White Mustang Records Signs Presley & Taylor

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Pictured (L-R, front row): Presley & Taylor; (L-R, back row) Keith Burns, Song Consortium Publishing; Craig Campbell, Campbell Entertainment; Pepper Meiler, 9000 Miles; James Stroud, President, White Mustang Records. Photo: Andy Avenger

The newly-launched White Mustang Records has signed sister duo Presley & Taylor as its first artist on the roster. The duo’s first single, “Everybody Sees It,” was penned by  Tenille Arts, Aaron Goodvin, and Adam Wheeler, and will release Oct. 30, with an album set for early next year. White Mustang Records is distributed by CMG via The Orchard.

“Presley & Taylor is one of the most unique acts I have ever worked with,” said White Mustang Records president James Stroud. “Being sisters, they have a natural way of harmonizing and complimenting one another. To work with them in the studio is one of the easiest jobs I’ve ever had. They come prepared to listen, learn and apply their knowledge to their craft. Not only do they sing great, they are amazing performers and represent our format in a wonderful way. They will be a force in our business we can all be proud of and appreciate.”

“We are beyond excited about the new music we’ve made with James and can’t wait for everyone to hear it,” said Presley & Taylor. “He and Dewayne Brown (CMG) have put together an incredible team at White Mustang Records, and we really feel like the sky’s the limit!”

Yoop eSpace Expands Into Nashville At TPAC

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Yoop eSpace, an eConcert experience and interactive way to attend events, is coming to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Located in Jackson Hall at TPAC, the Yoop eSpace creates a zero-lag, two-way visual and audio communication experience for fans and creators when interacting with each other—no matter how large the audience. Yoop launched its first Yoop eSpace in Montreal earlier this year. After several years of development, Yoop prioritized the eSpace launch in light of the COVID-19 climate. With the debut of the Yoop eSpace Nashville, several local entertainment crews have been reactivated, including REACH, Silent House Productions and Solotech.

The Yoop eSpace formats can be modified by their type of content, whether they are event producers, artists, teams, athletes, speakers, corporate presenters, etc. Events may be customized to be public or private and set to a specific or unlimited capacity. They can also be set up as pay on-demand and with the option of 24-hour replay.

“Nashville is one of the country’s most vibrant arts cities with its rich ecosystem of artists, managers, venues and production personnel—making it a natural choice for our first location in the U.S.,” said Yoop Founder/CEO Benoit Fredette. “With the Yoop eSpace at TPAC, we are setting a gold standard for live performances that break the fourth wall and connect fans and creators like never before. For fans, every seat is in the front.”

The Yoop eSpace is creating a new class of live entertainment. Studying consumer behavior in virtual environments is the foundation of the technology, which has been in development for over two years as a solution to supplement live concerts, not replace them.

“TPAC’s innovative residency with Yoop is a creative way to put our venue and employees back in action during an extended intermission in touring productions,” said Jennifer Turner, TPAC President and CEO. “The arts offer entertainment and essential connection for us all during this challenging time, and we’re excited to be part of helping Music City’s talent get back to entertaining audiences around the globe.”

Michael Ray On New Music: “I’m As Authentically Me As I’ve Ever Been”

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Michael Ray. Photo: Sean Hagwell

After two hit albums, five RIAA Gold-certified songs, and three No. 1 singles, Michael Ray is readying his third project. The theme is evident on Ray’s social media, and something that the Warner Music Nashville artist is very passionate about: ’90s country.

Ray’s lead single, “Whiskey And Rain,” taps into the moody, sultry, darker sounds of the ’90s, influenced from two of Ray’s heroes, Gary Stewart and Gary Allan. The track was written by Josh Thompson and Jesse Frasure.

“This whole album, all the songs are throwbacks to what I grew up on in the ’90s. They have that ’90s country music feel. During [the pandemic], the time has allowed me to get back to my roots of the music that I’ve always felt like I wasn’t making completely. ‘Whiskey And Rain’ just embodied every bit of that,” Ray told MusicRow. “We felt like not only is that catchy melody and hook there, but it also just has that throwback to Gary Stewart and Gary Allan—a Bakersfield kind of feel. I just felt like it was a great introduction to this album.”

 

Even has the COVID-19 pandemic has halted touring this year, the 32-year-old Ray has continued to honor his ’90s country heroes via a weekly virtual series, Honkytonk Tuesday, where he has been joined by country artists including Mark Wills, Clint Black, Marty Raybon, Aaron Tippin, Steve Wariner and more to perform their favorite ‘80s and ‘90s songs. Ray says he feels a responsibility to highlight those who came before him.

“I just feel like it’s part of our job,” Ray said. “To continue to shine a light when you can on the men and women who have paved the way for the rest of us. The men and women that inspired us. There are kids hearing me on the radio that maybe didn’t grow up with Alabama, Tracy Lawrence, or Joe Diffie, but if I can make that kid find ‘The Weekend’ by Steve Wariner, now, all of a sudden, he’s downloading all of [Wariner’s] stuff.

“That’s the cool thing about Honkytonk Tuesdays. Afterwards I get these messages from fans that might not have heard that song or didn’t know that’s who sung it, so it’s been inspirational. [When I started it] I was bored and wanted to do something, and I was wondering how many times people can hear us sing our own songs constantly on Instagram Live, so I wanted to do something a little different. And I love country music. I’m a country music fan first.”

Ray brought in hit songwriter/producer Ross Copperman to helm production on his upcoming album.

“I’ve known Ross for a long time. I really felt like me and him could make something really cool together with the way that he writes and his production, with that ’90s country feel,” Ray said. “I played him a lot of my older influences, like Tim McGraw and Gary Allan, Mark Chesnutt and on and on with those type of songs. I wanted to get his mindset on if [that music] were to come out today, how do we make that?”

With Copperman’s production and Ray’s ’90s-tinged vision, the singer feels like he has made the album he moved to Nashville to make.

“You grow so much in this career,” Ray said. “You all of a sudden are getting all this new music, and these songwriters who you’ve been looking up to and reading their names in CD cases, now they’re sending you songs. So you’re getting all this different music and you’re like, ‘Well, maybe I want to do this.’ I think from five years of growing, and learning more and more, this is what has always felt like what was missing for me. I’m always excited to put out new music, but this is just a little different. I feel like I’m as authentically me as I’ve ever been.”

“Whiskey And Rain” is available on all platforms now.

Tin Pan South Goes South Detroit With Uncle Kracker And J.T. Harding

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J.T. Harding and Uncle Kracker.

This year’s Tin Pan South Festival launches its series of free virtual concerts this week in a big way, with one of tonight’s (Oct. 20) kickoff concerts featuring Uncle Kracker and J.T. Harding at 7 p.m. CT via tinpansouth.com. The longtime friends and co-writers filmed their show for the renowned songwriter festival from their shared hometown of Detroit. The antics were high and the musical stories were rich as they chatted about their hits and reminisced about the good old days when people could freely go to live shows.

Harding and Uncle Kracker have been friends for years and penned the 3x multi-Platinum hit “Smile” together, and there is rarely a dull moment when they meet back up for a show or a songwriting session. When Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)’s Jennifer Turnbow suggested J.T. represent the North this year since all the shows were virtual and divided up by region, JT immediately hit up his buddy and headed back home to Michigan, where the two filmed the show from Kracker’s game room on their phones.

“I didn’t notice there wasn’t an audience because his Sopranos pinball machine, with all the cast members faces on it, was staring at me. I sang “Sangria” to Tony Soprano,” Harding told MusicRow Magazine.

“It was fun doing the show but anything’s fun with J.T.,  ’cause you never know what’s gonna come out of his mouth next!” Uncle Kracker added. “You never know what he’s gonna show up wearing, you never know what he’s gonna do…he’s always a hoot!”

“Writing with Uncle Kracker is great because growing up we haunted the same malls, we know the same musicians from the local band scene, and we get each other’s references when we tell stories and jokes,” adds Harding. “There’s a lot of laughter when we write. Our writing styles are different, which we talk about during our Tin Pan show. Kracker always starts with a full chorus ready to go. I usually start with a title.”

During the show, Uncle Kracker explained a little about how he developed his writing approach: “I was in the studio at 12, 13 years old writing raps all the time, and one night my best friend Kid Rock said ‘Where is your chorus?’ And I was young, and so I said it doesn’t need a chorus! I didn’t get to put the demo in on the way home from the studio that night like I usually did, and it kind of screwed me up, so now I always start with the chorus. If I don’t have a chorus I don’t even start a song.”

It isn’t always smooth sailing on co-writes either, Kracker says. “I remember when we were writing ‘All Summer Long,’ Kid Rock had a sweet idea to have a mashup – he’s got ‘Werewolves of London’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and he’s got this knocking beat behind it. But the hardest part about writing that song was me and him fighting about catching walleye off a dock, because I’ve never caught a walleye off a dock! If it wasn’t for that one line, that song would probably have been written in 18 minutes!”

Tune in to the show this evening for plenty of laughs and other interesting behind-the-scenes stories from both artists. For Harding, getting a chance to spend time with his longtime friend who he shares some great stories and memories with and go back home was a double treat.

“My favorite Uncle Kracker story I think was once when he was on a big TV show singing, his young daughter was watching from home. He told me she waved at him, then started crying because he didn’t wave back. She didn’t realize he couldn’t see her from inside the TV! Such a cute story, and he’s a really great dad. Ironically that same daughter who’s a teenager now was telling us to keep it down when we filmed at his house last week, ha! But I always enjoy coming back home. So many great artists have come from Detroit and I love how much hometown pride they have. Bob Seger, Kid Rock, Eminem, Uncle Kracker—they could live anywhere in the world, and they all still live in Detroit, Rock City. I think that says a lot.”

Though doing the show virtually was fun, both Harding and Kracker are eager for things to get back to normal someday post-pandemic. Like their fellow songwriters, they have been connecting via virtual co-writes. Kracker, for one, actually hasn’t minded not leaving the house.

“Zoom writes are easier for me,” admits Kracker. “Anytime I don’t have to leave this house I’m like on the moon. I couldn’t be happier! So this couldn’t have worked out any cooler for me with the Zoom write stuff. You do miss the camaraderie, but I don’t write with many people anyway and the couple people that I do write with I know and love, so I miss the camaraderie between us but I do enjoy not going anywhere. And by the way I still smoke like it’s 1987 here, I smoke cigarettes and people frown on that, so if I can grab my laptop and my cigarettes, then I can vibe!,” he adds, laughing.

“My newest song rockin’ up the charts, ‘Beers and Sunshine,’ was written entirely over Zoom,” said Harding. “Darius Rucker. Josh Osborne, Ross Copperman and I wrote it, and the pandemic has stopped a lot of things, but it has not stopped songwriting. We are still at it everyday and I feel as inspired as ever. I miss the in-person writes, but my new motto is, ‘Be the life of the zoom party.’ And be careful what you wish for: I always wanted to be on the Brady Bunch, and now my head is bobbing in a little blue square every day next to my co-writers on a zoom write!”

Jordan Davis, Kylie Morgan Join Ryan Seacrest Foundation Virtual Concert Series

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Photo caption: Music artist Jordan Davis performs for the first round of The Nashville Sessions.

The Ryan Seacrest Foundation and the Seacrest Studio at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt are bringing a special virtual concert series to patients and families across the country, dubbed The Nashville Sessions.

The new series will showcase artists performing a mix of hits and covers all produced exclusively for the Seacrest Studios located in children’s hospitals nationwide. Four artists participated in the first round of The Nashville Sessions: Jordan Davis (RSF Celebrity Ambassador), Kylie Morgan, Stephanie Quayle and Ben Fuller. Their performances will be packaged together and distributed to all 11 studios (an 11th studio is scheduled to open in Orlando soon) later this month for patients to watch.

“I really love working with Seacrest Studios, so when they approached me about this virtual concert opportunity it was a no brainer,” said Davis. “I know this time has been really difficult for a lot of families so hopefully some live music can give them a brief escape from everything going on.”

During the summer Mamie Shepherdand Cayce Long, who run the Seacrest Studio at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, had a vision of bringing special performances to patients. Currently, none of the 10 hospitals that house Seacrest Studios can have outside visitors, which has meant fewer opportunities for the musical performances that so many patients enjoy.

“The entertainment and music industries’ unwavering support for our patients and families has been as strong as ever during these unprecedented times of learning to live amid a pandemic. Through the creativity, innovation and commitment of ​our Seacrest Studios ​team, with support from the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, our patients and families have continued to enjoy the healing power of music through virtual experiences brought directly to their hospital rooms. We are thankful for the artists who gave their time to these uplifting performances to bring smiles and a fun distraction to our children and families. ​We are especially excited to share with other Seacrest Studios through the unique connectivity of this program to support hospitalized children,” said Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, President of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

 “COVID-19 has shifted the way we bring special experiences to patients and families,” said Meredith Seacrest, Executive Director and COO of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. “Even though in-person experiences are limited, we are fortunate that our studios can continue to broadcast programming via a closed-circuit network. This broadcast capability enables us to provide fun and engaging content, from the safety of a patient’s room.”

Writer’s Den Music Group Signs Aubrey Shamel

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Pictured: Aubrey Shamel, Writer’s Den Music Group owner Bobby Rymer.

Writer’s Den Music Group has signed singer/songwriter Aubrey Shamel to a global publishing deal.

Writer’s Den Music Group owner Bobby Rymer noted, “I had the great fortune of meeting Aubrey at a ‘speed pitch’ session that was hosted by Steve Bloch and it was pretty immediate that I wanted to figure out a way for us to work together. There’s truth and honesty in her lyrics and originality in her melodies…refreshing to say the least.”

“From the moment I met Bobby, I knew I’d met not only a seasoned publisher but a phenomenal person. I could not be more excited to work with Writer’s Den Music Group. It feels like home,” said Shamel, who’s working on a new project to be released in the coming year.

The Writer’s Den Music Group roster includes Gordon Kennedy, Brennen Leigh, and Noel McKay. The company also represents the catalogs of Bonnie Bishop, Ben Cooper, Melissa Fuller, Drew Kennedy, Tami Hinesh, Trent Jeffcoat, Jerry Salley, Thom Schuyler, Adam Wright, and more.

Jewly Hight, Marquis Munson Join Nashville Radio Station WNXP

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Jewly Hight and Marquis Munson have been added to the staff at Nashville Public Radio’s 91.ONE, WNXP. Hight joins as Music Director, while Munson joins as Production Coordinator. WNXP will launch later this fall to offer a platform for Nashville’s diverse local music scene.

In September, Nashville Public Radio named Jason Moon Wilkins as the station’s Program Director.

“Jewly’s work and her passion for Nashville exemplify WNXP’s mission of bringing context to the music and connecting with the community,” Wilkins said. “And Marquis may be the most open- minded music fan I’ve ever met and WNXP listeners will love his welcoming on-air style.”

Acclaimed music journalist Hight arrived in Nashville in 2003 and became a music journalist for the Nashville Scene and a radio reporter at Nashville Public Radio’s 90.3 FM, WPLN News. She contributes to the NPR Arts Desk and NPR Music, and regularly crafts features on Nashville’s music scene for Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She has also written for the New York Times, Vulture/New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and The Guardian.

“I never tire of exploring Nashville’s musical landscape in search of distinctive voices and visions, and I’m so ready to do that with the WNXP team,” Hight said in a statement.

Radio producer and journalist Munson most recently worked as morning show producer and on-air contributor at ESPN 102.5 The Game in Nashville. Munson has also served as Program Director for Tide 100.9 WTID and hosted a hip-hop show on R&B station WTUG.

“When I first moved to Nashville, I automatically assumed everyone just listened to country music, and it is a huge part of this city,” Munson said. “But one thing I look forward to, and another reason this position intrigued me, was the opportunity to explore other genres plus give these artists a platform to share their music and really show the world why they call this Music City.”

The Cadillac Three Serve Up Some ‘Tabasco & Sweet Tea’ This Friday

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The Cadillac Three. Photo: Nick Rau

The Cadillac Three are offering up some new music with a throwback vibe for their fans this Friday (Oct. 23) with the release of Tabasco & Sweet Tea on Big Machine Records.

Tabasco & Sweet Tea opens a time capsule of their musical history together and explores hybrid sounds throughout its 11 modern-meets-nostalgia tracks. TC3 will launch this new project at $3.99 for the first week to make it more accessible during a time when many are not spending as much on music, but need it now more than ever.

“As we finished the last record, we knew we were only tapping the surface with songs like ‘The Jam’ for where we could go next musically and found ourselves inspired to dive into these sounds that we had never explored before as a band,” explains drummer Neil Mason. “We’ve always had a lot of influences, but ultimately found ourselves thinking about what we were listening to in high school — The Meters, Stevie Wonder, Medeski Martin & Wood and John Scofield.”

Lead singer and guitarist Jaren Johnston continues, “This album is a science project … constantly moving in different directions but keeping one cohesive feel throughout. We kind of have this innate thing going after all these years so it’s cool to kind of stretch into some new musical spaces with elements of a DJ set that flows from track to track, but mixed with 80’s Funk vibes and jam-band flow over hardcore country lyrics.”

Fans have still shown up to support the band this year every uncertain step of the way, purchasing exclusive “crew” merchandise that helped TC3’s road family with the loss of shows, donating to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee as a part of their 100,000 meals in 100 Days initiative, and highlighting local venues and other artists as Country Fuzz Presents takes up a livestream residence at The Basement and Exit/In.

On Oct. 27, TC3 will debut songs from the new album with a livestream for audiences in North America at 7 p.m. CT. on Country Fuzz Presents.

CMT To Honor Jennifer Nettles With Inaugural CMT Equal Play Award

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Jennifer Nettles. Photo: Joseph Llanes

Jennifer Nettles will be honored with CMT’s inaugural CMT Equal Play Award during the upcoming 2020 CMT Music Awards, set for Oct. 21 on CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo Paramount Network, Pop and TV Land. The honor recognizes Nettles’s ongoing advocacy for diverse voices in country music. At last year’s CMA Awards, Nettles offered a powerful statement on the red carpet when she wore a white pantsuit, featuring a pink cape emblazoned with the words “Play our f*@#in records please and thank you,” along with an image of a woman’s face, an equality sign, and the words “equal play.”

CMT has also announced the launch of a new 50/50 CMT Equal Play music channel on PlutoTV.

“As a proud part of the beautiful legacy of women in country music, I am honored to be the first recipient of the ‘CMT Equal Play Award,’” said Nettles. “I look forward to celebrating the contributions of women, and all marginalized communities, within the country music format, and I am motivated in encouraging the non-artists, executives and investors in the industry, to do the same. There is much work still to be done.”

“Jennifer Nettles is that rare artist who speaks her truth, calling out injustice wherever she sees it,” said Leslie Fram, Senior Vice President, Music Strategy, CMT. “Her commitment to equal female representation across the board in the music industry embodies the spirit of our equal play initiative and makes her the perfect recipient of the inaugural ‘CMT Equal Play Award.’

“We’d also like to thank our partners at Pluto TV who launched a ‘pop-up’ channel today called ‘CMT Equal Play’ in support of the Awards that will offer country music videos 24/7, with an equal male/female playlist, allowing us to further our commitment to equal play,” Fram added.

Last year, CMT launched its CMT Equal Play initiative as a response to the dearth of female voices on country radio and streaming services, and to create a path of measurable actions for parity. CMT backed up the pledge by instituting 50/50 play for female artists across CMT and CMT Music channels. CMT Radio Live also pledged equal play and doubled airplay for female artists. Meanwhile, CMT After Midnite debuted CMT Next Women of Country: Artist of the Month, an on-air feature that gives CMT one additional spin per week for female artists on more than 230 nationally-syndicated stations via iHeartRadio’s Premiere Networks.

CMT launched another platform for supporting female voices in 2013, with its Next Women of Country franchise, which has since expanded to include an annual event, six nationwide tours and other promotional opportunities for artists.

Weekly Register: Jason Aldean Rules Charts

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Jason Aldean’s “Got What I Got” is in the top position on the country on-demand singles streaming chart with 7.9 million this week and 154 million release to date. It also lands at No. 1 on both the Mediabase/Country Aircheck Singles chart and Billboard’s Country Airplay, marking the star’s 24th No. 1 at radio.

Following Aldean on Nielsen’s on-demand streaming chart is Lee Brice at No. 2 with “One of Them Girls” (7.8 million/111 million). Gabby Barrett‘s “I Hope” slides from No. 1 to No. 3 with 7.2 million/440 million. Rounding out the top 5 are Morgan Wallen’s “7 Summers” (6.3 million/84 million) and Maren Morris’ “The Bones” (6.1 million/481 million).

Wallen is burning up the streaming charts—his name appears on five of the Top 10 country tracks, and his album If I Know Me is No. 2 country with 19k this week.

Brothers Osborne’s song “All Night” saw a major increase in activity, and the duo’s album Skeletons is the top country debut, landing at No. 4 on country albums chart with 14K.

Luke Combs once again holds the top spot among country albums (No. 17 overall) with What You See Is What You Get moving 22K. Combs’ debut project, This One’s For You, is holding on at No. 3, more than three years since its release.