American Idol’s Bo Bice, Journey’s Jonathan Cain, Rachel Thibodeau (Good Directions) and Chris Wallin (Don’t Blink) performed to a packed house Tuesday afternoon at The Rutledge in downtown Nashville. The songwriters played the official pre-party for 18th annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival.

Jonathan Cain had the crowd singing along with nearly every word of his ten song medley which included hits Don’t Stop Believin’, I’ll Be Alright Without You and Faithfully. Mayor Karl Dean took the stage next and joked, “It’s impossible to follow that act. That last person you want to hear from after that is a local politician.”

This years festival will be held March 30-April 3rd and will feature more than 300 talented writers such as; Trace Adkins, Kathy Mattea (Callin’ My Name), Lee Roy Parnell and Rivers Rutherford at eight venues across Nashville.

Tin Pan South is named in honor of New York’s Tin Pan Alley (once the world’s capital of professional songwriting) and draws attention to the songs that make Music City what it is all about it. Check tinpansouth.com for more details.

The glitz and glamour of Hollywood strolled the red carpet in Nashville
for OSCAR NIGHT® AMERICA at the Belcourt Theatre Sunday night.
Many of the guests came dressed for the “Hollywood Glamour” style theme, with starlet-inspired gowns, sparkles and sequins. Inside, theatre seats are replaced by banquet tables, transforming the theatre into a beautiful setting where guests viewed the 82nd Academy Awards on two huge movie screens, while enjoying refreshments and a silent auction. Oscar Night America is rhe only officially sanctioned Oscar party in Nashville and it’s also the largest annual fundraiser for Belcourt.

Kathy Dozier and Laura Ellis (pictured) served as the Event Chairs, while WKRN’s Joe Dubin MC’d. Also pictured; Rose Cox & Carla Chamberlain, Elle long, Elise Tyler & Stephannie Parker, John Sloop & Bonnie Dow, Lee Anne Wills & Stephanie Armstrong, Ashlae Campbell & Kate Feikema, Joe Dubin & Armondo Moralez, Chad Lauderdale, Albert Hacker, Kasey Dread, Fletcher Foster & Brent Young, Karen Barnes, Elizabeth Johnson & Jack Henry, Ben Sturgell with Adam & Kasey Dread, Belcourt’s Rose Mary Gorman with Kathy Dozier and Fatima badreddine, Taaffe Stoutz, Paula Ramsay & Annette Roper.

The Nashville Predators and Patrón kicked off their new partnership with a pre-game ribbon-cutting ceremony and spirits tasting held in the Patrón Platinum Club prior to Thursday night’s game vs. the Los Angeles Kings. Patrón has taken over what many know as The Jack Daniels bar at the arena.

We stopped by the Patrón Platinum Club for dinner, before the game, and I was impressed with the spread. The all you can eat “Contemporary American” menu covered all the basis from salads and appetizers to main dishes and delicious desserts like chocolate bread pudding. The cooks claim to “infuse cooking techniques from cultures throughout the world prepared with an American interpretation.”

Upstairs from the restaurant is the Ultimat Martini Lounge, which offers an exciting selection of wines, microbrews and mixed drinks highlighting several ultra-premium Patrón products. Check out the Patrón Platinum Club for yourself, before attending your favorite sporting event or concert.

After eating, I had the honor of sitting “on the glass” for the game. If you’ve never sat that close during a hockey game, I highly suggest it. The action you experience makes the ticket worth every penny! It even scored us a shot on the jumboTron! One of the most fun nights I’ve had this year, without a doubt!

I’m still singing and dancing from Wednesday nights fun at The 5 Spot! Washboards, fiddles, banjos, dobros and instruments alike filled the small bar in East Nashville, for the weekly Wednesday Night Old Time Jam. A square dance with both young and old folks was held in honor of the gatherings three year anniversary, with Daniel Allen Frazier Junior calling the dances.

The Wednesday Night Old Time Jam is free and welcomes both musicians and non-musicians. Just bring an instrument and join in the jam or sit back and remind yourself why you love Music City. For a real throw back of the old time, I assure you this party is one heck of a good time!

According to the events myspace page, the event “provides enthusiasts of traditional, acoustic-based roots music the opportunity to regularly meet, share tunes, dance, swap stories, and bond together in general camaraderie.”

Thanks to Mickey Bernal for the photos. Check out more of his work on FB by clicking here!

CMA Best New Artist award-winner Darius Rucker performed at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville Wednesday night, as part of Hard Rock’s two-day, multi-city March On Stage launch. The event kicked off Hard Rock’s March On Stage live music event series benefiting Musicians on Call, an organization founded with the mission of bringing live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities.

The two took the path down the ally between the Ryman and the honky tonk, snuck in the back door and made their way to the front stage and straight into Miller’s classic “Fly Like An Eagle.” A slew of Miller classics followed like “Take The Money & Run,” “Abracadabra,” “The Joker” and “Rock’n Me.” The pair also indulged in an improv freestyle blues that leaned into the “Red House” chord progressions, a romping take on Hank Williams Sr’s “Mind Your Own Business,” Chesney’s “Livin’ In Fast Forward” and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Love Struck Baby.”

The guys took the small stage just before 11 and played until the wee hours of the morning.
Gotta love Music City! If you see any celebs out and about let me know by clicking by clicking HERE!!!

Pictured: Steve Miller live at Ravinia Festival in 2009

The ACM’s will air live for Vega Sunday, April 18th. For a full list of the nominees click here http://www.acmcountry.com/home/index.php

My gal Heather Byrd and I finally scored a ticket to Sony Music’s annual CRS celebration on The General Jackson, one of the most talked about events every year.

Country star Sara Evans kicked off festivities for a slew of out of town radio broadcasters. By nights end a list of “A-listers” took the stage including; Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert and Bryan Adams.

Kellie Pickler talked about how her grandparents upbringing made her a sucker for classic country before busting into Loretta Lynn’s, You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).

Miranda was next on the bill. It wasn’t long before she introduced Carrie Underwood, “I have a hot friend that can sing and loves rock ‘n’ roll like me.” The two ladies seemed excited to sing the tune Travelin’ Man.

Carrie stayed on stage for her latest hit, Temporary Home. After her performance, Sony VP of National Promtion, Skip Bishop, presented Carrie with a plaque for 20 million digital transactions. The country cutie made a joke that there should be room for the huge plaque on her ceiling. She was also kind enough to let Skip try on her engagement ring, after pulling up her “self proclaimed hooker boots.”

A portion of the boat ride was spent on a touching dedication to Butch Waugh, who recently retired as Sony Music Nashville Executive Vice President. A montage of Butch’s work, which influenced the careers of countless artists and projects, played on the screens throughout the boat. Waugh was given a trip to Italy for his family as a token of appreciation.

The evening wrapped up with a surprise performance from Bryan Adams. He joined Brooks & Dunn on stage for Summer of 69. Bryan Adams and Brad Paisley coupled up for Cuts Like A Knife and Carrie Underwood joined Adams on stage for Its Only Love.

It was an honor to finally get a seat on the boat. I enjoyed walking back onto land with Bryan Adams by my side and getting a horn toot from Kix Brooks as he sped past us in his fabulous red Lamborghini.

Sadly, no photos were allowed during the performances but I hope to get some trade shots soon. These pics of Miranda being presented a gold plaque for Revolution and Carrie Underwood with a “20 million digital sales” award, were snapped on the boat Thursday night.

Here is a brief Monday morning wrap up of some of the events that happened over the weekend here Music City.

A 1940’s themed soiree was held in honor of Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby downtown at Cellar One Friday night. Blake Shelton was of course in attendance looking dapper and Hilary Williams celebrated her birthday there, alongside Kellie Pickler.

Miranda was also among a list of performers that took the stage at a private Sony Music event on the General Jackson Thursday night. Miranda was presented a gold plaque for Revolution and Carrie Underwood (pictured) was honored with a “20 million digital sales” award.

Check back later today for a more detailed post of this weekend’s event & celeb sightings.

On day two of CRS I interviewed more than a dozen artists. Coincidently, many were family members including; Carter’s Chord, Coldwater Jane & The Harters. Trailer Choir was the funnest interview of the day and the most awkward interview was with Burns and Poe. I can’t give to many details, you will have to wait and see the videos on yallwire.com.

The highlight of the day was Sony Music’s luncheon in the CMA Performance Hall. American Idol’s Danny Gokey and country superstar Alan Jackson were among those that performed.

Country duo Brooks & Dunn took the stage to announce that the last show of The Last Rodeo tour will be in Nashville, August 10th and will benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame. Tickets are only $25! The duo is pictured here with Museum Director Kyle Young. After the announcement, the top selling duo sat down for a little Q & A with the radio broadcasters and shared funny stories of their years on the road together.

Alan Jackson entertained the crowd for quite some time after the announcement. He dedicated his first song, Good Time to Brooks & Dunn and joked about the Hall of Fame gesture being a “nice tax break.” He also teased about playing the luncheon for free and ragged on Keith Urban, who acted as a guitar player in his Mercury Blues video. He was a hoot! Check out Keith’s long hair in the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHEzBdtbQ6k

Later Thursday night, Sony hosted a party on the General Jackson. Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Bryan Adams performed on the 3 hour dinner cruise. Good times! Be sure and check back, I’ll have more details in my next post.