2010 Nashville Celebrity Centre Music & Arts Festival

May 22, 2010 – Nashville, TN: Artists For A Better World International co-sponsored the Nashville Celebrity Centre Music & Arts Festival which launched its first event at Celebrity Centre Nashville yesterday and today.

Nearly a year in planning and development, the idea of Bill Watson, musician, Renaissance clothier and artist, from the D.C. area, was to establish an annual Music & Arts Festival in Nashville, which would become a central event to the many artists and art groups in surrounding cities to Nashville.

The highlight of the festival was opening night open mic with showcase and the following night’s John Novello Jazz Fusion Concert.

For visual artists we had representatives from Washington D.C. and Nashville displaying their fine works and handicrafts, to the delight of those attending.

Nashville, being the center of the music world, took to the music events more naturally, and originally the headliner, John Novello was to contribute only several solo piano pieces, but as the festival evolved it flowed right into a complete jazz fusion concert with Louisiana, Chicago and Nashville jazz / rock artists, opening for Mr. Novello.

The Prophets, Gary Levin, and Dara Tucker respectively, started what became a four hour concert. A full backing band, since John’s usual band members were committed elsewhere around the world, was put together in a matter of days, and Nashville being the town it is for music complied! Incidentally “jazz fusion” is a combination of jazz and rock.

Due to the efforts of the President of Celebrity Centre, Nashville, Corrine Sullivan, news of the festival and concert was aired on WFSX, 88.1, Nashville during a live interview program with Mr. Novello.

Most of the artists were new to Celebrity Centre and to Musicians In Action Guild. One of the contributing organizers to the festival, Barbara Novello told MIAG, “The concert was fabulous and the band loved playing with John and his music. They were troopers coming in on late notice as well.”

Just prior to the concert, Nashville and Tennessee in general were hit by the worst rains in five hundred years, and due to the enormous damages by the storm to life and property, half the funds raised by the concert went to volunteer relief efforts in Nashville.