Pictured (L-R): Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy, 117 Entertainment’s Zach Farnum, SoundExchange’s Marc Rucker and Michael Huppe, Randy and Mary Travi and Ontourage Management’s Tony Conway. Photo: Courtesy of Warner Music Nashville

Randy Travis has been chosen to receive SoundExchange’s Music Fairness Award for his advocacy for Congress to modernize the nation’s copyright law to protect creators and support of the American Music Fairness Act.

Though he was hospitalized with viral cardiomyopathy in 2013 and now suffers from aphasia, making it difficult to speak and sing, earlier this year Travis and his wife Mary joined SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe to testify before Congress in support of modernizing copyright law to protect creators.

“Randy Travis is a music icon and a courageous leader, willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that everyone—from music fans to lawmakers—is aware of the inequities suffered by creators for more than a century,” says Huppe. “Randy and Mary’s powerful testimony is a step forward in paving a better future for the next generation of artists. We are honored to present Randy Travis with the SoundExchange Music Fairness Award.”

“Thank you to SoundExchange for recognizing Randy for his advocacy. He loves country radio and everyone in it, he also loves his fellow creators. What he is advocating for here is an equitable solution to better align artists, labels and radio going forward under the changing environment of the music industry,” Mary says on behalf of Randy. “An old Greek proverb says ‘a society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit’—it’s up to artists like Randy to help make a better world for those to come… he embraces that responsibility whole-heartedly.”

AMFA would require terrestrial broadcasters in the U.S.—the only democratic nation in the world without a performance right for artists on AM/FM radio—to pay artists royalties when their songs are played on the air.

Travis has been a SoundExchange member since 2003 and entrusts SoundExchange to collect worldwide neighboring rights royalties on his behalf through more than 65 agreements with counterpart organizations, covering nearly 90% of the global neighboring rights market.

Nickelback performs. Photo: Timothy Hiehle

Diamond-certified rock band Nickelback will celebrate Music City with their new album, Live From Nashville, out Nov. 15 via BMG.

Kicking off with lead single “San Quentin,” Nickelback: Live From Nashville will feature live recordings from the band’s sold-out show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on their 2023 “Get Rollin’ Tour.”

Nickelback’s set featured several special guests, and the magic of that show can be experienced again with the new album. The project will include the band’s rendition of Ernest’s “Flower Shops,” a cover of “Copperhead Road” with Josh Ross and Brantley Gilbert, “Savin’ Me” featuring Chris Daughtry, “Rockstar” with Bailey Zimmerman and a rendition of Hardy’s “Sold Out.”

The single, “San Quentin (Live from Nashville)” delivers a blistering take on the riff-riddled track that was inspired after frontman Chad Kroeger met a real-life warden from the notoriously high security California prison. It’s available to stream now.

Nickelback: Live from Nashville Track List:
1. “San Quentin”
2. “Savin’ Me” (with Chris Daughtry)
3. “Far Away”
4. “Animals”
5. “Someday”
6. “Worthy to Say”
7. “Figured You Out”
8. “Hero”
9. “Copperhead Road” (with Brantley Gilbert and Josh Ross)
10. “High Time”
11. “Flower Shops” (with Ernest)
12. “Photograph”
13. “Rockstar” (with Bailey Zimmerman)
14. “Those Days”
15. “Sold Out” (with Hardy)
16. “How You Remind Me”
17. “Gotta Be Somebody”
18. “Burn It to the Ground”

Niko Moon during his sold-out show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Photo: Jordan Lavagnino

Niko Moon celebrated his birthday this year with a sold-out show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium last Friday (Sept. 20).

Pictured (L–R): Mission 22’s Misha Knea, Niko Moon, Anna Moon and Mission 22’s Carley Hill
Photo: Courtesy of Mission 22

He delivered a high-energy set that included “Good Time” and “Paradise to Me,” along with new tracks from his recent These Are The Days EP. During the show, Moon paused to make a heartfelt announcement on behalf of the Happy Cowboy Foundation, which he co-founded with his wife, Anna. He presented a check for $22,000 to Mission 22, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting veterans and their families. In launching the Happy Cowboy Foundation, he hopes to raise awareness and funds for individuals battling mental health challenges who may not have access to the resources they need.

“Mission 22 is doing incredible work, offering free, long-term programs that focus on healing and growth for veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress, brain injuries and other challenges,” shared Moon. “It’s an honor to support their mission and help those who have given so much to our country.”

Additionally, the artist recently announced his plans to hit the road next year on “These Are The Nights: The Tour.”

2024 Bourbon & Beyond. Photo: Sam Shapiro

The Kentucky bourbon and music festival, Bourbon & Beyond, saw a record-setting attendance of 210,000 people over the course of its four days last week (Sept. 19–22) as well as a record of 60,000 on Saturday (Sept. 21), marking the highest single-day attendance and the largest music festival in the state’s history.

Held on Louisville’s Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center, the sixth Bourbon & Beyond closed out Thursday (Sept. 19) with headlining performances from Sting and Beck. On Friday (Sept. 20), Dave Matthews Band jammed for nearly two hours while covering David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” and Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower.” Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks Band, who played a headlining set of their own, joined Dave Matthews Band for “Lie In Our Graves” in addition to accompanying Black Pumas on “Dirty Dirty” and launching his new Ass Pocket Whiskey at the event.

Cody Jinks headlining 2024 Bourbon & Beyond. Photo: Nathan Zucker

Headliner Zach Bryan thanked local fans for supporting him since his very first show in the small town of Pineville, commenting that Bourbon & Beyond is “the greatest festival anywhere,” and Cody Jinks treated fans to a rendition of AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)” on the historic third day.

Sunday night (Sept. 22) wrapped with back-to-back performances from headlining Kentucky natives Tyler Childers and My Morning Jacket, who covered Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” alongside Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius.

The lineup of more than 100 artists also included Matchbox Twenty, The National, Whiskey Myers, The War On Drugs, The Beach Boys, Mt. Joy, Fleet Foxes, Young the Giant, Maren Morris, The Head And The Heart, Melissa Etheridge and Teddy Swims, among others.

Additionally, The Culinary Atelier and The Bourbon Experience on the festival’s Workshop Stage showcased culinary programming from chefs across the nation and a wide array of bourbon tastings and workshops and featured special guests Etheridge, Trucks, Young the Giant, Mat Kearney, Jim Gaffigan, Charles Wesley Godwin, Molly Tuttle and more.

Riley Green. Photo: Harper Smith

Riley Green announced his new headlining “Damn Country Music Tour” in a throwback video featuring a bunch of his buddies.

The video is a nod to the classic Smokey and the Bandit movie featuring all of Green’s opening acts on the new tour. Released today, Green revs up his engine in the fun-filled parody of the iconic 1977 film, and in a playful reenactment, he channels the Bandit with Ella Langley as runaway bride Carrie as they evade the cops in a sleek Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Green grabs the CB radio to call out to his opening acts and invite them to join him on the road, set to the Jerry Reed tune “East Bound and Down.”

“I learned to play guitar to my granddaddy’s favorite country songs from back in the day and the new album is a throwback to the era when I first became a fan,” shares Green. “For this tour I was able to find some of my favorite artists and songwriters to join us, and singing with Ella every night will be a lot of fun.”

General tickets sales for the trek begins this Friday (Sept. 27). Additional dates will be announced in the coming months. For more information, click here.