Midland, Old Dominion, Cole Swindell, Ingrid Andress, Deana Carter, Adam Craig, Jessie James Decker, Lindsay Ell, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Locash, Hillary Scott, Tenille Townes and Storme Warren have all been added to the lineup of events at the ACM’s upcoming 7th Annual Party for a Cause, taking place April 5 -7 in Vegas.

The Academy-hosted marquee events slated for this year’s Party for a Cause leading up to and immediately following the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards include ACM Stories, Songs & Stars, ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off, ACM Decades and the ACM Awards Official After Party presented by Security Benefit. Each event will feature performances by country’s biggest names and hottest new talent, and portions of all event proceeds will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music which works to lift lives through the power of music.

Friday, April 5, 2019
8 p.m.: ACM Stories, Songs & Stars
Talent: Hosted by Hillary Scott and Storme Warren; performances by Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally, Lori McKenna, Chase McGill, and Josh Osborne, plus special guest appearances by Brantley Gilbert, Midland, Old Dominion and more.

Saturday, April 6, 2019
10 a.m.: ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off
Talent: Hosted by Darius Rucker and Scotty McCreery; performances by Ingrid Andress, Adam Craig, Morgan Evans, Chris Lane and Scotty McCreery

7 p.m.: ACM Decades
Concert celebrating the hits of today and yesterday with your favorite country hit-makers and rising country stars
Talent: Performances by Lauren Alaina, Carlton Anderson, Rodney Atkins, Deana Carter, Easton Corbin, Jordan Davis, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Tracy Lawrence, Maddie & Tae, Jamie O’Neal, Carly Pearce, Michael Ray, Cole Swindell, Mitchell Tenpenny and Tenille Townes

Sunday, April 7, 2019
8 p.m.: ACM Awards Official After Party presented by Security Benefit
Talent: Hosted by Shawn Parr and Big Kenny, plus performances by Jimmie Allen, Big Kenny, Jessie James Decker, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert, Adam Hambrick, Caylee Hammack, Walker Hayes, LOCASH, AJ McLean, Cassadee Pope, Runaway June, Dylan Scott and Brett Young

MusicRow Magazine’s eighth annual Rising Women on the Row event will be held Tuesday, March 26, at Omni Hotel Nashville.

This year’s honorees include Sandi Spika Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group, Sr. VP Creative), Janine Ebach (Curb|Word Music Publishing, VP), Kelly Janson (Kelly Janson Management, Manager), Meredith Jones (Creative Artists Agency, Agent), Lenore Kinder (Paradigm Talent Agency, Agent), and Jennifer Turnbow (NSAI, Sr. Director of Operations).

Leading up to the event, MusicRow is spotlighting each honoree with a brief Q&A.

Meredith Jones guides the careers of artists including Maren Morris, Little Big Town, Whiskey Myers, Chase Rice and Tenille Townes. Jones helped strategically navigate Morris’ recently-announced 2019 international GIRL: The World Tour, which sold out in minutes across nearly every market. Overseeing college and university bookings on behalf of the entire music department, Jones and her team book more than 600 dates a year across all genres. She works with radio host Bobby Bones to create opportunities which include sold-out stand-up tours, two No. 1 New York Times best-selling books and television shows such as Dancing With the Stars and American Idol. Jones was named to CAA’s Global Fellows, a leadership development program for agents, and serves as a mentor to the next generation of agents as a Trainee Program Advisor. In 2018, she helped ideate CAA’s THE HUBB, an internship and career-ready college student summit. She is a founding member of both FORWARD, an employee program that provides professional development for women within the company, and the agency’s female-led EVOLVE committee, dedicated to providing the most respectful and safe work environment. She also serves on the Development Committee with PENCIL Foundation and is in the current Leadership Music class.

MusicRow: What is the biggest lesson on leadership you have learned in your career?
To lead is to serve. I walk into the office every day thrilled to be surrounded by a tremendous group of colleagues helping our clients to succeed. CAA’s culture is one of collaboration. I am dedicated to mentoring the next generation of this industry. If you pour time and energy into helping to grow one person, I believe it will grow the overall business as a whole.

MR: Who has been one of your biggest mentors, and what have they taught you?
I’ve learned a lot from John Huie, Rod Essig, Marc Dennis, Darin Murphy, and Brian Manning who have led our office in my tenure at CAA. They’ve taught me how to think about my clients long term, not just deal by deal. One of my biggest mentors is in our Los Angeles office, Michelle Kydd Lee (CAA’s Chief Innovation Officer). She has always pushed me outside my comfort zone to be more creative, think bigger, blur the lines, and to give back to the community that supports me.

MR: Describe a time that you took a big risk in your career, and how did it pay off?
I’m lucky enough to work in a place where it’s safe and encouraged to take risks. It was hard for me to choose one story. Here are a few examples:

When I was an Agent Trainee, Chase Rice tapped me on the shoulder at the annual CAA BBQ and we began a conversation about live music. He sent me some incredible songs the next morning. Not technically being in a place to sign anyone, I still felt strong enough to bring him up in a meeting. After playing the demos, the room exploded. I signed him over the course of the following weeks.

On the first record cycle with Maren Morris, we believed that although she was on a country label with country radio support, her music was genre-free. I made it a mission that year to get her on as many multi-genre festivals as we could to make a statement to the industry. We confirmed her on Bonnaroo, ACL, and Bumbershoot that year.

MR: As Nashville continues to grow and evolve, what changes in the music industry excite you the most?

I am grateful that the live music business is thriving and continues to grow year-over-year. I think that we have more tools than ever to make the best strategic deals using analytics from digital media sources.

MR: Favorite Nashville place to hold a business meeting/lunch?

Merchants- cobb salad, no blue cheese.

(City National Bank, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, and Loeb & Loeb are again the Presenting Sponsors for the 2019 Rising Women on the Row.)

Triple Tigers artist Scotty McCreery scored a repeat chart-topper, and Gold-certified hit, with “This Is It,” the second single from his album Seasons Change. “This Is It” spent two weeks in the No. 1 slot on country radio, and follows the Platinum-certified “Five More Minutes,” which topped the country radio charts in February 2018.

McCreery joined “This Is It” co-writers Frank Rogers and Aaron Eshuis on Wednesday (March 20) at an industry celebration hosted by ASCAP and BMI. The song marks the first No. 1 for Eshuis, and the first No. 1 for Derek Wells as a producer (and his 50th No. 1 as a musician). Wells is working on a project in Canada and was not in attendance at the event, so Rogers called him from the stage and put him on speakerphone, as the industry crowd shouted congratulations for his first No. 1 as a producer.

“If you had told me a couple years ago we’d be here, I’d have told you, you were crazy. It has been an incredible feeling and an incredible ride,” shared McCreery, who also thanked his wife Gabi, who served as the inspiration for the hit song. “It is easy to write love songs about you baby…appreciate you marrying me and saying yes, otherwise this song might not have made it on the radio,” the singer/songwriter quipped. “‘This is not it’ is not a great title.”

“This is It” was written a few weeks prior to Scotty’s marriage proposal to Gabi, and the video for the track featured footage from their wedding.

Others taking part in the No. 1 party included ASCAP’s Evyn Mustoe, BMI’s Mary Ann Keen, CRB President and Townsquare Media Sr. VP Kurt Johnson, Triple Tigers’ Norbert Nix, Kevin Herring and George Couri, SMACKSongs’ Lee Krabel, Fluid Music Revolution’s A.J. Burton, CMA’s Brandi Simms, and more.

The Hit Men, classic rock’s unique group of legendary side men, have been selected by the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville to receive a Road Warrior award.

Lee Shapiro (keyboards/vocals, and Frankie Valli’s former musical director), Jimmy Ryan (lead guitar/vocals, and Carly Simon’s former musical director), Russ Velazquez (keyboards/percussion/vocals), Jeff Ganz (bass/vocals), and Steve Murphy (drums/vocals) are being recognized by the Nashville museum that honors the talented musicians who played on some of the greatest recordings of all time.

Together, the group’s members have recorded or performed with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens, David Bowie, Lou Reed, and members of The Who, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Toto, Journey, The Ramones, and dozens more.

“The Road Warriors, in addition to their work in the studio, also take the music to the people,” says Joe Chambers, founder and CEO of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. “Night after night, month after month, year after year, they are out there keeping the music alive and keeping it real, seldom getting the recognition that they all richly deserve. The Musicians Hall of Fame takes great pride in recognizing THE HIT MEN for their years of dedication to the music, and the countless miles ― which nobody sees ― that they have traveled in delivering so many hits throughout the world.”

“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized for the work we’ve each put into our careers supporting the greatest names in the music industry,” says founding member Lee Shapiro. “Hitmakers from every style of music have seen it desirable to book us on their sessions and tours – everybody from classic rock to pop to disco has used THE HIT MEN on their recordings and performances and we’re forever grateful that this prestigious institution would honor us in this way.”

The Hit Men will be celebrating their receipt of the  Road Warrior Award from the Nashville institution with an especially intimate New York homecoming show Saturday, April 27 at the Cutting Room, 44 E. 32nd St., NYC. Visit thecuttingroomnyc.com for more information.

MusicRow Magazine’s eighth annual Rising Women on the Row event will be held Tuesday, March 26, at Omni Hotel Nashville.

This year’s honorees include Sandi Spika Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group, Sr. VP Creative), Janine Ebach (Curb|Word Music Publishing, VP), Kelly Janson (Manager, Kelly Janson Management), Meredith Jones (Creative Artists Agency, Agent), Lenore Kinder (Paradigm Talent Agency, Agent), and Jennifer Turnbow (NSAI, Sr. Director of Operations).

Leading up to the event, MusicRow is spotlighting each honoree with a brief Q&A.

Janine Ebach launched Word Publishing’s country division in 2013, and has gone on to celebrate multiple No. 1 songs, including the Platinum-selling singles “Sleep Without You” (Brett Young), “Singles You Up” (Jordan Davis), and Gold-selling “Heartache On The Dance Floor” (Jon Pardi) and more recently “Good Girl” (Dustin Lynch). Additional singles and cuts have been recorded by George Strait, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Tim & Faith, Dan + Shay, Lindsay Ell, Randy Houser, Russell Dickerson, Jordan Davis and more. When Curb Records and Word Entertainment merged in 2018, Ebach was elevated to Vice President, Curb|Word Music Publishing. Ebach’s current roster includes 72 writers across multiple genres. A graduate of Belmont University, Janine Ebach launched her career at THiS Music in 2007 before joining Word Publishing. Ebach serves on the board of the W.O. Smith School and is the current recipient of the AIMP’s Song Champion of the Year Award.

MusicRow: What is the biggest lesson on leadership you have learned in your career?
Empower people. Give them the freedom to be an entrepreneur and everybody wins.

MR: Who has been one of your biggest mentors, and what have they taught you?
Our CEO, Jim Ed Norman. For the last few years I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with him through the company transition, and there is a reason he is a music business legend in this town. He is patient, doesn’t get worked up over small stuff. He’s taught me so much about becoming a better executive, a better leader—even a better person. People love him and respect him. He makes you want to work harder and teaches you life lessons without you even realizing it, he has done so many positive things and is one of the kindest, and most humble humans I know.

MR: Describe a time that you took a big risk in your career, and how did it pay off?
Leaving my first industry job after seven years was extremely tough, we were family. I knew in my heart of hearts it was the right decision and time for me to move onto my next adventure. It was a very tough transition, full of daily doubt, and up hill battles. Somehow, I continued to believe and fight for what I was doing, the writers I had signed, and in myself really. There were days I wasn’t sure how I was going to continue to do it, but those small victories kept me going… then our first radio single, more cuts, singles and songs on the charts and our first No. 1. If I had known then what I know now, I would have stepped out quicker and further and not tried to fight against what was meant to be.

MR: As Nashville continues to grow and evolve, what changes in the music industry excite you the most?
While most think streaming is a negative, I actually see it as a positive. More indie artists are given the opportunity to release music without anyone knowing who they are. More songs are releasing, more folks are looking up old George Strait records, or their favorite song from middle school, because it’s so easily accessed. Music lives on, plays on over and over, and we’re paid based on every time someone listens vs. one record sale or single sale. If we can just get the payments fair, we all win.

MR: Favorite Nashville place to hold a business meeting/lunch?
Breakfast: J. Christopher’s, First Watch, Noshville
Lunch: Thai Isane, Ted’s Montana Grill, Midtown Cafe
Drinks: Flyte, The Hutton Bar

(City National Bank, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, and Loeb & Loeb are again the Presenting Sponsors for the 2019 Rising Women on the Row.)