T
race Adkins has joined the cast of the independent feature film Lifted, currently shooting in Birmingham. Written and directed by Lexi Alexander (Punisher: Warzone) and produced by Deborah Del Prete (Wedding Planner), Lifted is about a young singer whose family life is disrupted when his Marine father is re-deployed to Afghanistan. Adkins plays country superstar, “Jimmy Knox,” a guest judge at the American Idol-like “Teen Starquest.”
Adkins is also set to perform the national anthem at this year’s ceremony to honor the 40 heroes of United Flight 93, who lost their lives on 9/11 in a field in Shanksville, PA. The ceremony will begin at 9:45 AM on September 11, 2009, adjacent to the temporary memorial site in Shanksville.
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Luke Bryan’s “Do I” has sold more than 100,000 digital downloads since June. It is the lead single off the Georgia native’s sophomore album Doin’ My Thing, scheduled for release Oct. 6. The video, shot in downtown Nashville by director Shaun Silva, is No. 1 this week on GAC’s Top 20 Countdown. “Do I” was written by Bryan and his Capitol Nashville labelmates Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum.
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Jewel will remain on the road through the fall doing an acoustic tour. She has been touring behind her Lullaby release, and heads back out Oct. 27 with stops in 16 cities. She is also offering VIP meet-and-greet packages with backstage access and autographed memorabilia via her Web site.
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This past weekend Brad Paisley took his American Saturday Night tour to the Northeast United States and played to sold-out crowds in Meadville, PA; Cleveland, OH; Bethel Woods, NY and Essex Junction, VT. The Northeast has been getting blasted with the effects of recent tropical storms and hurricanes but concert attendees didn’t let a little rain deter their fun.
Paisley continues the tour this week and heads a little farther north into Canada – shows in Halifax, NS; Saint John, NB and Allentown, PA. Despite having torrential storms over the past two weeks in Halifax the tour has opened additional seating to accommodate the overwhelming demand for tickets.
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GAC’s Storme Warren, Jason Meadows, Brett Warren and others are scheduled for the Mounted Shooter competition at Murfreesboro’s Tennessee Miller Coliseum on Wed., Sept. 2. “Shoot for a Cure” is an exhibition and competition, with performances and a live auction benefiting the Susan G. Komen Greater Nashville for breast cancer awareness. Event is at 6 pm. Tickets are available at the venue. $10 for adults, $5 for students, children under 10 free
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Ralph Stanley will headline the Mount Juliet Homecoming, Oct. 9 – 10. The picnic style event will have live music, food, and attendees are encouraged to bring their musical instruments for open jam sessions. It will be held at Happy Hollow Farms in Mount Juliet, Tenn. (563 Main Street, Mount Juliet, TN, 37122).
Love And Theft Debut At No. 10
/by Sarah SkatesWith 19,000 paid downloads this week, the band’s hit single “Runaway” takes the top spot with the highest first week digital single sales for a debut country artist this year.
World Wide Open is co-produced by Robert Ellis Orrall and Jeff Coplan. Love And Theft’s Brian Bandas, Eric Gunderson and Stephen Barker Liles co-wrote all eleven tracks on the debut project.
Next up for Love And Theft is an opening slot on Jason Aldean’s headlining tour with shows booked from late September through November.
Cracker Barrel CDs From ZBB, George Jones
/by Sarah SkatesThe
Zac Brown Band, known for its hit “Chicken Fried” is the latest group to release an album through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. The restaurant chain, celebrating its 40th anniversary, will offer an exclusive new version of the Zac Brown Band’s CD The Foundation. Available Sept. 7, it will have new artwork and three previously unreleased recordings—live versions of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “I Lost It,” and “I Shall Be Released.” The Foundation was recently certified Platinum.
This fall Cracker Barrel will also be offering “Southern Ground Grub,” a rub and a sauce for cooking meat that is Zac Brown’s own recipe. The store will also sell a cookbook of his recipes.
Artist Photos: Carroll Visits ACM and Much More
/by Sarah Skates(L-R): ACM Exec. Dir. Bob Romeo, Jason Michael Carroll, and Arista West Coast Region Sr. Promotion Dir. Lori Hartigan
The Academy of Country Music welcomed professional member Jason Michael Carroll to its offices when he was in Los Angeles last week. Carroll was on the west coast promoting his new single, “Hurry Home,” which was one of four songs he sang for ACM staffers. Carroll’s latest album, Growing Up Is Getting Old, is out on Arista Records.
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Gene Watson took the stage at Douglas Corner recently as special guest of 45RPM, a respected band of session players and songwriters who perform only classic country songs. The night was partly a celebration for Watson’s newly released album A Taste of The Truth (Shanachie Records) which was produced by 45RPM’s Dirk Johnson. Bluegrass star Rhonda Vincent and singer/songwriter Billy Yates joined Watson on stage. Vincent and Watson duet on the project’s lead single, “Staying Together.”
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Pictured L-R - Harry Chapman, Jay O'Shea and Mark O'Shea Photo Credit: Noise New Media
Mark and Jay O’Shea dropped in on News Channel 5 to tape Words & Music: The Showcase for Nashville’s Songwriters with veteran entertainment reporter Harry Chapman. Jay entertained with her quirky anecdotes and soulful voice, while husband Mark pumped out heartfelt emotions on the guitar. The episode premieres Sept. 5 at 3am and 11pm CST. O’Shea is also featured in Nashville Lifestyles’ The Hot List issue. Last week the duo celebrated the one-year anniversary of their weekly Wednesday night gig at local hot spot Blue Bar.
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BMI songwriter and Capital Records Nashville artist Emily West entertained at the Beasley Broadcast Group Inc. Annual General Managers Meeting held recently in Naples, FL. West entertained the crowd with songs from her upcoming album, including the top 40 country hit “Rock In Her Shoes,” and her next single “Blue Sky.”
Shown (l to r) are: BBGI Ann Beasley, BBGI President Bruce Beasley, WXTU-FM Vice President/General Manager Natalie Conner, West, BBGI Chairman George Beasley, BBGI CFO Caroline Beasley, BMI’s Dan Spears.
John Styll Exits GMA
/by Sarah SkatesDuring his six year tenure leading the organization, Styll served as Executive Producer of the GMA Dove Awards, and oversaw GMA Music Week, the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and GMA Music in the Rockies which became Immerse.
His 30 years in the Christian music industry has also included serving as President of CCM Communications at Salem Communications, and Publisher of CCM Magazine.
The GMA has faced financial struggles this year and in May announced that it had reduced its full-time staff by more than 50% in the eight months prior.
Hirings and Signings
/by Sarah SkatesLou Ramirez
Lou Ramirez has been hired as Southeast Director of Promotion & Marketing for Golden Music Nashville, the new record label launching flagship act Williams Riley. Ramirez comes from KAJA-FM in San Antonio where was APD/MD and on-air personality. Effective Tuesday, Sept. 8, he will report to Darlene Starr, National Director of Promotion & Marketing, and Brad Howell, VP of Promotion & Marketing. Ramirez can be reached at lou@goldenmusic.biz or 210-240-4001.
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Roots music label Lonesome Day Records, home to Ralph Stanley II, Blue Moon Rising, Larry Cordle, and Fred Eaglesmith, has added several new consultants. Bob Morrison of Chart Noise will advise the record label as General Manager and Consultant. Alexis Kelly of LiveWire Entertainment will oversee Sales and Marketing. Vanessa Parker-Davis of Splash! Public Relations, will oversee Publicity and consult with Artist Development. Both Kelly and Davis garnered major label experience before going out on their own. Lonesome Day Records has just completed an agreement with E1 Entertainment Distribution (formerly Koch Entertainment) through Cooking Vinyl Records, to distribute their product worldwide. Randall Deaton, President and Owner of Lonesome Day Records started the label in 2002 and released the first recordings in 2004.
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Sammy Sadler has signed with Stevens & Ellis Management for personal management. His new album, Heart Shaped Like Texas (coming on Sept. 29 on E1 Music – formerly Koch) contains the single “I’ll Always Have Denver,” featuring guest Steve Wariner, who wrote the song along with Bill Anderson. Sadler will be performing a showcase on Thursday at 6 p.m. at 12th & Porter.
CMA Music Fest Special Wins Ratings
/by Sarah SkatesMartina McBride was one of the numerous performers on last night's show.
CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock won last night’s (8/31) ratings for ABC with 7.8 million viewers according to Zap2It.com. It came in first at both the 8 and 9 PM/ET slots, and second at 10 PM.
Year-to-year ABC’s CMA Music Festival special posted huge increases, jumping by +2.5 million viewers and by +43% over its year-ago telecast (on Monday 9/8/08). In fact the show generated its biggest audience in four years and tallied its highest Adult 18-49 rating in three years.
ABC had 7.8 million viewers and a 5.0 rating/8 share. Next in line for the night was CBS (6.9 million, 4.6/8), followed by NBC (5.6 million, 3.8/6), FOX (4.1 million, 2.7/4), and The CW (1.4 million viewers, 1.0/2).
The program was up against repeats on all the other networks. On CBS it was How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and CSI: Miami. NBC was showing reruns of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Dateline NBC. FOX had repeats of House and Lie to Me, while CW showed One Tree Hill, and Gossip Girl.
Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Celebration
/by Sarah SkatesPhoto of Rounder Records founders, from left, Marion Leighton-Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin after their label won the 2009 Grammys for album and record of the year. (Jonathan Alcorn, The Boston Globe)
Rounder Records will celebrate 40 years of making music with a concert by its star artists Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bela Fleck, Irma Thomas and others yet to be announced. Minnie Driver will host the October 12 event at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, TN. The show will be filmed by High Five Entertainment for a PBS television special that will begin airing on the network in March 2010. A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to NARAS’ Grammy® in the Schools Programs.
Rounder Records was founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy and Bill Nowlin. With no record industry experience the then Boston area college students and music lovers started what would become one of the country’s preeminent roots music labels. Their legacy continues with winning Album of the Year for Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raising Sand at the 2009 Grammy® Awards.
Concert tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster and Gaylord/Grand Ole Opry outlets.
Charlie Daniels Headlines NSAI Benefit
/by Sarah SkatesPictured (L-R): AristoMedia President Jeff Walker; NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison; Charlie Daniels' Manager/Co-owner Blue Hat Records David Corlew; Daniels; Daly and BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations Jody Williams. Photo Credit: Bev Moser
Charlie Daniels Band headlined the second concert in NSAI’s “It All Begins With A Song” Performance Series at the Wildhorse Saloon on Thursday night (8/27). The packed house was treated to a few tunes by Old Union prior to an energetic performance by the CDB, which included hits “Long Haired Country Boy,” “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” and the gospel classic “How Great Thou Art.” As the night concluded, Daniels was presented with BMI MillionAir Awards for one million performances of “The South’s Gonna Do It Again,” “In America,” “Drinking My Baby Goodbye,” and four million performances of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” He also received specially autographed lyrics of the “Tennessee Waltz” from NSAI for his contributions to the music industry. During the band’s final song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” the CDB was accompanied by Pro Golfer John Daly.
HFA Publisher Services Team Lead Danielle Boone was pleased to be on hand to applaud her former boss – she worked for CDB Music, LLC prior to joining HFA. Pictured from left to right: Bob Regan (Legislative Chair NSAI and songwriter), Charlie Daniels, Danielle Boone (HFA Publisher Services Team Lead) and Barton Herbison (Executive Director, NSAI). Photo: Bev Moser
News From Trace, Luke, Brad and More
/by Sarah SkatesT
race Adkins has joined the cast of the independent feature film Lifted, currently shooting in Birmingham. Written and directed by Lexi Alexander (Punisher: Warzone) and produced by Deborah Del Prete (Wedding Planner), Lifted is about a young singer whose family life is disrupted when his Marine father is re-deployed to Afghanistan. Adkins plays country superstar, “Jimmy Knox,” a guest judge at the American Idol-like “Teen Starquest.”
Adkins is also set to perform the national anthem at this year’s ceremony to honor the 40 heroes of United Flight 93, who lost their lives on 9/11 in a field in Shanksville, PA. The ceremony will begin at 9:45 AM on September 11, 2009, adjacent to the temporary memorial site in Shanksville.
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Luke Bryan’s “Do I” has sold more than 100,000 digital downloads since June. It is the lead single off the Georgia native’s sophomore album Doin’ My Thing, scheduled for release Oct. 6. The video, shot in downtown Nashville by director Shaun Silva, is No. 1 this week on GAC’s Top 20 Countdown. “Do I” was written by Bryan and his Capitol Nashville labelmates Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum.
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Jewel will remain on the road through the fall doing an acoustic tour. She has been touring behind her Lullaby release, and heads back out Oct. 27 with stops in 16 cities. She is also offering VIP meet-and-greet packages with backstage access and autographed memorabilia via her Web site.
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This past weekend Brad Paisley took his American Saturday Night tour to the Northeast United States and played to sold-out crowds in Meadville, PA; Cleveland, OH; Bethel Woods, NY and Essex Junction, VT. The Northeast has been getting blasted with the effects of recent tropical storms and hurricanes but concert attendees didn’t let a little rain deter their fun.
Paisley continues the tour this week and heads a little farther north into Canada – shows in Halifax, NS; Saint John, NB and Allentown, PA. Despite having torrential storms over the past two weeks in Halifax the tour has opened additional seating to accommodate the overwhelming demand for tickets.
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GAC’s Storme Warren, Jason Meadows, Brett Warren and others are scheduled for the Mounted Shooter competition at Murfreesboro’s Tennessee Miller Coliseum on Wed., Sept. 2. “Shoot for a Cure” is an exhibition and competition, with performances and a live auction benefiting the Susan G. Komen Greater Nashville for breast cancer awareness. Event is at 6 pm. Tickets are available at the venue. $10 for adults, $5 for students, children under 10 free .
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Ralph Stanley will headline the Mount Juliet Homecoming, Oct. 9 – 10. The picnic style event will have live music, food, and attendees are encouraged to bring their musical instruments for open jam sessions. It will be held at Happy Hollow Farms in Mount Juliet, Tenn. (563 Main Street, Mount Juliet, TN, 37122).
SOLID Recruitment, NELA Winner
/by Sarah SkatesSOLID member Jessica Myers (L) was a winner at the 2009 Nashville Emerging Leader Awards, held recently at David Lipscomb. Myers is Bluewater Music's Manager of Administrative Services. Pictured at the awards with SOLID Pres. Alicia Warwick (R).
SOLID (Society of Leaders In Development) will hold its new member recruitment party on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at The Rhythm condos located on 501 Demonbreun Street, 5th Floor. Potential members are invited from 5:00 to 7:30 PM to meet and mingle with current SOLID members and alumni. Food and drinks will be provided.
Those who have been working in the music business for a year are eligible to apply. Check out www.solidnashville.com for more information. Applications must be in by Oct. 31.