Jimmy Wayne

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will celebrate the holiday season with an assortment of programs and events for the entire family. They will also have limited edition holiday posters from the Hatch Show Print and special offers from the Museum Store, just in time for holiday shopping.

Jimmy Wayne will help kick off festivities on Friday, November 25 at 4 p.m. Central with the lighting of the Museum’s Christmas tree. He will also perform and sign copies of his new book, Paper Angels. The next day, November 26, Ricky Skaggs and The Whites will be in the Museum Store at 2 p.m. to sign copies of A Skaggs Family Christmas Volume 2.

For those who like to start their morning off with country music, the Museum will host a special breakfast with Bill Cody on Friday, December 2 as he broadcasts live from the Museum’s Curb Conservatory. Admission is $6.50 and includes breakfast, performances by Ronnie Milsap, Julie Roberts, Victoria Shaw and more and the chance to win a museum prize pack.

Saturday, December 3 is a busy day at the Museum. The day starts off with a cookie decorating class at 10:30 followed by a songwriter session with Deborah Allen at 11:30 p.m. She will sign copies of her new children’s book, The Loneliest Christmas Tree, following her performance. From 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. the Museum will hold the family program Make Letterpress Art with Hatch Show Print, where attendees will learn about letterpress printing straight from the staff of Hatch Print Show. The day will wrap with Phil Vassar signing copies of his Noel and Live on Broadway album at 3:00 p.m.   Continue Reading

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Lady Antebellum‘s Hillary Scott and songwriter Anthony Smith were the top winners at last night’s SESAC Awards in Nashville, held at The Pinnacle at Symphony Place. The Tennessean reports the royalties-collecting organization SESAC gave Hillary its songwriter of the year award for the third time in the last four years.

Hillary won the award for co-writing three Lady A hits: “Just a Kiss,” “Need You Now” and “Our Kind of Love.” But according to her friend and mentor (and co-producer of Lady A’s first album) Victoria Shaw, Hillary’s award for writing “A Little Bit Stronger,” recorded by Sara Evans, most likely held a special place in her heart.

“That song was her,” Victoria told the paper. “That wasn’t the boys (Lady A’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood) and her. Not that she doesn’t adore that,” she said. “But this really let her be her own entity.

“That separation and that recognition is probably one of her most proud moments. I know how proud I am when someone else records one of my songs. They’re not doing it to be nice. They’re not doing it as a favor. They’re doing it because they think that’s going to help their career. And when it does, it’s the ultimate compliment to the songwriter.”

SESAC awarded Anthony Smith with its Song of the Year trophy. Anthony won for the song he co-wrote with Chris Young, “Tomorrow.” Chris even surprised Anthony by Continue Reading

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Kristin Chenoweth photo courtesy of Facebook.com/KristinChenoweth.

Kristin Chenoweth is going back to her country roots with the release of her new album, Some Lessons Learned, on September 13. The album will include her current single, “I Want Somebody (Bitch About),” which is a tongue-and-cheek song about finding love. The songs on Kristin’s album explore her experiences as a woman.

Some Lessons Learned was produced by Bib Ezrin, known for his work with KISS and Pink Floyd. It features songs written by top songwriters including Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, Dolly Parton, Diane Warren and Victoria Shaw among others. Kristin wrote two songs, “What Would Dolly Do?” and “Mine To Love.” This is Kristin’s fourth album on Sony.

“Look at my recording career and it’s kind of funny,” Kristin said. “It’s all so different! This album is more along the lines of what I grew up singing, like the music I sang in church in Oklahoma. When I was hired at nineteen to sing at Opryland in Nashville, that’s what I wanted to do. I never anticipated my career going in all these great directions – which I’m grateful for! I’m finally getting to do what I want.” Continue Reading

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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

“Need You Now” lofted Lady Antebellum from a well-regarded band within country music to one that’s recognized across multiple genres, and it already won Single Record and Song of the Year during the Academy of Country Music Awards in April.

With the Country Music Association set to hand out its trophies on Wednesday, “Need You Now” claimed yet another victory Monday when it won Song of the Year from SESAC and — combined with “I Run To You” and “Our Kind Of Love” — earned group member Hillary Scott recognition as the performing-rights organization’s Songwriter of the Year in a black-tie event on Music Row.

SESAC is one of three American PROs, responsible for collecting and distributing money for songwriters, so its recognition is symbolic of just how financially rewarding the song has been.

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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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Sarah Buxton's 2010 self-titled debut CD. Photo courtesy of Lyric Street Music.

For someone who had never had an album before, Sarah Buxton got quite a bit of press. It helped that she wrote “Stupid Boy,” Keith Urban’s Grammy-winning hit. It also helped that she was a finalist two straight years for the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist trophy.

Still, she spent many years frustrated as an artist. She played a lot of shows but always had to tell fans that there was no album they could buy. That all changes Tuesday with the release of her self-titled debut.

“I finally feel,” she told The Frederick News-Post of Maryland, “like I’m getting this ball rolling.”

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Sarah Buxton photo courtesy of Lyric Street Music.

One of the most infectious singles of the last year came with Sarah Buxton’s “Outside My Window,” which is bubbling and bopping at No. 23 on the most recent Country Aircheck singles list.

Just as engaging is her video, shot with a digital camera on a whim with co-writers Victoria Shaw, Mark Hudson and Gary Burr for only about $80. Her record company didn’t even know she was shooting it, but its goofy, happy-go-lucky attitude and panorama of colors made it easy for Lyric Street to get it into circulation.

The video has, however, made it more difficult for the competition.

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Trace Adkins (center) with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and his wife, Anne, at the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy® Grammy Nominee party. Photo courtesy of The Recording Academy® 2009. Photograph by Rick Diamond/WireImage.com.

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