Vanderbilt Star
Thursday, March 13, 2014
6:00 PM
Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts
2400 Blakemore Ave, Nashville, TN 37212
A Vanderbilt songwriting star will be born on Thursday, March 13 at 6:00PM. Next Steps at Vanderbilt will host Vanderbilt Star, an American Idol-inspired fundraiser with Vanderbilt singer/songwriters performing at this live concert event. Four talented songwriting judges from the music industry will narrow the contestants to their top three choices and the audience will then vote to determine the first, second, and third place winners!
The winner of the competition will receive a single song recording contract and/or publishing agreement from Nashville's premier indie label and entertainment company, Lamon Records!
Purchase your tickets in advance to receive the early bird discount.
$10 in advance, $15 at the door for Vanderbilt students
$15 in advance, $20 at the door for the public
Tickets are also available online from Ticketmaster Buy Tickets
Tickets are also available at the Sarratt Box Office located at 2302 Vanderbilt Place Suite 100, also accepts Commodore Cards.
Proceeds benefit Next Steps at Vanderbilt, a 2-year postsecondary education program on Vanderbilt’s campus for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Vanderbilt Star judges include:
Lauren Lucas. Lucas is a Tony and ACM nominated singer/songwriter. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Lucas moved to Nashville in 1999 to attend Belmont University. Upon her graduation, she recorded a project for Warner Bros. Records and was nominated as one of Covergirl Cosmetics Fresh Faces of Country Music. In 2007, she released an independent EP, "If I Was Your Girl," which garnered her critical praise as "One of the Top 5 Women Giving Mainstream Music A Good Name" by the Nashville Scene, and caught the attention of Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley. She has been a staff writer for Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Eleven Eleven Music Group, and has recently begun spearheading the southeast business development division for Kidbilly Music, a corporate team building company. Lucas serves on the Board of Directors for NSAI, is a Jr. Board member of Women In Numbers, and has joined the Leadership Music class of 2014.
Kelleigh Bannen. Bannen is aNashville native and EMI Records country artist who recently released the dynamic single, “Famous.” Delivered with style and attitude, “Famous” takes a fresh approach and puts a playful, karmic spin on the familiar “somebody-done-somebody-wrong” country song. Bannen owns a unique blend of country music storytelling with edge and incorporates the high energy of her live show into all tracks on her forthcoming 2014 album.
Bannen was recently named one of CMT’s “Next Women of Country,” revealing there is much more to come from this vibrant performer.
Gary Harrison. Harrison is a Grammy Award-nominated songwriter, with a long-term, global co-publishing agreement with Famous Music. Harrison is the author of several country hits including George Strait's "I Hate Everything" and Deana Carter's "Strawberry Wine." His songs have also been cut by artists including Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Trisha Yearwood, Emmylou Harris, and Martina McBride. Harrison also served as senior director of A&R at Mercury Records in Nashville from 1994-2001.
Michael White. White is an American country music artist and the son of songwriter L.E. White, who has written for Conway Twitty. White had a song he wrote recorded when he was still a teenager. “You Make It Hard To Take The Easy Way Out" appeared on the B-side to Conway Twitty's hit “You’ve Never Been This Far Before”. He was later signed to Reprise Records in 1992, releasing his debut album Familiar Ground that year. This album produced three chart singles for him on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, including the No. 32 "Professional Fool." White also was a writer on "Rock-a-Bye Heart" for Dana McVicker, "Fighting Fire with Fire" for Davis Daniel, "Loving Every Minute" for Mark Wills, and "The Baby" for Blake Shelton. "Loving Every Minute" and "The Baby" both earned White ASCAP awards for being among the most performed country songs of the year, in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
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Last Updated: 3/11/2014 8:13:41 AM
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