NSAI Song Contest Deadline Nears

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jewelWith only two weeks until the Halloween deadline, October 31, 2009, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is encouraging songwriters to submit their best tunes to the NSAI Song Contest Presented by CMT. The contest is designed to help unsigned songwriters navigate the road to becoming professional hitmakers.

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a mentoring session with The Valory Music Co. recording artist Jewel. Additional prizes include a single-song professional demo, tickets to the 2011 CMT Music Awards, a private tour of CMT studios, a performance at the legendary Bluebird Café, meetings with major music publishers and a one-year membership to NSAI, just to name a few.

Nashville pro writers, publishers and industry professionals will narrow down the finalists over three rounds of judging and select the Grand Prize Winner, 10 Runners-Up and 10 Honorable Mentions. Then the Top 10 will be posted on www.nsai.cmt.com for fan voting for the CMT Listeners’ Choice Winner, running January 20 through February 26, 2010.

All genres of music are encouraged. The entry fees are $35.00 (NSAI members) and $45.00 (non-members) per song. Proceeds benefit the NSAI Legislative Fund to protect the rights of songwriters. For a full list of prizes and how to enter, visit www.nsai.cmt.com.

New Hank Williams Recordings, Hank III At The Hall

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Hank Williams III treated both devoted fans and Museum visitors to a special interview and performance on Saturday (10/10) at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. During the program, which was held in conjunction with the Museum’s major exhibition Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Williams spoke about his family’s musical legacy and performed his own brand of country music, punk rock and heavy metal with a full band.

Pictured L-R—Exhibit co-curator Carolyn Tate, Daniel Mason (banjo), Williams, Shawn McWilliams (drums), Zach Shedd (bass), Adam McOwen (fiddle), Andy Gibson (steel guitar, dobro) and exhibit co-curator Michael McCall. Photo by Donn Jones

Pictured (L-R) Exhibit co-curator Carolyn Tate, Daniel Mason (banjo), Williams, Shawn McWilliams (drums), Zach Shedd (bass), Adam McOwen (fiddle), Andy Gibson (steel guitar, dobro) and exhibit co-curator Michael McCall. Photo by Donn Jones

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A set of previously unreleased recordings that Hank Williams made for the Mother’s Best radio show in 1951 will be issued as a 3-CD box set called Revealed: Unreleased Recordings on Nov. 3 via Time Life. In addition to 50 tracks not heard since they originally aired, the collection includes extremely rare in-studio conversations with Williams, and each disc contains a complete show exactly as it was heard over fifty years ago. Of particular importance is “Cold, Cold, Heart” captured on one of the program’s earliest surviving shows, making it the first public performance ever of the song.

The recordings offer new insight into William’s life and music, revealing a previously guarded personality. It showcases his humor as he jokes with his band and the emcee, and his love of music as he talks about his favorite songs.

McGraw, More Added To CMA Awards

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Ttim_mcgraw_13569im McGraw will perform at the CMA Awards for the first time since 2005 when the event lands at the Sommet Center on Wed., Nov. 11.

The star-packed lineup continues to grow dramatically with the addition of McGraw, a special Vince Gill/Daughtry duet, and Jason Aldean, Billy Currington, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, and Zac Brown Band.

“The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, airs live Nov. 11 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network. Previously announced performers include Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Underwood, and Keith Urban.

McGraw last performed on the CMA Awards stage in 2005, when he joined wife Faith Hill on “Like We Never Loved At All.” His last solo performance on the CMA Awards was in 2004, when he opened the show with “How Bad Do You Want It?”

Free Downloads, New Music And More

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Pictured (l-r): Fitzgerald Hartley’s Bill Simmons; Clear Channel Los Angeles’ John Ivey; Arista Nashville’s Lesly Tyson; Paisley; Sony Music Nashville’s Skip Bishop; and KKGO’s Tonya Campos and Charlie Cook.

Brad Paisley played the Los Angeles area recently as the headliner at KKGO’s Go Fest 2009, and some of his Nashville team members were on hand for support (see above). Paisley’s “Welcome to the Future,” is at No. 3 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart and is the second smash from his acclaimed American Saturday Night album.

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Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser kicked-off their co-headlining CMT On Tour 2009 outing last week in New York City. It includes dates in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and 27 other cities across the nation this fall. Houser’s new single, “Whistlin’ Dixie,” has premiered on CMT.com and will impact radio Nov. 2. It will appear on his upcoming album scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2010. Houser also visited the Victory Junction camp in Randleman, NC recently to perform for the chronically ill children there.

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Blake Shelton teamed up with longtime friend Trace Adkins for his new single, “Hillbilly Bone,” and fans can stream it exclusively for two weeks at www.blakeshelton.com. The single, written by Luke Laird and Craig Wiseman, is from Shelton’s forthcoming CD release and will impact radio Nov. 2

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nicholsJoe Nichols pranked host Sirius/XM radio host Storme Warren during his show, Music Row Happy Hour, by wearing a fake hairy chest. Nichols’ new CD, Old Things New, is set for release Oct. 27. The lead single is “Gimmie That Girl.”

Nichols has also partnered with TheHopeLine to create a website to help people struggling with addiction. Anoldfriendofmine.com is named for his new song about substance abuse, which appears on his upcoming CD release.

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Eric Church will perform his new single “Hell On The Heart” during his debut appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! tomorrow night (10/16) airing at 12:50ET/11:05 CT. “Hell On The Heart” is the follow-up single to Church’s Top 10 hit “Love Your Love The Most,” from his sophomore release Carolina. Despite a broken foot, Church is on his nearly sold-out Young & Wild(er) Tour through the end of this year.

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Love and Theft are giving away seven free downloads via iTunes and AOL’s The Boot. There’s one music video, two songs, three interviews, plus a video documentary. Included is “Don’t Wake Me,” a live version of their single, “Runaway,” three video interviews and one video that tells the story behind the band.

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The Oak Ridge Boys are set to perform new Jamey Johnson-penned single “Mama’s Table” on CBS’ The Early Show and Fox News Channel’s Huckabee this Sat., Oct. 17.

Swift To Host “SNL”

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image003Taylor Swift will be hosting NBC’s Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7. This is her first time to host the show, though she performed on SNL in January. “I’ve been thinking about skit ideas for a long time,” Swift told the Associated Press. “There are definitely some hilarious things that have happened to me over the past couple of months that I think will be pretty substantial skits.”

Swift is also scheduled to appear on Dancing With The Stars Oct. 27, and The Ellen Degeneres Show Oct. 29. Yesterday (10/14) she performed on Oprah.

Keith, Bryan Post Solid Debuts

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Photo ID (back row L to R):  Director Information Services PJ Olsen,  SE Rep Nathan Cruise, NE Rep Suzanne Durham, VP Promotion Rick Moxley and VP Sales & Marketing Bill Kennedy             (Front row L to R):  Mgr. Media & Marketing Tracy Arnold, General Manager George Nunes, Promotion Coordinator Ali Sparico and Sales, Marketing & New Media Sloane Cavitt  

Show Dog celebration. (Back row L-R): Director Information Services PJ Olsen; SE Rep Nathan Cruise; NE Rep Suzanne Durham; VP Promotion Rick Moxley; and VP Sales & Marketing Bill Kennedy (Front row L-R): Mgr. Media & Marketing Tracy Arnold; GM George Nunes; Promotion Coordinator Ali Sparico; and Sales, Marketing & New Media Sloane Cavitt

Toby Keith debuted at No. 1 on SoundScan’s Country Album chart with about 90K first week sales (10% digital) of his album American Ride (according to Nielsen SoundScan, a division of The Nielsen Company). Luke Bryan’s sophomore album landed at No. 2 on the Country list with a respectable 58K units (16% digital). On the all-genre chart, Keith came in at No. 3, followed by Bryan at No. 6.

Show Dog Nashville sported black and denim in celebration of Keith’s album and multi-week No. 1 single run for “American Ride.” Tonight (10/14) Keith visits the The Jay Leno Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He ends the week with appearances on The Bonnie Hunt Show on Thursday and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on Friday.

lukeb-cdFirst week sales of Bryan’s Doin’ My Thing (Capitol Nashville) more than doubled his previous debut week from 2007’s I’ll Stay Me. “Do I,” the album’s lead single is currently sitting at No. 5 on the Country Breakout chart, and the video had a 7-week No. 1 on GAC. Bryan has been on an intense nine day, nine city tour to promote the release of his album and he wraps it up tonight in Minneapolis, MN. Then he kicks off his inaugural headlining tour on 10/29, with sponsor Miller Lite.

Other notable debuts this week are from Rosanne Cash (26K), Bill Engvall (3.4K), and Colt Ford (Wal-Mart exclusive CD/DVD 2.3K). To date relatively unknown indie artist Ford has sold 85K copies of his album.

Glancing at other YTD stats, country album sales are down a slight 1.2%, but the digital share of those sales is up more than 50%. 2009 YTD country album market share is 11.8% of total album sales, which is a slight increase from 10.3% in 2008. Heading into the holiday shopping season, will current leaders Taylor Swift and Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus maintain position as the year’s best selling artists?

Morris Joins Zavitson Music Group

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jmorris101409Jason Morris has been hired to the post of Sr. Creative Director for Zavitson Music Group, LLC, the publishing company jointly owned by Debbie Zavitson, Russ Zavitson, and Beverly Miller. Prior to joining Zavitson, Morris headed his own company, Morris Code Music. Additionally he has held creative offices for Big Picture Entertainment, Hori Pro Music, Ten Ten Music Group, Fame Music and Gary Morris Music. Contact him at 615-321-2212 or [email protected].

Urban Recruits Country’s Finest For Hall Fundraiser

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Aldean, Swift, Hill and Lady Antebellum onstage. Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Even the ushers were dancing in the aisle last night (10/13) as Keith Urban blazed through “Sweet Thing,” “Better Life,” and a slew of other hits during his We’re All For The Hall concert at the Sommet Center. He spearheaded the benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and recruited the stellar talent of Vince Gill, Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town to join him. That line-up combined with tickets priced around $25 assured a sold-out event.

Gill, a longtime Hall of Fame advocate started the All For The Hall fundraising initiative a few years ago, suggesting that all artists donate just one night’s proceeds to the cause.

Gill and Urban remained onstage as band members for the evening, playing alongside A-list musicians including keyboardist John Hobbs, steel guitarist Paul Franklin and bassist Michael Rhodes.

Toward the end of the night, Urban told the audience to mark their calendars for Oct. 5, 2010, for the second annual concert.

A full report on the event was sent out this morning in @MusicRow, for paid subscribers.

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Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Joshua Ragsdale Donation Drive, More Benefits

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Joshua Ragsdale

Musician Joshua Ragsdale is suffering from CML Leukemia and is in dire need of a bone marrow donor, which most often does not require surgery on the donor. Ragsdale, a songwriter and former Lyric Street artist, has been unable to find a match in the national bone marrow registry. Blood Assurance is organizing a blood drive and bone marrow match search at Christ The King Church (Belmont Blvd.) on Mon., Nov. 2 from 9 AM-2 PM. Seeing if someone is a bone marrow match is done by swabbing the inside of the mouth. If there is a match, the donation process is usually as simple as donating plasma.

To find out details or sign-up for the drive, e-mail [email protected] with your name, phone, and if you will donate blood, test for marrow match or both.

Donations are being accepted at Joshua Ragsdale Benefit Fund, c/o Smith, Wiles, attn: Suzanne, 900 Division St, Nashville, 37203.

You can follow Josh’s story on his brother John Ragsdale’s blog.

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The first annual Rivergate Studios Celebrity Rock-n-Golf Tournament will benefit Lyrics for Life, the non-profit organization that helps fight childhood cancer. Tournament players will join more than 25 music and sports celebrities including Gary Allan, 3 Doors Down, Sister Hazel, Halfway To Hazard, 38 Special, and Ira Dean on Mon., Nov. 9 at Hendersonville’s Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club. An after party/all-star jam will follow at the Gibson Guitars showcase space in Opry Mills Mall. Rivergate Studios, co-owned by Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) and Bobby Capps (38 Special), is co-hosting the event. Sponsorships and VIP golf packages are available at www.rivergatestudios.net.

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Eric Lee Beddingfield’s Rock for Recovery Benefit concert is set for Fri., Oct. 16, 7 PM at the Corner Pub Midtown parking lot. Proceeds will go to those devastated by flooding in the Southeast via the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Special guests will join Beddingfield onstage. Brad Arnold, Robert Reynolds and Dan Shafer have been added to the concert and online social network Digital Rodeo has signed on to sponsor the event, which is currently the only benefit concert happening for the victims of this disaster. The concert is set to coincide with the University of Georgia/Vanderbilt football game in Nashville the next day.

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The 2nd annual Dunkin’ Donuts 5K Family Fun Run and Walk-A-Thon will be Sat., Nov. 7 at Centennial Park to benefit the music industry charity, the T.J. Martell Foundation. Former Tennessee Titan Eddie George and his family will host the event featuring performances by popular tween acts pureNRG, Madison Cain and actor/singer Luke Benward. Also every Wednesday this month is Coffee for the Cure Day at Dunkin’ Donuts. Ten percent of all coffee proceeds will be donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation. www.funrunandwalk.com
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The Music City Challenge on Sat., Dec. 5 will feature top tennis professionals Marty Fish, John Isner, Bob and Mike Bryan, and America’s newest tennis sweetheart and U.S. Open quarter finalist Melanie Oudin. It benefits the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Fund via the Music City Tennis Invitational, which is supported by many in the music business. The tournament will be hosted by the Belmont Curb Event Center. www.tandsevents.com

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Bluebird Benefits: Andrew Dorff, Chris Tompkins, Josh Kear, Barry Dean and guests will play the Bluebird Oct. 29 at 9 PM to benefit UCLA brain cancer research.

The 1st Amendment Center’s 11th Annual Freedom Sings show will celebrate the groundbreaking music of 1969 with performances by Beth Nielsen Chapman, A.J. Croce, Jonell Mosser, Don Henry, Jason White and a house band that includes Bill Lloyd, Danny Sullivan, Dave Pomeroy, Jen Gunderman and Craig Krampf. The show is at the Bluebird on Oct. 21, at 9 PM.

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WMBA Recruitment; Upcoming Auditions

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WMBA 2009-10 members.

WMBA 2009-10 members.

The Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) is holding open enrollment for membership beginning tomorrow, Thurs., Oct. 15. Women who are working in the music business and are interested in joining WMBA or learning more about the organization, are invited to attend an open meeting on Tues., Oct. 20, 6:30 PM at the NSAI studio. Please visit www.wmbanashville.org to learn more about WMBA, or contact Membership Chair, Kasey Cleckler at [email protected].

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CMT’s hit series The Singing Bee will be conducting open casting calls in Nashville for contestants for its second season. The local casting call will take place at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel at 2100 West End Ave. on Sat., Oct. 24 and Sun., Oct. 25 with auditions beginning at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. each day. Interested applicants can email [email protected] for additional questions and information.

The 20-episode second season, returning with host Melissa Peterman, will begin taping in November and premiere in January 2010 on CMT. The show’s original run on CMT was the network’s highest-rated series of the year.

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The U.S. Army Bands will be conducting auditions for talented piano, guitar and electronic bass players. Army musicians perform in a variety of ensembles ranging from ceremonial band to jazz quartets to small ensembles, playing all styles of music. Members will be provided professional quality instruments, enjoy paid vacations, receive medical and dental benefits for you and your family, and receive unmatched educational benefits.

Musician Auditions for U.S. Army Bands will be held Thurs., Nov. 12 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select, Vanderbilt (Ballroom) on West End Ave. For more information or to schedule an audition, please call CPT Sharon Toulouse at 301-741-2750. Walk-ins welcome.