Rascal Flatts photo courtesy of Big Machine Records. Photo credit Chapman Baehler.

A dismal, sluggish economy was central to every part of American life in 2010, and it certainly had an effect on Music Row. Nowhere was it more obvious than when Disney shut down the Lyric Street Records office in April, creating turmoil in the lives of several artists, including Rascal Flatts.

The Lyric Street closing and all that it represented is the No. 12 story among country music’s one dozen most important stories of the year.

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The 48th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards were handed out on September 14, 2010 at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. Pictured (l-r): Dierks Bentley, Artist/Songwriter of the Year; Josh Kear Song of the Year for “Need You Now,”; Chris DuBois, Publisher of the Year, Sea Gayle Music ; Brett James, Songwriter of the Year and Tim DuBois, ASCAP vice-president and managing executive, Nashville. Photo by Kay Williams.

Dierks Bentley won Songwriter/Artist of the Year, Josh Kear took Song of the Year for co-writing “Need You Now” with Lady Antebellum, and Brett James walked off with Songwriter of the Year during the star-studded ASCAP Country Music Awards for songwriters Tuesday at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium.

Dierks picked up the Songwriter/Artist trophy after two of his songs — “Sideways” and “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes” — were recognized among the performing rights agency’s most performed songs of the year.

Dierks played a bluegrass version of “Sideways” during the two-hour presentation in which each of ASCAP’s Top 5 songs was rendered live. Chris Young sang “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” songwriter David Lee Murphy played “Big Green Tractor,” Darius Rucker offered “Alright” and Josh Kear teamed with Lady A for a dramatic acoustic version of “Need You Now.” Josh was cheered heavily by the songwriting community when he sang some of the lines that Charles Kelley usually sings — Josh proved he was an admirable singer in addition to being an ace songwriter.

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Kevin Costner photo courtesy of Universal Republic/Universal Records South.

Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of a devastating natural disaster that killed a fan and injured members of Billy Currington’s band when a storm whipped through the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta.

The Big Valley producers halted the 2009 festival after the stage collapsed, though they didn’t fold up their tent permanently. The Jamboree was back at the same site this weekend, and attendance for the first two days was up over last year by 10%, according to The Edmonton Journal.

Not that last year was forgotten. During that edition of the Jamboree, a freak storm amassed with little or no warning while Billy was onstage Aug. 1. He was hospitalized briefly with a concussion. His bass player, Alex Stevens, was pinned underneath the stage for 30 minutes and required surgery for a severed artery in his left arm. Two members of Kevin Costner’s band, Modern West, were injured at the side of the stage, one fan was crushed to death when speakers toppled on her, and about 75 other concert-goers were injured.

So when the Jamboree resumed this year, “Amazing Grace” was played Saturday, CBC News reported, to remember Donna Moore, the fan who died. And when lightning started snapping in the distance during Miranda Lambert’s set on Friday, producers had her take a break just four songs into her set. Ultimately, they erred on the side of safety and shut down the show for the night.

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Chely Wright & SHeDAISY at the 10th Annual Reading, Writing and Rhythm benefit concert, held at TPAC’s James Polk Theater in Nashville, Tenn. on June 8, 2010. Photo by Melinda Norris, courtesy of Wortman Works Media & Marketing.

Chely Wright’s 10th Annual Reading, Writing and Rhythm benefit concert, held at TPAC’s James Polk Theater in Nashville on June 8, 2010 during the CMA Music Festival, raised thousands of dollars for local Kingston Springs Elementary School, which was devastated by flood waters. The concert also donated over one ton of food to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.  

With over 800 in attendance, the star-studded event included performances by Trisha Yearwood, Rodney Crowell, SHeDAISY, Jamey Johnson, Bucky Covington, Justin Moore, Buxton Hughes, Jann Arden, and of course, Reading, Writing & Rhythm’s Founder, Chely.  Items were auctioned off throughout the evening, including a shopping spree with Chely to Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams furniture store and a Fly Away trip to a Keith Urban show. 

Chely signed her last autograph at 4:40 a.m. Continue Reading

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Trailer Choir & Pam Tillis backstage at the 4th Annual Country Weekly Fashion Show & Concert, at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville on June 8, 2010. Photo by Kendra Motycka, courtesy of Country Weekly.

They’re always fashionable, but on Monday, June 8, stars including Clay Walker, Pam Tillis and Bucky Covington amped up their style even more at the 4th Annual Country Weekly Fashion Show and Concert, raising more than $20,000 for Musicians On Call.

The event was hosted by Clay and emcee’d by GAC’s own Suzanne Alexander, and also featured Luke Bryan and Joe Nichols along with models including Pam, Bucky, Bo Bice, Aaron and Thea Tippin, Trailer Choir, Katie Armiger, Sarah Darling, Whitney Duncan, Danielle Peck and others. See photos here >>

“Country Weekly is thrilled to be able to support Musicians On Call and the amazing work they do,” said Lisa Konicki, editor in chief. “Our 4th fashion show and concert was a success due to the hard work of many people and we thank the artists, sponsors, staff and crew that brought it all together seamlessly.”

We caught up with the stars backstage just before they strutted the catwalk: Continue Reading

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Craig Morgan signs autographs at the GAC booth during the CMA Music Festival on June 11, 2009. Photo by Wendy Newcomer, GACTV.com.

The schedule is set for GAC’s booth at this year’s CMA Music Festival. Fans can come to The Greased Lightning® Fan Fair ® Hall – GAC is booth #200 – to meet and greet their favorite country artists, get an autograph and take pictures.

GAC has more than sixty artists scheduled over the four day event, with new artists each hour and most hours featuring multiple artists. Continue Reading

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Clay Walker photo courtesy of Curb Records.

Clay Walker is positioned nicely on the chart with the video for “She Won’t Be Lonely Long,” and he’ll drop in to talk with host Nan Kelley this weekend during GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.

Currently at No. 6 on the countdown, the song is the title track for Clay’s next album, due out June 8. On the day of release, he’ll be spending time with GAC, joining network personality Suzanne Alexander to handle the host/emcee duties during the fourth annual Country Weekly Fashion Show and Concert at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon. The event, which raises money for a hospital-visitation agency called Musicians On Call, will also feature Aaron Tippin, Joe Nichols, Bucky Covington, Love And Theft, Pam Tillis and Bo Bice, among others.

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Nashville’s Music Row took a hit on Wednesday when the Disney Music Group announced it’s shutting down Lyric Street Records, the home of Rascal Flatts.

The guys in the group — Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney — should be OK. They’re working on one last album for Disney, and an official release indicates that project will still come out in the fall on a different Disney-affiliated label. In addition, the guys are in talks about a new recording deal with the Mouse. If, for some reason, they can’t come to an agreement with Disney, it’s a sure bet that the band could find another partner willing to invest in its massive career.

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Danny Gokey photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Danny Gokey and Easton Corbin are very different kinds of singers, but they find themselves on very similar paths.

Easton is a traditional-country vocalist in the vein of George Strait and Alan Jackson, while Danny is a pop-country singer who built an audience on last year’s “American Idol.” Now they’re both competing for attention as new artists with their first albums in release — and those two albums came out on the exact same day.

As it turns out, Danny and Easton each celebrated the same way: They went to the store to buy their own CDs.

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Nearly three weeks after a Jan. 12 earthquake destroyed large swatches of Haiti, the response from country music’s community is heartening. Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Pam Tillis, Big Kenny, Restless Heart and Toby Keith are just some of the artists who found ways to get involved.

They’ve donated their time, their voices and their money, and in one particular instance, one unintended result was a confirmation that the recording industry has crossed a barrier as it continues to evolve in the digital age. Taylor and Keith were both featured on the multi-network special Help For Haiti Now, which was immediately released as a digital-only album. It quickly sold more than 170,000 copies and came in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 all-genre albums chart. It marks the first time in history that the top album in the country could not be purchased in a physical format.

Here’s a summary of the ways country stars have reached out to help:

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