Downtown Music Publishing celebrated its tenth birthday Wednesday night (Dec. 6) in New York at the historical landmark Free Public Baths of the City of New York.

The three-story party brought together Downtown’s global leadership for the first time ever under one roof. Staff from New York, Nashville, LA, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London and the soon-to-be-open Paris office converged to celebrate 10 years of Downtown with floors themed to the different regions and many Downtown writers in attendance.

An entire floor was turned into a honky-tonk to celebrate Downtown’s Nashville office, headed by Steve Markland (VP, A&R) since its 2014 founding. Writers Kendell Marvel, Marc Beeson, Sara Haze and “Big Al” Anderson (NRBQ) performed live sets while guests enjoyed hot chicken and Tennessee cocktails.

The Downtown Nashville office staff attended the New York party including Markland, Natalie Osborne (Manager of A&R) and Katie Roth (Creative Assistant).

“It was a thrill to bring a touch of Nashville to New York to celebrate Downtown’s tenth birthday with our full staff, and to hear amazing music performed by some of our finest writers,” Markland said.

Downtown Nashville is celebrating a string of No. 1’s, most recently “Somebody Else Will,” co-written by Kelly Archer and performed by Justin Moore. Under Markland’s guidance, Downtown writers have also written recently-charted country hits for Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, Granger Smith and Cassadee Pope. Downtown’s Nashville office also represents the catalogs of Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Rosanne Cash, Natalie Prass and many more.

Founded by Justin Kalifowitz in 2007, Downtown Music Publishing has grown from a staff of two to over 80 based all over the world. Downtown’s tech platform Songtrust has grown since its 2011 launch to manage over 1 million song copyrights composed by over 100,000 unique songwriter clients, and this year expanded its global presence to Europe.

Songwriter-composer Steve Dorff and actor Stephen Dorff have announced the Andrew Marshall Dorff Memorial Fund in memory of their late son/brother, country music songwriter Andrew Dorff.

In the spirit of Andrew’s favorite time of year, Steve and Stephen Dorff hosted a memorial party yesterday (Dec. 7) to celebrate his life and talents within the country music community. The event will occur annually and any donations made to the memorial fund will support Andrew’s favorite causes.

The Andrew Marshall Dorff Memorial Fund will continue his legacy to uplift a new generation of music lovers. Donations made to the fund will support two initiatives: to help create an endowed scholarship at Belmont University in Andrew’s name that will assist students pursuing a career in songwriting, and to support Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with its pediatric oncology initiatives.

Andrew Dorff was known in the music world for penning five No. 1 songs for country stars Blake Shelton (“My Eyes” and “Neon Lights”), Kenny Chesney (“Save it for a Rainy Day”), Hunter Hayes (“Somebody’s Heartbreak”), and Rascal Flatts (“Yours if You Want It”). He had other notable chart successes with artists such as Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Old Dominion, and Ronnie Dunn. With over 1,800 songs in his catalog, he left a legacy of many hits to come.

Contributions can be made to the Andrew Marshall Dorff Memorial Fund through The Community Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Donations can also be made on The Community Foundation website, or via mail at:

The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum will host Emmylou Harris, several original members of The Hot Band, Ricky Skaggs and The Whites during a fundraiser December 14 that will honor famed music producer Brian Ahern.

Ahern, a Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer and an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, is known for producing acts such as Harris, Anne Murray, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Roy Orbison, Glen Campbell, Linda Ronstadt and Black Sabbath.

Proceeds from the event will go towards restoration of Ahern’s Enactron trailer, a mobile recording studio originally designed and built by Ahern in 1972 that is one of the first mobile studios used to record projects on location. The Enactron has a history of over 40 Gold and Platinum albums recorded in the trailer including Bette Midler’s The Rose and Barbra Streisand’s A Star Is Born. The new exhibit is scheduled to open this winter.

Individual tickets are available at musicianshalloffame.com/special-event. Those wishing to sponsor a table can call Tyler at 615-244-3263. If attendance is not possible, donations are appreciated and can be sent to Musicians Hall of Fame POB 23655 Nashville, TN 37202.

BBR Music Group has made a round of promotions and hirings among its marketing and promotion staff.

Lexi Willson has been tapped as Director of Regional Promotion, West Coast for Wheelhouse Records, a position previously held by Byron Kennedy who was named VP of Promotion for Stoney Creek Records earlier this week. She has served as Promotion Coordinator for Red Bow Records and Wheelhouse Records since August 2016 following three years at KNTY/Sacramento as a Promotion Assistant.

“Lexi hit the ground running with an incredible ‘can-do’ spirit and thirst for knowledge,” said Carson James, SVP of Promotion, BBR Music Group. “She knew from the beginning that she wanted to be in promotion. Her wish has become our wish, because she has earned it!”

Willson will report to Wheelhouse Records VP of Promotion, Teddi Bonadies and can be reached at [email protected] or 707-410-6617.

Matt Holmberg will succeed Willson as Promotion Coordinator for Red Bow Records and Wheelhouse Records. Holmberg has worked at BBR Music Group since April 2017 in various creative support roles and additionally as a Catalog Coordinator for Magic Mustang. He had previously interned in promotion at BBR Music Group.

Holmberg will report to the Bonadies for Wheelhouse Records and VP of Promotion for Red Bow Records, Shelley Hargis. He can be reached at [email protected] or 615-610-2127.

Devin DeToro has been hired as Senior Manager of Marketing. In this role she will be serve as point on coordinating marketing efforts for Red Bow and Wheelhouse Records. DeToro joins BBR following a two-year stint in Los Angeles at iHeartMedia as Manager, Activation and Account Management. Prior to iHeartMedia she served for seven years with CBS Radio, rising to Project Manager, Integrated Marketing and Events for the Chicago cluster.

DeToro will report to BBR Music Group VP of Marketing, JoJamie Hahr and can be reached at [email protected] or 615-610-2157.