Industry Pics: Carrie Underwood, Sarah Darling, WMBA

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CAA Signs Sarah Darling
Black River Entertainment’s Sarah Darling recently signed with Creative Artists Agency. Her single “Home To Me” is in rotation on SiriusXM’s The Highway, and has sold over 23,500 downloads, prior to impacting terrestrial radio today (10/22). It is the lead single from her upcoming album with producer Dann Huff.

(L-R): CAA's Brad Bissell, Black River Management’s John Alexander, Sarah Darling, CAA's Rod Essig

“Blown Away” Platinum
Carrie Underwood brought her Blown Away Tour to Los Angeles on Oct. 16, where she was presented with a plaque commemorating the RIAA Platinum certification of the digital single “Blown Away.” It is her eleventh Platinum or Multi-Platinum digital single. The album of the same name made history this spring by debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart, making Underwood only the second country artist in the 47-year chart history to have their first four albums debut at No. 1.

(L-R): Sony Music Nashville Sr. VP Marketing Paul Barnabee and Chairman & CEO Gary Overton; Underwood; and Arista Nashville VP Promotion Lesly Tyson. Photo: Matt Sperling

WMBA Hosts Management and Touring Panel 
The Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) hosted its annual prospective member reception at the Country Music Association on Oct. 16. The panel was moderated by WMBA President Kama Upton and featured panelists TKO Artist Management’s TK Kimbrell, Paradigm’s Curt Motley, Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell, and Varnell Enterprises’ Ben Farrell. The panelists discussed aspects of touring and artist management and took questions from the audience. The event also marked the opening of WMBA’s membership application period, which closes Dec. 1. Membership application details at wmbanashville.org.

Back Row (L-R): TK Kimbrell, Ben Farrell, WMBA's Kama Upton and Josee Deschenes, Curt Motley, Brian O'Connell. Front Row: WMBA's Leona Edwards, Becky Lynn Street, Trina Llyod-Weidner, Becky McIntosh, and Brandi Simms. Photo: Amanda Fletcher

 

Rascal Flatts Celebrates Touring Milestone at Nashville Concert

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Rascal Flatts performed to a sold-out crowd of over 13,000 in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Fri., Oct 19, with supporting guests Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge.

Before the show, Brian O’Connell, President of Live Nation Country Touring presented a commemorative ticket to band members Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus. The backstage presentation celebrated the touring milestone achievement of over 7 million career concert tickets sold culminating with the night’s performance. The band gave heartfelt thanks to team members behind their success and referred to O’Connell as the “fourth Flatts.”

Brian O’Connell, President, Live Nation Country Touring presents a commemorative ticket to the members of Rascal Flatts to celebrate a touring milestone before their Bridgestone Arena concert in Nashville on Oct. 19, 2012..

The show began with each Rascal Flatts member appearing in a cylinder of lights that lifted up as they played “Changed” followed by “Banjo,” the first two tracks on their latest No. 1 album, Changed. Their vocals were stellar which is no surprise coming from these seasoned performers.

The stage was minimal in structure yet high impact with spectacular lighting and various sized rectangular video walls framing the backdrop. Hanging high above the stage were suspended video cubes that provided additional video images and graphics throughout the show.

Playing to a very energetic crowd, the band continued with “Summer Nights,” “Fast Cars and Freedom,” and “These Days” reminding all concert goers that when you come to a Flatts concert, you are in the minority if you are not standing for the duration of the show and singing every word.

The show continued with two more songs from their current album, current single “Come Wake Me Up,” which is No. 4 and climbing on the MusicRow Chart, followed by “Hot In Here,” during which the video cubes hanging above the stage were lowered giving the effect of suspended fire.

The band members expressed their joy playing in their hometown and sleeping in their own beds that night and gave heartfelt thanks to their fans for supporting what they love to do. They also joked how cheap it was to get to the show since all they had to do was drive in from their homes. In an unusual move for a large arena concert, especially one with over 13,000 guests, the band turned up the lights so they could take requests shouted from the audience. This produced abbreviated performances of fan favorites, “My Wish,” “Mayberry,” and “Take Me There.”

Rascal Flatts followed the request block with “Stand,” “Why Wait,” and two covers, “Lean On Me,” and “Open Arms.” While showing a montage of family photos on the video wall, the band performed “God Bless the Broken Road” giving us all a moment to take pause and appreciate our own family, friends and loved ones.

There was no loss of enthusiasm from the crowd when the band momentarily left the stage to feature drummer Jimmy Riley solo. Jo Don then followed with his own guitar solo, reminding us of his musical talents. The band joined in and performed “Me & My Gang,” “Life is a Highway,” and “Here’s to You.”

Flatts offered fans an encore with “What Hurts the Most,” and followed that with “We’re an American Band,” bringing out supporting acts Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge for the grand finale.

Not only was it a great Rascal Flatts show, but the impressive lineup of opening artists made this a must-see concert.

Jason Aldean Makes History With Stadium Announcements

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CMA Entertainer of the Year Nominee Jason Aldean continued his whirlwind album release week yesterday (10/18) with surprise announcements of his first stadium dates planned for his 2013 Night Train Tour.

Aldean kicked off the day at Boston’s Fenway Park with Red Sox EVP/COO Sam Kennedy on hand to announce his July 13, 2013 concert, making history as the first country artist to ever play the famed stadium. He then traveled to Chicago’s Wrigley Field in the afternoon and was joined by Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts to reveal that his long history of record-breaking Chicago area shows helped catapult him to stadium level headliner for the July 20 tour stop.

“It takes a lot to make me nervous, but walking out of the dugout at Fenway this morning to announce our show definitely did it,” said Aldean. “It’s the kind of moment you dream about your whole career, so I tried to take a minute to soak it up, but it’s pretty overwhelming.”

Jason Aldean's surprise performance for a packed pep rally at UGA, Oct. 18, 2012

The Macon, GA native and lifelong Georgia Bulldogs fan ended the day in Athens, GA by surprising a crowd of UGA students who thought they were attending a pep rally. When the curtain dropped behind the cheerleaders, Aldean and his band were revealed to a thunderous, enthusiastic crowd. Aldean announced that he will hold the first ever concert at Sanford Stadium on April 13, 2013. He was welcomed by football head coach Mark Richt and followed the surprise announcement with a special performance for fans.

“It was an incredible day as we went on to Wrigley for that announcement and then finished it up tonight with a surprise performance for the fans at University of Georgia, “said Aldean. “It’s a day that I’m never going to forget.”

Despite efforts to keep the surprise appearance in Athens top secret, there were unconfirmed rumors that fans had identified Aldean’s plane earlier that day and were tracking its route. Even media members were given UGA laminates to avoid giving away any hints to inquisitive students. But by the time Aldean appeared behind the curtain, the hyped-up energetic crowd seemed to have been in on the secret the whole time. But of course, that’s the way all Aldean fans act, so who really knows.

After the performance, we had a chance to visit with Aldean and ask about the day’s events. Speaking of his desire to add stadium dates to his next tour, Aldean said, “Brian O’Connell from Live Nation and I talked a lot about it. One thing I didn’t want to do was to pick a handful of stadiums just to say we were playing stadiums. I wanted to play places that were special to me and places I really admired such as iconic ballparks like Fenway and Wrigley.”

Jason Aldean's surprised performance for a packed pep rally at UGA, Oct. 18, 2012

“Being from Georgia and being a big Georgia fan, Sanford Stadium was number one on my list to play but they’ve never had a show here. This is probably the most excited I’ve been about any of my shows.” He then praised O’Connell and his management team Chris Parr and Clarence Spalding for getting the ball rolling and getting the University of Georgia on board.

Giving us a glimpse into his day, Aldean shared, “I got up at 9 o’clock, drove over to Fenway, announced that show at 10am, drove to the airport, got on a plane, flew to Chicago, drove an hour to Wrigley Field, announced that show, drove an hour back to the airport, got on the plane, flew here, and 20 minutes after arriving, I was on this stage. It was an exhausting day but one of the coolest things I’ve done in my career.”

Aldean’s fifth studio album for Broken Bow Records, Night Train, was released on Tuesday (Oct. 16) and has already produced a multi-week No. 1 single “Take A Little Ride.” Aldean recently earned three CMA Awards nominations for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year for “Dirt Road Anthem.”

Stadium Details:

Boston, MA – July, 13, 2013
Fenway Park
Support: Miranda Lambert, Jake Owen, Thomas Rhett
On Sale: Oct. 26, 2012 at 10am ET

Chicago, IL – July 20, 2013
Wrigley Field
Support: Kelly Clarkson, Jake Owen, Thomas Rhett
On Sale: Nov. 3, 2012 at 10am CT

Athens, GA – April 13, 2013
Sanford Stadium
Support: Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Thomas Rhett
On Sale: Nov. 2, 2012 at 10am ET

Tickets will be available at livenation.com, all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. For a full list of appearances visit www.jasonaldean.com.

University of Georgia students gather for the pep rally before Aldean's surprise announcement and special performance.

Snapshots: Rucker, Hayes, and SOLID

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Darius Rucker Joins The Opry
Darius Rucker was formally inducted into the Grand Ole Opry last night (10/16) by Opry member Vince Gill. A tearful Rucker and the audience watched a clip on the Opry’s barn screen of fellow member Keith Urban sending his congratulations “from Las Vegas,” but the star then surprised them by appearing onstage. Rucker’s family and friends, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino, also joined him.

(L-R): Pete Fisher, Grand Ole Opry VP and General Manager; Vince Gill; Darius Rucker; Dan Marino; Steve Buchanan, Grand Ole Opry President. Photo: Chris Hollo

Hunter Hayes Plays Staples Center
Hunter Hayes performed at the LA Staples Center last night (10/16) as party of Carrie Underwood’s tour. iTunes released the EP Hunter Hayes: Live yesterday, and his single “Wanted” is nearing double Platinum status. Catch him on Ellen Oct. 22.

Celebrating backstage (L-R): Rob Light, CAA Managing Partner; Hunter Hayes; Randy Phillips, Pres. & CEO AEG Live; Darin Murphy, CAA Nashville; Larry Vallon, SVP AEG; and Marc Friedenberg, AEG VP

SOLID Elects Officers
SOLID elected its 2013 officers recently. The new leadership team is pictured below. SOLID is also accepting new member applications through Oct. 31, details at www.solidnashville.com.

Pictured (L-R): Brian O'Neil, CAA, 2013 SOLID Vice President; Sarah McGrady, CMA, 2013 SOLID President; Kate Dore, Outback Concerts, 2013 SOLID Secretary; and Michelle Tigard Kammerer, CRB, 2013 SOLID Treasurer

Strait’s Final Tour Sells Out Six Dates

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George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away Tour, featuring special guest Martina McBride, sold out six tour markets last Friday (10/12)—with Lubbock, TX selling all 15,431 tickets within 15 minutes.

“I never expected the fans would react like this. It’s just incredible,” said Strait. “I really do have the best fans in the world, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all on the road very soon.”

In addition to Lubbock, sold out cities include Oklahoma City, OK; St. Paul, MN; Albuquerque, NM; Las Vegas, NV., and Las Cruces, NM. In select markets, remaining single show tickets are still available for purchase.

The full list of tour dates is listed below with tickets available by visiting www.GeorgeStrait.com. Ticket prices begin at $69.50 with VIP packaging available for purchase.

The Cowboy Rides Away – 2013 Dates
JAN 18  |  Lubbock, Texas  | United Spirit Arena
JAN 19  |  Oklahoma City, Okla.  | Chesapeake Energy Arena
JAN 25  |  Salt Lake City, Utah  |  Energy Solutions Arena
JAN 26  |  Nampa, Idaho  |  Idaho Center
JAN 31  |  Sacramento, Calif.  |  Power Balance Pavilion
FEB 1  |  Fresno, Calif.  |  Save Mart Center
FEB 2  |  Las Vegas, Nev.  |  MGM Grand Garden Arena
FEB 15  |  St. Paul, Minn.  |  Xcel Energy Center
FEB 16  |  Grand Forks, N.D.  |  The Alerus Center
FEB 22  |  Buffalo, N.Y.  |  First Niagara Center
FEB 23  |  Hartford, Conn.  |  XL Center
MAR 1  |  Knoxville, Tenn.  |  Thompson-Boling Arena
MAR 2  |  Lexington, Ky.  |  Rupp Arena
MAR 17  |  Houston, Texas  |  Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
MAR 22  |  Greenville, S.C.  |  Bi-Lo Center
MAR 23  |  Greensboro, N.C.  |  Greensboro Coliseum Complex
APR 5  |  Albuquerque, N.M.  | The Pit
APR 6  |  Las Cruces, N.M.  |  Pan American Center
APR 12  |  N. Little Rock, Ark.  |  Verizon Arena
APR 13  |  New Orleans, La.  |  New Orleans Arena
JUN 1  |  San Antonio, Texas  |  Alamodome

Lady A Premieres Concert Film In Nashville

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Lady Antebellum onstage in Little Rock.

Lady Antebellum debuted its Own The Night World Tour concert film Thursday (10/11) at Nashville’s Green Hills theater. Band members Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley were on hand to introduce the flick which mixes front-of-house performances and backstage fun into a 90-minute ride, set for release Dec. 4.

The band’s arena tour stop in Little Rock, Ark. was recorded for the movie, offering plenty of special crowd connection moments. Kelley and Scott make wonderful duet partners, seemingly going into character on “A Kiss Goodnight,” and bonding with fans amidst a sea of cell phone lights on “Dancing Away With My Heart” and “Hello World.” Haywood rocks a guitar solo while standing on a red grand piano (behind-the-scenes footage shows how he spent hours selecting the right shade of red paint).

Lady A keeps life on the road exciting and busy with ping-pong tournaments and a backstage bar named Club LaBellum. The band also focuses on songwriting with a road studio dubbed R2D2, and helmed by Haywood.

The Own The Night tour visited Switzerland, England, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway, the latter of which the band agreed was the most humbling concert on the run. Moviegoers chuckled when an Irish teenage girl quipped, “He looks like someone who smells really nice,” though no one knew which “he” she was talking about.

The film alternates between the Little Rock concert and band flashbacks. In 2007 Lady A’s concerts were mightily different from its present day headlining stops, including an early show at a Citgo gas station where Haywood laughed, “Nothing says the kick-off of deer season like Lady Antebellum.” Back then, the band cruised from stop to stop in Kelley’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, and eventually upgraded to a Winnebago. Now the operation has grown to 14 buses and the band is acutely aware of the responsibility of having so many employees.

Before the screening, CMA members and industry guests gathered at a reception in the downstairs lobby. It was a rare occasion to enjoy free Oktoberfest and popcorn trail mix from a movie theater concession stand.

For more on Lady A’s tour, see MusicRow’s exclusive interview with the band.

Rascal Flatts Extends “Changed” Tour

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Rascal Flatts will extend the Farmers Insurance Presents Changed Tour with a winter leg of 20 additional dates starting Jan. 10, 2013 in Green Bay, WI. Special guest The Band Perry will join Rascal Flatts for the new dates.

Remaining Farmers Insurance Presents Changed Tour 2012 dates:

10-20    Atlanta, GA                            Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
10-26    Tampa, FL                             1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
10-27    W Palm Beach, FL               Cruzan Amphitheatre

Farmers Insurance Presents Changed Tour 2013 dates:

1-10        Green Bay, WI                     Resch Center
1-11        Moline, IL                             i wireless Center
1-12        Springfield, MO                    JQH Arena
1-17        Sioux City, IA                      Tyson Events Center
1-18        Tulsa, OK                              BOK Center
1-19        Wichita, KS                           INTRUST Bank Arena
1-24        Spokane, WA                       Spokane Arena
1-25        Missoula, MT                       Adams Event Center
1-26        Billings, MT                          Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark
2-7          Terre Haute, IN                    ISU Hulman Center
2-8          Lexington, KY                      Rupp Arena
2-9          Columbus, OH                     Nationwide Arena
2-14        North Charleston, SC          North Charleston Coliseum
2-15        Greensboro, NC                   GreensboroColiseum
2-16        Charlottesville, VA              John Paul Jones Arena
2-23        Pikeville, KY                       Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center
2-24        Youngstown, OH                 Covelli Centre
2-28        Topeka, KS                           Landon Arena
3-1          Jonesboro, AR                      ASU Convocation Center
3-2          Tupelo, MS                           BancorpSouth Arena

Visit www.rascalflatts.com or www.livenation.com for tour dates and information.

CMT On Tour Artists Celebrate in New York City

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Jake Owen was presented with a giant ticket for his sold-out opening night in New York City on Oct. 10. (L-R): Sony Music Nashville VP Media/Corp Communications Allen Brown; RCA Nashville VP Promotion Keith Gale and Director, National Promotion Josh Easler; Sony Music Nashville Chairman/CEO Gary Overton; Owen; CMT SVP of Music Strategy, Leslie Fram; and Morris Artists Management VP Brandon Gill and GM Mike Betterton. Photo: Scott Gries for CMT

RCA Nashville’s Jake Owen launched his first headlining tour CMT On Tour: Jake Owen – The Summer Never Ends 2012 with a sold-out show Wednesday night (10/10) at New York City’s Best Buy Theatre. After performing his smash hits “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “Alone With You,” and “The One That Got Away,” Owen was joined onstage by his tourmates Love and Theft and Florida Georgia Line for a rendition of Van Halen’s “Jump.”

At the New York City show, all three artists were honored for recent achievements. Owen was saluted for selling out the opening show of his first-ever headlining tour. Love and Theft was bestowed with a plaque commemorating the duo’s CMT No. 1 video for “Angel Eyes.” Florida Georgia Line was surprised with a plaque recognizing the Gold certification of the duo’s single “Cruise.” Both artists are nominated for honors at the forthcoming American Country Awards.

The Summer Never Ends 2012 tour already has sold-out dates in Detroit (10/18), Chicago (11/29-30), and St. Louis (12/8). More concert dates here.

While in New York City, Florida Georgia Line was surprised with plaques commemorating their Gold-certified single “Cruise.” Tyler Hubbard (Georgia) and Brian Kelley (Florida) celebrated at Carmine’s with their extended label families from Big Machine in Nashville and Universal in New York. Photo: Sweet Talk Publicity

Love and Theft was presented with a plaque commemorating a CMT No. 1 video for "Angel Eyes" at the CMT On Tour sold-out show in New York City. (L-R): Sony Music Nashville SVP Marketing Paul Barnabee; Love and Theft’s Eric Gunderson; Sony Music Nashville Chairman/CEO Gary Overton; Love and Theft’s Stephen Barker Liles; Sony Music Nashville VP Marketing & Web Initiatives Heather McBee; CMT SVP of Music Strategy, Leslie Fram; Sony Music Nashville VP Sales Caryl Healey and Assoc. Director Marketing Rachel Fontenot. Photo: Scott Gries for CMT

Luke Bryan Announces First Arena Headlining Tour

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Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan has announced his first major headlining tour, the Dirt Road Diaries Tour featuing openers Thompson Square and Florida Georgia Line. 

Twenty dates have been announced for tour’s first leg, which runs through March and kicks off in Evansville, Ind. on January 17. Tickets go on sale October 26.

Citi, the official credit card for the tour, will offer select market pre-sale tickets beginning October 22 through its Private Pass Program.

“I have dreamed about this day for a very long time,” said Bryan. “We are having the best time putting together all the bells and whistles for the tour. I have spent a lot of time out on tours with some really great artists and each night we have tried to learn from them.”

In the past year, Bryan has celebrated three back-to-back Platinum singles “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” “I Don’t Want This Night To End” and “Drunk On You,” from his Platinum-certified album, tailgates & tanlines. He  is currently on his fourth annual Farm Tour, which runs through October 13.

Bryan is nominated for two CMA Awards, two American Music Awards and garnered seven nominations, the most for any artist, at the upcoming American Country Awards.

Log on to www.lukebryan.com or www.livenation.com for information.

“Dirt Road Diaries Tour”    
1-17        Evansville, IN                       Ford Center
1-18        Huntsville, AL                      Von Braun Center
1-19        Southaven, MS                     Landers Center
1-25        Estero, FL                             Germain Arena
1-26        Orlando, FL                          Amway Center
2-7          Uniondale, NY                     Nassau Coliseum
2-8          State College, PA                 Bryce Jordan Center
2-15        Toledo, OH                           Huntington Center
2-16        Grand Rapids, MI                 Van Andel Arena
2-17        Bloomington, IL                   US Cellular Center
2-21        Ft Wayne, IN                        Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
2-22        Louisville, KY                      KFC Yum! Center
2-23        Columbia, MO                     Mizzou Arena
2-28        Green Bay, WI                     Resch Center
3-1          Sioux City, IA                      Tyson Events Center
3-2          Moline, IL                             i wireless Center
3-14        Orange Beach, AL               Amphitheatre at the Wharf
3-21        Florence, SC                         Florence Civic Center
3-22        Fayetteville, NC                   Crown Center
3-23        Charlottesville, VA              John Paul Jones Arena

Chesney To Perform at Sammy Hagar’s Birthday Bash

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Kenny Chesney will perform a one-night sold-out concert this Friday (10/12) celebrating the 65th birthday of rocker Sammy Hagar in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The four-day event kicked off October 7 with Hagar and his band, the Wabos and runs through Hagar’s official birthday, October 13.

VIP winners, as part of a charity package auctioned off at Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans Carnivale du Vin fundraiser, will dine at Hagar’s beachfront home with preparations by Chef Lagasse, followed by VIP access to a private balcony at Cabo Wabo Cantina for Chesney’s concert.

For over 20 years, the annual birthday event has included many of Hagar’s celebrity friends. This year, in addition to Chesney and Lagasse, Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Joe Satriani (Chickenfoot), Matt Sorum (Velvet Revolver and Guns N’ Roses) and Denny Carmassi (Montrose) will attend. Chesney first played at Hagar’s bash in 2004, setting a club record for a performance that lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Tickets for the event went on sale on yesterday and have already sold out.

A livestream of the events is available here.