NashvilleGab - Country music news and Nashville celebrity gossip

Taylor Swift to be honored by Kennedy family for her commitment to social change

Taylor Swift must have made quite the impression on the Kennedy family on the 4th of July because now word comes that the closest thing America has to Royalty will be honoring Taylor this December at a high-priced black-tie event in New York.

According ABS-CBN News, Taylor will be honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights for her "commitment to social change" and will receive the center's Ripple of Hope Award.  

The black-tie dinner will take place December 3 in New York and will be hosted by Alec Baldwin.  

"Taylor Swift's dedication to advocacy at such a young age continues to inspire me, and I'm delighted to honor her as one of our 2012 Ripple of Hope Award recipients," the center's president Kerry Kennedy said in a statement.

She cited Swift's support for arts education and disaster-stricken communities, "and especially the compassion she's shown as a proud defender against bullying and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) discrimination," as the motivations for the prize.

"As a young person, Taylor has already accomplished so much, and I look forward to watching all that she will do to help build a brighter, more peaceful world for us all."

A spokeswoman for the center said that the Ripple of Hope Award "lauds leaders of the international business, entertainment, and activist communities who demonstrate commitment to social change."

Past winners of the award include U2 front man Bono, actor George Clooney, and Al Gore.

Fans can buy tickets to the dinner, although you may need to be in a higher tax bracket if you're planning to -- tickets run $1,500 for a single guest up to $250,000 for two seats at the head table plus a "premium table" for 10.  Tickets can be purchased on the EventBrite website. 

Brantley Gilbert scores more gold (from the mailbag)

The Valory Music Co. proudly announces a second consecutive #1 hit with “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” for breakout sensation Brantley Gilbert. The GOLD-certified ballad shows a softer side of Country music’s newest bad boy and continues a winning streak set late last year with his first #1 – the GOLD-certified, fist-pumping “Country Must Be Country Wide.”

With his rough-and-tough exterior and moments of vulnerability when referencing the fairer sex, it’s clear why Gilbert has such mass appeal to a variety of fans. Recently, he was also named “Country Music’s Most Eligible Bachelor” in a Taste Of Country poll – besting Kenny Chesney, Chris Young and Scotty McCreery – nabbing the title with over 30% of the votes.

“Man I can’t believe it; this is just so amazing … what an incredible ride this past year has been! I can’t begin to thank everyone involved enough,” said Gilbert. “Thanks so much to Country radio, my management team, the great folks at Valory and most importantly the BG Nation; we are here because of you.”

Later this month, Gilbert will share the third single from his GOLD-certified album, HALFWAY TO HEAVEN. Proving to be a fan favorite, “Kick It In The Sticks,” has surpassed 11.2 million views on YouTube. The hitmaker is currently playing the tune while on tour with Toby Keith.

For tour dates and more, visit facebook.com/BrantleyGilbertMusic/app_123966167614127.

The USO creates special photo page to document Kellie Pickler's 5th USO tour for the troops

Pickler poses fo a photo with troops stationed at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. (USO Photo by Steve Manuel)

Oh Kellie Pickler, I love you.  Seriously, what a good gal she is.  

After performing two USO shows to celebrate Memorial Day weekend, Kellie set off on her newest week-long USO tour to entertain troops overseas.  This is Kellie's 5th USO tour and will have her visiting two countries in eight days and performing a total of five shows.

Kellie says about her many trips, "The USO tours I’ve been part of have definitely been the highlight of my career and my life. It has been the most impactful, life-changing thing I’ve been able to do."

The USO is so happy with Kellie's devotion, that they've set up a special Flickr page so that fans can follow along with Kellie's adventures.  

For good measure, here's a pic for the boys (and a few girls too, I'm sure).

Kellie Pickler performs the tour's first USO show for service men and women stationed at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. (USO Photo by Steve Manuel)

Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors heads to The Library of Congress (press release)

Last night I was all set to write about Dolly's song Coat of Many Colors being added to The Library of Congress, but I procrastinated and look what happened -- someone wrote a nice little press release about it and saved me the trouble of writing it for myself. 

Love when that happens.  Now here's the press release.....

Dolly Parton’s self-penned song “Coat of Many Colors” added to The Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Each year the Library of Congress selects 25 recordings that are “historically”, “culturally”, or “aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old to be added to the National Recording Registry, with selections that are being added to the registry now bringing the total number of recordings to 350.

 

I'm so proud....Idaho gets its very own Dolly Parton

Dolly the red panda photo via KTVB/Zoo Boise

Dolly Parton seems a very popular person for people to name things after.  She has a rose named after her, Jerry O'Connell (Kangaroo Jack) and his lovely actress/model wife Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) named one of their twins after Dolly, the very first cloned sheep was named in her honor, and now Boise, Idaho has a Dolly to call its own. 

Zoo Boise, located in the heart of Idaho's capital, has just been gifted two red pandas from the Knoxville Zoo as part of a breeding program, and one of the cute critters is named for the lovely Dolly Parton.

Dolly (named after Dolly Parton) and Winston were brought to Boise from the Knoxville Zoo as part of a breeding program for selected endangered or threatened species. Winston and Dolly are 11 months old which is adulthood for Red Pandas. Both were featured on the Mozilla Firefox's online red panda camera in 2011. 

Yes, it's the little things that make me happy.  

Lady Antebellum are helping out with the greatest birthday in the history of the world!

Do you know what today is?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS?!?

It just happens to be the greatest day ever - it is the 100th birthday of the humble and yet awesome Oreo cookie.  

Let's have a moment of silence to give thanks for whatever kitchen madman happened to invent these yummy little nuggets of chocolatey, vanilla frosting cookie goodness.

And because this is a country website, we should probably tie some country folks into this celebration.  Enter Lady Antebellum who are getting into the spirit of the cookie birthday this week. From their website:

Magic happened on March 6, 1912 when two decoratively embossed chocolate-flavored biscuits met up with a rich crème filling: OREO was born! In honor of this delicious milestone, the World’s Favorite Cookie is on a mission to reignite the spirit of childhood by celebrating the kid inside all of us. The world’s favorite cookie invites fans from around the world to “Celebrate the Kid Inside” with every TWIST, LICK AND DUNK.

And starting this week, Lady A will be part of very special promotion to help spread the celebration of OREO's milestone. Stay tuned for a surprise announcement tomorrow on Lady A's Facebook and Twitter pages to see how you can be a part of OREO's big birthday with Lady A! 

The special announcement should actually be taking place today since the above announcement was from yesterday, so be sure to check back here later or check out LadyAntebellum.com to find out what the big announcement is.  

Newest Country Music Hall of Fame inductees announced

Congratulations to Garth Brooks who is one of the newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.  

It was announced today in a news conference held at the HOF Museum in Nashville that Garth along with singer Connie Smith, who is married to Marty Stuart, and keyboard player Hargus "Pig" Robbins are the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Garth, who is being inducted in the Modern Era Artist category, said, "I am astounded and honored to be in the Country Music Hall of Fame. At the same time, I can't help but feel guilty going in when there are so many deserving artists that came before me who are yet to be inducted."

No date for the induction ceremony has been announced yet.  

Sugarland's Kristian Bush honored by former school

Photo via Avon Old Farms

Congrats to Kristian Bush who was honored on March 2nd by his former high school Avon Old Farms with it's Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2012.  Kristian took time from his busy schedule to blog about the experience. 

Last week I took my son to my chilly, snow-covered, Hogwarts-looking alma mater, Avon Old Farms, and humbly accepted an alumni award for achievement in music. I'm honored to be joining the legendary activist and songwriter Pete Seeger as a recipient of this award. I was also honored to meet the next generation of musicians and singers from an amazing school. 

Sometimes the world can surprise you when you least expect it. A boy from the Tennessee mountains can end up in boarding school in Connecticut, and try to find his way through the hallways and dormitories that have brought us some of the best hockey players on earth. Whoever thought that I would have gone to school with New York Rangers star Brian Leetch, and 25 years later they'd be giving me an award? I couldn't be more proud of the human spirit of educators who are willing to grow their schools to fit the children who go there. May there be more people like this. -k

Read an article from the local paper and learn more about Kristian's visit to Avon Old Farms here.

Check out the great photo album of the event here. 

Vince Gill is now an honorary narcotics officer....let the concert arresting commence

Photo via VolunteerTV.com

Country stars have a habit of throwing rowdy fans out of concerts, but wouldn't it be fun if a singer could just arrest rowdy fans instead of simply tossing them out of their shows? 

Well Vince Gill may possibly (but probably not) get that chance someday.  

Recently Vince was presented with a McMinn Co. (Tennessee) Sheriff's badge and was sworn in as an honorary narcotics officer.  

While Gill may probably not be arresting people and sending them to Tennessee drug abuse centers, his honorary badge gives the fight against drugs in the area a famous face.

The appointment by Sheriff Joe Guy aims to raise awareness about the drug problems in McMinn Co. and Southeast Tennessee.

“Vince’s outstanding character makes him a perfect celebrity candidate for this appointment,” said Guy. “His stance on drug abuse and his charity work go hand in hand.”

The Grammy-award winning performer was given a silver badge with his name engraved on it and a framed oath of office at a recent charity concert for the Chattanooga Children's Advocacy Center.

“I’ve never used drugs, and never had those types of problems,” said Gill. “If I had, my daddy would have killed me.”

I'm pretty sure honorary cops don't actually get to make arrests, but it's fun to think of Vince handcuffing and arresting some poor rowdy sap at a concert just for the hell of it. 

Taylor Swift to get an award for being a harmonious spirit

Do you suppose Taylor Swift ever gets tired of being honored?  

Hey, it's a valid question.  I mean, after the whirlwind couple of years she's had do you ever think Taylor wishes she could just sit one out?  Stay home, pop some popcorn, watch some DVDs and let everyone else do the dressing up?

Yeah, probably not.  Which is a good thing since she's getting ready to be honored once again.  

Broadway World is reporting that Ms. Swift will be honored this year with the 2011 Harmony Award, an award that the Nashville Symphony presents to an individual who exemplifies the harmonious spirit of Nashville's thriving musical community.  

"We are proud to call our home Music City, and Taylor Swift is the perfect person to receive this award, because she has contributed so tremendously to promoting this amazing community of which we are all a part," says Nashville Symphony CEO and President Alan Valentine. "From classical to country to pop, a wide variety of genres of music thrive in Nashville, and Swift embodies the all-encompassing spirit that makes our city such a uniquely special place."

Past recipients of the Harmony Award include Amy Grant, LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, Martina McBride, and Carrie Underwood among others.  

Taylor will receive her prestigious honor at the 27th annual Symphony Ball on Saturday, December 10, 2011, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.