Randall King Celebrates Upcoming Shot Glass Release With Invite-Only Show

Pictured (L-R): Taylor Aretz (Manager of Artist Development, Warner Music Nashville); Howie Edelman (Durango Artist Management); Shane Tarleton (EVP of Artist Development, Warner Music Nashville); Cris Lacy (EVP of A&R, Warner Music Nashville); Randall King; Stephanie Davenport (Sr. Director of A&R, Warner Music Nashville); Scott Gunter (Durango Artist Management). Photo: Alan Poizner

Just one day after making his Grand Ole Opry debut, Warner Music Nashville’s Randall King celebrated his forthcoming major label debut album, Shot Glass, with an invite-only show at the Nashville Palace on March 16.

Industry and fans alike gathered for King’s 30 minute set, which was filled with honky tonk tracks from the upcoming release. The debut record will be available everywhere tomorrow (March 18).

Kat & Alex, Shelby Darrall To Join Restless Road As Direct Support

Restless Road. Photo: Angelea Presti

Restless Road, composed of Zach Beeken, Colton Pack and Garrett Nichols, have announced the direct support for their upcoming “Bar Friends Tour.”

Kat & Alex and Shelby Darrall will join the trio on the upcoming trek. The tour will kick off in Milwaukee on April 6 with visits to New York, Chicago, Boston and Dallas, as well as sold out shows in Nashville and Pittsburgh. For a full list of dates, click here.

Restless Road’s first official radio single, “Growing Old With You,” is set to impact stations on March 28 via Sony Music Nashville’s RCA Nashville imprint. The song previously held the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s Digital Country Song Sales chart.

“It really does feel like a dream come true to be able to launch our own headlining tour and have our single be available at radio,” notes Pack.

“Thank you to the songwriters and for everyone who has shown us so much love out on the road the last two years, we can’t wait to show you what we can do,” adds Nichols.

King Business and Financial Management Moves To New Nashville Office

King Business and Financial Management (KBFM) has moved their Nashville office to a new part of Music City. The office is now located at 509 Craighead St, Suite 110, Nashville, TN 37204.

To christen the new building, KBFM commissioned local graffiti artist Troy Duff to add a custom design of the KBFM logo.

KBFM is an entertainment business and financial management firm providing services to international touring and recording artists, songwriters, producers, publishing companies, record labels and entertainment professionals.

Maggie Rose & Wanda Jackson Featured In Pickers Original Vodka Mural Series

Pickers Original Vodka, Tennessee’s first craft vodka, has unveiled the next mural in its ongoing series. The newest installment honors Maggie Rose and Wanda Jackson and is located at Exit/In at 2208 Elliston Place.

The mural series serves to highlight Pennington Distilling Company’s pledge that $1 for every bottle of Pickers Original Vodka sold at Middle Tennessee bars, restaurants, and venues that support live music will be donated to Music Health Alliance. For every $1 donation, MHA is able to provide $30 in life-saving healthcare resources.

“It was an honor to be featured in a mural on the exterior of the historic Exit/In, but what made it even more special was the fact that I was pictured next to rockabilly hero and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Wanda Jackson,” shares Rose. “Thanks to Pickers Vodka for letting me be a part of their campaign supporting the wonderful work of the Music Health Alliance.”

Jeff and Jenny Pennington, co-founders of Pickers Vodka, add: “We are excited to honor Maggie Rose and Wanda Jackson with this mural at Exit/In. Also, we are proud to help the Music Health Alliance in their mission to support all musicians for many years to come.”

Pickers Vodka commissioned Nashville mural artist Bryan Deese to launch the mural series in 2020. So far, the series has featured LadyCouch, Moon Taxi, Chris Schruggs, Guthrie Trap, Sam Bush & Kendell Marvel, Alyanna Royale and Jerry Pentecost. Additional murals will be commissioned through 2022.

SOLID is holding its 2022 Music Row Madness fundraiser on May 17 at Nashville’s Topgolf.

Registration for the 12th annual fundraising event is now open to the public for teams of six to eight. Participants are required to meet a $1,000 donation minimum to play. Spectators are also able to purchase tickets for $35 in advance or $45 at the door.

The team registration deadline is Monday, May 9. To register your team, click here.

“Being able to announce Music Row Madness as our first and largest fundraiser during our 25th anniversary year makes it all feel real. We are finally enjoying in person events like we were doing before the pandemic,” says Avery King, who is serving her second term as President. “I have full faith in our membership, alumni and the rest of our Nashville community in coming out to support our SOLID Shares partners and helping us reach our goal of $60,000.”

Proceeds from Music Row Madness will go to benefit the 2022 nonprofit SOLID Shares Partners: ACM Lifting Lives, Equity Alliance,  Music Makes Us, The Onsite Foundation, and  The Store

SOLID is a Nashville-based organization for developing music business professionals dedicated to improving the future success of the music industry. Over the last five years, the organization has donated over $400,000 to local charities and nonprofits and more than 300 hours of their time to the Nashville community.

Pictured: Morgan Wallen and surprise guest Jimmie Allen at Bridgestone Arena on March 16. Photo: David Lehr

Morgan Wallen kicked off his three-night stay at Nashville’s Bridgestone arena with a jam-packed evening of music on Wednesday (March 16).

His entertaining show covered a lot of his 30-song, top-selling sophomore project, Dangerous: The Double Album. The project, which topped the all-genre Billboard 200 Albums year-end chart with 3.2 million units sold in 2021, also just won Album of the Year at the 2022 ACM Awards.

Pictured: Morgan Wallen and surprise guest Ronnie Dunn at Bridgestone Arena on March 16. Photo: David Lehr

Interestingly, the singer started his set tenderly, rising up onto the stage, seated at a piano to play his most recent No. 1 hit, “Sand In My Boots.” Wallen donned a brown corduroy pearl-snap shirt, jeans and Tecovas, and smiled up into the crowd who cheered furiously.

After ramping things up for “Something Country” and “Up Down,” Wallen addressed the hometown crowd.

“My name is Morgan Wallen. I really appreciate you being here tonight,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who believed in me for a long time in the building tonight, a lot of people who have been through a lot with me. This is very special to me.

“Most of the songs we’re going to play tonight just won ACM Album of the Year,” he added. “And it wouldn’t have been possible without y’all.”

Wallen played 17 songs from Dangerous, in addition to some older material. He sounded great throughout the night, sometimes with an even more pronounced country accent than what’s featured on the recordings. Fans raged for his redneck-and-proud anthems, “Still Goin Down,” “Country Ass Shit,” and “Somethin’ Country.” The women in the audience, of which there were many, squealed over his romantic side on “Silverado For Sale,” “Somebody’s Problem,” “More Than My Hometown,” and “Seven Summers.”

Wallen also kept the visual affects to a minimum. The two big screens stayed on him most of the time, and his stage lit up with flames and smoke on his more hard-hitting tracks. But as it turns out, he didn’t need much pizzazz. If Wallen and his arsenal of streaming hits weren’t enough, he enlisted a lot of special guests throughout the night.

Pictured: Morgan Wallen and Ernest perform “Flower Shops” at Bridgestone Arena. Photo: David Lehr

Frequent collaborator and label-mate Ernest, who Wallen referenced throughout the night when telling stories behind some of the songs, finally joined him on stage to perform their collaboration, “Flower Shops.” Bridgestone Arena went wild for Ernest, and the Nashville native gleamed back.

Jimmie Allen joined him at one point to perform a rousing version of Wallen’s debut single, “The Way I Talk.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was when Country Music Hall of Famer Ronnie Dunn casually strolled out onstage to help Wallen sing “Talkin’ Tennessee.” The two then traded verses on “Neon Moon,” with Wallen grinning ear to ear at the legend. “You’re killin’ it man!” Dunn told him.

Both Hardy and Larry Fleet, who served as openers for the show, re-joined Wallen at some point to sing with the star.

A highlight of the evening came with Wallen’s cover of Jason Isbell‘s “Cover Me Up.” He instructed concert-goers to pull out their cell phones to light the arena as he sang. His signature rasp, paired with thousands of people singing along, made for a special moment.

Wallen closed his set with an encore of “Heartless,” his new single “Wasted On You,” and his first No. 1, “Whiskey Glasses.”

Throughout the night, Wallen spoke with a lot of pride for his homestate, and a lot of love for his fans.

“For me it was always music and baseball,” he said. “I always imagined myself playing the World Series or something. I never thought I’d be in Bridgestone Arena singing music, that’s for sure. But it feels like the World Series for me tonight.”

Pictured: Hardy and Morgan Wallen performing Hardy’s “He Went To Jared.” Photo: David Lehr

Hardy was also thrilled to play for a Nashville crowd. The singer-songwriter leaned heavily into his rock sensibilities throughout his high-energy set, even playing his brand new rock single “Sold Out.” He was visibly psyched performing “4X4” and “Unapologetically Country As Hell,” showing off his significant growth in confidence as a showman.

“I’m very thankful to call myself a hit songwriter at this point in my career,” Hardy told the crowd before performing a hit he co-wrote for Blake Shelton, “God’s Country.” He also brought special guests for the first Nashville night. Lauren Alain and Devin Dawson joined him for their hit song, “One Beer.”

Larry Fleet got the evening started with some songs from his first full-length album, Stack Of Records. Later he joined Wallen onstage for his critically-acclaimed track “Where I Find God.”

Wallen, Hardy, and Fleet will hit the Nashville stage again Thursday and Friday night. Tickets are still available here.

Noah Gordon

Grammy award-winning engineer and producer Noah Gordon has launched 8 Track Entertainment, a multi-faceted publishing, production and live touring events company. The new venture will also unveil details about a new country label in the coming weeks.

Led by Gordon, initial hirings include Jeff Goodwin as Vice President/Marketing and Partnerships; Bill Harbin as Vice President/Corporate Partnerships; and Claire Cook-Taylor as Vice President/Public Relations/Media.

“It’s truly an exciting time to be in Entertainment… feels like the Wild West! 8 Track isn’t traditional… we’re bringing decades of experience in Corporate Relationships & Partnerships and marrying that to a completely independent music, media, marketing, touring and content driven company,” shares Gordon, President of 8 Track Entertainment. “8 Track is rooted in the nostalgia of Muscle Shoals, but we know how to do business in 2022.”

The recently launched publishing division, 8 Track Publishing, has already celebrated the company’s first No. 1 Billboard Hot Country Song with Aaron Lewis‘ “Am I The Only One,” co-written by 8 Track songwriter, Ira Dean. Dean also penned five songs and co-produced Lewis’ No. 1 album Frayed at Both Ends, which topped iTunes Country Album chart in January 2022.

A 30-year music industry veteran, Gordon’s production credits include songs by Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, Brad Paisley, Montgomery Gentry, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker, Jacob Bryant and more. Additionally, Gordon produced Colt Ford’s No. 1 Billboard Country and Indie album, Declaration of Independence, and Ford’s No.1 Billboard Rap and Indie album, Thanks For Listening. An ASCAP award-winning songwriter, Gordon has over 50 cuts by artists such as Charlie Daniels, John Michael Montgomery, Randy Travis, Craig Morgan, Joe Nichols and Clay Walker. Gordon most recently served as VP, A&R/Publishing at Average Joes Entertainment.

A marketing industry executive with 40 years experience in corporate partnerships, Goodwin has developed marketing plans for companies including Kimberly Clark, Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific, Winfield, Land O’ Lakes, Jive Communications and others. He was formerly head of A&R for Airborne Records.

Harbin has worked in corporate America as VP of National Accounts/Sales for 22 years. He created and developed corporate partnerships of multiple Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, Syngenta, Georgia Pacific, Winfield, Land O’ Lakes, Budweiser, Kleenex and others. Harbin previously served as the CEO and Co-Founder of Prestige Sports Media & Entertainment.

Previously Head of Public Publicity at Average Joes Entertainment, Cook-Taylor began her career at Capitol/EMI Records in LA. Previous career stops include Los Angeles-based Windsor Publications; Magnatone Records Nashville; VP, Publicity at Kenny Rogers’ Dreamcatcher Entertainment; Moraine Music Group; and her own Cook Media as Independent Management and Publicity.

Pictured (L-R): Marissa Messer, John Carroll, Hillary Borden. Photo: Jessica Crans

BBR Music Group announced the hiring of Marissa Messer to Director of Digital Marketing, John Carroll to Director of Streaming, and Hillary Borden to Marketing Manager.

Messer joins BBR from Soles4Souls, where she handled the non-profit’s digital presence, helping to turn shoes and clothing into opportunity by providing relief, creating jobs and empowering people to break the cycle of poverty. Prior to that, she spent time at various digital agencies. Reporting to Elise Stawarz, Sr. Director of Digital Marketing, Messer handles the strategic digital initiatives for the label’s artist roster. Reach her at marissa@bbrmusicgroup.com.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Marissa to our digital marketing team,” says Stawarz. “Marissa comes to us with incredible experience in the non-profit and agency spaces, and I’m excited for her to bring these talents to our BBR Music Group artists.”

Carroll comes to BBR from Sony Music Nashville, where he served as Associate Director, A&R. Prior to that, he worked at Universal Music Group on their Global Streaming Marketing team. Reporting to Chris Loss, VP of Streaming at BBR, Carroll collaborates with key partners to amplify all of BBR Music Group’s artists, is responsible for delivering all new music, and works to discover and provide actionable insights to connect the dots between streaming and country radio. He can be reached at john@bbrmusicgroup.com.

“John Carroll is well-versed in the big picture, yet also very much energized by the details,” says Loss. “He is creative while being analytic and is a spectacular fit for our culture and how collaborative we are here at BBR Music Group.”

Borden joins BBR from from The Bobby Bones Show, where she served as a producer, booking artists for the show and writing the weekend show, Country Top 30. Now, reporting to JoJamie Hahr, SVP of BBR Music Group, Borden is responsible for managing artist projects, creating marketing plans, streamlining advertising initiatives and coordinating with all departments on artist release plans and strategies. Reach her at hillary@bbrmusicgroup.com.

“We are so thrilled to have Hillary join our family,” says Hahr. “She has been a friend to so many of us through The Bobby Bones Show, and her talent, passion and creativity sets her in a class all of her own. We are so lucky to have her!”