Five Staffers Exit Following BBR Music Group Restructuring

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Five employees have exited BBR Music Group, following the news earlier this week that the music group’s Red Bow Records imprint has folded.

Exiting staffers include Neda Tobin (Red Bow Director/National Promotion), Jeff Davis (Red Bow Director/Northeast Promotion), Jim Malito (Broken Bow Records Director, National Promotion), Allyson Gelnett (Stoney Creek Records Director, Northeast Promotion) and James Wesley (BBRMG Secondary Promotion). A full update on personnel changes at the label group is expected this week.

Contact information for exiting staffers is below:
Davis: [email protected]
Gelnett: [email protected]
Malito: [email protected]
Tobin: [email protected]

Reminder: Last Day To Vote In 2018 CMA Awards Nomination Round

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The voting deadline for the nomination round of balloting for the 2018 CMA Awards is today, Thursday, July 12 at 6 p.m. The eligibility period for nominees is July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018. Ballot categories include: Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, Musician of the Year, Music Video of the Year and New Artist of the Year.

The second CMA ballot voting period runs from Aug. 6-16, while the final ballot voting period runs from Oct. 1-23.

Steve “Stevo” Robertson Named GM/Sr. VP, A&R, Pop/Rock For Atlantic Records Nashville

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Steve Robertson

Steve “Stevo” Robertson has been promoted to the newly created position of General Manager/Senior Vice President of A&R, Pop/Rock, Atlantic Records Nashville. Robertson, who relocated from Florida to Nashville three years ago, joined Atlantic in 1997 and has been Sr. VP of A&R since 2010. His new appointment recognizes the continued expansion of Atlantic’s pop/rock A&R team in Nashville, and the label’s deep-seated commitment to the city’s diverse music community. Robertson’s current A&R roster includes Paramore, Shinedown, A Day to Remember, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Josie Dunn, and others. He reports to Atlantic President of A&R Pete Ganbarg.

“The promotion of Stevo to our first-ever GM of pop/rock A&R in Nashville recognizes his fantastic accomplishments as an ace A&R exec, as well as the vitality and importance of the city as a diverse, genre-spanning repertoire center,” said Ganbarg. “Since joining the company two decades ago, Stevo has signed and developed a string of topflight artists, while building tremendous relationships in the Southern music industry and beyond. As we continue to grow our Nashville presence outside of country music, he is the ideal person to lead our expanding pop/rock A&R team in Music City.”

“Since moving to Nashville three years ago, I’ve been constantly energized by all the brilliant talent that has embraced this city as a source of inspiration and creativity,” said Steve Robertson. “The rich musical life of this community isn’t defined by any one sound or style, but by an incredible range of artists contributing to a fantastic musical tapestry. I’m looking forward to bringing more exciting new music into the Atlantic family. I want to thank Pete, Craig Kallman, and Julie Greenwald for their amazing support, and John Esposito and the great Warner Music Nashville team for being such warm and welcoming colleagues.”

Before coming on board at Atlantic 21 years ago, Steve Robertson spent four years as Assistant Program Director/Music Director at Orlando, Florida radio station WJRR, the state’s first commercial Alternative station. While there, he was responsible for identifying a string of unsigned artists that he brought to Atlantic’s attention and were inked by the label, including Collective Soul, Seven Mary Three, and a band called Tabitha’s Secret that became known as Matchbox Twenty.

Robertson’s first post at the label was Director of A&R. He was named Senior Director in 2000 and upped to Vice President in 2007. Robertson was promoted to Senior Vice President of A&R in 2010, and in 2015, he relocated from Orlando, Florida to Nashville, Tennessee. Robertson began his career in the mid-‘80s working at Rock station WZTA (ZETA 4) in Miami and at community Alternative station WKPX in Ft. Lauderdale.

Austin Burke Signs With Kobalt’s AWAL Records

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Austin Burke has signed with AWAL, Kobalt’s record label. The partnership, which began with global distribution, progressed following the success of Burke’s self-titled EP, which garnered more than 50 million streams.

“We couldn’t be more excited to continue our partnership with Austin,” said Ron Cerrito, AWAL President, North America. “We’ve watched him steadily gain momentum in the country music community and look forward to continued collaboration on his growth path as an independent country artist.”

Based in Nashville, Burke released his self-titled EP in 2017. His songs, “Whole Lot in Love” and “Sleepin’ Around,” have been featured on Spotify’s Hot Country, Apple’s Breaking Country, and Amazon’s Introducing: Country and received support on Sirius XM’s The Highway. “Whole Lot in Love” has earned more than 40 million combined streams. He will be touring this summer and working on new music that will be released before the end of the year. 

“I am very excited to partner with AWAL,” said Burke. “They have the team and experience to take my career to the next level. It’s time to get to work and hit the road to meet all of my incredible fans. This is just the beginning.”

Eric Church Announces New Album ‘Desperate Man’

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Eric Church has revealed his upcoming new album, Desperate Man. In an announcement on Thursday, July 12, it was revealed that Church will again be giving the album to his fans first, with Desperate Man to be exclusively pressed on white vinyl (as well as in CD form). Paid members of the entertainer’s Church Choir can expect the album in the mail on Oct. 5, the album’s official release date.

In addition, Church announced he is streamlining his Church Choir fanclub membership tiers to simple “paid” and “free” categories. Members who renew or auto-renew and new fans who sign up at the new price of $35 will receive an album of their choice from Eric’s catalog in addition to all the benefits paid members currently receive including chances for meet & greets, access to special content, presales before public ticket sales and more.

Church says, “Just like last time – just like Mr. Misunderstood – if you’re in the Church Choir, on October 5th you’re going to get the album,” as Church renegotiated his record deal with EMI Nashville leading into Desperate Man to include his fans.

“Desperate Man,” Church’s first single off the new album, will be made available everywhere tomorrow, Friday, July 13. Co-written by Church with Texas musician Ray Wylie Hubbard (who Church namechecks in his 2015 “Mr. Misunderstood”), “Desperate Man” sees Church again collaborating with producer Jay Joyce. ­­­

The project marks Church’s first album since 2015’s surprise album drop of Mr. Misunderstood, which included songs “Record Year,” “Kill A Word,” “Round Here Buzz” and more.

In Pictures: Black Deer Festival, ACM, Charlie Daniels

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Black Deer Festival Celebrates Inaugural Year

Passenger.

The UK’s Black Deer Festival held its inaugural three-day event recently, selling more than 5,000 tickets for the first year of the festival. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Passenger, Ashley Campbell, Iron and Wine and Striking Matches were among the 88 artists performing.

“We just had the most magnificent weekend at Black Deer Festival 2018,” said Black Deer Festival promoter Gill Tee. “We spent a huge amount of time thinking about what we wanted to do for our inaugural year, it was the most amazing experience seeing it all come to life and all the hard work from everyone on the team come to fruition. The feedback we have had has just been incredibly positive and supportive, quite overwhelming, so in planning for 2019, we’ll be looking to go for a similar balance with the scope of artists, the food and the cultural highlights, only looking to see how we can enhance the whole experience even further. Our Super Early Bird tickets are already on sale and flying out, so watch this space…”

Black Deer Festival’s 2019 event will be held June 21-23.

 

ACM Welcomes Morgan Evans

Pictured (L-R): Tom Torii, ACM SVP, Finance & Operations; Jeremy Dylan, RPEE CEO; Nick Hartley, The Fitzgerald Hartley Co.; Morgan Evans; Jensen Sussman, Sweet Talk Publicity; Marieke Bianchi, Warner Music Nashville Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music welcomed Warner Music Nashville recording artist and Australia native Morgan Evans to the office while he was in Los Angeles recently. While at the Academy, Evans performed his current top 5-and-rising single, “Kiss Somebody,” and several other songs from his upcoming debut album due out this fall.

 

Charlie Daniels Featured On Mike Harmon Racecar

Charlie Daniels and his non-profit veterans organization, The Journey Home Project, were featured on Friday, July 6 at the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at the Daytona International Speedway. Professional stock car driver Mike Harmon revealed his latest racer that includes a fresh hood logo featuring Daniels and The Journey Home Project.

“It was a complete honor having The Journey Home Project and Charlie Daniels aboard this past weekend honoring our nations heroes,” said Harmon. “Eight members of the HSM-60 Jaguars along with Sgt. Brandon Stevenson, USMC, Purple Heart Receipt, escorted the car onto the track. We honored their service and sacrifices and also saluted the Helmineron Fifteen (HM-15) Blackhawks with a windshield banner. These fine gentlemen also represented The Journey Home Project and what their mission stands for. All of us at Mike Harmon Racing can’t wait to do it all over again this season.”

Country Radio Broadcasters Accepting Applications For $25,000 Scholarship Endowment

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The Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. (CRB) is now accepting applications for a scholarship endowment, which will be awarded to one deserving college or university for the 2018-2019 school year. Eligibility for the endowment includes: college or university accreditation; must have a TV/Film/Radio or Music Business program; the school must be responsible for managing endowment, selecting deserving students to receive scholarships, etc.; and application form must be submitted by Sept. 5, 2018.

Interested parties who meet the requirements can apply at countryradioseminar.com.

“CRB has a fabulous history of granting scholarships to students in our industry. We are continuing that tradition and have made plans to expand our scholarship program into other areas that we are very proud of. More to come on that later,” says Bill Mayne, Executive Director of CRB/CRS.

A CRB scholarship committee has been assembled to oversee the vetting of applications. Upon determining if a school or university qualifies for the endowment, a representative will be in touch to gather additional information surrounding the school’s qualifying program (radio/TV/film/music business) to verify that requirements are met and to help further the committee’s review and decision-making process.

Past recipients of the CRB endowment scholarship include Belmont University, Middle Tennessee State University, Texas A&M University, Central Michigan University, University of North Texas, Green River College, and more.

Viacom Promotes Kurt Patat To Head Of Communications

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Kurt Patat

Viacom has promoted Kurt Patat to an expanded role as Senior Vice President of Communications for Paramount Network and CMT, a dual role in which he will lead corporate communications, media relations, internal communications, and oversee publicity teams in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville for both brands.

“After masterfully elevating the profiles for several of Viacom’s brands, Kurt’s arrival at Paramount Network is key to becoming a fan-favorite home for quality scripted and unscripted programming,” said Kevin Kay, President of Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT. “He’s a great leader who’s savvy, tactical, highly-creative, and very passionate about our brands.”

Patat joined CMT as Senior Vice President of Communications in May, 2015 where he created corporate communication practices and led press campaigns for the network’s biggest series and events to-date. As a result, CMT expanded its audience demographics and recently notched its highest rated year since 2014. Previously, he served as Vice President of Communications for MTV and Logo and led consumer media relations for AOL.

Jess Moskaluke, Brett Kissel Lead CCMA Nominations

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Jess Moskaluke, Brett Kissel

Jess Moskaluke and Brett Kissel lead the Canadian Country Music Association’s CCMA Award nominees this year, with six nominations each.

Moskaluke is nominated for the Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award, FORD Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Video of the Year and Songwriter(s) of the Year. Kissel will be competing for wins in the Apple Fans’ Choice Award, FORD Album of the Year, Interactive Artist of the Year, Record Producer(s) of the Year, Video of the Year and Male Artist of the Year categories.

Reigning SiriusXM Rising Star and Female Artist of the Year Meghan Patrick has earned five 2018 CCMA Award nominations. Patrick is competing for top trophies in hopes of taking home the FORD Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Video of the Year and Songwriter(s) of the Year Awards.

After taking home three awards in 2017, Dallas Smith has earned four 2018 CCMA Award nominations, including Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year and Video of the Year. Smith has also been announced as a performer for the 2018 CCMA Awards show which will broadcast live from Hamilton, Ontario on Sept. 9.

BBR Music Group artist Lindsay Ell is nominated for Ford Album of the Year for The Project, and is up for Female Artist of the Year. Warner Music Nashville duo High Valley is up for Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award, as well as Group or Duo of the Year.

Nominees are listed below:

ARTIST AWARDS
APPLE MUSIC FANS’ CHOICE AWARD
Gord Bamford
Dean Brody
Chad Brownlee
Tim Hicks
High Valley
James Barker Band
Brett Kissel
Jess Moskaluke
Dallas Smith
Shania Twain

FORD ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Country Music Made Me Do It – Meghan Patrick
Past The Past – Jess Moskaluke
The Project – Lindsay Ell
We Were That Song – Brett Kissel
What We’re Made Of – The Washboard Union

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lindsay Ell
Madeline Merlo
Jess Moskaluke
Meghan Patrick
Shania Twain

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gord Bamford
Chad Brownlee
Brett Kissel
Dallas Smith
Bobby Wills

GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR
High Valley
Hunter Brothers
James Barker Band
The Reklaws
The Washboard Union

ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Lovelocks
Jessica Mitchell
Lindi Ortega
The Washboard Union
Donovan Woods

SIRIUSXM RISING STAR
Dan Davidson
Aaron Goodvin
Hunter Brothers
Leaving Thomas
The Reklaws

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Chills – James Barker Band
Country Music Made Me Do It – Meghan Patrick
Drive Me Away – Jess Moskaluke
Lonely Drum – Aaron Goodvin
Side Effects – Dallas Smith

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
The Bad Guy – Meghan Patrick
Drive Me Away – Jess Moskaluke
Hometown Kids – The Reklaws
Sky Stays This Blue – Dallas Smith
We Were That Song – Brett Kissel

SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR
Dean Brody, Matt Rovey
Song: 8th Day (Performed By: Dean Brody)
Dan Isbell, Meghan Patrick, Jeremy Stover
Song: Country Music Made Me Do It (Performed By: Meghan Patrick)
Zach Abend, Corey Crowder, Jess Moskaluke
Song: Drive Me Away (Performed By: Jess Moskaluke)
James Barker, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood
Song: It’s Working (Performed By: James Barker Band)
Alexander Black, Aaron Goodvin, Cathy Gravitt
Song: Lonely Drum (Performed By: Aaron Goodvin)

INTERACTIVE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Tenille Arts
Hunter Brothers
Brett Kissel
Leaving Thomas
Nice Horse

MUSICIAN AWARDS
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kirby Barber
Chris Byrne
Lisa Dodd
Justin Kudding
Travis Switzer

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Matthew Atkins
Ben Bradley
Flavio Cirillo
Rich DaSilva
Chad Melchert

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Denis Dufresne
Ali Raney
Mike Sanyshyn
Tyler Vollrath
Mark Whitehead

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Derek Caven
Paul Chapman
Matt McKay
Darren Savard
Geoff Torrn

KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Scott Galloway
Mike Little
Bart McKay
Dale Wallace
Brendan Waters

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Barber – Banjo
Denis Dufresne – Banjo
Shane Guse – Mandolin
Mitch Jay – Dobro
Connor Riddell – Banjo

STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chris Altmann
John Ellis
Mitch Jay
Doug Johnson
Mark Whitehead

RADIO AWARDS
MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR- LARGE MARKET
Larry Donohue – CFCW – Edmonton, AB
Steph Hansen – CISN-FM/CKRY-FM – Edmonton, AB/Calgary, AB
Amanda Kingsland – CKBY-FM – Ottawa, ON
Peter Walker – CJKX-FM/CHKX-FM – Oshawa, ON/Hamilton, ON
** Less than five nominees

MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR- MEDIUM OR SMALL MARKET
Shilo Bellis – CJXL-FM – Moncton, NB
Jenn Dalen – CKGY-FM – Red Deer, AB
Paul Ferguson – CHCQ-FM – Belleville, ON
Cal Gratton – CJVR-FM – Melfort, SK
Cory Noel – CKFM-FM – Olds, AB

INDUSTRY AWARDS
BOOKING AGENCY OF THE YEAR
APA Agency
The Feldman Agency
Invictus Entertainment Group
Sakamoto Agency
United Talent Agency

COUNTRY CLUB OF THE YEAR
Cook County Saloon – Edmonton, AB
The Dakota Tavern – Toronto, ON
Gabby’s Country Cabaret – Langley, BC
Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall – Calgary, AB
The Roxy – Vancouver, BC

COUNTRY FESTIVAL, FAIR, OR EXHIBITION OF THE YEAR
Big Valley Jamboree – Camrose, AB
Boots And Hearts Music Festival – Oro-Medonte, ON
Calgary Stampede – Calgary, AB
Cavendish Beach Music Festival – Cavendish, PE
Rockin’ River Country Music Fest – Merritt, BC

COUNTRY MUSIC PROGRAM OR SPECIAL OF THE YEAR
Canadian Coast To Coast – Fabmar Communications
The Casey Clarke Country Countdown – Casey Clarke Productions
The Casey Clarke Show – Casey Clarke Productions
The Dungarees Christmas Special – Rogers Media and The Dungarees
Jess Moskaluke – Home Movie – Corus Entertainment

MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Big Loud Management LLC.
Invictus Entertainment Group
MDM Artist Management Services
RGK Entertainment Group Inc.
Starseed Entertainment Inc.

MUSIC PUBLISHING COMPANY OF THE YEAR
ole
Royalty Music Publishing Inc.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
Universal Music Publishing Canada
Warner/Chappell Music Canada

RECORD COMPANY OF THE YEAR
MDM Recordings Inc.
ole red dot
Open Road Recordings Inc.
Universal Music Canada
Warner Music Canada

INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR
Steve Coady – Vice President, Radio Promotions – Warner Music Canada
Jim Cressman – President – Invictus Entertainment Group
Mike Denney – President – MDM Recordings Inc.
Shannon McNevan – Director of A&R – Universal Music Canada
Robert Ott – Chairman, CEO – ole

CREATIVE DIRECTOR(S) OF THE YEAR
Design Team: Rory Gardiner, Loren Stevenson Photography: Doyle Smith
Interactive Video Brochure, Associate Booklet, Album: Be You (Artist: Rory Gardiner)
Design Team: Jason Graham, Photography: John Gaucher
Album: In Comes The Night (Artist: Bobby Wills)
Design Team: Mitchell Nevins, Photography: Margaret Malandruccolo
Single: Loud (Artist: Tim Hicks)
Design Team: Antoine Moonen (Mediavandals) Photography: Delaney Royer
Album: Past The Past (Artist: Jess Moskaluke)
Design Team: Mitchell Nevins, Photography: Phil Crozier
Album: The Squeeze (Artist: The Road Hammers)

RECORDING STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Barrytone Studios – St. Clements, ON
Bart McKay Productions – Saskatoon, SK
MCC Recording Studio – Calgary, AB
OCL Studios – Chestermere, AB
Revolution Recording – Toronto, ON

RECORD PRODUCER(S) OF THE YEAR
Gord Bamford, Phil O’Donnell
Album: Neon Smoke (Artist: Gord Bamford)
Spencer Cheyne, Brett Kissel, Justin Kudding, Bart McKay, Matt McKay, Luke Wooten
Album: We Were That Song (Artist: Brett Kissel)
Jeff Dalziel
Album: What We’re Made Of (Artist: The Washboard Union)
Danick Dupelle, Tebey
Album: Love A Girl (Artist: Tebey)
Dan Swinimer
Album: Downtown Kids (Artist: David James)

RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Apple Music
Spotify Canada Inc.
Sunrise Records
**Less than 5 nominees

RON SAKAMOTO TALENT BUYER OR PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Paul Biro – Sakamoto Agency
Jim Cressman – Invictus Entertainment Group
Emmanuel Patterson – Live Nation Entertainment
Julia Rambeau – MRG Group
Denise Ross – Live Nation Entertainment

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Stephano Barberis
Video: The Bad Guy (Artist: Meghan Patrick), Video: Coming Clean (Artist: Shirley Gnome), Video: Dirt Covered Rhinestone (Artist: Jade Mya), Video: Heart Of A Woman (Artist: Johnny Reid), Video: Hold The Line (Artist: Jesse Mast), Video: Might As Well Be Me (Artist: Chad Brownlee), Video: Neon Smoke (Artist: Gord Bamford), Video: Out Of The Blue (Artist: Chad Brownlee), Video: Sky Stays This Blue (Artist: Dallas Smith), Video: Something To Wrap My Heart Around (Artist: JoJo Mason), Video: What We’re Made Of (Artist: The Washboard Union)
Gavin Michael Booth
Video: Born and Raised (Artist: Hunter Brothers), Video: Slide Over (Artist: Tim Hicks), Video: Sombrero (Artist: Scotty James), Video: Those Were The Nights (Artist: Hunter Brothers), Video: You Get To Me (Artist: River Town Saints)
Ben Knechtel
Video: Chills (Artist: James Barker Band), Video: Drive Me Away (Artist: Jess Moskaluke), Video: Hometown Kids (Artist: The Reklaws)
Travis Nesbitt
Video: Anywhere With You (Artist: The Dungarees), Video: Ring The Bells (Artist: The Dungarees), Video: Say We Did (Artist: Dan Davidson), Video: Shine (Artist: The Washboard Union)
Joel Stewart
Video: All About Her (Artist: Paul Brandt), Video: In Comes The Night (Artist: Bobby Wills), Video: Kill Your Love (Artist: Jess Moskaluke), Video: Past The Past (Artist: Jess Moskaluke)

one77 Music Launches With 6,000-Song Catalog

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Jennifer Blakeman

one77 Music, a new publishing venture, has launched this week, with a 6,000-song catalog and $27 million in assets. The company, which is backed by private equity firm Virgo Investment Group, has entered a deal with Kobalt Music, which will serve as one77’s global administration partner.

Jennifer Blakeman will serve as the company’s president and chief creative officer. A former exec at Universal Publishing, Atlas Publishing and Atlantic Records, Blakeman was also a former Warner Bros. recording artist, a touring keyboardist with Billy Idol, Savage Garden and Brian Wilson, and held creative posts at Atlantic Records, Universal Pictures, and Zomba Publishing.

The new company’s catalog includes songs recorded by Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Kelly Clarkson, Dr. Dre, Mike Posner, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, T.I., Meek Mill, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Keyshia Cole, BJ The Chicago Kid, Weezer, Kelsea Ballerini, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Ludacris and more.