It’s rare when widespread attention is focused on a team that went 1-11 last season, and even stranger when that same team gets its season opener on national television. But that is precisely what is happening at the University of Colorado, which has been a news magnet for months. That’s because this is the place Deion Sanders landed in his first Power 5 coaching job. Sanders has been the talk of the college football world, pro and con, since he let Jackson State to take the Buffaloes head job. It’s been quite an eventful six months for Sanders, whose Colorado…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The eyes of the nation, or at least those watching on NBC, will be able to catch the Tennessee State Tigers on the road as they open the 2023 season at the University of Notre Dame. It’s the first visit to South Bend for the Tigers and the Irish’s inaugural contest against an HBCU. While Notre Dame will be heavily favored, it’s an opportunity for the Tigers to get some exposure and also prepare for the regular season and Big South- Ohio Valley Conference race. That game will be on September 2 at 2:30…
NASHVILLE, TN — Gospel music’s biggest awards night now has its own showcase and network. The 2023 Stellar Gospel Music Awards debuted Sunday on the newly launched Stellar Network. It will air on BET this Sunday and Bounce TV in September. The top winner was Pastor Mike, Jr. He won eight awards for his album “Winning,” and opened the show in tandem with Kierra Sheard Kelly. They performed “Miracles” and “Impossible.” DOE, who entered the industry with her family as a member of the group Forever Jones, received three awards for her album “Clarity.” Zacardi Cortez also won three statues…
NASHVILLE, TN — There’s not much positive news happening at the moment regarding any television or film production, but there are a few things occurring that don’t fall within the purview of the SAG/AFTRA and writers’ strikes. One of them involves auditions for one of the nation’s longtime musical competition shows “American Idol,” Auditions began this past Wednesday for the 22nd season of the program, even though it won’t make its formal appearance on ABC until the spring of 2024. But the network also announced that there would not be any changes in either the judging panel or host. The…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — A favorite of Middle Tennessee and Music City jazz fans returns to Rudy’s Friday night. Saxophonist and bass clarinetist Don Aliquo is both an outstanding soloist and busy bandleader, as well as an in-demand educator. He’s currently a fulltime professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Middle Tennessee State University and a Selmer and Vandoren artist in terms of instrumentation and products. He’s released six albums over the years, and also contributed to several others as a sideman. But this week he’s be leading a quartet whose personnel includes pianist Jody Nardone, bassist John…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One of the nation’s top vocalists returns to the Nashville Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Cave August 5. Veteran West Coast vocalist Gary Brumburgh will be performing tunes from his latest project “BeatleJazz: The Later Years 1865-1970.” Brumburgh has spent decades working in every end of the Los Angeles entertainment industry, but since the early 2000s has specialized in jazz. The father/son duo of pianists Terry and Jamieson Trotter provided the musical backing for his first jazz CD “Moonlight.” That LP remained on the Jazz Week charts more than five months. Another area that Brumburgh…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The ongoing writers and actors strikes have essentially shut down Hollywood production for scripted television shows and films other than a handful of independents. With little to watch on the broadcast networks except reruns, MTV has taken advantage of this lull to enjoy some of its biggest audiences and highest ratings in several years. According to the Shadow and Act website, Black-oriented reality shows have helped turned Tuesday night into a highly profitable one for the new network. “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” and “Caught in the Act: Unfaithful” have brought MTV its highest…
Auto racing has never been the most diverse sport, either NASCAR, IndyCar or Formula One. The prohibitive costs of the vehicles, the difficulty in getting corporate sponsorship and the historical lack of access to training facilities and experience have all been part of the reasons so few Blacks and other people of color have participated in the sport. But now there has been increased Black involvement in NASCAR at the ownership level. The most successful has been the team owned by former NBA and University of North Carolina star Brad Daugherty. He’s been a team owner since 1988 and is…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Vanderbilt Commodores open their 2023 football schedule with two home games and will play six games in Nashville including contests against defending national champion Georgia and Auburn. The season begins with two games they clearly need to win in order to both get the season off to a good start and help in pursuit of a bowl bid. The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Alabama A&M Bulldogs are their first two opponents. Both are night games with the opener set for 6:30 pm central and the second for 6 pm. These games are on…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Grammy-nominated pianist, songwriter, producer and bandleader Victor Wainwright is happiest and at his best when on tour, something he particularly missed when the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down live music across much of the nation just as his most recent LP “Memphis Loud” was released. So this latest tour for Wainwright and his outstanding band The Train, which comes to Nashville Wednesday night, has a special a meaning for the powerhouse artist. “We kind of got caught in the squeeze with our last LP,” Wainwright said during a phone interview this week with the…