Word on the Street – March 4
March 4, 2010 by Scott Winterroth, Editor
Filed under CMC News, FEATURED, Local Artists, News, Word on the Street
History in the Making
Chicagoland truly has an amazing group of local country musicians but since last Friday that group, for a great reason, just shrunk by one. Katie Quick, a former school teacher turned aspiring country music star, truly has an amazing story and as of late last week, the Evergreen Park native began a new chapter in that book called life. After finishing up some last-minute packing and preparation, Quick departed the Windy City for the next big step in her career, taking on Nashville by storm.
With the help of a portable video camera, Quick is posting snippets of her new life in the Music City. Be sure to catch her “vlogging” on her Facebook Fan Page, as she’s really doing amazing job keeping her Chicago crew up-to-date. Good Luck Katie!
Congratulations to the Team US99
While Team USA brought home the gold from the Winter Olympics, Chicago’s own country radio station grabbed a few trophies of their own from an annual radio industry awards program. The 2010 Country Radio Broadcasters/Country Aircheck Award winners are (Chicago Edition)… WUSN Chicago for the prestigious Station of the Year award for a Major Market Station; Lisa Dent, Ramblin’ Ray and crew for the Lisa Dent and Ramblin’ Ray Show and Marci Braun (weeknight host/MD) for Major Market MD. Congratulations to our hometown winners!
A penny for your country!
Penny Road Pub is not your typical country music digs but last Saturday, with the help of some of Chicagoland’s best country music bands, the northwest suburban bar traded the Hoobastank covers for pure Honky Tonk. The country showcase included Chicagoland’s own Lucky Town, the Roadhouse Prophets and the Ragtop Rodeo. Even with the South Barrington pub not normally on the country music scene’s radar, the troops still managed to pack the venue.
Kudos:
Tim McGraw has partnered up with Outback Steakhouse to help support Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization that assists military families and wounded veterans. Proceeds from the restaurant’s Red, White and Bloomin’ menu sales during the month of March will go towards the restaurant’s $1 million commitment to the non-profit. Proceeds from McGraw’s “Southern Voice” commemorative t-shirt will also benefit the worthy cause.
Lady Antebellum leads ACM Nominations
March 3, 2010 by Scott Winterroth, Editor
Filed under Country Music, FEATURED
Chicago’s country music station receives nomination; local country music hotspot slighted.
The Academy of Country Music released, on Tuesday, the slate of nominations for the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Country music stars Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton announced nominations during a televised presentation. McEntire will return, for her 12th consecutive time, as host for the annual awards gala. The awards program will broadcast live on CBS Television on Sun., April 18.
Artist Nominations:
Lady Antebellum leads with seven nominations, including Album of the Year for their self-titled debut and for Top Vocal Group. In addition, the trio picked up nods for Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year for “Need You Now.” They were also nominated as a producer for Single Record of the Year and as a composer for Song of the Year.
Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood both earned six nominations. If Underwood, the reigning the ACM Entertainer of the Year, wins the category again, she will be the first female in Academy history to capture the award twice.
Taylor Swift received five nominations including her first nod for Entertainer of the Year; Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley, the reigning Top Male Vocalist, each received four nominations. The Zac Brown Band received four nominations while the group’s lead, Zac Brown, received two additional nominations for a total of six.
Local Nominations:
On the home front, Chicago’s own US99, America’s Country Station, (WUSN-FM) picked up a nominations for Major Market Radio Station of the Year in the Academy’s industry awards categories. The reigning Nightclub of the Year, Joe’s Bar, surprisingly didn’t return to this year’s nomination list.
Fan Voted Awards:
Returning in 2010, fans can vote for the coveted Entertainer of the Year slot and the three “new artist” categories —Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duo. Winners of each “top new” category will then proceed to compete for Top New Artist, which is also fan voted.
The fan voted categories and nominations include:
Entertainer of the Year:
Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and the Zac Brown Band
Top New Solo Vocalist of the Year:
Luke Bryan, Jamey Johnson and Chris Young
To New Vocal Duo of the Year:
Bomshel, Joey + Rory and Steel Magnolia
Top New Vocal Group of the Year:
Eli Young Band, Gloriana and The Lost Trailers
Fans can cast their ballots for all categories on voteACM.com. The winners of Entertainer of the Year and Top New Artist will be announced during the live telecast, which will broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sun., April 18 at 7 p.m. CDT on the CBS Television Network.
For a complete list of categories and nominations, visit ACMcountry.com.
Editor’s Question: Who do you want to win?
We Believe in Joe
March 1, 2010 by CountryMusicChicago.com Staff
Filed under Chicago, Concert Alerts, Events, FEATURED
Win general admission tickets to this show!
Joe Nichols country music career can be summed up as successful but behind the awards shows, album releases and music videos there’s is a side that, till now, has been blind to most fans. Prior to the release of his latest album, “Old Things New”, Nichols was battling an alcohol addiction which eventually led him to rehab. A life changing circumstance that compelled him record tracks like “Old Friend of Mine” and “Believers”.
“I think a lot of people around me that knew I had a problem and I knew I had a problem,” said Nichols in a video on his new album release. “This album means a lot to me, not just because of the music that’s on there just because it’s like a new beginning.”
With a new outlook on life and fresh music in his bag, Nichols is headed back to Joe’s Bar to please his best Chicago fans. While he’ll still be singing his best drinking songs, you can bet that Nichols will be sticking to the unleaded drinks.
“Just because I’m not drinking a half gallon of tequila doesn’t mean I can’t have fun with everybody.” Nichols said. “Things are getting better for me everyday.”
Today, Nichols looks toward his wife and his fans for inspiration and guidance. On Friday, Chicago fans can look toward Nichols for another great show and a dose of their own inspiration.
Download “Old Things New” on iTunes: 
CONCERT INFORMATION:
Joe Nichols with Jeff Allen and Chasin’ Mason
WHEN: Friday, March 5, 2010 | 8PM
WHERE: Joe’s Bar, 940 Weed Street, Chicago
TICKETS: $20 ticketmaster.com or Joe’s Box Office (Cash Only)
WIN GA TICKETS TO SEE JOE NICHOLS
Meetup with fellow country music fans! The CMC Meetup Group is headed to this show. Join us here.
For Cowboy Troy it’s all about the fans
February 27, 2010 by Stephanie Kohl
Filed under Country Music, FEATURED
CMC Exclusive: The six-feet, five inches tall, black rapping country artist takes his fans so seriously in fact, that they helped him decide what would go on his latest album, “Demolition Mission: Studio Blue Sessions,” released in Sept. 2009. The first half of the record features Cowboy Troy singing, while the second half features his signature “hick-hop”. Prior to the release of the album, he asked his fans and audiences to tell him what they wanted on the record.
“If they like it, tell me,” Cowboy Troy said. “If not, tell me.”
Already working on new material, Cowboy Troy will seek input from his fans once again. He has plans to debut some new material on tour this summer. Cowboy Troy’s Live and Loud Cowboy Stomp Tour will hit the Chicago-area March 15 for the US99 Kix Brooks Announcement Party; July 8 for the Joliet Race Fan Rally in downtown Joliet; the afternoon of July 10 for the US99 pre-race party concert in Joliet; the evening of July 10 at the Byron Festival; He’ll emcee at the LogJam Fest in Phillips, Wisc, July 30 – Aug. 1; and Aug. 29 for Zoo Tunes at Brookfield Zoo.
“I realize that I provide a service that no one requires,” Cowboy Troy said of his relationship with fans. “As a musician, no one requires what I do… if people have something of mine, it’s because they want it and I think it is important in providing a service that nobody needs but they want, that I provide what they want. That’s why I make sure I listen to what they say. They are the ones who are paying for it.”
With regard to the new album, Cowboy Troy encourages new listeners to play “Cash in the Cookie Jar” first, recognizing it is an up-tempo, snappy song that people seem to like. His favorite, however, is “Crown.”
“It talks about stuff that is very close to me,” he said. “It is my own personal experience. It is almost autobiographical.”
Cowboy Troy grew up in Dallas, Texas listening to a mix of country music, rap and rock, a combination he has used on all of his records.
“I’ve been doing that on all three of my major records I have done,” he said. “I’ve always kind of combined all three styles, so it’s not anything brand new to me. Once, it’s an accident; twice is a coincidence; three times is a trend.”
Because of a serious lack of radio play, Cowboy Troy relies on word-of-mouth to spread his music. To keep in touch with fans new and old, he utilizes social media including MySpace and Twitter.
“People can see the conversation we are having and people get to be in on that,” he said. “It’s kind of a cool thing.”
With 3,100 followers, Cowboy Troy is an avid “tweet-er”. When he’s just sitting around watching television, or his kids do something silly, or he goes out somewhere, he tweets about it. He thinks Twitter is a way to let all of his followers in on his conversations with others. Find Cowboy Troy on Twitter.com @cowboytroy.
On the web: cowboytroy.com – cowboytroyent.com
Randy Rogers Band back at Joe’s
February 25, 2010 by CountryMusicChicago.com Staff
Filed under Chicago, Concert Alerts, Events, FEATURED
Win tickets to their show on Country Music Chicago!
Concert Alert:
While their Windy City debut has long passed (six times over), The Randy Rogers Band is no stranger to Chicago, especially not Joe’s Bar. This Texas, by the way of Nashville, based band is leaving their 70 degree Austin sunshine for Chicago’s blustery-cold weather to perform, once again, at the north side venue.
“We always have a great reception playing at Joe’s,” said Geoffrey Hill, the band’s lead guitarist. “It’s always cool to catch up with our Chicago following.”
Fresh out of the recording studio, the band will perform live on Thursday.
“We just finished our new album title ‘Burning The Day,’ Hill said. “The first single off the album is a great song called ‘Interstate’. We’re sure to play this one for you.”
While “Burning The Day” isn’t expected until sometime this summer, fans need not to worry as the band has quite an extensive play-list to choose from. Their dossier of songs spans over six albums.
Over the years, the Randy Rogers Band has opened for acts like Willie Nelson, the Eagles, Gary Allan and Dierks Bentley while being labeled as a must-see touring act by the Rolling Stones Magazine. In addition to their extensive touring, including their multiple Joe’s Bar gigs, the Randy Rogers Band has perform on The Tonight Show, The Late Show and the Grand Ole Opry, which have all helped them earn a solid, steady following.
Tickets are $10 and available on Ticketmaster.com or at Joe’s (Cash only).
Check them out: Download “Kiss Me In The Dark”, “In My Arms Instead” and “One More Goodbye” on iTunes.
CONCERT INFO:
Randy Rogers Band
WHEN: Thursday, March 4, 2010 – 8PM
WHERE: Joe’s Bar, 940 W. Weed Street, Chicago
TICKETS: $10 – Ticketmaster.com or Joe’s Box Office (Cash Only)
On the web: randyrogersband.com
Mega Ticket Mania
February 19, 2010 by CountryMusicChicago.com Staff
Filed under Burbs, Concert Alerts, Events, FEATURED, Ticket Line
TICKET ALERT:
While Rascal Flatts might not be bringing their 2010 tour on Wrigley Field – as they did in 2009 – the Flatts Boys along with headliners Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith and Montgomery Gentry are all, at some point, “swinging by” one of Chicagoland’s more traditional country music confines this summer.
For those planning to attend every concert, as recommended, you’ll be happy to here that Live Nation, US99 and the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater are returning the 2010 Country MEGA ticket. The promotional package guarantees seats at all six country music concerts headed to the South Suburban amphitheater.
Don’t delay, the Mega Tickets general public sale begins today through Live Nation. Packages range from $150 for lawn seats all the way up to $600 for “100” level seat, per person. While that might seem like a big tank to your recession-run pocket book, if you do the math, it really is a great deal. Plus, existing Mega Ticket holders have first dibs on next year’s tickets.
Lineup Lowdown:
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Country Throwdown Tour featuring:
Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Jack Ingram, Eric Church, Eli Young Band, The Lost Trailers, Heidi Newfield and more.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Tim McGraw with Lady Antebellum and Love & Theft
Friday, July 16, 2010
Brad Paisley with Darius Rucker
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
Brooks & Dunn (The Last Rodeo Tour) with Gary Allan
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Rascal Flatts with Kellie Pickler & Chris Young
Saturday, September 18
Toby Keith
Live Nation – Concert Tickets On Sale Now!
