Grand Ole Opry To Make Debut At CRS 2013

Grand Ole Opry To Make Debut At CRS 2013

Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Dustin Lynch, Scotty McCreery, Vince Gill
and others to perform

(Nashville, Tenn. – Jan. 7, 2013) Country Radio Seminar has announced that a performance of country music’s most famous show, the Grand Ole Opry, will kick-off CRS 2013 on Wednesday, February 27, 2013. The event will be held inside the Performance Hall at the Nashville Convention Center.

Artists confirmed to perform are Grand Ole Opry members Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Vince Gillalong with Dustin Lynch and Scotty McCreery.  Additional performers will be released in the coming weeks.  The two-hour event will commence at 7 p.m., immediately following the annual CRS Artist/Attendee Welcome Reception. All CRS attendees can attend. 

The Opry, radio’s longest-running program, has only rarely staged shows outside its regular program schedule and its permanent home (the Grand Ole Opry House) or its winter residence (Ryman Auditorium). Past Opry performances played outside the show’s home venues include performances staged at prestigious theaters such as New York City’s Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
 
“Every week, the Grand Ole Opry showcases an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind mix of country music’s new stars, superstars, and legends for country music fans from around the world. We’re excited to deliver a special show featuring some of radio’s biggest current hit-makers who are also some of the most popular artists who visit our stage for all our friends in country radio when CRS returns to town next month,” said Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher.
The show is sponsored by Humana’s My Well-Being.  
Bill Mayne, CRS Executive Director, notes “This marks the first time in the history of the seminar, which is over 40 years, that we welcome the Grand Ole Opry to our stage. It has been a long time coming, but will be well worth the wait,” adding, “My thanks to Pete Fisher and the Opry staff for allowing me to present this show on the opening night of CRS 2013, as both events are such a great fit for each other.”
CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27 – Mar. 1 at the Nashville Convention Center. Register for the event atwww.CountryRadioSeminar.com. 
About Country Radio Seminar: Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas and business practices in the Country music industry, with specific emphasis on issues relevant to Country radio.  CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013, in downtown Nashville, Tenn., at the Nashville Convention Center.  $499 Registration is now available.  Visitwww.CountryRadioSeminar.com for more information.
About the Grand Ole Opry: The Grand Ole Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville, Tenn.  Celebrating 87 years of entertainment, the Opry can be heard on 650 WSM-AM, SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio, and opry.com. The syndicated weekly program, America’s Opry Weekend, airs on country radio stations across America. The Grand Ole Opry is owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE: RHP).  For more information, visit opry.com.
Contact for CRB:
Jeff Walker – The Aristo Media Group – (615) 269-7071 x123 
jwalker@aristomedia.com
Christy Watkins – Aristo P.R. – (615) 269-7071 x124christy@aristomedia.com
Contact for Grand Ole Opry:
Darlene Bieber – Schmidt Relations – (615) 851-4917darlene@schmidtpr.com
Jessie Schmidt – Schmidt Relations – (615) 851-4917jessie@schmidtpr.com 

Emmy-Winning CNN Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta Announced as Featured Speaker at Country Radio Seminar

Emmy-Winning CNN Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta Announced as Featured Speaker at Country Radio Seminar

CRS puts emphasis on health issues with medical correspondent Gupta, free heart testing and presentation from Cleveland HeartLab

 

(Nashville, Tenn. – Dec. 17, 2012) Emmy® award-winning CNN correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been announced as Country Radio Seminar’s featured daily speaker for Friday, March 1, at CRS 2013.

Gupta is a multiple Emmy winner and chief medical correspondent for CNN.  A practicing neurosurgeon, Gupta plays an integral role in CNN’s reporting on health and medical news for “Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien,” “Anderson Cooper 360” and various CNN documentaries.  He also anchors the weekend medical affairs program “Sanjay Gupta, MD” and contributes to CNN.com and CNNHealth.com.

“Living longer has very little to do with our genes, and everything to do with our lifestyle,” says Gupta.  “I’ve traveled the globe collecting clues from people who live the longest.  I’m looking forward to joining the Country music community and sharing that formula so we can all live a longer, healthier life.”

“CRS is more than just a convention for the Country radio and music industry,” says CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne.  “Over the past few years we have expanded our efforts to include agenda topics that appeal to our attendees beyond the scope of Country radio exclusively, which is why we have had speakers like financial expert Dave Ramsey, marketing guru Seth Godin, MTV co-founder Bob Pittman and Scripps Networks’ Ken Lowe.  And this year, we are excited to welcome Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who is an award-winning journalist with CNN and a highly respected professional in the medical field.”

Gupta will address CRS attendees on Friday morning, March 1, from 9 – 9:50 a.m. CT.  CRS is spotlighting one featured speaker each day during the three-day seminar, held in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 27 – March 1.  Daily speakers for Wednesday and Thursday will be announced in the coming weeks.

As part of its efforts to raise awareness about important health issues, Country Radio Seminar is offering a free heart test at CRS, courtesy of Cleveland HeartLab.  Inflammation Testing (“IT”) will be available for the first 500 CRS attendees who visit the Cleveland HeartLab Screening Suite, located inside the Nashville Convention Center.  The IT blood test (no fasting required) provides more in-depth information about heart health beyond normal cholesterol testing.  The Screening Suite will be open daily at CRS from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., or until 500 tests have been administered.

The Cleveland HeartLab is also delivering a presentation titled “Your Heart and the Health of our Industry” at CRS on Friday, March 1, at 3 p.m. CT.

About Country Radio Seminar:Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas and business practices in the Country music industry, with specific emphasis on issues relevant to Country radio.  CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013, in downtown Nashville, Tenn., at the Nashville Convention Center.  $499 Regular Rate Registration is now available.  Visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com for more information.

 

Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Photo Credit: Jeff Hutchens / Reportage for CNN

 

 

Submissions Now Being Accepted For CRS 2013 Radio Humanitarian Awards

Submissions Now Being Accepted For CRS 2013 Radio Humanitarian Awards     (Nashville, Tenn. – Dec. 6, 2012)  Submissions are currently being accepted through Friday, Jan. 11, for the CRS 2013 Radio Humanitarian Awards.  The awards are presented each year at Country Radio Seminar to those full-time Country radio stations that exhibit outstanding effort and commitment to improving the quality of life for the communities they serve.  Awards are given in the Large (markets 1-50), Medium (markets 51-130) and Small (markets 131+) market categories for public service performed between Nov. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2012. Applicants should submit a brief written presentation (two pages maximum, including photos) to humanitarian@crb.org, summarizing the details of the station’s community service efforts performed during that period. About Country Radio Seminar:Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas and business practices in the Country music industry, with specific emphasis on issues relevant to Country radio.  CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013, in downtown Nashville, Tenn., at the Nashville Convention Center.  $499 Registration is now available.  Visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com for more information.

CRS 2013 Rusty Walker Scholarship Winners Announced

 CRS 2013 Rusty Walker Scholarship Winners Announced

Scholarships provide expense-paid trip and registration for first-time CRS attendees

 

(Nashville, Tenn. – Dec. 3, 2012) CRS has announced this year’s Rusty Walker Scholarship winners, who receive an expense-paid trip and complimentary registration to Country Radio Seminar 2013, held Feb. 27 – March 1, in Nashville, Tenn.

The three inaugural winners are: Jeff Harju (GM, WHKB/Houghton, MI), Cynthia Hayward (Air Personality/MD/Asst. PD, KMOK-FM/Lewiston, ID) and Courtney Smith (Promotions Director, WOLF/Syracuse, NY). 

“The Rusty Walker Scholarship program stands not only to honor the legacy of one of the Country radio community’s most respected and influential members, but also to extend a helping hand to those coming up through the ranks,” says CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne.  “What better way to pay tribute to Rusty, who helped so many people throughout his long and prolific career?  We are proud and excited to welcome Jeff, Cynthia and Courtney to their first CRS!”

The Rusty Walker Scholarship program was created in 2012 to honor Country Radio Hall of Fame member Rusty Walker, who passed away in May 2012.  Each scholarship provides one full CRS 2013 registration, one ticket to the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and covers airfare and hotel room expenses for four nights in Nashville.  Scholars will be recognized at the CRS 2013 opening ceremonies and will have the opportunity to meet and interact with CRS board members during the three-day event.  All scholarship applications were reviewed for consideration by a CRS selection committee.

CRS 2013 is held Feb. 27-March 1, 2013, at the Nashville Convention Center in downtown Nashville, Tenn.

About Country Radio Seminar:Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas and business practices in the Country music industry, with specific emphasis on issues relevant to Country radio.  CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013, in downtown Nashville, Tenn., at the Nashville Convention Center.  $499 Registration is now available.  Visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com for more information.

 

 

Jeff Harju

 

Cynthia Hayward

 

Courtney Smith

 

CRS 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show Lineup Announced

CRS 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show Lineup Announced

 

 

(Nashville, Tenn. – Nov. 28, 2012) Country Radio Seminar has announced that Easton Corbin, Florida Georgia Line, Brantley Gilbert, Jana Kramer and Kip Moore are the CRS 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show® performers.

The 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show will be held Friday, March 1, 2013, at Country Radio Seminar inside the downtown Nashville Convention Center.  Co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and Muscular Dystrophy Association, the annual new artist showcase event officially closes out the three-day seminar and remains one of the most anticipated performances each year at CRS.  The New Faces show has sold out well in advance the past two years.

“The response we received from Country radio during the voting process this year was superb,” says CRS Board President Mike Culotta.  “The five acts chosen finished extremely strong in the voting and are certainly deserving of an appearance on our New Faces lineup.  We’re looking forward to another dynamite evening of entertainment at Country Radio Seminar from these up and coming stars.”

Each New Faces artist will receive a custom-made pair of Lucchese boots.  Lucchese is the official boot sponsor of the 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show.

The $499 Regular Registration rate for CRS 2013 is currently available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com. 

About Country Radio Seminar:Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas and business practices in the Country music industry, with specific emphasis on issues relevant to Country radio.  CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013, in downtown Nashville, Tenn., at the Nashville Convention Center.  $499 Regular rate registration is now available.  Visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com for more information.

Big & Rich To Receive CRS 2013 Artist Humanitarian Award

Big & Rich To Receive CRS 2013 Artist Humanitarian Award

 

(Nashville, Tenn. – Nov. 5, 2012)  Warner Music Nashville duo Big & Rich has been announced as the recipient of the CRS 2013 Artist Humanitarian Award, to be presented at Country Radio Seminar on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013.

 

Big & Rich’s charitable endeavors date back more than a decade and are too numerous to mention individually. Their humanitarian efforts have ranged from visiting individual patients in hospitals, to staging benefit concerts for the Country Music Hall of Fame and the 173rd Airborne Memorial, to their well-documented U.S. and international outreach.  The duo has made a point throughout their career to help underprivileged children and families in struggling countries like Uganda, Sudan, Haiti and Kenya, among others.

St. Jude Children's Hospital, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the 173^rdAirborne Memorial Fund, Project Clean Water, Nashville’s Mt. View elementary school, the Special Olympics, Vanderbilt Hospital, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Nashville Symphony are just a few of the causes the chart-topping, Grammy-nominated duo have donated their charitable efforts to.

 

“Big Kenny Alphin and John Rich individually and collectively have used their success to set a personal example for all of us to follow as humanitarians,” says CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne. “Their selfless contributions have gone a long way to help make life better for countless men, women, and children, both today and tomorrow.”

 

Big & Rich will receive the CRS 2013 Artist Humanitarian Award at 10:30 a.m. in the Nashville Convention Center, immediately following the CRS Keynote Address. 

CRS 2013 is held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013, in downtown Nashville, Tenn.  $499 Regular Rate registration is now available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.

 

About the CRS Artist Humanitarian Award:

The CRS Artist Humanitarian Award was created in 1990 to honor those Country music artists who have exhibited exceptional humanitarian efforts during their career.  Past recipients of the annual award have included Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, Randy Owen, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Reba, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks and Charlie Daniels, among others. For more information about Country Radio Seminar and the CRS awards, visit: www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.

 

About Big & Rich:

Big & Rich is comprised of Kenny Alphin and The Celebrity Apprentice winner John Rich. The multi-platinum hit duo have garnered multiple GRAMMY, ACM, CMA and CMT Music Award nominations and were recently nominated as the 2012 CMA Vocal Duo of the Year. Their current single "Party Like Cowboyz" is from their first studio album in four years, Hillbilly Jedi, that also features their Top 15 hit single, "That's Why I Pray," which raced up the charts upon release. Their first studio album, Horse of a Different Color, includes their hit infectious single, "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)." Other hits include, "Comin’ to Your City," "8th of November"and their #1 hit "Lost in this Moment." "Comin’ to Your City" is in its sixth consecutive year as the theme song for ESPN’s College GameDay show.

 

Voting Now Open for CRS 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show

Voting Now Open for CRS 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show
Fourteen of Country radio’s hottest new acts on the 2013 ballot; voting open at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com through Monday, Nov. 19 
 

(Nashville, Tenn. – Nov. 12, 2012) Voting is now open to all Country radio station employees for the CRS 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show®, to be held Friday, March 1, 2013, at the Nashville Convention Center.

This year’s nominees are (in alphabetical order): Greg Bates, Easton Corbin, Edens Edge, The Farm, Florida Georgia Line, Andy Gibson, Brantley Gilbert, Casey James, Jana Kramer, Dustin Lynch, Scotty McCreery, Kip Moore, Jon Pardi and James Wesley.
Any employee of a commercial, full-time Country formatted radio station may vote for the 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show performers.  Voting determines the five finalists and remains open through Monday, Nov. 19, atwww.CountryRadioSeminar.com.

“The New Faces show has always been a great barometer of talent in our format,” says New Faces Committee Chair John Crenshaw.  “Some of the biggest superstars in Country music played this show at CRS early on in their careers, and it’s always exciting to see that kind of talent on display in such an intimate setting.”

The New Faces of Country Music Show, co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and Muscular Dystrophy Association, is one of the most anticipated events at Country Radio Seminar, held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013.  Five emerging artists who have achieved significant success at Country radio during the qualification period are selected each year to perform at the showcase event.  Below are the New Faces of Country Music qualification criteria:

1. The qualification period is Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 during the year immediately preceding the New Faces of Country Music Show.

2. Nominees may not have appeared on a previous New Faces of Country Music Show.  Solo performers that become a member of a group or duo, or a group or duo member that becomes a solo artist are considered eligible.

3. Nominees must have charted at least one Top 25 single on the the Mediabase Country Chart as published in Country Aircheck or at least one Top 25 single on the Billboard Country Chart during the qualification period.

4. Nominees may not have more than two albums on the Billboard Country Top 50 Country Album chart, nor more than two albums that peaked above No. 50 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart (or corresponding Nielsen Soundscan-based chart) by the end of the qualification period.

About Country Radio Seminar:Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas and business practices in the Country music industry, with specific emphasis on issues relevant to Country radio.  CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27 – March 1, 2013, in downtown Nashville, Tenn., at the Nashville Convention Center.  $499 Regular rate registration is now available.  Visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com for more information.