A big shout-out to barley & hops
Dierks Bentley is at the GEC this week to rehearse for his very first headliner tour, and there’s a secret ingredient.
Seems Dierks has a bass container that he had converted into an on-stage refrigerator.
Dierks tells my News 2 colleague Stephanie Langston that it’s important for when they play shows in dry counties.
“Country music requires having something domestic, light and cold to help get the job done,” he said, laughing.
Amen!
Dierks is bringing along Miranda Lambert and the Randy Rogers Band for the tour, which kicks off Wednesday in Auburn, Ala.
Phil Vassar put on a free Riverfront Park show last night that didn’t exactly pack the hill.
Phil was there on behalf of Chevy, which put on a series of free outdoor shows across the country to promote tomorrow’s Farm-Aid event in New Jersey.
But temperatures dropped here and the rain made things, well, less than desirable: About 300 to 500 folks showed.
To Phil’s credit, he played like 5,000 were there. Just another day in paradise…
The winners of the 2006 International Bluegrass Music Awards were announced last night during a show at the Grand Ole Opry House.
Without further ado:
Hall of Honor inductees: The Lewis Family and Syd Nathan.
Entertainer of the year: The Grascals.
Male vocalist of the year: Tim O’Brien.
Female vocalist of the year: Rhonda Vincent.
Instrumental group of the year: Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder.
Vocal group of the year: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.
CMA’s Headed Our Way!
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…the CMA awards will soon take over Nashville with a week of fun country events!
Brad Schmitt and I will be doing an hour TV special on this years hot award topics and we want you to get involved! Click on the CMA poll above and cast your votes for this years winners. Maybe you know Keith Urban will take home Entertainer of the Year again, or is it Kenny Chesney’s turn again?
Let us know your vote and we will share the results on air! Remember- this is just for fun and you can see this years real winners right here on ABC November 6th!
Who will save your soul?
Or at least popster Jewel will try to save the good ratings that USA Network talent contest Nashville Star got last season.
Wynonna declined to return as host, so USA Network announced Jewel will take that spot, co-hosting with Cowboy Troy.
“I grew up on a ranch in Alaska, and my favorite memories are of sitting around a camp fire with my father and listening to the songs he wrote and sang. It was pure country music, and it has made me a sincere fan of country music ever since,” Jewel said in a statement.
Nashville Star will hold auditions here Oct. 12 at the Wildhorse Saloon.
For more info, try www.usanetwork.com/nashvillestar/.
If you feel like partying for free — and you don’t mind a slightly soggy tushy — check out Phil Vassar’s free concert at Riverfront Park.
Seems Chevy is sponsoring a bunch of free shows across the country to promote the upcoming Farm Aid show in New Jersey.
But who wants to go to Jersey? You can get free music right here!
New country group The Lost Trailers start at 6:30 p.m. and Phil hits the stage at 7:30 p.m.
By the way, the show, despite some rain today, WILL be at Riverfront Park.
Or at least the fine folks at Nashville Lifestyles magazine think so.
The annual 25 Most Beautiful People issue comes out next week, and no surprise here, but Carrie Underwood is on the cover.
Others inside include Titans tight end Erron Kinney, Chely Wright, Nashville Star winner Chris Young, Sarah Stone from The Bachelor… and Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall?
The sheriff, who plays some practical jokes now and again, thought the offer to be on the list was a retaliatory joke.
Now, the sheriff jokes that there may be a recount and that his mom will be the only one to buy it.
What does the sheriff’s wife, Ginger Hall, make of this?
“As long as I’m on her list, I guess that’s all that matters at this point.”
Smart AND handsome, that sheriff is.
Other names you might recognize on the beautiful list: Lovely/pregnant Kimberly Williams-Paisley star of According to Jim and Brad Paisley’s wife, Titans tight end Erron Kinney, singer Chely Wright, Nashville Star winner Chris Young, Miss Tennessee Blaire Pancake, Preds player Jason Arnott, artist James Ronald Threalkill and country singer Trent Willmon.
- Amy Grant is on tonight’s (Thursday’s) Extra TV show right here on News 2. You can also her Oct. 10 on The View.
- A triple-header comedy show hits TPAC Friday night. Check out Fear Factor’s Joe Rogan, Chappelle’s Show’s Charlie Murphy and Last Comic Standing’s John Heffron in the “Real Men of Comedy Tour.” Go to www.maximonline.com/realmenofcomedy for ticket info.
Kenny Chesney- 25 mill!
The Tennessee native just has it! He sells out arena after arena and his record sales…millions after millions! Kenny threw a little party last night to show his appreciation for those that have supported him over his career success of selling 25 million records. Mingling among the invitees at the Caribbean party- Randy Owen of Alabama, Rodney Crowell and I believe I spotted American Idol’s Kellie Pickler.
Fruits, chicken, steak and an array of delicious pastries lined the room, as well as a full supply of Cruzan Rum (his sponsor). A Caribbean band satisfied the vibe, topping off the beach party feel.
A few awards were given to Kenny and then he gave back to those in attendance. A black sheet unveiled a wall full of plaques, many personalized…Brad Schmitt…Jay Leno and Katie Couric! Ooh…that’s big time!
Today, Chesney is back-to-back and the reigning Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year and he is nominated for four Country Music Association Awards! Keep it up Kenny!
Kim & the Sheriff bring sexy back
What do Carrie Underwood, The Bachelor’s Sarah Stone and Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall have in common?
Put aside your behind-bars jokes.
The three are among Nashville Lifestyles‘ 25 Most Beautiful People list coming out next week.
Carrie is the cover girl, but the Sheriff strikes a pose in front of a cruiser at the state Capitol building.
And who knew Daron was so motivated? His slogan: “You can sleep when you’re dead.”
Other names you might recognize on the beautiful list: Lovely/pregnant Kimberly Williams-Paisley star of According to Jim and Brad Paisley’s wife, Titans tight end Erron Kinney, singer Chely Wright, Nashville Star winner Chris Young, Miss Tennessee Blaire Pancake, Preds player Jason Arnott, artist James Ronald Threalkill and country singer Trent Willmon.
Somehow meteorologist Davis Nolan got passed over again! Call Andy Cordan – That’s messed up!
You knew the party was gonna have an island feel.
Kenny Chesney loves the Caribbean, so he had tropical foods and drinks and a Caribbean house band last night to celebrate 25 million albums sold.
In the house: Alabama lead singer Randy Owen, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson , Kenny’s sister and his mom, and a host of big-time songwriters came down to the party at the Musicians’ Hall of Fame near the arena.
His record label gave him a plaque several months ago, but Kenny wanted to thank loads o’ Music Row types who helped him along the way. So when he came off the road from his super-successful summer tour, Kenny threw a party to do just that.
Kenny gave a sweet speech, and then everyone enjoyed some delicious fruit and a variety of meat-on-a-stick.
Yummy!
Wynonna is putting out her first Christmas album, Wynonna: A Classic Christmas, Oct. 10, and she’ll celebrate by doing a couple of Yuletide shows Nov. 24 and 25 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
“Ooooo, that’ll look good on my resume,” she told me this week.
Wy hopes disco diva/Nashville resident Donna Summer will be a special guest.
“I’m having a dress made. I’m going to be that diva I’ve always wanted to be,” Wy promises.
Wy is shaken, not stirred
Wynonna will release her first Christmas album, Wynonna: A Classic Christmas, Oct. 10, some 20 years after she and her mom released one.
You’ll get the classics, Winter Wonderland, White Christmas, O Holy Night, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and others.
There’s one original, It’s the Messiah, written by Wy collaborator Don Potter, and it’s a reason-for-the-season song about Jesus’ birth.
But the toughest song was Ave Maria, which Wy sang in Latin, thanks to the help of vocal coach Ron Browning.
Wy said Ron had to shake her to get her to relax during the recording.
How many shakings?
“There were a lot,” she said, laughing.
You can see Wy perform the songs live Nov. 24 and 25 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. She hopes disco diva/Nashville resident Donna Summer will be a special guest.
“I’m having a dress made. I’m going to be that diva I’ve always wanted to be,” Wy promises.
The BET cable channel has a series called Next Level, and it shows talented folks trying to get to the, well, next level of their careers.
Titans rookie QB Vince Young will be the next subject for the series. He’ll be on six episodes, starting Oct. 4.
And Vince has a decidedly Nashville way to kick off the series. He’ll have a fund-raiser party.
It happens Oct. 3 at trendy Layl’a Rul at 7:00 p.m., and yes, you’ll get a sneak peek at the show. You’ll also see lots of Titans and, based on who’s getting invited, you’ll probably see some non-football superstars there as well.
Get yer $100 tickets at the LP Field ticket office. The money goes to the Vince Young Foundation.
- Congrats to Kenny Chesney, who celebrates 25 million albums sold today. Now he’s just 5 billion behind McDonald’s.
- Phil Vassar plays a free show at Riverfront Park Thursday night. New country group The Lost Trailers open at 6:30 p.m., with Phil on about an hour later. It’s part of several Chevy sponsored shows across the country to promote Farm Aid, being held in New Jersey.
- Rascal Flatts gave Vandy children’s hospital $811,525 from its GEC show last week, which is more than $200,000 over its donation to the hospital from last year’s show. The fellers thank their record label, Lyric Street Records, and their booking agent, William Morris Agency, for helping.
- Mazel tov to Trace Adkins, who saw his new album, Dangerous Man, go gold in just six weeks or so. Trace is celebrating 10 years in the biz. In that time, he has joined the Opry, had 19 top-25 hits and checked out about 16,734 badonkadonks.
In and Above the City!
Last week was a busy one! Outside of all the great music madness I managed to get a real taste of my hometown.
Saturday couldn’t have a better day to stroll over the Pedestrian Street Bridge and sip a fine glass of wine. Over a thousand folks came out to the sold out “Wine on the River.” Everyone was greeted with a bottomless wine glass and welcomed to sip on over 300 hundred wines.
Sunday my man, Trinity and I took a cruise in a borrowed convertible out to Loveless Cafe (for our anniversary). We picked up some biscuits, preserves, ham and steak then headed to the park for a picnic. It was another beautiful day in the weather world and Trinity took a swim in the river.
Sunday night we indulged on juicy steaks at Morton’s. Before dessert was served, we took a carriage ride around town. I wanted a little history lesson on downtown, but that didn’t happen.
After the carriage ride we dined on one of my favorite desserts in town, Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake with a liquid chocolate center! Yum!
Next stop- the state fair. Our first date was at the fair, so we had to stop by. It was two hours before closing time on the final night, but we still paid $16 to get in and $12 to ride the Ferris wheel. It was pricey and didn’t compare to the Wilson County Fair! JD of Those Legendary Shack*Shakers painted this sideshow banner hanging at the fair.
FYI: I’m trying to stretch my cheeks like the lady in the picture!
Wednesday afternoon my man took me for a big surprise, a hot air balloon ride!
I was nervous, as neither of us had been up before. Once we took off from Fieldstone Farms the ride was smooth sailing. It was a gorgeous day looking over the river, hills and farm homes. Families stood below watching and waving as we passed over. We went 15-hundred feet up! I was amazed we could hear most everything that the kids were yelling. The typical shout was “Land here!” We brushed a tree once and my heart dropped, but fortunately it didn’t rock our basket. We could see the flight crew following our route most of the time. They communicated with walkie-talkies and we landed in a random back yard, which must be common for Franklin homeowners. The landing scared me; we hit the ground twice before slowly tilting our basket on the ground…but we were safe!
It was a nice relaxing experience, but I probably won’t go up again. It is extremely expensive! For the cost of a private ride you should get a five-course meal, fine chocolates and 3 bottles of champagne! Do you have any hot air balloon stories? Have you ever been up before…or has one landed in your yard?
We’ve got a CMA contest winner!
And it’s Mandy Pavlick of Murfreesboro, who writes she’s the ultimate country fan.
“For starters, I moved to Nashville from out of state 4 years ago because I love country music. I wasn’t looking for a singing career, I didn’t have a job lined up, I didn’t know anybody here,” Mandy writes. “I just came to Nashville because I love the music.”
Mandy has seen Tim McGraw 20 times, Kenny Chesney 15 times.
“I was proposed to by my husband at the Sugarland show at City Hall, where Bon Jovi happened to show up and sing a couple songs….
“My first dance at my wedding was a Tim McGraw/Faith Hill song. I danced with my dad to a Garth Brooks song. And I was fortunate enough to have a great new artist show up and sing at my wedding. Her name is Taylor Swift, and I think she’s the next big thing…
“Oh, and by the way, I used to go the Opry just about every week when I first moved here, just because I wanted to hear the music. And you thought only tourists went to the Opry!”
OK, OK, Mandy!
By the way, she adds that she has never gone to a CMA Awards show.
Well, Mandy, you’re going now. It’s Nov. 6 at the GEC, and the CMA was kind enough to throw in a couple of tix to the Broadway Meets Country events Oct. 30 at TPAC.
Have a blast! And sorry, Tim McGraw not included.
You’ve seen him on reality TV show Rock Star Supernova. You’ve seen him on another reality show on MTV with then wife Carmen Electra.
Now you’ll see rocker Dave Navarro on stage at Nashville’s Riverfront Park Oct. 6. Seriously.
Dave’s now in a rock band called The Panic Channel, which will be part of the Orange County Choppers weekend here Oct. 6-8, which — believe it or not — officially kicks off Nashville’s nine-month 200th birthday party. (What says “Happy birthday Nashville!” like loud rock music and a custom-built chopper? I digress.)
Dave’s band is fronted by Steve Isaacs, a one-time MTV VJ and one-time lead actor in a touring company of The Who’s Tommy.
You can see Dave Navarro and The Panic Channel by getting tickets to the OCC event at www.occinamerica.com.
It’s only $25 for a one-day pass or $30 at the gate.
No word if Dave will blow out 200 candles as part of the fun.
Many folks think Heather and Neil Orne never see each other because they’re on opposite shifts now.
Think again.
The happy genetically-perfect couple is expecting a genetically-perfect baby in March.
“This could be the very first baby with a silver microphone in its mouth,” said John Dwyer, Heather’s co-anchor for News 2 This Morning.
“To two co-workers who are even better people, I wish them luck and love with their expanded family,” he added.
Ain’t John sweet? And he didn’t even read it off the TelePrompTer.
Several months ago, Heather and Neil picked out the baby name Suri, but now they’re on to plan B.
Waltons star was wacky for Fats
Worlds collide!
You know Michael Learned from The Waltons and Tom Bosley from Happy Days are here this weekend for a TPAC production of On Golden Pond.
But did you know that Michael has been to Nashville before?
She tells me she can’t remember exactly when, but Michael said she stayed for a week or so at The Hermitage Hotel, back in the day that the late billiards legend Minnesota Fats lived there.
Not that she knew who he was. There just so happened to e this older guy around.
“Every time I would come into the hotel, he’d be there,” she told me.
“Of course I didn’t know who he was at first. And somebody told me and I went, ‘Oh my God.’”
They hit it off.
“We would sit and talk for hours. Ask me what we talked about, I couldn’t tell you. It wasn’t about pool because I don’t play pool. We talked about life and his life. He was just a wonderful guy. Kind of dry. And a little bit acerbic.
“I was sort of young and pretty then, so I think maybe he enjoyed that aspect of our time. But he was a nice man.”
Whoah! Minnesota Fats! Looks like he was a player — even if he wasn’t shooting pool.
Looks like his charms worked. Michael said she wasn’t thrilled with his monicker.
“He wasn’t fat. He was portly. A little portly.”
Many folks think Heather and Neil Orne never see each other because they’re on opposite shifts now.
Think again.
The happy genetically-perfect couple is expecting a genetically-perfect baby in March.
“This could be the very first baby with a silver microphone in its mouth,” said John Dwyer, Heather’s co-anchor for News 2 This Morning.
“To two co-workers who are even better people, I wish them luck and love with their expanded family,” he added.
Ain’t John sweet? And he didn’t even read it off the TelePrompTer.
Several months ago, Heather and Neil picked out the baby name Suri, but now they’re on to plan B.
- Check back here soon to find out who won my CMA “Ultimate Country Fan” contest for free tix to the CMA Awards show, hosted by Brooks & Dunn, and tix to the Oct. 30 Broadway Meets Country event, starring Trisha Yearwood, Jane Krakowski and Barbara Mandrell.
- Hee-Haw producers have released a five-DVD set of the series. Yee haw! It’s Hee-Haw!
Emmylou, Dave and Elvis Costello…could it get any better?
I met some of my personal favorite musicians Tuesday night when Emmylou Harris received the Dale Franklin Award. Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin and other greats came out in support. The line-up could not have been more amazing!
When Emmylou came in the room for our interview she had a shawl draped around her shoulders. The temperature in the room was to cool for her; she was feeling a little under the weather. In a soft voice, with her big eyes and shiny silver hair she said, “I don’t want to talk about feeling sick. It could bring bad luck.” We proceeded on with the interview, in which she referred to Nashville as home and the award being a hometown award. Dave Matthews hung in the room with us and Elvis Costello popped in for pictures.
Dave, Emmylou, and Costello (Yes I took this pic!)
The harmonies inside the Schermerhorn Symphony Center reminded me of a darn good church service. Emmylou Harris’s passionate voice never fails to cover by body in chills. I love her storytelling style; it paints pleasant pictures in my head.
A few more highlights-
Dave Matthews played Grave Digger!
Costello and Griffin did a wrenching version of the classic duet “Love Hurts.”
Emmylou and Steve Earle led the finale, “Pilgrim” with all of the night’s line-up chiming in.
What a perfect night!
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