[Update] Beloved Music Row executive and friend to many Will Tennyson will be laid to rest on Saturday, November 20th in his hometown of Athens, Tennessee. Will died on Tuesday morning from natural causes.  He most recently was a talent executive at Conway Entertainment Group.  Will is survived by his mother and step-father, several brothers and sisters and their families and a daughter. At a young age, he knew he wanted to spend his career on Music Row.  Upon graduating from Tennessee Wesleyan College and attending Nagasaki Wesleyan University in Japan, he moved to Nashville beginning his career at the Gaylord Entertainment Company. After working several other jobs, including a stint at the Ralph Emery Show, he worked for  CMA CEO Tammy Genovese in the marketing and administration affairs and community relations departments.  Most recently, he served as a talent executive for the newly formed Conway Entertainment Group.

Below is information on the services:
A funeral service will be conducted, 1:00 P.M., Saturday, November 20, 2010 at Keith Memorial United Methodist Church with the Rev. Sam Roberts officiating. Interment will follow in Cedar Grove Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the church from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday prior to the service. The family suggests memorials be made to the Friendly Fellow Club c/o Daily Post Athenian, P.O. Box 340, Athens, TN 37371-0340

http://www.jerrysmithfuneralhome.com

A Nashville memorial is being planned with details forthcoming.

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Will Tennyson, 41, passed away this morning. He was found unresponsive in his apartment by a medical team, apparently the victim of natural causes. Exact cause of death is unknown.

Tennyson was an employee of Conway Entertainment Group where he had worked since March. Previously, he worked at the Country Music Association.

MusicRow extends sympathy to Tennyson’s family and friends. We will continue to update this story as more details emerge.

Trace Adkins appeared as a special guest on Fox & Friends this morning (11/18). The show was broadcast live from the newly refurbished Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center as part of the hotels reopening celebration.

Tonight, Adkins will co-headline the “Greater Together Nashville” fund raising concert with Craig Morgan. The concert, hosted by The Gaylord Entertainment Foundation, will benefit local nonprofit agencies Hands On Nashville, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. Tickets are available only through those outlets and will serve as a direct contribution to that organization.

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Beladroit/Universal Republic’s The Secret Sisters will join Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra to perform on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman Friday (11/19) with a performance of their self-penned “Tennessee Me” from their current self-titled release.

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Capitol Records Nashville’s Little Big Town and Show Dog-Universal Music recording artist Randy Houser were recently featured on NBC’s Weekend TODAY in a special segment titled “Secrets of Songwriters.” Little Big Town joined co-anchor Amy Robach to discuss the journey of a song and describe the writing process behind their new album, The Reason Why. Later in the segment Robach joined Houser inside the “Man Cave” at his Nashville home where he often writes.

Dollywood received the 2010 Applause Award at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 16. The award honors a park whose management, operations and creative accomplishments have inspired the industry with its foresight, originality and sound business development. The award is presented every other year by Liseberg amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Dolly Parton accepted the award for the park. “We are so honored to win this award. Our success over the last 25 years is because of the great team at Dollywood that I lovingly call my other family,” Parton said.

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Moraine Music Group’s writer/artist Sierra Noble was named International Winner in New York’s “SongCircle 5th Annual Songwriter’s Contest” with her breakthrough single, “Possibility.” The song was also featured this fall in CW hit series Life Unexpected and One Tree Hill. Noble will perform “Possibility” on Nov. 19 at City Winery in New York City at SongCircle’s Live Finals where the American Grand Prize Winner will be chosen. Chris Burke-Gaffney and Keith Macpherson are co-writers on “Possibility” which appears on Noble’s debut EP available on Itunes.

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The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Fourth Annual Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum Presented by the Gibson Foundation honored long-time record company A&R executive Bonnie Garner Tuesday night (11/16) during a special interview in the Ford Theater.

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Australian Singer/Songwriter Amanda Baker won top honors at the 2010 Show Me The Music songwriting contest for her song “The Fool.” As part of her prize Amanda is being flown to Nashville in the first week of December to record the winning song at Omni Studios with Steve Tveit and some of Nashville’s A-list musicians. Baker will be playing acoustic shows in Nashville and L.A.

Rascal Flatts appeared in New York City’s JCPenny store yesterday (11/17) to announce the JCPenney Online Angel Giving Tree Program, to host a toy drive, and to present a check $100,000 to the Salvation Army on behalf of JCPenney. The band also adopted their own online angels and encouraged everyone this holiday season to do the same at www.jcp.com/angel. The Angel Giving Tree Program provides clothing, gifts and other wish list items to kids and seniors throughout the U.S.

The first 100 fans who donated a new, unwrapped toy received an autographed copy of Rascal Flatts new CD Nothing Like This. For every CD sold at JCPenney stores throughout the country, $1 will be donated to the Salvation Army through March 15. The $100,000 donation from JCPenney to the Salvation Army will provide gifts for 1,000 children this holiday season.