February 20 through 22, BMI will partner with Atlanta's The Devil Stole the Beat to highlight an invigorating slice of the south's most auspicious new music. Slated for Thursday, February 21 at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta, BMI's showcase will ping pong back and forth between the upstairs and downstairs rooms of the venue, supplying a continuous stream of live music. Nashville's Gabe Dixon kicks off the music downstairs promptly at 8:30pm; Atlanta's Judi Chicago follows upstairs at 9pm; 9:30pm brings Atlanta's Deke Spears downstairs; Athens, Georgia's Spring Tigers hit the upstairs stage at 10pm; Savannah's Arum Rae and Muscle Shoals' John Paul White will play together downstairs at 10:30pm; Nashville's The Silver Seas will perform upstairs at 11pm; Birmingham's Matthew Mayfield will finish off the downstairs' sets at 11:30pm; and Birmingham's Wild Sweet Orange will cap off the night upstairs at midnight.

For more information on Atlanta's The Devil Stole the Beat, please visit thedevilstolethebeat.com.

The latest addition to that esteemed list is John Paul White. Unlike most of the artists who came before him, John Paul didn’t have to travel very far. He was born, and still lives, in Muscle Shoals.

Despite his hometown’s soulful reputation. John Paul says that while he was growing up, he was more likely to hear his mom’s Andy Williams and Perry Como records. And his dad, a die-hard country music fan, listened exclusively to his George Jones and Don Williams LP’s. This lack of early education notwithstanding, it seemed as though John Paul was on a path to Fame, in a more roundabout way.. He and a group of friends were preparing for a school talent contest. They were going to lip-sync AC/DC’s “Back In Black.” John Paul, who couldn’t play an instrument, was the band’s air-bassist. At one point, John Paul stepped up to the microphone and began singing, accapella, “Stand By Me.” The drummer said, “You can really sing.” “From that point on,” John Paul says, “nothing else mattered in my life.”

So at 16, John Paul was already playing in bar bands, and that’s where John Paul first connected with the brand of soul and (mostly southern) rock that was in his geographical DNA. Since it wasn’t likely that some major label A&R rep was going to walk into a bar in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee , John Paul decided to forgo his musical aspirations, temporarily, and enrolled at the University of North Alabama, in Florence.

Soon thereafter, John Paul met a local songwriter named Walt Aldridge, who was starting a joint-venture publishing company with EMI Publishing. An audition was arranged, and because John Paul didn’t want to sing any cover songs (“just so he wouldn’t compare me to any other versions”), he quickly wrote his first three original songs. Aldridge loved one of the three, and brought it to EMI. After John Paul wrote some more songs, he was signed to a publishing deal.

For a while, he drove back and forth between Muscle Shoals and Nashville, begging people to co-write with him, trying to write radio hits, and not getting anywhere. Frustrated with the progress of his writing career, he started taking computer programming classes. But he still had some publishing money to do demos, so he decided to cut some new songs. “I wanted to write the best songs I could write, and kept digging deeper, getting darker, figuring it out.”

At the beginning of 2005, John Paul gathered together musicians he knew from doing demos, and they recorded four songs. Immediately, he knew that this was his calling card. “I knew I was ready. I’d never been more confident. I thought, ‘now’s the time’.”

His publishers at EMI Nashville agreed. As soon as they heard the new material, which leaned more in a rock direction, they sent it to their New York office. EMI NY “jumped in with both feet.” By the summer of ’05, John Paul was meeting with A&R people from major labels. “I made it clear to everyone I met with that this was how my record was going to sound.” On a trip to LA, he played one song for the President of Capitol Records, who committed on the spot to signing him. This past fall, John Paul took the short – but long – journey over to Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals to record his debut Capitol album.

On his MySpace page, where most artists have biographical information, John Paul has posted a poem by Charles Bukowski. It says, in part:

there’s a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I’m too clever. I only let him out at night sometimes when everyone’s asleep. I say, I know that you’re there, so don’t be sad. then I put him back, but he’s singing a little in there, I haven’t quite let him die

Presenting acts from the U.S. and abroad, BMI will showcase an array of rising rock, pop and singer/songwriter acts. From the blues rock of the Isle of Man’s Back Door Slam, to the power rock trio of Inward Eye, infectiousness of Bang Bang Bang and John Paul White’s rhythmic guitar, BMI’s Lollapalooza stage is guaranteed to satisfy all musical tastes.

The schedule for the BMI sponsored Lollapalooza stage is as follows:

Friday, August 3
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. - The Switches: Hailing from London, England, the Switches debut album, Heart Tuned To D.E.A.D, is influenced by artists such as David Bowie, The Rakes, Super Furry Animals, and the Beach Boys.

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. - Tom Schraeder: With a delicate, drunken honesty and a knack for setting the simple desperation of young love against a background of Brit-pop-laced Americana, Tom Schraeder’s songs for his upcoming album, The Door, are not for the faint of heart.

1:45 – 2:30 p.m. - Bang Bang Bang: With influences like The Sex Pistols and Lenny Kravitz, Bang Bang Bang inked a record deal with Warner Brothers after dazzling them with their irresistible, infectious brand of greasy, sleazy Southern rock, spiked liberally with punk energy and songwriting smarts.

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. - Powerspace: This young quartet specialize in a cross between hooky power pop à la Fountains of Wayne, ironic glam metal in the tradition of the Darkness, and '80s-influenced dance-rock textures that recall early MTV stars like INXS and Duran Duran.

4:15 – 5:00 p.m. - Inward Eye: With a nod to the Jam and the Who, this rock trio from Winnipeg, Canada write and perform songs with the wit and guitar-based energy that have won them a global audience.

5:30 – 6:15 p.m. - Wax on Radio: Chicago' s Wax On Radio has emerged at the forefront of a new breed of important young rock bands. At once artistic, virtuosic, heavy, and reminiscent of an era when great songs and evocative aural atmospherics coexisted with strong hooks, the bands music resonates as an uncommonly multifaceted, engaging, and convincing statement.

Saturday, August 4
11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Dear and the Headlights: Rock band Dear and the Headlights, calls Phoenix, Arizona home and consists of five members influenced by artists such as Radiohead, Bob Dylan, The Flaming Lips, and Leonard Cohen.

12:30 – 1:15 - Ludo: Critics embraced their second album, The Broken Bride, as “a rock and roll adventure for the ages” and “a competitor for the best EP of the year.”

1:45-2:30 - Kevin Michael: With an irresistible blend of soul, funk, r&b and pop, Kevin Michael invokes greats from the past while bringing something totally new to the game on his debut album, YaDig?

3:00 – 3:45 - Lady GaGa: Lady GaGa’s debut album combines her love of Beatles’ melodies with retro dance beats, plastic synth sounds, and a quirky rock piano style. Her dramatic live shows have won over fans and critics in her hometown of New York City.

4:15-5:00 - Cage the Elephant: Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Cage the Elephant formed in 2006, debuting their self-released album this past March. With a strong buzz off of their SXSW and Bonnaroo performances, the band is winning indie rock fans over with their no-frills,  no-boundaries performances.

5:30 – 6:15 - Back Door Slam: This blues-rock trio from the Isle of Man has made jaws drop when 19-year-old singer Davy Knowles showcases his exceptional blues-rock guitar skills and vocals, showing that the passion and heart of the blues is evolving outside the U.S.

Sunday, August 5
11:15 – 12:00 - The Graduate: After their debut album, Anhedonia, hit stores this past April, The Graduate has gained momentum due to memorable songs, an interactive live show and the friendly disposition of its members.

12:30 – 1:15 - Mr. North: This four-piece band, comprising two brothers, a first cousin and a next-door neighbor, started playing together when they were young teens. Their second album, Fear and Desire, showcases the bands’ powerful live sound.

1:45 – 2:30 - Smoosh: the first true rock Tween act to come from the indie scene, Smoosh offers a rare combination of honesty, perseverance, and passion for music.

3:00 – 3:45 - The Diffs: Inspired by early L.A. punk bands like The Germs, Black Flag and the Adolescents, the Diffs go back to the source and make the sound their own. The LA Weekly hails The Diffs as “L.A.’s coolest high-school band.”

4:15 – 5: -  John Paul White: John Paul White, a Lawrenceburg, Tennessee native, journeyed over to Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals this past fall to record his debut album with Capitol Records.

5:30 – 6:15 - Bound Stems: When reporting on the Bound Stems, Rolling Stone exclaimed, “These Chicago indie rockers build on Modest Mouse’s quirky popiness with low-fi samples and a bouncy groove all their own.”
Press credentials can be requested through Lollapalooza at www.lollapalooza.com/credentials_start.asp

BMI presents and sponsors a stage at all three of C3 and Capital Sports & Entertainment’s music festivals: Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival September 14-16, and the inaugural Big State Festival, October 13-14. BMI’s partnership with this elite festival is designed to offer more prime showcasing opportunities to its songwriters — a distinct priority of the organization. For more information on Lollapalooza, please visit www.lollapalooza.com; for information on the Austin City Limits Music Festival, visit www.aclfestival.com; and for details regarding the Big State Festival, please go to www.bigstatefestival.com.