The current cost of registration for the Americana Festival & Conference has been extended through July 31, with the rate rising on Aug. 1. The event will take place Sept. 20-25 in Nashville.

July 31 will be the last day to register for the Americana Music Festival & Conference at the $275 member/$375 non-member rates. Prices will rise to $325 member/$425 non-member on Aug. 1. The conference walkup rate is $475.

A conference registration badge allows access to more than 250 events including educational panels, parties, luncheons, and showcase performances.

T Bone Burnett will be delivering the keynote speech. More than 200 artists will be featured including John Prine, Indigo Girls, Billy Bragg & Joe Henry, Shawn Colvin & Steve Earle, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Jack Ingram, The O’Connor Band with Mark O’Connor, Amanda Shires, Bart Crow, Dori Freeman, John Fullbright, Howe Gelb, Green River Ordinance, Kaia Kater, Motel Mirrors, My Bubba, Sam Outlaw, Sean Watkins, and Cordovas. Some events will require an RSVP.

Registrants will be able to purchase up to two tickets for the Americana Honors and Awards show at the Ryman Auditorium when conference registration is purchased.

Adam Craig is now getting ready for fans to know his voice as well as his songwriting, as the newest signing for BBR Label Group’s Stoney Creek Records imprint. The songwriter has penned songs including Love and Theft’s “Whiskey On My Breath” and Parmalee’s “Close Your Eyes,” along with cuts by Jason Aldean and Dustin Lynch.

“When I found out I was getting the Parmalee single, I thought, ‘I’ve got to go into Broken Bow and just thank them for allowing me to stay in town this long and keep my publishing deal,’” Craig said during a visit to MusicRow on Monday (July 18). “I went and sat down with Benny [Brown, CEO of BBR Music Group] and he was like, ‘OK, let’s hear some music.’ So I didn’t really know if I was pitching songs for other artists still or pitching myself. Then a week later he called asking if I wanted a record deal.”

That deal has been more than 12 years in the making for the Washington native. After playing in a band during his high school and college years, he made the move to Nashville on the advice of a Nashville producer who worked with Jake Owen.

“He was like, ‘If you are for real, you’ve got to move to Nashville. You’ve got to be present to win.’ So I quit school and moved across the United States.”

Once in Music City, he continued writing and honing his craft, and fell in with a circle of fellow talented songwriters, including Tyler Farr, Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi. He would go on to play guitar for Swindell when Swindell’s career took off.

“We had this thing back in the day called Saturday Song Day at his place,” Craig recalls of those days when the writers were all trying to make names for themselves. “We were fans of each other’s music, so we watched college football, drank lots of beer, and played each other’s demos all day. There were other people there. We joke about it now, but everyone is so busy now, it’s like, ‘How do we do that again?’ We didn’t realize how cool it was back then, but it was this cool moment.”

When he’s not in the studio working alongside producer Derek George, Craig has been visiting radio stations across the nation, amassing several more of those cool moments as he brings his own music to radio and to fans.

During his visit to MusicRow, Adam Craig previewed three tracks, including his debut single, “Reckon, which was written by Jeremy Stover, Randy Montana and Derek George. He also sang “Just a Phase” and “Why Can’t She,” a tune he co-wrote in 2011 with Matt Rogers and Jon Nite.

“When I’ve played this around town, people would say, ‘Oh, that’s the cheating song.’ It’s not really a cheating song. It’s more of a ‘trying to get the girl back’ song. That’s what I love about our format. You can interpret somebody’s song however you want. Somebody comes up and has their story for that song. I love that part of it.”

“Reckon” goes for adds on Aug. 8.

Kelsea Ballerini and Musicians on Call (MOC) visited Phoenix Children’s Hospital on Friday (July 22) to kick off the organization’s first children’s program in Phoenix. The launch also marks MOC’s 60th bedside performance program overall. A longtime MOC supporter, Ballerini performed for patients, families and caregivers in the hospital’s Zone area before visiting with patients who were unable to make it to the lobby.

Musicians on Call is a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities. Their expansion to Phoenix Children’s Hospital is thanks in part to support from ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music.

“Musicians On Call is a truly inspiring organization and the smiles that they bring to patients and families is immeasurable. To be here, in Phoenix, and a part of the launch of a brand new program is a real honor,” said Ballerini.

“We’re so excited to have Kelsea here to support the launch of our 60th Bedside Performance Program and first Children’s program in Phoenix,” said Pete Griffin, Musicians On Call President. “Throughout the years Kelsea has been a huge supporter of ours. Kelsea’s fun music and energy always brighten the days of these patients.”