blog post The week in country music: June 15, 2012

Carrie Underwood comes out in support of same-sex marriage

Carrie Underwood says she can’t imagine how it would feel to not be able to marry the person she loves. Underwood, in an interview with The Independent newspaper in England, says “we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.” Underwood feels strongly about gay marriage because of her Christian faith. “God wanted us to love others,” Underwood said, adding that it’s not up to her to “judge anybody.” 

Capital Hoedown finds new venue

Capital Hoedown organizers have found a new site for the music festival. It has chosen a ranch in Stittsville. The City of Ottawa had denied the festival the right to use Walter Baker Park in Kanata, where the festival was held last year, after organizers failed to pay $150,000 to rent the venue. The festival suffered another blow when Revenue Canada claimed a $72,000 deposit the city tried to return to Hoedown organizers. The dissolution of the former partnership for the festival had led to a delay in filing with the CRA in 2011, hence the deposit being handed straight from the city to Revenue Canada.

The Hoedown is still undergoing a revamp in the lineup as a number of high-profile performers have pulled out, including Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Terri Clark and Sheryl Crow.

Glen Campbell releases farewell video

Glen Campbell has released his video for “A Better Place.” The 76-year-old singer, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, is seen flipping through photographs in this poignant song. The video also features Josh Homme, a friend of Campbell’s and the leader of the band Queens of the Stone Age. “A Better Place” is off Campbell’s final studio album, Ghost on the Canvas. Campbell, who appeared last month on Capitol Hill to urge more research on Alzheimer’s, is currently on his “Goodbye Tour.” The tour will end later this year.

Auction of Les Paul items raises $5 million

The sale of Les Paul’s guitars and recording gear has brought in $5 million. The money raised will go to a foundation in Paul’s name that will benefit music education, engineering and innovation. Julien’s Auctions oversaw the sale. Paul’s 1951 Fender Nocaster sold for $216,000, when it was expected to achieve $60,000. A 1982 Gibson Les Paul went for $180,000. His recording console netted $106,250, and Paul’s research papers reached $28,000 on the auction block.

Kenny Chesney to perform a live-streamed concert

Kenny Chesney will perform a concert in Wildwood, N.J., in front of 20,000 fans on June 20. The concert will also be available as an online broadcast, directed by Jonathan Demme, an Oscar-winning director best known for his work on Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia. The concert’s part of the music series “American Express Unstaged.” Fans will be able to watch live, or view it for 12 hours afterwards on YouTube. It will also be available through VEVO’s mobile apps. The concert will be live streamed at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT here (www.YouTube.com/KennyChesneyVEVO). Chesney released his latest album, Welcome to the Fishbowl, this week.

CMA Music Festival achieves new attendance record

Some 71,000 fans visited the 2012 CMA Music Festival each day, up 9.2 per cent from last year and setting a new record. The festival ran from June 7 to June 10 in Nashville, Tenn. Expanded seating for the nightly concerts and mild temperatures brought more people to the events, according to the organizers. Visitors came from all over North America and overseas as well, including Australia, Chile, China, South Africa and Europe.

Brad Paisley honoured with CMA International Artist Achievement Award

Brad Paisley was recognized at the CMA Music Festival with the International Artist Achievement Award. The honour was bestowed on Paisley to recognize his role as an ambassador for country music around the world. Paisley has performed in Europe, Japan and Canada since 2000.