Rascal Flatts "Changed" Release Date

One of the biggest acts in country musics gives retail outlets a day to circle on the calendar with the announcement that Rascal Flatts will release "Changed," their highly-anticipated seventh studio album, on April 3. Award-winning musician Dann Huff co-produced the new project with the Grand Ole Opry members.

DOVE Award Winner Lynda Randle Joins C & C Music Group

C & C Music Group is proud to announce the signing of DOVE Award winning artist Lynda Randle to their talent roster.

Lynda says, "I’m excited to work with C&C Music Group. I’ve always been very careful about who I align myself with because I feel like we have something that is so sacred and special that God has entrusted to us. I am confident that this is a God thing and I am looking forward to all the great things God has in store!"

Jonathan Goodwin of C&C Music Group states, "We are thrilled to be working with the one and only Lynda Randle. Her heart for God, love for people and of course, her talent, is what people have fallen in love with all over the world! This year, Lynda will be touring internationally, all over the US and parts of Canada and you can also still find Lynda on special Gaither Events! We’re getting invites literally from all over the world and we are excited about what God has planned."

For the past 13 years Lynda Randle has reached the world with her music and testimony through her appearances as part of the Gaither Homecoming Tours and Videos while also performing her own concerts and events including her women's conferences "Woman After God's Own Heart." Lynda's most popular song, "God On The Mountain," has become an anthem reminding us that "God is the God of the mountain and the God of the valley."

Ke$ha Defeats Justin Beiber for PETA Award

Ke$ha has yet to win a Grammy, MTV VMA or an American Music Award, but at least she's gotten some recognition for one of her favorite causes: she's just won the "Libby" Award for the Most Animal-Friendly Pop Artist.  The Libby Awards are given out each year by peta2, the youth division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  "Libby" is short for "Liberation" -- as in animal liberation.

Ke$ha has done extensive work with PETA -- she appeared in a PETA ad campaigning against the slaughter of Canadian seals, and also wrote a letter on the organization's behalf to the head of McDonald's, taking the company to task for not requiring its suppliers to upgrade to a less cruel method of slaughtering chickens.  One of the stars she beat out for the award is Justin Bieber.

Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta, a vegetarian, was also up for a Libby Award for Most Animal-Friendly celeb, but that category was won by Jackass star and former Dancing with the Stars contestant Steve-O.

Lisa Bianco Gains Momentum with Stellar New Release, Tour Dates

Recently, Lisa Bianco - a New York City based singer songwriter whose sound falls somewhere between the alternative rock stylings of The Joy Formidable and The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and the pop sensibilities of Blondie and The Bangles - released Momentum; a seven track recording which finds a balance between the visceral and intellectual, one of the trickiest things to pull off in music.

Bianco has earned laudatory notices from publications such as CMJ ("Distinctive NYC underground songstress"), the Village Voice (“Galvanizing”) and The Aquarian ("Bianco combines down and dirty electrics with addictive, sugar sweet melodies and squeezes the proverbial rock n' roll mainstream juice into her cup of bratty punk snarl. The results are a big, bold biological reaction of compositional passion and vision") and this new album seeks to further drive home those points.

Subsequently, her fan base has been a strong and growing one, cultivated by years of hitting the NYC club circuit at venues such as the Mercury Lounge, the Knitting Factory, City Winery, Rockwood Music Hall, Maxwell’s and The Saint in NJ. She has recently done an east coast/Canadian tour, performed several times at NYC’s Anti-Folk Festival on a bill with contemporaries such as Nicole Atkins and Regina Spektor, as well as playing the CMJ Music Marathon and the Light of Day Concerts in Asbury Park (sharing the stage with Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nile and Jesse Malin).

Lisa is currently touring in support of Momentum, and Lisa explains the title: "I think with every record you make as an artist you grow, build on what you learned from the last album and take in and digest out what inspires you. I feel this record is that. I wanted to write a rock record that was driving, emotional, and introspective. I want to give you goose bumps."

For more information about Lisa Bianco, please visit her website at http://www.lisabianco.com.

Riley Etheridge Jr.'s "Better Days"

NYC-based Americana singer-songwriter Riley Etheridge Jr. will be releasing a four-song EP, "Better Days," in digital format via Rock Ridge Music on January 24, 2012 (see track listing below).  The EP will be available through the usual digital download portals.  Instead of utilizing a full band, or performing the songs as solo acoustic guitar arrangements (Etheridge's original idea for the recording), he opted to work with a trio lineup, which included drummer Dan Rieser and bassist Tim Luntzel.  Felix McTeigue (who also co-wrote the title track) produced the EP.

Says Etheridge of the process:  "I am really pleased with the 'live' and spontaneous approach that we took.  It was a completely different experience for me, which I enjoyed.  I met Dan and Tim after seeing them perform in NYC, and, on just a few days' notice, they agreed to meet and track these songs with me at a studio in Brooklyn.  It was done live over two brief sessions. I love how simple the arrangements are.  We picked this group of four songs as our favorites out of about seven songs and 'rolled the tape' with no charts, click track or rehearsal.  We at most did two or three takes of each track.  One friend who heard the tracks called it 'real people playing real music,' and I viewed that as a major compliment, and the result of an experiment that paid off."

"Better Days" is the follow-up to Etheridge's 2011 release, "Powder Keg," his sophomore album.  Etheridge may call New York City his home now, but his music sounds like he's still living down South. A South Carolina native, Etheridge spent many years living - and playing music - in Louisiana.  "Powder Keg" deftly blended together rock, country, blues, soul, and folk into a rich Americana sound.  Etheridge's first album, "Things I Used To Know," came out in 2010.  

Atlanta's A-List has compared Etheridge to Radney Foster, Billy Joe Shaver and Uncle Tupelo, while Owl Magazine lauded Etheridge's "blues/country fusion that just plain grooves." Innocent Words praised Etheridge's lyrics, saying, "...nothing grabs your attention more than Etheridge's clever word play and finesse with the language of love, lust, and loss. ...[Etheridge is] a songwriter with real intellect who makes you want to hit the repeat button again and again to catch what he said."

"BETTER DAYS" TRACK LISTING
"Even As We Fall"
"The More Time Passes By"
"Roll With The Tide"
"Better Days"


www.rileyetheridge.com
www.facebook.com/rileyetheridgemusic
www.twitter.com/rileyetheridge 

Music from The Muppets!

Music from The Muppets

Taylor Swift Discusses Next Album

Should Jake Gyllenhaal be worried?

Taylor Swift graces the cover of Vogue's February issue and tells the magazine her next album will be about an "absolute crash-and-burn heartbreak" she experienced.

The 22-year-old singer doesn't name names, but she did date Gyllenhaal for a few months in 2010, and he broke up with her.

Swift says it helps her to "feel better" and gain "clarity" by writing songs about her relationships.

She also says she now has a list of "red flags" for if a relationship won't work: If a guy falls in love with her based on her Wikipedia page, is threatened that she needs security, puts her down or is obsessed with privacy, he's not for her.

The February issue of Vogue Magazine goes on sale January 24.

Rebelution's "The Peace of Mind" Tour Dates

1/20                      Jacksonville, FL         Mavericks
1/21                      Orlando, FL                 Hard Rock Live
1/22                      Fort Lauderdale, FL          Revolution
1/25                      Ybor City, FL               The Ritz
1/26                      Charleston, SC           Music Farm
1/27                      Atlanta, GA                 Masquerade
1/28                      Nashville, TN              Cannery Ballroom
2/8                        New Orleans, LA         House of Blues
2/9                        Houston, TX                House of Blues
2/10                      Austin, TX             Stubb's
2/11                      Dallas, TX             House of Blues
2/12                      Fayetteville, AR          George's Majestic
2/15                      Albuquerque, NM        Sunshine Theater
2/16                      Tempe, AZ             Marquee Theater
2/17                      Hollywood, CA              Hollywood Palladium
2/18                      Oakland, CA                Fox Theatre
2/19                      Santa Cruz, CA           The Catalyst
2/22                      Chico, CA              Senator Theater
2/23                      Eugene, OR                 McDonald Theatre
2/24                      Portland, OR                Roseland Theatre
2/25                      Seattle, WA                 Showbox SoDo
3/14                      Las Vegas, NV             House of Blues
3/15                      Salt Lake City, UT            The Depot
3/16                      Grand Junction, CO         Mesa Theater
3/17                      Denver, CO                 The Fillmore
3/20                      Minneapolis, MN        First Avenue
3/21                      Des Moines, IA           People's Court
3/22                      Milwaukee, WI                  Pabst Theater
3/23                      St. Louis, MO              The Pageant
3/24                      Chicago, IL                  Congress Theatre
3/27                      Detroit, MI                  St. Andrews Hall
3/28                      Covington, KY             Madison Theater
3/29                      Columbus, OH       Newport Music Hall
3/30                      Cleveland, OH             House of Blues
3/31                      Grand Rapids, MI        The Orbit Room

Dolly Parton to Build $50 Million Water & Snow Park in Nashville

 Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Co  announced plans today to build a $50 million water and snow park in Nashville as part of a partnership with country star Dolly Parton.

The park would be the first major amusement attraction to come to Nashville since the closure of Opryland in 1997.

“Opryland was something that was revered in this community and was a fabulous, fabulous happy place, and it was shot and it was gone. What has happened is the void that was left here in central Tennessee was very heavily picked up by Dolly and her partners in Eastern Tennessee (at the Dollywood theme park) and has grown into something that is something wonderful,” Gaylord CEO Colin Reed said in an interview with the Nashville Business Journal.

“The objective is not to re-create Dollywood in central Tennessee. The objective here is to do something a little different that will be a compelling reason for customers to come from all across the Southern United States … into the center of Tennessee to experience something that is a little different," Reed said.

Reed said the attraction is aimed at two groups of visitors: leisure travelers and family-oriented convention groups like the Cheerleading Association of America. The park will be developed on 114 acres owned by Gaylord next to the company's Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Phase I, not yet named, will include a $50 million water and snow park set to open in summer 2014. The project, which Gaylord and Parton are referring to as a "family entertainment zone," is estimated to draw 500,000 visitors a year.

Opryland brought 2 million visitors a year to Nashville. After the park closed in 1997, tourism officials estimated the area experienced a 19 percent drop in related revenue.

Reed and Parton declined to discuss future phases of the project, underscoring that the project is in its early stages. The project is to be a 50-50 partnership, with Dollywood serving as the operating partner.

Reed and Parton will speak more about the project at a 1 p.m. press conference. More details will be posted as they become available.

Thanks to Annie Johnson

Save 35% on 10 Classical Favorites Arranged for Solo Piano!

Throughout the month of January, save 35% on our "10 Classical Favorites Arranged for Solo Piano" collection.