Mar
17
Steve Wariner at the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy® Grammy Nominee party. Photo courtesy of The Recording Academy® 2009 & Rubin Media. Photograph by Rick Diamond/WireImage.com.
Four country acts that launched a series of hits in the 1980s and ‘90s — Steve Wariner, Patty Loveless, John Michael Montgomery and the late Keith Whitley — are set to enter the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame when it holds its next induction ceremony in April 2011 in Lexington.
They’ll be joined as new members by bluegrass duo the Goins Brothers; gospel singer Larnelle Harris; and Molly O’Day, a country vocalist who left a critically acclaimed body of work in a short five-year recording period in the late 1940s.
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Mar
17
Sugarland photo by Kate Powers, courtesy of UMG Nashville.
The dates and lineups for the first eight of this summer’s Lilith Fair dates suggest organizer Sarah McLachlan is committed to providing a little country music in most of the outings. The rosters in six of those cities, released Tuesday, boast at least one country act — such as Miranda Lambert, Sugarland or Loretta Lynn — and the gigs in Atlanta and West Palm Beach have two apiece.
The lineup of all-female talent was a regular feature on the summer concert circuit during the late 1990s, and Sarah’s carting a reinstituted version of Lilith to a total of 36 cities this year. Each of the shows promises 11 acts from a pool of 80 performers. As it currently stands, a July 2 show in Portland is the earliest date on the schedule.
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Mar
10
The CMA Board of Directors and nearly 400 Washington luminaries attended an intimate evening of acoustic music in the Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress' Jefferson Building with performances by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, Bob DiPiero, Lorrie Morgan, John Rich of Big & Rich, Randy Scruggs, and Victoria Shaw. (l-r) U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, Morgan, CMA Board President-Elect Gary Overton, Shaw, and Rich. Photo: Mitchell Layton, courtesy of CMA.
Libraries are meant to be quiet, but John Rich and Kix Brooks helped a passel of country figures make some important noise Tuesday in Washington, D.C., as the Country Music Association presented a show in conjunction with the Library of Congress.
“Story Tellers And Story Keepers” featured Kix, John and Lorrie Morgan, as well as ace musician Randy Scruggs and noted songwriters Victoria Shaw and Bob DiPiero, representing voices from several sectors of Nashville’s best-known industry. Delivered to a room that included influential lawmakers, the concert also allowed the music-makers to mingle with their guests in a pre-show reception.
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Feb
19
Johnny Cash photo courtesy of Lost Highway Records.
You have to admire people who don’t allow their advancing age to hold them back. Even more, you have to admire people whose presence is so strong that they continue to make an impact even after their death.
Many members of the Country Music Hall of Fame fit one — or both — of those descriptions. Several Hall of Famers — Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams — are making headlines these days for their longevity or for new projects that add to their legacy.
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Feb
15
Vince Gill photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.
Dwight Yoakam sang about “guitars, Cadillacs and hillbilly music,” and the guitar is central to current stories involving three different Halls of Fame — one of which contains a Cadillac owned by the late Elvis Presley.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, previously known as the Cowboy Hall of Fame, has a new guitar exhibit at its home in Oklahoma City, where instruments used by the likes of Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and Marty Robbins are on display.
A guitar Taylor Swift used during a fundraiser to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame in the fall is now being sold at auction to raise even more money for the facility. And the Musicians Hall of Fame, located just blocks from the Country Hall in downtown Nashville, has to put guitars owned by some classic figures — including Charlie Daniels and Elvis musician Scotty Moore — into storage by the end of the week.
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Feb
12
Elvis Presley image used by permission, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
In a bittersweet ceremony the day before a make-or-break court proceeding, four sets of session musicians received new awards Thursday at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. The players — who collectively backed such artists as Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys and Johnny Cash — are among those recognized in the structure, which is likely to be demolished to make way for a new convention center.
“To have it all torn down,” said Elvis’ drummer D.J. Fontana, “is a damn shame.”
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Jan
25
Loretta Lynn photo courtesy of Interscope Records.
More than 100 trophies will be handed out on Sunday at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards to honor the best in music in 2009. Overlooked, but maybe just as important, are a few honors that recognize artists and musicians — including Loretta Lynn, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and guitarist Harold Bradley — for efforts that span a much broader scope of time.
The Dirt Band’s “Mr. Bojangles” has been added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, certifying it as a recording of long-term influence. Loretta and the late Roy Orbison are among the artists who will be hailed Saturday in Los Angeles with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. That same night, Harold will receive a Trustee’s Award for his work as a session musician, studio owner and former president of the Nashville chapters of the Recording Academy and the Musicians Union.
As if that’s not enough, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame have both been featured in the news in the last week.
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Dec
23
Billy Currington photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of UMG Nashville.
#9 on GAC’s Top Stories of 2009 | View all »
People, Billy Currington noted in his award-nominated story song, are crazy. Sometimes Mother Nature is, too, and she left Billy black and blue in the most shocking of a bunch of country-music health stories that made headlines in 2009.
Billy’s weather disaster — which occurred in Camrose, Alberta, on Aug. 1 — was a doozy. A major storm toppled the outdoor stage. One fan died when a speaker fell on her, Billy was hospitalized with a concussion, and bass player Alex Stevens needed surgery for a severed artery after he was pinned for 30 minutes beneath the stage.
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Dec
4
Jason Aldean photo courtesy of Broken Bow Records.
Jason Aldean recently saw his hit “She’s Country” go platinum, and he’ll talk about his unique blend of country and hard-rockin’ music with co-host Nan Kelley on this weekend’s edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.
“She’s Country” was the first hit off his current Wide Open album, which has notched two more huge singles: “Big Green Tractor” and “The Truth.” He’s taking a break from touring through the end of December, but he’ll be back out on the trail in 2010. His calendar already includes a major stop on the inaugural HullabaLOU Music Festival at Churchill Downs, the same Louisville venue that hosts the Kentucky Derby. Also on the bill with Jason in July are the Zac Brown Band, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi, Dwight Yoakam, the Dave Matthews Band, the Black Crowes and Gloriana.
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