Chris Stapleton stuns CMA awards with best male vocalist win

by William Jackson

It was a night of surprises at the CMA Awards, from the stunning announcement that one of country music’s just divorced, reigning superstars had hooked up with one of the world’s biggest pop stars, to the night’s big winner, a singer previously unknown to most people outside of country music circles.

So while Luke Bryan took home the biggest award of the night for entertainer of the year, and Miranda Lambert won female vocalist for the sixth time in a row, it was country newcomer Chris Stapleton who stole the show, winning three awards, including male vocalist of the year.

Both Lambert and Bryan congratulated Stapleton in their acceptance speeches. Stapleton looked dumbfounded.

“This is unbelievable. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to think,” he said, who has written for Kenny Chesney, George Strait and others. “Thank you so much for the love.”

Earlier in the show, Stapleton, from Kentucky, sang alongside Justin Timberlake, who grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and tapped into his country roots with a show-stopping performance. They strummed their guitars while singing “Tennessee Whiskey” and followed that with Timberlake’s tune, “Drink You Away.”

Little Big Town won the first award of the night for single of the year for their No. 1 hit, “Girl Crush,” – one of the year’s most popular and semi-controversial songs.

Connecting with artefacts taken by Cook

by William Jackson

CURATORS at London’s National Maritime Museum are consulting Maori about the provenance of ancient weapons collected from New Zealand during explorer Lieutenant James Cook’s first and second voyages. The artefacts will be exhibited in 2018.

Members of London-based haka group Ngati Ranana have posted photos of the artefacts on social media in the hope that friends and whanau in New Zealand can provide details about them.

Former Manutuke man and chairman of Ngati Ranana, Lewis Whaitiri, told Radio New Zealand he and members of the haka group had seen tewhatewha, kotiate, patiti and a taiaha.

“They were tupuna (ancestors). You could feel the mauri when you walked in.

“They had been stored away for so long, some of them had not seen a Maori face or been touched by Maori since the museum first had them. You could feel the taonga crying for home.

“You could feel the mana and the mauri that sits within those taonga and just how happy they were to be in Maori hands again.”

Former curator Jody Wyllie told Radio New Zealand that Gisborne iwi Rongowhakaata had been on the lookout for confiscated taonga.

“Some of the earliest examples of the Turanga style of carving and painting, which is particular to the Ngati Kaipoho hapu of Rongowhakaata, was taken by Cook.

“Some of our earliest examples exist in places like the British Museum and the British Maritime Museum. We are very interested in what he did.”

Along with examination of the patterns of the carvings, clues about where artefacts came from could be found in Cook’s diary, he said.

“It’s a bit like CSI piecing it together. It’s a very long and arduous process. One thing I am very mindful of is claiming other people’s taonga and that’s the risk you run when you’re dealing with mahi like this.”

About 20,000 Maori artefacts are thought to be held in foreign museums around the world.

Radio news from New Orleans, Oklahoma City

by William Jackson

We have radio news today from two Triple-A Pacific Coast League teams: the New Orleans Zephyrs have a new broadcast home, while the Oklahoma City Dodgers will be back on 1340 “The Game” through the 2018 season.

The new flagship radio station for the Zephyrs in 2016: WODT 1280, Fox Sports New Orleans. All 144 Zephyrs home and away games will be carried by Fox Sports 1280, and will also be available on iHeartRadio. Tim Grubbs returns for his 15th season as the play-by-play voice of the Zephyrs, and will again be joined by Ron Swoboda on all home broadcasts.

“I’m so excited for the Zephyrs to be part of the Fox Sports 1280 brand and to be a part of the iHeart Radio family in New Orleans,” said Jim Fisher, WODT Program Director. “We couldn’t be more pleased to make this great game more accessible to fans on air and through our iHeartRadio app.”

Additionally, a select number of Zephyrs games will be televised again in 2016 on Cox Sports Television, marking the 14th consecutive season CST will bring Z’s baseball to a regional audience. A schedule of televised games will be released at a future date.

In Oklahoma City, the Dodgers will return to 1340 “The Game” (KGHM-AM) through the 2018 season.

The Dodgers and iHeartMedia have been broadcast partners since 2011. All 144 OKC Dodgers games will air on 1340 “The Game,” 1340thegame.com, and through the iHeartRadio mobile app beginning 15 minutes before first pitch with “Dodgers on Deck” and concluding with “The Dodgers Post-Game Report” following each game.

Nationally syndicated broadcasts of the Triple-A All-Star Game and the Triple-A National Championship will continue to air on 1340 “The Game” as well. During the season, “OKC Dodgers Rewind” will air as a daily recap of the previous game across other iHeartMedia properties.

“Voice of the OKC Dodgers” Alex Freedman will handle all broadcast duties for the fifth consecutive season. Freedman and 1340 “The Game” are the reigning back-to-back winners of the “Best Play-By-Play” award presented by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters.

“This was an easy decision for both parties involved,” said OKC Dodgers President/General Manager Michael Byrnes. “We’ve had nothing but a great experience working with iHeartMedia. This partnership has been valuable for both sides, and we look forward to continue to improve upon it.”

iHeartMedia Oklahoma City will continue to have sponsorship elements present at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and on Dodgers-related materials, such as schedules, in-stadium signage, and the PlayBall! program.

“iHeartMedia Oklahoma City and 1340 ‘The Game’ are very excited to continue our partnership with the Dodgers,” said iHeartMedia Oklahoma City Market President Bill Hurley. “Our association with the Dodgers continues to be a great way to extend our brand on ‘The Game’ and on the iHeartRadio mobile app.”

For the second straight season, iHeartMedia Oklahoma City will also serve as an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network. Games will primarily air on KTOK-AM 1000, and can be heard on 1340 “The Game” when they do not conflict with OKC Dodgers games.