What an amazing cd, and what a voice, this cd makes you sing her songs all day long, I know we here cant stop sing her songs after reviewing it. I give this cd a 9 stars…

What an amazing cd, and what a voice, this cd makes you sing her songs all day long, I know we here cant stop sing her songs after reviewing it. I give this cd a 9 stars…

Scotty McCreery has been nominated for this year’s Academy of Country Music New Artist of the Year Award, which will be given out during the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on April 1.

This good news reached Scotty soon after he had been alerted by fans via Twitter that his second single, “The Trouble With Girls,” had just topped 500,000 in sales, making it eligible for a gold certification.

“It’s been a good couple of days,” he says. “I am pumped! Looking at the final eight in the category, everybody in there was so good. I listen to all of their music. So to be a finalist is an honor.

“It’s been an incredible year,” says Scotty, whose debut album was certified platinum in only three months. “Being up for this award means a lot to me. I am ready to head to Vegas!”

On Wednesday, Scotty learned that the past week’s sales of “The Trouble With Girls” pushed the song over the 500,000-sales mark, making it eligible to become his second consecutive single to reach the gold status. “I was so happy when I found out,” he says. “My fans were tweeting, ‘Congratulations on gold,’ and I hadn’t heard yet, so I checked it out. I found out, so I was pumped and made the calls and texts to my family. We are all ecstatic as a family.”

Since winning Season Ten of American Idol in May, he has quickly emerged as one of the most successful country stars of the last year. His debut album, Clear As Day, was certified platinum for sales of more than 1 million units in just three months, and he was recently named No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s list of Top New Country Artists for 2011. He also won New Artist of the Year at the American Country Awards in December.

Clear As Day debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts, making him the youngest man in history to open at the top of the all-genre chart with a debut release. It also garnered the highest sales of any country solo album released last year and held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for six weeks. The album’s first single, “I Love You This Big,” has also been certified gold. He is currently touring the nation as part of Brad Paisley’s “Virtual Reality Tour 2012″ presented by Chevrolet.

Voting for the New Artist of the Year will take place at www.VoteACM.com beginning March 19 at noon ET/9 a.m. PT and continue until 5 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 1 (before the live show starts.) The New Artist of the Year final nominees were selected by a combined vote of the fans and professional members of the Academy of Country Music. Professional member votes will be combined with fan votes to obtain the New Artist of the Year winner.

An interview with Scotty will be featured in Great American Country’s ACM New Artist of the Year special that premieres Monday, March 19, at 9 p.m. ET and re-airs multiple times until voting closes on April 1. Additional air times and dates can be found at GACtv.com/ACM.

“For years, I have been searching for the missing link between blue-collar rock and country music,” says noted journalist/historian Robert K. Oermann, who writes for Music Row magazine. “This year, I think I have heard it. His name is Kip Moore. There is fiery, urgent intensity in his voice. His lyrics vibrate with conviction and true grit.

“The melodies have gripping, heart-in-throat passion. And the roaring, propulsive performances on his debut album sound like signposts on the highway to some Southern-fried Born to Run. Dare I say it? This man just might be the hillbilly Springsteen.”

Moore recently completed his debut album, Up All Night, which will be released this spring. He wrote or co-wrote every song on the autobiographical album that addresses coming-of-age themes, love and loss. His single and his energetic live shows have been earning tremendous reviews from fans and critics alike. That word will spread even faster when he joins Billy Currington and David Nail on tour beginning in March.

Huffington Post’s Michael Ragogna says Moore’s “style is a mix of country and genuine rock, making (him) an anomaly in country music right now.” Billboard Country Update’s Tom Roland says, “Gritty, earthy vocals layered over powerfully simple arrangements. Moore isn’t flashy, but the subtle frames he creates for his blue-collar portraits make the images seem that much more real. It also suggests he’s confident in his songs and his performance. Which he ought to be.”

Moore was born in Tifton, Ga., near the Florida line, and was one of six children, the youngest boy who had three younger sisters. His father was a golf pro and his mother was a painter who used anything handy for a canvas, whether it was cake plates or baby crates. She also taught piano and played the church organ.

Weekends were often spent driving to the beach with his father for fishing expeditions. “He would play a lot of Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Bob Seger, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen,” he says. “As early as I can remember, I always gravitated toward lyrics. Even when I hadn’t lived enough to understand them, they still shaped me. “

During high school, he secretly began playing his brother’s guitar because he was intimidated by the talent of his mother and older brother. “I would play when nobody was around, just figuring out stuff, watching his hands and trying to do the same thing.”

He played point guard for Wallace State’s basketball team and also played on its golf team in Hanceville, Ala., for two years and then transferred to Valdolsta State University on a golf scholarship. He wrote songs daily and joined a band that performed throughout the South, providing him with all of his income.

After graduation and a short stint as a bartender on St. Simon’s Island, he moved to Hawaii on a whim with just a backpack, a surfboard and a friend. After six months of this tropical paradise, Kip thought he had found his permanent home until his friend encouraged him to pursue songwriting as a living.

He drove to Nashville on Jan. 1, 2004 in an old black Nissan truck that contained one bag and his guitar. He immersed himself in the songwriting community, observing songwriters’ rounds for two years and honing his craft before gaining the confidence to join in. After four years of performing locally, he caught the attention of Creative Artist Agency’s Marc Dennis, who called Universal Music Group Nashville’s Joe Fisher. Not only did Joe’s encounter lead to his record deal with MCA Nashville, but it also brought about his introduction to songwriter Brett James, who produced Kip’s debut album.

“Brett gave me the freedom to find who I was as an artist, the freedom for writing a different kind of thing, a different kind of melody and lyric,” he says. “He gave me room to grow.”

He also found important relationships with songwriters Dan Couch, Scott Steppakoff, Westin Davis and Kiefer Thompson. “There was definitely a special thing when we got in the room together,” Kip says. “They were open to my ideas of being different.”

He co-wrote “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” with Couch. “I think anybody that comes from a small town has lived that song,” he says. “I lived that song 5,000 times growing up. When you are from a small town like I am, there’s not a whole lot to do. You have to make your own fun and there’s a lot of sitting in fields, and a whole lot of Bud Light and fishing poles. It’s real hot in south Georgia, so all of the girls were wearing sundresses. It was all you needed back then – a truck bed, beer, a radio and good company with you. It’s a fun song that everybody lived at a young age.”

LAWRENCE MUSIC GROUP CELEBRATES ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN THE ROUND AT THE BLUEBIRD

Lawrence Music Group celebrated it’s one-year anniversary Wednesday (2/1) by entertaining to a packed house at Nashville’s famous Bluebird Café for an evening of words and music presented by ASCAP.

The round featured artists and writers of the LMG team who have joined forces with Tracy Lawrence’s record label, publishing and artist management company during the year such as American Idol’s Lacey Brown, Rick Huckaby, Jonny Houlihan, and producer/songwriter Flip Anderson.

Lawrence shared the stage with LMG team performing some of the hits he has penned as well as his just released new single “PILLS,” which is a tongue and cheek song about dependency on medication.

“It’s been an exciting year for us,” said Tracy Lawrence. “We founded the company on the core principal that music would be the foundation for everything we do. It’s important even in this digital age we continue to provide opportunities for artists and songwriters to create music, which is the cornerstone to the Nashville music community.”

Lawrence has enjoyed success this year with his critically acclaimed debut on the LMG label, The Singer. “PILLS” is the second single from the project released to radio this week and is already receiving great reviews.

Lacey Brown, Rick Huckaby, and Jonny Houlihan are scheduled to release new music in 2012.

Pistol Annies has a new single out call HELL ON HEELS. Look for it in you music stories. It is for sure a CD you must have for your collection.

BAMAJAM 2012 TO TAKE PLACE ON JUNE 14-16, 2012! BamaJam Productions, LLC Announces Rendy Lovelady (RLM/Mission Management) as Executive Producer

After a quiet year in 2011, Enterprise, AL will once again be filled with music this upcoming summer with BamaJam 2012 scheduled to take place June 14-16, 2012!

BamaJam Productions, LLC also announces the addition of Rendy Lovelady (RLM/Mission Management) to the team as executive producer for the 2012 festival, as well as all other musical events held at BamaJam Farms throughout the year. Lovelady will be facilitating talent booking for all stages and can be reached at 615-340-9500 or rl@rlminc.net.

“The history of BamaJam might be short, but it is sure exciting,” says Exec. Producer Rendy Lovelady. “Headliners ranging from Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Brooks & Dunn, Jason Aldean, and Taylor Swift have all graced the BamaJam stage and this year will be just as exciting, with our 2012 plans already underway.”

MERCURY RECORDS SINGER/SONGWRITER CANAAN SMITH RELEASES DEBUT SINGLE “WE GOT US” TO RADIO JANUARY 9 COUNTRY WEEKLY NAMES CANAAN SMITH ONE OF TWELVE ARTISTS TO WATCH IN 2012

Canaan Smith will release his debut single, “We Got Us,” to radio on January 9. Just in time for the single to hit radio, Country Weekly has named Canaan as one of twelve artists to watch in 2012.

The story of “We Got Us” is a couple in love who take a leap of faith and set out on their own fueled by only their affection for one another.

cause we got no money
nothing of our own honey
got your daddy all worried cause times are tough
but we got love baby
don’t sound like much maybe
but there aint no way that’s not enough
we got us

“Getting to be the voice for this song is a feeling like no other,” Canaan says. “It felt special when we wrote it, and I’m stoked to see the positive early feedback at radio! Thanks for all the support!”

Canaan performed “We Got Us” to an audience for the first time at the Universal Music Group Nashville CRS luncheon held at the historic Ryman Auditorium last March.

Canaan’s debut album will release later this year, but fans can now purchase “We Got Us” via iTunes at http://bit.ly/CanaanWeGotUsiTunes.

“This album is my life 3-and-a-half minutes at a time. I wrote what I was feeling, and we cut it like we wanted it to sound. Getting to work with my longtime heroes (producers Brett Beavers and Luke Wooten) has been everything I hoped it would be. I can’t wait to share my stories.”

Award-Winning Songwriter, Mark Wayne Glasmire, Celebrates EP Rollout With Global Nod, Hot U.S. Single & Video Adds

Award-winning songwriter, Mark Wayne Glasmire, celebrates today’s rollout of his newest EP release, MARK WAYNE GLASMIRE/Traceway Records, with a global nod, a hot U.S. single, and key video adds. Glasmire, who ruled the International HotDisc Chart for nine consecutive weeks last year, was recently named the Chart’s “Most Popular Artist for 2011.” His current U.S. single, “Going Home,” is moving rapidly up the Music Row Chart, sitting at #60 this week, and the artist’s debut video has just been added to GACtv.com and CMT.com. The “Going Home” video can also be seen on The Country Network, American Music Channel, Roughstock, Yallwire and Yahoo!Music.

“Things have definitely been on the upswing,” says the honey-voiced tenor with a laugh. “The new disc seems to resonate with early reviewers and the fan response to the single has been amazing.”

Glasmire has long been a favorite of music critics. With MARK WAYNE GLASMIRE he is winning over even more tastemakers.

“MWG is made up of seven satisfying tracks. In a field of EPs that could easily benefit

from editing, this group of songs has been put together with care; the tracks complement

each other and leave you wanting more.It’s refreshing… and it reminds me a bit of the moment years ago when I first heard a young Collin Raye perform.” – ParcBench.com

“The songs are filled with infectious instrumental hooks and Glasmire has a very good, warm voice. Mark has a flare for a song.” – No Depression

“Glasmire is a throwback to the days of soothing, thoughtful singer/songwriters

such as James Taylor, John Denver, Harry Chapin and Dan Fogelberg. He unabashedly makes music for baby boomers, writing songs steeped in melodies, lyrics and an air of familiarity. His songs exude the creative honesty of a true artist.” – Dallas Morning News

ABOUT MWG

Mark’s music has carried him from the New York City folk scene to the storied songwriter nights of Nashville, TN (Bluebird Cafe, Exit-In, Wildhorse Saloon). He’s opened shows for top-tier acts like Guy Clark and Dierks Bentley, and has become a sought-after performer at music halls, pubs and festivals across the U.S. Since the release of his 2009 CD, LIFE GOES ON, Mark’s enjoyed hits on the national Music Row Chart, including the Top 40, “You Opened My Eyes,” and he’s won international acclaim with a string of #1s on the International HotDisc Chart. Glasmire has also won numerous songwriting competitions, including: 2010Chris Austin Songwriting Contest -Merlefest, NC – GRAND PRIZE WINNER / COUNTRY DIVISION; 2010 Wildflower Performing Songwriter Contest – Richardson, TX; 2009 GINA/LAWIM Songwriting Competition – Los Angeles, CA – GRAND PRIZE WINNER; 2008 Dallas Songwriter’s Assoc. Songwriting Contest, Dallas, TX – GRAND PRIZE WINNER; 2008 B. W. Stevenson Memorial Songwriting Competition-Dallas, TX – GRAND PRIZE WINNER.

www.markwayneglasmire.com

DUKES OF DIXIELAND JOIN OAK RIDGE BOYS AND OTHERS TO INTRODUCE NEW GENRE When Country Meets Dixie—Two Great Voices Collide

Touchstones of Dixie Jazz and country music genres, the Oak Ridge Boys and Dukes of Dixieland, joined to collaborate and record a harmonious new project entitled WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE*. Available February 28, 2012, the blended, dynamic composition of “big band New Orleans jazz meets American barbershop gospel/country” is poised to inspire and entertain generations young and old with its swinging energy and “rhythmatic” performances featuring trumpet, trombone, clarinet and sax (baritone & tenor).

The impetus for the cross-genre project is the offspring of a casual dinner conversation between two friends, music industry powerhouses John Shoup and Jim Halsey. Television producer/manager John Shoup, who has managed the New Orleans-based Dukes of Dixieland band for more than 38 years, posed the idea of the collaboration to impresario and star-maker Jim Halsey. (Halsey has guided the careers of world-renowned, award-winning recording artists Roy Clark, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds and The Righteous Brothers, and has managed the Oak Ridge Boys since the mid-70s.) Before coffee and dessert were served, WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE was already in the mix.

The “Southern to the core” project was actualized with producer James Stroud signing on to lend his talents to the album.

“Initially, we wanted to have this little get-together to see if it worked musically,” explains James Stroud, former head for Giant and Dreamworks Records, current CEO of R&J Records and producer of Tim McGraw, Toby Keith and Chris Young among many others. “We wanted to incorporate some of the sounds the Dukes brought from New Orleans and combine it with what the Oak Ridge Boys bring with their history and successes in gospel and country. The project wound up creating its own sound, its own brand. WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE is the result of two great American art forms colliding. It’s the most unique thing that we may hear musically for a long time.”

The magic began in January 2011. Current Dukes of Dixieland members (trumpeter Kevin Clark, trombonist Ben Smith, clarinetist/saxophonist Ryan Burrage, pianist Scott Obenschain, bassist Alan Broome and drummer JJ Juliano) joined the Grammy award-winning, and new to the Grand Ole Opry®, Oak Ridge Boys (Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban and William Lee Golden) in a Nashville studio, The Tracking Room, where history was made.

“We hear the word ‘legend’ often in the music industry,” the Oak Ridge Boys explain. “But, there are some acts that the four of us truly acknowledge as legendary. The Dukes have a unique chemistry and they have preserved the sounds of Dixieland in quintessential style to characterize their music as authentic ‘feel-good’ New Orleans jazz.”

The two groups recorded four songs together, including a wholly unique remake of the Oak Ridge Boys’ platinum-selling hit single from 1981, “Elvira,” with an irresistibly funky ragtime groove fueling the proceedings. The American quartet contributes their distinctive “Oaks” four-part vocal harmonies to a freewheeling Dixie-fied rendition of “Little Talk With Jesus,” a Professor Longhair-influenced rumba-boogie interpretation of their 1982 hit single “Bobbie Sue,” and an authentic “N’awlins” street beat take on the gospel country tune “Unclouded Day.”

Adding to the stellar collaboration are recordings from newcomers and veterans backed by the steady playing Dukes of Dixieland. Wesley Probst shares the Tennessee Ernie Ford novelty number “Fatback Louisiana” and Ernest Tubb’s “Nails In My Coffin.” Oklahoma native Bobby John Henry, who launched his career as a country crooner in the ’50s, contributes a soulful performance on the mellow ballad “Back In New Orleans.”

New Nashville talent includes Callaway McCord, a 20-year-old firecracker who kicks up the energy level a few notches on a rowdy, hard-driving medley of Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya,” Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin’” and Rockin’ Sidney’s zydeco classic “Don’t Mess With My Toot Toot.” Lathan Moore, a new face in Nashville, lends his appealing baritone voice to the anthemic “Are You From Dixie” (a tune originally written in 1915) and also turns in a moving rendition of “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” as well as “I Can’t Fight The Moonlight” from the Lifetime TV movie, More Than Meets The Eye (written by Mark Bernard and Richard Addrisi–co-writer of the second most-performed song of all time, “Never My Love”). *”I Can’t Fight The Moonlight” track attached below.

Nashville session ace David Spires is also featured on pedal steel guitar throughout, and the Dukes’ pianist, Richard Scott Obenschain, contributes spirited vocals on the opener “That’s What I Like About the South.”

“All involved are masters of their craft and were unique in approach and style,” added the Dukes. “Our idea was to present classic Country tunes with New Orleans grooves and improvised solos and ensembles. It was music magic that was meant to be.”

WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE will be distributed in partnership with RED Distribution. CD pre-sales begin February 7, 2012 via Amazon and iTunes. Additional information, including how to purchase the record, is available at www.dukesofdixieland.com.

About DUKES OF DIXIELAND

A New Orleans dynasty, and Good Will Ambassadors for the City of New Orleans, the Dukes of Dixieland are the quintessential show brass band. The Shoup-led Dukes have been active on the New Orleans scene and internationally since 1974. In addition to playing their signature sound, they have performed with symphony orchestras including the Boston Pops earlier this year, the Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, National DC and the New York Pops in Carnegie Hall. They have performed with 29 other orchestras in the U.S. and around the world and donated their instruments to the Guatamala Orchestra after their last performance. WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE is a crowning achievement in their expansive discography and follows their successful collaborations with former Blood Sweat & Tears singer Luther Kent (NEW ORLEANS MARDI GRAS / CHRISTMAS IN NEW ORLEANS [2006]) as well as the Grammy®-nominated gospel CD with Moses Hogan and the New Orleans Gospel Choir entitled GLORYLAND in 2000. When not on tour or in the recording studio, the Dukes have made their home performing nightly aboard the Steamboat Natchez in New Orleans French Quarter for the past 20 years. [www.dukesofdixieland.com]

About OAK RIDGE BOYS

Oak Ridge Boys, Richard Sterban, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Joe Bonsall formed the American Country quartet in 1973. First taking the stage as a gospel ensemble, the legendary group became a top act in country music and then crossed over to pop with “Elvira” in 1981; celebrating its 30th anniversary music history last year, the song became the group’s fourth No. 1 country hit, reached No. 5 on the pop charts, won the group a Grammy® award and went on to become one of only a handful of singles ever to go double platinum. Recording and touring for nearly 40 years, the band released IT’S ONLY NATURAL CD through the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® in August 2011. [oakridgeboys.com]

*Click Click to playto stream Lathan Moore’s rendition of “I Can’t Fight The Moonlight.”