26 May 2014

Lucy May returns from Nashville where she was in the studio writing with the hugely successful song writer Jeff Cohen (behind some of the hits for The Band Perry and Sugarland) and recording her songs for the album. She also took the time to perform famous Bluebird Café which was “a dream come true”. She is currently touring the UK as the support for Michael Bolton. She will be playing at Royal Albert Hall tonight (May 22) and Bournemouth BIC May 24, 2014.

Country fans heading to Nashville in June for the CMT Music Awards and CMA Music Fest will have the chance to join chart-topping country artist Rodney Atkins for his annual Music City Gives Back concert in downtown Nashville on Tuesday, June 3. Now in its fourth year, the show will feature an all-star lineup of Atkins’ friends including Lee Brice, Jana Kramer, Dustin Lynch, Josh Thompson and more and will benefit Nashville’s W.O. Smith Music School. The event will kick off at 6:00 p.m. CT at 1st Avenue and Broadway and is free to the public. “I am so excited to be part of this event for the fourth year in a row and to have such a great group of artists give their time and talent to help out,” said Atkins. “I’ve always believed that music is a great healer and it’s important to me as an artist to use that platform to give back.” Founded in 1984, W.O. Smith Music School provides music instruction to children from low-income families for the nominal cost of 50 cents per lesson. An all-volunteer teaching artist faculty of 220 gives music lessons to more than 650 students annually. Instruments and all learning materials are loaned to the students at no additional expense.

Each June, country music connoisseurs from all over the world travel to Nashville for CMA Music Festival, but fans aren’t the only ones crossing borders to attend Country Music’s largest event. International Country artists from all over the globe make the pilgrimage to Music City each year to perform at CMA World GlobaLive!, a free showcase featuring international Country Music artists on Monday, June 2 in downtown Nashville. The CMA World GlobaLive! concert will be held on an outdoor stage on Broadway and First Avenue in downtown Nashville. The concert is open to the public and will feature performances by Country artists from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and the U.K. “Each of these acts has already achieved a high degree of momentum and success abroad,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “They are performers that we think are capable of attracting industry attention.” CMA World GlobaLive!, which began in 2004 as the global artist party, serves as a showcase for overseas talent during the festival. Each year, the concert attracted standing-room-only crowds of enthusiastic fans, which prompted CMA to move the event from a club setting to a larger outdoor stage. The concert will now have the capacity to house its largest crowd yet with an audience of fans and press from around the world. 2014 CMA Music Festival is now a sold-out event with attendees traveling from across the U.S. as well as 21 foreign countries. More than 150 artists were submitted for consideration to perform on the CMA World GlobaLive! stage, according to Jeff Walker, CMA Board member and Executive Producer of CMA World GlobaLive! “When evaluating artists to perform at the event, we look at several factors, including radio airplay, social awareness, touring schedules and media acceptance within their local territories,” said Walker. “We are excited about this year’s lineup and the surging popularity of Country Music overseas. By presenting shows like GlobaLive!, participating in events like C2C in the U.K., and the ongoing outreach to other international Country Music organisations, we are creating an environment to escalate the expansion of the Country Music brand internationally.” Artists performing during CMA World GlobaLive! include Jaida Dreyer,who was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year in Canada and is signed to U.S. label Streamsound Records; Canadian super group Emerson Drive, who has had a successful U.S. career since the late ‘90s; Kira Isabella, the reigning Canadian Female Vocalist of the Year; Kaylens Rain, who was recently named CRA winner by radio station professionals throughout Australia; Wes Mack, the Canadian Country Music Association’s Discovery Winner; One More Girl, the rising Canadian duo comprised of sisters Britt and Carly McKillip, who have an impressive past and present touring schedule; Australian duo, O’Shea, who are routinely found in the Australian Top 5 and also host an Australian television show on the CRC; David Park, rising star in his native Sweden who has also earned the nickname of “Banjo Man”; Jared Porter, the reigning winner of the nationwide Star Maker talent search in Australia; Cameron Scott, the New Zealand Horizon Award winner; Dallas Smith, previous frontman of rock group Default, who was already a huge star in Canada before he made the transition from rock to Country; and Tamara Stewart, the recent winner of a CMAA Golden Guitar for her composition entitled “Women in Song.” www.cmafest.com

The Americana Festival and Conference was has been featured in the Tennessean thanks to its significant contribution to Nashville’s economy. “The annual Americana Music Conference and Festival quietly has become a major contributor to the local economy, bringing in more than $5.1 million in direct economic impact last year, thanks to growing concert attendance and steadily rising membership in the association” “And, the marketing of this year’s festival – the 15th annual – will be amplified by an August ‘Americanafest NYC’ to be held in New York at Lincoln Center, which will feature concerts and panel workshops,” reported The Tennessean. The 15th annual Americana Music Festival and Conference will take place September 17 – 21, 2014 at multiple venues throughout Nashville, Tennessee. The event brings together fans and music industry executives alike offering four days of celebration through seminars, panels and networking opportunities by day and raw, battery–recharging showcases each evening. The Americana Music Association is a professional not-for-profit trade organisation whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world. The Association produces events throughout the year including the Cross County Lines Festival featuring Patty Griffin and John Hiatt in Franklin, Tennessee and the annual Americana Music Festival and Conference, Presented by Nissan, and the critically acclaimed Americana Honours & Awards program.