DisClaimer: Baby Acts Look Promising

/by

Jimbeau Hinson

Disc of the Day winner Jimbeau Hinson


The narrative this week belongs to the baby acts. I can’t remember any prior listening session when there were so many promising newcomers. Vying for attention this week were Chris Janson, The Henningsens, Danny Griego and Shelly Fraley. I’m giving the DisCovery Award to Texan Danny Griego, but it could just as easily have gone to any of the others.
Longtime Music Row tunesmith Jimbeau Hinson has recorded only sporadically over the years. His Strong Medicine CD and its “Distant Vision” track are ample evidence that he should do so more often. Give the man a Disc of the Day award.
DEBBIE COCHRAN/Honky Tonk Yourself Right Out of Heaven
Writer: Debbie Cochran, Producer: Kent Wells, Publisher: DMC Anniston, BMI
-It’s a fiddle and steel-soaked two-step. Country, country, country all the way.
THE HENNINGSENS/American Beautiful
Writers: Aaron Henningsen/Brian Henningsen/Clara Henningsen/Brett Beavers, Producer: Paul Worley, Publisher: none listed, BMI
-The chunky, choppy sonic bed contrasts with a smooth lead vocalist and a catchy, tuneful chorus. Solidly written and sung. I’m intrigued. Send more.
DANNY GRIEGO/I Wear My Own Kind of Hat
Writers: Merle Haggard, Producers: Danny Griego, Ed Seay, Publisher: Sony Tree, BMI
-This 1979 Haggard oldie is given a classy update with a rockin’ “outlaw” backbeat and a gritty, soulful, slightly raspy, baritone vocal performance. I dig it.
Discovery Award winner

DisCovery Award winner Danny Griego


KATIE ARMIGER/Playin’ With Fire
Writers: Katie Armiger, Ricky Davis, Micol Davis, Producer: Chad Carlson, Publishers: Purple Monkeys/Hits of Tom Lies/Go Ahead On/Dorvin and Bubba/Squeeze Me
-Armiger continues her winning ways with this bluesy attitude number that sounds as dangerous as a hissing sidewinder. The kid rocks.
CHRIS JANSON/Better I Don’t
Writers: none listed, Producer: Keith Stegall, Publishers: none listed
-It’s a snappy country rocker with a well written lyric about a reformed wild man who knows better than to tempt fate with booze or babes. Promising.
KENNY CHESNEY/Pirate Flag
Writers: Ross Copperman, David Lee Murphy, Producers: Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney, Publishers: EMI Blackwood/Ross Copperman/4 Tunes/Old Desperados/N2D; BMI/ASCAP
-He kicks normal living aside for “a pirate flag and an island girl.” In other words, familiar Chesney territory, and extremely well produced.
SHELLY FRALEY/Wastin’ Time
Writer: Waylon Jennings, Producer: Ian Fitchuk, Publisher: none listed
-The deep echo-chamber effect is ear catching. She sings in a drowsy, world-weary sigh. The ballad’s love-is-gone lyric and wafting melody are both terrific. Extremely inventive and well worth your spins.
JIMBEAU HINSON/Distant Vision
Writers: Jimbeau Hinson, Producer: Kim Tribble, Publisher: American Romance; ASCAP
-Veteran hit songwriter Hinson really packed ‘em in at his album-release party last week. If you want to hear what all the excitement was about, check out this free download on the Wrinkled Records website. It’s a textbook example of blue-eyed soul singing, gospel-tinged lyric writing and shoulder-shaking-rhythm production. The CD is titled Strong Medicine. You need it in your life.
TYLER & THE TRIBE/Heaven and Hell
Writers: none listed, Producer: none listed, Publisher: none listed
-The band plays okay, in a quirky kinda way, but is poorly mixed. Also, the too-wordy songwriting could use some tightening up.
B.J. THOMAS & STEVE TYRELL/Rock and Roll Lullaby
Writers: Barry Mann/Cynthia Well, Producer: Kyle Lehning, Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Summerhill, BMI
-The upcoming The Living Room Sessions CD by B.J. Thomas features many of his classic hits reworked as duets with the likes of Keb Mo, Vince Gill, Richard Marx and Lyle Lovett. The noteworthy thing about this track is that Tyrell produced Thomas’s 1972 original version. He proves to be a worthy vocalist, although nowhere near the still-thrilling pipes of the iconic star. The label, Wrinkled, is off to a splendid start with consistently excellent platters from Buffy Lawson, Etta Britt, Jimbeau Hinson and Thomas. It’s great to know there’s still a company in town that’s all about the music.

Music City Center To Hold Grand Opening May 19-20

/by

MusicCityCenter1The grand opening for Nashville’s Music City Center will take place on May 19 and 20. The grand opening will include a free open house for the community on both days and will feature live, local music as well as a free street party and outdoor concert on May 20.
Mayor Karl Dean will present his State of Metro address at the Music City Center at 10 a.m. on May 20.
“I continue to be impressed by the size and beauty of the Music City Center and encourage Nashvillians to see it for themselves during the grand opening,” Dean said. “There’s no doubt we are a city with momentum, and with the opening of the Music City Center in May, even more tourists and conventioneers will get to see that first hand. We know it’s not going to be the biggest convention facility in the country, but I’m absolutely certain it will be the best.”
Major features in the $585 million facility include a public art collection comprised of more than 80 pieces and the 57,500 square feet Grand Ballroom, which seats 6,000 people. The Music City Center includes 1.2 million square feet of public space and a 900,000 square-foot garage (that includes 1,800 parking spaces).
 

MusicRowRecess: Sophia Grace & Rosie Sing Taylor Swift

/by

During a recent episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show, charming entertainers (and cousins) Sophia Grace & Rosie performed a version of Taylor Swift‘s “I Knew You Were Trouble” from the singer’s latest album, Red. Sophia Grace (the 9-year-old brunette) sang the lead vocals while Rosie (the 6-year-old blonde) contributed dance moves.
The girls have been correspondents during the Grammy Awards and even have a skit titled “Tea Time with Sophia Grace & Rosie,” where they interview various celebrities.

 Watch a clip from the episode

http://youtu.be/GRm7AesY8aM

BMLG Enters Deal With Beasley Broadcast Group

/by

Beasley_BMLG_LogosBeasley Broadcast Group and Big Machine Label Group have reached an agreement to share certain over-the-air broadcast and digital revenue related to the use of Big Machine’s music.
Through this agreement, Beasley will share a percentage of its terrestrial revenues with Big Machine Label Group, and its artists including Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Reba. Big Machine has agreed to an innovative approach to allow digital simulcasts of the over-the-air signals by Beasley Broadcast to scale affordably to support the growth of Beasley’s digital platform.
Since BMLG announced a similar and groundbreaking deal with Clear Channel last June, the model has been used to forge agreements between BMLG and Entercom, as well as Clear Channel and labels including rpm entertainment, Glassnote Entertainment Group, Naxos and DashGo. The deals mark the first time in history that artists have been paid performance royalties for radio broadcasts. In turn, the artists and labels have agreed to scale digital royalties to a predictable or lesser amount.

Country On Television

/by

bshelton Blake Shelton and Reba are teaming up again. Shelton, a coach on NBC’s The Voice, will appear on an upcoming episode of Reba’s current ABC television sitcom, Malibu Country, on March 1. Shelton will play Reba’s character’s brother in the clip.
The cast also includes Lily Tomlin portraying Reba’s mother and Sara Rue as Reba’s neighbor Kim.

• • •

HillaryScott1Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott is set to appear on  The Voice as a mentor. However, she won’t be assisting coach Blake Shelton‘s team–instead, she will be joining with Adam Levine.
“I was so excited to join Adam for a couple days on The Voice,” Scott told Access Hollywood. “It’s an honor to mentor his team…he’s going to have some tough choices to make!”

• • •

Hunter HayesHunter Hayes will get plenty of television coverage this week.
He is set to appear on Live from the MTV Newsroom: Hunter Hayes at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday (Feb. 5). On Wednesday (Feb. 6), Hayes will perform on The View at 11 a.m. ET and on Thursday (Feb. 7), fans can watch the multi-talented musician on GAC’s Headline Country at 3 p.m. ET and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35 p.m. ET.
He will wrap the week with an appearance Friday (Feb. 8) on Access Hollywood Live before heading to the Grammy® Awards on Sunday (Feb. 10), where he is nominated for Best New Artist, Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance for “Wanted.”
 

Industry Ink (2/5/13)

/by

axs ticketing1Staples Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia have transitioned to AXS Ticketing from Ticketmaster. Since launching in August 2011, AEG has installed the new platform in 24 venues in less than 18 months. Beyonce‘s June 26 concert at Staples Center will be the first event in the downtown Los Angeles venue to be offered exclusively through the AXS.com platform.
“With the addition of AEG’s largest and most iconic venue to date – Staples Center – the ticketing platform now powers the No. 1 arenas in both North America and the United Kingdom [London’s 02 Arena], with true momentum forward,” said Tom Andrus, AXS Digital SVP & GM. “AXS is more than just ticketing and was created as a complete platform to redefine the live event experience by empowering venues across every phase of an event – from event discovery to ticketing to in-venue engagement and beyond.”

• • •

SOURCE–an organization of women executives in Nashville’s music industry–held its monthly members’ luncheon at ASCAP on Jan. 24. The group welcomed new members Denise M. Stevens (Loeb & Loeb), JoAnn Berry (Berry Management Group) and Jensen Arrowsmith (Sweet Talk Publicity).

SOURCE1

Pictured (L to R): Debbie Carroll (SOURCE Pres. & Exec Dir. Music Cares), Denise M. Stevens, JoAnn Berry, Jensen Arrowsmith and Lainie Allbee (Dir. SOURCE Membership & Martin Allbee & Associates).

• • •

shamrock media group11Shamrock Media Group has added Christian radio promoters James Riley and Shane Boyd, who will serve as VP of National Promotions and Director of National Promotions, respectively. They will join AC/Soft AC National Promotions Manager Alan Garrett and Rhythmic Promotions Manager Mike Laxton under the direction of founder and President Chris Chicago.
In addition, Shamrock has expanded production and music video services, hiring Rhyan Shirley as Video Promotions Manager and Jeff Savage (tobyMac, Jars of Clay, dcTalk) as Creative Director. Savage will provide in-house mixing and production services to Shamrock’s growing stable of artists and labels.
Founded in 2005, Shamrock Media Group provides radio and video promotion for Christian artists in nearly every format, including AC, Hot AC/CHR, Soft AC/INSP, Rock, Rhythmic and Triple A.
 
 
 
 

John Fogerty Taps Country Stars To Revisit Classics

/by

jfLegendary rocker John Fogerty teamed with today’s biggest country, pop and rock stars for his upcoming album Wrote A Song For Everyone. Joining him on the project are Keith Urban, Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Foo Fighters, Bob Seger, Jennifer Hudson, Kid Rock, My Morning Jacket, Dawes and more. For the album Fogerty encouraged the artists to create their own visions of his classic songs.
Due out May 28, it is his first album for Vanguard Records. Produced by Fogerty and mixed by Bob Clearmountain, it was recorded mostly in Los Angeles and Nashville. “Proud Mary” was recorded in New Orleans and “Lodi” was recorded with his sons Shane and Tyler Fogerty at Abbey Road Studios in London.
The album track, “Born On The Bayou” recorded with Kid Rock, was used by the NFL Network for Super Bowl coverage of the game played last night (Feb. 3) in New Orleans. Wrote A Song… also includes new songs “Mystic Highway” and “Train of Fools.”
Beginning today (Feb. 4), the album is available for pre-order via iTunes and Amazon.
Wrote a Song for Everyone tracklisting:
1. Fortunate Son (with Foo Fighters)
2. Almost Saturday Night (with Keith Urban)
3. Lodi (with Shane Fogerty and Tyler Fogerty)
4. Mystic Highway (John Fogerty solo)
5. Wrote a Song for Everyone (with Miranda Lambert feat. Tom Morello)
6. Bad Moon Rising (with Zac Brown Band)
7. Long As I Can See the Light (with My Morning Jacket)
8. Born on the Bayou (with Kid Rock)
9. Train of Fools (John Fogerty solo)
10. Someday Never Comes (with Dawes)
11. Who’ll Stop the Rain (with Bob Seger)
12. Hot Rod Heart (with Brad Paisley)
13. Have You Ever Seen the Rain (with Alan Jackson)
14. Proud Mary (with Jennifer Hudson feat. Allen Toussaint and the Rebirth Brass Band)

ACM Award Nominations To Be Announced Feb. 13

/by

acm awards1Little Big Town, The Band Perry and Scotty McCreery will join Ryan Seacrest, Nancy O’Dell, 2 Broke Girls actress Beth Behrs and Rob Marciano to announce the nominees for the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Wednesday (Feb. 13) via the second annual digital press conference on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AcademyofCountryMusic) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ACMAwards).
The awards nominees will be announced via live videos posted in real-time to fans and media simultaneously, beginning at 6:30 a.m. PST, followed by an official press release that will be posted at www.ACMCountry.com.
Country music fans will be invited to announce the Entertainer of the Year category. Beginning today (Feb. 5), fans are invited to visit the ACM YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/acmcountry) to learn how to post videos announcing the name of the artist(s) they would like to see receive an Entertainer of the Year nomination. On Wednesday (Feb. 13) during the real-time digital press conference, fans can watch to see if their video submission is used to announce their pick for the Academy’s biggest prize.
The Academy of Country Music Awards will take place Sunday, April 7 beginning at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
 

Blue Hat Records Inks Deal with RED Distribution

/by

blue hat records11red artist development22Blue Hat Records has inked a distribution agreement for The Charlie Daniels Band through RED Distribution and MRI Associated Labels, Inc. The co-venture between Blue Hat Records and MRI will have RED handling all distribution duties for The Charlie Daniels Band product.

“In our 16-year history of continued growth, Charlie and I are very excited to have the opportunity to expand our musical reach with new distribution partners RED,” says Blue Hat Records president and personal manager for Charlie Daniels, David Corlew. “I believe that Dewayne and his staff at RED share a common mission, to create and spread music for all the right reasons.  We are honored to share our journey with the new team.”

The Charlie Daniels Band’s first release for RED, titled Hits of the South, is scheduled for release February 19.
Formed in 1972, The Charlie Daniels Band has been entertaining crowds for more than 40 years. On the new release, the CDB pays tribute to their musical heritage with Southern Rock favorites like, “Freebird,” “Long Haired Country Boy” and “Can’t You See.”

Toby Keith Hammers Down on Tour

/by
Toby Keith and Kip Moore

Toby Keith and Kip Moore

Toby Keith will embark on a 2013 summer tour titled the Hammer Down Tour with special guest Kip Moore. Presented by longtime partner Ford F-Series, the run begins on June 8 in Ozark, Ark. with stops in Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and other cities (confirmed dates below).

Touring in support of his current album Hope On The Rocks, Keith is expected to play the self-written title track single, “Hope On The Rocks.”
Prior to the start of the tour, Keith will be headlining the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, a night at the four-day festival Country Thunder in Florence, Ariz. and a night at the Stagecoach festival in Indio, Calif.
Moore’s current single, “Hey Pretty Girl,” was released as the follow up after two No. 1’s, “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck” and “Beer Money.”
Confirmed dates (subject to change) for Toby Keith’s Hammer Down Tour are below, with more to be added soon:
June 8–Ozark AR–Thunder On The Mountain *
June 14–Cincinnati–Riverbend Music Center
June 15–Pittsburgh–First Niagara Pavilion
June 22–Philadelphia–Susquehanna Bank Center
June 28–Oshkosh, Wis.–Country USA *
June 29–Cadott, Wis.–Country Fest *
June 30–Chicago–First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
July 19–Cleveland–Blossom Music Center
July 20–St. Clairsville, Ohio–Jamboree In The Hills
July 21–Buffalo, N.Y.–Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
July 27–Cheyenne, Wash.–Frontier Days *
July 30–Davenport, Iowa–Mississippi Valley Fair *
Aug. 2–Sweet Home, Ore.–Oregon Jamboree
Aug. 6–Sturgis, S.D.–Buffalo Chip *
Aug. 14–Springfield, Ill.–Illinois State Fair
Aug. 24–Washington–Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 25–Hartford, Conn.–Comcast Theatre
Aug. 31–Allentown, Pa.–The Great Allentown Fair
Sep. 1–Essex Junction, Vt.–Champlain Valley Fair
Sep. 7–Indianapolis–Klipsch Music Center
Dates with * = Kip Moore does not appear.