MusicRow extends condolences to PLA Publicist Carly Caramanna on the passing of her father. Her family’s home and business, located on one of New Jersey’s barrier islands, suffered a complete loss during Hurricane Sandy. Her father died of a heart attack on Saturday at the age of 52. She is with her family and is on extended leave from work. To donate to her family’s relief fund, go to the PLA website and use PayPal (note “for Carly” with the donation), or contact Pam Lewis at pam.lewis@plamedia.com or (615) 327-0100.
• • • •
Ronnie Milsap at Rock The Cradle.
Ronnie Milsap headlined Rock the Cradle, a benefit for the Baptist Hospital NICU, on Oct. 23. Presented by the ACM, the show at Loveless Barn featured a performance by songwriter Leslie Satcher, and Allison DeMarcus as emcee.
Rock the Cradle has generated more than $400,000 in proceeds over the past three years for the Beaman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Rock the Cradle is organized by a committee of music industry, business and community leaders and led by event co-chairs Connie Bradley and Troy Tomlinson.
• • • •
Operation Finally Home has joined forces with LP Building Products, Kix Brooks and American Country Countdown to build six homes for deserving veterans across the country over the next two years. The first home will be built in Las Vegas, Nev., in 2013 for wounded Ft. Campbell soldier Army Cpl. Christopher Bales. The Bales home build is scheduled to begin in January 2013 with a projected completion date in January 2014. More at FinallyHomeUSA.com.
• • • •
Danny Gokey has tapped fellow singing competition stars Kris Allen (Idol) and Jamar Rogers (The Voice) for the 3rd Annual Cruise for Sophia’s Heart Foundation, setting sail from Port Canaveral, Florida on Feb. 24, 2013. All guests on the four-day Bahamas Cruise will enjoy concerts, meet & greets, silent and live auctions, dinners and more the artists. Sophia’s Heart supports compassion programs in Nashville that benefit homeless children, families and victims rescued from human trafficking. www.sophiasheart.org
45 RPM To Salute Connie Smith Tomorrow Night
/by Sarah SkatesCreated by steel guitar player Mike Johnson, songwriter Jimmy Melton, and UMPG’s Cyndi Forman, 45rpm highlights the great artists, songs, songwriters and producers from the ’60s and ’70s such as Mel Street, Don Williams, Gary Stewart, Gene Watson and Tammy Wynette. The band is led by Johnson and Melton, and includes some of Nashville’s top studio musicians.
The event is usually held the last Wednesday of each month. Occasionally, 45rpm spotlights a specific person from the era. Past spotlight shows have honored Gene Watson, Leona Williams, Norro Wilson, Garth Fundis and Sonny Throckmorton.
Details on Facebook.
Reba Celebrates Return To Television
/by Eric T. ParkerReba
Reba McEntire celebrated the premiere of her new ABC show Malibu Country this past Friday night (11/2) with staff at her Nashville Starstruck offices on Music Row.
The new comedy series ranked in the evening’s top slot, with 8.9 million viewers tuning in. The debut also helped to make ABC the evening’s number one network among adults 18-49.
Preceding the 8:30 pm ET/7:30 CT premiere, McEntire held an hour-long webchat to answer questions from fans and host phone calls from Malibu Country co-stars.
Included in promotions for Malibu Country is new music from McEntire called “The New Me,” written by Dave Stewart, McEntire, and her husband/manager Narvel Blackstock. The song is currently available from ABC on iTunes.
The morning of the CMA Awards (11/1), McEntire performed another new song from the show, called “Goodbye Looks Good On Me” as well as recent hits “Turn On The Radio” and “Consider Me Gone,” live from Nashville on Good Morning America.
Stoney Creek Promotes Jen Joe
/by Sarah SkatesJen Joe
Stoney Creek Records has promoted Jen Joe to Midwest Manager of Promotion, effective immediately. She has served as the Promotion Coordinator for Broken Bow Records and Stoney Creek Records for almost four years.
Joe takes over the position previously held by Shelley Hargis, who was upped to National Director of Promotion for new imprint RED BOW Records, a partnership between the BBR Music Group and RED Distribution.
Joe can be reached at 615-320-1372 and at Jen@stoneycreekrecords.com.
ACM Reveals Radio Award Submission Details
/by Eric T. ParkerNominees for the radio awards categories (outlined below) will be announced in spring 2013. The ACM Awards telecast, airing LIVE on CBS next spring at a yet-to-be-decided date, recognizes winners for the previous calendar year (radio eligibility period extends from Jan. 1, 2012 through Dec. 7, 2012).
Only current ACM members may submit for Station or On-Air Personality category consideration; the application deadline for new memberships is this Friday, Nov. 9, and for existing membership renewals is Friday, Nov. 16 here. Categories to be awarded include:
Benefits and Lifenotes
/by Sarah SkatesMusicRow extends condolences to PLA Publicist Carly Caramanna on the passing of her father. Her family’s home and business, located on one of New Jersey’s barrier islands, suffered a complete loss during Hurricane Sandy. Her father died of a heart attack on Saturday at the age of 52. She is with her family and is on extended leave from work. To donate to her family’s relief fund, go to the PLA website and use PayPal (note “for Carly” with the donation), or contact Pam Lewis at pam.lewis@plamedia.com or (615) 327-0100.
• • • •
Ronnie Milsap at Rock The Cradle.
Ronnie Milsap headlined Rock the Cradle, a benefit for the Baptist Hospital NICU, on Oct. 23. Presented by the ACM, the show at Loveless Barn featured a performance by songwriter Leslie Satcher, and Allison DeMarcus as emcee.
Rock the Cradle has generated more than $400,000 in proceeds over the past three years for the Beaman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Rock the Cradle is organized by a committee of music industry, business and community leaders and led by event co-chairs Connie Bradley and Troy Tomlinson.
• • • •
Operation Finally Home has joined forces with LP Building Products, Kix Brooks and American Country Countdown to build six homes for deserving veterans across the country over the next two years. The first home will be built in Las Vegas, Nev., in 2013 for wounded Ft. Campbell soldier Army Cpl. Christopher Bales. The Bales home build is scheduled to begin in January 2013 with a projected completion date in January 2014. More at FinallyHomeUSA.com.
• • • •
Danny Gokey has tapped fellow singing competition stars Kris Allen (Idol) and Jamar Rogers (The Voice) for the 3rd Annual Cruise for Sophia’s Heart Foundation, setting sail from Port Canaveral, Florida on Feb. 24, 2013. All guests on the four-day Bahamas Cruise will enjoy concerts, meet & greets, silent and live auctions, dinners and more the artists. Sophia’s Heart supports compassion programs in Nashville that benefit homeless children, families and victims rescued from human trafficking. www.sophiasheart.org
CRS 2013 Artist Humanitarian Award Recipient Named
/by FreemanThe duo’s collective charitable endeavors are wide-ranging and date back more than a decade. Among the causes the pair has championed are St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the 173rd Airborne Memorial Fund, Project Clean Water, the Special Olympics, Second Harvest Food Band and more. The duo has also done international outreach for underprivileged children in Uganda, Sudan, Haiti, and Kenya among others.
“Big Kenny Alphin and John Rich individually and collectively have used their success to set a personal example for all of us to follow as humanitarians,” says CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne. “Their selfless contributions have gone a long way to help make life better for countless men, women, and children, both today and tomorrow.”
The honor will be conferred at 10:30 am on Feb. 27 immediately following the CRS Keynote Address.
Register for CRS 2013 here.
Way Out West Plans National Radio Strategy, Announces Promotions
/by Freeman“Way Out West is thrilled to partner with David Haley and InstiGator to help move our artists to the next level,” says Mike Severson, VP/Artist Development, Promotion & Marketing for Way Out West. “We look forward to what’s ahead with our artists and the promotion team we are building around them.”
Haley’s efforts will compliment the secondary promotion efforts of Regina Raleigh and Ann Chrisman. Reach Haley here. Way Out West is also home to flagship artist and co-founder Shawna Russell.
Additionally, label Managing Partner Clif Doyal has been promoted to the role of President, responsible for overseeing daily operations and creative direction. Tim Russell will transition to VP Special Projects and Shawna Russell will continue her role as consultant.
McGraw Debuts New Music During CMA Week
/by Eric T. ParkerTim McGraw and Ne-Yo
Tim McGraw hosted an exclusive party at downtown Nashville’s One Eleven rooftop venue on Halloween night, the eve of the 46th Annual CMA Awards.
Industry and media were invited to preview songs from McGraw’s upcoming Big Machine Records album, Two Lanes of Freedom, out on Feb. 5. He unveiled his new single, “One Of Those Nights,” and invited special guest, R&B star Ne-Yo, to join him onstage.
Plaques were also presented during the event, honoring McGraw as Nielsen BDS’ most played Country artist of the past 20 years with 10 million detected spins and the most played Country artist in the history of Mediabase.
McGraw received a 2012 CMA Award for Musical Event of the Year with Kenny Chesney for the duet “Feel Like A Rock Star.” Additionally, he performed twice during the live broadcast.
Pictured (L-R): Josh Bennett (Nielsen-BDS-SoundScan/Nashville), McGraw, Scott Borchetta, Robin Rhodes (Mediabase).
Maroon 5 To Perform at Grammy Noms Concert
/by Sarah SkatesThe road to “Music’s Biggest Night” begins with The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! and culminates with the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards, live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, and broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The nominations concert is produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC. Ken Ehrlich is the executive producer. LL Cool J is producer. The event is open to the public and tickets are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com.
Aldean Continues Stadium Sell Outs, Releases New Single
/by Eric T. ParkerEric Church, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan.
Jason Aldean’s recently announced 2013 Night Train Tour is quickly becoming one of next year’s most in-demand tickets. After selling out his July 13 date at Boston’s famed Fenway Park, Aldean also sold out his newly-added second show at the stadium on July 12. Additionally, Aldean quickly sold out his April 13 show at the University of Georgia’s Stanford Stadium.
Miranda Lambert, along with special guests Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett will perform during both Fenway Shows as part of his 2013 tour.
“The list of guys in country music who sell out stadiums is pretty short, it’s guys like Chesney and Garth…I’m not supposed to be on that list,” said Aldean. “It’s a big testament to the hard work my band and crew put in every night out there and to the loyalty and passion of country music fans. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Aldean also revealed the second single from his fifth studio album, Night Train, last week (11/1) during the opening performance of the CMA Awards. Titled “The Only Way I Know,” the track includes Luke Bryan and Eric Church is available at radio now. Night Train sold 409,000 copies in its first week out.
For a full list of appearances and more information, visit www.jasonaldean.com.