Industry Ink: Sarah Trahern, Ryan Hurd, Triple Tigers

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Sarah Trahern To Speak At Vanderbilt Business Class of 2021 Commencement

Sarah Trahern. Photo: Courtesy CMA

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern is returning to her alma mater and will speak at Vanderbilt’s Class of 2021 Commencement on May 15.

Trahern is a graduate of Georgetown University and received her MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Trahern has served as CEO of the CMA since 2014. She helms the organization’s three acclaimed network television properties (CMA Fest, CMA Country Christmas, and the CMA Awards), one of the biggest music festivals in the world, and serves as President of the CMA Foundation, which funds meaningful music education initiatives across the country.

 

Ryan Hurd’s “To A T” Certified Platinum

 

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Ryan Hurd’s hit “To A T” has accumulated over one million consumption units and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. Hurd is pictured here embracing his brand new “To A T” Platinum plaque as well as a celebratory cocktail. “To A T” was written by Hurd, Laura Veltz and Nathan Spicer, and was included on his critically-acclaimed Platonic EP. Hurd’s latest song, “Chasing After You,” with wife Maren Morris officially impacted country radio less than a month ago, and has since amassed over 24 million streams.

 

Hope Garrison Promoted To Manager Marketing/Promotion Triple Tigers Records

Hope Garrison. Photo: Courtesy of Triple Tigers Records

Hope Garrison has been promoted from Promotions Coordinator to the newly-created position of Manager of Marketing and Promotion at Triple Tigers Records. While earning her Music Business degree from Belmont University, Garrison was an intern for Big Machine Label Group and Black River Entertainment, before joining Triple Tigers in August 2018. Garrison will report to SVP of Promotion Kevin Herring and VP of Marketing Laura Hostelley.

“As a promotion coordinator Hope has no equal,” says Herring. “Her attention to detail, ability to multi-task, while handling every challenge thrown at her, is amazing. I’m excited to continue to watch her grow in her new expanded role.”

Nashville Hip-Hop Artists To Showcase April 30, Sponsored By BMI & BMG

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H.O.M.E.(Helping Our Music Evolve), in partnership with Nashville Is Not Just Country Music, will put a spotlight on rising Nashville-based hip-hop artists in their The Best of Nashville Hip-Hop virtual showcase on April 30, sponsored by BMI and BMG.

The free livestream event, professionally produced with the help of Underground Music Collective, will feature performances by 11 of Nashville’s top emerging hip-hop artists including Nate Rose, Byron Juane, Daisha McBride, Chuck Indigo and 2’Live Bre. Derek Minor, the owner of Reflection Music Group and an established hip-hop artist himself, will serve as host and emcee.

H.O.M.E. is a creative incubator for artists, producers, and music industry professionals, as well as a music and media production community.

“We’re ecstatic to bring more visibility to the diverse music scene that is being cultivated here in Nashville,” says Founder & President of H.O.M.E, Logan Crowell. “Our hope is that this event will provide an opportunity for music fans to discover their favorite new hip-hop artist as well as support the underground scene that’s already generating so much buzz in Nashville and beyond.”

Nashville Is Not Just Country Music (NINJCM), co-founded by Jamila “Mimi” McCarley and Thalia “Muziqueen” Ewing, provides support to the Nashville based creative through music business education, networking, community & professional relationships and career advancing opportunities.

“It is exciting to see music companies on Music Row, like BMG and BMI, investing in Nashville’s hip-hop community,” says NINJCM’s McCarley. “NINJCM is honored to partner with these like-minded organizations to continue to amplify the message to the world that, ‘Nashville is not just country music.’”

RSVP and tune in to The Best of Nashville Hip-Hop Livestream Event on Friday, April 30t at 6:15pm CT here: bestofnashville.live.

Yola Mines Soul And Pop Influences On Upcoming New Album ‘Stand For Myself’

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Yola. Photo: Joseph Ross Smith

Yola is set to release her brand new album, Stand For Myself, on Easy Eye Sound on July 30. The first single from the new project, “Diamond Studded Shoes,” debuted today with a new video, directed by Kwaku Otchere.

Yola also announced that she will be one of few artists to perform at both Newport Folk and Newport Jazz in the same year, when she joins the lineup of both events this summer. She will also be performing dates with Chris Stapleton on his rescheduled tour in 2021 and will headline The Ryman Auditorium in 2022.

Produced by Dan Auerbach, Stand For Myself is a sonic shift from her debut project, with a diverse mix of symphonic soul and classic pop, tracing a musical thread to Yola’s most eclectic musical inspirations. Stand For Myself draws inspiration from seminal albums she discovered via her mother’s ’70s record collection and the eclectic mix tapes she created listening to 90’s neo soul, R&B and britpop on British radio, all of which soundtracked her childhood and teenage years in Bristol, England. Tracks were co-written with a variety of writers including Ruby Amanfu, John Bettis, Pat McLaughlin, Natalie Hemby, Joy Oladokun, Paul Overstreet, Liz Rose, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Hannah Vasanth and Bobby Wood.

Last year, the pandemic derailed Yola’s plans to tour stadiums (with Stapleton and The Black Keys) as well as numerous festivals. Her plans were also sidelined to fly to Australia to film a role as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the new Baz Luhrmann Elvis biopic. Yola used this unexpected time and space to become grounded both physically and mentally, and began to craft the songs that would eventually become Stand For Myself. Some songs began in the twilight hours of Yola’s pandemic isolation, reflecting on her personal and our collective moments of longing and awakening. Other songs germinated years ago and were inspired by personal moments, including “Break The Bough,” which Yola started to write following her mother’s funeral.

“It’s a collection of stories of allyship, black feminine strength through vulnerability, and loving connection from the sexual to the social. All celebrating  a change in thinking and paradigm shift at their core,” Yola says. “It is an album not blindly positive and it does not simply plead for everyone to come together. It instead explores ways that we need to stand for ourselves throughout our lives, what limits our connection as humans and declares that real change will come when we challenge our thinking and acknowledge our true complexity.”

Stand For Myself  Track List:
1. Barely Alive
2. Dancing Away In Tears
3. Diamond Studded Shoes
4. Be My Friend
5. Great Divide
6. Starlight
7. If I Had To Do It All Again
8. Now You’re Here
9. Whatever You Want
10. Break The Bough
11. Like A Photograph
12. Stand For Myself

Brock Gonyea To Debut With Vintage Country Sound On ‘Where My Heart Is’

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Brock Gonyea is reaching back into the vaults and into country’s rich history a bit on his new five-song collection, Where My Heart Is, due out this Friday (April 23) via Big Machine Records. The first single from the project, “All Night Long,” is an unearthed, never-recorded Mel Tillis/Webb Pierce song.

The new project offers a unique synthesis of old and new country throughout, and provides a glimpse into the heart of the 25-year-old with an old soul. Whether the bittersweet “Pretending It’s Me,” the Hank Williams-inspired “Lovin’ You,” his whisper of Roy Orbison vocal on “My World Turns To Silver,” or the rockabilly style of “Where My Heart Is,” there’s a freshness to Gonyea’s music.

Gonyea was raised in a family of musicians in bands that reach back generations. He was raised in a small town where logging was the chief occupation, listening to musicians that influenced him including Hank Sr., Ray Price, and Ferlin Huskey. Gonyea emerged with a tone uniquely his own and extends to the songs he writes.

Producer Julian Raymond assembled a studio band of Time Jumpers steel master Paul Franklin, acclaimed upright bassist Glenn Worf, Academy of Country Music Guitarist of the Year Tom Bukovac, and Emmy-nominated arranger/keyboardist Tim Lauer to create a cohesion of Gonyea’s influences that also captured the immediacy of today.

“As much as I want to be reminiscent of those old records of my grandparents, I want to get to that sound without sounding like a novelty,” Gonyea says. “With my voice, I come by the vibrato honestly. That’s what I was exposed to when I was younger, so that’s what I soaked up as a kid. This music comes from the inside out, and all of the players I recorded with for this project understood that. I didn’t even know there were unreleased catalogues,” Gonyea adds. “But the idea I could perform a song by one of my heroes? My father used to sing ‘There Stands The Glass,’ and say, ‘Your grandfather used to sing that song.’ Now I’m getting to sing a song by that artist? I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”

Connie Bradley Celebration Of Life Set For May 12

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Connie Bradley

A Celebration of Life has been announced for pioneering music industry leader Connie Bradley.

The celebration will be held on Wednesday, May 12th at 2:00 p.m. at Cedar Creek Church By The Lake in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee located at 3581 Benders Ferry Road. (Click here for map.)

Those wishing to attend the celebration of life are requested to RSVP here.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of these charities in memory of Connie Bradley: Ascension Saint Thomas Foundation for support of the NICU Fund, Nashville Humane Association, Pet Community Center, Shriners Hospitals for Children, or another charity of your choice.

Inquiries about the celebration of life can be sent to celebrateCDB@gmail.com for more information.

Bradley, who spent more than three decades with ASCAP, passed away on Wednesday, March 24 in Ft. Myers, Florida. She joined ASCAP in 1976, and rose to Senior Vice President and Nashville Head. Under her leadership, ASCAP signed and supported the careers of Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Rodney Crowell, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, John Rich, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood and Chris Young, among many. She led the ASCAP Nashville office until 2010, when she stepped back to take the role of strategic advisor.

Click here for complete obituary.

117 Entertainment Reveals Plans To Rebrand, Adds Two

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Pictured (clockwise): Cassie Wells, Jentry Davis, Erin Fligel, Zach Farnum. Photo (credits clockwise): Jessica Adynelle, Cassie Wells, Jason Myers (2)

117 Entertainment announced today (April 21) it’s rebranding as an innovative publicity and artist development company.

Last year the company announced a partnership with The Orchard on 117 Music, bringing an international leading distributor onboard and building a catalog that has racked up nearly 10 million streams. Most notably, 117 Music independently released Randy Travis’ 2020 single “Fool’s Love Affair” and the team has built the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s official TikTok channel to over 1.2 million followers and over 37 million views.

Subsidiary 117 Publicity executed the roll-out of Jerry Lee Lewis’ 85 Birthday Celebration (produced by Farnum) with artists like Elton John, Keith Richards and Ringo Starr paying tribute to the icon. Scooter Brown Band has also had recent success with 117 Management.

Owner & President Zach Farnum saw the need for development within the companies’ strategies and initiatives. Some of the changes include a new logo, website, and structural transitions to a multi-faceted entertainment firm specializing in publicity, development and marketing campaigns for musicians, events and brands. Additionally, 117 has opened a new collaborative and creative space in Germantown’s 100 Taylor Arts Collective.

Farnum also announced the addition of Cassie Wells as Label & Content Manager and Jentry Davis as Publicity Manager, joining existing Publicity Manager Erin Fligel who has been with the company since 2019.

“A motivated and driven team is instrumental to our success in this era of ever-evolving strategies,” says Farnum, “Cassie and Jentry add a new energy to our team and bring innovative ideas, unique experience and excitement. We are thrilled to have them as a part of the 117 family and helping us stay on the cutting edge of the industry. Our company is more collaborative than we’ve ever been!”

Davis grew up around the music industry and moved to Music City to dive into the business side of music. She interned at 117 Entertainment early in her journey before going into B2B marketing. Meanwhile, Wells was brought onto the team after time as the morning host on YoCo Nashville and program director of WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee. She is in the Army Reserves and hosts her own podcast, The Cassie Wells Podcast, while also narrowing her focus on developing strategic content with clients and translating that to opportunities with partners.

Reach Davis and Wells at jentry@117group.com and cassie@117group.com, respectively.

BMI, Taylor Guitars & Shure’s ‘My #1 Moment’ Returns For Second Season

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BMI, Taylor Guitars, and Shure have unveiled a second season of the weekly collaborative social media video series, “My #1 Moment,” which highlights BMI songwriters and the songs that took them to the top of the charts.

Season two includes performances from writers Nick Van Eede, Nate Mercereau, Ernest K. Smith, David Hodges, Ruby Amanfu and Sam Ashworth, Brad Arnold, Mitchy Collins, Sergio Vallín, David Lee, and Ilsey Juber.

The second installation includes a variety of genres, including pop, rock, latin, country, and more, and will offer viewers a unique opportunity to hear hits and their back stories from the songwriters who brought them to life. Each episode is recorded using a Shure MV88+ Video Kit and performed on the writer’s commemorative Taylor 210e Deluxe guitar.

Season one of “My #1 Moment” highlighted an all-star lineup of country hits and included performances from BMI country songwriters HARDY, Russell Dickerson, Devin Dawson, Randy Montana, Scotty McCreery, Riley Green, Ben Burgess, Ash Bowers, and Robert Williford.

New episodes will debut at 10 a.m. CST each Wednesday beginning today (4/21) available to watch on Taylor Guitar’s Instagram.

Wasserman Music Acquires Paradigm’s Live Music Roster

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Wasserman Music has launched following the completion of the acquisition of Paradigm Talent Agency’s North American live music representation business. The announcement was made by Casey Wasserman, chairman and CEO of Wasserman.

Wasserman Music and its marquee roster of artists joins the Wasserman team. The intersection of sports, entertainment, lifestyle marketing, culture, and music comprises the foundation of Wasserman’s business and has fueled its success for close to 20 years. Some of the artists on Wasserman Music’s roster include Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, Dave Matthews Band, Janelle Monáe, Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion, Phish, Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Sturgill Simpson, Black Pumas, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Kaytranada, Normani, Run the Jewels, Tash Sultana, Diplo, DJ Snake, Flume, Jack Harlow, ODESZA, and Skrillex.

Structurally, Wasserman Music will be operated as a unit of the larger Wasserman organization and will be led by Casey Wasserman, his existing executive management team, and a seasoned group of executive agents. Marty Diamond, Jonathan Levine, Jackie Nalpant, Sam Hunt, Corrie Martin, Lee Anderson, and Matt Rodriguez will focus on executive oversight of the business on a day-to-day basis. Tom Windish, Joe Rosenberg, and Lori Feldman will round out the team to provide business development, operational, and marketing support, as well as expertise and connectivity in operating and integrating all branded entertainment. The business will open with a strong balance sheet, more than 130 employees, and plans to expand assertively as the live entertainment business rebounds in 2021 and 2022.

Casey Wasserman. Photo: Rainer Hosch

“I have worked side-by-side with this remarkable group of people to build a blueprint for success and I am continually impressed with their tenacity and care for both their clients and the business. But most important is our shared commitment to cultivating a culture of forward progress so this new business appropriately reflects the artists and fans we serve,” says Wasserman. “This is a dynamic opportunity to create new collaborations between the family of brands and talent that Wasserman currently represents in a meaningful and impactful way, and I am excited to get started.”

Wasserman Music has made a commitment to build a more inclusive business and as a starting point, has forged a partnership with the national advocacy organization Color Of Change. The agency is one of the inaugural industry leaders who signed onto the organization’s #ChangeMusic Roadmap, an initiative that challenges leaders in music to move the industry beyond conversation and intention and towards actionable racial justice. Additionally, Wasserman Music will have broad access to the tools, solutions, and social change strategies advocated by Wasserman’s Inclusion Council and its women-focused unit, The Collective, as they work to embody a more inclusive business.

Gilda’s Club Sets Third Annual Songwriter’s Night

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Pictured (clockwise): Dave Brainard, Jenny Tolman, Leslie Satcher, Tony Arata

Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee is hosting its 3rd Annual Songwriters Night on Sunday, May 2 at The Reserve at Fat Bottom Brewery to champion the Gilda’s Club cause. Participating writers include Tony Arata, Leslie Satcher, Jenny Tolman, and Dave Brainard.

Cancer patients throughout Middle Tennessee and worldwide have experienced the strain, uncertainty and isolation brought on by the global pandemic like few others. Because of COVID-19, these individuals have needed—and will continue to need—additional emotional and social support, making the work being done at Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee more essential than ever.

“The adults, teens, children and families we serve don’t have the luxury of putting cancer on hold. Cancer doesn’t quit—even in the face of COVID,” says Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee President and CEO, Harriet Schiftan, MSW, MAJCS. “In fact, in the first four months of the pandemic, we received a typical year’s worth of requests for resources and support—more than 1,500. Over the course of 2020, we served close to 8,500 individuals, both in-person and virtually. Gilda’s Club is increasingly a lifeline for your friends, families and neighbors being impacted by cancer.”

“We are thrilled to have the support of these four talented and generous songwriters, all of whom answered our call for support with a quick and resounding ‘yes.’ We are also excited to be able to offer two ways for guests to experience this event: virtually via Zoom or in-person at the beautiful, indoor-outdoor space at Fat Bottom Brewing, which we chose specifically because it allows us to create a COVID-smart event,” Schiftan says.

Sponsors of Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee’s 3rd Annual Songwriters event include Tennessee Oncology, American Paper and Twine, Studio 8 Design, Denise Alper, and Helen and Steve Lane.

Tickets are available here.

Andrew Jannakos Signs With Spirit Music Nashville

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Pictured (L-R, back row): Kara Jackson, Spirit Music Nashville; Matt Cottingham, Ritholz Levy Fields LLP; Frank Rogers, SMN; Mike Fiorentino, SMN; Derek Wells, SMN; Andrew Cohen, Cohencidence Projects; Anthony Stone, Cohencidence Projects; (front row): Andrew Jannakos

Andrew Jannakos has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Spirit Music Nashville.

The Sony Music Nashville artist first made waves with the release of his breakout single “Gone Too Soon” in September. Upon its release, he debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artist Chart, and the track debuted at No. 12 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart and within the Hot 100. “Gone Too Soon” is currently impacting country radio nationwide and has amassed over 50 million on-demand streams to date.

The song was originally teased in July 2020 on Jannakos’ TikTok, when his girlfriend (now wife) posted a clip of him singing to the track while cooking dinner, and by the following morning, the post had racked up 250k likes. In four months time, he amassed 40 million TikTok views and 6 million likes with nearly 1 million followers across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Many of Jannakos’ followers know him from his run on season 16 of NBC’s The Voice.

“We are beyond excited to welcome Andrew to the Spirit Music family,” says Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Music Nashville, Frank Rogers. “We were fans from the very first note. He is a world class singer, songwriter and cook….according to him (I’m still waiting for that dinner invite, AJ). We are thrilled to partner with Andrew, his management team and Sony Music to bring his music to the world!”

“AJ has felt like family from the start… and we are thrilled to now make that official!” says Sr. Director A&R, Spirit Music Nashville, Derek Wells. “His voice as an artist and a writer speaks for itself and he’s just such a great human being. He is so representative of what we believe in signing here at Spirit Music Nashville and we’re excited to partner with him and his team for this ride. Fired up about this guy!” 

“You know, it’s pretty amazing that my job is to make music now,” says Jannakos. “I never thought I would have got this opportunity before, but here we are. And I can’t ever express my gratitude and thankfulness for my family over at Spirit Music Group—they have believed in me since the moment they heard my music and to me that’s everything. They have pushed me already to be the best songwriter I can be, and continue to every day. I’m so excited to be a part of the Spirit family and I can’t wait for y’all to hear the music we write!”