Industry Ink: Hank Williams, WMN: On Deck, Ian Munsick, More

CMHOF Hosts Concert In Celebration Of Hank Williams’ 100th Birthday

Pictured (L-R, back row): Billy Contreras, Ben Roberts, Kenny Vaughan, Chuck Mead, Rodney Crowell, Hilary Williams, Sam Williams, Chris Scruggs, Brennen Leigh, Pete Finney and Wes L’Anglois; (L-R, middle row): Abi Tapia, Celia Woodsmith, S.G. Goodman, Wendy Moten, Holly Williams, Jared Manzo, Lyle Lovett and Michael Gray; (L-R, front row): Avril Smith, Vickie Vaughn, Kimber Ludiker, Jeff Hanna, Jett Williams, Suzy Bogguss, Delbert McClinton, Delaney McClinton, Laura Cantrell and Charlie McCoy. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum hosted “Hank’s 100th: A Concert in Celebration of Hank Williams” last week in the museum’s CMA Theater.

Presented by Spotify in partnership with the Americana Music Association, the event featured country music community members Suzy Bogguss, Laura Cantrell, Rodney Crowell, Della Mae, S.G. Goodman, Jeff Hanna, Brennen Leigh, Lyle Lovett, Delbert McClinton, Chuck Mead, Wendy Moten, Williams’ grandchildren Hilary Williams, Holly Williams, Sam Williams and Charlie McCoy.

Artists performed interpretations of Williams’ classics in various styles, from honky-tonk and bluegrass to rock to R&B. Chris Scruggs led the house band consisting of Billy Contreras, Wes L’Anglois, Jared Manzo and Kenny Vaughan.

Williams scored over 30 hits in his short career, including “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Jambalaya” and “Lovesick Blues,” and wrote many songs that are now considered country standards. Tony Bennett’s 1951 pop cover of “Cold, Cold Heart” showed the crossover potential of the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s songwriting, and over the past seven decades, his music has been recorded by artists across multiple genres.

Prior to the event, Hank Williams 100, a digital collection made up of Williams’ 19 most popular songs, was released via Mercury Nashville/UMe.

Warner Music Nashville Hosts WMN: On Deck Event

Pictured (L-R, front row): Warner Music Nashville’s Tim Foisset, Kristen Williams, Cris Lacy and Patrick Worstell; (L-R, back row): Extended Play’s Eric Parker, Warner Music Nashville’s Rohan Kohli, Lewis Brisbois’ Matt Cottingham, Warner Music Nashville’s Patrick Sabatini, Victoria Mason, Ben Kline, Avery Anna, Matt Schuster, 33 Creative’s Tina Crawford and Warner Music Nashville’s Shane Tarleton. Photo: Alan Poizner

Warner Music Nashville hosted the first WMN: On Deck event last week.

Formerly known as Pickin’ On The Patio, the function featured performances by Avery Anna and the label’s newest addition Matt Schuster, whose signing was announced ahead of his set.

WMN: On Deck was sponsored by Shake Shack, Blue Chair Bay Rum, Cut Above, Jim Beam and On The Rocks Premium Cocktails.

Ian Munsick Takes The Stage At CMHOF’s Annual Nightfall At The Hall

Ian Munsick performing at the 11th annual Nightfall at the Hall. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Multi-instrumentalist Ian Munsick performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s 11th annual Nightfall at the Hall celebration on Thursday (Sept. 21).

The event is an after-hours party exclusively for the museum’s Troubadour members, a community of young leaders, ages 21 to 45, who collaborate with other professionals in supporting their community and the museum.

Prior to Munsick’s performance, student-artist Julia LaFreniere performed “Dear Future Me,” a song that she wrote as part of the museum’s flagship educational program, Words & Music. The 13-year-old from Nashville participated in the museum’s summer songwriting camp this year.

ASCAP Announces 2023 GPS Project Participants

Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, Kele Currier, Duane Hobson, Chris Housman, Blake Rackley, Evanthia Theodorou, Kalina Tyne, Dan Harrison, ASCAP’s Evyn Johnston and Jason Haag (Not Pictured: Cam Allen and Madison Steinbruck)

ASCAP Nashville’s membership team, led by Vice President Mike Sistad, has announced the songwriter participants for the 11th annual ASCAP Guidance from Publishers for Songwriters (GPS) Project.

The program seeks to help promising, unsigned songwriters, who have been identified by the ASCAP team as ready for a publishing deal, take the next step in their career.

Curated by Duane Hobson, Associate Director of Nashville Membership, the ASCAP GPS Project Class of 2023 includes up-and-coming songwriters Cam Allen, Jason Haag, Dan Harrison, Chris Housman, Blake Rackley, Madison Steinbruck, Evanthia Theodorou and Kalina Tyne.

Over the next several months, the eight writers will be paired with publishers who will listen and critique their songs, and host follow-up meetings to help develop their craft. By the end of the program, each songwriter will have met with representatives from at least five different publishers.

This year’s participating publishers include Concord Music Publishing, Kobalt Music, Liz Rose Music, Red Door Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, Spirit Music Nashville, Endurance Music Group and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

A highly-regarded musical opportunity in Nashville, the program has helped numerous songwriters earn publishing agreements. Well-known ASCAP GPS alumni include Lainey Wilson, Jacob Davis, Hannah Dasher, Caylee Hammack and more.

The Band Of Heathens’ ‘Hurricane’ Recording Goes Gold

Pictured (L-R): Chad Staehly, Gordy Quist, Keith Stegall, Trevor Nealon, Al Moss, Ed Jurdi, Nick Jay, Clint Simmons, Burt Stein and Bryan Blaylock. Photo: Jenn Curtis

The Band of Heathens celebrated the Gold certification of their recording of “Hurricane” last week during Americanafest in Nashville.

Written by Thom Schuyler, Keith Stegall and Stewart Harris, the song was originally recorded by Levon Helm for his 1980 album American Son, and then again by Leon Everette. But it wasn’t until The Band of Heathens recorded it that “Hurricane” became a streaming success, helping the group to garner more than 400 million streams over 40 years after the song was written.

To further celebrate the milestone, the band released an unofficial live video for “Hurricane.” Recorded live Born & Raised Music Festival, it features a rousing crowd sing-along as well as shots of the act on the road.

“Our goal has always been to have the freedom to make the music we want to make without having to answer to anybody. To have a recording reach Gold status without the muscle of a label or outside funding is something we never dreamed of and is a testament to the power of the song. We’re honored that our arrangement of it is resonating like this,” states The Band of Heathens.

“It’s amazing how songs can have several lives,” shared Stegall. “Levon, Leon and now The Band of Heathens. Thank you Band of Heathens for giving ‘Hurricane’ life again!”

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Liza Anderson

As Subscription Manager/Writer, Liza Anderson contributes to many functions of MusicRow. She produces content, carries out general office tasks, assists in the daily news operations, and provides support to all team members. Liza graduated from the University of Alabama in May of 2021 with a B.A. in English and a minor in communication studies. Prior to MusicRow, she worked as an administrative assistant at Anderson Benson where she assisted the firm’s departments, such as the Entertainment Specialty Practice, with various tasks.