September 21, 2015, Issue 466 Country Comes To Town Cruisin’ Main, knowing everybody, parades, pies and peace and quiet are what small towns are known for. Concerts from country’s most buzzed about new artists? Probably not unless you live in Longview, WA and listen to Washington Interstate’s 700W Class A KUKN (Cookin’ Country). Former Westwood One VP/ Programming and Longview native John Paul returned home as the station’s GM last year (CAW 7/21/14) and he’s using some big city radio tricks to shake things up. KUKN launched its quarterly New Faces Of Nashville concert series last December and it’s fast becoming the hottest ticket around while adding nicely to the station’s bottom line. Missing A Beat: “We just don’t get many shows,” Paul explains, citing Longview’s Blake Effect Show: Warner Bros./WMN’s Blake Shelton (c) with proximity to both Portland and Seattle. (l-r) the label’s Kevin Herring, iHeartMedia’s Maynard and “That’s where most people go. But we have Rod Phillips, WMN’s Kristen Williams, KWNR/Las Vegas’ JoJo Turnbeaugh and iHeartMedia’s Hartley Adkins and John Ivey at John Paul a beautifully restored vaudeville theater that’s been turned into a performing arts center and the iHeartRadio Music Festival. it made sense to consider renting it for some acoustic concerts.” Based on the population of KUKN’s service area (roughly 115,000; United We Band 36,000 within the city limits) and other considerations, Paul figured After the local shooting of a Navy sailor and four Marines July 16, the market could support four shows a year. iHeartMedia/Chattanooga SVP/Programming and WUSY PD Gator The venue is the 800-seat Columbia Theatre, a 90-year- Harrison had an idea to put together a small acoustic benefit show old landmark that has its own story. The facility had fallen into to try and raise a few thousand dollars for their families. What it disrepair and was tapped for demolition in 1980. But an hour turned into was Wednesday’s (9/16) Chattanooga Unite: A Tribute On from town and the day before the job was to begin, Mount St. The River, a celebrity-filled event for 80,000. The money – now in the Helens blew. Demo equipment was diverted for disaster relief, hundreds of thousands – is still rolling in. Country Aircheck talked to which gave supporters time to organize a reprieve for the old Harrison and Valory’s Brantley Gilbert to see how it all went down. building. They did, and 30 years later the Columbia finally “We just wanted to do what we could,” says reopened after extensive renovations. Harrison. “Knowing Brantley’s passion for the Seeing Stars: Venue in place, Paul began reaching out to military, I went to the label to see if he’d do it.” labels. “I explained that we would be willing to pay artists who At the same time, Gilbert told his manager, were otherwise doing conference room radio tour shows in “I want to do something.” And he wanted to Portland and Seattle for free,” he says. “We’re right off I-5 and do it big. “We just decided that the families they have to come through here anyway. Why not stay a little and the community deserved more of a grand longer, perform a 45 to 60-minute acoustic show and meet our gesture,” he says. Gilbert decided to bring listeners afterwards? (continued on page 8) his full band, and he paid them himself. “It Gator Harrison ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] September 21, 2015 Page 3 wasn’t anybody else’s responsibility to pay, and if we’re calling it a benefit show, it ought to be a benefit show,” he says. “I know my PAGE THREE PIC guys probably would have done it anyway, but it was something I really wanted to do.” The search for a venue that could hold a Gilbert-sized crowd led Harrison to the Riverbend Festival stage, where nine days of concerts bring major crowds every summer. “It was the perfect setup,” he says. “Those shootings happened just up the road on the same river, so if we can bring healing so close to where it happened, it’s very poetic.” Harrison met with the Friends of the Festival event management team, who had also been mulling an event acknowledging the tragedy. A committee that included military personnel and representatives of the City of Chattanooga formed under the name Chattanooga Unite, meeting once a week to plan the date and the mission. “The families had already been through several memorials,” says Harrison. “But there wasn’t any kind of celebration of life. So that’s where we started.” Vault Disney: Stylish and freshly introduced Lyric While committee members were calling their connections –military Street artists Rascal Flatts with equally stylish officials, a personal friend of Samuel L. Jackson, the lawyer of Harry WBBS/Syracuse part-timer JJ Ryan during an Connick, Jr. – Gilbert was calling his. “The hardest part is, this time early incarnation of the CMT Live Tour. Pictured of year a lot of folks play private events, and you know how far out (l-r) are the band’s Gary LeVox, Ryan, and RF’s we get booked,” he says. “So many people wanted to do it and just Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus. Send your old couldn’t make it happen. Urban, Darius, McGraw – across the board mugs to [email protected]. people really wanted to help and be part of it. I think just about everyone we reached out to made private donations. And if we’d had says Gilbert. “With something that size that happened in such a short bigger screens out there, they wanted to do videos, too.” time, there were more opportunities for everything to go haywire, but When it all came together, the free event included an armed everything just fell into place. I was real proud of the whole night.” forces parade, a memorial service and remembrance, a Reach Harrison here. Learn more and donate here. –Jess Wright performance by the Chattanooga Combined Church Choir, a flyover in “missing man formation” by the Blue Angels, and Chart Chat performances by Connick, Gilbert, Trace Adkins, Colt Ford and Congrats to Chris Janson, Kevin Aaron Watson, all Herring, Chris Palmer, Tom Martens and emceed by Jackson. the whole WAR promotion team on landing Donations were made this week’s No. 1 with “Buy Me A Boat.” The privately and in buckets song is Janson’s first chart-topper; his album placed around the event by the same title arrives Oct. 30. benefitting the National And kudos to Katie Dean and everyone Compassion Fund, which else workin’ for MCA on securing 44 adds will help the families of for Sam Hunt’s “Break Up In A Small Town,” Chris Janson those killed. Harrison topping this week’s board. says the projection is for close to $500,000. And the event itself News & Notes One Hell Of An Amen: Gilbert went off without a hitch. Sun Broadcast Group’s The Fitz Show has been added to with a crowd of 80,000. “That was a God thing,” WFLS/Fredericksburg, VA; the Nashville Music Minute With Fitz ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] September 21, 2015 Page 5 Artist News MY TUNES: MUSIC THAT SHAPED MY LIFE Singer/songwriter Brian Collins will launch the first annual MCA’s Clare Dunn discusses her most Shine A Little Love Festival Oct. 23-24 at 30A in Panama City influential music: Beach and Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Collins will be joined by Wynn 1. Keith Urban: He’s one of the most Varble, Zac Brown Band’s John Driskell Hopkins and others. phenomenal artists and entertainers of Proceeds benefit theWounded Warrior Project and Wesley our time. He’s so gifted that he makes Burnham Foundation. Tickets here. what he does look like a walk in the Winners at the Sept. 13 2015 Canadian Country Music Awards park. And I’m here to tell you, there’s included Royalty’s Gord Bamford (Male, Single and Songwriter nothing easy about what he does. for “Where A Farm Used To Be”) and Blaster’s Dallas Smith 2. Mariah Carey: Her music and her (Album for Lifted). Winners list here. Clare Dunn voice were huge influences. The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate its 90th birthday with an all-star 3. Eric Clapton: His was the first real concert I ever went to. I birthday bash Oct. 2 & 3 featuring Carrie Underwood, Little Big walked in and thought it was over in 15 minutes. I never moved Town, Trace Adkins and The Oak Ridge Boys. Details here. from my seat. It was that captivating. Daryle Singletary will hit 10 cities on the Campbell’s Soup 4. Bob Seger: His writing and what he stands for, the career Country Concert Tour beginning Sept. 24 in Chickamauga, GA. path he’s taken – he was always true to his artistry. And here he Dates here. is, 70 years old and still out there doing it. Jamey Johnson will headline the Nikki Mitchell 5. Rolling Stones, Nashville 2015: It was unbelievable – a Foundation benefit concert Sept. 23 at Nashville’s Marathon moment in my life I will never forget. Music Works, featuring Jerrod Niemann, Randy Houser, • Highly regarded music you’ve actually never heard: Shooter Jennings and Jessi Colter, among others.