|
|
 Martina McBride may be a country music star, but when it comes to being a mother, she says she experiences all the same things other mothers face raising two teenage daughters and a six year old. “There’s always drama. I mean in a good way. But it’s the same kind of drama that’s been playing out forever. I would imagine that whether you’re in Hoboken or Venice, Italy, you know, it’s all the same thing. So it’s just a universal experience really.” Martina is sure she provided some of that same drama for her mom when she was younger and she says, “And we all remember what it was like to be a teenager even if you don’t have teenage daughters.” Martina is currently out on the road with George Strait promoting her top ten song “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” and beginning in April she’ll be headlining her own, more intimate theatre tour.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 OK Race fans it’s almost time for NASCAR to start and Little Big Town will kick off the season with pre and post-race concerts as well as performing the National Anthem for the 34th annual Budweiser Shootout on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway.
The band will perform three songs prior to the non-points event on the pre-race stage located on pit road which will be carried live on FOX Sports. After the checkered flag waves on the 75-lap race, the group will perform a 60-minute post-race concert from the Sprint FANZONE Main Entertainment Stage.
“Our fans can expect some hard racing, loud music and an unforgettable night as the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kick off the 2012 racing season at the ‘World Center of Racing.’ ”
In addition to their Budweiser Shootout pre and post-race concerts and National Anthem, a special $84 ticket package designed around the Little Big Town has been created that includes a Budweiser Shootout ticket, Sprint FANZONE/Pre-Race access and VIP area access to the Little Big Town pre-race performance.
Little Big Town is comprised of Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and husband and wife, Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook. The group has sold over 1.5 million records, placed 12 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, earned four Grammy Nominations and was honored with an Academy of Country Music award for Top New Vocal Duet/Group.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Taylor Swift and Viacom announced that they’re partnering for a first-ever MTV global music video premiere, featuring Taylor Swift’s ‘Safe and Sound’.
“Safe & Sound,” is the lead single from the soundtrack for the highly anticipated movie, ‘The Hunger Games’. The album was produced by Oscar and Grammy-winner T-Bone Burnett and ‘Safe and Sound’, featuring the Civil Wars, took the No. 1 spot on the iTunes chart the day it was released.
Reuters.com reported that the video, will air Feb. 13 at 7:54 PM ET ON MTV, and could reach as many 600 million households around the world.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Alan Jackson says there’s really no formula for writing songs. “I can’t say that I put that much thought into all of it. I don’t know why. I pretty much write what comes out at the time. I get ideas all throughout the year, you know. It could be reflective, or it could be something situational that causes me to think about it or it could be something goofy that’s on television or something. But you know, whatever, I just write down or jot down ideas and titles. Sometimes they come out as a song right away or sometimes they lay there for a while. But life always seems to bring something to write about.”
Jackson’s “So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore,” written by Jay Knowles and Alan’s nephew, Adam Wright, has been hitting the airwaves. The video for the single is also enjoying its share of success, as well. In fact, the clip was No. 4 on iTunes last week. It ranked just behind Nicki Minaj and ahead of Chris Brown. The digital single will be available on February 14th (Valentine’s Day)
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Jamie O’Neal, is starting the New Year off with a new business venture. O’Neal and some of Nashville’s finest industry personnel have joined forces to create her own indie label, Momentum Label Group.
O’Neal, whose hits include “There Is No Arizona,” “When I Think About Angels,” and “Somebody’s Hero,” will oversee every aspect of Momentum Label Group, including serving as the producer to some of the label’s expanding roster.
“I’m so excited about this amazing opportunity,” says O’Neal. “I’ve had my own studio for many years, and being a part of the creative process has always been one of my favorite things about the music business. By having our own label, we can now help introduce the world to some exceptionally talented new artists.”
The key team on staff assisting O’Neal with the label will be her father and manager, Jimmy Murphy, who will serve as Momentum’s General Manager and Partner; music industry veteran John Ettinger, who will head up the Radio Strategies portion of the label; Jessica Northey, who will oversee the label’s Social Media/Web Strategies division; and John Christian, who will head up West Coast promotions.
Murphy has spent his whole life in the music business as a recording artist in New Zealand, where he was a star on the Australian Bandstand. Most recently, his songs have been featured on the Desperate Housewives soundtrack and America’s Funniest Home Videos. In addition to managing O’Neal, Murphy also oversees the careers of his other daughter, Minnie Murphy, as well as Momentum’s flagship artist, Rachele Lynae.
Ettinger’s career in the music business began more than 20 years ago at Mercury Records, where he was a key player on the regional team that launched the careers of Sugarland, Billy Currington, Love and Theft, Toby Keith and Shania Twain. It was his role as VP at Mercury where he also met O’Neal and played an instrumental part in propelling her red-hot career.
Christian’s 25-year experience in the music industry with programming and broadcasting will be an asset to Momentum Label Group, as he will continue to utilize his knowledge and expertise with those in the country radio field where he has worked as a key consultant with stations across the United States.
Look for Momentum Label Group’s flagship artist, Rachele Lynae, to release her debut single, “Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home” in March.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Relativity Music Group is pleased to announce the release of the soundtrack for Relativity Media’s adrenaline-fueled Navy SEAL action-thriller Act of Valor, featuring brand new original songs written and inspired by the film from today’s top recording artists including: Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Trace Adkins, Wynonna Judd, Montgomery Gentry, and more. In theatres February 24, 2012, the Bandito Brothers’ Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a film like no other in Hollywood’s history, along with actors Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle and Nestor Serrano, in an unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking. Pre-Order of the Act of Valor album is available on the iTunes® store now. The soundtrack will be released by Relativity Music Group and distributed in music retail locations by Capitol Records Nashville on February 21st.
The track listing includes original songs written and performed by artists including: Keith Urban (whose song “For You” is featured in the film’s end credits), Sugarland (“Guide You Home”), Lady Antebellum (“I Was Here”), Trace Adkins (“If the Sun Comes Up”), Lori McKenna (“Two Soldiers Coming Home”), Jake Owen (“The Best I Can”), Montgomery Gentry (“What It Takes”), Josh Kelley (“The Best of Me”), Hunter Hayes (“Where We Left Off”), and Wynonna Judd (“Whatever Brings You Back”).
Produced and directed by former Baja 1000 champion Mike “Mouse” McCoy and former stuntman Scott Waugh, and written by Kurt Johnstad (300), Act of Valor features a gripping story that takes audiences on an edge-of-their-seat journey, when a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly results in the discovery of an imminent, terrifying global threat, an elite team of highly-trained Navy SEALs must immediately embark on a heart-stopping secret operation, the outcome of which will determine the fate of us all. Act of Valor combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the-minute battlefield technology, and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure film—showcasing the skills, training and tenacity of the greatest action heroes of them all: real Navy SEALs.
For more information about Act of Valor, please visit http://www.actofvalor.com.
 Trace Adkins has been invited to headline the second annual NRA Country Jam, presented by Bushnell and Folds of Honor. The concert will take place on Friday, April 13th at the Ferrara Theatre, just steps away from the exhibit hall in America’s Center in St. Louis during the NRA Annual meetings.
The exhibit hall will be filled to capacity with over 500 exhibitors displaying every shooting and hunting related product and accessory imaginable. Over 70,000 NRA members are expected in St. Louis for three fun filled days that will be kicked off by Adkins and NRA Country Jam II.
An avid supporter of our U.S. military, Adkins, together with NRA Country and Bushnell, have designated a portion of the proceeds from the NRA Country Jam to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation. Founded by Iraq veteran Major Dan Rooney, Folds of Honor provides post‐secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of U.S. military service members killed or disabled during service. Since its founding in 2007, the foundation has generated more than $9.8 million for post‐secondary education scholarships.
“I can’t wait to take the stage at the NRA Country Jam 2. It’s going to be a great show,” says Adkins. “Folds of Honor is an important cause and I’m happy to help give back to those who give so much for our freedom.”
For more information about the event visit NRA Country. To learn more about Folds of Honor, make a contribution or nominate a recipient, visit www.FoldsofHonor.org.
 Reba’s comedy pilot, Malibu Country, which follows a single mom who relocates her family to Malibu to re-launch her singing career, has been picked up for pilot by ABC-TV. Reba, manager Narvel Blackstock, Kevin Abbott (former Reba executive producer), Dave Stewart (formerly of the Eurythmics) and Pam Williams will executive produce.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 The Big Game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots takes place this Sunday, and many of your favorite country artists will be tuned in to watch the two teams battle it out. Lady Antebellum have hung out with Eli Manning, the QB for the Giants, so they have unanimously picked New York to cheer on.
Darius Rucker, who just performed a show during the pre-game festivities, has loved the game of football since he was just a little boy, and even now, he says there are only two times a year — “football season and waiting for football season.” “Ever since I was five, I’ve loved football. I love how physical it is, like, I love the chess match of the game. I love the speed of the game…I love college football, but for me watching pro football’s better, because the speed is so much more. But for me, there’s two times a year, man. There’s football season and waiting on football season.”
Dierks Bentley is also an avid football fan, and while he’s not publicly picking a side, he says he was hoping for this particular match-up. Keith Urban says his wife Nicole Kidman actually turned him on to pro football.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Keith Urban made his first public appearance since vocal surgery last night at the Ryman Auditorium. It will be the last performance on the famous stage as today renovations start on a new stage more able to bare the heavy musical equipment. The current stage is only the second in the 120-year history of the “Mother Church” of country music. The original was installed in 1901 for a performance of the Metropolitan Opera.
“When I was told earlier that the Ryman was going to start renovations on the stage after our show I thought, ‘you know, when we say we’re really gonna tear it up tonight, maybe they’re worried I mean it literally?” The 44-year-old Australian had a polyp removed from a vocal cord last November but you would have never known as he open the show with a “Yeehaw!” He proceeded to tear the place up with the high energy for which he is known. The highlight of the night was probably when he sang “Making Memories of Us” microphone-free with the audience.
Later this month, Urban will head to Sydney for a week of filming for the Australian version of “The Voice”. Urban will pop back and forth to Australia over the next few months while maintaining a busy schedule here in the United States that includes a second show at the Opry, the much anticipated third annual “All For The Hall” benefit concert on April 10th among other appearances and performances.
“It’ll be a blast spending a little time in Australia working on The Voice, getting the opportunity to try and help some killer raw talent blossom,” said Urban. “And I have a feeling that being immersed in that new kind of “everything is possible” energy, will have a real inspiring and liberating effect on creating new music for my new album!”
Much of Urban’s time over the course of the year will be spent at home in Nashville, where he’s already begun writing and finding songs for his next album. No release date set as of yet.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
|
|
Recent Comments