Industry Celebrates Historic 50th Anniversary Of CMA Fest With Events Across Nashville

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Brothers Osborne performs during UMG Nashville’s Music Is Universal event. Photo: Chris Hollo

CMA Fest marked its 50th anniversary in Nashville this past weekend, wrapping on Sunday (June 11) after four straight fun-filled days. The milestone anniversary of the largest and longest-running country music festival in the world brought over 90,000 estimated attendees from all 50 states as well as a record-breaking 51 countries each day, a 12 percent increase from 2022.

Packed lineups of both established and rising acts hit the daytime stages, while Nissan Stadium—which alone saw a 10 percent increase in attendance—and Ascend Amphitheater featured performances by a variety of stars at night.

Carrie Underwood kicks off her new channel live and in person from SiriusXM’s Music Row Happy Hour at the Margaritaville Cafe in Nashville with SiriusXM host Buzz Brainard. Photo: Jason Davis

Parmalee, Lauren Alaina, Ingrid Andress, Priscilla Block, Tyler Braden, Breland, Jackson Dean, Travis Denning, Madeline Edwards, Morgan Evans, Corey Kent, Maddie & Tae and more took the Chevy Riverfront Stage. The Dr Pepper Amp Stage included A Thousand Horses, Avery Anna, Rodney Atkins, Blanco Brown, Craig Campbell, Mackenzie Carpenter, Callista Clark, among others.

Tyler Booth, Dillon Carmichael, Carter Faith, Ryan Griffin, Chapel Hart, Home Free, Kat & Alex, Tiera Kennedy, Brett Kissel, Jerrod Niemann and more serenaded crowds from the Chevy Vibes Stage at Walk of Fame Park, and the Maui Jim Reverb Stage at Bridgestone Plaza hosted the likes of Justin Champagne, Ben Chapman, Kyle Clark, Abbey Cone, Taylor Edwards, Drew Green, Jonathan Hutcherson, Willie Jones, Bryan Martin, Chase McDaniel, Madeline Merlo and more.

Throughout the four days, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and Ryman Auditorium gave 19 emerging artists the opportunity to showcase their talent during the Ryman and BMI Block Party. During the event, BMI’s VP of Creative, Nashville Clay Bradley presented The Dolly Parton Songwriters Award to its first-ever recipient, Macy Dot Neal, in honor of the legendary artist.

Fans also headed to Skydeck on Broadway for UMG Nashville’s inaugural Music Is Universal event as well as Spotify House at Ole Red and Fan Fair X in Music City Center, which hosted daily performances on the Spotlight Stage from nearly 50 artists to full audiences. Chapel Hart, Blanco Brown, Adam Doleac, Tiera Kennedy, Kimberly Perry, Mason Ramsey, Randy Travis, Sam Williams, Bailey Zimmerman and many others participated in anticipated meet-and-greets with excited fans.

Pictured (L-R): Warner Music Nashville’s Ben Kline, Cody Johnson, Reba McEntire and Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy

On Friday (June 9), Wilson and Tractor Supply co-hosted Lainey Wilson’s Bell Bottom Barn Dance presented by Tractor Supply for her fan club at downtown Nashville’s Bell Tower, and Carrie Underwood launched her exclusive year-round SiriusXM channel Carrie’s Country in person from SiriusXM’s Music Row Happy Hour at the Margaritaville Cafe.

On Night One, Nissan Stadium hosted King Calaway, Jo Dee Messina, Jordan Davis, Luke Combs, Carly Pearce, Dan + Shay and special guests on the main stage as well as RVSHVD and Ashley Cooke on the platform stage. Night Two featured Tanya Tucker, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban and Hardy along with more surprise guests in addition to Hailey Whitters and Dalton Dover on the platform stage. Johnson surprised special guest Reba McEntire with a Gold plaque for their hit duet “Dear Rodeo” backstage before his set.

Ascend Amphitheater returned for a fifth year with a packed crowd on Friday night. The party started with headliner The Cadillac Three bringing the energy alongside Little Big Town. Additional acts included Boy Named Banjo, Randy Rogers Band, Elvie Shane and Tenille Townes.

Tracy Lawrence, Little Big Town, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi and Eric Church took Nissan’s big stage and Ian Munsick and Alana Springsteen took the platform stage during Night Three.

On Sunday, The Black Excellence Brunch was held at the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) and featured notable Black artists and industry leaders while honoring BMI Executive Director, Creative, Shannon Sanders. After the cancellation of the afternoon shows due to bad weather, Nissan’s Final Night housed thousands of fans as Josh Turner, Ashley McBryde, Dierks Bentley, Tim McGraw and Luke Bryan sang on the main stage and Megan Moroney and Nate Smith served as platform stage performers. Bryan also closed out the final day of CMA Fest with his Nut House at Luke’s 32 Bridge to celebrate 15 years of the fan club.

Ticket proceeds directly benefit music education initiatives across the country through the CMA Foundation. This year, CMA will donate $2.5 million to the CMA Foundation. Additionally, the three-hour primetime concert special CMA Fest was filmed during this year’s festival and will air July 19 on ABC.

Pictured: Parmalee with Chevy Riverfront Stage hosts Bubba and Big D

Pictured (L-R): Warner Music Nashville’s Ben Kline, Stephanie Davenport, Madeline Edwards, Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy and Sam I Am Entertainment’s Sam Borenstein

Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Clay Bradley, Macy Dot Neal and BMI’s Mitch Ballard. Photo: Erika Goldring for BMI

Lainey Wilson performs during Lainey Wilson’s Bell Bottom Barn Dance presented by Tractor Supply. Photo: Roxy Moure

Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Shannon Sanders, K. Michelle, CMA’s Mia McNeal and Trell Thomas at the Black Excellence Brunch. Photo: Derrick Johnson for CMA

Fourward Records Launches In Nashville

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Will Ward. Photo: Austin Nelson

Music industry veteran Will Ward has officially launched Fourward Records in Nashville.

The company has already completed a number of signings, which include 18-year old folk pop-artist, Brenn!, in partnership with Justin Lubliner’s Darkroom, as well as indie-rock group Sarah and the Sundays in partnership with AWAL.

Joey McCarthy serves as Head of Music at Fourward. In addition to the label, he oversees the company’s Nashville-based publishing division which launched in November of 2019. Fourward’s publishing division has a global administration deal with Reservoir Media and its current writer roster includes Andrew Stoelzing and Mike Robinson.

McCarthy also oversees the company’s artist management division, which oversees the careers of Max Drazen and DJ/producer/engineer Aaron Hibell.

Ward tells MusicRow, “I am very excited to launch Fourward Records, and incredibly excited about our first artists, Sarah and the Sundays and Brenn! I’m particularly proud that both albums were recorded in Nashville with Nashville-based producers. Even better that Brenn! is recording with our very own, Mike Robinson.”

Three New Categories Added To 66th Annual Grammy Awards

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The Recording Academy has added three new categories for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.

Additionally, the Academy has moved existing categories Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical to the General Field, allowing all Grammy voters to vote in these non-genre-specific categories. The category additions and amendments were voted on and passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent semiannual Board of Trustees meeting held in May 2023.

“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our Awards process. These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape,” says Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists—and relocating the Producer Of the Year and Songwriter Of The Year categories to the General Field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognizing excellence in these fields. We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”

Descriptions of the new Grammy Award Categories:
Best African Music Performance:
A track and singles category that recognizes recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent. Highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions, the category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.

Best Pop Dance Recording:
Recognizes tracks and singles that feature up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement. Eligible Pop Dance recordings also feature strong rhythmic beats and significant electronic-based instruments with an emphasis on the vocal performance, melody and hooks. Dance remixes are eligible in the Best Remixed Recording category only and may not be entered in Best Pop Dance Recording.

Best Alternative Jazz Album:
This category recognizes artistic excellence in Alternative Jazz albums by individuals, duos and groups/ensembles, with or without vocals. Alternative Jazz may be defined as a genre-blending, envelope-pushing hybrid that mixes jazz (improvisation, interaction, harmony, rhythm, arrangements, composition, and style) with other genres, including R&B, Hip-Hop, Classical, Contemporary Improvisation, Experimental, Pop, Rap, Electronic/Dance music, and/or Spoken Word. It may also include the contemporary production techniques/instrumentation associated with other genres.

Spirit Music Group Partners With Erik Belz On JV, Signs Patrick Ridgen

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Erik Belz. Photo: Brittany Belz

Spirit Music Group has formed a joint publishing venture with writer, producer and manager Erik Belz. In addition to aligning Belz as a writer on Spirit’s roster, the deal established Belz’s publishing company, Electric 88 Music, which will sign and develop his own roster of artists, writers and producers.

Belz has produced and written songs for artists across many genres, including Pitbull, Austin Mahone, Granger Smith, Thompson Square, Jez Dior, Kylie Morgan, Metro Station, Smoke Purp, Jake Paul, Slim Jxmmi and Lia Marie Johnson. He has served as co-manager for EDM star Slushii since 2021. Belz’s music has appeared in such shows such as CSI, Scorpion, Station 19 and The Equalizer.

The first signing to Belz’s Electric 88 Music is Patrick Ridgen, who is professionally known as PLAYDED and is a Los Angeles-based producer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Electric 88 Music will be based at Belz’s recording studio complex in Encino, California.

“Spirit Music is excited to get to work with Erik as a writer/producer as well as a partner to sign and develop talent,” says Frank Rogers, Chief Creative Officer, Spirit Music Group/Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Music Nashville. “We are also thrilled to welcome PLAYDED to the Spirit family. We can’t wait to see what we can build together!”

“Spirit Music Group has been very supportive of my career and creative vision from day one,” shares Belz. “I am excited to partner with Jon [Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group], Frank and the Spirit Music Group team to create opportunities for new talent and to kick things off with the signing of a proven talent like Patrick.”

“To have the support of the team at Spirit Music Group and Electric 88 Music is really a dream come true,” adds Ridgen. “I couldn’t be happier to work with this team of exceptional creative executives.”

Margaret Jacobi Lee Joins The Orchard’s Nashville Office

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Margaret Jacobi Lee

Margaret Jacobi Lee has joined The Orchard as Senior Director of Marketing of the Nashville office. Lee joins the growing team and will report directly to Katie Studley, VP, Nashville.

Lee recently served as the Head of Marketing at AMFM, an artist management company representing Greta Van Fleet, Marcus King, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and more. She managed the digital team and developed comprehensive marketing campaigns at the company. Through previous experience at AWAL and Kobalt Label Services in New York, she has built artist resources, led brand initiatives and developed impactful release campaigns for acts such as The Strokes and Joss Stone.

“I’ve long admired The Orchard’s global footprint and their innovative data strategies. I’m excited to provide growth opportunities for artists in Nashville’s creative community with Katie Studley and a growing office,” shares Lee.

The ‘Concert For Love & Acceptance’ Celebrates Powerful Night Of Music

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Pictured (L-R): Shelly Fairchild, Jamie Floyd, and Ty Herndon perform together onstage during The Concert for Love & Acceptance hosted by GLAAD at Wildhorse Saloon. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for GLAAD

Ty Herndon and GLAAD’s “Concert for Love & Acceptance” presented an evening of music and unity on June 7 at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, showcasing a coalition of artists and celebrities dedicated to accelerating acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community.

Maddie & Tae perform onstage during The Concert for Love & Acceptance. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for GLAAD

The concert featured performances from Herndon, Chrissy Metz, Maddie & Tae, Terri Clark, Pam Tillis, Sam Williams, Brooke Eden, Chapel Hart, Desmond Child, Billy Gilman, Jamie Floyd, Brandon Stansell, Bryan Ruby, Wendy Moten, Shelly Fairchild, Justin Fabus, Auti, Autumn Nicholas, Jada Cato, Jason Catron and Matt Bloyd.

Wendy Moten performs onstage during The Concert for Love & Acceptance. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for GLAAD

“With all that’s going on in the world, this event has gained a new level of significance. I’m so grateful to the artists and fans who came together to send a message of love and acceptance from here at CMA Fest to LGBTQ people all around the globe,” said Herndon.

The “Concert for Love & Acceptance” provides a platform for artists, supporters, and allies to come together in a spirit of love, unity and acceptance. Through the power of music, the event ignites conversations, challenges stereotypes and promotes positive change within the country industry and beyond. It aims to raise awareness and support for Ty Herndon’s Foundation for Love & Acceptance, which for almost 10 years, has been at the forefront of fostering understanding, compassion and equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

Daily Lineups Announced For Born & Raised Music Festival

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The Born & Raised Music Festival in Pryor, Oklahoma has announced the daily lineups for its third annual festival set for Sept. 14-16.

The country and camping experience at the Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds will feature headliner Gary Allan on Thursday, Sept. 14 as well as sets from Wade Bowen, Reckless Kelly, Kaitlin Butts and the newest lineup addition Lance Roark, among others. Friday, Sept. 15 will include Texas band Whiskey Myers‘ headlining set and a late night set featuring The Texas Gentlemen in addition to performances from Ryan Bingham, Lukas Nelson + POTR, Flatland Cavalry and more. Oklahoma’s own Turnpike Troubadours to close out the festivities on Saturday, Sept. 16 along with Randy Rogers Band, Randy Houser, William Clark Green, The Red Clay Strays and more.

Additionally, Nicky James, Cliff Cody, Lucas Jagneaux & The Roadshow and John Goolsby will perform acoustic sets throughout the weekend.

The festival will also feature a kick-off celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 13 with a campground barbecue party featuring performances from 49 Winchester, The Damn Quails, Kat Hasty and Wyatt Flores. All three-day weekend passes include free access to the pre-party, along with a meal voucher to use during the kick-off celebration. Single day, weekend and camping passes are all on sale now. The campgrounds for Born & Raised will open on Sunday, Sept. 10 with General Admission and VIP camping options still available for purchase. For more information, click here.

Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark-Penned Musical ‘Shucked’ Wins Historic Tony Award

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Alex Newell as Lulu in Shucked at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City. Photo: Emilio Madrid

Shucked, the musical written by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally and produced by Sandbox Entertainment’s Jason Owen alongside Broadway producer Mike Bosner, earned nine Tony nominations, and won one last night (June 11) at this year’s 76th annual awards ceremony.

Alex Newell made history as the first openly non-binary actor to win the Tony for Best Actor in a Featured Role In a Musical for their role as Lulu.

“To my entire building and cast and crew of Shucked, you are my rock. I love you all. Thank you for seeing me,” said Newell in their acceptance speech. “Broadway, I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat, Black little baby from Massachusetts. And to anyone that thinks that they can’t do it, I’m going to look you dead in your face and tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to.”

On the musical’s opening night (April 4), Newell’s powerhouse performance of the now-hit “Independently Owned” garnered the first of many standing ovations for the night.

Staged at New York City’s Nederlander Theater, Shucked is a tale from the heart of the heartlands helmed by prior Tony winners—featuring a book written by Robert Horn and direction by Jack O’Brien. The show is also nominated for 12 Drama Desk Awards, seven Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Drama League Awards.

The Shucked – Original Broadway Cast Recording is available on all streaming platforms and on CD. The album is produced by Jason Howland, Billy Jay Stein, and the show’s composers McAnally and Clark.

Bethany Mako Rejoins Warner Chappell Music Nashville

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Bethany Mako has rejoined Warner Chappell Music as A&R Manager.

Mako comes to Warner Chappell from Songs & Daughters, where she was a Creative Manager on the team, working closely with Nicolle Galyon, Lauren Watkins and Tiera Kennedy. Prior to joining Songs & Daughters, Mako started her career at Warner Chappell, rising through the ranks from intern to assistant and then A&R Coordinator.

“We’re so happy to welcome Bethany Mako back to Warner Chappell,” says Ben Vaughn, President & CEO of Warner Chappell Music Nashville. “She literally brightens up every room that she’s in and her passion for music and songwriters has always shined through in her work. We’re incredibly excited to have her back on the team, and I’m really looking forward to working with her during this new chapter of her career.”

“I started at Warner Chappell as a 19-year-old intern, so it feels surreal to be back in this role,” says Mako. “I’m so grateful to Ben Vaughn, Phil May, and the rest of the team for being so supportive and welcoming me back with open arms. Warner Chappell is home to the best songwriters in the world, and it is an honor to be a part of their careers!” 

Naomi Cooke Johnson Signs Solo Deal With BMG/BBR Music Group

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Naomi Cooke Johnson. Photo: P Tracy

Naomi Cooke Johnson, former lead vocalist of Runaway June, has signed with BMG/BBR Music Group. The upbeat “Girls of Summer” is the first taste of new music from Cooke Johnson as a solo artist, and is set for release June 23. 

Raised in rural Virginia, Cooke Johnson was given her first guitar at age seven. By 15, she was helping support her family by waiting tables in a Florida restaurant until the seas of Alaska came calling, and she took a job as a deckhand on a salmon fishing boat.

She later moved to Nashville and began playing late night gigs at the legendary Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge as a staff musician. Leaning on influences like Bonnie Raitt and Shania Twain, Cooke Johnson began crafting songs about her life’s struggles and determination to overcome them. During her time as part of Runaway June, she helped craft many of the group’s hits, including the Gold-certified top 5 hit “Buy My Own Drinks.”

“Naomi’s evolution as an artist inspired us to write this next chapter together. Her spirited approach to songwriting, unbridled creativity and dogged persistence of her singular vision offers something unique to the world of music,” says BMG/ BBR Music Group GM Peter Strickland. 

“I could not be more excited to be back with BMG/BBR Music Group,” says Cooke Johnson. “The teams in Nashville and around the world are unparalleled. They have fully embraced my vision, identity and the music I am creating…this time as Naomi Cooke Johnson.”

Cooke Johnson has also signed with artist management team Fusion Music/Red Light Management and inked a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.