EXILE TO PERFORM AT 4th ANNUAL ‘THE STARS GO BLUE’ CONCERT
WITH A SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY TRACE ADKINS

PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE COLON CANCER ALLIANCE’S BLUE NOTE FUND
WHICH AIDS PATIENTS IN NEED OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

NASHVILLE, TENN. (February 2, 2012) – Iconic country/pop band Exile will perform on the 4th annual The Stars Go Blue benefit concert, Tuesday, March 6, 7:00 pm at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum in Nashville. There will be a special appearance by Trace Adkins and proceeds from the event benefit the Blue Note Fund, a Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) program designed to provide financial assistance to colon cancer patients in need.

The concert event and Blue Note Fund are the brainchild of Grammy-nominated producer, artist and musician Charlie Kelley who was diagnosed with colon cancer after a routine screening at age 40.  Within months of successful surgery and treatment, Kelley began working to raise awareness about the prevention and treatment of the disease as well as funding for those going through treatment. He joined the board of the CCA and created the Blue Note Fund – an off shoot of The Stars Go Blue concert event – which puts money directly into the pockets of those in treatment for colon cancer.  “When you’re fighting cancer, the last thing you want to think about is a bill you can’t pay,” says Kelley. “The Blue Note Fund is our way to help others who are going through tough emotional and financial times.”  To date the fund has awarded $125,000 to 400 patients in need.

Adkins, a longtime fan of the band Exile, recently got together with the group to re-record one of their signature No. 1 hits, “Kiss You All Over,” for Hit Exchange, a television special created in part by Kelley, that aired on Great American Country. “It’s more than obvious that Trace and Exile have a mutual respect and chemistry and that certainly translates to the stage,” Kelley said. “I’m thrilled that Exile and Trace are generously giving their time and talents to our fourth concert event.”

Tickets for The Stars Go Blue are $100.00 per person and include the intimate concert at the Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater, a VIP cocktail reception and auction after the concert. For tickets or more information, log on to www.bluenotefund.org. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 222 5th Ave. S. in downtown Nashville. Sponsors of the event include Lamar Brothers Productions, Nagy Guitars, Amgen and Genentech.

About the Colon Cancer Alliance:

The Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) is the oldest and largest national patient advocacy organization dedicated to ending the suffering caused by colorectal cancer. In order to increase rates of screening and survivorship, the CCA provides patient support, public education, supports research and conducts advocacy work across America. www.ccalliance.org

(l to r:)  Exile’s Sonny Lemaire, J.P. Pennington, Marlon Hargis, Les Taylor

Trace Adkins, Steve Goetzman

CONTACT:
Ronna Rubin/Rubin Media
(615) 298-4400
ronna@rubinmedia.biz

For the CCA:
Andrea S. Clay
(202) 628-0123 x101
aclay@ccalliance.org

The big news coming up is ‘Hit Exchange‘.  This is a new show that Nan and I created with our good friend Greg Baker that will air December 15th on GAC. If it does well, it will be a series, so please watch! This first episode involves the band Exile and Trace Adkins and was produced by Greg Travis. While we are ‘executive producers’ the real credit goes to Greg.  He has been at the helm, shooting, editing and designing graphics.  It’s been a fun journey and the end result is just as entertaining. So, check it out on the 15th and Merry Christmas!

I’ll be on the road with Collin Raye, Jamie O’Neal and Laura Bell Bundy this year, so check their web sites for the dates and if we’re in your neck of the woods please come by and say hello. All three of these artists are great people as well as entertainers and I can promise you a good time at any show!

I’ve just finished Ryan Joseph’s EP and you can hear some clips on the discography page. Ryan is one of the best fiddlers in Nashville and sings a unique mix of country, pop and bluegrass to round out this project. In addition to playing his own shows, he’s on tour with Chris Cagle this year as well as Laura Bell Bundy. Learn more about Ryan at www.ryanjosephofficial.com

Next up….Tay Humphrey. We’ll be going in to record his first EP in the next few weeks and should be wrapped up by the end of May. Tay is another great artist with a combination of attitude, grit and soul and I’m looking forward to getting his music out there to you, check him out at www.tayhumphrey.com

Wishing you all a good spring and good health!

We’re off and running again for the Stars Go Blue show this year and I’m excited about the line up and the concept. We’re going with a ‘couples of country music’ theme and Nan has agreed to perform with me for the first time since we started this benefit! So, we’ll sing a few originals and a few classic duets together along with Josh Turner and his wife Jennifer and Linda Davis and her husband Lang Scott. Josh is of course one of the Grand Ol Opry’s newest members and has had a string of hits in the last few years and Jennifer tours with him as the keyboardist of the band. In addition to having her own career, both Linda and Lang toured with Reba McEntire. They are also the very proud parents of Hillary Scott, who is part of the trio Lady Antebellum. Congrats to them for their Grammy awards last week!

Once again we’ll have hand painted bar stools by the artists and a reception to follow. Proceeds go to the Blue Note Fund which has officially starting taking applications and will deliver the first gifts of monetary assistance to patients this spring. Very happy that this has become a reality and it would not have happened without the support of everyone at the Colon Cancer Alliance and in particular, Jeannie Moore who is part of the patient support team. The Blue Note Fund has been a big dream for her too and I’m proud that she’s a part of it! And, most importantly, it has happened because of those who have donated to the fund, without you, it’s nothing more than a dream, but because of your generosity, we will truly be helping some people fight cancer and helping to save some lives!

So, if you happen to be around Nashville in March or if you want to take a trip to Tennessee to see the show, it promises to be a good time! www.thestarsgoblue.com

Good health to everyone!

CK

Links to Articles about the Event

http://blog.gactv.com/blog/tag/the-colon-cancer-alliance/

http://askjimmycarter.blogspot.com/2011/02/colon-cancer-alliance-announces-3-rd.html

http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/87092/the-stars-go-blue-once-again-for-the-colon-cancer- http://www.musicrow.com/2011/02/stars-go-blue-benefit-concert/

http://www.looktothestars.org/news/5774-country-stars-go-blue-for-colon-cancer-charity

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Section=2&Id=1549889&SM=1

Just in time for Christmas , Nan and I have recorded a new song.  It’s a happy, little Christmas number sure to make you tap your feet or maybe even get up and dance around the tree! I wrote the song with LynnMarie a couple years ago and but never released it, so Nan and I decided to record it and get it out there. You can get the track and add to your Christmas playlist click “buy” above or visit www.charliekelley.bandcamp.com  Merry Christmas!

Go to http://charliekelley.bandcamp.com to check it out. The download fee is only $1 or you can make a larger donation. Either way, your help is greatly appreciated, you are providing hope in a difficult time.

Written with my friend Peter Cooper, the song addresses the way that a surgery can affect you in more ways than just the physical. It was a fun song to write and Peter’s wit really shined through, he’s a great talent not to be overlooked. So check him out at www.petercoopermusic.com.

The release of the song has been timed in conjunction with the founding of the Blue Note Fund. This fund will help give hope and a little financial assistance to those in need that are battling colon cancer. The fight against any cancer can put a big dent in your finances. I learned this first hand when my wife Nan Kelley and I battled two different cancers in the same year. We were swamped with bills even though we had insurance. I knew that I needed to find a way to help others going through this often, “too embarrassing to talk about” type of disease. So, I initiated the creation of the Blue Note Fund with the Colon Cancer Alliance to help others who might need a leg up. The money from every download of Less Of An Ass will go straight into this fund and directly to a patient in need. If you ever wondered where your donations go, with the Blue Note Fund, you can be sure that your contributions do not end up covering office expenses and salaries. In this case, your financial assistance will help someone cover a mortgage payment, utility bills, even travel expenses to and from treatments. The last thing you want to think about when your fighting cancer, is a bill you can’t pay.

Thank you!

In other cancer related news, The Blue Note Fund will be officially announced this month and is open for donations. All the proceeds that go into this fund are going directly back to patients in need of a little financial assistance during colon cancer treatments. After Nan and I battled cancer in the same year, the expense of treating this disease was overwhelming and some of those monthly billsgot buried or forgotten in the midst of the doctor and hospital bills. We were fortunate and had insurance that covered most of the expenses, but others are not. The Blue Note Fund will help alleviate some of the stress of cancer by helping cover utility bills, mortgage payments, etc. Like I’ve said before, when you’re fighting cancer the last thing you want to think about is a bill you can’t pay. Thanks for considering this fund when you’re making any donations, your help is greatly appreciated!

Still touring with Jamie O’Neal and have been doing a lot of guitar work for her projects at the Grotto. Her husband Rodney is one of Nashville’s best engineers and it’s alway fun to work there and the songs are always good. I’ve been working there as well with Dave Fowler on a few of his productions, which are always different than most and are usually guitar heavy which allows me to stretch a little.

Since June I’ve been working on three records, all of which are about to head into the mix phase. Vicky Smith’s will probably be done first. Her project is a contemporary gospel record that I’ve been producing with my long time friend Dennis Dearing, so you can watch for that one soon.

I’m about half way through a project for Milan Kamnick of Slovenia! Through the wonderful word of technology, we’re collaborating via the internet. We recorded the initial tracks when Milan was visiting this summer and those 4 songs have now turned into a full length cd. Milan will be sending me some more songs which we’ll record here at DR, I’ll send those tracks to him for his vocal which he’ll send back to me for the final mix. Recording technology is pretty amazing these days!

Ryan Joseph and I have been working on his debut record since June as well. Ryan has become a good friend since he starting working with Jamie O’Neal a year ago. From there he has hit the ground running and has been doing demo and master sessions as well as touring with Laura Belle Bundy as well as Jamie. In the current country music scene, Ryan is one to watch, I fully expect his star to keep rising.

Thanks for checking in!

Mike Snider kicked the show off with his always entertaining mix of music, humor and excellent musicianship. If you haven’t seen him, you owe it to yourself to see his show sometime, you will definitely not be disappointed! We then headed into the ‘in the round’ portion of the show with Barry Walsh, Gretchen Peters, Mike Reid, Wade Hayes and Peter Cooper. The round is always an intimate way to hear songs, but these guys are simply some of the most intimate writers in Nashville. I have been a fan of all of them for so long and seen them perform before, but this time the honor was truly mine more than ever since they came out and shared their music and stories for this cause. There’s nothing like this anywhere else! After the round we closed out with the legendary Rodney Crowell and the gifted Bill Miller. Rodney of course has been a staple in the singer/songwriter world for many years and Bill is not only a gifted Native American singer/songwriter, but also a very talented visual artist! Check out the pictures to see his work on the bar stool he painted for the auction! All in all, it was another amazing night of music the way only Nashville can deliver it. Many thanks to Andrea Clay, Jasmine Greenamyer and Andy Spiegel at the CCA for all their help and support, Jensen Sussman, Chris Holden and Amserg, Salix Pharmaceuticals and all our local sponsors. Thanks also to Kelly Breece for taking some fantastic pictures and my longtime friend John Thompson, a great local artist here in Nashville, for painting one of our auction stools!

In other CCA and Stars Go Blue news, the dvd from last years show is now available! If you would like to experience music the Nashville way or if you were there for the show and want to relive the night, just head over to www.ccalliance.org or www.amazon.com to pick up a copy. Proceeds go to the CCA and the Blue Note Fund, which will give help directly to colon cancer patients in need of a little monetary support. This video is packed with great songs and some very funny moments and would be a great inspiration to someone you may know that is battling this disease right now or is a survivor. Remember, Christmas is only…..(hold on, I’m counting on my fingers) 8 months away! What could be a better stocking stuffer…..but I’ll remind you again as we get closer!

More to come as the days pass and we move into the touring season, things are starting to get busy as usual! Thanks for stopping by and for your support of our efforts, you are greatly appreciated! Wishing you good thoughts always……CK

Wishing you all good health and good thoughts! – CK

I’ve been working quite a bit in the studio at Jamie’s, contributing guitar parts to her projects and will be out on the road with her as well starting on the 27th of February in Biloxi MS at the Isle Casino. I’m also headed to the Navajo Nation in Ft. Defiance, Arizona June 4-5 to take part in the Arizona Myeloma Network’s third annual Cancer Conference (www.azmyelomanetwork.org). Nan will go with me and we’ll perform there as well as share our story in effort to raise awareness. This opportunity is one that reaches into my core as my personal beliefs are so close to those of the Native Americans and I am looking forward to meeting the Navajo people and sharing stories of hope in the battle against all cancers!

More with Matt Davenport Productions this week too. I’m adding guitars to a few more of his shows that will be playing at several theme parks throughout the country this summer. I’ll keep you posted on those, but last years Sea World San Antonio show, ‘Good Vibrations’ is still going, so if you happen to be in Texas this summer, be sure to check it out. I’ll also be in the studio producing several artists that I’ve been fortunate to work with and I’ll post those projects as they are finished.

Til next time, good health and good thoughts to everyone – CK