Pictured (L-R): Seth Mosley, Lauren Daigle, and VaShawn Mitchell

The Gospel Music Association has announced its artist lineup, as well as a new location, for IMMERSE 2016. Dove Awards New Artist of the Year Lauren Daigle, Dove Awards Producer and Songwriter of the Year Seth Mosley, and award-winning producer VaShawn Mitchell will join the eighth annual IMMERSE Conference, which is set for June 13-15, 2016.

This year, IMMERSE will relocate to a new home at Lipscomb University, which will offer attendees opportunities to stay in the dorms, have meals on campus, and further immerse themselves in the three-day conference. LifeWay will continue to present the event with the GMA as well as programming the worship leader track.

GMA Executive Director Jackie Patillo says, “We are honored that Lipscomb has opened its campus to allow us to expand our event and better serve our attendees. We’re also grateful that LifeWay will continue to partnership and I’m personally thrilled to have Lauren, VaShawn and Seth investing in our future creatives and executives.”

As in years past, programming for the 2016 event will include classes and seminars focused on music business, worship leading, songwriting and artist development taught by industry leaders. The successful reVIEWyou program that combines mentoring with a songwriting and performance competition to scout emerging talent. More conference speakers, competition judges and live guest performers will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Tickets are now available at a reduced rate through March 31 at experienceIMMERSE.com.

The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers will headline the Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Concert Series on Saturday, April 30 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 7 p.m., as part of this year’s St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon & 1/2 Marathon.

Formerly known as the St. Jude Country Music Marathon, the event has been rebranded as part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series for the first time in 2016. The musically-themed race attracts more than 30,000 runners and walkers who will take on the 26.2, 13.1-mile and 5K courses, while passing 50 of Nashville’s top live bands performing along the route. Additionally, 4,000 junior racers will participate in KiDS ROCK Nashville presented by YMCA of Middle Tennessee.

The concert is open to the public and tickets are now on sale for $35.00. Race participants and volunteers receive free admission. Tickets can be purchased at the Bridgestone Arena box office, TicketMaster charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.

“With more than 30,000 runners this year, the St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is a marquee event in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series,” said Kevin Buffalino, Event Director. “It’s the first year as Rock ‘n’ Roll, and we are thrilled that The Wallflowers will perform at this year’s post-race concert to celebrate all of the musical genres that Nashville is known for. We are excited that so many participants return year after year to experience the event and run Music City.”

During the marathon, thousands of St. Jude Heroes will run, hoping to raise more than $2 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Over the event’s five-year partnership with St. Jude, nearly $6 million has been raised.

For more information or to register for the event, visit RunRocknRoll.com/Nashville.

Pictured (L-R): Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Peter Cooper; songwriter Angelo Petraglia; Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Abi Tapia; Dierks Bentley; and songwriters Jon Randall, Ross Copperman, and Brett James.
Photo by Rick Diamond, Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

This weekend, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum presented a special appearance by multi-platinum entertainer Dierks Bentley in the museum’s CMA Theater. The program was hosted by museum editor Peter Cooper and offered in support of the exhibition Dierks Bentley: Every Mile a Memory. The afternoon also featured an acoustic performance by Bentley who was joined by frequent co-writers Jim Beavers, Jon Randall, Ross Copperman, Brett James, and Angelo Petraglia.

Dierks Bentley: Every Mile a Memory runs through Sept. 6, 2016.

Pictured (L-R): songwriter Jim Beavers, Dierks Bentley, and songwriter Jon Randall perform at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Photo: Rick Diamond, Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Pictured (L-R): Tracy Gershon (Rounder Records), Ree Guyer Buchanan (Wrensong Music Publishing), Marcie Allen (MAC Presents), Julie Boos (Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy), Linda Edell Howard (Adams and Reese, LLP), Sloane Scott (FLO.CO), Heather McBee (Nashville Entrepreneur Center) and Leslie Fram (CMT) celebrate a successful evening at WHO KNEW™ Presents: Women Who Rock Thursday, March 10 at 3rd and Lindsley. Photo: Autumn Haile

Music industry executives gathered at 3rd & Lindsley on Thursday, March 10 for WHO KNEW Presents: Women Who Rock, a panel featuring several top music industry members, including Leslie Fram (Sr. VP/Music Strategy at Viacom/CMT), Tracy Gershon (VP, A&R at Rounder Records), Ree Guyer Buchanan (owner/president of Wrensong Music Publishing), Marcie Allen (MAC Presents), Julie Boos (Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy), Linda Edell Howard (Adams and Reese, LLP), Sloane Scott (FLO.CO) and Heather McBee (Nashville Entrepreneur Center).

The executives shared stories and career advice, and emphasized the importance of empowering women in the entertainment industry.

WHO KNEW is presented by the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University and MusicRowSearch, with support from Dell Nashville, Stites & Harbison, Uncle Classic Barber Shop, Axis Teknologies, Southwest Airlines, Jammber Music, Anacrusis, Do615, Lightning 100, Jukebox Mixtape, Jive! Printing, Signs First and Kaleidoscope Media.

Ree Guyer Buchanan speaks at WHO KNEW Presents: Women Who Rock. Photo: Autumn Haile

Leslie Fram speaks at WHO KNEW Presents: Women Who Rock. Photo: Autumn Haile

Linda Edell Howard speaks during WHO KNEW Presents: Women Who Rock. Photo: Autumn Haile

Tracy Gershon speaks during WHO KNEW Presents: Women Who Rock. Photo: Paul Schatzkin

Sloane Scott speaks during WHO KNEW Presents: Women Who Rock. Photo: Autumn Haile