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After being dry-docked by the pandemic, the Cayamo Cruise is returning to the water in 2022. The concert-at-sea company Sixthman announced Cayamo’s lineup on Wednesday, a robust schedule with Punch Brothers, Emmylou Harris, and Grace Potter among the headliners.

Dawes, the Mavericks, Richard Thompson, Indigo Girls, and Ruthie Foster are also on the cruise, set for March 18th through 25th. This year’s theme is “A Journey Through Song.” Other artists include the Jayhawks, Kathleen Edwards, Shawn Mullins, John Paul White, the Secret Sisters, Sierra Hull, Allison Russell, Brittney Spencer,...

This is the eighth installment of Rolling Stone’s series At Work, in which we explore the fast-changing music business from the perspective of a different industry leader each week. Read earlier pieces in the series here.

While program director of alt-rock giant 99X in Atlanta, Leslie Fram was key in furthering the careers of artists like Matchbox Twenty, Smashing Pumpkins, and Shawn Mullins. Since moving to Nashville and joining Cmt in 2011, she’s been doing likewise in the country landscape, especially with rising female talent. The senior VP of...

The premise of “The Climb” has been told so many times it’s a small miracle that this one works at all: Two lifelong buddies test the boundaries of their friendship when a woman comes between them. Yet Michael Covino’s absorbing directorial debut confronts that challenge with stunning cinematic ambition, resulting in a brilliant reinvention of the buddy comedy. Testosterone-fueled dude movies have occupied every facet of the filmmaking landscape in recent years, from the Duplass brothers to “Step Brothers,” but “The Climb” transforms that trope into a fresh vision of boozy showdowns and awkward laments, resulting in a winning tragicomic vision of its own design.

The starting point for “The Climb” goes back to a 2017 Sundance short film, with a clever scenario so economical it never could have hinted at the grand design to follow: Longtime pals Mike (Covino) and Kyle (co-writer Kyle Marvin) bike up a steep hill as Mike,...

Every year, the Americana Music Association descends upon Nashville, Tenn. for a music festival to celebrate the accomplishment and further the creative spirit of the genre. Vanguard Records and Sugar Hill Records had several of their artists sit for a series of intimate performances at Minutia Studios while they were in town for the event. You can watch two of these sessions, one with country duo Joey + Rory and one with singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins. If you like what you hear, you can head over to the project’s Noisetrade page for a full sampler download of tracks like these. Keep...

Then, there are the homegrown events like the Cherokee Creek Music Festival, just an hour’s drive from Austin, where last year you could see and hear artists like Jackson Browne (with unexpected guest Don Henley), Keb’ Mo’ and Jack Ingram, or you could have seen this year’s artists like Griffin House, Josh Ritter, Shawn Mullins, Brett Dennen, Amos Lee and Timothy B. Schmidt, another member of The Eagles.

Toast to Freedom also features contributions from Ewan McGregor, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon and Marianne Faithfull

The late Levon Helm, Ewan McGregor, Kris Kristofferson, Carly Simon, Marianne Faithfull, Jane Birkin, Rosanne Cash and 43 other acts feature on a new song released by Amnesty International.

Titled Toast to Freedom, the song celebrates Amnesty's 50th anniversary and is being released to mark World Press Freedom Day on Thursday. The initial recording was made at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York, before producer Bob Clearmountain sent it to dozens of artists – also including the Blind Boys of Alabama, Donald Fagen, Eric Burdon and Taj Mahal – to add their vocals. It was written by Carl Carlton and Larry Campbell.

The idea for Toast to Freedom was conceived by Bill Shipsey, founder of the Art for Amnesty campaign, his colleague Jochen Wilms and Carlton, who has previously worked with Robert Palmer and Eric Burdon.

Details on The Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex Film Festival are starting to emerge. Today Hero Complex announced that Warren Beatty and his 1990 film Dick Tracy will open the festival. The celebrated director and actor will be on hand to discuss the film and its legacy following a screening. Additionally, the line-up of films and talent that will be featured at the festival has been released. One of the sure-to-be highlights of the festival is Richard Donner discussing the making of Superman and Superman II, with an appearance by Geoff Johns. The festival will also feature the pairing of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and 2009’s Star Trek. Khan director Nicholas Meyer and Trek writers/producers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof will be present for the post-screening discussion. Additionally, Jon Favreau will screen Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and footage from Cars 2 will be shown,...

A Conversation with Shawn Mullins Mike Ragogna: Hi Shawn. Shawn Mullins: Hello Mike, how are you? Mr: I'm pretty good, how are you doing, sir? Sm: I'm doing just great, man, I'm doing just great. Mr: I have to say, I was a fan of your music before The Thorns. Sm: That's great. Well, I'm just grateful that you even know about The Thorns. Mr: (laughs) The Thorns absolutely was on my radar when it was first issued. Now, you've been the songwriter's songwriter for a long time, care to go into some of the Shawn Mullins story? Sm: Well, I started off in around '89, trying to write my own songs--i mean, I've been doing it since I was in high school, but I started getting a little bit better at it by then. I put my first record out in '90, and then I kept making...

The 2010 Country Music Award nominees were announced Wednesday, and country starlet Miranda Lambert has made Cma history with a record-breaking nine nominations!

Lambert's nominations include Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Event of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Video of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year.

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are set to host the 44th Annual Cma Awards, to air live on ABC...

Country music star Miranda Lambert has scored a record nine Cma Awards nominations, more than any other female artist in the show’s history. The Country Music Association announced the nominations for the 44th Annual Cma Awards on Wednesday.

Miranda Lamber (Photo: Lukelambert)

Miranda Lambert is up for a total of nine Cma Awards, including Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year.

Lambert will actually be going up against her fiance, Blake Shelton, in three award categories. That should make for some fun times at home!

The Cma Awards will air on November 12 on ABC. Check out the full list of nominees below.

Entertainer of the Year

Lady Antebellum

Miranda Lambert

Brad Paisley

Keith Urban

Zac Brown Band

Female Vocalist

Miranda Lambert

Martina McBride

Reba McEntire

Taylor Swift

Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist

Dierks Bentley

Brad Paisley...

Written by Rj Sevin

When I first heard of Joe Hill, some five years ago, my first thought was of the dedication page in one of my favorite novels, Stephen King’s The Shining: This is for Joe Hill King, who shines on. My second thought: Nah. Probably not him.

“Pop Art,” a heart-breaking slice of magical realism about a balloon boy, was being discussed in reverential tones among those who had read it, and his short-fiction collection, 20th Century Ghosts, was, some said, a revelation. Despite the accolades, I wasn’t in a mad rush to read Hill’s writing. In small press Horror circles, high praise sometimes comes a little easier than it should, and is not always to be trusted.

“Have you read Joe Hill?” asked a friend of mine, sounding a little like a Sutter Kane convert from John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness.

The Zac Brown Band hosted and performed at the Georgia Theatre benefit concert on Friday, October 30, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta – and raised over $75,000 for the cause.

Joining the band on stage to perform songs from their album ‘The Foundation,’ their favorite covers, and new unreleased material were: Kid Rock, Little Big Town, Joey and Rory, Shawn Mullins, Oliver Wood, Angie Aparo and Aslyn.

A DVD of the evening’s performances, directed by Darren Doane (who also shot the band’s “Toes” video), goes on sale nationwide in Spring 2010 and all concertgoers will get a free copy of the DVD as a gift for purchasing tickets.

Read more...

You've been there before: You're walking down the street, and suddenly, a song from your past creeps into your head and refuses to get out. The most frustrating part? You can't remember what song it is, or who sang it, because you're fairly certain he went out of style with twin sets. You return home, log onto your computer, Google the lyrics, and discover you've got Tal Bachman on the brain. And now you're wondering, what the heck ever happened to the guy? Yesterday, as you must know, was the obscure national holiday known as One-Hit Wonder Day. So we're...

On last week's Glee, the Acafellas tackled Bell Biv DeVoe's 1990 hit, "Poison." Then last night on 90210, Dixon's new squeeze, Sasha, spun the track at a high school yacht party. You know what that means, PopWatchers. We are just one play button away from a "Poison" trend! So where's the track going to show up next? Not sure, but I can easily see Chef Gordon Ramsay doing his own cover when one of his inexperienced chefs serve an undercooked meal. ("You donkey! That raw chicken is...poisoooon!") Of course, this has me going back to the good ol' days, otherwise known as the 1990s. The days in which I snapped butterfly clips in my hair as a junior high student, and flipped pogs on the elementary school blacktops. A huge fan of everything 1990s, I even have a playlist on my iPod dedicated to the decade. Which makes me wonder:...

Last year, the Zac Brown Band had their first No.1 single, "Chicken Fried" but instead of the group playing it safe, the band went into expansion mode early this year. The group brought a new member on board. Clay Cook is not rookie in this business though. Cook has provided back-up vocals, keyboard and steel guitar for John Mayer, Shawn Mullins and the Marshall Tucker Band.

The Zac Brown Band did not replace anyone in the band, they just added to their foundation. Zbb has been courting Clay for some time. Zac says he had been trying to get him in the band for three years. While Zac admits its been a journey, he knew Clay could make the band better. Clay adds to the harmony of the band, singing the top parts and he plays in the band as well.

Clay will be a big part of the next...

We didn't fly into Spring thunderstorms in Atlanta last week solely for the flowering landscape, but it was stunning nonetheless. Iris, swelling alder, cherries, tulip poplars, Bradford Pears and sweetgum competed with red oaks in full bud to delight the eyes as we wound our way through the narrow streets of a darling little town called Decatur in search of the legendary Eddie's Attic and rising folk music star, Ellis. Founded in the early nineties by current talent buyer, Eddie Owen, the club is known as a premier venue for well-known singer/songwriters as well as local Georgia talent. John Mayer, Shawn Mullins and Sugarland got started there. One of my colleagues over at Oen News beat me to the punch on a review of Ellis's CD, Break the Spell so I will try to one-up his accolades by describing...