Lexington, Kentucky’s Railbird Festival, set for Aug. 10-11, has revealed the performer lineup, including headlining shows from The Raconteurs, Brandi Carlile, Hozier and Tyler Childers.

Others on the lineup include Old Crow Medicine Show, Lucinda Williams, I’m With Her, Ruston Kelly, Lucie Silvas and more.

Presented by AC Entertainment, the event will offer premium experiences, including horse racing and food from James Beard nominee Ouita Michael (Holly Hill Inn & more), Top Chef season 16 runner up Sara Bradley (freight house), Master Chef alumnus Dan Wu (Atomic Ramen), Cole Arimes (Cole 735 Main), Toa Green (Crank and Boom) and others.

Public on-sale begins Thursday (March 28) at 10 a.m. ET at railbirdfest.com.

The Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival kicked off its 27th year Tuesday night (March 26) in bars and listening rooms across Nashville. With three new venues to hold rounds during the week—Analog at Hutton Hotel, the Lounge at City Winery and TRUE Music Room & Bar—this year’s Tin Pan South includes nearly 400 songwriters in a variety of genres performing in over 90 rounds.

During the 6 p.m. show slot, 3rd & Lindsley was the hot ticket with award-winning Creative Nation songwriters Lori McKenna, Barry Dean and Luke Laird sharing their hits and inviting special guests up to perform, benefitting the W.O. Smith Music School.

McKenna played her Grammy-winning Best Country Song titles, “Girl Crush” (Little Big Town) and “Humble and Kind” (Tim McGraw), as well as her poignant stunner “People Get Old” from her 2018 album The Tree. Laird played his recent Grammy-winner, “Space Cowboy” (Kacey Musgraves) as well as “Down To The Honky Tonk” (Jake Owen)–with a bit of help from the charming Kassi Ashton in the audience who yelled “when I’m gone!” when Laird prompted her. Ashton later joined the stage to share her moving new single, “Pretty Shiny Things.”

Dean’s always enjoyable voice shared his tunes “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” (Tim McGraw) and “Somebody’s Daughter” (Tenille Townes); he was joined by co-writers McKenna and Laird for their new George Strait cut, “God And Country Music.”

Creative Nation’s Casey Brown (“Blue Tacoma,” “Yours”), Steve Moakler (“Suitcase,” “Riser”) and newcomer Alec Bailey all appeared as guests at the show.

SMACKSongs hosted a round at Douglas Corner featuring rising talents Ryan Beaver, Aaron Eshuis, Matt McGinn and Teddy Robb. Beaver played his witty HARDY tune “4X4,” as well as some moody songs like “I Wish You Were Here” and “Rhinestoned.” Eshuis played his first No. 1, Scotty McCreery’s “This Is It,” as well as “Michigan For The Winter” (Ryan Hurd) and a hilarious tune about missing his significant other’s birthday.

McGinn played one of his many Kane Brown cuts, “Heaven,” as well as “I’m Gonna Miss You” (Michael Ray) and “Wasn’t That Drunk” (Josh Abbott Band). Robb played his debut single “Lead Me On,” and his impressively tender “Tell Me How.”

The 9 p.m. show slot had a variety of great options, like Brett James, Lee Thomas Miller, Wendell Mobley at 3rd & Lindsley, or Nicolle Galyon, Emily Weisband, Parker Welling and guests at the Listening Room Café.

Sony/ATV’s round at the TRUE Music Room & Bar at the Cambria Hotel lent to a hilarious night with Jon Nite, Jaren Johnston, Ross Copperman and new Sony/ATV writer, Josh Osborne. Dubbed the “You ‘SONY’d’ To See This!” round, the show featured entertaining performances of great songs, and even more entertaining banter between country rocker Johnston and hit-maker Osborne.

Seemingly wary of the new kid at Sony/ATV, Johnston tested him with teasing comments about Osborne’s commercial success. MusicRow‘s Top Songwriter of 2018 retaliated with jokes about Johnston’s band, The Cadillac Three. All in good fun, the two were keeping the crowd laughing.

Nite kicked the round off with his Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert duet “We Were Us,” and talked about the unfortunate placement of the tattoo he was forced into after he and his co-writers promised they would get one if the song went to No. 1. He also played his touching “Boy” (Lee Brice) and “Break Up In The End” (Cole Swindell), and his fun “Beachin'” (Jake Owen). After hearing from Osborne that his wife liked Nite’s singing voice, Nite hilariously played his Luke Bryan hit “Strip It Down.”

Johnston, with his father Jerry Ray Johnston supplying the percussion, played his cuts “Sunshine & Whiskey” (Frankie Ballard), “Raise ‘Em Up” (Keith Urban with Eric Church), “Meanwhile Back At Mama’s” (Tim McGraw) and Billy Currington’s “Don’t It”—or as his co-writer Copperman would say, “Donut.” He ended with the anthemic love song penned for his wife, ASCAP exec Evyn Mustoe, that The Cadillac Three recorded, “White Lightning.”

Copperman—who sat between the beefing Johnston and Osborne—kept up with Kenny Chesney hits “Get Along” and “Setting the World on Fire,” Keith Urban smashes “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and “Break On Me” and a Dierks Bentley No. 1 “Woman, Amen.”

Osborne, when he wasn’t telling jokes, played a wide sampling of hits, including “All the Pretty Girls” (Kenny Chesney), “Drinkin’ Problem” (Midland), “One That Got Away” (Michael Ray), “Hotel Key” (Old Dominion), and “Body Like A Back Road” (Sam Hunt).

The foursome talked about how important Tin Pan South is to songwriters. In the next breath they encouraged all the songwriters in the room to go talk to the Sony/ATV execs who were at the round (like Josh Van Valkenburg and Duff Berschback) and added that all the songwriters should ask them for deals.

“We may all be looking for a place to write tomorrow,” Osborne joked as they closed the show.

The Academy of Country Music has announced several promotions and hirings at its headquarters in Encino, California.

Tom Torii has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Finance & Operations; Jen Heaton has been promoted to Director, Strategic Partnerships; Lanni Gagnon has been promoted to Manager, Events; Carrie Tekautz has been promoted to Manager, Awards & Membership; Taylor Wolf has joined the staff as Coordinator, ACM Lifting Lives and Strategic Partnerships; and Danielle Bardier joins as Assistant, Events.

Torii oversees all aspects of the Academy’s finance, planning, analysis, operations and human resources functions. He joined the Academy in 2017 from Anschutz Entertainment Group, where he was CFO, providing financial and operational direction across organizations. During his nearly decade-long tenure as Vice President of Finance at AEG and Chief Financial Officer of AEG Sports, Torii oversaw all finance of sports entities including Amgen Tour of California, Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Kings, and many other marquee brands. In addition, he led finance activities for non-sports entities such as AXS TV, JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton at LA Live, Ritz-Carlton condominiums at LA Live, ticketing platforms for AXS.com and Examiner.com, among others.

A leader of finance and operations, Torii’s career stops include 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros./Turner Feature Animation, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and The Jim Henson Company. Torii reports to Pete Fisher, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Country Music.

After graduating with degrees in Communications and Business from University of Arizona, Heaton remained in Arizona and joined the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010 in Sales and completed her time with the D-backs in Corporate Partnerships. In her new role, Heaton will continue planning and executing the ACM and ACM Lifting Lives partners programs, identifying, cultivating and developing new sponsors across industries and developing a multi-year partnership strategy. Heaton reports to Pete Fisher, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Country Music.

A Massachusetts native, Gagnon attended upstate New York’s Ithaca College where she studied Communication Management and Design. She first became involved with the ACM during her last semester of college when she interned with the Academy’s Event & Operations team for the 50th Annual ACM Awards. Upon graduating in May 2015, Gagnon relocated to Los Angeles and has since worked for Intern Queen, Inc., RGLive Events and George P. Johnson Experiential Marketing. During that time, she also freelanced with the ACM Events team on-site for the past two ACM Awards in Las Vegas. In her role as a manager for the Events department, Gagnon will be responsible for various logistical and operational elements of the ACM Awards and ACM Party for a Cause events – including event production, red carpet, food and beverage, transportation, signage, security, event décor and partnership fulfillment. Gagnon reports to Erick Long, Senior Vice President, Events.

Originally from Kansas City, Tekautz attended Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, where she graduated with a degree in Music Business. After interning at Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony Music Nashville, Red Light Management and the Country Music Association, Tekautz began working full-time for CMA in 2013 within the Membership & Balloting department. In 2015, Tekautz joined the Ryman Auditorium and Grand Ole Opry team as Sally Williams’ assistant, a role she held for a year and a half before moving to Los Angeles to join the ACM staff. As manager, Tekautz will help maintain the membership database, recruit new ACM professional members and help coordinate the ACM Awards voting process. Tekautz reports to Nick Di Fruscia, Vice President, Awards & Membership.

Born and raised in Brentwood, Tenn., Wolf attended Pepperdine University where she received a bachelor’s degree of Science in Psychology. Following her graduation, Wolf pursued an opportunity in the human resources department at Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Healthcare. She has also worked as a digital content contractor prior to her move to the Academy of Country Music. Wolf will report to Lyndsay Cruz, Executive Director, Lifting Lives and Jen Heaton, Director, Strategic Partnerships.

Bardier graduated from the University of Southern California where she received a degree in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing. During her time at USC, Bardier interned for the Academy of Country Music in the events department and served as a production assistant following her 2017 graduation. Since graduating, Bardier worked as a sponsorship and event coordinator for Harpoon Brewery where she helped produce several of Harpoon’s charitable events. Bardier will report to Erick Long, Senior Vice President, Events.

ABC and dick clark productions have announced the date for the 2019 American Music Awards, which will be held at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater on Sunday, Nov. 24.

The American Music Awards honors artists in multiple musical genres, including Pop/Rock, Alternative Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Inspirational, Latin, EDM and Soundtrack, alongside awards for New Artist of the Year, Collaboration of the Year, Tour of the Year, Video of the Year, Favorite Song and Artist of the Year.

Last year’s American Music Awards saw Taylor Swift break the record for the most AMA wins for a female artist with 23, surpassing the late Whitney Houston’s record of 21 wins. Swift and Camila Cabello earned four honors each, while Kane Brown and Cardi B each earned three awards.

Renowned rockabilly star Wanda Jackson announced her retirement from performing via a Facebook post yesterday (March 26). Known to many as the “Queen of Rockabilly,” Jackson helped pioneer the genre with hits like “Let’s Have A Party,” “Right or Wrong” and “Fujiyama Mama.”

Jackson’s Facebook post reads:

“After over 60 years of touring, Wanda Jackson wishes to announce her retirement from performing. This retirement is solely based on health and safety. It has been a wild ride. Thank you all for all the years of continued fandom and support. This is not the end, just the beginning of a new chapter. Join us as we congratulate the Queen of Rockabilly on over six decades of rip roaring live performances, priceless stories and countless shimmies.

All of this being said, Wanda will not be making appearances at either Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend nor the Nashville Boogie Vintage Weekender. In true rockabilly spirit, please still go out to these shows and keep the spirit of rockabilly alive.”