LOCASH dropped by MusicRow to pick up their MusicRow No. 1 Challenge Coins for “I Know Somebody” on Wednesday morning (Sept.7) That single topped the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart on Aug. 25.

Written by Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman and Jeremy Stover, the single comes from LOCASH’s Reviver Records project, The Fighter. The duo’s Preston Brust and Chris Lucas earned their first coin with “I Love This Life” in December 2015.

Since 2014, every artist and songwriter to earn a No. 1 single on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart receives a coin.

LOCASH will resume touring with a show in Philadelphia on Thursday (Sept. 8).

Country rock sextet The Loving Mary Band will release its debut full-length album Little Bit Of Love on Oct. 28 via Round Hill Records/Sony/Red.

Formed in Nashville, The Loving Mary Band was hand-picked by Aerosmith lead singer and BMLG solo artist Steven Tyler to play as his backing band on his current North American tour.

The band includes four singer-songwriter-producers and two musicians. Lead vocalist/guitarist Marti Frederiksen has written and produced hits songs for Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Carrie Underwood and more. He also sang all vocal parts in the mythical band Stillwater from the movie, Almost Famous. Lead vocalist/harmonica player Suzie McNeil is best known from the TV show, Rock Star: INXS, and has had a successful career in her native Canada. Lead vocalist/bassist Rebecca Lynn Howard previously recorded for Decca Records, MCA Nashville, Arista Nashville, and Show Dog Nashville. Her highest-charting song, “Forgive,” reached No. 12 on the country charts in 2002.

Mandolinist/banjo player Elisha Hoffman co-wrote  “Give In To Me” from the motion picture Country Strong. Rounding out The Loving Mary Band are drummer Sarah Tomek, who has played with such artists as Jon Bon Jovi, and guitarist Andrew Mactaggart.

Round Hill Records SVP/GM Mark Brown said, “Rarely have I had the opportunity to work with a group as exceptionally talented as The Loving Mary Band. Individually, each is a great vocalist, songwriter and musician. Together, they become the best band I know. The great harmonies, superior songwriting, skilled instrumentation, and brilliant orchestration delivered at the highest level make them a remarkable group. It is a real privilege to work with them.”

 

The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees.

In alphabetic order, the inductees include: Lou Bradley, Garth Brooks & The G-Men, Don Felder, Mark Miller, Jerry Reed, Allen Reynolds, Ron “Snake” Reynolds, Sigma Sound Studio Rhythm Section, Ricky Skaggs and Joe Tarsia.

The Induction Ceremony and Concert will be held on Wednesday Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Historic Nashville Municipal Auditorium, home to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster on Sept. 12.

2016 INDUCTEES

Garth Brooks is certified by the RIAA as the top-selling solo artist in U.S. history with over 137 million albums. The G-Men are a group of musicians who have played with Brooks on all of his studio albums. This show will be a rare opportunity to see the G-Men play with Brooks live in concert. Members include Bruce Bouton (steel guitar), Mark Casstevens (rhythm guitar), Mike Chapman (posthumously, bass), Rob Hajacos (fiddle), Chris Leuzinger (lead guitar), Milton Sledge (drums), and Bobby Wood (keyboards).

Jerry Reed, known throughout country music as “the Guitar Man” after his 1967 hit single of the same name, gained recognition not only for a successful solo career, but also as an actor and ace session player. After leaving school, he auditioned for Bill Lowery, founder of Lowery Publishing Co. and Southern Track Studios in Atlanta, Ga., who encouraged him to write more songs and booked him for a tour opening for Ernest Tubb. He died in 2008.

Sigma Sound Studio Rhythm Section (The Sound of Philadelphia) is a group of session musicians created a genre of soul music with funk influences, often with sweeping strings and piercing horns, which sets the unique sound of Philadelphia apart. Members include Ronnie Baker (posthumously, guitar), Tommy Bell (keyboards), Charles Collins (drums), Bobby Eli (guitar), Dennis Harris (guitar), Norman Harris (posthumously, guitar), Vince Montana (posthumously, vibes), TJ Tindall (posthumously, guitar), Larry Washington (posthumously, congas), Jimmy Williams (bass), and Earl Young, the drummer who was credited as the inventor of the disco style of rock drumming.

Ricky Skaggs entered the world of professional music when he was invited to join the band of bluegrass patriarch Ralph Stanley. He moved into country music in the 1970s, first as a member of Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band and later as an individual recording artist on his own.

ENGINEERING AWARD

Lou Bradley began his engineering career working for WPFA radio in Pensacola, Florida, where he built his own recording studio. From there, he moved to Atlanta and worked for Bill Lowery Music Co., where he engineered hits such as “Cherry Hill Park” by Billy Joe Royal and “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” by The Tams.

Mark Miller, a highly successful Nashville engineer, has engineered “18 Wheels And A Dozen Roses” and “Walk The Way The Wind Blows” for Kathy Mattea, as well as “Small Town Saturday Night” and “Past The Point Of Rescue” for Hal Ketchum.

Ron “Snake” Reynolds has engineered more than 600 Billboard Top 40 hits. He started at Nugget Records owned by Fred Carter, Jr. in Goodlettesville, Tennessee, where he signed an artist development and songwriting contract. In 1972, he started working as a staff engineer with Columbia Records Studios in Nashville.

Joe Tarsia has engineered an amazing number of classic pop music songs, earning him over 150 gold and platinum record awards. His credits include albums such as A Brand New Me by Dusty Springfield, To Know You Is To Love You by B.B. King, and Life Is A Song Worth Singing by Teddy Pendergrass.

PRODUCER AWARD

Allen Reynolds has produced many hits such as “Talking In Your Sleep” and “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” by Crystal Gayle, “18 Wheels And A Dozen Roses” by Kathy Mattea, not to mention Garth Brooks’ iconic records “Friends in Low Places” and “The Dance.” Reynolds also wrote the hit single “Five O’Clock World” for the rock band The Vogues in 1965.

ICONIC RIFF AWARD

Don Felder is renowned as a lead guitarist formerly of the Eagles. He is the 2016 Iconic Riff Award recipient for creating the incredible guitar intro and solo in “Hotel California,” which has been referred to as one of the best guitar solos of all time. Before moving to Los Angeles, Felder taught guitar in Gainesville, Florida, where one of his students was Tom Petty.

Tucker Beathard offered an acoustic preview of his upcoming EP on Tuesday (Sept. 6) at a luncheon at Saint Añejo. That project, titled Fight Like Hell, will be released on Oct. 7 on Dot Records, an imprint of Big Machine Label Group.

Beathard accompanied himself on guitar for performances of “Momma and Jesus,” “20-10 Tennessee,” “I’ll Take on the World With You,” “Fight Like Hell,” and his debut single, “Rock On.” All five songs, plus “Home Sweet USA,” will be featured on the EP. Beathard co-wrote every track on the project.

Following the performance, Beathard accepted his first MusicRow No. 1 Challenge Coin for “Rock On,” which is this week’s No. 1 song on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart. Since 2014, every artist and songwriter to earn a No. 1 single on that chart receives a coin.

On behalf of the CMA Foundation, Kix Brooks has announced a donation of $30,000 to music education initiatives that have been affected by recent flooding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Brooks, a Shreveport native who also serves on the CMA Foundation Board of Directors, made the announcement Sunday (Sept. 3) during his set at the “Acadiana Strong” benefit concert for flood victims held in Opelousas, Louisiana.

“I’m very proud of the CMA Foundation and what they’ve done for music education around the country,” said Brooks. “We sometimes don’t realize until a disaster of this magnitude happens how important it is to be able to rebuild music programs that otherwise may take years to rebuild. Being from Louisiana, this is heartfelt appreciation just knowing what the folks in my home state are going through.”

Funds will be donated to Music Rising, an organization that responds specifically to the emergency needs of schools in communities that are devastated by a natural or economic disaster taking away their ability to teach music.

“The Edge (U2) and I are truly thankful to the CMA Foundation and all its members for supporting Music Rising, especially at this time when there is so much need being created by natural and economic disasters all across the country,” said music producer Bob Ezrin, co-founder of Music Rising. “I am particularly proud that this comes from the great city where I reside–Nashville!”

This donation brings the CMA Foundation’s total contributions in Louisiana to $325,000. Current grant recipients include Notes for Notes, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, and VH1 Save The Music, which is rebuilding music education programs in Saint John the Baptist Parish Public Schools.