XM Radio today introduced "Willie's Place," a traditional country channel set to begin broadcasting July 10 on XM channel 13, formerly known as "Hank's Place."

According to the official press release, "Nelson will provide creative direction for the channel, as well as contribute exclusive programming to 'Willie's Place' and other XM commercial-free music channels." Nelson joins a growing list of celebrity music programmers that includes Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg.

XM also is building a studio at Willie's bio-diesel truck stop in Carl's Corner and will broadcast Willie's Picnic live from the Fort Worth Stockyards on July 4.

I'm a big fan of XM, and especially the X Country channel, but admittedly never spent much time at Hank's Place. Looks like I'll be adding another channel to my favorites list.

Patrice Pike had a good excuse for skipping last week's Family Eldercare Fan Fare Friday — just hours before her scheduled performance, Pike learned she'd made it onto the reality series "Rock Star: Supernova."

The show, which debuts on MSN next Monday and on CBS next Thursday, lets 15 telegenic singers compete for the opportunity to front Supernova, a new rock band featuring drummer Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), bassist Jason Newsted (Metallica), and guitarist Gilby Clark (Guns 'n Roses).

Head to Threadgill's this Friday for Fan Fare Friday, sponsored by 107.1 KGSR and benefitting Family Eldercare.

Just bring a new fan or make a $12 donation, and not only will you be helping senior citizens and low-income families stay cool this summer, but you'll also be registered to win prizes like a new energy efficient HVAC system or a new PC — and of course your donation also gets you into the beergarden for a full day of live music:

• 8 am — The Mother Truckers
• 9 am — Hayes Carll
• 10 am — Warren Hood and the Hoodlums
• 11 am — Patrice Pike
• 12 pm — The Resentments
• 1 pm — Jon Dee Graham
• 2 pm — Carolyn Wonderland
• 3 pm — Jimmy LaFave
• 4 pm — Surprise Guest!
• 5 pm — Will Sexton & Stephen Doster
• 6 pm — Ian MacLagan

I'll be there from 7–10 in the morning helping collect donations. So come on down to Threadgill's to help a great cause and enjoy some live daytime music from some of Austin's top artists.

ACL Fest promoters and Austin city officials are splitting costs on a new Zilker Park irrigation system that will include sprinklers, additional water fountains, and extra misting stations.

From Michael Corcoran at the Austin American-Statesman:

Dust was the demon at last year's Austin City Limits Music Festival, with swirling soil smog filling the air to the point that many festgoers were wearing handkerchiefs over their faces like stagecoach robbers. (Or maybe they didn't want their hipster friends to recognize them digging Coldplay.)
 
The dust storm got so bad that Jimmy LaFave started changing lyrics to Woody Guthrie songs so they'd be about Zilker Park. The main stage should've been sponsored by Visine.
 
But festival organizers Capital Sports & Entertainment and Charles Attal Presents are determined to keep this year's and subsequent festivals from being marred by "Oklahoma Rain." They've agreed to pay half the costs of an irrigation system being installed by the Austin Parks and Recreation Department at the concert site.
 
...read more

This week Cindy Chaffin is introducing her latest project, The Fine Line. After four years as a D/FW music advocate on TexasGigs, she's decided to leave the domain name in the hands of Pegasus News (which revamped the site in January as part of a new partnership) and return to independent blogging.

Before the Pegasus News move, Cindy ran the blog on her own and hosted a weekly podcast called "The Fine Line," highlighting artists playing in the D/FW area and at cool venues around the state.

Cindy's move isn't a surprise to me. It had to be tough losing creative control, and being constrained to a D/FW-only beat instead of blogging about whatever interested her. She hinted at her disappointment with the "new" TexasGigs just a month after the new site launched.

For more on Cindy's move: Dallas Observer, QuickDFW, TexasGigs announcement (and be sure to check out the lively debate raging in the comments).

Keyboardist extraordinaire Billy Preston died yesterday in Arizona at the age of 59.

Best known for his contributions to the Beatles' Let It Be sessions, the Houston native also recorded with the Rolling Stones (among many others), co-wrote the Joe Cocker hit "You Are So Beautiful," was the first musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and notched solo hits and a Grammy® win in the 1970s.

For more on Preston: official site, Wikipedia, Google News.

I attended my second of Brandon Rhyder's Monday songswaps last night, and this one proved even better than the first. Of course, it helps that I went with my wife, and that we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Capitol Brasserie before heading to Antone's. Surely the music had a little something to do with it as well.

Jason Eady and his newly-named Wayward Apostles opened with a solid acoustic set, highlighted by a new song co-written with Walt Wilkins (sorry, didn't catch the title) and the closing "Go Down Moses" from Eady's debut album From Underneath the Old.

But the night belonged to Rhyder's acoustic partners for the evening, Willy Braun and Micky Braun. It's fascinating to watch the Braun brothers accompany one another on their respective songs, adding rhythm guitar support while occasionally alternating verses, trading asides, and flashing generally mischievous grins. When Rhyder took a brief break midway through the songswap, he just about lost the stage to a Braun brothers coup when brother Gary jumped on-stage for an impromptu family jam on "Nobody's Girl" and Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Going Nowhere." Of course Rhyder played well too, with his impeccable voice and natural stage presence keeping the evening moving apace. But the Brauns dominated with their intensity and sheer numbers.

Rhyder's Texas Country Friends series continues next Monday with Wade Bowen and another guest TBD.