The Windy City got a touch of Music City magic last week when the CMA Songwriters Series brought top country tunesmiths to Joe’s Bar in Chicago Thursday night (7/30). Songwriters Jim Collins, Ryan Hurd, Brett James, and Lee Thomas Miller took the stage for the special songwriters round to share the stories behind their hits with the packed house. The show is part of the eleventh season of CMA’s Songwriters Series, which kicked off in January at the Sundance Film Festival.

Pictured: (L-R) Jim Collins, Brett James, Lee Thomas Miller, and Ryan Hurd swap stories and songs during the CMA Songwriters Series at Joe’s Bar in Chicago

Jim Collins (l) and Brett James perform during the CMA Songwriters Series at Joe’s Bar 
Photo Credit: Justin Harris / CMA

Ryan Hurd shares some tunes during the CMA Songwriters Series at Joe’s Bar in Chicago
Photo Credit: Justin Harris / CMA

Brett James at the CMA Songwriters Series at Joe’s Bar 
Photo Credit: Justin Harris / CMA

Lee Thomas Miller performs during the CMA Songwriters Series at Joe’s Bar in Chicago
Photo Credit: Justin Harris / CMA

McCreery Gets Gold During Fox Concert

Scotty McCreery debuted his new single “Southern Belle” (Sean McConnell/Jason Saenz) on FOX & Friends’ All-American Summer Concert Series last Friday (July 31). During his appearance on the show, FOX & Friends hosts Steve Doocy, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Brian Kilmeade presented McCreery with an RIAA-certified Gold single plaque representing more than half a million sales and streams of his recent “Feelin’ It.” This is McCreery’s fourth RIAA-certified single, having already earned three Platinum certifications for “I Love You This Big,” “The Trouble with Girls,” and “See You Tonight.”

Scotty McCreery received a Gold Record for his single “Feelin’ It” after his “FOX & Friends” All-American Summer Concert Series performance on July 31. Pictured (L-R): FOX & Friends hosts Brian Kilmeade and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, McCreery, and FOX & Friends‘ Steve Doocy. Photo: Scott Stem

Chesney Breaks Pink Floyd Record at Arrowhead

Kenny Chesney‘s August 1 show at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City marks a new record for the stadium’s attendance: 57,368. Pink Floyd previously held the record for a 1994 show with 56,134. The show marked Chesney’s fourth headlining stand at Arrowhead. He attended a football practice with the KC Chiefs on Friday before the big show. “I had no idea about the number when we took the stage,” Chesney marveled when he was told. “Pink Floyd are rock icons. Every kid’s high school experience…I never ever would’ve thought something like that could happen. We’ve been coming to Kansas City for years, and they’ve always been really loud audiences. But when we hit the stage, it felt like all those years, all those shows were added up into one – and that was what we were being hit with.”

Kenny Chesney with guitarist Clayton Mitchell on August 1 at Arrowhead Stadium. Photo: Jill Trunnell

(L-R): CMT Sr. VP of Music Strategy Leslie Fram; Wayne Flatt (husband of Sarah Trahern); CMA CEO Sarah Trahern; Sony Music Nashville A&R VP Jim Catino; Morris Higham Management’s Dale Morris; Sony Music Nashville EVP & COO Ken Robold; Galante Entertainment Organization President (and former Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO) Joe Galante; Chesney; Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Randy Goodman; Morris Higham Management’s Buffy Cooper; Sony Music Nashville EVP, Promotion & Artist Development Steve Hodges and A&R Director Taylor Lindsey. Photo: Jill Trunnell

Eldredge To Help Crown Miss America

Brett Eldredge

Brett Eldredge has been tapped as the first of seven judges for the live broadcast of the 95th anniversary of the 2016 Miss America Competition. Miss America returns to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on September 13 (9:00 – 11:00p.m. ET) on ABC. Fifty-two women, representing their home states and territories, will compete to bring home the crown and scholarship. “I get to judge Miss America. Are you kidding me?!” said Eldredge. “Talk about a dream come true! I can’t wait to be a part of this.”

Steven Tyler

Tyler Headlines Bristol Speedway Show in August

Steven Tyler headlining the pre-race concert for the IRWIN Tools Night Race at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway on August 22. with Nashville-based band Loving Mary will also perform. A limited number of Steven Tyler SuperPacks are available including pre-race SuperPass (track walk, plus on-track access to the concert and Sprint Cup driver introductions), a Cold Pit Pass (for pre-race access to the Garage area), and select Steven Tyler merchandise. Visit BristolTix.com for all the ticketing options.

Meghan Linsey’s “Believer” Released

Meghan Linsey, runner-up of NBC’s The Voice and half of ex-country duo Steel Magnolia, teamed up with Popmatters.com to unveil her new pop/soul EP Believer in its entirety before the EP was released last Friday (July 31) via digital retailers. The EP was recorded in Nashville and produced by Tyler Cain.

(L-R): MusicRow’s Kelsey Grady, Troy Stephenson, Sarah Skates, Cours Mather, MusicRow’s Sherod Robertson, Eric Parker

Leslie Cours Mather visited MusicRow recently to perform songs for the staff including her debut single “Countrified.” The song’s theme comes from a combination of her mom growing up on a Wisconsin Dairy farm, her dad being from Texas, and Mather living in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.

During the visit, she also performed “Just Let Me Think Of You” and the next single “Hell Hath No Fury,” which is available on Play MPE.

Mather makes the commute from Los Angeles to Nashville quite frequently as she is preparing for an upcoming album. She made her debut at CMA Fest this year performing on the Chevy Roadhouse stage.

She recently completed a radio tour in support of her new single and was also a part of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles last month.

Leslie Cours Mather performs for MusicRow

Provident Distribution has formed a partnership with Nashville-based CNI Distribution.

Through the new agreement, CNI will fulfill orders for Provident, and the full transition of all order fulfillment is slated to be complete by next spring. Provident’s sales, credit, and marketing functions will all still be handled in-house.

“Provident Distribution remains committed to the physical retail environment and to serving the individual needs of artists, songwriters, filmmakers and distributed labels,” states Terry Hemmings, President/CEO of Provident Music Group. “For more than 20 years, our partners have been accustomed to a very high-quality experience thanks to the outstanding work of our distribution center. CNI’s well-established reputation specifically within Christian retail, churches and direct-to-consumer avenues ensures that our tradition of excellence in fulfillment services will continue into this next chapter.”

Provident Distribution’s clients include Provident Label Group, Provident Films, Essential Music Publishing, Gotee Records, StowTown Records, RCA Inspiration, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, and others.

CNI Distribution is part of Christian Network International, one of the largest independent Christian product fulfillment and distribution companies in the world, and exclusively represents clients Dave Ramsey’s Financial Solutions, Vision Video and Gateway Films, The United Pentecostal Publishing House, Cloud Ten Pictures, Crossroads Entertainment, Prism Music, and more. 

“It is truly a privilege to partner with an organization of the quality and respect of Provident Music Group,” said Ed Clydesdale, CNI’s President & CEO. “We look forward to providing our enhanced services to accompany the great quality of music and entertainment that Provident offers.”