Shane Owens has released his latest musical project, It’s A Southern Thing. It contains six tunes, including his hit single, “Lie,” which just hit the top 40 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart.

“I’m a traditional country singer, and I’ve never strayed away from my roots,” Owens says. “It’s a little bit tougher at radio nowadays, but we’re trying to do our part to keep country music alive. Whether you’re from out on the west coast all the way to the east coast down to Florida, we all have a little southern in us.”

It’s A Southern Thing Track Listing:
1. Love To Try Them On (Galen Griffin, Coby Greer)
2. Lie (Brian Callihan, Wayne Underwood, Trent Tomlinson)
3. Working Man (Tony Stampley, James Holmes)
4. Honky Tonk Girl (Tommy Barnes)
5. Here Without You (Brad Arnold, Chris Henderson, Matt Roberts, Robert Harrell)
6. It’s A Southern Thing (Bob DiPiero, Tim Nichols)

It’s A Southern Thing is available for streaming on iTunes and Spotify. You can pre-order a physical copy of the project, available July 13, at shaneowenscountry.com.

The Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival and Blackberry Farm have teamed up to provide a special, elevated experience for festival goers with The Grand Champion Experience pass. This marks the first time that Blackberry Farm will take their staff and experiences outside the property to create a one of a kind partnership with Pilgrimage, which takes place Sept. 22-23 at The Park at Harlinsdale in Franklin, Tennessee.

The Grand Champion Experience will offer up meet and greets with artists, farm-to-table bites from Blackberry’s Executive Chefs Cassidee Dabney and Sarah Steffan, a mixology experience that evolves through the day, and stage-front viewing. Additional signature experiences will include Mediation Moments with Wellness Lifestyle Expert Hope Parks, Sabering School with Director of Food and Beverage Andy Chabot, Fly Fishing Lessons with Activities Manager Alex Quick, and more.

“We love sharing great music and incredible experiences with our guests,” said Mary Celeste Beall, Blackberry Farm Proprietor. “This partnership is a really exciting opportunity to bring a taste of the Farm off property and invite new friends to enjoy learning from our talented artisans.”

Passes are on sale now for the festival, which will include performances by Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Lionel Richie, Brandi Carlile, Counting Crows and more.

Pictured (L-R): AIMP Nashville Board Member Tim Hunze (Parallel Music), Lindsay Rothschild (YouTube, Songwriter & Publisher Relations Lead in North America), Eric Knapp (YouTube, Music Publishing Partnerships in North America), AIMP Nashville Executive Director John Ozier (ole), and AIMP Nashville Board Member Michael Martin (ASCAP).

AIMP Nashville held the Creating A Home For Music On YouTube event on June 27, at ASCAP’s Nashville office. The event featured a presentation from Lindsay Rothschild, Songwriter & Publisher Relations Lead in North America for YouTube, and Eric Knapp, Music Publishing Partnerships (North America) for YouTube, that provided a look at how YouTube is helping songwriters and producers showcase their portfolio of work to connect with fellow musicians and fans. Attendees gained an understanding of how rights management works on YouTube and learned about strategies and resources they can use to build a presence on the platform.
 
 

Pictured: Barry Dean, Steve Moakler, Lori McKenna, Luke Laird. Photo: Maria O’Connor

Steve Moakler made his debut performance at Time Square’s Opry City Stage on Friday, June 22, where he performed alongside Barry Dean and Luke Laird. Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lori McKenna was a surprise guest as well.
 
 

Pictured: ASCAPs Suzanne Lee, Carnival Music songwriter-artist Hailey Whitters, Carnival Music’s Emily Furman, songwriter-artist Chancey Williams, Room In The Inn’s Rachel Hester and Melanie Barnett, songwriter Trent Willmon and ASCAP’s Robert Filhart

Inspired by Country Music Hall of Fame member and lifelong ASCAP songwriter Don Schlitz, who performs every week at Room In The Inn, ASCAP features songwriters to perform at the shelter once a month throughout 2018, while ASCAP staff volunteer to serve the guests. In June, the series featured hit songwriter Trent Willmon and songwriter-artist Chancey Williams. ASCAP’s Suzanne Lee and Robert Filhart, and Carnival Music’s Emily Furman and songwriter-artist Hailey Whitters, served the Room In The Inn guests alongside staff and volunteers.
 
 

Pictured (L-R): Deva Newman, SVP, Creative at Paramount Network & TV Land; Frank Tanki, General Manager, CMT & TV Land; Nico Tortorella, actor/author; Cody Alan, CMT Personality; Kevin Kay, president of CMT, Paramount Network, & TV Land.

Emerge hosted a special Pride Q&A and screening with star of TV Land’s Younger, Nico Tortorella on Wednesday, June 20. The conversation was moderated by host of CMT Hot 20 Countdown, Cody Alan. The two discussed the show, gender/sexual identity, and All of It Is You, Nico’s new book of poetry.

Phillip White, Susan Ruth and David Myhre Attend “Highway to Healing” music program at The Center for Courageous Kids in Scottsville, KY during Blood Disorders, Oncology and Juvenile Arthritis week.

Award-winning songwriter Phillip White, singer-songwriter Susan Ruth and artist/musician David Myhre journeyed from Nashville, Tennessee to Scottsville, Kentucky, to participate in The Center for Courageous Kids’ (CCK) “Highway to Healing” program during Blood Disorders, Oncology and Juvenile Arthritis week.

 
 
Grand Ole Opry Stars Dailey & Vincent returned to the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Thursday, June 21, and for the fifth time in a row performed before a sold-out audience.

Bobby Bones poses with the crowd at his comedy show in Tampa, where he stayed after and signed books for fans until almost 1:00 am

Bobby Bones has made a second trip to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list as his new book Fail Until You Don’t: Fight. Grind. Repeat debuts at No.1 on the list after the book’s June 19 release. In between sold-out comedy shows for his Red Hoodie Comedy Tour, Bones appeared at several book store events with hundreds of fans showing up and breaking store records.

The book is a primer on how to fight your way through failures to achieve success, and is Bones’ second book to top the New York Times list, following his debut memoir Bare Bones: I’m Not Lonely If You’re Reading This Book. His latest book features anecdotes from some of his famous friends who open up about their own missteps, including Brooklyn Decker, Charlamagne Tha God, Andy Roddick, Chris Stapleton and more.