NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Rising Nashville artist and Maryland native Mark Taylor has had a guitar in his hand since he was two years old and has never looked back.
“My dad was/is a huge influence on my music career. He paid his way through college playing cover gigs in bars. By the time I was two years old, I was playing nonsense chords on a little guitar. By the time I was six and seven, I was playing in his band with a bunch of his friends,” he said.
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United Record Pressing officials recently announced that the company is investing $10.8 million to expand manufacturing operations at its headquarters in Nashville.
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At least $3.1 billion is expected to be collected in a tax capture fund over a 30-year lease related to a new $2.2 billion Tennessee Titans stadium, according to updated estimates from the Nashville mayor’s office.
That number does not include $500 million the state of Tennessee will bond for the project, an additional tax on tickets expected to collect $470 million that was added to the deal through a Metro Nashville Council amendment last week or the $840 million funds the Tennessee Titans will spend on the construction project, including a $200 million National Football League loan and what the team makes on selling new personal seat licenses.
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Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy said he would shut down a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that is “beyond repair” and expand Second Amendment rights if he is elected president.
The political outsider vying for the Republican Party’s nomination laid out his gun rights agenda in a speech Friday to the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis.
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Premiering April 13th, Circle TV partners with Nashville-based singer/songwriter and Music Spotlight artist to bring the network’s newest series, “Ultimate Fan Fest.”
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After two Tennessee State Representatives were expelled for leading an unruly mob during a riot at the state Capitol, Vice President Kamala Harris Friday visited Nashville to meet with the expelled lawmakers.
Video shows Harris hugging former State Reps. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), along with State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knox County), who narrowly escaped expulsion by one vote.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Jake Worthington first wowed America in 2014 as a teen from LaPorte, Texas, when he became a finalist on NBC’s The Voice. Fast forward ten years, and the traditionally influenced country artist has put out a lot of music but is just now releasing his debut album.
He recently signed with Big Loud Records and fitted in perfectly with current country heavyweights like Hardy, Morgan Wallen, Larry Fleet, and Lauren Alaina.
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A public policy group in Tennessee released a report this week showing a massive uptick in charter school growth in the Volunteer State.
According the report by The Beacon Center of Tennessee, charter schools in Tennessee have increased in number from fewer than 20 in 2010 to more than 110 in 2019. Such schools have only become more popular since 2019, and more than 44,000 students in the state are enrolled in a charter school.
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Police announced Monday that transgender shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale had been planning an attack on the Christian elementary school for “months,” according to a Monday press release.
Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) gave an update to the investigation into the mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School in a press release, noting that Hale’s manifesto indicated that she had been “planning over a period of months to commit mass murder.” Hale had also been studying the way other “mass murderers” had committed acts of violence and “acted totally alone,” according to police.
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Metro Nashville Public Schools and March For Our Lives (MFOL), the anti-gun, New York City-based political action advocacy organization, are politicizing the March 27 Covenant Presbyterian School shootings by encouraging Nashville and Middle Tennessee high school students to participate in two separate anti-gun rallies on Monday.
As The Tennessee Star reported on March 27, three children and three adults were killed by 28-year-old former student Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as transgender, when she forced her way into the school.
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After the horrific massacre in Nashville, the Democratic Party is hellbent on feeding the malignant narcissism of the “trans community,” in which they see a reliable, perpetually aggrieved voter base and a tool with which to terrorize society.
This isn’t “Christian nationalism.” Virtually every institution is sending a message that murderous violence toward Christians is acceptable, or at least less bad than exposing the “trans community” to obloquy. Law enforcement is obstructing the release of the manifesto. Merrick Garland won’t call it a hate crime, and neither will Joe Biden, who apparently thinks this is all a big joke.
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The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, in partnership with the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association, is hosting a hospitality industry job fair at Nissan Stadium on Tuesday. The job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Central Standard Time) and will host 48 regional employers – some with current job openings ready to hire on the spot.
The hiring event comes as the hospitality industry in Nashville continues to grow. The city has 273 hotels, with an additional 2,544 rooms under construction, according to data by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. In addition, 66 new restaurants opened in 2022, with 765 restaurants and bars opening since 2015.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Doing what I do, I get sent a lot of artists to check out. A Facebook friend told me to check out the Jaye Madison band. I listened and they could absolutely sing. But normally I deal with PR representatives or managers. In a few days, I got contacted by 37-Media about this amazing new duo, Jaye Madison. This time I really paid attention. Their song “Down” was unlike anything I had heard in a while. It wasn’t country, but it did have a rock/soul/R&B vibe and it was outstanding.
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On Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland refused to commit to using federal resources to investigate Monday’s shooting in Nashville as a hate crime, despite the perpetrator’s clear motivations against the Christian victims.
The Daily Caller reports that the Nashville Police Department discovered “writings” in Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s home after the shooting, which suggested a “calculated and planned” attack. Addressing these reports, Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) noted during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that the 28-year-old Hale “could have had collaborators.”
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Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy blasted the U.S. Department of Education for creating “psychopaths” through gender ideology agendas while the nation’s schools are left unprotected from mass shooters like the one that terrorized a Nashville elementary school this week.
“The real question is why this psychopath in Nashville was able to get into the school in the first place,” the Ohio entrepreneur and anti-woke crusader wrote in a tweet. “We protect green pieces of paper in a bank with more armed guards than we do our kids in schools … There’s more security at a random mall than in a public school.”
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First Lady Jill Biden is traveling to Nashville today to attend the citywide candlelight vigil at One Public Square Park to “mourn and honor the lives of the victims, and lift up the survivors and families of The Covenant School,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced on Twitter.
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An unidentified activist took to microphones shortly after a Monday briefing by Nashville authorities to rant about gun control, asking the media if they were tired of covering shootings.
“Aren’t you guys tired of covering this? Aren’t you tired of being here and having to cover all of these mass shootings?” the activist asked members of the press. “I’m from Highland Park… on a family vacation with my son, visiting my sister-in-law. I have been lobbying in D.C. since we survived a mass shooting in July.”
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Construction costs have been divided up clearly to fund up to $2.2 billion of construction expenses on a new Tennessee Titans stadium in Nashville, expected to open in 2027.
Tennessee has committed $500 million in funds it will bond, Nashville’s Metropolitan Sports Authority will take out $760 million in revenue bonds backed by Metro Nashville’s general fund set to be paid off with state and local tax captures and the Titans have committed at least $840 million including an estimated $200 million from a National Football League G-4 loan and $270 million from new personal seat license sales at the stadium.
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Three children are dead after a gunman opened fire Monday at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center spokesperson.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee-Country Radio Seminar (CRS) is an annual convention designed to educate and promote exchanging ideas and business practices in the country music industry, specifically emphasizing issues relevant to country radio. CRS 2023 was held at the Omni Nashville Hotel last week.
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I remember Jamie O’Neal telling me that her 17-year-old daughter accompanied her when she re-released her mega-hit “Somebody’s Hero.”
Now, O’Neal’s daughter, Aliyah Good is 19 and is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Professional Studies at the Frost School of Music in Miami. And while she is first to admit that going to school while pursuing an artist’s career is quite the juggle, she is fortunate enough to attend a university that understands what she is doing. Frost School has programs for people like Good who are college students who want to get an education but also want to pursue their careers.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Davidson County Republican Party Chairman Lonnie Spivak in studio to explain legislation that could give Republicans a chance at winning the Nashville mayoral race.
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Recognizing that some of the most innovative classroom ideas come from teachers, Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) created the Teacherpreneur program as a means to annually award seed money to implement, or scale, the best ideas from teachers. This year’s winner is Dr. Jennifer Love from East Nashville Magnet High School. Her concept beat out 11 other finalists to take home the top prize.
Love’s idea is to incorporate a social-emotional learning curriculum for student athletics in an effort to provide increased access to mental health support for high school students. As a first prize winner, she earns a $10,000 cash prize and some additional funding to help her implement her concept as a pilot program.
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On Thursday, Tennessee State Legislators heard directly from Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower on issues outlined in a newly released report on Tennessee State University’s housing crisis. The report, came after his office received 14 separate complaints involving TSU’s lack of student housing. While the housing issue was the focus of the report, the comptroller also found issues in other separate areas.
The report cites the university’s lack of a sound final policy, offering several examples of leaders giving conflicting statements and several instances of them not approving funding in a timely fashion. It was determined that TSU’s lack of planning and management, especially regarding scholarship practices, exacerbated the university’s housing problem. Furthermore, it is the belief of the comptroller’s office that TSU will continue to face a housing crisis for the foreseeable future.
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The Tennessee Comptrollers Office has released a report questioning the effectiveness of the leadership at Tennessee State University (TSU). The primary focus of the report is on the University’s recent housing controversy, and its need to explore alternative options due to overcrowding. However, the report also covers TSU’s policies around the awarding of scholarships, the governing board’s competency, and the university’s financial management.
Like many universities across the country, TSU has seen a growth in enrollments during the post-pandemic years. Coupled with an increasing interest in traditional Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from students planning to enroll in college, TCU has seen its enrollment from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022 increase by 1,141 students. Simultaneously, the university’s scholarship budget grew from $6.4 million to $28.3.
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The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) recently voted to preserve a monument in Nashville’s Centennial Park that features a bronze sculpture of a young Confederate private holding a rifle seated on a stone.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed cyber tech guru and singer-songwriter Katie Linendoll to the newsmaker line to talk about her background and new song Your Hands.
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Nashville Mayor John Cooper sent letters to both the Republican and Democratic parties expressing interest in the city playing host to the 2028 national political conventions.
But the benefits of being the host to those events for Nashville and Tennessee residents wouldn’t be as advertised. Economists E. Frank Stephenson, of Georgia’s Berry College, and Victor Matheson, of Holy Cross, have extensively studied the benefits of being a host city for conventions over the past 20 years and have found, while there is an increase in hotel occupancy, the benefits never add up to the claimed benefits.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee- One of the most fascinating shows on CMT is its innovative series, “CMT Crossroads,” which pairs country artists with musicians from other genres.
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NASHVILLE. Tennessee – Hillary Reese comes from a big sports family in Mississippi full of coaches and teachers. But she and her brother both desired to do music instead. (Her brother, Parker Reese, has a degree in Music Education.)
“We were not coordinated and couldn’t throw a ball to save our lives,” Hillary Reese said.
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The Davidson County Republican Party recently announced new leadership to its executive committee.
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A recent academic paper on the economics of sports stadiums again has highlighted how publicly funding professional sports stadiums does not provide the benefits promised by politicians.
The paper highlights how building entertainment districts surrounding stadiums has not changed that formula and alternative tax funding mechanisms – like those planned to be used in Nashville to fund a new $2.1 billion Titans stadium – only serve to obscure the fact so much is public funding is being used.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed State Representative Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) in studio to answer questions on a run for Nashville mayor, reducing Metro Council, Titans Stadium deal, and the state of MNPS.
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A bill that would reduce Nashville’s Metro Council from 40 to 20 voting members was approved by a House subcommittee and now is headed to the House Local Government Committee.
A fiscal note on the bill said it will save Nashville $425,000 in the first year and $510,000 in the years after based on council member’s salaries.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee- One of my favorite things is discovering new talent, often ahead of the labels and music industry. PR teams pitch me an artist, and if I like what I hear, I schedule an interview. When Dead Horse Branding sent the song, “Sass” by new country artist Siena (Paglia), I was hooked by the title alone.
It turns out that this real-life Las Vegas cowgirl can sing quite well. With her debut single, she has just enough twang to keep us old-timers interested, but with lyrics that are fresh and relatable to the younger set.
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Davidson County Republican Party Chairman Jim Garrett announced he will not seek chairmanship in the group’s upcoming reorganization meeting and endorsed Lonnie Spivak to succeed him as chairman.
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In June, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) principals are heading north to Louisville, Kentucky for a summer retreat, or as the Nashville school district likes to call it, Principal Splash. MNPS spokesman Sean Braisted tells The Tennessee Star that, “Principal Splash is an opportunity for tier-based and cluster-based planning and professional learning that also allows for peer bonding.”
While in Louisville, they’ll be put up by the district at the Galt House Hotel. As participants of the Splash, Braisted says, “Principals with Academies programs will stay two nights, and one night for remaining principals.” He goes on to tell The Star, “Group transportation will be provided by the district, and we are anticipating approximately 180 staff altogether. Transportation and meals are provided for MNPS personnel, but spouses are allowed to join and stay in the hotel if they so choose.”
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Casi Joy has been singing publicly since she was 5 years old. Her first performance was a talent at her hometown’s local talent show near Kansas City, Missouri. Not being from a musical family, her parents were a little confused by her desire to become a singer.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed former TN5 GOP candidate Baxter Lee in studio to handicap the mayoral candidates for Nashville’s Davidson County.
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The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce released its 30th Annual Education Report on Tuesday. This year, the Chamber recommendations focused on growing Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Work-Based Learning program.
In all, 131 students participated in MNPS’s work-based learning program during the 2021 – 2022 school year, as did 15 business partners. Students worked over 5,000 hours and received upwards of $70,000 in wages in year 1. The graduation rate of those students who participated in year 1 was 97 percent.
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Over the past several years, Tennessee lawmakers have increased school choice options for families. In an effort to influence parents’ educational choices, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is providing each school with a stipend designed to entice families to make zoned schools their first choice. It’s a continuation of a strategy first implemented last year, and one that the district feels was successful.
In an email, MNPS spokesman Sean Braisted tells The Tennessee Star, “Our goal as a district is to get as many families as possible to choose MNPS as their first option for student success.”
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Before I got the email, I thought it was about time for some new Chris Janson music because it had been a few years since he put new music out.
Fueled by Mountain Dew®, Janson’s high-octane show puts this human hummingbird right at the top of my all-time favorite live performers.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Lonnie Spivak in studio for his endorsement as chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party.
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Lonnie Spivak, a political veteran and community leader, has announced his candidacy for the chairmanship of the Davidson County Republican Party (DCRP).
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The Metro Nashville Public School Board is changing the way that it hears from its constituents. In Chairwoman Rachael Elrod’s view, this is less a change in policy and more of enforcing a policy already in existence. As a result of this new interpretation, the public will be granted more opportunities to publicly address board members but less leeway in what they can talk about. Public participation is scheduled at every meeting, but the only topics open during public participation, are those included in the published agenda.
In a Facebook post dated January 10, Elrod lays out her reasoning to constituents. She writes, “Our public participation policy has been in place since 2017 (before I was on the board) and was most recently updated in March 2022. It has said, since 2017, that public participation should “address the board on an item on the agenda,” she continues with, “After making sure that internal teams could manage this change in enforcement and with no colleague proposing changes to the policy, I announced that I will begin enforcing this policy in 2023.”
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Nashville’s live New Year’s Eve event earlier this month at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park broke records and exceeded expectations in both direct visitor spending and attendance, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) recently announced.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in studio to discuss the proposed reduction of Metro Council members from 40 to 20 and how a support staff would make it more efficient.
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Friday afternoon Brian Wilson, the host of The Drive discussed the Metro Davidson County City Council’s decision to ‘kill off’ the 2024 RNC Convention in Nashville and the upcoming bill set forth by both the Tennessee House and the Senate to eliminate nearly half of the council’s seats.
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Tennessee ranked sixth as a growth state in U-Haul’s annual index, moving down from its No. 3 ranking a year ago.
The index looks at one-way moves using U-Haul from state to state. The 2022 numbers showed that move-ins dropped by 7% while one-way trucks out of South Carolina decreased 6%.
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The Tennessee Titans franchise is currently valued at $3.5 billion, ranking 27th in the NFL just ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, according to Forbes.
But, if a new $2.1 billion stadium proposed to be built mainly with taxpayer funding is approved, the franchise’s value is expected to increase by $300 million.
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