Industry Ink: Willie Nelson, Brett Young, Skillet

Willie Nelson To Be Honored With 2021 Clio Cannabis Lifetime Achievement Award

Clio Cannabis, the award program that celebrates the creators of cannabis marketing and communications, has announced that Willie Nelson will be honored with the 2021 Clio Cannabis Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor will be presented as part of the 2021 Clio Cannabis Awards, exclusively streaming on Social Club TV beginning Dec. 7. Additional specialty award recipients will include Fab 5 Freddy, Mary Pryor and Ophelia Chong.

Nelson was selected to receive the 2021 Clio Cannabis Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades-long reputation of advocating the plant’s healing powers, elevating cannabis in the mainstream and innovating in the business space. His team is responsible for introducing marijuana and hemp-based wellness products like Willie’s Reserve and Willie’s Remedy, in addition to launching a new cannabis conference called Luck Summit: Planting the Seed.

“As the cannabis industry continues its rapid growth, we are tasked with ensuring the Clio Cannabis Awards evolve at the same pace to properly honor those at the forefront of creating change and driving the industry forward,” says Michael Kauffman, executive director, Clio Cannabis. “With four game-changing specialty award recipients and an exclusive streaming partner to help us reach a wider audience, we’re taking the 2021 Clio Cannabis Awards higher than ever before.”

 

Brett Young’s “Lady” Earns Platinum Certification

Multi-Platinum entertainer Brett Young has earned an RIAA Platinum certification for his chart-topping hit “Lady,” which was inspired by his expanding family.

The track marks Young’s seventh consecutive No. 1 hit to earn Platinum or multi-Platinum certification. Written with Ross Copperman and Jon Nite, Young recently celebrated the milestone at BMLG Records’ Nashville office alongside Jimmy Harnen, president/CEO BMLG Records.

Young is slated to return to the CMT Crossroads stage for the first-ever Christmas-themed episode on Wednesday, Dec. 8. The special will feature Young alongside an all-star lineup of friends and collaborators such as Boyz II Men, Chris Tomlin, Colbie Caillat, Dann Huff, Darius Rucker, Gavin DeGraw and Maddie & Tae performing classic Christmas hits from his inaugural holiday album, Brett Young & Friends Sing the Christmas Classics.

 

Skillet Earns Wave Of RIAA Album Certifications

Christian rock band Skillet are celebrating a flurry of RIAA certifications as their Awake album earns triple-Platinum status, Awake & Alive earns double-Platinum status, Hero sees a triple-Platinum certification, and Monster—with over 4 billion global streams—goes quadruple Platinum.

Skillet’s forthcoming album, Dominion, was produced by Kevin Churko (Papa Roach, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch) and features songs written by John Cooper, Korey Cooper, Churko and Kane Churko.

“Dominion is about the celebration of freedom, a liberation from fear—to be who we want to be, say what we want to say, believe what we want to believe,” frontman John Cooper says. “In some ways it’s a reminder of the God-given rights that we were born with. It’s time to regain some sort of control over our lives and not be a slave to fear. I hope this record is going to make people feel empowered, inspired, uplifted and want to rock their faces off!”

Skillet is set to headline Winter Jam 2022 alongside Tauren Wells, kicking off on Jan. 7 in Charleston, West Virginia.