Public relations powerhouse Carleen Donovan has had her eyes on Music City for a number of years.

She’s a veteran of music publicity, who, at just 20-years-old, launched her career as Head of PR for influential independent label Mute Records after a series of internships. She went on to hold Senior Executive roles at KSA Publicity and Press Here Publicity, in addition to the post of Executive Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing for Career Artist Management / Live Nation.

In 2015, Donovan founded DPR, which flourished and grew for five years before the 2020 launch of The Oriel Company. With teams in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, the company represents Grammy Award-winning artists, Academy Award-winning creatives, Fortune 500 companies and global philanthropic organizations. In the music industry, The Oriel Company counts artists Zoe Kravitz, Maroon 5, Questlove, Robyn, André 3000, Phoebe Bridgers, Kelsea Ballerini, Reyna Roberts and Old Dominion as clients, as well as UTA’s Nashville division and Stagecoach Music Festival.

Donovan says that even though people thought her and her partners Chloë Walsh and Jen Appel were crazy starting The Oriel Company during the onslaught of the 2020 pandemic, it was the right time for them.

“I was based in New York and we had expanded to LA in 2018, but I was looking to grow our base there because so much of the music industry is based in LA and Nashville. We represent a lot of actors and we do a lot of corporate consulting in the film and television space, so we just needed a bigger team in LA,” Donovan shares with MusicRow.

Donovan’s wish to expand to LA led her to joining forces with Walsh and Appel. That’s when the firm officially changed names from DPR to The Oriel Company.

“That’s how it all began. We started expanding and growing from there, which led us to Nashville,” she says.

Donovan’s introduction to Music City was through Old Dominion’s 2017 album Happy Endings.

“I’ve always worked with bands and touring musicians, so I’m very familiar with that strategy. That was one of the reasons they approached me, they saw my work with Maroon 5 and The Roots, who really both made their names not only from their albums, but in the touring world.”

To help The Oriel Company grow its Music City presence, Donovan tapped 15-year music publicity veteran Charlotte Burke Bass to become Vice President of Nashville Operations. Bass joined The Oriel Company from Beeline Agency, a public relations and strategic communications firm she founded in 2020. Prior to that, Bass spent over five years at Big Machine Label Group as the Director of Communications, as well as seven years at ID Public Relations in New York City.

Bass said that the highlighted intention by the company to contribute to philanthropy aided her decision in joining the team.

“I was reading Carleen, Jen and Chloe’s backgrounds and all of the work that they do outside of the entertainment space. That was really inspiring to me. I thought, ‘Wow, these are three incredible women who do work not only for their clients, but for their communities.’ That was really important to me,” Bass shares.

Speaking of incredible women, The Oriel Company boasts an entirely female staff.

“It wasn’t intentional. Men are welcome,” Donovan says with a laugh. “But we are all female—female founders and female staff. Everyone works really well together.”

The strategy at The Oriel Company is that of a multi-faceted approach. Most of their clients are multi-hyphenate entertainers who operate in different verticals both in and out of entertainment. Country star Ballerini, for example, is an author, a face of CoverGirl, an Aerie Partner and now a voice actor in Dolly Parton’s Run, Rose, Run.

“The work that The Oriel Company does expands beyond straightforward music publicity. A lot of the clients that we work with not only are musicians, but they may have their own fashion line, be actors or directors. You never know what’s going to happen,” Bass says. “We not only work with these artists, but we also work with different corporate clients that touch all different verticals across entertainment. That helps us help our clients when we’re able to have our hands in so many different parts of entertainment.”

As for Donovan and Bass’ goals for the Nashville office, the women are looking at strategic growth and projects.

“We want to continue the work that we’re doing, continue to super-serve our clients in every way that we can and eventually grow our base here,” Bass says.

Donovan says, “We look for projects that we can creatively invest ourselves in. Most of our clients have been with their publicists who are members of our team for 5 to 20 plus years in some cases. It’s really a family atmosphere.”

She sums, “We aren’t siloed as publicists. When you come here, you get the strength of the firm. Our resources and network are shared with the clients across the board. Every project is a priority, so when we find stuff, we look for projects we can all get behind.”

Rising singer-songwriter Alana Springsteen has unveiled details behind her debut album, Twenty Something.

Taking shape as a three-part collection documenting the heartache, excitement and transformation of early adulthood, the journey begins with the album’s first installment, Twenty Something: Messing It Up, releasing via Columbia Records NY/Sony Music Nashville on March 24.

To celebrate the announcement, the 19-year-old has released her new single, “You Don’t Deserve A Country Song.” Written by Springsteen, Mitchell Tenpenny, Geoff Warburton, Will Weatherly and Michael Whitworth, the vulnerable anthem channels bouncing back from a painful relationship while also stating her refusal to immortalize her ex in song form. Produced by Chris LaCorte and co-produced by Weatherly, the track’s second verse nods to classic country songs such as Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon.”

“I have a tendency to let my feelings consume me, whether they’re good or bad,” Springsteen explains. “That’s why I ended up becoming a songwriter, so I could have a productive outlet for those emotions and all of that turmoil. This song is my attempt to reclaim my power after my ex took so much of it away from me. It’s about finding my confidence and getting to a place where I could start to trust myself and my judgment again. Most importantly, it’s a reminder to myself about the importance of living in the present and being grateful for all of the ‘once in a lifetime’ moments I’ve been lucky enough to experience recently.”

Made with A-list collaborators, including award-winning songwriter Liz Rose, Twenty Something: Messing It Up explores what Springsteen refers to as “the ways that we get it wrong so we can learn how to get it right,” as she confronts commitment issues, temptation and compartmentalizing difficult emotions. She serves as a co-producer on all but one song on the project and has a writing credit on every track.

Quickly nearing the 100 million career streams milestone, Springsteen will kick off 2023 on Adam Doleac’s “Barstool Whiskey Wonderland Tour,” running through May.

Twenty Something: Messing It Up Track List:
1. “You Don’t Deserve A Country Song”
2. “If You Love Me Now”
3. “Caught Up To Me”
4. “Goodbye Looks Good On You (feat. Mitchell Tenpenny)”
5. “Tennessee Is Mine”
6. “Shoulder To Cry On”

After already announcing a slew of dates for 2023, MCA Nashville’s Parker McCollum has added a new wave of tour stops for this spring and summer.

The reigning ACM New Male Artist of the Year has been steadily rolling out tour dates for 2023. With this newest batch, he adds 14 more shows around the southeast and more. McCollum will visit Rogers, Arkansas; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Corpus Christi, Texas; Modesto, California; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Knoxville, Tennessee; and more.

Pre-sale tickets for the new shows will be available beginning Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. local time. Public on-sale will begin Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. local time, with the exception of Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, which will go on sale Jan. 27. For a full list of McCollum’s upcoming dates, click here.

McCollum will kick off RodeoHouston’s 2023 season on Feb. 28 as the famed event hosts its opening day festivities. He will also spend part of 2023 as support on various dates of Morgan Wallen’s “One Night At A Time World Tour.”

The Texas native had his breakout year in 2022, landing two No. 1 singles, a RIAA Platinum certification, his first ACM and CMT Awards, his RodeoHouston debut, a performance at Austin City Limits and more.

Dierks Bentley will release his 10th studio album, Gravel & Gold, on Feb. 24.

The 14-track album offers 20 years of perspective and self-awareness both personally and professionally for the artist, and was four years in the making.

“It’s been four years since I put out an album, and part of the reason for that is that I wrote and recorded two records that I didn’t feel were good enough and had to start over…twice,” explains Bentley. “I’m going to be able look back on it for the rest of my life and be like, ‘Yeah, that was harder than I thought it would be, but zero regrets.’ I had to get it right. That’s the Gravel & Gold of it all.”

Bentley produces the new project himself for the first time, and on the album’s opening track, “Same Ol’ Me,” out today, he recognizes those inescapable midlife adjustments and adaptations while nurturing the inner fire of the 18-year-old country music fanatic who arrived in Nashville in the 1990s.

Other tracks include “Heartbreak Drinking Tour,” which calls on country’s capacity for telling stories, while “Something Real” reasserts the importance of integrity and self in a world of pressures, and “Still” is a meditation on staying grounded through the power of nature. “Cowboy Boots” features Ashley McBryde, while “Beer At My Funeral” offers a shot of Roger Miller humor for the 21st century.

“Gold,” the album’s first single, touches on the theme of perspective with wisdom earned only by putting in the years of work, and “Walking Each Other Home” recognizes gratitude for connection and life’s gentle gifts. The final track gathers some of Music City’s greatest pickers trading licks and laughs on “High Note,” which features Billy Strings alongside Jerry Douglas on dobro, Sam Bush on mandolin, Charlie Worsham on guitar and Bryan Sutton on guitar and banjo.

“Selfishly I’ve always wanted to have my cake and eat it too,” says Bentley. “I’m in the bluegrass space. I’m in the traditional country space. It’s always been important to me to have the love and support of this community in Nashville, particularly the older establishment and the Opry–and to know that I’m able to do that but also get out on the road and play the big venues too?  It doesn’t get any better than that for me.”

Gravel & Gold Track List:
1. “Same Ol’ Me”
2. “Sun Sets In Colorado”
3. “Heartbreak Drinking Tour”
4. “Something Real”
5. “Still”
6. “Beer At My Funeral”
7. “Cowboy Boots” (Featuring Ashley McBryde)
8. “Gold”
9. “Walking Each Other Home”
10. “Roll On”
11. “All The Right Places”
12. “Ain’t All Bad”
13. “Old Pickup”
14. “High Note” (Featuring Billy Strings)

MCA Nashville has named David Friedman as the new Vice President of Promotion, and Miranda McDonald has been promoted to Vice President of National Promotion.

The promotions come as Katie Dean, who has led the label’s promotion team since 2015, is leaving to pursue new opportunities after a two-decade career with UMG Nashville.

Friedman brings 25 years of experience in radio promotion to his new role, including his starting major label experience at Capitol Records Nashville and time spent at Arista Nashville and Columbia Nashville. For the past seven years, he has served as VP of National Promotion at UMG Nashville where he worked radio promotion across the full UMG Nashville artist roster. Friedman now leads the MCA Nashville promotion staff and spearheads strategies for its artist roster, which includes Kassi Ashton, Jordan Davis, Vince Gill, Sam Hunt, Kip Moore, Kacey Musgraves, Parker McCollum, Reba McEntire, Catie Offerman, George Strait, Josh Turner and Ya’Boyz.

“Having David move to run MCA’s promo department is one of the easiest decisions I’ve made in a long time,” says UMGN EVP of Promotion Royce Risser. “He has been ready for this position for years, and I have been selfishly keeping him in his former role because I loved having him there. He will be an incredible asset to MCA’s iconic roster, and I have every bit of confidence that he will continue the building success story at MCA Nashville.”

“Like Lynyrd Skynyrd once said, I’m ‘Workin’ For MCA!’” boasts Friedman. “I’m beyond excited to transition within the UMGN family to the MCA promotion team and look forward to working alongside these flamethrowers in breaking new artists and growing the careers of this phenomenal roster. Thank you, Royce, Mike Dungan, and Cindy Mabe, for this amazing opportunity.”

McDonald joined MCA Nashville in 2012 as its Southwest Regional Director following time as a radio regional with Valory Music, and as a radio host and reporter for CMT Radio. She has contributed to the success of a multitude of MCA artists and hit songs. In her new role, McDonald will work alongside Risser on radio initiatives across the label group’s four imprints, including Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville.

“Miranda McDonald has been our secret weapon for years,” adds Risser. “Not gonna be so secret anymore. Her intuitive nature and deep relationships are some of the best I’ve ever seen in radio promotion. She is also a true ‘creative’ and now I will have the ability to utilize her skills for all four of our labels. I am so excited for her to begin ripping it up for UMG Nashville.”

“MCA has been my beloved chosen family for over a decade now,” McDonald shares. “So, to be given the opportunity to not only continue working alongside MCA, but also with my extended family at each of the imprints, their incredible artists, and an entirely new group of partners in radio, is an honor. I am so fortunate to continue to grow my career with the best team in the industry. Answer my calls please.”