Artists confirmed to-date for the series include The Bravery, shot in Atlanta; Vanessa Carlton, scheduled to be taped in Iowa; Ben Folds, recently taped in Newport News, VA; Josh Kelley, shot in Alexandria, VA. Jason Mraz is scheduled for an upcoming performance in Denver. Additional artists will be added for the first season.
Through Bonefish Grill’s NOTES FROM THE ROAD, artists bring out the excitement and intrigue of touring through each weekly, hour-long episode which combines live performances and personal, seldom-told tales providing inside looks at past tours. Each episode is shot in a documentary film style, imprinted with each guest artist’s personality, viewpoint, experiences and music.
Ovation TV is the fastest-growing independent cable television network, currently reaching 28 million homes nationally with distribution via satellite on DIRECTV (Channel 274) and DISH Network (Channel 157) and on a rapidly growing number of cable systems in key markets across the country.
The series also includes a weekly vignette drawing attention to Ocean Trust, an award-winning ocean conservation foundation building science, conservation and industry partnerships for the sustainability of the oceans and providing a link to sustainable fisheries, wildlife and the environment.
Veteran music television producer Larry Klein is the show’s executive producer. Klein is a 30-year veteran of music television production, and current longtime producer of ABC-TV’s American Music Awards and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve for Dick Clark Productions. He also produced NBC-TV’s Tsunami Relief music special.
Klein recently told Billboard Magazine, “There needs to be more space on our airwaves for music… (with ‘Road’)….I want to get not just the artist’s performance, but into their heads.”
He added, “this show will create a very cool and intimate environment for artists to talk about their live gigs and tours,” stated Klein. “We offer each artist a chance to be the creative center of a TV program that features their live music and interesting stories from the road. As CD sales continue to decline, it’s the tour that often makes an artist’s living today, and live shows are increasingly becoming the primary path to reaching, building and maintaining a fan base. Our series will focus acutely on that aspect of each artist’s career – the tours, where they meet and communicate and bond with their fans.”
Chad E. Gutstein, Executive Vice President, Ovation TV, said: “This exciting music series is a perfect match with our creative mission for Ovation TV. It exemplifies our overall commitment to presenting artists, their lives and their creations in an honest, insightful, accessible and entertaining way. We’re very pleased with the creative and personal depth that’s been built into the program’s concept, and are thrilled to present it to our viewers.”
Bonefish Grill’s NOTES FROM THE ROAD is an Elevation Group Production. Denny Young, Elevation’s President and a veteran producer of live concerts and special events, will also serve as Executive Producer. Klein and Young will be joined by supervising producer Danny Harris. Harris’ credits include: NBC-TV’s Tsunami Relief, CBS-TV’s Fashion Rocks and MTV’s Music In High Places.
Bonefish Grill, the broadcast sponsor of Bonefish Grill’s NOTES FROM THE ROAD, operates restaurants around the country and is recognized for their unique polished-casual settings, big-city bar atmosphere and high-quality, high-value fresh fish. Each episode will be taped at a Bonefish Grill location within the United States, as dictated by the routing of the guest artist’s tour. ABSOLUT® VODKA will be the series’ on-air presenting sponsor for each television broadcast.
“Similar to the Hospitality industry, music has always had the power to reach people on an emotional level,” said John Cooper, President of Bonefish Grill. “What’s so powerful about this program is that we combine our love of music and our love of food with our commitment to Ocean Trust and their conservation efforts throughout the world. We feel privileged to be hosting these shows throughout the country.”