Kings of Leon Exclusive Concert Film + Album

Lissie Tour Dates

NOV. 12 CHICAGO, IL THE AUDITORIUM THEATER*
NOV. 13 MINNEAPOLIS, MN STATE THEATRE*
NOV. 15 SAN FRANCISCO, CA NOB HILL MASONIC CENTER*
NOV. 17 DENVER, CO ELLIE CAULKIN OPERA HOUSE*
NOV. 18 DENVER, CO ELLIE CAULKIN OPERA HOUSE*
NOV. 20 LOS ANGELES, CA ORPHEUM THEATRE*
NOV. 21 LOS ANGELES, CA ORPHEUM THEATRE*
NOV. 22 LOS ANGELES, CA ORPHEUM THEATRE*
NOV. 24 LOS ANGELES, CA BOOTLEG THEATER (presented by KCRW)
NOV. 27 OMAHA, NE SLOWDOWN, JR.^
NOV. 28 COLUMBIA, MO MOJO'S^
DEC. 2 LONDON, UK HOXTON SQUARE BAR & KITCHEN
DEC. 3 LONDON, UK LOCK TAVERN
DEC. 4 LONDON, UK WILMINGTON ARMS

Carrie Underwood to Stream Grand Ole Opry Performance on MySpace

Carrie Underwood returns to the Grand Ole Opry Saturday, and you can watch her even if you aren't in Nashville. MySpace has teamed with the Opry to stream the show live with video for the first time. The stream will run from 9-10 p.m. Eastern, and Carrie will perform songs from Play On, including Cowboy Casanova. (Jake Owen is also set to appear during that hour.)

If you are in Nashville, though, you might get Carrie to sign her new album. She'll be autographing copies of Play On at the Opry Originals shop on Broadway in downtown Nashville from 5:30-6:30 p.m. before heading across the alley to play the Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. If you're going to try to get her autograph, though, get to the store early (it opens at 10 a.m.), because they'll be handing out autograph vouchers that you'll need to get in line that afternoon.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live DVD Collection $25 Off Code!

Save $25 on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame LIVE DVD Collection at TimeLife.com. Use code AFROCKHALL. Expires 11-30-09.

MEET BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN! A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity!

A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY!

Bid on an amazing experience to benefit Musicians On Call and The Kristen Ann Carr Fund.

You and three friends will have the experience of a lifetime when you win this package to MEET Bruce Springsteen on November 22nd at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY -- Bruce's final show of the 2009 Tour and enjoy passes to the E-Street Lounge!

If there is a soundcheck that night, the winners will be able to attend and watch Bruce soundcheck!

CLICK HERE to BID NOW!

The Largest Release of Live Concerts for Download Ever!

Darius Rucker World Premiere Video + Limited Time Learn to Live

Rodney Atkins Presents 2010 Equinox to "Chevy Salutes America’s Heroes” contest winner Master Sgt. Bubba Beason of the U.S. Air Force

"Chevy Salutes America’s Heroes” contest winner Master Sgt. Bubba Beason of the U.S. Air Force was awarded a 2010 Chevy Equinox yesterday, November 10, on ABC's Good Morning America. Country artist Rodney Atkins presented Beason and his family with the car. Beason's son, Christopher, entered his father in the contest and he was chosen over thousands of entries. The concert was presented by Chevy and took place on the Sommet Center Plaza in Downtown Nashville.

(L-R) Chevy National Promotions Manager Phil Caruso; Curb recording artist Rodney Atkins; 8-year-old Christopher Beason; Master Sgt. Bubba Beason; and ABC News correspondent Bill Weir.

Beason, a member of the 305th Maintenance Squadron, 305th Air Mobility Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and his family will attend “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards” which will be broadcasted live today (Veteran's Day) on ABC, 8-11PM/ET.

Carrie Underwood Sheet Music

Carrie Underwood - Cowboy Casanova

F.Y.E. $5 Off Code!

"A Pure Country Gift" Free Concert/Feature Film Event at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium

"A Pure Country Gift" – Free Concert/Feature Film EVENT at the NMA!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 @ 10:00am to 4:00pm
Doors open at 9:45am - Last admittance is at 12 Noon!
FREE to the public. ALL ages welcome.
FREE food, FREE parking, FREE prizes!!

“A Pure Country Gift” - The newest feature film from the Director of “Young Guns”, “The Next Karate Kid” and “Pure Country” is holding a FREE film/concert event and is inviting Nashville country music fans to come out and participate as volunteer audience members. The film stars local Nashville country music artist Katrina Elam and also features country music superstar George Strait

This feature film event takes place on Wednesday – 11/11/09 from 10:00am to 4:00pm at Nashville Municipal Auditorium located at 417 Fourth Avenue , Nashville , TN 37201 and is open to all ages. Doors open at 9:45am and last admittance will be 12:00n.

Free parking and shuttles are available at LP (Titans) Field in Lot R (enter off of Shelby Street ).

Each person in attendance will receive a free BBQ lunch provided by the World Famous Loveless Café and free snack/beverages throughout the day. All volunteers will be entered into raffle drawings to win prizes such as gift certificates, gift baskets, autographed celebrity memorabilia and our Grand Prizes – a Vespa Scooter and a Walk-on Extra role in a movie scene with George Strait . Must be present to win.

All you have to do is show up in your country western finest to be filmed as audience for our concert scenes.

This event is sponsored by Angry Monkey Entertainment and Nashville Country 95.5 the Wolf .

Inaugural "Christmas at the Club" at the Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club

The 1st Annual “Christmas at the Club” has been established by four local Hendersonville women; Dalette Rankhorn, realtor for HALO Properties and owner of Junglelicious Jewels and Gifts, , Melissa Carter of Elements Inc., Shelia Woodall, senior consultant of Arbonne International and Karen Mills of Mills Design. This FREE debut event will be held Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club located at 550 Johnny Cash Parkway in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

These four entrapenurs keep busy throughout the year in the respective fields and continually offer great products and services to the area. Recently, they wanted to showcase their talents and applied to be a part of the annual Christmas Village in Nashville. Unfortunately, the event was full. "That didn't stop us." Mrs. Rankhorn stated, "We decided to start our own Christmas Village. Build it and they will come," she said.

In a little over a week, the four women approached Paul Belcher, general manager, Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club with their concept of “Christmas at the Club” and he eagerly welcomed the event to the club. “We are thrilled to help the local women-owned businesses; just this last week we hosted the Women Impacting the Community Event by the Hendersonville Chamber, which had a great turnout of 45 women owned or operated businesses participating,” says Mr. Belcher. “With excellent service and fine dining, as well as a central location for Hendersonville, what could be a better location than Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club,” stated Mrs. Woodall.

“The event has over 20 gift-giving vendors specializing in handmade jewelry, Christmas ornaments, skincare and wellness, holiday cakes, sunglasses, candles, baby items, kitchen designs and much, much more,” stated Ms. Karen Mills. “We will have respected local plastic surgeon, Dr. Lois Wagstrom, of Nashville, to help with our holiday look,” stated Ms. Melissa Carter.

“We are so very excited,” stated Mrs. Rankhorn, “the event will be from 10am to 7pm. Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club members having the exclusive first look from 10am – 12pm and open to the public from Noon to 7:00 p.m.

For additional information please contact Dalette Rankhorn at 615-714-2111, Melissa Carter at 615-604-1100 or Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club at 615-824-6528.

Music City Walk of Fame Inductees

Music City, Inc. announced the seventh class of inductees to the Music City Walk of Fame, presented by founding sponsor Gibson Guitar: Tootsie Bess, Charlie Daniels, Dolly Parton, Kid Rock and Ernest Tubb. The honorees were recognized officially with the unveiling of commemorative sidewalk markers on Sunday, November 8th.

The Music City Walk of Fame is an official project of Music City, Inc., the charitable foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB), and is produced with the support of presenting sponsor Gibson Guitar and sponsors GAC, the City of Nashville and Metro Parks. Additional sponsors include Makers Mark and Hard Rock Café.

“We are pleased to honor the amazing accomplishments of this class of inductees,” said Butch Spyridon, president of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Each honoree represents the immense talent, creativity and diversity that have made Nashville, Music City.”

Created in the fall of 2006, the Music City Walk of Fame, on Nashville’s Music Mile, is a landmark tribute to those from all genres of music who have made significant contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and have contributed to the world through song or other industry collaboration. With the induction of this new class of honorees, there will be 42 total stars along the Walk of Fame.

Permanent sidewalk medallions made of stainless steel and terrazzo, with each honoree’s name displayed in a star-and-guitar design, will be installed in the sidewalk along the Music Mile. The plaques for this class of inductees will be inlaid in Hall of Fame Park on Demonbreun, between 4thth Avenues South. and 5

Nominations were open to the public and accepted in the categories of Artist, Musician, Songwriter, and Producer/Music Industry Executive. Application forms were reviewed by the Music City Walk of Fame anonymous selection committee.

“Gibson Guitar is a proud sponsor of the Music City Walk of Fame which continues to celebrate the vast wealth of talent that originates in Nashville,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “This class of inductees is no exception. From Dolly Parton to Charlie Daniels, from Tootsie Bess to Ernest Tubb and Kid Rock, all of these exceptional artists have helped solidify Nashville’s place in music history.”

The November inductees for the Music City Walk of Fame:

Tootsie Bess

Hattie Louise “Tootsie” Bess was a well-known and well-loved member of Nashville’s music scene. She purchased Mom’s bar in 1960. The bar backed up to the legendary Ryman Auditorium and was popular among those who performed there. Tootsie credits a painter with helping to re-name the bar when he painted her place orchid…thus the name Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

Without her, musicians and performers like Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings or Hank Williams may not have reached the heights of stardom that they did. Willie Nelson got his first songwriting job after singing at Tootsie’s.

She would hire down on their luck writers and pickers so they could support their families, feeding them while they worked and often slipping $5 and $10 bills in their pockets as they left for the night. She kept a cigar box full of IOU's from those very same artists under the counter, and it's said that, at the end of every year, grateful Opry performers would band together to pay off those IOU's so that Tootsie could afford to stay in business. Charlie Pride gave her the jeweled hatpin that she used to stick unruly patrons.
A singer/comedienne herself, Tootsie performed with “Big Jeff & The Radio Playboys” lead by her husband Jeff Bess. She recorded “My Little Red Wagon” and “Tootsie’s Wall of Fame.”

Grant Turner, the Opry announcer, said, "You could leave Tootsie's at 7:58 and still be on stage at the Opry at 8 o'clock." So many did just that.

"She ran a beer joint," said Tom T. Hall, "but to young songwriters and musicians, she was a small finance company, a booking agent and a counselor.

Maybe Ernest Tubb put it even better: "Tootsie," he said, "was the softest touch in town."

Charlie Daniels

Charlie Daniels is partly Western and partly Southern. His signature “bullrider” hat and belt buckle, his lifestyle on the Twin Pines Ranch, his love of horses, cowboy lore and the heroes of championship rodeo identify him as a Westerner. The son of a lumberjack and a Southerner by birth, his music - rock, country, bluegrass, blues, gospel – is quintessentially Southern.

It hasn't been so much a style of music, but more the values consistently reflected in his music that has connected Charlie Daniels with millions of fans. For decades, he has steadfastly refused to label his music as anything other than “CDB music,” music that has helped elect an American President, is sung around the fire at scout camps, and has been popularized on a variety of radio formats. It’s music that spans 50 years of record-making and represents more than 20 million in sales.

Daniels was raised on a musical diet that included Pentecostal gospel, local bluegrass bands, and the rhythm & blues and country music emanating respectively from Nashville's 50,000-watt mega-broadcasters WLAC and WSM. He graduated from high school in 1955 and enlisted in the rock n' roll revolution ignited by Elvis Presley. Already skilled on guitar, fiddle and mandolin, Daniels formed a rock n' roll band and hit the road.

While on the road the band recorded “Jaguar,” an instrumental produced by Bob Johnston, which was picked up for national distribution by Epic. It was the beginning of a long association with Johnston. The two wrote “It Hurts Me,” which became the B side of a 1964 Presley hit. In 1969, at the urging of Johnston, Daniels moved to middle Tennessee to find work as a session guitarist in Nashville.

Among his more notable sessions were: the Bob Dylan albums of 1969-70, Nashville Skyline, New Morning, and Self Portrait; the Youngbloods albums of 1969-70, Elephant Mountain and Ride the Wind; and records with artists as different as Al Kooper and Marty Robbins.

Daniels broke through as a record maker himself with 1973's Honey in the Rock and its hit hippie song “Uneasy Rider.” His rebel anthems “Long Haired Country Boy” and “The South's Gonna Do It” propelled his 1975 collection Fire On the Mountain to Double Platinum status.

Following stints with Capitol and Kama Sutra, Epic Records signed him to its rock roster in 1976. The contract was the largest ever given to a Nashville act up to that time. In the summer of 1979 Daniels rewarded the company's faith by delivering “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which became a platinum single, topped both country and pop charts, won a Grammy Award, became an international phenomenon, earned three Country Music Association trophies, became a cornerstone of the Urban Cowboy movie soundtrack and propelled Daniel's Million Mile Reflections album to triple platinum sales levels.

The album's title was a reference to The Charlie Daniels Band's legendary coast to coast tours. Including two drummers, twin guitars, and a flamenco dancer, the CDB often toured more than 250 days a year and by this time had logged more than a million miles on the road. By 1981, the Charlie Daniels Band had twice been voted the Academy of Country Music's Touring Band of the Year.

Daniels' annual Volunteer Jam concerts always featured a variety of current stars and heritage artists and are considered by historians as his most impressive contribution to Southern music. Artists featured at the mega-musical samplers inlcude: Roy Acuff, Don Henley, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, James Brown, Pat Boone, Dwight Yoakam, Bill Monroe, Willie Nelson, the Allman Brothers, Ted Nugent, Billy Joel, the Marshall Tucker Band, Little Richard, B. B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Bobby Jones and the New Life Singers.

His resume includes recording sessions with artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Flatt & Scruggs, Pete Seeger, Mark O'Connor, Leonard Cohen and Ringo Starr. His songs have been recorded by Elvis Presley and Tammy Wynette. This touring legend has been documented by ABC Newsmagazine 20/20.

In April 1998, top stars and two former Presidents paid tribute to Daniels when he was named the recipient of the Pioneer Award at the Academy of Country Music's annual nationally televised ceremonies. And, in January 2008, Charlie's life long dream became a reality. He was inducted as a full-fledged member into the Grand Ole Opry.

Dolly Parton

An internationally-renowned superstar, the iconic and irrepressible Parton has contributed countless treasures to the world of music entertainment, penning classic songs such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and her mega-hit “I’ll Always Love You.” With 1977’s crossover hit “Here You Come Again,” she successfully erased the line between country and pop music without noticeably altering either her music or her image.

Making her film debut in the 1980 hit comedy 9 to 5, Dolly earned rave reviews for her performance and an Oscar nomination for writing the title tune, along with her second and third Grammy Awards. Roles in Steel Magnolias, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, and Straight Talk followed along with two network television series, made for television movies, network and HBO specials and guest-starring roles in series television. In 2006, Dolly earned her second Oscar nomination for “Travelin Thru,” which she wrote for the film Transamerica.
Dolly Parton’s remarkable life began very humbly. Born on a farm in Sevier County, Tenn. Dolly is the fourth of twelve children. Her parents, Robert Lee and Avie Lee Parton struggled to make ends meet in the impoverished East Tennessee hills. This hard rural life was the foundation of Dolly’s career, as she began singing almost before she could talk according to her father. By age 10, she was performing on local television and radio shows in nearby Knoxville.

Dolly left for Nashville the day after her high school graduation. On her first afternoon here, she met a man, Carl Dean, who would become her husband. Two years later, in May 1966, there were married.

In 1967, Dolly’s career took off when country music superstar Porter Wagoner began featuring her on his popular syndicated television show, exposing Dolly to over 45 million people in more than 100 markets and attracting the attention of record executives at RCA. Dolly and Porter have 14 Top Ten hits together and Dolly quickly blossomed into one of the best-selling country artists in music history. By 1974, Dolly ended her working relationship with Wagoner. She was voted the Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year two years in a row, and in 1978 she was named the CMA Entertainer of the Year.

Dolly saw a cherished dream become reality in 1986 with the opening of her own theme park called Dollywood at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The state’s number one attraction, Dollywood was selected by the theme park industry as one of the top three theme parks in the world in 2006.

In 1988, she began the Dollywood Foundation to inspire children in her home community to dream more, learn more, do more and care more. Currently, the Foundation funds the Dolly Parton Imagination Library across America and in Canada, by giving every preschool child a book each month from the time the child is born until he or she reaches kindergarten. The Library has given away 6.1 million books in 2009 and 23 million books since its inception. Also, in 1988, Dolly founded a group of dinner attractions called Dixie Stampede and in 2001 she built Dollywood’s Splash Country. Dolly’s entertainment businesses draw 4.5 million visitors annually and employ more than 3,000 people.

Long respected for her business savvy, Dolly established Velvet Apple Music (BMI) early in her career. She also owns her own successful record label, Dolly Records.

Dolly Parton transitioned her flair for making hit music into producing hit movies and television shows when she established Sandollar Productions with former manager, Sandy Gallin. Sandollar has produced feature films such as Father of the Bride I and II, Straight Talk, Sabrina, Shining Through, IQ, and the Academy Award-winning Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt along with television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Babes.

Dolly Parton is the most honored female country performer of all time. She has had 25 songs reach #1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 41 career top ten country albums, and 10 career charted singles. All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hit collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during her career have topped a staggering 100 million records world-wide.

She has garnered 7 Grammy Awards, 10 CMA Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards and is one of only five female artists to win the CMA Entertainer of the Year award.

Always dreaming and always looking forward, Dolly is busier than ever. A Broadway musical of her life story is in the works, and she is working on various children’s projects, but these are just a few of her interests at this moment. The phenomenon of Dolly Parton continues to flourish, as she remains one of the world’s true superstars.

Ernest Tubb

The incomparable Ernest Tubb became a legend as much for what he was personally as for the half-century career that stretched from his first radio date in 1932 to his death in 1984. Tubb is country music personified. He was among the first of the honky tonk singers and the first to achieve national recognition.

The youngest of five children, Tubb was born in Ellis County, Tex. Early in his adolescence, Tubb was attracted to the music of Rodgers. By his late teens he had picked up the guitar on the advice of a friend and fellow guitarist named Merwyn Buffington. Following Rodgers' death in May of 1933, Tubb decided that he wanted to pursue a musical career and emulate his idol. He hooked up with Buffington, who convinced his employers the Castleman Brothers to let Tubb sing as a guest vocalist, and soon Ernest had his own regular early-morning show.

Decca Records agreed to record him in April of 1940, and one of the resulting singles, "Blue Eyed Elaine." Decca agreed to sign him to a longer contract by the end of the year, by which time he had also had a regular radio show sponsored by the flour company Gold Chain.

Early in 1941, he cut several new songs, this time backed by Fay "Smitty" Smith, a staff electric guitarist for KGKO radio. The first single released from these sessions was "Walking the Floor Over You." Over the next few months, the single became a massive hit, eventually selling over a million copies. "Walking the Floor Over You" was the first honky tonk song, launching not only Tubb's career but also the musical genre itself.

By the end of 1942, he was headed to Nashville. Upon his arrival in January of 1943, he joined the Grand Ole Opry and became the first musician to use an electric guitar in the Opry.

Early in 1947, he opened the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville, which he promoted through the Midnight Jamboree, a radio program he designed to fill the post-Opry slot on the radio. That year, he also became the first country star to play Carnegie Hall in New York, signaling just how much he had done to increase country music's popularity across the U.S.

During 1949, he hit the height of his popularity, charting an astonishing 13 hit singles during the course of the year which is even more remarkable considering that the chart only had 15 positions each week. Most of those songs were classics, including "Have You Ever Been Lonely? (Have You Ever Been Blue)," "Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello," "I'm Biting My Fingernails and Thinking of You" (a collaboration with the Andrews Sisters), "Slipping Around," and "Blue Christmas." The following year, he had 11 hit singles, including "I Love You Because" and "Throw Your Love My Way," plus several hit duets with Red Foley, including "Tennessee Border No. 2" and the number one "Goodnight Irene."

Beginning in 1964, Decca had him record a series of duets with Loretta Lynn, and over the next five years he made three albums and had four hit singles: "Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be," "Our Hearts Are Holding Hands," "Sweet Thang," and "Who's Gonna Take the Garbage Out."

In 1966, Tubb was diagnosed with emphysema and in spite of the doctors' warnings, he continued to tour and record actively. Tubb became the sixth member to be inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1965, and in 1970, he was one of the first artists inducted to the Nashville Songwriters International Hall of Fame.

Tubb succumbed to emphysema on September 6, 1984, leaving behind an enormous legacy that helped shape the face of contemporary country music.

Kid Rock

Detroit rap-rocker Kid Rock shot to superstardom with his fourth full-length album, 1998's Devil Without a Cause. What made it so shocking was that Rock had recorded his first demo a full decade before, been booted off major label Jive following his Beastie Boys-ish 1990 debut, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, and toiled for most of the decade in obscurity, releasing albums to a small, devoted, mostly local fan base while earning his fair share of ridicule around his home state. Nevertheless, Rock persevered, and by the time rap-metal had begun to attract a substantial audience, he had perfected the outlandish, over-the-top persona that gave Devil Without a Cause such a distinctive personality and made it such an infectious party record.

Bob "Kid Rock" Ritchie (born Robert James Ritchie, January 17, 1971) grew up in Romeo, MI, a small rural town north of the Detroit metro area. Finding small-town life stiflingly dull, Ritchie immersed himself in rap music, learned to breakdance, and began making the talent-show rounds in Detroit

Moving to Brooklyn, Rock hooked up with the small Continuum label, and moved his brand of rap further into hard rock with The Polyfuze Method, released in 1993. The EP Fire It Up followed in 1994, appearing on Rock's own Top Dog imprint. Rock eventually returned to the Detroit area and began work on another album; recorded on a shoestring budget, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp was released in 1996. Rock set about forming a full-fledged backing band, which he dubbed Twisted Brown Trucker.

As rap-metal acts like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Rage Against the Machine began to dominate the hard rock landscape, Atlantic Records decided to take a chance on signing Rock. Devil Without a CauseDevil, Rock acquired the rights to his indie label recordings and remixed or re-recorded the best material for The History of Rock, which was released in the summer of 2000 and featured some new songs as well. didn't do much upon its initial release in August 1998, but a big promotional push from the label and MTV helped make the album's second single and video, "Bawitdaba," a nationwide smash. The follow-up, "Cowboy," achieved similar success, and suddenly, after a decade of trying, Kid Rock was a superstar with a Top Five, seven-times-platinum album and a gig at Woodstock '99. While pondering how to follow up

Rock continued work on his follow-up to Devil Without a Cause. His DJ, Uncle Kracker, had a successful solo career during the spring and summer of 2001, leaving Rock without one of his most frequent collaborators. Still, by the winter of that year he had completed work on Cocky and had released "Forever" to success on rock radio. In fall 2003, Kid Rock returned with a self-titled effort. A cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" marked the first single. The cover art to his 2006 live album, Live Trucker, paid tribute to Bob Seger's Live Bullet. Just a year later the studio record Rock N Roll Jesus came out.

WINE, FOOD & FILM at the Belcourt Theatre

JOIN FOR...
WINE, FOOD & FILM at the Belcourt Theatre
Tuesday, November 17 @ 5:30 pm
Followed by a 7:00 pm screening of COCO BEFORE CHANEL

5:30 - 7:00 pm: Wine Tasting & Edibles
7:00 pm: Coco Before Chanel

Enjoy an evening of first-rate wines thanks to Village Wines, delicious seasonal nibbles thanks to Whole Foods and a fantastic film thanks to COCO BEFORE CHANEL as we celebrate the seasons.

Proceeds from this special event will benefit
the Belcourt Theatre's new Education Program Fund.

Tickets for November's Wine, Food & Film event are $25 ($20 for members)
Ticket price includes film, wine tasting crafted by Village Wines wine expert
and owner Hoyt Hill, and food created by the first-rate team at Whole Foods.

HURRICANE BELLS TO RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM TONIGHT IS THE GHOST

Hurricane Bells will release their debut album Tonight Is The Ghost digitally on November 10, 2009 via Vagrant Records.

Hurricane Bells - a new project from Steve Schiltz, the singer and guitarist of Longwave for nearly ten years - has been garnering serious attention lately for a relatively new and largely unknown band after an album b-side, "Monsters," was chosen for the soundtrack of the second film in the Twilight franchise, New Moon. Suddenly Schiltz's bedroom (or basement, technically) project, which he had originally planned on self-releasing, was part of one of the most talked about current pop culture phenomena.

Hurricane Bells began when after touring the better part of the last year around Longwave's fourth album Secrets Are Sinister (a critical success and arguably the best of the band's career), Schiltz set up shop to create a new project with little else than his MacBook and an Mbox. Writing, playing, recording, and mixing every note himself, he arranged what would become Hurricane Bells' debut, Tonight Is The Ghost. Some songs were fully crafted within the past 18 months, while others are newly architected from pieces written throughout his years as a songwriter.

Tonight Is The Ghost is a moody, gorgeous mix of somber undercurrents and chiming guitars bathed in echo and reverb. Running the musical gamut from hauntingly melancholic ("This Year", "Tenterhooks") to driving, guitar-jangling pop ("This Is A Test", "Darkness Is So Deep") to mournful, lovely atmospheric ballads ("I Can't Remember", "Tonight I'm Going To Be Like A Shooting Star"), the songs are all linked by a distinctive late-night feel that threads a certain ease and soulfulness throughout the album.

Track listing for Tonight Is The Ghost:

1. This Year
2. This Is A Test
3. I Can't Remember
4. Tonight I'm Going To Be Like A Shooting Star
5. Darkness Is So Deep
6. Crocodile
7. Freezing Rain
8. The Winters In New York
9. The Cold Has Killed Us
10. Tenterhooks

Why You Runnin' by Lissie

Lissie, a young songwriter from Rock Island, IL, will release a new EP, Why You Runnin', November 10th, 2009 on Fat Possum Records.

Why You Runnin' is a five-song introduction to Lissie and pivots around her big, achingly raw and evocative voice. The songs range from the­­­ hand-clapping, foot-stomping spirited opener "Little Lovin'" to the poignant country cover "Wedding Bells" to the haunting, soulful '60s pop-esque ballads "Everywhere I Go" and "Here Before". These tracks were recorded at her current home in Ojai, CA, and at Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, NC, with her friend Bill Reynolds (of Band of Horses, who also produced and plays bass on the songs alongside his bandmate Tyler Ramsey, who guests on guitar for some tracks). The hymn-like "Oh Mississippi" was recorded with Ed Harcourt last fall, when Lissie was far from home in London, England.

Full track listing for Why You Runnin':

1. Little Lovin'
2. Wedding Bells
3. Oh Mississippi
4. Everywhere I Go
5. Here Before

FREE Lost Highway Sampler: T For Texas T From Tennessee

Lost Highway Sampler: T For Texas T From Tennessee is FREE on Amazon for a limited time only. The album contains great music from Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Ryan Bingham, Hayes Carll, Robert Earl King, and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears.

Lost Highway Sampler: T For Texas T From Tennessee

How to Spend 36 Hours in Nashville

NASHVILLE isn’t nicknamed Music City for nothing. Singers, songwriters and pickers — not to mention their toe-tapping admirers — have been pouring into the Tennessee capital for decades. Yes, the city’s rhinestone-studded past still glimmers, especially downtown, where you’ll find Hatch Show Print, the legendary poster shop, Ryman Auditorium, home to the original Grand Ole Opry stage, and a slew of honky-tonk joints. But there’s more to Nashville than country music, especially in the once-sleepy neighborhoods that now beat to a different rhythm. Districts like East Nashville and 12 South thrive with lively bars, stylish restaurants and a young, eclectic crop of music makers, churning out everything from bluegrass to punkabilly.

4 p.m. 1) GENTEEL APPEAL

Southern charm is alive and well in Nashville. Savor its embrace during afternoon tea in the elegant environs of the Hermitage Hotel (231 Sixth Avenue North; 615-244-3121; www.thehermitagehotel.com). The Beaux-Arts lobby, with its cushy, overstuffed chairs, Italian sienna marble and ornate stained-glass ceiling, whispers, “Darling, this place is a lover’s oasis.” Tea is served alongside plump scones, Devonshire cream and strawberry preserves ($12). One level below, fellas can take comfort in perhaps the city’s most elegant restroom: a restored Art Deco affair stunningly crisscrossed in jet-black and jade-green tile. (Psst: women are welcome to steal a peek as long as the coast is clear.)

5 p.m. 2) SECONDHAND HEAVEN

No need to dig for treasures at Venus and Mars (2009 Belmont Boulevard; 615-915-4846; www.venusandmarsvintage.com), a boutique that carries vintage fashions. Recent finds included a 1980s Oscar de la Renta brown blazer for him and a 1970s gold lamé caftan by Halston for her (each $60). With nary a rhinestone, this shop deals in old-school cool.

7 p.m. 3) GREEN CUISINE

Earthy hues set a pleasant, unfussy vibe at Tayst (2100 21st Avenue South; 615-383-1953; www.taystrestaurant.com), which bills itself as Nashville’s first and (so far) only restaurant to earn certification from the Green Restaurant Association, a nonprofit based in Boston that promotes environmentally friendly restaurants. The restaurant serves seasonal American dishes from local farms; the autumn menu includes pork brined with maple syrup served with wild rice, chestnuts and spicy cranberries ($21), and vegan pumpkin, mushroom and sage ravioli ($17). A smartly dressed after-work crowd mingles at the wine bar.

9:30 p.m. 4) DO THE GRAPEVINE

In the mid-1990s, “The Wildhorse Saloon Dance Show” on the Nashville Network inspired legions of viewers to learn the Boot Scootin’ Boogie and the Watermelon Crawl. Today, the sprawling Wildhorse Saloon (120 Second Avenue North; 615-902-8200; www.wildhorsesaloon.com) continues to draw eager crowds. That there are more flip-flops than cowboy boots is a tad disheartening, but the enthusiasm for line dancing doesn’t appear to have waned. You don’t know how to do a grapevine? No problem. Arrive early, at 8:30 p.m., when an instructor walks everyone through the steps during a half-hour lesson. You’ll be kick-ball-change-stomp stomping like a pro.

Saturday

10:30 a.m. 5) MUSIC BOX

Hundreds of country hits were recorded at Studio B (1611 Roy Acuff Place), a drab cinderblock building in the historic Music Row district, where RCA legends like Elvis, Roy Orbison and Dolly Parton sang their hearts out. The unglamorous space looks largely unchanged from when it was shuttered in 1977. Many visiting music fans haven’t even heard of the studio let alone realize that it’s one of the last vestiges of country music’s golden years. The Country Music Hall of Fame (222 Fifth Avenue South; 615-416-2001; www.countrymusichalloffame.com) offers hourlong tours. Piano players may be invited to tickle the ivories of the original Steinway grand piano.

1 p.m. 6) FIRE BIRD

“You can’t handle it,” said the woman at Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack (123 Ewing Drive; 615-226-9442), when a trio of men, clearly newbies, ordered the “medium” spicy fried chicken ($5). This long-revered spot serves four variations of its exceptional dish: mild, medium, hot and extra hot. Order at your peril. The moist flesh is marinated and enveloped in a spicy rub before it’s fried, so the hotness runs deep. Never mind the hole-in-the-wall décor; the savory hellfire is the draw — that, and the terrific sides of baked beans, coleslaw and oh-so-sweet chess pie.

3 p.m. 7) POPSICLES AND FRINGE

Cool off your first-degree burn at Las Paletas (2907 12th Avenue South; 615-386-2101), a small storefront that makes popsicles from fresh fruit and vegetables like honeydew, avocado or hibiscus ($2.50). Known simply as 12 South, 12th Avenue South is in a trendy, tree-lined neighborhood packed with boutiques, cafes and bars. You’ll also find Katy K Designs (2407 12th Avenue South; 615-297-4242; www.katyk.com), a vintage clothing shop that specializes in Western wear from Johnny Cash black to Dollyesque showstoppers. A clutch of antiques shops including the Eighth Avenue Antique Mall (2015 Eighth Avenue South; 615-279-9922) are nearby. If it’s music you crave, indie gems can be found at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music (1604 Eighth Avenue South; 615-254-4801; www.grimeys.com).

8 p.m. 8) NEW BEATS

Seeing live music in Nashville is more hit than miss, especially if you skip the touristy melee downtown and hop over to East Nashville, a trendy neighborhood with a bevy of newer venues. Start off at the Family Wash (2038 Greenwood Avenue; 615-226-6070; www.familywash.com) where you can dig into tasty shepherd’s pie (traditional or veggie, $11). The alt-country, alt-rock, alt-folk acts start at 9 p.m.; the alt-crowd kicks back with locally brewed Yazoo beers. Next, head a few minutes down the road to the 5 Spot (1006 Forrest Avenue; 615-650-9333; www.the5spotlive.com), where 20-somethings groove to live rock, country or rockabilly.

11 p.m. 9) SOUTHERN COMFORT

If your ears need a rest, grab a stool at the Patterson House (1711 Division Street; 615-636-7724; www.thepattersonnashville.com), a new mahogany-lined bar that serves creative libations dreamed up by the mixologist Toby Maloney. Try the bacon-infused old-fashioned or the refreshing Juliet and Romeo, made with gin, rosewater, angostura bitters, mint and a sliver of cucumber ($11). Dark wood and dim chandeliers make for a seductive backdrop.

Sunday

9 a.m. 10) ALT-BRUNCH

The menu may not list Southern, good-ole-boy favorites but there’s nothing persnickety about Marché Artisan Foods (1000 Main Street; 615-262-1111; www.marcheartisanfoods.com), in East Nashville, a bistro and market that fills a former boat showroom. The space has a homey vibe thanks to enticing display cases filled with baked goods, and a few family-size wooden tables. Standouts include the quiche with sausage and provolone ($9) and the croissant French toast ($8).

11 a.m. 11) BED AND STABLE

Before Nashville was known for its music, life here was moved by melodies both sweet and lowdown. Relive those antebellum days at Belle Meade Plantation (5025 Harding Pike; 615-356-0501; www.bellemeadeplantation.com, entry $15), a 30-acre estate six miles from downtown. The centerpiece is a grand Greek-revival mansion completed in 1853, with a labyrinth of colorful rooms. In its heyday, the plantation was one of the most prosperous and successful thoroughbred farms around. Portraits of muscular stallions grace the walls. In the library, visitors can view the silver-capped hooves of Iroquois, in 1881 the first American horse to win the English Derby. A posh carriage house, slave quarters and an 18th-century log cabin dot the lush grounds. Nashville’s popularity may spring from country hits, but its cultural history offers a whole lot more.

THE BASICS

American, Continental and Delta fly nonstop from New York-area airports to Nashville. A recent Web search found a Delta flight from Kennedy starting at $227 for travel in November. Downtown Nashville is about 15 minutes’ drive from the airport. A rental car is recommended.

Al Gore recently held his annual Climate Project meeting at the new Hutton Hotel (1808 West End Avenue; 615-340-9333; www.huttonhotel.com) presumably because it offers numerous eco-friendly amenities, including airport transfer in a hybrid Lexus within a three-mile radius. Doubles start at $179.

The Union Station Hotel (1001 Broadway; 615-726-1001; www.unionstationhotelnashville.com), housed in a former train station, offers ultramodern rooms that contrast with the ornate 19th-century lobby. Rates start at $186.

Situated in a historic section of East Nashville is the East Park Inn (822 Boscobel Street; 615-226-8691; www.eastparkinnnashville.com), a colorful 19th-century Queen Anne bed-and-breakfast, with two suites for $155 a night.

Thanks to Keith Mulvihill

Jam-Tastic Drum Sweepstakes!