DelFest At Home Virtual Festival Set For Memorial Day Weekend

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DelFest At Home, a streaming event celebrating musical highlights from past DelFest Festivals, will take place during the originally scheduled festival weekend, May 21-24.

The free online event will feature performances from the festival’s namesake Del McCoury and his family as well as bluegrass and jam band luminaries such as Trey Anastasio Band, Bela Fleck & Chris Thile, Greensky Bluegrass, and more. Starting Thursday, May 21 at 4:30 p.m. ET, fans can tune into Nugs.tv, DelFest’s YouTube channel, or the Facebook page.

“We’ve heard from many folks how much it’s going to hurt not being at DelFest this Memorial Day weekend, so we hope this helps a little. We’re grateful to have a dedicated crew that has captured some great moments of DelFest through the years, and are looking forward to reliving some of these great moments with you ourselves,” says Ronnie McCoury of the Del McCoury Band and The Travelin’ McCourys.

Performers will include:
The Del McCoury Band
The Travelin’ McCourys
Trey Anastasio Band
Greensky Bluegrass
The Bluegrass Congress (Del McCoury Band with Ricky Skaggs, David Grisman, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton, and Stuart Duncan)
Bela Fleck & Chris Thile
Billy Strings
Railroad Earth
Sam Bush
The Wood Brothers
The Infamous Stringdusters
Yonder Mountain String Band
Marty Stuart
The Marcus King Band
I’m With Her
Hot Rize
Grateful Ball (The Travelin’ McCourys and Jeff Austin Band)
Sierra Hull
Dre & The Gospel Collective
Broomestix

Darius Rucker, Lauren Daigle, Lauren Alaina Participate in Healing Through Music Series

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Darius Rucker, Lauren Daigle, Sia, JoJo, Lauren Alaina, Jason Derulo, Rachel Platten, Ally Brooke, Ingrid Michaelson, Fonseca, and more are helping bring some welcome relief to patients and caregivers in children’s hospitals across the country through a series called Musicians on Call and Hyundai Hope On Wheels present Healing Through Music.

Through the series, artists are delivering the healing power of music to patients and caregivers with surprise, once-in-a-lifetime virtual performances. Videos from these performances will premiere on Musicians On Call’s (MOC) and Hyundai Hope On Wheels’ social media accounts every day at 7 p.m. ET Monday-Friday.

Healing Through Music uses the technology of MOC’s Virtual Bedside Performance Program to connect artists with patients and caregivers. MOC volunteer musicians perform remotely for patients via live broadcasts through hospital closed-circuit TVs and in-home services. and MOC has expanded this program to serve more patients in need. Currently, more than 15,000 people have enjoyed virtual performances during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Hospital patients are currently facing higher levels of isolation and caregivers are pulling double duty with both their traditional roles and COVID-19 response. In such a stressful environment music can have a profound positive impact,” said Musicians On Call President & CEO Pete Griffin. “With the support of Hyundai Hope On Wheels, and the help of many of Musicians On Call’s compassionate artist supporters, it is our honor to share the healing qualities of music with the people who need it most and bring joy during strenuous days. We hope these performances will give these incredibly deserving patients and healthcare professionals some unforgettable moments to hold onto.”

Tim McGraw Cancels Here On Earth Tour

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Tim McGraw is the latest in a string of country artists who have postponed or canceled tours in the past few days. McGraw released a statement on Wednesday (May 20) that his Here on Earth Tour has been canceled.

I hope my live shows are proof enough of how much I absolutely love performing for you guys. I’m so sad to have to cancel this year’s Here on Earth Tour but everyone’s safety has to be the top priority. We’re working with our teams to figure out when and how we can get back out on the road and see you all safely. In the meantime, we’re looking for some new ways to connect with you and get more music out. – Tim McGraw​

The superstar’s Here on Earth Tour was set to launch July 10 in Syracuse, New York and would include openers Midland and Ingrid Andress. Luke Combs was to have joined for two shows in Los Angeles and Philadelphia in September. No rescheduled dates have been announced.

Other country artists who have recently canceled or postponed headlining treks include Sugarland, Thomas Rhett, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Chris Stapleton and more.

McGraw recently released the single “I Called Mama,” ahead of the release of a full-length album on Big Machine Records slated for September.

YouTube video

Sugarland’s There Goes The Neighborhood Tour Canceled For 2020

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Sugarland has canceled their There Goes The Neighborhood Tour, which was slated to kick off June 4 in Toronto, Canada, and run through Aug. 1.

“We held out as long as we possibly could and so badly wanted to make this work for y’all,” Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush wrote in a note on Instagram. “Unfortunately, there’s still just too much uncertainty in the world.”

On a positive note, the duo also said they have new music coming soon. The duo recently released the EP Bigger, Louder, Live, via Big Machine Records.

Music Biz Cancels 2020 Conference In Nashville

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This year’s Music Biz conference has been canceled, the Music Business Association announced on Wednesday (May 20). The conference had previously been slated for Aug. 16-19, 2020 at JW Marriott Nashville, after being postponed from its original May event.

“The COVID-19 crisis has created conditions that we feel will not safely allow us to offer the in-person experience Music Biz Conference attendees are used to, thus we sadly announce the cancellation of our 2020 physical event,” commented Music Biz President Portia Sabin. “However, we plan to follow up the success of our Music Biz LIVE series by virtually offering segments of our Conference through the rest of the year. This is a challenging time for our global industry, but it has created an opportunity for Music Biz to offer our programming in exciting new ways and to bring our community together despite our physical separation.”

Music Biz will continue conference staples including Metadata Summit, Entertainment & Tech Law Conference, #NEXTGEN_Now, Financial Literacy Summit, The Future Is Now new music tech experience, Indie Artist & Songwriter Forum, Podcasting Summit, and Brand & Strategic Partnership Summit as virtual sessions. It also plans to integrate breakout programming on more niche topics including catalog releases, music fan experiences, building a release team and more into its Common Ground Webinar Series. Details on all these initiatives will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
In addition, with the cancellation of Record Store Day’s Summer Camp program, as well as the Town Hall panel at Music Biz 2020, Music Biz will co-host Record Store Day Couch Camp, an online educational program for independent retailers taking place June 2 – June 5.

The 2021 Music Biz Conference will be held at the JW Marriott Nashville on May 10-13, 2021.

BMG Expands Into Neighboring Rights Market

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BMG has set up a boutique performance rights service with its first new clients, UK DJ and producer Jonas Blue and founding member/lead singer of the legendary band The Who, Roger Daltrey.
The new service will be headed by VP Operations Strategy David Miller. Miller’s team will be responsible for ensuring each artist’s repertoire is registered accurately with collective management organizations in around 40 countries worldwide, tracking international income and ensuring faster royalty pay-through.

“There are some really great national performing rights agencies, but international performance is highly variable,” said Miller. “The best analogy is probably music publishing. Collection societies provide the backbone of collections, but publishers still add significant value.”

The deal with Daltrey includes classic recordings by The Who such as “My Generation,” “Pinball Wizard,” and “Who Are You,” as well as his own solo work. With Jonas Blue, BMG is representing performing rights in recordings such as “Perfect Strangers,” “Polaroid” and “Rise.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with the team at BMG for the next phase of my neighboring rights collection,” said Jonas Blue. “They have shown a considerable depth of understanding in this field, and I’m absolutely confident they will use their absolute best endeavours to be the best most efficient and pro-active team to handle this important side of our global business.”

The expansion into rights comes just four months after BMG moved into artist management in a partnership with Carl Stubner’s Shelter Music Group.

“We are delighted to welcome Jonas and Roger as we further extend our service offering to artists by offering a bespoke neighboring rights service,” said BMG COO Ben Katovsky. “We believe there is a substantial opportunity to increase artist income in this fast-growing area.”

Kathleen Edwards Readies New Project ‘Total Freedom’ For August

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Kathleen Edwards. Photo credit: Remi Theriault

Kathleen Edwards is set to release her new album, Total Freedom, Aug. 14 on Dualtone. In advance of the new project, the album’s first single, “Options Open,” debuted yesterday (May 19).
Co-produced by Edwards, longtime collaborator/guitarist Jim Bryson and producer and musician Ian Fitchuk, Total Freedom marks a major return for Edwards, who took an extended step away from music in 2014. After spending the last six years running her coffee shop, bar and café in her hometown of Stittsville, Ottawa, Edwards is back with a refreshed creative outlook and a new sense of freedom.

“I had no desire to write, no desire to play,” she explains. “It allowed me all the time and space I needed to even just enjoy listening to music again. There were so many times where, if I was thinking about my own writing or playing, my heart just wasn’t in it. I don’t want to write songs that are going to keep me in a dark place for two years. I didn’t have to carry a lot of the pressure of whatever course I was on previously…There’s a pressure sometimes to keep that ball rolling, and that’s what was so freeing about stopping altogether and starting again. I realized I’m entirely in control and deciding what my course of action is.”

Total Freedom is Edwards’ fifth studio album, and her first since 2012’s Voyageur. She is a five-time Juno Award nominee, and has also had her music featured in several TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Hart of Dixie, House and more.

Total Freedom Track List:
1. Glenfern
2. Hard On Everyone
3. Birds On A Feeder
4. Simple Math
5. Options Open
6. Feelings Fade
7. Fools Ride
8. Ashes to Ashes
9. Who Rescued Who
10. Take It With You

 

Nashville Cancels July 4th Concert, Shifts Fireworks Display To TV

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Brad Paisley.

Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th, Nashville’s annual 4th of July celebration downtown, will look a bit different this year understandably, and will this year honor healthcare heroes, first responders and frontline workers with a televised fireworks show. No artists will be performing this year, and no spectators will be allowed in the parks, but a short fireworks display set to recorded music by Nashville artists will air locally on NewsChannel 5.

Brad Paisley, who was previously scheduled to headline this year’s July 4th event, will instead headline the event in 2021.

“The community deserves a celebration and our healthcare and frontline workers deserve to be honored,” said Butch Spyridon, President and CEO, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “Music City has consistently had one of the largest July 4th celebrations in the nation, and while the crowds will be asked to stay home this year and our fireworks display will be minimal, we still wanted to find a way to celebrate our country and our city during this difficult time.”

FGL Offers Up Summer ‘6-Pack’ In Advance Of Upcoming Album

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Florida Georgia Line. Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

Florida Georgia Line are breaking out some jams to help relieve some of the boredom of quarantine with their new 6-Pack EP, due out this Friday (May 22). This latest batch of tracks is available for preorder now at all streaming platforms and digital retailers, and includes the new song “Second Guessing,” from their recent appearance as guest artists on season two of NBC’s songwriting series, Songland. The slow-groove ballad they selected on the show was penned by songwriter Griffen Palmer and show producer Shane McAnally.

FGL teamed up with co-producer Corey Crowder for the new EP, which features songs that run from party-thumping anthems to gratitude-building ballads. Its assortment of flavors is perfect for summer and offers a taste of their upcoming fifth studio album on BMLG Records, due out later this year.

“This 6-Pack is like a variety pack – there is a little something for everybody: a love song, party songs, and songs that bring us together,” shares FGL. “We’ve been working real hard in the studio, and are just super excited to have new music out.”

Florida Georgia Line’s 6-Pack EP Track Listing:

1. “Beer:30” – Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Corey Crowder, Canaan Smith, Ernest Keith Smith
2. “Ain’t Worried Bout It” – Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Corey Crowder, Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip
3. “Second Guessing (From Songland)” – Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Corey Crowder, Ester Dean, Andrew DeRoberts, Shane McAnally, Griffen Palmer, Benjamin Simonetti, Ryan Tedder, Geoff Warburton
4. “Countryside” – Blake Redferrin, Jake Rose, Michael Whitworth
5. “U.S. Stronger” – Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley
6. “I Love My Country” – Kane Brown, Corey Crowder, Chase McGill, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak, Will Weatherly

Sam Hunt’s Southside Summer Tour 2020 Canceled

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Sam Hunt‘s Southside Summer Tour 2020 is the latest tour to be canceled this year, according to a social media post from Travis Denning, who had been slated to open the shows, alongside Kip Moore and Ernest.

“To say the news today has been an absolute bummer would be an understatement,” Denning said via Twitter. “The day I got the call we were on the Sam Hunt tour was one I’ll never forget. I know it’s for the best, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t upset we won’t be singin’ country music all summer. I was so excited to play these new songs. Excited to tear up the country with my band and crew, and excited to write another chapter in this crazy life I’m lucky to live. Y’all stay safe, and I promise that when we get back on the road, it’ll be bigger and better than ever. Love y’all.”

CID Entertainment—which crafts top-shelf VIP packages for artist tours—also issued a statement that the tour has been canceled. Meanwhile, Live Nation’s official site lists nearly every show on the tour as being canceled as well, with a select few being rescheduled.

Hunt’s Southside Summer Tour 2020 was set to launch July 10 in Maine and conclude Oct. 10 in Georgia. Neither Hunt nor Moore have made public statements about the tour’s cancellation at this time.

The news follows announcements of tour postponements or cancellations from Reba, Thomas Rhett, Lady Antebellum, Chris Stapleton, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Maren Morris, and more over the past few weeks.

The tour takes its name from Hunt’s recent chart-topping album Southside, which includes singles such as “Kinfolks” and his most recent “Hard to Forget.”