IFCO Center Stage Star Search Show
When: Friday, May 20th (7:00 PM)
Where: Texas Troubadour Theater (Music Valley Drive) • Nashville, TN
Come Join Us! No Admission. No Cover Charge. Plenty of Free Parking.On Stage
Austin Cody - Waldorf, Maryland. First CD "Destination You" released February 2004. Appeared in the television series, "The District." Opened for Gretchen Wilson during her Redneck Woman Tour.
Leah Durelle - St. Albert, Alberta. Third CD "Imagine This" (recorded in Nashville)
available now. New single, "God Loves It When We Dance." Appeared on Great American Country; opens for Tanya Tucker at the lifeoptions.com Trade Show May 6 in Fargo, ND.
Tresa Street - Gallatin, Tennessee. Latest single, "Rockin' A Baby" from her "Ain't Nothin' Changed" CD.
week of CMA Music Festival in June - Will appear in her booth (#620), host her Fan Club Party and more.
Taylor Ware - Franklin, Tennesee. Has achieved monumental success with her singing and yodeling at only 10 years old. She has performed (three times) on the Grand Ole Opry, won the National Yahoo! Yodel Challenge held in New York City and appeared in a Yahoo television ad.
Special Guest Performance:
Damon Smith was a contestant in the very first IFCO Center Stage Star Search in 1999. We are delighted that he will be there on May 20th for a very special guest performance!
Born and raised in a funeral home in Oklahoma, the radio was as true as it could get for Damon. I always felt like my life was missing something, that was until Christmas day in 1994, when I received my 1st guitar. I took that guitar back to college and taught myself to play and sing," says Singer/Songwriter/Producer Damon Smith. "I started playing the local Opry/Club circuit, while attaining a Marketing degree from the University of Oklahoma. Then on graduation day in 1997, I packed up my truck and moved to Nashville." Damon and his band maintain with a busy travel schedule (more than 150 shows a year).
Kim McLean - Current single, "Like An Eagle," a duet with Dolly Parton. Kim is is a Dove award-winning songwriter with more than 200 songs recorded by artists like Shana Morrison, Tim McGraw, Lee Ann Womack and Trisha Yearwood. She wrote the international anthem of missions for the Nazarene Church (translated into 126 languages); composed songs used in the children's "Rumpabump" line of toys (toys play her music). Was selected by Sony Nashville for a recording session demonstration for House Majority Leader, Senator Bill Frist and a group of Senators, lobbyists, and government officials to promote payment of musicians, singers, and songwriters through legislative protection. Her music was used in the independent Christian film, "Silent Witness," and in the film, "Black Cloud" (w/Tim McGraw and Rick Schroeder). Her song, "Beautiful Goodbye," recorded by Jennifer Hanson (Capitol Records) received an ASCAP award for most performed songs of the last year. She has also produced acts for Capitol, Sony, Warner Brothers, and Curb.
Winners of the IFCO Center Stage Star Search were named during a live stage performance on Friday (5/20) at the Ernest Tubb Texas Troubadour Theater in Nashville.
Judges scored each contestant in three distinct categories including: Vocal (range, quality, delivery); Visual (stage presence, overall appearance, stage entrance/exit); Miscellaneous (overall response, speaking, potential). Winner, Austin Cody (Waldorf, Maryland); Runner-up Leah Durelle (St. Albert, Alberta); with Tresa Street (Gallatin, Tennessee) and Taylor Ware (Franklin, Tennessee) in third-place tie. All four Center Stage contestants will perform during the IFCO Show on June 7th at the Ryman Auditorium and the Shindig (Party & Show) on June 10th.
Judging the competition was an impressive panel of music industry professionals:
• Robert Colson - Recording artist, Actor, Journalist, Music Critic, TV Producer, Script Writer and Air personality on Armed Forces Network Radio & Television; and produced benefit concerts for Emmylou Harris.
• Linda Dotson - Former teen singer who switched to behind-the-scenes as a writer, agent, music publisher and manager of some of the entertainment's best-known names of Music, Film and Television.
• Phil Sweetland - Has written some 60 articles about country music and radio for The New York Times and is a contributing editor for American Songwriter magazine. Has played piano since age 3 and professionally since age 11; one of the only journalists in Nashville who is also a working studio and road musician. Songwriter with cuts by Travis Tritt and Michael Peterson.
• Summer Harman - Currently serves as Director of Publicity for Broken Bow Records in Nashville, where she handles publicity, media marketing, artist development and creative direction for artists including Craig Morgan, Jason Aldean, Lila McCann, Megan Mullins, Fidel Hernandez, Chad Austin, Robert Lee, Sherrié Austin and Joe Diffie. Prior to that, she held the position of Head of Publicity for DreamWorks Records Nashville where she created and implemented publicity campaigns for Toby Keith, Darryl Worley, Jimmy Wayne, Jessica Andrews, Emerson Drive, Scotty Emerick and Tracy Lawrence. An active member of the ACM, CMA and NARAS, serves on the CMA Marketing & Publicity Committee, the T.J. Martell Foundation artist relations committee and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation Board of Directors.Center Stage contestants will perform at the IFCO Shindig on June 10th at Texas Troubadour Theater!
This page last updated
Thursday, July 19, 2007
