04.25.05 (MusicPortal.com) Country music traditionalist BUDDY JEWELL will be here, there and everywhere this month as he presents his second Columbia Records album, "Times Like These." Produced by Garth Fundis, the creator of classic hits for Trisha Yearwood and Keith Whitley, the album will arrive in stores tomorrow. Jewell is currently scaling the Country charts with 'If She Were Any Other Woman,' the lead single from his new album, which features Vince Gill on harmony vocals. BUDDY JEWELL's self-titled debut album has already been certified gold and is on its way to platinum status. On Tuesday, April 19, Jewell accepted a Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Institute in Washington. The award is conferred on those who have made a significant contribution to the institution of fatherhood, either in their work or through their personal lives. Accompanying Jewell to the gala presentation were his wife Tene' and their children Buddy, Lacey and Joshua. It was daughter Lacey who inspired Jewell's first hit, 'Help Pour Out The Rain (Lacey's Song).' Throughout April, Jewell is reigning as Great American Country's "Artist Of The Month," an honor that carries with it heavier and more prominent airplay for all his music videos. Jewell's video for "If She Were Any Other Woman" has already gone No. 1 on GAC's viewer-voted chart. The genial singer has also taped an exclusive concert for GAC that began airing on April 22nd. Just yesterday, BUDDY JEWELL made television history when he became the first country artist ever to be spotlighted on Shop At Home Network. To pre-sell his new album to the network's viewers, he co-hosted and perform on an hour-long segment devoted entirely to his music. On the show, he also took phone calls from fans, performed several songs, and chatted with "Opry Backstage" host Nan Kelley. As his busiest month ever rolls on, BUDDY JEWELL performs twice on "Crisco Presents The Road To CMA Music Festival," a 10-city tour to promote the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, which runs from June 9-12.
[WATCH]

04.15.05 (MusicPortal.com) 2005 is shaping up to be a busy year for MICHELLE SHOCKED, who will release a new trilogy of albums via her own Mighty Sound Records label on June 7th. The two-time Grammy nominee presents the threesome, which continue the "American Trilogy" concept of her first three Mercury albums, in a very unique way. The new albums, entitled "Don't Ask Don't Tell," "Mexican Standoff" and "Got No Strings" chronicle a tumultuous time of life, including her recent divorce. However, this isn't to imply that the songs are bitter. In fact, to the contrary, they're executed with humor, imagination, irony and empowerment -- and in voices most have never heard from MICHELLE SHOCKED. There's Rock and after-hours Blues and Hardcore Punk and twang shading her sly lyrics. First, there are three main things you need to know about MICHELLE SHOCKED. Number one, she possesses an outsized ambition. Number two, she abhors unfinished business. Number three, she has a thing for the number 3. These factors play into the new trilogy of albums, each recorded simultaneously during a sustained burst of unrivalled creativity from December 2004 to January 2005, with each one hewing to a particular stylistic concept. Just as audaciously, she's releasing the three albums simultaneously. Most artists wouldn't even conceive of such an undertaking, let alone see it through - but MICHELLE SHOCKED isn't just any other artist. Dancing to the beat of her own wild heart and soul, she nimbly negotiates the tightrope that stretches between here and heaven, and does it all by working without a net. The trilogy is hardly a new concept to this single-minded artist. After all, she started her recording career with three stylistically different distinct albums in "Short Sharp Shocked" (1988), "Captain Swing" (1989) and "Arkansas Traveler" (1992). Together, the latter three albums defined her wide-open milieu that encompassed everything from Rock, Country, Blues, Folk and Swing to all manners of indigenous American music. If she'd had her way, MICHELLE SHOCKED would've... [full story]
[LISTEN]

04.01.05 (AP) Singing 'Hurray For Dollywood,' DOLLY PARTON marked the 20th anniversary of her Smoky Mountain theme park today in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, with goals of doubling attendance and investing $160 million into it over the next two decades. "We are just getting started," she told the crowd. "We are going to keep dreaming and continuing to grow ... and prove that we are one of the best theme parks in the whole wide world." Parton said during an interview with The Associated Press that the future may also include a Dollywood resort hotel in Pigeon Forge, plus other additions and maybe even a Dollywood II or Dollywood III. "But it will have to make good sense," said Parton, who backed away from a proposed Dollywood II in Japan a few years ago. The 125-acre Dollywood features more than 30 mountain-themed rides and attractions, musical shows and native craftsmen. It drew more than 2.2 million visitors in 2004, making it the top paid tourist attraction in Tennessee - nearly four times as many visitors as Graceland in Memphis. Dollywood ranked 28th out of more than 400 U.S. amusement parks in attendance last year, according to the trade publication Amusement Business. "They have a formula there that is working for them, and they have got some terrific products to promote," said Bill Hardman, president of the Southeast Tourism Society in Atlanta. Parton partnered in 1985 with Branson, Mo.-based Herschend Enterprises to convert their modest Silver Dollar City in Pigeon Forge into Dollywood. Attendance doubled in a year, and the local economy boomed as outlet malls, music theaters and restaurants sprang up. The mountain resort town of 5,456 residents recorded $714 million in gross business receipts last year. In July, alone, Pigeon Forge brought in nearly as much money as in all of 1984, before Dollywood arrived. "There was a wonderful number of people coming in," said Susan Whitaker, Tennessee commissioner for tourism development. "But when Dolly put her name to that theme park, that changed everything."

[Country News: March 2005]
[Top]