Alex Torrez Exits Play It Again Music

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Alex Torrez

Alex Torrez has exited his role as General Manager and VP, A&R at Play It Again Music Publishing. Going forward, Torrez will work with Warner Music Nashville’s Trea Landon and TMG/Thirty Tigers’ Shotgun Rider.

“This is something I’ve been building on for a while, and it will be exciting to see what the future brings,” Torrez says.

The news follows Play It Again’s recent appointment of Juli Newton Griffith to the role of President for Play It Again.

Torrez can be reached at [email protected].

iHeartRadio Music Festival Returns In September With Dustin Lynch, Bobby Bones

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iHeartMedia announced today the return of the annual star-studded iHeartRadio Music Festival on Sept. 21 and 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and its Daytime Stage, which will take place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Saturday, Sept. 22.

Among the performers on the Daytime Stage will be Dustin Lynch, Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots, 5 Seconds of Summer, Dua Lipa, Greta Van Fleet and more. The main stage performance lineup for the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival will be announced at a later date.

In addition to live performances, the Daytime Stage will also feature fan zones and interactive experiences by iHeartRadio’s brand partners. Tickets for the Daytime Stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival will go on sale Thursday, May 3 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET and start at $29 plus taxes and fees. Fans can visit iHeartRadio.com/Tickets to purchase tickets.

The iHeartRadio Music Festival will broadcast live on iHeartMedia Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) stations across the country that weekend including the iconic Z100 in New York; KIIS-FM in Los Angeles; Y100 in Miami; KISS FM in Dallas, Chicago and Boston; as well as many more, and will also be featured as an exclusive national television broadcast special on The CW Network at a later date.

Proud partners of this year’s event include 1800® Tequila, Bai Beverage, Bioré® Skincare, Capital One®, The CW Network, Macy’s, Taco Bell® with more to be announced

Rodney Crowell, Jon Vezner To Lead Second “Heal The Music Day”

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Rodney Crowell and Jon Vezner are joining forces with Music Health Alliance to help Heal The Music. The second “Heal The Music Day” will take place on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018 as a day of nationwide music industry fundraising and awareness to support the critical and life-saving free services provided by Music Health Alliance.

“In the world of the working musician, good health is something most of us take for granted…that is, until something goes wrong,” said Crowell. “When and if it does, there is no greater patient advocacy group than our very own Music Health Alliance. MHA has provided support to people across 38 states and so we want to carry the message beyond Nashville and are asking everyone in the music community to pledge a small percentage of their single day earnings on ‘Heal The Music Day’ to MHA so they can continue their critical work for many years to come.”

Since its launch in 2013, Nashville-based nonprofit Music Health Alliance has served more than 8,400 members of the music community nationwide, and saved more than $33 million in healthcare costs including insurance premium savings, medical bill reductions and discounted medications. According to MHA stats, 428 families have been spared bankruptcy due to a medical crisis, and eight patients have been provided with access to heart, lung, kidney, or liver transplants. Additionally, MHA has facilitated access to more than 200 trauma counseling sessions for Las Vegas shooting survivors and their families.

To participate in “Heal The Music Day,” members of the music community — including artists, songwriters, producers, publishers, publicists, promoters, business managers, record label executives, booking agents, attorneys, venues, stylists and more — can pledge a percentage of their single day earnings to support the lifesaving services provided by Music Health Alliance. Learn more at HealTheMusic.com.

Shania Twain, Jake Owen Sign On For USA Network’s Talent Showcase ‘Real Country’

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Shania Twain and Jake Owen have signed on for a new USA Network show, Real Country. The eight-part music showcase series will film in Nashville this summer. In each hour-long episode, Twain and Owen will hand-pick newcomer solo artists, duos and groups to perform in showcases. The best artists from each showcase will perform in the grand finale, for the chance to be named one of country music’s next breakout artists.

The show is produced by Wilshire Studios, with Twain, Nicolle Yaron, Stijn Bakkers, and Leslie Garvin set to executive produce.

“Real Country celebrates everything we love about country music, while providing a unique platform for emerging artists to showcase their talent,” said Heather Olander, Senior Vice President, Alternative Development and Production, USA Network. She added: “We are extremely lucky to work with both Shania and Jake. Shania is a true international icon who remains the best-selling female country artist of all time and whose music broke barriers across genres, and Jake is an ACM Award-winner who consistently dominates the country charts with some of today’s biggest hits.”

Twain said, “It’s been an incredible year for me, releasing my new album and coming back to country music. I feel it’s time for me to add my own support in finding our greatest undiscovered talent. It’s beyond thrilling to be leading the charge with Real Country, and I’m on a mission to find artists who will keep country music diverse and dynamic. The kind of diversity that inspired all of us.”

Added Owen, “Country music truly seems to be the healing factor in a lot of people’s lives. I will always be grateful for music, whether I’m performing or listening, and I want to encourage up-and-coming artists to tell their stories, find their audiences and make their mark in country music with the same guidance that artists have given to me throughout my journey.”

Artists interested in being invited to perform on one of Real Country’s showcases can apply at realcountry.castingcrane.com or via email at [email protected].

Ryan Kinder Joins John Fogerty, ZZ Top On Blues And Bayous Summer Tour

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Ryan Kinder is hitting the road this summer with a couple of his heroes on the John Fogerty and ZZ Top Blues And Bayous Tour. The 20-city trek launches May 26 in Holmdel, New Jersey, and continues through June with stops in Pensacola, West Palm Beach, Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, and more.

Following a successful UK tour earlier this Spring, Kinder will also head back overseas July 8 where he’ll share the bill with some heroes on the BarclayCard Presents British Summer Time Hyde Park 2018 concert in London. The sold-out concert will feature music icons Eric Clapton, Santana, Steve Winwood, Gary Clark, Jr. and many more. The Hyde Park concert has special meaning to Kinder, since Clapton was the first concert he ever attended as a child, and he says it was where he first dreamed of being on stage and singing and playing the rest of his life.

“Honored doesn’t truly express the elation I feel to be able to perform with such rock ‘n’ roll royalty,” says Kinder. “It’s a strange and beautiful hilarity to me to have this amazing opportunity to share the bill with legends I listen to almost daily.”

BLUES & BAYOUS TOUR DATES:
May 26: Holmdel, NJ / P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
May 27: Uncasville, CT / Mohegan Sun Arena
May 29-30: Vienna, VA / Wolf Trap Center for The Performing Arts
June 1: Pensacola, FL / Pensacola Bay Center
June 2: Clearwater, FL / Coachman Park
June 3: West Palm Beach, FL / Coral Sky Amphitheatre
June 5: St. Augustine, FL / St. Augustine Amphitheatre
June 6: Atlanta, GA / Chastain Park Amphitheatre
June 10: Oklahoma City, OK / Zoo Amphitheatre
June 12: Highland Park, IL / Ravinia Festival
June 13: Nobelsville, IN / Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
June 14: Cincinnati, OH / Riverbend Music Festival
June 16: Southaven, MS / Snowden Grove Amphitheater
June 17: Maryland Heights, MO / Holly Casino Amphitheatre
June 19: Youngstown, OH / Covelli Centre
June 20: Wantagh, NY / Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
June 22: Gilford, NH / Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
June 23: Canandaigua, NY / Constellation Brands – Marving Sands PAC
June 24: Camden, NJ / BB&T Pavilion
June 27: Clarkston, MI / DTE Energy Music Theatre

Change the Conversation Celebrates Anniversary of Chicks With Hits On May 1

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Change the Conversation will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Chicks With Hits by holding a panel featuring several members of Chicks with Hits at BMI on May 1 at 6 p.m., immediately following the group’s party.

Change the Conversation co-founder Tracy Gershon will lead a discussion with the founders of Chicks With Hits about the group’s beginnings and successes, as well as how they are working together in the new age of publishing.

Chicks With Hits was founded 20 years ago by Mighty Kimmy Jo Music’s Kim Jones and Wrensong/Rezonant Publishing’s Abbe Nameche to help female independent music publishers receive the same attention as larger music publishers from producers, A&R executives and artists.

The group has included publishing leaders Celia Froehlig, Courtney Crist, Debbie Zavitson, Diana Maher, Janie West, Jewel Coburn, Judy Harris, Leslie T. DiPiero, Lisa Johnson, Melanie Howard, Ree Guyer, Robin Palmer, Stephanie Cox, Tracy Gershon, Lisa Ramsey-Perkins, Katherine B. Church, Karen Conrad, Shawn Heflin and Whitney Daane.

MusicRow recently spoke with several members of Chicks With Hits, to discuss the group’s 20-year history.

The event is free and open to the public. To attend, please RSVP at [email protected].

In Pictures: SOLID, SOURCE, RaeLynn

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SOLID Helps Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee

Back row, left to right: SOLID board members Lindsey Hughes (Chair, Communications), Nathan Pyle (VP), Bailey Lathem (Co-Chair, Community Outreach), Avery King (Co-Chair, Communications), Collin Trudan (Chair, Community Outreach), Elise Anderson (Secretary), Grayson Flatness (Co-Chair, Music Market), Pete Stormer (Chair, University Outreach), Ammie Sorter (Co-Chair, University Outreach); Front row, left to right: SOLID board members Max Weibrecht (Co-Chair, Social), Rachel Glidden (Chair, Social), Amanda Remo (Treasurer), Erin Pettit (Chair, Music Market) and Johnny Cloherty (President). Download.

The Society of Leaders In Development (SOLID) raised more than $52,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee (BBBSMT) at their annual Music Row Madness event held at Topgolf. The fundraiser broke records for both organizations: the event, previously known as the annual Bowling for Kids’ Sake bowling event, pulled in more money then any single BBBSMT bowling event in history and became SOLID’s most successful fundraiser in its 20+ years.

 

 

Erin Crawford At SOURCE

Pictured (L-R): Source President, City National Bank’s, Mandy Gallagher; Music Business Association’s, Jamie Litt, SVP, Entertainment & GM, Music, Nielsen, Erin Crawford; Source Vice President, Iconic Entertainment Group’s Alicia Lanier Jones.

Music Business Association’s Nashville Community Relations Rep., Jamie Litt, and Erin Crawford, SVP, Entertainment & GM, Music – Nielsen, were the guest speakers at the Monthly SOURCE luncheon held at ASCAP in Nashville Thursday April 26, 2018.

 

RaeLynn Visits WME

Pictured (L-R): Kerry Hansen (co-Manager, Big Enterprises), Risha Rodgers (Partner, WME), Sloane Logue (Agent, WME), Michelle Kirk (Agent, WME), Becky Gardenhire (Partner, WME), RaeLynn, Morgan Kenney (Agent, WME), Carrie Murphy (Agent, WME), Jenn Witherell (co-Manager, Big Enterprises), Brandi Brammer (Agent, WME)

RAELYNN visited her agency home WME  for a spirited performance of new music, including her new empowerment anthem, “Queens Don’t,” which exclusively premiered on SiriusXM’s The Highway last month. The breakout performer previewed new tracks atop The Steps at WME, thanking them for their five plus years of partnership and the role they played in many accolades such as her headline RAvE tour, ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year nomination and more than 230 million cumulative on-demand career streams.

DISClaimer: Abby Anderson, Devin Dawson, Travis Denning, Muscadine Bloodline Top New Releases

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Today belongs to the “young country” crowd.

Veterans Montgomery Gentry and Sugarland take a back seat to an outstanding parade of up-and-comers in this edition of DisClaimer. Jordan Davis, Ashley Monroe, Tyler Farr and Maddie & Tae all have listenable new tunes.

The Disc of the Day award goes to another rising young artist, Devin Dawson.

There’s so much fine new talent here that I am splitting the DisCovery Award into three salutes. The Duo/Group winner is Muscadine Bloodline. The Female winner is Abby Anderson. The Male honoree is Travis Denning. Live long and prosper, all of you.

TRAVIS DENNING/David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Mercury (CDX)
– Pretty dang cool. He sings like a country pro, and the song has hooks in all the right places. Big bonus points for compositional creativity, since it’s undoubtedly the first song ever written exclusively about a fake I.D.

TYLER FARR/Love By The Moon
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Columbia
– Punchy. His tightly-wound, slightly strangulated vocal style is ear catching. And you can’t beat a lyric hook like, “Live by the sun/Love by the moon,” even if the rest of the lyric is standard-issue bro-country.

ABBY ANDERSON/Make Him Wait
Writers: Anderson/Josh Kerr/Tom Douglas; Producer: Josh Kerr; Publishers: Tunes of Black River/Purple Keystone/Songs of Black River/Whistlepig Winners/Sony-ATV Tree/Tomdouglasmusic, BMI/ASCAP; Black River
– Luminous. Melting with warmth. Its message to young girls about holding onto your innocence is worthy. To have your ears really pinned back, experience this artist live. She is a Fourth-of-July sparkler of a personality.

SUGARLAND & TAYLOR SWIFT/Babe
Writers: Swift/Patrick Monahan; Producers: Kristian Bush/Jennifer Nettles/Brandon Bush/Julian Raymond/Zoe Rosen/Brianna Steinitz; Publishers: none listed; Big Machine
– It’s a sugary pop confection that tastes delicious. A production recipe with more nutritious ingredients might have served its lyric of disappointment and rejection better.

MUSCADLINE BLOODLINE/Movin’ On
Writers: Gary Stanton/Charlie Muncaster/Cary Barlowe; Producer: Luke Laird; Publishers: none listed; Creative Nation
– Excitement from the get-go. The pulse-quickening rhythm, the churning guitars and the twin male harmonies grab you by the collar. Then the excellently crafted lyric about getting over a heartbreak delights your brain. Lend this Alabama duo your ears. Right now.

MONTGOMERY GENTRY/Get Down South
Writers: John Wiggins/Bob Moffat/Clint Moffat/Troy Johnson; Producers: Shannon Houchins/Noah Gordon; Publisher: none listed; Average Joes
– Rowdy, Dixie-fried party music.

JORDAN DAVIS/Take It From Me
Writers: Jordan Davis/Jacob Davis/Jason Gantt; Producers: Paul DiGiovanni; Publishers: ole Red Cape/Jordan Davis/ReHits/Me GustaSony-ATV Tree, Songs of Red Bandana, ASCAP/BMI; MCA Nashville
– Tuneful and cheerful. The processed vocal is a little off-putting, but the overall upbeat attitude is infectious.

ASHLEY MONROE/Wild Love
Writers: Ashley Monroe/Waylon Payne/Brendan Benson; Producer: Dave Cobb; Publishers: Monroe Suede/Songs of Kobalt/Tiltawhirl/Carnival/BMG Gold/Gladsad/BMG Rights Mngmnt, BMI/ASCAP; Warner Bros.
– Misty and mysterious. Her dreamy vocal performance floats in a minor-key arrangement featuring sighing organ notes, strummy guitars, echoey background voices and complimentary string phrases. Beautifully haunting.

DEVIN DAWSON/Asking For A Friend
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Atlantic
– The conversational lyric is just terrific. His super-warm vocal performance is sprinkled with stardust. The wafting production is pristine and perfect. This romantic come-on should absolutely dissolve female listeners.

MADDIE & TAE/Friends Don’t
Writers: Maddie Marlow/Taylor Dye/Jon Nite/Justin Ebach; Producers: Jimmy Robbins/Derek Wells; Publisher: none listed; Mercury
– The song is there and, as always, their voices are beyond dandy. The production seems a little dense and busy on first listen, but I think I could definitely get used to this.

Nashville Quintet Birdtalker To Release Debut Album In June

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Nashville-based quintet Birdtalker will release its debut album, One, on June 22. The group’s song “Heavy” recently earned more than 21 million streams on Spotify, with no label support.

Fronted by couple Zack and Dani Green, Birdtalker blends elements of Americana, folk and pop, taking their name from an anecdote about St. Francis of Assisi’s ability to converse with sparrows.

“The way I experience life is that if you experience a sad thing, it’s almost by letting yourself dive straight down into it and feel the stuff that those things don’t have a hold on you anymore,” described Dani of the new single. “If you ever want to move past the sadness, you have to let it be there for a little while. And then once you allow it to move through you, your heart is still broken, but there’s this beauty in knowing that new growth will happen soon.”

Birdtalker’s path to formation was, much like the success of “Heavy,” hardly planned out.

“Neither of us were in bands before we started this one,” said Dani. The Greens figured out they had some harmonic alchemy early in their relationship, but neither had performed music in public before, even solo, much less imagined starting a band. Zack admits he hadn’t even been much of a music lover growing up, but suddenly found himself exposed to a whole new world of music in his 20s. He began drifting towards emotionally intent acts while writing songs with his similarly newly muse-stricken spouse.

Eventually, drummer Andrew Hubright, guitarist Brian Seligman, and bassist Jesse Baker drifted in, adding new elements until the band found a fully-fledged sound, which led to the breakthrough song “Heavy.”

Track List:
01) Ankle Bone
02) Nothing’s Right
03) Looking For Love
04) Outside The Lines
05) Autodomesticated Animal
06) Free Like A Broken Heart
07) Be Where You Are
08) Heavy
09) Medea
10) Take It Slow
11) One

Nashville Best Cellars Dinner Raises $215,000 For T.J. Martell Foundation

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Pictured (L-R): Chantel Esposito, John Esposito (Chairman & CEO, WMN), John Sanzo (President, Secure Air Charter), Nataliia Sanzo, Eliza Kraft Olander, Melissa Beckham, Rob Beckham (Co-Head, WME Nashville) Photo credit: Rick Diamond / Getty Images

The 19th Annual Nashville Best Cellars dinner on Monday night (April 23) featured celebrity attendees including Frankie Ballard, Big Kenny (Big & Rich), Kix Brooks, Martina McBride, Michael Ray, Dan Smyers (Dan + Shay), Old Dominion, RaeLynn, Reba McEntire, and more, and the event’s gourmet food, exquisite wines and resulted in over $215,000 raised for the T.J. Martell Foundation.

At the helm of the event were co-chairs and industry staples Rob Beckham (Co-Head, WME Nashville), John Esposito (Chairman & CEO, Warner Music Nashville) and Eliza Kraft Olander.

The dinner featured cuisine prepared by award-winning chefs Joseph Lenn (J.C. Holdway – Knoxville, TN), Steven Satterfield (Miller Union – Atlanta, GA), Matt Bolus (404 Kitchen – Nashville, TN) and Lisa Donovan (Nashville-based pastry chef). Satterfield introduced the first course with his vegetable-paired smoked cobia, leading into Lenn’s pork collar with potatoes, ramps, fiddlehead ferns and ham hock. Bolus followed up with lamb sugo and ricotta cavatelli, and Donovan wrapped the evening with black pepper and pecan pavolova, Louisiana strawberries and sweet cream.

Pairing “Best Sellers” (popular chart-topping and award winning artists) with “Best Cellars” (some of the top wine collectors in the United States), the event has helped raise money to support the foundation’s mission of funding ground-breaking cancer research since 1999.