Lecrae discussed his first-ever Dove Award after the pre-show. The Doves will air Tuesday on GMC. Photo credit: Raymond Hagans

Another transplanted Atlantan, Lecrae, won his first Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year for “Rehab: The Overdose.”

The lanky rapper, sporting glasses, a black ensemble and an L.A. Kings baseball cap, said backstage that he’s in the studio now working on a new album and urged fans to “stay tuned to the Internet” for a first listen.

The rap genre is still a burgeoning category in the Christian realm despite the decades-ago presence of groups such as dc talk, and Lecrae said he’s just thankful that “your voice can be heard.”

As for the gilded trophy he clutched: “The fact that this ragtag group of individuals doing this type of music have been able to have an impact and change lives… and I’m grateful that it’s being celebrated,” he said.

Continue reading Rapper Lecrae wins inaugural Dove Award »

Atlanta's Laura Story brought her two Dove Awards backstage. She's nominated for five. Photo credit: Raymond Hagans

Atlanta’s Laura Story is two-for-two.

Her song, “Blessings,” just won for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, a short while after her album of the same name won the Pop/Contemporary Album category.

While accepting her second award – she’s up for five and factored in a sixth – Story choked up while thanking her husband, Martin, “who allowed me to write [about] the journey.”

Backstage, wearing a simple black dress she said she bought yesterday, the singer, who is due with the couple’s first child in September, said she was honored to be in categories with “such amazing women,” some of them, such as Jamie Grace Harper and Francesca Battistelli, fellow Atlanta residents.

Story’s pal, Chris Tomlin, won his first Dove of the night — he’s up for three, but already lost one to Tenth Avenue North – for “And If Our God is For Us…” in the …

Continue reading Laura Story, Chris Tomlin land more Doves »

Karen Peck-Gooch, Susan Peck-Jackson and Jeff Hawes, aka Karen Peck & New River, won their first two Dove Awards on Thursday. Photo credit: Raymond Hagans

Congrats to Karen Peck & New River who snagged their first-ever Dove Award for Country Recorded Song of the Year for ”Good Things Are Happening.”

Backstage, an effervescent Peck talked about her experience in “Joyful Noise,” the Queen Latifah-Dolly Parton film released earlier this year: “From the very first experience it was great. I was pleasantly surprised by how down-to-earth the cast members were. It was one of the highlights of my career.”

But, she was quick to add, this inagurual Dove — hard to believe it’s the first given Peck’s 21-year career as a Southern gospel star — was on the group’s bucket list.

“We are living proof that some things don’t happen overnight.”

During the main ceremony, Peck and the group won a second Dove for Southern Gospel Album of the Year for “Reach Out,” about an hour after Peck helped …

Continue reading Karen Peck & New River nab first career Dove Awards »

Laura Story won the first of her five Dove Award nominations when “Blessings” scored Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year.

Story, a worship leader at Perimeter Church in Johns Creek, beat fellow Atlantans Jamie Grace Harper and Francesa Battistelli for this particular trophy during the pre-show for the Christian music awards, being handed out right now at the Fox Theatre.

If you don’t know much about Story, she’s a pretty incredible lady. Here’s the story I wrote about her earlier this week.

Continue reading Laura Story wins first Dove Award of the ceremony »

Singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten is touring behind her recent third album, "Tramp." She'll play the EARL on Wednesday, April 25. Photo: Dustin Condren

FRIDAY
Leftover Salmon
This Colorado outfit has been around for more than 20 years, taking bluegrass into new territory with hints of  Cajun, funk, rock and whatever else they can think of throwing in. The band has been on hiatus since 2005, taking a break following the death of founding member Mark Vann. The band has done the occasional gig in the meantime, but it’s been eight years since the last Leftover Salmon album. They finally have a new one to celebrate so they’re hitting the road in earnest in anticipation of the May 22 release of “Aquatic Hitchhiker.” The album is the first to feature the band’s latest banjo man, Andy Thorn, who follows in the footsteps of Vann and Noam Pikelny (who’ll take the stage at Variety Playhouse Saturday night with the Punch Brothers).
8:30 p.m. April 20. $25; $22.50 in …

Continue reading Live music picks: April 20-26 »

Research isn’t always the sexiest way to dissect music, but when it points to Atlanta being at the top of some list, well, then yay research!

A pair of Ireland-based researchers have done some studying and analyzing and determined that Atlanta – not New York, not L.A., not Philly – leads the nation in music listening trends as well as hip-hop trends.

In what sounds like some dense reading,  “The Geographic Flow of Music,” a paper written by Conrad Lee and Pádraig Cunningham of Clique Research Cluster, comes to this conclusion.

How?

The pair analyzed 60 billion pieces of data from the music streaming website last.fm, which tracks the most listened-to artists by geographical location. Through a series of statistical techniques, they then determined which cities emerged as trend leaders.

Also uncovered: Montreal leads the indie music charge, while in Europe, Oslo out-hipped London as “overall music leader.”

If trying to understand all of this makes your head …

Continue reading Atlanta leads the nation in music listening trends »

Tupac Shakur’s holographic appearance at last weekend’s Coachella festival might not quiet those fans who still believe the rapper is alive. But seeing any version of him might have comforted those who go with the conventional wisdom that he’s very much dead.

On Monday, reports circulated that the projection – really more of a 2D image than a hologram created by Hollywood’s Digital Domain Media Group Inc. – might go on tour.

But Tuesday afternoon, the New York Times reported that a spokesperson for Dr. Dre called any such outing premature, while a spokesperson for Digital Domain confirmed to the Times that Dr. Dre had never approached the company about doing a tour. “This was just a stand-alone project,” the spokeswoman, Julie Miller, told the newspaper.

Original reports claimed that Dr. Dre and Snoop hoped to tour together, along with the virtual Tupac, whose Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation is based in Stone Mountain .

But for now, it seems not even the rapper’s …

Continue reading Tupac Shakur ‘performance’ likely a one-time only event »

Jason Mraz returns to Atlanta for a show at Aaron's Amhitheatre at Lakewood in August. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 20. Photo: Robb D. Cohen / www.robbsphotos.com

ON SALE NOW
P.O.D. 8:30 p.m. May 1. The Loft. $20; $17 in advance. TA.
Eulogy (Tool tribute), Cadillac Junkies. 9 p.m. May 5. Vinyl. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
John McEuen and Sons. CD release show for “The McEuen Sessions: For All the Good.” 7 p.m. May 10. Tree Sound Studios, 4610 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Norcross. $30. Tickets via Brown Paper Tickets.
Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. 9 p.m. May 18. The Loft. $25; $23 in advance. TA.
Ill Communication (Beastie Boys tribute). 9 p.m. May 25. Vinyl. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
Laff Mobb featuring Mark Viera, Red Grant, Roz G, Rudy Rush. 8:30 p.m. June 1. Center Stage. $19-$24. TM.
Chappo. 9 p.m. June 2. Vinyl. $10; $8 in advance. TA.
American Wheel, Super Hooligan. 8 p.m. June 8. Smith’s Olde Bar- Music Room. $8 in advance. TA
Drake White. 8 p.m. …

Continue reading Hot tickets: April 17 »

Neko Case is part of this summer's Concerts in the Garden series at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Atlanta native Kelly Hogan will open the show. Photo: Jason Creps

The flowers and plants won’t be the only thing drawing visitors to the Atlanta Botanical Garden this summer. Merle Haggard, Neko Case and Mary Chapin Carpenter are sure to bring in the crowds, too

To celebrate the Concerts in the Garden series’ 10th year, the venue has just announced a stellar line-up of talent, which begins with a concert by k.d. lang on June 1 and concludes with hometown favorites the Indigo Girls on Sept. 14.

Tickets for the eight-show series go on sale to Garden members on April 23 and to the general public on April 30 through Ticket Alternative and at Garden admissions. Ticket prices at $49.50 ($47.50 for Garden members), except for the Neko Case show, which is $36.50 ($34.50 for members).

Gates open at 7 p.m. and shows begin at 8 p.m.  Seating is general admission, and ticket holders may …

Continue reading Atlanta Botanical Garden announces summer concert series »

The District Attorneys — from left, Chris Wilson, Walker Beard, Frank Keith IV, Drew Beskin, and TJ Mimbs — celebrate the release of debut album "Slowburner" with a show at the EARL Saturday, April 15.

FRIDAY
Hank Williams Jr., Jamey Johnson
Nobody does rowdy better than Bocephus, and “Family Tradition” rarely fails to generate a sing-along at any bar that has it on the jukebox. And most of them do, because something about that song inspires a hankering for a beer. Johnson’s latest disc, “The Guitar Song,” was the consensus choice for best country album of 2010. It’s a collection of bone-deep country that provides a jarring and welcome contrast to the bloodless, antiseptic stuff that passes for country music these days. Country music could sure use a follow-up to that great album. With ’80s Southern rock hitmakers .38 Special.
7 p.m. April 13. $25-$125. Gwinnett Arena, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 770-813-7500.

FRIDAY
Leigh Nash
Nash is the sweet-voiced …

Continue reading Live music picks: April 13-19 »