Artist News Thursday (8/21/08)

Randy Owen raised over $10,000 for the families affected by the shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. on Aug. 15. WIVK's Mike Hammond had suggested that Owen perform a benefit concert...

Date Set for Swampstock 2008

Sarah Skates – 08/20/2008

Tim McGraw will return home to Rayville, Louisiana on Sat., Sept. 13 to host Swampstock 2008. The annual fundraiser is presented by McGraw and Faith Hill’s Neighbor’s Keeper Foundation, which uses the net proceeds to benefit its local initiatives such as Rayville Youth Baseball and the Steve Colvin Scholarship. For the first time Habitat for Humanity of Ouachita will be an additional partner with Swampstock on a community build beginning Sept. 9 and wrapping Sept. 13 to refurbish the Rayville Recreation Center.

Hill, McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Halfway to Hazard and Catherine Raney are scheduled to perform at the concert, which is moving to a new location on the steps of the Richland Parish Courthouse. KC Masterpiece and Kingsford, sponsors of McGraw’s recent Live Your Voice Tour, will also support Swampstock and the Habitat Build.

Underwood, Rimes On Board For All-star Charity Single

Sarah Skates – 08/19/2008

Carrie Underwood and LeAnn Rimes are among the more than a dozen female superstars who banded together to record the single "Just Stand Up" to benefit Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). The Nashville artists are included alongside some of the biggest names in pop music: Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, and Leona Lewis. "Just Stand Up" will be released to radio and will be available for purchase exclusively at the iTunes Store starting Sept. 2.

The all-star television performance premiere of the song will take place live on Fri., Sept. 5 at 7 PM/CT when ABC, CBS, and NBC simultaneously devote one hour of commercial-free prime time to the nationwide event. This will be the first simultaneous cross-network broadcast ever to raise funds for the fight against a disease. In addition to as-yet-unannounced musical performances, the Stand Up To Cancer special will feature numerous actors such as Jennifer Aniston, Lance Armstrong, Scarlett Johansson, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon, performing and presenting filmed content about the disease. Network news anchors Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams will report on potentially life-saving research.

"Just Stand Up" was conceived by Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid. He produced the track with Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds in their first creative reunion on record in nearly two decades.

Artist News Tuesday (8/19/08)

Willie Nelson has released his debut book, A Tale Out of Luck. The fiction book, co-authored with Mike Blakely, is a western that was written as the back story for Nelson's false-front western...

Julianne Hough in Dallas

08/18/2008

Ten lucky KSCS winners at the Dallas show got to hang backstage with Julianne Hough where she gave them each an autographed copy of her album.

Dierks Bentley's "Miles & Music" Set for Oct. 5

Sarah Skates – 08/15/2008

Click to visit the “Miles & Music” Web site.

Dierks Bentley will host his third annual "Miles & Music for Kids" celebrity motorcycle ride and concert to benefit Vanderbilt Children's Hospital on Sun., Oct. 5. The hour-long ride will travel though Williamson County and downtown Nashville, ending at Riverfront Park with a jam session featuring Bentley, Tim McGraw, John Rich and other artists to be announced.

"This event has turned into one of the highlights of my year," says Bentley. "Everyone has been so supportive, and I'm really proud of the money we've been able to raise for Vanderbilt over the last few years." The event has made over $250,000 since starting two years ago.

Registration for the ride will begin at 11 AM at Harley Davidson of Cool Springs before the ride departs at 2 PM. Tickets for the ride, concert and commemorative T-shirt are $50, or fans can attend the concert only for $20. Tickets will be available beginning Aug. 22 through Ticketmaster and on site at Harley Davidson of Cool Springs.

Beer For My Horses’ First Weekend Box Office Score

Sarah Skates – 08/15/2008

The new Toby Keith movie Beer For My Horses grossed $209,253 in box office receipts on its opening weekend, Aug. 8-9, according to www.boxofficemojo.com. The project is only open in 91 theaters across the country, but scored the No. 1 spot in 20 of those, including theaters in Nashville, Indianapolis, Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Little Rock. Keith wrote the movie with his co-star Rodney Carrington.

Alan Jackson Celebrates 50 Million Albums

Sarah Skates – 08/15/2008

Alan, wife Denise, and daughters Ali, Dani and Mattie, whom he praised for “helping me to keep my feet on the ground.” Photo: Alan Poizner

Alan Jackson celebrated a magnificent career milestone—50 million in album sales—Wednesday (8/13) with an invitation-only soiree at the Vanderbilt University Student Life Center, hosted by his longtime label Arista Nashville. In 1989, Jackson was the first artist signed to the fledgling imprint. Nineteen years later his career has yielded 33 No. 1s, 23 of which he wrote or co-wrote. Just this year, he has topped the airplay charts with singles “Good Time” and “Small Town Southern Man” from his 17th album, Good Time.

"I like to think it all started with the music," Jackson told the crowd. He fondly recalled his first work with longtime producer Keith Stegall, who, he said, "let me sing my own stuff in the studio," which eventually got the attention of then Arista executive Tim DuBois.

Sony BMG chairman Joe Galante explained that it was 23 years ago this week when Jackson walked into Marty Gamblin’s publishing company for the first time. Jackson said, "It's hard to believe it's been that long, and it's gone by so quickly...I'm overwhelmed by the longevity of it all." Galante pointed out that only six artists have reached the 50 million certification mark, adding, "50 million is a major milestone, but I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of the milestones in his career."

(L-R): Former Arista Nashville Pres. Tim DuBois, Jackson, Sony BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante and longtime Jackson producer Keith Stegall. Photo: Alan Poizner

Artist News Friday (8/15/08)

Blake Shelton will appear on CBS' The Early Show, Mon., Aug. 18 at 7:00 a.m. CT. He will perform his single, "Home."

TelluRide performed a benefit concert for the Atlanta-area Children's Miracle Network. They...

Swift Celebrates Graduation

08/14/2008

During a recent stop in Charlotte on Rascal Flatts’ Bob That Head Tour, Taylor Swift was surprised by the WKKT staff with a cake in celebration of her recent high school graduation.