Zac Brown Band's Video For "Crap They Did In June"

If you're a Zac Brown Band fan, catch this video of a bunch of their June happenings set to an unreleased single including CMA Fest, CMT Awards, Bonnaroo, Telluride, Big & Rich, Oliver Wood and Kenny Chesney...

TNS Video History- Johnny Cash Singing Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus

Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss To Play White House Next Week

Country musicians Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss will play a high-profile gig next week at the White House.

A spokeswoman for Paisley said Wednesday that he and Krauss, who had a hit duet a few years ago with “Whiskey Lullaby,” will participate in the White House Music Series hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama.

On Tuesday afternoon, they’ll help with an educational workshop for 120 middle and high school students from across the country.

That night, they’ll play in the historic East Room for President Obama and his wife, White House staff and members of Congress. Michelle Obama launched the series to encourage arts and arts education. It featured jazz last month and will continue in the fall with classical music.

Sara Evans Sings "God Bless America" at the 2009 MLB All Star Game

Sara Evans did better than the National League at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in St. Louis last night. She sang a beautiful rendition of "God Bless America" for millions of Americans in the 7th inning of a game that the AL beat the NL four to three. (Email subscribers can click on the headline to watch the video.)

Vince Gill Sings Back-Up To American Idol Alum Daughtry

American Idol's Daughtry is one of the few mainstream American rock bands not at all looking to Nashville for a road map or a handout. As a result, it's interesting to hear a familiar country voice at the end of his brand new album. Daughtry sings “Tennessee Line,” a country song in lyric and has Vince Gill on board to sing harmonies. The sweet-voiced Mr. Gill sounds smooth against Daughtry’s rough voice- definitely worth a listen and download on i-Tunes.

Brooks & Dunn Drummer To Host Charity Benefit

Trey Gray, award-winning drummer with the legendary country music duo, Brooks and Dunn, is a man on a mission. He and wife Lisa are working to create awareness of Huntington’s Disease, a hereditary and incurable neurological disease that affects over 14,000 Tennesseans, including Trey. Their goal is to generate sufficient interest and support for the establishment of a Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) Chapter in Tennessee and the creation of an HD Center of Excellence at Vanderbilt University.

Gray hopes to raise $150,000 or more with the second annual Trey Gray Tee off for a Cure Golf Tournament on Friday September 25, 2009 at the Hermitage Golf Course in Nashville. Honorary chair Kix Brooks will be up for auction and will play 9 holes with each of the two highest bidders. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, along with other celebrity artists, will be playing with and assisting the golfers. The format is a 4-man scramble with a shotgun start. Registration, putting contest and lunch will begin at 11 a.m. The tournament begins at 1 pm. and will conclude with dinner, silent auction, and an awards presentation scheduled for 6 p.m. Golfers and guests will be entertained by local musicians and will be able to bid on such items as music and sports memorabilia, vacation packages, gift certificate for fine dining and much more. Raffle items and door prizes are also available.

Cost to participate is $175 per person or $650 per foursome. A limited number of sponsorships are available and range in price from $100-$20,000. Proceeds will support national research into a cure or treatment for Huntington’s as well as local education and support services for victims and families of HD. Trey and Lisa’s intention for this event is to raise $150,000 or more that may provide seed money for an HD Center of Excellence in TN and to raise at least $1,000,000 by 2012 to generate funds for ongoing support of the Center of Excellence and the HDSA Chapter in Tennessee.

The golf tournament is one of many national events scheduled for 2009 to benefit the funding and advancement of research, education, and care programs of HDSA. To register for the golf tournament or for more information about sponsoring, please call 615.732.9220 or email grayhd@yahoo.com. Donations can be made online at: http://www.firstgiving.com/treygrayteeoffforacure

HD is a devastating, fatal, and hereditary neurological disease that destroys the brain. It brings tragedy and a legacy of economic, social, and emotional pain and suffering. HD symptoms include mood swings, incoordination, depression, difficulty speaking or swallowing, forgetfulness, and involuntary twitching. Huntington’s serves as a “model” for other neurodegenerative and genetic disorders like Parkinson’s, ALS and Alzheimer’s, which affect millions of Americans.

TNS Video Of The Day- The Highwaymen

Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson perform the Jimmy Webb song “Highwayman” live at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum, March 1990. Four legends on the stage… If only I could go back in time and see them play live… (sigh)…

Miranda Lambert To Start Revolution On September 29th

With her new song, “Dead Flowers” taking root in Country radio’s Top 40, Miranda will unleash her third album, Revolution on September 29. The rave reviews continue to pour in on her self-penned, debut single including a “Hot Download” review in the current issue of People Magazine that proclaims Miranda “gets to the heart of the matter on the break up ballad, ‘Dead Flowers.’”

On the new album Miranda said, “I think this record is truly the most artistic project I have ever done. I really put my entire being into the making of it. From the writing to the recording to finding the perfect mixture of things I wanted to say. The inspiration was easy to come by, because it’s a compilation of everything I have ever listened to and fell in love with. It’s not an album where you listen from song to song, it’s a state of mind, a way of life. I hope people have as much fun getting to know me through listening as I did getting to know myself in recording it. And maybe it will do just as its title says....start a REVOLUTION.”

Revolution, the follow-up to Miranda’s sophomore album Crazy Ex- Girlfriend which won the 2008 ACM Album of the Year Award, continues her evolution as an artist. She alone wrote three songs on the album and co-wrote a majority of the balance with a cross-section of writers including Blake Shelton, Ashley Monroe, Allen Shamblin and Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley who lends background vocals on “Love Song.”

A cornerstone of Miranda’s music is her independence and diversity and that is further illustrated with song credits by the legendary and Grammy winning John Prine and the highly revered Julie Miller. And, as always, the breadth of the album ranges from love and contentment to crime and transgression.

Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke return to produce Revolution and final touches are being made in preparation of the September 29 release date. The two-time Grammy nominee has seen both of her previous albums debut at Number One on the Country Album Chart.

Up & Coming New Nashville- Brad Cotter (With Exclusive Interview)

Brad Cotter has been on an amazing journey from childhood gospel stardom to his 2004 win of the popular USA Network reality show, “Nashville Star” twenty-two years later. Growing up in Opelika, Alabama, his youth was a roller coaster ride of love and guilt, admiration and abuse, faith and doubt, and living with the joys and dysfunction of the small town deep south. Through the ins and outs of the club scene, the Nashville songwriting and studio singer scene, Brad continues his lifelong determination to realize his dream- bringing his great music to his fans.

After spending nearly two years on a promising new project which was sadly scrapped due to creative differences, Brad is back, working with one of the writer/producers of his first Sony Patient Man album. They headed into the studio in early spring for newly formed One Music Group Records and are have produced a brand new album appropriately named Right On Time. They’re also talking to publishers about an exciting and revealing autobiography.

Here’s one of his top 40 hits, “I Meant To,” off his first album:



You can listen to one of the new songs, “My Mind’s Running Off With You” off of his new album HERE.

We had a chance to interview the talented singer/songwriter about his career and the positives and negatives about being associated with being a Nashville Star winner.

That Nashville Sound- What drew you to music originally?

Brad Cotter- I can’t really say for sure. I was drawn to music at a very early age, most likely because my parents were so young and such devout music lovers. There was always good music playing around our house. I was “performing” on our fireplace mantle with a hairbrush for my microphone along with Elvis, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, The Eagles, Allman Brothers, etc. as soon as I was able to walk. I started taking piano lessons at the age of eight, and one thing seemed to lead to another ever since. It’s almost as if God meant for me to be an entertainer. I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t obsessed with music.

TNS- Describe your sound, what’s the mission behind the music?

BC- Describing my music has always been the most difficult task for me. I suppose it’s due to the fact that I’ve had so many different influences, and been around so many diverse types of music over the years. I guess if I had to put my style of music in a category, it would be Country-Rock. Country, because of the content and relatable lyrics- and Rock n Roll because of the rebelliousness of the music and arrangements. My mission is to simply entertain the listener’s ears- while hopefully being thought provoking. I’d like to think that the lyrics and messages behind my music could be a help to someone in some way… maybe make them feel better about whatever situation or circumstance they may be facing.

TNS- What were some of the positives and negatives about winning a competition like Nashville Star?

BC- Wow, that question would take all day to answer. There are so many positives, and very few negatives. All of the positives are pretty obvious. I’m doing this interview with you right now for instance, and although I’ve been recording my music now for 28 years, before N.S. nobody wanted to ask me any of these questions. Now, as far as the negatives, I think this is where I’m supposed to complain about not being a big enough celebrity… but I just really don’t care much about all that. I’m happy with my life, and consider myself to be very blessed to get to earn a living using the gift I’ve been given. I don’t make my music for awards and airplay… refer to previous question.

TNS- What are you listening to right now, what’s in you iPod?

BC- I like to listen to many different types of music in my “down-time”. Right now I’m listening to Van Morrison’s Moondance album. Yesterday, I took a stroll down memory lane with Otis Redding’s Immortal Otis Redding album along with Eric Clapton’s first release while I was tinkering on my Jeep Wrangler all afternoon. As far as the iPod goes… I know I have one somewhere around my house, but I don’t care much for MP3’s. As a friend of mine once put it, “MP3’s are to music, what florescent lighting is to ambiance”

TNS- What’s next for Brad Cotter, what do you see for yourself in the future?

BC- What’s next… hmmm… I really do wish I knew the answer to that one. I plan to keep on writing songs, making records, touring around the world entertaining people, and “talking about talk-talk”- until the good Lord tells me otherwise. In the not-too-distant future, I would like to be able to “settle down” somewhere, (whatever that means), and produce and write songs for someone else to record. In other words, I’d like to collect all the money, while someone else does all the work.

TNS- Any nicknames for any of your instruments?

BC- I’ve got a 16 year old Takamine that I’ve played on every show, and used to write almost every song I’ve written since I bought it new in ’93. I used to call it “The Beast” because it was so well broken-in, but after Willie Nelson signed it for me a few years ago, I re-named it “Willie”. My other favorite axe is named “Charlie” and bears Charlie Daniels’ signature. I’ve just recently purchased a new one that I affectionately named “Cropper.” I’m waiting on my buddy Steve to come by and “bless” it. I’m wondering if I should purchase a Hoffman bass and start calling it “Paul.” Hey, it could happen.