Luke Combs Racks Up Fresh Round Of RIAA Certifications

Luke Combs is celebrating a round of new RIAA certification as his No. 1 album, What You See Is What You Get, has been certified 3x Platinum, while his hit debut album, This One’s For You, is now 4x Platinum.

Five of Combs’ No. 1 singles have also received new certifications. “Beer Never Broke My Heart” was certified 4x Platinum, “Forever After All” and “Even Though I’m Leaving” hit 3x Platinum, and “1, 2 Many” and “Does To Me” feat. Eric Church both hit Platinum.

The achievements add to a triumphant few weeks for Combs, who is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards for “Forever After All.” Combs was also recently named Entertainer of the Year at The 55th Annual CMA Awards and once again made history as his latest single, “Cold As You,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase/Country Aircheck charts.

 

Hannah Dasher Performs at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Annual Nightfall at the Hall Celebration

Breakout country artist Hannah Dasher took the stage last night (Dec. 7) at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for its ninth annual Nightfall at the Hall concert. The event is an after-hours celebration held exclusively for the museum’s Troubadour members, a community of young leaders, ages 21 to 45, who collaborate with other like-minded professionals in supporting their community and the museum.

Nightfall at the Hall admission is a benefit of Troubadour membership. Young professionals can become a Troubadour member until Dec. 14, 2021, at a discounted rate of $5 off an individual Troubadour membership and $10 off a dual membership.

Prior to Dasher’s performance, student artist Jazmine Croom performed “Let’s Go with the Flow,” a song that she wrote with museum staff. Jazmine, a Metro Nashville Public Schools student, has participated in a variety of museum songwriting programs since 2019.

 

Anita Cochran Donates $10,000 To MusicCares

ACM and CMA-nominated artist Anita Cochran was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and has spent the time since focused on beating the illness. Unable to work, several music industry charities helped Cochran financially. In an attempt to repay those organizations, she launched her own charity, The Love Anchors Fund.

Earlier this year, Cochran delivered on her promise and presented the Opry Trust Fund with a $10,000 donation. Most recently, she presented another $10,000 to MusiCares, a partner of the Recording Academy. Cochran has also unveiled that her “Love Anchors Concert Series” will return in 2022.

“I am so appreciative of these friends who have helped host these events with me. And, to all the artists, Sara Evans, Terri Clark, Jamie O’Neal, Caroline Dawn Johnson, Brandy Clark, Thompson Square, Jerrod Neiman, and more who have taken the stage, so far, to be a part of this incredible mission, I am so thankful,” Cochran shares. “As the producer of this series, I could not do it alone. I am blessed to have a small but mighty, staff and so many volunteers that help to make it all possible. Music is a healer, I know that firsthand. And through music I intend to reach out to as many people as I can.”

“We are so thankful for Anita’s generosity and to the artists who made the events possible,” adds Debbie Carroll, VP, Health and Human Services at MusiCares. “Anita’s goal to pay it forward is inspiring and we are grateful. MusiCares is honored to provide support to resilient artists like Anita and so many others.”

 

Kinkead Entertainment Agency Signs Autumn Kings

Autumn Kings has signed with Kinkead Entertainment Agency.

Founded in late 2015, the group has opened for Platinum-selling artists, such as X Ambassadors, The Tea Party, Dorothy, and Billy Raffoul. Additionally, their 2019 released, “Electrified,” was featured as a Detroit Red Wings goal song during the teams 2018-2019 season.

Autumn Kings has accumulated over 18 million streams, as well as earned the COCA Mainstage Artist of the Year award. With regular rotation on Windsor/Detroit radio stations, their most recent single, “Want You To Stay,” has already received over 1.7 million streams. The band will also join Stereos on their 2022 Canadian tour.

“When people come up to us after shows and tell us we changed their lives through our music, that’s when we know we are doing our job,” the band shares. “We’re grateful for all of the people who have given us the opportunity to do music as a career.”

Jason Aldean will perform for the Pandora LIVE virtual event on Dec. 14 at 9 p.m. ET. As Pandora’s No. 1 most-streamed country artist of all time, Aldean will perform new music from his 10th studio album Macon during the show, along with fan favorites. Listeners can RSVP for free here.

Ania Hammar from SiriusXM’s The Highway will host the show, which was filmed as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series in Nashville at Marathon Music Works last month on the day Aldean released Macon.

Highlights of the concert special include an in-depth interview between Aldean and Hammar, and a segment called “The Mysterious Merch Man,” where Aldean pranks unsuspecting fans by going undercover as his own merch man. An encore presentation of the entire event will immediately follow the initial airing on live.pandora.com.

In collaboration with Pluto TV, Pandora has also launched Pandora LIVE: Backstage with Jason Aldean, a new station for fans to hear behind-the-scenes stories from Aldean and a mix of songs that inspire him. After the virtual event, this station will be updated to include live performance tracks and commentary from the show.

Multi-Platinum country artist Morgan Wallen has nearly sold out his 54-date “The Dangerous Tour,” already selling over 705,000 tickets.

Only limited tickets remain in five markets: Orange Beach, Alabama, on July 3; Atlanta on Aug. 4; Albuquerque on Sept. 7; Mountain View, California, on Sept. 16; and Los Angeles on Sept. 25. Wallen’s stop on Aug. 26 at Walmart AMP in Rogers, Arkansas, will go on sale beginning Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. local time.

Due to high demand, Wallen has also added more dates at Madison Square Garden in New York, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, The Wharf Amphitheater in Orange Beach, Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood in Atlanta, and LA’s Crypto.com Arena. With “The Dangerous Tour,” the Tennessee native has become only the third artist in history to sell out Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena three times in a year.

Beginning on Feb. 3 at Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, the 47-city run will wrap at Crypto.com Arena on Sept. 25. The entertainer will be joined by special guest Hardy as direct support, and Larry Fleet on select dates from February through May.

Wallen has earned over 8 billion on-demand streams, multi-Platinum certifications, and four consecutive chart-toppers. His 2x Platinum sophomore effort, Dangerous: The Double Album, reigns atop the all-genre Billboard 200 Albums year-end chart.

Nashville Music Equality will host “Cool Stuff Kids – Honoring Those Who Did Incredible Things for the Sake of Diversity” tonight (Dec. 7). The program will review 2021 and recognize the strides that have been made, as well as assess where the organization’s goals for 2022.

Hosted by award-winning producer Frank Liddell and Sr. VP & General Manager of MNRK (Nashville) Gina Miller, the night will feature guest panelists Ayappa Biddanda, Lindsay LaBennett, Shy Carter, and Marcus K. Dowling. The webinar will begin at 6 p.m. CT. To register, click here.

Read more about each panelist below:

Biddanda is the Sr. Director, National Grass Roots, Video, & Tour Promotion at Concord. Since 2004, he has overseen the Radio Department for Vanguard & Sugar Hill Records, prior to joining the Concord Promotion team. He now leads the Roots division for Concord and its family of labels, serving artists in both traditional and innovative spaces.

LaBennett started her career as an Account Executive in the Diversity Affairs department for NASCAR where she led the charge in managing the NASCAR HBCU College Tour, NASCAR Diversity Internship Program, and NASCAR’s Supplier Diversity Initiative. She has also spent time at Wasserman where she manages aspects of client relationships across Nationwide Insurance and their NASCAR, VCU Men’s Basketball, and Ohio State University Football team relationships. At Wasserman, LaBennett has focused on driving multi-cultural efforts, including diversity recruiting and cultural competency as a founding member of Wasserman’s Diversity and Inclusion Council. She was recently appointed to the new role of Sr. Director of Inclusion, Equality, and Diversity where she will act as an advisor to the Executive Leadership Team and have primary responsibility and accountability on Diversity & Inclusion issues.

Artist, songwriter, and producer Carter has credits that span Kane Brown’s “Heaven” to Charlie Puth’s “One Call Away.” He is among the writers behind Billy Currington’s “It Don’t Hurt Like it Used To,” Sugarland’s smash hit “Stuck Like Glue” and Rob Thomas’ single “Someday.” Carter has worked with Jason Derulo, Meghan Trainor, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, Nelly, and more. His roots in gospel, jazz, R&B, and soul mixed with his gift for storytelling and love of organic instrumentation led to a natural transition into country music.

Dowling is a veteran, award-winning music journalist. He was recently named the 2021 recipient of the Rolling Stone Chet Flippo Award for Excellence in Country Music Journalism. His contributions have seen him write for CMT, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vice, The FADER, VIBE, Complex, Bandcamp, No Depression, and more. Dowling has been quoted by the Associated Press, ESPN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and The Tennessean.