Country Music

Shawna Russell (third from R) joined by volunteer relief workers and  contributors "Fill the Willie Bus" for tornado victims in Shawnee, OK In a relief effort dubbed "Fill the Willie Bus," Okemah, Oklahoma recording artist Shawna Russell used her tour bus – formerly owned by music icon Willie Nelson – on Wednesday to help with the collection and delivery of badly needed supplies to tornado victims in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  The area was struck this week by a devastating storm the day before the larger tornado hit in nearby Moore. After spreading the word through social media, Russell, her family and band members marshaled volunteers from towns across the region to help accept donations and load them onto the "Willie Bus" (as she and her band affectionately call it) which was parked along Interstate 40 near her home.  By day’s end, donated items filled most available space on the bus and required three additional vehicles to help deliver the supplies to Dale Middle School, a distribution point for Shawnee and surrounding communities.  Cash donations were also deposited at local banks where accounts have been established to help disaster victims. "I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt to contribute to the relief efforts in these areas. The need is so great everywhere," states Russell. "My thoughts and prayers are with my fellow Oklahomans in this trying time." About Shawna Russell:  Singer/songwriter and performer, Shawna Russell, hails from Okemah, Oklahoma, the home of Woody Guthrie.  And like the legendary figure, Russell has spent a good deal of her life writing songs and travelling the roads of America performing her music. Russell has been performing since she was a child – but she first came to prominence on the national and international music scene with the release of her debut album GODDESS in 2008 and followed that with her self-titled sophomore album in 2011.  Both were released on Way Out West Records, a label which she co-owns.  Russell’s music has received acclaim from COUNTRY WEEKLY, BILLBOARD, CMA CLOSE UP, MAVERICK MAGAZINE (UK), MUSICROW, ROUGHSTOCK, DREAMWEST (France), THE OKLAHOMAN, OKLAHOMA GAZETTE, THE CURRENT and others. Her songs have charted in the U.S. on the Texas Music, Texas Regional Radio Report, Billboard "New and Active" and MusicRow charts, and internationally on the Hotdisc and New Christian Music charts. Her videos have been featured on The Country Network, Yallwire, CMT.com and GACTV.com.

Country stars, Montgomery Gentry, in response to the recent tragedies that have unfolded in the United States, want to help inspire hope and positivity in America by celebrating and recognizing the many heroes of our great nation.  Eddie and Troy, long-time supporters of our military, first-responders, leaders, teachers, and unspoken everyday champions, are giving their fans a chance to submit stories and nominate their personal hero.  Select stories will be featured on www.montgomerygentry.com and American Heroes will be chosen to receive concert tickets, meet & greet passes and to mingle with Montgomery Gentry at each of their concert stops this summer. “We got an email from our fan club, “The Underground,” recently,” stated Troy Gentry.  “All he wanted was to take his son to one of our shows because of how much he had helped his family through some difficult times. He kept calling him his hero.  And then Boston happened, and Texas and now Oklahoma and we keep seeing these people stepping up to help and we think those people need to be celebrated.” “We’ve toured so much throughout our career and have been blessed to be able to meet so many great people and fans out there,” added Eddie Montgomery. “Celebrating American Heroes is the least we can do to give back.” To nominate your hero, simply submit a letter explaining why your hero should be recognized and post your entry via www.montgomerygentry.com/heroes and help Montgomery Gentry celebrate your American Heroes! About Montgomery Gentry:  Superstar duo, Montgomery Gentry, has met the criteria reserved for but a few in country music history. With millions of albums sold, countless sold-out shows and scores of awards, including an induction into the Grand Ole Opry, fourteen Top 10 hits, five No. 1s, (“Something To Be Proud Of,” “If You Ever Stop Loving Me,” "Lucky Man,” “Back When I Knew It All” and “Roll With Me,”) Eddie and Troy continue to earn the admiration of their fans with their hard-hitting, honky-tonk brand of music.  Signed with powerhouse independent label, Average Joes Entertainment, Montgomery Gentry’s newest project is the EP, Friends and Family.  

Shortly after the release of Craig Campbell’s highly acclaimed sophomore album, NEVER REGRET, and in honor of his late father, Craig will host the inaugural Celebrity Cornhole Challenge to benefit the TJ Martell Foundation’s colon cancer research efforts. The Craig Campbell Cornhole Challenge will take place on Tuesday, June 4th from 2pm-7pm at the Public Square in Downtown Nashville as the unofficial kickoff to 2013’s CMA Music Festival week. Craig is thrilled to add fellow country artists and celebrity friends Bridgette Tatum, Dean Alexander, James Wesley, and Ryan Kinder to the competition, along with Great American Country and SiriusXM personality Storme Warren as emcee. Nationally syndicated radio personalities Big D & Bubba will also join as competitors in the cornhole challenge.  They join previously announced talent including Chase Rice, THE FARM, Gloriana, Greg Bates, Jerrod Niemann, LoCash Cowboys, Love and Theft, Rachel Bradshaw, Whitney Duncan, Australian duo Baylou, GAC’s Suzanne Alexander, and Titans Kicker Rob Bironas. Fans can get in on the action and play cornhole with their favorite artists, as Greg Bates and James Wesley will be auctioning off the chance to be part of their team. Visit HERE (James Wesley) and HERE (Greg Bates) for details on how to bid. In addition to playing cornhole with Craig and his celebrity friends, participants and attendees will be entertained with live music and great local food and drinks. Tickets to attend the event will be sold at the gate and can still be purchased HERE. Generous event supporters include Bigger Picture, Biscuit Love, Creative Artists Agency, Doughworks, McPherson Guitars, SESAC, Team Cocktail, The T.J. Martell Foundation, Twisted Tea: Hard Iced Tea, Yazoo, and more. ABOUT CRAIG CAMPBELL: After moving from his hometown of Lyons, Georgia to Nashville in 2002 to pursue his country music dreams, American Country Awards nominee Craig Campbell quickly picked up work as a keyboardist in Luke Bryan and Tracy Byrd’s bands and was later discovered playing a regular gig at legendary Nashville honky-tonk, The Stage. Since signing with Bigger Picture, he has entertained crowds across the U.S., Australia and Switzerland, performed for national TV audiences on Fox & Friends, Huckabee and Marie and has been profiled in HLN’s series Road Warriors. The singer-songwriter has earned well-deserved praise from the country’s toughest critics for his 2011 self-titled debut album, which has sold more than a half-million tracks. Campbell’s autobiographical lead single, “Family Man” was a top 15 hit followed by fan-favorite “Fish.” His current smash "Outta My Head" is the lead single from his sophomore album, Never Regret, which is out now. To learn more about Craig, visit www.craigcampbell.tv and follow him on Twitter @craigcampbelltv.

Back in January, we told you about the new Johnny Cash U.S. Postage Stamp, which was set to release in 2013. But, at that point, we didn’t know exactly when the stamp would launch. Now we do. The following is a press release about the event, to be held June 5 in Nashville. Here’s the release. On behalf of the U.S. Postal Service and Cash family, please save the date for the unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service’s Johnny Cash stamp on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at the Ryman Auditorium (116 Fifth Avenue, Nashville, TN). Starting at 10:30 a.m., a special ceremony will recognize the Man in Black’s contributions to music and pop culture, followed by a series of appearances from a few of Johnny Cash’s closest friends and family including John Carter Cash, Carlene Carter, and other guests to be announced.  Admission to the event is free and open to the public. Johnny Cash is memorialized in a limited-edition Forever stamp, issued by the U.S. Postal Service on June 5, 2013.  Designed by Neal Ashby, a three-time Grammy nominee for Best Recording Packaging, and art director Greg Breeding, the Johnny Cash stamp features a photograph captured by Frank Bez during the photo session for Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash (1963).  The stamp is part of U.S. Postal Service’s Music Icon Series, which also includes stamps honoring Lydia Mendoza (available now) and Ray Charles (to be released in September).   The stamps are available for purchase  at the Ryman Auditorium on June 5 from 9 a.m. until noon, at the CMA Festival Fan Fair X at LP Field June 6-9, local post offices and online at usps.com/stamps. For more information about the Johnny Cash stamp visit www.usps.com/stamps, www.facebook.com/uspsstamps or beyondtheperf.com.

Disc 1 “Who’ll Buy My Memories?” “Jimmy’s Road” “It Should Be Easier Now” “Will You Remember Mine” “I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone” “Yesterday’s Wine” “It’s Not Supposed to Be That Way” “Country Willie” “Sound in Your Mind” “Permanently Lonely” “So Much to Do” “Lonely Little Mansion” Disc 2 “Summer of Roses/December Day” “Pretend I Never Happened” “Slow Down Old World” ‘Opportunity to Cry” “I’m Falling in Love Again” “If You Could Only See” “I’d Rather You Didn’t Love Me” “What Can You Do to Me Now” “Buddy” “Remember the Good Times” “Wake Me When It’s Over” “Home Motel” http://www.forbes.com by:  Kelly Phillips Erb Today – or maybe tomorrow, depending on who you ask – is the 80th birthday of country music legend Willie Nelson (he says today but his birth certificate says tomorrow). He’s been making music since 1956 and his songs are so ubiquitous that even folks who don’t like country music can name a few. And in small towns across America, it’s impossible to walk into any bar and not hear at least one version of Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys. All together, Nelson has recorded more than sixty studio albums, ten live albums, thirty-seven compilations, two movie soundtracks and twenty-seven collaborations. And while he has lots of albums that he may credit with boosting his career, he has one that he can credit with saving it: Who’ll Buy My Memories? (The I.R.S. Tapes). That album was recorded as part of an unusual settlement with the government to pay down Nelson’s tax debt. Nelson’s tax troubles are almost as legendary as his career. After a lengthy investigation, Nelson was hit with a staggering multi-million tax bill. It was one of the largest individual federal income tax bills ever generated by the IRS at the time. The debt, which was figured to be $16.7 million together with interest and penalty, was negotiated to a mere $6 million by Nelson’s lawyer, Jay Goldberg. There was just one big problem: Nelson didn’t have the money to pay off the negotiated debt. So he didn’t. On November 9, 1990, the feds raided Nelson’s home, taking everything he owned. Everything that is, except, Trigger. Trigger was Nelson’s favorite guitar which he had his daughter, Lana, take out of his home in anticipation of the raid. “As long as I got my guitar,” Willie Nelson said, “I’ll be fine.” It turns out he was right. Nelson did lose nearly everything (except Trigger) in the raid, including his Pedernales Country Club and Recording Studio; his Dripping Springs ranch; twenty other properties in four states; and most of his instruments, recordings and memorabilia. But it wasn’t all bad: friends and fans came to the rescue, with fundraisers and efforts to buy back his property – including his home – for him. How did Nelson get into all of this trouble in the first place? In 1984, the IRS began examining Nelson’s returns. Most interesting to the IRS was a substantial deduction for tax shelter investments. The deduction was disallowed and Nelson was assessed $6 million taxes and $10 million in interest and underpayment penalties for six years. The actual shelter which Nelson claimed was promoted by his former accounting firm, Price Waterhouse, was eventually found to be illegal (for the record, Nelson sued Price Waterhouse for $45 million for their role in his financial woes and did reach an undisclosed settlement). He was hit for another tax bill shortly thereafter which he appealed but the Tax Court ruled for the IRS. By 1990, the tax debt had nearly doubled as penalties and interest continued to accrue. Nelson wasn’t making significant payments and the IRS had enough. They seized his property with intentions of putting it all up for auction. However, the IRS did have a last minute change of heart on some items, allowing posters, musical instruments, gold and platinum records and other sentimental items to be bought for a mere $7,000 by the Willie Nelson and Friends Showcase. When the auctions didn’t make a dent in Nel

Carolina Still puts out a great-sounding, patient, and professional album through Rusty Knuckles Records called The Color of Rust, spiking old music with a new energy. Self proclaimed "old-time moonshier stomp," they bring the primal enjoyment a jug-like band can evoke, without any of the grab ass garbage that can come from half efforts.

Filed under: Classic Rewind

Travis Tritt has already received a Father’s Day gift, and he’s sharing it with music fans on the day itself. Tritt’s 15-year-old daughter Tyler Reese recently joined him in the studio to duet on “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough,” a remake of the Patty Smyth and Don Henley hit. The single releases on Father’s Day [...]

   

Montgomery Gentry, in response to the recent tragedies that have unfolded in the United States, want to help inspire hope and positivity in America by celebrating and recognizing the many heroes of our great nation. Eddie and Troy, long-time supporters of our military, first-responders, leaders, teachers, and unspoken everyday champions, are giving their fans a [...]