Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Buddy Miller Leads 2011 Americana Music Association Award Winners
Five Lifetime Achievement Award honorees highlighted the evening as well. The five stand out as some of the most innovative and inspirational leaders in the Americana genre.
Lucinda Williams received the Lifetime Achievement Award for songwriting. A three-time Grammy winner, Williams was named "America's best songwriter" by Time magazine in 2002. Albums such as Car Wheels on a Gravel Road received almost unanimous critical acclaim, and earned the reclusive Williams legendary status rare for musicians her age.
Dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas was distinguished as an outstanding instrumentalist for his solo work and collaboration with Alison Krauss and Union Station. He has won 12 Grammy Awards, a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and was named the Artist in Residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
Gregg Allman received tonight's honor for performance. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Allman Brothers Band founder is known for his powerful voice, for his work on Hammond B3 Organ, and for composing much of the Allman Brothers Band's material alongside Dickey Betts.
As owner of the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., Rick Hall has recorded some of the most significant musicians in American history, including Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, Wilson Pickett and Etta James. He was presenteded with the Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award for an Executive.
The Trailblazer Award is for "Whispering" Bob Harris, who has been widely acknowledged for his long-running rock, country and folk program on BBC Radio 2, culminating in his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2011 for his services to music broadcasting. Harris also helped found Time Out magazine and pioneer the BBC's digital station BBC6.
THE 2011 AMERICANA MUSIC ASSOCIATION WINNERS:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Buddy Miller
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Band of Joy, Robert Plant
NEW/EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Mumford & Sons
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Winner: The Avett Brothers
SONG OF THE YEAR
Winner: Justin Townes Earle, "Harlem River Blues"
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Buddy Miller
CD Album Review- Vince Gill- Guitar Slinger
"I had no expectations of what it would sound like in my home studio," Vince Gill said about making this record. "I've never recorded in my house before. So I discovered an awful lot about how the rooms sound, and it's a real warm record. I don't know what it is, but it's so different than most studios in that there are windows all the way around the room. You look out and see trees. There's such a great spirit running around in the house and in the rooms that all the musicians have raved about the vibe. It's real low key; it's not commercial-feeling at all."
Guitar Slinger is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed four-CD, 43-song box set, These Days, which was certified platinum, won the 2006 Grammy for Best Country Album and received an overall Grammy Album of the Year nomination.
The review-
Click HERE to read my review over at Engine 145.
Sounds like-
These Days crunched into one single album.
Top tracks-
Old Lucky Diamond Hotel
Threaten Me With Heaven
Bread and Water
The verdict-
Four stars out of five
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Longtime Charlie Daniels Band Keyboardist Taz DiGregorio Killed In Car Wreck
Joel ‘Taz’ DiGregorio, longtime keyboard player and vocalist
for The Charlie Daniels Band, has passed away.
DiGregorio died Wednesday night as a result of
injuries he sustained in a single car accident in Cheatham County, TN, while
driving to meet the CDB tour bus. The accident occurred on I-40 West of
Nashville. The band was scheduled to depart for Cumming, GA, for a concert
appearance at the Cumming Country Fair and Festival on Oct.
13th.
The CDB has cancelled their concerts scheduled for
tonight, Oct. 13th in Cumming, GA. at the Cumming Country Fair and
Festival and Saturday, Oct. 15th in Waterbury, CT. at the Palace
Theater.
From Southbridge, Mass., Taz was an original
member of the CDB for over 40 years and a co-writer on many CDB songs, including
"The Devil Went Down To Georgia."
“I am in shock now, Taz was one of my best
friends,” says Charlie Daniels. “The CDB family has lost a great friend and
musician. We traveled many miles together and shared so many nights on the road.
We’re going to miss you buddy. You were one of a kind and will never be
forgotten. We send our deepest condolences to the family.”
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Taylor Swift Leads Country Stars In American Music Award Nominations
Across all genres, Adele leads this year with four (4) nominations. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and The Band Perry follow with three (3) nominations each, and Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj and Pitbull collected two (2) nominations respectively. This year's 2011 Artist of the Year nominees are: Adele, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne and Taylor Swift.
For the fifth year, winners will be determined by online voting. Fans can vote at the Coca-Cola AMA voting website, amavote.com, as well as AMA.abc.com. Artists will be honored in the categories of Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Latin, and Contemporary Inspirational. Fans can go to the official homepage of the "2011 American Music Awards," ama.abc.com, to find performer and presenter announcements, artist information, and more.
Country category nominees:
Favorite Male Artist
Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Favorite Female Artist
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Favorite Album
Jason Aldean/My Kinda Party
The Band Perry/The Band Perry
Taylor Swift/Speak Now
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Collin Raye Releases Inspirational Album Through It All, His Love Remains
Nashville Christian recording artist Marie Bellet said – "Collin Raye has a beautiful voice of pure sincerity that reaches straight to heaven". The album introduces two original new songs by Collin including a remake of his top ten hit "Love Remains" and some of the most loved Christian songs of all time.
Says Collin, "The past two years of my life have been a very trying time for me and my family! I feel that this newest CD is a testament to my faith in God! I hope you enjoy listening to it as much I enjoyed recording it."
The trying time Raye refers to is the long battle that his granddaughter Haley went through with a neurological condition that finally took her life just over a year ago. Collin stepped away from the music business to be with with daughter and granddaughter. "My kids need me. They just need Poppy around," he said at the time.
Collin Raye has also agreed to become the national spokesman for Terri Schiavo’s Life & Hope Network, the foundation Terri’s family established to help disabled people like her obtain lifesaving medical care.
Track Listing:
1.Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (with Andrea Thomas)
2. Give Me Jesus
3. How Great Thou Art
4. Ave Maria
5. How Beautiful (duet with Andrea Thomas)
6. Undefeated
7. Here I Am, Lord
8. I Get What I Need
9. O Lord, I Am Not Worthy (duet with Marie Bellet)
10.Were You There?
11. I Am The Bread of Life
12. Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
13. Love Remains
14. Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
15. Amazing Grace
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sawyer Brown Releases Travelin' Band Today
Sawyer Brown is releasing their long-in-the-works new CD, Travelin' Band, today. The 11-song album is now available for pre-order on Sawyer
Brown.com for only $9.99 or for
digital download on iTunes, with Amazon, Rhapsody, Spotify, Napster
and many others coming very soon.
"We've been working on this album so long that
they were still called albums when we started working on it," jokes lead singer,
Mark Miller, who also produced the CD. Travelin' Band features new
songs by Miller and bandmate Hobie Hubbard, as well as songs by Tom Douglas,
Jeffrey Steele, and Love and Theft's Stephen Barker Liles.
"We've been blessed to be making records for
about 26 years now," Miller said, "and the great thing about taking some time
between the last CD and this one is that it gave us more time to write and to
listen to a lot great songs from our songwriting buddies. And, as we've found
out over the years, there's no better place to try out new songs than on the
road--and you know we've never been shy about going on the road."
Sunday, October 9, 2011
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