Music City provides the perfect setting for the eleventh annual Nashville Screenwriters Conference on May 29-31 at the historic Union Station Hotel because of the abundance of creative talent found in Nashville. It's no surprise with an event held in Music City that one of the most popular panels is the "Music in the Movies" luncheon. Scheduled for Saturday, May 30 at 12 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theatre, the luncheon will feature advice from top music supervisors for songwriters, composers, artists and publishers hoping to tap into the world of song placement in television and film. The panel will be hosted by 821 Entertainment Group President, Anastasia Brown ("Billy: The Early Years," "August Rush" and "Taken") and will feature opportunities for individuals to submit music for placement in upcoming projects. "Film and television are joining radio in successfully launching and building music careers," says Brown. "Nashville has such an abundance of talent and this panel will further educate us all on how to get the music heard."
Joining Brown, will be Music Supervisor, Julia Michels ("Marley and Me," "Sex and the City: The Movie" and "The Devil Wears Prada"), Music Supervisor, Julianne Jordan ("Hotel for Dogs," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "Fools Gold"), Music Supervisor, Dana Sano ("Two Lovers," "Dan in Real Life" and "Shoot 'Em Up"), NBC Vice President of Music Creative Services, Alicen Catron Schneider ("Heroes, "Trauma" and "Caprica"), Music Supervisor, Darren Higman ("Shark Tale," "Two Weeks Notice" and "State of the Union") and music journalist/critic, Phil Gallo.
"I have been a panelist for a few years and I'm participating again this year because of the talent in Music City. Nashville's creative community is home to some of the best songwriters and I truly expect to find great songs for my projects," says Michels. The NSC "Music in the Movies" luncheon has brought success for several attendees in the past. Steve Diamond and Lucas Reynolds were both able to successfully place music in the films "Santa Clause 2" and "August Rush" respectively. Tickets to the luncheon are limited and generally sell out but are available a la carte for $40 at www.nashscreen.com.
In addition to the "Music in the Movies" panel NSC will also feature an advanced screening of the film "I Love You Phillip Morris" starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, based on the non-fiction book by Steve McVicker, written and directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra ("Bad Santa"). The screening will take place on Friday, May 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Belcourt Theatre. McVicker, Requa and Ficarra will be joined by producer Far Shariat for the panel "Adapting a Non-fiction Book" during the conference. (Note: this film is rated "R")
The eleventh annual NSC features Hollywood's top writers and executives, providing aspiring screenwriters and individuals interested in film and TV the opportunity to learn, network and explore the vast professional endeavors within these industries. Credits for 2009 panelists include NBC's "Life," "Scary Movie 3," "Scary Movie 4," "Bug," "Clash of the Titans," "Aeon Flux," "Crazy/Beautiful," "Wanted," "3:10 to Yuma," "2 Fast, 2 Furious," "Finding Neverland," "Quantum of Solace," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Babel," "Juno," "Gladiator," "Amistad," "Citizen Cohn," "Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "Shrek," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy, "The Mask of Zorro," "Marley and Me," "Sex and the City: The Movie," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Twilight" and many more.
Don't miss your chance to see the popular bio-musical "Always...Patsy Cline," at the Ryman Auditorium on Saturday, May 16th!
The production features more than 20 of Patsy's most memorable songs including "I Fall to Pieces," "Crazy," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and "Sweet Dreams," which became a hit shortly after her death. Mandy Barnett, who originated the role at the Ryman in 1994, has received rave reviews throughout the years for her uncanny recreations of Cline's unique and unforgettable sound.
Sixteen prominent international Country artists will convene in Music City next month to participate in a series of global Country Music events, beginning June 8 in downtown Nashville, Tenn.
The CMA Global Artist Party (presented by CMA and sponsored by NiteTrain Coaches) unofficially marks the beginning of the 2009 CMA Music Festival with its annual showcase on Monday, June 8. The event, hosted by Country artist Jace Everett, will feature a total of eight artists from Australia, Ireland, U.K., Canada and New Zealand, including Australia's "Telstra Road to Tamworth" winner, Peter McWhirter. The showcase begins at 6:15 p.m. at The Stage on Broadway.
CMA Global Artist Party Performers: Kirsty Lee Akers (Australia), Colm Kirwan (Ireland), Lucie Silvas (U.K.), Alex J. Robinson (Canada), Peter McWhirter (Australia), Ashley Cooper (New Zealand), The McClymonts (Australia) and George Canyon (Canada).
The annual AristoMedia Global Showcase (presented by AristoMedia and sponsored by CMA, NiteTrain Coaches and Digital Rodeo) will be held Tuesday, June 9 at 3 p.m. at The Second Fiddle. International artists from France, U.K., Norway, Switzerland, Australia and Canada will perform, including the "Telstra Road to Tamworth" Songwriter's Award winner Corey Colum. Former Mavericks bassist and Digital Rodeo Director of Industry Relations Robert Reynolds will host the event.
AristoMedia Global Showcase Performers: Pierre Lorry (France), Brianie (U.K.), Tore Andersen (Norway), Rolf Fritschi (Switzerland), Dianna Corcoran (Australia), Codie Prevost (Canada), Corey Colum (Australia) and David Bradley (U.K.).
"Both of these events are certainly a highlight for the global Country Music community each year," says AristoMedia President Jeff Walker. "Music City is regarded as the heart of Country Music and the CMA Music Festival is one of the best live events in the world. The chance for these artists to travel and perform here is not only an exciting opportunity for the artists, but for the city of Nashville and the entire international Country Music movement as well."
Previous performers at the annual Global Events include: Troy Cassar-Daley, Jasmine Rae, Adam Gregory, Johnny Reid, Doc Walker, the Road Hammers and Lisa Brokop, among others.
The 3rd Annual Merrell Crawfish Boil will take place on the grounds of LP Field Friday and Saturday, May 15-16. The event has been moved from its original planned site in Riverfront Park due to high water levels at the park.
Event organizers said the new site will provide great site lines and visibility for performances and ample parking. The festival entrance will be located at Parking Lot R on the southwest side of the stadium where the pedestrian bridge enters LP Field from downtown. Lawn chairs will be allowed for comfortable viewing from the new site.
“While we regret that circumstances have forced us to move the festival at this late date, we are excited about the new location and believe it will provide for a great festival experience,” said Darin Lashinsky of Outback Concerts, which co-produces the festival with Blue Deuce Entertainment and Red Mountain Entertainment.
Gary Weinberger with Red Mountain Entertainment added: “We are grateful for the cooperation of Steve Underwood and Don MacLachlan with LP Field as well as Marilyn Edwards with the Mayor’s office who were instrumental in making this transition possible.”
The Merrell Crawfish Boil drew more than 17,000 attendees in 2008, and organizers expect another great crowd this year with acts including 311, The Offspring, Boys Like Girls, Flyleaf, Soulja Boy, Gavin Rossdale, Candlebox, Hoobastank and Saving Abel.
In addition to the music, more than 12,000 pounds of hot, spicy boiled crawfish straight from Louisiana will be served over the course of the weekend. Other food vendors will be on site as well, and there will be plenty of activities for families including the Merrell Recess Area featuring old-school games like four square, jump rope and corn hole toss.
MCA Nashville Records is set to release I'm About To Come Alive, the new album from rising country star David Nail. AOL.com's THE BOOT is offering 10,000 free audio downloads of his latest hit “Red Light” from now and until supplies run out.
David is set to make his debut performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage this Saturday (May 16), which can be heard live on Nashville’s WSM, Sirius XM and on wsmonline.com. David will showcase songs from I'm About To Come Alive, which features songs written by Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox and Kenny Chesney and vocals by Miranda Lambert on the track “Strangers On A Train”.
Clay Underwood has hit the road for his first official Radio Tour. Underwood was welcomed back to his home state of KY after a three week tour of the states of GA, AL, AR, OK, KS, MO, IL, IN, WI, and IA. "Behind These Walls", co-written by Dierks Bentley, is currently at 52 on Music Row Charts and is continuing to climb. He has been welcomed with open arms from radio stations in these areas. He has a short performance tour set in FL and will then be back on the road again to visit more stations later this month. He will be traveling to LA, TX, back up to OK, KS, WI, IN, MI, northern KY and more.
Underwood states that "This has been the best part of releasing a song! I enjoy meeting and thanking folks in person that are helping to support my new single"! "Behind These Walls" is his debut single release off of his new CD "New Beginnings and Old Honky Tonks" Underwood's new CD has had an overwhelmingly positive response from radio, music critics, and most importantly, COUNTRY MUSIC FANS, which many of Nashville’s elite are already calling "the best country album in over a decade!!"
Underwood also stated, "I would also like to thank all of my local area radio, television stations and businesses for all of their great support"!
Lost Highway Records is set to release ROADHOUSE SUN on June 2nd, the new album from Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses and the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed album MESCALITO.
Ryan's music and vocals have drawn comparisons to John Bell (Widespread Panic), Steve Earle, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
Chuck Mead makes a virtue out of relaxation on his new full-length Journeyman's Wager, but the narratives have a knockabout air, and the former BR549 leader sounds like he's learned to roll with a few punches. It's the kind of easygoing record that reveals itself gradually. Mead writes like a man with a sense of musical and social history, which means the jokes don't smother the serious parts and the allusions to 1970s country and pub-rock make their points in present time. Mead might be relaxed, but Journeyman's Wager moves along smartly enough for pop music.
Mead moved to Nashville from Lawrence, Kan., in 1993, and hit town itching to play country music. "I came here quite a few times in the '80s, and got to be friends with Webb Wilder and all of those guys," Mead says. "Back then you could go to The Ryman for a dollar-fifty, just walk through, and no one would bother you, communing with all the ghosts. It was really spooky back then."
Growing up in Kansas in the '60s, Mead absorbed country along with British Invasion pop. Like Nick Lowe or Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Mead got hooked on deep Americana, but he also respected studio-craft and the art of the three-minute song, with a sharp 10-second guitar solo thrown in for good measure. "You put a lot of guys in the studio who don't really know what they're doing, and they're trying to play Western swing and it comes out rock 'n' roll," he says.
On Journeyman's Wager, Mead and his first-rate sidemen certainly sound as if they know what they're doing. Ray Kennedy's production adds electric piano, organ and saxophone to a series of crisp rhythm tracks, but Wager is a classic guitar record. Audley Freed and Kenny Vaughan knock off a few concise, stylish solos, and nearly every song is anchored by a catchy riff—like the descending figure that kicks off "She Got the Ring (I Got the Finger)."
"We wanted to do something that was organic and really represented where my head was at," Mead says. "Ray [Kennedy] really understands all that. We didn't want to piece it together. We tried to get it right and go back and overdub and all that, but we did it all on 2-inch tape. There's no Auto-Tuning, and you can tell that, too."
The result is a record that makes good use of Mead's slightly dry voice and exploits his flair for storytelling. "Out on the Natchez Trail" is a superb picaresque that recalls Dave Edmunds around the time of Repeat When Necessary. "I saw the boy king / I saw Chickasaw Sam / Then it all went black / With a wave of his hand," Mead sings.
Mead says his songwriting has evolved since his days with BR549. "We were kind of self-contained and didn't do the Nashville co-write, where you sit around in a room Brill Building-style. But when I got my writing deal and started really trying to write with other people, that's how you learn—writing with somebody like Guy Clark. It's important to get with a guy like that."
None of Mead's collaborations with Clark appear on Wager, but Mead worked with several writers for the project. Nashville tunesmith and producer Jon Tiven co-wrote three of the collection's songs, including "She Got the Ring" and "After the Last Witness Is Gone," a lighthearted song about human extinction. With its subtle chord changes, "After the Last Witness" stands as one of Wager's finest moments.
"We come from very different places geographically as well as musically, but we love a lot of the same records," Tiven says of their collaboration. On the evidence of Wager, those records include semi-classics on the order of Brinsley Schwarz's definitive pub-rock album Nervous on the Road, Commander Cody's Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers Favorites and Artful Dodger's 1975 power-pop single "Wayside," whose chords make an appearance in Mead and Mark Collie's "A Long Time Ago."
For all its formal acuity, Wager offers narrative in the grand tradition, and real rock 'n' roll absurdity along with the historical perspective. "Caesar ruled the Western world / From the golden streets of Rome / You could hear him screaming / 'Get Brutus on the telephone,' " Mead sings in "I Wish It Was Friday." He delivers the lines with admirable conviction, which means this journeyman is a cultured man after all.
Thanks to Edd Hurt
The Charlie Daniels Band 
recently concluded their third overseas visit of U.S. military troops in Kuwait and Iraq. The legendary musician toured bases in Ar Ramadi, Balad, Al Qayyarah, Tikrit and Kuwait, performing for thousands of appreciative servicemen and women. Stars for Stripes, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing celebrity entertainment to troops deployed overseas, organized the seven-show, nine-day trip.
"The reason I enjoy going to Iraq is because for a few days I am honored to walk among the finest young people America has to offer," Daniels recently wrote in his website soapbox. Daniels is currently on tour through the end of 2009
The Nashville Farmers’ Market is kicking off its high season by promoting direct farm-to-market sales.
Green colored signs in the Farm Shed will designate “direct sales” where only local food producers can sell their wares direct to the public, and blue “retail sales” signs will designate independent retailers of plants and produce.
New price cards also will make it clear to shoppers whether a product was grown or raised by the seller, or is being sold by a third party.
The Farmers’ Market started the season this month with more than 40 farmers as vendors, a newly renovated Market House and a host of events scheduled for the summer including a “Chefs at the Market” series. It’s also gone high-tech with a new Web site, a Twitter feed and free wireless Internet access throughout the grounds.
Mary Ann McCready, chair
Floor Bumstead McCready & McCarthy
Tim Dubois, facilitator
Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management
Jim Hester, Mayor’s Office liaison
Metropolitan Government of Nashville
Tawn Albright
echo
Connie Bradley
ASCAP
Kix Brooks
Artist
Tony Brown
Tony Brown Enterprises
Steve Buchanan
Gaylord Entertainment
Pat Collins
SESAC
Karl Dean, mayor
Metropolitan Government of Nashville
Kylee Ervin
Diamond Coach
Rod Essig
CAA
Kira Florita
Leadership Music
Jay Frank
CMT
Eric Geadelmann
821 Entertainment
Tammy Genovese
CMA
Mike Golden
Bandit Lights
Randy Goodman
Lyric Street Records
Emmylou Harris
Artist
Dan Hays
IBMA
Bart Herbison
NSAI
Pat Higdon
Universal Music Publishing
Jed Hilly
Americana Music Association
Barrie Kessler
SoundExchange
Ken Levitan
Vector Management
Rich Maradik
Gaylord Entertainment
Janet Miller
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Steve Moore
AEG Live
Dave Pomeroy
Nashville Association of Musicians
David Ross
Music Row Publications
Rivers Rutherford
Songwriter
Ralph Schulz
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Jim Selby
Naxos
Nancy Shapiro
NARAS
Butch Spyridon
Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau
Demetrus Stewart
Pure Springs Gospel
John Styll
GMA
Bo Thomas
Belmont University
Crom Tidwell
CT Merchandising
Cal Turner, III
Cal IV Entertainment
Alan Valentine
Nashville Symphony
Garry West
Compass Records
Jack White
Artist
Jason Moon Wilkins
Next Big Nashville
Jody Williams
BMI
Kyle Young
Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum
Mayor Karl Dean announced today an initiative to help sustain and grow the music industry in Nashville. The Mayor’s Office, in partnership with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, has created a Music Business Council made up of artists and industry executives who will spearhead various economic development efforts that capitalize on Nashville’s identity as Music City.
The priorities Dean has established for the Council include increasing live music venues in the city, increasing music business relocations, improving Nashville’s public school music education program, expanding the CMA Music Festival and developing a new multi-genre music festival. The Music Business Council will serve as an ongoing industry support organization to accomplish these and other goals.
“Nashville is not any city, we’re Music City. We have an opportunity to grow that identity and benefit both our city and the music industry in the process. My goal is to make Nashville the destination for music performances, festivals, business and education,” Dean said.
A 2006 study commissioned by Belmont University and the Chamber showed the music industry has a $6.38 billion impact on Nashville’s economy. The industry provides nearly 20,000 jobs directly related to music production and another 15,000 from music-related tourism. The study also found that tax revenue generated by the industry totals more than $75 million.
“Music is the worldwide identity of our city. It provides a brand that exemplifies the creative, entrepreneurial spirit Nashville is known for,” said Ralph Schulz, president and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. “Because the music industry is a critical element in the city’s economic development efforts, the Music Business Council has been formed to ensure we are doing everything we can to support and continue to grow multiple facets of this industry.”
Who: Billy Currington
Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Time: 3:00 P.M. – 5: 00 p.m. EST (Noon - 2:00 p.m. PST)
Game: Need for Speed: Undercover
Gamertags: Billy C GWF (*note spaces)
URL: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/calendar/gamewithfame/2009/0512-billycurrington.htm
If you're an Xbox LIVE Gold Member, and you want a chance to play with Billy Currington, send a friend request to the Gamertag "Billy C GWF" and be online half an hour before (2:30 p.m. EST) the Game with Fame session starts on Tuesday, May 12, 3:00 p.m. EST.
Billy Currington hit the big time in 2003 with his self-titled debut album, and two hit singles including "I Got A Feelin'" and "Walk A Little Straighter." Now, with his new release, Little Bit of Everything, Currington has thrown a little bit of everything into the mix and come out with a world-class country album. "You know, I get asked a lot, 'What's your favorite thing to do? Writing the songs, going into the studio to record them, or doing live shows?'" he says. "And I can honestly say I love doing it all. They're all fun. I can't pick one over the others. I just feel so blessed and so lucky getting to do what I love."
That upbeat optimism is a signature note throughout his music, reflected in a number of the singles on the new album, including the redneck anthem "That's How Country Boys Roll," and the deeply felt first single off the release, "Don't."
The 26th annual International Country Music Conference, to be held May 21-23 in Nashville, Tenn. at Belmont University, will host a broad cross-section of panels and topics in the field of country music.
This year's ICMC will feature more than three-dozen panels on a variety of influential artists and subjects in all country-related genres, including Bluegrass, Americana, Western Swing, Country Rock, Honky-Tonk, Gospel and more. Notable artists to be profiled in selected presentations will include Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Gram Parsons, Kitty Wells, Cowboy Troy, Charlie Louvin and Jimmie Rodgers, among others.
Renowned author and country music expert Don Cusic will co-host the panel "Defining Country Music: What It Is and Does It Matter?" His recent book, "Discovering Country Music," chronicles the evolution of the genre "from the fiddle to the Pop charts" and will be an ICMC Special Feature at this year's event.
"The history of country music is being preserved by these academics and journalists," says Cusic. "We treasure the present by honoring the past, and the International Country Music Conference demonstrates the impact country music has had, and is still having, on culture throughout the world."
Additional ICMC panels will cover subjects ranging from international topics ("Teaching Country Music in Australia: Teaching Australian Country Music" and "New Zealand Country"), regional interests ("A Cajun Music Mystery: Dr. James F. Roach, 'Song of the Crocodile,' and the First Commercial Recording of a Cajun Folksong") and political themes ("Barack Obama, Country Music Stardom, and a New Black American Narrative").
A number of panels will be packaged together and presented on specific themes, including the Bluegrass genre and artists Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers.
The Belmont University Book Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award and The Charlie Lamb Awards will also be presented at this year's conference.
Registration is $100 and checks should be sent to James Akenson, Box 5042, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN, 38505.
AristoVideo and AristoVision, the two video promotion branches of Nashville-based marketing and promotion firm The AristoMedia Group, have released their 2009 Video Outlet Status Reports for the Country and Christian music formats.
Both reports offer a detailed look into available national, regional, syndicated and pool/closed-circuit video outlet opportunities.
"Overall, the numbers indicate that video is holding steady, which is encouraging given the nature of our economy right now," says AristoMedia Senior VP of Marketing and Promotion Craig Bann. "In fact, in some cases it's thriving quite well. I think the key to continued growth in the Country and Christian formats is knowing when to evolve and what areas within the industry can support that growth. The bottom line is that people still want to see and connect with their artists through video. It's just the means by which they get it that's changing."
The comprehensive annual reports, which can be viewed in detail at www.AristoMedia.com, track the traffic and relative health of a broad range of video outlets. These include national cable networks, Internet destinations, multi-regional and syndicated outlets, video pools/closed circuit distributors, regional programs, international markets and mixed-format/specialty opportunities.
2009 Country Outlet Status Report Highlights:
* Regional outlets for country video programming in the Central U.S. increased by more than 20 percent in the past two years. With the approaching conversion from analog to digital television, multicasting will provide even more regional programming opportunities.
* The number of shows with ties to radio stations remains consistent, with stations continuing to incorporate more video content on their websites than in previous years.
* A recent study by Edison Research and Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® indicates that 48 percent of the 13,000 men and women polled discover new music "often" through music video.
* International exposure for country music video continues to expand, with multi-hour blocks of video programming now available in Italy and a new 24/7 country channel in development in Germany.
* The overall number of online video viewers continues to increase sharply, rising roughly nine percent from 154 million to 167 million in the last year alone. Americans watched roughly 14.5 billion online videos in March 2009, representing an 11 percent increase from the previous month.
AristoVision, The AristoMedia Group's Christian video promotion department, has released its 2009 Christian Outlet Status Report as well.
"With a new business model emerging in our industry, we've seen a real push from both major and indie labels trying to find new exposure for their artists," says AristoVision Video Marketing Rep Rachel Foresta. "A lot of people forget that video is essentially a three-minute commercial for your artist. It's a proven way to reach your audience and we hope that people can use these Outlet Reports as a resource when it comes to weighing the value of video placement."
Foresta says the mainstream market has opened up considerably for Christian music, providing a number of new avenues for Christian video content. According to data in this year's Status Report, the last three years point to a positive trend for the format.
2009 Christian Outlet Status Report Highlights:
* In the past three years, the total number of outlets incorporating Christian video has increased 20 percent, while the number of Internet outlets posting Christian video has tripled.
* Since 2006, the number of international outlets airing Christian content has doubled.
* In the past two years, Gospel Music Channel has doubled its household reach, increasing viewership to more than 45 million and maintaining its status as one of the fastest-growing cable networks in the U.S.
Commenting on this year's data from the 2009 Status Reports, Bann noted, "The overall media value offered by music video continues to grow. When you compare the relative costs of making a 30-second commercial versus making a three-and-a-half minute video, the value becomes obvious. A music video really is the best kind of commercial an artist can make."
For more information and to view The AristoMedia Group's full 2009 Country and Christian Outlet Status Reports, visit www.AristoMedia.com.
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