Bruce Robison (left) chats with legend Guy Clark (right).

BMI also presented a Million-Air certificate to Carter's "Crossfire" co-writer and Double Trouble member Reese Wynans, celebrating more than one million performances of the tune.

BMI's Jody Williams (right) presents "Crossfire" co-writer and Double Trouble member Reese Wynans (left) with a Million-Air certificate.

Singer/songwriter Bill Carter kicked off the performances.

Austinite Monte Warden performs his composition "Desperately," a hit for George Strait. Warden co-wrote the tune with fellow performer Bruce Robison.

Bruce Robison performed familiar hits along with songs from his newest album Eleven Stories and 2007 EP It Came From San Antonio.

Sunny Sweeney introduces her distinct honky tonk to the audience.

Bill Carter belts out another tune.

Pictured are (l to r): BMI's Jody Williams, "Crossfire" co-writers Ruth Ellsworth Carter, Bill Carter and Reese Wynans, Sunny Sweeney, Bruce Robison and Monte Warden.

Photos by Eric England

A lineup including BMI roots artists Todd Snider, Blue Mountain, Jason Isbell, Will Hoge, Garrison Starr, Drivin' n Cryin', Bobby Bare Jr., Dash Rip Rock, Trent Summar, The Carter Administration, Glossary, Dixie Dirt and Malcolm Holcombe will treat crowds an onslaught of non-stop live music. Mucklewain will also host an art tent displaying the work of southern artists.

Camping sites are available for those who yearn for a more agrestic experience. Tickets are $48 in advance, $60 at the gates. To purchase tickets, view the entire lineup, plus a schedule of events and more, please visit mucklewain.com.

On September 15th, the BMI Stage will feature the following artists beginning at 11:15 a.m.:

The Steps, Amy Loftus, Cary Ann Hearst & The Gun Street Girls, Trent Summar & The New Row Mob, and Jeffrey Steele.

For more info: aclfestival.com

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

SAHARA SMITH   
11:15-11:45am
A 15-year-old Sahara Smith placed second in A Prairie Home Companion's  "12 to 20" talent contest; now 18, the Austinite's forlorn voice cries, seduces and whispers, wrapping itself around her ageless lyrics.
www.myspace.com/saharasmithmusic

ADAM HOOD 
12:40-1:20pm
Alabama's Adam Hood released Pete Anderson-produced Different Groove in May 2007 -- a collection of truckstop poetry parlayed into soul-swaggering roots rock by Hood's rich vocals.
www.myspace.com/adamhood

AMY LAVERE  
2:40-3:20pm
Amy LaVere's tiny frame juxtaposed with her train-chugging upright bass and smoky vocals creates a definitively sui generis combo, aptly displayed on the Memphis girl's blithe sophomore album, Anchors and Anvils.
www.myspace.com/amylavere
 
JOHN RALSTON 
4:40-5:20pm
Lake Worth, Florida native John Ralston's Needle Bed (Vagrant Records) features lush pop arrangements and melancholy vocals that sound more Transatlantic than Southern. The troubadour will spend most of the Fall opening for Dashboard Confessional.
www.myspace.com/johnralston
 
LOUIS XIV 
6:40-7:20pm  
The New York Times called San Diego-based Louis XIV "very sexy and really glam" while Blender praised the group's "catchy send-up of retro-rock sleaze;" the group is hitting the road with the Killers this fall.
www.myspace.com/louisxiv
 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

THE STEPS 
11:15-11:45am
Youthfully exuberant Austin quartet The Steps swim in self-imposed '60s British rock exile, venturing out every now and again to nod towards post-punk exuberance.
www.myspace.com/thesteps

MARIO MATTEOLI  
12:40-1:20pm
Former Weary Boy Mario Matteoli's solo work reveals an introspective yarn spinner, and prompted the Austin-American Statesman to proclaim Matteoli's debut, Hard Luck Hittin', "would make his songwriting idols Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt proud."
www.myspace.com/mariomatteoli
 
CARY ANN HEARST & The Gun Street Girls 
2:40-3:20pm
South Carolina's Cary Ann Hearst takes ghosts and angels from her native South and channels them into cogent lyrics; her musky voice plays nicely with her country, blues and punk-tinged combo, resulting in raucous treats.
www.myspace.com/caryannhearst

TRENT SUMMAR & The New Rob Mob  
4:40-5:20pm
Trent Summar's farm rock smirks at expectations and the status quo; whether penning Jack Ingram's brassy single "Love You" or belting out his own "Pink John Deere," the native Tennessean packs an inimitable punch with every syllable.
www.myspace.com/trentsummar

JEFFREY STEELE  
6:40-7:20pm
While 2003 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Jeffrey Steele churns out hits dipped in twang for mainstream country stars like Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw, his own live sets reveal an energetic performer who rocks against the grain instead of growin' it.
www.jeffreysteele.com

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

JENNIFER NICELEY  
11:15-11:45am
Tennessee native Jennifer Niceley's voice huskily combs through her dreamy reflections and intimate poetry set to a soothing balance of country and jazz, while sultry attitude simmers just below the surface of her beguiling tunes.
www.myspace.com/brandonrhyder

KARA GRAINGER   
2:40-3:20pm
Australian chanteuse Kara Grainger's moody debut Grand and Green River features ace players who've worked with Stevie Wonder and Jackson Browne, among others, plus a duet with Amos Lee, but newcomer Grainger's smoky vocals serenely claim the spotlight. Several tracks from the album are featured on Starbucks stores' in-house programming.
www.myspace.com/karagrainger1
 
PATTERSON HOOD  
4:40-5:20pm
Rock guru Robert Christgau has called Patterson Hood a "new master of the vanishing art of literal, narrative songwriting," thanks to songs exploring themes like heartbreak and organ transplants; in short, the Drive-By Truckers front man embraces the life's quirks and imaginative pitfalls.
www.myspace.com/pattersonhood
 
GUY FORSYTH  
6:40-7:20pm
Antone's Records artist Guy Forsyth crafts lyrics that exhale and meander through cantankerous melodies; poetically organic and decisively Austin, Forsyth's blues are worth catching.
www.myspace.com/guyforsythband

The Austin City Limits Music Festival is produced by C3 and Capital Sports & Entertainment. For more information on ACL, please visit www.aclfestival.com.

That probably says it well enough. But in case further explanation helps, we’re talking about that intersection where Chuck Berry rock and George Jones country converge. We’re talking about love songs that veer off the beaten path with honest slices of rural imagery and humor.

It’s a place on the musical map that’s entirely familiar but just a little too rowdy, a little too much fun (and in truth, too rooted in tradition) to be called mainstream country

If you’ve heard Summar’s 2000 debut album, the critically acclaimed Trent Summar & The New Row Mob, or seen his raucous live act in recent years, you may already be a staunch farm rock adherent.

If not, there’s a good chance you know Summar by his work anyway. As a songwriter, he’s had cuts recently on quite a few records, including Billy Currington’s popular sophomore album, Doin’ Something Right ("She Knows What to Do With a Saturday Night"), and Gary Allan’s 2003 release See If I Care ("Guys Like Me"). “Love You,” which Summar co-wrote with pal Jay Knowles, is currently on the charts as a single for Jack Ingram.

All this brings us to Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Summar’s latest recorded effort and his first with the Tex-centric independent label Palo Duro Records. It features several songs cut by other artists, including a take on “Love You” that will give fans of Ingram’s recording something new to chew on. “My daddy likes my version better!” Summar boasts.

Like the rural-Tennessee native’s earlier work, humorous tones run throughout this album. “I like a clever country song, and I don’t mean goofy songs … Of course, I’m the guy who wrote ‘Pink John Deere’,” Summar says of his ode to a female FFA honcho.

Most often, the jokes aren’t for the sake of themselves; humorous lines on the album have a way of revealing the sometimes-sordid realities of small town life and love. Like the opening line of “Never Really Loved Her Anyway”: “If there ain’t at least 10 beer cans in your front yard …”

While Summar’s sharp songwriting is a focal point of Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, one cover will likely catch listeners’ attention. It’s a punched-up treatment of the classic “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Summar says, “It’ll probably make some people mad, some people smile. At least it gets a reaction.”

The entire batch of songs, it seems, was recorded with maximum reaction in mind; it is not a timid production. With veteran songwriter and producer Rand Bishop at the helm, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades lays it all out there: Summar’s vocal performances are full of life and a sense of fun, and a cast of top-flight players keeps the riffs coming. No question — the chops are purely big league all around. But Bishop, Summar and band keep Horseshoes & Hand Grenades from becoming a too-slicked-up affair.

Several Nashville luminaries shine on the album, including Raul Malo, who contributes harmony vocals on “Guys Like Me,” and Brooks & Dunn steel guitarist Gary Morse, whose tasty playing can be heard throughout.

The core group of players isn’t shabby, either. Ken McMahan is on guitar. “He’s the best smash-mouth guitar player I’ve ever heard,” says Summar. That’s saying something, considering that former Georgia Satellites hero Dan Baird is in the band, too (“He’s not bad,” Summar says in obvious understatement.). Dave Kennedy, formally of Walk the West and the lone holdover from Summar’s debut release, is on drums while Michael “Supe” Granda, a founding member of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and co-writer of two of the album’s tracks, plays bass and provides background vocals.

As good as the group is in the studio, Summar says it’s the live performance that reminds him how fortunate a front-man he is. “When I leave the stage after playing with these guys, I can be totally satisfied … It’s all I ever wanted to do.”

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades should propel Summar and his band toward a busy touring schedule in the coming months. His debut album (recorded with a different cast of musicians) certainly gave Summar the chance to get out on the road. While Music Row standards for record sales can be pretty outlandish, Trent Summar & The New Row Mob was by all reasonable accounts quite a success: It put him and his band on regular rotation on CMT. It got him a spot on the Grand Ole Opry. It led to tours of Europe and Japan — and Texas, where The New Row Mob’s sound earned Summar a fervent base of fans.

With the songwriting breakthroughs Summar has enjoyed since his first record, he is likely poised for even greater returns this time around. Regardless, Summar realizes that he’s managed to carve out a fairly enviable life in the Nashville scene — a healthy balance of songwriting and publishing, solo recording and performing.

And for Summar, there’s no notion of retreat. “I’m a lifer. This is what I’m going to do.”

BMI's "See It Hear First" podcast has become an important tool for exposing new BMI songwriters and artists to key industry professionals and fans alike. Since its release in May 2005, millions of listeners from around the world have tuned in to discover new music from a broad range of genres and regions. Past 'cast artists like singer/songwriter Brendan James, rockers somedaynew, Latin hip-hop artist Cosculluela, Canadian crossover band Soul Kid #1 and country-pop combo the Zac Brown Band have all grabbed the industry's attention through the BMI podcast, with some landing major recording and publishing deals, and others on the verge of being signed.

In addition to hearing great music from an array of new talent like this edition's three rising Nashville stars, podcast listeners can also vote for their favorite artist to help them win a CD duplication package from Disc Makers, the leading CD manufacturer for the independent musician. Winners get 1,000 discs, a prize with a promotional value of more than $10,000.

Tune in to bmi.com/podcast to hear all 16 editions of the BMI podcast, the first in the music industry to be listed in Apple's podcast directory. The "See It Hear First" series is also available from iTunes, from Yahoo!, or though Pod2Mob.com.

Podcast #16 Featured artists

The Eli Young Band loves a good honky-tonk song. Mixing dance hall nostalgia with admiration for peppy rock and roll comes naturally to the Texas-based quartet, and they pull off their infectious country/pop rock hybrid with ease. Co-founders Mike Eli and James Young attended primo music institution the University of North Texas at Denton, where they met future bandmates Chris Thompson and Jon Jones. Graceful lyrics explore everyday scenarios with honesty that stems simply from living the songs they sing. Get hooked on Eli Young Band here on "So Close Now."

Virginia native Stephanie Chapman's distinct vocals turn heads from the get-go, ensnaring listeners with their ethereal delicacy. As a songwriter, her voice is developed and unique, visiting universal themes of heartbreak and loss, as well as dipping into homespun, lighter fare from her own happy childhood. Cuts with luminaries Bonnie Raitt and Trisha Yearwood illustrate Stephanie's country/rock versatility and maturity as a writer. Hear this skilled poet tell one of her stories on "Bulletproof."

Trent Summar smirks at expectations and the status quo, finding humor and poignancy in exploring the unexpected life lessons that hit everyday. Trent calls his music "farm rock," and with help from his band, the New Row Mob, he coolly personifies the moniker. From penning Jack Ingram's brassy single "Love You" to his own "Pink John Deere," the native Tennessean packs an inimitable punch with every syllable. Summar's live show emits an energy that is both contagious and raw. Learn more about Trent Summar here in BMI's exclusive interview with the singer/songwriter, and listen to his single "Horseshoes and Hand Grenades."

The two stages at the event boast an impressive southern rock and Americana line-up, including BMI singer-songwriters Todd Snider, Tommy Womack, Allison Moorer, Will Kimbrough, Garrison Starr, Will Hoge, American Minor, Kevin Kinney, David Mead, Jason Ringenberg, the Katies, Malcolm Holcombe, Cary Hudson, Glossary, Brian Waldschlager, Patty Hurst Shifter, Ballhog, the Yayhoos, Dash Rip Rock, Mic Harrison and Trent Summar & The New Row Mob. An art tent will also showcase the work of multiple artists from all over the South.

Tickets are available in advance for $30 online at TicketAdvantage.com and will be sold the day of the festival at the gate for $45, cash only. Campers are invited to bring their tents and arrive Friday, Aug. 18, when the main gate will open at 6 p.m. Gates will open promptly at 10 a.m. the day of the festival.

Celebrating at BMI Nashville are MCA Nashville's Pat Payne; Connie Woolsey of the Erv Woolsey Company, representing Strait; Big Yellow Dog Music's Carla Wallace; songwriters Jay Knowles and Odie Blackmon; Sony/ATV Tree's Woody Bomar; and BMI's Bradley Collins.

According to MCA Records, with this achievement by "She'll Leave You With A Smile," Strait sets a new record for #1 songs by a single artist in any genre, breaking Conway Twitty's long-standing tally of 49.

Jay Knowles and father John Knowles

Sony/ATV Tree's Arthur Buenahora, Trent Summar, Summar's manager John Leal, Sony/ATV Tree's Scott Johnson, BMI's Perry Howard

Jay Knowles and family celebrate his first #1

Big Yellow Dog's Kerry O'Neil, Sony/ATV's Woody Bomar, producer Tony Brown, BMI's Harry Warner

photos by Beth Gwinn ]]> 2003-02-09T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233158 Artists, Douglas, Jerry, Gayle, Crystal, Lauderdale, Jim, Moorer, Allison, Nelson, Willie, Stanley, Ralph, Summar, Trent, Thile, Chris, Yoakam, Dwight, Musical Styles, Rock BMI writers and artists claimed a majority of the nominations for the debut Americana Awards Show, created by the Americana Music Association to recognize artistic merit and achievement in the Americana music format. Gillian Welch and The Flatlanders -- Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock -- received nominations in three categories: Album, Song and Artist of the Year. Double nominees were Jim Lauderdale and David Rawlings (nominated with Welch in Artist and Song categories).

Jerry Douglas	David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
Lonesome Bob	The Flatlanders	Kenny Vaughan
Webb Pierce	Ralph Stanley and Jim Lauderdale	Chris Thile

Sponsored in part by Rounder Records and the First Amendment Center, the event will take place at Nashville's Downtown Hilton Suites on September 13, in the midst of the Americana Music Association Conference (12-14). The evening's host will be Jason Ringenberg of pioneering roots-rockers Jason & the Scorchers.

Congratulations to BMI's nominees:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator)
The Flatlanders, Now Again
Dale Watson, The Jordanaires, Mandy Barnett, George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Joy Lynn White, Allison Moorer, Crystal Gayle, Del McCoury Band, Lionel Cartwright, Gail Davies, Willie Nelson, BR5-49, Deborah Pierce, Trent Summar, Billy Walker and Pam Tillis, Caught In The Webb: Tribute to Webb Pierce

SONG OF THE YEAR
Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, "She's Looking At Me"
Lonesome Bob, "Heather’s All Bummed Out"
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, "I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll"
The Flatlanders, "My Wildest Dreams"

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jim Lauderdale
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
The Flatlanders

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Jerry Douglas
Chris Thile
David Rawlings
Kenny Vaughan