My Music Row Story: CMA’s Sarah Trahern

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Sarah Trahern. Photo: Donn Jones

The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.

Sarah Trahern was named CEO of the Country Music Association (CMA) in 2014. With foresight and determination, she has crafted a brand identity for country music and has been at the forefront of some of the industry’s most intentional and strategic initiatives. With a new, robust CMA membership structure in place beginning March 2023, Trahern oversees CMA’s efforts to act as a critical resource for information, a pipeline for individuals across every aspect of the music business and a community partner committed to fostering collaboration and conversation. She also helms the organization’s three acclaimed network television properties, one of the biggest music festivals in the world and serves as President of the CMA Foundation.

Trahern has been instrumental in maintaining and fostering CMA’s relationship with its broadcast partner, ABC, the network home of the CMA Awards, CMA Country Christmas and CMA Fest. Trahern is consistently included on various Billboard lists and has been honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville Business Journal, CRB and NMPA.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Champaign, Illinois until I was 13. Then we moved to Knoxville. My dad was a university professor, so I grew up around college campuses since I was a little kid.

Sarah Trahern. Photo: Courtesy of Trahern

Were you into music?

Oh yes. My mom was a classical viola player. She played in Champaign and ended up playing with UT’s Opera Program when we moved to Knoxville. My dad grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry under the covers, so I grew up with these very divergent [types of music] but just the love of music throughout.

I actually grew up as part of a public school music education program, playing violin from kindergarten through eighth grade. I learned piano and guitar too. One of the things that was so amazing for me once I came to this job in 2014 is that everything we do with the CMA Foundation for music education is a big part of our job. Having been the beneficiary of a public school music education program myself, it felt like my life had really come full circle to something I believed in as a child and now I get to do as my job.

How did you start your career?

I went to college at Georgetown University and studied American political history. I went to college thinking I would be a lawyer or a journalist, and I followed that path into journalism in D.C. I stayed in D.C. covering Congress and campaigns for C-SPAN until 1995. When I was in high school, I picked up the banjo, so while I was going to college in D.C., I would go to a lot of live music shows, particularly at the Birchmere. My first apartment after college was a mile from the Birchmere, so journalism [was] my career and music was my passion.

Sarah Trahern. Photo: Courtesy of Trahern

How did you get to Nashville?

I was looking for a new job. I had interviewed and was one of three finalists to produce Nightline, but I didn’t get the job. I said to myself, “What do I want my life to look like? Do I wanna stay in D.C.? Do I want to go to New York?” I decided I wanted to be in Nashville, and if it took me three months or three years, that’s what I was going to do. About three months later, in 1995, I ended up getting a job at TNN to oversee music specials.

I had a great life in D.C., but I was going to need to move to grow, and getting to do TV specials about my passion was so unbelievable. I shared this story with Wynonna Judd when we announced her as an inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year, but the day I moved, I got in my car and I played a cassette of Wynonna’s with this song, “Is It Over Yet.” I must have worn the tape out by playing that song over and over. I was crying and thinking, “Is it over yet? Am I leaving my D.C. life and making a huge mistake by moving to Nashville?” By the time I got an hour away from D.C., I had cried it all out.

Tell me about your time at TNN.

At TNN, I oversaw all the music specials. I had the TNN Music City News Awards, that later became the CMT Awards. During my time working on that show, we actually moved the awards show from the Opry House to Bridgestone Arena. So when Bridgestone was built, I was the first network executive to do an awards show from there. Many fortuitous opportunities happened during that time. I had a show called Monday Night Concerts—hosted by Ricky Skaggs—that was a precursor to what CMT did with Crossroads, where we might have Wynonna perform with Michael McDonald or Brian Setzer with Marty Stuart. We did that for three seasons over three years.

My very first show at TNN was The Marty Party hosted by Marty Stuart. [On one of the episodes,] the three guests were Alan Jackson, Junior Brown and Johnny Cash. I remember being in the control room at TNN and Johnny came up to the microphone and did his, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” I remember sitting in the control room and going “Oh my gosh, this is my job! This is what I get paid to do for a living.” What is so great is that, to this day, there’s still moments when we get to experience that.

Pictured (L-R): Robert Deaton, Sarah Trahern and Thomas Rhett at rehearsals for the CMA Summer Jam 2021 at Ascend Amphitheater. Photo: John Shearer

What was your next move?

I [was with] TNN until 2001. They closed the network here and moved to New York, but I made the decision not to go with them to New York and to stay here. I went to get my MBA at Vanderbilt during that time and I had my own production company, so I did some work for Scripps Networks in Knoxville and the First Amendment Center. I did the First Amendment Center’s entertainment talk show for PBS as well as a lot of projects for CMT during that time. I did my own thing for two years, which was fine. It was successful and great, but I’m not a sole practitioner. I’m an organizational person. I missed working with people in a collaborative environment.

I went to work for Scripps in 2003, right after I finished my MBA. Scripps had bought a TV shopping network here called the Shop at Home Network. The network’s goal was to take shows that are on the Food Network and [send viewers to] Shop at Home to buy the pots and pans [that were used in the Food Network show]. I learned very quickly that TV shopping was not my passion.

I was about to leave without a job at the end of 2004. Then Scripps bought Great American Country (GAC). The timing was fortuitous that I happened to be at Scripps, even though I was unhappy, when they bought the country network. That’s where my experience and passion was. So at the beginning of 2005, I moved over to GAC. I was at GAC until I was offered this job at the end of 2013.

Sarah Trahern at the Chevy Riverfront Stage during the 2019 CMA Music Festival. Photo: John Russell

What are some of your proudest accomplishments from your time at GAC?

One of the first things that comes to mind is doing the telethon after the Nashville flood in 2010. We were able to work with all of the networks to basically roadblock across the HGTV, Travel and Food networks and bring in talent from all of those networks. We were able to do the program from the Ryman and we raised somewhere between $2 and $2.5 million for the community foundation to help Nashville rebuild.

We also did a show called Country Music at the White House in 2011. Michelle Obama was doing a series of concerts in Washington with different genres of music and they were going to do country. The guests were going to be Charley Pride, Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. Michelle Obama was going to bring music students from around the country to D.C., including kids from W.O. Smith Music School here in Nashville. They were going to get to go to the White House, perform and meet the First Lady and then do something with the artists. My boss at the time, Ed Hardy, and I were in a conference room trying to figure out how we could help the W.O. Smith Music School kids get to Washington for this really cool experience. My assistant got me out of the conference room and said, “You’ve got a call from the White House Social Secretary.” They were calling to see if we wanted to send a TV crew for the show. I just riffed and said, “Yeah, we could do that, but is anybody televising the whole thing? We could provide the cameras for everybody, but we could do it live.” They said, “That sounds really good. We should do that.” I walked back to the conference room and I said to Ed, “Forget just getting the kids to Washington. I think I just committed us to a network special.” [Laughs]

Sarah Trahern and Lainey Wilson during rehearsals for the CMA Summer Jam 2021 at Ascend Amphitheater. Photo: John Shearer

Tell me about joining the CMA.

It was around 2011 or 2012 and I was working with an executive coach. She had this exercise with cards that each had skill sets. With the cards, we created a mission statement. I looked at that and said, “I think I should run the CMA or the Country Music Hall of Fame.” At the time, the CMA job was open. I reached out to somebody here, but it just didn’t really feel like the right time for me, so I didn’t go for it, but always had that in my heart.

Ed retired and I ended up running the GAC network for two years, which was a great experience for me from a business standpoint. I really loved that chapter. Then the CMA job became [available] again. It was perfect—it still had a television component, it had a great organizational mission, message and a really good staff. All of those things aligned. I went to the interview. Thankfully they called me and now I’m in my ninth year and [about to take on] my 10th CMA Fest.

How do you explain what you do?

I sit at this point of a spear between a 75-person Board of Directors—folks that are so engaged in the business—and a 61-person staff. [Industry members] don’t get paid to be [on the] Board of Directors and [it takes up] a lot of time. My job is to activate the staff on behalf of the vision of the board, all driven towards our mission. We all are driven by making country music stronger.

Who have been some of your mentors along the way?

My very first boss Brian Lamb, the former CEO & Founder of C-SPAN, was a great leader. He really brought out the best of everybody on his team. I had a great mentor in a woman named Judy Girard, who was actually my boss at Shop at Home. She was one of the first women to run a TV network and worked at Lifetime, Food Network and HGTV. She is a real straight shooter and is still a really good friend of mine.

I had a boss named Jim Clayton, who gave me the best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten. When you brought him a business problem, he’d [ask a series of questions.] Question one is: “Were any small children affected?” Right now, if I’m faced with a business problem, it’s usually about politics or money. Right at this very moment, someone’s kid is having serious medical issues just a mile away at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, so that puts things in perspective. His second question is: “What’s the problem?” Question three is: “What is the solution?” Nine times out of 10, you know what that solution is. Question four is the key one: “Why aren’t you doing what you know is right?” What impediments are you trying to overcome? Is it politics or money? Is it what people are going to think about you? What you’re really solving is not necessarily the problem, but what’s keeping you from doing what you know is right. I think about that a lot.

Luke Combs and Sarah Trahern during sound check for CMA Summer Jam. Photo: Josh Brasted

Next week, CMA Fest will mark its 50th anniversary. What are some of your favorite CMA Fest memories?

There’s so many of them. CMA Fest is so fun because it’s all about music discovery. There are different experiences at different stages.

During my very first Fest in 2014, I was staying at the Hilton downtown. I write letters to all the artists who do the stadium, because they’re giving up a big day to come do our show for free. We also have notes and pictures from the kids that the CMA Foundation benefits and we put those in with my letter to all the stadium headliners. I had these spread out on the table in the hotel room. The hotel had sent up some fruit and wine and the guy delivering it asked where he should put it. I told him to put it on the table.

He looked at some of the letters and said, “What do you know about this Disney Musicals in Schools at TPAC?” I said, “I’m with the CMA and we support Disney Musicals in Schools through our CMA Foundation. Half of the proceeds from this festival we’re having right now go to benefit music education. [How] do you know about it?” He said, “My son played Simba in the eighth grade last year and it changed his life.”

I will always think about that down to the very last CMA Fest I do. This city comes together, the industry and the artists show up and our staff works their tails off for months on end to get there. Then there’s all these downstream beneficiaries that are not just the fans. The fans are certainly a big part of why we do what we do, but [it’s also about the kids] who have guitars, trombones and vocal classes that may never end up in our business, but they have the gift of self-expression through music.

What are you excited about for this year’s CMA Fest?

One of the surprises is we’ve been working on a documentary about the 50th anniversary of CMA Fest that will air on Hulu in July. Anybody who has come to Nashville and been a part of Fest has their own stories about it. People on our staff were there when Garth Brooks did his 23-hour autograph signing. I did my TNN job interview during Fan Fair, [which is what CMA Fest used to be called], in 1995. People have their moments at CMA Fest and it becomes their history. There’s 50,000 people at the stadium, so they have 50,000 different experiences every single year. We have roughly 60 people on our staff and we have 3,000 people working on our behalf to pull off the festival. Everyone has their own experiences at CMA Fest. I’m proud that we get to be a part of everybody’s experience.

Industry Toasts To Carly Pearce’s Fourth No. 1 Hit ‘What He Didn’t Do’

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Pictured (L-R): Ashley Gorley, Carly Pearce and Emily Skackelton. Standing: Josh Osborne. Photo: Alexa Campbell

Music industry members gathered at Starstruck Entertainment on Music Row Tuesday afternoon (May 30) to celebrate Carly Pearce‘s fourth career No. 1, “What He Didn’t Do.”

Pearce co-wrote the tune with Ashley Gorley and Emily Shackelton. It appears on her lauded studio album, 29: Written In Stone, which was co-produced by Josh Osborne and Shane McAnally.

The celebration was thrown by ASCAP, BMI and Big Machine Records. Everyone was glad to see Big Machine label head Scott Borchetta in attendance since his serious racing accident. Many shared grateful sentiments about his recovery from the stage.

Pictured (L-R, front row): Josh Osborne, Carly Pearce, Scott Borchetta (BMLG), Ashley Gorley and Emily Shackelton; (L-R, back row): Mike Sistad (ASCAP), Clay Hunnicutt (BMLG), Andrew Kautz (BMLG), Mike Rittberg (BMLG), Kris Lamb (BMLG) and MaryAnn Keen (BMI). Photo: Alexa Campbell

ASCAP’s Mike Sistad kicked the party off by recognizing ASCAP’s Pearce and Gorley. He spoke about each of them, reminding the crowd that Pearce is a Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winning artist; and that Gorley, who has been named ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year nine times, recently won his first ACM Songwriter of the Year award and has notched 67 No. 1 songs.

BMI’s MaryAnn Keen was on hand to support BMI songwriter Shackelton. She pointed out that “What He Didn’t Do” was her second No. 1 song, and that her first was Pearce’s “Every Little Thing.”

“Both songs are unfortunately songs many of us can relate to, as far as breakups go,” Keen said. “Fortunately, they make us feel a little more understood. That’s the magic of these three.”

Round Hill’s Lindsay Will was the first publisher to speak. She thanked Pearce, the co-writers and the BMLG team. On behalf of Gorley, Round Hill made a donation to My Life Speaks Foundation.

BMG’s Chris Oglesby stepped up to the mic to recognize BMG writers Pearce and Shackelton.

“I’m here to help celebrate one of the hardest working individuals I know in the music industry—or in the world. I’m blessed to be able to work with Carly Pearce,” Oglesby said.

“We’re thrilled to work with Emily as well,” he added. “Your lyrics and melodies are unbelievably amazing.”

Liz Rose, who also works with Shackelton, spoke about discovering her at BMI’s Key West Songwriters Festival. “Emily, I’m so inspired by you always,” Rose said.

Jess Busbee, widow of Pearce’s former producer Michael Busbee and leader of AltaDena, shared some emotional words about her late husband’s legacy. “It’s so sweet how a legacy lives on,” she said.

Big Machine Records General Manager Clay Hunnicutt and SVP of Promotion & Digital Kris Lamb gave a presentation about Pearce’s unmatched work ethic and authentic artistry.

“We never take days like this lightly. No. 1s are hard to come by and hard fought,” Hunnicutt said. “Thanks to Carly for sharing your story. That’s what this song is about.” He let the crowd know that “What He Didn’t Do” was Borchetta’s 250th No. 1 song.

Lamb said, “Promo is very hard—I don’t want to give you the illusion that it’s not difficult—but it’s so much easier with artists like Carly. She’s the hardest working artist that I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with.”

“What He Didn’t Do” collaborators with their MusicRow No. 1 Challenge Coins. Pictured (L-R): MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson, Emily Shackelton, Carly Pearce, Ashley Gorley, MusicRow‘s LB Cantrell. Photo: Alexa Campbell

Osborne spoke about co-producing Pearce’s record. He pointed out how, as a songwriter first, it’s hard to hear great songs that you didn’t write. He also highlighted the magic of songs written by Shackelton and Pearce, and said that Gorley is a great songwriter and friend.

“What Carly does for country music is important,” Osborne said. “I’m so glad she is becoming the dominate force that she is. We need her in the format.”

Next it was time to hear from the songwriters. Gorley went first, thanking God, his family, his publishers, ASCAP, BMLG, Osborne and McAnally and his co-writers.

“Like Josh said, Emily and Carly have the magic. They let me crash. It was the first time we all worked together,” Gorley shared, adding that the three wrote another upbeat song before writing “What He Didn’t Do.” He said, “Carly tells you the honest truth. What needed to be written that day got written after we tried [writing something upbeat] for a couple of hours.”

Shackelton thanked her family, publishers and Pearce’s village. “I’m so grateful to God. The story never goes the way I want it to but he make it better in the end,” she said.

Shackelton thanked Pearce for her relationship, piling on the praise for the country star’s work ethic. She also gave more insight into Gorley’s contribution to the song.

“I learned so much from you that day,” she said to Gorley. “The fact that you heard Carly say something off the cuff and were able to say, ‘Sit down. We’re writing that,’ was awesome. It’s no wonder you have [so many] No. 1s.”

When Pearce stepped up the mic, she added to the creation story of “What He Didn’t Do.”

“We were packing up, like they said. We had already written a song. Ashley looked at me and said, ‘What did he do?’ I said, ‘What didn’t he do?’ He said, ‘Sit down,'” Pearce shared. “It’s been a powerful thing.”

Pearce recognized each member of her team, individually thanking each of them. She summed, “The thing that continues to be a constant in my life is music. I feel very grateful to know that I have a purpose in writing songs that people can connect to.”

Zach Bryan Advances On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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Zach Bryan. Photo: Courtesy of Shore Fire Media

With three currently charting songs, Zach Bryan moves from No. 4 to No. 2 this week on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart. Bryan is the sole writer on two of his charting tunes, “Something In The Orange” and “Sun To Me,” and wrote “Dawns” with Maggie Rogers.

Ashley Gorley marks another week at No. 1 on the chart. He is a co-writer on 11 charting songs.

Ryan Vojtesak (No. 3), Tracy Chapman (No. 4) and Morgan Wallen (No. 5) complete the top five.

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the only songwriter chart of its kind.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

SongwritingWith:Soldiers Is Allowing Veterans To Find Their Voice [Interview]

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Jay Clementi & former Army Ranger PK Kelley. Photo: Jan Herrle

Every year, we remember and honor all those who died defending our country in the U.S. Armed Forces on Memorial Day. We do so with parades, special services and most of the time, with BBQ’s and pool parties. Regardless of how you celebrate, there are always those who deal with insurmountable grief on Memorial Day, such as veterans who have lost friends in the line of duty.

Life after service in the military can be extremely difficult, but organizations like SongwritingWith:Soldiers are offering veterans who suffer from PTSD and other emotional traumas a way to find their voices through songwriting and music. This organization sets up veterans with top-tier songwriters during a weekend retreat and in many cases, helps them start a new life.

Jay Clementi. Photo: Courtesy of SongwritingWith:Soldiers

“We do these retreats all over the country,” says SongwritingWith:Soldiers Musical Director and Nashville songwriter Jay Clementi. “The songwriters that [we choose to participate] are hand-picked. We have a staff and songwriters that are specially trained to do this particular work.

“We bring professional sound engineer there to the facility so we can record the songs as we go,” Clementi adds. “There’s always amazing food and we have a trained facilitation team that works with veterans when they’re not writing songs with the other songwriters.”

Clementi joined SongwritingWith:Soldiers back in 2012 when Radney Foster and Darden Smith did its first-ever retreat. From there he knew that it was special and was blown away by the stories the veterans told and know how much help they could get from writing.

Photo: Jan Herrle

“They’re doing strengths workshops, creative writing and meditation. All of these things are designed to help open you up creative creatively, so they’re really in a good place when they sit down to write songs,” he says. “We also have Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers capturing the entire weekend.”

At the retreats, songwriters like Clementi are set up with veterans in a two hour songwriting sessions throughout the weekend to write songs to be recorded and then eventually performed on the final night of the retreat. One veteran in particular, retired Army Ranger PK Kelley, went to a retreat in January of 2018 in Arizona. He wrote a song with Clementi for the child of one of his friends who was killed on the line of duty.

The song, “Daddy’s Son,” was written for the young son of Sgt. Thomas McPherson, known as “Tommy Mac,” who died when his son was 18 months old. The process of writing this song helped Kelley start a path in his life. Click this link to listen to the song and read the lyrics.

“He was killed not long before he was due to come home on what was his last deployment,” says Kelley. “He did certain things that only his wife and people close to him would know. They played catch in the yard, which is in the song.

Jay Clementi and PK Kelley. Photo: Jan Herrle

“He liked rockabilly music, so that’s in the song,” adds Kelley. “There are certain things in the lyrics that resonate with everybody but they’re specific enough to where it hits home for his widow and his son.”

Kelley, like many of veterans, would have never had the opportunity to work with talented songwriters and write something that is so personal and therapeutic had he not gone on the SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat. He was able to not only gift Sgt. Thomas McPherson’s widow and son with a song that honored his life, but was also able to find a new way to live life after deployment.

“For a long time, I dealt with pride getting in the way of getting help. I dealt with a lot of my issues [on my own], especially around anniversary dates of losing friends in the wrong way,” says Kelley. “Now, I’m an advocate of changing that habit. I would say that this retreat, and songwriting, was the start of me completely changing the trajectory of my life.”

There are so many great charities that many music industry members in Nashville and around the country dedicate their time to, but for Clementi, his mission is to continue working with veterans who put their lives on the line for our country and giving back to them and their families.

“For me, I’m just so grateful to be the Musical Director for SongwritingWith:Soldiers,” says Clementi. “It’s been such a meaningful part of my life for for 12 years and I just feel honored every time I sit across from a veteran and help them tell a piece of their story. There’s a responsibility with that, and I think all the writers love to do this work.”

Jay Clementi and PK Kelley. Photo: Jan Herrle

Kelley is just another example of how therapeutic songwriting can be, especially for those who have experienced as much as our veterans do. Kelley now helps other veterans through their struggles and has become a huge advocate for SongwritingWith:Soldiers.

“Everybody’s grieving process is different, but what I tell other veterans is if you can find a healthy outlet and do something for that guy you lost or for their family, that is something that that other veteran can be proud of,” Kelley says. “If the roles were reversed and I was in the ground, I wouldn’t want my friends sitting there drinking on the anniversary of my death. I’d want them living a healthy life and making me proud doing something for somebody else, whether that’s writing a song or climbing a mountain.”

To learn more about SongwritingWith:Soldiers, visit their website.

Jordan Davis Takes ‘Next Thing You Know’ To No. 1 On MusicRow Chart

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Jordan Davis returns to the top of the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart with “Next Thing You Know.”

Co-written with Greylan James, Chase McGill and Josh Osborne, the tune appears on Davis’ Bluebird Days album, which also includes his multi-week No. 1 “What My World Spins Around” and award-winning collaboration with Luke Bryan, “Buy Dirt.”

Davis will hit the road on his “Damn Good Time Tour” starting in August and running through October, bringing with him a myriad of openers, including James, Avery Anna, Gabby Barrett, Danielle Bradbery, Flatland Calvary, Dylan Marlowe, Kameron Marlowe, Mike Ryan, Connor Smith and Georgia Webster.

Click here to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.

DISClaimer Single Reviews: Carrie Underwood ‘Rocks Out On This Defiant Stomper’

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It’s an all-female country roundup in this edition of DISClaimer.

Tanya Tucker, Brandy Clark and Joydyn Shellhart have the best songs. There are memories of Tina Turner and Olivia Newton John lingering in the air. Hannah Dasher, Harper Grace and Morgan Wade sound like stars in training.

If there’s a downside to all of this, it’s that this stack of releases is way ballad heavy. The two ear catching tempo tunes belong to Runaway June and to Carrie Underwood, who wins the Disc of the Day award.

To our list of DisCovery winners, add the name of the HuneyFire duo. They have all the spark needed to start a fire.

HARPER GRACE / “Oh Say Can You See”
Writers: Harper Grace/Alex Kline/Scott Stepakoff; Producers: Alex Kline/Tedd T; Label: Curb Records
– I am wild about her “Sparkle” debut single. This autobiographical ballad track is promise fulfilled. It’s an anti-bullying lyric addressed to her hurting, 11-year-old self. She tells herself that she’ll get off her knees and sing to crowds one day.

BRANDY CLARK & BRANDI CARLILE / “Dear Insecurity”
Writers: Brandy Clark/Michael Pollack; Producer: Brandi Carlile; Label: Warner Records
– Clark is firing on all cylinders this year. She is Tony nominated for the Shucked Broadway musical, and she has a new album produced by Americana superstar Brandi Carlile, who is her duet partner on this lilting ballad. Strings soar while the brilliant song craftswoman weaves her magic spell. Have I mentioned I also think that she is an awesome singer?

HUNEYFIRE / “Too Late for Sorry”
Writers: Cheaza Figueroa/Jason Pennock; Producers: Cheaza Figueroa/Jason Pennock; Label: Double Decades Entertainment
– This is an Afro-Latina mother-daughter country act. Both women sing the fire outta this torrid heartache ballad. They swap verses powerfully, but don’t actually harmonize, which is a disappointment. Mom Cheaza Figueroa is the daughter of former Ikette Barbara Cook, who danced and sang backing the late, great Tina Turner. Daughter Marriana Nevarez’s father Alfred Nevarez is a founding member of the hit pop group All-4-One (”I Swear,” “I Can Love You Like That”).

CARRIE UNDERWOOD / “Out of That Truck”
Writers: Carrie Underwood/David Garcia/Lydia Vaughan; Producers: David Garcia/Carrie Underwood; Label: Capitol Nashville
– Carrie rocks out on this defiant stomper addressed to her ex. She vows that no matter how hard he tries, he’ll never erase her memory from his truck, because they shared so much in it. A winner.

HANNAH DASHER / “Ugly Houses”
Writers: Hannah Dasher/Robert Arthur; Producer: Ilya Toshinskiy; Label: HD
– Delightful. I dig everything about this bodacious artist. What’s not to like? She has wit and charm and is as country as grits. She even has her own YouTube channel.

TANYA TUCKER / “When the Rodeo Is Over”
Writers: Billy Don Burns/Craig Dillingham/Brandi Carlile; Producers: Shooter Jennings/Brandi Carlile; Label: Fantasy
– Sad and wistful. Tucker pushes emotional buttons as she unspools the tale of a broken-down, wino cowboy who used to be a rodeo champ. This downbeat narrative ballad is what country music does best. Bless her for always having her heart in the right place. The new album is titled Sweet Western Sound. And it is.

MORGAN WADE / “Psychopath”
Writer: Morgan Wade; Producer: Sadler Vaden; Label: Ladylike Records/RCA Nashville
– The title tune of Wade’s sophomore album doesn’t sound like you might expect, given that it is such a emotionally charged word. Rather, it’s a lilting love song. Listen for yourself. I think you’ll dig it.

KELLY LANG & OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN / “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
Writers: Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb; Producer: Kelly Lang; Label: Primary Wave Music
– The late Olivia’s swan song was this duet with the lustrous Nashville vocalist Kelly Lang. The ultra melodic 1971 Bee Gees oldie sounds shimmering when they harmonize.

JORDYN SHELLHART / “Maybe Someday You’ll Have a Daughter”
Writers: Jordyn Shellhart/Courtney Dashe; Producer: Cameron Jaymes; Label: Warner Music Nashville
– When people ask me who I’m excited about these days, I tell them, “Jordyn Shellhart.” This extraordinary song is one reason why. In the lyric, she gives herself to a no-good guy who breaks her heart. Her loss of innocence, her abandonment and her pain spill out eloquently as she muses about his future. Her debut album is titled Primrose. I urge you to experience it.

KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS / “Hands on the Wheel”
Writers: Karley Scott Collins/Nathan Chapman/Natalie Hemby; Producers: Karley Scott Collins/Nathan Chapman; Label: Sony Music Nashville
– The title tune of her debut EP is a moody, bluesy and utterly compelling mid-tempo rush. Her gravely, aching voice grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. She’s drivin’ and cryin,’ trying to keep it between the lines as she speeds to heal a broken heart.

LORI McKENNA & HILLARY LINDSEY / “Killing Me”
Writers: Lori McKenna/Hillary Lindsey/Luke Laird; Producer: Dave Cobb; Label CN Records
– This has a charming, jingle-jangle quality. The track rumbles along merrily, but the lyric is anything but merry. “Would it kill you to be happy?/Because trying to make you happy is killing me.” She’s pretty miserable, folks, no matter what the rhythm section says.

RUNAWAY JUNE / “Make Me Wanna Smoke”
Writers: Jason Sellers/Ella Langley/Bobby Hamrick; Producer: Mickey Jack Cones; Label: Quartz Hill Records
– Jennifer Wayne, Natalie Stovall and Stevie Woodward romp their way through this thumping urban rocker with sass to spare. The relationship might be wrong, but she’s going for it anyway.

UMG Nashville Names Chelsea Blythe Exec. VP Of A&R

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Chelsea Blythe. Photo: Cécile Boko

Universal Music Group Nashville has named Chelsea Blythe as its Executive Vice President of A&R.

Blythe began her career as an A&R intern at Interscope Records before becoming the department coordinator where she worked on award-winning artists including Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Rae Sremmurd and Mike WiLL Made-It. Moving to Columbia Records in 2016, Blythe climbed to Vice President of A&R, signed Symba as her first artist, played a role in signing Baby Keem to the label and developed multi-Platinum-selling artists Polo G and The Kid LAROI.

In 2021, Blythe reunited with celebrated A&R executive Tunji Balogun, who found Blythe for that pivotal first internship, at Def Jam Records. As Sr. Vice President of A&R at Def Jam, Blythe led A&R efforts on Armani White, 26AR, and Anella Herim among others.

“I’m so excited to bring Chelsea to UMG Nashville as EVP A&R,” says UMGN Chair & CEO Cindy Mabe. “Her bold leadership, dynamic spirit, and passion for the music and artists will align perfectly with the culture we are building. Her love for country music brought her to Nashville and her dynamic presence and impeccable instincts will help lead our artist development strategy and innovate the future of country music.”

“I’m very excited to begin this chapter of my career with UMGN,” says Blythe. “I have immense respect and passion for country music, and I am honored that Cindy has recognized my enthusiasm with this opportunity. I am inspired by her unwavering leadership and look forward to implementing my experience in this role while building with the country community.”

CRB Issues Initial Determination For Phonorecords III Appeal

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The Copyright Royalty Board has issued its initial determination in the remand/appeal of Phonorecords III, which upheld the 15.1% headline rate increase that was determined in 2018.

Now, a 15-day window opens for rehearing motions. Then the U.S. Copyright Office also must undertake a legal review for error, which they have up to 60 days to complete.

Following those steps, a determination will be published, starting a clock of at most 6 months for DSPs to make retroactive adjustments/arrearage payments, meaning the arrearage payments would come early next year.

National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) President & CEO David Israelite says, “We are pleased the court finally has confirmed the result of Phono 3, a case which was decided in 2018. This initial remand decision upholds the 15.1% headline rate increase we fought for, however the length of time we have waited for this decision proves the Copyright Royalty Board system is woefully flawed. Now songwriters have some certainty about their rates, and we will ensure they receive the hundreds of millions of dollars that digital streaming companies owe them during this adjustment period.”

Of the initial determination, Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Executive Director Bart Herbison shares, “The testimonies of the three songwriter witnesses in this trial were powerful, convincing and illustrated the difficulty of songwriters earning a living in the streaming era—as well as the importance and value of the composition in the commercial music process. Steve Bogard, Liz Rose and Lee Miller, all NSAI board members, were moving and informative and played a huge role in the historic increase.”

Herbison adds, “The process is long and difficult requiring time and preparation. We are thankful to these songwriters and to the NMPA.”

Morgan Wallen Continues To Shatter All-Genre Records With ‘One Thing At A Time’

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Morgan Wallen performs at American Family Field. Photo: David Lehr

Morgan Wallen continues to make history as his third studio album, One Thing At A Time, notches its 11th consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The last album to spend 11 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 came in 1987 with Whitney Houston‘s Whitney, which featured mega-hits “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and “So Emotional.” Prior to that it was 1976 into 1977 as Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, featuring “Isn’t She Lovely” and “I Wish,” logged its first consecutive 13 weeks at No. 1.

Wallen’s 2021 sophomore album, Dangerous: The Double Album, notches its 120th non-consecutive weeks in the Billboard 200 Top 10, second in longevity only to 173 weeks held by the Original Cast Recording, My Fair Lady, in 1956. The five-time Platinum project also continues to surpass records previously held by Adele and Bruce Springsteen.

“These stats are all so humbling and being mentioned in the same sentence as Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston is something I never could have imagined,” Wallen says. “But I’m most grateful to everyone who listens to my music. That’s the connection that means the most to me and it’s the best compliment out there—the fact that you guys like it.”

One Thing At A Time has yielded three No. 1 hits, including the 10-week No. 1 “You Proof,” three-week No. 1 “Thought You Should Know” and the latest pop-crossover hit “Last Night.” The latter became the fastest-climbing No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay charts since 2015 at just 11 weeks, has spent six non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and now claims the longest Hot 100 reign—surpassing Kenny Rogers’ “Lady” and Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans,” which spent six week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1980 and 1959, respectively.

After a period of vocal rest, Wallen will take his record-breaking music back out on the road with his “One Night At A Time World Tour” picking back up on June 22 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Riser House Records Signs Lanco

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Pictured (L-R, back row): Eleanor Kohl, Bryan Coleman, Alex Seif, Jennifer Johnson, Megan Schultz, Lauren Spahn and Brandon Perdue; (L-R, front row): Jared Hampton, Tripp Howell, Brandon Lancaster and Chandler Baldwin. Photo: Shannon Bradley

Lanco, the band behind the multi-Platinum, two-week No. 1 “Greatest Love Story,” has signed with Riser House Records.

The Nashville-based group came to prominence in 2017 with the hit off their No. 1 debut album Hallelujah Nights. Following the success of the project, Lanco won the ACM Award for New Vocal Duo or Group and has since been nominated for CMT, CMA, AMA and iHeart Radio Awards.

The news of Lanco’s new record deal begins a new era for the band, whose forthcoming single, “Sound of a Saturday Night,” is set for release on June 2.

“We spent the past couple of years writing with each other and some of our favorite songwriters, getting back in the studio with Jay Joyce and pushing ourselves harder than we ever have to make music that represents who we are today,” says Lanco. “Riser House shares our vision for the future and we couldn’t be more thankful for an incredible team that will help us introduce this new chapter of Lanco to the world. We back.”

“We are so thrilled to work with Lanco,” says Riser House Entertainment President & Co-Founder Jennifer Johnson. “They are a great group of humans with a vast fanbase. Brandon Lancaster has a clear vision and path for their brand and sound. Their music is uniquely compelling and we are excited to take them to the next level.”