Category Archives: Music and Entertainment
The Identical: Movie Review
From the black and white 30’s to the rockin’ 70’s, The Identical will have you searching within, shaking in your seat, laughing and crying.
Drexel and Ryan, (Blake Rayne), may have been separated at birth, but their connection continues through the music they were born to do.
Packed with plentiful impacting scenes, this star studded cast, (Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Seth Green, Joe Pantoliano), really delivers in an honest and very real way.
Faith based and family friendly, this film is filled with music that’ll grab ya and have you singing for days to come.
International Songwriting Competition (ISC) Announces 2013 Winners
Jazz Trumpeter Shunzo Ohno Wins Overall Grand Prize For His Song “Musashi”
May 7, 2014… The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), recognized as the most prestigious and respected international songwriting competition, has today announced its 2013 winners.
ISC’s overall Grand Prize is awarded to Japanese trumpeter Shunzo Ohno for his song “Musashi,” entered in the Jazz category. This is the first time in the 13-year history of ISC that the Grand Prize has been awarded to either an artist in the Jazz category or an artist from Japan.
Winners were selected by a panel of judges which included Imagine Dragons, Martina McBride, Joshua Redman, Josh Turner, Keane, Jon Secada, Dido, Garbage, Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C.), James Cotton, Boney James, Jason Isbell, Anoushka Shankar, Monte Lipman (Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Republic Records), Dan McCarroll (President, Warner Bros. Records), Alison Donald (Co-President, Columbia Records UK), and more.
Take Me To The River: Movie Review
Filled with laughable, tearful moments, this film not only embraces the music, but the people behind it. These words: we don’t have a generation gap, we have a communication gap… hit me with impact and have stayed with me. There’s so much truth in that statement.
Take Me to the River brings too life the process, the love, and where it began. With a heart too mend all that’s wrong, they’ve taken a huge step in the right direction towards bridging the gap. Bringing in young talent to work with, and be mentored by, some of musics greats, adds something special to the film.
To love music as much as I do, you gain a new appreciation and respect for those involved with this project, and want to see it succeed in a big way. It’s one thing to stand on the sidelines and talk about what was, and what has gone wrong, but these folks stepped up and took action.
Nashville Film Festival Celebrates a Record Breaking 45th Year
NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
CELEBRATES 45TH ANNIVERSARY AND A RECORD BREAKING YEAR!
Tickets Sales up 30%, 255 films from 53 Countries, Over 1500 Screenplay Entries
Nashville, TN — Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) celebrated its 45th Anniversary this week with an incredible week of film in two locations. For the first time ever, the festival presented more than 250 films from over 50 countries, further cementing its record-breaking year.
“This has truly been a spectacular year for the Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan. It was our first year with 10 days of film at Regal Cinemas Green Hills and 9 days of events at our outdoor NaFF Cinema at Walk of Fame Park in Downtown Nashville”, shared Ted Crockett, Executive Director of the Nashville Film Festival.
With over 42,000 in attendance between both locations, the festival has exceeded last year’s total festival attendance by over 40%. The free NaFF Cinema at Walk of Fame in Downtown Nashville presented films for 9 days throughout the festival on its brand new 30′ outdoor screen. “We are already planning new and exciting ways to feature films to the public in outdoor settings in the months and years to come,” said Crockett.
How to Thwart Music Equipment Theft
From rock stars to up-and-comers towing U-Haul trailers, too many artists and musiĀcians have been victims of equipment theft. Whether itās Tom Petty and the HeartĀbreakers losing five vintage guitars during a soundcheck to a sticky-fingered security guard, or Country newcomer JJ Lawhorn being ripped off for $4,000 worth of gear from his bandās van while checking into a hotel in Valdosta, Ga., no one is immune.
But everyone can more effectively deal with and prevent equipment loss.
Step One involves purchasing replacement value insurance or, at the very least, adding replacement value riders to homeowners insurance as a safeguard against theft. āAll my gear is insured for replacement value,ā said veteran guitarist, guitar builder and former Lonestar tech Ricky Dodson. āI have detailed descriptions of my gear and any upgrades that were made to them, as well as model and serial numbers, obviously. I take pictures and mark them, sometimes overtly and sometimes subtly, where the would-be thief might not think to look for it. Also, I donāt advertise on my car that I play, with bumper stickers of brands or anything like that. And I always leave my gear in the trunk if I canāt carry it with me.ā
The Identical, Wins Southwest Airlines Audience Choice Award For Best U.S. Narrative Feature
MUSIC-DRIVEN FAMILY DRAMA THE IDENTICAL, WINS SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
FOR BEST U.S. NARRATIVE FEATURE AT 45th ANNUAL NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FILM STARRING RAY LIOTTA, SETH GREEN, ASHLEY JUDD AND NEWCOMER BLAKE RAYNE,
SLATED TO OPEN NATIONWIDE IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 12, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 1, 2014) ā The music-driven family drama The Identical, made its national star-studded red carpet debut at the 45th Annual Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) this past week.
Opening to a sold-out audience and attended by many of the projectās stellar cast, the film won over the hearts of both the festival judges and moviegoers alike by being awarded the prestigious Southwest Airlines Audience Choice Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature.
Nashville Film Festival Announces Southwest Airlines Audience Awards
NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES
2014 FREEDOM TO CHOOSE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUDIENCE AWARDS
The Identical, Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me Take Home Top Prizes
Nashville, TN — Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) 2014 announced the Freedom to Choose Southwest Airlines Audience Awards tonight at the Closing Night Party of the Nashville Film Festival.
Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me, The Identical, Noble, and A Film About Kids & Music took home the audience voted awards. Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me also received this yearās Gibson Music City/Music Films Grand Jury Prize .
Martina McBride Rides Her Soul Train
Photo credit: Glynis Carpenter
Country Music headliner Martina McBrideās catalog overflows with powerfully communicative performances. The playful āI Love You,ā the heartbroken ballad āWrong Again,ā and the empowering anthems āIndependence Day,ā āThis Oneās for the Girlsā and āWrong Baby Wrongā unfold along clear lines of melody, which the five-time CMA Award winner animated with her own distinctive phrasing and interpretive sense.