Wheelhouse Records trio Runaway June aims to bring female harmonies and astute, heartfelt lyrics back to the airwaves, with their debut single, “Lipstick.”

Comprised of lead vocalist/guitarist Naomi Cooke, with Hannah Mullholland on mandolin and vocals and Jennifer Wayne on guitar and vocals, Runaway June was born in the writing rooms of Nashville, where the trio began writing together less than two years ago.

“Hannah and I have known each other for about six years, and Naomi and I have known each other about two years,” said Wayne. “Naomi and I started writing and thought we should bring Hannah in. When the three of us got together, it was magical.”

“It’s like all three of us make up one person,” said Mullholland.

“One twisted soul,” quipped Cooke.

California native Wayne previously found success in Nashville, co-writing Eric Paslay’s hit “She Don’t Love You,” and as a former member of trio Stealing Angels. A native of Malibu, California, Mullholland began writing music at age 6, inspired by the work of Sheryl Crow. Meanwhile, Florida native Cooke performed at Nashville’s Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and spent time honing her writing talent before she teamed with Wayne and Mullholland.

“Lipstick” is close to breaking the Top 40 at country radio, and serves as the lead single from their upcoming Wheelhouse Records debut, produced by Mickey Jack Cones. “Lipstick” was penned by Cooke, Mullholland, Wayne, Rebecca Lynn Howard, and Wayne’s Stealing Angels cohort Caroline Hobby.

During a visit to MusicRow, the trio gave off a young Dixie Chicks vibe as they previewed tracks from their upcoming project, with their harmonies blending effortlessly over the strums of acoustic guitars and mandolin. Runaway June offered acoustic renditions of “Blue Roses,” “Forget Her,” and “Wild West.”

“That one is special to me because my grandpa is John Wayne,” said Jennifer Wayne, “and so I’ve always wanted to put him in a song, but I didn’t want to do it in a cheesy way.”

The trio calls “Blue Roses,” which they co-wrote with Marcus Hummon, one their personal favorites. “Sometimes you get writers who are so focused on writing a radio song and they want things to go that way, and then you have other writers like Marcus who want radio songs, but he just allows us to be writers and artists in that room and to be creative,” said Cooke.

They ended with an acoustic rendition of “Lipstick.” “We’ve been playing it on the road and people have been singing it back. It’s been a wild ride,” said Mullholland.

 

Six individuals and an esteemed record label were celebrated during the inaugural Celebrate the Soul: Black Music Honors, which feted Pastor Shirley Caesar, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Big Daddy Kane, Dionne Warwick, Clarence Avant, and Stax Records.

Held on Aug. 18 at TPAC’s Jackson hall, the evening was filled musical tributes from Eddie Levert, Tina Campbell, Ann Nesby, Deborah Cox, Andra Day, Chubb Rock, Cherelle, Gerald Alston, Stokley Williams, and more. Presenters included Kirk Franklin, “Big Jim” Wright, Monie Love, Kathy Sledge, Ethiopia Habtemariam and H. Beecher Hicks III (president and CEO of NMAAM), along with several others.

The television taping was co-hosted by Malcom-Jamal Warner and R&B singer Ledisi. Black Music Honors will air in Nashville on WTVF-NewsChannel 5 on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 3 p.m. CT. The show will premiere nationally on the Bounce TV Network on Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. ET and will re-air on Sept. 25 at 11 a.m. ET. The show will run in syndication on Bounce and Aspire between Sept. 23–Oct. 9.

The National Museum of African American Music is slated to open in Nashville in 2018.

Kelly Clarkson will serve as Grand Marshal for the 63rd annual Piedmont Natural Gas Nashville Christmas Parade presented by Tootsie’s.

The parade will be held in downtown Nashville on Saturday, Dec. 3, beginning at 9 a.m. at the intersection of 8th avenue and Broadway. The parade will head east down Broadway to 2nd Ave. N., cross the Cumberland River, and end at the base of the Woodland Street Bridge.

“I love our city of Nashville and couldn’t be more proud to be the Grand Marshal for this year’s Christmas Parade,” Clarkson said. “See y’all there!”

“Piedmont Natural Gas is thrilled to have Kelly Clarkson, the nation’s first American Idol, to be our Nashville Christmas Parade Grand Marshal this year,” said Stephen Francescon, community relations manager for Piedmont Natural Gas. “Our parade is one of Nashville’s favorite holiday traditions. We are working hard to make this year’s event our best one ever, and having an artist with Kelly’s talent and career achievements as our Grand Marshal only adds to the excitement.”

Some of the proceeds from this year’s event will benefit a four-floor expansion of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Additional proceeds will go toward Share the Warmth, Piedmont Natural Gas’ energy assistance program that helps local low-income families pay their energy bills at any point during the year, regardless of their energy source.

 

 

Thomas Rhett will host an acoustic concert on Oct. 4 to benefit the organization 147 Million Orphans. The show will take place at The Old School in northwest Nashville.

The night will offer intimate acoustic performances in an outdoor barn setting by Thomas Rhett and special guests Dierks Bentley, Walker Hayes and Shane McAnally.

A limited number of tickets are available to the event. Tickets will be auctioned off to the public Saturday (Aug. 27) at 11 a.m. CT.

The event will also feature a farm-to-table dinner, specialty cocktails, limited edition merchandise, a post-show s’more roasting and a chance to meet Thomas Rhett and Lauren. More artist and songwriter guests will be announced in the coming weeks.

“If anyone follows my wife Lauren or me on social media, they probably already know how important 147 is to us,” Rhett said. “We’re getting asked all the time by friends and fans about what they can do to help, so we wanted to put something together to help support all the work 147 is doing for orphans around the world. I can’t think of a better group of guys to help kick this off than Dierks, Walker and Shane and am looking forward to a couple other surprises we’re working on for the night.”

147 Million Orphans was established in 2009 to provide food, water, medicine, shelter, and education to vulnerable children in the name of Jesus, so that they may thrive through sustainable care.