Tropical weekend!

Okay, maybe not so tropical in the Ozarks but any time you're at a Kelly McGuire concert, you can't help but hear the waves crashing, feel the sand between your toes and join the party.

Kelly keeps busy performing music while enjoying some of the most beautiful places on earth you'd ever want to visit. One of those is Belize.  On one trip to Belize, he caught the attention of Mark Roberts and Dean Hollis, founders of DiVentrues Swim and Scuba Diving School. They enjoyed Kelly's music so much, he's become a regular part of the DiVentures grand openings and anniversary events.

I caught up with Kelly at the grand opening of the DiVentures location in Springfield MO on Saturday. What a blast! The staff were great to work with, helping me to connect with Kelly, providing me with an interview area and making sure I had everything I needed. Special thank you to Mark Haggart, General Manager, for all of his assistance.

A couple of local musicians, David Wilson and George Horne, were happy to join Kelly, who is formerly from the Springfield area. They are part of local group, The Undergrass Boys

David Wilson

George Horne

Kelly with Finny the Shark

Closing out the night!

 I'll be sharing my interview (thanks Kelly!) in a couple of days. In the mean time, head on over to his website and check out the video of Ambergris Caye, from his Boat in Belize CD. You'll be making joining Kelly for his Birthday Bash in Belize. In case you need to make reservations, it takes place over the course of two weeks from January 28th - February 12th.

Country Blessings!

Looking for a great place to eat?

You'll find it at Our Place Cafe in Hendersonville TN. Joe Perricone and his staff offer up the best in Southern food cafeteria-style.

Joe, himself, greeted me when I walked in. (how often does that happen where you go?) He made me feel right at home and didn't have a problem with me just wanting a cold drink and a place to collect my thoughts while I killed some time.

I hate traffic in big cities so when my interview with James Williams ended at 4 p.m., I knew I did NOT want back out on I-65 until after rush hour. I took a leisurely drive around Hendersonville then went back to Our Place Cafe to sample the food. I had a fried chicken breast, chicken gravy (with big chunks of chicken) over cornbread stuffing and a dinner roll. Oh man! If you get nothing else off the menu at Our Place Cafe, get a roll... or three! They are warm from the steamer and what sinking your teeth into a cloud might be like. YUM!

Since I was again killing time, I enjoyed a piece of Pecan Pie. Some of their baked goods are from a bakery but they try to do as much as they can on-site and, like all their foods, made from scratch.

Next time you're around the Nashville area, take a drive up to Hendersonville for lunch. The food and the hospitality are worth the trip! Make note they are CLOSED on the weekend. But they're open until 8 p.m. during the week.

They also offer catering and banquet services to meet every price range and occasion. Your gathering will be a favorite memory.

The Winners!

Well, in my book nominated or not, you're a winner for all you do to support and showcase Texas music.

That said, the 10th Annual Texas Music Awards took place last Saturday in Linden TX... the official home of the Texas Music Triangle. Aside from an awesome line-up of nominations, there was plenty of great music to be heard. The links below will take you to the artists' webpage. In some cases, you'll also have a link to their My Texas Music page where you can listen to snippets of their music and order their albums. You can also go to My Texas Music, look up the artist by the alphabetical list and it will take you to their MTM page.

Here are the award recipients this year:

Male Vocalist: Dave Fenley

Female Vocalist: Pauline Reese

Duo of the Year: ShAnnie

Vocal Group: Brad Dunn and Ellis County

Rising Star Award: Brad Boyer

Band Musician: Coby Tate (guitar) for his performance on 'There is No Fun in Funeral'

Studio Musician: Brad Davis - multiple instruments

Live Band: Sammy Fox and The Intervention

Song of the Year: Monahans (Justin Haigh- People Like Me)

Singer/ Songwriter: Michael Hearne

Record of the Year: All My Best Friends (are behind bars) Justin Haigh

Album of the Year: Good to See You (Scotty Thurman & The Perfect Trouble Band)

Entertainer of the Year: Pauline Reese

Disc Jockey: Roark Smith (KPFT-90.1 Houston)

Broadcast Radio Station: KHYI 95.3 The Range - Dallas TX

Popular Cover: "Minnie the Moocher" (off High Price of Low Livin) Randy Brown

Award of Distinction: Learning as I Go- Michael O'Neal

Artistic Excellence: Jean Synodinos, Casey Hubble, Lou Ann Petty

Historical Significance: Jim Stricklan

My Texan: Mark Allan Atwood, Brian Kalinec

Palmwood: Dillon Steen

Gone to Texas Award: Slim Bawb

Congratulations to all the nominees! A BIG Texas Thank You to everyone who played a part in making sure the 10th Annual Texas Music Awards was everything it should be and more.

I'll be off the next couple of weeks spending time with my granddaughter but will be back here on April 16th to kick off spotlights on some of the artists we didn't get to meet prior to the TMAs.

Country Blessings!

The Results are In!

And although I don't have a full list yet, I can tell you (according to her tweets) our Female Vocalist of the Year is Pauline Reese.

It looks like Linden TX was the place to be last night. I'll be back in on Monday for our own After-Party!

Today's the Day!

Good morning, everyone!

Today's the Day! The Texas Music Barn as well as the Bowie- Cass stage on the corner of Kaufmann and Rush streets on the square, and the Tin Star Stage will be showcasing awesome Texas talent and handing out awards.

Pauline Reese has already been tweeting. You can hook up with Pauline or John Arthur Martinez on twitter. I'm sure they'll be keeping us posted on the day's events.

If you're lucky enough to be attending the festivities today, I'd appreciate tweets. Circumstances beyond my control prevent me from attending this year, and I'm pretty bummed. So I'm counting on all of you to make me feel as if I'm there!

Good Luck to all of our nominees and we'll see you Monday with the results

Country Blessings!

Entertainer of the Year Nominee- John Arthur Martinez

I've already told you about Pauline Reese, one of the nominees for Entertainer of the Year. So for our final nominee in this category, we look to Marble Falls, TX.

I’ve been hearing the name John Arthur Martinez for years. Among the many who have played weekend gigs with Mike Blakely, John was the first name I came to know. Aside from the two of them doing an album together back in 2007, ‘Blakely-Martinez’, they’ve also appeared on ‘A Texas Hill-Country Christmas’ and ‘Austin’s WB – Holiday Songs Benefiting the Austin Children’s Center’.

John Arthur Martinez has a velvet tone to his voice. The lyrics wash over you, creating a sense of peace. Whenever I hear him sing, I want to be sitting next to a camp fire somewhere with friends. Where the stars shine bright above, the beer is cold and the music makes you content to be just where you are… in that moment.

John made his first appearance in 2005, winning Record of the Year (‘Home Made of Stone’). The song can be found on his ‘Lone Starry Night’ album, which also features ‘The Armadillo Song’ – the official song of MTM Armadillo eZine. He was also nominated for Entertainer of the Year.

He took home the Entertainer of the Year award in 2006 beating out, among others, his buddy Mike. In 2008, John and Mike were nominated as Vocal Duo/ Group for their ‘Blakely-Martinez’ album. Another nomination was not forthcoming until 2010, when he won Record of the Year for ‘Utopia’, from his ‘Purgatory Road’ LP.

This year he’s back in the Entertainer of the Year category and up against Mike. Will this year be a repeat of 2006 for John? Whatever the outcome, I know one thing for certain. We are going to be enjoying his music for a long time.

Country Blessings!

Entertainer of the Year Nominee - Susan Gibson

Susan Gibson knows how to write a song. The CMA award-winning songwriter (“Wide Open Spaces” by the Dixie Chicks spent 4 weeks at the top of the country charts) has spent the past fourteen years playing and promoting the Texas- Americana- Folk music she loves with her own personal style.

She also knows how to sing them. Her debut album, Tightrope, features songwriting pairing such as the ever-talented Michael Hearne. Both Susan and Michael are also nominated for Singer/ Songwriter of the Year as well as Song of the Year for ‘Evergreen’. Susan has a unique quality to her voice. It’s a tone you think you can place yet it’s uniquely her own.

Producers seem to have fallen into a rut of putting out what they think they can sell. They give you a ‘canned’ voice. Where it seems as if every female voice on the radio sounds like the one played before. This is not true of Susan. It’s refreshing to know when you hear a Susan Gibson song on the radio you’ll know by the voice – not the name of the song – who you’re listening to.

I will be surprised if this multi-talented woman doesn’t walk away with at least one award on Saturday night. Good Luck, Susan!

Country Blessings