Industry Ink: Big Machine, Miller Harris Golf Tournament, APA Nashville, Grayscale Marketing

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Florida Georgia Line Named Grand Marshals At Big Machine Vodka 400 At The Brickyard

Global superstars Florida Georgia Line were already slated to have a huge presence as race namesake and festival headliners at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) next weekend. Now, they have also been tapped as the grand marshals of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 9.

The chart-topping and history-making duo, made up of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, will headline the first annual FGL Fest concert on Saturday, Sept. 8 at IMS, leading a revved-up lineup that also includes Cole Swindell, Nelly, Raelynn, Jillian Jacqueline, Mason Ramsey, Riley Green and Stephanie Quayle.

“Our growing relationship with Big Machine and Scott Borchetta has helped create an exciting new era for the NASCAR weekend at IMS this year with a new September date, exciting lineup of five days of on-track action and such a great collection of music superstars at FGL Fest,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “Scott, Tyler and Brian have been such strong supporters of this event, so it’s fitting they receive these prestigious roles on Race Day.”

Big Machine Label Group Founder, President and CEO Scott Borchetta will wave the green flag to start the 25th Running of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, which starts at 2 p.m. ET on the 2.5-mile IMS oval.

 

Miller Harris Golf Tournament Coming In September

The Miller Harris Foundation is now accepting registrations for the 19th Annual Miller Harris Golf Tournament. The golf tournament takes place at Temple Hills Golf Club on Monday, Sept. 10. Spearheaded by Source Nashville Founder, Judy Harris (Judy Harris Music), the annual golf tournament benefits The Miller Harris Foundation.

A silent auction with all proceeds going to the foundation will be on site with items like Nashville Predators autographed memorabilia, a weekend stay at The Aertson Hotel and much more. In addition to the golf tournament, The Miller Harris Foundation will hold a fund-raising event at The Bluebird Café on Wednesday, Sept. 5, with Doug Johnson as host.

Tickets are available at thebluebirdcafe.com.

 

APA Nashville Hosts Grayscale Marketing

APA Nashville hosted colleagues from Grayscale Marketing on Wednesday (Aug. 29) for their Happy Hour series.

Tim Gray, Grayscale Marketing CEO stated, “Grayscale has experienced such growth over the last year that the agencies have begun to overlap with our marketing, advertising and PR event clients. We thought it would be nice to spend one on one time strengthening the relationship between the teams since we’re often working with the same festivals, fairs, theaters, and PACs, around the country.”

Grayscale Marketing is a fully integrated firm that provides communication, marketing and advertising solutions for businesses around the country. Their clients include Virgin Hotels, Hangout Music Festival, IEBA, Warner Chappell Production Music, Pilgrimage Music Festival, Country Stampede and more.

Francesca Battistelli Announces New Album Release In October

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Francesca Battistelli is set to release her album Own It, on Oct. 26. The album is the follow-up to 2014’s Grammy-nominated album If We’re Honest featuring the Grammy-winning song “Holy Spirit.” A pre-sale of Own It begins today. 

Battistelli, recently touted as an Artist on the Rise from YouTube Music, co-wrote nine of the ten songs on Own It with writers including Matt Maher, Mia Fieldes, Jeff Pardo, Molly Reed, Ellie Holcomb, Seth Mosley and Josh Bronleewe. “The Breakup Song,” penned with David Garcia and MercyMe’s Bart Millard, is the album’s first single and debuted in June to all digital outlets and its music video exclusively debuted on Apple Music.

Battistelli had prepared new music for an album two years ago, but so much changed during that time, the project took a completely different tone.

“I thought I had a handle on what this album was going to be, but my husband and I prayed before every songwriting session, and God gave me a completely different set of songs than I was expecting,” Battistelli exclaims. “These songs are so empowering. What they represent to me is my desire to own my identity in Christ, to kick fear out of my life, to own the present moment and not live in the past or even the future. I don’t want to walk in half of what God has for me. I want to walk in all of it. I want to own it! And I want that for everyone who listens, too.”

“Royalty,” the album’s second digital release, releases today on all digital platforms. Both “The Breakup Song,” which is climbing at radio and currently top 15 on multiple charts, and “Royalty” are available now with the live pre-order. Additionally, a special pre-sale with all LifeWay stores begins tomorrow, and with every advance purchase of Own It made in-store, the consumer will receive an advance CD of three songs from the new album: “The Breakup Song,” “Royalty” and “This Could Change Everything.”

Track Listing:

  • The Breakup Song
  • The Very Best
  • Love Somebody
  • Royalty
  • This Could Change Everything
  • As Good As It Gets
  • You Belong
  • Let The Light In
  • Defender (feat. Steffany Gretzinger)
  • Freedom

Thousand Foot Krutch Frontman Trevor McNevan To Release New EP Sept. 14

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Thousand Foot Krutch frontman Trevor McNevan is set to unveil his eight-track EP, FIGHT MUSIK VOL. 1, under the moniker I AM THE STORM. The EP releases Sept. 14 to digital and streaming outlets everywhere with management, marketing, sales and distribution through The Fuel Music and STORM MUSIK INC. and co-management through Paradigm Management.

The first single from FIGHT MUSIK VOL. 1, “These Lines” is available at Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon.com and more.

Track List:
Beastmode
Freq Show
Hip-Hop His(Tory)
These Lines
Fire In The Booth
Man Vs Machine
Home
Who Are We

Luke Bryan To Be Guest Game Picker For ESPN

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Luke Bryan. Photo: Jim Wright

Luke Bryan will take his “What Makes You Country Tour XL Stadium Sized” to Chicago’s Wrigley Field this Saturday but before hitting the concert stage Luke will make a stop in South Bend, Indiana to serve a celebrity guest game picker on ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot. As the Fighting Irish and the Wolverines are set to play at Notre Dame Stadium to launch their season opener, Luke will visit the iconic set, located in the Library Quad, with host Rece Davis and analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard.

“I love the excitement as college football season begins,” shared Luke. “Even on tour, we make plans to watch the games every Saturday by setting up our own tailgate area outside our buses.”

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot is kicking off its 2018 season campaign by paying homage to where it all began: The University of Notre Dame. The 10-time Emmy award-winning pregame show begins at 9 a.m. on ESPN, with Luke expected to appear around 11:30 a.m. He, along with the other analysts, will make his picks for college football’s opening weekend.

NATD’s September Speaker Series To Focus On Streaming

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The Nashville Association of Talent Directors has announced the next installment of their “Breaking Artists” Speaker Series September 20 which will focus on streaming and its impact on the Nashville music industry.

Panel guests for this installment will include Emily Cohen (Amazon Music), Jay Frank (UMG), Margaret Hart (YouTube Music) and Brittany Schaffer (Spotify). The series will be held at the CMA Event Space, Level One and is free for NATD members; others wanting to attend can purchase tickets for $10 here.

 

Farris, Self & Moore Reflects On Three Years, Promotes Two

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Pictured (back row L-R): Sarah Grissom, Tina Banjo, Tim Lane, Kella Farris, Gator Pizer, Taylor Baird, Matt Najdowski; (front row L-R): Brittney Schoessel, Hannah Haggerty, Amanda Mitchell, Catherine Moore, Stephanie Mundy Self, Hollister Whaling. Photo: Meredith Bustillo

The full-service business management and financial planning firm, Farris, Self & Moore (FSM) is celebrating three years of business and several staff elevations within the company. Kella Farris, Stephanie Mundy Self and Catherine Moore started the firm in 2015 and 2018 finds them with ten additional staffers and a growing clientele. FSM offers services from accounting and business management to financial planning services for touring artists and hit songwriters. They describe it in four words: “Authentic, Boutique, All-In and Innovative.”

Pictured (L-R): Hollister Whaling, Amanda Mitchell

Client Managers Hollister Whaling and Amanda Mitchell have risen to Junior Business Managers after having both been in business management for seven years. Whaling spent time at New West Records in Athens, Georgia, and American Songwriter in Nashville before venturing into business management. Mitchell’s stops include Universal Music Group, the Country Music Association, the Grand Ole Opry and The Roanoke Civic Center.

“The growth and success of FSM wouldn’t be possible without our entire team,” comments Farris. “We are so pleased and proud to announce the promotion of Hollister Whaling and Amanda Mitchell to Junior Business Manager. The level of service they provide is representative of FSM’s core value of being “All In” for our clients. We feel blessed and excited to continue to serve our clients and strive to remain the boutique choice for artists and songwriters who need full-service business management and comprehensive financial planning.”

Celebration Of Life Set For Jeff Carlton

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A celebration of life will be held for longtime Nashville music publisher Jeff Carlton on Friday, Sept. 7 at 3 p.m. on the BMI rooftop in Nashville.

Carlton died on Aug. 20, at age 66. Carlton spent more than 30 years in Nashville’s music publishing industry, championing songwriters including Tony Martin, Lee Thomas Miller, Monty Criswell, Jimmy Ritchey and more. To read Carlton’s full MusicRow obit, click here.

The family looks forward to hearing favorite memories of Carlton; guests are invited to bring a note to be included in a commemorative book.

To RSVP to the event, email [email protected].

Morgan Evans’ Debut Album To Bow In October

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Morgan Evans’ debut album Things That We Drink To, is set for release Oct. 12, and pre-order for the project begins today. Evans co-penned every track on the album alongside producer Chris DeStefano, and the two also played every instrument on the sonically diverse project.

“My album is a collection of songs that I wrote over the last two years,” says Evans. “It’s my story. It’s leaving behind everything and everyone you know to chase down a country music dream on the other side of the world. It’s the excitement of the unknown, it’s the fun, it’s the loneliness and it’s the struggle. It’s losing someone and finding the strength to keep your head up and make them proud. It’s meeting a girl, falling hopelessly and marrying the love of your life. It’s the ‘Things That We Drink To’.”

The project has already produced a No. 1 hit with the first single, the buoyant “Kiss Somebody,” which Evans co-wrote with DeStefano and Josh Osborne. Fans will instantly receive that song and four others with a pre-order of the album, including  “American” (Evans’ ode to the U.S. and the girl that makes it feel like home), love song “I Do,” the live-in-the-moment anthem “Young Again,” and his new single, “Day Drunk,” which claimed the No. 1 spot on Australia’s Country Airplay chart for eight consecutive weeks.

Official track list for Morgan Evans’ Things That We Drink To:
1. “American” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Josh Osborne)
2. “Kiss Somebody” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Josh Osborne) 
3. “I Do” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley)
4. “Song for the Summer” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, David Hodges)
5. “Day Drunk” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Lindy Robbins)
6. “Dance with Me” feat. Kelsea Ballerini – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano)
7. “Me on You” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Josh Osborne)
8. “Things That We Drink To” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Josh Osborne)
9. “We Dream” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Jaren Johnston, Jon Nite)
10.“Everything Changes” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Blair Daly)
11.“Young Again” – (Morgan Evans, Chris DeStefano, Josh Kear)

Luke Bryan To Celebrate Grand Opening Of New Venue With Free Downtown Nashville Concert

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Luke Bryan is celebrating the grand opening of his new venue, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink with a free concert in downtown Nashville September 10. His performance will take place right outside the bar at 301 Broadway, and he will be joined by special guests Jon Langston, Chelsea Field and DJ Rock.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for some time,” said Bryan. “Couldn’t think of a better way to kick this place off than to have a big party right on the streets of Broadway!”

Inspired by Bryan’s childhood home near Route 32 Bridge in Lee County, GA and housed in Nashville’s iconic American National Bank Building, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink is a 30,000 square foot complex featuring six levels of entertainment space with eight bars, four stages for live music and two restaurants. It includes Nashville’s only rooftop Sushi Bar, as well as a menu inspired by some of Bryan’s favorite dishes and one-of-a-kind drinks.

Dedicated parking for the event will be at Nissan Stadium.

Weekly Chart Report (8/31/18)

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