Dustin Lynch Rides To Top Of Country Charts With Latest Single

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Dustin Lynch has achieved his 7th career chart-topper at country radio with his latest hit, “Ridin’ Roads,” which is also his second No. 1 as a songwriter.

Lynch’s latest hit arrives in advance of his fourth studio release, TULLAHOMA, a concept album inspired by and dedicated to his Tennessee hometown. Arriving Jan. 17 and produced by Lynch’s longtime collaborator Zach Crowell, the LP has now delivered back-to-back No. 1’s, with the track “Good Girl” topping the charts in early 2019.

Lynch is set to perform his latest No. 1 on ABC’s Good Morning America on Jan. 20, and will follow that up with a late-night appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! Outdoor Stage in February. He’ll celebrate the release of TULLAHOMA with a blowout concert at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works Jan. 17, transporting his small-town north to Music City for one night only, and prior to that on Jan. 11 invites CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown on a deep dive into the album’s inspiration, taking viewers around the real-life Tullahoma, riding some roads and introducing the people and places that shaped the artist he is today.

At the end of the month, Lynch embarks on another trek, opening the throttle on his headlining Stay Country Tour 2020 in Detroit, Michigan on Jan. 30. With newcomer Travis Denning along for the ride, Lynch will visit 15 markets from New York to Nevada before wrapping up March 28 in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

Al Gaines Joins Country Music Hall Of Fame In Senior Director Role

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Al Gaines

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has announced that Al Gaines has joined the museum as senior director of information and technology. Gaines will oversee strategy for IT infrastructure and development, and will ensure compliance of information technology policies and standards as well as the protection of data and assets.

Prior to joining the museum, he worked for Universal Music Group, HCA, Metro Nashville Public Schools and most recently at Bridgestone Americas. Gaines holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Middle Tennessee State University.

Gaines reports to Sharon Brawner, the museum’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Ashley McBryde, LeAnn Rimes Added To MusiCares Person of the Year Lineup

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Ashley McBryde, Leann Rimes

Ashley McBryde and LeAnn Rimes will be among the performers paying tribute to Aerosmith during the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute on Jan. 24. They will join Sammy Hagar, Luis Fonsi, Gavin DeGraw, Johnny Depp, and Cheap Trick, as well as previously announced performers Gary Clark Jr., Alice Cooper, Foo Fighters, H.E.R., Jonas Brothers, Emily King, John Legend, John Mayer and Yola as performers. The MusiCares Person of the Year honors will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Jan. 24, leading up to the 62nd annual Grammy Awards, to be held at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 26.

McBryde is nominated for two Grammy honors at the upcoming awards ceremony; her single “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” is up for Best Country Solo Performance, as well as Best Country Song (McBryde co-wrote the track with Jeremy Bussey).

Rimes has earned two Grammys during her career, taking home the all-genre Best New Artist trophy in 1996, as well as Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her breakthrough debut single “Blue.”

Rascal Flatts Announces Farewell Tour

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Rascal Flatts announced on CBS This Morning today that they are hitting the road for their final tour, the Rascal Flatts Farewell: Life Is a Highway Tour. The trio is marking their 20th anniversary this year with the triumphant farewell tour, which kicks off in Indianapolis on June 11 and runs through Oct. 17 in West Palm Beach.

“When we started out 20 years ago, we could not imagine all of the people, places and gifts we would encounter,” said Flatts member Gary LeVox. “The greatest feeling ever, is being told that our music has been the soundtrack to their lives. What greater gift can an artist receive than to be told ‘I got married to “Bless The Broken Road,”’ or ‘We played “My Wish” at my graduation.’ That ‘“What Hurts The Most” is the song that made me love country music for the first time,’ or ‘“I’m Movin’ On” helped me get sober’ or even that ‘“Changed” made me call my family again after not talking to them for years.’ That’s why we create music and the reason we can’t wait to celebrate this incredible 20 year journey all year, with our fans who we love dearly. I don’t know what God has in store for the future, but I am excited to see what He has planned!”

Tickets for the tour will be available first as part of the Live Nation Country Megaticket and more information will become available at rascalflatts.com in the coming weeks.

“We’re really looking forward to getting to spend this entire year loving on our fans, and thanking them for allowing us to have the most amazing career over the last 20 years,” shared RF’s Jay DeMarcus. “While it is of course bittersweet, it is so important to us to celebrate what our music has meant to their lives, as well as what the fans have meant to us. There is no sadness here, just new chapters, new journeys, and new beginnings. Rascal Flatts’ music will live on forever, because of our fans, and this year is all about them!”

“Dreams do come true…and we are three walking examples of this truth,” said RF’s Joe Don Rooney. “I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve pursued our dreams together and with courage, hard-work and dedication we’ve been able to cultivate our dreams into reality; it’s simply incredible! There’s no doubt we have been blessed way beyond belief and we can’t wait to spend the rest of 2020 expressing our love and appreciation to all of our devoted fans, music industry friends and our families for believing in us and playing a major role in our path to here. And, I personally can’t wait to shine a light on my brothers Jay and Gary this year, and make another mountain of new memories with them.”

RASCAL FLATTS FAREWELL: LIFE IS A HIGHWAY TOUR Official Dates:
6/11        Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center
6/12        Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
6/13        Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
6/25        Chicago, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
6/27        Pittsburgh, PA – S&T Bank Music Park
7/18        Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
7/23        St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
9/3          Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
9/4          Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center
9/5          Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
9/10        Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
9/11        Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
9/12        Washington, DC – Jiffy Lube Live
9/17        Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
9/18        Boston, MA – Xfinity Center
9/19        Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
10/1        Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
10/2        San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/3        Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
10/7        Denver, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
10/9        Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
10/10      Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
10/15      Atlanta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
10/16      Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/17       West Palm Beach, FL – Coral Sky Amphitheatre

iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks To Support CMT’s Next Women of Country With Syndicated Programming

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CMT and iHeartMedia have renewed their partnership and multi-year extension, continuing a platform that includes radio, television, digital and social. In addition to this content partnership renewal, iHeartMedia and Premiere Networks will also support CMT’s Next Women of Country artists with new syndicated programming that will air weekly.

CMT’s Next Women of Country: Artist of the Month will highlight music from a different female artist each month, and launched on Jan. 1 with CMT Breakout Artist of the Year (and recent CMA New Artist of the Year winner) Ashley McBryde. The feature will include new music as well as a dedicated interview with Cody Alan that will play each Wednesday throughout the month on “CMT After Midnite” and “CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan.”

Alan has signed on to continue as host of both programs, while the renewed deal allows Premiere Networks and CMT to continue their distribution and production partnership for both “CMT After Midnite” and “CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan”; the deal also extends Alan’s hosting duties for “CMT Hot 20 Countdown.” Ashlee McDonald has also extended her agreement as Exec. Producer of CMT Radio Content and Programming Partnerships.

Maren Morris To Perform At Nashville’s Ballet Ball Annual Fundraiser

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Maren Morris will perform alongside Nashville Ballet’s professional company as a musical guest for the organization’s
annual Ballet Ball fundraising gala, set for Feb. 29, 2020. Singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter will also bring his talents to the Ballet Ball stage.

The Ballet Ball raises funds to present educational dance programming to over 30,000 youth and families in underserved communities throughout Middle Tennessee each year, and brings together over 600 of Nashville’s most prominent philanthropists and patrons of the arts for an elaborate black-tie affair. The year’s Versailles-inspired ball is chaired by Allison Cotton and Emily Humphreys along with Honorary Chair Suann Davis.

Tickets for Ballet Ball are by invitation only, but the general public is invited to purchase tickets to the Ballet Ball Late Party, which features a cocktail hour and seat for the gala performance.

 

Big Loud Promotes One, Adds Two

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Pictured (L-R): Brittani Koster, Sarah Headley, and Giuliana Mignone

Big Loud has promoted Brittani Koster to Director, Southwest Promotion for its Records division. She previously served as Promotion Coordinator and will continue to report to VP, Promotion Stacy Blythe.

The company has also added two employees with Sarah Headley taking on Promotion Coordinator duties, and Giuliana Mignone assuming Data & Research Coordinator duties.

Headley previously worked in social media and public relations for national trade brands and music festivals and has a degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. Mignone is currently a senior at Belmont University and will graduate in May. She was previously an intern at Big Machine Records.

Pearl Records Promotes Glenn Noblit

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Glenn Noblit

Pearl Records’ Glenn Noblit has been promoted to Director, National Promotion. He previously served as Director of Regional Promotion, and has worked in a variety of roles ranging from publicity to radio promotion for more than two decades. He has served in roles at Warner Brothers, Lost Highway, AristoMedia, and Reviver Records.

“Glenn was the very first call I received as soon as we made the announcement to build out Pearl’s promotion team in the summer of 2016,” shared Mandy McCormack, SVP Radio Promotion & Marketing, Artist Strategy. “I could tell from that initial conversation that he brought the energy and ‘Garth passion’ I was looking for to be part of the Pearl family. From that moment on, his work ethic, to his passion, to his attention to detail and to his overall good-hearted approach…he has proven to be one of the very best in the business and we are extremely fortunate to have Glenn as a leader on our team.”

“I couldn’t be more grateful to Garth, Trisha, Mandy, Lesly and Andy for their confidence in me on this awesome promotion,” added Noblit. “This is my dream job and I can’t wait to see all of our country radio family at a Dive Bar or Stadium near YOU in 2020!”

Noblit can be reached at glennnoblit@PearlRecordsinc.com.

Mandisa Releases New Single “Way Maker”

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Mandisa. Photo: mandisaofficial.com

Mandisa is kicking off the New Year with the release of a new single, “Way Maker.” The song follows her chart-topping 2017 album Out of the Dark, which featured the radio hits “Unfinished” and “Bleed the Same” (featuring Tobymac, Kirk Franklin).

“There’s something really powerful about declaring who God is over specific circumstances,” said Mandisa of the new single. “I’ll never forget being in church as the worship team led us in singing ‘Way Maker’. At the time, I was praying for three of my friends who were facing seemingly impossible situations. With outstretched arms, tears streaming down my face, and faith rising in my heart, I proclaimed that my God is a Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, and Light in the Darkness. I believe every word of this song, and love singing it with my whole heart!”

After appearing on Winter Jam 2019 and wrapping her own Girls Night Live Tour last Fall, Mandisa will hit the road on Feb. 6 with Newsboys on their “Greatness of God” Tour. Her song “Overcomer” will also appear tonight on ABC News’ 20/20 during a new special hosted by Robin Roberts featuring more in depth interviews regarding the Cleveland girls who were held captive by Ariel Castro for 10 years.

Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Coldplay, Jonas Brothers To Headline Citi Sound Vault Series

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Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Coldplay and the Jonas Brothers will headline the Citi Sound Vault concert series, set for the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles during Grammy Week.

Coldplay will perform Jan. 21, with proceeds from their performance supporting “A New Way of Life” Reentry Project, a nonprofit which offers housing and support to formerly incarcerated women.

Howard, who is nominated for two Grammys this year for her solo work, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance, will perform Jan. 22.

Carlile, a three-time Grammy winner who is nominated for an additional three honors this year including Song of the Year, Best Country Song, and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group, will perform Jan. 23.

The Jonas Brothers will perform on Jan. 25. The week will conclude with Citi Sound Vault presents The Roots & Friends, set for Jan. 25 at Live House Hollywood. For more than a decade, The Roots have hosted one of the most anticipated events during Grammy Week.