Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

[photo credit: Becky Fluke]

“HEY PRETTY GIRL” IS KIP MOORE’S FASTEST RISING SINGLE TO DATE 

MusicRow Reports It Was Moore’s Acoustic Performance Of “Hey Pretty Girl” At CRS That “Silenced the Crowd”

Nashville, TN—March 5, 2013— Following two consecutive trips to the top of the charts, MCA recording artist Kip Moore’s new single, “Hey Pretty Girl,” is his fastest rising single to date with already 100 stations playing the record in just four weeks.  “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck” and “Beer Money” from his debut album UP ALL NIGHT both hit No. one last year.  “Hey Pretty Girl” shows a more sensitive side to Moore, which is proving to have a strong connection with fans as the digital sales for the track continue to double in increases each week.   

“For me and KBEQ this makes three in a row for Kip.  He’s one of the bright new stars in this format and the ladies absolutely love Pretty Girl!”-  Mike Kennedy, KBEQ

“From an album of great songs, this sounds like nothing else on the radio.” – Nate Deaton, KRTY

“When Kip performed for us the very first time and played ‘Hey Pretty Girl,’ I got chills.  With 2 smashes under his belt, this song truly shows his depth as an artist.”- Mike Preston, KKWF

“‘Up All Night’ hands down is one of the best CD’s I’ve heard in years.  ‘Hey Pretty Girl’ from Kip is just another great song from this project…”- Tom Hanrahan, WDXB

“I have not yet met a woman or girl who does not absolutely LOVE these lyrics.  Seriously.  I wish I had written them.  So does my wife.  This is a giant, obvious, big ol’ hit record.” – Gregg Swedberg, KEEY

“‘Hey Pretty Girl’ shows that Kip Moore has staying power in this format.” – Christi Brooks, KKBQ

Kip Moore’s debut album UP ALL NIGHT, was the best selling debut album from any country artist released in 2012.  His first career No. 1 single, “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck,” held the top spot on both charts for two weeks making him the first solo artist in four years to have a debut album’s first single go No. 1 for multiple weeks.  He has already sold-out seven headlining shows this year, including his March 23 stop in Boston, MA at House of Blues, which sold out in just 20 minutes.  Previously touring with Eric Church last fall, Moore is continuing to headline his own dates as well as hitting the road with Brantley Gilbert and opening for Toby Keith this summer. 

For more information and a full list of tour dates, visit www.kipmoore.net. 

Luke Bryan arrives in stores today (Tuesday, March 5th) with his full-length Spring Break…Here to Party album. The collection features many of the songs from his previous Spring Break releases, including “Suntan City,” “Sorority Girl” and “Take My Drunk A** Home,” as well as two new songs, “Just a Sip” and “Buzzkill.” Luke says it was pretty simple to put together a full-length album. “In years past to make an official EP, we’d always have to record four songs. Being that we already had 12 tracks already recorded for the main album, just two songs were enough,” says Luke. “We had more Spring Break songs we could’ve recorded, but we felt like two was enough for some new music, and we loved having ‘Just a Sip’ and ‘Buzzkill’ as the two songs. We feel like they say exactly what we want to be said on the Spring Break album.”

Make sure to check your local listings for Luke’s appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show later today (Tuesday).

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about having a full-length Spring Break album.

Luke Bryan (Spring Break full length album) OC: …really like it. :40
“Putting out a physical hard copy of all of the Spring Break albums combined into one – in years past to make an official EP, we’d always have to record four songs. Being that we already had 12 tracks already recorded for the main album, just two songs were enough. We had more Spring Break songs we could’ve recorded, but we felt like two was enough for some new music, and we loved having ‘Just a Sip’ and ‘Buzzkill’ as the two songs. We feel like they say exactly what we want to be said on the Spring Break album, and we feel like the fans will really like it.”

Artists Performing at LP Field Include Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Florida Georgia Line, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band

NASHVILLE – Where can you find more CMA Award winners and nominees than at the annual CMA Awards? Try the 2013 CMA Music Festival!

The star-packed lineup is bursting at the seams with reigning trophy winners, former Award recipients, and nominees all performing for the most ardent, passionate fans in the world during CMA Music Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 6-9, in Nashville.

“We have an amazing lineup of talent for this year’s Festival,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “I know our fans will be entertained and enthralled to see our annual family reunion of the best and brightest performers in the industry.”

More artists have just been announced including Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Florida Georgia Line, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band.

Previously announced performers for this one-of-a-kind, award-winning festival include Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood (with more artists to be announced soon).

Allan made his first appearance at Fan Fair in 1997. In 2003, he received his first CMA Awards nomination for the Horizon Award (now known as the New Artist of the Year). He last played LP Field in 2006 and he opened the concerts at Riverfront Park in 2011.

Bentley made his first Festival appearance in 2003 at Riverfront Park. He has performed at LP Field seven times and has 10 CMA nominations to his credit including a win in 2005 for the Horizon Award.

Reigning CMA Album of the Year winner for Chief, Church will be making his second, consecutive appearance at LP Field in 2013. He played Riverfront from 2006-2009. Church was the top CMA Awards nominee in 2012.

Urban has played LP Field seven times. He has collected 25 career CMA Awards nominations and won six trophies from the Horizon Award in 2001 to Entertainer of the Year in 2005. He has been named CMA Male Vocalist of the Year three times (2004-2006).

Now is the time to experience CMA Music Festival. According to Budget Travel Magazine, Nashville is one of the Top 10 Best Budget Destinations and CMA Music Festival is “the” time to visit. And Conde Nast Traveler selected Nashville as one of the Best Places to Go in 2013 citing easy access to “incredible live music.”

Fans can purchase tickets to 2013 CMA Music Festival through Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster.com or 1(800)745-3000. They can also purchase them by calling 1(800)CMA-FEST (262-3378). Ticket prices are based on the level of seating at LP Field for the Nightly Concerts, and range from $135 to $350 plus handling fees. A limited number of four-day parking passes for LP Field are also available (parking is not included in the Festival ticket price), ranging from $60 for Cars to $140 for an RV/Motorcoach, plus handling fees.

Ticket and parking prices are subject to change without notice. All sales are final and non-refundable. Children 3 years and younger are admitted FREE. For information on ADA seating, please call 1-800-CMA-FEST.

Fans can stay in the loop by visiting CMAfest.com, the official website of CMA Music Festival, where they can sign up for the CMA Exclusive e-news, follow the CMA Facebook and Twitter feeds for more insider info and of course see the entire lineup of Country Music’s biggest stars as they are announced in the coming weeks.

The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience began in 1972 as Fan Fair®, bringing 5,000 fans to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. More than 40 years later, the legendary festival has become the city’s signature event, which annually attracts tens of thousands of fans from all 50 states and around the globe and has raised $7.6 million for music education.

CMA Music Festival will once again be filmed for a national television special to air on the ABC Television Network. This is the 10^th consecutive year that the event has been filmed for a network television special, a feat no other music festival has achieved. “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” will be executive-produced by Robert Deaton.

ALAN JACKSON TO RELEASE

PRECIOUS MEMORIES VOLUME II ON MARCH 26

Gospel Album Features Newly-Recorded Traditional Hymns

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Country music superstar Alan Jackson will release his second gospel album, Precious Memories Volume II, on March 26. The collection of traditional hymns is the follow-up to his 2006 album Precious Memories, which topped three Billboard charts – Top Country Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Christian & Gospel Albums – the week it was released. Precious Memories Volume II was produced by Jackson’s long-time producer and friend, Keith Stegall; the album will be released by ACR (Alan’s Country Records) and EMI Records Nashville.

“Denise and I had made a list of 30 to 40 songs to do for that first album,” Jackson says. “We had so many that we didn’t get to, I thought we’d go in and do a few more just the same way – heartfelt and simple.” 

Precious Memories was recorded as a Christmas gift for Jackson’s mother, and a handful of copies were shared with close friends. Prompted and urged by family and friends, Jackson agreed to make the music available to fans…and Precious Memories went on to become a double-platinum source of inspiration for countless people worldwide.

Track listing for Precious Memories Volume II

About Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson is one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters in music. He is in the elite company of Paul McCartney and John Lennon among songwriters who’ve written more than 20 songs that they’ve recorded and taken to the top of the charts. Jackson is one of the 10 best-selling artists since the inception of SoundScan, ranking alongside the likes of Eminem and Metallica. His most recent album, Thirty Miles West, topped the country chart when it was released last year – the album features the Grammy®-nominated song, “So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore.”

Jackson has sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide, topped the country singles charts 35 times, and scored more than 50 Top-10 hits. He has written or co-written 24 of his 35 #1 hit singles. Jackson is an 18-time ACM Award winner, a 16-time CMA Award recipient, and a two-time Grammy-winning artist whose songwriting has earned him the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award and an induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame as a 2011Songwriter/Artist inductee.

AUDIO: Alan Jackson says he’s been singing songs like those found on Precious Memories since he was a kid…which set the stage for his career in music.

AJ (Gospel) OC: …as a singer. :37
“I’d stand up and sing when the congregation was singing out of the hymn book, but…some of those melodies are a little tricky for a kid unless you knew the song real well. But I don’t remember thinking much about it. Everybody just stood up—if you didn’t stand up, you know, everybody was staring at you…so you had to stand up and act like you were singing anyway! But I went on to sing as a teenager. They had some organizations and choirs, and I remember singing in those some. And those were some of the early development for me as a singer, and that was probably the early days of getting a little confidence as a singer. The church and the activities that went with it affected me as a singer.”

Luke Bryan releases his new Spring Break…Here to Party album on Tuesday (March 5th), and will follow it up with a pair of Spring Break shows in Panama City Beach next week. Here he talks about some of the wilder and stranger things he’s seen during Spring Break.

Eric Church is getting ready to release his live album, Caught in the Act, next month. The special collection will include songs from his three albums, Sinners Like Me, Carolina and Chief, such as “Before She Does,” “How ‘Bout You,” “These Boots,” “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag” and “Springsteen,” among others. The North Carolina native said taping the album reminded him of when he played the bars and clubs before getting his record deal. “We kinda left the lights up, so you could kinda look around and see everybody,” says Eric. “You could see the emotion, you could see the face[s], you could hear ‘em. I felt at home. I felt like I was back in those bars and clubs that I love so much, and theaters, that I’ve had that interaction, that connection with individual people.”

The album was recorded at Chattanooga’s Tivoli Theatre in October and will be available for presale on March 13th. A double vinyl version of the record will also be made available on National Record Store Day, Saturday, April 20th. The package will include four additional tracks and a special whiskey-infused seven-inch.

Eric is currently heading up the country charts with his latest single, “Like Jesus Does.”

AUDIO: Eric Church talks about taping his live album, which comes out April 9th.

Eric Church (taping live album) OC: …individual people. :37
“It was interesting for us, because we came straight from arena shows and we’re doing the same thing, not the same thing, but a similar thing every night, to completely pulled out of our element, like we’re back in bars and clubs. We made the set list up that day around a drum kit, going, ‘What have we not played in a while. Let’s do everything, you know, do all our songs.’ I just enjoyed seeing the people. We kinda left the lights up, so you could kinda look around and see everybody. You could see the emotion, you could see the face[s], you could hear ‘em. I felt at home. I felt like I was back in those bars and clubs that I love so much, and theaters, that I’ve had that interaction, that connection with individual people. It wasn’t just groups of ‘em, it was individual people.”

Little Big Town are poised to hit the top of the country charts with their latest single, “Tornado,” the follow-up to their very first number-one song, “Pontoon.” The song has been getting a lot of positive reaction, especially from their female fans. ““Women like to beat their chest a little bit and put a man in their place every now and then,” says LBT’s Kimberly Schlapman. Bandmate Karen Fairchild says she likes to sing the tune while thinking of someone who’s been wronged. “I use a different motivation every night. It’s not Jimi. Everyone thinks it might be [husband] Jimi [Westbrook], but it can be anything,” she says. “I just like to get up there and think about somebody who doesn’t want to take anyone’s BS anymore, you know, whatever girl is out there.”

Make sure to catch Kimberly on NBC’s Today Show (9am hour) on Monday (March 4th), where she’ll be whipping up a new recipe from her GAC cooking show, Kimberly’s Simply Southern.

Little Big Town will be back on the road on Thursday (March 7th) on their Tornado Tour.

AUDIO: The members of Little Big Town talk about the reactions they’re receiving from their fans, more especially, their female fans.

LBT (Tornado reaction) OC: …it so much. :43
KIMBERLY: “Women like to beat their chest a little bit and put a man in their place every now and then. It’s good for a woman.” PHILLIP: “I see several women in the audience out there kinda like stomping their feet and putting their fists in the air. It’s like their power anthem.” KAREN: “Yeah, I love the hands go up in the air and they spin it all around, you know, like waving in the air as though they have someone in mind. I like to sing that song with someone in mind too. I use a different motivation every night. It’s not Jimmy. Everyone thinks it might be Jimmy, but it can be anything. I just like to get up there and think about somebody who doesn’t want to take anyone’s BS anymore, you know, whatever girl is out there. It’s fun. Glad the fans are digging it so much.”

In this week’s Urban Chat, Keith Urban shares some songs and artists he’s currently loving and gives an update on a killer week in Las Vegas on American Idol!