Weekly Register: Brett Eldredge Leads Top Album Sales Chart With Self-Titled Project

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Brett Eldredge is the top sales leader this week with his self-titled album landing at the top of the overall current albums chart, as well as the current country albums chart, with 36K for the week. On the Top 200, his new album debuts at No. 2, with 45.2K in total activity just behind Kendrick Lamar’s Damn. project, with 46.5K.

Following Eldredge on the current country albums chart is perennial Chris Stapleton, who continues to sell with his From A Room Vol. 1 at 8.3 K, and his Traveller at 6.6K. Various Artists on Now Country 10 is at No. 4 with 6K, and Tyler Childers’ Purgatory rounds out the Top 5 with 5.5K.

Following last week’s death of music icon Glen Campbell, his 20 Greatest Hits collection comes in at No. 6 on the country albums chart, and tops the country catalog chart, with 5.1K sold.

On the digital side, San Hunt continues his chart domination with his monster smash “Body Like A Back Road,” which logs 37K this week to bring his total to 1.508 million RTD. Rounding out the top five are Kane Brown‘s “What Ifs” with 19K, Dustin Lynch‘s “Small Town Boy” with 16K, Midland‘s “Drinkin’ Problem” at 12K, and Rhett Thomas‘ “Unforgettable” with 12K.

Gregg Allman Album To Be Celebrated With Trio Of September Events, Including Nashville

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Rounder Records has announced a series of special events celebrating Southern Blood, the final album from the legendary Gregg Allman. Billed as Southern Blood: Celebrating Gregg Allman, Los Angeles will host the first event, to be held Sept. 7 at The GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater. The event will see Devon Allman, longtime friend and manager Michael Lehman, Gregg Allman Band guitarist/musical director Scott Sharrard, and Southern Blood producer Don Was joining GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Scott Goldman to pay homage to Allman with an exceptional evening of stories, memories, and incredible music.

On Sept. 9, Allman will be posthumously honored with the key to his beloved hometown of Macon, GA by Mayor Robert Reichert, in a celebration declaring Dec. 8 (Allman’s birthday) to be known as “Gregg Allman Day.” A commemorative celebration will then be held at The Allman Brothers Band Museum at The Big House (2321 Vineville Avenue, Macon, GA 31204). In addition, that same evening will see The Big House hosting a Southern Blood: Celebrating Gregg Allman event, featuring again Devon Allman, Lehman, Sharrard in addition to Allman’s closest friend Chank Middleton joined by Chuck Reece, Editor-in-Chief of The Bitter Southerner.

The third and final Southern Blood: Celebrating Gregg Allman event will be presented at the 18th annual AMERICANAFEST: The Americana Music Festival & Conference, set for Sept. 15 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater in Nashville, TN. The event will again feature Devon Allman and Lehman, who will share the stage with musicians Buddy Miller, Joan Osborne, Pony Bradshaw, and John Paul White, once again joined by Goldman.

American Express pre-sale ticketing began Aug. 10 for the Los Angeles event; all remaining tickets will be released to the general public on Thursday, Aug. 17 at noon. For more information, visit grammymuseum.org.

Southern Blood hits shelves Friday, Sept. 8, including the new original song, “My Only True Friend,” written by Allman with Sharrard. The track premiered earlier this summer exclusively via NPR Music.

Midland To Release Big Machine Records Debut ‘On The Rocks’ In September

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Country music trio Midland have revealed the title, cover, and track list for their Big Machine Records debut, On The Rocks, which releases Sept. 22.  All 13 tracks on the album were written or co-written by Midland members Mark Wystrach, Cameron Duddy, and Jess Carson.

“We’ve poured our hearts and souls into writing and making these songs and are extremely proud of what we’ve been able to create,” said Wystrach.

“On The Rocks is a confluence of our musical tastes and our reverence for classic country,” said Duddy.

“This record is truly a nod to the time period we are influenced by and is an effort to bring that sound and that pageantry back to the forefront,” added Carson.

Produced by Dann Huff, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, On The Rocks gives a blast of vibrant color and texture to today’s country, with “Drinkin’ Problem” leading the charge. The song and its ear-catching vibe has piqued the interest of all who hear it and is among the most searched-for country songs on Shazam. It had been RIAA certified Gold and recently went to No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart. It’s music video is directed by Duddy, who has four 2017 MTV Video Music Awards nominations for directing Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” video.

On The Rocks Tack List: 
1. “Lonely For You Only”  (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Rhett Akins, Josh Osborne)
2. “Make A Little” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
3. “Drinkin’ Problem” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
4. “At Least You Cried” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Jonathan Singleton)
5. “Burn Out” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)  
6. “Out Of Sight” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally)
7. “More Than A Fever” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
8. “Check Cashin’ Country” (Jess Carson)
9. “Nothin’ New Under The Neon” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
10. “This Old Heart” (Jess Carson, Mark Wystrach, David Lee Murphy, Jonathan Singleton)
11. “Altitude Adjustment” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Rhett Akins, Rodney Clawson)
12. “Electric Rodeo” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
13. “Somewhere On The Wind” (Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Mark Wystrach, Rhett Akins, Josh Osborne)

The band recently opened for Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and will head out with Jon Pardi on the CMT On Tour this fall.

Fans can begin pre-ordering On The Rocks now in exclusive autographed bundles, available here: http://smarturl.it/OnTheRocksD2C.

Industry Pics: Bailey Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Alex Williams, LANCO, John Mayer, Ronnie Dunn

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Bailey Bryan At The Grand Ole Opry

Pictured (L-R): Warner Music Nashville Chairman/CEO John Esposito and Bailey Bryan.

Warner Music Nashville/300 Entertainment artist Bailey Bryan performed onstage at The Grand Ole Opry for the second time last Friday night (Aug. 11). She was presented with a reserved parking sign following her Opry debut this past May.

 

Florida Georgia Line Hits Grand Slam At Wrigley Field

Pictured: Florida Georgia Line performs at Wrigley Field.

For the first time in their record-breaking career, Florida Georgia Line headlined a trifecta of sold-out stadium shows this summer, culminating with a pinnacle performance at Chicago’s historic Wrigley Field last Saturday night (Aug. 12).

After dominating both Boston’s Fenway Park (July 7) and Minneapolis’ Target Field (July 29), the home of the Chicago Cubs’ baseball team was jam-packed with screaming fans as hip-hop icon Nelly, breakout country star Chris Lane, and pop idols Backstreet Boys joined the duo as part of The Smooth Stadium Tour 2017.

 

Big Machine Celebrates Alex Williams’ Debut LP

Pictured (L-R): Scott Borchetta, President/CEO, Big Machine Label Group; Alex Williams; and Julian Raymond, VP A&R, Big Machine Label Group

Alex Williams performed to a capacity crowd at Nashville’s The Basement East last Friday (Aug. 11) to celebrate the release of his debut album Better Than Myself, out that same day via Big Machine Records.

 

LANCO Performs At Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

LANCO signs their Troubadour membership with Museum Director Kyle Young.

LANCO performs in the Hall of Fame Rotunda.

Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum enlisted Sony Music Nashville band LANCO to introduce millennials to its new Troubadour membership program last Wednesday (Aug. 9), recognizing the importance of the band’s Music City origins and their nod to preserving country music.

Museum Director Kyle Young was on-hand as each member of LANCO signed their own membership. The band also performed an acoustic set in the iconic rotunda before lead singer Brandon Lancaster gave a special dedication to the late Glen Campbell, as his Hall of Fame plaque was covered in flowers nearby.

Fans who were unable to attend the event can watch LANCO’s performance here.

 

Sony Music Nashville Joins John Mayer

Pictured (L-R): Steve Hodges, EVP Promotion, Sony Music Nashville; Shane Allen, VP Promotion, Columbia Nashville; Taylor Lindsey, VP A&R, Sony Music Nashville; Ken Robold, COO, Sony Music Nashville; John Mayer; Randy Goodman, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville; Mark Williams, President of A&R, Columbia Records; and John Zarling, EVP Marketing & New Business, Sony Music Nashville.

Sony Music Nashville executives joined Columbia Records recording artist John Mayer and President of A&R, Mark Williams, last Tuesday night (Aug. 8) for Mayer’s sold-out stop on The Search For Everything Tour at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

 

Ronnie & Janine Dunn Host Tennessee Riverkeeper Fundraiser

Pictured (L-R): Ana Cristina, John Carter Cash, Janine Dunn, Ronnie Dunn, Cheryl Hines, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., David Whiteside (Tennessee Riverkeeper), Barbara Brooks, Kix Brooks, Reba McEntire, and Tom Heins [click photo to enlarge]

Ronnie and Janine Dunn hosted a fundraising event at their Nashville home on Aug. 5 to benefit the Tennessee Riverkeeper. Through generous donations from guests, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the event raised almost the entire yearly operating budget for the organization in just one evening.

Miranda Lambert’s Raw Honesty In “Vice” Pays Platinum Dividends

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Credit: Daniela Federici

Miranda Lambert’s award-winning slow-burn ballad “Vice” has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

The tune has already garnered Lambert plenty of honors, including receiving Grammy and ACM nods for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song as well as Single Of The Year, Song Of The Year (artist and songwriter), and Video Of The Year, and was co-written by Lambert with fellow Grammy award-winning songwriters Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.

The track, released in July of 2016, was the leadoff song from Lambert’s sixth studio album The Weight of These Wings, which also recently reached platinum status.

‘American Country Countdown With Kix Brooks’ Switches Ranking Source to Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart

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Westwood One has announced American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks will begin utilizing Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart as it counts down each week’s top 40 country songs in the United States, beginning the weekend of Sept. 9-10. Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart is based on actual radio play as monitored by Nielsen Music.

American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks had previously used weekly data from Mediabase since 2009, though Nielsen’s data originally served as the chart source for the program, beginning with American Country Countdown‘s inception in 1973 and running through 2009.

“We could not be more excited to have Billboard’s country radio chart back on the air, exclusively with American Country Countdown,” says Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard’s vice president of Charts and Data Development. “Our partnership with Kix Brooks, a chart-topping legend himself, and the Westwood One team, will give country fans everywhere unparalleled insight into the week’s biggest country songs.”

Brooks said, “Having ACC and Billboard back together is long overdue. American Country Countdown was established on the Billboard chart information in 1973, so I’m thrilled that we were able to reestablish that history and relationship.”

Bryan Switzer, Westwood One’s VP/GM Music & Entertainment/Country, added “We’re thrilled to have reunited two iconic brands with American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks and Billboard. Through the years, both have earned the trust and respect of the listening public and the industry. It will be great to hear them together again each and every weekend.”

 

More Two-Day Passes Released For Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival

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The City of Franklin has approved an increase of 2,500 additional two-day passes to be sold for the third annual Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, slated for Sept. 23-24 in Franklin, Tennessee.

Tier Three Two-Day Passes will be available for $275, beginning Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. CT at pilgrimagefestival.com.

Entertainers slated for the festival include Justin Timberlake, Eddie Vedder, Ryan Adams, The Avett Brothers, Mavis Staples and more.

“We couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to allow more fans to experience both the city of Franklin and Pilgrimage while at the same time still keeping it a boutique festival for the entire family,” co-founder Brandt Wood said.

The family friendly festival also announced the Vanderbilt Health Lil’ Pilgrim’s Family Stage will feature performances by Ralph’s World, Red Yarn, Steve Elci & Friends, Tom Mason & The Blue Buccaneers, Michael Dardant, Taft Brown (Saturday only), Little Miss Ann (Sunday only), The Texas Gentlemen (Saturday only) and more.

The Pilgrimage Foundation, the festival’s non-profit arm, will donate a portion of each ticket sale to benefit the City of Franklin and Friends of Franklin Parks. Dark Horse Institute is also a charitable beneficiary as the Pilgrimage Foundation is providing scholarships to engineering students to support careers in the music industry as the foundation’s commitment to education in Williamson County. In addition to these local contributions, a portion of ticket sales will also benefit MusiCares, a nonprofit organization that was established by The Recording Academy® to provide a wide range of emergency financial assistance and addiction recovery resources to members of the music community.

Rick Ferrell Releases ‘Home For The Weekend’

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Singer/songwriter Rick Ferrell has released a new album, Home for the Weekend.

“The album has something for everyone who loves country music,” said Ferrell about the new project. “I did a lot of reflecting on my upbringing in Portsmouth Ohio, and I believe you can hear that in my songs.”

Ferrell has had success penning hits for artists like Tim McGraw (“Something Like That”), Martina McBride (“Where Would You Be”), and others including Montgomery Gentry, the Swon Brothers, and Earl Thomas Conley. He was awarded the prestigious five million-air play honor from BMI at the Key West Songwriter’s Festival last year. 

Home For The Weekend Track Listing:
1. Home for the Weekend
2. Tom and Huck
3. Good Time Buzz
4. When Those Angels Come For Me
5. Over You Again
6. Houston
7. Broke Down With You
8. Happy People
9. Down on a Beach
10. I Don’t Think She’s Coming Back
11. One More
12. That’s My Dog

CMA Awards Second Round Ballot Voting Opens Today

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The second round of voting has begun today (Aug. 14) for the upcoming 51st Annual CMA Awards. Member voting is open now through Aug. 24.

The final nominees in each of the 12 categories will be announced later this summer. Winners of the 51st Annual CMA Awards will be determined in a final round of voting. The third and final ballot will be emailed to Country Music Association members Monday, Oct. 2. Voting for the CMA Awards’ final ballot ends Tuesday, Oct. 24 (6 p.m.  CT).

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will return for the 10th consecutive year to host the 51st Annual CMA Awards when it airs live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Nov. 8.

ASCAP Appoints Tristan Boutros To Chief Technology Officer Post

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ASCAP has named Tristan Boutros as Chief Technology Officer for the performing rights organization. Boutros will be based in New York and will report to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Brian Roberts.

In his new position, Boutros will lead ASCAP’s evolving technology strategy and execution to scale the global IT systems and infrastructure in support of ASCAP’s business transformation initiatives, encompassing ASCAP’s cloud strategy, including elastic computing and API roadmap. 

Boutros joins ASCAP from The New York Times, where he served as Chief of Operations. Prior to the Times, Tristan spent three years as Senior Vice President, Technology and Business Process at Warner Music Group. He has also held senior technology roles at BlackBerry and IAC. In addition to his full time position, he also currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, and is the co-author of several books, including The Basics of Process Improvement with Jennifer Cardella.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tristan to the ASCAP team,” said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews. “He brings a unique combination of the understanding of third party technology solutions available in the market as a complement to his technical expertise in building internal solutions. His experience helping top organizations achieve their technology goals make him the perfect person for this role.”

“I am excited to have the chance to create an incredibly robust platform at ASCAP, developing the tools and experiences that further empower our members and licensees; and change the way they work, communicate, and receive payment,” said Boutros. “I look forward to working with the whole team at ASCAP to bring this future to our members, and to unlock new capabilities for all of us.”