Sony Executive VP Butch Waugh; Columbia artist Miranda Lambert; Patty Loveless; and Sony Nashville Chairman Joe Galante. Photo: Rick Diamond
“It’s a lump in the throat to be here this evening, thanks,” said Poet’s Award recipient Merle Haggard, neatly summing up the evening. The 2nd Annual ACM Honors event, hosted by Lee Ann Womack, was held 9/22 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center in order to recognize winners from the 44th Annual ACM Awards.
A large number of artists performed in tribute to the evening’s winners. One of the many highlights was Carrie Underwood singing “I Told You So,” to honor Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award winner Randy Travis. Other artist/performers included Vince Gill, The Grascals, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Jim Lauderdale, Patty Loveless, Brent Mason, James Otto, Kellie Pickler, John Rich, Blake Shelton, Steve Wariner and host Womack.
Read on for a full list of winners:
Kenny Rogers celebrates after receiving the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. (L-R) Dreamcatcher’s Jason Henke, Webster PR’s Kirt Webster, Dreamcatcher’s Bob Burwell, Kenny Rogers, Capitol Records Mike Dungan, Dreamcatcher’s Jim Mazza, lawyer Bruce Phillips, and Dreamcatcher’s Kelly Junkerman.
Jim Reeves International Award: Dolly Parton
Presented to an individual for outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world.
Poet’s Award: Merle Haggard and Harlan Howard
Honors songwriters for outstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their careers in the field of country music.
Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award: Jerry Reed, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, and Hank Williams Jr.
Honoring individuals who are pioneers in the country music genre.
Tex Ritter Award: Beer For My Horses
Given to a movie released and/or receiving major exposure during the preceding calendar year, featuring or utilizing country music.
Mae Boren Axton Award: David Young
Given in recognition of years of dedication and service by an outstanding individual to the Academy of Country Music.
Musician/Bandleader/Instrumentalist Awards
Chuck Ainlay – Audio Engineer of the Year
Tony Brown – Producer of the Year
Tom Bukovac – Top Guitarist of the Year
Eric Darken (Tied) – Top Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year
Dan Dugmore – Top Steel Guitar Player of the Year
Aubrey Haynie – Top Fiddle Player of the Year
Jelly Roll Johnson (Tied) – Top Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year
Greg Morrow – Top Percussionist/Drummer of the Year
Gordon Mote – Top Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year
Glenn Worf – Top Bass Player of the Year
Industry Awards
Fran Romeo, Romeo Entertainment – Don Romeo Talent Buyer of the Year
Louis Messina, The Messina Group – Promoter of the Year
Joe’s Bar (Chicago, IL) – Nightclub of the Year
The Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN) – Venue of the Year
Turning Stone Casino (Verona, NY) – Casino of the Year
Twitter Chart and Artist Wall High Traffic Destinations
/by bossrossWhat Are They
The Chart, powered by AristoWorks, shows the Top 75 country artists ranked by the number of Twitter followers. Each artist entry also has a “stats” button which shows a graph of the artist’s growth and predictions for future progress.
The Chat Wall is a real time, continuously updating display of comments from over 128 country artists which can be thought of as a real time conversation. For example, when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Video Awards, the Twitter Wall began to erupt almost immediately, with artist comments…
Both pages are loaded with interactive links making it easy to jump to specific artist pages for a closer look and can be found under the “Charts” link at the top of the page on musicrow.com.
MusicRow, which began using Twitter almost a year ago, now has almost 10,500 followers.
Artist News—Covington, West, Church & More
/by MichelleBucky Covington (L) and Jeff Foxworthy (R) Photo Credit: Courtesy of CMT
Bucky Covington was featured on last night’s (9/23) episode of CMT’s Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader with host Jeff Foxworthy (R) and walked away with $25,000 for charity The Arthritis Foundation. Currently, Covington is on the road playing dates across the country and the next stop is Rockingham, NC for his first hometown concert since American Idol.
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Eric Church will perform at North Carolina’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway Oct. 17 as part of the pre-race festivities for the NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America. To help celebrate homecoming NASCAR style, Church will return to his home state to perform a concert outside of the Turn 2 Diamond Tower Terrace on Saturday afternoon before the race. Admission to the concert is free with the purchase of a NASCAR Banking 500 ticket. College students can see the concert from a special viewing area with the purchase of a Carolina CollegeFest 2009 package. www.lowesmotorspeedway.com
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Bridgette Tatum (L) and George Clinton (R) Photo Credit: Kat Speer
While accepting an NSAI Award honoring her multi-week #1 co-write on Jason Aldean’s “She’s Country,” Bridgette Tatum had the opportunity to meet funk and soul legend George Clinton. Tatum was celebrating with co-writer Danny Myrick and publishing company, Root 49 Music.
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“Eat and Greet” With Zac Brown Band
/by FreemanPass holders will not only get to hang with Zac Brown Band before the show, they’ll also be treated to a plate of southern-style cooking prepared by none other than Zac himself with Chef Rusty and featuring Zac’s signature brown sauce, spice rub and more. Each attendee will receive an autographed photo and can wash all that delicious food down with drinks provided by Budweiser.
But as is the case with so many good things, there’s a catch: availability for these passes is extremely limited. Only 24 “Eat and Greet” passes have been allotted for each show at the recession-friendly price of $35 apiece, and they will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Furthermore, tickets to the concert must be purchased separately. But this is a rare opportunity for the public, because these passes will soon be available only to ZBB fan club members. The Breaking Southern Ground Tour kicks off today (9/24) in Cary, North Carolina and runs through November 14 in Boca Raton, Florida. “Eat and Greet” passes for ZBB shows this weekend are already available for purchase. Visit zacbrownband.com for details.
Big Tractor Music Signs Matthews
/by Michelle(L-R): Jason Krupek/Big Tractor General Manager; Jason Matthews; Cynthia Anderson/Big Tractor Creative Director; Photo credit: Steven C. Knapp / Knapp Time Creative
Big Tractor Music has signed tunesmith Jason Matthews, who has writing credits on songs such as Billy Currington’s “Must Be Doin’ Something Right” and Luke Bryan’s “Country Man.” Even before he earned Music Row’s 2006 Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year honor, Matthews was building a catalog of hits, including cuts for Julie Roberts (‘Break Down Here’), Kevin Denney (‘That’s Just Jesse’), Tammy Cochran (‘Life Happened’), Dusty Drake (‘One Last Time’), Roxie Dean (‘Remind Me’), and James Otto (‘The Ball’), among others.
Big Tractor Music also signed Wade Kirby and Jennifer Zuffinetti earlier this year.
Jewel Asks You to “Give A Drop”
/by Freeman“I’m very excited that Project Clean Water has formed a partnership with the Voss Foundation and Virgin Unite to help people in need,” said Jewel. “When I was homeless, I became ill and couldn’t afford to buy the bottled water I needed for my sick kidneys. I realized then that it was hard to get clean drinking water in the United States, and discovered it was a huge problem globally.”
The project in Pel will rehabilitate five wells to modern, efficient and hygienic standards. The village will receive training sessions on well maintenance, hygiene, and water treatment. Studies will be conducted on each well to ensure responsible use and sustainability.
The Give A Drop campaign works through website and text donations. Visit www.giveadrop.com or, to make a $5 donation, just text the message “DROP” to phone number 85944.
ACM Honors Pay Tribute To Industry Greats
/by bossrossSony Executive VP Butch Waugh; Columbia artist Miranda Lambert; Patty Loveless; and Sony Nashville Chairman Joe Galante. Photo: Rick Diamond
“It’s a lump in the throat to be here this evening, thanks,” said Poet’s Award recipient Merle Haggard, neatly summing up the evening. The 2nd Annual ACM Honors event, hosted by Lee Ann Womack, was held 9/22 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center in order to recognize winners from the 44th Annual ACM Awards.
A large number of artists performed in tribute to the evening’s winners. One of the many highlights was Carrie Underwood singing “I Told You So,” to honor Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award winner Randy Travis. Other artist/performers included Vince Gill, The Grascals, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Jim Lauderdale, Patty Loveless, Brent Mason, James Otto, Kellie Pickler, John Rich, Blake Shelton, Steve Wariner and host Womack.
Read on for a full list of winners:
Kenny Rogers celebrates after receiving the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. (L-R) Dreamcatcher’s Jason Henke, Webster PR’s Kirt Webster, Dreamcatcher’s Bob Burwell, Kenny Rogers, Capitol Records Mike Dungan, Dreamcatcher’s Jim Mazza, lawyer Bruce Phillips, and Dreamcatcher’s Kelly Junkerman.
Jim Reeves International Award: Dolly Parton
Presented to an individual for outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world.
Poet’s Award: Merle Haggard and Harlan Howard
Honors songwriters for outstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their careers in the field of country music.
Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award: Jerry Reed, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, and Hank Williams Jr.
Honoring individuals who are pioneers in the country music genre.
Tex Ritter Award: Beer For My Horses
Given to a movie released and/or receiving major exposure during the preceding calendar year, featuring or utilizing country music.
Mae Boren Axton Award: David Young
Given in recognition of years of dedication and service by an outstanding individual to the Academy of Country Music.
Musician/Bandleader/Instrumentalist Awards
Chuck Ainlay – Audio Engineer of the Year
Tony Brown – Producer of the Year
Tom Bukovac – Top Guitarist of the Year
Eric Darken (Tied) – Top Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year
Dan Dugmore – Top Steel Guitar Player of the Year
Aubrey Haynie – Top Fiddle Player of the Year
Jelly Roll Johnson (Tied) – Top Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year
Greg Morrow – Top Percussionist/Drummer of the Year
Gordon Mote – Top Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year
Glenn Worf – Top Bass Player of the Year
Industry Awards
Fran Romeo, Romeo Entertainment – Don Romeo Talent Buyer of the Year
Louis Messina, The Messina Group – Promoter of the Year
Joe’s Bar (Chicago, IL) – Nightclub of the Year
The Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN) – Venue of the Year
Turning Stone Casino (Verona, NY) – Casino of the Year
Artist Confidential on SIRIUS XM
/by FreemanChesney Curbs Tour
/by bossross“It’s hard to believe we’re putting this thing up on blocks,” an emotional Chesney said after the sold-out show at Lucas Oil Stadium. “The response from the fans, out in the crowd and the internet, it makes you feel like people understand… and that they know we’re not gone for good, it’s just a breather…And I hope people understand, I’ve never been an all or nothing kind of guy. This doesn’t mean there will be no shows or no music. It means I’m not going to be staging a major tour – I’m not going to take two weeks off and be meeting with people to build a stage, to start thinking about how we can do the lights different and what the video’s gonna be. This isn’t just a show, it’s a major production… and it’s not just ‘lets decide what to play, rehearse for a couple weeks and get out there’. I need a break from that, so I can get back inside from a fresh place. I’m really looking forward to that, because I don’t know anyone who keeps their foot on the gas like this for 8 years. There are all kinds of things to explore within the music, I can’t wait to take the time to see where some of this will take me, and where I might turn up, because, you know, I now have the time to maybe get into some interesting places… We’ll just have to figure it out.”
Big and Rich Greatest Hits Includes DTC Piece
/by bossrossBig & Rich’s debut triple-platinum CD Horse Of A Different Color arrived in May 2004 and contained hits such as “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)” and “Holy Water,” both of which are contained on the Greatest Hits outing. John Rich was awarded the ASCAP Songwriter/Artist Of The Year Award in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and has penned No.1 hits for Gretchen Wilson, Faith Hill, and Jason Aldean. Big Kenny was the 2005 BMI Songwriter Of The Year, and scored a No. 1 hit for Tim McGraw’s “Last Dollar.” The duo has also garnered multiple Grammy, ACM, CMA and CMT Music Award nominations.
Worley’s River Run Raises $175k
/by MichelleWorley presenting a check from the Darryl Worley Foundation in the amount of $100,000 to Charlotte Burns of Hardin County Medical Center, where the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center will be built.
Darryl Worley’s 8th Annual Tennessee River Run, which took place Sept. 10-13 near Savannah, Tennessee, raised $175,000 for the Darryl Worley Foundation. The benefit included numerous events spread over four days, and benefited the building of a cancer treatment center at the Hardin County (Tennessee) Medical Center.
Tennessee River Run 2009 kicked off with an “Evening with Darryl Worley & Friends Fish Fry,” which featured a sold-out acoustic in-the-round concert and dinner with Worley and hit tunesmiths Walt Aldridge, Jim “Moose” Brown, Steve Leslie and Wynn Varble. Performers at the country concert on Saturday (9/12) included Coon Dog Funeral, Jonathan Singleton & the Grove, Caitlin & Will, Craig Morgan and Worley. Sunday’s community sing and picnic featured perennial favorites Geron Davis & Kindred Souls and Jason Crabb of The Crabb Family.
The next event to benefit the Darryl Worley Foundation is the Tennessee River Run Bass Fishing Tournament, Saturday, November 7 on Pickwick Lake. Interested anglers and sponsors can contact www.fishteamtrails.com for registration information, entrance fees, rules and payouts.