Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban Get RIAA Heavy Metal

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Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley are among the artists earning sales honors for April 2o17.

As previously announced, Urban’s Ripcord album, released in 2016, has gone platinum. In April, he saw platinum album certifications for three additional albums, as well as a gold certification for Ripcord.

Meanwhile, Bentley saw two singles certifications from his latest album Black. “Different For Girls,” featuring Elle King, earned platinum sales, while Black‘s title track went gold.

Brett Eldredge, Brett Young, and Luke Combs also saw sales certifications for the month of April 2017.

Platinum Single:

Dierks Bentley, “Different For Girls,” Capitol Nashville

Gold Singles:

Brett Eldredge, “Wanna Be That Song,” Atlantic Records

Brett Young, “In Case You Didn’t Know,” Big Machine Records

Dierks Bentley, “Black,” Capitol Records Nashville

Luke Combs, “Hurricane,” Columbia Nashville/River House Artists

Platinum Albums:

Keith Urban, Ripcord, Capitol Nashville

Keith Urban, Fuse, Capitol Nashville

Keith Urban, Greatest Hits-18 Kids, Capitol Nashville

Keith Urban, Get Closer, Capitol Nashville

Gold Album: 

Keith Urban, Ripcord, Capitol Nashville

In Pictures: Thistle Farms Celebrates 20th Anniversary

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Pictured (L-R): Hal Cato, CEO, Thistle Farms; Amanda Shires; Shemekia Copeland; Becca Stevens, Founder, Thistle Farms; Reba McEntire; John Prine and Jason Isbell. Photo: Rick Diamond

Pictured (L-R): Reba McEntire and John Prine. Photo: Rick Diamond

Pictured (L-R): Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell. Photo: Rick Diamond

Reba McEntire, Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Shemekia Copeland and special guest John Prine descended on the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville Wednesday night (May 3) for a fundraising event, Love Letters At The Ryman, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Thistle Farms. The evening featured rousing collaborations between the all-star lineup, punctuated by the inspirational testimonials of the women of Thistle Farms, survivors of addiction, prostitution and trafficking.

The event also saw Founder & President Becca Stevens and CEO Hal Cato share their belief that “Love Heals” and their personal experiences that led them to the achievements of Thistle Farms today. Reba brought the evening to a close, embracing the community warmth of the organization and inviting all of the previous performers from the night to the stage for a crowd singalong of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”

Photo: Rick Diamond

The City of Nashville also honored the occasion by lighting up major landmarks across town in purple, as a nod to Thistle Farms’ signature color. Ascend Amphitheater, Bridgestone Arena, Gateway Bridge, Hotel Indigo, Nashville Courthouse, Omni Hotel and The Parthenon all joined in on the festivities.

Pictured (L-R): Carolyn Snell, Associate Manager to Reba McEntire; Rita Childs; Hal Cato; Angel, Rachel; Becca Stevens; Reba McEntire; Regina Mullins and Sheila McClain. Photo: Rick Diamond

Thistle Farms’ mission is to heal, empower and employ women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. This is done by providing safe and supportive housing, the opportunity for economic independence, and a strong community of advocates and partners. Founded by “2016 CNN Hero” Becca Stevens in 1997 under the name Magdalene, it now employs 50 local survivors and supports over 1,500 women through global partners and a national network of sister organizations.

For more information on Thistle Farms, visit thistlefarms.org.

Artist Updates: Bristol Rhythm & Roots, Isom Innis, Jimmy Wayne

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Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Festival Announces Lineup

The lineup for the 17th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival, slated for Sept. 15—17, 2017, was announced at a media event last night (May 4) at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Historic Downtown Bristol.

Dwight Yoakam, Judah & The Lion, Rodney Crowell, The SteelDrivers, Amanda Shires, Son Volt, and more will perform at the festival, which hosts an estimated 40,000 attendees across 20 outdoor stages and indoor venues with more than 120 acts of live music over the course of the three-day weekend. The entire 2017 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion artist lineup, as well as weekend wristbands, are available at bristolrhythm.com

 

Restless Heart’s Dave Innis Performs With Son Isom At His Wedding

Pictured (L-R): Sean Cimino (FTP), Marshall Young Sr., Marshall Young Jr., Isom Innis (FTP), Mark Foster (FTP), Dave Innis (Restless Heart), Mark Pontius (FTP). Photo: Kim DeVilbiss

Restless Heart member Dave Innis performed at his son Isom‘s wedding last weekend in Fort Worth, Texas. Innis’ son, a member of the Platinum-selling pop band, Foster The People, married actress Carlson Young, best known for her role on the MTV series, Scream. Innis surprised his son and new daughter-in-law with a song, accompanying Carlson’s friend Whitney Davis as she serenaded the couple with the classic Etta James tune, “At Last.” He also joined his son and his bandmates onstage to perform several tunes.

The evening ended with both father of the bride, Texas oilman Marshall Young Sr., and father of the groom, Innis, sharing the stage with Foster the People and Los Angeles-based Beatles tribute band Abbey Road to perform “Hey Jude.”

 

Jimmy Wayne Hosts UJA Publishing Dinner

Pictured (L-R): Jimmy Wayne with Dennis Abboud, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO of Readerlink

Jimmy Wayne recently hosted the UJA – Federation of New York’s Publishing Division Dinner at the Grand Hyatt in New York, at the request of this year’s honoree, Dennis Abboud. More than 500 attended the prestigious event, including Ellie Berger, President, Trade Publishing, Scholastic Inc.

“Dennis and I met during the release of my second book, Walk To Beautiful, a title he helped get into 7,000 grocery stores, in partnership with Coca-Cola,” said Wayne. “He is a hard worker, humble and someone I have great respect for. It was an honor to be here tonight to show my support of this leader and the great work UJA – Federation of New York has done for 100 years.”

Country Radio Seminar Appoints 12 New Agenda Committee Members

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The Country Radio Seminar has selected 12 new industry members to join its 2017-2018 Seminar Agenda Committee. The Agenda Committee members lead the discussion in planning the agenda for CRS 2018, set for February 5-7 at Nashville’s Omni Hotel. Heading up this year’s Agenda Committee is Greg Frey (Cumulus) serving as Chairman, alongside Co-Chairmen Judy Lakin (Cox) and Jay Cruze (iHeartMedia).

The new Agenda Committee members include Josh Bennett (Nielsen Music), EJ Bernas (Social Pulse Media), Bill Macky (Black River Entertainment), Brent Michaels (KUZZ/KRJK/Buck Owens Prod.), Lou Ramirez (Warner Music Nashville), Larry Rosin (Edison Research), Toby Tucker (Neuhoff Media), Monta Vaden (All Access), Lisa Wall (WLHK/Emmis), Robin Ward (KFRG), Erich West (iHeartMedia/WDRM), and Sue Wilson (Rubber City Radio Group/WQMX).

Returning Agenda Committee members are: Lee Adams (Broken Bow Records), Sam Alex (Townsquare Media), Andrew Curran (DMR/Interactive), Tim Gerst (Thinkswell), Carolyn Gilbert (NuVoodoo Media), Jeff James (Signet Interactive), Bruce Logan (CBS Radio), Billy McKim (Texas A&M University), Eric Michaels (WTHI-Midwest Communications), Terry Phillips (CBS/WYCD), J.R. Schumann (SiriusXM), Jenny Shields (Premiere Radio Networks), and Brook Stephens (Leighton Broadcasting).

Weekly Chart Report (5/5/17)

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Click here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.

Ricky Skaggs, Johnny Cash To Be Featured In CMHoF Sessions

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Ricky Skaggs

Ricky Skaggs and Johnny Cash will be spotlighted in upcoming events at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Skaggs will be the subject of a museum program on Saturday, May 13 at 2 p.m. CT, highlighting his 50+ years in entertainment.

The 75-minute event will be hosted by the museum’s Peter Cooper. Skaggs will talk with Cooper about his remarkable life in music and perform briefly. It will be illustrated with vintage photos, film footage, and recordings. Following the event, Skaggs will sign copies of his autobiography Kentucky Traveler: My Life in Music and the album Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass – Tribute to 1946 and 1947, available for purchase in the Museum Store.

On Saturday, May 27, the CMHoF will host an afternoon with Cindy, Kathy, Rosanne and Tara Cash, daughters of Johnny Cash, for Becoming Our Father: Johnny Cash’s Daughters In Conversation. The program will take place at 2 p.m. in the CMA Theater.

In this in-depth interview—also hosted by Cooper—the daughters will share their stories, remembrances, and perspectives on Johnny Cash, while discussing and sharing photographs never seen outside the family.

Family scrapbooks on exhibit at the CMHoF offer a personal look at the world, through the camera lens and the words of young J.R. Cash. In the early 1950s, the man who would become Johnny Cash joined the U. S. Air Force and left rural Arkansas, sailed across the Atlantic to Florence, Italy, and then traveled by plane to a military base in Germany. While stationed in Europe, he photographed people and places, and made meticulous notes about his discoveries and adventures. His photographs and notes are contained in two personal scrapbooks, kept by daughters Cindy, Kathy, Rosanne, and Tara Cash and reproduced in the museum display I’ve Been Everywhere: Becoming Johnny Cash.

Both programs will also be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming.

MusicRowPics: The Railers Catch A New Groove With “11:59 (Central Standard Time)”

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The Railers. Photo: Haley Crow

It’s rare to hear a concertina in modern country music, but new Atlantic/WMN trio The Railers incorporates a variety of such instrumentation into their engaging stage show.

“This was the very first instrument I got,” said The Railers member Cassandra Lawson of her heavily used instrument. “It’s more gaffe tape than squeezebox. It’s kind of like Willie’s guitar, you just want it to keep going.”

The trio of singer-songwriters includes brothers Jordan and Jonathan Lawson, and Jonathan’s wife Cassandra. The brothers met Cassandra in college, and they discovered they all had similar musical ambitions. After moving to Nashville, Jordan became a sideman playing with Josh Turner, while Jonathan got a similar gig playing with Sara Evans. In 2010, the trio quit their full-time jobs to wholeheartedly pursue their own aspirations of becoming recording artists. In 2012, they signed with Warner Music Nashville.

In 2014, they released the EP The Railers: The Geraldine Session, as well as the single “Kinda Dig The Feeling,” which was featured on the television series Nashville.

Now they are back with the groovy, infectious new single “11:59 (Central Standard Time),” and have been on the road for the past two months performing the track for radio station programmers around the country.

The track’s feel-good, breezy melody further elevates party-ready lyrics that include Spin the records round, if we blow the speakers out/We’ll just rock this mother a cappella.

“We looked for a long time to find something that felt infectious and catchy and felt like us,” said Jonathan.

The Railers with MusicRow staff.

During a recent visit to the MusicRow office, The Railers offered acoustic renditions of tracks including “11:59 (Central Standard Time)”, along with “These Hands,” “Just Friends,” which Jonathan says is “about when you are in that stage of the relationship where you are just friends with somebody, but you are both kind of hoping it becomes something more.”

See the trio’s retro-themed video for “11:59 (CST)” below:

YouTube video

Americana Honors & Awards Nomination Ceremony To Stream Live

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The 2017 Americana Honors & Awards Nomination Ceremony will be streamed live on Tues., May 9 from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater.

The event will feature an intimate musical celebration featuring hosts The Milk Carton Kids, with special guests to be announced.

Visit countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming starting at 2 p.m. CT to share this special afternoon.

The Americana Honors & Awards will be held Sept. 13 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Warner/Chappell Production Music Names Director Of Licensing

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Steve Swenson

Warner/Chappell Production Music has appointed Steve Swenson as Director of Licensing. In this role, Swenson will focus on developing the company’s licensing reach in sports, broadcast and corporate markets, and he will be based in Tampa, Florida.

Swenson joins Warner/Chappell Production Music from HSN, where he oversaw audio strategy.

He can be reached at steve.swenson@warnerchappellpm.com.

GMA Honors Celebration To Recognize Amy Grant, Yolanda Adams, Natalie Grant And More

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The 4th Annual GMA Honors Celebration is set for May 9 at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville. This year’s celebration inductees include Steve Green, Yolanda Adams, Gold City Quartet, and Reunion Records founders Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell. The 2017 honorees include Amy Grant for Helping Hands, Dr. Shirley Caesar for Shirley Caesar Outreach Ministries, Compassion International, and Natalie Grant for Hope for Justice.

Tye Tribbett and Jekalyn Carr will join Donnie McClurkin in a tribute to Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame inductee Yolanda Adams at the Honors Celebration.

“The Gospel Music Association is proud to celebrate this year’s Hall of Fame inductees and to recognize the philanthropy of our worthy honorees,” said GMA president Jackie Patillo. “GMA Honors is a great opportunity for our music community to come together and commemorate our trailblazers as well as those who are giving back to help make life better for others.”

Tables and individual tickets are available for purchase to the event, which include dinner and admission to the honors ceremony. Sponsorships are also available. Ticket and table sponsor information is available at gospelmusichalloffame.org.