Nashville Music Promotions

Boscoe France, 2012 winner of Guitar Center's Battle of the Blues, spent his birthday at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, where the national blues guitar player winner from Madisonville, Ky., selected a Gibson custom guitar of his choice.

The Earbuds, an animated four-piece band of instruments that loves making music for kids (and their parents) has released its sophomore CD today, Second! The CD is filled with simple, yet clever tunes aimed at entertaining both kids and adults.

The Boscoe France Band, fronted by the act's namesake who is the 2012 winner of Guitar Center's Battle of the Blues, won the River Basin Blues Society contest, earning the band a slot to compete at the upcoming International Blues Challenge.

Prominent business leaders and style icons were among those who gathered August 19 to celebrate three leaders in civil rights activism, business and media who have achieved success as a minority or who have advanced the diversity agenda in America.

A new study indicates travel among Affluent African Americans has increased by 30 percent in the past three years, with 60 percent of the target group taking at least five overnight business trips and two-thirds spending a minimum of $2,000.

The event will honor Marc Morial, former New Orleans mayor and current chairman/CEO of the National Urban League; Donna Byrd, publisher of theroot.com; and Laurence Boschetto, CEO/president of Draftfcb for advancing the diversity agenda in America.