MusicRow staffers enjoy visits from up-and-coming country artists on a regular basis, and this week two rising country stars, MCA Records’ Josh Kelley and Funl Music’s Amber Hayes, entertained the MusicRow crew. With several critically acclaimed albums already under his belt on the pop side, Kelley is out promoting his debut country single, “Georgia Clay.” Hayes is making the rounds promoting her six-song EP, C’mon and the title track, her leadoff single.

(l-r) MusicRow's Sarah Skates, Christie King and Jon Freeman; Josh Kelley; and MusicRow's Michelle Stevens and David Ross

(l-r) MusicRow's Sarah Skates and David Ross; Amber Hayes; and MusicRow's Jon Freeman and Michelle Stevens

Tide has announced that five-time Grammy Award winner Faith Hill is the new ambassador for its Tide Loads of Hope program. In 2005, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina inspired the launch of Tide Loads of Hope, a mobile laundry service that provides clean clothes to families affected by disaster. For nearly five years, Tide Loads of Hope has offered free laundry services to communities in the wake of major disasters like Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, Ike, the California wildfires, and most recently the floods in Middle Tennessee and Pike County, KY. For Hill, who was born in Mississippi and now lives in Nashville, the Tide Loads of Hope program serves as an example of what people and companies can do to provide basic services to individuals in need.

Since 2005, Hill has tirelessly committed herself to the needs of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. In addition, through charity concerts, fundraisers and donation drives, she and her family have contributed goods, services and funds to many around the world affected by tragedy.

“As a Mississippi native, I have witnessed the damage, both physical and emotional, that Hurricane Katrina inflicted on the Gulf Coast,” Hill says. “Since then I have been a champion of the work Tide does to restore a sense of hope and normalcy to those affected by disaster through providing a basic necessity – clean clothing. And with the recent flooding in Nashville, Tide was on hand again to provide relief to those affected here. I am honored to join Tide Loads of Hope as it embarks on its fifth year of supporting communities in times of great need.”

As the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina nears, Tide will host a live concert on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 in New Orleans featuring Hill.  Tide Loads of Hope Presents: A Celebration of Hope with Faith Hill will serve to honor the resilient spirit of Gulf Coast residents and demonstrate Tide Loads of Hope’s ongoing commitment to New Orleans. The concert will be free for residents of New Orleans and the surrounding area to celebrate how far the community has come in its rebuilding efforts since Katrina.

Gulf Coast residents will have the chance to win free tickets to see Hill perform live at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, an iconic New Orleans performing arts center, which was recently rebuilt after closing its doors following Hurricane Katrina. Tickets will be distributed through local radio stations in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, LA; Biloxi, MS; Lafayette, LA; and Jackson, MS areas.

“Since we launched Tide Loads of Hope, we’ve been inspired by the spirit of the communities we’ve touched,” says Suzanne Watson, Tide Associate Marketing Director. “As we approach the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we continue our promise to bring back the comfort of clean clothes to those in need. It is the same sense of compassion that inspires Faith Hill’s charitable spirit so we could not be more thrilled that Faith Hill has chosen Tide Loads of Hope as a cause worthy of her involvement.”

The Tide Loads of Hope program features a truck outfitted with 32 energy-efficient Frigidaire® Affinity(TM) washers and dryers that can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day (the average American family does 392 loads per year). Relief workers, first responders and individuals in areas affected are able to drop off their laundry to be washed, dried and folded by the Tide Loads of Hope team, free of charge. To date, Tide has washed over 36,000 loads of laundry for more than 27,000 families.

For more information on Tide Loads of Hope or to purchase a Tide Loads of Hope vintage t-shirt, now also available in Tide’s signature orange, visit TideLoadsofHope.com. The profits from the sale of the Tide Loads of Hope tees benefit families affected by disaster. You can also follow Tide Loads of Hope on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TideLoadsofHope or become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Tide.

BMI and ASCAP toasted Carrie Underwood’s critically acclaimed chart-topper “Temporary Home” with a lunch at the 1808 Grille in Nashville yesterday (8/3). Written by Underwood, Luke Laird, and Zac Maloy, the song marks the two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year’s twelfth trip to the top of the charts and her fifth co-written No. 1.

(Seated, l-r): Zac Maloy, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Laird; (Standing, l-r): ASCAP’s LeAnn Phelan and Tim DuBois, 19 Entertainment’s Ann Edelblute, Universal Music Publishing’s Pat Higdon, Sony Music Nashville’s Gary Overton, Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Troy Tomlinson, Universal Music Publishing’s Kent Earls, producer Mark Bright, BMI’s Jody Williams and Beth Mason, and Sony Music’s Skip Bishop.

Arista Records artist Brad Paisley has amassed more than enough hits for his first official greatest hits package, but with Hits Alive, the singer/songwriter is determined to take a fresh approach, delivering much more for his fans than just the usual greatest hits.

Releasing on November 2, Hits Alive will be a double-disc collection, with one disc packed with studio versions of Paisley favorites, and a companion disc featuring previously unreleased live versions of the hits. A full track listing is pending.

The project will once again team Paisley with producer Frank Rogers, with whom the singer has worked since his Platinum-certified 1999 debut album, Who Needs Pictures.

A single from the collection, “Anything Like Me,” penned by Paisley, Chris DuBois, and Dave Turnbull, is at country radio now.

A three-time Grammy winner and the reigning, four-time ACM and three-time CMA Male Vocalist, Paisley is among country music’s most acclaimed and consistent hitmakers, with 17 No. 1 singles to his credit (including 13 in a row), and career sales now in excess of 11 million albums. He is currently headlining his H2O World Tour. For concert dates and more, visit www.bradpaisley.com.