Dr. Ralph Stanley Tribute Coming To Grand Ole Opry In October

/by

Numerous country and bluegrass artists will gather on Oct. 19 at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House to salute the late Dr. Ralph Stanley.

Billed as, Dr. Ralph Stanley Forever: A Tribute Concert, the event is set to include performances from Dierks Bentley, Nathan Stanley, Heidi Newfield, Daryl Worley, Cody McCarver, Ralph Stanley II, Doug Supernaw, Smith & Wesley and more.

“My Papaw was a special man and this is going to be a special night,” said Nathan Stanley, grandson of Ralph Stanley. “I’ve asked a lot of my friends to come and honor his legacy. I am committed to keeping his legacy and music alive – forever. This night is going to be incredible.”

Presented by Stanley Music Group, the event will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available now via Ticketmaster.

13-Year-Old Tegan Marie Inks Deal With Warner Music Nashville

/by

Pictured (L-R): Peter Strickland (CMO, WMN), Scott Hendricks (EVP A&R, WMN), Tegan Marie, John Esposito (Chairman and CEO, WMN), Veronica Zelle (Co-Founder and CCO, Sweety High) and Frank Simonetti (Co-Founder and CEO, Sweety High)

At just 13 years old, performer Tegan Marie has become the youngest country artist currently signed to a major label.

The Michigan native’s father began uploading Tegan’s cover videos to media platform Sweety High when she was seven years old. Since then, Tegan Marie has appeared on Good Morning America, the PBS special Smokey Robinson: The Gershwin Prize, the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards, The CMA Music Festival, and country festival Stagecoach.

Her breakthrough came when she recorded a version of Florida Georgia Line’s hit “H.O.L.Y.,” which earned more than 17 million views on Facebook alone. She makes her Grand Ole Opry debut tonight (Aug. 18).

“This new generation is passionate about country music. Tegan Marie, with the kind of natural talent already resonating with audiences, represents a new breed of digitally-savvy artists that we want to be a part of,” said John Esposito, Chairman and CEO, Warner Music Nashville. “What attracted us to Tegan Marie was her voice and a confidence that was beyond her years. Her success on Sweety High and in social media exemplifies not only how country talent can be nurtured on these platforms but also how we will reach the next generation of music consumers.”

“The moment I saw Tegan Marie’s early videos I knew she had the ability to speak to young girls at an important time in their lives,” said Veronica Zelle, Sweety High Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. “Working closely with her these past years, and witnessing her growth, I’m thrilled that a forward-thinking label like Warner Music Nashville has welcomed her to their roster.”

Sweety High CEO and co-founder Frank Simonetti added: “In this deal with Warner Music Nashville both Tegan Marie and Sweety High have gained a great partner that believes, like us, in doing whatever it takes for their artists.”

Visitation And Memorial Planned For Jo Walker-Meador

/by

Jo Walker-Meador served as CMA Executive Director for nearly 30 years. Photo: CMA

The family of CMA’s longest-serving Executive Director, Jo Walker-Meador, will receive friends during a visitation and separate memorial service in Nashville.

The visitation will take place Tuesday, Aug. 22 from 4-7 p.m. at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Memorial Park (660 Thompson Lane, Nashville, 37204).

Following a private burial on Wednesday, Aug. 23, an 11 a.m. memorial service will be held at Christ Presbyterian Church (2323 Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, 37215).

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Sarah Cannon Fund at PearlPoint Cancer Support.

The late Walker-Meador, who was respected throughout and beyond Nashville as a pioneer for the advancement of country music around the world, died Tuesday following a stroke at the age of 93. Read MusicRow‘s LifeNotes from Robert K. Oermann here.

TPAC To Honor Norbert Putnam, Dan Fogelberg, Dollar General At Annual Gala

/by

The Tennessee Performing Arts Center will present its highest honor, the Applause Award, to legendary musician/ producer Norbert Putnam and the Dollar General Corporation at its annual fundraising event, the TPAC Gala, on Saturday, Aug. 26.

The center also will honor the legacy of the late, celebrated singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, who lived, performed, and recorded in Nashville, with a special posthumous award presentation. TPAC will present the world premiere of a new, original musical, Part of the Plan, featuring Fogelburg’s music beginning September 8.

The TPAC Gala, themed to the Tony award-winning hit musical, An American in Paris, will begin with cocktails and a silent auction in the lobby of Andrew Jackson Hall, followed with the award presentation, dinner, special performances, and additional music by 12 South.

“So many artists, songwriters, and performers are drawn to Music City, just as Dan Fogelberg was as a teenager,” said Kathleen O’Brien, TPAC president and chief executive officer. “That continued allure is the result of contributions of organizations like Dollar General, which fosters literacy and arts education in our community; genius artists like Norbert Putnam who helped to make Nashville a place for creative risk and collaboration and educators who understand how the arts inspire learning and change lives. We’re so proud to recognize the efforts of our honorees at this year’s gala and to celebrate our thriving creative community.”

“I am extremely excited and honored to receive the Applause Award and be present to honor the legacy of my old pal, Dan Fogelberg. The music we created together provided a template of creativity for generations to come,” Putnam said. “Dan was a triple-play musical genius who could write, play and sing with the greatest of all time. It is also a great honor to return to TPAC. I vividly remember an opening night invitation from Martha Ingram to attend the first concert in this beautiful venue. I will dust off my tux, polish my shoes and practice, once again, that extremely difficult knot, and attempt — a socially acceptable bow tie. I am also looking forward to visiting with my old friends and acquaintances from that ‘golden era’ of Nashville history.”

 

Third Man’s ‘Luck Mansion Sessions’ Round Two Due Out Aug. 25

/by

The second installment of the Luck Mansion Sessions, featuring pairings of Josh Hedley and Erin Rae, and John Paul White and Rodney Crowell, is set for release Aug. 25.

The sessions were documented during Americana week last year in Nashville, when Third Man Records partnered with Luck Reunion to bring together some artists. For five days, they all set up in the parlor room of the pop-up “Luck Mansion” in East Nashville to perform, record, and in some cases, pen two songs for Third Man Records engineers to record immediately, after just a few hours of preparation, press onto 7″s, and ultimately bring to the masses. The goal was to document spontaneous creative collaborations before they are put through any sort of industry machine line, and in March, Third Man shared the encounters between Sarah Jarosz and Parker Milsap, Lilly Hiatt and Aaron Lee Tasjan, and Dylan LeBlanc and Rayland Baxter.

Hedley and Erin Rae’s performance included Hank Williams Jr.s’ “Old Habits” and a haunting rendition of Guy Clark’s “My Favorite Picture of You.” Hedley, a mainstay on Nashville’s lower Broadway honky tonk Robert’s, has recently been signed to Third Man Records.

John Paul White and Rodney Crowell performed Crowell’s “The Girl On The Street” as well as one of three original tunes penned for the Luck Mansion Sessions, “Don’t Think That I Can’t Feel You When You’re Gone.” “Don’t Think That I Can’t Feel You When You’re Gone” is White and Crowell’s first co-write, but not the first collaboration for the pair. White joined Rosanne Cash on vocals for the song “It Ain’t Over Yet” off Crowell’s 2017 release Close Ties (New West). The song and the record have been nominated by the American Music Association in the categories of Song and Album of the Year.

Black vinyl versions of these recordings will be available beginning August 25th at indie retailers, with pre-orders starting today via thirdmanstore.com.

More Sweet Than Bitter: Rascal Flatts, Music Industry Celebrate ‘Yours If You Want It’ No. 1

/by

Photo 1 L-R: Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus. Photo: Ed Rode

Members of the Nashville music industry gathered at performing rights organization BMI’s Nashville office yesterday (Aug. 17) to celebrate Rascal Flatts‘ 17th No. 1 hit, “Yours If You Want It.” The track was penned by ASCAP writer Jonathan Singleton, who is signed with Big Machine Music, and the late BMI writer Andrew Dorff, represented by UMPG Nashville.

The celebration was bittersweet, as Dorff died in December 2016. He had just turned 40. “Yours If You Want It” marks Dorff’s fifth No. 1 single. In tribute, attendees donned Dorff’s signature gray shirt, sunglasses and cigar uniform.

BMI’s Leslie Roberts and ASCAP’s Beth Brinker were on hand to honor the song and its writers.

“It is a bittersweet day, but I prefer to focus on the sweet,” said Roberts, “the success of uber-talented songwriter Andrew Dorff, and the celebration of the power of music and songs. Lyrically when you hear this song, it’s ‘classic Dorff.’ When we hear one of his songs is on the radio, we will smile and think of all of the love he showered on all of us.”

UMPG’s Kent Earls said, “Andrew would have loved this day. He loved writing songs and getting those songs recorded and getting singles. I’m honored that we get to celebrate another Andrew Dorff No. 1 today. Imagine walking into a writing room and meeting Dorff for the first time—slumped down in a chair, gray shirt or hoodie, covered in tats, wearing sunglasses inside, with no guitar or computer. If you didn’t know Andrew, that had to be intimidating. There were few writers who could see through that veneer and even fewer who could see what it took creatively and emotionally to pull the best out of Andrew. Jonathan Singleton was at the top of that list. It is rare that we get to see both writers equally represented throughout a song. Jonathan with your insane melodies and the undeniable phrasing paired with Andrew’s twisted lyrical sensibilities, ‘Yours If You Want It’ is the epitome of what you guys created every time you wrote together.”

Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar celebrated Singleton and Big Machine Label Group trio Rascal Flatts.

“I swear if you are listening, you can hear the Country Music Hall of Fame working on the plaques in the rotunda for those guys,” Molinar said. “It’s not time yet, but one day…”

“Yours If You Want It” is the 10th No. 1 for Big Machine Music. Big Machine Music presented Singleton with a plaque with the lyrics to the bridge of the song and has the real signatures from both Singleton and Dorff.

Pictured (L-R): Back Row – Big Machine Records’ Kris Lamb, Stephen Dorff, Steve Dorff, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, Universal’s Kent Earls, ASCAP’s Beth Brinker, Big Machine Label Group’s Allison Jones, BMR’s Jim Weatherson; Front Row – BMLG’s Scott Borchetta, Rascal Flatts, Jonathan Singleton, Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar. Photo: Ed Rode

Big Machine Label Group founder and CEO Scott Borchetta also announced that Rascal Flatts has agreed to renew their contract with Big Machine. Borchetta shared that he brought the paperwork to the No. 1 party. “We’re going to renew our vows right here onstage at BMI,” Borchetta quipped.

“We knew we had something special,” said Rascal Flatts member Joe Don Rooney. “At that point we just wanted to do it justice. Jonathan and of course Andrew, his legacy will live on through this song. We are so humbled by this. You go 17 No. 1 songs, and go, ‘wow.’ It feels like just yesterday that we were moving to town.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever had a single that we wanted so badly to go No. 1,” said fellow Flatts member Gary LeVox. “and not for us and not to try to sell tickets. We’ve never wanted a No. 1 so badly and we would go do anything in the world it took to get it to No. 1, for you and for Andrew. It meant the world to us to be able to cut it.”

Big Machine Music commissioned gray shirts emblazoned with Dorff’s photo and “Yours If You Want It.” It was noted that merchandiser Richards & Southern made a run of shirts for the party in only three days and donated the shirts.

Among those in attendance at the No. 1 party were Andrew’s father, legendary songwriter Stephen “Steve” Dorff, Sr., and Andrew’s brother, actor Stephen Dorff.

“Thank you for being here. Andrew loved this town and loved everybody here. Loved Jonathan,” Stephen “Steve” Dorff addressed the crowd. “I just want to thank BMI, Big Machine Records and your whole staff for bringing this all the way home and Rascal Flatts for making an absolutely perfect record. Thank you.”

First Tennessee Bank and Pinnacle Bank were also on hand to celebrate the song’s accomplishments.

“You may have had ‘Bless The Broken Road’ and ‘My Wish’ that touched people globally,” summed Molinar, telling the trio, “but this song was for us, for this Music Row community.”

In Pictures: Sara Evans, Caroline Jones, Tracy Lawrence, Craig Morgan, AIMP, Cole Swindell, Hunter Hayes, Segue 61

/by

Sara Evans Visits The Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter

Sara Evans with The Recording Academy’s Nashville chapter. [click photo to enlarge]

Sara Evans visited The Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter this week and performed several songs from her new album Words, including the lead track “Marquee Sign.” Evans’ eighth studio album was released July 21 on her own label, Born To Fly Records.

 

Caroline Jones Performs At WME Speakeasy Showcase

Caroline Jones. Photo: @austinwho @901Music

Caroline Jones. Photo: @austinwho @901Music

Country-pop singer/songwriter Caroline Jones performed at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville Wednesday night (Aug 16) as a part of WME’s Speakeasy showcase.

Jones co-produced her forthcoming album, Bare Feet, with Grammy and Academy Award-winning producer Ric Wake (Trisha Yearwood, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston). The six-song EP is set to release Aug. 25.

 

Tracy Lawrence, Craig Morgan Perform Duet At The Grand Ole Opry

Pictured (L-R): Craig Morgan and Tracy Lawrence perform their duet “Finally Home.” Photo: Chris Hollo

Photo (L-R): Tracy Lawrence and Craig Morgan backstage at the Opry. Photo: Chris Hollo

Pictured (L-R): Gaines Sturdivant, Red Light Management; Dan Rogers, Grand Ole Opry; Tracy Lawrence; Craig Morgan; Bill Cody, WSM-AM/Opry Host; and Steve Emley, Fitzgerald Hartley. Photo: Splash! PR

Tracy Lawrence invited fellow country star Craig Morgan to join him onstage at the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday night (Aug. 15) to debut the song “Finally Home.”  The new duet appears on Lawrence’s forthcoming album featuring collaborations with fellow country music artists on some of his most iconic hits.

A portion of the proceeds from “Finally Home” will be donated to Operation FINALLY HOME, a national, non-profit organization providing mortgage-free, custom-built homes to wounded, ill and injured veterans or widows of the fallen.

 

AIMP Nashville Gets Inside Scoop From Music Sups

Pictured (back row, L-R): Randall Foster (ole), Chris Van Belkom (Combustion Music), Brad Peterson (Regions Bank), Ree Guyer (AIMP Treasurer/Wrensong Music), John Ozier (AIMP Ex. Director/ole), Dale Bobo (Big Deal Music), Michael Martin (ASCAP), Jennifer Stowe (Warner/Chappell Production Music), Mark Kate Melnick (Big Deal Music), and Ben Short (Warner/Chappell Production Music); (front row, L-R): Amanda Levine, Janet Lopez, Sarah Bromberg, Rick Clark, and John Bissell. Photo: Elle Hussey [click photo to enlarge]

The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) and Regions Bank, with sponsorship from Big Deal Music, Combustion Music, ole and Warner/Chappell Production Music, hosted the successful “Inside Scoop From Music Sups” panel on Monday, Aug. 14 at the Basement East in Nashville.

In this third-year event, five music supervisors–John Bissell (Mothlight Music), Sarah Bromberg (Bonfire Collective), Rick Clark (Rick Clark Productions), Amanda Levine (Platinum Rye) and Janet Lopez (Neophonic)–gave AIMP members and guests the inside track on their music needs and pitching tips. A showcase of selected performers, Edison Tesla Celebrity Death Match (ft. Griffin House and Jeff Trott), KS Rhoads, and Svrcina, preceded the panel.

 

Cole Swindell No. 1 Celebration

Pictured (L-R): Justin Newell, Radio & Streaming Coordinator; Justin Luffman, VP Brand Management; Chad Schultz, VP, Original Content & Radio Marketing; Kristen Williams, SVP Radio & Streaming; Cole Swindell; Katie Bright, National Director Radio & Streaming; Mallory Opheim, Manager, Regional Radio & Streaming NE/MW; Chris Palmer, VP Radio & Streaming; Ryan Gardenhire, Management.

The Warner Music Nashville team celebrated Cole Swindell‘s seventh consecutive No. 1 single, “Flatliner,” with a Sippin’ on 7 for 7 party Monday night (Aug. 14) in Nashville.

 

Academy Of Country Music Welcomes Hunter Hayes For A Visit

Pictured (L-R): Pete Fisher (CEO, Academy of Country Music) with Hunter Hayes. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music welcomed Atlantic Records recording artist Hunter Hayes to the Los Angeles office recently. While at the Academy, Hayes performed his new single, “Rescue,” and other songs that are currently streaming.

Click here to watch a video from Hayes’ visit featuring an exclusive interview and clips from his performance.

 

Segue 61’s First Graduating Class

Pictured (back row L-R): Segue 61 students and mentors Natalie Thompson, Clay Bradley, Thomas O’keefe, Damon Atkins, Isaac Black, Tim Aven, Hayes Smith, Silas Brown, Brian Sorensen, Cameron Johnson, Ethan Howard, Pete Abbott, and Channing Moreland; (front row L-R): Guthrie Trapp, Rylie Bourne, Lia Knapp, and Jennifer Pettigrew. [click photo to enlarge]

Segue 61 graduated its inaugural class of ten students on Aug. 9. Led by former BMI executive Clay Bradley and star studio musicians Guthrie Trapp and Pete Abbott, Segue 61 is a one-year, interdisciplinary music business certificate program offered by Catawba College located in Nashville.

The school helps talented individuals prepare to enter the music industry in the areas of performance, songwriting, publishing, audio engineering, production, artist development and music business-oriented disciplines of management, marketing, and artist development.

 

‘Bluegrass Underground’ Moving To New, Permanent Venue

/by

Bluegrass Underground, a 13-time EMMY award-winning PBS music series, has found a permanent home in The Caverns, located within the base of Monteagle Mountain in Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. The announcement was made today by Bluegrass Underground Creator and Executive Producer, Todd Mayo. The new venue is expected to open in early 2018.

The series has previously been taped at the Cumberland Caverns since 2008.

The new home will be able to accommodate more music lovers, in response to increased demand for tickets. The new location is also 30 minutes closer to two of its major markets: Nashville and Chattanooga. Mayo projects as many as 50 performances for 2018.

“This is a dream come true to find a cave system that expands and improves the live and televised musical experiences of underground performances we have been curating since 2008,” Mayo said. “Our new home at The Caverns will enable us to add infrastructure with permanent power, professional audio and lighting with enhanced food and beverage concessions that have never before been possible, including a longtime request from our patrons: cold beer.”

The Caverns’ enhancements will greatly benefit the Bluegrass Underground PBS series as well, says television producer Todd Jarrell. “In the past, we taped the entire 12-episode season over one weekend due to the difficulty and expense of bringing literally tons of cabling and show gear a quarter mile into the cave,” says Jarrell. “But The Caverns’ permanent infrastructure presents us the flexibility to match calendars with some of the world’s greatest performers, enticing them underground to offer our fans a ‘deep down’ lifetime experience throughout the year.”

“Bluegrass Underground is now far more easily accessible to the vast majority of our regional patrons as well as our national and international fly-in fans,” adds Joe Lurgio, General Manager and Associate Producer of Bluegrass Underground. “And for the first time, Bluegrass Underground will be more easily accessible for patrons with physical disabilities.”

 

BMI’s Michael O’Neill Responds To DOJ’s Appeal Of Its Consent Decree Victory

/by

On Sept. 16, 2016, federal Judge Louis Stanton issued an order rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) interpretation of the BMI consent decree, allowing BMI to continue its longstanding practice of fractional licensing. The DOJ appealed that decision, and today BMI filed its brief in response.

BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill issued a statement regarding BMI’s brief:

“BMI’s appeal argument is extremely simple in that it comes down to the language of our decree. As Judge Stanton clearly stated, there is nothing in the BMI decree that prevents us from engaging in the industry-wide practice of fractional licensing. What is not simple, however, is the impact the DOJ’s interpretation of our decree would have on the marketplace. It would stifle competition, hinder collaboration and unfairly benefit music users at the expense of the American songwriter. As always, we hope for the opportunity to sit down with the new leadership of the DOJ to educate it about the negative ripple effect its 100% licensing interpretation would have on the entire music industry.”

Weekly Chart Report 8/18/17

/by


Click here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout report.