Love and Theft Selected As Clear Channel New! Featured Artist
Nashville, TN — Carolwood Records trio Love And Theft continue to be recognized as one of country music’s hot up-and-coming acts with the recent selection as Clear Channel Radio’s NEW! featured country artist for the month of July. The designation is made by Clear Channel’s country program directors.
During the month of July, visitors to the more than 125 Clear Channel country station websites will be able to preview five tracks from Love And Theft’s upcoming debut album, World Wide Open, releasing August 25th. Fans can also read more about the band, view music videos and share with friends.
After opening shows for Taylor Swift in 2008, Love And Theft is currently on the road meeting country radio and promoting their debut single, “Runaway.” Love And Theft has been featured on Access Hollywood and in the pages of People magazine and has had its music featured in promos for ABC’s daytime programming. The band’s debut CD, World Wide Open, will release August 25th. To learn more about Love And Theft, visit www.myspace.com/loveandtheftmusic or follow the band on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lntweet.
Carolwood Records is a part of the Disney Music Group. The Disney Music Group is the recorded music and music publishing arm of the Walt Disney Studios.
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Luke Bryan's Hometown Wins Eventful Contest for Free Album Release Show
SAN DIEGO, CA — For the October launch of his new album, Doin’ My Thing, country artist Luke Bryan worked with Eventful, the leading events website, to offer his fans the chance to host his album release show. Eventful and Capitol Records Nashville announced today that Bryan’s hometown of Leesburg, Georgia won the competition to host this exclusive concert. Thousands of fans participated in the eight-week long competition on Eventful - which enables users to influence where their favorite performers appear by creating viral grass-roots campaigns to “Demand” them in their town. Leesburg, GA won the contest by accumulating the largest number of Eventful Demands during the competition.
“I appreciate all the hometown support,” says Bryan. “This is going to be a great chance for me to get home and all the while play for the people who have supported me the most over the years. It’s going to be fun, and I can’t wait until this show rolls around. It will be the highlight of my album launch tour!”
Eventful’s Demand service comes equipped with helpful tools for both performers and fans to alert their friends and family about a Demand and how to join it. Luke Bryan posted widgets and banners on his social networking sites, including MySpace and Facebook, and reached out to his fans on Twitter to let them know about the competition. The passionate residents of Leesburg, a small town outside of Albany with a population of about 3,000, used similar Eventful features to create awareness about the competition around the community and online to bring their hometown country star back to his roots.
An accomplished performer who honed his skills on the college circuit, Luke knows how to keep the fans entertained. “When the crowd sees you having fun and you’re giving them great music, it’s a deadly combination,” Luke says. The first single “Do I” off his upcoming sophomore album is quickly racing up the charts. “My first album had great hits and it sold well, but everything about that album is beatable,” Luke says. “We wanted to make a bigger sounding record, something that moved a little down the road from the first record. We wanted to show my growth vocally and lyrically.”
Along with MySpace, YouTube and iTunes, Eventful is an essential part of the online marketing toolkit for performers and artists. Eventful is transforming the way tours get routed and promoted, by giving fans the ability to influence where their favorite performers appear and by helping artists, promoters and venues promote their concerts to millions of fans around the world. Performers use Eventful’s Demand service to engage their fans by giving fans a voice in where artists tour. Performers and their management get valuable data about their audience so they can best schedule their shows.
“We love helping build stronger connections between fans and artists by enabling fans to influence where their favorite performers tour,” said Jordan Glazier, CEO of Eventful. “We’re excited to have helped Luke Bryan determine the location of his album release show based on the voice of his fans. Congratulations to Leesburg, Georgia.”
About Luke Bryan
The Georgia native had a career making 2008 with two major award nominations including the CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year nomination and his first nomination from the Academy of Country Music for “Best New Male Artist.” He is coming off a #2 debuting album I’ll Stay Me; a Top 5 debut single “All My Friends Say;” a Top 10 single for “Country Man,” being chosen as Billboard’s 2007 country artist to watch and landing on “Best of 2007” lists for: Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Clear Channel Online Music & Radio to name a few. Bryan has been part of three major tours of country music’s biggest artists in 2008 - Kenny Chesney’s “Poets & Pirates” stadium dates, Trace Adkins’ “American Man” tour and Dierks Bentley’s “Throttle Wide Open” tour and in 2009 is headlining his own Miller Lite-sponsored club tour. Bryan’s sophomore album, Doin’ My Thing, will be released by Capitol Records Nashville on October 6th.
About Eventful, Inc.
San Diego based Eventful, Inc. operates Eventful.com, the leading events website which enables its community of users to discover, promote, share and create events throughout the world. Eventful users select from nearly 5 million events taking place in local markets throughout the world, from concerts and sports to singles events and political rallies. Eventful’s Demand service enables users to influence where their favorite performers appear by creating viral grass-roots campaigns to “Demand” them in their town. Visit Eventful at http://www.eventful.com.
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Blackberry Smoke Rises On The Music Scene
Nashville, TN — The South has risen again with the signing of Atlanta’s Blackberry Smoke to BamaJam Records, a new imprint of Stroudavarious Records.
The imprint’s first release will be Blackberry Smoke’s sophomore album, LITTLE PIECE OF DIXIE.
Country music has seen its share of southern rock influenced acts recently, but it hasn’t seen anything like Blackberry Smoke. Where other bands claim influence by the past, Blackberry Smoke lives and breathes those influences.
“This is best live band in the South,” says James Stroud, CEO of Stroudavarious Records. “Their show is beyond belief; just awesome,” Stroud says of the band that has shared the stage with ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shooter Jennings, Cross Canadian Ragweed and others.
Touted by Brian Johnson of AC/DC as “a band that will never go hungry”, Blackberry Smoke is comprised of brothers, Richard (bass/vocals) and Brit Turner (drums), with Paul Jackson and Charlie Starr on guitar and vocals. The band is brimming with showmanship and attitude with tight vocals and southern fried lyrics. Fans that have been coming to their shows for years will be delighted that the energy of Smoke’s live performance translates seamlessly to the new album.
With the loud and proud LITTLE PIECE OF DIXIE, the long-haired boys of Blackberry Smoke bring back the true spirit of the southern rock era. The album, which was recorded with legendary producer Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts) and engineer Justin Niebank, has the instant familiarity of some of the best old records.
Blackberry Smoke joins an impressive roster at Stroudavarious Records that includes hit-makers Darryl Worley, Anthony Smith, LoCash Cowboys, Richie McDonald, Shea Fisher and others.
With LITTLE PIECE OF DIXIE, you’ll feel like you’ve discovered a comfortable old friend; a lost treasure from the 70’s. It’s gritty. It’s raw. It’s southern rock as it was meant to be.
Learn more about the band at www.blackberrysmoke.com
ABOUT STROUDAVARIOUS RECORDS
Founded in July 2008, Stroudavarious Records is a division of Ronnie Gilley Entertainment, producers of the annual Verizon Wireless BamaJam Music & Arts Festival.
James Stroud is CEO of Stroudavarious. He is the former president of Giant Records, DreamWorks Records and Co-Chairman of Universal Music Group Nashville; twice honored as Billboard’s “Top Country Producer.” Bill Catino serves as President of Stroudavarious Records.
Stroudavarious Records is located at 29 Music Square East in Nashville, and can be reached at (615) 321-8909 or info@stroudavarious.com.
ABOUT RONNIE GILLEY ENTERTAINMENT
Ronnie Gilley Entertainment, a division of Ronnie Gilley Properties, is a full service entertainment company located in Enterprise, Alabama. RGE is active in all facets of the entertainment industry, including recording/engineering, music publishing and artist management/promotion.
RGE’s music interests include Stroudavarious Records and Country Crossing Records. The company also produces the annual Verizon Wireless BamaJam Music and Arts Festival.
For more information, visit www.ronniegilleyproperties.com
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Lady Antebellum Scores First #1 Hit!
Nashville, TN — Capitol Nashville trio Lady Antebellum has the No. one country song in the nation this week as their third single "I Run To You" strides to the top of both the Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck charts today. This marks the award-winning group's first No. one single.
Written by all three members of the group (Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott), along with veteran Music Row writer Tom Douglas, the song also claims the No. one spot in Canada this week, another first for the band.
"This is absolutely surreal," said Haywood from Boise today. "A number one is something you never think will actually happen, and it is certainly something that we will never forget! We are so overwhelmed from the support of the fans and country radio, and we want to give a special shout out to Tom Douglas for pushing us as songwriters and challenging us to put these beautiful lyrics into a song."
The song, hailed by Billboard as "a sonic feast" for its "gorgeous melody [and] shimmering harmonies," has inspired over 450,000 downloads of the single to date and has helped double weekly sales totals of the band's self-titled debut album.
Lady Antebellum first sent ripples through the country music community last spring when their debut album landed at No. one on the Billboard charts, smashing digital sales records and eventually going on to be certified GOLD by the RIAA. The buzz continued as the trio celebrated early success with its first two hit singles "Love Don't Live Here" and "Lookin' For A Good Time." Lady A has gone on to earn the coveted titles of ACM "Best New Vocal Group" and CMA "New Artist of the Year," along with two GRAMMY nominations and three CMT Awards nominations.
Lady Antebellum is currently on the road with Kenny Chesney playing arenas and stadiums across the country, and will join Keith Urban for their first trek to Canada later this fall. Fans can catch the trio performing on the two-hour special CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock on Aug. 31 on ABC.
For full list of appearances visit www.ladyantebellum.com.
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Dierks Bentley Follows Up Two #1 Hits With Smoldering Ballad
Nashville, TN — Award-winning singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley gets intimate with the release of the Conway-esque ballad "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes." The track shipped to country radio this week and goes for official adds on July 27.
Bentley says the romantic song "can't be more intimate, more one-on-one, man-to- woman if you tried." He adds, "One of the best compliments I can get is when a guy comes up to me and says that one of my songs helped him out at home...maybe helped him smooth something over with his girlfriend or wife. That's the goal with this one."
The Boston Globe chose this track as the album's ESSENTIAL calling the it "boldly intimate" and "as sexy and romantic a song about commitment and a sense of home as you'll hear this year." The New York Times followed calling the ballad "a slow smolderer in the vein of his 2005 hit 'Come A Little Closer.'"
To preview "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes," click here: http://thegreenroompr.com/dierksbentley.html
The new single follows on the heels of back-to-back multi-week No. one hits with "Feel That Fire" and "Sideways." Bentley is currently on Brad Paisley's "American Saturday Night" tour. For a full list of tour dates and appearances, visit www.dierks.com.
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Love and Theft Become First Country Artist Featured On ABC's Music Lounge
NASHVILLE, TN — Adding to the band's continued accolades, Love And Theft become the first country artist featured in the ABC Music Lounge. Visitors to www.musiclounge.abc.go.com will see Love And Theft featured on the homepage and in the ABC Music Lounge Discovers section. Other acts featured in ABC's Music Lounge include Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Adele, No Doubt and Lady GaGa. The ABC Music Lounge profiles artists and music heard on ABC programs as well as new music ABC is discovering each week.
After opening shows for Taylor Swift in 2008, Love And Theft is currently on the road meeting country radio and promoting their debut single, "Runaway." Love And Theft has been featured on Access Hollywood and in the pages of People magazine and has had its music featured in promos for ABC's daytime programming. The band's debut CD, World Wide Open, will release August 25th. To learn more about Love And Theft, visit www.myspace.com/loveandtheftmusic or follow the band on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lntweet.
Carolwood Records is a part of the Disney Music Group. The Disney Music Group is the recorded music and music publishing arm of the Walt Disney Studios.
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Big Kenny's "Long After I'm Gone" Depicts Revered Life With Family and The Alphin Homestead in Culpeper, VA
NASHVILLE, TN — Big Kenny, one half of the storied superstar duo Big & Rich, releases his debut single and video “Long After I’m Gone” during the midst of a summer tour and his role as a judge and mentor on CMT’s hit show “Can You Duet.”
A renegade film crew of Big Kenny and his “brothers and sisters” headed to Culpeper, Virginia in a day's notice to shoot the footage for the debut single’s video in less than twenty-four hours. “I was in LA for some meetings and had the urge to do this video and try to get it shot as soon as possible. Seriously, on Tuesday I make the call, on Wednesday I’m gone all week to work in LA, on Friday I meet my crew in Virginia, we make it back to Nashville Sunday, and by Monday I am off to Southern Sudan to deliver supplies and visit the school we helped make a reality,” a jovial and mission accomplished beaming Big Kenny says.
This group effort that took hold in less than 48 hours has produced a video that is receiving immediate heavy rotation on CMT and GAC including CMT’s “Power Picks” video showdown and much more. In a climate where a mission is often over-analyzed, the fruits of the “gut and glory” ring true with this video. From concept to reality, this video came to fruition in breakneck time, had a team in place many miles away with commando-style impromptu filming.
Fans can watch the video and get a FREE download of the track at http://www.bigkenny.tv. The song is written by Big Kenny, Richie Supa and Marc Beeson and co-produced with Chris Stone.
“Long After I’m Gone” makes its way into Big and Rich’s summer show as both Big Kenny and John Rich perform a few of their solo projects’ songs as part of the multi-platinum and award-winning duo’s coast-to-coast 35-city tour that culminates in Atlantic City on September 5th.
Big Kenny reflects on his heritage and the shooting of the video:
“The day was a perfect spring day in the Blue Ridge of Virginia, my mothers flowers were kickin', the sky was blue as ice and the fields of uncut hay were waving as my father and my Uncle George were steadily working hard to get it ready for the animals this winter.
The video for "Long After I'm Gone" was shot in Culpeper, VA on my family's farm; "Rillhurst". My son Lincoln and his cousins will make the 8th generation of farmers to steward this land in VA.
My father, whom is 80, made hay all day we were there shooting, because it was his first chance the sun had been out that week.
I was raised in the brick home you see in the video, the home also was where my mother was born. My grandfather built the barns you see and I played in the same grass you see me playing in with my son, who is now three. I swung from the same tree. My relatives from as far back as the 1700’s are buried in the cemetery on the farm.
I was tempted into countless memories of all the times I had as a child with my brothers and sisters during this special day; not to mention lessons of life I was taught by my parents, my grandmother whom lived with us and my Uncle George who taught we how to fix anything with a hammer and barbwire!
I also planted the pine trees the horses are under when I was a teenager. Now it's a forest. Cool. I thought we were poor as a kid, but sure realize now how fortunate I was to be raised in paradise.
I am forever grateful to my family and home in Culpeper, VA. I am so humbled by my heritage and the great land and country I call my home; from sea to shining sea!”
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Tanya Tucker Exclusive at The Boot
Check out the latest from The Boot:
Tanya Tucker is having a hard time celebrating her new CD release, because she is grieving loss of several celebs, particularly David Carradine (a personal friend) and Michael Jackson. She tells a cute story of meeting Michael backstage at an awards show, when he asked to borrow her bathroom and she answered the door with her hair in curlers! She also relates to him, having grown up a child star herself...but says their difference is that she had great parents. Her new CD, 'My Turn,' showcases Tanya singing classic country songs all previously recorded by male artists.
JULY 13 / 14, 2009 (click on link below for full release)
Love and Theft Selected As Clear Channel New! Featured Artist
Luke Bryan's Hometown Wins Eventful Contest for Free Album Release Show
Blackberry Smoke Rises On The Music Scene
Lady Antebellum Scores First #1 Hit!
Dierks Bentley Follows Up Two #1 Hits With Smoldering Ballad
Love and Theft Become First Country Artist Featured On ABC's Music Lounge
Big Kenny's "Long After I'm Gone" Depicts Revered Life With Family and The Alphin Homestead in Culpeper, VA
Tanya Tucker Exclusive at The Boot
