International Festival of Country Music Returns Dierks Bentley Takes

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Promoting the World of Country Music Around the Globe
International Festival of Country
Music Returns
Dierks Bentley Takes ‘Country
and Cold Cans’ Tour Overseas
Asleep At The Wheel, Charley Pride just
added to lineup
Aussie gigs planned with Lee Kernaghan
After a 20-year break,
the International
Festival of Country
Music is returning to
Wembley Arena in
London on Sunday,
February 26, 2012. The
festival will feature
artists in Country,
Roots and Bluegrass music, including headlining acts Reba,
Lonestar, Charley Pride, Ricky Skaggs and Asleep At The
Wheel (pictured below).
In addition to the five U.S. headliners, the festival hosts an
impressive array of supporting talent, including Country and
Rockabilly legend Narvel Felts, the “King of Cajun” Jo-El
Sonnier and Texas-born George Ducas. George Hamilton
IV, Will Banister, Raymond Froggatt and John McNicholl
are also scheduled to perform. After the Wembley date, the
festival will travel to
Belfast’s Odyssey
Arena on Feb. 29.
“I’m bringing the
International Festival of
Country Music back
after twenty years due
to popular demand,”
says International
Festival of Country
Music founder and
CEO of MM Events Ltd., Mervyn Conn. “The regard for
Country music has grown significantly in the UK since the
first year I promoted this event, and I believe that now is the
time to reintroduce this once hugely popular event to
converted fans of Country music and to a new and emerging
group of Country music lovers. I have also brought back
Trisha Walker-Cunningham, who worked with me for ten
years in the early days and is my company president in the
USA.”
The popular festival originally ran from 1969 through 1991 at
Wembley Arena. The shows, promoted by Conn, were the
first to introduce Country music to the British public. Visit
www.FestivalOfCountryMusic.com for more info.
Multi-platinum singersongwriter Dierks Bentley is
extending his Country & Cold
Cans Tour into 2012 with shows
booked in Canada and Australia.
With a performance described by
the New York Times as “the
musical equivalent of buying a
round for everyone in the bar,”
Bentley kicks off a run of
Canadian dates starting in
Vancouver, BC, on Feb. 15, then
travels Down Under for five
headlining gigs with Australian country star Lee Kernaghan.
“You can find hardcore Country music fans all over the
world, and I love being able to tour other countries and bond
over that music we all love,” said Bentley. “The fall leg of the
Country & Cold Cans Tour has been crazy and really
exceeded all my expectations. I'm looking forward to taking
it to Canada and Australia in 2012…they do make Labatt and
Fosters in a can, right?!”
Bentley and Aussie star Kernaghan became friends after
meeting on Dierks’ first trip to Australia in 2009. That
association led to their
No. 1 hit duet “Scars,”
which went on to top the
charts in Australia.
“It’s great to have Dierks
back in Oz and this will be
the first time the pair have
performed together live,”
said promoter Rob Potts.
“Fans have a unique opportunity to see the two acts up close
in the more intimate theatre venues, something that doesn’t
happen often with the big U.S. Country stars.”
Country & Cold Cans Tour international dates: Vancouver,
BC (2/15), Kamloops, BC (2/16), Prince George, BC
(2/17), Dawson Creek, BC (2/18), Edmonton, AB (2/19),
Calgary, AB (2/21), Saskatoon, SK (2/22), Winnipeg, MB
(2/23), Toowoomba, QLD (3/9), Brisbane, QLD (3/10),
Melbourne, VIC (3/13), Canberra, ACT (3/15), Hunter
Valley, NSW (3/17).
Drop us a line at global@aristomedia.com | © 2011 The AristoMedia Group - All Rights Reserved
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Promoting the World of Country Music Around the Globe
The McClymonts, Ralph Murphy
Receive CMA International Awards
Australian sister trio The
McClymonts and veteran
producer, songwriter and
ASCAP Nashville exec
Ralph Murphy were the
recipients of this year’s
international CMA
awards. The presentations
were made by CMA
Chief Executive Officer
Steve Moore at the Photo: Christian Bottoroff/CMA
annual CMA International Reception, held on Nov. 7 as part
of the week of festivities surrounding the 45th annual CMA
Awards in Nashville.
The McClymonts, natives of New South Wales, received the
Global Country Artist Award, which recognizes
outstanding achievements by a Country music artist
originally signed outside of the United States. The trio’s
sophomore album, Wrapped Up Good, cracked Australia’s
Top Five in sales in 2010 before its U.S. release in 2011.
“Wow, after five months of living here in Nashville, to have
picked up the CMA Global Country Artist Award is an
absolute honor,” said Brooke McClymont.
Producer, songwriter and
ASCAP Nashville VP
Ralph Murphy accepted
the Jo Walker-Meador
International Award.
The award, named in
honor of former CMA
Executive Director and
Country Music Hall of
Photo: Christian Bottoroff/CMA Fame member Jo WalkerMeador, recognizes
outstanding achievement by an individual or company in
advocating and supporting Country Music's marketing
development in territories outside the United States.
“The industry has been more than generous with all the Irish,
the Canadians, the Norwegians, the Australians, the Dutch,
the Germans - everyone who’s come here to play Country
music,” said Murphy. “And it's always been more than
generous with me. You can't ask for more in life than a
chance and an opportunity of someone being fair with you.”
Celtic Connections Adds Event
Glasgow’s internationally renowned folk, roots and world
music festival Celtic Connections is staging a first-of-itskind, two-night music event on the Isle of Skye on March
23-24 as a finale to the Year of Scotland’s Islands. Celtic
Connections Big Top will
feature a variety of music,
arts and workshops on a
local and international
scale. U.S. Country artists
Roseanne Cash and The
Civil Wars (pictured) are
scheduled to appear, as
well as Celtic group The
Michael McGoldrick
Band, Dàimh, The
Deadly Gentlemen, Aoife O'Donovan (Crooked Still),
Mànran and other special guests to be announced.
“We’re thrilled to bring a taste of Celtic Connections to the
people of Skye,” says Donald Shaw, Celtic Connections
Artistic Director. “The Big Top is set to highlight the rich
tapestry of musical traditions from the Highlands and Islands
of Scotland and Ireland, along with the very best of
Americana for concerts typical of the festival experience.”
Dolly Wraps 2011 Overseas Dates
Global superstar Dolly Parton
wrapped up a busy schedule of
overseas dates in 2011 that
included her first visit to
Australia in more than 20 years.
In August and September,
Parton toured extensively
throughout Europe, performing
shows in Ireland, England,
Wales, Scotland, Sweden and
Denmark to rave reviews. In
November, Parton embarked on
a 12-show run Down Under,
playing in front of more than
100,000 Aussie fans on her
international Better Day World
Tour. Her nearly month-long schedule in Australia included
ten arena shows, plus two outdoor gigs at the Hope Estate in
NSW’s Hunter Valley. Parton’s Better Day album debuted
earlier this year at No. 5 on the Australian Country Charts
and No. 9 on the UK Charts.
Drop us a line at global@aristomedia.com | © 2011 The AristoMedia Group - All Rights Reserved
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Promoting the World of Country Music Around the Globe
French, British Country Music Awards
The ninth annual French Country Music Awards were held
Oct. 15, with several familiar American faces taking top
honors. Blake Shelton and Ashton Shepherd were the Male
and Female Vocalist winners, while Brad Paisley took home
Entertainer of the Year. Big & Rich were named Best Duo
and Alison Krauss & Union Station won Best Bluegrass
Band. French artist winners included Astrid Espinosa (French
Female Vocalist), David Frumin (French Male Vocalist) and
the Mariotti Brothers (Best French Group). Visit the FACM
website here for more coverage.
The sold-out BCMAwards
took place in London on
Oct. 23. International Act
of the Year went to Brad
Paisley, with local artists
Darren Busby and Nadine
Sommers taking home Best
Male and Female Vocalist
honors. Henry Smith was
named Entertainer of the
Year, and Album of the Year went to Brian Hughes (pictured
with BCMAwards exec Lee Williams). This year’s British
Hall of Fame inductees were Iona Boggie and Charlie
Landsborough. Visit here for more information.
CMA Songwriter Series Goes Global
For the first time, the Country
Music Association’s CMA
Songwriters Series is
traveling to the U.K. and
Ireland with special
performances in February 2012 scheduled for London, Belfast
and Dublin. The international tour will be known as CMA &
BMI Present the CMA Songwriter Series. Participating
songwriters include Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill
Anderson, former CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Clint
Black and host Bob DiPiero.
“The CMA Songwriter Series began in 2005 in New York and
has expanded to cities across the United States including
Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and Washington
D.C.,” CMA CEO Steve Moore said. “The popularity of our
music overseas and the appreciation the audience in the U.K.
has for our songwriters made this a good fit and an opportune
time to travel the series abroad. And it is terrific to have BMI
as a partner in this exciting initiative.”
The CMA Songwriters Series showcases the best of
Nashville's mega-hit songwriters and songwriter artists.
Participants take turns telling the stories behind their hit
songs, performing them in the raw as originally written.
Drop us a line at global@aristomedia.com | © 2011 The AristoMedia Group - All Rights Reserved
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Promoting the World of Country Music Around the Globe
๏ Canadian singer
Marlee Scott is
connecting with her
inner Betty Crocker in
the clever “Make It or
Bake It With Marlee”
webisode series. So
far, she has shared
recipes for Marls Bars,
bison chili and
football-shaped banana bread. Check them out here.
๏ The 19th Celtic Connections Festival (Jan. 19 - Feb. 5)
will see approx. 2,100 diverse artists from around the world
taking part in 300 events in 20 venues across Glasgow.
Among this year’s Country and Folk artists are: Béla Fleck
and the original Flecktones, Raul Malo, Tom Russell,
The Woody Guthrie Centennial, Josh Rouse, The
Punch Brothers and Carolina Chocolate Drops.
๏ Don Williams will tour the UK
and Ireland in April/May to
coincide with the release of his
upcoming album, due out on Sugar
Hill Records in Spring 2012.
Williams was recently honored
with ASCAP’s prestigious “Golden
Note” award at the 49th annual
ASCAP Country Awards on Nov. 6
in Nashville.
๏ The already starstudded lineup
(Tim McGraw,
Faith Hill, Dierks
Bentley, Eli
Young Band, Lee
Kernaghan, more) for CMC Rocks the Hunter 2012 has
just expanded with the addition of four stellar artists from
the Hunter Valley region of Australia: Catherine Britt,
McAlister Kemp, Morgan Evans and Kirsty Akers.
CMC Rocks the Hunter is held March 16-18.
๏ The inaugural Country Music Radio Seminar Australia
will take place in January 2012 during the Tamworth
Country Music Festival. The CMRSA aims to bring
together programmers and on-air announcers to develop
strategies for building Country radio audiences.
๏ The Cork-based weekly TV show “Hot Country” has
recently aired its 100th episode in Europe. Following its
success, the show’s producers have created a new, half-hour
program called “Hot Country Extra.”
๏ The 23rd Country
Gold Festival was held
Oct. 16 in Kumamoto,
Japan. American acts
Amber Hayes, Ray Scott
and Billy Yates (pictured)
performed, along with
festival organizer Charlie
Nagatani and his band
The Cannonballs. Next year’s lineup will feature Rick
Trevino, Georgette Jones and Dale Watson.
๏ The Country Music Association has added a “Country
Goes Global” episode to its online CMA Industry InSite
educational series. The 19th installment discusses strategies
to help artists gain a foothold “across the pond” and features
interviews with artist/songwriter Jace Everett; Mark
Hagen, Executive Director, BBC Radio; Rob Potts, CEO
Managing Director, Rob Potts Entertainment Edge; Brad
Turcotte, International Director of Marketing, Big Machine
Label Group; and Jeff Walker, CEO, The AristoMedia
Group. View archived episodes at CMAWorld.com.
๏ Canadian star Dean
Brody is recording his
new album in Nashville
with U.S. producer Matt
Rovey. Brody has
enjoyed more weeks at the
top of the Canadian charts
than any other artist in
2011. He took home
Album, Single and
Songwriter of the Year at this year’s CCMA Awards.
๏ Backstage with Dolly
in Australia (L to R): Rob
Potts/Rob Potts Ent. Edge,
Matthew Lazarus-Hall/
Chugg Ent., Danny
Nozell/Parton’s Mgr,
Parton, Anthony
Albanese/Australian Fed.
Minister Transport &
Infrastructure, Michael Chugg/Chugg Ent., Gary Van
Egmont/Van Egmont Touring, Neil Warnock/Agency Group
Drop us a line at global@aristomedia.com | © 2011 The AristoMedia Group - All Rights Reserved
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Promoting the World of Country Music Around the Globe
Aristo Q&A with:
Sarah Brosmer
Nashville record label and publicity
veteran Sarah Brosmer first
established herself as an important
player on the international music
scene during her 17-year career at
MCA, where she served as VP/
Publicity and International.
In
1999, Brosmer received the Jo
Walker-Meador International
Award and later joined Sony Music Nashville in an A&R
Supervisor role. She currently works with a roster of acts
including Gary Allan, Gene Watson and newcomer Payton
Rae at Nashville-based Lytle Management.
SB: Gene Watson was fortunate in that he toured
internationally early in his career, so he has a good fan base
outside of the USA and dedicates about 3 weeks each year for
international tours. Gary Allan also worked internationally
early on and continues to see his international tours grow
successfully. Gary has a strong following in Australia, where
he has toured regularly. Each calendar year we evaluate
international touring dates as they are offered. We’re very
open to them.
There is a significant "risk vs. reward" element to touring
overseas for an artist, particularly early on in their career.
How can an artist minimize that risk while maximizing the
potential reward? Should an act be prepared to actually lose
money their first few tours?
During your time with the MCA label, you were instrumental
in securing international press for artists like The Mavericks,
who still maintain a strong international fan base today. How
were they able to connect with fans overseas so effectively?
SB: If an act starts early enough, the risks are certainly less.
An artist can go over and perform with just one or two players
and still make an impact. In the past there was more tour
support from the labels, which minimized the cost to an artist.
Today, an act should be prepared to lose money initially, but
consider it an investment for a lifetime of touring.
SB: The Mavericks toured in the UK early and regularly,
hitting the Silver sales mark there prior to their 1998 smash
hit album Trampoline. The marketing plan was to reach out
to those same fans to buy the Trampoline album as soon as it
was released. It was London’s Pop radio station, Capitol,
that gave a huge push, adding the single “Dance the Night
Away,” which hit No. 4 on the UK charts and propelled the
album to Top Ten on the UK chart.
Do you see Country music videos playing an increased role in
artist promotion overseas? In Canada and Australia, for
example, there are established video channels, but it seems
Europe is lagging behind in that respect. Do you think there is
enough of a market to support more Country music video
outlets, particularly in regions like the UK?
Your background also includes A&R work at Sony. In your
experience, did an artist's global profile ever factor much into
the decision to sign them? Has that changed much today?
SB: At that time, a global profile was not much of a factor for
signing an artist, but in today’s market, it would be much
more of a plus. With social media being as prevalent as it is,
we’re seeing, for example, that our young new artist, Payton
Rae, has a huge number of followers in Chile, Mexico and the
UK without ever having been there yet. Her web stats include
almost 100,000 Twitter followers and nearly 4 million
YouTube views.
Today, you are working with artists like Gary Allan and Gene
Watson at Lytle Management. Gene, in particular, has a very
devoted global audience. How much time for international
touring do you allocate each year? Do you find your acts
playing more dates overseas year-over-year?
SB: While Europe has dedicated music video stations, they are
not country music oriented. There is enough of a market to
support a country video channel in the UK if marketed
properly. If a known UK personality hosted, it could work
well and bring in the initial fanbase. In the UK, a channel
mixing Americana and country music would seem like a good
bet.
Reach Sarah at: Sarah@LytleMgmt.com.
The Aristo International Report is a
quarterly newsletter published online
by The AristoMedia Group, P.O. Box
22765 Nashville, TN, 37202.
Publisher: Jeff Walker
Editor: Ryan Moore
Please submit your international Country music news items
for consideration to: global@aristomedia.com
Drop us a line at global@aristomedia.com | © 2011 The AristoMedia Group - All Rights Reserved
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Promoting the World of Country Music Around the Globe
International Industry Photo Gallery
Performer Amber Hayes with Country Gold Festival
organizer Charlie Nagatani in Kumamoto, Japan.
Hayes, Ray Scott and Billy Yates performed at the
festival on Oct. 16
Industry professionals gather at the Sister Cities of
Nashville event. L to R: Steve Haggard, Jeff Walker/
AristoMedia CEO, Heather Cunningham/Exec. Dir.,
Sister Cities of Nashville, Rod Laing/CMAA exec
Previous Jo Walker-Meador Intl Award winners at the
2011 CMA International reception in Nashville. L to R:
Bob Saporiti, Trisha Walker-Cunningham, 2011 winner
Ralph Murphy, Walker-Meador, John Lomax III, CMA
CEO Steve Moore. Photo: Christian Bottoroff/CMA.
Australian artists at the 2011 Americana Music
Conference in Nashville in Oct. L to R: Shandell, Ange
Boxall, Henry Wagons, Kirsty Akers, Sounds Australia
Project Mgr Dobe Newton, Mark O’Shea, Jay O’Shea,
Catherine Britt, The McMenamins. Photo: Bev Moser.
In the studio with Troy Cassar-Daley: (L to R): Ed
Seay/engineer, Jeff Walker/AristoMedia CEO, CassarDaley, John Wesley Ryles/session vocalist
Mark Moffatt (l) and Craig Morrison during a
recording session inside Moffatt’s Nashville studio.
Drop us a line at global@aristomedia.com | © 2011 The AristoMedia Group - All Rights Reserved