CRB-Country Aircheck Awards To Be Presented Between Performances

(Nashville, TN – Dec. 14, 2009) Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has announced the performers for the CRS 2010 New Faces of Country Music Show® to be held Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.

This year’s performers are:
Gloriana (Emblem Records)
Randy Houser (Universal South)
Love and Theft (Lyric Street)
Justin Moore (Valory Music Co.)
Chris Young (RCA)

The New Faces of Country Music Show (co-sponsored by the Country Music Association) is one of the most anticipated events of the annual Country Radio Seminar.  Five emerging artists that have achieved significant success at Country radio during the qualification period are selected to perform at the event, held in the CMA Performance Hall.  Each act plays a 20-minute set during the show, which officially closes CRS every year.

“The CRS New Faces show is a great way to stay ahead of the curve and see tomorrow’s stars today,” says CRB President Becky Brenner. “Artists like Taylor Swift, Sugarland, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban were all New Faces performers at one time, and that’s only in the last decade!”

The inaugural CRB-Country Aircheck Awards will also be presented at this year’s New Faces show. The awards recognize those individuals that have demonstrated outstanding efforts in the Country radio and music industries in the past year.  A total of 28 awards will be presented between performances.

Country radio registrants who attended the previous year’s Country Radio Seminar select the New Faces of Country Music Show artists.  The Nashville-based firm of Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc. validates the voting process.

About CRS:
The Country Radio Seminar is an annual convention designed to educate and promote the exchange of ideas in the country music industry.  Country Radio Seminar is a registered trademark of Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.  CRS 2010 will be held Feb. 24-26, 2010 in Nashville, Tenn.  Advance Rate registration expires Dec. 18 and is currently available online at www.CRB.org or by contacting the Country Radio Broadcasters at 615-327-4487. Follow CRS 2010 on Facebook, or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/OfficialCRS.

About CRB:
The Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. ® is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization founded in 1969 to bring radio broadcasters from around the world together with the Country Music Industry to ensure vitality and promote growth in the Country Radio format.  More information may be obtained at: www.CRB.org or at the CRB office at 615-327-4487.

Plus Special Guests GAC Host Nan Kelley and Wounded Warriors Joe Bowser and Scott Lilley After School Special divx

Spartan download

(Nashville, Tenn.) Oct. 14, 2009 – Craig Morgan, Chris Young, and GAC host Nan Kelley are joining forces with Stars for Stripes (SFS), Great American Country (GAC) and Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) to bring hard-working service members overseas a much-needed taste of home.

Body Parts film

Halloween: 25 Years of Terror video

The Stars for Stripes tour will visit military bases and hospitals in Iraq and Germany this month for a series of acoustic concerts, courtesy of RCA recording artist Chris Young and BNA recording artist Craig Morgan.  Young is currently celebrating his first No. 1 on the Billboard chart with “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” while Morgan’s “Bonfire” is close behind at No. 12.  GAC host Nan Kelley will serve as guest emcee at each tour stop.

“This will be my sixth trip to entertain and visit with the men and women of the Armed Forces,” says Morgan, who was the first artist to perform on a Stars For Stripes/AFE event in 2003.  “I know firsthand what it’s like to be deployed overseas away from your loved ones, and it’s an honor to be able to take a little piece of home to them with this tour.   It is encouraging to see the advances that have been made over the years in an effort to establish peace and democracy.”

Adds Young, “I have such respect for the men and women of our Armed Forces, and I am very excited to get the opportunity to go visit the troops in Iraq and Germany.  Most people will never have the opportunity to see into their world.  I’m looking forward to seeing it firsthand.  I want to tell people back home how they’re doing, and I hope I’m able to bring a little bit of ‘home’ to the troops.”

The tour will also feature special appearances from two of the Armed Forces’ wounded heroes, SFC Joe Bowser (U.S. Army Retired) and SSGT Scott Lilley (USAF), both of whom were injured overseas in the line of duty.  Bowser is an amputee who was wounded in Iraq in 2004, while Lilley has undergone a remarkable recovery from a traumatic brain injury sustained in Baghdad in 2007.  Both men are committed to returning to the Middle East to show their support for the troops stationed there today.

“My thoughts on returning to Iraq are more than I ever thought they would be.  First, I never thought I would go back to Iraq after I was wounded, but now that I have the chance, I am so excited to go back to where it all started,” says SSGT Lilley.  “I’m a little nervous, but hey, I was nervous about going my first time.  It’s time for some closure after being wounded there, and here it comes.   I am so ready.”

download Michael Adds SFC Bowser, “I was wounded in Balad, Iraq and I would like to walk out this time.  I never felt like I finished my mission and in some way I feel like this trip may change that feeling.   They say after you get bucked off, you have to get back in the saddle.  Well, this is my saddle.”

Nonprofit entertainment organization Stars for Stripes is sponsoring the tour with GAC and Armed Forces Entertainment.  High Five Entertainment will film the trip for a one-hour GAC television special in December documenting the visit.

“What an honor to take a little bit of home to our troops and to travel with some of our wounded heroes,” says GAC’s Nan Kelley.  “I’ve had the privilege of visiting our troops overseas several times, and I am so proud again to be able to say thank you to the brave men and women who are serving us so proudly.”

The artists and crew will depart for Iraq on Oct. 25 aboard a KC135 provided by the 434th Air Refueling Wing out of Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana.

For more information, visit www.StarsForStripes.com.

About Stars for Stripes:
Stars for Stripes (www.StarsForStripes.com) is a nonprofit organization that provides entertainment to internationally deployed American military forces and informs the general public on various aspects of U. S. military history and operations.  Since 2003, Stars for Stripes has produced more than 35 tours to Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea and other foreign countries.

About AFE:
Armed Forces Entertainment (www.ArmedForcesEntertainment.com) and its performers have the honor of supporting soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors by bringing them the very best in American entertainment. Today, AFE hosts over 1,200 shows around the world each year, reaching over 500,000 personnel at 270 military installations. From muddy make-shift stages to show-stopping extravaganzas, the performances bring a piece of home to those stationed far away from home.