FOCUS on the 615
Nashville's premier entertainment blog including album, song and show reviews and exclusive artist interviews.
The Food Bank of the Southern Tier received a visit from Superstar Country trio The Band Perry, which is composed of siblings Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry. This visit was in partnership with Outnumber Hunger – a national initiative with General Mills, Big Machine Label Group and Feeding America to help fight hunger in local communities – to recognize Kyle Halm, resident of Pine City, NY and local volunteer firefighter. Continue Reading →
Pictured (l-r): Front row: songwriter Stephony Smith, Arista Nashville recording artist Kristen Kelly, songwriter Cheryl LuQuire and MRLGT volunteer Eve Abdo. Back row: UCPMidTN’s John Pickett, BMI’s Penny Everhard, City National Bank’s Diane Pearson, Frank Rogers Productions’ Courtney Crist, 377 Management’s Malia Axsom, me gusta music’s Trina Smith, ASCAP’s Suzanne Lee and Music Health Alliance’s Herky Williams. Not pictured: songwriter Lisa Carver and NSAI’s Susan Myers. Photo by ASCAP’s Alison Toczylowski
The Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament, sponsored by ASCAP, City National Bank, Tim McGraw and McGhee Entertainment to benefit United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee, launched registration for its August 19th tourney with a party and female songwriters round at Nashville’s Rebar on Wednesday, June 19th. Performances featured songwriters Lisa Carver, Cheryl LuQuire and Stephony Smith, and MRLGT supporter and Arista Nashville recording artist Kristen Kelly stopped by to help the tournament’s planning committee get the party started, before heading off to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Continue Reading →
Acclaimed songwriter Craig Wiseman’s ninth annual Stars For Second Harvest event, presented by O’Charley’s, raised a record- making $100,000 for Second Harvest Food Bank to help feed the hungry in Middle Tennessee. The June 4 concert at the Ryman Auditorium was headlined by Ronnie Dunn, Florida Georgia Line with a special appearance by Nelly, comedian Ralphie May and more. The event, combined with the live auction and several generous donations, helped to make this the most successful fundraising year.
Wiseman exclaims: “When I got the numbers I couldn’t believe we finally did it! Since we started this show in 2005, it has been a goal of mine to get to $100,000 for Second Harvest. With help from all of the artists, and the continued help of O’Charleys, we finally reached that goal this year. Now I am raising that goal to $250,000!!” Continue Reading →
How They Got Started?
On a short-term missions trip to Malawi, the founder of Watermelon Ministries, Joshua MacLeod, met a young musician who had fashioned a hand made “guitar” from a gas can and a block of wood. This young man had immense musical potential, but was limited by his life circumstances. He was using his “guitar” to bring joy to young orphans in his community. With the help of others, Joshua was able to send two quality guitars to that orphanage as an encouragement. Today Instruments of Joy (IOJ) has distributed instruments all over the world.
To learn more, go to: http://www.instrumentsofjoy.org/
Highlights and interviews from the first annual Craig Campbell Celebrity Cornhole Challenge to benefit the TJ Martell Foundation in the fight against colon cancer. The event will be held each year during CMA Music Fest in Nashville, TN. Interviews include Campbell, Jerrod Niemann, Dean Alexander, The FARM, Love and Theft, LoCash Cowboys, Rob Bironas from the Tennessee Titans and more!
Highlights from the 9th Annual Stars for Second Harvest Benefit at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. Matt Williams interviews host Craig Wiseman, and performers include Florida Georgia Line, Ronnie Dunn, comedian Ralphie May and many more!
Luke Bryan, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Radney Foster, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch and Justin Moore will join Platinum-selling Capitol Nashville recording artist Darius Rucker for his sold-out, fourth annual “Darius And Friends” benefit concert on Monday, June 3 at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tenn. Proceeds from the event go directly to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“I always look forward to this event each year, and I’m so happy to have Luke, Sam, John, Randy, Dustin, Justin, and of course my hero, Radney, join me to help raise funds for St. Jude,” said Rucker. “A few years ago I visited the St. Jude campus in Memphis and instantly became a ‘true believer’ in everyone there and the work they do to help treat kids and cure disease. I am happy to help raise funds for such a worthwhile cause and thrilled that some of my friends can join me.”
We may have gotten a sneak peek at the new Music City Center last Wednesday, but the real party started earlier this week! Sunday included a walk with Mayor Karl Dean around the new $585 million structure, a free open house and live music from Ten out of Tenn and Phil Vassar. Monday activities involved a ribbon-cutting ceremony and Grand Opening Concert featuring the Fisk Jubilee Singers, The Time Jumpers with Vince Gill, Mikky Ekko and Sheryl Crow! Additionally, Mayor Dean presented his State of Metro address Monday morning.
The massive hallway featuring the custom “sound wave” carpet
Perhaps you’ve noticed there has been some construction going on in downtown Nashville… That will all come to fruition next week as the extravagant Music City Center opens its doors. Upon touring this massive, yet beautifully artistic Nashville centerpiece, one can’t help but frequently gaze around in awe.
Mayor Karl Dean gave a sneak peek of the new convention center to the media on Wednesday, noticeably proud of the biggest municipal project in Tennessee history. From the 6,000-person Grand Ballroom modeled after the inside of a guitar to the $2 million art budget, the Music City Center is sure to impress and deliver grand results for the city.
A point emphasized on Mayor Dean’s tour was that this building has not been built with an “if you build it, they will come” frame of mind. To the contrary, this was a necessary step, because they’re already coming.
The 2013 JDRF Golf Classic is set for Monday, May 13, 2013 at the prestigious Vanderbilt Legends Club. Co-emcees Joe Dubin, popular co-host of “The Sports Revolution” on 102.5 The Game, and Erin Como, member of the Fox17 team, will join celebrity guest players EMI Records Nashville artist Eric Paslay, RCA Nashville duo Love and Theft, and others. Shotgun start is at 1:00 p.m.
The tournament includes a four-man scramble with lots of twists. Exciting prizes, including hole-in-one contests for cash & trips and more provided by Tournament Promotions and sponsored by Advantage Home Improvement, will be available. Vertek Solutions will sponsor an exciting putting contest, and players can take home part of the tournament with some fabulous gifts and a golfer goodie bag.
Complimentary lunch from DeSano Pizza, dinner from Nero’s Grill, beer from AJAX Turner, spirits from Pearl Vodka, and tasting stations from Nucci’s Gelato & Fresh Market, plus cigars from Puro Sabor and UPtown’s Smoke Shop will be distributed throughout the course. In-kind sponsors include Walgreens and DET Distributing, and Academy Sports is the exclusive gift card sponsor. Swiftwick will also sponsor a tent providing socks for every golfer playing in the tournament.
About Love and Theft
(Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson) are an ACM, ACA, CMA and CMT-nominated duo who released their self-titled album on RCA Nashville in July 2012. A true duo, Eric and Stephen share lead vocals throughout their album, which was produced by Josh Leo (Alabama, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). Their LOVE AND THEFT cd includes the Gold-Certified, #1 hit “Angel Eyes,” and their next single, “If You Ever Get Lonely.” They’ve toured with Brad Paisley, Jake Owen, are currently on the road with Tim McGraw. Eric Gunderson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 13 years old. Visit: www.LoveandTheft.com.Follow: @loveandtheft
About Eric Paslay
All it takes is seeing Eric Paslay perform once to become hooked on his music and his infectious personality. Also diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, honesty has been a powerful magnet that always draws an eager audience, and it has proven to be a potent tool in Eric creative arsenal. The Texas native co-wrote his new single “Friday Night” with Rose Falcon and Rob Crosby, and it was produced by Marshall Altman. In addition to his three #1 singles (“Even If It Breaks Your Heart” performed by the Eli Young Band, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” performed by Jake Owen” and “Angel Eyes” performed by Love & Theft), Paslay has been nominated for multiple awards for his songwriting including GRAMMY Best Country Song, ACM Song of the Year and CMA Song of the Year. He was awarded the ASCAP 2012 County Music Song of the Year for his hit “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” and the CMA Triple Play Award for writing three No. one songs in one year. Visit: www.ericpaslay.com Follow: @ericpaslay
For any questions please contact Alexandra Barker at the JDRF office by calling 615-383-6781 or through email at abarker@jdrf.org.
About JDRF
JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Driven by passionate, grassroots volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is now the largest charitable supporter of T1D research. The goal of JDRF research is to improve the lives of all people affected by T1D by accelerating progress on the most promising opportunities for curing, better treating, and preventing T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners who share this goal.
Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.6 billion to diabetes research. Past JDRF efforts have helped to significantly advance the care of people with this disease, and have expanded the critical scientific understanding of T1D. JDRF will not rest until T1D is fully conquered. More than 80 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education.
