Belmont University Selects Inaugural Recipient Of Miranda Lambert “Women Creators” Scholarship
Anna Vaus
Belmont University Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business student Anna Vaus has been selected as the first-ever recipient of the ‘Women Creators’ scholarship, established in 2015 by Miranda Lambert.
The scholarship was created to honor a female Belmont student who is majoring in music business, songwriting or entertainment industry studies, and is actively working towards pursuing her dream of working in the music industry. The scholarship will provide Vaus with more than $40,000 in scholarship funds beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year.
Originally from San Diego, Vaus was inspired toward music early on from her father, Grammy-winning artist, Steve Vaus (also known as Buck Howdy.) She has opened for Hunter Hayes, Lonestar, Billy Ray Cyrus, LeAnn Womack and Phil Vassar, and made her Bluebird Cafe debut in February. Vaus is currently a junior at Belmont, majoring in songwriting with a minor in music business.
Lambert established the Women Creators scholarship in an effort to encourage outstanding women to follow their passions and pursue careers in the music industry. Eighty candidates completed an online application and submitted original music. The Curb College had a selection committee review the applications and the top six finalists were sent for Lambert’s review.
AmericanaFest Announces Radio Panels
Americana Music Festival & Conference has announced is initial lineup of radio panels. Panels will focus on topics including making a transition from Americana to AAA, AMA chart mechanics, attracting younger audiences to Americana radio, managing volunteers, adapting to the digital delivery of music and working with on-air programming software options.
An additional panel will focus on how radio stations can partner with local and online retail to spread their brands. The Songlines Music Meeting will allow attendees to participate in a simulated Music Meeting, to listen to a dozen mostly yet-to-be-released new songs that the room will score and discuss in detail. Radio, TV, and internet programmers will discuss why they make the choices they make.
AmericanaFest will take place Sept. 20-25 in Nashville. To register, visit eventbrite.com.
Silverado Records Signs Melissa Mickelson
Melissa Mickelson
Silverado Records has signed Melissa Mickelson. The label will re-release her 2015 self-titled EP, which features a rendition of the Barbara Mandrell classic “I Was Country (When Country Wasn’t Cool).” A new EP is slated to release in 2017.
“Melissa is an incredibly fun and energetic personality, and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know her,” said Silverado Records A&R Director Aaron Chesling. “We can’t wait to share with you some new music she’s been working on, and letting her amazing personality bubble through the music,” he added.
“Melissa’s next project is setting up to be a very fun and realistic look at who she is as a person, and we couldn’t be more excited about that,” said Silverado Records CEO Scott Thomas. “The more you get to know her, the more you want to hang out with her and hear what she’s working on musically. Our team is very excited to be a part of growing her fan base and sharing some great Country music from her,” he said.
Mickelson added, ”I am so excited to join the Silverado Records family! It is a dream come true to have found a place where I can be myself and allow my music to reflect who I really am. They’re an amazing team of people who believe in me. Working together, I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Category: Artist, Featured, Organizations, Radio
About the Author
Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.View Author Profile
