Matt Jenkins Extends Deal With Warner/Chappell, Tape Room Music, Combustion Music

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Front: Kenley Flynn (Combustion), Matt Jenkins, Ashley Gorley (Tape Room Music). Back: Chris Farren (Combustion), Phil May (WC), Ben Vaughn (WC), Chris Van Belkom (Combustion), Blain Rhodes (Tape Room), Cam Caldwell (Attorney), Travis Carter (WC) Photo: Jessica Steddom

Matt Jenkins has extended his publishing agreement with Warner/Chappell Music, Tape Room Music, and Combustion Music. Jenkins’ has penned five No. 1 singles, including the recent multi-week Billboard chart-topper “Do I Make You Wanna” by Billy Currington.

Having recently worked with artists like Michael Ray, Walker Hayes, Blake Shelton, and Little Big Town, some of Jenkins’ hits include Old Dominion’s “Song For Another Time,” Kenny Chesney’s “Setting The World On Fire” featuring P!nk, Keith Urban’s “Cop Car,” Dustin Lynch’s “Where It’s At,” and Florida Georgia Line’s “Confession.” His song “Fade Into You” was also featured in the TV show Nashville.

 

Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival Announces Fourth Annual Contest For Local Musicians

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Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival has announced the fourth annual PlayAtPilgrimage Contest, open to Franklin, Tennessee and Nashville musicians for the chance to be on the same bill as Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Lionel Richie, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Brandi Carlile, Hozier and more. The grand prize winner will perform at the 2018 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival and receive a $5,000 cash prize by Jesse W Couch Foundation and the Pilgrimage Foundation to continue to foster the winner’s career.

Pilgrimage will also select 25 runner ups who will win the opportunity to perform at Pilgrimage’s Music on Main & Beyond event on Friday, Sept. 21 to kick off the festival weekend! The Music on Main & Beyond is in partnership with Downtown Franklin Association and Visit Franklin.

“The #PlayAtPilgrimage contest has been a great way to tap into local talent in both Franklin and Nashville,” says co-producer and partner Kevin Griffin. “This year will be even better as we are choosing 25 runner ups for the first time to be part of a kick off event the Friday night before Pilgrimage. Not only will festival goers get to experience downtown Franklin, but they will be able to experience countless local talent.”

Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival will be held Sept. 22-23 to The Park at Harlinsdale in Franklin, Tennessee, for two days of music, art and culture.

BMI Presents Eastside Sounds With Emma Hern, The Stoop Kids

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The Stoop Kids stop for a photo with BMI’s Nina Carter following their Eastside Sounds performance.

BMI presented another installation of the Eastside Sounds series on Monday (June 25) with Emma Hern and The Stoop Kids. Emma Hern opened up the evening with powerhouse vocals, followed by an infectious and energetic set from the Stoop Kids. The series will resume in August with a special pop edition featuring Jake Wesley Rogers and Britty.

Emma Hern and her band pose backstage at the Basement East with BMI’s Nina Carter.

 

The Peach Pickers Celebrate Fifth Annual Georgia On My Mind Concert

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The Peach Pickers (Ben Hayslip, Dallas Davidson, and Rhett Akins) on the Peach Carpet before the start of “Georgia On My Mind” Tuesday at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Georgia music was on full display Tuesday night (June 26) during the “Gretsch Presents the Fifth Annual Georgia On My Mind” benefit concert hosted by the Peach Pickers – Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, and Ben Hayslip– and emceed by SiriusXM’s Storme Warren at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

The popular Peach Carpet kicked off the evening with a who’s who of Georgia-born talent and executives including the honorable Governor of Georgia Nathan Deal and Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal. Performers included Pat Alger, Tony Arata, John Berry, Kristian Bush of Sugarland, Travis Denning, Randy Houser, Chris Janson, Jamey Johnson, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Trea Landon, Dustin Lynch and Michael Ray.

Chris Janson

One of the many highlights of the evening was the presentation of the Georgia Music Foundation Flamekeeper Award to Alger and Arata. In a second presentation, Governor Deal, who won the Flamekeeper Award in 2017, presented the a special posthumous Flamekeeper Award to the late country artist and Georgia native Daryle Singletary, who was 46 when he passed away Feb. 12 at his home in Lebanon, Tennessee. His wife, Holly Singletary and their twin, seven-year-old sons Mercer and Jonah accepted on his behalf. The award is presented to a Georgian who tirelessly preserves and promotes Georgia’s musical roots and traditions.

Title sponsors for the evening, Fred and Dinah Gretsch presented a check for $50,000 to the Georgia Music Foundation, to advance grants to cultural and music education programs in the state. The Foundation, which was established in 1994, has distributed more than $300,000 in funding to deserving music education, preservation, and outreach programs in the past four years from “Georgia On My Mind” proceeds.

Pat Alger, Tony Arata

Charles Kelley and Dallas Davidson

Final ‘Nashville’ Soundtrack To Release In July

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The final soundtrack for the television show Nashville will be released worldwide on July 27. The Music Of Nashville, Season 6, Vol. 2 (Big Machine Records, Lionsgate Television Inc., ABC Studios) features 16 new tracks and reflects the personal and artistic growth of each beloved character viewers have embraced throughout the riveting series. Several cast members contributed their voices to both the recording and songwriting credits.

Nashville‘s finale airs July 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CMT.

Since Nashville debuted in 2012, Big Machine Records has released 12 soundtracks for the series. More than one million albums and six million single track downloads have been sold with nearly 400 million streams to date.

The Music of Nashville, Season 6, Vol. 2 Track List
1. “When You Came Along” | Clare Bowen, Jake Etheridge
Written by Clare Bowen, Jake Etheridge, Brandon Young
2. “The Giver” | Jonathan Jackson
Written by Jill Andrews, K.S. Rhoads
3. “Let Love In” | Rhiannon Giddens
Written by Rhiannon Giddens, Dirk Powell
4. “Sorry Now” | Rainee Blake
Written by Jill Andrews, Trent Dabbs
5. “Go” | Rainee Blake, Chris Carmack, Jonathan Jackson, Sam Palladio
Written by Tim Lauer, Micah Wilshire, Ricky Young
6. “Without Warning” | Maisy Stella
Written by Kevin Griffin, Lennon Stella, Marylynne Stella
7. “Love Goes On” | Ilse DeLange
Written by Ilse DeLange
8. “I’ll Waltz You Home” | Ronny Cox
Written by Ronny Cox, Howard Russell Smith
9. “Going Electric” | Sam Palladio
Written by Jabe Beyer, Trent Dabbs, Sam Palladio
10. “Bring Me An Angel” | Jake Etheridge
Written by Jake Etheridge
11. “Little Fire” | Lennon Stella
Written by Sarah Buxton, Lennon Stella, Kate York
12. “Itty Bitty Ditty” | Charles Esten
Written by Charles Esten
13. “My Turn” | Chris Carmack
Written by Chris Gelbuda, Maren Morris
14. “Love Can Hold It All” | Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella
Written by Peter Groenwald, Tim Lauer, Lauren Strahm
15. “Free” | Hayden Panettiere
Written by Jill Andrews, K.S. Rhoads
16. “A Life That’s Good” | Nashville Cast
Written by Ashley Monroe, Sarah Siskind

Roland Opens Artist Relations Center In Nashville

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Roland, a manufacturer and distributor of electronic musical instruments, opens its newest Artist Relations Center today (June 27) in Nashville, located at Love Shack Studios at 909 18th Ave. S. A grand opening event begins at 7 p.m.

The center offers support, A/V services for social media content creation, and more as part of an enhanced artist relations strategy.

Julian Raymond, Senior Vice President of A&R and Staff Producer at Big Machine/John Varvatos Records, was instrumental in working out the details for the facility.

“I am honored to be associated with Roland and their state-of-the-art products and technology,” Raymond says. “Having the new A/R center here in Nashville will really connect our great musical culture with the iconic Roland brand.”

The Nashville facility joins other recently-opened Artist Relations Centers in Los Angeles, Vancouver and Toronto, Canada; Berlin, Germany; and Tokyo, Japan.

Raelynn, Friends Kick Off First NSAI ‘Artists & The Songwriters They Love’ Event

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Pictured (L-R): Jimmy Robbins, Emily Weisband, RaeLynn, Corey Crowder

RaeLynn helped kick off The Nashville Songwriters Association International three-part City Winery Series “Artists & The Songwriters They Love” June 19, along with fellow writers Corey Crowder, Emily Weisband, and Jimmy Robbins.

During the intimate, in-the-round experience, the audience was treated to performances of hits and the stories behind them like “Love Triangle” (RaeLynn, Nicolle Galyon, Jimmy Robbins), “I Could Use A Love Song” (Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz), “Think of You” (Chris Young, Corey Crowder, Josh Hoge), and more.

The second installment of NSAI’s “Artists & The Songwriters They Love” series presented by Ford will take place on July 18 at the Nashville City Winery, and will feature Hunter Hayes with hitmakers Ben Caver and Sara Haze.

Education Through Music Honors CMA Foundation Chairman Joe Galante

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Pictured (L-R): Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer, Kix Brooks, Brad Warren, Joe Galante, Randy Owen, and Brett Warren. Photo: Simon Leung

CMA Foundation Chairman Joe Galante was honored by Education Through Music at its Children’s Benefit Gala on Monday (June 25) at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Galante was recognized for the impact on the music industry not only in New York City but on a national level he’s made through his involvement with the CMA Foundation.

The CMA Foundation first began working with ETM in 2012, helping to outfit P.S. 103 in the Bronx with songbooks, recorders, keyboards and xylophones. The CMA Foundation has since invested over a million dollars in ETM, providing much needed music resources as well as helping put music teachers back into classrooms throughout New York City schools.

The ETM Children’s Benefit Gala was hosted by Brooks & Dunn’s Kix Brooks, with featured performances by special guests Randy Owen of Alabama and The Warren Brothers in addition to ETM partner school students. More than 400 supporters attended the event to raise funds for music education programs in New York City.

CMA and CMA Foundation board members in attendance included Tony Conway, Jim Free, Lon Helton, Ron Samuels, and Jennie Smythe, in addition to CMA Executive Producer Robert Deaton.

Industry Ink: Devin Dawson, Troy Anderson, Kimberly Lannear

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Devin Dawson Celebrates RIAA Gold At BMI Dinner

(Front Row, L-R): Jacob Durrett, Devin Dawson, Austin Taylor-Smith (Back Row L-R): Noah Dewey (BMG), Josh Tomlinson (BMI), Travis Carter (Warner-Chappell), Leslie Roberts (BMI), Ben Vaughn (Warner-Chappell), Todd Ramey (Sandbox) and Alison Junker (Warner-Chappell)

BMI celebrated the RIAA Gold certification of Devin Dawson‘s debut single “All On Me” on Monday night (June 25) with a special dinner honoring songwriters Devin Dawson, Jacob Durrett and Austin Taylor-Smith. Among those attending to acknowledge the songwriters’ success were Warner-Chappell’s Ben Vaughn, Travis Carter and Alison Junker, BMG’s Noah Dewey and Sandbox’s Todd Ramey, along with BMI’s Josh Tomlinson and Leslie Roberts. The song peaked at No. 2 on the charts and has garnered upwards of 132 million on-demand streams.

 

Troy Anderson Joins SSM Entertainment Roster

Pictured (L-R): Dean Scallan, Troy Anderson, SSM President Patti Olsen-Garafola

Troy Anderson has signed with SSM Entertainment. Anderson is set to release his third single with the label, “My Side of the Story” to country radio. “We have already seen so much progress with Troy’s songwriting and performing,” Label President, Patti Olsen-Garafola said. “I am so proud to have him in our artist family and to take him to the next level.” “I am thrilled to be joining the SSM family,” Anderson said. “With the support of this team, there are so many opportunities ahead.”

 

Kimberly Lannear Named National Museum Of African American Music Communications Manager

The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) has named Kimberly Lannear as communications manager. She will assist in communicating museum milestones, events, fundraising opportunities and artifact acquisitions.

Lannear comes to the museum from the Alexandria Library in Alexandria, Virginia, where she secured national media placements in The Washington Post, NBC4 Washington, Fortune Magazine, C-SPAN, and others. As a graduate of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s Project Music program, Lannear founded a music-tech startup, Scripturally Sound, which connects scriptures to songs in one simple search, and offers songwriters the opportunity to share the inspiration behind their music.

“NMAAM is proud to expand our communications department with the addition of Kimberly Lannear,” said NMAAM President and CEO Henry Beecher Hicks, III. “Kimberly’s extensive background in media relations and content strategy will be a valuable asset to our team.”

 

Bobby Karl Works The Room: CMHoF Showcases Little Big Town’s ‘The Power Of Four’

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BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM

Chapter 596

Who doesn’t love Little Big Town?

Even in a genre that is full of really, really good people as its artists, LBT’s Jimi Westbrook, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Karen Fairchild rank super high on the lovability scale. Their adorable-ness was on full display on Tuesday evening (June 26) at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

The occasion was the reception to celebrate the group’s new exhibit “Little Big Town: The Power of Four.” A block-long bank of glass cases displays costumes, mementos, awards, manuscripts and personal items that document the group’s 20-year road to stardom.

“I’m so overwhelmed by all of this, and I’m the crier,” said Jimi. Sure enough, he began to blubber as he continued: “I walked along the exhibit and saw the journey. It’s the greatest journey I could ever have hoped for. I’m so grateful for this journey that we’ve had together. And I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. All of you people in this room … are a blessing. This is a privilege and an honor.”

Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town participates in an interview at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

“You lived this journey with us,” added Phillip. “Music is what drives us and inspires us. It is a gift. For us, it was all about the making of the music. That’s what keeps us changing and growing. I love every one of you.”

“Thank you for changing our lives,” said Karen. “I believe in the power of this community and in the healing of music. And we could all use some of that right now. I look out here and I see not just family, but people we consider ‘family’ in this business. I look around, and I see believer after believer after believer.”

“When I came to Nashville as a 14-year-old, I came to the Country Music Hall of Fame,” recalled Kimberly. “My sister and I took a picture in front of the Hall of Fame. After that visit, I had huge dreams in my head. I wanted to become a country music star. And I didn’t even know what that meant. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.”

Pictured (L-R): Jimi Westbrook, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman and Philip Sweet of Little Big Town participate in an interview by Michael McCall at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

Karen remembered that the first concert she ever saw was by The Oak Ridge Boys, pointing out the coincidence that now she sings in a four-part harmony group. The Oaks’ Duane Allen and Opry quartet singer Nora Lee Allen stood beaming at stage left. They weren’t the only gifted folks in attendance. All three of “The Love Junkies” were there – Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey. Their “Girl Crush” catapulted LBT to even greater renown three years ago. (“Three women changed our lives,” Karen noted.) Lori’s new album, The Tree, drops next month, by the way.

Also in the house was Wayne Kirkpatrick, who co-produced and co-wrote LBT’s breakout hit “Boondocks” and the act’s other early star-making sounds (“Bring It On Home,” “Good As Gone,” “A Little More You,” “Little White Church,” etc.).

The celebrants also included Jett Williams, Ernie Williams, Earle Simmons, Bobby Simmons, David Preston, David M. Ross, the Nashville Public Library’s Kent Oliver, Del Bryant, Shanna Strassberg, Ben Vaughn, Jeff Gregg, the Memorial Foundation’s Scott Perry, Lisa Konicki, Tom Roland, Tim Wipperman, Deborah Evans Price, architect Seab Tuck, Karen Clark, Charlie Monk, Cindy Watts and Lisa Lee.

The cocktail-party hors d’oeuvres table held grilled-shrimp skewers, sirachi devilled eggs, petite panini sandwiches, pickled vegetables, an artisanal-breads basket and a scrumptious cheese-and-cured-meats board.

Jimi Westbrook of Little Big Town participates in an interview at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

“We don’t put in exhibits of people who don’t pave necessary roads and change things for the better,” observed Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young. “Little Big Town…. paved necessary roads with faith, hope, love, talent and harmony.”

Kyle recalled the many difficulties the group has endured along the way. LBT was initially signed by Mercury, which released none of the songs the group recorded there. Monument issued singles and an album, all of which were rejected.

Even after success with Capitol, tragedy stalked the four. Kimberly’s husband died suddenly. Jimi’s father and sister passed away. Through it all, those angelic vocal harmonies, superb song choices and beautifully crafted records made Little Big Town strong and enduring.

“We are overwhelmed,” said Phillip Sweet. “This is incredible, and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town participates in an interview at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

Philip Sweet of Little Big Town participates in an interview at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum

Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman and Philip Sweet of Little Big Town participate in an interview by Michael McCall at The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum