The Academy of Country Music’s ACM Honors winners will be feted at an event held on Sept. 10 in Nashville. This year’s honorees are:
Keith Whitley and The Judds, recipients of the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. This award honors individuals who are pioneers in the country music genre. Past recipients of the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award include Alabama, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, Jerry Reed, Tex Ritter, Marty Robbins, Kenny Rogers, Billy Sherrill, Ricky Skaggs, Mel Tillis, Randy Travis, Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner, Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jr., Bob Wills and Dwight Yoakam, among others.
Jason Aldean, recipient of the Crystal Milestone Award. This award is given to an artist or industry leader to commemorate a specific, remarkable achievement.Past recipients of the Crystal Milestone Award include Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Gayle Holcomb, Jennifer Nettles and Taylor Swift.
Blake Shelton has been chosen to receive the Gene Weed Special Achievement Award, which acknowledges unprecedented, unique and outstanding individual achievement in country music. Past recipients of the Gene Weed Special Achievement Award include Garth Brooks, George Burns, Jeff Foxworthy, Willie Nelson and George Strait.
Lady Antebellum has been chosen to receive the Jim Reeves International Award, which is presented to an artist for outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world. Past recipients of the Jim Reeves International Award include Garth Brooks, Dick Clark, Roy Clark, Merv Griffin, Alan Jackson, Charlie Nagatani, Buck Owens, Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, among others.
Tommy Wiggins has been chosen as the recipient of the Mae Boren Axton Award, which is given in recognition of years of dedication and service by an outstanding individual to the Academy of Country Music. Past recipients of the Mae Boren Axton Award include John Dorris, Rod Essig, Gayle Holcomb, Jack Lameier, Marge Meoli, Ray Pilzak, Gaynelle Pitts, Gene Weed and David Young.
Guy Clark and Hank Williams have been selected to receive the Poet’s Award, which honors songwriters for outstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their careers in the field of country music. Previous recipients of the Poet’s Award include Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Hank Cochran, Merle Haggard, Tom T. Hall, Harlan Howard, Roger Miller, Fred Rose, Don Schlitz and Cindy Walker.
Additional ACM Honors awards include:
INDUSTRY AWARDS:
CASINO OF THE YEAR – Red Rock Casino & Resort – Las Vegas
NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR – Joe’s Bar – Chicago
VENUE OF THE YEAR – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, Tenn.
DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR – Jerry Hufford – Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR – Ed Warm – Joe’s Bar
MBI (MUSICIAN, BANDLEADER, INSTRUMENTALIST) AWARDS:
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR – Jay Joyce
AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR – Chuck Ainlay
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jimmie Lee Sloas
PERCUSSIONIST/DRUMMER OF THE YEAR – Matt Chamberlain
FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Aubrey Haynie
GUITARIST OF THE YEAR – J.T. Corenflos
PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Michael Rojas
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Ilya Toshinsky
STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Mike Johnson
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD:
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR – Dallas Davidson

 Taylor Swift welcomed a good friend onstage during a recent St. Louis stop on her Red tour–rapper Nelly. The pair performed his song “Hey Porsche.”

Taylor Swift with Nelly

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Alan Jackson headlined the fifth annual “Stars Go Blue” benefit last night at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, performing for a sold-out, standing room only crowd. Bigger Picture Music Group’s Craig Campbell opened the show in honor of his father who passed away from colon cancer when Campbell was only 11 years old. The event was hosted by the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) and all proceeds from the concert will benefit CCA’s Blue Note Fund, helping patients in need, a program founded by Nashville’s own Grammy- nominated artist/producer Charlie Kelley. The CCA holds the “Stars Go Blue” concert annually in support of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. During March, organizations across the nation will place emphasis on educating the public about prevention and detection. Jackson’s desire to participate in the event was in response to his wife, Denise, being diagnosed in 2010; she is now cancer free.

Alan Jackson at “Stars Go Blue.”

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The Today Show‘s Hoda Kotb was in the audience for last night’s CMA Songwriters Series set from Joe’s Pub in New York City. The show was headlined by Black River Entertainment artist Craig Morgan, who had just returned from Afghanistan and his 10th tour to entertain troops stationed overseas.

Pictured (L-R): Phil O’Donnell, Eric Paslay, Bob DiPiero, Hoda Kotb, Craig Morgan

• • The Google for Creators event is set for April 18 at Anthem in The Gulch. Reps from Google/YouTube will share the latest tools to empower artists and entertainment industry professionals to create, expose and promote art, grow audiences and monetize content. Included will be how to get the most out of digital platforms like YouTube and Google+. Tickets are sold out but details and a wait list can be found here.
• • YouTube has passed the 1 billion monthly visitor mark. The Google-owned site hit 800 million monthly visitors in October 2011. More here.
• • Pandora executives told investors that it expects its royalty payments to decline from 60 percent of revenue to 40 percent of revenue over the next few years. It hopes to increase revenue from mobile usage. The streaming radio service has been criticized by the music industry for not paying a high enough royalty rate, particularly to songwriters.

On Monday (March 25) country music singer-songwriter Johnny Russell will be honored with a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail. The marker unveiling will be held at 10:30 a.m. at 101 East Delta Avenue in Moorhead. Miss. Governor Phil Bryant is scheduled to offer remarks during the event.
John Bright “Johnny” Russell (1940-2001) was born and raised in Moorhead and went on to become a star of the Grand Ole Opry and a popular country recording artist, with such hits as “Catfish John” and “Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer.” He is best remembered as the author of “Act Naturally,” a hit for both Buck Owens and the Beatles that sold over 20 million copies.
Russell was widely seen on TV’s Hee Haw, and he joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1985, quickly becoming a mainstay as an affecting singer and charming comedian—with the jokes often turning on his own notable weight. In 2000, top country artists backed him as he recorded Actin’ Naturally, a collection of his own songs, including “Ain’t You Even Gonna Cry,” which became a standard—and all published by his own company, appropriately named Sunflower County Songs. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001, the year of his untimely death.
Much like the Mississippi Blues Trail, which now garners more than 160 markers, the Mississippi Country Music Trail celebrates Mississippi’s rich heritage of country music legends and chart toppers. The trail will feature a variety of country music artists, including Jimmie Rodgers, Marty Stuart, Mac McAnally, Faith Hill, Charley Pride and others to comprise the first 30 markers across the state.
For more information about the Mississippi Country Music Trail, explore www.mscountrymusictrail.org.