Country Music Singer John Rich

Warner Bros. Records artist John Rich is helping promote Nashville's vibrant music community by hosting a monthly talent competition called the "Get Rich Talent Search." The first night of the search brought in a packed house as the crowd gathered recently to check out 10 artist/bands that were hand-picked by Rich to perform for Music Row executives.

"I remember when I was 17 coming out to Nashville and trying to do what I do now. I didn't know where to play or who to see," said Rich. "I read that the Broken Spoke (a local club), had a weekly talent competition and I went down to try out. Judy Martin ran the event; she gave me my first opportunity to play in town. I watched artists like Tracy Lawrence perform and it gave me an idea of what was out there at the time, and to see what kind of talent I was up against. It was one of the best things to help me grow as an artist. I hope this talent search will give people the start and the break they need to do what they love."

John had the challenging task of reviewing the over 800 submissions and narrowing it down to 10. Some of Nashville's most well known executives came out to judge the event. They included: Executive Vice President, Warner Bros. Records Bill Bennett, Sr. Vice President of A&R, Warner Bros. Records Scott Hendricks, Sr. Vice President, William Morris Agency Marc Oswald, Sr. Vice President, William Morris Agency Greg Oswald, Assistant Vice President of Creative Services, ASCAP Herky Wiliams and BMI Songwriter of the Year, Vicky McGhee.

The "Get Rich Talent Search" will take place on the final Monday of each month at a Music City club called 12th & Porter. Contestants will be competing for a top prize of $300, second prize of $200 and third prize of $100. For consideration for future talent searches, artists can submit entries to GetRichTalentSearch@gmail.com.

For more info on the event visit www.myspace.com/getrichtalentsearch.

And for the latest antics of Big & Rich, log onto www.bigandrich.com.

By: Jim Asker