Play the new Opry Video Challenge at opry.com and help Middle Tennessee Flood Relief Efforts

This new interactive game at opry.com is fun and for a good cause!  The Country Music Video Challenge features video clips of Opry performances followed by questions about those clips and the artists featured in them. Throughout the Challenge, you are invited by various country stars to donate to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s flood relief efforts. Additionally, Opry Presenting Sponsor Humana® has pledged to pay $1 for each of the first 25,000 fans who play the game.

In addition to showing off your country music trivia mettle and assisting with continuing flood relief efforts, by playing the game you will also be entered to win one-of-a-kind Challenge prizes, including a Gibson guitar autographed by Brad Paisley, $500 cash, and a trip to Nashville including VIP tickets to the Opry. You can also  challenge your friends in the game via Facebook and Twitter.

Go to oprychallenge.com to check the game out for yourself. Be warned … it can be addictive!

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Luke Bryan photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Between the Brad Paisley H2O World Tour and May’s Nashville flood, country music has been waterlogged this summer.

But the liquid is still flowing in the genre. Brad’s weekend lake show set a record, Luke Bryan rode a gusher to the top of the chart, and yes, there’s more flood-recovery news, thanks in part to Chuck Wicks and Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely.

Here’s a look at the way water continues to stream into country’s current landscape:

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Hugh Prestwood, writer of Trisha Yearwood's "The Song Remembers When," will perform at "Songwriters Sing for Nashville." Trisha Yearwood photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Several Hall of Fame songwriters have been tapped to join together for Songwriters Sing for Nashville, an inaugural event to be held at Nashville’s newest outdoor concert venue, The Woods at Fontanel, on Saturday, July 17. Presented by The Woods at Fontanel, Anchor Trailways and Tours and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, funds raised from the concert will go to help Nashville flood relief efforts. This will be the first event held at the new venue, which was formerly the Muzik Mafia Headquarters and before that, Barbara Mandrell‘s home.

“We’re honored to share this exciting occasion with our friends at The Woods at Fontanel and Anchor Trailways & Tours,” said Roger Murrah, hit songwriter and Board Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation. “What a pleasure it will be to join our efforts and resources to help relieve those who are still trying to recover from the Nashville flood. Our performing hall of fame members will be inspired by this great cause and the beautiful grounds surrounding this new venue to sing their classic songs from their hearts.”

Songwriters scheduled to perform include Roger Murrah (“Don’t Rock The Jukebox”- Alan Jackson), Matraca Berg (“Strawberry Wine” – Deana Carter), Kye Fleming (“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” – Barbara Mandrell), Dallas Frazier (“Elvira” – The Oak Ridge Boys), Dickey Lee (“You’re The First Time I’ve Thought about Leaving” – Reba McEntire), Dennis Morgan (“Let  Me Let Go” – Faith Hill), Hugh Prestwood (“The Song Remembers When” – Trisha Yearwood), Mark D. Sanders (“I Hope You Dance” – Lee Ann Womack), Don Wayne (“Country Bumpkin” – Cal Smith), Jim Weatherly (“Midnight Train To Georgia” – Gladys Knight & The Pips) and Mike Reid (“I Can’t Make You Love Me,” – Bonnie Raitt, “In This Life” – Collin Raye). Continue Reading

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Vince Gill at his fan club party, held Saturday, June 12, 2010 at Nashville’s historic Belcourt Theatre. Photo by Sarah Wyland.

Vince Gill held his fan club party this morning at the historic Belcourt Theatre in Nashville during the CMA Music Festival. Wearing a black t-shirt that simply said “CHET” (in honor of one of his guitar heroes, Chet Atkins), he provided fans with breakfast and answered fan questions for more than two hours.

Vince shared personal stories about visiting his grandparents in nursing homes and learning to drive, talked golf, reflected on his decades-long career and discussed the state of the music industry with the neutrality of someone who’s spent a lot of years in the business. But when a fan asked if Vince had a favorite guitar, he and many in the theatre became emotional. SoundCheck, a storage facility near the Cumberland River where Vince and many other artists store their equipment, was flooded during the historic rains that hit Nashville in May – and Vince’s extensive vintage guitar collection was not spared. Continue Reading

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Lady Antebellum on stage at the Ryman Auditorium during the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit concert. Photo credit: Rick Diamond

Lady Antebellum already announced that proceeds from their sold out fan club party on June 10 during the CMA Music Festival will be donated to Nashville flood relief efforts. Now, office supply chain OfficeMax has announced it is committing $50,000 to a fundraiser challenge as part of the fan club event.

“Our Nashville-based associates have participated in relief efforts since the flood occurred and we are very excited to join Lady Antebellum in doing even more for this community,” says Paul Hertz, OfficeMax, executive vice president, retail operations, “As a company, we are acutely aware of challenges schools face in the best of times and we wanted to bring additional support to Nashville schools at this time of dire need.”

OfficeMax will match every dollar donated by Lady Antebellum fans for Nashville schools up to a total of $50,000. OfficeMax is committed year-round to helping schools and teachers, most notably through their annual event, “A Day Made Better,” where more than 1,000 teachers at 1,000 schools across the country receive $1,000 worth of classroom supplies.

While tickets to attend the Lady Antebellum fan club party may be sold out, fans can still stream the event live online through www.livestream.com for a minimum $5 donation.

Lady A has been heavily involved in efforts to help Nashville recover from record flooding and recently took part in GAC’s Music City Keep on Playin’ – A Benefit for Flood Relief at the historic Ryman Auditorium where more than $1.8 million dollars was raised. Visit our photo gallery to see all the highlights from the event!

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Dolly Parton with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. Photo courtesy of the Mayor's office.

Dolly Parton managed to mix community stewardship and a healthy dose of humor as she contributed $250,000 to Nashville’s flood-relief efforts on Wednesday.

Dolly collected the money from admissions at Dollywood and her Dixie Stampede along with funds that were donated by fans through her website, The Tennessean reported. Wednesday’s check was given to the United Way’s Restore The Dream Fund to help residents of Middle Tennessee dig out from the horrific flood that deluged Music City a month ago.

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Scripps Networks Interactive check presentation (l to r:) Ellen Lehman, president CFMT, Ed Hardy, president GAC, GAC’s Storme Warren, Suzanne Alexander, Food Network’s Pat Neely, Gina Neely, HGTV’s Vern Yip, Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown, Adam Richman. Credit: Ed Rode/edrode.biz

From large corporations to small kids, their goal was the same: help middle Tennesseans rebuild after devastating floods. Donations from Sunday night’s live concert event and telethon, Music City Keep on Playin’ – A Benefit for Flood Relief on Great American Country Television, have reached $1.8 million and that amount will grow as donations made at www.gactv.com/help and through a texting component will continue through this Sunday, May 23.

With an all-volunteer production staff, crew and talent line-up, 100% of the money raised is going to help those most affected by what has been estimated to be $1.5 billion in damages.  Organizers GAC, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau and Gaylord Entertainment incurred all necessary expenses tied to the event.

The televised concert included performances by Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Rodney Atkins, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, CeCe Winans, Keb’ Mo’, Jaci Velasquez, Randy Montana and Will Hoge.  NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer also appeared. Hosts James Denton and Kimberly Williams-Paisley were joined by on-air personalities from GAC, Food Network, The Travel Channel and HGTV. Stars also spent time manning phone banks alongside a fleet of volunteers. Click here to see photos from the night.

Music City Keep on Playin’ – A Benefit for Flood Relief will re-air tomorrow, Thursday, May 20, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m./Eastern on GAC. Phones will be open during the re-air and donations can also still be made at www.gactv.com/help or by texting “GAC” to 501501 to make a $10 donation to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Continue Reading

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Montgomery Gentry photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

In light of the recent devastation in Nashville, the Country Throwdown Tour and its artists are lending a hand to the local residents in need.

Country Throwdown artists are coming forward to help in a collective way. As of today, main stage headliners Montgomery Gentry, Jack Ingram, Eric Church, Eli Young Band and Bluebird Café Tent singer-songwriters Sarah Buxton, Heather Morgan, Jedd Hughes, Ashley Ray, Troy Olsen, Brad Tursi, Cory Branan and Dave Pahanish will be donating the net proceeds from the sale of their merchandise at select shows throughout the U.S.

“We’re excited to be a part of the Throwdown Tour and through the course of the tour the artists get to participate in generating a lot of revenue for Nashville,” explains Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry. “Donating in one lump sum at the end of the tour gives us the opportunity to help any folks who may have fallen through the cracks, either through not having insurance or not being eligible for FEMA coverage. We’ll be able to place the money directly with the people who need it the most to rebuild.” Continue Reading

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Dolly Parton has called Nashville home for over 45 years and in that time she’s never seen the kind of devastation the recent floods have left behind.

“I grew up in the Smokies in East Tennessee, which was my first home. I moved to Nashville 46 years ago and that is my home now. I have family and friends in both places, and when one place hurts, I think it is just right for the other to help.” Dolly posted in a message on her website.

During this coming weekend, May 22-23, all of the proceeds from admissions to Dollywood, Dollywood’s Splash Country, and Dixie Stampede will go to a special fund to assist Nashville flood victims.  Dolly will be out at these attractions throughout the weekend to visit with fans and encourage them to join in the effort to help those affected by the floods.

Dolly posted this personal video message on her website outlining the plan and the need for help:

Even if you can’t make it out to Dollywood this weekend, you can still help by making an online donation right now at www.dollyparton.com

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Sheryl Crow will perform at the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit concert presented by GAC on Sunday, May 16 at 8p ET.

Sheryl Crow has just been added to the incredible list of performers for GAC’s Music City Keep on Playin’ - A Benefit for Flood Relief, a live concert and telethon to aid middle Tennesseans affected by the recent flood disaster.  The concert and telethon will be aired live and commercial-free from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium this Sunday, May 16, 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. Eastern (live in all time zones) on GAC and will re-air at 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.  The concert will also be available online via a live stream at GACTV.com/help.  Plus, the event will be carried live on Sirius/XM satellite radio.

Artists previously announced to perform include Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Kellie Pickler, Rodney Atkins, CeCe Winans, Jaci Velasquez, Keb’ Mo’, Randy Montana and Will Hoge. Continue Reading

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