Stuart Dill Named VUMC Entertainment Industry Liaison

Stuart Dill

Stuart Dill

Stuart Dill, a 30-year veteran as an artist manager, has been named Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s liaison with the entertainment industry.

Dill will continue to develop and strengthen the strategic partnership between VUMC and the entertainment industry, which includes professionals in music, athletics and performing arts, and will communicate the strength and recent advances of the Medical Center’s health care services and build upon philanthropic interests and involvement with Vanderbilt.

Dill began his career penning comic material for Minnie Pearl, Ray Stevens and Jerry Clower. Over the years Dill has managed artists including Minnie Pearl, Freddy Fender, Dwight Yoakam, Jo Dee Messina, Rodney Crowell, The Wreckers, Sister Hazel, Laura Bell Bundy, Point of Grace, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many others. He also authored the novel, Murder on Music Row, that won the Independent Book Publishers (IPPY) Award’s Gold Medal in 2012.

“Artist management is a ‘contact sport,’” Dill said. “It is about building relationships, growing trust and showing that you really care about the artists you represent. The same holds for the work done in the medical community. It is ultimately about giving excellent care and building relationships and trust with each patient. Basically an artist manager’s work and physician’s work are similar in that sense — we’re in the business of ‘care.’ Working as VUMC’s liaison to the music and entertainment industry is simply an extension of the work I’ve been doing my entire career.”

Dill said that both VUMC and Music Row touch millions of lives, in Nashville, across the country and globally adding, “They are both internationally recognized brands that ‘grew up’ in the same neighborhood together. By definition, a true community is a group of people that care for one another.”

Country Great Lynn Anderson Dies At 67

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Lynn Anderson

Country singer Lynn Anderson passed away at age 67.

The multi-award-winning American country music singer is known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most notably her country-pop hit “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden.” Anderson became one of the most successful country singers of the ’70s.

NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison shares, “Losing Lynn Anderson is a personal loss to the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI). Lynn was family. Her parents, Casey Anderson and the late Liz Anderson, were two of NSAI’s founding members. Her parents were given the Stephen Foster Award by NSAI in February this year, where Lynn performed. We will truly miss her.”

I am a huge fan of Lynn’s. She was always so nice to me. She did so much for the females in country music.  Always continuing to pave the road for those to follow. I loved her music and her love for horses. Rose Garden was a song I sang in high school in our Kiowa Cowboys High School band. She will be missed,” shared Reba McEntire.

Anderson was also named Top Female Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) twice, and Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association (CMA).

Ms. Anderson most recently released a gospel album Bridges on Center Sound Records. Liz Anderson’s song “My Guardian Angel,” published by her father Casey, is featured on the album.

One of the keys to Lynn’s success was that she always made her fans a priority. Since the inaugural year of Fan Fair (now CMA Music Festival) in 1972, Lynn has only missed one year due to illness as she greatly valued the direct connection to her devoted and loving fans at that event.

Her success in the equestrian community was equally as monumental as her music career winning 16 National Championships and four world championships across the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA).

For twenty years, she has worked with both the Roundup for Autism and the Cariety Foundation, an organization supporting families of cancer patients. Other notable contributions were made to the Mary Kay Ash Foundation, The North American Riders for the Handicapped Association and military support organizations.

Lynn is survived by her father, C.S. “Casey” Anderson, partner, Mentor Williams; children, Lisa Sutton, Melissa Hempel, Gray Stream and four grandchildren.

Funeral services for Lynn Anderson were held at 11:00 a.m. on Wed., Aug. 5th at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Memorial Park. Visitation was set for Tuesday, Aug. 4th from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Both were open to the public. Her family has asked that donations be directed to any of the following; Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue in Dickson, TN, Stray Hearts Animal Shelter in Taos, NM, The Careity Foundation in Fort Worth, TX, or Semper Fi Fund in Oceanside, CA

Lynn Anderson sings “(From Now On) All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers,” written by her mother, Liz Anderson, in honor of Liz & Casey Anderson being presented NSAI’s Stephen Foster Award:

 

 

IBMA Nominees To Be Revealed Aug. 12

WorldofBluegrassFinal nominees for the 26th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards will be announced on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 10:00 a.m. CST as part of a live show on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction channel (Ch. 61).

The Gibson Brothers, two-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year recipients and hosts of this year’s Awards show in Raleigh, North Carolina on Oct. 1, will reveal the nominations during the one-hour show with Kyle Cantrell, program director for Bluegrass Junction.

In addition to the announcement of the nominees and revealing this year’s inductees into the Hall of Fame, the SiriusXM show will include live performances and a chat with IBMA’s new Executive Director, Paul Schiminger, about what attendees can expect at World of Bluegrass 2015.

That evening (Aug. 12), Music City Roots will host a special all-bluegrass show at the Factory in Franklin, TN. The event will be streamed live at musiccityroots.com and tickets for this and all World of Bluegrass 2015 events can be purchased here. The Gibson Brothers are scheduled to perform, as well as TheTravelin’ McCourysSierra Hull, and Chris Jones and the Night Drivers.

The International Bluegrass Music Awards is part of the IBMA’s World of Bluegrass 2015 event, presented by Chiesi USA, which takes place Sept. 29-Oct. 3 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

 

Weekly Chart Report (7/31/15)

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Click here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.

Behind-The-Scenes: Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Craig Campbell

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Xfinity Takes Fans Behind-The-Scenes With Swift

Taylor Swift is teaming up with Comcast’s Xfinity to give fans all across the country a taste of her 1989 Tour straight from their couch. As lead sponsor of the tour, Xfinity has built an On-Demand up-close look at the tour, including behind-the-scenes videos, a curated collection of movies, TV, and talk show appearances featuring Swift, and all of her music videos at the touch of a button.

In addition, at each concert stop Xfinity will host a backstage lounge called Loft ’89, where select customers can go on backstage tours.
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Urban Documents Birth of New Single

Keith Urban debuted a new short documentary on the making of his latest single from his forthcoming album. The Making Of John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 premiered on EW.com yesterday. The seven-minute piece explores the creative journey in creating the song.

Craig Campbell

Craig Campbell

Campbell Teases New Video With Behind-The-Scenes Look

Craig Campbell recently released a behind-the-scenes tease with Entertainment Tonight for his latest music video “Tomorrow Tonight.” The official video, filmed in Nashville and directed by Chris Hickey, debuted on CMT Pure.

Co-written by Campbell, Justin Wilson and Vicky McGehee, “Tomorrow Tonight” is the lead track for the star’s debut project on RED BOW Records.

Watch the official video here.

‘Split Work’ Songs May Be Licensed By One

DeptofjusticeAccording to Billboard, multiple sources have confirmed the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has notified BMI and ASCAP (the two regulated, domestic performance right organizations) that “split work” songs — songs written by multiple writers — may be licensed 100 percent by any rights holder.

“In other words, the long-established industry practice of each rights owner greenlighting their particular portion of a song in order to establish a license — also known as fractional licensing — may no longer be allowed,” said Ed Christman in his piece for the trade publication. “As of now, a music licensee has to go to all rights owners to get a license. That’s why so many synchronizations don’t happen: because all songwriters and publishers have to sign off on a song’s use. With the possible change, it would only need one rights holder to sign off.”

These changes are pending review and approval by ASCAP and BMI rate court judges. So for now, the DoJ is simply notifying and seeking feedback from affected parties.

ASCAP CEO Beth Matthews is cited in favor of individual rights holders licensing their own portion, according to her statement: “ASCAP supports fractional share licensing coupled with transparency by all market players to effectuate digital withdrawals.”

The change may eliminate the purpose for a publisher to seek partial digital withdrawals from the PROs blanket licenses. Publishers however may push against the current proposal and concerned PROs may gain even greater clout, via market share.

According to reported data last year, Billboard notes: “Even if a songwriter was with a publisher that had withdrawn from PRO, say BMI, a music user could still license possibly as much as 93 [of the top 100 songs last year had co-writers] through another PRO, or even through the same PRO, if one of the co-writer was with a publisher still a part of the BMI.”

Music services like Pandora could welcome the move, as the result may mean Pandora could “rate shop” among the PROs, resulting in lower royalties.

ACM Lifting Lives: Hunter Hayes, Kristian Bush

Hunter Hayes Lifting Lives

Hunter Hayes performs with the ACM Lifting Lives campers

Hunter Hayes performed with 10 ACM Lifting Lives Music Campers in front of 5000 Special Olympics athletes and family members in Los Angeles, Calif. on Tuesday, July 28.

Presented by L.A. County in conjunction with the Santa Monica Farmers Market, Family’s Picnic in the Park brought California farmers and 11 West Coast chefs for meal preparation. The private reception was held during the 2015 Special Olympics World Games (July 25 – August 2).

The ACM’s weeklong residential program for musically talented individuals with Williams Syndrome is a partnership between ACM Lifting Lives and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

“It was an honor to support such a fantastic cause and get to perform for all of these athletes and their families,” said Hayes. “I had the opportunity to meet the ACM Lifting Lives music campers earlier this summer, and it reminded me how pure and powerful music can be. Being part of this event tonight and getting to perform with them again was an experience I won’t forget.”

Kristian Bush

Kristian Bush

Kristian Bush To Perform Benefit with Rita Wilson

Kristian Bush and Rita Wilson will team to support that same organization, the ACM Lifting Lives. The two will host a special concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, Calif. August 27. The show kicks off at 8 p.m.

Tickets for the benefit can be purchased online for $15 at troubadour.com.

Steel Guitar Pioneer Buddy Emmons Dies At 78

Buddy Emmons.

Buddy Emmons.

Steel guitar pioneer Buddy Emmons died Wednesday, July 29 at the age of 78.

Emmons played with such musical legends as Ray Price, Ernest Tubb, Linda Ronstadt, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Ray Charles, Roger Miller, George Strait, Faron Young, Judy Collins, The Carpenters, The Everly Brothers, Nancy Sinatra and Emmylou Harris. His songwriting can be heard on Kacey Musgraves‘ latest album on the bonus track “Are You Sure.”

Born in Mishawaka, Ind., Buddie Gene Emmons (nicknamed The Big E) began playing a lap steel at the age of 11. He was professional by the age of 16. His move to Nashville in 1955 led to his joining Little Jimmy Dickens‘ band at the age of 18. He also lived in California.

He led a new style in playing, credited with the “split pedal” sound, which divided one of the instrument’s pedals in two and added strings for modified tuning.

He recorded a 1963 album with that trademark instrument titled, Steel Guitar Jazz in addition to releasing DVDs and seasonal albums. A tribute album was organized in 2013 by steel guitarist Steve Fishell featuring Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton, Dan Dugmore, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell.

Emmons has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and events at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

He is preceded in death by his wife Peggy. Arrangements were not immediately available.

[Video] ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Reed Robertson Recalls First Performance at Ryman

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Reed Robertson

Although the Robertson name may be known best for A&E’s Duck Dynasty, Jase and Missy‘s son Reed Robertson is stepping forward with a music career of his own.

“Nobody really cared how we sounded during Duck the Halls,” recalled Missy of the family’s 2013 UMG Nashville Christmas project during a recent visit to MusicRow. “We kept saying, ‘We really do have some talent in our family.’ We want the talent to be forefront instead of just Duck Dynasty [brand] to sell some records.”

Twenty-year-old Reed brought his guitar for a two-song performance of original material for MusicRow.

He penned “Catching Light” and “I’ll Be The One” around a year ago during a month-long stay in Nashville. Recorded with Buddy Cannon—who also produced Duck the Halls, which featured Reed on “Camouflage and Christmas Lights”—Reed released an EP of his own on iTunes in early June.

“My mom was a huge influence,” said Reed. “I grew up singing, and started playing the guitar because my dad pushed me to and to write songs. I can play piano, guitar, banjo, ukulele, mandolin now. I fell in love with trying to figure out [how to play] and put songs together—I think it’s the most beautiful thing ever.”

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Pictured (L-R): Kelsey Grady, Troy Stephenson, Reed Robertson, Sherod Robertson, Sarah Skates, Eric Parker

His first public performance was on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium of all places. The young hopeful recalled how his parents hosting the K-LOVE Awards accelerated his learning of just three chords for the performance. But his guitar neck snapped during an accident right before showtime.

“We were on the bus and the guitar fell over somehow,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is terrible, I’m going to do horrible.’ And Rhett Walker offered his guitar but said it was tuned a half-step down. I didn’t know what that meant but he and I ended up becoming really good friends.

“I didn’t realize the significance of the stage until later on. One of my buddies said, ‘You know how long the list is of people that have played their first show at the Ryman? Probably one.’ It’s really humbling.”

Reed expects to be back in Nashville soon, writing and recording with Cannon.

CMHoF To License Historical Photos With Getty

A young Brenda Lee performs in Nashville’s Centennial Park. Photo: CMHoF/Elmer Williams Collection

A young Brenda Lee performs in Nashville’s Centennial Park. Photo: CMHoF/Elmer Williams Collection

In an effort to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum‘s ongoing digitization efforts, the Nashville museum has partnered with Getty Images to make images from its archives available for global licensing.

The museum’s Elmer Williams Collection launches the collaboration, with 3,000 images, most previously unpublished. From 1952-62, Williams was one of the busiest country music photographers in Nashville, using his Busch Pressman 4×5 inch camera to capture candid photos at music industry events and backstage at the Grand Ole Opry.

This is the first collaboration of its kind for the museum, which is dedicated to preserving and teaching the evolving history of country music.

“The Elmer Williams Collection offers a right-place, right-time view into the sweet spot of country music’s classic period from the early ’50s to the early ’60s,” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “The photos were added to the museum’s collection in the 1990s, and we’re excited to finally share these images as part of an ongoing effort to provide access to the unduplicated collection and to fund the museum’s massive archival digitization project.”

Minnie Pearl performs on the Grand Ole Opry. Photo: CMHoF/Elmer Williams Collection

Minnie Pearl performs on the Grand Ole Opry. Photo: CMHoF/Elmer Williams Collection

The digitization project was kick-started by over $600,000 in grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services and the GRAMMY Foundation, among others. This funding allows five full-time staff members to work on the analog-to-digital conversion, creating preservation and access files and metadata to create an online searchable database for scholars. The project aims to digitize more than 100,000 items in the collection by 2024.

The CMHoF’s Elmer Williams Collection is available can be viewed here.