Broken Bow Records newcomer Dustin Lynch will make his Grand Ole Opry debut Friday, March 2 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. Also on the bill are Mel Tillis, Montgomery Gentry, Gloriana, Rhonda Vincent and more.
• • •
Mercury Nashville/19 Recordings/Interscope artist Lauren Alaina will make her return to the American Idol stage on March 8, where she will perform her single “Georgia Peaches.” Currently on Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party tour, Alaina was also recently named as one of two opening acts on select dates of the upcoming Sugarland In The Hands of the Fans tour.
• • •
Nashville’s Big 98/WSIX will host its first Friday Free-For-All show Friday, March 2 at the Cadillac Ranch. On-air personality Anthony Allen will host the event, which runs 3-7 PM and concludes with a free concert from Chris Cagle at 8 PM.
• • •
Singer/Songwriter Sunny Sweeney has been named the NRA Country Artist of the Month for March.
• • •
As of March 1, guitar wizard Steve Wariner has launched a new mobile website. Fans are being offered a free ringtone, instructional videos, and opportunities to win prizes. Check it out at www.stevewariner.com.
• • •
(L-R): George “Goober” Lindsey, Ralph Emery, Stevens. Photo: Alan Mayor
Ray Stevens recently released Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music (Clyde Records), a nine CD, 108 song box set of classic comedy songs through the ages such as “Monster Mash,” “Yakety-Yak,” and “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.” Stevens celebrated the release with an invitation-only listening party Tuesday, Feb. 28.
• • •
Curb Records will release Long Gone Daddy, the latest album from Hank III, on April 17. The 10 song collection, six of which are previously unreleased, features covers of classic country songs from Hank Williams Sr., Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson.
• • •
Multi-platinum trio Point of Grace (Shelley Breen, Leigh Cappillino, Denise Jones) has launched lifestyle and music radio show “Graceful Living,” which is being syndicated through KMG Networks. Starting Saturday, March 3, the three-hour program will be available to Contemporary Christian and Country Stations. More info at gracefullivingradio.com.
• • •
Austin-based singer-songwriter Darden Smith is recording his new album in Nashville. The new release, produced by Jon Randall and Gary Paczosa, is due later in 2012. Writing collaborators on the project include Radney Foster, Jack Ingram, Jay Clementi, Gary Nicholson, and Harley Allen.
Rusty Gaston Receives Milestone Award from Belmont and ASCAP
/by Eric T. ParkerL-R: ASCAP's Ryan Beuschel, Michael Martin, LeAnn Phelan, Rusty Gaston, Belmont's Sarah Cates, Dan Keen. Photo: Donnie Hedden
Belmont’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business and industry partner ASCAP celebrated Belmont’s connection to Music Row by honoring alumnus Rusty Gaston, GM and partner of This Music, as the first recipient of The Music City Milestone Award (MCMA). The award recognizes a young Belmont graduate who has achieved superlative success in the entertainment and music industry.
Gaston’s moved from Texas to Nashville 16 years ago and is today at the helm of This Music, a partnership with writers Tim Nichols and Connie Harrington. The company is a joint venture with Warner/Chappell and supports nine songwriters with hits from artists such as Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, Chris Young and Luke Bryan.
Belmont Instructor of Music Business and creative force behind the MCMA award, Dan Keen notes, “One of the most rewarding facets of nurturing young people is celebrating their growth and successes. Rusty Gaston was a stand out student in my music publishing class at Belmont and is already one of the most successful independent publishers on Music Row. He is the type of person that Belmont and ASCAP want to encourage students and young executives to emulate.”
New Biography Tells The Story of Marty Robbins
/by FreemanTwentieth Century Drifter is the first biography of the hitmaking country artist and NASCAR driver who recorded timeless gunfighter classics like “Big Iron” and “El Paso.” Author Diane Diekman drew on personal interviews and in-depth research for the project, and shows Robbins to be a drifter who longed for inner peace. Diekman is also the author of Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story. Read an interview with the author here.
Diekman will be discussing and signing copies of the book at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at 12:30 PM on March 31.
Lambert Schedules Nashville Tour Date
/by Sarah SkatesThere will be a Ran Fan presale for the show beginning on March 7 at 10 a.m. CT. See the private Ran Fan forum 24 hours prior to presale for details.
Tickets to the public go on sale Friday, March 9 at 10 a.m. CT through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.
In related news, the singer recently debuted the video for new single “Over You.” See below.
Levon Helm’s Ramble Returns To The Ryman
/by FreemanLevon Helm with Sheryl Crow and Buddy Miller. Photo: Ray Kennedy
The Americana Music Association has announced the return of Levon Helm’s “Ramble on the Road” to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Sunday, May 6. Tickets are priced at $45, $55, and $65 values, and go on sale Friday, March 9 at 10 AM/CT.
Helm first brought Ramble to the Ryman in July 2007, and in 2008 it kicked off the AMA’s annual Festival and Conference. Since 2007, Helm has released three Grammy-winning albums (Dirt Farmer, Electric Dirt, and Ramble at the Ryman), and been presented with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his time with The Band and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance from the AMA.
Well-known guest artists tend to pop up at Helm’s Ramble events. Though the lineup for the May 6 show has not been announced, past guests have included Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Rodney Crowell, Sheryl Crow, John Hiatt, Buddy Miller, Sam Bush, Delbert McClinton, Steve Earle and Allison Moorer, among others.
Photo Roundup (3/01/12)
/by Caitlin Rantala(L-R): ASCAP's Robert Filhart; performers Robert Counts, Daisy Mallory, and Ryan Griffin; ASCAP's Ryan Beuschel and Michael Martin
The ASCAP New Crew Writers Round is a new and exciting quarterly event that showcases up-and-coming singer-songwriters who have created a buzz and their own following. Songwriters are hand-picked by the ASCAP creative staff, and have the opportunity to play in front of some of Nashville’s music decision makers.
• • •
Norro Wilson, Museum Editor Michael Gray, Jerry Foster, Don Schlitz, Bobby Braddock, Curtis, Dallas Frazier and Layng Martine, Jr.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum recently (2/25) honored Sonny Curtis in its quarterly “Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters” series. Curtis discussed his life and songwriting career which includes “I Fought the Law,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” “Walk Right Back” and the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song “Love Is All Around.” Curtis also discussed his time as lead guitarist for The Crickets, a position he still holds today.
• • •
DiPiero, Black, and Anderson are seen here during rehearsals for the show
Bill Anderson, Clint Black and Bob DiPiero were recently invited to perform on upcoming BBC television program “Songwriters Circle,” which was taped in London’s historic Bush Hall and tentatively scheduled to air March 25. The BBC taping was the trio’s first performance together in a week of CMA Songwriter Series shows they did throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Underwood’s “Good Girl” Debuts At No. 1
/by Eric T. Parker“Good Girl” is the lead single from Underwood’s forthcoming album due May 1, and was co-written by Underwood, Chris DeStefano, and Ashley Gorley, and produced by Mark Bright.
Since her 2005 debut Some Hearts, Underwood has sold more than 14 million albums and has taken 14 singles to No. 1.
Rucker Celebrates No. 1, Plans New Album
/by Caitlin RantalaL-R: Steve Hodges/Capitol, Marc Driskill/ASCAP, Frank Rogers, Darius Rucker, Ron Stuve/UMPG, Cyndi Forman/UMPG, Mike Dungan/Capitol. Photo Credit: Jim Wright
Darius Rucker recently celebrated his fifth No. 1 single, “This,” while in Nashville to work on his third album for Capitol Records. The song appears on Rucker’s sophomore album, Charleston, SC 1966.
“‘This’ was a special song for me because it was the first time I ever wrote a song on iChat,” Rucker shared. “Kara [DioGuardi], who had started writing the song with Frank [Rogers], was in Los Angeles and we were in Nashville! I just thought it was the perfect song to really bridge the gap from Learn to Live to this album.”
Rucker is currently in the studio with Rogers and expects to release his new album in Fall 2012. “I come from that ‘album age,’ so with this next record–while we’re writing a lot of material that’s different from Learn to Live and Charleston–we’re still focusing on creating an album fans will hopefully want to listen to from start to finish,” added Rucker.
For more information, visit www.dariusrucker.com.
Date Set For Next Chesney Album
/by Sarah SkatesKenny Chesney performed Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" Tuesday on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
Kenny Chesney’s next album will be released June 19 on BNA Records. The as-yet-untitled project is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed Hemingway’s Whiskey, a platinum album which yielded major hits “You and Tequila,” “The Boys of Fall,” “Somewhere With You,” “Live A Little,” and “Reality.”
Chesney leads the Academy of Country Music nominations heading into the April 1 show. His nine nods include Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Hemingway’s Whiskey as both artist and producer), and Male Vocalist of the Year.
After playing to more than 11 million fans over the last decade, Chesney will continue the party this summer. His Brothers of the Sun Tour with Tim McGraw kicks off June 2 in Tampa, FL. The outing marks the first time in 10 years the longtime friends have hit the road together. Featuring Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Jake Owen, the tour will hit stadiums across the country, including a June 23 stop at Nashville’s LP Field, just days after the release of Chesney’s album.
His career sales total more than 30 million units.
Artist Updates (3/1/12)
/by Freeman• • •
Mercury Nashville/19 Recordings/Interscope artist Lauren Alaina will make her return to the American Idol stage on March 8, where she will perform her single “Georgia Peaches.” Currently on Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party tour, Alaina was also recently named as one of two opening acts on select dates of the upcoming Sugarland In The Hands of the Fans tour.
• • •
• • •
Singer/Songwriter Sunny Sweeney has been named the NRA Country Artist of the Month for March.
• • •
As of March 1, guitar wizard Steve Wariner has launched a new mobile website. Fans are being offered a free ringtone, instructional videos, and opportunities to win prizes. Check it out at www.stevewariner.com.
• • •
(L-R): George “Goober” Lindsey, Ralph Emery, Stevens. Photo: Alan Mayor
Ray Stevens recently released Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music (Clyde Records), a nine CD, 108 song box set of classic comedy songs through the ages such as “Monster Mash,” “Yakety-Yak,” and “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.” Stevens celebrated the release with an invitation-only listening party Tuesday, Feb. 28.
• • •
• • •
Multi-platinum trio Point of Grace (Shelley Breen, Leigh Cappillino, Denise Jones) has launched lifestyle and music radio show “Graceful Living,” which is being syndicated through KMG Networks. Starting Saturday, March 3, the three-hour program will be available to Contemporary Christian and Country Stations. More info at gracefullivingradio.com.
• • •
Austin-based singer-songwriter Darden Smith is recording his new album in Nashville. The new release, produced by Jon Randall and Gary Paczosa, is due later in 2012. Writing collaborators on the project include Radney Foster, Jack Ingram, Jay Clementi, Gary Nicholson, and Harley Allen.
Country Throwdown Tour Adds Performers, Preps For Kick-off
/by Sarah Skates(L-R): Gary Allan with Country Throwdown Tour Co-Producers Sarah Baer and Kevin Lyman. Photo: Chaise Crosslin
Gary Allan is headlining the 2012 Country Throwdown Tour Fired Up by Kingsford. He and tour co-producers Sarah Baer and Kevin Lyman discussed the upcoming trek with members of the media on Monday (2/27) during an event at Allan’s Nashville store, The Label.
Josh Thompson, Eric Paslay, and Sunny Sweeney are set for the full tour, opening May 18 in Gulfport, Miss. and visiting 20 cities through July 8. Special guests on select dates include Rodney Atkins (June 1-30) and Justin Moore (May 18-27). Newcomers Florida Georgia Line and Maggie Rose are also scheduled for the run.
One of the tour’s three stages will spotlight emerging singer-songwriters. Performing on the Bluebird Cafe Stage will be Channing Wilson, Rose Falcon, and Carly Pearce.
The third-annual, outdoor amphitheater trek is produced by 4 FINI Inc. No Nashville date is scheduled at this time.