Industry Ink: Wasserman Music, Merle Travis, Equal Access, More

Wasserman Music Celebrates AmericanaFest

Wasserman Music staff. Photo: Jeremy Harris

Wasserman Music hosted staff, friends and clients at their second annual AmericanaFest party last week.

Wasserman Music artists showed out during the week-long festival, which included the Americana Honors & Awards on Wednesday evening (Sept. 27). The event featured performances by Allison Russell, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Margo Price, The Milk Carton Kids, Nickel Creek and Noah Kahan, and Wasserman Music walked away with four award wins: Russell for Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award, Billy Strings for Artist of the Year, Nickel Creek for Trailblazer Award and Tyler Childers for Album of the Year (Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?).

CMHOF Honors Merle Travis With Special Conversation & Performance

Pictured (L-R): Eddie Pennington, Cindy Travis, Tommy Emmanuel, Merlene Travis-Maggini, Dave Paulson and Deke Dickerson. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum honored Merle Travis with a special conversation and performance this past weekend.

Presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association and hosted by the museum’s Writer-Editor Dave Paulson, the event explored the musician’s life, work and legacy with Deke Dickerson, co-author of the 2022 book Sixteen Tons: The Merle Travis Story, master guitarists Tommy Emmanuel and Eddie Pennington as well as Travis’s daughters Cindy Travis and Merlene Travis-Maggini.

Sixteen Tons: The Merle Travis Story paints a vivid portrait of the guitar innovator and hit songwriter. Using a trove of unearthed autobiographical writings left by Travis, Dickerson traces his journey from Kentucky coal country to his high standing among country music’s most influential guitarists.

In addition to being an author, Dickerson is a guitarist and historian who has released over twenty albums, both on his own and with projects such as Deke Dickerson & The Ecco-Fonics.

Emmanuel is one of the world’s premier acoustic guitarists and one of only five people to be named a “Certified Guitar Player (CGP)” by his musical hero Chet Atkins, and often plays Travis’ work in concert. Pennington is a lifelong disciple of “Travis Picking” and other thumbpicking styles and has called Travis his greatest hero.

Cindy, Travis’ youngest daughter, was a production assistant for a PBS series and is now an interior decorator living on the east coast. Merlene, Travis’ middle daughter, recently retired from Sony Pictures Entertainment after a 39-year career in music publishing and currently resides in California. Both daughters maintain their dedication to keeping their father’s legacy alive.

Equal Access Program Takes The Stage At City Winery Nashville

Pictured (L-R): Angie K, Adam Mac, Denitia, Chely Wright, Valerie Ponzio, Nick Tabron, Camille Parker, Fancy Hagood, Sam Williams and Dalton Dover. Photo: Collette Badora

The Equal Access Development Program, the artist and management training initiative helmed by CMT and management services company Mtheory, held a showcase featuring program participants and special guests on Tuesday night (Sept. 26) at City Winery Nashville.

Equal Access offers funding and training, and provides the rising artists and management professionals with access to industry leaders, helping to ensure a multi-faceted pipeline of diverse, creative talent in country music.

Hosted by Chely Wright, the evening featured performances by Angie K, Camille Parker, Dalton Dover, Denitia, Fancy Hagood, Nick Tabron, Sam Williams, Adam Mac and Valerie Ponzio.

Riley Clemmons Scores First RIAA Certification

Riley Clemmons with Capitol Christian Music Group team members

Capitol Christian Music Group recently presented artist Riley Clemmons with her first RIAA plaque, recognizing the Gold certification of her single, “Fighting For Me” alongside co-writers Jordan Sapp, who also produced the tune, and Ethan Hulse at an intimate release party for her new album, Church Pew.

“Fighting For Me” was released as the lead single for her sophomore album, Godsend, and quickly became her top performing song with over 160 million worldwide streams.

“Truly, I’m just so excited and completely overwhelmed with gratitude,” shares Clemmons. “‘Fighting For Me’ was written from such a deeply personal place, so watching it resonate with so many people has been surreal. My entire team surprised me with the Gold Record plaque, and I cried like a baby. It was such a special moment. I’m so grateful for every single person on the team that worked to make this milestone possible.”

Alexandra Kay Previews Her Debut Album With TuneCore

Pictured (L-R): Hayley Roets, John Graffo, Kaitlyn O’Donnell, Alexandra Kay, Maria Ho-Burge and Kevin Cornell.

Alexandra Kay provided a sneak peak of her debut album, All I’ve Ever Known, on Monday night (Sept. 25) with TuneCore.

Kay co-wrote all of the songs on the 11-track collection, set for release on Oct. 26.

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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.