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Pistol Annies Set To “Annie Up” On May 7

By on March 13, 2013 in In The Press

Pistol Annies, Annie Up

What started as a late night phone call between Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, materialized into the Pistol Annies. The unorthodox, sassy trio, released their debut album in August of 2011, return with their up album, Annie Up, set to release May 7.

“We laid it on the line with “Hell On Heels” and we wanted to bring it again on this album,” said Miranda. “We put all our musical chips on the table, so we thought ‘Annie Up’ was a good title,” added Ashley.” “The goal of our music is to have people feel like they’re having a conversation with us,” said Miranda. “We never tried to sit down and write a song. When we’re together, we’re always just writing,” said Angaleena. In fact, the trio wrote “Unhappily Married” last June at the CMA Music Fest while in hair and makeup. “We can’t, not write,” added Ashley.

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Randy Houser Celebrates First No. 1

By on March 13, 2013 in In The Press
Randy Houser, How Country Feels

Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Ryan Beuschel, co-writers Wendell Mobley and Vicky McGehee, Randy Houser, co-writer Neil Thrasher and BMI’s Bradley Collins.

Randy Houser celebrated his first chart-topping single, “How Country Feels,” with a crowd of friends, family and industry members yesterday (March 11) at Nashville’s Honkytonk Central. BMI’s Bradley Collins welcomed the crowd to the event, which honored songwriters Wendell Mobley, Neil Thrasher and Vicky McGehee. The track was produced by Derek George.

Broken Bow Records CEO/President Benny Brown commented, “When [manager] Nick [Hartley] brought Randy to Stoney Creek I listened to both albums. You are one of the best vocalists in Nashville. We just had to find the right songs to show that off. Randy is one of the easiest artists to work with. I heard a lot of demos that Derek produced and I believe in giving everyone that first chance. I couldn’t be more pleased with what he brought to the album. This second song we just sent to radio, I’ve told people that in 20 weeks, I believe we will be back here again. I thank [Houser’s wife] Jessa for your support because it is not easy for a wife to share so much of a husband who is home maybe one day a week.”

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FOCUS on the 615 at CRS 2013

By on March 13, 2013 in Special Events

Country Radio Seminar wrapped up last week to record attendance, bright new stars, and performances by the biggest names in country music. FOCUS on the 615 was there to catch all the action! Here’s a preview of all the happenings at Country Radio Seminar (CRS) 2013!

Read more about all the great performances with exclusive behind the scenes coverage of CRS 2013 here: http://focusonthe615.com/2013/03/06/country-radio-seminar-2013-celebrities-surprises-and-stars-of-tomorrow/

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Kacey Musgraves Teases New Album “Same Trailer Different Park”

By on March 12, 2013 in Artists to Watch, In The Press

Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park

Nashville singer-songwriter and NPR ‘Best New Artist’ pick Kacey Musgraves has just shared a new teaser video for her upcoming album, Same Trailer Different Park (due March 19th on Mercury Records). The clip features samples of music from the album, including Kacey’s breakthrough single, “Merry Go ‘Round”. The album is also streaming and available for pre-order now on iTunes.

Kacey Musgraves Gives A Little Insight Into Making Her Debut Album

Kacey was born and raised in the small town of Golden, Texas, and started performing at Opry houses when she was still a child. She started out in Nashville as a demo singer, and quickly earned a publishing deal with Warner/Chappel. She has toured with the likes of Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, and Lady Antebellum, and her song, “Merry Go ‘Round” was named one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Singles of 2012.

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13th Annual NSAI Song Contest Winner Announced

By on March 12, 2013 in In The Press

nsaiNashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and Country Music Television (CMT) have presented “October,” written by Bill Diluigi, the Grand Prize in the 13th Annual NSAI Song Contest presented by CMT. After more than 2,000 total entries a panel of music industry professionals chose Diluigi’s song to claim the contest’s top prize, a mentoring session with the legendary Lionel Richie. Other prizes include a meeting with a major Nashville music publisher as well as a Gibson acoustic guitar.

As part of the NSAI Grand prize package, Diluigi will be performing the Grand Prize-winning song at this year’s Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival. His live performance of “October” can be heard at the Station Inn on Saturday, April 6, on a Tin Pan South show that featuring Diluigi, Melissa Bollea, Amber Hayes and Joshua Scott Jones.

The CMT Listeners’ Choice Award in this year’s contest went to “Gardener in the Graveyard,” composed by Cassidy Alexander, Judd Fuller and Dana Radford. Over 110,000 online votes were cast and 36 percent chose “Gardener in the Graveyard” over the other nine finalists. Alexander also wins a number of prizes for her entry.

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Rucker, Kramer, Rich Sign On For 12th Annual ‘Waiting For Wishes’

By on March 12, 2013 in In The Press

Waiting For WishesNFL Hall of Fame legend Richard Dent, Vikings’ Jared Allen, Green Bay’s A.J. Hawk, Titans new safety George Wilson, John Rich, Darius Rucker, Kix Brooks, Jana Kramer and Chip Esten, who plays Deacon on ABC’s hit show Nashville, have all signed on to participate in the 12th annual Kevin Carter’s “Waiting For Wishes.”

Hosted by former Titan (and now ESPNU Sports Analyst) Kevin Carter and Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, the 12th Annual Kevin Carter’s “Waiting For Wishes” will be held April 2 at The Palm in Nashville. The event benefits The Kevin Carter Foundation and The Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee. The event has raised over $1.4 million since its inception in 2002.

The event, sponsored by HCA TriStar, Grand Avenue and Nashville Lifestyles magazine, has also added an official After Party, “Jam with Jay DeMarcus and Friends,” at Honky Tonk Central for patrons and a few guests who are not able to attend the dinner. Tickets to the dinner are $500 per person with only a handful left. Contact Paige Dixon at The Palm at 615-742-3193. Tickets for the after party, Jam with Jay DeMarcus & Friends, are $85 and sold separately at www.waitingforwishes.com.

Other event sponsors include The Palm, Nashville Downtown Hilton, Honky Tonk Central, Horizon, Lipman and Tito’s Vodka.

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Toby Keith Honored with “Million-Air” Awards

By on March 12, 2013 in In The Press

Toby Keith

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) honored superstar Toby Keith with BMI “Million-Air” Awards recently at a studio on Music Row. BMI’s Jody Williams and Clay Bradley presented the long-time BMI songwriter with several awards representing songwriting and publishing credits of more than 15 million air plays for some of Keith’s biggest hits, including “How Do You Like Me Now?,” “Beer For My Horses,” “She Never Cried in Front of Me,” “God Love Her,” “I Love this Bar” and “Who’s Your Daddy?”

“Toby Keith is a stalwart BMI songwriter, who we’ve been honored to work with since early in his career. With these honors, he now stands at over 80 million performances and shows no signs of stopping,” said BMI’s Assistant Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations Bradley.

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Kenny Chesney’s “Life On A Rock” Pre-Order Available Now On iTunes

By on March 12, 2013 in In The Press

Pre-Order The Album And Instantly Receive A Download Of The Track “Lindy” Hints at Deeper Kind of Songwriting

Kenny Chesney, Life On A Rock

While “Pirate Flag” is burning up country radio – becoming his 8th Top 25 debut and being named USA Today’s Song of the Week before it was released – the truth about Life On A Rock, the mostly self-penned new album from Kenny Chesney is that the album goes to a deeper, more contemplative place. To give fans a taste of what the rest of the album is like, the 4-time Country Music Association and 4-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year’s new album Life On A Rock, is now available for pre-order on the iTunes Store. Fans who pre-order the new album will instantly receive a download of the track “Lindy.”

“This was an album that was never intended to be an album,” Chesney says. “These were songs I’d written about moments that happened that I didn’t want to lose. They were for me, me and my friends, when I realized how many of them had slipped away forever…

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Darius Rucker Will Host The ‘ACM Lifting Lives’ Celebrity Golf Classic In Las Vegas Next Month

By on March 12, 2013 in In The Press

Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker is set to host the ACM Lifting Lives Celebrity Golf Classic for the second consecutive year as one of the events leading up to this year’s ACM Awards. The event will take place April 6th at TPC Las Vegas and will benefit ACM Lifting Lives’ Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund, which provides immediate relief to those in need in the music industry.

To say Darius is an avid golfer is an understatement — he loves the sport, and not just for the athleticism. “I love being outside. I get outside so little, really, if you look at the whole thing,” says Darius. “It’s me against the course. I love that.”

Darius Rucker Enlists Special Guests For His ‘Wagon Wheel’ Video

The 48th Annual ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena April 7th on CBS.

The South Carolina native is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Wagon Wheel,” which is from his upcoming album, True Believers.

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Live Nation Labs Presents Colt Ford Live At SXSW At Skype’s Mobile Lounge Saturday, March 16

By on March 12, 2013 in In The Press

Colt Ford, SXSW

Average Joes Entertainment recording artist Colt Ford will be featured at SXSW live on stage at Skype’s Mobile Lounge at the Live Nation House located at The Belmont, W. 6th & Lavaca, Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 16, at 11:40 pm CT.

Credited for being at the forefront of a new genre-blending movement in country music, the stop in Austin follows a month-long sold-out tour opening for Eric Church in Canada.  “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to perform at Skype’s Mobile Lounge by Live Nation at SXSW,” states Ford. “I feel right at home amongst my fellow independent artists and couldn’t be more honored to be part of Live Nation Labs’ event.”

This year at SXSW, Skype and Live Nation are creating a one-of-a kind technology-driven music experience.  Skype’s Mobile Lounge will feature some of the top up-and-coming artists in the world and will give fans the ability to experience the future of the convergence of music and technology.  Fans will use Skype technology in new ways such as opportunities to chat with artists, access to the shows and more.  One way fans will be able to get a taste of this in the days leading up to Skype’s Mobile Lounge at SXSW is through Live Nation’s original web series, “The Road to SXSW 2013,” which will feature Colt Ford and other artists video-chatting via Skype with Live Nation’s Music Editor, Breesays.

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