Michael Steele and Bridget Herrmann

Red Street Records has added two new team members, with Michael Steele joining as VP of Streaming and Playlist Strategy and Bridget Herrmann as Regional Director of Country Promotion.

Steele joins Red Street from Warner Music Group, where he was most recently Director of Playlist Programming Development. He brings proficiency across digital streaming platforms, strategic playlisting and developing and executing marketing plans aimed at driving consumption to his new role.

Chicago resident Herrmann brings nearly 15 years of radio promotion experience to Red Street, which includes time at A&M/Octone Records and Crush Music Management representing bands like Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Weezer and more until moving to the country format in 2018 to join Warner Music Nashville as the Regional Manager, North. Herrmann will report to the radio department’s SVP Andy Elliot.

Of the hirings, Red Street Records CEO Jay DeMarcus shares, “It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in such a short time, and I am thrilled to welcome Michael and Bridget to this already extraordinary team.”

Red Street Records’ roster includes Chris Lane, Jason Crabb, Ryan Larkins, Ryan Griffin and more.

Andrew Kintz, Bryan Bolton

First Horizon has promoted Bryan Bolton to the Music, Sports & Entertainment (MSE) Group’s Managing Director.

Reporting to MSE leading Executive Andrew Kintz, Bolton will lead the Nashville MSE Team as it continues to grow its client roster while delivering customized financial solutions to meet the unique needs of clients in the Music, Sports and Entertainment industries.

“I am pleased to announce Bryan’s promotion to lead this great Music Sports and Entertainment Team,” shares Kintz. “His 20 plus years of banking experience combined with his passion for music and commitment to service make Bryan an ideal fit to lead our flagship Nashville MSE Office.”

An active community member, Bolton served on the ALS Association’s TN Chapter for many years. Currently, he serves as Secretary of the Board of Trustees for the Covenant School.

Kenny Chesney‘s Born earns the top debut on the country albums chart this week, ranking No. 5 with 27K in total consumption (18K album only/9.6 million song streams) according to Luminate data.

Morgan Wallen‘s One Thing At A Time returns to No. 1 with 68K (1.6K album only/85 million song streams), and Zach Bryan‘s self-titled album reclaims No. 2 with 39K (3.2K album only/47 million song streams). Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album takes the third slot with 37K (352 album only/48 million song streams), while Bryan’s American Heartbreak notches the fourth slot with 29K (803 album only/37 million song streams).

Based on audio streams on the country streaming songs chart, Bryan and Kacey Musgraves‘ “I Remember Everything” rules at the top with 17 million new streams, adding to 618 million ATD. Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘Em” continues at No. 2 with 12 million streams, adding to 138 million ATD, while Bryan’s “Something In The Orange” lands the third slot with 11.7 million new streams, adding to 1.31 billion ATD. Wallen’s “Last Night” snags the fourth slot with 11.6 million streams, adding to 1.29 billion ATD, and his “Thinkin’ Bout Me” stays at No. 5 with 10 million new streams, adding to 686 million ATD.

Blake Shelton performs at “Oklahoma Is All for the Hall” fundraiser for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Photo: Courtesy of Phil Clarkin Photography for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Blake Shelton celebrated his final tour stop of his 2024 “Back to the Honky Tonk Tour” on March 30 with “Oklahoma Is All for the Hall,” a star-studded fundraiser for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Tulsa’s BOK Center.

The event raised nearly $800,000 for the nonprofit museum’s education programs, making it the most successful “All for the Hall” benefit offered outside of Nashville to date. Performers included Justin Adams, Kristin Chenoweth, Wade Hayes, Gwen Stefani, the Swon Brothers and Country Music Hall of Fame members Ronnie Dunn and Vince Gill.

Pictured (L-R): Musuem CEO Kyle Young, Blake Shelton, Museum Board Chair Mary Ann McCready and Museum Board President Vince Gill. Photo: Courtesy of Phil Clarkin Photography for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Shelton performed more than 20 of his songs during the course of the evening, interspersed with appearances from his special guests. Stefani joined her husband for a trio of songs midway through Shelton’s set, including their two country chart-toppers, “Nobody But You” and “Happy Anywhere,” as well as “Purple Irises,” a recently released duet from Stefani’s next album. Dunn’s mini-set was warmly received, with the Brooks & Dunn member sharing memories of local honky-tonks Duke’s Country and Tulsa City Limits.

That theme emerged once more during Gill’s set, when he shared an unreleased song, “Heroes.” He and guitarist Jack Schneider also performed “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” dedicating the song to Shelton’s brother Richie, who died in a car accident in 1990, and fellow Oklahoman and Country Music Hall of Fame member-elect Toby Keith, who died of cancer in February.

Gill began the “All for the Hall” series of fundraising concerts in 2005 by suggesting that country music artists donate the proceeds from one annual performance to the nonprofit Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Proceeds from Shelton’s show support the museum’s educational initiatives, including its flagship Words & Music program, which allows students to tell their stories by writing original song lyrics while developing language-arts skills. The museum’s educational offerings directly served more than 230,000 people last year though in-person and virtual programs.

Andrew Saltman, David Enriquez

Two executives have been promoted at RECORDS and RECORDS Nashville, with David Enriquez rising to to Executive Vice President, and Andrew Saltman elevating to Vice President, Marketing & Digital strategies.

Formerly Senior Vice President at RECORDS, Enriquez will continue his marketing responsibilities overseeing the entire roster for both labels in New York and Nashville. He adds A&R duties to his role following his signing of two back-to-back commercially successful acts to the label, rising Florida rapper iCandy and Platinum singer-songwriter/rapper Dax, who stepped into the country music space with the now Platinum-certified “Dear Alcohol” and collaborated with Darius Rucker on “To Be A Man.”

Having been with Barry Weiss’ independent label since its inception in 2015, Enriquez has contributed to the success of pop artists 24kGoldn and Noah Cyrus, and most recently, country artist George Birge. Enriquez also helped the label develop its Nashville presence over the past several years.

In Saltman’s new role, he will oversee marketing and digital efforts across both RECORDS and RECORDS Nashville. Since joining the company in 2017, Saltman has helped spearhead Birge’s “Mind on You” hitting No. 1 on country radio, and he is currently leading the charge on marketing efforts for Birge’s next single “Cowboy Songs” and the accompanying EP.

Other standout campaigns Saltman played a major role in across both labels include Nelly’s three-times Platinum single “Lil Bit” featuring Florida Georgia Line; Cyrus earning a 2023 Best New Artist Grammy Nomination; pop artist 24kGoldn’s “Mood” topping the charts in 14 countries; Bronx drill rapper B-Lovee earning an RIAA Platinum single with “My Everything” and country artist Matt Stell’s two chart-toppers “Prayed For You” and “Everywhere But On.” Saltman is also overseeing highly anticipated upcoming releases from Cyrus and Lennon Stella.