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Biggest Little News Sheet In Country Music (Since 1963) • Volume 46 • Issue #5 • February 2008
Loudilla, Loretta & Kay Johnson • P.O. Box 40328 • Nashville, TN 37204 • Ph. 615-371-9596
Music videos by Brad Paisley and Sugarland head the list of first-round nominees for the 2008 CMT Music Awards. Paisley's "Online" received six first-round nominations. Sugarland earned five nods with "Stay" and also received a duo video nomination for "Everyday America." Other video of the year nominees include Carrie Underwood's "Wasted," Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink," LeAnn Rimes' "Nothin' Better to Do," Rascal Flatts' "Take Me There," Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" and Taylor Swift's "Our Song." On March 6, CMT will announce the top four finalists in each of the 13 categories.
Soles4Souls™ Inc. is used to sending brand new shoes across the planet to help people rebuild from natural disasters. Last week, however, the footwear charity didn't have to look far to find hurting people, as tornadoes in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Alabama killed at least 57 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. "These storms hit our region extremely hard and we know several people personally who have lost everything: loved ones, their homes, cars, you name it" said Wayne Elsey, Soles4Souls Founder and CEO. Thousands of pairs of shoes were sent from their warehouses for delivery on Saturday, Feb. 9. See www.GiveShoes.org for more information or to make donations.
Richie McDonald will host The Celebration, Nashville’s star-studded two day golf and music event benefiting Feed The Children and The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation. In addition to McDonald, celebrities from the music industry and sports world who will be in attendance include Jim McMahon, Billie Joe Tolliver, Wesley Walls, Steve Azar, Steve Cropper, John Daly and more. Festivities will kick off April 7, with a Feed The Children downtown food distribution expected to feed 2000 people. A VIP Golf Pairings Party will follow that evening at the Sheraton Music City, hosted by McDonald, former lead singer of Lonestar.
The Country Music Association reports tickets are selling "faster than ever before" for the 2008 CMA Music Festival. Scheduled during the 4-day (June 5-8) event are 35 hours of autograph signings, 100 hours of live music, 400 Country Music artists and celebrities with thousands of fans expected to converge on downtown Nashville. Visit www.CMAfest.com.
Illness of founding partner, Loretta Johnson has prompted re-scheduling of the International Fan Club Organization's annual Fun Fest Show. The show will be held on Wednesday evening, June 4. Additional information to be announced this week and posted at www.ifco.org.
"Big Kenny" Alphin (of Big & Rich) and his wife, Christiev, have challenged students at Watkins College of Art and Design in Nashville to create a short film aimed at making the world a better place. The couple recently visited the school to meet students and encourage them to use their talents to inspire others. Alphin has been outspoken in his efforts to help fight the genocide that continues in the Darfur area of Sudan. The couple will award a $2,500 budget to the two students or teams who win the competition. The money will then be used to create a more extensive film with assistance of personnel from Alphin's Love Everybody Website.
Rascal Flatts will host the 5th annual Academy of Country Music Celebrity Golf Classic May 17 in Las Vegas, a lead-in to the ACM's 43rd awards show the next evening. The golf tournament has become part of the festivities since relocating to Las Vegas from Southern California six years ago. The week also includes a load of parties, industry showcases and a celebrity motorcycle ride for charity.
News Briefs: The editors of Us Weekly placed Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus among the “10 Most Powerful Girls in Hollywood” in their Feb. 4 issue. ••• Tracy Lawrence, Tracy Byrd, Pat Green, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Rachel Bradshaw and others are set for the inaugural Fourth & Goal Classic, a two day event to benefit Fourth and Goal, a national non-profit established as the official voice of the NFL retiree and to provide financial assistance to retired NFL players and their families. The event will be held June 27-28 in Atlantic City, NJ. ••• Dolly Parton appears on the cover of the March issue of Ladies' Home Journal. ••• Did you catch it? Brenda Lee's song "In The Mood For Love" was featured in a Victoria's Secret Super Bowl XLII ad. ••• Jessica Harp of The Wreckers, married violinist and band mate Jason Mowery Feb. 4 at a local art gallery in Franklin, Tenn. ••• Carrie Underwood’s Some Hearts has been certified 7 times Platinum, becoming the best-selling solo female country debut in RIAA history. ••• Riders In The Sky will be awarded an honorary membership by the Society for American Music in San Antonio during a performance with the San Antonio Symphony on Feb. 29.
DigitalRodeo.com, a leading social network dedicated to country music fans, has launched their streaming video portal. This addition comes as a result of user demand for video upload and viewing capabilities. The network has compiled a library of country music videos and content and expects to see their library continue to grow as more users utilize the service as an alternative to competing video upload destinations. The video network is powered by the popular Adobe FlashT and accepts many mainstream video formats as uploads. "We are creating one of the leading archives of country music related videos on the Internet. In doing so, we have had a lot of fun and hope to provide an entertaining tool for all of our members," said President, Joel Field. "We encourage everyone to upload and enjoy all of this new exciting content." The network has also launched Digital Rodeo tools, which includes a classifieds system, blog application, contest platform and more. Additionally the network is working with IFCO (International Fan Club Organization) by offering exclusive opportunities to fan clubs and members who subscribe to digitalrodeo.com. This will include the use of Cadillac Ranches nationwide for dining and events hosted by fan clubs.
National recording artist Zane Lewis has been tapped to headline the 22nd annual Wild West Charity Night benefit hosted by the Fort Hood Officers’ Wives Club on Mar. 8. The event, held at the Shilo Inn (Killeen, TX), includes gaming, a live auction, Can Can Dancers, cash bar and more. Zane and his band kick off the first of two sets at 7 p.m.; tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. The benefit is open to the public. Proceeds are disbursed by the OWC’s Welfare Fund and will benefit charities around Fort Hood including the Red Cross, Armed Services YMCA, Humane Society and Santa’s Workshop. See http://www.forthoodowc.org/WildWest2008.htm.
Randy Owen, Hank Williams, Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ-Top, Ricky Skaggs, Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins, Little Big Town and Tracy Lawrence are among performers set to appear during the first annual BamaJam Music & Arts Festival June 5–7 in Enterprise, AL. An all-encompassing community and creative arts experience, the 2-day/3-night extravaganza will feature 30 award winning acts from Country, Classic Rock, Alternative and Bluegrass. Situated in Bama Village (BamaJam’s all-inclusive outdoor community plaza), will be Bama Market, Bama Music Lounge, Bama Media Lounge, BamaJam Sponsors Plaza, Bama-a-Rama Kids Zone, and BamaJam Park. “Establishing an entertainment mecca such as BamaJam for our entire community and friends from neighboring states to enjoy has been a life long dream,” said Ronnie Gilley, owner of Ronnie Gilley Properties and Ronnie Gilley Entertainment, presenters of the event.
Performers announced for the seventh annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival June 12-15 in Manchester, TN include Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson, Kanye West, Metallica, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss featuring T. Bone Burnett, Pat Green, Ben Folds, and the Bluegrass Allstars (Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck...).
News Briefs: Brad Paisley will guest on the Late Show With David Letterman on Feb. 12. ••• Roger Ryan is presenting of a show featuring new releases, which has just been launched on the internet. He is in need of new DVDs for broadcast. For more information Email: rogerryan@eircom.net or visit www.personalitiestv.com/. ••• Joe Baker's award winning "Backforty Bunkhouse" radio show can now be heard on the Internet every Saturday morning (6 AM-10 AM) from the MTD Studios located in Ruidoso, NM on KWMW, Regional Radio W-105. More information www.backfortybunkhouse.com.
EVENTS Calender 2008:
• Mar. 5-7 - Country Radio Seminar (CRS), Nashville, TN
• Mar. 7-16 - SXSW 2008, Austin, TX
• Mar. 13-16 - Festival Of The West, Phoenix, AZ
• Apr. 7-8 - The Celebration Golf & Music Event, Nashville, TN
• Apr. 24-27 - MerleFest, Wilkesboro, NC
• May. 3-4 - Stagecoach Festival, Indio, CA
• Jun. 4 - IFCO Fun Fest Show, Nashville, TN
• Jun. 5-7 - BamaJam Music & Arts Festival, Enterprise, AL
• Jun. 5-8 -CMA Music Festival, Nashville, TN
• Jun. 8 - Sunday Morning Country Show, Nashville, TN
• Jun. 12-15 - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, TN
• Jun. 26-29 - Roots United '08, Austin, TX
• Jul. 25-27- Craponne Country Music Festival, France
• Sept. 12-14 - Country Night Gstaad, Switzerland
• Oct. 16 - Inspirational Country Music Awards, Nashville, TN
Tri-Son News • Annual Subscription $25 (U.S. Funds) • Distributed electronically to subscribers worldwide and
updated on www.ifco.org (Online subscription form available.)
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