Kelsea Ballerini Plans Week Of TV Appearances

Kelsea Ballerini will make a number of TV appearances in the coming days. She is slated to present an award on the Teen Choice Awards on FOX on Sunday (July 31); she is also nominated for Choice Country Artist. Additional appearances include the Jimmy Kimmel Live! outdoor stage on Monday, the concert special CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock on ABC on Wednesday, and the grand finale of the ABC series Greatest Hits on Thursday.

 

Eric Paslay Gives VIP Treatment To Teachers At Opry

Eric Paslay welcomed three CMA Music Teachers of Excellence to the Grand Ole Opry stage during his performance Wednesday (July 27). In honor of his new single “Angels In This Town,” Paslay is making “Angel Visits” across the country where he highlights local residents making an impact in their community. That meant meeting with educators Tracy Roberts, Jason Walsh, and Franklin Willis backstage before his performance and giving them the VIP treatment as his guests.

 

Cam Visits The Recording Academy In California

Cam made a stop at The Recording Academy offices in Santa Monica, California, to perform her latest music and to meet President/CEO Neil Portnow. While visiting with Portnow in his office, Cam briefly borrowed a ukulele from his shelf for a photo op. A flea market find, the musical instrument is one of multiple colorful souvenirs and mementos that Portnow has collected over the years and adorn his work space.

 

The Cadillac Three Record At Abbey Road Studio

The Cadillac Three have filmed a series of music videos at Abbey Road studios in North London. The band issue the first video, “Graffiti,” on Thursday (July 28). Upcoming videos will be “White Lighting” on Aug. 1, “The South” on Aug. 8 and “Peace Love & Dixie” on Aug. 12. The band will release a new album, Bury Me in My Boots, on Aug. 5 on Big Machine Records.

 

Most listeners discovered Maren Morris this year with her debut single, “My Church,” yet she had been attracting attention in the music industry for several years already.

Since 2013, Morris has been writing for Nashville publishing company Big Yellow Dog Music, which released a digital EP in late 2015. Columbia Nashville took notice, signed the singer and released her full-length debut, Hero, which debuted at No. 1 after its release on June 3.

Calling from the first night as a special guest on Keith Urban’s Ripcord World Tour, she discussed with MusicRow the launch of her career, as well as the story behind “My Church,” which led her to win of the magazine’s 2016 Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year.

Read more about the award in the 2016 MusicRow Awards print issue, available now.

–––

MusicRow: Describe the path “My Church” took to finally being released.
Maren Morris: I wrote it a little over a year ago, I guess March of 2015. I was out on a writing trip in Los Angeles. [Producer/songwriter] busbee has a house in Nashville but is based out of Los Angeles. The day before I wrote with him, the title “My Church” popped in my head and I went in with him and he totally got the concept I was going for.

It was a quick write, probably because it’s such a clear emotional context that everyone can relate to in some way. I instantly knew that song was really special, and felt a strong need to keep it to myself. If I was going to take a whack at this artist thing—if I had one shot at it—I would want it to be with this song. It’s crazy to think that was a little over a year ago. It really catapulted this whole thing to be set in motion.

As a songwriter and artist, how do you decide which songs to hold or let go?
“My Church” was really the first song I wanted to keep for myself. Narrowing down songs for the record was tough because I have a catalog from the last three years of music that I really love—hundreds of songs and I’m sure there are some I have forgotten about completely.

It’s sort of a sacrifice to narrow it down. There are great songs I adore that I had to leave off the record. But with the 11 songs that are on the record, it was hard to imagine someone else singing them and I think it tells a cohesive story.

Did you always want to be an artist and songwriter?
I felt like I was pretty much done with the performance side when I moved to Nashville. I’m from Arlington, Texas, and I toured there for over a decade—I had a whole other life there, really as a kid from about 10 or 11 years old. I didn’t write songs then but that eventually led to getting my first guitar and wanting to write.

After I moved, I just wanted to be a songwriter in a writing room and be creative—not worried about selling anything. Somewhere along the way I missed that high you get when you walk off stage after a show. That is so hard to match. In a writing room you get a different kind of high when you hear something back that you’ve created out of nothing with your friends, but that gave me the gumption to finish out this record.

Talk about the launch of your career.
Everything was sort of a domino effect after my publisher Carla Wallace introduced me to my manager Janet Weir at Red Light Management. At the time I hadn’t even written “My Church.” Around that time Janet and I met and hit it off. She understood the vision I had for my music and what I wanted to say to the world.

Janet tracked down Copeland Isaacson at Spotify, where one thing led to another and I ended up doing an exclusive EP release with them before I had ever signed a deal. That Spotify exclusive really created a lot of leverage. It really set into motion me signing a record deal with Sony.

How much of your project did you have set before you signed with Columbia?
I didn’t have the track listing down, but I had the bulk of the songs written. There were last-minute additions, because I was still writing. Like “Rich,” I think that was one of the last songs I wrote, and it was too much fun to leave off the album and fit so perfectly with the vibe we created.

Why was Columbia Nashville the right place for you?
When I was rounding out the EP, Sony Nashville didn’t have a president. They were going through a transition. They came on board later in the game once Jim Catino played Randy Goodman a few of my songs.

At the time I wasn’t really thinking whether or not I should sign to a pop or country label, but with the Columbia imprint that I’m on, I felt like I got the best of both worlds—I’ve been lucky to have a partnership with New York and Nashville with my deal. I never felt like I had to choose between the two worlds.

Describe that New York component.
Person for person, the same amount of people that work on my team here in Nashville under Columbia, the same goes for the New York office. So if I’m ever overseas or in New York, I feel like they both have a tight grasp on my direction.

It’s nice because I feel like these genre walls are coming down, bit by bit. I’m seeing the New York labels start to have more conversation with their Nashville counterparts. There’s more symbiosis happening and you don’t have to choose between the two. Randy Goodman and Rob Stringer at Columbia Records in New York really get what I do.

Chris Stapleton and Ram Trucks, in conjunction with ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music, today announced a partnership that will see Stapleton return to Johnson Central High School, his alma mater, located in his hometown of Paintsville, Kentucky.

During the visit, Ram Nation volunteers (a grassroots team of Ram truck owners) and students from the Johnson Central High School carpentry program will dedicate an outdoor performance space, The Golden Eagle Stage Powered By RAM Trucks, for the school’s use. It will be located on the grounds of Johnson Central High School, and was constructed by JCHS carpentry students in conjunction with Ram Nation volunteers.

In addition, Stapleton will perform a closed afternoon concert for students, educators and administrators at the Johnson Central High School Gymnasium. Later that evening, Stapleton will return to the same stage for his sold-out ‘Ram Trucks Hometown Concert’ for the Paintsville community.

“While the story of Chris Stapleton may not be widely known, it’s one of pride, dedication and perseverance, all values important to our Ram truck owners,” said Marissa Hunter, Director of Brand Advertising, FCA US. “It’s a great opportunity and honor for us to go back to Paintsville with Chris to document his return to the place that built his character and work-ethic. Ram will be creating videos from this experience to show millions of people the very special town and moments that made Chris the man he is today.”

The 14th Annual SOURCE Awards will honor and induct a select group of women into the SOURCE Awards Hall of Fame on Aug. 30. Tickets will be available in the coming weeks.

The yet-to-be-announced 2016 honorees are women who have played a vital role in the success of Music Row and Nashville’s entertainment industry.

Again held at Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum at the Historic Municipal Auditorium (417 4th Avenue North).

Founded in 1991, SOURCE is a nonprofit organization supporting women executives and professionals who work in all facets of the Nashville music industry. In 2003, the annual SOURCE Awards were established to pay respect to and honor the women who helped develop and build upon the foundation of the music industry in Nashville. SOURCE also pays tribute to women who presently make major contributions with their work in the industry.

Sponsorships and program ads are available with Shauna Collins at 615-974-7023.