Artist Photos (10/20/11)

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Toby Keith Gets Red Solo Surprise

In celebration of Toby Keith adding the new song “Red Solo Cup” to his set list, from his forthcoming album titled Clancy’s Tavern, crew members decided to pay homage to the beverage receptacle during Toby’s performance of the song. If you haven’t seen the viral video for the song… check it out below.

Jason Aldean Visit to Great American Country

Jason Aldean delivered some heavy metal—in the form of a double platinum for his My Kind of Party LP—to GAC President Ed Hardy and VP/Programming Suzanne Gordon during a recent visit to the network.


Tracy Lawrence Honored At Texarkana College

Tracy Lawrence stopped by Texarkana College recently while on tour in his hometown to speak to a group of students including student organization members and scholarship winners. The Tracy Lawrence Foundation has endowed several scholarships to area colleges including Texarkana College over the past fifteen years. During the visit, Lawrence was presented with an honorary Associate of Arts Degree with a concentration in music. (L-R): Julie-Ray Harrison, TC Board Pres. Mike Sandefur, Lawrence and TC college Pres. James Henry Russell.


Payton Rae Makes New Christmas Video

Christmas came early for teen country artist Payton Rae. The 16-year old was in Nashville this week, working with director Stephen Shepherd of VideoBoy Productions on a video for her new holiday song, “Christmastime With You.” The tune was written by Payton, Brian White (who also produced the track), Karyn Williams and Bruce Wallace. The single and video will be available in the coming weeks. (L-R): John Lytle, Lytle Management; Rae; and Shepherd.

Lady A Tickets for CRS Attendees

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Lady Antebellum has set aside a block of seats at its Nashville Own The Night Tour date Feb. 22 for Country Radio Seminar attendees. The band wants to thank radio for its support, and is making a donation to CRS programs for scholarships, seminars and the Country Radio Hall of Fame.

“We feel like it was just yesterday when we heard our first single on the radio for the first time. Here we are four years later with so much gratitude and love in our hearts for our friends at Country radio,” said Lady A’s Hillary Scott. “With our Own The Night Tour going on this spring, we thought what better time to play Nashville than during CRS…we want this to be a huge party to celebrate our relationship with Country radio, our hometown, and OWNING THE NIGHT!”

All CRS 2012 attendees will receive a ticket to the show in their on-site registration packets. Shuttle buses will transport attendees to and from the venue (TBD) following the seminar’s Artist/Attendee Welcome Reception at the Nashville Convention Center on Wednesday evening.

CRS 2012 will be held Feb. 22-24 in downtown Nashville.

In related news, Country Radio Seminar is honoring the perpetual crisis management efforts of Country radio with its “Radio Responds: A Tribute to Country Radio” presentation at CRS 2012. CRS is requesting digital format materials from stations around the country that will be included in a special salute honoring Country radio and shown at various events throughout the seminar. These materials can include presentations, news video, on-air aircheck segments or anything that effectively demonstrates a station’s efforts to help those in need. Please send materials in digital format only to: RadioResponds@CountryRadioSeminar.com.

The CRS 2012 $399 Early Bird registration rate, which is the cheapest registration rate of the year, is set to expire on Nov. 15. Beginning Wed., Nov. 16, the price will increase to the $499 Regular Rate. Registration is available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com or by calling (615) 327-4487.

Country Idols Earn Winning Sales

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Lauren Alaina visits WYCD (L-R): MD Jack Shell, Lauren’s Mom Kristy, PM Drive Linda Lee, Lauren, PM Drive Chuck Edwards

The country American Idols are repeating history. After finishing No. 1 and 2 on the popular TV show, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina are back in that same configuration after this week’s sales.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, McCreery’s Clear As Day moved 88,000 units in its second week to head the country albums chart, following first week sales of 197,000. Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina’s debut Wildflower generated an impressive 69,000 in its first week out, 29% of which was digital product.

About 15,000 people attended McCreery’s album release party and birthday celebration in hometown Raleigh, N.C. He was presented with a gold record by Mercury Nashville and Interscope staffers during the event for the digital gold certification of “I Love You This Big.”

Martina McBride’s new release Eleven made a fine first week showing following her cross-country Amtrak tour, ringing in 40,000 units and landing her at No. 4 on the country albums chart.

Also performing well this week was Atlantic artist Hunter Hayes, whose self-titled debut landed at No. 7 on the country albums chart with 18,000 units sold. 65 percent of Hayes’ album sales were digital.

Following the successful theatrical premiere of the Footloose remake last week, the new soundtrack (classified as country) moved to No. 6 on the country albums chart and No. 16 in the Top 200 by selling 18,000 units.

Hank Williams Jr. seems to have parlayed his disagreement with ESPN into something positive, as his track “Keep The Change” rang in 19,000 purchases to land at No. 14 among country digital tracks. Adele’s “Someone Like You” still leads the overall digital tracks chart.

Country album sales are still on the up, showing a YTD increase of 9.8%. Contrast that with overall album sales, which are rising more slowly at 3.5%.

Hard rockers Evanescence had the No. 1 album in all genres, selling 127,000 units, as well as the No. 1 digital album.

By The Numbers: Martina’s Train Trek

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Team Martina at the Empire State Building on Friday night. (L- R) Back row: John McBride, Mark Hively, Jake Basden, Stacy Blythe, Megan Knutson, Matthew Hargis, Brandon Gill, Mike Betterton. Middle row: Mandy McCormak, Jackie Campbell, Brittney McKenna, Randi Lesnick, John Zarling. Front row: Sandi Spika Borchetta, Scott Borchetta, Martina McBride, Jimmy Harnen, Clint Higham. Photo: Becky Fluke.

Martina McBride’s “ELEVEN Across America powered by Amtrak” came to a close Friday night (10/14) in Manhattan when she became the first artist to perform a concert from the Empire State Building’s 80th floor. Hundreds of VIP guests, music industry executives, media and fans were in attendance at the private concert presented by Stanford Women’s Cancer Center. McBride flipped a switch to turn the world-famous building “pink” for the weekend in association with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and her latest single, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.” The train trek launched her new album, Eleven, which debuted today with sales of 40,000 units.

By the numbers
• 80 million+ impressions
• $11,000 donated by McBride and PinkTogether.com to the Susan G. Komen Foundation
• 2,446 miles traveled
• 750 fans at her 2:00 AM performance at Albuquerque’s Union Station
• 80th floor of Empire State building
• 70 interviews
• 30+ radio contest winners onboard the train
• 11 cities
• 11 breast cancer survivors honored in each city

Wednesday Photos

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Songwriters At Destin Seafood Festival

BMI partnered with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) on the weekend of Sept. 30 to present a songwriters festival held in conjunction with the 33rd Annual Destin Seafood Festival. Thirty shows featuring sixteen BMI songwriters took place over three days in venues throughout Destin, FL. (L-R) standing: FRLA’s Carol Dover; BMI’s Dan Spears; songwriters Ryan Tyndell, Brandon Kinney, Alissa Moreno, Danny Myrick and Kendell Marvel; BMI’s Tom Annastas; FRLA’s Dan Murphy; and FRLA Regional Dir. Ray Green. Seated: songwriters Aaron Barker and Bridgette Tatum; BMI’s Mason Hunter; and songwriter Charlie Worsham.

Patrick Davis Visits MusicRow

Rising artist Patrick Davis visited MusicRow for an acoustic performance yesterday. His debut single “Lucky” is climbing MusicRow’s CountryBreakout chart. Among the artists who have cut Davis’ songs are Darius Rucker, Jason Michael Carroll, Lady Antebellum, and Jewel. (L-R): MR’s Christie King; Marco Promotion’s Rick Kelly; Grassroots Promotion’s John Griffin; Davis; and MR’s Sherod Robertson, Sarah Skates and Jon Freeman.

Photo: Virgina Davis

ACM Welcomes Darren Warren

The Academy of Country Music welcomed NuCorp Entertainment recording artist Darren Warren to the office while he was in Los Angeles last week. Warren performed songs off of his EP, Cowboy Up and Party Down and signed up for professional ACM membership.

Photo: Michel Bourquard

Catch This Music Revives Studio Space

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Catch This Music, the newest recording studio on Music Row, is set to open its doors tomorrow (10/20). The former Bayou Recording studio on 17th Ave. S. was purchased by Eddie Robba and Lee Adams in May. Since then the studio has been undergoing major transformations and renovations.

“We are excited to have a home on Music Row,” says Robba. “The history and legacy of ‘The Row’ is rich and we are blessed to be part of it. Now we get to be part of The Row’s future.”

Catch This Music’s recording studio will also have its first session since the renovations tomorrow (10/20). A very special guest from Make A Wish Foundation will be joining for them for the day. “As we considered starting this business Lee and I both wanted to incorporate the idea of giving back from the very start. During the renovation process we began exploring a relationship with Make A Wish,” he explains. Since then, a seventeen-year-old young man from Make A Wish asked to experience a live recording session and the date he selected was, coincidentally, Oct. 20.

Help Catch This Music celebrate its new home at the parking lot party and open house on Friday, Oct. 21. The gathering, which will run from 3pm to 8pm, will include food, drinks and live music.

The Opry Goes Pink This Weekend

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The Grand Ole Opry will join Women Rock For The Cure in the fight against breast cancer Saturday, Oct. 22 with its third annual Opry Goes Pink show. The evening will be split into two shows. ABC’s Good Morning America co-anchor, Robin Roberts, who survived breast cancer herself, will be a special guest announcer for a portion of the night’s first show. She will introduce acts as well as the Women Rock For The Cure Honorary Survivor of the Year, Yolanda Smith.

Opry member Martina McBride will take the stage to flip the switch during the first show, turning the Opry’s signature barn backdrop pink in support of the cause. McBride’s current single, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” offers hope to those affected by cancer.

For every ticket sold for the night’s second show, $5 will also be donated to Women Rock For The Cure. That show is scheduled to include performances from Lauren Alaina, Edens Edge, Kellie Pickler, Ronnie Milsap, and more. In addition to her performance, Pickler will flip the switch on the Opry’s barn backdrop, turning it pink for the second show of the night. Tickets are available at (615) 871-OPRY and www.Opry.com.

Over the weekend (10/16), PinkFest 2011, part of Hard Rock International’s 12th annual Pinktober, was held at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville to benefit Women Rock For The Cure. Among the performers donning fashion provided by the Betsey Johnson store were Sarah Darling, Marlee Scott, Kendra Chantelle, Cissy Crutcher, The Lowry Sisters, Alexa Carter, Ya Za, and bands Kink Ador, Baby Daggers and The Vicious Guns.

Colt Ford’s Goodtime Liquor Line

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Average Joe’s Entertainment’s Colt Ford is launching his own signature liquor line, Goodtime. Ford aligned himself with the Georgia Distilling Company and United Distributors to produce Goodtime Moonshine (90 proof) and Goodtime Vodka (80 proof), which hit stores today (10/19). Goodtime will initially be available throughout retail stores in Georgia and Tennessee.

“The Georgia Distilling Company has been honored to have the opportunity to partner with Colt Ford and United Distributing to bring the Goodtime brands into the market,” said Bill Mauldin, CEO and co-founder of the Company. “As Colt is recognized by his peers and fans as being an authentic country musician and Georgia boy, we wanted to make a product for him that was just as authentic as he is.”

The partnership was announced yesterday (10/18) at a press conference at the United Distributors offices near Atlanta.

Lambert Announces New Tour

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With her new album Four The Record slated to release Nov. 1, Miranda Lambert is preparing for her upcoming headlining tour On Fire. The outing kicks off Jan. 12 in Rockford, IL with labelmate guests Chris Young and Jerrod Niemann.

Lambert, the reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year is nominated for two CMA Awards this year including Female Vocalist.

Young brings a string of four No. 1 singles to the tour including “Tomorrow,” the first single from his album Neon. Young was recently nominated by the CMA as New Artist of the Year and has three American Country Award nominations including Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

Niemann launched his major label debut Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury, which includes his single, “Lover, Lover.” Niemann has five nominations for the upcoming American Country Awards.

Tour stops will include:

Rockford, IL
Lacrosse, WI
Fargo, ND
Charlotte, NC
Lexington, KY
Greensboro, NC
Baltimore, MD
Charlottesville, VA
East Rutherford, NJ
Huntsville, AL
Tallahassee, FL
Orlando, FL
Amherst, MA
Hershey, PA
Youngstown, OH
Macon, GA
North Charleston, SC
Fayetteville, NC
Sale Lake City, UT
Broomfield, CO
Kearney, NE
Toledo, OH
Saginaw, MI
Louisville, KY
Charleston, WV
Tulsa, OK
Little Rock, AR
Wichita, KS
Columbia, MO
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Green Bay, WI
Fresno, CA
Mountain View, CA

Strait’s 58th No. 1 Is Also A First

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George Strait’s “Here For A Good Time” has become his 58th career No. 1 hit, following its ascent to the top of the CountryBreakout (on Sept. 16 and Sept. 23) and Mediabase charts. The song was co-written by George with his son Bubba and Dean Dillon and, surprisingly, marks his first No. 1 as a songwriter.

Strait has been a model of consistency over his legendary career, and holds the record for notching the most No. 1 singles of any artist in history, more than even Elvis and the Beatles. Eighty-four of his 89 radio singles have reached the top 10, and 73 of those were Top 5 or better. His career sales total almost 69 million records, and he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

“Here For A Good Time” is the title track from Strait’s latest album, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and at No. 3 on The Billboard 200, behind Lil Wayne and Adele. Strait also has several headlining dates scheduled on his 2012 U.S. tour, featuring guest Martina McBride.