Eagles To Play Four Cities This Fall With Vince Gill

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The Eagles – Don Henley, Joe Walsh & Timothy B. Schmit, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey – have set a series of “An Evening with the Eagles” concerts for this fall that will kick off Oct. 17 in Greensboro, North Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum. Additional stops will include Oct. 20 in Atlanta at Philips Arena, Oct. 24 in Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center, and Oct. 27 in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena.

Tickets for the shows go on sale to the general public beginning Saturday, Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. through LiveNation.com. American Express Card Members will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. through Friday, Aug. 18 at 10 p.m.  A limited number of VIP ticket packages will be also be available, including premium tickets, pre-show VIP lounge, exclusive merchandise and more. Complete ticket information can be found at eagles.com.

On The Cover: 2017 ‘MusicRow’ Artist Roster Issue

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BMLG Records’ breakout star, Brett Young, graces the cover of MusicRow’s 2017 Artist Roster print magazine, available now.

Named as the only country act on Shazam’s “Emerging Artists of 2017,” Young has captured the hearts of fans everywhere through his honest lyrics and West Coast-meets-Southern sound, aptly dubbed “Caliville” style. The ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year nominee released his self-titled, debut album on BMLG Records earlier this year. The album was recorded in Nashville with producer Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Steven Tyler) and features 11 of the 12 tracks co-written by Young, including his current single “Like I Loved You” and the No. 1 Gold-certified debut “Sleep Without You.”

His follow-up single, the Billboard and Mediabase No. 1 hit “In Case You Didn’t Know,” solidified Young as the first country artist to hit the Platinum-certification sales mark with a song released in 2017. The video was No. 1 on Vevo’s country chart for six consecutive weeks and is currently the only country song on Vevo’s list of Top 10 Videos of 2017. “In Case You Didn’t Know” is currently nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Country Song and it was also nominated for Breakthrough Video of the Year at the 2017 CMT Music Awards.

Young was also nominated for two Association of Independent Music Publisher (AIMP) Awards for Artist-Writer of the Year and Song of the Year for “Sleep Without You.” In addition to his own headlining dates, the California native is currently on the road with Lady Antebellum’s You Look Good World Tour 2017 after joining Luke Bryan’s Kill The Lights Tour earlier this year.

Also within the 56-page 2017 Artist Roster print issue are directory listings for various Nashville-related business categories, including Talent Agency, Record Label, Management, Publicity and Artist Services (Business Management, Legal, Digital, Marketing, and Promotion). The Artist Grid concludes the print directory, matching top Nashville talent with their associated industry representatives.

Exclusive print editorial for the 2017 Artist Roster includes a roundtable with top public relations executives Jake Basden (BMLG Label Group), Ebie McFarland (Essential Broadcast Media), Kristie Sloan (The GreenRoom) and Jensen Sussman (Sweet Talk Publicity) about dealing with crises in media. The issue extends to the recent launch of pop/rock divisions expanding the Nashville Sound, with Mark Abramowitz (Sony/ATV), Steve Robertson (Atlantic) and Kevin Williamson (Interscope Records). MusicRow also covers Kenny Chesney’s reigning CMA Touring Awards Video Director of the Year, Jay Cooper.

Single copies of the MusicRow Artist Roster print issue are available for purchase at musicrow.com for $30, and are included with yearly subscriptions.

Amazon/Geico Celebrates 25th Anniversary Of Garth Albums With Free Downloads

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Garth Brooks

It’s been 25 years since Garth Brooks released his hit albums The Chase and In Pieces, and in celebration of the special anniversary, Amazon Music and Geico are offering fans a free download of both releases today (Aug. 15). A limited quantity of downloads are available and can be accessed at amazon.com/thechase25. Brooks announced the reveal with a G-Alert on Facebook.

Both albums were history-making: The Chase was the second album ever to debut at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and the Billboard Country Albums Chart, while In Pieces was Garth’s third album in a row to debut at No. 1 on both Billboard charts. The Chase included the smash singles, “Somewhere Other Than The Night,” “That Summer,” and “Learning To Live Again,” while In Pieces featured the hits “Ain’t Goin’ Down (Til The Sun Comes Up,”) “Standing Outside The Fire,” and “Callin’ Baton Rouge.”

“The Chase and In Pieces are two of the biggest and most enduring albums in country music history,” said Ryan Redington, Director of Amazon Music. “When these albums were released 25 years ago, Garth fans flocked to music stores to purchase CDs. Starting today, Amazon Music customers can easily download these iconic albums free for a limited time.”

Brooks’ entire studio collection is exclusively available to stream and download on Amazon Music. Since his debut to streaming on Amazon last October, he has become one of the top-streamed artists on the service. All of Brooks’ 16 studio albums are currently available for Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers, and select albums are also available to stream for Prime members.

Brooks appeared at an exclusive Nashville event, hosted by Amazon last night (Aug. 14), touting the importance of album sales for songwriter royalties.

Taylor Swift Releases Statement Following Court Victory

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Taylor Swift

After several hours of deliberation yesterday, August 14, a Denver jury sided with Taylor Swift in her countersuit against former country radio host David Mueller at Denver’s KYGO for alleged sexual assault and battery. The incident took place at a meet-and-greet in June 2013. Swift was awarded $1 in damages, the amount she was seeking in the suit.

Swift followed the news of her win with a statement offering support and a voice for others who may feel silenced by sexual assault.

“I want to thank Judge William J. Martinez and the jury for their careful consideration, my attorneys Doug Baldridge, Danielle Foley, Jay Schaudies and Katie Wright for fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four-year ordeal and two-year long trial process.

“I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.”

In 2015, Mueller sued Swift and her mom, Andrea Swift, and radio promotions director Frank Bell accusing them of being responsible for the termination of Mueller’s employment at KYGO radio. On Friday, August 11, the case against Swift was dismissed.

Thomas Rhett To Touch Down For Special Appearances In Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia On Album Release Day

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Thomas Rhett performs live

Thomas Rhett is celebrating his third Valory Music Co. album LIFE CHANGES on September 8 with special album release experiences in Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Billed as “Live From The B-Stage,” Rhett will return to three personally meaningful cities in one day to perform new music from LIFE CHANGES and reveal never-before-heard stories behind the album.

Inspired by the B-stage moment during his shows, fans will be able to purchase limited pre-sale album packages for each city which include a physical and digital copy of his new project along with an exclusive T-shirt and a spot on the guest list for that night’s show.

“I can’t wait to get back in these cities and these venues, with the fans who have really impacted my career and life,” said Thomas Rhett. “Joe’s in Chicago was one of the first places I ever sold out as a headliner, and Boston and Philly were also two markets we built from the ground up, and those fans have been with me since the beginning. It’s going to be really cool to be back in these cities and share this new music with the fans for the first time.”

Rhett appears tomorrow night (Aug. 16) with co-host Kelsea Ballerini for CMA Fest, The Music Event of Summer, a three-hour special airing at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Lee Ann Womack To Release ‘The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone’ With ATO Records, October 27

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Lee Ann Womack will make her debut for ATO Records on October 27 with the release of The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone. Produced by husband Frank Liddell, The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone features fourteen tracks, mostly co-written by Womack all mixing her country, soul, gospel and blues influences.

“With this particular record, because of what I wanted to accomplish with the whole country blues vibe, it was important to write, since those songs are not necessarily just laying around everywhere,” Womack told NPR’s Jewly Hight.

NPR first announced the project, with a first listen of “All The Trouble,” co-written with her band mates Adam Wright and Waylon Payne.

The album was mostly recorded at the legendary SugarHill Studios in Houston, TX, excluding some acoustic cuts. Formerly known as Gold Star, the studio is home to early recordings that influenced Womack, including George Jones’ “Take the Devil Out of Me” (1959), which is one of three cover songs on The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone.

“I wanted to get out of Nashville, and tap the deep music and vibe of East Texas,” says Womack. “I wanted to make sure this record had a lot of soul in it, because real country music has soul. I wanted to remind people of that.”

The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone features musicians Glenn Worf (bass), guitarists Wright, Payne and Ethan Ballinger, and Jerry Roe (drums).

“…these guys are reckless players,” Womack continued with Hight. “That’s what Frank wanted, and what I wanted: ‘Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, and we might leave it on there, because that’s what happened in the moment.’ That’s when you’re making music, not when you’re isolating everything, so that you can go back and fix things, go back and perfect and perfect. That’s obviously not what we were after here on this record.

“It was more about capturing a group of musicians who are standing right next to each other, looking in each other’s eyes, going, ‘What are you about to do? Should I lay back here? Should I step up?’ All of that energy and angst is on there, and you can hear that. At least I thought so.”

Womack is on the road with Alan Jackson through November after recently wrapping a seven date tour with Patty Griffin.

The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone Track List:
1. All The Trouble
2. The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone
3. He Called Me Baby
4. Hollywood
5. End of the End of the World
6. Bottom of the Barrel
7. Shine On Rainy Day
8. Mama Lost Her Smile
9. Wicked
10. Long Black Veil
11. Someone Else’s Heartache
12. Sunday
13. Talking Behind Your Back
14. Take The Devil Out Of Me

Lee Ann Womack Upcoming Tour Dates:
Aug. 25 – Ford Center – Evansville, IN*
Aug. 26 – State Farm Center – Champaign, IL*
Aug. 27 – Plaza Theatre – Glasgow, KY
Sept. 8 – The Family Arena – St. Charles, MO*
Sept. 9 – U.S. Cellular Center – Cedar Rapids, IA
Sept. 10 – St. Croix Casino – Turtle Lake, WI
Sept. 14 – AmericanaFest – Nashville, TN
Sept. 22 – Charleston Civic Center – Charleston, WV*
Sept. 23 – Erie Insurance Center – Erie, PA*
Sept. 28 – Trans-Pecos Festival – Marfa, TX
Oct. 7 – Museum of Appalachia – Clinton, TN
Oct. 20 – Music In The Mill – Hickory, NC
Oct. 27 – Resch Center – Green Bay, WI
Oct. 28 – Target Center – Minneapolis, MN*
Oct. 29 – Bridge View Center – Ottumwa, IA
Nov. 3 – Lafayette Cajundome – Lafayette, LA*
Nov. 4 – Bell County Expo – Belton, TX*
Jan. 5 – The MusicFest at Steamboat – Steamboat, CO
Jan. 23 – Kent State Universtiy at Tuscarawas – New Philadelphia, PA
Feb. 4 – Cayamo Cruise – New Orleans, LA
Feb. 16 – Arizona Musicfest – Scottsdale, AZ

* denotes show w. Alan Jackson

Blake Shelton To Release New Live EP

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Blake Shelton announced his brand new Blake Shelton (Live) EP on social media yesterday (Aug. 14). The six-song project will feature songs captured from Shelton’s pop-up show during the CMA Music Festival in Nashville this summer and will be available to stream on Aug. 25. 

Among the tracks on the new EP are “Honey Bee,” “Boys ‘Round Here” and “A Guy With A Girl,” from his most recent album If I’m Honest.  

BLAKE SHELTON (LIVE) Track Listing:
1. All About Tonight (Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip)
2. Honey Bee (Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip)
3. Ol’ Red (James Bohan, Don Goodman, Mark Sherrill)
4. Home (Michael Bublé, Alan Chang, Amy Foster-Gillies)
5. Boys ‘Round Here (Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Craig Wiseman)
6. A Guy With A Girl (Ashley Gorley, Bryan Simpson)

Pandora Names Roger Lynch As CEO/President

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Roger Lynch

Pandora has named Roger Lynch as CEO and president, and a member of its board of directors, effective Sept. 18, 2017. Naveen Chopra, who has served as Pandora’s interim CEO since June 2017, will continue in his role as chief financial officer. In addition, Pandora announced it has also appointed current Snap Inc. chairman and former Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton to its board of directors.

Lynch’s appointment comes after Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren stepped down from his role as CEO in June.

Pandora’s current chairman, Roger Faxon, said, “After a thorough and thoughtful search process, we are thrilled to have Roger join us as CEO and a member of our board. Roger brings a stellar leadership reputation, a wealth of consumer experience, and a lifelong passion for music to Pandora – all of which are critical ingredients in the continued evolution of our company. We are absolutely confident that Roger is the right leader for Pandora who can create value for shareholders by marrying Pandora’s numerous assets with the opportunities ahead. As I have said before, with ‘digital radio’ at the core of our business, and both ‘Plus’ and ‘Premium’ as new, integral parts of our arsenal, Pandora is now in an ideal position to leverage changing consumer behaviors to further expand and monetize our listening audience. We are very excited to welcome Roger as our CEO as we embark on our next chapter with renewed focus, a strong balance sheet, a strategic partnership with SiriusXM, and an incredible team of loyal and creative employees.”

As the founding CEO of Sling TV, Lynch led the creation, launch and growth of Sling TV to become the No. 1 Live OTT service in the U.S. Prior to Sling TV, Lynch served as executive vice president, Advanced Technologies, for DISH Network and EchoStar Corporations. Lynch also served as chairman and CEO of Video Networks International Ltd., a UK based IPTV provider. Prior to VNIL, Lynch was president and CEO of Chello Broadband in Amsterdam, Netherlands where he pioneered the widespread rollout of consumer broadband services across Europe, eventually creating what was, at the time, the largest broadband provider in Europe. Prior to that, Lynch was a technology investment banker with Morgan Stanley in New York, Silicon Valley, and London. Lynch began his career as a member of the physics technical staff at Hughes Aircraft Company. Lynch holds a Master of Business Administration with Highest Distinction from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Southern California.

“I cannot imagine a more important and exciting time to join Pandora,” said Lynch. “With a massive, diverse and highly engaged audience, a market-leading digital advertising business, a best-in-class product portfolio and an extremely passionate and talented group of people, Pandora is well-positioned to capture an even greater market opportunity. As a lifelong musician and exuberant music fan, this is the perfect opportunity to combine my industry experience with my love for music. I look forward to working with this great team, having a lot of fun, and leading Pandora through its next exciting phase.”

Weekly Register: Brett Eldredge Leads Top Album Sales Chart With Self-Titled Project

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Brett Eldredge is the top sales leader this week with his self-titled album landing at the top of the overall current albums chart, as well as the current country albums chart, with 36K for the week. On the Top 200, his new album debuts at No. 2, with 45.2K in total activity just behind Kendrick Lamar’s Damn. project, with 46.5K.

Following Eldredge on the current country albums chart is perennial Chris Stapleton, who continues to sell with his From A Room Vol. 1 at 8.3 K, and his Traveller at 6.6K. Various Artists on Now Country 10 is at No. 4 with 6K, and Tyler Childers’ Purgatory rounds out the Top 5 with 5.5K.

Following last week’s death of music icon Glen Campbell, his 20 Greatest Hits collection comes in at No. 6 on the country albums chart, and tops the country catalog chart, with 5.1K sold.

On the digital side, San Hunt continues his chart domination with his monster smash “Body Like A Back Road,” which logs 37K this week to bring his total to 1.508 million RTD. Rounding out the top five are Kane Brown‘s “What Ifs” with 19K, Dustin Lynch‘s “Small Town Boy” with 16K, Midland‘s “Drinkin’ Problem” at 12K, and Rhett Thomas‘ “Unforgettable” with 12K.

Gregg Allman Album To Be Celebrated With Trio Of September Events, Including Nashville

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Rounder Records has announced a series of special events celebrating Southern Blood, the final album from the legendary Gregg Allman. Billed as Southern Blood: Celebrating Gregg Allman, Los Angeles will host the first event, to be held Sept. 7 at The GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater. The event will see Devon Allman, longtime friend and manager Michael Lehman, Gregg Allman Band guitarist/musical director Scott Sharrard, and Southern Blood producer Don Was joining GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman to pay homage to Allman with an exceptional evening of stories, memories, and incredible music.

On Sept. 9, Allman will be posthumously honored with the key to his beloved hometown of Macon, GA by Mayor Robert Reichert, in a celebration declaring Dec. 8 (Allman’s birthday) to be known as “Gregg Allman Day.” A commemorative celebration will then be held at The Allman Brothers Band Museum at The Big House (2321 Vineville Avenue, Macon, GA 31204). In addition, that same evening will see The Big House hosting a Southern Blood: Celebrating Gregg Allman event, featuring again Devon Allman, Lehman, Sharrard in addition to Allman’s closest friend Chank Middleton joined by Chuck Reece, Editor-in-Chief of The Bitter Southerner.

The third and final Southern Blood: Celebrating Gregg Allman event will be presented at the 18th annual AMERICANAFEST: The Americana Music Festival & Conference, set for Sept. 15 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater in Nashville, TN. The event will again feature Devon Allman and Lehman, who will share the stage with musicians Buddy Miller, Joan Osborne, Pony Bradshaw, and John Paul White, once again joined by Goldman.

American Express pre-sale ticketing began Aug. 10 for the Los Angeles event; all remaining tickets will be released to the general public on Thursday, Aug. 17 at noon. For more information, visit grammymuseum.org.

Southern Blood hits shelves Friday, Sept. 8, including the new original song, “My Only True Friend,” written by Allman with Sharrard. The track premiered earlier this summer exclusively via NPR Music.