SCOTCOUNTRY MUSIC NEWS

The Forth Valley's Country club calender kicks off on Friday March 2nd when Red Canyon are guests at The San Quentin C&W Club at Polmont Golf Club, Maddison , near Falkirk. The following night, Country Blues play for the Prairie Star Club at Weirs Social Club in Alloa. The club have cancelled a planned St.Patrick's night show on the 17th.
Elsewhere this month, No Angels have Clearcut in Boness Town Hall on the 23rd, and The Bootleggers round off the month, with Carson City on the 30th.
Farther afield, dont forget Hal Ketchum, supported by Brendan Quinn at Glasgow's Grand Ole Opry on Sunday March 18th, Charlie Landsborough at Falkirk Town Hall on Friday 16th, Dolly Parton at the Clyde Auditorium on the 23rd, and Kris Kristofferson at The Royal Concert Hall on the 28th, and Edinburgh Playhouse on April 1st.

Nashville's primary outdoor concert venue, Starwood Amphitheatre, has being closed , and the 65-acre property is likely to be sold to a non entertainment company. During the summer touring season, Starwood has regularly presented acts such as Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, Hank Williams Jr., Aerosmith and many others during its 22-year history. Starwood's 2007 season, which included concerts headlined by Charlie Daniels and Brad Paisley, has been canceled.

Brenda Lee will release a new album titled Gospel Duets With Treasured Friends in April. Guests include Dolly Parton, George Jones, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, Kix Brooks, Charlie Daniels, Martina McBride, Ronnie Dunn and Huey Lewis. The collection of well-known hymns and spiritual songs is Lee's first gospel album.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have signed on to perform at the Live Earth concerts created by Nashville 's former presenditial candidate Al Gore (remember, he got more votes than George Bush, but didn't get into office). The concerts will be staged this summer in Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; London; and cities in Japan, Brazil and the U.S.
The worldwide event clashes with T in The Park !

Kenny Chesney discussed his brief marriage to actress Renee Zellweger and confronted gay rumors during a TV interview at the weekend. Chesney denied the rumors by declaring, ""It's not true. Period. Maybe I should have come out and said, `No, I'm not [gay],' but I didn't want to draw any more attention to it. ... I didn't have to prove to anybody that I wasn't. I didn't feel like I really did." The rumors began when Zellweger cited "fraud" as the reason for seeking an annulment of their five-month marriage. After filing for the annulment, Zellweger quickly issued a statement stating that "fraud" was a legal term "and not a reflection of Kenny's character."
Chesney appears in the just published swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated.

Terri Clark filed for divorce from her manager Greg Kaczor on Friday (Feb. 16) in Nashville after 17 months of marriage. They had known each other for 10 years and were married on Sept. 17, 2005."

After several years in the wilderness due their political outburst against Bubba Bush, The Dixie Chicks hit back with 5 Grammy's at last nights ceremony, including Album of the (Taking the Long Way), Record of the Year and Song of the Year (“Not Ready To Make Nice”).
The Chicks also won Grammys for Best Country Album (Taking the Long Way) and Country Performance by a Duo or Group with vocal (Not Ready to Make Nice )
Carrie Underwood won New Artist and Female Country Vocal Performance for "Jesus, Take the Wheel," which also took Country Song honors.
With Vince Gill's Sunday night win for Best Male Country Vocal Performance of “The Reason Why,” he has been awarded more Grammys than any other male country artist in history. 18 all-told
Finally, Country Collaboration With Vocals award went to the non Country Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland.

Brendan Quinn, who supports Hal Ketchum on his Glasgow Opry gig next month has a new DVD released. The DVD is essentially a "Brendan sings Neil Diamond" show, and is backed by son James & The Band. Brendan also appears at the Caithness Festival at Easter.
Aidy Quinn has an excellent new single "Lough Sheelin Side" just released last week. The single was played the night before release on Glasgow's Celtic Music Radio. Aidy has some north of scotland gigs this year, including Wick (March 23rd), Insch(24th), Forres (25th), and later on at Laurencekirk(July 21st), Invergordon (July 22nd) and Thurso (Sept 28th).
Stephen Smyth has a new album due in April, and, as a taster we've just recieved a single "If I Were You(I'd Fall In Love with Me).

Waylon Jennings son, Shooter Jennings appears at Glasgow's Arches venue on April 23rd. The same day,Humphead Records will release his album, "Put The O Back Into Country" in the UK. The album is Country rock and Country Anthems.

Frankie Laine, the popular crooner from the 1950s, best remembered for "High Noon" and "Rawhide", died earlier this week at Mercy Hospital in San Diego.
Over his career, Laine sold more than 100 million records and earned more than 20 gold records and was said to be partial to the musical influence of Bing Crosby, Al Jolson and jazz artists Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holliday.
Fans of oldies would know his hits such as "That's My Desire," "Mule Train," "Jezebel," "I Believe" and "That Lucky Old Sun," as Laine was a regular feature of the Top Ten in the years just before rock 'n' roll became popular music.

Inverness based MFR Radio's Helen McPherson has been presented with the CMA's International Broadcaster Award. The presentation was made by Jace Everett and Julie Roberts while backstage at a New from Nashville performance during the Celtic Connections Festival at a sold out Classic Grand in Glasgow.
The Country Music Association showcase which also played Dublin & London continues to make inroads into the expansion of Country Music outside North America by spotlighting rising Country artists in international markets showing increased support for the format. The NUNV objective is to build these countries into stronger sales markets for Country Music albums and concerts, creating a sturdy foundation for the genre outside the U.S. that can grow steadily throughout the world.

The Country Legends theatre tour is back in Scotland next month, with dates in Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall pm March 23rd, Largs(24th) & Motherwell(25th) followed later by Dundee(April 14th) & Stranraer (April 29th)