Eli Young Band recently announced their second Annual House Party (ies) line up.  The band will return once again to Dallas and is expanding the Party with a second show in Houston. Tickets go on sale Friday August 29th for both the November 8th date at Globe Life Park in Arlington and the November 15th date at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Last year’s inaugural House Party in Arlington, was a huge success with over 18,000 fans in attendance.  The band looks forward to an even larger turn out this year with eight touring powerhouses joining them for two shows. 

The November 8th House Party in Arlington will feature country superstar Gary Allan, two-time Grammy nominee and country hit-maker Pat Green as well as Cody Johnson and Maddie & Tae. 

The November 15th House Party will feature The Josh Abbott Band, The Cody Johnson Band and Thomas Rhett.

From start to finish, the band has chosen venues that lay out a fan friendly experience from easy parking, to short bar lines and a strong lineup of national acts. Tickets start at just $25.

For the November 8th Arlington show, tickets are available at TexasRangers.com/eliyoungband  
For the November 15th Houston show, tickets are available at ticketmaster.com

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and CMT have announced the 15th Annual NSAI Song Contest. The contest is open to all genres. Submissions will be accepted from September 1, 2014 until October 31, 2014.

Fans will vote on the top ten songs during February 2015 for the Grand Prize CMT Listeners’ Choice Award Winner. The winner will receive a mentoring session with Warner Music Nashville recording artist Charlie Worsham, the 2006 NSAI Song Contest Winner, a one-year single song contract with Little Louder Music Publishing, live performances at the 2015 Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival and The Bluebird Cafe, a three day trip to Nashville, and more.

“NSAI’s Song Contest is not a one-time prize; it’s an invitation into the songwriting community,” says NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison. “This is a powerful vehicle to get ‘discovered.’”

Entries can be submitted via mail to NSAI or online at sonicbids.com/NSAICMTSongContest. 

For lots more information visit here

ASHEVILLE, NC --  Bring 15 Years Of The Nashville Sessions Live From The Ryman To Your Home. Help bring this historic night of live music to living rooms around the world! With your help, this one-of-kind concert experience could be webcast live from the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. There are some exclusive items being offered to those who pledge. Our good friends at Music City Roots will be bringing their A-team along with full HD production to capture the night! By pledging, you could help make this live HD webcast a reality. In addition Leftover Salmon will be donating a portion of the funds raised to the Americana Music Association.

On September 15th, Leftover Salmon will assemble an all-star cast which includes John Bell (of Widespread Panic), Sam Bush, Taj Mahal, Bill Payne (of Little Feat), Jeff Coffin (of Dave Matthews Band), Elizabeth Cook, and many more amazing musicians! 15 years ago LoS was joined in the studio by many of these musicians to record their most treasured album to date, The Nashville Sessions. Years later, they are excited to recreate this album in a live setting. Many music fans out there won’t be able to join in on this special evening in Nashville. This is why the band wants to bring the show to you!

At the Ryman, Leftover Salmon will also be releasing The Nashville Sessions [1999] on vinyl for the first time. A limited pressing of 1000 copies will only be available for purchase at the Ryman or by pledging. This double vinyl set includes a special track featuring Col. Bruce Hampton, which has been aging in the vault for the past 15 years!
You can be the first to download “Bluegrass Pines,” one of the new songs off Leftover Salmon’s forthcoming studio album for a pledge of $5. This track was written by Bill Payne of Little Feat and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Be the first to hear it!

Please join Leftover Salmon in helping make this webcast a reality. If the goal is reached, this unique performance will be broadcasted to the world. So, pick up one of these great offerings, and mark your calendar for a special night of entertainment on Monday, September 15th right from the living room for your home!

Vince Herman shares his thought on The Nashville Sessions:
Recording The Nashville Sessions was like a musical fantasy island for us. We’d have Earl Scruggs come in the morning, Taj Mahal in the afternoon and Waylon Jennings the next day. We were loving it. It’s still dreamlike thinking about it years later. I sure treasure having had the chance to play with such iconic figures, especially those who have passed on, including our brother Mark Vann. I’m going to savor the chance to make music with the great cast of characters assembled at the Ryman that night. Life is short. Art is long. –Vince Herman 

For more information and complete tour dates for LoS, please visit and www.LeftoverSalmon.com. 
To find out more about the Ryman and the event, please visit www.Ryman.com.

In a music community renowned for its supportive nature, Austin singer-songwriter Shelley King devotes her energy to several philanthropic causes, from serving on the board of Housing Opportunities for Musicians and Entertainers to helping teens articulate their experiences through music. A week before the Aug. 26 release of her new Lemonade Records album, Building A Fire, her work with teens and seniors not only created a unique synergy, it reinforced the importance of such efforts, no matter how small.

Fuel Our Fire, the coincidentally named youth group, uses the motto, "heal the world through music." In partnership with the Amala Foundation and the One Village Music Project, it creates weeklong workshops for teens participating in Amala's global youth peace summits. With the help of mentors such as King, the teens write and professionally record songs for compilation albums

Shelley King helps teens with their music project during a Fuel Our Fire workshop.  Pictured (from lt to rt) Jasmine Bell, Shelley King, Sadie Howard, Lily Provenzano, and Kahindo Musongera.King spent several days working with her group, including Monday, Aug. 18; that night, a benefit was held for HOME, the organization she co-founded with musicians Marcia Ball, Carolyn Wonderland and Sarah Brown and other women in the music community to provide housing aid for older Austin musicians in need. They initially banded together in 2010 to help blues singer Miss Lavelle White after learning of her struggle to obtain adequate, affordable housing. (In another serendipitous coincidence, King's 2012 album release was titled Welcome Home.)

In a community that takes to heart the notion that healing the world through music begins at home, King has long history of leadership and philanthropy. Named as the Official State Musician of Texas in 2008, she has added her soulful Americana voice and energies to a variety of causes and fund-raising efforts. A Christmas song she wrote a couple of years ago for a Health Alliance for Austin Musicians benefit album has become a local holiday staple; this year, she learned, two community groups plan to perform it in their seasonal programs.

Of course, she's thrilled. "I came here to have a music community," King says of her move to Austin two decades ago. And once she did, she knew she was home.

Follow Shelley King
shelleyking.com
facebook.com/shelleykingtx
twitter.com/shelleykingtx
instagram.com/shelleykingtx

Arista Nashville recording duo The Swon Brothers – Zach and Colton – are now climbing the country airplay Top 15 with their hit single, “Later On,” and fans anxious for more music from the Oklahoma natives and favorites from Season 4 of NBC’s The Voice have good news with word that the brothers will release their major-label debut album on October 14. 

In conjunction with the news, now and throughout the Labor Day weekend, PEOPLE.com is hosting an exclusive streaming preview of four tracks from the 11-song collection.  Online now at PEOPLE.com/swonbrothers, fans are invited to listen in and vote for their favorites from the songs “95,” “Pretty Beautiful,” “Pray for You” and “This Side of Heaven.” 

Co-produced by The Swon Brothers and Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Sara Evans), the duo’s self-titled album is now available for pre-order here:  http://smarturl.it/swonbrothersamz. 

The Swon Brothers are currently keeping a busy tour schedule, playing clubs, fairs, and festivals all summer in support of “Later On,” which charts this week at #15 on both the Country Aircheck and Billboard country airplay charts.

For more information visit their official website www.swonbrothers.com
Twitter @TheSwonBrothers 
Facebook at www.Facebook.com/theswonbrothers.

Country music maverick and viral superstar Granger Smith has announced plans for an extensive 65 city headlining fall tour. The YEE YEE NATION 2014 TOUR will officially kick off in Fargo, ND and will bring Granger to all corners of the U.S. throughout its run. Special guests Logan Mize and Jeff Allen will appear in various cities.

With a staggering two million+ rabid followers via social media and the best selling independent country album in digital sales of 2013 to his credit, Granger has also released a new full-length documentary providing a behind-the-scenes look at the Granger Smith experience. The documentary offers a look to the ins and outs of life on the road as he, his band and his crew travel the country selling out shows in brand new markets, set unprecedented attendance records, and bring fans the high-energy, unparalleled show they’ve come to expect. Click HERE to watch the trailer.

In addition to bringing his consistently sold-out, electrifying live show to fans nationwide this fall, Granger will return to primetime national TV once again as his country boy alter ego Earl Dibbles Jr. appears for a new season of CBS Sports Network’s “Inside College Football.” By popular demand, Dibbles will deliver his personalized “Dip Em’ and Pick Em’” segments, making college football picks throughout the entirety of the season. Click HERE to get a taste of last season’s highlights.

Hosted by Adam Zucker and analysts Randy Cross, Brian Jones, Aaron Taylor and Christian Fauria, this season of “Inside College Football” airs each Tuesday from 8:00–10:00 p.m. EST.

Upcoming YEE YEE NATION 2014 TOUR dates:

8/27 – The Venue at The Hub – Fargo, ND
8/28 – The Original Bar & Nightclub – Minot, ND
8/29 – The District – Sioux Falls, SD
8/30 – Wooly’s – Des Moines, IA
9/3 – Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS
9/4 – The Single Barrel – Lincoln, NE
9/5 – Whiskey Tango – Omaha, NE
9/6 – Back Road Bash – Vail, IA
9/9 – Schmitt’s Saloon – Morgantown, WV
9/10 – Brick Street Bar – Oxford, OH
9/11 – Dusty Armadillo – Rootstown, OH
9/12 – 12 Levels Nightclub – State College, PA
9/13 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
9/14 – The Club at Stage A&E – Pittsburgh, PA
9/15 – The Southern – Charlottesville, VA
9/17 – Mavericks at the Landing – Jacksonville, FL
9/18 – Georgia Theater – Athens, GA
9/19 – Blind Horse Saloon – Greenville, SC
9/20 – Coyote Joes – Charlotte, NC

For a full list of YEE YEE NATION 2014 tour dates and updates please visit:

www.GrangerSmith.com
www.EarlDibbesJr.com
www.facebook.com/GrangerSmith
www.facebook.com/EarlDibblesJr
@GrangerSmith
@EarlDibblesJr

Singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves will be performing at Hill Country Live in Brooklyn on September 16th. His most recent release, Still Fighting The War (2013), earned a rave review from NPR Fresh Air for its "terse, clear and heartfelt" songwriting and was called "one of the year's best singer-songwriter albums" by American Songwriter.

A past winner of the New Folk Competition, an honor shared with the likes of Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith and Robert Earl Keen, Cleaves has been praised for his "keen insights into human nature and today's America" (American Songwriter) with the Austin Chronicle describing him as "a master craftsman on the order of Guy Clark and John Prine."

WHO: Slaid Cleaves
WHERE: Hill Country Live Brooklyn (345 Adams Street)
WHEN: Tuesday, September 16th at 9:00pm
LINK: http://music.hillcountrybk.com/event/586139-slaid-cleaves-brooklyn/

Watch him perform "Still Fighting the War" below.

The Josh Abbott Band's new single, "Hangin' Around," can be heard all over Texas radio and Sirius XM's The Highway as a Highway Find. Check out an acoustic performance of the song below. 

The Americana Music Association revealed an initial presenter and performer lineup for its 13th Annual Honors & Awards Show today. As anticipated, the list reflects Americana’s “spirit of eclecticism” (New York Times) through its diverse production and curation.  

In addition to previously announced performances by Loretta Lynn, Flaco Jimenez, Taj Mahal and Jackson Browne, the tastemaker event will feature Buddy Miller, Cassandra Wilson, Flaco Jimenez, Hard Working Americans, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Jason Isbell, Jim Lauderdale, Marty Stuart, Parker Millsap, Patty Griffin, Robert Ellis, Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, Ry Cooder, Sarah Jarosz, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Sturgill Simpson, The Devil Makes Three, The McCrary Sisters, The Milk Carton Kids and Valerie June with presentations by Amy Ray, Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook, Emmylou Harris, JD Souther, Joe Henry, John Paul White, Josh Ritter, Keb' Mo', Rhett Miller, Shovels & Rope, Todd Snider and Vince Gill.

Americana Honors & Awards Spotify Playlist Here
 
The 13th Annual Honors & Awards Show, held at the historic Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, September 17, will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and feature a house band led by Buddy Miller that includes Don Was, Joachim Cooder, Tim Lauer, The McCrary Sisters and legend Ry Cooder.   

Broadcast live with SiriusXM "Outlaw Country" and on line via NPR's Folk Alley, and edited for television for PBS that will air November 22 in the Austin City Limits time slot, the Americana Honors & Awards, for the first time, will also air on Australia's CMC (Country Music Channel). The show kicks off the 15th Annual Festival and Conference that runs Wednesday, September 17 through Sunday, September 21. The conference will deliver a range of panels, networking and seminars while the “finely-tuned festival” (Travel + Leisure) hosts a record 175 artist showcases across 11 Music City venues, including The Avett Brothers at Riverfront Park Saturday, September 20.  

For a full list of performers, panels, and ticket and registration information, please visit americanamusic.org.  

Stoney LaRue has a new single for ya! "Golden Shackles" is available now on iTunes. The song can be found on Stoney's upcoming album, Aviator, which will be released October 28th. 
Join Stoney's street team and check out more from him on his official website www.StoneyLaRue.com