Reported by Antimusic.com
08/12/2009

(PR) On September 29th, the Atlanta based Southern Rock outlaws, Blackberry Smoke, will be releasing their album titled Little Piece of Dixie through BamaJam Records, a new imprint of Stroudavarious Records. This is the second full length release of the group's career, but the first for BamaJam Records.
Country music has seen its share of Southern Rock-influenced acts recently, but it hasn't seen anything like Blackberry Smoke. Blackberry Smoke has shared the stage so far with like-minded rockers including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shooter Jennings, Cross Canadian Ragweed, ZZ Top, and even has been touted by Brian Johnson of AC/DC as "a band that will never go hungry."

Blackberry Smoke is comprised of brothers, Richard (bass/vocals) and Brit Turner (drums), with Paul Jackson and Charlie Starr on guitar and vocals. Fans that have been coming to their shows for years will be delighted that the energy of Smoke's live performance translates seamlessly to the new album.

With this new album, Blackberry Smoke brings back the true spirit of the southern rock era. The album, which was recorded with legendary producer Dann Huff (Megadeth, Bon Jovi, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts) and engineer Justin Niebank, has the instant familiarity of some of the best old records.

‘We Are Enterprise’ CD Benefits Rebuilding of Tornado-Ravaged High School

Dateline --- Tune in for news with the crew of Honky Tonk TV on The Daily Buzz morning show this Thursday, August 13.

Country stars, Deborah Allen and Richie McDonald will perform songs from the album, ‘We Are Enterprise’, the album to benefit the rebuilding of Enterprise High School which was damaged in a tornado on March 1, 2007, killing 8 students and another resident of the tight-knit Alabama community.

Also appearing to discuss the project will be visionary entrepreneur, Ronnie Gilley, who calls Enterprise home. The man behind the project, Gilley reached out to the country music community and was overwhelmed by the artists who responded, including Tracy Lawrence, Darryl Worley, Clint Black, John Anderson, Joe Diffie, Aaron Tippin, Lorrie Morgan, George Jones, and Shelly Fairchild in addition to Allen and McDonald. Each artist contributed one inspiring track to the compilation project. Legendary producer, James Stroud, co-produced with Gilley.

Honky Tonk TV (HTTV) is a daily segment on the 3-hour News Show, The Daily Buzz, broadcasting from Orlando, Florida. Honky Tonk TV will celebrate its 100th show on Monday, August 17th. It's currently in 162 markets (mainly The CW Network); over 60 million homes across the country and online at HonkyTonkTV.com.

Posted on Forbes.com
Associated Press, 07.20.09, 11:19 AM EDT
 

ENTERPRISE, Ala. --

The second annual BamaJam Music & Arts Festival has given an economic boost of $350,000 to local and state coffers based on the sale of food and beverages during the festival held in June. The festival also raised $127,000 to go toward construction of a new Enterprise High School.

The second-year event grossed $5.8 million in sales.

BamaJam founder Ronnie Gilley of Enterprise said it usually takes such an event five to seven years to get in the black. He said $6 million was spent on this year's event, but money spent for infrastructure should not be charged off to one festival.

Sales taxes of $357,000 provide $84,000 for Enterprise, $56,000 for Coffee County and $217,000 for the state.

Taxes paid on last year's festival totaled $328,000.

Posted: 6:17 PM Jul 17, 2009 on WTVY.com

Ronnie Gilley estimates that hundreds of thousands people walked through the gates of BamaJam this year spending $5.8 million.

Ronnie Gilley Entertainment spent $6 million on the festival, but he's considering that a profit.

"A lot of that was sight improvements and infrastructure that we added to the property which will carry over into the future years so we actually made a profit," says Ronnie Gilley.

Next week, the state of Alabama will be seeing $217,000 in taxes, $84,000 for the City of Enterprise and $56,000 for Coffee County.

These tax totals are just on items bought at BamaJam.

They do not include the money spent in the community at local hotels and restaurants.

"We had people coming from 47 states and 6 countries that helped build the tax base revenue for Alabama and that's not business as usual for us here in Alabama,” says Gilley.

Local charities aren't being left out either.

$127,000 is being divided between two foundations to help rebuild Enterprise High School.

"That's our children. That's tomorrow. That’s our future. I’ve got four kids. Three of which are enrolled in the Enterprise City School System. We live here. It was a tragedy that struck Enterprise and this is a very resilient community and I think the community stood tall and came together," says Gilley.

Now that BamaJam 2009 is wrapped up Ronnie Gilley is making plans for next year.

One of those plans is to cut down some of the trees behind where the main stage was set up so they can push it back 100 to 200 feet and accommodate a lot more people.

Gilley also plans to build sky boxes, stadium seating, more full service campsites, a clubhouse, a lagoon style pool, and a golf course.

Last Updated: 10:29 PM Jul 19, 2009
Reporter: Denise Bradberry
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