More On Country's Youth Movement

Listening to country, there is a certain authenticity and sensitivity that is hard to find in other styles of music. Many of the themes in country music are about dealing with loss and change, something that resonated with me as I entered the next chapter of my life. Perhaps the best example is Trace Adkins telling me “You’re Gonna Miss This,” teaching me that each stage of life is filled with apprehension so one must embrace and thrive in any situation.

While many hailed fun’s “We Are Young” as the anthem of youth, I feel that Jake Owen’s “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” perfectly captured a carefree spirit and painted a perfect picture of simplicity and carefree enjoyment.

From the lovelorn Hunter Hayes, the down-home revelry of Jason Aldean and the vigor and heart of Luke Bryan, I can only wonder what new personal gems will find their way onto my iPod as country music and the stories that come along with it enjoy their spot in the limelight.

Country music may not be for everyone, but for my money, country is where the heart of storytelling is in music. As Paisley sings in “This is Country Music,” “This is your life in a song.”

  -- Christopher James, a Loyola University junior in Monday's campus newspaper

Really? Why?

Report: Radio Stations, Record Labels Begin More National Partnerships

Ever since former New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer extracted multimillion-dollar payola settlements from all four major-label groups in 2005, tighter boundaries have been drawn around the relationship between the radio and music businesses. But large national partnerships appear to signal a new level of cooperation between two industries that have long had a symbiotic, albeit sometimes contentious, relationship.

The article notes that Show Dog/Nashville coughed up a $34,000 boat stocked with fishing tools and reels to "tie into" Trace Adkins' "Just Fishin'," requiring listeners to "like" one of 110 Clear Channel country station Facebook pages to be eligible to win.

CBS Radio, it says "has been marshaling radio, TV and online platforms" for it's "Live On Letterman" Ed Sullivan Theater webcasts and flyaways, which started in October 2009, starring Curb's Tim McGraw.

With Cumulus and Citadel about to merge, don't be surprised to see the stakes of these "events" get even higher as the biggest conglomerates woo the music business, trying to outdo one another promotionally in pursuit of cash and prizes.

Meanwhile, the remaining several thousand non-monitored, non-reporting, non-major group-owned country stations whose listeners all consume lots of music too and often buy CD's at rural WalMart, Target and other retailers, stand by and wonder what it takes to share in all the largess.

A humble suggestion: let every radio station in North America which wants to support music they play get in on the promotions.

Call a halt to all the exclusive partnerships, which leave the majority of us out while hoping the preferred "friend" spins the music enough to make up for the anger and alienation it creates across the street, thus, potentially proving as toxic as permitting one station to "present" a concert and shutting the other ones out regardless of the sizes of their audiences.

As with "neutral shows," maybe it's time for "neutral promotions" too, encouraging ALL of us to promote the music to the max of our creative capabilities and mutual needs.

Marrying one artist or song with one major group or another is both too expensive and counter-productive in the competitive landscape that is records and radio in 2011.

Let's all work together and sell some music.

Darius and Trace Create Choral Magic For Great ACM Causes

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Trace Adkins will reunite with the West Point Glee Club for a special performance at the Grand Ole Opry this Friday, April 8, 2011. The collaboration between the celebrated baritone and the 60-member Glee Club will be a special reunion that has not occurred since Adkins’ memorable 2009 ACM performance with the cadets.

Take A Gander At Country's Sexiest Man (?)

The votes are in, and Trace Adkins now stakes claim to the title of 'Country's Sexiest Man.' The readers of Country Weekly magazine voted in an online showdown of hottest hunks, ranking the 46-year-old father of five (and grandfather of one!) at No. 1. Gary Allan was a close second, followed by last year's winner, Toby Keith. Rounding out the Top 5 are Chris Young and Jack Ingram. New dad Keith Urban comes in as country's No. 6 sexiest star. Also sizzling in the Top 10 are Jeff Bates, Keith Anderson, Blake Shelton and Tim McGraw.

Check out the story on "The Boot" blog, and be sure to read all the comments this choices generated. The fan clubs are fightin' it out over whether he needs a haircut or not, but you have to acknowledge that Trace's music and his Celebrity Apprentice performance got him a lot of well-deserved votes.

"Oh, Say Can You.." Hear Trace Adkins?

Yes, you can, if you're listening to the National Anthem on the closing night of the Republican National Convention being held in St. Paul, Minnesota. His performance will take place at approximately 7:30pm ET.

Then, Trace Adkins will soon travel to the Persian Gulf to visit America’s armed forces as part of a USO/Armed Forces entertainment tour. During his week-long trip, Adkins will perform for troops, visit remote forward operating bases, sign autographs and pose for pictures. He will also share personal accounts of how he started out in the music industry, talk one-on-one with troops and extend his heartfelt gratitude to those currently serving overseas in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Trace Adkins Talks Politics In New Book, On Hannity & Colmes, But Never On Stage

Trace on why country music leans conservative (click to read the transcript of the entire Thursday night 12/27 interview):

"...it's just .. that blue-collar connection.... It's Americana. It's the working class, working man kind of perspective on things. But I don't represent — I'm not trying to represent country music or anybody other than myself."