Missy Werner joins Chris Jones & the Night Drivers for "Hero in Harlam"
Not even a thunderstorm could keep crowds from gathering at Loveless Cafe’s Music City Roots last night (2/1). Consequently, there wasn’t a free parking space to spare, as bluegrass lovers made their way into the barn, eager to hear the Lonesome River Band, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, Special Consensus and Darrell Scott.
A Roots Crew member films the show
Hosted by Jim Lauderdale, the show kicked off with the Lonesome River Band who were followed by husband and wife duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge. Both acts treated the audience with authentic bluegrass soul and talent.
Sammy Shelor of the Lonesome River band is nominated for SPBGMA Banjo Performer of the year. Meanwhile, “Sweethearts of Bluegrass,” Darin and Brooke, boast five SPBGMA Bluegrass Award nominations including album of the year, gospel group of the year, vocal group of the year, guitar player of the year (Darin) and contemporary female vocalist (Brooke).
Chris Jones & the Night Drivers wooed the audience with tracks off their forthcoming compilation album, Lost Souls and Free Spirits. At the closing of their segment they surprised the crowd by inviting Missy Werner to the stage. Greeted with warm applause, Werner joined the group to sing, “Hero of Harlan,” a moving song about a young man who lost his life during war.
Members of Special Consensus sit down for an interview in between sets
Special Consensus sped things back up, shifting the mood with their foot-tapping rhythms. The group also has two SPBGMA nominees: David Thomas and Greg Cahill. Thomas is nominated for Bass Player of the Year, while Cahill has been tapped for Banjo Player of the year. After their high energy performance, Greg talked a little about their upcoming album Scratch Gravel Road. He shared the key to making the album was “good songs from good friends.”
Darrell Scott performs
As the evening dwindled down, the audience welcomed the final act of the night, Darrell Scott, with wild applause. Scott kept the excitement up with a high energy number before slowing it down with a performance of “Someday.” The highlight of the evening though was Scott’s performance of the hit, “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive.” A number of audience members joined in, singing along to the words Scott penned years ago. The song was made popular in 2000 by Travis Tritt.
Music City Roots, which was worth braving the rain for, takes place every Wednesday at 7 PM back in the Loveless’ Barn. Next week’s acts include Henry Wagons, Kindling Stone, Chatham County Line, The Mosier Brothers and Lilly Winwood. Lightning 100 also broadcasts the show live every week. More information on upcoming shows can be be found here.
Music City Goes Back to its Roots at Loveless
/by Caitlin RantalaMissy Werner joins Chris Jones & the Night Drivers for "Hero in Harlam"
Not even a thunderstorm could keep crowds from gathering at Loveless Cafe’s Music City Roots last night (2/1). Consequently, there wasn’t a free parking space to spare, as bluegrass lovers made their way into the barn, eager to hear the Lonesome River Band, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, Special Consensus and Darrell Scott.
A Roots Crew member films the show
Hosted by Jim Lauderdale, the show kicked off with the Lonesome River Band who were followed by husband and wife duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge. Both acts treated the audience with authentic bluegrass soul and talent.
Sammy Shelor of the Lonesome River band is nominated for SPBGMA Banjo Performer of the year. Meanwhile, “Sweethearts of Bluegrass,” Darin and Brooke, boast five SPBGMA Bluegrass Award nominations including album of the year, gospel group of the year, vocal group of the year, guitar player of the year (Darin) and contemporary female vocalist (Brooke).
Chris Jones & the Night Drivers wooed the audience with tracks off their forthcoming compilation album, Lost Souls and Free Spirits. At the closing of their segment they surprised the crowd by inviting Missy Werner to the stage. Greeted with warm applause, Werner joined the group to sing, “Hero of Harlan,” a moving song about a young man who lost his life during war.
Members of Special Consensus sit down for an interview in between sets
Special Consensus sped things back up, shifting the mood with their foot-tapping rhythms. The group also has two SPBGMA nominees: David Thomas and Greg Cahill. Thomas is nominated for Bass Player of the Year, while Cahill has been tapped for Banjo Player of the year. After their high energy performance, Greg talked a little about their upcoming album Scratch Gravel Road. He shared the key to making the album was “good songs from good friends.”
Darrell Scott performs
As the evening dwindled down, the audience welcomed the final act of the night, Darrell Scott, with wild applause. Scott kept the excitement up with a high energy number before slowing it down with a performance of “Someday.” The highlight of the evening though was Scott’s performance of the hit, “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive.” A number of audience members joined in, singing along to the words Scott penned years ago. The song was made popular in 2000 by Travis Tritt.
Music City Roots, which was worth braving the rain for, takes place every Wednesday at 7 PM back in the Loveless’ Barn. Next week’s acts include Henry Wagons, Kindling Stone, Chatham County Line, The Mosier Brothers and Lilly Winwood. Lightning 100 also broadcasts the show live every week. More information on upcoming shows can be be found here.
“Stars Go Blue” Benefit Performers Announced
/by Eric T. Parker(L-R) Exile’s Sonny Lemaire, J.P. Pennington, Marlon Hargis, Les Taylor; Trace Adkins; and Steve Goetzman
The 4th Annual “Stars Go Blue” benefit concert for colon cancer will feature pop/country band Exile and a special appearance by Trace Adkins. The fundraising event takes place at the Country Music Hall of Fame scheduled for March 6.
The “Stars Go Blue” event funds the Colon Cancer Alliance’s “Blue Note Fund,” which was designed by Grammy-nominated musician Charlie Kelley after he was diagnosed with colon cancer. After Kelly was successfully treated he began working to raise awareness and funding for those affected.
Over the past few years, friends and fellow musicians such as Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Hal Ketchum, Jamie O’Neal, Rodney Crowell, Linda Davis, and Wade Hayes have lent their talents to help raise over $125,000 to date.
Tickets are $100.00 per person and include the concert in the Ford Theater, a VIP cocktail reception, and auction after the concert.
Adkins recently got together with Exile to re-record their song, “Kiss You All Over,” for Hit Exchange, a television special created in part by Kelley, which aired on GAC.
HoF’s Poets and Prophets to Feature Songwriter Sonny Curtis
/by Caitlin RantalaThe 90-minute program, hosted by Museum Editor Michael Gray, will include recordings, photos and film clips from the museum’s collection and marks the Poets and Prophets series’ fifth anniversary. Immediately following, Curtis will sign autographs in the Museum Store.
Curtis has written a host of country and rock & roll hits in his 50-plus year career. Among them are “I Fought the Law,” “Rock Around with Ollie Vee,” “Walk Right Back,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” “More Than I Can Say” and the theme for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Love Is All Around.”
The Poets and Prophets series honors songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history. Previous Poets and Prophets honorees include Bill Anderson, Matraca Berg, Bobby Braddock, Wayne Carson, Jerry Chesnut, Hank Cochran, Dean Dillon, Jerry Foster, Dallas Frazier, Red Lane, John D. Loudermilk, Bob McDill, Roger Murrah, Dan Penn, Curly Putman, Don Schlitz, Whitey Shafer, Jeffrey Steele, Norro Wilson and Craig Wiseman.
Performers Named For Post-Marathon Concert
/by FreemanEach year the popular road race attracts over 30,000 runners, walkers and 6,000 junior racers through ING KiDS ROCK Nashville, to tackle the 26.2 or 13.1 mile courses. Many of Nashville’s best bands help keep the energy level up, performing music for runners every stretch of the route.
“For all these people to come out and push themselves to this great of a length for such a good cause is exciting and definitely something to celebrate,” shared Atkins. “It will be a fun night and I’m looking forward to being a part of it all.”
In October 2011, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital signed on with Competitor Group as a title partner for the race. Charity partners have raised over $22 million since the race started 12 years ago, making it one of the largest fundraising platforms in Tennessee.
Sales Report: The Quiet Season
/by bossrossThe percentage of country albums sold as digital downloads continues to rise. YTD 2012 about 27% of the total albums were purchased as downloads which shows an increase over last year when the digital percentage at this time was about 23.5%. Debut week digital sales are usually higher than the eventual average. For example this week: Tim McGraw’s disc sales were 34% digital, and Kellie Pickler’s were 33%.
Filling out the Top 5 country album sales for the week are Luke Bryan (No. 3; 16k), Lady Antebellum (No. 4; 15k), and Jason Aldean (No. 5; 13k).
Track Talk
The world of tracks continues to be a goldmine for the circle of artists with mouse-clicking fans. For example, nestled in the Top 20 tracks of the Digital Genre Country Top 100, we find 17 different artists with total Top 20 sales of 649,914 units or a little in excess of 50% of the entire Top 100 country digital tracks list. Another way to illustrate the space between the haves and have-nots is to show that this week, Toby Keith, Luke Bryan and Taylor Swift account for almost 23.41% of the entire Top 100 country track sales!
So a little like the groundhog who comes out to assess winter and maybe see his shadow, let’s settle back in, because it’s too early for predictions and such. We’ll take a peek in a few weeks to see if we see Dierks’ sales shadow…
CountryBreakout No. 1 Song
/by Freeman“I’m really looking forward to being back on stage, and more specifically on the Opry stage,” he says. “When I was told earlier this week that the Ryman was going to start renovation on the stage after our show I thought, ‘you know, when we say we’re really gonna tear it up tonight, maybe they’re worried I mean it literally?”
So it’s a sort of cosmically perfect occurrence that his “You Gonna Fly” has just reached No. 1 on this today’s CountryBreakout Chart. The rhythm-heavy rocker offers words of affirmation and encouragement to a partner who’s had a rough go of it, saying “you better believe you’re gonna fly with me.”
Urban is hitting the ground running in 2012, including headlining the All For The Hall benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame on April 10. Joining him will be Vince Gill, Alabama, Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Band Perry and many more. Urban will also return to Sydney in his Australian homeland to appear as a mentor on the Aussie version of popular show The Voice.
ANNOUNCING: MusicRow To Honor Rising Women on the Row
/by Eric T. ParkerThis year’s honorees will be feted at a sit-down breakfast and awards ceremony set for Friday, March 16, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. at Maggiano’s.
Nominations are closed and MusicRow is in the process of selecting Nashville’s top women who are fast becoming visionary leaders in the music industry. This year’s honorees will be revealed by MusicRow prior to the March 16 awards breakfast. In addition, the honorees will receive a congratulatory plaque of recognition and be featured in the Rising Women on the Row event program.
“MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row is a unique opportunity to acknowledge and profile some of the women in the music industry that are quickly making a name for themselves with contributions early in their careers,” says Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson. “MusicRow often features talented new artists and songwriters, and this event gives us the opportunity to do the same for the talented women professionals who are quickly rising in our industry.”
The Rising Women on the Row breakfast joins other annual events hosted by MusicRow, including the CRS Meet & Greet and CountryBreakout Awards on Feb. 21, and the reader-voted MusicRow Awards ceremony in June.
Outlaw Country Celebrates Waylon This Weekend
/by Eric T. ParkerThe hour-long special will honor Jennings, featuring stories about the artist and tribute performances from Hank Williams Jr., Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Josh Thompson and Reggie Young. The program was recorded inside the Bridgestone Arena at the SiriusXM Music City Theatre in Nashville, and will be hosted by Outlaw Country’s Hillbilly Jim.
The SiriusXM special will feature songs from Waylon: The Music Inside, a three-part tribute. The second CD in the series WAYLON: The Music Inside, Vol. II, will be released next Tuesday (Feb. 7) via Average Joe’s Entertainment.
Watch a preview from the performance with Hank Jr. below.
Billy Ray Cyrus To Publish Memoir
/by Eric T. Parker“This is my chance to set the record straight,” said Cyrus. “I realized that over the years that there have been untruths and misconceptions about me, my music, my life, my family and our dreams. I’m going to lay out the facts starting from August 25th, 1961 and work my way to the present, even if it stings a little.”
Cyrus will open up about the life-changing success of his first album, the toll that fame has taken on his personal life and family and the challenges of parenting his superstar daughter Miley Cyrus.
The book will chronicle from the age of 5 when Cyrus took the stage with his father’s gospel quartet, The Crownsmen, and by 20, an inner voice told him he would find his life purpose through music if he bought a guitar and started a band. Cyrus found he was “too country” for L.A., and “too rock” for Nashville, but regardless he shot to No. 1 with his breakout smash single, “Achy Breaky Heart.”
Rascal Flatts Announces New Tour
/by Caitlin Rantala“We are always looking for new ways to re-energize our live shows,” says Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts. “We thought bringing out these bands, whom are among some of our favorite vocal groups, would make a great night of entertainment!”
Please check www.rascalflatts.com for up to date tour information.