May 18, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MORE ARTISTS ADDED TO “GRETSCH PRESENTS GEORGIA ON MY MIND” A ONE-TIME ONLINE CONCERT TUESDAY, MAY 26 BENEFITING
THE GEORGIA MUSIC FOUNDATION
NASHVILLE, TN – More artists have been added to the seventh annual “Gretsch Presents Georgia On My Mind” online concert benefiting the Georgia Music Foundation. The streaming fundraiser will be hosted by Georgia-born musicians – artist/songwriter Brent Cobb and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls – and held Tuesday, May 26(8:00 PM/ET; 7:00 PM/CT) via facebook.com/georgiamusic
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be friends with the folks over at The Georgia Music Foundation for the last seven years,” said Cobb. “They do a lot of good for our state. It’s an honor to host this year’s event along with Amy Ray. We hope to bring a little southern comfort into everyone’s homes during this time.”
Joining the lineup are Brandi Carlile, Caylee Hammack, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Kevn Kinney, and Michelle Malone. Artists previously announced include Caroline Aiken, Tony Arata, John Berry, Kristian Bush’s band Dark Water, Amy Grant, Rutha Harris, John Driskell Hopkins, Indigo Girls, Kalen & Aslyn, Chuck Leavell, Kim Michael Polote, Katie Pruitt, The War & Treaty, Jontavious Willis, Channing Wilson, and Adam Wright.
“Georgia On My Mind” is usually held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The city is a home-away-from-home for numerous Georgia-born singers and songwriters including former hosts The Peach Pickers (Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, and Ben Hayslip), who had already turned the reins over to Cobb and Ray this year. But concerns for public safety and stopping the potential spread of COVID-19 prompted organizers to reimagine the charitable event this year as an online affair.
“Moving the event to an online fundraiser made perfect sense because more artists could participate and many more people could experience the amazing talent that comes from Georgia – or wishes they did,” chuckled Lisa Love, Director of the Georgia Music Foundation. “At times like this, community is central to who we are – and it is this generous community that makes us stronger.”
The Gretsch Company, a fourth-generation musical instruments company headquartered in Pooler, GA, just outside Savannah, is a valued partner in the endeavor. Executive Vice President/CFO Dinah Gretsch, who is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Georgia Music Foundation explained, “The proceeds fund the Foundation’s annual grants for music programs at schools and non-profit organizations all over the state. My husband, Fred, and I believe that the music industry and non-profit organizations like this one will need our support now more than ever, and we’re proud to make it possible to take this concert online and share it with even more people.”
Directed by photographer/filmmaker Curtis Wayne Millard, “Gretsch Presents Georgia On My Mind” will be streamed on facebook.com/georgiamusic a
AMY RAY: Back in high school in Atlanta, Amy Ray teamed up with friend Emily Saliers to form a duo that would become the Indigo Girls. Rooted in shared passions for harmony and justice, the pair has forged a career spanning 20 albums and combining artistry and activism to push against every boundary and box anyone tries to put them in. On May 22, the Indigo Girls will release Look Long, their first studio album in five years. On her own, Ray has released six solo studio albums and three live ones, from the political punk of 2001’s Stagto the feminist Americana of 2018’s Holler. Each effort seems to lean into her influences in different ways, whether it’s the Allman Brothers or the Carter Family. Ray continues to run Daemon Records, the non-for-profit label she formed in 1990 to support grassroots artists including Kristen Hall, the Rock-A-Teens, and more. With Daemon, as with everything she does, Ray aims to give something back to the community from which she has gotten so much.
BRENT COBB: From early tunes like “Richland” to the country-funk of his 2018 studio album Providence Canyon, Georgia has always figured prominently in the music of Brent Cobb. Born in Americus and raised in a musical family in nearby Ellaville, the singer/songwriter’s 2016 breakthrough major label debut, Shine On Rainy Day, was nominated for a Best Americana Album at the 60thGrammy Awards. That effort, as well as Providence Canyon, which earned praise from Rolling Stone, Faderand NPR Music, was recorded with his cousin, Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb. Brent Cobb is also widely respected as a songwriter with cuts garnered by Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Kenny Chesney, and more. In 2019, he toured with Chris Stapleton, headlined his own “Sucker for a Good Time” tour and premiered “Come Home Soon,” a video series he called “a love letter to Georgia.” Cobb recently reissued his 2006 independently released album, No Place Left to Leave, on his own Ol’ Buddy Records.
GEORGIA MUSIC FOUNDATION: The Georgia Music Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1994, supports programs of music education, preservation and outreach. Information about the Foundation’s Georgia Music Grant program is available at facebook.com/georgiamusic a