Playlist

Arlington's Melissa Lawson, who keeps proving her artistic mettle on Nashville Star, comes home for a benefit concert Wednesday evening at Arlington High School Auditorium, 818 W. Park Row. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Seating is first come, first served. The gig is a fundraiser for State Farm's "High School Dropout Prevention" program. It will surely be filmed for inclusion in the next Nashville Star episode. For more information, click here.

Photo: Melissa Lawson (Courtesy of nbc.com).

Ashlee Hewitt, the fresh-faced blond with the serviceable voice that once seemed destined to win Nashville Star, was eliminated tonight. She had the fewest viewer votes. Surprising, yes, especially when Coffey is the weakest artistic link on the show right now. Guess his weepy rendition of the Tim McGraw-Faith Hill duet "It's Your Love" last week struck a chord with America. Anyway, it was original song night and the judges raved about Arlington's Melissa Lawson. Ditto Gabe Garcia, from Lytle, Texas. Shawn Mayer survived, too, and got good notices. She did a power ballad called "I'm Not Looking Back." Next week: four finalists turn into three, one of which will be crowned the sixth winner of Nashville Star. The finale should be Aug. 4.

Photo: Ashlee Hewitt (Courtesy of nbc.com).

Yes, Tejano fans, as I reported here earlier this year, the Tejano Music Convention kicks off at the Dallas Convention Center Aug. 15 and runs through Aug. 17. There will be seminars, dance lessons, a fanfare and expo, classes teaching saxophone, accordion and trumpet, and of course concert performances from Jay Perez, Shelly Lares, the Hometown Boys, Ruben Ramos, Michael Salgado, Elida Reyna, Sunny Sauceda, Jaime y los Chamacos and many others. Check out www.tejanoticket.com for all the info you could possibly need.

Photo: Jay Perez at the Tejano Music Convention press conference last February (G.J. McCarthy/DMN).

Dave Marsh is one of rock's all-time best (and feistiest) critics. But at age 58, he's still got a thing or two to learn about journalistic ethics.
The noted Springsteen biographer and Creem co-founder recently published a lengthy story in the Austin Chronicle praising rocker Alejandro Escovedo. Problem is, Escovedo's new manager is Marsh's wife, Barbara Carr.
True, Escovedo deserves any glowing press he gets, especially in his hometown. And Marsh does admit in the story he's married to Carr, but claims her work "has nothing to do with me."
Possibly. But if Mr. Escovedo wasn't Carr's new client, what are the chances a big-time writer like Mr. Marsh would deign to write an epic story about him in an Austin weekly?

Amazing! Just amazing! Lindale's Miranda Lambert finally notches a Top 10 hit single on Billboard's country chart with the fiery "Gunpowder & Lead," a story song about domestic abuse and eventual revenge. The track currently sits at No. 9. It took way too long for mainstream country radio to align on her side. But let's not complain because they did it with the best tune on 2007's marvelous Crazy Ex-Girlfriend CD.

Amazing! Just amazing!

Photo: Miranda Lambert all wrapped up in goodness (Courtesy of Columbia Nashville).

Stephen Simmons writes about the sobering realities of life -- that is redemption, heartbreak, hangovers and the loneliness of the road. On his new CD, Something In Between, the Tennessee native delves more into interpersonal relationships. His songs are backed by a slew of talented musicians, from fiddle player Tammy Rogers to steel guitarist Al Perkins. Check out his website for more info.

Anyway, Mr. Simmons along with fellow Americana troubadours Mando Saenz and Jason Eady perform tonight at Love & War in Texas in Plano. Cover is only $8.

Photo: Stephen Simmons (Bob Delevante).

Spain's La Oreja de Van Gogh, the quintet with the dreamy, rhythmic folk-pop sound, has switched lead singers. The angelic-voiced Amaia Montero has departed, and in her place is Leire Martínez. Ms. Martínez makes her debut on La Oreja de Van Gogh's still-untitled upcoming CD, scheduled to be released stateside Sept. 30. Here's hoping Ms. Martínez can help maintain the gorgeous sound the group had on 2006's stunning Guapa, a Latin Grammy-winning opus. The first single from the new disc is "El Ultimo Vals," which hits radio Aug. 12.

Photo: La Oreja de Van Gogh in 2005 with Amaia Montero (Montserrat Velando).

Country icon Willie Nelson's jazzy collaboration with respected trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, a CD titled Two Men With the Blues, becomes his highest debuting disc since 1982's Always On My Mind. Two Men, released on Blue Note Records, entered Billboard's pop albums chart at No. 20, selling 21,650 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. For Mr. Marsalis, this number is his career best...period. Before this, he reached No. 90 on the same list with 1984's Hot House Flowers.

Photo courtesy of Blue Note Records.

One more thought about last night's Nashville Star episode: Coffey, from Bangs, Texas, did Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "It's Your Love." Well, almost. Apparently he gets all emotional every time he hears that song. During rehearsals he couldn't get through it once without crying, he said on the show. You should have given it the old college try, Coffey. Onstage his already unwieldy vibrato sounded out of control as he fought to finish the tune. It was painful to hear. Emotions during a song are great. They prove the artist is human, like they are living the lyrics. But when you keep telling us you're going to break down and then you do, you come off contrived. Like you planned this all along.

But hey, the judges loved him for it. So go figure!

Photo: Coffey (Courtesy of nbc.com).

I've not been a fan of Shawn Mayer's Nashville Star performances since the start of this season. She was never the worse one for me, but always far from the best. Something about her came off as more shock value than substance. But whoa, her take on Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" smoked tonight. It had fire, the kind that burns deep down inside. She felt the song, which is something I thought was lacking until now. Ms. Mayer was in the bottom two tonight, but was spared. Let's hope the major improvement is not too late for her.

Photo: Shawn Mayer (Courtesy of nbc.com).

And then there were five... The elimination of Laura & Sophie, who received the fewest viewer votes, leaves the sixth season of Nashville Star with a mere five finalists. Remaining are: Ashlee Hewitt, Melissa Lawson, Coffey, Gabe Garcia and Shawn Mayer. Three of them are Texans. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, the best of the night was Mr. Garcia, whose smooth, confident and vocally sophisticated take on Billy Currington's "We Must Be Doing Something Right" proved yet another mature step for him. He even successfully used his falsetto. Ms. Lawson was good, too, singing Martina McBride's "My Baby Loves Me." She gave it lots of sass and swagger. Two of the judges said she overdid it. Any thoughts?

Photo: Gabe Garcia (Courtesy of nbc.com).

Old 97's bassist Murry Hammond unveils his first solo CD nationally Aug. 18 on his own record label. I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way was recorded in 2007 in San Diego with producer Mark Neill. It supposedly boasts a rootsy sound owing heavily to the legendary works of the Carter Family, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. And yet, you'll hear the moody spirit of, say, Brian Eno, too. The disc employs only acoustic instruments and even sports "cowboy poetry-style spoken word." Sounds like O Brother, Where Art Thou? meets the arty West.

Photo: Murry Hammond at Granada Theater in 2004 (Jason Janik/Special to DMN).

OK, folks, I didn't make this up: According to her busy, busy Nashville publicist, teen country singing and songwriting sensation Taylor Swift is now the only female act in the 44-year history of Billboard magazine's country singles chart to amass five Top 10 hits from a debut album. The 18-year-old wonderkind does the trick with "Should've Said No" from her 3-million-certified self-titled CD.

Now I wonder, how much research went into coming up with this hyper record?

Photo: Ms. Swift is flaming hot! (Melinda Norris)

Austin City Limits producer Terry Lickona will receive the Americana Music Association's Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award for an Executive at the organization's seventh annual Honors and Awards ceremony Sept. 18 at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. He's produced more than 800 episodes of the long-running, respected music series in a span of 30 years.

Congratulations, Terry!

Photo: Terry Lickona in 2004 (Taylor Jones).

Austin-based country-rocker Jack Ingram will sit in the judge's chair come September when he critiques and advises the six finalists on Great American Country's Next GAC Star talent competition. The show, which airs Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. central on GAC, gives the one time Dallas resident and veteran singer-songwriter a chance to share his personal experiences with a half-dozen musical novices. Mr. Ingram, an Academy of Country Music award winner earlier this year, performs July 18 at Superpages.com Center as one of two opening acts for headliner Martina McBride. His current CD, This Is It, proved his breakthrough last year.

Photo: Jack Ingram at Jo's Coffee Shop in Austin (Erich Schlegel/DMN).

This is the third installment of our new "We were there" category, featuring blog-only mini-reviews of shows we check out in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. To see today's newspaper review of this concert, click here.

For me, watching the band Earth, Wind & Fire is more than witnessing seasoned musician pros in action; it's traveling back in time to my childhood, reliving my very first concert ever (when I saw them with Maurice White at Reunion Arena in 1979) and hearing their music as one endless 8-track after another fueled family trips back and forth to my native Cleveland, OH. They are more than entertainers to me, they feel like family.

So it felt like a reunion (minus the cookout) as my father, 11-year-old son and I danced, sang and cheered through "Fantasy," "Beijo," "Shining Star" and "In The Stone."

(Photo: Earth Wind & Fire member David "Tigger" Whitworth at Nokia last night. By Brandon Thibodeaux / Special to DMN.)

My Morning Jacket won over Bonnaroo in June with its jammy cover of Erykah Badu's "Tyrone," which it also cut on 2004's Early Recordings. What the fascination? Aside from being a great tune, it also lets Jacket leader Jim James sing his own name in the line "You got to bring Jim, James, Paul & Tyrone." Maybe he and Ms. Badu can harmonize on it when the band plays the Palladium on Aug. 23.

Disney's Camp Rock star Demi Lovato, who played Mitchie Torres in the film, will make an in-store appearance tomorrow (Wednesday) from 2 to 3 p.m. at Verizon Wireless Communications Store, 5631 Lyndon B. Johnson Frwy, Suite A, in Dallas. The cute and perky Ms. Lovato, who is recording her debut CD for a scheduled release in November, will greet fans and sign autographs. She's also the opening act tomorrow night for the Jonas Brothers' sold-out concert at Superpages.com Center.

Photo: Demi Lovato (Courtesy of Disney).

Newsflash, from Billboard.com: World-conquering modern rock ack Nickelback has signed one of those all-encompassing 360-degree deals with world-conquering concert promotions company Live Nation (see a thread there? I know I do!).

This is quite amusing to me since the reason Nickelback claimed to be happy as a clam (not to mention raking in the clams) at Roadrunner Records for so long was the creative freedom it enjoyed there. After all, Roadrunner became a titan in modern rock labeldom largely because of the Brothers Kroeger and co. Now, after the band makes two more albums on Roadrunner (which I'm sure Live Nation will get a stake in now), its marquee attraction is gonna go clam-digging somewhere else. Meep-meep!

Fearless prediction: by next year, Live Nation will announce that it's cloned Michael Jackson circa 1982, and that a "Thriller v2.0 World Tour" will last into perpetuity ... with $50 tour T-shirts for sale, even. You read it here first.

Photo: Nickelback front man and master clammer Chad Kroeger. (Jonathan Hayward, AP)

Sometimes you have to wonder what America is thinking. Don't they recognize real talent when they see it? Pearl Heart, that wonderful three-part harmony sister act, didn't deserve to be voted off Nashville Star tonight. Especially not when Laura & Sophie, two singing friends perennially stuck in high school talent contest mode, are still vying for a victory. On the last three episodes, Pearl Heart just got better. The bluegrass cover of the B-52's "Love Shack" was way cool. The gorgeous take on Restless Heart's "I'll Still Be Loving You" was so good it inspired me to dust off my copy of RH's Wheels CD. And then, of course, the spirited version of Garth Brooks' frenetic "Ain't Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)." It's just not fair, folks. America, you made the WRONG choice!

Photo: Pearl Heart (Courtesy of nbc.com).

It was double elimination night on Nashville Star. Tommy Stanley and Pearl Heart were sent home with the fewest viewer votes. Mr. Stanley never performed; he had to bid farewell at the top of the hour. But Pearl Heart did take the stage to do a rousing, vocally arresting version of Garth Brooks' "Ain't Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)." Of the finalists still in the running, more kudos to Arlington's Melissa Lawson for embodying Anne Murray's hit rendition of "Danny's Song" and to Lytle, Texas' Gabe Garcia for a fun, energetic interpretation of Keith Urban's "Somebody Like You."

Photo: Tommy Stanley (Courtesy of nbc.com).

Note: This is the second installment of our new "We were there" category, featuring blog-only mini-reviews of shows we check out in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

"If I'm sweatin' up here, it's cuz' I got the flu y'all, but I'ma stick it out, it's all good. I'm not canceling no shows!"

That's a work ethic for you, and to be honest, there was no diminished vocal or stage presence when Lyfe Jennings performed on Friday night. In front of a packed house that included my rabid fan, slobbering sister as well as myself, heeeey KyKy!!!, Lyfe opened with "My Life" and took the crowd through well-executed versions of "Ghetto Superman," "S.E.X.," "Never Never Land" and "Stick Up Kid," one of the numbers where the audience's word-for-word sing-along nearly drowned out his throaty croon.

There was no way that he could've fit all of his hits or fan favorites in, but in the hour that Lyfe was onstage, he dropped a medley of verses from a lot of them, including "26 Years, 17 Days," "Let's Do This Right," "Hypothetically," "Stingy" and "The River." He couldn't do an acoustic guitar solo like he wanted to (some battery power issue that couldn't be corrected), but the fans definitely forgave the snafu, especially when he sung his most beloved hit, "Must Be Nice." And before closing out with a spine-tingling version of the song "Goodbye," one of his 3 background singers, Netta, sung a few spicy couplets solo that had fans cheering in response.

(Photo: Lyfeonline.com)