Nashville Music Archives - Page 30 of 30

‘Nashville’ will stay in Nashville and on TV

CMT picks up 5th season of Nashville

Great news for songwriters

The stars of 'Nashville' celebrate the good news — The stars of ‘Nashville’ celebrate the good news

When Nashville was canceled by the ABC TV network, it was a gloomy day for fans who had followed four seasons of the television show. But it was also bad news for a lot of people (both business and creative) who had benefitted from the show.

So it was a ray of sunshine – on an already very sunny day – when three Nashville stars gathered onstage June 10 at the CMA Music Festival to spread the word that the popular TV series has a new home on CMT. Earlier in the day, CMT, Hulu, Lionsgate and ABC Studios announced that the critically acclaimed and fan favorite Nashville will return with a brand new season on CMT. Hulu will continue to bring fans the series by making all Nashville episodes available to stream the day after they air on CMT, according to a statement released by CMT.

Nashville star Charles Easten was performing on the Riverfront Park stage when he was joined by castmates Clare Bowen and Chris Carmack and CMT personality Coly Alan. They shared the good news with cheering fans as a banner rolled out to proclaiming the hashtags #NashvilleSaved and #NashvilleCMT.

But this was also great news for the Nashville business and creative communities.

'Nashville's stars announce show's move to CMT — ‘Nashville’s stars announce show’s move to CMT

The show began as the brainchild of Ryman Hospitality, a Nashville-based tourism and entertainment company that pitched the concept to ABC. The show has been syndicated to 100+ countries and is widely regarded as promoting Nashville as a tourist destination. In fact, the State of Tennessee and Metro Nashville viewed Nashville as a weekly hour-long commercial for visiting the city.

In addition to tourism dollars, Nashville has had a major impact on those employed in the local film and entertainment industry, providing employment for up to 500 people during the 200 days of filming each year.

It was great news for songwriters when Nashville got green lighted for a fifth season, too.

Nashville is a rarity among TV shows in that it regularly features new songs, mostly from Nashville songwriters, that are performed by the cast members. The show’s producers keep a stockpile of songs for each of the show’s characters that they can work into the storyline. When they are hunting for a new song, they’ll contact 25 or more song publishers and listen to a lot of demos.

Getting a song on a hit TV show like Nashville can lead to a nice payday for a songwriter. Even so, publishers are sometimes leery of granting a license to a TV show if they believe the song has a shot at being a big hit on Country radio for a major artist, because that’s still where the big paydays start.

The show has spawned around 16 soundtrack albums (all of which have been released via Big Machine Records) so in many cases songwriters benefitted from both the song being licensed to the show and the record release. Several of the soundtrack albums have peaked in the top ten on the Country album charts.

So the renewal of Nashville on CMT and Hulu is good news for the shows fans, Nashville-based film crew, the tourist industry and particularly for songwriters.

So… get in those Writer’s Rooms, familiarize yourself with the type of songs that make the cut to become part of the show, and get your creative juices flowing! Nashville is back in Nashville and that’s good news for everyone.

Kevin Montgomery travels worldwide with house concerts

Kevin Montgomery will play for you, anywhere in the world

My dear friend Kevin Montgomery has to be one of most traveled singers in the world. As well as appearing at ‘normal’ music venues, Kevin specializes in house concerts. And house concerts are exactly what the name suggests: he will come to your house, anywhere in the world.

In his blog at his website, Kevin explains it like this: “16 years ago when I started doing house concerts I would get some strange looks, especially from artists that were on the more traditional path. Now, it seems everyone wants to do them. Why? Because they are awesome. I bring a small sound system, set it up in a living room, or whatever space is appropriate, and do a show. The host brings their friends, co-workers, family, etc …and we have a party… with a human CD player… me.”

He is prepared to go anywhere. He’s been as far as the Outback of Australia, where he traveled 13 hours (seven of it down a dirt road) to get to a farm where he performed on a flatbed trailer for folks that had driven from as far away as 250 kilometers. He went there after a fan bought his CD from Amazon and then got in touch with him about hosting a concert. He has performed frequently in all parts of the United Kingdom, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. I managed to catch up with him at a show in Maidstone, England, a few years ago.

“At this point I’ve probably done 300 house concerts,” he noted. “Four ‘50 States in 50 Days’ tours brings that number up to 200 alone.”

Kevin has a notable musical heritage, being the son of the late, great songwriter Bob Montgomery, who got his start in Lubbock, Texas, as half of a duo with Buddy Holly. Bob co-wrote a number of Holly’s biggest hits, including ‘Heartbeat,’ ‘Love’s Made a Fool of You’ and ‘Wishing.’ He also wrote the pop standard, ‘Misty Blue’ that has been a hit for various artists, including Eddie Arnold, Joe Simon and Dorothy Moore.

This summer, Kevin Montgomery will be remaining in the US for a while, but says he is open to literally going anywhere, if he gets asked to perform at a house concert. You can find out where Kevin is in the world right now, learn more about his house concerts, check out tour dates and listen to some of his music here.

Dolly Parton renews her vows of 50 years to Carl Dean

Parton to Sell Ceremony Photos to Benefit Children’s Charities

If you see Dolly Parton, tell her congratulations of her recent wedding. Huh?! Well, not exactly a wedding, but the next best thing. Dolly and Carl Dean, who recently celebrated a sweet milestone of 50 years of marriage, will be releasing photos from their renewal ceremony to the highest bidder to benefit children’s charities. The couple tied the knot on May 30, 1966, and for their golden wedding anniversary, they renewed their vows during a private ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee.

“If I had it to do all over, I’d do it all over again, and we did,” says Dolly Parton. “I’m dragging him kicking and screaming into the next 50 years. Wish us luck. In all honesty, the only way I was able to get Carl to do any of this in the first place was that it was a great opportunity for us to raise money for some very worthy causes.”

Carl Dean, a man who has stayed out of the spotlight for many years, will soon be seen by all. In addition to being photographed, Carl has also agreed to do his first interview, where fans have submitted questions and Dolly has asked the questions. This exclusive interview will soon be released to coincide with the photos.

“My first thought was I’m gonna marry that girl,” says Carl Dean reacting to the first time seeing Dolly at the Wishy Washy Laundromat. “My second thought was, Lord she’s good lookin’. And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth.”

The country icon will be selling those photos, which include images of her rarely seen husband Carl Dean. Interested outlets looking to obtain rights to the images can email: dollyweddingphotos@gmail.com

Parton recently kicked off the ‘Pure & Simple Tour,’ her largest North American tour in more than 25 years. Just a week after Parton announced the first leg, many shows have limited tickets available and additional dates have been added through November. CLICK HERE to view an updated tour schedule, purchase tickets and VIP packages.

Dierks Bentley’s ‘Black’ tops two Billboard charts

The top sales week of Dierks’ career

Dierks Bentley Black It’s been a good week for Dierks Bentley. In fact, as his latest album, BLACK, hit Number One on the Billboard Top Albums and Billboard Country Albums Chart, it was the top sales week of career.

BLACK (Capitol Records Nashville) moved over 101,000 units upon release with 88,000 of those as traditional album scans. The album has already produced the multi-week No. one hit “Somewhere On A Beach,” and its follow-up “Different for Girls” (featuring Elle King) debuts this week as the most added at Country Radio with more than 100 first week stations on board.

Bentley will join forces with Elle King for the television debut of “Different For Girls” at the 2016 CMT Music Awards on Wednesday (6/8 on CMT at 7P CT) before he kicks off the first night of CMA Music Festival Thursday (6/9) at Nissan Stadium and returns to his 2016 SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH TOUR this weekend. For more information on the new album and tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.

Stars come out for CMA Music Festival

Don’t miss chance to see Nashville’s rising stars, too

It’s June in Nashville and that means it’s time for the CMA Music Festival. And as usual, it looks like the weather will be HOT and maybe a little stormy, but if it’s anything like last year, fans will be happy to brave the heat for a chance to get in front of their favorite acts.

One of the great things about the CMA Music Festival is that, in addition to the headliners, music fans get to see the rising stars and the breaking acts; often up close and personal.

Yes, Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans) will be the place to see headliners such as Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Charlie Daniels, Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, Clint Black, Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban and Kelsea Ballerini to name a few. But there is SO much more talent to be seen and heard around town. Many of the clubs and bars in downtown Nashville will be hosting shows all week, offering an unbeatable opportunity to see and listen to some amazingly gifted bands, singers and songwriters.

Plus… there are the ‘free’ stages! The seven ‘no ticket required’ stages allow visitors to enjoy music from legends to up-and-comers. The free concert stages include Chevrolet Riverfront Stage (gates open at 9:00 am for Festival four-day ticket holders, and 9:45 am for the general public), Chevrolet Cruze Park Stage located at the Park between Hilton Suites and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the AT&T Skyview Stage and the Budweiser Acoustic Stage (both at the Ascend Amphitheater), and the Gildan Broadway Stage at the Hard Rock Café, located at Broadway and First Avenue.

Where to start? Best bet: go to the CMA Music Festival website to see who’s playing when and where. And be sure to check out those bars and clubs where some of my favorite singer-songwriters will be playing!

Confederate Railroad album out July 15

Fans of Southern Rock/Country will be pleased to know that multi-platinum-selling Confederate Railroad will release their upcoming album, Lucky to be Alive, on July 15. The project features guest appearances by Willie Nelson, John Anderson, Colt Ford and former NFL coach, Jerry Glanville, on a special 20th anniversary version of their signature smash, “Trashy Women.”

The band is out on tour right now but will be in Nashville, June 10, for shows on the WSM Stage and Nashville Palace during the CMA Music Festival. The blockbuster tour will hit both the east and west coast and everywhere in between.

Confederate Railroad are perhaps best known for their hit single, “Trashy Women,” the fourth single from their self-titled 1994 album. That album had already been the source of three other singles (“She Took It Like A Man,” “Jesus and Mama” and “Queen of Memphis”) all of which sold well, but “Trashy Women” became their monster hit, earned a Grammy nomination and is regarded as their ‘signature song.’

Latest tour info and samples from the new album here.

Rain can’t douse the Flame…

The storm clouds burst over Miranda's May 13 show in Maryland Heights, Mo, but the fans didn't leave. — The storm clouds burst over Miranda’s May 13 show in Maryland Heights, Mo, but the fans didn’t leave.

You can schedule a show, you can schedule a tour, but you can’t schedule the weather. Just ask Miranda Lambert whose ‘Keeper of the Flame Tour’ kicked off mid-May at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Mo., with openers Kip Moore and Brothers Osborne. And a storm rolled in just an hour into Lambert’s set; mother nature’s way of offsetting the heat radiating from the seven-time Female Vocalist of the Year’s first tour stop of the season. The Tour continues at multiple locations through the rest of 2016. Updated tour info and more here

20 years at Opry for Steve Wariner

Bill Anderson (l) joins Steve Wariner on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

Congrats to Steve Wariner, a four-time GRAMMY and CMA Award winner, who celebrated his 20th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on May 14. Pete Fisher, Grand Ole Opry Vice President and General Manager, presented Wariner with a special plaque during the singer/songwriter’s performance. Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson, who inducted Wariner into the Grand Ole Opry 20 years ago, also was on hand to pay tribute to his longtime friend. Wariner is currently in the studio working on a new album to be released later this year. His next concert performance will be at City Winery in Nashville on June 11 at 8:00 PM during CMA Music Festival. The show will be filmed for a future project. More at SteveWariner.com

Charlie Daniels’ birthday ‘Jam’

2016 is shaping up to be a memorable year for one of Country music’s best-loved icons. This fall, Charlie Daniels will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Friday, October 28 will be Charlie’s 80^th birthday. A month later, on November 30, he will host his annual Volunteer Jam that has been a multi-genre musical extravaganza since 1974. This year’s event, designated ‘Charlie Daniels 80^th Birthday Volunteer Jam,’ will take place in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and will include numerous special guests including Kid Rock and Larry the Cable Guy. A portion of the night’s profits will go to The Journey Home Project, a 501c(3) non profit to help Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. You can check out a cool interactive Timeline of all the Volunteer Jams, starting with the first one in 1974 here.

Singer-songwriters at The Listening Room

Listening Room pic I am still excited about the wonderful success of my most recent ‘Preshias Day in Music,’ that took place at the Listening Room Café in Nashville on April 23! A big crowd came out to see 20+ of the incredibly talented singer-songwriters that I am working with, as well as a few special guests. The audience heard some great original songs and gave each artist an enthusiastic and well-deserved response. I am already preparing for the next ‘Preshias Day in Music.”