in this issue

Transcription

in this issue

APRIL 2015 INTERNATIONAL REPORT • VOL 8, ISSUE 1
www.aristomedia.com
IN THIS ISSUE
The Success of Country to
Country (C2C)
Executive Q&A With Sarah
Trahern
From The Land of Down Under
An Update On Canadian
Happenings
A Look At The Golden Guitars
CMA International Awards
Nashville Goes To Tamworth
U.S. Artist News
The 5th Annual CMC Awards
AristoMedia Celebrates 35
CMC Rocks Queensland
Bill Walker Receives
Recognition
-and more-
PAGE 1
Country to Country (C2C)
Sees Explosive Success In
2015
The 2015 Country to Country(C2C) Festivals in London, Dublin,
Sweden and Norway were resounding successes with critical acclaim
from fans and music officials alike.
Jason Aldean Performs At C2C
C2C London 2015 saw Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Florida Georgia
Line, Jason Aldean, Lee Ann Womack, Brantley Gilbert, Brandy Clark
and Kip Moore take to the main stage as well as launching the brand
new satellite stage which saw performances from UK talent such as
The Shires, Ward Thomas, Sam Palladio and upcoming Nashville artist
Sam Hunt.The pop up stages featured talent from all around the globe
and gave fans a great cross section of global country music.
Freelance Journalist Alan Cackett wrote, "I had a great time at the
Country To Country Fest at London’s O2 ... For me one of the many
highlights of the weekend was the Friday evening CMA Songwriters
Series at the Indigo—Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall were superb.
The standard of music on the pop-up stages was also excellent. Loved
Bob Harris’ Under The Apple Tree Sessions—especially Kimmie
Rhodes, Woody Pines, Ward Thomas and Angel Snow.” Other artists
appearing on the side stages included Katie Armiger, David Bradley
and The Cains.
Country to Country 2016 will now take place over three days at The
O2, London. The festival will start on Friday evening followed by the
full weekend of activities. C2C events in Glasgow and Dublin will also
take place in 2016
Lady Antebellum Energizes The C2C Crowd
**C2C Photo's Frography (by Flex)
C2C Town Square At London's O2 Arena
April 2015 International Report provided by The AristoMedia Group
Fans Celebrate At The Closing C2C Reception
PAGE 2
News From The Land of Down Under
5th Annual CMC Music Awards
The 5th Annual CMC Music Awards 2015 held just prior to CMC Rocks
Queensland celebrated country music in Australia. The awards are the only
viewer voted Country Music awards in Australia, allowing music fans to vote
for their favorite Domestic and International Country artists they think
deserve to be awarded the country’s favorite's over the categories.
The key winners for The 5th Annual CMC ( Country Music Channel) Music
Awards 2015 were as follows:
ADAM BRAND - CMC OZ Artist of the Year and CMC Australian Video of
the Year award for “What Your Love Looks Like”
MORGAN EVANS - CMC Male Oz Artist of the Year
KEITH URBAN - CMC International Artist of the Year and CMC International
Video of the Year
CHRISTIE LAMB - CMC New Oz Artist of the Year
AMBER LAWRENCE - CMC Female Oz Artist of the Year
THE McCLYMONTS - CMC Group or Duo of the Year
The awards included performances by Lady Antebellum, Maddie & Tae,
Kacey Musgraves, Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Brice and Adam Brand.
Morgan Evans emceed the event.
Pictured (L to R) Amber Lawrence, Adam Brand and
Morgan Evans
CMC Rocks Queensland
For the 8th consecutive year, the CMC Rocks festival was held in its new home of Queensland. CMC Rocks QLD 2015 featured international
contemporary country heavyweights Lady Antebellum, Big & Rich, Chris Young, Lee Brice, Kristian Bush, Kacey Musgraves and many more,
alongside Australian stars like Troy Cassar-Daley and John Williamson. SiriusXM host Storme Warren once again hosted the main stage. The
popular acoustic Songwriters Shows returned for a third year, this time hosted by songwriting legend Jeffrey Steele. The festival, held in March
every year is the biggest international country festival in the Southern hemisphere. Promoters Rob Potts Entertainment Edge and Chugg
Entertainment will announce the dates for 2016 soon.
Following the Festival the ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart saw country invasion, with 10 country albums hitting or re-entering the charts.
Two country albums were in the Top 5 spots. Lee Kernaghan’s “Spirit of the Anzacs” at #2, and Troy Cassar-Daley’s “Freedom Ride” at #4,
which was launched with a main stage performance at CMC Rocks QLD 2015. Additionally, there were five more artists who performed at the
festival in the Top 40.
“There is no denying the strong fan base for
country music in Australia - and the impact of
the massive international presence in the
market, driven by CMC Rocks QLD.” said CMC
Rocks co-promoter Rob Potts, CEO Rob Potts
Entertainment Edge.
Festival headliners, Lady Antebellum saw their
latest album, “747”, return to the Top 50 (#4 in
Oct, 14), moving fifty-four spots back up to #20,
whilst also playing arenas in Sydney and
Melbourne. Their Grammy-winning album,
“Need You Now”, previously in the chart for 105
weeks (#5 in Jun, 10), re-entered the chart at
#81.
Known as one half of country music duo,
Sugarland, American singer/songwriter Kristian
Bush made his ARIA Album Chart debut at #31
with his solo release, “Southern Gravity.”
The lineup for the Saturday Songwriters Show at CMC Rocks QLD 2015. L to R:
Chase Bryant, Lee Brice, Morgan Evans, Kristian Bush, Jeffrey Steele and promoter
Rob Potts
Saturday night headliner Chris Young jumped
back in at #72, with his 2013 release, “A.M.” Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, Kacey Musgraves, made her ARIA Album Chart debut at
#77, with her release, “Same Trailer, Different Park”; and Lee Brice captured his ARIA Album Chart debut at #91 with his third studio album
released late last year, “I Don’t Dance”.
PAGE 3
In addition to the incredible activity in the Top 100 Albums (as well as the top two spots for country albums in the ARIA Top 100 Physical
Albums Chart), there are also 15 albums from CMC Rocks QLD 2015 artists in the Top 40 ARIA Country Albums Chart - including (in order on
chart) Troy Cassar-Daley (with two albums), Lady Antebellum (with four albums), Kristian Bush, Chris Young, Kacey Musgraves, Lee Brice,
Big & Rich (with 2015 release “Gravity” at #25), John Williamson (with two albums, including a mid-2014 release, “Honest People” re-entering
chart at #36), The Wolfe Brothers (with “Nothin’ But Trouble”, #2 in Sep 14, re-entering chart at #30), and Adam Harvey (two albums, with
“Family Life”, #10 in Sep 14, re-entering at #39).
CMC Rocks QLD 2015 drew thousands of country fans to Willowbank for three days of non-stop music, featuring International and Australian
artists performing back-to-back across two stages, with additional Saturday and Sunday afternoon Songwriter Shows and late-night band
performances.
“Even if you were only a little bit country you would have been impressed by CMC Rocks over the weekend,” reported newspaper,
Queensland Times. “Thousands of country music fans have enjoyed live performances from some of the genre's biggest names, including
American acts, Big & Rich, Lee Brice, Chris Young and Lady Antebellum.”
Queensland, Australia - The crowd starts to build for the performances at CMC Rocks Qld
The Aristo International Report is published four times per year by The AristoMedia
Group, P.O. Box 22765 Nashville, TN, 37202. Publisher: Jeff Walker; Graphic Design
& Layout: Jon Walker at AristoWorks; Editorial Contributors: Christy Watkins, Sharilyn
Pettus, Simone Diamond, Jeremy Dylan, Judy Seale, Jimmy Chapin, Kenny Roberb,
Roger Ryan, CMA Media Department, James Freeman, Heather Cochran Cunningham,
Barry Harley, Lyssa Wheaton, Mary Caterine Kinney, Tracy Dry Kane, Hayley Simmons
and Tim Daley; Photo credits include: Karlee Simmondo and Christian Bottorff.
Please submit your international Country music news items for consideration and address changes to:
[email protected] and visit our website at www.aristomedia.com.
PAGE 4
The Golden Guitars
Every January in Australia the Golden Guitar Awards (presented by the Country Music Association of AustraliaCMAA)is the pinnacle event of the Tamworth Country Music Festival many of the events are held across 10
days which attracted 55,000 visitors from
across Australia and around the world and
more than doubles Tamworth’s population.
The Toyota Country Music Festival
Tamworth is Australia's longest running
music festival and Tamworth has long been
considered the home of country music in
Australia.
Australia’s greatest country performers
mixed onstage with the new list of winners
provided over three hours of non-stop
entertainment including McAlister Kemp,
Jasmine Rae, Adam Eckersley Band, Kristy
Cox, Allan Caswell, Aleyce Simmonds,
Jared Porter and Christie Lamb, Kasey
Chambers, Troy Cassar-Daley, John
Williamson, The McClymonts, Adam
Harvey, Luke O’Shea and Morgan Evans
who also emceed.
The key winners of the 43rd Country Music Awards of Australia included:
Album of the Year: Bittersweet (Kasey Chambers), Producer
Nick Didia
Male Artist of the Year: Luke O’Shea
Female Artist of the Year: Amber Lawrence
Country Music Capital News Group or Duo of the Year: The
McClymonts
Vocal Collaboration of the Year: Dean Perrett & Troy CassarDaley
Qantaslink New Talent of the Year: The Adam Eckersley
Band
Top Selling Australian Album of the Year: Here’s To You & I
(The McClymonts)
Top Selling International Album of the Year: Blue Smoke
(Dolly Parton)
Nashville Visits Tamworth
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean led a delegation of Sister Cities, from
Nashville to the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
During the visit Dean exchanged gifts with Tamworth Mayor Col
Murray, met with City and Country Music Dignitaries and
attended the Tamworth Country Music Awards.
“Our delegation to Tamworth for the annual country music
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Tamworth Mayor Col Murray
festival had a stellar experience,“ said Heather CochranCunningham, Executive Director, Sister Cities of Nashville. “The
Tamworth Regional Council and Mayor’s office hosted us for dinner, had us ride in their parade down Peel Street, and treated us to the
Golden Guitar Awards and the final festival concert. One of the many highlights of the trip was having Nashville Mayor Karl Dean join
Australian duo O’Shea in presenting one of the Golden Guitar Awards.”
Overall the festival was a major success.
According to festival director John Sommerlad said that this year’s Festival was one of the best attended and diverse in its history. “The calibre
and breadth of established and emerging musical talent on show at Tamworth this year from Jared Porter to Kasey Chambers, right up to
international country superstar Kenny Rogers is as unique as it is overwhelmingly good.” he noted.
One of the highlights of the Festival is the Toyota Star Maker competition. This years event was as fierce as ever, with an array of talented
hopefuls turning out to battle it out. Newcomer Mickey Pye took home the grand prize in the 36th annual competition.
The final day saw Kenny Rogers take the stage as part of his Farewell Down Under tour, his last visit to Australia. The 76 year old industry
legend thrilled crowds playing a string of his best loved hits.
The Toyota Country Music Festival Tamworth 2016 is scheduled from Friday 15 January to Sunday 24 January 2016.
PAGE 5
Q&A WITH SARAH TRAHERN
CEO | Country Music Association
Sarah Trahern is the Chief Executive Officer of the Country Music Association.
Her role at CMA is to collaborate with the CMA Board of Directors to expand
the mission and strategic objectives of CMA while being mindful of the unique
legacy and spirit of the organization.
She began her cable career at C-SPAN in Washington, D.C. covering politics
and public affairs while producing the popular series “Booknotes.” She moved
to Nashville in 1995 to oversee specials and entertainment series for TNN. She
joined Great American Country (GAC) in 2005 with Scripps’ ownership of the
network. She was promoted to SVP of Programming and in 2010 became
General Manager of the network where her myriad duties included the
strategic direction of the network and oversight of GAC’s programming,
marketing, creative and digital initiatives.
In 2010, she was named one of 30 Women “Power Players” in the music
business by Billboard Magazine. In December 2011, she was the subject and
honoree of the Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum at the Country Music Hall of
Fame and Museum. She was recently recognized by SOURCE, a leading
womens business group, as a top leader in the music business.
1. What are the key CMA current global initiatives that are helping to spread Country music around the globe?
Certainly continuing to grow country music on a global scale is a strategic priority of us at the CMA. We do that through many different ways.
We have strong international representation on our Board by 4 key international business executives including Rob Potts from Australia, Ted
Ellis from Canada and Bob Shennan and Milly Olykan from the UK. We have international distribution of our television properties in Canada
and Australia (both of which take the CMA Awards LIVE) and we are working to expand the number of countries doing so. We are beginning
additional research efforts to examine key growth markets for the business in order to grow the markets overseas. In addition, we have CMA
Advisory Groups of top industry professionals in three key territories. We are looking to expand that over time.
2. Having just returned from C2C (Country to Country-London) you must be excited at the growing demand for Country artists to
perform overseas.
Yes, this was my second year going to C2C and the interest in Country Music in London is strong. The fans were in the seats at 4 p.m. for the
opening acts and stayed late into the evening. It was amazing to me how well the fans in the arena knew most of the music and were singing
along. The Brits are passionate about our music and the artist's show performances. Most of the artists on the bill who were first timers all
said they will be back to London…the crowds were engaged and made the shows fun for the performers as well.
3. What were your big takeaways from the C2C Festival?
While the concerts last year had strong attendance and great fan engagement, what I noticed this year was the growth outside of the ticketed
event inside the arena. The free stages throughout the footprint had strong crowds throughout the day. All of the ancillary programming we
aired in the movie theatre played to a full house. It was fun to see the expansion of autograph signings and for these other stages to see an
audience beyond the ticket holders make the effort to come out and discover new music. It reminded me a lot of a smaller version of the CMA
MusicFest experience.
4. It seems that every year the foreign press involvement in CMA Music Festival and Awards show continues to grow. How
important is this in growing the footprint for country music globally.
Each year we see increasing interest from international media as the popularity and reach of Country Music continues to grow. And what is
encouraging is that we aren’t just seeing increased pick up in the traditional outlets, but new media representatives coming on board and
covering our events and music. Their support is important and appreciated as we continue to help grow the platform for Country Music outside
of our domestic borders.
5. We know it is a goal to maximize airings of the CMA Television properties around the world. How is this progressing?
We are working towards expanding our broadcast partners in the coming year and although it is too early to provide any details I am confident
we will see expanded broadcasts of our TV properties in the future.
PAGE 6
6. The CMA World GlobaLive! Show (formerly the Global Artist
Party) will be celebrating it’s 11th year and expanding to
Nashville’s Hall of Fame Park this year on the Monday (June 8,
2015) before the CMA Fest kick off…You must be excited to see
the continued evolution of this event.
Yes! The CMA Global Artist Party always had strong crowds at the
clubs and featured a strong and diverse music mix from around the
world. With visitors from around the globe flocking to Nashville for CMA
Fest, the popularity of CMA’s International showcase, CMA World
GlobaLive!, exceeded its traditional club setting in 2014 and has
expanded again in 2015. To meet the demand, CMA is moving the
annual free concert by international Country artists to The Hilton Walk
of Fame Park with international food and beverage vendors. The CMA
World GlobaLive! will take place Monday, June 8 (6:00-11:30 PM).
7. It seems that more and more artists/writers from outside the
U.S. are relocating to Nashville and trying to establish a career
here. How can CMA be a resource for them?
Our membership team meets with many of these members when they
come to the US and can give context on other associations or
networking events. CMA Members also receive our CMA Membership
Directory which is a great resource for them. If their personal health
care coverage does not relocate with them to the US, our member
program, CMA Instrumental Healthcare may assist with personal
coverage
Sarah (at right) pictured with current CMA Board leadership
John Esposito (President), Sally Williams (President Elect),
Jesse Schmidt (Treasurer) and Frank Bumstead (Chairman)
8. How many countries are represented in the overall CMA's
membership?
We have International Members from 31 countries. Canada, the UK
and Australia have the largest representation but we also have
members from Kenya, Slovenia, Italy and Brazil.
"Each year we see
increasing interest from
international media as the
popularity and reach of
Country Music continues to
grow."
(L to R) Reba, Kix Brooks and Sarah as Kix was honored with
the Inaugural CMA Foundation Humanitarian Award
- Sarah Trahern
Pictured at the recent CMA songwriters series held in London in conjunction with the C2C festival are (left to right) Butch Spyridon
(Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau), Milly Olykan (C2C /AEG Live), Sarah Trahern (CMA), Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmermann
(Striking Matches), Songwriters Sam Palladio, Jon Randall, Jessi Alexander, Kix Brooks, John Esposito (Warner Bros Nashville and
CMA President)
PAGE 7
Canadian Country Music Week
2015
For the first time in over 30 years, Canadian Country Music Week and the
CCMA Awards will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia from September 10 –
13, 2015. Canadian country music artists, industry, fans and media will
make themselves at home in Atlantic Canada’s entertainment and cultural
capital, Halifax. Plans are well underway for Canada’s most prominent and
prestigious celebration of Canadian country music. Tickets are already on
sale for the star-studded Awards Show which will be broadcast in Canada
on CBC-TV and CMT Canada. Host hotel rooms and rates are now
available, and submissions for the ever-popular CCMA Songwriters’
Series have already opened. During the week, the winner of the CCMA
Discovery program is named after a high profile showcase is held
featuring all finalists. More information can be obtained at www.ccma.org
Artist News: The Road Hammers
The Road Hammers
The Road Hammers have and extremely busy summer schedule with
many appearances slated including:
Rain Maker Rodeo - St. Albert, AB,
Grande Prairie Stompede - Grand Prairie, AB,
Summer in the City - Steinback, MB
Martitime Country Festival - Fredericton,NB
Tweed Stampeded - Tweed, ON
and the Boothill Country Jam - Bothwell, ON
Artist News: Dean Brody
With his last album earning recognition from both The JUNO Awards and
the CCMA Awards for Country Album of the Year in 2014, nine-time
CCMA Award winner and three-time JUNO Award nominee Dean Brody
has announced the release date for his 5th studio album on Open Road
Recordings on April 21, 2015. To challenge himself in new ways, Brody
composed three of the album’s ten tracks on instruments he had never
played before. The result was a record, the title of which will be
announced first to fans via social media closer to release date and is a
perfect combination of both the Canadian East and West Coast influences.
Dean Brody
Having grown up in the mountains and now living on the ocean, Brody
proudly admits that this coastal inspiration runs through all of his work.
Album #5 has been described as delivering, without question, the carefree nature of summers on the ocean and the feeling of freedom found
in roaming through the Rockies.
CANADIAN FESTIVALS
Canada is gearing up for an amazingly busy country music Fair and Festival season
with key events on the calendar including:
Cavendish Beach Music Festival (July 10th – 12th) - Cavendish, PEI
Dauphins Countryfest (June 25th – June 28th) - Dauphin, Manitoba
Performers: Keith Urban, Eric Church, Kira Isabella, Dallas Smith, Brantley Gilbert, High
Valley, Dan + Shay, The Mavericks, Kristian Bush & more!
Announced Performers: Miranda Lambert, Chad Brownlee, Jake Owen, Brantley
Gilbert, Brett Kissel, Jess Moskaluke, Tyler Farr, Jason Blaine & more!
Sunfest (July 30th - August 2nd) - Duncan, British Columbia
Bud Country Fever (June 26th – 28th) - Grand Prairie, Alberta
Performers: LeAnn Rimes, Lonestar, Tebey, Kristian Bush, Josh Turner & more!
Calgary Stampede (July 3rd – July 12th) - Calgary, Alberta
Performers: Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Kira Isabella, Blake Shelton, Chad
Brownlee, Dallas Smith, Deric Ruttan, Gord Bamford, Brett Kissel, Bobby Wills, Tim
Hicks & more.
Craven Country Jamboree (July 9th – July 12th) - Craven, SK
Performers: Florida Georgia Line, Dallas Smith, Wes Mack, Brett Kissel, Blake Shelton,
Bobby Wills, Jason Aldean, Colt Ford, Craig Morgan, Lindsay Ell & more!
Performers: Keith Urban, Lee Brice, Sam Hunt, Joe Nichols, Thomas Rhett .
Boots and Hearts Music Festival (August 6th – August 9th) – Oro – Medonte,
Ontario.
Performers: Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Dallas Smith, Justin
Moore, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Chad Brownlee, High Valley, Maddie & Tae,
Frankie Ballard, David Nail, Mackenzie Porter & more!
Havelock Country Jamboree (August 13th – August 16th) - Havelock, ON
Performers: Big & Rich, Clint Black, Brett Kissel, Corb Lund & more!
Music In The Fields (August 28th & August 29th) - Lucknow, ON
Performers: The Band Perry, Dallas Smith, Easton Corbin, Chad Brownlee, Autumn Hill,
Jess Moskaluke, Livy Jeanne & more!
PAGE 8
Canadian Gord Bamford Heads
South of the Border
Canadian country cornerstone Gord Bamford begins his U.S.
campaign in the next few weeks with a sweeping radio tour in
advance of a May single release. Visits to stations in 70 top markets
commence mid-April following a successful mid-March showcase in
Bamford's native Alberta that introduced him to key U.S.
programmers, consultants and tastemakers.
The reigning CCMA's Male Artist of the Year will make a brief detour
during his promotional trek to perform during the 50th Annual ACM
Awards. During the weekend of festivities leading up to the April 19
telecast from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, Bamford will play the
ACM Party for A Cause Festival at Globe Life Park on April 17 as well
as the All-Star Jam, the Academy's "official" after-party immediately
following the Awards Show in the West Plaza of the stadium.
Also on the schedule are a few performance dates in the U.S.
Bamford will be headlining the Grizzly Rose in Denver, CO on April
10, and the following night he will be playing in Loveland, CO for the
Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County's 34th Annual Elegant Night in
Black & White event, a fundraiser that has raised millions of dollars
for the Clubs so that they can continue to serve the at-risk youth in
their local communities.
Pictured during the recent Gord Bamford
Banff weekend getaway are (l-r) Jeff
Walker (AristoMedia), Keith Miller (WME),
Vinny Cinquemani (The Feldman Agency),
Bamford, Ron Sakamoto (Sakamoto
Entertainment), Manager Brian Halbert
and Elaine Shock (Publicist)
Bamford Performs at a recent show
Bamford at the CCMA's
PAGE 9
CMA ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF INTERNATIONAL WINNERS
The Country Music Association recently announced the recipients of the organization’s International Awards.
“Advancing Country Music around the world is at the very foundation of CMA’s mission,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer in
announcing the winners. “Being able to acknowledge the exhaustive efforts of our international and domestic colleagues outside of U.S.
borders is very rewarding and central to our strategic objective of growing the business and developing new territories for Country Music.”
“These are the people on the frontline of advancing Country Music around the globe and they are all deserving of these honors.”
Three-time CMA Vocal Group of the Year, Lady Antebellum helped break the good news by recording individual messages for each of the
winners. Award recipients in alphabetical order by category:
GLOBAL COUNTRY ARTIST AWARD – Morgan Evans (Australia)
The Global Country Artist Award recognizes outstanding achievements by a Country Music artist originally signed outside of the United States
– in both furthering the popularity of Country Music and bringing attention to the Country Music format in their foreign-based territory.
The winner of a record-breaking three Country Music Channel Music Awards this year, Morgan Evans was recently signed as a presenter,
host, and ambassador for the Country Music Channel in Australia. He has toured with Country superstars including Alan Jackson and Taylor
Swift, as well as headlining his own tours in Australia and New Zealand. Evans was recently signed to William Morris Endeavour Agency.
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Brad Paisley (U.S.)
Formerly the International Touring Artist Award, the CMA International Artist Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievement by a
U.S.-based artist who contributes to the awareness and development of Country Music outside the United States.
Since he first received the award in 2011, Brad Paisley has remained dedicated to including the international market place in his schedule. In
2014, he headlined the C2C Festival in London and Dublin as well as recording the special “Brad Paisley & Friends” for BBC Radio 2 before
going on to headline shows in Norway and Sweden.
INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY BROADCASTER AWARD – Ricky Ross (U.K. - BBC)
The International Country Broadcast Award recognizes outstanding achievement by radio broadcasters outside the U.S. who have made
important contributions to the development of Country Music in their country.
Singer/songwriter Ricky Ross, who regularly visits Nashville, presents the BBC Radio Scotland’s “Another Country.” With a mix of classics and
new Country releases, Americana, and alternative Country, he has won two Sony Radio Awards, the first in 2011 and the second the following
year.
JO WALKER-MEADOR AWARD – Scott Borchetta (U.S. - Big Machine Label Group)
Named for Country Music Hall of Fame member and longtime Executive Director of CMA, the Jo Walker-Meador Award recognizes
outstanding achievement by an individual or company in advocating and supporting Country Music’s marketing development in territories
outside the United States.
As the founder and CEO of Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta has supported artist development internationally early in artists’ careers. His
philosophy has been a major force in changing the perception of Country Music internationally. Borchetta previously won the Jo WalkerMeador Award in 2012.
WESLEY ROSE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD –
Bob Shennan (U.K. - BBC)
The Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award recognizes
outstanding achievements in the media, which contribute to the
development of Country Music outside the United States. Radio, TV, print
journalists, authors, editors, television writers, producers, and PR
companies who reside outside the United States are eligible to win this
award.
Since Bob Shennan took over as Controller of BBC Radio 2 in 2009, he
has driven exposure opportunities and was instrumental in bringing
Country Music into the mainstream arena. Now Director of Music,
Shennan chairs the newly formed CMA U.K. Advisory Group and serves
on the CMA Board of Directors.
CMA International Awards are voted on by CMA International Membership
as well as a panel of domestic U.S.-based industry.
Through honors such as these and events including the international
expansion of the CMA Songwriters Series (Belfast, Dublin, London, Paris)
and involvement in the popular C2C concerts since 2013, CMA seeks to
recognize and empower its international membership and Country Music
fans globally.
BBC's Bob Shennan - CMA Broadcaster of the Year
PAGE 10
The Irish Fest comes to Nashville
In mid March Nashville hosted the first annual Music City Irish Fest. The vision for this festival was to create a world class event that would
draw an audience from the southeastern United States and educate them about the Irish and Scots-Irish basis for the bluegrass and country
music they know and love. Nashville and Ireland have two of the strongest music traditions in the world. The festival also held special
significance for Nashville as the city celebrates the 20th anniversary of joining with Belfast, Northern Ireland as Sister Cities. Nashville and
Belfast have strengthened their musical, educational and civic ties over those twenty years, including the Belfast-Nashville Songwriters
Festival. It is only fitting that Nashville, Belfast, the state of Tennessee and the island of Ireland join together to celebrate the best in music.
Headlining the festival was the award-winning Red Hot Chilli Pipers (pictured) voted the best act in Scotland, with triple Platinum album status,
and the originators of "bagrock," famous pop/rock tunes infused with bagpipes and celtic tunes. Other artists appearing included The Willis
Clan, Molly Ramone, Colm Kirwan and the duo Beat Root.
Nashville Fans enjoy the Irish festivities
The Red Hot Chili Pipers Perform In Nashville
News from the Emerald Isle
Ireland’s Hot Country Awards Show will be staged at the Mullingar Park Hotel, Mullingar, Co.Westmeath( West of Dublin), on Tuesday April
28th, and promises to be a glittering affair with a who’s who of Irish Country Artist's set to collect awards and to perform on the night. "This
annual event has grown from strength to strength in recent years and is a one of a kind event for country music in Ireland," notes veteran Irish
journalist Roger Ryan.
Charley Pride is set to embark on a new 7 date Irish tour with stops that include Dublin, Belfast and Cork.
Dates have been announced for the 25th Athy Bluegrass Festival. It will be held on 10-12 July 2015 in Kildare - 50 km (31 mi) west of Dublin.
PAGE 11
U.S. ARTIST NEWS
Sony Nashville
Florida Georgia Line
Sony Nashville has reported a lot of international activity for some
of its artists.
FGL had incredible performances at their C2C tour dates in
Dublin, Stockholm, Oslo, London & Glasgow. Show reviews were
completed by the Financial Times, New Country UK, CultNoise,
The Digital Fix Music, The Times, Entertainment Focus and SvD
Kultur(Swedish review). FGL was highlighted in the newsletter
Hero that went out in Norway and Sweden surrounding their C2C
dates (approx. 2.5M people reached). They also interviewed with
BBCs Paul Sexton while in the UK. They were recently the cover
story in an Acoustic Magazines story in the UK.
Old Dominion, Tyler Farr, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney,
Jake Owen and Chase Rice will all be heading North of the border
to play in Canada this
summer.
Of all their roster, Chris
Young deserves a jet setter
award…..Following recent
appearances in Australia,
South Korea and Japan he
heads to Switzerland
(Gstaad), London, Glasgow,
Dublin, Germany (Munich,
Cologne, Berlin) and
Stockholm, Sweden later
this year.
Chris is quickly becoming an
international ambassador for Chris Young
country music. He made his
inaugural trip to the UK and Ireland in 2013 for the CMA
Songwriters Series. That same year he made his CMC Rocks
Festival debut in Australia. In 2014 Young made another trek
across the pond for shows in London, Dublin, Stavanger, Oslo,
Gotteborg and Stockholm and was honored with the British
Country Music Award International Act of the Year trophy. 2015
will mark his third consecutive year to share his talents with
international audiences.
UMG Nashville
UMG Nashville is reporting strong reviews for it’s artists that
recently made overseas trips..
Sam Hunt received positive accolades from UK Country Music,
The Music Intro and The London Community News.
Similarly Luke Bryan from Rolling Stone (UK) The Guardian and
Entertainment Focus (UK).
Kip Moore received strong compliments from The London
Evening Standard AND the UK’s Digital Fix.
Kacey Musgraves was warmly welcomed in Australia with positive
reviews by ABC AU,The Shotgun Seat, News AU and The
Australian.
Taylor Swift
Globally Taylor Swift's 1989 recently crossed over 7 million units
sold/shipped Worldwide.
In Australia this month she is the cover story of Dolly Magazine¹s
new issue and in Germany she is on the cover story on Gala Style
Magazine, which will be displayed for 6 months.
Swift’s 1989 World Tour will kick off in Tokyo on May 5th, 2015.
The Cadillac Three
The Cadillac Three just wrapped a European tour with sold out
shows in Wolverhampton, Glasgow, Leeds, Norwich,
Southampton & Londonwere.
The band was featured in a BBC Radio 3 Session, which included
performances of Days of Gold, White Lightening, Peace Love &
Dixie and The South.
They released a European exclusive EP titled Peace Love & Dixie
in March in support of the European tour dates.
Brantley Gilbert
Brantley Gilbert's live
London performance at C2C
Festival can be heard on
the BBC¹s website. He was
also featured in the UK
music publications
Entertainment Focus and
Music Trespass.
He toured throughout
Germany and performed at
all four C2C Festival
European dates. Country.de
reviewed his show in
Cologne, Germany.
Brantley Gilbert
Brantley is the cover story
on Maverick Magazine¹s March/April issue, with a full 10 page
feature.
The Mavericks
The Mavericks kicked off their Mono Mundo Tour with a
triumphant swing through Europe, where they performed in the
U.K., France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. The
talented group (Raul Malo, guitarist Eddie Perez, keyboardist
Jerry Dale McFadden and drummer Paul Deakin) and their
"Fantastic Four" backing musicians received rave reviews at all
European shows. They played Paris for the first time .
The fans in the Netherlands, Germany and Copenhagen greeted
them like returning heroes from all media accounts . They will be
making a quick trip back to Europe in June to play the Trucker
and Country Festival in Interlaken, Switzerland.
PAGE 12
AristoMedia Turns 35
The AristoMedia Group celebrates its thirty-fifth anniversary later this
month. The Nashville based entertainment marketing company was
founded in 1980 by CEO Jeff Walker as a publicity firm, but has since
evolved into a Music Row Entertainment Marketing company offering
services that include public relations and media marketing, digital/
social marketing, web development, secondary, tertiary and internet
radio promotion,video clip and epk promotions and management consulting.
After the initial success of AristoMedia as an independent PR firm (now branded as Aristo PR), the company expanded its horizons in 1983
with the addition of a video promotion division: Aristo Video and it’s visual distribution arm The Goodland Group. The next major expansion
came in 1991 when Walker created Marco Promotions, the radio promotions arm of the company. AristoMedia continued to grow in the
following years with the additions of a music consulting division Jeff Walker and Associates, dance club promotion division Marco Club
Connection, Digital department Aristoworks and StreamTrack, a digital music delivery service for online streaming audio and visual outlets that
made its debut in 2014.
Another integral part of AristoMedia is the company’s focus on promotion of international Country artists in the United States. An Australian
native, Walker has tirelessly advocated the globalization of Nashville-based music. The company is a strong advocate of expanding Country
music's international reach, and prepares a quarterly global newsletter highlighting International activities which is distributed to over 7000
recipients world wide. Walker’s individual honors in this area include the CMA's President's Award, CMA’S Jo Walker Meador International
Award, CMAA (Australia) Lifetime Achievement Award, BCMA (UK) International Services Award, CCMA (Canada) Leonard T. Rambeau
International Support Award, Operation Troop Aid Certification of Appointment and more.
Senior Staff of the company include Craig Bann (Sr.V.P. Promotion/ Marketing), Christy Watkins (V.P. Public Relations/Media Marketing), Rick
Kelly (V.P.Promotion), Jon Walker (V.P. Digital) and Matt Watkins(V.P.Marketing/Operations).
As The AristoMedia Group celebrates its 35h birthday in the music business this month, Walker sets his sights on the future:
“When I started the company the compact disc was still in development, the Internet was over
decade away from major acceptance and digital downloads and streaming were not even in
the music business vocabulary. In these days of constant change we have to constantly reinvent what we do…Close your eyes and something new becomes relevant. But necessity is
the mother of invention. As long as we remember that content is king and continue to provide
professional niche market media services, the future continues to look bright.”
- Jeff Walker
Bill Walker Receives Recognition
World renowned arranger, conductor, and music director, Bill Walker was
recently presented with the 50 Years of Service To The Industry pin by the
Nashville Musicians Association (American Federation of Music). AFM
President, Dave Pomeroy, made the presentation to Walker and noted,
“Over the past few years it has been a real pleasure to get to know Bill
Walker. He is a great arranger, composer, conductor, bandleader, and a
wonderful man. His impact on the Nashville music scene has been
tremendous, and it was an honor to present him with his 50-year AFM
pin.”
Bill Walker, a native Australian, arrived in Nashville in 1964 following a
stint in South Africa. While working as musical director on the film
Kimberly Jim, Walker met Jim Reeves who invited him to Nashville – an
invitation he accepted. Once settled in Nashville, Walker connected with
Chet Atkins, who was working with artist Eddy Arnold. Atkins asked
Walker to do orchestral arrangements for Arnold’s album “My World,”
which contained the #1 single, “Make The World Go Away.” That record
became Walker’s first gold release and lead to a longtime career of
making music in the Music City.
Bill Walker Recognized For 50 Years Of Music Service
Walker’s extensive body of work includes music director residency on various television shows, including The Johnny Cash Show (1969-1971)
on ABC, the CMA Awards (for 15 years), the Music City News Awards, Music Hall America (Syndicated), The Statler Brothers Show on TNN
(1991-1998) and numerous other prime-time television specials. He is recognized for his work in movies, and produced or arranged some of
the biggest hits in Country music history.
Although semi-retired, Walker recently worked with Crystal Gayle to arrange and conduct the strings for select tracks on her new album.
Walker lives in Brentwood, Tennessee with his wife Jeanine Walker. Several of Walker’s original releases are available on GMV Nashville
(www.gmvnashville.com).
PAGE 13
PHOTO GALLERY
Tamworth - The welcome area to Country Music week
activities in January
Tamworth - The crowd shows that Country is alive and well
down under
London - The CMA songwriters series receives enthusiastic
London - An enthusiastic C2C at Londons O2 Arena
Nashville, Tennessee - backstage at the Irish Festival. (L to
R) Ruth Moran (Tourism Ireland), Mayor Karl Dean
(Nashville), Samantha Hayes Fisher (Nashville WKRN
Channel 2), Niall Gibbons (Tourism Ireland) and Tracy Kane
(Sister Cities of Nashville)
London - The Cains (Logan, Taylor and Madison) perform on
stage at C2C marking their first overseas appearance
PAGE 14

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