Nashville’s two most progressive music events, Next BIG Nashville (NBN) and Leadership Music Digital Summit (LMDS) have united to create the best of both within a week-long conference and festival. The combined events will take place September 28-October 2 in Nashville. Both NBN and LMDS have had major impacts on the cultural landscape of Music City over the last five years, bringing music and creative minds to Nashville as well as giving a platform for the city’s best and brightest.
“This move made so much sense for us,” says NBN co-founder Jason Moon Wilkins. “The quality and credibility Leadership Music’s speakers, alumni and attendees bring to the new combined event is invaluable. The performing NBN bands will be exposed to more industry insiders and digital innovators. The potential for new creative collaborations increases and this really furthers our mission of telling the full story of Music City and the countless crossroads, musical and business, that run through it.”
Karen Oertley, Executive Director, Leadership Music, adds, “By combining Leadership Music’s Digital Summit and Next BIG Nashville, we are able to offer the best of the best in one event. Attendees will learn from a stellar lineup of speakers and panelists by day and hear incredible music by night. This promises to be a ‘must attend’ event for everyone with an interest in the future of music and entertainment.”
For five years Next BIG Nashville has showcased the future of music by featuring artists from the world of rock, pop, hip hop, indie, roots, and more performing throughout the city, accompanied by informative industry panels and speakers. During the same five years, the Leadership Music Digital Summit has been on the cutting edge of music and digital media by hosting panels, discussions and demonstrations featuring key players and innovators dedicated to the creative, business and legal aspects of digital music in the new millennium. With the combined success, knowledge and experience of NBN and LMDS, the united events will prove to be one of the most important and valuable music industry events taking place today.
The announcement of the newly merged event has drawn praise from both civic and industry leaders.
“The Chamber believes that supporting the evolution and growth of the music industry is one of the most important economic development objectives that we can have as a city,” says Janet Miller, Chief Economic Development Officer, Nashville Chamber of Commerce. “The alignment of the Digital Summit with Next BIG Nashville is a huge step forward in creating the sort of focal point that we as a city need to be perceived as a thought-leader in the industry and to further cement our place as the best music city in the world.” Butch Spyridon, President, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau says, “Outstanding work by all involved! This is a brilliant collaboration, at an extremely opportune time. The dividends will pay off for both organizations for years to come.”
The union of Next BIG Nashville & Leadership Music Digital Summit will provide opportunities for independent artists, established artists, application developers, digital graphics designers and music industry employees of any capacity. Attendees can listen to and discuss topics with managers, labels, ISPs, songwriters, mobile operators, consumer product developers, digital music services, retailers, publishers and content aggregators during the day. At night, see 150+ emerging and established artists in 15+ venues in one of the most important cities in music history. More details and earlybird tickets coming in early June.
Joey + Rory Prep Annual “Bib & Buckle Fest”
/by contributor“We had been doing this for a few years before it got it’s official name,” says Rory. “It was originally created as a homecoming concert and a day of family fun, food and music for all of our neighbors. When people actually started coming in from as far as Michigan, Florida and even Washington State, we decided it needed to be a special yearly event.”
“When you travel all over the country singing for people like we do, it’s so neat to be able to have them come to us and to share our own community with them.” Joey says. “The name Bib & Buckle fest? Well, it’s kind of obvious I guess. I’ve always worn a belt buckle with my jeans and Rory loves his Carhartt bib overalls.”
The music begins at 3:00 PM and the eating at 5:00 PM. Live music will continue into the evening with the hosts’ headlining performance beginning at 7:00 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or quilts for seating to fully enjoy a fun family evening outside in the grass and under the stars.
“This year, for fun, we decided to make it a Can You Duet Season 1 reunion and invite some of the other artists that were on the TV show with us in 2008”, says Rory. “They are all so talented and honestly, we never get to see each other any more. This is a chance for us to all reconnect, and even more…for our fans to connect with the other artists they loved on the show also.”
Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under (ticket price includes meal, dessert, drinks and entertainment.) To purchase tickets, visit www.joeyandrory.com or call Marcy Jo’s at 931-380-0968. Rain date is scheduled for Sunday, June 6, 2010.
Joey+ Rory's Annual Bib & Buckle Fest
Big Kenny Joins “Rock Band”
/by contributorKenny is one of the many artists joining Rock Band Relief, an organization that helps artists convert their music into playable songs for the Rock Band video game series. These tracks can be purchased from the Rock Band Network online store and a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross to help with the recent disaster. Any part of the sales commission the artist receives and wishes to donate to Red Cross will be matched by RockBandRelief.org.
“Big Kenny is a natural uplifter of people and has the ability to inspire hope in those around him,” says John Griffin, Executive Director of the Rock Band Relief project. “He is extremely well-respected in the music community, especially in Nashville where people are really in need of some hope right now. We’re so proud to be partnering with him and we hope this project will serve as a natural extension of his mission to make the world a better place through music.”
Big Kenny has contributed the songs “One More Time” and “Happy People” from his album The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy. These songs are currently undergoing the Rock Band conversion process and should be available to gamers in about 2 months. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from all downloads of the MP3 versions of Kenny’s songs via the Amazon links on the Rock Band Relief website will also be donated to the Red Cross.
CMT Awards Lines Up Celeb Presenters
/by contributorIn addition, country superstars Trisha Yearwood and Zac Brown Band are scheduled to present at the ninth-annual awards show, which will air live on Wednesday, June 9 at 7:00 PM/CT on CMT.
Hosted by Kid Rock, the 2010 CMT Music Awards will feature performances from country music’s biggest stars, including Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band, with more to be announced.
Fans can vote online at vote.CMT.com through June 8 to determine the winners. The final nominees for Video of the Year will be announced at the beginning of the live show and fans can then vote at CMT.com and via text message throughout the live broadcast (ET/CT only) to determine the night’s big winner.
Reading, Writing & Rhythm For Second Harvest
/by contributorSHeDAISY joins a long list of top artists performing including Rodney Crowell, Jamey Johnson, Bucky Covington, Justin Moore, Buxton Hughes, Jann Arden, and Reading, Writing & Rhythm’s Founder, Chely Wright. In addition to collecting food donations for Second Harvest, all proceeds will benefit Tennessee schools devastated by the flood. Tickets are on sale now and are available for purchase here.
“We have seen a wonderful response from the community, and we are blessed to have such great support through events like Reading, Writing and Rhythm,” says Jaynee Day, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
The evening is guaranteed to be filled with surprise guest appearances; live on-stage auction items and a silent auction all benefitting Nashville area schools devastated by the recent flooding. For more information on Reading, Writing and Rhythm click here.
http://www.rwandr.org/
Lady A Steps Up For Flood Relief
/by contributor“It was great to be a part of the benefit at the Ryman…to see how everyone is coming together for Nashville and the surrounding areas is really inspiring,” says Dave Haywood. “We want to keep doing our part because it isn’t over yet…Music City has a long way to go. Streaming the event online is a cool way for us to include more of our fans in this event, and all the money goes to a great cause.”
To order tickets for the live stream concert please visit www.ladyantebellum.com/live.
Gibson Unveils Flood Relief Donation Banks
/by contributorBusiness Locations:
Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitor’s Center
Located in the Bridgestone Arena
501 Broadway Nashville, TN 37203
Diana’s Sweet Shoppe
318 Broadway Nashville, TN 37201
Gibson Café
Located in the Nashville International Airport
Nashville, TN 37214
Embassy Suites Hotel at Vanderbilt
1811 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
Hotel Indigo
301 Union Street Nashville, TN 37201
Venues:
Hard Rock Café
100 Broadway Nashville, TN 37201
Ryman Auditorium
116 5th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37219
Mercy Lounge
1 Cannery Row Nashville, TN 37203
Cannery Ballroom
1 Cannery Row Nashville, TN 37203
12th and Porter
114 12th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37203
3rd and Lindsley
816 3rd Avenue South Nashville, TN 37210
The 5 Spot
1006 Forrest Avenue
Nashville, TN 37206
·
Dan McGuiness
1538 Demonbreun Street
Nashville, TN 37203
The Gibson guitar case banks will be placed in area establishments in Nashville through June 18, 2010, when the initiative will culminate in a final push to raise funds through a sponsored event titled Night Out for Nashville – An Evening for Music City Flood Relief. All participating businesses and venues with donation banks will rally this day and night to host simultaneous final encouragements for donations to be made to the guitar banks. Music events and special incentives will encompass the close of this evening with all donations made to the guitar case banks going directly to the Gibson Foundation Flood Relief Programs. Night Out for Nashville is supported by Gibson Foundation, Nashville CVB, Next BIG Nashville, American Songwriter, and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.
For more information on Night Out for Nashville and for updated lists as to where Gibson Guitar case donation banks have been placed go to www.gibson.com/nightoutfornashville.
Zac Brown and Dodge Request “Letters For Lyrics”
/by contributorIn exchange for writing a letter to a U.S. soldier, participants receive a special compilation CD titled, Breaking Southern Ground. This exclusive CD features three new songs from Zac Brown Band, as well as music from artists signed to Zac Brown’s label, Southern Ground Artists – Sonia Leigh, Nic Cowan and Levi Lowrey.
“The Ram Truck Brand has been moved by the kindness and gratitude that has been expressed so far to our men and women in the military,” said Fred Diaz, President and CEO, Ram Truck Brand. “As we head into Memorial Day – a holiday that remembers those who dedicated their lives for our freedom – I encourage everyone to take a few moments this week to visit their local Ram Truck dealership to write a letter of support to our military men and women who show commitment and valor to this great country.”
Soldiers’ Angels, a nonprofit organization, will deliver the letters on behalf of the Ram Truck Brand and Zac Brown Band. Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-led organization with over 225,000 members providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, along with veterans and their families.
“We are proud of the way America stands wingtip-to-wingtip in support of our American service members and encourage everyone to head to their local Dodge Ram Trucks dealership or Zac Brown concert and participate in one of the greatest collaborative troop support outreach projects in the history of the global war on terror,” said Patti Patton-Bader, Soldiers’ Angels Founder.
As part of the “Letters for Lyrics” campaign, RamTrucks.com also debuts the video installment of For Those Who Serve, a documentary of Zac Brown Band’s visit to U.S. soldiers stationed in the Persian Gulf. This exclusive behind-the-scenes video is directed by Darren Doane, the CMT-nominated director of Zac Brown Band’s live Pass the Jar DVD (Southern Ground/Atlantic) and their music video for the No. 1 hit “Toes.” Doane traveled with the band to the Persian Gulf to document the moving experience, capturing footage of the band performing for the troops and meeting with the men and women in uniform. Chapters from Doane’s documentary will debut on RamTrucks.com throughout the campaign.
Big Kenny Signs With RPM Management
/by contributorBig Kenny has written hits for himself (“Long After I’m Gone”), Jason Aldean (“Amarillo Sky”), Gretchen Wilson (“Here for the Party”) and Tim McGraw (“Last Dollar”), as well as being the “Big” of Big & Rich. He is known for his charitable endeavors across America and internationally. The singer recently performed a concert in support of efforts to stop mountaintop mining and completed two trips to Haiti where he helped search for survivors, aided rebuilding efforts and performed 13 shows for US troops and international aid workers.
“I am jazzed to be representing the talent and humanitarian interests of Big Kenny,” said Siman. “Just as Kenny does things differently musically, we are going to match him with a new business model and unique marketing approach for his artistry and humanitarian efforts. It’s easy for the industry to put someone like Kenny through the same types of things that have always been done but I want to build a system and a support team tailored to the way Kenny creates his music and art. And he knows how to write smash hits!”
“I have known Scott since I toured with Tim McGraw and we worked together on the single ‘Last Dollar’,” said Big Kenny. “His track record as an attorney, label executive and manager is unparalleled. I appreciate his perspective on the changing entertainment industry. He has proven that he is not afraid of trying new and different ways of marketing and promoting music and art. And he is a fine golfer!”
Big Kenny has established his Love Everybody Foundation to further his charitable works. The foundation is affiliated with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. As an active humanitarian, Big Kenny is helping spearhead a major historical preservation development in Deadwood, SD, and helping rebuild Haiti and Nashville after the recent natural disasters.
Digital Summit and Next Big Nashville Join Forces
/by contributor“This move made so much sense for us,” says NBN co-founder Jason Moon Wilkins. “The quality and credibility Leadership Music’s speakers, alumni and attendees bring to the new combined event is invaluable. The performing NBN bands will be exposed to more industry insiders and digital innovators. The potential for new creative collaborations increases and this really furthers our mission of telling the full story of Music City and the countless crossroads, musical and business, that run through it.”
For five years Next BIG Nashville has showcased the future of music by featuring artists from the world of rock, pop, hip hop, indie, roots, and more performing throughout the city, accompanied by informative industry panels and speakers. During the same five years, the Leadership Music Digital Summit has been on the cutting edge of music and digital media by hosting panels, discussions and demonstrations featuring key players and innovators dedicated to the creative, business and legal aspects of digital music in the new millennium. With the combined success, knowledge and experience of NBN and LMDS, the united events will prove to be one of the most important and valuable music industry events taking place today.
The announcement of the newly merged event has drawn praise from both civic and industry leaders.
“The Chamber believes that supporting the evolution and growth of the music industry is one of the most important economic development objectives that we can have as a city,” says Janet Miller, Chief Economic Development Officer, Nashville Chamber of Commerce. “The alignment of the Digital Summit with Next BIG Nashville is a huge step forward in creating the sort of focal point that we as a city need to be perceived as a thought-leader in the industry and to further cement our place as the best music city in the world.” Butch Spyridon, President, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau says, “Outstanding work by all involved! This is a brilliant collaboration, at an extremely opportune time. The dividends will pay off for both organizations for years to come.”
The union of Next BIG Nashville & Leadership Music Digital Summit will provide opportunities for independent artists, established artists, application developers, digital graphics designers and music industry employees of any capacity. Attendees can listen to and discuss topics with managers, labels, ISPs, songwriters, mobile operators, consumer product developers, digital music services, retailers, publishers and content aggregators during the day. At night, see 150+ emerging and established artists in 15+ venues in one of the most important cities in music history. More details and earlybird tickets coming in early June.
Summer NAMM Headed To NCC
/by FreemanAnd for the first time students, parents, and music enthusiasts are invited to attend the show floor for “Wanna Play Music Sunday” on June 20. Visitors will see demonstrations of new products, live performances, attend workshops, and talk with industry insiders.