DISClaimer Single Reviews: Female Country Artists Start 2022 Strong

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Gabby Barrett. Photo: Gus Black

Fully half of today’s tunes in DISClaimer feature vocals by country females.

Surely, this is some kind of mistake, since the industry so consistently refuses to give women their due. Even wilder, the Disc of the Day award goes to a female artist. That would be Gabby Barrett, who creates things so groove-soaked and hooky that even country radio has to accept her. Play on, lady.

The DISCovery Award goes to Fancy Hagood. This is an artist whose publicity describes him as a “queer pop/country hybrid enigma.” I only know that he’s a terrific singer and a gifted songwriter. His duet partner, Devon Gilfillian, isn’t a country artist. But he’s a DISCovery, too.

CAITLYN SMITH / “The Card You Gamble”
Writers: Hillary Lindsey/Lori McKenna/Liz Rose; Producers: Adam Anders/Peer Astrom; Label: Arista/Monument
–This is the theme of Monarch, the new Fox country-music drama series (that was just delayed to premiere in the fall). Singer Smith is noted for writing tunes recorded by Garth, Dolly, Miley, Jason Aldean and others. Here, she demonstrates a sassy, tart soprano style with an echoey, twangy “Spaghetti Western” rumbling track to back her up, complete with whistling. Highly engaging. Play it.

CLAY WALKER / “Catching Up with an Ol’ Memory”
Writers: Clay Walker/George Birge/Jaron Boyer/Lalo Guzman; Producers: Michael Knox/Jaron Boyer; Label: Show Dog
–Nicely done. The production has a tasteful throb and swirling echoes. A steel guitar sighs sympathetically as Walker gives a wistful reading of the honky-tonk heartache lament. Super melodic.

TENILLE TOWNES / “When’s It Gonna Happen”
Writers: Steph Jones/Stephen Wrabel/Tenille Townes; Producer: Pete Good; Label: Sony
–The tin-pan percussion is ear catching, as is the tune. As usual, Townes is a terrifically individualistic vocalist. While the beats shuffle around her, she expresses her yearning for a relationship. I remain a big fan.

FANCY HAGOOD & DEVON GILFILLIAN / “Let Me Be”
Writers: Fancy Hagood/Lucas Arens; Producer: Lucas Arens; Label: Concord
–Here’s some splendid soul singing, with both men bringing longing and ache to this gospel-flavored song. It has a soaring, anthem-like quality as it delivers a message of brotherhood. Lovely listening. Fancy’s other country tunes include “Forest,” “Southern Curiosity,” “The Same Thing” and “Good Man,” and they are just as cool. Devon is a Nashville R&B artist, noted for his re-recording of Marvin Gaye’s classic album What’s Going On, plus his own collection, Black Hole Rainbow.

GABBY BARRETT / “Pick Me Up”
Writers: Ross Copperman/Gabby Barrett/Jon Nite; Producers: Ross Copperman/Zach Kale; Label: Warner
–Dubbed “the face of Gen-Z country,” Gabby is the mistress of such ear worms as “I Hope” and “The Good Ones.” She goes three-for-three with this fabulously catchy pop-country ditty. Put this one on “repeat.”

MADDIE & TAE / “Strangers”
Writers: Maddie Font/Taylor Kerr/Adam Hambrick/Jimmy Robbins/Tofer Brown; Producers: Jimmy Robbins/Derek Wells; Label: Mercury
–Sweet sounding. It’s bolstered by an oomphy production, but it still seems kinda dull.

TRACY LAWRENCE / “Angelina”
Writers: Joe Collins/Rick Huckaby; Producers: Tracy Lawrence/Julian King; Label: TL
–Generic hillbilly rock.

KANE BROWN / “Whiskey Sour”
Writers: Adam Craig/Jaxson Free/Josh Hoge; Producers: Ilya Toshinskiy/Kane Brown; Label: Sony
–Tender and touching. He’s broken hearted over her, so he drinks alone while a fiddle, and an acoustic guitar pluck gently along. This change-of-pace ballad demonstrates his expansiveness as a talent. I’m in.

JOE NICHOLS / “Good Day for Living”
Writers: Dave Cohen/Bobby Hambrick/Neil Mason; Producers: Mickey Jack Cones/Derek George; Label: Quartz Hill
–The title tune of Joe’s new CD is a rouser with loads of forward momentum and a can’t-miss chorus. As always, he sings his face off.

MAREN MORRIS / “Circles Around This Town”
Writers: Jimmy Robbins/Julia Michaels/Maren Morris/Ryan Hurd; Producer: Greg Kurstin; Label: Sony
–Her vocal should be mixed hotter and the production toned down, but her personality still shines through on this chunky-beats, getaway ode. The deep-twang guitar solo and the enormously catchy song are both irresistible.

COLIN LILLIE & CATHERINE BRITT / “The Road”
Writers: Catherine Britt/Colin Lillie; Producer: Catherine Britt; Label: Beverly Hillbilly
–Aussie newcomer Lillie enlisted the aid of veteran Britt to create his debut album. She also joins him as his duet partner on this ballad of wanderlust and fidelity. They are both fine singers, and the understated production is just right. It has a languid simplicity that is quite relaxing.

ELI YOUNG BAND / “Love Talking”
Writers: Mike Eli/Eric Arjes/Jeffrey East; Producers: Eric Arjes/Jimmy Robbins/Scott Borchetta/J.R. Schumann; Label: Valory
–Rolling along down a country road with your buds. The echo gives the sound some extra juice, and the band is as proficient as ever.

Tune In: Chris Stapleton To Be Profiled On Upcoming ’60 Minutes’ Episode

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Chris Stapleton & Sharyn Alfonsi on 60 Minutes.

Award-winning entertainer Chris Stapleton will be profiled on an upcoming episode of CBS’ 60 Minutes, airing this Sunday (Jan. 16) at 7 p.m. CT.

60 Minutes correspondent, Sharyn Alfonsi, recently traveled to Nashville to visit Stapleton ahead of his two-night stay at Bridgestone Arena in early December. Before the shows, the Kentucky-born vocalist showed the team around town and inside his rehearsal space, which was filled with various artifacts and his impressive collection of awards.

Alfonsi also interviewed Stapleton and his wife and bandmate Morgane to discuss their life together, making country music, and more.

His “All-American Road Show” will pick up this spring on April 20 in Toledo, Ohio, before embarking on the tour’s Canadian leg. For a full list of upcoming dates for 2022, click here.

Stapleton also earned three nominations at this year’s Grammy Awards for Best Country Album (Starting Over), Best Country Song (“Cold”), and Best Country Solo Performance (“You Should Probably Leave”).

Maren Morris Announces New Album ‘Humble Quest,’ Dropping In March

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Maren Morris

Maren Morris has unveiled details of her upcoming album, Humble Quest, dropping March 25 on Sony Music Nashville’s Columbia Nashville imprint.

The album features the leadoff single, “Circles Around This Town,” which was released last week. The hot new track is currently the most-added single at country radio and broke Amazon Music’s record for most streams for a country song debut by a female artist.

Produced by frequent collaborator Greg Kurstin and written alongside husband Ryan Hurd, Julia Michaels, Jimmy Robbins, Natalie Hemby, Laura Veltz and Jon Green, Humble Quest finds Morris on a journey to embrace the imperfections in her life through her rises and falls, overshares, lullabies, wine-soaked conversations, and a hard goodbye.

Morris began writing the project at the beginning of the pandemic as a series of major life changes unfolded–new motherhood, an upended career, the death of beloved friend and collaborator Michael Busbee, and more–which was further compounded by lockdown.

Humble Quest follows her record-shattering 2019 album, Girl, which spawned the quadruple Platinum-certified, Grammy-nominated “The Bones;” and the Platinum-certified No. 1 title track. She is nominated for two Grammy awards this year: Best Country Song for “Better Than We Found It” and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Chasing After You,” the No. 1, Platinum-certified collaboration with her husband Ryan Hurd.

Humble Quest Track List:
1. Circles Around This Town
2. The Furthest Thing
3. I Can’t Love You Anymore
4. Humble Quest
5. Background Music
6. Nervous
7. Tall Guys
8. Detour
9. Hummingbird
10. Good Friends
11. What Would This World Do

Shania Twain Passes The Country Music Baton As Taylor Swift Continues To Set Records

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Taylor Swift. Photo: Beth Garrabrant

Closing out 2021, award-winning entertainer Taylor Swift took the record as the female artist with the most weeks at No. 1 in the history of Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart.

Swift’s albums have notched 99 weeks at No. 1, dethroning country music icon Shania Twain, whose albums have spent 97 weeks as the top of the country albums chart.

Twain took to Twitter to congratulate Swift on the feat.

In 2006, Swift’s debut self-titled album spent 24 weeks at No. 1, while 2008’s Fearless spent 35 weeks atop the country albums chart. She continued her chart success with Speak Now (2010) earning 13 weeks and Red (2012) seeing 16 weeks before Swift made her transition into the pop music space.

In 2021, the decorated songstress returned to the top of Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart twice with the release of her re-recorded albums Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) spending three weeks and seven weeks at No. 1, respectively.

After the release of Red (Taylor’s Version) on Nov. 12, Swift quickly began breaking her own streaming records. As reported by Spotify, the re-recorded version of Red (Taylor’s Version) broke the record for the most streamed album in a day by a female in the platform’s history, raking in over 90.8 million streams. Swift also became the platform’s most-streamed female in a day with more than 122.9 million streams on release day.

Twain first entered the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with her 1993 self-titled album. 1995’s followup, The Woman in Me, spent 29 weeks atop the chart and 1997’s Come On Over notched an astounding 50 weeks at No. 1.

Twain’s 2002 album Up! added six weeks to her tally, and her 2004 Greatest Hits record earned 11 more. Her most recent chart-topper, 2017’s Now, spent one week atop the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

While Swift is now the female artist with the most weeks at No. 1 on the chart, Garth Brooks still holds the record of 169 weeks. Alabama follows Brooks with 125, and then Willie Nelson with 106.

Erin Duvall Joins Black River As Director, Digital Marketing & Streaming Strategy

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Erin Duvall

Erin Duvall has been hired as Director, Digital Marketing and Streaming Strategy at Black River Entertainment.

In her new role, Duvall will run point across all digital strategy and activations for Black River’s roster. She will be responsible for each artist’s audience and content development, social media marketing, online promotion, influencers, and advertising. Based in Nashville, she will report to Black River Entertainment’s EVP Rick Froio.

Duvall has over 16 years of experience in the industry, most recently as the video strategist for Warner Music Nashville where she focused on YouTube growth for Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, and more. She previously served as the U.S. country music programmer for YouTube Music and Google Play, and has handled digital marketing for an array of artists and brands.

Duvall began her career as a writer, serving as Associate Editor of Country Aircheck and Deputy Editor for AOL’s The Boot. She earned an MFA in Film and Creative Media from Lipscomb University and a BBA in Music Business from Belmont University. She is also the author of Country Music Hair, published by Harper Collins in 2016.

“We are thrilled to add Erin Duvall to our executive team,” says Froio. “We are looking ahead with excitement for her to lead our digital marketing efforts.”

“I’m ecstatic to be joining the Black River family,” adds Duvall. “I’ve admired the company leadership and artist roster for years, and now I am excited to be a part of it. As digital and streaming continue to grow, I aim to keep Black River at the forefront.”

Duvall can be reached at eduvall@blackriverent.com.

Fox’s ‘Monarch’ Gets New Airdate Due To Pandemic Challenges

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Fox’s new country music drama, Monarch, starring Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins, has been pushed back until fall 2022 due to challenges around the ongoing pandemic.

The decision will allow the cast and crew the proper time to adequately film and produce a season that can air in full in the fall. Production on Monarch will continue in Atlanta as planned into the spring.

“With an incredible pedigree of talent and musical performances, the powerfully compelling drama, Monarch, is a top priority for Fox Entertainment in 2022. Unfortunately, due to the unavoidable realities of the pandemic and the profound impact Covid-19 continues to have on our industry and around the world, it is necessary to reschedule Monarch’s Jan. 30 debut to the fall,” the company shared in a statement. “As the cornerstone of Fox’s new 2022-23 slate, shifting a show of this magnitude allows us to have its entire first season produced, create additional, high-profile content and promotional windows to support launch, and give our viewers the best opportunity to enjoy the series as intended with a non-compromised run of episodes. We thank our cast, producers, writers and the entire crew for their tireless work and continued dedication to the country music-filled world that is Monarch.”

Fox will announce replacement programming for Sunday, Jan. 30 and the Tuesday 9 p.m. mid-season time period in the coming days.

Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp Adds Scott Schult As CMO

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Scott Schult

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) has named Scott Schult as its new Chief Marketing Officer.

Schult has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industries in Myrtle Beach and St. Petersburg/Clearwater where he was responsible for directing marketing. He spent 12 years as Executive Vice President of Marketing for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and nine years with the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Scott has great experience, a great attitude and strengths in key areas of strategic partnerships and digital marketing,” says Butch Spyridon, CEO of the NCVC. “He will help us sustain our marketing momentum and efforts to brand Music City as the top destination that it is.”

Schult adds, “I am excited to join the talented team at the NCVC and help build upon the exceptional work of growing tourism and a world-class brand. Music City has an incredible vibe that we want to share with people around the world and inspire them to visit.”

Deana Ivey, who previously held the title of Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, was elevated to the role of President in an announcement earlier this week.

Additionally, four others in senior positions have been promoted as part of a restructuring of the NCVC’s senior leadership team. Andrea Arnold has risen from Senior Vice President, Public Affairs to Chief Public Affairs Officer; Adrienne Siemers from Senior Vice President, Sales to Chief Sales Officer; Marie Sueing from Senior Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, to Chief Diversity Officer; and Heather Middleton from Vice President, Public Relations to Senior Vice President, Marketing.

“We are fortunate for the skill and experience of the senior leadership team and their staff as they carried the hospitality industry through the pandemic and other challenges,” comments Kevin Lavender, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NCVC. “2022 looks strong for our industry with major events and a full slate of conventions on tap, and we appreciate their hard work and dedicated leadership.”

Concord Launches Chromatic Music With Tofer Brown, Signs Lauren Hungate

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Pictured (L-R): Ashley Nite, Garrett Stephenson, Brad Kennard, Matt Turner, Tofer Brown, Lauren Hungate, Melissa Spillman, Courtney Allen, Jen Hubbard

Concord Music Publishing has launched a new creative joint venture, Chromatic Music.

The new venture was founded by chart-topping songwriter Tofer Brown, who has had success as a songwriter and producer across genres. Among other career achievements, Brown penned the title track on Lady A’s Ocean, as well as Little Big Town’s Platinum single “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” and Jon Pardi’s award-winning hit “Night Shift.”

Brown and Chromatic Music aim to develop and mentor talent of all kinds by partnering with creators of all genres. Chromatic’s first signing, in partnership with Concord, is Nashville-based songwriter Lauren Hungate. The worldwide publishing deal will cover Hungate’s full catalog.

“I first became aware of Lauren over a year ago, and the second I heard her songs I thought ‘Who is Lauren Hungate and why is she writing all of the songs I wish I’d written?’” shares Brown. “I can honestly say after writing a lot together in 2021, Lauren is without a doubt one of the best writers in Nashville. She writes well beyond her years and quickly becomes fast friends with every collaborator she works with in town. I can think of no one else I’d rather have as the first writer signed to Chromatic Music and I’m grateful for Concord’s belief in Lauren and me in this next chapter of both of our careers.”

Hungate’s credits include Ashland Craft’s “When a Cowboy’s Heart Breaks,” Gray Robinson’s “Damsel In This Dress,” and several tracks on Rachael Neimroff’s upcoming EP. She has also frequently collaborated with Republic Records/Big Loud artist Lily Rose, including on Rose’s viral single, “Overnight Sensation.”

“I’m so excited to be the first signing to Chromatic,” says Hungate. “Tofer is such a champion, and it was evident upon meeting him that he is the kind of person and writes the kind of songs I want to be associated with. I am also so grateful to be joining the Concord team. They have felt like fast family, and their staff has been such a godsend in making me feel taken care of in my first deal.”

“Tofer has been an amazing creative partner with Concord for many years. He is as passionate about songwriters as we are, and we’re so proud to expand our partnership, as we work together to identify and empower the next generation of creators,” adds Brad Kennard, Sr. VP, A&R in Nashville. “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Lauren as the first signing to this collaborative venture. She is a brilliant writer who is already blazing her own trail to huge success!”

Anna Lee Williams Elevated To Director of Marketing At Americana Music Association

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Anna Lee (Crenshaw) Williams. Photo: Gina Binkley

Anna Lee (Crenshaw) Williams has been promoted to Director of Marketing at the Americana Music Association. In her new role, she will report to Executive Director Jed Hilly.

Williams marks her sixth year with the Association this month, formerly serving as Manager of Marketing and Member Relations for the nonprofit. After starting her career interning for AmericanaFest in 2013, she subsequently worked at BAM! Social Business as Social Strategist and Product Manager. There she led a team that managed the festival’s social media channels during the event week in 2015 and 2016. She returned to the Americana Music Association full-time in 2017.

During her tenure, Williams has been responsible for managing the Association and festival’s social media presence. She has also created “How To” educational guides containing advice from industry experts, oversees monthly Zoom mixers to keep membership connected throughout the pandemic, and is responsible for registration and ticketing for AmericanaFest and the Americana Honors & Awards.

“Anna Lee is a born leader and her value to the association cannot be understated,” says Hilly.  “She has consistently performed not just as a consummate professional, but also a true team player. She is a huge asset to the community.”

“Over these last five years, I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know our incredible community as I’ve grown within the association,” adds Williams. “It’s always been a privilege to advocate for this music, and I’m looking forward to my new position and continuing to elevate what we can do together.”

Williams can be reached at annalee@americanamusic.org.

Dave Pittenger Renews With Big Yellow Dog Music

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Dave Pittenger

Big Yellow Dog Music, a Nashville-based label, publishing and artist development company, has renewed its contract with songwriter Dave Pittenger.

Pittenger, a producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, has seen much success, including with recent single “abcdefu” by Gayle (Atlantic Records), which is currently No. 1 on Billboard‘s Global 200 Chart and has reached the top 50 on more than 20 Billboard charts globally. The song first resonated with listeners through TikTok, where it has gone on to be used in over 1.4 million videos.

“2022 has been a blast off year for Dave Pittenger,” says BYD co-owner and CEO Carla Wallace. “He shows up to BYD every day with an infectious smile and attitude that inspires us all. We are so excited for the world to get to hear more from him.”

Pittenger also had a hand in AJ Mitchell‘s “Cheap Red Wine” (Epic Records) and “Dance With Someone Else” by Jessie James Decker (Warner Nashville). Since singing with Big Yellow Dog Music in 2019, singles co-written and/or produced by Pittenger have climbed the Mediabase Country and Billboard Country Airplay charts, and have reached the top 30 of the Mediabase Dance chart.