An unprecedented roster of acclaimed musicians came together Wednesday night (5/19) at the historic Ryman Auditorium to launch Music Saves Mountains, a campaign sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Gibson Foundation to end the destructive method of coal mining known as mountaintop removal. The campaign, which features Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Griffin, Kathy Mattea, Patty Loveless, Big Kenny and Buddy Miller, kicked off with an educational night of song, revealing the peril and destruction wreaking havoc on communities throughout Appalachian communities.

“Protecting Appalachia’s natural heritage is critical in preserving both our musical legacy and the future of our craft,” said Harris. “The Appalachians have inspired countless country, folk, bluegrass, gospel and Americana songs. Now those sources of inspiration are being secretly destroyed.  We’re standing together with one voice to send the message that we will not sit idly by while our mountains are being blown apart.”

Mountaintop removal is an extreme form of strip mining that extracts coal by using explosives to literally blow up ridgelines to provide easy access to thin coal seams below, with the leftover rock, rubble and mining waste dumped into valley streams below. To date some 500 Appalachian peaks have been flattened, leaving behind scarred moonscapes, polluted water and shell-shocked communities.

“For generations, countless legendary performers have shared with the world songs that celebrate Appalachia,” said Big Kenny of Big & Rich. “This campaign is no different. We’re celebrating these treasured mountains and want the whole world to know that they will be lost forever if we don’t all come together and help end mountaintop removal.”

On the campaign website, MusicSavesMountains.org, visitors can learn more about mountaintop removal, see what participating musicians are doing to protect the Appalachians and find out what concerned citizens can do to help end the devastating practice of high-elevation surface coal mining. So far more than a million acres of Appalachia have been flattened – from eastern Tennessee and eastern Kentucky to southern West Virginia and western Virginia — and over 2,000 miles of streams have been polluted or destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining. Countless jobs have been lost and local Appalachian economies ravaged as a result of the practice. Explosives and heavy machinery used to extract coal in mountaintop removal have replaced the manpower used in traditional deep-shaft mining.

The Music Saves Mountains campaign is not an anti-coal industry movement.  Rather, it seeks to raise awareness and put an end to just one destructive form of coal mining, mountaintop removal. Less than 7 percent of the coal mined in the U.S. comes from mountaintop removal, and yet its cost to local communities and the environment is irreparable and devastating.

“Nothing good comes from mountaintop removal,” said NRDC president Frances Beinecke. “It costs jobs, destroys forests and poisons drinking water.  People become sick as a result of this form of mining, and communities are forever damaged. Mountaintop removal would never be allowed in America’s other treasured mountain ranges, such as the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada or the Adirondacks. It should not be allowed in the Appalachians, and it must stop.”

As a spokesperson for Not Alone, BNA Records artist Craig Morgan is helping military men, women and their families who are struggling with the aftereffects of combat and the difficulties transitioning to life back at home. Not Alone is an organization that empowers warriors and families dealing with combat stress through training, education, counseling and support.

Today’s American soldiers are serving in combat longer than almost any U.S. soldiers in the nation’s past, with many soldiers serving multiple deployments with little break in between. Three in 10 soldiers show signs of mental illness or marital problems after their third and fourth deployments. Additionally, suicides are at record levels, divorce rates among enlisted soldiers continue to climb and rates of mental illness and prescription drug abuse are soaring.

Not Alone provides an anonymous online community where military men, women and their families can find support from others who are going through the same issues. Its core purpose is to ensure every warrior, veteran and family member gains knowledge and simple, confidential access to programs in order to empower them in their lives after war. At notalone.com, they find support groups, educational topics, blogging opportunities, and resources for face to face counseling – all at no charge.

“When I heard about what Not Alone was doing, I knew I wanted to be involved,” Morgan says. “We can’t sit quietly aside while our country’s bravest are struggling. They put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms and they deserve to be honored and know that if they need help, they are not alone.”

In his role as spokesperson for Not Alone, Morgan will bring awareness to this resource through his website, media interviews and concert appearances. Morgan is currently a part of Carrie Underwood’s Play On Tour.

 Prior to becoming a country music star, the singer spent over 10 years of active duty in the Army and additional years in the Army Reserves. He is an avid supporter of America’s military personnel and a recipient of the 2006 USO Merit Award.

 To learn more about Not Alone, log onto www.notalone.com.

In 2008, Average Joes Entertainment Group launched with flagship artist Colt Ford, and today, nearly two years later, the label has surpassed 500,000 in digital single sales and 253,969 albums sold on Ford according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“When we first began marketing Colt Ford, 99 percent our industry peers said it was impossible,” says Shannon Houchins, CEO of Average Joes Entertainment.

“It’s just an uphill battle that I got to keep fighting,” Ford echoes, acknowledging his underdog status to Billboard’s Tom Roland. “I’m sure the people who didn’t get it, they figured the first record we got lucky. But I feel like I followed it up with a record that’s as good or better.”

The critics agree, with New York Times’ Jon Caramanica touting, “The heartland themes here will be familiar to those who follow Nashville, and the crossover gestures (and sometimes clunky cadences) familiar to anyone who’s listened to Kid Rock.”

AEG Live/Moore Entertainment Group has announced that Amy Bryan has joined the firm to develop a Talent Buying division for the company. Prior to her new position, Bryan was a Talent Buyer and an Entertainment Producer for Neste Event Marketing.

Bryan is a graduate of the University of Florida and has been producing entertainment for a variety of events and venues in North America over the past four years. She can be reached at (615) 340-5384 and abryan@aeglive.com. For more information, go to www.aeglive.com.

AEG Live, the live-entertainment division of Los Angeles-based AEG, is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance. The company is comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions, fifteen regional offices, and thirty state-of-the-art venues.