; Publisher: Castle Bound/We Be Partying/Imagem CV/Music of Stage Three/Songs of Cornman/BMG Chrysalis, SESAC/ASCAP/BMI; Big Machine (track)
—Sprightly, bopping and pop-y. I dig her voice.
TRACY LAWRENCE/Stop, Drop & Roll
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Lawrence Music Group/Tenacity (ERG)
—He’s on fire because she’s so hot, hence the the title’s advice. The percolating production, cute lyric and forceful vocal performance all work.
JIM ED BROWN/In Style Again
Writer: Lance Miller/Austin Cunningham; Producer: Bobby Bare; Publisher: Sony ATV Rhythm/In Style Again/Drivers Ed/Worleyworld, SESAC/ASCAP; Century II
—The veteran Grand Ole Opry star has always possessed one of country music’s most resonant baritones. The lyric of this fine song is about being passed over, pushed aside, made irrelevant, tossed away, replaced and forgotten in favor of someone younger and better looking. And what entertainment vet hasn’t experienced that? Very touching and poignant.
NATALIE MAINES/Take It On Faith
Writer: Natalie Maines/Ben Harper/Jason Mozersky/Jesse Ingalls; Producer: Ben Harper & Natalie Maines; Publisher: EMI Virgin/Three Chord Symphony/Iggy Brain, ASCAP; Columbia (track)
—I’m not sure whether Natalie’s solo CD has a single or not. The title tune “Mother” is drawn from Pink Floyd’s 1979 opus The Wall. Other tracks come from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Patty Griffin, Jeff Buckley and her fellow Dixie Chicks. This soulful power ballad is the song she performed on Letterman and it is a totally gripping performance and production. No matter what genre you call this collection, she’s still singing her fanny off.
B.J. THOMAS & VINCE GILL/I Just Can’t Help Believing
Writer: Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil; Producer: Kyle Lehning; Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Screen Gems EMI, BMI; Wrinkled (track)
—I have always loved this song. Producer Lehning strips it down to a gently strummed acoustic arrangement, and stellar tenor Gill turns it into a duet while Thomas provides his trademark fluttering, embellished and ornamented vocal style. A superb listening experience.
BOBBY CYRUS/Send Me Wings
Writer: Bobby Cyrus; Producer: Don Rigsby; Publisher: Somewhere in Tennessee, BMI; BGC (track)
—Billy Ray’s cousin has a debut CD titled Homeplace. Its single is a splendid story song about a neglected youth growing up angry and hurt. He asks to be taken to Heaven, because no one on earth will miss him when he’s gone. At the finale, his wish is granted. This guy writes as well as he sings.
LIZZIE SIDER/I Love You That Much
Writer: Joe Vulpis; Producer: Joe Vupis; Publisher: none listed; LSM
—Ordinary in every way, from the dull lyric to the formulaic melody, from the routine production to the bland vocal.
J.J. LAWHORN/Stomping Grounds
Writer: none listed; Producer: Jeremy Stover; Publisher: none listed; Average Joes (track)
—It’s one of those this-is-my-country-home thangs, complete with dirt roads, beer, deer hunting, partying in the fields, small-town blah-blah-blah and I’ll die here. Fine. But take some singing lessons.
Presenters Announced For The 2013 Billboard Music Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonNashville‘s Hayden Panettiere (Juliette Barnes) will also serve as a presenter, along with fellow actors and actresses Chloe Grace Moretz (“Dark Shadows”), Alyssa Milano (“Mistresses”), Jennifer Morrison (“Once Upon a Time”), Gabriel Mann (“Revenge”), Stana Katic (“Castle”) and Emmy Rossum (“Shameless”).
The 2013 Billboard Music Awards will air this Sunday (May 19) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, live from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. “30 Rock” alum Tracy Morgan will host, with Don Mischer producing.
Luke Bryan To Release Fourth Studio Album August 13
/by Jessica NicholsonThe Aug. 13 release will be the follow-up to Bryan’s double-platinum certified project tailgates & tanlines, which contains the singles, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” “Drunk On You,” “I Don’t Want This Night To End” and “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”
Bobby Karl Works The 2013 Grammy Block Party
/by Bobby KarlPictured (L-R): Singer/Songwriter and GRAMMY Nominee Will Hoge; Susan Stewart, South Regional Director, The Recording Academy; MCA Recording Artist Kip Moore; Suzanne Alexander, GAC host and Nashville Chapter Board member; Shawn McSpadden of Red Light Management. Photo by Frederick Breedon
If you lifted your face into the spring breeze, gazed at the community of music people gathered around you and listened to the fabulous sounds wafting from the stage, you would be perfectly justified in thinking you were in the exact best place in the universe yesterday evening at the Grammy Block Party.
“Thank you, everybody, for being out on a beautiful day in Nashville,” said Mayor Karl Dean at the annual event (May 14). He really is the Music Mayor, the first one to graduate from Leadership Music, the first one to convene a Mayor’s Music Council and the first one to oversee a Music Makes Us education initiative. He said the Recording Academy’s Nancy Shapiro was the force behind the last named.
Mayor Dean also stated that this year, Nashville has been cited as a boom town, been called the “It” city and heralded as one of the four top cities in the world to visit.
“The Grammy nominations concert was a big moment,” he added, “But the one that means the most to me is that Rolling Stone said we were the best music scene in America. It’s a great city, and I thank you.”
“We do this event for you, our members,” said Recording Academy Nashville director Susan Stewart. “We’re proud to be part of this community.”
Jon Randall Stewart (no relation) is the current president of the Nashville Chapter board. “I hope everybody’s having a good time,” he said. We were. He described the good work done by the chapter’s MusiCares office. Event coordinator Alicia Warwick thanked the many sponsors.
As I mentioned, the music was extraordinary. Kristen Kelly, The Megaphones and Southern rockers The Rhett Walker Band heated things up. Will Hoge was triumphantly soulful during a set that included his much-nominated “Even If It Breaks Your Heart.” New country sensation Kip Moore and terrific Americana music makers The Lone Bellow were booked to cap the festivities.
Oweing to the perfect weather, women were in their spring frocks, lightweight blouses and sun dresses. Gents were attired in short-sleeved sport shirts, polos, Hawaiian tops or t-shirts.
Everywhere you looked in the crowd, there was a talented Somebody. Schmoozing fabulons included Doug Howard, Rod Essig, Tracy Gershon, Dan Hill, Jay Frank, the band Stovall, Allen Brown, Trey Fanjoy, Lisa Harless, Steve O’Brien, Bob Paxman, Walter Campbell and Marc Oswald. I don’t know if he was kidding or not, but Chuck Ainlay maintained that May 14 is Studio Engineers Day. “We should throw a party,” he suggested, gesturing at his surroundings.
The event was staged at Owen Bradley Park and on Music Square East. The space is the “back door” of ASCAP and the “front door” of BMI. Working the “room” were Becky Harris, Chris Keaton, Charles Dorris, Ed Salamon, Doak Turner, r&b record makers Jo Carter and Jonathan Winstead, Dave Pomeroy, John Grady, Frank Liddell, Joe Scaife, Kyle Frederick, Brian Kolb, former Detroit Tigers baseball standout and now Music City singer-songwriter Andy Kropf, Bob Doyle, Fletcher Foster, Dan Dailey, Doug Casmus, Matt Singleton, Misty Loggins, Cindy Watts, Leslie Roberts, Not Just Country Nashville TV producer Michael West, Rich Fagan, Lori Badgett, Raeanne Rubenstein, Erika Wollam-Nichols, Sarah Skates, jazzman and percussionist Marcus Finnie, John Ingrassia, Chandra LaPlume, Pat McMakin, Earle Simmons, Steve Griel, Diane Pearson and Gary Paczosa.
Not to mention such Recording Academy Nashville staffers as Ashley Ernst, Laura Crawford and Lyn Aurelius, intern Casey Elliott, who was/is as enthusiastic about The Lone Bellow as I am. Which proves she has good taste. Former Grammy U Nashville rep Bryan Downing reports that he has left Combustion Music and is freelancing as a guitar man, notably in the band of “Gunnar” (Sam Palladino) on the TV show Nashville. Look for him in tonight’s episode on bass.