The Band Perry photo courtesy of Republic Nashville.
The Band Perry took a bit of a risk when it released “If I Die Young” this year. But the latest development for the trio is essentially a thumbs up for the siblings’ willingness to trust their guts.
“This just in,” the band tweeted on Wednesday. “If I Die Young is now GOLD!! 500,000 in sales and counting!! A million thank yous to each one of you who lent your ears and hard earned dollars.”
“If I Die Young” defied some conventions in the music business. People generally respond to songs that fit their mood, so music execs figure that the public is more responsive to upbeat songs in the summer and to ballads in the winter. “If I Die Young” was released in May, setting them up to have a slow song about mortality airing in summer months when a lot of people are thinking of vacations and the beach.
Grand Ole Opry members Brad Paisley (l) and Little Jimmy Dickens (r) unveil the refurbished 6-foot circle of wood (taken from the historic Ryman Auditorium when the show moved to the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974) that was damaged in the May 2010 Nashville flood. Photo courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry.
It’s a six-foot piece of circular wood, scuffed and nicked and grooved, but it’s a monumental symbol. Brad Paisley and Little Jimmy Dickens joined four construction workers Wednesday in installing a major piece of oak into the center of the stage at the Grand Ole Opry House.
The moment was captured by a herd of reporters and photographers as Nashville continues its recovery from a devastating flood in early May. At that time, water from the Cumberland River swamped the historic venue, piling 46 inches of liquid on top of the stage. The waters were so significant that mud was hurled onto the ceiling and Opry VP and general manager Pete Fisher literally floated a kayak through the house.
Dirt and construction dust still litter the grounds around the Opry House, but the placement of the circle back onto the stage was a hardy symbol for the restoration of the Opry and its history. The circle was cut from the floor of the Ryman Auditorium and installed at the Opry House when it opened in 1974, providing a physical link between current generations of Opry members and some of the late performers who stood behind the mic stand on that same wood — people like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Roy Acuff and Marty Robbins. It was damaged during May’s floods, but not so much that it couldn’t be repaired. Its resilience embodies as well as ever the durability of the Opry and its legend.
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.
Trailer Choir co-hosts Top 20 Country Countdown with Suzanne Alexander at the 2010 Country Thunder festival in Wisconsin. Photo by Eric Jensen.
Wisconsin’s Country Thunder was four days of people, rain and wall-to-wall country music. Mother Nature might not have been kind to the festival’s visitors, but they didn’t seem to mind a little water or mud when it gave them a chance to see Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland or Trailer Choir. GAC’s Suzanne Alexander didn’t mind either — she was there, too, chatting with some of those stars for this weekend’s Top 20 Country Countdown (check out our festival photos here).
The rain was certainly a problem for Country Thunder last weekend, though the show, as they say, must go on. Randy Houser, Luke Bryan, Craig Morgan, Gloriana, Kevin Costner, Jason Aldean, Billy Currington, Miranda and Sugarland were all on hand — and all of them spent a little time with Suzanne. As did Trailer Choir, a new trio whose album Tailgate came out earlier this month. The fun-loving band’s Big Vinny even found Suzanne hiding in his bunk! Watch the clip below:
