LeAnn Rimes Plots Fifth Annual Today Is Christmas Tour

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LeAnn Rimes will be back on the road this holiday season, launching her fifth annual Today Is Christmas Tour in December. The tour will include a stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Dec. 10, before wrapping in Aspen, Colorado on Dec. 20.

Each set will include a mix of songs from her three holiday albums, plus performances of hits such as “How Do I Live,” and songs from her latest album, Remnants (Sony Music/Thirty Tigers/RED).

“Hard to believe we are talking about Christmas in July, but I am excited to start preparing for the holiday season,” shares Rimes. “It is one of my favorite times of the year; there is something magical about it, and being able to share it with my fans makes it all the more special.”

Rimes has teamed with CID Entertainment to offer three levels of enhanced experiences as part of the Today Is Christmas 2017 Tour, including a premium ticket, access to a pre-show performance and Q&A with Rimes, as well as exclusive merchandise and the opportunity for a meet & greet. Enhanced experiences will be available for purchase starting July 26 at 10 a.m. local time at CID Entertainment’s official site.

Today Is Christmas 2017 Tour Dates

Dec. 2: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Parker Playhouse
Dec. 3: Sarasota, Fla.; Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Dec. 4: Naples, Fla.; Artis-Naples
Dec. 8: The Villages, Fla.; Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center
Dec. 9: Oxford, Ala.; Oxford Performing Arts Center
Dec. 10: Nashville, Tenn.; Ryman Auditorium
Dec. 12: Fayetteville, Ark.; Walton Arts Center
Dec. 14: Lake Jackson, Texas; The Clarion at Brazosport College
Dec. 15: Tulsa, Okla.; Paradise Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort
Dec. 16: Emporia, Kan.; Emporia Granada Theatre
Dec. 18: Denver; Paramount Theatre – Denver
Dec. 19: Salt Lake City, Utah; Abravanel Hall
Dec. 20: Aspen, Colo; Belly Up Aspen

Industry Ink: APA Nashville, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Darius Rucker, SiriusXM

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APA Nashville Signs Southern Rock Band

Multi-platinum heavy metal and southern metal rock band JACKYL has signed with APA Nashville, it was announced by Steve Lassiter, Partner and Head of Concerts at APA. JACKYL holds the Guinness World Record title of “The Hardest Working Band in Rock ‘N’ Roll” after more than two decades touring solo and with rock legends such as Aerosmith, KISS, ZZ Top, and Ted Nugent. The band just released its latest 25 Years album.

 

Enrico Lopez-Yañez Named Assistant Conductor With Nashville Symphony

Enrico Lopez-Yanez

The Nashville Symphony has named Enrico Lopez-Yañez as assistant conductor. Lopez-Yañez will begin a one-year term with the orchestra in September.

Most recently Assistant Conductor of the Omaha Symphony, Lopez-Yañez is familiar with the Nashville Symphony and local audiences, having conducted a pair of the organization’s free Community Concerts this summer and having led the orchestra during Nashville’s “Let Freedom Sing” Fourth of July celebration. He succeeds Vinay Parameswaran, who earlier this summer left Music City for a position with The Cleveland Orchestra.

 

Darius Rucker Announces Radio Show With SiriusXM

Darius Rucker

In addition to being a three-time Grammy winner, and a chart-topping singer-songwriter, Darius Rucker is an avid golfer (with a single-digit handicap) and passionate fan of the game. Rucker will host a new monthly show on SiriusXM’s 24/7 golf channel, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. On Par with Darius Rucker will debut July 26 (3 p.m.-4 p.m. ET) and will feature Rucker’s perspective on the game as a devoted player and fan.

Rucker is friendly with many active players on both the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, and he is a partner at MGC Sports, a sports agency that currently represents golfers and other athletes. He will invite the game’s stars as well as other celebrities with a passion for golf on the show for conversations that will span the worlds of golf and entertainment.

 

Jamboree In The Hills Wraps Successful 41st Year

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Photo Credit: Ryan Pavlov / Jamboree In The Hills

Jamboree In The Hills celebrated its 41st year with a bevy of superstars and up-and-comers last Thursday through Sunday (7/13-16). Huge crowds turned out at the Morristown Ohio event to hear headliners Thomas Rhett (Thursday), Jason Aldean (Friday), Lady Antebellum (Saturday), and Sawyer Brown (Sunday), alongside red-hot performers like Kelsea Ballerini, Chris Young, RaeLynn, Kane Brown, and Brett Young.

There were plenty of memorable moments at Jamboree, which is one of the longest-running Country festivals in the world, including Chris Young (alongside Shane Owens) stopping by the campground to surprise an estimated 1,000 guests during the festival’s first year of their “Jambo After Dark” after-party, and legend Tanya Tucker returning to the JITH stage after making her first appearance in 1983.

From decked out campers to personal pools, JITH’s campsite of trailers even housed enclosed “Jambo Glam” lodging for the first time this year, offering powered “glamping tents” equipped with a hospitality staff and exclusive access to air-conditioned restrooms, showers, a well-stocked lounge area with snacks and morning coffee, and a community gas grill.

“The best part of Jamboree In The Hills is the fans,”said Kelly Tucker-Jones, General Manager/Jamboree In The Hills. “Their deep-rooted love of this historic festival shines through in every aspect of its traditions. This festival is more than country music, Jamboree In The Hills is family and friends from the staff to the fans – we all feel like we are one unit that gets to spend the best weekend of the year together year after year!”

Kelsea Ballerini. Photo: Ryan Pavlov / Jamboree In The Hills

Brett Young. Photo: Ryan Pavlov / Jamboree In The Hills

Kane Brown. Photo: Ryan Pavlov / Jamboree In The Hills

RaeLynn. Photo: Ryan Pavlov / Jamboree In The Hills

UK To Get Outdoor Country, Americana Music Festival In 2018

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In 2018, country music and Americana artists will have a new outdoor UK festival destination, when Black Deer Festival takes place in East Sussex, England, from July 20-22.

The three-day festival will take place on the grounds of one of Britain’s oldest deer parks, Eridge Park in East Sussex. The 3,000-acre estate is surrounded by woodlands, open lakes, rolling hills, and is conveniently located a mere 50 minutes from London by train.

Entertee Events, led by Gill Tee and Deborah Shilling, producers of the 100,000-capacity Party In The Park at London’s Hyde Park as well as the Hop Farm Festival in Kent, England, will oversee the Black Deer Festival. Entertee clients include Live Nation and AEG. Tee and Shilling, along with Colin Lloyd, who oversees financing for the endeavor, are in Nashville this week, talking up the festival with agents, organizations and managers, and are continuing to book artists for the event. They have been working on the festival for the past year.

“To give proper homage to Nashville, we had to come here,” Lloyd tells MusicRow.

The Black Deer Festival will host nearly 50 artist performances across five stages, offering a mix of country, Americana, and UK-based country artists. Headliners will be announced at a later date.

Lloyd estimates 10,000 attendees for Black Deer’s first year, though he says there is room to grow the festival up to 30,000 attendees.

“Everyone is getting exciting about it,” Lloyd says. “The whole country genre is right on the cusp of making a huge breakthrough in the UK market.”

He also took inspiration from the success of the Country Music Association’s C2C: Country 2 Country Festival, though he notes a key difference between the two: While C2C is an arena festival, Black Deer will be an outdoor festival. Other major country music draws in the area include the recently-announced Country Music Week, a series of indoor concerts slated for October 2017, from the same organizers as the C2C: Country 2 Country Festival.

Food will also be an important part of the festival. Lloyd says there are plans to include custom fare from UK chefs. “We want to bring interesting food, not the normal fried and packaged foods. We want it to be more genuine.”

The five stages will include a songwriter’s stage and a children’s stage. “While here in Nashville, we hope to experience the Bluebird Café and we visited Whiskey Jam. I love the idea of bringing those ideas to our festival,” Lloyd says.

“It will be a family-friendly event, we think family is very important as well, with camping and ‘glamping’ and all the things that go with it. But we want to make it a bit edgy. It’s not just country music, but a bit edgier country as well which is where we think the UK market is at.”

Data shows the UK market is ripe for more country music performances. Country music is one of the fastest-growing genres in the UK. 30 million concertgoers attended a music festival in the UK in 2015. There are more than 1,000 annual commercial music festivals held in the UK annually.

“There’s just a wonderful array of fantastic talent in [Nashville] and we hope to encourage some of them to come to the UK and enjoy one of the most beautiful parts of the world,” Lloyd says. “We want to give the artists the best time of their lives. We want them to go home and say, ‘That was fantastic. Let’s go back.’”

Aaron Lewis, Blackberry Smoke Team Up For ‘Sinners And Sanctified’ Tour

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Aaron Lewis and Blackberry Smoke are joining forces for the “Sinners and Sanctified Tour” this fall. The co-headlining tour will kick-off October 12 at Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium and includes stops at Houston’s Ziegenbock Festival, Little Rock’s Verizon Arena, New York’s Terminal 5, Philadelphia’s Tower Theatre, and many others. New BMLG artist Alex Williams is the special guest on the 18-date tour.

Lewis has been touring in support of his latest album, Sinner, which landed at the top position on the Billboard Top 200 Albums, Top Country Albums and Top Digital Albums Charts upon its release. He collaborates with Willie Nelson,  Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski and Vince Gill on the album’s title track.

Blackberry Smoke’s new album Like An Arrow debuted at No. 1 on both Billboard’s Country Albums and Americana Albums charts as well as No. 3 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart. Recorded just outside of the band’s native Atlanta at The Quarry Recording Studio, the 12-track album was self-produced and features very special guest Gregg Allman on the album’s closing track, “Free On The Wing.”

Ticket pre-sale for the tour begins today, with general tickets going on sale Friday.

BLACKBERRY SMOKE AND AARON LEWIS CO-HEADLINING TOUR
Oct 12—Shreveport, LA—Municipal Auditorium
Oct 13—Irving, TX—The Pavilion at Irving Music Factory
Oct 14—Houston, TX—Ziegenbock Festival
Oct 26—Charlotte, NC—Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
Oct 27—Oxon Hill, MD—MGM National Harbor
Oct 28—Pikeville, KY—Eastern KY Expo Center
Oct 29—Macon, GA—The Macon Centreplex
Nov 2—Little Rock, AR—Verizon Arena
Nov 3—Tupelo, MS—BancorpSouth Arena
Nov 4—Evansville, IN—Old National Events Plaza
Nov 5—Huntsville, AL—Von Braun Center
Nov 8—Indiana, PA—Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex
Nov 9—Grand Rapids, MI—20 Monroe Live
Nov 11—Warren, OH—Packard Music Hall
Nov 14—New York, NY—Terminal 5
Nov 15—Salisbury, MD—Wicomico Civic Center
Nov 16— Upper Darby (Philadelphia), PA—Tower Theatre
Nov 17—Charleston, WV—Charleston Municipal Auditorium

Kane Brown Surprised With Second Gold Record During Industry Gathering For “What Ifs”

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Kane Brown first hears the news of his Top 20 “What Ifs” single’s RIAA Gold certification. Photo: Alan Poizner

Country newcomer Kane Brown was invited to a industry gathering at WME for what he thought was an event honoring his agent, Rob Beckham, on Monday, July 17.

When Sony Nashville’s Randy Goodman welcomed the crowd after Brown’s arrival, the program immediately revealed the true purpose behind the gathering: Brown’s latest single, “What Ifs,” was announced to have earned Gold certification.

“We’ve been giving out Gold and Platinum records on behalf of the industry for almost 60 years,” said the RIAA’s Liz Kennedy. “In the last six months, only four country songs have been released and certified in our program. One of those songs was Kane Brown’s…”

To a standing ovation, Brown walked before the gathering to accept his plaque for the song he co-wrote with Matt McGinn and Jordan Schmidt, featuring Brown’s middle school pal and UMG Nashville breakout star Lauren Alaina, who was not in attendance.

“I just want to say thanks to everybody that has been behind,” said the reserved Brown, naming a few executives he spotted in the audience from UMPG, Sony and WME. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for y’all. And thank you for believing in me even with all the hate on Facebook.” [laughs]

Pictured (L-R): WME’s Braeden Rountree, EFG Management’s Martha Earls, Kane Brown, RIAA Director of Communication and Gold & Platinum Awards Program Liz Kennedy and Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Randy Goodman. Photo: Alan Poizner

Goodman introduced a sizzle reel he described as showing the breadth of what Brown has been up to.

“It’s nice to step back and take a look at the enormity of the body of work that Kane Brown has already produced with records, at radio and on the road,” said Goodman. “We thought we had it updated, but as of today, [“What Ifs”] went Top 20, and by the end of the day today we’re 15 stations away from being locked.”

The single also marks the Academy of Country Music New Male Vocalist and CMT Music Awards Breakthrough Video of the Year nominee’s first Top 20 hit, with more than 66 million streams to date. His debut single, “Used to Love You Sober,” was certified Gold earlier this year from his debut album, released at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and Top 10 on the Billboard 200 charts in December 2016. The album earned Brown the fourth best-selling new artist debut in album sales across all genres.

In addition to headlining the Monster Energy Outbreak Ain’t No Stopping Us Now and the Hometown Proud Tours, Brown has earned opening slots for Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean.

Pictured (L-R): Sony Music Nashville’s Jim Catino, Caryl Healey, Ken Robold and Randy Goodman; EFG Management’s Martha Earls; Kane Brown; RIAA Director of Communications and Gold & Platinum Program Liz Kennedy; Sony Music Nashville’s Steve Hodges and Alaina Vehec. Photo: Alan Poizner [Click for full size]

Pictured (L-R): Universal Music Publishing Group’s Kent Earls, Sony Music Nashville’s Jim Catino, Ken Robold and Randy Goodman; EFG Management’s Martha Earls; Kane Brown; and, Sony Music Nashville’s Steve Hodges; WME’s Braeden Rountree and Rob Beckham. Photo: Alan Poizner [Click for full size]

Chris Janson Signs With WME

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Pictured (L-R): Greg Oswald (Co-Head, WME Nashville), Rob Beckham (Co-Head, WME Nashville), Brian Jones (WME), Chris Janson with wife and manager Kelly Janson, Joey Lee (WME), Tom Lord (Red Light Management)

Chris Janson has signed with WME for representation in all areas, including music, television, endorsements and more.

The Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Nashville recording artist is known for his award-winning songs and exuberant stage presence. Janson has penned multiple top-charting hits, including his No. 1 Platinum single “Buy Me A Boat,” which received a BMI Songwriter Award and was named Country Song of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2016. His current smash, “Fix a Drink,” is rapidly climbing the charts and is available now at all digital outlets. “Fix a Drink” is the first single from Janson’s forthcoming album.

Born to entertain, Janson plays every instrument on stage, although he is best known for his signature harmonica playing. You can find him on the road this summer with Sam Hunt for the “15 in a 30” tour as well as on his own headlining dates.

Janson was previously represented by United Talent Agency.

“Willie Ain’t Dead Yet And Neither Am I,” Loretta Lynn Cancels 2017 Dates, Postpones Album

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Loretta Lynn

Country legend Loretta Lynn has canceled the last of her 2017 tour and postponed her Wouldn’t It Be Great album release until 2018 due to doctors orders.

“I am getting stronger every day and can’t wait to get back out there with all of you,” said Lynn in a post on her website and social media. “I’m just letting everybody know that Willie ain’t dead yet and neither am I, and I can’t wait to see all of you on the road!”

The news, confirmed by MusicRow, comes after the announcement this May that Lynn was recovering from a stroke just weeks after her 85th birthday. Over a dozen future outing cancellations now come on the heels of already a dozen shows missed by the recovering entertainer this year.

The forthcoming album was to be released by Legacy Recordings (a division of Sony Music Entertainment) on August 18. More news is expected about the album and tour as it becomes available.

 

Loretta Lynn Remaining 2017 Dates Cancelled

Jul 22 — Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Welch, MN
Aug 25-26 — Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Sep 02 — Loretta Lynn Ranch, Hurricane Mills, TN
Sep 08 — Rialto Square Theatre, Joliet, IL
Sep 09 — Shipshewana Event Center, Shipshewana, IN
Sep 23 — Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
Sep 28 — Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
Sep 29 — The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Durham, NC
Oct 14 — Andy Williams Theatre, Branson, MO
Oct 15 — Andy Williams Theatre, Branson, MO
Oct 27 — Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
Oct 28 — Seneca Allegany Casino, Salamanca, NY
Nov 03 — The Mahaffey Theater, Saint Petersburg, FL
Nov 04 — Broward Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Nov 18 — Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, Mount Vernon, KY

Inaugural VenuesNow Conference Reveals LA Speaker Lineup

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The inaugural VenuesNow Conference, slated for July 12-14 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, aims to bring together thought-leaders and visionaries to discuss the issues and challenges facing the sports, entertainment and venue industry. The conference will focus on areas including music, concerts, technology, safety and security, branding and sponsorship.

Among this year’s speakers are Mac Presents’ Marcie Allen, Red Light Management founder Coran Capshaw, McGhee Entertainment’s Doc McGhee, Messina Touring Group’s Louis Messina, Live Nation’s President of North American Concerts Bob Roux, WME partner and co-head Nashville Rob Beckham, CID Entertainment Founder/CEO Dan Berkowitz.

VenuesNow is produced by Oak View Group’s Tim Leiweke and former Billboard Executive Director of Content and Programming for Touring Ray Waddell.

For more, visit venuesnowconference.com.

Newsboys Team With Premier Productions, Pandora For Big Church Night Out Tour

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Newsboys has teamed with Premier Productions, Pandora and CCM Magazine for the nearly 50-city Big Church Night Out Tour. The tour will feature performances from Sidewalk Prophets, 7eventh Time Down, Derek Minor, Blanca, Adam Agee (Audio Adrenaline), illusionist Brock Gill, Jamison Strain, and Jeremy Willet.

“When families, friends, and neighbors take time out of their busy lives to come together and join as one in worship, that is the church,” says Newsboys Michael Tait. “That is the makings of one BIG night, and we could not be more thrilled to be a part of it.”

Leading up to the tour, Big Church Night Out will be taking over Pandora’s Christian Contemporary station from July 5 to July 13, offering a pre-sale to listeners as well as interviews from Newsboys front man, Michael Tait.

Big Church Night Out Tour
*All dates subject to change. More dates to be added.
9/21 Montgomery, AL
9/22 Chattanooga, TN
9/23 Raleigh, NC
9/24 Florence, SC
9/28 Topeka, KS
9/29 Tulsa, OK
9/30 Beaumont, TX
10/1 Hidalgo, TX
10/5 Colorado Springs, CO
10/6 Amarillo, TX
10/7 Wichita Falls, TX
10/8 Austin, TX
10/13 Kalamazoo, MI
10/14 Bloomington, IN
10/15 Champaign, IL
10/19 Corinth, MS
10/20 Atlanta, GA
10/21 Pikeville, KY
10/22 Highland Heights, KY
10/26 Monroe, LA
10/27 New Orleans, LA
10/28 Tallahassee, FL
10/29 Estero, FL
11/9 Augusta, ME
11/10 Danbury, CT
11/11 Amherst, MA
11/12 Erie, PA
11/16 Cleveland, OH
11/17 Toledo, OH
11/18 Rochester, NY
11/19 Utica, NY
11/30 Shreveport, LA
12/1 Springfield, MO
12/2 Cape Girardeau, MO
12/3 North Little Rock, AR
12/7 Owensboro, KY
12/8 Rockford, IL
12/10 Moline, IL
12/14 Johnstown, PA
12/15 Bethlehem, PA
12/16 Baltimore, MD
12/17 Charlotte, NC
*Artists may vary by date.