Author Archives: kaitiemcd

About kaitiemcd

In 2012, I'm challenging myself to keep a blog. And this is it.

Patty Loveless Spreads the Word through Song on Combating COPD

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It’s been eight years since Patty Loveless has performed at CMA Music Festival. Her return this year is reason to celebrate – but the five-time CMA Award winner wants to make sure it’s also a reason to benefit from what she has learned about a killer disease.

Loveless grew up in a musical family – Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle are among her cousins – but her main inspiration and role model was her older sister Dottie. “The first time I heard her sing, I was 6 or 7 years old,” Loveless recalled. “My brother was stationed at Fort Knox, and we went to the camp. While we were there, Dottie got up and sang with the band in the officers’ club. She had an amazing voice; to me, she sounded a little bit like a combination of Patsy Cline, Connie Smith and Brenda Lee.  It was just unbelievable how she moved the solders in there, and I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do someday. I want to make people feel through music.’”

Loveless will perform on Friday, June 11, on the Riverfront Park daytime stage and the Sport Zone main stage.

She would achieve that goal, but along the way Loveless would suffer the blow of her sister’s death in 1996, at the age of 48. She was a victim of emphysema, which like chronic bronchitis is categorized as a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). That experience has led Loveless to lend her name and talent to supporting DRIVE4COPD, a movement dedicated to spreading awareness of the nation’s fourth leading cause of death.

The campaign’s hard-rockin’ theme song, “Drive,” was written by Loveless and her husband Emory Gordy Jr. Her performance is available as a free download to everyone who visits www.DRIVE4COPD.com to take a brief, five-question screener designed to help them see whether they are at risk for the disease.

“I wanted ‘Drive’ to pick people up, put them in the driver’s seat and take that wheel of life,” Loveless explained. “I was a little more shy than Dottie was; she was very energetic, so this gives me an opportunity to share with the people about her and at the same time to encourage them to get back in control and look where they’re heading.”

On Friday, June 11, Loveless will perform on the Riverfront Park Daytime Stage at 11:45 AM and appear at the Sports Zone Main Stage at 4 PM. But she’ll also be speaking one-and-one with fans, signing autographs and encouraging them to take the COPD test. Those who do can enter for a chance to win a trip to the CMA Awards in November or to a NASCAR weekend in Daytona in February 2011.

“Throughout this COPD campaign I’ve been very talkative with fans, even about their health situations,” Loveless said. “To hear them share with me about a family member, or themselves, suffering with some form of COPD, I feel that if I had been educated about it, my sister might have seen a doctor sooner. That’s why I want everyone to take this five-question screener. It takes a few minutes of your time, but that’s nothing compared to a lifetime.”

The Sound of Success – Nashville Students Give Thanks to Keep the Music Playing

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In 2006, CMA launched its “Keep the Music Playing” initiative with a promise to donate half of all profits generated by CMA Music Festival to music education in the Metro Nashville Public Schools.

That promise has grown into an ongoing process of fostering talent and helping kids enjoy the experience of making music. To date, CMA has donated more than $3.3 million to this endeavor.

At 11:45 AM Thursday, June 10, the fruits of that investment will be on display on the Family Zone Stage at CMA Music Festival, as five students from the Nashville School of the Arts (NSA) perform at a special concert not just to entertain but also to express thanks for the support they’ve received through this program.

“We have certainly learned in this district that students in performing arts graduate at a rate of 98 percent,” said Pam Garrett, Executive Director, Nashville Alliance for Public Education. “So this is a great investment. Hopefully, others who attend this performance will realize that as well.”

The young musicians – Eli Bishop (senior) on fiddle, Evan Bundy (junior) on bass, Sam Hunter (junior) on vocals and guitar, Luke Munday (junior) on banjo and Austin Valentine (sophomore) on drums – will also participate in the CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Parade on Wednesday, June 10. While each does own his instrument, they generally use equipment acquired through Keep the Music Playing when they appear as a group.

“And typically we move that equipment in a truck donated through Keep the Music Playing,” said Dr. James Satterwhite, Director of Guitar Studies, NSA. “You can’t imagine how much use we get out of this equipment, whether rehearsing, moving it out to shows or taking it to studios to record. Each instrument is played five or six hours a day during school hours. So this has been huge. Honestly, I’ve been here for 25 years and I couldn’t dream that I would have this much facility without CMA.”

CMA Kicks Off Festival Week with International Artist Showcases

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Following recent tradition, CMA Music Festival week begins with two events designed to introduce an array of exciting Country artists from beyond the borders of the United States.

On Monday, June 7, the CMA Global Artist Party starts at 6 PM at The Stage, (412 Broadway), with Canadian Country artist Adam Gregory debuting as host.

The following afternoon, at The Second Fiddle (420 Broadway), CMA joins Digital Rodeo and AristoMedia to co-sponsor the Aristo Global Showcase, beginning at 4 PM. Also debuting as co-hosts are the Australian, award-winning husband-and-wife singer/songwriters O’Shea, first introduced to American audiences on CMT’s “Can You Duet.”

Admission to both is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and based on a first-come/first-served basis. Mark Moffatt, winner of CMA’s 2008 Jo Walker Meador International Award, is Music Director, and Four Seasons Coach Leasing is bus sponsor, for both events. Both shows will be executive produced by the AristoMedia Group.

Featured artists at the Global Artist Party are: 

  • Luke Austen (Australia) –Australia’s 2010 Toyota Star Maker competition

  • Jaydee Bixby (Canada) – Season 5 “Canadian Idol” runner-up

  • David Bradley (United Kingdom) – former oil field worker and bandleader in Siberia

  • Sinead Burgess (Australia) –2009 CRA (Commercial Radio Australia) Breakthrough Country Artist

  • Cameron Clayton (New Zealand) – 2009 New Zealand National Country Music Association Horizon Award winner

  • Tim McKay (United Kingdom) – two-time winner, British Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year

  • One More Girl (Canada) – winner, 2004 British Columbia Country Music Association Horizon Award winner

 

  • Alex J. Robinson (Canada) – 2008 Canadian Country Music Awards  Top New Talent Female nominee

Featured artists at the Aristo Global Showcase are: 

  • Travis Collins (Australia) – Australia’s 2004 Toyota Star Maker competition winner

  • Emma King & The Heartsets (United Kingdom) – fast-rising “New Country” stylists

  • Jessie Farrell (Canada) – opened for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, album produced by Garth Fundis

  • Jo Hikk (Canada) – 2007 Chevy Rising Star Award winner, Canadian Country Music Awards

  • Steven Lee Olsen (Canada) – songs recorded by Craig Moore, Melissa Lawson and more

  • Ronnie Rae Rivers (Australia) –2010 Western Australian Music Awards Best Country Album of the Year winner

  • European Highwaymen (Norway) – co-founder G. Thomas recorded with Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings and Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives

CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Parade: New Route, Debut Attractions, More Stars and Plenty of Excitement

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For five years, fans who didn’t want to wait for Thursday morning have begun the CMA Music Festival party one day early. The Festival’s Kick-Off Parade does that and more, with veteran and fast-rising new artists riding classic Chevy vehicles through the streets of Downtown Nashville.

This year, though, visitors can enjoy fresh perspectives on the action along a new route. From the corner of Second Avenue North and Church Street, the all-star procession winds two blocks past the restaurants and businesses that line Second Avenue and then turns right. From there, it rolls down Broadway toward an afternoon of great – and FREE – music at the Chevy Music Stage on the Bridgestone Arena Plaza.

Following right behind a huge inflatable musical note, signifying the start of the Parade, Country Music Hall of Fame member Brenda Lee leads the way as Grand Marshal. Dozens of artists follow in an array of vehicles supplied by Carl Black Chevrolet and members of the Nashville Corvette Club. The lineup this year includes Lynn Anderson, Katie Armiger, Rodney Atkins, The Band Perry, Bo Bice, Ash Bowers, Carter Twins, Jeff Cook, Diana DeGarmo, Fast Ryde, Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert, Gloriana, Josh Gracin, The Grascals, The Harters, Buddy Jewell, KingBilly, Jesse Lee, LoCash Cowboys, Lonestar, Jerrod Niemann, James Otto, Danielle Peck, Point of Grace, Marty Raybon, Pam Tillis, Trent Tomlinson and Chuck Wicks (artists participating subject to change).

Many favorites from past parades are back this year, from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to the Nashville Sounds, Nashville Predators and Tennessee Titans mascots. But new participants will join the fun too, among them the Pryme Tyme Athletics cheerleaders, young members of the Nashville Children’s Theater, the Color Guard and Honor Guard from the Metro Nashville Police Department and more. In total, there are approximately 20 more units in this year’s Parade than in 2009, according Parade Coordinator Dell Courtney.

“Part of our task was to increase the efficiency of how the parade moved down the street, by making sure everything was in the right order and to make sure our volunteers are properly informed of what needed to be done and when it needed to be done,” said Courtney, who owns VisionWorks, a Louisville-based company that specializes in planning major events such as parades, festivals and trade shows. “Then we added elements to make the parade a little different – for example, we have a very strong patriotic element this year – without taking away from what the fans come to see, the artists in Corvettes and Silverado trucks.”

The Chevy vehicles, the Big Kenny, Luke Bryan and Wrangler/George Strait trucks, the Music City Drum & Bugle Corps, the rowdy Nashville Rollergirls and ever-civilized Geico Gecko and all their parade-mates hit the road at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, June 9.

Tomorrow’s Stars at CMA Music Festival – Jaron and The Long Road to Love

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Tomorrow’s Stars at CMA Music Festival

 Along with superstars and living legends, many fast-rising artists are given their moments to shine at CMA Music Festival. Meet four of the most promising among today’s young performers as they prepare to step into the spotlight and debut at this year’s Festival!

 Jaron and The Long Road to Love 

Jaron and The Long Road to Love's debut album is scheduled to drop on June 22.

Label: Universal Republic/Big Machine Records

Web site: www.MySpace.com/JaronandtheLongRoadtoLove; www.Facebook.com/JaronLowenstein

Performing: Chevy Music Stage, Thursday, June 10 at 12:30 PM

 Fans will remember Jaron Lowenstein from his stint with Evan and Jaron. Sharing the spotlight as well as the name of the group with his identical twin brother, he achieved success in 2001 with three Top 40 hits, including “Crazy for This Girl,” which peaked at No. 4. Their music was also heard on soundtracks for “Runaway Bride,” starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and “Serendipity,” starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Jaron has won media attention as one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People as well as a guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Live with Regis and Kelly.”

 Since then, this Georgia-born artist has returned to his Southern roots by settling in Nashville and launching a solo project, Jaron and The Long Road to Love. His music draws from traditional roots, including Appalachian music as well as Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. Yet his career is a thoroughly modern endeavor, making full use of social media, blogs and networking. His debut album, Getting Dressed in the Dark, is scheduled to drop on June 22; “Pray for You,” its first single, has already topped the Billboard Heatseekers Chart on its way up the charts.

 How do you feel about performing at CMA Music Festival?

Privileged. I know this is a week of smiles for artists and fans alike and I’m happy to be able to add to some of that. To me, the two things that most define Country Music today are lyrics and fan appreciation.

How will you prepare for this performance?

I have no pre-show rituals and I don’t really rehearse because it’s just me playing.

How will you pick which songs you’d like to do in your set?

I will go on Facebook and ask the fans who are coming to the show what they want to hear. I will compile the list and then make changes in real-time from the stage.

Have you ever attended Music Fest as a fan?

I attended last year. I had just moved back to Nashville and was taking it all in for the first time. I have been around the music business for a long time but have never quite seen anything like a “fan convention.” It was moving and struck a chord with me because the spirit of the festival so closely aligned with my own reasons for coming back to music after a six year hiatus – the need to share and be shared with.

Are there any shows or events at this year’s Festival you do not want to miss?

I’m just hoping to be able to catch as many shows as I can and remain as coherent as possible throughout the week.

Tomorrow’s Stars at CMA Music Festival – Easton Corbin

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 Along with superstars and living legends, many fast-rising artists are given their moments to shine at CMA Music Festival. Meet four of the most promising among today’s young performers as they prepare to step into the spotlight and debut at this year’s Festival!

 Easton Corbin 

Corbin will be taking a break from Brad Paisley's tour to play at CMAfest.

Label: Mercury Records Nashville

Web site: www.EastonCorbin.com

Performing: LP Field, Saturday, June 12

 You can’t get more Country than Easton Corbin. The images that flow through his No. 1 hit, “A Little More Country Than That,” add up to a picture of the world he knew growing up in Gilchrist County, Fla. From working on his grandparents’ cattle farm to fishing from the banks of the Suwannee River, Corbin was raised with an appreciation for rural life, to the extent that a trip to the local Hardee’s was considered dining out – until the Hardee’s closed.

 The same applied to music. Starting with the albums stored in his grandfather’s living room, Corbin developed a deep love for Country Music and with it an ambition to seek his fortunes as an artist. It proved a short journey from taking guitar lessons at 15 to opening local shows for Janie Fricke and Mel McDaniel, and from pocketing his degree from the University of Florida and moving with his bride, just a month after their wedding, to Nashville.

 No stranger to hard work, Corbin worked his connections and nurtured his music to the point of achieving a major-label release with his self-titled debut album. Already he is recognized as a young champion of traditional Country, ready and able to carry on in the styles of George Jones, Merle Haggard, George Strait and Keith Whitley for new generations of fans.

 How do you feel about performing at CMA Music Festival?

I’m really excited to play this year because I’ve never played in a stadium before. I’m glad CMA Fest is still going on, especially with everything Nashville has gone through in the past couple weeks with the floods.  And I’m proud to be a part of CMA Festival because 50 percent of the profits are going to help the victims of the floods.

How will you prepare for this performance?

I’m actually out on the road right now, playing as many shows as I can.  I will also be starting on the Brad Paisley Tour in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully being out with Brad, I can get a few pointers from him.

 How will you pick which songs you’d like to do in your set?

It depends on how many songs we get to play, but I will definitely be playing my first two singles, “I’m A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It”. And I will pull a few others from my debut album.

Have you ever attended Music Fest as a fan?

I got to go to some of the shows a couple years back, and it was great.  The one thing I remember was sitting at LP Field thinking how awesome it would be to play that stage one day, and now here I am.  As a new artist, it is such an honor to be asked to play the main stage.

Are there any shows or events at this year’s Festival you do not want to miss?

I’m actually jumping off the Paisley Tour to come play the CMA Fest Saturday night, so I won’t get to spend a lot of time here in Nashville.  But I am looking forward to watching all the other performers’ shows that night.

Tomorrow’s Stars at CMA Music Festival – Steel Magnolia

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Tomorrow’s Stars at CMA Music Festival

 Along with superstars and living legends, many fast-rising artists are given their moments to shine at CMA Music Festival. Meet four of the most promising among today’s young performers as they prepare to step into the spotlight and debut at this year’s Festival!

 Steel Magnolia

Jones and Linsey met singing karaoke in a Nashville club.

Label: Big Machine Records

Web site: www.MySpace.com/SteelMagnoliaMusic

Performing: Riverfront Park Daytime Stages, Sunday, June 13, 11:30 AM

 They captured America’s attention last year as winners of CMT’s “Can You Duet” competition. Their first single, “Keep On Lovin’ You,” featured on the soundtrack for “Valentine’s Day,” made history by charting higher than any other debut by a male/female twosome in the 66-year history of the Billboard Country chart. They’ve been on the road with Brad Paisley’s “H2O World Tour.” Their first album is wrapped and ready to release.

 Hard to believe that it wasn’t that long ago that fate brought Joshua Scott Jones and Meghan Linsey together when each jumped onstage in a Nashville club for a karaoke romp through Air Supply’s “All Out of Love.” Each had come to Nashville in search of a solo career, Linsey having already opened at 15 for Paisley, Toby Keith and other headliners at shows near her hometown of Ponchatoula, La., and Jones having trekked from Charleston, Ill., to Los Angeles to try his luck in rock before making his way to Music City.

 Their voices are complementary; Linsey sings in a soulful, sometimes simmering style, and Jones has an inviting, sometimes humorous way with a lyric. They’ve already proven on television that they can “duet.” They’ll make that clear again, with all the excitement of live performance, at their CMA Music Festival.

 How do you feel about performing at CMA Music Festival?

JONES: We are really excited about the show because it is one of the only shows in Nashville where it is all about the fans coming into town to show their love for the music.

LINSEY: It feels great! It’s an amazing opportunity to get out there and meet fans and play some of our new songs! We’re so excited!

How will you prepare for this performance?

JONES: We will prep with a good amount of talking-through our stage show and then hopefully getting ample rehearsal time in with the band to execute.

LINSEY: Just a lot of rehearsal. We just recently put our band together. We’ve been playing acoustically for 10 months, so we can’t wait to start playing full band shows!

How will you pick which songs you’d like to do in your set?

JONES: We’ll choose songs that fans relate to and throw in a few that everyone loves and put them in an order that will hopefully create a fun ride for our audience.

LINSEY: Well, it is an outdoor event, so we definitely want to keep it upbeat and rockin’! We’ll definitely play some stuff from our new record that will be out in September too.

Have you ever attended Music Fest as a fan?

JONES: Last year we sat in the nosebleed section and just wanted to be up onstage as a performer! We loved the show – Miranda Lambert walked out and rocked “Kerosene,” head banging and all!

LINSEY: Oh, yeah – all the time when I was a kid. I actually attended in 2004 right before I moved to town, and I just remember sitting in LP Field watching Martina McBride play and dreaming about doing that one day.

Are there any shows or events at this year’s Festival you do not want to miss?

LINSEY: We always try to make it to some of the big stage shows in LP Field. They’re always full of great artists!

Tomorrow’s Stars at CMA Music Festival – Danny Gokey

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Tomorrow’s Stars at CMA Music Festival

Along with superstars and living legends, many fast-rising artists are given their moments to shine at CMA Music Festival. Meet four of the most promising among today’s young performers as they prepare to step into the spotlight and debut at this year’s Festival!

 Danny Gokey

Danny Gokey got his start on American Idol.

 Label: 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville

 Web site: www.DannyGokey.com

 Performing: LP Field, Thursday, June 10

Danny Gokey debuts at CMA Music Festival with some powerful winds at his back. Raised by a tight family in Milwaukee, nourished by their eclectic musical tastes, he drew from his strong work ethic and sense of responsibility to provide for his wife Sophia as a truck driver while they imagined together that he would someday fulfill his dream becoming a successful musical artist.

 Dreams can come true, though sometimes at a terrible price. Just one month before Gokey’s audition for “American Idol,” Sophia died during heart surgery. Devastated, Gokey dedicated his rise through the ranks of “Idol” contestants to her memory. By the time he’d finished in third place, millions of fans were rooting for him and waiting for him to launch his full-time music career.

 Gokey did so explosively with My Best Days. Released in March, it sold 65,000 copies in its first week – more than any debut male Country artist had done since 1992 – and broke onto the Billboard chart at No. 3. From a high-profile tour opening for Sugarland to his celebration of his wife through the good works of his Sophia’s Heart Foundation, Gokey is a positive model for young artists and a singer whose talents guarantee long-term success.

 How do you feel about performing at CMA Music Fest?

I think it’s such an honor and a privilege. It makes me feel very welcome.

How will you prepare for this performance?

For me, every performance is very important, and I mentally prepare myself to give 110 percent.

How will you pick which songs you’d like to do in your set?

That depends on the atmosphere and what kind of crowd it is. I know this is an upbeat crowd, so I’ll do the most blazing songs from my record.

Have you ever attended Music Fest as a fan?

No, but I watched it on TV.

Are there any shows or events at this year’s Festival you do not want to miss?

Time permitting, I’d like to be a part of as much as I can, because it is such a huge event.

Jo Dee Messina Hosts St. Jude Music Fest Road Race

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            Jo Dee Messina is a runner. Every day, she covers four to six miles. She’s run marathons in Boston, Chicago, Phoenix and elsewhere. Even during her pregnancy she kept up a modified regimen.

            So it’s no surprise that as the St. Jude Music Fest Road Race debuts this year as an official CMA Music Festival activity, this CMA Horizon Award winner would be in the thick of it all, as both host and participant.

             This is actually a two-part event on Saturday, June 12, beginning at Nashville Public Square, Second Avenue North at Union Street, with a one-mile “fun run” at 7:30AM. Then, at 8AM, the 5K begins. Prizes including $300 for the overall winner, will be awarded at 9:30AM, also at Public Square.

             Registration is available online at www.MusicFestRoadRace.org  at $25 per participant through June 11. On race day, beginning at 6AM on Public Square, registration will be $30. All proceeds will be donated toward research and treatment conducted at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

             Participants can become St. Jude Heroes by inviting donations to support their performance in the race. The first 250 Heroes to bring in $250 will win two free tickets to the LP Field nightly concert on Saturday, June 12 – and all who reach the $500 mark will receive a free brunch with Messina. Her fan club is already involved in this effort, having formed a special “Team Messina” to encourage donations together.

             “St. Jude is grateful for more than 20 years of support from the Nashville community and Country Music fans and artists,” said Richard C. Shadyac, Jr., CEO, ALSAC/St.Jude, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. “Participation in the St. Jude Music Fest Road Race is a new way for Country Music fans to support children at St. Jude fighting cancer.”

             “Jo Dee Messina has supported St. Jude over the years through our annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids fundraising program,” added Teri Watson, Senior Director of Radio Marketing, ALSAC/St. Jude. “Now, we are so grateful for her support of our new St. Jude Music Fest Road Race. Jo Dee has volunteered to be our honorary host for the race and she will join Country Music fans from around the country who are running in honor of thousands of kids being treated at St. Jude.”

             The event has special meaning for Messina, whose nephew battled cancer. But in the spirit of CMA Music Festival, she also sees it as another way to connect directly with fans. “I’ll probably hang out and yap with people at the starting line for the 5k,” she said.

             As an experienced runner, what advice does Messina have for first-time racers? “Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!” she answered, laughing. “Don’t wear new shoes – never wear new shoes on the day of a run. And don’t drink too much the night before!”