Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (Rounder)

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, whose “Raising Sand” album has emerged as one of the past year’s major critical and word-of-mouth sales success stories, will begin an extensive US and European tour April 20 with a brief run of dates in the mid-South. The two lauded musicians will then embark on an 11 date tour of Europe in May before commencing more North American dates for June and July (to be announced).

With a band led by “Raising Sand” producer T Bone Burnett, they will be performing songs together onstage from “Raising Sand,” as well as other songs from their careers.

Previewing the tour, on February 11, CMT will air CMT Crossroads: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, featuring performances of songs from “Raising Sand” as well as material from both artists’ extensive catalogs.

Confirmed “Raising Sand” North American tour dates are (More dates TBA):
**Tickets for these shows will go on sale Friday, January 25 and are available through Ticketmaster.

• 4/20/08 - Louisville, KY - Palace Theatre
• 4/22/08 - Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Civic Coliseum
• 4/23/08 - Chattanooga, TN - Memorial Auditorium
• 4/26/08 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena

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Jesse McReynolds

Starting this week, two new voices are riding the morning airwaves over the greater Nashville, Tenn., area.

Grand Ole Opry star and Bluegrass legend Jesse McReynolds Monday started co-hosting a morning radio show with his old friend Harv Mason. The show is being broadcast before a live audience from McReynolds’ new music park, The Pick Inn near Gallatin.

Jesse chose WHIN 1010 AM radio for its strong signal (covering the greater Nashville area in addition to Sumner County) and down-home flavor. Jesse’s show will be called “The Pick Inn Party with Jesse McReynolds & Harv Mason in the Morning”.

Mason formerly hosted the KN Country radio show out of Lebanon that was popular for many years before the studio burned down in a fire. It was through this show that McReynolds became acquainted with Mason.

The radio show will air Mondays through Fridays from 8 to 9 a.m. on WHIN 1010 AM in Gallatin. It immediately follows “The Breakfast Club,” which airs live from the Chick-fil-A in Gallatin.

The show will feature music, talk, call-ins, and special guests, live from “The Pick Inn,” a rustic log cabin located in McReynolds’ park. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for the live radio audience to attend at no charge.

The Pick Inn is located across the street from the Bledsoe Creek State Park at 550 Ziegler’s Fort Road in Gallatin.

Call-ins will be accepted throughout the show’s hour-long run. Numbers to call are (615)451-PICK (7425) or toll-free at (866) 570- PICK

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Gibson Guitar and TC Group, leaders in professional audio industry, have announced they are planning to merge. The announcement was made during the NAMM 2008 show in Anaheim, California by Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz and CEO of TC Group, Anders Fauerskov.

The TC Group, headquartered in Risskov, Denmark, develops and manufactures audio products for audio professionals and musicians. The company has a number of brands of pro audio technology and produces amplifiers, speakers, digital processors, guitar pedals and other audio products.

“This merger will revolutionize the music industry for many years to come. The synergy between the two companies will allow us an enormous advantage in the development of new audio technologies and brings together two of the world’s most poweful brands.”Henry Juszkiewicz, CEO of Gibson Guitar

The announcement marks a preliminary agreement between the two companies. Under the terms of the new acquisition, Anders Fauerskov will remain based in Europe, and serve as Chief Operating Officer of the new combined Gibson Guitar Corp. The two companies expect to finalize the deal by the end of February 2008.

For more information, visit the Gibson Guitar Website.

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Submissions for Merlefest’s prestigious “Chris Austin Songwriting contest” are due March 4th. Songs maybe submitted to one of 4 categories including - Country, Bluegrass, Gospel and General.

Along with a plethora of prizes up for grabs, submitters get a chance to have their material reviewed by a panel comprised of songwriters and other Nashville music industry professionals.

According to Merlefest’s website, “entries are open to those whose primary source of income (50 % or more) is not derived from songwriting or publishing.”

For detailed information on the contest you can visit the Merlefest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest on the Merlefest Website. Questions can also be directed to allison.phillips@wilkescc.edu and the contest hotline number is 1-800-799-3838.

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Donna Ulisse

Donna Ulisse wants to invite all the fans attending SPBGMA in Nashville at the end of January to stop by her booth #3-B in the Plantation Ballroom to register for a free iPod nano. The drawing will be held at the end of the day on the last day of the event and the winner does not need to be present to win.

The iPod nano will be loaded with all the songs on Ulisse’s current release “When I Look Back” that features 14 songs written by Ulisse, as well as some publicity photos of her.

Donna plans to be in the booth as much as possible to visit with attendees and sees the iPod giveaway as a small way of saying thanks to all the bluegrass fans for giving her such a warm welcome over the past several months with her first release in the genre of bluegrass.

For more information on Donna you can visit www.donnaulisse.com or www.myspace.com/donnastanleyulisse

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