Pictured (L-R): Noah Dewey (Sr. Dir. Creative, Anthem Publishing Nashville), Donnie Davisson, Chris Janson, Chris Davisson, Tim Wipperman (Pres, Anthem Publishing, Nashville), Courtney Crist (Sr. Dir. Creative Anthem Publishing, Nashville), Erv Woolsey (Pres, Erv Woolsey Co. Manager), Allen Mitchell (Erv Woolsey Co. Manager)

Anthem Entertainment’s publishing division and Chris Janson‘s Old Tom Music Publishing are partnering together on a new artist development and co-publishing venture. The Davisson Brothers (Chris and Donnie Davisson) are the first official signing under the new venture, along with Shane Profitt, a songwriter discovered by Janson.  

Hailing from Clarksburg, West Virginia, The Davisson Brothers were named one of Rolling Stone‘s Top 10 Country/Americana bands to watch, and debuted on the Grand Old Opry in 2019. They also host their own two-day country festival, Wild and Wonderful Country Fest, that averages over 15,000 daily attendees. Their current album is being produced by Brent Cobb and David “Ferg” Ferguson (Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson).

Shane Profitt

Profitt is a budding singer-songwriter who is slated to hit the road with Janson on his upcoming “Halfway to Crazy” Tour.

“I’m so proud to be signing Chris Davisson and Donnie Davisson to a publishing deal with Anthem, and my company, Old Tom Music Publishing,” says Janson. “These guys work harder than anyone I know. I’ve believed in the Brothers for many years, and they believed in me, way back before I ever even had a hit song. I love these guys. I encourage every single one of my songwriter friends, to write with them. They’re hungry to WIN. And win, they will.

“Shane is the real deal, and a fantastic songwriter,” Janson continues. “He has a natural knack for writing hits. He’s a great singer too, and he’s going to be joining me on the road this year on the ‘Halfway to Crazy Tour.’ I’m really proud to be working with him.”

“We are thrilled to be expanding our successful relationship with Chris Janson,” adds Anthem Entertainment CEO, Helen Murphy.  “Chris is a creative genius, and he has a unique ability to write and produce songs that express the raw emotion and vulnerability of life and family. We look forward to supporting Chris and his new talent signings and continuing to create music that resonates with everyone.”

“We are thankful and honored to be working with Chris Janson (Old Tom Music Publishing) and Anthem Entertainment Group,” says Donnie and Chris Davisson. “We stopped to help a stranger on the side of the road many years ago, that stranger ended up being Chris Janson. Since then, we have become brothers on and off stage. We have traveled the country doing countless shows together. Now, along with the amazing team at Anthem Entertainment Group, we are working together to create new music to share with the world.”

Anthem Nashville Publishing President, Tim Wipperman, adds, “When Chris Janson brought us the Davissons, we realized he had found a truly unique, genuine West Virginia rockin’ country duo, and two great songwriters to boot. Shane adds that gritty blue collar country view on life to our mix.”

Maren Morris. Photo: Claire Schaper

Following its debut at country radio on Friday (Jan. 7), Grammy-winning vocalist Maren Morris’ latest single, “Circles Around This Town,” broke Amazon Music’s record for most streams for a country song debut by a female artist.

Written by Morris, Ryan Hurd, Julia Michaels and Jimmy Robbins, “Circles Around This Town” was the most-added song at country radio last week and marks Morris’ first bit of new music for 2022. The song also debuted as the No. 1 country song and No. 7 all genre song on Pandora’s Top Thumbed Hundred Chart.

The track was released in tandem with its music video, which was directed by Harper Smith.

“I could see the visuals for ‘Circles Around This Town’ the moment I wrote the song,” Morris says of the video. “I’ve always been so inspired by the industrial, blown out colors of music videos from the 90s, so Harper Smith and I wanted the aesthetics of this video to reflect that grainy, devil-may-care attitude of all my females heroes from that era: Sheryl, Fiona, Alanis. Obviously, having a penchant for the nostalgic, we decided to recreate my teenage bedroom and pin old photos of me as a kid on the walls and have me typing on an old PC computer… ‘Circles Around This Town’ is my story, so I felt like I truly got to relive my journey from Texas to Nashville again.”

Morris 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,” alongside her husband Ryan Hurd.

Jeremy Ivey. Photo: Courtesy of ANTI- Records

Singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey will release Invisible Pictures, his third album for ANTI- Records, on March 11.

The record’s first track, the bittersweet “Orphan Child,” channels ’60s pop as it addresses the sense of lostness and also reflects on Ivey’s personal experience of being raised by foster parents.

“I try to put a little bit of hope into everything I do,” says Ivey. “No matter how heavy, no matter how dark things may get, there’s always a little bit of light shining through.” He continues, ““I’ve always felt like l was born at the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong body to the wrong people. Maybe it’s because I was adopted, but I think it’s more than that. As soon as you’re born you are automatically judged by someone because of your sex or race or the culture you are raised in. Hated for something that you had no part in choosing. That’s what this song is about.”

When he began work on Invisible Pictures, Ivey shifted his gaze inward to reflect on his own journey. With touring off the table for more than a year, he decided to stretch compositionally, returning to the harmonically sophisticated music that had fascinated him in his youth but had taken a backseat since his move to Nashville and marriage to Margo Price.

“I started listening to a lot of Paco de Lucía and playing more nylon string guitar at home,” Ivey recalls. “I started using more passing tones in my writing, too, and then I’d make up chords to go along with those melodies, even if I didn’t know what it was that I was playing.”

On the new project, Ivey embraces creative freedom and sonic exploration, drawing on flamenco, classical music, vintage indie rock, and British Invasion tunes to craft the album.

Ivey released his critically acclaimed solo debut The Dream and The Dreamer in 2019, followed by Waiting Out The Storm in 2020. He will embark on a tour with Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs this spring, beginning March 9 in Tampa.

Invisible Pictures Track List:
1. Orphan Child
2. Trial By Fire
3. Keep Me High
4. Downhill (Upside Down Optimist)
5. Grey Machine
6. Phantom Limb
7. Empty Game
8. Invisible Pictures
9. Black Mood
10. Silence And Sorrow

Dustin Lynch & MacKenzie Porter Celebrate Six Weeks At No. 1

Dustin Lynch has tallied a new personal best with his current single, “Thinking ‘Bout You.” The track, a duet with MacKenzie Porter, has notched its sixth consecutive week as country radio’s No. 1 song.

The track once again sits atop the Billboard Country Airplay chart this week for its sixth week, a feat that only a handful of country singles have achieved, including “It’s Your Love” by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, “How Forever Feels” by Kenny Chesney, and Lonestar’s “I’m Already There.” The BBR recording artist also breaks his personal record of four weeks at No. 1, which he earned with 2017’s “Small Town Boy.”

“‘Thinking ‘Bout You’ is a six-week No. 1 single at country radio–that’s WILD y’all,” shares Lynch. “What a way to enter 2022! I’m excited to keep this momentum going, and to celebrate all year long. Thank you to all my friends and supporters at country radio. I’m beyond thankful for everyone that’s worked so hard to make sure this song has the life it deserves.”

Co-written by Lynch, Andy Albert, Hunter Phelps and Will Weatherly, the song marks Lynch’s eighth No. 1 at country radio overall, as well as his third career chart-topper as a songwriter. It also gives Porter her first U.S. No. 1 after four Canadian hits.

Ole Smoky Distillery Announces Music Partnership With The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. Photo: Amy Richmond

Ole Smoky Distillery has partnered with Grammy-nominated east Tennessee bluegrass band, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. Founded by CJ Lewandowski, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys was formed while Lewandowski was working at Ole Smoky Distillery in Gatlinburg in 2014.

“Music has always been a part of the Ole Smoky experience,” says Robert Hall, CEO, Ole Smoky Distillery. “By featuring quality entertainment at our locations, we have created family-friendly destinations that salute the hospitality of east Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains.” He continues, “We are proud of The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys and their passion for bluegrass music. We like to think of them as family, as they started playing together at our Holler Distillery. What started as one of our house bands, is now a national bluegrass favorite. We look forward to supporting their national tour this year.”

“We are so grateful to Ole Smoky Distillery for not only helping us get our start in bluegrass music, but now, supporting our music, our tour and our brand,” adds Lewandowski.

IBMA Foundation Launches Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship

Katy Daley

The IBMA Foundation has launched the Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship. Daley and her husband, Bill Brown, have made a $10,000 donation to the IBMA Foundation to endow the scholarship.

Daley, co-host of the Bluegrass Stories podcast series along with Howard Parker, has spent over 30 years in bluegrass (WAMU-FM and Bluegrass Country) and country (WMZQ) radio in the Washington, DC area. She’s a member of the IBMA and a 2008 graduate of IBMA’s Leadership Bluegrass class. She was named IBMA Bluegrass Broadcaster of the year in 2009 and 2011; has received the DC Bluegrass Union’s 2017 Washington Monument Award, the 2019 and 2020 IBMA Liner Notes Awards for her portion of the liner notes for Epilogue: A Tribute to John Duffey on Smithsonian Folkways Records, and as the sole writer for the reissued Seldom Scene Recorded Live at the Cellar Door from Rebel Records; and was honored with the IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award in September 2019.

The Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship will be awarded annually to individuals planning to study broadcasting or sound engineering at college or in a continuing education program with a bluegrass music focus, including radio, television, digital media, recorded sound engineering and mastering, live sound engineering, and related disciplines.

IBMA Foundation board chair and former bluegrass broadcaster Fred Bartenstein says, “The professional presentation of bluegrass music has a direct effect on how new fans and musicians are attracted to the genre. The Foundation supports the effort to present the best music on the planet in the best way possible for the benefit of new listeners and new generations, as well as for loyal fans. We thank Katy Daley and Bill Brown for their generous donation to found the scholarship, and it is our hope that others in the bluegrass community interested in broadcasting and engineering will also support this scholarship. Our goal is to raise at least $20,000, which would generate at least one annual scholarship in the amount of $1,000.”

The first scholarship will be awarded in August 2022. The deadline for applications for all IBMA Foundation scholarships is June 1. For more information, click here.

A2IM is kicking off 2022 by launching the second year of BIMA, its Black Independent Music Accelerator.

The fellowship initiative is designed to amplify Black voices in the independent music community, and provides a platform for Black-owned businesses in the music industry for greater visibility, networking, and mentorship opportunities for burgeoning business owners.

Because financial barriers often pose significant obstacles for minority-owned, independent music businesses, BIMA offers subsidized yearly dues to A2IM, as well as complimentary tickets to annual events such as Indie Week, a four-day international conference and networking event aimed at maximizing the global impact of independent music.

“Black entrepreneurs have been the backbone of the music industry since the beginning of time. Allowing us to access the resources of counterparts, now opens doors to innumerable possibilities for creators that look, think, and dream like us,” says Erinn Knight, President of Build Your Own Dreams and 2021 BIMA Fellow.

BIMA’s Advisory Council offers guidance, oversight, and support to these businesses and includes Fotemah Mba, Head of A&R, General Market, Cinq Music Group; Courtnay Moriarty, Sr. Digital Rights Manager, Pex; and Kristine Mbadugha,  Manager, Independent Music Partnerships, YouTube Music; with more names to be announced soon.

Applications for A2IM’s 2022 BIMA Program are open now and close on Jan. 24. To apply or learn more, please visit a2im.org/bima.