VERSE OF THE MONTH: My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I whom you have delivered. - Psalm 71:23.
ACM AWARDS: The Special Award Winners were announced for the 51st ACM Awards. Glen Campbell received the Career Achievement. Crystal Gayle, Tanya Tucker and The Statler Brothers, Cliffie Stone received the Pioneer Award. Little Big Town, Crystal Milestone; Jeff Walker (posthumously) received the Jim Reeves International Award. Keith Urban, Mae Boren Axton Award; and Eddie Rabbitt (posthumously) received the Poet's Award. Carrie Underwood takes home the ACM Lifting Lives Gary Haber Award. Dolly Parton's "Coat Of Many Colors" received the Tex Ritter Award.
ACM NEWS: During the 51st ACM Awards, scheduled to air Sunday, April 3rd at 8pm ET on CBS-TV, Performers scheduled are: Kelsea Ballerini, Nick Jonas, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) Keith Urban, plus five artists will debut new music, including Keith Urban's "Wasted Time." There will be a total of 23 artist performances.
ARTIST NEWS: The latest country music video from award-winning singer/songwriter Bobby Marquez debuted on Country Fix on the Heartland Network during March. Keith Burns and Heidi Newfield of Trick Pony hosted the show. The video showcased the song, “Whisper.” The Jim Lauderdale penned tune was recorded by Marquez for his self-titled, debut album and quickly became a favorite for DJs on Willie’s Roadhouse on SiriusXM Satellite radio. Bobby is also a featured performer on the “Wheeling Jamboree.” More at bobbymarquez.com.
BENEFIT NEWS: It will be the 11th time for Reba McEntire to emcee the 2016 Celebrity Fight Night April 9 in Phoenix. Other country artists scheduled to appear at the charity event include Carrie Underwood and Brooks & Dunn. The primary beneficiary of the fundraiser is the MCOUNTRY MUSIC HoF NEWS: The Class of 2016 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame are: Charlie Daniels (Veteran Era Artist category), Randy Travis (Modern Era Artist category) and Fred Foster (Non-Performer category). The honorees will be celebrated at the annual invitation-only Medallion Ceremony later this year.
CD RELEASE: The debut EP from country artist Tucker, #Country, is now available and includes the title track, which was one of the most downloaded radio singles. Now, Tucker, who goes by one simple name, is back with a new single from #Country called What I Can Change. Tucker said that the song is about making a difference where we can, and accepting that sometimes, the result of one small action is a hugely positive result. Tucker got his start in Nashville in Eric Durrance’s band, after an introduction to Teddy Gentry of the iconic band, Alabama, by Teddy’s son and Tucker’s friend, Josh Gentry. Tucker is a multi-instrumentalist who appeared on tours with Jason Aldean, Jimmy Wayne, James Otto, Ashley Cleveland, Guy Penrod, Rick Derringer, Michael Peterson and more. Details at tuckermusic.net.
COUNTRY MUSIC HoF NEWS: The Class of 2016 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame are: Charlie Daniels (Veteran Era Artist category), Randy Travis (Modern Era Artist category) and Fred Foster (Non-Performer category). The honorees will be celebrated at the annual invitation-only Medallion Ceremony later this year.
INDIE NEWS: ‘Right Beside You’ is the title of the new album from Jeff White, whom music journalist, Jon Weisberger, has called “one of Nashville’s under-sung heroes for more than two decades.” White has performed on an unbelievable roster of albums with artists including Vince Gill, Loretta Lynn, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Lyle Lovett, and The Chieftains, to name a few. The independently released album was available in late March with a street date of April 22. The list of guests lending talents to Right Beside You reads like a Who’s Who of acoustic music legends, including Vince Gill, Bekka Bramlett, Del McCoury, Alison Krauss and many more. For more about ace flatpicker, vocalist, and songwriter Jeff White, visit jeffwhitebluegrass.com
INDUSTRY NEWS: Old Dominion learned that their peers and music industry colleagues have voted them the Academy of Country Music’s Best New Vocal Duo/Group of the Year. Also nominated for Vocal Group of the Year at the 51st ACM Awards, Old Dominion will perform at Party For A Cause Festival on Sunday, April 4. In addition to their first awards’ nominations, the band is also celebrating the success of their second single “Snapback,” which is racing up the charts – already in the Top 10 and climbing. “Snapback” is the follow-up to Old Dominion’s two-week No.1 debut smash single “Break Up With Him.” Listen to “Snapback” at olddominionband.com
LABEL NEWS: (Black River Nashville) Congratulations to The Raging Idiots and the Black River team on the No. 1 debut of The Critics Give It 5 Stars on the comedy albums chart. The album sold more than 11,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan…
(Reviver Records Nashville) Reviver Records announced the signing of Kayla Adams to their artist roster. “Kayla is one of the bright new talents that you only see every so often,” Reviver CEO David Ross said in a statement. Adams is a native of Montana, and has already begun turning heads with songs such as “Sober and Sorry” and “Burn A Little Colder.” She learned her craft at both Nashville’s prestigious Belmont University and the famed Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music in Hollywood. She is currently working on her first project for Reviver Records, distributed by BDG, RED - A Division of SONY Music, LLC. More at revivermusic.com
LEGEND NEWS: Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with country legend Merle Haggard, who is still battling pneumonia and has canceled his April concerts. For updates, please check his website at www.merlehaggard.com.
MEDIA NEWS: Gary Allan re-signs with UMG/Nashville, moving from MCA to EMI Nashville. Overall, Allan's nine studio albums and Greatest Hits albums have produced 26 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including four Number Ones: "Man to Man", "Tough Little Boys" (both 2003), "Nothing On but the Radio" (2004), and "Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)" (2013). On March 2, 2015, Allan released a new single titled "Hangover Tonight", which served as the lead single to his tenth studio album.
MUSIC NEWS: My “Preshias Day In Music” will be Saturday, April the 23rd at the Listening Room, from 11:00am to 2:30pm. This year we will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of me being breast cancer FREE! Artists songwriters confirmed so far are: Anna Barrow, Matt Cooper, Michaela Lawson, Re Mattei, Lindsey Harding, Mike Short, Jr. Meg Rilley, Brad Rowe, Allie Louise, Dustin Bragg, Heidi Beuerlein, Chelsie Love, Carmen DeMari and Allison Bray. More artists and songwriters to be announced soon. It’s an all-ages show and no cover. We are asking for a 5lb bag of dog or cat food for the Proverbs 12:10 animal rescue or a $5.00 bill donation to the charity. This rescue facility serves middle Tennessee counties and has saved over 1,000 dogs in 2015. More info at www.proverbs1210rescue.org.
MUSICIAN NEWS: Registration is now open for the Kruger Brothers Music Academy, an intensive and inspiring educational weekend for banjo, guitar and bass players of all levels, beginner to advanced. Now in its 5th year, this exclusive event offers masterclass instruction by the internationally renowned Kruger Brothers. The annual weekend event, scheduled for Thursday, May 5 through Sunday, May 8, 2016, is a unique opportunity for attendees to immerse themselves in musical discussion, instruction, and collaboration in a fun workshop environment. The Academy highlights the music of the Kruger Brothers and their extraordinary abilities as caring teachers and mentors. Info on the 2016 Academy at shop.krugerbrothers.com
NUMBER ONE NEWS: Congrats to Randy Houser and his fourth number one with “We Went.” Looks like Randy is on a roll. Kudos for WMG artist Cole Swindell. "You Should Be Here" is Swindell’s third number one. The other two were "Hope You Get Lonely Tonight" (His first) and "Ain’t Worth the Whiskey"(second), both from his self-titled debut album. Penned by the artist with Ashley Gorley as a tribute to Swindell’s late father, Keith, "You Should Be Here" is the first single off of his upcoming sophomore album of the same name, due out May 6.
RADIO NEWS: Kenny Chesney’s latest single, “Noise,” hit Billboard’s Country Singles Chart at No. 21 and MediaBase’s at No. 28, both with a bullet. “Noise” brought in a whopping 146 adds at Country radio in its first week, breaking records. Begun on his way to a marketing meeting to review set up plans for his new music, something about “Noise” struck Chesney as too immediate to wait. “I’ve always tried to make music that says something I think the fans want to hear,” Chesney says. “When you have a great song that speaks to the heart of how people are living, you’ve got something. I try to not repeat myself, or do what other folks are doing.” Chesney’s ‘Spread the Love’ Tour kicks off April 23 in Auburn and an album is due early this summer. Tour info at kennychesney.com
ROW NEWS: Tracy Lawrence was named Philanthropist of the Year at Nashville's National Philanthropy Day award ceremony. Tracy Lawrence, Multi-platinum CMA and ACM award-winning recording artist and host of nationally-syndicated radio show, Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence, was honored at the award ceremony March 17th. Middle Tennessee’s chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) recognized donors, volunteers, foundations, leaders, corporations and others engaged in philanthropy who made large positive impacts on the community in 2015. Lawrence has long been in partnership with the Nashville Rescue Mission, fundraising for the organization and feeding more than 75,000 in need throughout the past decade with his annual turkey fry. In addition to meals served, more than $63,000 was raised at the 10th Annual Mission: Possible Turkey Fry Concert on Nov. 24, 2015 at City Winery which prompted the Rescue Mission’s submission of Lawrence for Philanthropist of the Year.
SIRIUS/XM NEWS: Kenny Chesney's internet-based No Shoes Radio (NSR) will leave the web and move to SiriusXM Channel 62 April 12. NSR launched eight years ago and will mark the transition with a live broadcast of his Asbury Park, NJ, show at the Stone Pony on May 12th.
SINGLE NEWS: Still fresh from landing his fourth No. 1 with “We Went” and releasing his new album, Fired Up, Randy Houser shows no signs of slowing down as his new single, “Song Number 7,” hit country radio at the end of March. Described as a “catchy earworm,” the song marks Houser's highest first week add total at Country radio to date. Houser is currently performing select headlining dates and will join Dierks Bentley for the 2016 Somewhere On A Beach Tour starting in May. Upcoming tour dates are listed at RandyHouser.com
TIN PAN SOUTH NEWS: The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) announced that April 5-9, 2016 as the dates for the 24th Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival. The ever-popular event presents hit songwriters from all genres of music performing at a variety of intimate Nashville night spots. Regions Bank returns for the ninth year as the presenting sponsor of the event. Produced by NSAI, Tin Pan South reigns as the world's largest all-songwriter festival. This year, over 350 talented songwriters perform 92 shows at ten of Nashville's top music venues. Thousands of music fans attend the event annually to hear songwriters tell stories behind hit songs they have written and perform the songs as they were originally composed. More info at www.tinpansouth.com.
TV NEWS: The current episode of The Pickup, classic country music’s only syndicated video news program, features a touching farewell to Joey Feek of the duo Joey+Rory, who lost her long battle with cancer on March 4. Clips from a tribute video made by several of Country’s biggest stars prior to her passing were shared, featuring Tanya Tucker, Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, Marty Stuart, and Connie Smith. Also on this episode: news of Dolly Parton’s upcoming tour and Ray Stevens breaking ground on a new musical theatre just outside of Nashville. The PickUp has been added to The Heartland Network, as well as on the websites of such stations affiliated with the Nash Icon, HankFM and DukeFM brands. New episodes are posted on the 1st and 15th of each month.
TOUR NEWS: Seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner Carrie Underwood's The Storyteller Tour – ‘Stories in the Round’ will extend through the fall, including stops in Los Angeles, Nashville and New York City. Carrie will also debut her new single, “Church Bells,” with a television performance on the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards Sunday, April 3 on CBS Television. Produced by Mark Bright and written by Zach Crowell, Brett James, and Hillary Lindsey, Carrie’s “Church Bells” ships to country radio on Friday, April 1 and officially impacts on Monday, April 11th.
VIDEO NEWS: Cyndi Lauper has unveiled a new video for her rollicking take on the Wanda Jackson classic “Funnel Of Love.” The song is the first single from Detour, Lauper’s upcoming album of county covers from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, available May 6 on Sire Records. Filmed at the legendary honky-tonk Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, California, the video recently premiered on CMT. Detour was recorded in Nashville alongside a band comprised of the city’s top session players. The album features guest appearances from county music royalty such as Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Willie Nelson. Lauper kicks off her 19-city “Detour Tour” at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on May 9. Tour dates and album info at cyndilauper.com
WWWEBSITES TO CHECKOUT: www.globalsongwriters.com / www.namm.org /
www.cdxcd.com / www.proverbs1210rescue.org.
WHO'S LOOKING * WHO'S CUTTING: Allison Bray, Charlie Worsham, Dustin Lynch, Jake Owen and Kayla Adams
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