Belmont University’s School of Music will present its annual Curtain Call Award, recognizing achievements in the field of commercial/popular music, to MCA recording artist Josh Turner, one of Nashville’s brightest new country music stars. Turner, whose debut album Long Black Train went gold (selling half a million copies) on the strength of its eponymous first single, is a 2001 graduate of the School of Music.
He wrote the song “Long Black Train” while a student at Belmont. Turner says he was inspired to write the song after listening to the complete Hank Williams box set in the Belmont library.
Turner was nominated earlier this week for two Country Music Association awards, including the Horizon Award for best new artist and Song of the Year for “Long Black Train.” The CMA Awards show will air on CBS on Tuesday, November 9, 2004.
“Long Black Train” also was nominated for Outstanding Country Gospel Song of the Year for the 2004 American Christian Music Awards, to be presented September 24.
Turner will receive the Curtain Call Award in a private event September 7 at Massey Concert Hall on the Belmont campus, and then perform an informal concert for the audience of Belmont students, faculty and staff. He will also answer questions from the audience and autograph copies of his CD for Belmont students.
“It has been wonderful to see Josh’s talent, hard work and positive attitude pay off. He’s just an all-around good guy, and we could not be any prouder of him and the way he represents himself and Belmont. Everyone here is excited that he will be back to accept our award and return to perform on the very stage he performed on when he was a student,” said Jeff Kirk, Belmont’s Coordinator of Commercial Music.
Previous Applause Award winners include Ginny Owens, Jill Phillips Gullahorn, Will Denton, Fleming McWilliams, Melodie Crittenden, Jozef Nuyens, Gordon Mote, Tammy Rogers King and Chris Rodriguez.
Media coverage is welcomed – please contact Kristy Reeves at the School of Music (615.460.8115) to make a media reservation. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 7.
