Tree Hill Nature Center & VI Productions Present From Tree Hill to Nashville - Songwriters & Songbirds Festival With Legendary Nashville Producer Michael Knox Saturday, June 6, 2009 | 10 am - 6 pm 7152 Lone Star Rd., Jacksonville, FL. 32211 | (904) 724-4646 | www.treehill.org _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On Saturday, June 6, 2009, Tree Hill Nature Center & VI Productions will present "From Tree Hill to Nashville - Songwriters & Songbirds Festival" from 10am - 6 pm. at the Joseph A. Strasser Amphitheater. This will be a day of music, workshops and live performances by the winners of the Songwriter's Contest and the winners of the Artist Contest. Successful Nashville producer Michael Knox will judge the winning Festival entries. Knox will present awards to winners in both contests during the festival. June 5 Private Q & A with Michael Knox @ Tree Hill for all Festival entrants. 5  - 6:30 pm - All Festival entrants are invited to a private Q & A with Michael Knox.  This you opportunity to ask an expert about the inside scoop of what it takes to be successful in the Nashville Music Business. June 6 Festival Schedule: 10 am - 6 pm 10:15 - 10:40 am - Welcome by Tree Hill ED, VI Productions and Michael Knox.   10:40 - 11 am - Mike Shackleford performs. 11 am - 12:30 pm - Top 3 Songwriters perform 2 songs in the amphitheater. Michael Knox will award winner prizes. 12:45 - 1:45 pm - Michael Knox Q & A in the amphitheater. 2 - 3:30 pm - Top 3 Artist Performance winners will perform 2 songs each.  Michael Knox will award winner prizes. 4 - 5 pm - Honorable Mention for up & Coming Artist awarded by Michael Knox ($25) and photos and meet and greet. 5:10 - 5:30 pm - Willie Mae performs. 5:30 - 6 pm - Media Meet & Greet. $5 General Admission to Festival on June 6 for ages 6 and up. Food and beverages will be available for purchase during the festival with Tree Hill's on site caterer, The Chef's Garden. Festival entrants will have their CD's available for purchase. Music Vendors may email sandy@wilsoncommunicates.com for festival details. Contest Submission Deadlines: On Thursday, March 26, 2009, Tree Hill and VI Productions will send a call for entries via email to local, regional and national musicians. Deadlines for submissions to be delivered to Tree Hill Nature Center: Songwriters Contest - Entry deadline with payment is 4 pm on April 29, 2009 to Tree Hill Nature Center. Original songwriting contest. Artist Contest - Entry deadline with payment is 4 pm on April 29, 2009. Music performance and artist package contest for musicians. Click here for the Contest  details & entry form |  Michael Knox will determine and award contest winners. Michael Knox Bio: CollegeMusicRadio.com CEO/President. Knox Management Knox Music Group Few people in Music Row history have turned creativity into chart success as well as Michael Knox. When he was an executive for Warner/Chappell Music (1992 - 2002), Knox was responsible for writer and artist development and song placements that left his stamp on more than 150 million records. Along the way, he has proven himself to be one of Nashville's most original business minds and one of its most successful groomers of talent. "I don't do things in a traditional way," Knox says. "I want to be the guy who may do the unexpected because it taps into the heart of the creative process." The result has been a truly impressive level of success. While at Warner/Chappell he was responsible for the catalogs of Marv Green (BMI's 2001 Songwriter of the Year, and writer of BMI/ACM/NSAI song of the year "Amazed"), Jeff Stevens, Steve Bogard, John Rich (Big & Rich), Vicky McGehee (BMI Songwriter Of the Year), Multi-Platinum Artist Gretchen Wilson, Blue Miller (producer of India Arie) Wendell Mobley, Terry McBride and Capital Recording Artist Emily West, and 2006 Academy of Country Music Top New Male Vocalist Jason Aldean among many others, and for a co-venture with Encore Entertainment that produced ASCAP's 2001 Song of the Year ("The Way You Love Me") and Songwriter of the Year (Keith Follese), and a venture with Extreme Writers Group (Rodney Clawson).  Knox also co-produced Danni Leigh's Decca Records release in 1998. With monster hits as a songplugger by Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, George Strait, Gary Allan, Collin Raye, Tracy Byrd, Clay Walker, and many others--more than 300 cuts in eight years--all reflect his pivotal role in bringing together artist and song. Currently Knox has produced Jason Aldean's self -titled Platinum album on Broken Bow Records, including the Top Ten hit single "Hicktown", Top 5 Single "Amarillo Sky" and the Billboard and R&R Number One (#1) hit single "Why". He also produced Aldean's current GOLD album "Relentless" with it's Top 10 hit single "Johnny Cash", Top 5 hit single "Laugh Until We Cried" and Top 15 single "Relentless".  With first week sales of 98,000 copies, Aldean's sophomore album "Relentless" debut in 2007 at #1 on Billboards Top Country Albums. The new Jason Aldean record "Wide Open" to be released April 7th 2009 and the first single "She's Country" which was performed on the 42nd CMA Awards is currently in the Top 10 on Billboard and R&R Country Charts. "She's Country" is Aldean's fastest moving single to date...Recently Knox has moved into a new territory, Producing and Managing newcomers Crossin Dixon, a new band on Broken Bow Records, with the singles "Guitar Slinger" and "I Love My Old Bird Dog" which reached #1 on the CMT Pure Country Network play list. Also in 2008 Knox produced the Road Hammers current USA Top 50 debut singles "I Don't Know When To Quit" and "I've Got The Scars To Prove It" for Montage Records, and Knox also appeared in The Road Hammers reality series which aired on GAC, and CMT Canada, the Lila McCann single for BBR "That's What Angels Do", and he is working with newcomer Shalacy Griffin. Knox came by his intimate knowledge of the music business honestly. The son of early rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Knox ("Party Doll" 1957), he had a front-row seat on history. I'd like to be known as a creative guy who happens to know how to run a business," he says. "I like getting in a room with writers and artists and being part of what facilitates their creativity." "I truly believe," says Knox, "that the best music out there is music that normally doesn't get heard. There's a generation of brilliant talent out there that's not sure yet where to go or where they fit. Those are the people I want to work with." Located in the center of Jacksonville, Florida, TREE HILL Nature Center is the place in our community to experience family fun in a natural environment. TREE HILL is a center of excellence for environmental education, conservation and awareness, offers programs, facilities and access to natural areas, which promote understanding of and respect for our natural world. Green Your Imagination in 2009 by participating in TREE HILL programs, events and membership opportunities. (Open to the public Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Sunday and Holidays.) CONTACT: Lucy Cortese, Executive Director @ treehillnaturecenter@gmail.com | ADDRESS: 7152 Lone Star Rd., Jacksonville, FL. 32211 | PHONE: (904) 724-4646 | www.treehill.org 8th Annual Butterfly Festival is on April 25, 2009 - click on the banner below for details! Contact: Sandy Wilson, (904) 234-1148, sandy@wilsoncommunicates.com