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ACM NEWS: During the 50th ACM Awards, scheduled to air April 19 at 8pm ET on CBS-TV, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Reba, George Strait, Taylor Swift and Brooks & Dunn will be honored with the 50th Anniversary Milestone Award, commemorating their places in ACM Awards history.
ARTIST NEWS: On the heels of his EP “Love In Principle,” Nick Verzosa has announced his partnership with this year’s Boot Campaign, a grassroots initiative started in 2009 by five women from Texas known as the Original Boot Girls. Verzosa sports his combat boots in his official Boot Campaign photo. He will engage in a slew of fundraising opportunities and events in 2015 to benefit this unique organization, including their 1st Annual “Kicking For Defenses” kickball tournament this fall in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. The Boot Campaign is a national 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to promoting patriotism for America and our military community; raising awareness of the unique challenges service members face during and post-service; and providing assistance to military personnel, past and present, and their families. More at www.bootcampaign.com
BENEFIT NEWS: Don’t forget to tip your servers! A “Celebrity Waiters Dinner” scheduled for April 2 at the Stones River Country Club in Murfreesboro features celebs such as Tanya Tucker, Crook & Chase, John Berry, T. Graham Brown, John Conlee, Lynn Anderson, Barbara Fairchild, Rex Allen Jr., Jan Howard, Highway 101's Paulette Carlson, Hee Haw cast members LuLu Roman, Roni Stoneman and Gerad Smith, Larry's Country Diner cast member Renae Johnson and Keith Bilbrey who will serve as MC of the evening’s festivities. Also on hand: MTSU President Dr. Sidney McPhee, MTSU SGA President Andrew George, MTSU Homecoming King Jonathan Gandy and Queen Kelley Benson. The dinner benefits The Exchange Club of Murfreesboro (Prevention of Child Abuse).
CONCERT NEWS: Alan Jackson will be headlining the fourth annual Rock the South festival scheduled for June 19 and 20. The festival takes place in Cullman, Ala., a town located between Huntsville and Birmingham. Also scheduled to appear: Brantley Gilbert, Sara Evans, Eric Paslay, Travis Tritt, Blackberry Smoke, Jon Pardi, Tyler Farr, Corey Smith, Chris Weaver Band, Big Smo, Downsouth and Dee Jay Silver. To date, Rock the South has raised more than $150,000 for local charities. Details at www.rockthesouth.com.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME: The Country Music Hall of Fame has some new members. On March 25, host Brenda Lee announced the inductees: The Browns, The Oak Ridge Boys and the late Grady Martin. The Browns consist of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Bonnie and Maxine. Jim Ed went on to a solo career, as well as duets with Helen Cornelius, after his sisters retired. Martin was inducted in the category for recording and performing musician prior to 1980. A guitarist with Nashville’s fabled ‘A Team,’ he played guitar on numerous hits for Marty Robbins, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan and many more. He passed away in December 2001. The Oak Ridge Boys’ many hits include ‘Elvira,’ ‘Bobbie Sue’ and ‘American Made.’
INDIE NEWS: DeciBel Nashville recording artist Ray Scott has released the sobering single, “Ain’t Always Thirsty,” from his newest CD, RAY SCOTT. Co-written with Mark Stephen Jones, the signature Ray Scott tune comes from Ray’s emotional and painful divorce and self-reflection. Scott said: “‘Thirsty’ made me take a hard look at the mistakes I’ve made in my life; writing it was therapeutic. I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever written. I drew from real pain and the music and melodies that I grew up on—the music that I am drawn to as a fan and as a recording artist.” Scott recently signed on with Bob Kinkead/The Kinkead Entertainment Agency for exclusive booking representation. Ray joins agency line-up that encompasses Ray Stevens, Bill Engvall and Kyle Cease to name a few. Tour dates, etc at www.rayscott.com.
INDUSTRY NEWS: Cole Swindell topped the Country Aircheck Charts with ‘Ain’t Worth The Whiskey.” It’s his third consecutive number one. It has also been certified “GOLD” (500,000 +) downloads. Cole co-wrote the single withy Josh Martin (;-) and Adam Sanders.
LABEL NEWS: (Capitol Nashville) Hit trio Lady Antebellum was honored with the National Music Publishers’ Association Icon Award recently. The Award recognizes their contributions to the craft of songwriting and advocacy for those in the industry. Concurrently, Lady A accepted several Platinum awards for various hit songs in the National capitol, alongside previous honorees including Steven Tyler and Jon Bon Jovi. (Columbia Nashville) Artist Chase Rice is celebrating his number one debut of “Ignite The Night.” He’s also on tour with Kenny Chesney. More info at www.chaserice.com.
LEGEND NEWS: A country music legend just made one of her superfans feel like a star. Gage Blackwell of Lynnville, Tennessee, who has Down syndrome, is a huge fan of Dolly Parton, and recently, the 12-year-old had the opportunity to spend time with the singer at her Dollywood theme park, Today.com reported. While at the meeting, the singer and her fan started off by singing Parton's popular duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream." The video of Gage and Parton, has since gone viral with more than 1.9 million views on Facebook as of March 28th. The pair also chatted about country music and sang other hits, including "Jolene" and "9 to 5."
… Don Williams has announced the spring and fall legs of his 2015 tour.. Williams first came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the folk group The Pozo-Seco Singers. By 1971, Williams had gone solo, and kept on the charts into the 1990s, as he continued to play for huge crowds on the road. His success in the United States is well-documented, but his music has made him an international star – with followings in such places as England and New Zealand. Known as “The Gentle Giant,” Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
MEDIA NEWS: We are sending Congratulations to Broken Bow's Jason Aldean and Brittany Kerr, who married last month in Mexico. "I've got my girl here, my friends, my family – it's the best day ever!" Aldean told Us Weekly. Aldean is also honoring one breast cancer survivor and a guest at each stop on his current Burn It Down 2015 Tour. He's also setting aside a portion of the year's ticket sales to support breast cancer programs by a Susan G. Komen local affiliate. This year proceeds will go to Komen's South Florida affiliate to support the West Palm Beach area.
MUSIC NEWS: The RIAA has issued gold digital single certification for Lee Brice's "Drinking Class." Curb's Brice kicks off a headlining tour April 8 in partnership with non-profit Reverb, which pairs musicians with schools to affect environmental and social change. Big Machine's The Cadillac Three and Red Bow's Chase Bryant will open with other acts on select dates.
NUMBER ONE NEWS: Ten years after his first single hit radio and just a week after claiming his 15th No. one hit, two-time ACM “Male Vocalist of the Year” Jason Aldean released “Tonight Looks Good On You” as the latest single off his ACM nominated, platinum album OLD BOOTS, NEW DIRT. Aldean has accumulated more than 21.5 million downloads, making him the top selling digital male artist of all time. Aldean is currently nominated for three awards at the 50th Annual ACM Awards including "Entertainer of the Year,” "Male Vocalist of the Year" and "Album of the Year" for OLD BOOTS, NEW DIRT, airing April 19 on CBS. For a list of his tour dates, visit www.jasonaldean.com.
PUBLISHING NEWS: Hit singer-songwriter and producer Dallas Davidson has launched Play It Again Music Publishing. Davidson’s venture, founded with Executive Vice President Austin Marshall, launches with four songwriters who each bring something different and dynamic to the operation. While Davidson has earned more than 20 No. 1 hits as a mainstream country songwriter, he has cut the rope for songwriters Maggie Rose, Houston Phillips, Brian Kolb and Kyle Fishman. “We don’t have fences around this company,” said Davidson, who serves as Play It Again’s president and CEO. I don’t care if they write a rap song, a pop song or a country song. This is all about music at Play It Again. We’re not focused on one certain genre. I want our writers to feel as creative as they can.” More at www.playitagainpublishing.com and www.facebook.com/playitagainpublishing.
ROW NEWS: Radio Promo vets Ken Rush, Pamela Newman, and Denise Roberts have joined Thirty Tigers as VP/Promotion & Artist Development, Dir./Southwest Promotion and Dir./National & East Coast Promotion, respectively. Newman and Rush are on the job now; Roberts' first day is April 6
TIN PAN SOUTH NEWS: Each year, the Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival Presented by Regions Bank donates proceeds from the door of one show to a designated charity, and organizers named Musicians On Call as the beneficiary of the 23rd annual event. The special round featured Rodney Clawson, Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley on March 27, at The Listening Room Cafe. Musicians on Call started in 1999 and currently operates their Bedside Performance Program in 15 cities. MOC volunteers visit patients at their bedsides to perform acoustically for the patient, their family and the caregivers at children's hospitals, adult facilities, VA hospitals and hospices. Performances have touched the lives of nearly 500,000 people. Details at www.tinpansouth.com.
TOUR NEWS: The stars of ABC-TV's 'Nashville' will launch an eight-city tour kicking off April 29 in New York at the Beacon Theater. Performing on all dates are Clare Bowen, Chris Carmack, Charles Esten, Aubrey Peeples and Lennon & Maisy; Sam Palladio and Jonathan Jackson will be on select dates.
WWWEBSITES TO CHECKOUT: www.globalsongwriters.com / www.namm.org / www.artistecard.com/borrowedblue / www.cdxcd.com /
WHO'S LOOKING * WHO'S CUTTING: Danielle Bradbury, Allison Bray, Tim, McGraw, Jake Owen, Chris Young,