John Van Mol
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) has elected
John Van Mol Chairman of the Foundation, and elected NaSHOF inductee
Pat Alger, and veteran songwriter
Steve Bogard to its 2011-12 Board of Directors.
Van Mol succeeds
Roger Murrah who is stepping down after five years as Chairman.
NaSHOF Board officers:
Chair:
John Van Mol, CEO, Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence
Vice Chair:
Wayland Holyfield, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member
Treasurer:
Pete Fisher, VP/GM, Grand Ole Opry, Gaylord Entertainment
Secretary:
Layng Martine, Jr., songwriter
Also serving on the Board of Directors are:
Mike Dye, Managing Partner, GroupXcel;
Kye Fleming, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member;
Becky Judd, Exec. Asst. to Mike Curb, Curb Records;
Dr. Bethel Thomas, VP of University Advancement, Belmont University;
Troy Tomlinson, Pres. and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Nashville; and
Mike Vaden, Director, Decosimo/Vaden.
Ex-officio members serving on the board are entertainment attorney
David L. Maddox as Counsel; and author/critic/
MusicRow contributor
Robert K. Oermann as Historian.
Jeff Skillen is the board’s Director of Development, while NSAI’s
Mark Ford serves as Manager of Affairs.
WSIX's New Morning Team
/by Sarah SkatesBilly Greenwood and Karla Lawson
Billy Greenwood and Karla Lawson have taken over the morning shift at WSIX following the end of Gerry House’s long-running “House Foundation” show.
Their first day with the new gig was Jan. 3, 2011.
Lawson previously handled traffic duties for the “House Foundation.” She has 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry, and has spent 15 years in broadcast radio.
Greenwood has been in radio for 20 years, and was nominated for R&R’s Personality of the Year in 2007. He was also a judge on USA Network’s Nashville Star in 2004.
Zak is on board as the show’s producer. Check out the show’s blog.
In other Gerry House news, expect details this week about an invitation-only roast of the DJ Hall of Fame inductee, set for Feb. 3.
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame New Board
/by Sarah SkatesJohn Van Mol
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) has elected John Van Mol Chairman of the Foundation, and elected NaSHOF inductee Pat Alger, and veteran songwriter Steve Bogard to its 2011-12 Board of Directors.
Van Mol succeeds Roger Murrah who is stepping down after five years as Chairman.
NaSHOF Board officers:
Chair: John Van Mol, CEO, Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence
Vice Chair: Wayland Holyfield, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member
Treasurer: Pete Fisher, VP/GM, Grand Ole Opry, Gaylord Entertainment
Secretary: Layng Martine, Jr., songwriter
Also serving on the Board of Directors are: Mike Dye, Managing Partner, GroupXcel; Kye Fleming, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member; Becky Judd, Exec. Asst. to Mike Curb, Curb Records; Dr. Bethel Thomas, VP of University Advancement, Belmont University; Troy Tomlinson, Pres. and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Nashville; and Mike Vaden, Director, Decosimo/Vaden.
Ex-officio members serving on the board are entertainment attorney David L. Maddox as Counsel; and author/critic/MusicRow contributor Robert K. Oermann as Historian. Jeff Skillen is the board’s Director of Development, while NSAI’s Mark Ford serves as Manager of Affairs.
The Grascals Raise Awareness For Childhood Cancer
/by contributorThe Grascals
Nashville’s music community is gathering in support of “I Am Strong,” a song raising awareness about childhood cancer. The song was written by The Grascals band member Jamie Johnson and his wife Susanne Mumpower-Johnson along with Jenee Fleenor after the group visited the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. One version of the song was recorded by The Grascals, with special guest Dolly Parton. Another version includes The Grascals, Parton, Randy Owen, Joe Nichols, Darryl Worley, Terri Clark, Charlie Daniels, Tom T. Hall, The Oak Ridge Boys and Steven Seagal.
A music video was directed by cancer survivor David Corlew of d. corlew films and is available below and at several online outlets. Clear Channel Digital and Citadel Digital are hosting the video on the homepage of all their country radio station websites.
Cracker Barrel is donating a percentage of the proceeds from The Grascals & Friends—Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Jenny & Ashley
/by ProgrammerPlaylistTall Tree/Lofton Creek
Sister duo Jenny & Ashley is releasing its debut single, the effervescent “Indescribable.” The song, co-written by Ashley, was originally part of a demo collection that caught the eye of Lofton Creek Records chief Mike Borchetta. The new version was recorded by Tim McGraw co-producer Darran Smith.
The teenage sisters spent part of their childhood in Pleasanton, California, and got an early start on their entertainment careers by modeling for catalogs and acting in local commercials. The two followed their dreams to Los Angeles, where Ashley had commercial spots with Nintendo Wii and Jenny secured work with Disney, Nickelodeon, and Fox.
www.jennyandashley.com
[wpaudio url=”https://music-row-website-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/10195217/ja_idscrb.mp3″ text=”Jenny & Ashley – Indescribable” dl=”0″ autoplay=”1″]
Top Country Tours of 2010
/by Sarah SkatesGeorge Strait and Reba headlined one of the year's biggest country tours.
The biggest grossing tours in 2010 belonged to George Strait/Reba/Lee Ann Womack, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.
The Strait tour was the highest grossing North American country tour in 2010, according to Pollstar’s year-end chart. Grossing $41.6 million in box office receipts, the outing placed 14th on the all-genre Top 50 North American tours list (see full list containing agencies, ticket sales, number of dates).
Brad Paisley came in right behind the Strait package with $40.7 million, followed closely by Tim McGraw with $39 million, and Carrie Underwood with $38.8 million.
Other country stars on the top 50 include Taylor Swift ($34.2mm), Rascal Flatts ($28.4mm), Brooks & Dunn ($25.7mm), Toby Keith ($25.5mm) and Sugarland ($19mm).
Bon Jovi secured the No. 1 spot with $108 million.
Here are some of the Worldwide tour rankings: McGraw ($42.9mm), Paisley ($42.4mm), Strait/Reba ($41.6mm), and Swift ($40.4mm).
The magazine says box office grosses and ticket sales were down from 2009. The combined gross for the Top 50 North American tours in 2010 was $1.69 billion, down about 15% from last year. Total tickets sold was 26.2 million, a 12% decrease from 2009.
Recording Academy To Honor T Bone Burnett
/by Freeman“When the Producers & Engineers Wing was established, an essential voice was created for music makers: the voice of those ‘behind the glass’ that work so diligently to ensure that the quality and integrity of recorded music is captured and preserved,” says Recording Academy CEO/President Neil Portnow. “As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, it is only fitting that we pay tribute to one of our industry’s finest, T Bone Burnett, whose visionary talent and masterful skills have greatly impacted the landscape of audio production.”
Grammy Week ends with the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 13, airing live on CBS at 8/7 pm ET.
Toyota Adds Pandora
/by adminToyota's Entune telematics service integrates apps with the car's infotainment system. (Credit: CNET)
The Pandora “pandemic” may soon be rolling into a car near you!
Ford previously announced it would offer Pandora in connection with its SYNC platform.
Today, at CES in Las Vegas, Toyota revealed it will also roll with Pandora using its Entune multimedia system. The Toyota system will also reportedly engage users with other apps such as Bing, OpenTable, iheartradio and movietickets.com. Users only need to download an Entune app to their iPhone, Android or Blackberry and pair the phone via bluetooth with the car’s system. The individual apps are actually run by the Entune server.
Toyota plans to unveil the new functionality later this year.
ACM Showcase Teams With Opry, GAC
/by Sarah SkatesLuke Bryan
The ACM Showcase, an evening dedicated to the newcomer nominees for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, is set for Tues., Jan. 18 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The event is open to fans and will take place as a special Grand Ole Opry performance, which is set to air on GAC.
Reigning ACM Top New Artist Luke Bryan will host the event featuring Top New Solo Vocalist nominees Eric Church, Randy Houser and Easton Corbin; and Top New Vocal Duo or Group nominees The Band Perry, the JaneDear girls and Steel Magnolia.
This special will air at 10:00PM EST on Thursday, January 27 on GAC and will kick off fan voting for these categories at VoteACM.com. Voting will close on Thursday, February 24 at 12noon EST. The winner in each category will be announced in March and those artists will move on to compete for Top New Artist, which will be announced during the 46th Annual ACM Awards broadcast on April 3, 2011 on CBS.
The complete list of nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards will be announced in February.
ACM Showcase tickets are available to the public beginning today (12/4) at opry.com or by calling 1-800-SEE-OPRY.
Pickler Weds…More Artist News
/by Sarah SkatesKellie Pickler and Kyle Jacobs
Kellie Pickler and songwriter Kyle Jacobs were married in an intimate ceremony on Saturday, January 1, 2011 on a private island in the Caribbean.
Nicole Kidman will appear at The Belcourt Theatre for a screening of her new film Rabbit Hole, and participate in a post-screening discussion moderated by WSMV anchor and filmmaker Demetria Kalodimos on Sat., Jan. 8 at 3:00 pm.
LeAnn Rimes has announced her engagement to actor Eddie Cibrian.
UMPG Nashville songwriter Lori McKenna is planning the Jan. 25 release of her new album Lorraine. The hit songwriter has recent cuts by Keith Urban, Alison Krauss, Faith Hill, LeAnne Rimes, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood.
Kenny Chesney’s “The Boys of Fall” has become his ninth Certified Gold Single.
Bill Anderson has signed with Nick Meinema of The Agency Group for exclusive worldwide booking representation. Meinema has been Anderson’s exclusive agent throughout Canada since 2007. He may be contacted at nickmeinema@theagencygroup.com or (416) 368-5599.
Columbia/Legacy is planning the Feb. 22 release of Johnny Cash’s From Memphis To Hollywood, a double album featuring previously unreleased demos, live radio recordings, non-album singles and B-sides. The tracks are from Cash’s early career in the 1950s and ‘60s, including time at Sun Records and Columbia Records.
Joe Diffie has written a cookbook called Homecoming, The Diffie Family Cookbook. It is available on Amazon and www.joediffie.com.
Paramore members Josh Farro and Zac Farro have left the band. Remaining on board are lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York.
Randy Montana Debuts 3-Song EP
/by Sarah SkatesMontana shot the video for "1000 Faces" in early December near the L&C Tower in downtown Nashville.
Randy Montana’s 3-song EP is hitting online outlets, just as his new single “1000 Faces” hits radio. Produced by Jay Joyce, the 1000 Faces EP contains the title track (Montana, Tom Douglas); “Assembly Line” (Montana, Natalie Hemby); and “Last Horse” featuring Emmylou Harris on harmonies (Montana, father Billy Montana, Rodney Clawson).
The Mercury artist’s debut single was “Ain’t Much Left of Loving You.” His full-length album is due out later this year.
The January issue of Southern Living magazine boasts Montana as one of five “Best New Artists” in its Best of the South feature.
Look for the premiere of the “1,000 Faces” music video at www.randymontana.com tomorrow (12/5).