Sugarland photo by Kate Powers, courtesy of UMG Nashville.
Each week country music expert Neil Haislop answers your questions!
Q: I’m absolutely mesmerized by Sugarland, Little Big Town and Jake Owen's "Life In A Northern Town." Will they ever do another song together? I play it all the time. It is truly amazing that they all sing so well together.
(Jan, Carson City, NV)
A: Jan, if you like that song, buy, download or otherwise archive that amazing musical event. That’s because it was a one-of-a-kind happening. It came about because this group of artists was on tour together. And, because of an amazing videographer, they decided to record a video of their truly unique version of this song.
Will they do it again? That’s unlikely because, like galaxies in the universe, they’re all moving forward on different paths that may never bring them back together again for a similar event.
Q: How can the CMA, for the second consecutive year, leave Sara Evans out of the female vocalist of the year award? Sara really deserves more recognition than she gets and it is baffling to me as to why the CMA awards fail to give her a nomination.
(Robert, Charlotte, NC)
A: Robert, I wrote Sara Evans' bio for her first CD back in 1997, so you’re preaching to the choir. But, as Sara made professional and personal changes in her career and life in the last year or so, she has not scored any big hits or hit albums. So, based on last year’s album and chart profile, Sara has been relatively quiet and not really in contention for the big awards. But given her exciting life changes and positive career ambitions, I look forward to big things happening for Sara Evans in 2009.
Q: I’m starting a South Carolina school Josh Turner fan club and would like to know how to apply for upcoming contests and/or the Josh Turner School of Arts for our school. Please advise.
(Lorelei, Hanahan, SC)
A: Good for you Lorelei. I checked joshturner.com and found an address for his foundation. You may find out all you need by checking in with his site or write to the Foundation:
The Josh Turner Fund for the Arts, a component fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee; P.O. Box 440225; Nashville, TN; 37244.
Q: I really like the new song by Lonestar, "Let Me Love You." Do you know when the CD will be coming out?
(Roxanne, Minneapolis, MN)
A: Roxanne, according to Lonestar, they haven’t set a release date for the album, The Future. Here’s what they say on their website: "We have delayed the release of this CD because we are working on a big announcement that involves our music and how it gets distributed to you, the fans. This means the music will not be available until after the first of the year. We have another big surprise in the works too, so hang on and thank you for your patience."
Q: This year, I've recently noticed that more and more artists like Lady Antebellum and Chuck Wicks sell their CDs at the merchandise booths at their shows. Do the CDs sold at the shows count towards the album's sales total that Billboard uses for their charts?
(Aaron, Mesa, AZ)
A: Aaron, the only practical way to measure record sales is to count product sold only at standard retail outlets. It would be too difficult to track and officially calculate the sales of merchandise sold on location by every band roaming the back roads and highways of America.
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