Garth Concert Update

On Thursday, Dec. 16 Garth Brooks will open his string of shows in Nashville to benefit flood relief. He has announced plans for a press conference at 3 PM on Thursday to discuss the event which sold out in record breaking time. Brooks will talk to reporters at the Bridgestone Arena, which will host the […]

Joe Nichols “Greatest Hits” In The Works

Joe Nichols is planning the January 25, 2011 release of a greatest hits package on Show Dog-Universal. The set dates back to his early career hits such as “Brokenheartsville,” and goes through his newest single, “The Shape I’m In.” Also, the album will include his recent major hit “Gimmie That Girl,” which spent multiple weeks […]

George Jones At The Ryman; Little Jimmy Dickens Turns 90

George Jones will perform at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium next year. The show is scheduled for Saturday, March 12 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets will go on sale Friday, December 17 at 10:00 a.m. through Ticketmaster.com, Ryman.com, and the Ryman box office. Tickets prices are $49.50 / $39.50 / $29.50. More upcoming shows at the Ryman: Amy […]

BMI Hires Nada Latto

Nada Latto has joined BMI’s Nashville office as Vice President, Human Resources, where she will be responsible for leading all aspects of human resources for the company. She will report directly to Bruce Esworthy, BMI Sr. VP of Finance/Administration and CEO. “Nada is a veteran HR executive with over 20 years of well-rounded leadership experience […]

Terra Firma Could Default on EMI Loan

News sites including London’s Sunday Times, are buzzing today (12/13) with reports that EMI Music Group may soon end up in the hands of Citigroup. The bank funded a more than $4 billion loan for Guy Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma to purchase the record company in 2007. Sources told the New York Post […]

Jim Lauderdale Re-ups With Bug

Bug Music has renewed its multi-year publishing deal with Jim Lauderdale. The singer-songwriter has worked with and written songs recorded by Elvis Costello, George Strait, the Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless, and many more. Among his recent hits are Strait’s “I Gotta Get To You.” Lauderdale was honored with the career achievement “Inspiration Award” at the […]

Montana’s “1000 Faces” Video; Riversong Signs Hess

Randy Montana Stars in “1,000 Faces” Mercury Nashville artist Randy Montana recently shot a video in downtown Nashville for his upcoming single, “1,000 Faces,” written by Montana and Tom Douglas. The video, directed by Robert Deaton and George Flanigen, utilized over 60 extras to convert the closed city streets into a swarm of bustling pedestrians […]

Davidson Named Hot Country Songwriter of the Year

EMI Music Publishing’s Dallas Davidson will be honored in this year’s Billboard year-end issue as the Hot Country Songwriter of the Year. The award recognizes his nine charted country singles including multiple No. 1 country hits “That’s How Country Boys Roll” (Billy Currington), “Rain Is A Good Thing” (Luke Bryan), “Gimmie That Girl” (Joe Nichols), […]

Benefits: Toys For Tots, Music City Community Chorus

This event has been canceled (12/13): Toolpusher recording artist Jason Sturgeon will host “Jason Sturgeon and Friends,” benefiting Nashville’s Toys For Tots on Monday, December 13. The show, featuring Sturgeon with guests Matt Stillwell, Andy Griggs, and Sherrie Austin takes place 6-7:30 pm at The Listening Room. Attendees are asked to bring new toys, unwrapped, […]

CMA Songwriter Series; CMT Radio Live On Tour

CMA SONGWRITERS SERIES PLAYS LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Bob DiPiero, Brett James, Little Big Town and Lori McKenna headlined the most recent CMA Songwriters Series, held in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC on December 4. This was the second CMA-produced songwriters event held at the Library in 2010, with plans […]

Paisley Plans New Album, Offers Free Download

Brad Paisley’s “This Is Country Music” had a big platform when he debuted it at the 44th Annual CMA Awards in November, and it is already rapidly climbing the charts. It will also be the title track to the newly crowned CMA Entertainer of the Year’s new album, which is due out April 19, 2011. […]

Warner/Chappell Acquires 615 Music

Warner/Chappell Music, the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp. and parent company of Non-Stop Music, today (12/10) announced the acquisition of 615 Music, a Nashville-based production music company. In addition, 615 Music’s President and CEO, Randy Wachtler, will take on the role of EVP, North America, for Warner/Chappell’s production music business. The agreement […]

Lynn Honored with Van Lear Rose

A new rose has been named in honor of country legend Loretta Lynn. The “Loretta Lynn Van Lear,” named after the Grammy-winning album Van Lear Rose, will be delivered to Lynn’s ranch in the spring of 2011 and will be available for purchase by the fall of 2011. “Roses have always been so special to […]

Weekly Chart Report (12/10/10)

The holidays are upon us, which means its almost time to take a break from number crunching and chart compiling. Next week’s chart, to be published on December 17, will be the final one of 2010. We’ll start back strong in 2011 on Friday, January 7. SPIN ZONE Slight changes occur in the penultimate CountryBreakout […]

Twitter, Music and You

Pew Research Center released a report today, stating that eight percent of American adults who use the Internet are also Twitter users. Twitter, which launched in 2006, serves as both a never-ending tournament in which users attempt to outwit each other in 140 characters or less and a thriving, active community ripe for sharing news […]

Sales Engine Whirring As Holiday Looms

Fa-la-la-la-la_____        la–la-la-la. That familiar melodic snippet nicely sums the panoramic view from your Scribe’s lofty perch, high upon the holiday hilltops watching the SoundScan ticker tape turn. A dozen CDs passed the 20k benchmark on the Top Current Country chart this week, and country’s album sales YTD deficit continued to improve from -6.1% to -5.7%. […]

Artists and Songwriters Perform Good Works

Ty Herndon has partnered with former NFL player Kevin Turner to raise awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and its emerging connection to athletes exposed to repeated head trauma. Turner is a former NFL fullback with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles who was diagnosed with ALS in […]

Sara Evans Album News; Cash Auction Raises Big Bucks

Sara Evans is Stronger Sara Evans will release her sixth full-length album, Stronger, on March 8, 2011 on RCA. The album includes her current single, “A Little Bit Stronger,” written by Luke Laird, Hillary Lindsey and Hillary Scott. Evans is also featured in the December 13th issue of Country Weekly, in which she talks about […]

LeAnn and “Crazy Women”

LeAnn Rimes will release her new single, “Crazy Women,” digitally on December 21st. “Crazy Women” will be a special bonus track on Rimes’ upcoming album, Lady and Gentlemen, slated for release early next year on Curb Records. For her latest album, Rimes reinterprets classic country songs by Waylon Jennings, George Jones and Merle Haggard, among […]

Cookin’ With Zac Brown

You know Zac Brown as the lead singer/guitar player of the Zac Brown Band, but do you know Chef Zac Brown? The former chef and restaurant owner has a passion for good food, so much that he built a “kitchen on wheels” and published a cookbook, Southern Ground. The infamous mobile kitchen is a 53-foot […]

Taylor Swift Named New Face of CoverGirl

Taylor Swift is the newest face of CoverGirl cosmetics. She will represent a new line of luxury makeup called CoverGirl NatureLuxe, which will launch in January 2011. The NatureLuxe line encapsulates a new definition of luxury, defined as simple, high-quality experiences rather than overstated, heavy opulence. “Taylor’s naturally polished and beautiful look fits perfectly with […]

Nashville Prepares For Garth Brooks Concerts

Massive crowds are expected to arrive in Nashville starting one week from today (Dec. 16) when Garth Brooks’ sold out series of Bridgestone Arena shows kicks off. Nashville Downtown Partnership is helping with logistical efforts, as parking is expected to be scarce. Full dates for the shows, which include guests Trisha Yearwood and Karyn Rochelle, […]

Upcoming Lennon Tribute Has Nashville Roots

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. The legendary musician, who was returning home after a recording session, when was shot and killed in front of his apartment building in New York City on December 8th, 1980. Nashville engineer Steve Marcantonio, who recently worked on hit albums including Taylor Swift’s Speak Now and […]

Bandbox Preps 2011 Launch

Nashville company Bandbox hopes to streamline the way fans discover and share music on Facebook. The application would allow Facebook users to share songs from iTunes the same way they share links and photos, then their Friends could listen to and purchase the song without leaving the site. The company headed by co-founder and CEO […]

Big Loud Shirt Retreat; Sandbox Contact Update

Last week Big Loud Shirt held its 2nd annual Christmas writer retreat, bringing in outside writers to pen Christmas tunes. Last year’s retreat resulted in Dave Barnes’ current single “Christmas Tonight” (a duet with Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott). The song was written by Barnes and Clint Lagerberg. ••••••••••••• Jason Owen’s Sandbox Entertainment has set up […]

Belmont Stands At Credibility Crossroads

MusicRow’s beat rarely strays from entertainment industry analysis, but we join a growing chorus urging Belmont University to update its policies.

Word Launches 25 Live Agency

Word Entertainment has launched the 25 LIVE agency, formerly known as The Breen Agency. In addition to booking The Breen Agency’s artist roster, 25 LIVE will handle touring and live events. The 25 artist roster includes acts Chris August, Phillips Craig & Dean, Point of Grace, Bebo Norman, Sidewalk Prophets, and more. “We are so […]

Nashville Planning Artist Residence

An artist residence for Music City is in the works thanks to a partnership between the Nashville Music Council, Metro Development Housing Authority and Mayor Karl Dean’s office. Several cities across the country have artists residences, offering affordable housing to members of the creative community, and supporting them culturally and economically. It remains unofficial, but […]

DISClaimer Single Reviews (12/8/10)

The moment this listening session began, the rest of the platters might as well have packed up and gone home.
As soon as I saw Brad Paisley’s “This Is Country Music” in the stack, I knew what the Disc of the Day was going to be. And it is.

Lucinda Williams Sets March Release

Lucinda Williams is prepping for the March 1 release of her new album Blessed, on Lost Highway. For the 12-song project she paired with Grammy Award-winning producer Don Was, and co-producers Eric Liljestrand and Tom Overby. Williams recruited Elvis Costello for guitar work on the track “Seeing Black.” Also making appearances on the album are […]

Photos: Clay Walker and More

Clay Walker performed on The Fran Drescher Show.

Kennedy Center Honors Haggard, McCartney

Washington D.C. was glowing with star power on Sunday night, Dec. 5, for the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors. Merle Haggard was among the esteemed honorees, alongside Sir Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Bill T. Jones, and Jerry Herman. Vince Gill opened the salute to Haggard, calling him the “poet of the common man.” Willie Nelson narrated […]

Photos: Willie Nelson, Darius Rucker

Willie Nelson helped Virgin America airlines launch its new service to Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport (DFW). To celebrate, Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson hosted a Texas-sized party in downtown Dallas at the Winspear Opera House. Darius Rucker visited The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Dec. 1 to perform his latest No. 1 Country […]

Travis Tritt Signs With Parallel Entertainment

Travis Tritt has signed with manager J.P. Williams of Parallel Entertainment, home to Larry The Cable Guy and others. The Los Angeles-based talent management and production company handles a wide range of entertainment projects, including feature films, DVD premiere features, comedy and music albums, and television series and specials. Parallel has produced one-hour specials for […]

Dates: Tin Pan South, Grammy Nominee Party

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has announced that the 19th Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival will be held from March 29- April 2, 2011. Tin Pan South is the world’s largest all-songwriter festival, and includes songwriters of all musical genres performing at a variety of Nashville night spots. For the fifth continuous year, […]

Vassar To Headline Nashville New Year’s Eve

Phil Vassar will headline Nashville’s Bash On Broadway New Year’s Eve party. The free block party starts at 7:30 PM with performances by Will Hoge, Heidi Newfield and Damien Horne. GAC and Sirius/XM host Storme Warren will emcee the event on Lower Broadway leading up to the midnight Guitar Drop and fireworks. Also on the […]

American Country Award Winners

Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum were big winners at the first American Country Awards last night (12/6) in Las Vegas. Underwood took home six awards, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (for Play On), and Touring Package of the Year. Lady Antebellum earned honors for Single of the Year (“Need You Now”) […]

Photos: Brett Eldredge; Eric Lee Beddingfield

Atlantic Records’ rising star Brett Eldredge made his debut television appearance Dec. 4 on the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s “Together for Care” telethon. Eldredge performed his single “Raymond,” which he wrote after being inspired by his grandmother’s battle with the disease. Among the other stars on the telethon were Al Roker from NBC’s Today Show. ••••••••••• Eric Lee […]

EMI Celebrates Holiday Kick-Off

EMI Music helped start the holiday’s for writers, staff and friends at its 2010 Holiday Casino Party. The “in the chips” festivities included dinner and  Casino play plus a raffle.

Bell Joins 13 Mgmt; Swift Tour Dates Sell Out

13 Management, Taylor Swift’s wholly owned management company, has appointed Frank Bell to the newly created post of Director of Radio and Research. “Frank brings solid relationships and strong tactical radio expertise and insight to 13 Management,” stated 13’s Robert Allen. “As we ramp up for the Taylor Swift Speak Now World Tour in 2011, […]

BMI Promotes Cheryl O’Quinn

Cheryl O’Quinn has been promoted to the position of Sr. Director, Per Program Services  in BMI’s Media Licensing department. O’Quinn is based in the company’s Nashville office and previously serviced as Director of Per Program Services. She will report directly to VP Business Affairs, Media Licensing Mike Steinberg. “Handling the task of administrating our licensing […]

American Country Awards Air Tonight

The inaugural fan-voted American Country Awards will air live 8-10 pm ET on Fox tonight from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Trace Adkins serving as the evening’s host. Show performers include Jason Aldean, Adkins, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Easton Corbin, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, Steel Magnolia, Josh […]

Nettles Helps VH1 Divas Salute The Troops

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles helped VH1 Divas Salute The Troops in last night’s (12/5) television special. She joined pop, rock and hip-hop stars Katy Perry, Keri Hilson, Nicki Minaj, Paramore and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals for the show taped primarily last week at San Diego’s Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The stars donned military-inspired wardrobe […]

The Grascals & Friends Cracker Barrel Exclusive

The Grascals are the latest band to release music through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s exclusive program. The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin will be available Jan. 10, 2011, offering 13 tracks featuring guests Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels and Dolly Parton. The bonus track “I Am Strong” was […]

Bill Anderson Planning Box Set

Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson will release his first box set next year. It will be a 5-CD compilation encompassing Anderson’s recording career from 1958 through 1966. The set will also offer demos of songs that he wrote, which became hits for other artists. It is expected from Bear Family Records in […]

Music City Memorial for Will Tennyson

Will Tennyson, a longtime member of the Nashville music industry who passed away recently, will be celebrated with a memorial service on Wed., Dec. 8, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM, at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater. The service will include performances by Tennyson’s friends Mandy Barnett and Brennin Hunt. There will also be a […]

Chesney Stadium Stop At NY/NJ Meadowlands

Kenny Chesney’s Goin’ Coastal Tour is set to play the New York area on Aug. 13, 2011. Also starring will be Zac Brown Band with special guests Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker. Tickets for the mega show go on sale Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. “This lineup represents the very best that country music has […]

Owen, Messina Offering Live Concerts Online

RCA’s Jake Owen will offer fans a chance to view his live show online with is first-ever streaming concert tonight (12/3). Owen is set to play a sold-out show at Joe’s Bar in Chicago, and will stream the entire 90 minute event live for free. Sponsored by LongHorn Steakhouse and Chicago’s US99, the concert starts […]

Holiday Releases Roundup

Word/Warner Bros. trio Point of Grace has released a Christmas CD called Home For The Holidays, and just announced its Home For The Holidays Tour in December to support the recording. The tour launches today in Eden Prairie, MN and wraps Dec. 19 in Greenwoods, SC. Fervent Records artist Chris August will support. •  •  […]

Opry Events Manager Exits; Obedia Opens Nash Offices

Grand Ole Opry Events Manager Sara Winne Foster has exited her post with the company. Foster joined Gaylord Entertainment and the Grand Ole Opry in 2007, where she oversaw all private events at the Opry Entertainment Complex. Prior to the Opry, she worked for The Promotional Edge in Los Angeles, where she managed client events […]