Ronnie Dunn Interviewed for SiriusXM’s “Town Hall,” Performs on Fallon

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Arista Nashville’s Ronnie Dunn is slated to sit down for a live Q&A session with an audience of SiriusXM listeners at the satcaster’s studios in New York City. SiriusXM’s Town Hall with Ronnie Dunn will air live on Prime Country, channel 58, Thursday, May 24 at 11 am/CT. The special will be hosted by SiriusXM host Storme Warren.

Prime Country will also present a special broadcast of Dunn’s concert at The Stage in Nashville, which was recorded live on May 16. The concert will air on Friday, May 25 at 8 pm/CT and will be rebroadcast throughout the weekend.

The event is part of SiriusXM’s “Town Hall” series that gathers musicians and SiriusXM listeners in intimate settings. Previous “SiriusXM Town Hall” specials have featured Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Coldplay, and more.

Additionally, Dunn’s newest solo album Ronnie Dunn—Special Edition was reissued yesterday (5/22) as a Cracker Barrel exclusive with bonus tracks. To support the release, Dunn will appear on CBS This Morning and on NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, May 24.

Artist Updates (5/23/12)

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Last night (5/22) on the eve of the group’s 200th Webisode Wednesday, Lady Antebellum played the first of two hometown shows in Augusta, GA. Mid-set the group was surprised when Dave and Charles’ former high school marching band appeared behind them to play “We Owned The Night.” Watch the surprise here.

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Rascal Flatts is offering fans a chance to be a “Star For A Day” during the group’s Changed Tour presented by Farmers Insurance. For each participating tour stop, five winners and guests will get concert tickets, a private meet & greet with the band, dinner backstage, a private dressing room, and a merchandise gift pack. The national grand prize will award two fans a trip to the CMA Awards in November including airfare, lodging, tickets, and more. Learn more here.

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Lee Brice recently visited the Fox News Channel’s Huckabee to perform his smash single “A Woman Like You.” Governor Huckabee, an avid bass player, backed Brice on the song. See the video here.

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On the latest episode of GAC’s Day Jobs, RCA singer/songwriter Josh Thompson will revisit his former trade of pouring concrete by helping refinish a patio and basement at a veteran’s home. The episode airs tonight (5/23) at 9 pm/CT. For a preview, check here.

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Justin Moore is set to headline the Coca-Cola Stage during the 18th annual Food Lion Speed Street Festival, which surrounds the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600. Moore is an avid fan of the sport, and driver Carl Edwards recently appeared in Moore’s video for “Bait a Hook.”

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Elektra Nashville’s Jana Kramer has released her new song “Good Time Comin’ On” exclusively to iTunes. The song will appear on the singer’s forthcoming self-titled debut album, due in stores June 5.

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Oak Ridge Boy William Lee Golden’s unmistakable visage will appear on all cans of Southgate Brand’s Blackeyed Peas and Rice, distributed by Vietti Foods Company. Vietti and Southgate have launched “The Discovery of Art” promotion, and over 30 items in the product lineup will feature uniquely talented artists from around the country.

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Country artist Amber Hayes will make her big screen acting debut in the upcoming film Cowgirls N’ Angels, which opens in theaters May 25. The film features three of Hayes’ songs, including “C’Mon” which reached the top 40 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart. Check out the trailer here.

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Ray Stevens will join former Governor Mike Huckabee on his newly launched radio program The Mike Huckabee Show, syndicated by Cumulus Media. Stevens will join Huckabee at 1:30 pm/CT on Friday, May 25 to discuss his career in music and his new release Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music.

CMA Reveals Awards Date, Voting Schedule

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The 46th Annual CMA Awards is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 1 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

The eligibility period for the 2012 CMA Awards is July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. All voting will be conducted online by eligible CMA members in good standing.

First ballot—will be emailed June 25 and voting will close July 9 at 5:00 PM/CT

Second ballot—will be emailed Aug. 9 and close Aug. 21 at 5:00 PM/CT

Final nominees in each of the 12 categories will be announced in early September.

Third and final ballot—will be emailed Oct. 4 and close Oct. 22 at 5:00 PM/CT

The CMA Awards will air on ABC. Last year’s awards was the No. 1 entertainment show for the week among the key advertising sales demographic Adults 18-49. The special beat its nearest competition by 5.6 million viewers and by 26 percent in Adults 18-49, according to Nielsen. Held during November Sweeps (Nov. 9), The 45th Annual CMA Awards on ABC finished No. 1 on Wednesday in Viewers across all key demos. In Total Viewers (16.4 million; 17.49 Live+7) and Adults 18-49 (4.8/13; 5.2/14 Live+7) it was ABC’s strongest Wednesday in two years with an estimated 35 million viewers watching at least some portion of the three-hour, live gala.

Rounding out events during CMA Awards Week will be the taping of CMA Country Christmas Sat., Nov. 3 at the Bridgestone Arena. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer and Paul Miller is the Director of the CMA Awards and CMA Country Christmas.

Ticket information for both events will be announced later this summer.

Benefit Events Supplement CMA Music Fest Week

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Country Weekly magazine is celebrating the kick-off to CMA Music Festival with a benefit concert featuring Colt Ford, LoCash Cowboys, and Matt Stillwell at the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville on June 5. All proceeds from the event will go towards Musicians On Call Nashville’s ongoing efforts to bring the healing power of music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities in Middle Tennessee. Tickets are available now on the MOC website and begin at $15 for General Admission and go up to $350 for a VIP table for four including meet & greet passes.

Also, fans are now able to bid on unique auction items including a chance to sing “Dirt Road Anthem” on stage with Colt, who co-penned the No. 1 hit for Jason Aldean, plus a chance to hang with Colt backstage in the green room for the full VIP experience.

Doors open at 8 PM with music beginning at 9 PM. For more information on the event, ticket options, and auction items, please visit www.musiciansoncall.org/cwkickoff.

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The Wildhorse Saloon will also be a hub of charitable activity during the Music Fest Week, with a series of shows to benefit causes such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Saddle Up! and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Darius Rucker will perform a benefit concert at the Wildhorse for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on June 4. Tickets start at $35. http://bit.ly/IOWK4Y

Duo Thompson Square will team up with Randy Houser, rock-country band Parmalee and American Idol finalist Kristy Lee Cook for a June 7 show at the Wildhorse benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Tickets are $10. http://bit.ly/J8uq8b

Chris Cagle will perform at the Wildhorse on June 8 to benefit Saddle Up!, a therapeutic horseback riding program designed for physically and mentally challenged children in the Nashville area. Tickets start at $15. http://bit.ly/Jx2Z7a

The Chris Lane Band, Brent Cobb, Clayton Anderson, Brian Davis and the winner of the Wildhorse’s own band search competition, “Battle for the Saddle” (to be determined next week), will play June 9. The cover charge for those 13-21 is $12 and is $10 for those older than 21.  http://bit.ly/LaLCe3

For more information, visit www.WildhorseSaloon.com.

Weekly Register: Country TEA Continues Downward Trend

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The 2011 TEA Index was 25% country and 27.7% all-genre.

MusicRow’s country TEA index continues to slide, moving from last month’s 30.46% to 29.77% while the all-genre bars remain firm and even slightly up from 31.65 to 31.71%. The TEA Index sums physical, digital and TEA albums (track equivalent albums; 10 tracks=1 album) then calculates the percentage of total album sales that come from TEA. The index measures the TEA effect against total album sales. (Our numbers are gathered by industry sources from Nielsen SoundScan.)

Why is country’s TEA index shrinking while the format’s album and track sales both show YTD gains? And is that a bad omen?

This is the first year we are tracking this new index, so it may be premature to make sweeping generalizations. However, there are a few things we can analyze. When album sales are up strongly, as they are at present, this tends to weight the result in favor of albums, therefore causing the index to fall. Why? Country album sales (10-track packages) are up 8.3%. Tracks are also up, but since it takes 10 tracks to form one album, that percentage is not an apples-to-apples indicator with album sales. Reading the tea leaves, the index shows that country fans still favor album packages (physical and digital) over track downloads, when compared with the behavior of all genre purchasers.

Index And Access
An issue that is harder to explain is how the new “access” models might affect the TEA index and sales. Spotify, Pandora and others offer on demand music. Eventually fans will realize they can pretty much hear what they want, when they want, wherever they want. Will they be less inclined to purchase physical discs and/or files as a result? We don’t know exactly, but album sales have already been hit pretty hard over the past decade.

In stark contrast to the dwindling recorded music business is the touring industry. Certainly the ticket biz has its share of risk, but it has avoided the sharp declines that its label brothers have endured. Is that because the live experience resonates strongly with fans? Has that industry done a better job adapting to the digital world? Lots of questions as we go forward.

Quick Glance
Country’s grid numbers eased back slightly this week. As someone who has been following these weekly chart reports for some time it is troubling to see this week’s Current Country 75 and note that chart positions 28-75 are all showing less than 2,000 units for the week. Plus total chart sales are a meager 318k units! In 2009 for example, the same week Top 75 total was 464k and in 2007 it was 581k.

Carrie remains in the top chart spot for a third consecutive week dropping 55% to about 54k units. Willie Nelson debuts at No. 4 with sales of 17k units.

Eric Church’s “Springsteen” remains the No. 1 track on the Country 100 tracks, followed closely by Luke Bryan and “Drunk On You.” Kenny Chesney sweeps into the No. 3 spot with his debut “Come Over” downloading almost 60k units.

Until next week….

Lifenotes

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MusicRow extends condolences to Dale Turner on the death of his mother, and Suzanne Gordon on the passing of her father.

Atrell B. Thornell Turner, mother of radio and promotion vet Dale Turner, passed away May 21, 2012. She was 86 and lived in Lake City, Arkansas. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. on Sat., May 26 at the Emerson Memorial Chapel in nearby Jonesboro, Ark. Burial will follow at Monette Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Emerson Funeral Home in Jonesboro. www.emersonfuneralhome.com

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James Richard Cox, father of GAC VP/Programming Suzanne Gordon, passed away May 22, 2012 in Oklahoma at the age of 83. A well-known educator and jazz musician and composer, Cox toured and performed with many musical greats including Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Buddy Rich, Pete Fountain and Henry Mancini. The famly will receive friends Thurs., May 24 from 5-7 p.m. at Freeman Harris Funeral Home in Tulsa and a memorial service will be held Friday, May 25 at 11 a.m. at Carbondale Assembly of God Church. www.freemanharris.com

CMA Hires Matthew Seaton

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The Country Music Association has announced the hiring of Matthew Seaton as Community Outreach Manager.

In this role, Seaton will work closely with The CMA Foundation to create, develop, and implement CMA’s community outreach initiatives, including the Keep the Music Playing music education program and CMA EDU, the organization’s college/university outreach program. Seaton will oversee PSA campaigns and related promotional programming, as well as managing the grant process for the CMA Foundation. He will report to Amy Smartt, Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration.

“Matthew’s skills and experience make him an excellent choice for CMA’s first-ever Community Outreach Manager,” said Smartt. “CMA and The CMA Foundation both look forward to working with him as we continue to develop our community outreach initiatives and expand CMA EDU even further.”

Seaton was most recently the Partnership Program Director for the PENCIL Foundation, where he spent nearly two years recruiting and managing partnerships between Metro Nashville Public Schools and more than 200 local businesses and organizations and composed successful grant requests. Prior to that, he served as the Assistant Director of Operations for Mission Encounter, Inc. Previously, he served two years as Clinical Supervisor, Intercept and CHOICES Program for Youth Villages. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Religion with a Minor in Psychology from Trevecca Nazarene University.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (5/23/12)

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Here’s a brand-new reason why Kenny Chesney is a superstar.

It is called “Come Over,” and it is guaranteed to make every female who listens to it wishes that she could. It coasts to an easy victory as the Disc of the Day as Kenny Chesney rules anew.

I was polishing the DisCovery Award for Tommy Steele. Then I checked and found out that I reviewed two tunes from him in 2010. I liked him then, and I like him now.

So then I thought maybe Daniel Warren could be a contender. But it turns out that he, too, has been in this column previously.

That leaves us with a choice between one of our three genuine newcomers: Erica Nicole pops and bops her way into the winner’s circle.

DANIEL WARREN/Lullaby
Writer: Daniel Warren; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Chaprielle, BMI; Quarterback (www.danielwarrenband.com)
—Formerly a jazz artist, Warren makes the transition to country with this lilting, ultra-smooth outing lifted into the fluffy clouds with easy-on-the-ears vocal harmonies and some absolutely lovely instrumental work. Extremely accomplished.

CRAIG MORGAN/Corn Star
Writer: Shane Minor/Jeffrey Steele; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Sony-ATV/Code Six Charles/Jeffrey Steele, BMI; Black River ()
—This bobbing bopper will make you smile. She’s a total hottie, but strictly from the sticks, y’all.

TOMMY STEELE/My Side of the Street
Writer: Jack Williams/Travis Meadows; Producer: Dave Gibson; Publisher: Savannah/Universal, ASCAP/BMI; Triple Creek (www.tommysteeleband.com)
—Rugged and loaded with blue-collar attitude, this has plenty of chesty power. He sings with extraordinary conviction and finesse, the track throbs with suppressed energy and the song is an instant, everyman classic.

KENNY CHESNEY/Come Over
Writer: Sam Hunt/Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne; Producer: Buddy Cannon & Kenny Chesney; Publisher: Twang Tractor/BPJ/Crazy Water/Little Blue Egg/Kobalt/Want a Fresh One/Black River, ASCAP; BNA ()
—A slowly simmering fever of desire. Guitars flicker and ripple while the melody draws you into its dream trance. Kenny’s vocal is full of caressing intimacy and gentle persuasion. Echoey background vocalizing completes the enchanting spell. A swoon of a single.

ALEXANDRA DEMETREE/Just Alone
Writer: Dean Scallan/Billy Atherholt/Jennifer Morrison; Producer: Dean Scallon; Publisher: Shootin’ Straight/Atherholt/Lillaly, BMI/ASCAP; SSM (615-254-2053)
—The production on this country rocker rumbles right along. The vocalist does an adequate job of keeping up, but never really takes command of the track.

MATT GARY/City Lights
Writer: Jared Crump/Trevor Rosen/Josh Osborne; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Brave Music/Resonate/Unfair Entertainment/Want a Fresh One, SESAC/ASCAP; 17/Quarterback (www.mattgary.com)
—I have liked this guy in the past, and his vocal performance here is able and assured. But the song meanders around too much and lacks a big hook.

SARA WATKINS & FIONA APPLE/You’re the One I Love
Writer: Boudleaux Bryant/Felice Bryant; Producer: Blake Mills; Publisher: House of Bryant, BMI; Nonesuch (track) (www.sarawatkins.com)
—Former Nickel Creek member Watkins teams up with pop diva Apple on this eccentric, quasi-rockabilly update of an obscure Everly Brothers tune. Full of nervous energy and echoey atmosphere, it is most definitely ear grabbing. The new CD is titled Sun Midnight Sun, and it is miles beyond its maker’s bluegrass roots.

DOUG BRINEY/More Than Just a Farm
Writer: Pat Kelley/Ed Leavitt; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; DB (track) (www.dougbriney.com)
—His singing voice is a little unsteady, and the track sounds like a demo. But his heart is the right place.

NATASHA BORZILOVA/Out of My Hands
Writer: Natasha Borzilova/Ilya Toshinsky/Sasha Ostrovsky/Lydia Salnikova/Alexander Arzamastsev/Sergei Olkhovskiy; Producer: Natasha Borzilova; Publisher: Uncle Hadley, ASCAP; Hadley Music Group (track) (www.natashaborzilova.com)
—This is the title tune of the second solo album from this former Bering Strait vocalist. She wrote or co-wrote all of its songs and as this mid-tempo meditation illustrates, she has evolved into a communicator of subtle strength and confessional intimacy. Her production skills are nothing to sneeze at, either. Highly recommended.

ERICA NICOLE/What You Think About Us
Writer: Biran Davis/Ashley Gearing/Ben Gloover; Producer: Michael Lloyd; Publisher: Curb/Melrose/W.B., BMI/ASCAP; Heaven (www.ericanicolemusic.com)
—It’s lively and bright, kinda like a teen-pop record from the 1980s. It think it’s a combination of that wooshing/zippy guitar sound and her Go-Go’s phrasing. Or maybe it’s that it is just so ridiculously catchy. Impossible to resist.

Memorial Day, Country Style

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In Music City, meteorologists are predicting record breaking heat for Memorial Day weekend; on Saturday the high is expected to soar to 95 degrees. Temperatures Friday through Monday will be in the low-to-mid 90s. Here’s where country stars will be turning up the heat across the nation…

• Many top artists will be playing Bayou Country Superfest this weekend at LSU Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. On the line-up are Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town, Sara Evans, Jerrod Niemann and Joe Nichols.

• PBS’s National Memorial Day Concert will feature Trace Adkins, Daughtry, Natalie Cole and others. The program is co-hosted by actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise. There will also be an appearance by Gen. Colin Powell. The show airs live from the Nation’s Capital on May 27. Adkins will also kick off the 25th Anniversary of Fleet Week New York, which welcomes nearly 6,000 military personnel. Tonight (5/23) he will perform a free concert for the sailors at Hard Rock Cafe New York in Times Square.

• Montgomery Gentry will kick-off FOX & Friends’ “All American Concert Series” Fri., May 25, during the 8:00 a.m. EDT hour. The free live performance is the first of the 14-week outdoor concert series outside the FOX News studios in Midtown Manhattan. MG will perform “So Called Life,” the second single from their seventh studio album, Rebels On The Run.

• Show Dog-Universal Music artist Jessie James‘ new single is hitting airwaves in time for Memorial Day and Father’s Day. “Military Man” was written in honor of her stepfather who is a Colonel and fighter pilot in the Air Force. “Not only is he a hero because he is in our military,” she explains, “but he’s a hero to our family. I feel like he rescued me and my siblings and loved us as if we were his own and made my mama so happy.”

• Martina McBride hosts the radio program “Summer Kick Off with Martina McBride” with special guests Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney. It is available to all U.S. radio stations by contacting Donny Walker at donny.walker@cumulus.com.

• Lee Greenwood will perform his signature song “God Bless the U.S.A.,” and discuss his new book, Does God Still Bless the U.S.A.: A Plea For a Better America on Fox & Friends on Memorial Day at 6:00 a.m./EDT. He is also set for upcoming appearances on Daystar’s Joni, GAC’s Great American Salute, and Lifetime TV’s The Balancing Act.

Artist Photos (5/22/12)

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Rodeowave’s Phil Vassar recently visited with WSMV-TV Nashville’s “More at Midday” program to discuss his upcoming performance and appearances during the CMA Music Festival. Vassar also talked about the story behind his single “Don’t Miss Your Life,” currently climbing charts everywhere. The segment aired earlier today (5/22).

(L-R): Phil Vassar, WSMV's Kacy Hagerty

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Way Out West Records’ Shawna Russell was interviewed by Golf Channel host Lauren Thompson at Billy Bob’s Texas recently for a future episode of the network’s series Golf Now. The two chatted about Russell’s career in music and traveling the country for live performances. Russell’s “Waitin’ On Sunrise” is currently climbing MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart at No. 29.

(L-R): Thompson, Russell. Photo: Giovanni Galluci

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Billy Gilman recently visited Cotton Valley Records’ headquarters on Music Row. Gilman is one of 18 country artists who loaned his talents to sing “The Choice,” benefiting Soles4Souls and released by CVR.

(L-R) Top Row: CVR's Devin Pickerill, CVR recording artist Mark Cooke, Billy Gilman, Dan Murph, CVR's Cassandra Tormes; Bottom Row: CVR's J.Gary Smith, CVR's John Smith, CVR's Josiah Toews