Craig Morgan Hosts 5K in August

Craig Morgan is hosting his second annual Billy’s Place 5K on Aug. 22 at Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson, TN.

Registration for the benefit run is $30 in advance and $35 for walkup on day of race, and tickets for children seven and under are free. Spirit tickets for supporters who would rather cheer from the sidelines are available as well. Everyone registered by Aug. 1 receives an official race T-shirt.

Runners and walkers can sign up for the event at www.eventbrite.com. Proceeds from the run support the foster children under care in Dickson County and throughout Middle Tennessee through the Dickson County Craig Morgan Foundation.

Darryl Worley Gathers Friends for TN River Run Events

Darryl Worley’s Annual Tennessee River Run events will span July through October this year leading up to the main concert event Oct. 3 in downtown Savannah, TN featuring Worley, Wade Hayes, Tracy Lawrence, and Lorrie Morgan.

On July 28, Worley will host the Darryl Worley and Friends Songwriters Event featuring Mark Collie, Daryle Singletary, and Jim Moose Brown along with Worley at the Bumpus Harley Davidson in Jackson, TN. A boat poker run is also slated for Aug. 15 at Pickwick Landing State Park, and a golf tournament, bass tournament, and 5K run are also all on tap leading up to the main Savannah events in October. Worley will also perform with Mark Narmore, Walt Aldridge, Wynn Varble, and Jim Moose Brown on the lawn of Savannah Mayor Bob Shutt’s historic home Oct. 2.

The Darryl Worley Foundation serves nonprofits, including St. Jude, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center. This year the foundation will help Hardin County Middle School implement The Leader in Me, a curriculum that encourages leadership skills in all students. The Foundation is currently working with area agencies to plan a wellness center to support drug and alcohol addicts and their families.

Maranda McGeary has joined Universal Music Group Nashville as Director of Brand Partnerships. McGeary comes to UMG after stints as Head of Music & Brand Relations at Revolution Pictures, Field Marketing Manager at MillerCoors, and also spearheading her own marketing and design agency working with clients like Coca-Cola, Adobe, Verizon Wireless and Toyota.

In her new role, McGeary will help facilitate artist and brand partnerships for the entire UMG Nashville roster.

“As we continue to build compelling artist/brand integrations, I couldn’t be more excited to add Maranda to our team” shares Brad Turcotte, VP, Marketing. “Maranda possesses not only the passion but the valuable skill-set that makes us stronger to further extend our brand relationships.”

“I’m excited to join the high-caliber team and incredible artists at Universal Music Group Nashville,” says McGeary. “This opportunity combines my brand-marketing experience with my passion for music and I look forward to building meaningful campaigns for our artists to further connect with their fans.”

McGeary is a Summa Cum Laude from Boston University with a degree in graphic design. 

After a 15-year hiatus, Alabama has returned to the studio with refreshed hearts and minds and recorded new project, Southern Drawl. The new BMG CD will hit retailers Sept. 18, and includes their latest single, “Wasn’t Through Lovin’ You Yet,” along with many more songs in their revamped Alabama style. “Country music when we took our ‘vacation’ is not the same country it is today,” says guitarist Jeff Cook. “For people who knew the original ALABAMA, it’s going to be a little different to their ears.”

Among the tracks on the new collection are the raucous “Hillbilly Wins The Lotto Money,” “Come Find Me,” featuring vocals by Alison Krauss, the anthemic “American Farmer,” and the tear-jerking “I Wanna Be There.”

Alabama members Cook, Randy Owen, and Teddy Gentry co-produced the project, and found a renewed love of the process of music-making after being away for such a long time. “I gave more of my heart and soul to this one than anything I’ve been a part of in my life,” said Owen. “I approached this album as if it could be my best, my first or my last. We were so glad to be back in the studio, we didn’t take a moment of it for granted.”

“I have never been more proud to represent a band and a record than I am with Alabama and Southern Drawl,” said Kos Weaver, Executive Vice President, BMG. “We at BMG are very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with Jeff, Teddy and Randy on this highly anticipated album. These guys are icons and true artists, we are all very excited about sharing new Alabama music with the world.”

Eric Church will have his own cameo exhibition, “Eric Church: Inside The Outsider,” at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opening Sept. 18. The new exhibit will spotlight Church’s path to stardom and include guitars, stage wear, pics, song manuscripts, and more from his personal collection, and will run through February 2016.

Prior to Church’s two-night acoustic run at Nashville’s new outdoor Ascend Amphitheater July 30-31, the singer will also offer unique Church memorabilia at the Outsider’s Joint, his pop-up store benefiting the Chief Cares Fund, a non-profit founded by Church and his wife that serves over two million people globally. Fans can purchase These Boots by Lucchese, Church’s custom boot line normally reserved for his VIP ticketholders, along with a limited number of special edition posters commemorating the inaugural Ascend Amphitheater show, and other Church merchandise. The first Outsider’s Joint pop-up during CMA Music Fest raised more than $20,000 for the Chief Cares Fund.

The Outsiders Joint pop-up around the Ascend show will be located at 218 S. 11th St. in the 5 Points area of East Nashville across from the Bill Martin Grocery Store.