by Ben Grimwood
Staff Writer
From R&B to electronica to acoustic folk rock, the stage is set for a full day of ear candy on June 20 at River Front Park during Nashville's official Pride Festival. Let us recommend a cooler full of sustenance, a bottle of SPF 15 and this, our preparatory entertainment guide, because we want to satisfy your inquiring mind.
Deborah Cox. In the mid-1990s, three-time Juno Award-winning Canadian R&B singer Deborah Cox came to prominence after being signed to Clive Davis’ Arista Records. She found the biggest success of her career with the song “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” co-written by Montell Jordan (“This Is How We Do It”), the lead single from her 1998 album, “One Voice,” a song which spent eight weeks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and a record-breaking fourteen weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Last year, Cox released her fifth studio album, “The Promise,” from which the song “Beautiful U R” hit #3 on Billboard’s Dance chart. Indeed, apart from “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” Cox is probably best-known for landing nine #1’s on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Kelly King. Nashville-based independent artist Kelly King made her mark in 2007 with the Billboard top 25 Adult Contemporary hit, “I Don’t Wanna Sing That Song.” Prior to her 2007 studio album release, “Live the Dream,” on Calello Music Group, a label imprint created just for her by Grammy-winning producer Charles Calello, King got her start in Nashville’s music industry by singing backup for major artists, including Al Green, Brenda Lee, and Vince Gill. King performs regularly at both national and international PRIDE events; for example, she will spend this June performing at EuroPRIDE, Brooklyn PRIDE, and our own Nashville PRIDE.
Eric Himan and the Adams. Acoustic folk rocker Eric Himan began touring colleges in 2001 and has released six studio albums on his own Thumbcrown Records, been nominated at LOGO’s “NewNowNext Awards,” and been featured in Fender’s 2004 guitar catalog. Himan now performs in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a duo, the Adams. Himan recently made “The Advocate” magazine’s “40 Under 40” list.
Jason Antone. Next month, Chicago native Jason Antone is releasing his first album, “Start to Move,” on Chickie Records. Speaking on his new album, Antone says, “The lead album track ‘To the Limit’ truly conveys what I set out to do early in my career as an artist – not just in terms of success, but in terms of breaking-through to a unique sound and edgy manner.” “To the Limit,” co-written and produced by Willie Lewis, showcases his vocal talents as never before and embodies Antone’s whole artistic movement into the pop world, away from his club dance sound of recent years. Indeed, Antone’s first two electronica singles, “Be Free” and “Love’s Gonna Lead You Back,” both hit the top 25 of Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart in 2007 and 2008.