Artist Updates (10/21/13)

Luke Bryan. Photo: Joseph Llanes

• It will be all Luke Bryan, all the time on Nov. 6 when he kicks off country’s big day with a performance on ABC’s Good Morning America and then opens the 47th Annual CMA Awards later that night at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena as well. GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts will also be on hand for all the country festivities, reporting live from Bridgestone that morning and presenting a CMA Award that night during the show’s broadcast.

Bryan is nominated for three CMAs this year, including Entertainer of the Year. He is also nominated for Male Vocalist and Musical Event of the Year for “The Only Way I Know” with Jason Aldean and Eric Church.

Craig Campbell is surprised with a check for $3,000 during a private performance in Long Island.

• Craig Campbell raised over $15,000 for the T.J. Martell Foundation‘s colon cancer research with his inaugural Celebrity Cornhole Challenge in June. During the event, he auctioned off a private backyard barbeque to the highest bidder, and earlier this month he traveled to Long Island to perform at the home of winners Bill and Anita Marie Robitsek.

The couple surprised Campbell at the event with limo transportation, a hotel, catering, and also handed him a $3,000 check of funds raised by friends and family who attended the special show.

•  Natalie Stovall and the Drive are releasing their first self-titled EP on iTunes. The Tennessee native is a road warrior, having played over 200 dates each year across college campuses, clubs and military bases around the globe. Her debut project was produced by Paul Worley and features six tracks showcasing Stovall’s vocal chops and high-octane energy. She’ll perform some of the tunes at a free show at Anthem in Nashville tonight (Oct. 21) at 6:15 p.m.

Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis

• Elvis manager Colonel Tom Parker‘s former Nashville office at 1215 Gallatin Road is up for sale. Parker maintained the offices even after Elvis became a massive star, and also managed artists like Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow from the building. The home has been well preserved over the years and will be marketed by Rockology’s Stephen Shutts. The property is being showcased on ebay with strict bidding criteria, and private tours will be available to a select qualified few during the duration of the sale. The property is zoned for multiple use.

“The property is easily one of the five most significant music-based properties in greater Nashville, if not the single most significant,” Shutts said. “This is a vault of music energy when you consider Elvis monumental career was strategically built, negotiated and managed from within these walls from 1955 to well past Elvis’s passing in 1977. Colonel Tom Parker captured musical lightening in this very building that eventually influenced the world as we know today”.