Country Update

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE NOVEMBER 7, 2016 | PAGE 13 OF 24
NASHVILLE & NATIONAL TOM ROLAND
BALLERINI: COURTESY CMA
MUSIC NOTES
Hark! The herald angels will soon be singing. Country artists’ holiday bookings
have begun in earnest, starting with CMA Country Christmas taping at the
Grand Ole Opry House on Nov. 8 for a Nov. 28 ABC run date. Kacy Musgraves,
Kelsea Ballerini, Rascal Flatts, Chris Young, Brett Eldredge and Trisha
Yearwood are among the performers
joining host Jennifer Nettles.
Eldredge and Ballerini will also appear
at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade on Nov. 24, along with Easton
Corbin and Maddie & Tae. Yearwood
accompanies Garth Brooks during
NBC’s Nov. 30 telecast of Christmas
in Rockefeller Center, which also
welcomes Dolly Parton. And A Pentatonix
Christmas Special is on tap Nov.
14 on NBC, with Kelly Clarkson and
BALLERINI
Reba McEntire.
Record producer-guitarist Dann Huff acted much like a producer and studio
musician during the 50th annual Country Music Association Awards by staying
out of the limelight. But he joined Chris Stapleton as the only two-time
winners during the evening. Huff was announced off-camera as the musician
of the year, nabbing a prize he previously claimed in 2001 and 2004. He also
got his first CMA victory as a producer, for his work (along with co-producer
Jesse Frasure) on Thomas Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man,” the single of the year.
After headlining the first-ever show at the University of Iowa’s Kinnick
Stadium on Aug. 27, Blake Shelton is going back to school in 2017, giving
the inaugural concert at yet another Big 10 stadium. This time, the event is
the Happy Valley Jam, a multi-artist lineup at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium
on July 8. The undercard includes Chris Young, Big & Rich, David Ray and
Adley Stump, the latter a former member of Team Blake on NBC’s The Voice.
During part of the Cowboy Rides Away Tour, George Strait threw a cover
of Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me” into the set list. Now Strait’s in line to help
honor Petty as the MusiCares Person of the Year when the Recording Academy
holds its annual tribute at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 10,
2017, two days before the Grammy Awards. Desert Rose Band founders Chris
Hillman and Herb Pedersen are also in the mix, along with Elle King, Don
Henley, Lucinda Williams, Jackson Browne and Petty’s Traveling Wilburys
bandmate Jeff Lynne. Proceeds aid the MusiCares Foundation.
Top Headlines from
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CMA Awards Producer On
‘Welcoming A New Friend & Welcoming
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ON THIS DATE IN COUNTRY MUSIC
Nov. 7
• 2009 — Taylor Swift is guest host and musical guest on NBC’s
Saturday Night Live, telecast from New York. She jabs Kanye West
and Joe Jonas in the opening monologue and performs “You Belong
With Me.”
• 2001 — The T Bone Burnett-produced O Brother,
Where Art Thou? wins album of the year, and one
of its tracks, The Soggy Bottom Boys’ “I Am a
Man of Constant Sorrow,” takes single during the
35th Country Music Association Awards from
Nashville on CBS.
BURNETT
Nov. 8
• 2010 — The movie Country Strong, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and
Tim McGraw, premieres at Nashville’s Green Hills 16 theaters,
drawing Luke Bryan, Sara Evans, Dierks Bentley, Mark Collie,
Jerrod Niemann and Little Big Town.
Nov. 9
• 2012 — Owing to the line about a “Chevy with a lift kick” in their
song “Cruise,” Carl Black Chevrolet in Kennesaw, Ga., gives
Florida Georgia Line members Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley
Silverado pickups.
• 1966 — Jim Ed Brown records “Pop a Top” at Nashville’s RCA
Studio B, using Dr Pepper cans supplied by Jimmy Dean to create
the sound of a beer can opening.
Nov. 10
• 2014 — MCA releases Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time” to radio.
Nov. 11
• 2011 — The Zac Brown Band welcomes a surprise guest during its
concert at the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas: Randy Travis, who
joins the group on “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”
• 2006 — Carrie Underwood carves her name into the top of the
Billboard country chart with “Before He Cheats.”
Nov. 12
• 1916 — Lon Williams marries Lillie Skipper. The relationship
produces a child who becomes a significant country star: some guy
named Hank Williams.
Nov. 13
• 2015 — RCA releases the Chris Young album I’m Comin’ Over.
Source: RolandNote.com, the Ultimate Country Music Database
John Fogerty On Deck For Keynote Q&A
At Billboard Touring Conference
It’s Official: Dick Clark Productions
Sells To China’s Wanda Group
CMA Awards as Grammy Auditions: How the Odds
Changed for Beyoncé, Maren Morris & Maybe Dolly
Jason Aldean received a plaque during the BBR Music Group’s Nov. 1
party. The plaque recognized Aldean’s three straight debuts at No. 1
on the Billboard 200. From left: BBR executive vp Jon Loba, Aldean
and BBR CEO/owner Benny Brown, GM Rick Shedd, vp promotion Lee
Adams and senior vp promotion Carson James.
SARAH KAUSS