NEWS BRIEFS: Kenny Chesney will release his next album is being released on his Blue Chair Records imprint through longtime label home BNA Nashville. The lead single “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven,” is already out. ••• Billy Ray Cyrus' new single, "Somebody Said a Prayer" will be released this week. The CD Back To Tennessee, will hit stores Nov. 28. ••• Farm equipment manufacturer Case IH will sponsor Craig Morgan’s International Harvester concert tour. The outing’s official title, named for his hit song, will be “Craig Morgan Powered by Case IH... International Harvester. The Legend Rolls On." ••• Joe+Rory, the duo comprised of hit songwriter Rory Feek and his wife Joey just signed with Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records. Their debut album is set for release this fall. ••• Darryl Worley’s new single “Tequila on Ice” is the first release from James Stroud's new Stroudavarious Records. ••• Blake Shelton will perform his #1 blockbuster, "Home", on The Early Show (CBS) Aug. 18. ••• Texan Jeff Griffith reels in a big one this week with “Fishin’ Forever,” which jumps to the #1 spot on the European Country HotDisc chart in four short weeks. The single was just released stateside on CDX (July, Vol. 453). ••• Hal Ketchum’s new album Father Time, contains thirteen self-penned songs plus a cover of Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl" and is due Sept. 9 on Curb Records. ••• Jack Ingram, Victoria Shaw and Desmond Child will judge finalists on the Sept. 10 finale of The Next GAC Star
Vince Gill, Kathy Mattea and Michael Martin Murphey are among the performers announced to appear at IBMA’s Bluegrass Fan Fest Oct. 3-5 at the Nashville Convention Center. The star-studded event that wraps up World of Bluegrass Week (Sept. 28-Oct. 5) will present more than 60 acts. Proceeds from Fan Fest ticket sales benefit the Bluegrass Trust Fund, established to help bluegrass professionals during times of emergency need, as well as IBMA’s marketing and educational events during the year. All artists appearing at the event donate their time and talents for the cause. Also set to appear: The Grascals, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Bradley Walker, Dale Ann Bradley, The Dan Tyminski Band, Tony Trischka, Cherryholmes, Jesse McReynolds Family & Friends, J.D. Crowe, Blue Highway, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, David Parmley & Continental Divide, Paul Williams & Victory Trio, Special Consensus, Dailey & Vincent, Don Rigsby & Midnight Call, The Larry Stephenson Band and more.
Keep On Walkin' (released 7/15/08) is the Grascals' first CD in a couple of years. Already among the most respected contemporary bluegrass groups, they have clearly reached a new level with song selection and delivery on this (their third) album. The collection includes outstanding covers of George Jones' "Choices", Waylon Jennings' "The Only Daddy That Will Walk The Line", and Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again".
Larry the Cable Guy's Star Studded Christmas Extravaganza, a one-hour special, taped July 30 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville, will premiere in November on CMT. Guests include Jay Leno, Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, Tony Orlando, and more. A DVD of the special will be released by Jack Records/Warner Bros. Records following the show's premiere.
Noted Nashvillian and music industry leader, Mike Curb, has received The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award for 2008. Passionate about the music industry and education, Scaife, a Music Row pioneer, was instrumental in the formation of the music business program at Belmont University that is now known as the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. It was Scaife’s vision to see Belmont produce successful musicians, artists, and music business executives by giving students an opportunity to formally learn about the industry that was so fulfilling and exciting for him. “Mike Curb has taken the seeds that my father planted and sown them around the world through the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business with campuses in Nashville, Los Angeles, and New York,” said Scaife’s daughter LaRawn Scaife Rhea, adding, “it is only appropriate that Mike Curb is the inaugural recipient of this award. His generosity and vision have made it possible for future generations to realize careers in the music industry.” Curb, Chairman of Curb Records, has also been instrumental in the preservation of many of Music Row’s most famous landmarks. His gifts to the program of historic RCA Studio B, Quonset Hut, and Ocean Way studios have made it possible for students to study and learn their craft in these legendary settings. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier this year and is a multiple award winning songwriter, producer, and performing artist. The Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business has been declared by TIME and Rolling Stone magazines as one of the top two music business schools in the nation.
The 2008 Farm Aid concert will be held in New England for the first time! Farm Aid, presented by Whole Foods Market and Horizon Organic will be held Sept. 20, at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA. Kenny Chesney will join Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews at the concert for America's family farmers. Tickets available now through Ticketmaster. Visit Farm Aid for more.
Rascal Flatts Bob That Head Tour just hit Atlanta, Raleigh and Charlotte with advance sell-outs of 60,000 fans for the three shows. This brings in an astounding total of 1.2 million Head Bobbers to see Rascal Flatts since last summer. The tours, back-to-back outings of Still Feels Good Tour and Bob That Head Tour, have spanned 12 calendar months, July 2007 - July 2008, and played to nearly 1.2 million fans. The combined tours have made 72 tour stops with forty-seven sellouts. The Bob That Head Tour featuring opening acts Taylor Swift, Neil Thrasher and Wendell Mobley winds-up Sept. 26 in Bossier City, LA.
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards celebrates its 30th anniversary with a gala event Sept. 20 in Atlanta. Confirmed 2008 inductees: Group: Widespread Panic; Pioneer: Fred and Dinah Gretsch; Songwriter: Keith Sweat; Posthumous: Dottie Rambo; Non-Performer: Hamp Swain. Individual tickets and tables are available through the Friends of Georgia Music Festival, Inc. (770) 491-9494. The Awards show will be telecast live on GPB.
Steve Azar and PGA Champ John Daly will co-host the 1st Annual Campbell Chevrolet Celebrity Classic in Bowling Green, KY on Oct. 20-21. The star-studded charity event will feature two days of great music and competitive golf, with more than 30 celebrities participating from the worlds of country and rock music, sports and Hollywood. Celebrities expected to join Azar and Daly, include former Chicago Bears' quarterback Jim McMahon, rock band 3 Doors Down, NFL Hall of Famer Gino Torretta and "King of Queens" actor Gary Valentine. Proceeds from the event will benefit various autism charities located throughout central and south-central regions of Kentucky.
Leadership Music will honor The Bradleys, Music Row's founding family, during an invitation-only fundraising event on Aug. 26. The Dale Franklin Leadership Award will honor five Bradley Family members: Owen (posthumously), Harold, Patsy, Jerry, and Connie. The Bradley Family joins previous Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award winners Tony Brown (2004), Gerry House (2005), Emmylou Harris (2006), and Frances W. Preston (2007). Kenny Chesney, Gretchen Wilson, Kellie Pickler and Ronnie Milsap will perform during the tribute at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel.
Keith Urban, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Duffy, Fergie, Justin Timberlake, Kid Rock, Lil Wayne, Mariah Carey, and Rihanna are among the artists who will perform for a two hour special to celebrate the Fifth Anniversary of Fashion Rocks by Conde Nast Media Group. @musicrow reports the special will air Sept. 9 on CBS and will take place at Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 5. Event proceeds will benefit Stand Up To Cancer.
EVENTS Calender
2008:
• Aug. 29-31 - Heart of the West Festival, Cheyenne, WY
• Sept. 12-14- Country Night Gstaad, Switzerland
• Sept. 19-21- CO Homestead Art Show, Loveland, CO
• Sept. 19-21- Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Roundup, Branson, MO
• Sept. 20 - Farm Aid Concert, Mansfield, MA
• Sept. 25-27- George Jones University, Franklin, TN
• Oct. 2 - International Bluegrass Music Awards, Nashville. TN
• Oct. 3-4 - IBMA's Bluegrass Fan Fest, Nashville. TN
• Oct. 9 - R.O.P.E. Banquet & Show, Nashville. TN
• Oct. 16 - Inspirational Country Music Awards, Nashville. TN
• Oct. 18 - Old West Days & Chili Cook-off Festival, Mesa. AZ
• Nov. 11 - BMI Country Awards, Nashville. TN
• Nov. 12 - CMA Awards, Nashville. TN
2009:
• Mar. 4-7 - Country Radio Seminar, Nashville. TN
• Jun. 11-14 - CMA Music Festival, Nashville. TN
• Jul. 15-18 - Country Thunder USA, Twin Lakes, WI
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