CMA Fest 2019 welcomes country music fans from all over the world

Set for June 06 – 09 June in Nashville with 11 official stages

The annual CMA Fest is set for Thursday  June 06 through Sunday June 09, and Nashville will welcome many country music fans from every state plus Europe and the rest of the world. Full details are available here.

Artist lineups announced

The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience™ began in 1972 as Fan Fair®, which drew 5,000 fans to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. Now in its 48th year, the legendary festival has become the city’s signature Country Music event that hosts tens of thousands of fans from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and 36 international countries.

In 2018, CMA Fest featured 11 official stages with hundreds of artists performing—all to benefit music education. CMA Fest is a one-of-a-kind festival with artists donating their time to perform so ticket proceeds can directly benefit high-quality music programs across the country through the CMA Foundation.

Fans enjoy last year’s CMA Fest

CMA Fest has revealed the lineups for three daytime stages that are free to the public during the four-day festival in June. Chevy Breakout Stage at Walk of Fame Park, Maui Jim Broadway Stage at Bridgestone Plaza and Nashville Acoustic Corner Stage will feature over 110 performances Thursday, June 6 through Sunday, June 9, highlighting fan favorites and rising Country stars daily. Continue reading “CMA Fest 2019 welcomes country music fans from all over the world”

Chris Young “Hangin’ On” for eleventh No. 1

Celebrates with co-writers at Number One party

It was party time for Chris Young and co-writers Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge on Monday, April 29, as they were feted at a Number One party for “Hangin’ On.” This was a party with a slight difference: it was a lunchtime event, instead of the usual afternoon or early evening get-togethers. The party was co-hosted by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.

(Left to right) Front row: Liz Rose (Liz Rose Music), Corey Crowder, Chris Young and Josh Hoge. Back Row: Michael Martin (Vice President ASCAP Nashville), Beth Brinker (Associate Creative Director ASCAP), Scott Ponce (Liz Rose Music) and Mike Sistad (Senior Creative Director ASCAP). Photo credit: Preshias Harris.

In answer to a question at the press briefing before the party, Young spoke about the unusual timing of the party. “It’s the only time when all of us can get together,” he said. “It’s not like it’s not a huge, huge deal and people don’t dream of getting up one day and writing a song that goes to number one.  That’s why these [No. 1 parties] are so important, no matter what form they take. It’s something so special for all that stuff to come together at once and you’d have a number one.  I had a [number] 37, a 52 and a 37 at the start of my career, so a number one feels really, really good and we should celebrate it.”

“Hangin’ On” is Young’s eleventh No. 1 as an artist and his ninth as a songwriter.

“The first place I wrote a song”

(L to R) Corey Crowder, Chris Young, Josh Hoge at the press briefing. Photo credit: Preshias Harris

The celebration took place at BMI’s Nashville office, and Young noted that it seemed to be the perfect location as it marks a special place on his career trajectory.  “This building we’re in right now [BMI Nashville]; this was the first place I wrote a song,” he revealed.  He went on to explain how that first writing session came about. Continue reading “Chris Young “Hangin’ On” for eleventh No. 1”

Sammy Sadler reboots career with new projects

Sole survivor of Murder on Music Row

Sammy Sadler. Photo: WBA Entertainment

Sammy Sadler was an emerging artist in the late 1980s on the brink of a successful career with a record deal at Evergreen Records.  He was full of optimism and high hopes when he and his friend Kevin Hughes were walking along Music Row in Nashville on March 9, 1989.

Hughes was a chart researcher at Cash Box magazine.  While still a student at Belmont University, he had worked as an unpaid intern before being put on the magazine’s payroll by Richard “Tony” D’Antonio, Cash Box’s director of Nashville operations.

Hughes had become suspicious that money was changing hands in order to push certain records up the charts.  He had voiced his concerns to friends and family and was considering leaving Music City and returning home to Illinois.

Deadly attack

Continue reading “Sammy Sadler reboots career with new projects”