Bluebird Hosts John Jarrard Foundation Concert

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A distinguished group of songwriters will come together for the second John Jarrard Foundation Concert at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe on Saturday, Feb. 20. Hit songwriters Bob Dipiero, Walt Aldridge, Rory Bourke and Kendall Marvel will perform to benefit the John Jarrard Foundation. Dipiero’s 15 No. 1 hits include “Southern Voice” by Tim McGraw. Aldridge, writer of Reba’s “Fear Of Being Alone,” has twice been voted Billboard Magazine Top 10 Country Songwriter of the Year, and Bourke, writer of Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl,” is a member of the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and a three-time ASCAP Writer of the Year. Marvel is the writer of “Right Where I Need To Be” by Gary Allan.

“We are excited to have such a great group of songwriters performing at the Bluebird,” says John Jarrard Foundation Executive Director Jody Jackson.

John Jarrard was a well-known Nashville songwriter who penned hits for a number of top country music stars. Jarrard fought a long battle with diabetes before passing away in 2001.

Tickets for the Bluebird show are $15 and can be purchased here. Proceeds will go to a permanent endowment fund in Jarrard’s name funding local charities. For more information, contact Jody Jackson at jjackson@johnjarrardconcert.com or (770) 710-9191.

ACM Names Radio Award Nominees

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The Academy of Country Music has announced radio award nominees for its 45th annual awards show, scheduled for April 18 in Las Vegas. A full list of nominees follows.

On-Air Personality of the Year – National: Blair Garner, AfterMidNite (Premiere); Cody Alan, CMT Radio Live (CMT Radio/Westwood One); Crook & Chase, Crook and Chase Countdown (Premiere); Kix Brooks, American Country Countdown (Citadel Media); Lia Knight, The Lia Show (Dial Global).

On-Air Personality of the Year – Major: Ben Campbell and Matt McAllister, KNIX/Phoenix; Catherine Lane, WSOC/Charlotte; Cliff Morgan, Tanner and Tori, KSON/San Diego; Kelly Ford and Mark Rider, KYGO/Denver; Cornbread, Pat James, Producer Annie, Captain Mac Douglas and Father Harry Schroeder, WIL/St. Louis.

On-Air Personality of the Year – Large Market: Chris Carr, Maverick and Statt, WUBE/Cincinnati; Gerry House, Mike Bohan, Al Voecks, Duncan Stewart and Richard Falklen, WSIX/Nashville; Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman, WFMS/Indianapolis; Jeff Roper, WTQR/Greensboro; Tommy and Joe Johnson, KUBL/Salt Lake City.

On-Air Personality of the Year – Medium Market: Buzz Jackson, KIIM/Tucson; Clay and Dale, WYRK/Buffalo; Dan Brennan and Shelby Mitchell, WKSJ/Mobile; Roger Todd, Tom O’Brien and Melissa Moran, WPCV/Lakeland; Tom Owens and Becky Palmer, WBBS/Syracuse.

On-Air Personality of the Year – Small Market: Barrett, Fox and Berry, KKNU/Eugene, OR; Eddie Foxx and Sharon Green, WKSF/Asheville, NC; Gator and The StyckMan, WGSQ/Cookeville, TN; Jess Wright, WFRE/Frederick, MD; Scotty and Carissa, KCLR/Columbia, MO.

Radio Station of the Year – Major Market: KKGO/Los Angeles, KMPS/Seattle, KSCS/Dallas, KYGO/Denver and WUSN/Chicago.
Radio Station of the Year – Large Market: KNCI/Sacramento, WFMS/Indianapolis, WQDR/Raleigh and WUBE/Cincinnati.

Radio Station of the Year – Medium Market:: KIZN/Boise, ID; KUZZ/Bakersfield; WGNA/Albany, NY; WKSJ/Mobile; and WYRK/Buffalo.

Radio Station of the Year – Small Market:: KMDL/Lafayette, LA; WGSQ/Cookeville, TN; WKSF/Asheville, NC; WKXC/Augusta, GA and WUSY/Chattanooga, TN.

SOLID Hosts Galante

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SOLID (Society of Leaders in Development) held its first general assembly meeting of the year featuring Sony Music Nashville CEO/President, Joe Galante. Galante supplied insightful advice on current issues, including the marketing of digital music, technology and how it affects the profit for the industry as well as what he believes will be future issues for the music industry.

“This was a great opportunity for SOLID members to get advice from one of the best leaders in the music industry,” said SOLID President Katie Pope. “Joe Galante is really a role model that members of SOLID should look up to.”

SOLID plans an array of activities throughout the coming year, including additional high profile speakers.

“Last year our committee raised the bar in educational opportunities available for SOLID members,” says Education Chair Heath Baumhor. “We look forward to continuing to secure top-notch speakers for our general assembly meetings as well as the (After)Work Shops.”

Started in 1997 by a small group of industry professionals, SOLID combines educational opportunities, hands-on training from diverse industry experts, music industry social networking and community service.

Carrie Underwood Lands Big Screen Role, No. 1 Video

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Five-time Grammy award winner Carrie Underwood has landed a supporting role in her first feature film, Soul Surfer. The movie is based on the autobiography of 19-year-old champion surfer Bethany Hamilton, who has defied the odds to win professional championships after losing her arm in a shark attack at age thirteen. Underwood will play Sarah Hill, a church youth leader. Filming is to take place in February

The film also stars Academy Award winner Helen Hunt as Bethany’s mother Cheri, Golden Globe nominee Dennis Quaid as Bethany’s father Tom, and Young Artist Award winner AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany Hamilton. The cast also includes Lorraine Nicholson (as Alana Blanchard) and Kevin Sorbo (as Holt Blanchard).

In other Underwood news, the singer will perform the national anthem at this Sunday’s (2/7) Super Bowl XLIV and will appear on the cover of the March issue of Cosmopolitan, with an Allure cover feature hitting stands for their April issue. In addition, the video for her latest single, “Temporary Home,” is today’s #1 video on iTunes. “Temporary Home” will hit the will make its television debut February 4 in Hot Shot rotation on CMT and in Turbo rotation on GAC.

Looking ahead, the singer will make her first appearance at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, October 2, with a concert performance that will involve the renowned Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Dealing With a “Swift” Evolution

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Taylor Swift’s appearance on Monday night’s Grammy telecast, and the flood of media coverage that followed, illustrate that mega-fame and media saturation  can be a double-edged sword. While the multi-platinum singer scooped up a record-setting four Grammys, including the coveted Album of the Year award, far more ink has been dedicated to her not-so-spot-on vocal duet with Stevie Nicks on the Fleetwood Mac classic, “Rhiannon.” Historically, the road from teenage phenomenon to long term success can be very bumpy, with most teen artists winding up in the where-are-they-now column. As she’s already clearly demonstrated, Swift is not most artists, but the stratospheric level of her success makes the leap to longevity all the more daunting.

In the weeks prior to the Grammy’s, Swift kept a relatively low profile, spending time in the studio, reportedly recording an album’s worth of material. It will be a few months before any of that new music sees the light of day, and the singer will be busy and perhaps slightly less ubiquitous, with a just-launched Australian tour. Meanwhile, bloggers and journalists continue to weigh in on Swift, her fame, her vocal abilities, and her future.

One especially insightful article was written by Jon Caramanica in the New York Times. He recognizes Swift’s strengths, and human frailties and casts them in the context of a rite of passage from teen to adult. Part of the article is below, read the complete article here.

Over the last three and a half years, Ms. Swift has established herself as pop’s leading naïf. Not in her songwriting, which has been precocious, but in her persona. By now, she’s even patented a look she whips out at award shows, concerts and more, when her innocence is threatened by acclaim: eyes wide, mouth agape, hand held over it as if to keep in the breath she’d just gasped as if it were her last.

Most stars — and make no mistake, Ms. Swift is the most important new pop star of the past few years — have their images undone by failure. In Ms. Swift’s case, the opposite is true: success has necessitated a re-evaluation.

Her Sunday night at the Grammys will be remembered as the turning point. She won four awards, including album of the year for “Fearless” (Big Machine), her outstanding second record — the youngest artist ever to do so, and the first solo female country singer to earn that as well. It was the ultimate stamp of insider approval for someone who insists that she’s thrilled just to be invited to the party.

But the night also revealed her weaknesses.      […read on]

ACM Welcomes The Band Perry

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The Academy of Country Music welcomed Republic Nashville Recording Artists Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry and Reid Perry, better known as The Band Perry to the office when they were in Los Angeles this week. While at the Academy, The Band Perry signed up for professional ACM membership and performed songs from their upcoming Republic Nashville debut album.

(Photo L-R: Bob Doyle, Bob Doyle & Associates, Bob Romeo, Executive Director, Academy of Country Music, Jimmy Harnen, President, Republic Nashville, Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry, Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Label Group, Reid Perry, R.A. Clark, Executive Producer, ACM Awards, Josh Pegram, Bob Doyle & Associates)
Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

Celebrity Ads Increase For Grammy Night


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GreenLight, a global media licensing, talent negotiation and rights representation consultancy, has released the results of its annual GreenLight Ad Gauge of the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, revealing a 150% spike in ads featuring celebrity endorsements. The full report is available for download here. The 2010 analysis reveals that after a pulling back from celebrity collaborations in 2009, brands are once again partnering with celebrities and using pop music to maximize brand awareness and forge emotional connections with consumers.

 Key findings from GreenLight’s 2010 analysis include:
 15% of 2010 Grammy ads featured celebrity endorsements, a 150% spike from last year
;  22% of ads featured pop music, about the same as the past two years
;  U.S. car makers dominated Grammy ads, with 16% of total ads, and more
 than a quarter of ads featuring celebrity endorsements or pop music. Olay (11 spots), Target (8 spots), Lincoln (6 spots) and Chevy (5 
spots) were the biggest Grammy advertisers, with Target and Lincoln 
incorporating celebrities and/or pop music.

Country Hall Reschedules Ford Community Day

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The Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Community Day, made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund, has been rescheduled for this Saturday, February 6. The free-to-the-public day was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 30, but was cancelled due to inclement weather. As a not-for-profit educational organization, the Museum is pleased to partner with Ford Motor Company Fund for the third consecutive year to say thank you to the Middle Tennessee community (and all lucky out-of-town visitors to the Museum on this day) with this free admission offer. The Museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In the case of inclement weather on Ford Community Day, please visit the Museum’s website, www.countrymusichalloffame.org, for the latest information on hours of operation.

In addition to touring the exhibit galleries, visitors will be able to enjoy two free Songwriter Sessions. The performances, which will take place in the Museum’s Ford Theater, will feature Georgia Middleman and Dave Berg (11:30 AM) and Leslie Satcher (1:30 PM). Songwriter Sessions, which are offered every Saturday, are made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund. The Museum will also offer its Musical Petting Zoo, which allows children a hands-on experience with a variety of musical instruments, at 3 p.m. in the SunTrust Community Room.

Arts & Business Council Sponsors Law Clinic

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The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and the Tennessee Bar Association Sports & Entertainment Law Section are hosting a Nashville Entertainment Law Clinic in the SunTrust Community Room at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Saturday, February 20 from 9:00 AM-1:00 PM. At the clinic, songwriters are welcome to sign up for a 30-minute slot to receive pro-bono legal advice from entertainment lawyers, who will answer questions about intellectual property matters, including copyrights, trademarks, licensing and related law issues. Attendees must sign up for a time slot by noon on Friday, Feb. 19 by calling the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville at (615)743-3055 or by emailing vlpa@abcnashville.org.

Jewel And Aldean Team With Country Financial

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Financial planning firm Country Financial is teaming with country artists Jason Aldean and Jewel for the “Road Trips and Guitar Picks” series, which will present 30 concerts beginning in March. Each artist will perform separate concerts, but the “Road Trips and Guitar Picks” website, www.tripsandpicks.com, will serve as a one-stop destination for both, giving Aldean and Jewel fans access to an array of special features. The series will offer fans enhanced live concert experiences, online offerings and prizes including chances to win one of several all-expense paid flyaways to see Jewel or Aldean.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with these two amazing artists,” says Doyle Williams, Chief Marketing Officer at Country Financial. “Jason and Jewel share our down-to-earth personality, and like Country, they’re involved in their communities.”

Aldean’s first Country Financial concert is March 10 in Ames, Iowa. Jewel will kick off her performances in June. As part of “Road Trips and Guitar Picks,” concert-goers will be able to text for seat upgrades, enter mobile sweepstakes and win VIP backstage opportunities.

“I’m stoked to partner with Country,” says Aldean. “Their customers and my fan base are very similar, so it’s awesome that we can get together and offer all of these cool extras that my fans can’t get anywhere else.”