Publication of the Country Music Association Of Ireland.
May 2012.
( Founded January 1969. )
Country music fans who have long bemoaned the
loss of the Carling Country Music Festival in Cork, will welcome
the great news of the Country In Cork Festival which takes
place at the Rochestown Park Hotel on the coming Bank Holiday
Weekend of May 4th,5th & 6th, and will feature an array of top
class Irish country music stars. The festival will present an
opportunity to dance the night away to the strains of Mike Denver,
Robert Mizzell, Louise Morrissey, Larry Cunningham, Trudi Lalor,
John Hogan, Morrissey & Daniels, Gary Gamble and Tom Healy.
The hotel is offering deals for a 2 night and 3 night special.
This year’s Kilkenny Roots Festival will take place at
various venues throughout the Marble City from May 4th to 7th.
Billy Yates is coming to Ireland this month to perform 5
Concerts of Traditional American Country Music and will be joined
on all five concerts by Robert Mizzell and on some by Matt
Leavy, CC Cooper and Donegal’s newest Country sensation,
Sarah-Louise. The following are the venues: Thursday 17th
May – Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny, Sunday 20th – Red Cow
Inn, Dublin, Tuesday 22nd – Riverbank House Hotel, Wexford,
Wednesday 23rd – Four Seasons Hotel, Monaghan and Thursday 24th –
Great Northern Hotel, Bundoran.
John Nyhan, (Mr. Bluegrass) has two outstanding Bluegrass
events organised for the Village Arts Centre, Kilworth,
Co.Cork, this month. They are, Foghorn String Band
from Portland, Oregan, on Wed. May 9th, and Berea Bluegrass
All Stars, a 7 piece band from Kentucky, on Tuesday May
29th. John also has a great lineup of Bluegrass talent booked for
shows at Kilworth throughout the year, and you can get full
details for all of these from John at 087-7921771. He also has a
great Bluegrass Weekend organised for Friday Oct. 19th to Sun.
Oct. 21st.
This year’s Annual Baltimore Fiddle Festival will take
place from May 9th to 13th.
Paddy O’Brien fans will converge on Lawlors Hotel,
Dungarvan, Co.Waterford, for the Annual Paddy O’Brien Weekend on
May 18/19/20. As usual, Paddy has lined up an array of top class
acts to entertain his fans. Should be a great weekend as usual.
The proposed tour by James Drury, The Virginian, has been
cancelled due to James being unwell. Hopefully the tour will be
re-scheduled in Sept.
The dates for this year’s CMA Country Music Fest and Fan Fair
in Nashville are June 7th to June 10th. Nashville will be buzzing
with excitement for the entire week with lots of concerts and free
entertainment throughout the City for the annual extravaganza of
music and fun. Among the Irish artists performing during the week
are Lisa Mc Hugh, Colm Kirwan and Pete Kennedy.
The Foghorn String Band will be playing two festivals and
six further dates in Ireland as part of a tour that will keep them
in Europe for the most of May. Their full list of Irish dates are
Tues. 1st: The Red Room, Cookstown, Co.
Tyrone, Wed. 2nd: McCann’s Bar, Omagh, Co. Tyrone. Thurs. 3rd:
Glens Centre, Manorhamilton Co. Leitrim, Fri. 4th: Grand Social,
Dublin, with I Draw Slow, Sat. 5th: Crane Bar, 2 Sea Road, Galway
City, with I Draw Slow, Mon. 7th: Féile Na Bealtaine, Dingle, Co.
Kerry, Wed. 9th: Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, and
Thurs. 10th to Sun. 13th: Fiddle Fair, Baltimore, Co. Cork.
Congratulations to Niall Toner who has signed a deal with
Pinecastle Records for distribution in the States.
This year’s 21st
Appalachian and Bluegrass Music Festival at the Ulster
American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, will take place from Friday 31 August to Sunday 2
September 2012. The Annual Appalachian
& Bluegrass Music Festival is the second oldest annual
bluegrass event in Ireland, and the largest paying-in bluegrass
event in Europe.
Country music Hall of Fame member George Jones is
recuperating from upper respiratory infection and continues to
rest at his Franklin, Tennessee home. Although, George is doing
much better, doctors are ordering mandatory recovery time forcing
all tour dates up to May 20th, including the entire Canadian run
to be postponed.
Legendary Group THE MAVERICKS are back! The GRAMMY, ACM
and CMA award-winning vocal group recently signed to The Valory
Music Co. and are due to release a new album later this year. The
signing marked the 20th anniversary of the band’s first MCA album
release. The talented lineup of musicians includes Raul Malo,
Robert Reynolds,Paul Deakin and Eddie Perez. Known for their big,
raucous sound on hits like “Here Comes The Rain,” “Crying Shame,”
“Dance The Night Away” and “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” the
band returns to the music scene more soulful and innovative than
ever. The Mavericks performed back-to-back shows recently at
Nashville hotspot, 3rd & Lindsley to benefit both the W.O.
Smith Music School and the GRAMMY’s MusiCares. They will appear at
STAGECOACH,
the three day country music festival in Indio, California, and
they have also just been announced as performers at the CMA
Music Fest on Sunday, June 10 at LP Field in Nashville.
The 1st
International Bluegrass Festival will be held in the Grand
Hotel, Tramore, Co. Waterford, over the June bank holiday
weekend (Fri. 1 June-Mon. 4 June 2012), with six bands, eighteen
shows, an all-star jam on Sunday night, and all-day and evening
sessions on Monday with the bands. The hotel has a special
three-night offer for the period of the festival. The lineup so
far comprises Southern Welfare,
the Down and Out Bluegrass
Band, Bending the
Strings, the Kentucky Cow
Tippers (UK), and Woodbine.
This year’s Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival
will be held in the new location at Tullamore, Co. Offaly, from
Sept 20 to 23 the festival organisers, Chris Keenan and Kathy Casey,
have issued a guide to accommodation and camping facilities in
Tullamore, linked to other tourism services. Read the complete e-newsletter
here.
Westport Festival of Music and Performing Arts on
Sat. June 23rd and Sun. June 24th, 2012 atWestport
House, Westport, Co. Mayo.
Set amidst a stunning 400 acre site in the heart of Westport
town in Mayo, Westport Festival of Music and Performing Arts
will be an annual two-day celebration of music and song,
embracing the very best local and international rock, folk,
celtic and acoustic sounds across three stages. A grown-up
festival for music fans who treasure their record collections, Westport
Festival of Music and Performing Arts will host a unique
and diverse line up of artists, from full blown rock
performances on two stages, to intimate singer songwriter
sessions in the acoustic arena.
Already announced are Kinks legend Ray Davies, The
Waterboys, Seasick Steve, Alison Moyet, The Chieftains, Nick
Lowe, The Dubliners, Damien Dempsey, Horslips, Mundy, Marc
Almond, Lloyd Cole, Beth Orton, Eric Bibb, Hothouse Flowers,
Duke Special, Eddi Reader, The Minutes, David Kitt, Jerry
Fish, The 4 of Us, The Kanyu Tree, The Riptide Movement,
Bipolar Empire, Cars Love Girls, Rainy Boy Sleep, Eoin
Glacken, Ryan
Sheridan, Wallis Bird, Colin Devlin, Bronagh Gallagher, Sam
Amidon, Liz Lawrence, The Plea, Touchwood, Red Empire and Rhob
Cunningham.
Country music superstar Alan Jackson will release his much anticipated album Thirty Miles West on June 5. It is his debut album on ACR (Alan’s Country Records)/EMI Records Nashville and is produced by long-time producer and friend, Keith Stegall. Jackson’s current single from the album is "So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore.” When asked about the unique album title Jackson responds, “There’s this highway that’s been in existence for forever now – it’s called the Dixie Highway and it runs from north of Michigan all the way down to South Florida, and I wrote a song about it that’s on the album. I grew up on Highway 34 outside of Newnan, Georgia, and that’s where we came up with Thirty Miles West. I think we were about thirty miles west of the official part of the Dixie Highway that runs through Georgia.”
Alan Jackson
is one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters
in music. He is in the elite company of Paul McCartney and John
Lennon among songwriters who’ve written more than 20 songs that
they’ve recorded and taken to the top of the charts. Jackson is
one of the 10 best-selling artists since the inception of
SoundScan, ranking alongside the likes of Eminem and
Metallica.Jackson has sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide,
topped the country singles charts 35 times, and scored more than
50 Top-10 hits. He has written or co-written 25 of his 35 No.1
hit singles. Jackson is a 17-time ACM Award winner, a 16-time
CMA Award recipient, and a two-time Grammy-winning artist whose
songwriting has earned him the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award
and an induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame as
a 2011 Songwriter/Artist inductee.
Garth Brooks has been added to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The ‘Friends in Low Places’ star – who has
sold over 128 million albums is one of three musicians to be
added to the hall in Nashville, Tennessee, this year, alongside
Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins and Connie Smith. Receiving
his induction on Tuesday March 6th. Garth said: ”This is a day
of joy and a day of honour. I still can’t believe it.Garth added he felt a little ”guilty” of being inducted
to the Hall before some of his influences, such as Randy Travis
and the late Keith Whitley. He said: ”There are so many
deserving artists that came before me
who are yet to be inducted. I am astounded and honoured to be in
the Country Music Hall of Fame.” Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins became blind aged four but went on to become one of
the most accomplished session pianists and keyboardists in
country history, playing on tracks by artists including Patsy
Cline, Roy Orbison, Reba McEntire and Kenny Rogers. Connie
Smith became the first female artist to hit number one
with a debut single in the US and was once named by Dolly Parton
as one of the three best singers in the world. Garth Brooks
is credited with modernising the country genre with his
spectacular stage shows and tackling difficult subject matter in
his songs. He was named Artist of the Decade
for the 1990s by the Academy of Country Music and is one of the
few country artists to enjoy worldwide success.
GLEN CAMPBELL, THE MAVERICKS, RONNIE MILSAP, AND
KENNY ROGERS ADDED TO 2012 CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL NIGHTLY
CONCERTS LINEUP
The legendary Glen Campbell, Ronnie
Milsap,
and Kenny Rogers, and reunited multi-Platinum certified group The Mavericks have joined the performer lineup for the
Nightly Concerts at LP Field held during 2012 CMA
Music Festival. The event takes place Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10, in downtown Nashville, and will once again be
filmed for an ABC television special to air in late
summer
Campbell will deliver the opening
performance on the Nightly Concerts on Thursday, June
7; Milsap will open on Friday, June 8; Rogers will
open on Saturday, June 9; and The Mavericks will open
on Sunday, June 10.
The current lineups for the Nightly
Concerts are as follows in alphabetical order:
|
Thursday, June 7: |
Jason Aldean, Glen Campbell, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, and Zac Brown Band |
|
Friday, June 8: |
The Band Perry, Brantley Gilbert, Ronnie Milsap, Jake Owen, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood |
|
Saturday, June 9: |
Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Hunter Hayes, Faith Hill, and Kenny Rogers |
|
Sunday, June 10: |
Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, The Mavericks, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, and Rascal Flatts |
Tickets to the individual Nightly
Concerts are $40 (plus applicable handling fees) for
general admission in the upper deck of LP Field. Fans
can purchase their tickets through Ticketmaster at
Ticketmaster.com or 1 (800) 745-3000. They can also
purchase them through CMAfest.com or 1 (800) CMA-FEST
(262-3378).
Four-day ticket packages are also
available, from only $125 per person plus handling
fees. Four-day ticket package categories correspond to
varying levels of seating at LP Field and include
admittance to all four Nightly Concerts as well as all
daytime Festival activities, including the Fan Fair
Fall where artist autograph signing sessions are held.
Children 3 years and younger are admitted FREE. For
information on ADA seating, please call
1-800-CMA-FEST.
Ticket prices and artists are
subject to change without notice. All sales are final
and non-refundable.
Campbell last performed at CMA Music
Festival in 2004. He has received two CMA Awards,
including CMA Entertainer of the Year (1968) and Male
Vocalist of the Year (1968), and was inducted into the
Country Music Hall of Fame (2005). Last year, Campbell
announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
disease. Since then, he released his final album, the
critically-acclaimed Ghost
on the Canvas,
and is in the midst of his successful Goodbye Tour.
Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, and Keith Urban paid homage
to Campbell in a tribute performance on last year’s
CMA Awards.
The Mavericks last performed at CMA
Music Festival in 2004. The group won two CMA Awards
for CMA Vocal Group of the Year (1995, 1996).
Recently, The Mavericks signed with The Valory Music
Co., have begun work on a new album, and are embarking
on a summer tour. The current lineup includes Raul Malo, Robert
Reynolds,
Paul Deakin, and Eddie
Perez.
Milsap last performed at CMA Music
Festival in 2006 with Los Lonely Boys. He has received
eight CMA Awards, including CMA Entertainer of the
Year (1977), three wins as Male Vocalist of the Year
(1974, 1976, 1977), and four wins for Album of the
Year (1975 – A
Legend in My Time;
1977 – Ronnie
Milsap Live;
1978 – It Was
Almost Like a Song;
and 1986 – Lost
in the Fifties Tonight). Last year he released his latest album, Country Again.
Rogers last performed at CMA Music
Festival in 2008. He has won five CMA Awards,
including CMA Male Vocalist of the Year (1979), Album
of the Year (1979 – The
Gambler), Single of
the Year (1977 – “Lucille”), and two wins for Vocal
Duo of the Year (1978 and 1979, both with Dottie
West). He recently released his first full-length
inspirational Gospel album, The Love of God, through Cracker Barrel, and is the 2012
Artist-in-Residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame
and Museum.
Fans can stay in the loop by
visiting CMAfest.com, the official website of CMA
Music Festival, where they can sign up for the CMA
Exclusive e-news; connect with CMA socially on
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest; play games;
and of course see the entire lineup of Country Music’s
biggest stars as they are announced for the event.
CMA Music Festival celebrates the
unique relationship between Country Music artists and
their fans in the heart of Music City USA. The artists
participate for free, and on their behalf, CMA has
donated half the net proceeds of the Festival to
support music education through the Keep the Music
Playing program.
To date, more than $6.1 million has
been donated to purchase musical instruments and
supplies, providing thousands of students in Metro
Nashville Public Schools with the resources and
opportunities they could not have afforded on their
own, and giving many of them a strong reason to remain
in school. The total also includes a $1 million
endowment gift for the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum’s Words & Music program, which assists
language arts and music teachers with classroom
instruction in the basics of songwriting.
Featuring concerts, autograph
signings, family activities, and more, CMA Music
Festival is the ultimate Country Music fan experience
– a four-day celebration of America’s music. In 2011,
the event drew a record-setting 65,000 fans from all
50 states and 26 nations and, for the second
consecutive year, sold out in advance each night at LP
Field for the star-packed Nightly Concerts. According
to the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau,
direct visitor spending generated by the Festival
totaled more than $30 million. CMA Music Festival is a
four-time winner of the International Entertainment
Buyers Association’s LIVE! Award for Festival of the
Year (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010).
CMA Music Festival will once again
be filmed for a national television special to air on
the ABC Television Network. This is the ninth
consecutive year that the event has been filmed for
a network television special, a feat no other music
festival has achieved. CBS aired the first CMA Music
Festival special in 2004, with ABC airing it from 2005
onward through 2021. “CMA
Music Festival: Country’s Night to
Rock” will be executive-produced by Robert Deaton.
CMA Music Festival is organized and
produced by the Country Music Association. Fan Fair®
is a registered trademark of CMA. Chevrolet™ is the
Official Ride of Country Music. BIC is an Official
Partner of the 2012 CMA Music Festival.