The Country Music Association (CMA) has unveiled details behind its inaugural Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship. The new program is designed to provide BIPOC students with an immersive experience in the country music industry.

In partnership with the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and The University of Alabama, with additional collegiate partners such as The University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Belmont University, the program is set to launch spring 2023.

In its first offering, the Fellowship will provide students with an insider look into CMA’s Communications team leading into the 50th anniversary of CMA Fest (June 8-11). Participants will begin working remotely with CMA’s Communications team in April, taking part in various planning meetings with cross-departmental teams and industry partners before joining CMA team members in Nashville. Following CMA Fest, each participant will take part in a six-week assignment with a country music publicity partner. CMA has tapped PR executive and co-founder of My Publicist Is Black, Trell Thomas, to match each participant with an industry expert who will serve as a mentor throughout the fellowship. Students will also participate in sessions and various programming with leading voices in the field as well as Nashville-based media and talent partners.

“We recognize that in order for our industry to further build an inclusive future, we have to create a multitude of pipelines for diverse talent to reach us,” says Tiffany Kerns, CMA Vice President, Industry Relations & Philanthropy. “Through our work with our collegiate development program, CMA EDU, we have had the opportunity to work with some incredible partners at universities across the country, and I am thrilled to have been able to develop this truly special program alongside Dr. Kenon Brown. While this inaugural fellowship will focus on the public relations field, our goal is to develop future programs that highlight even more professions within the country music industry.”

“PR professionals in the country music industry carry a significant amount of influence, which makes it increasingly important that the professionals recruited to fill these positions reflect not only the diverse talent and audiences they represent, but also the growing diversity of the U.S. population,” notes Mia McNeal, CMA Senior Director, Industry Relations & Inclusion. “We know that having diverse candidates will bring different perspectives to strategies that will ultimately strengthen the country music industry. By partnering with several companies and individuals within our business, we aim to build widespread engagement and future opportunity within country music.”

“In my years of collaborating alongside CMA, I’ve known the organization to be incredibly intentional around the need for diversity and inclusion behind the scenes,” adds Dr. Brown, The University of Alabama Associate Professor, Advertising and Public Relations and the fellowship’s managing faculty member. “This fellowship is just one of the many ways that the organization is providing resources to continue making change happen. I know first-hand the impact a program like this can have on students from underrepresented backgrounds, and I’m excited to watch the participants begin their journeys to becoming future leaders in country music. My deepest gratitude to CMA for locking arms with myself and our additional collegiate partners to create such a rewarding experience for students.”

Applications can be submitted now through Feb. 24. Eligible students must be an incoming junior or senior majoring in public relations, advertising, journalism, business or a related field at The University of Alabama; The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or Belmont University.

All participants will receive compensation for their work in addition to a stipend to cover living expenses while in Nashville. An advisory committee comprised of Dr. Brown, faculty representatives from the university partners and CMA staff members will review all applications.

Industry veteran Mandy McCormack has been named Executive Vice President of Marketing & Partner Strategy for Trisha Yearwood, Inc.

In this role, the Nashville-based executive will be tasked with managing brand partnerships, overseeing marketing plans, seeking new business ventures and providing strategic consultation in all lanes of Yearwood’s business.

McCormack’s more than 25-year career began in the 1990s with programming roles at After Midnite with Blair Garner, Premiere Radio Networks and KZLA/Los Angeles. She later shifted to records with a regional promotion position for Vivaton! Records.

In 2005, McCormack joined the inaugural promotion team that launched Big Machine Records, and while there, she served as Director/Midwest Regional Promotion and Director/West Coast Regional Promotion. In 2011, she was promoted to National Director/Promotion Strategy for the entire label group, overseeing syndication and radio marketing. During her decade-long tenure at BMLG, her success was recognized with Country Aircheck/CRS Awards for Regional Promotion Director of the Year (2010) and National Promotion Director of the Year (2012).

Most recently, McCormack spent eight years as Sr. VP of Radio Promotion & Marketing | Artist Strategy for Garth Brooks’ Pearl Records and TeamTY. From 2016-22 she also served as Executive Producer for SiriusXM’s The Garth Channel as an extension of her Pearl Records duties.

“I have been so blessed to have had the opportunity to expand my experience since 2015, working with Garth, Trisha, and their affiliated teams,” notes McCormack. “Now, I am excited to be able to laser focus on Trisha’s business goals as it relates to music, television, entertainment, lifestyle and more. Knowing the opportunities currently on the table, I am looking forward to bringing new dreams to life with Trisha, her team at WME and our entire amazing TeamTY!”

“Mandy has been an integral part of TeamTY since we formed in 2018,” Yearwood adds. “We named ourselves TeamTY because that’s really who we are. I love the collaborative nature of this group. With Mandy coming in full-time, it feels good to make official what she’s really been doing all along. TeamTY is thrilled to have her with us exclusively!”

Yearwood’s current portfolio includes Gwendolyn Records; her Emmy-winning Food Network TV series, Trisha’s Southern Kitchen; her Facebook Live series, Coffee Talk; her collection of New York Times best-selling cookbooks; a pet line; furniture line; rug line; and a multi-year partnership with Williams Sonoma.

Chapel Hart was honored by the Mississippi House of Representatives on Jan. 4 with House Resolution 2 (HR2).

Authored by Representative Jansen Owen (R – Poplarville), HR2 congratulates the group on their success and positive representation of the state of Mississippi. After the presentation, Chapel Hart performed for a packed Capitol Rotunda filled with legislators, staffers, lobbyists and visitors.

The trio, who were named as part of MusicRow‘s Next Big Thing Class of 2023, consists of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and first cousin Trea Swindle, who hail from Poplarville. The group exploded onto the country scene with their Golden Buzzer performance of their original song “You Can Have Him, Jolene” on America’s Got Talent last year. Following their run as finalists on AGT, the group made their debut at the Grand Ole Opry.

Chapel Hart is gearing up for their first nationwide headlining tour, “The Glory Days Tour,” which kicks off Jan. 26 in Wichita, Kansas and runs coast to coast with 60 shows.

Austin City Limits will return on Jan. 7 with a special installment, Austin City Limits 8th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Sheryl Crow, celebrating singer-songwriter and new inductee Sheryl Crow.

The tribute showcases Crow’s Hall of Fame tribute and features extended highlights, including induction speeches and vintage clips from her appearances on Austin City Limits. It also includes performances from Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Brittney Spencer and Lucius’ Jess Wolfe. The hour opens with highlights from Crow’s Austin City Limits debut in 1997, performing numbers from her landmark debut Tuesday Night Music Club.

The hour-long broadcast will premiere on PBS and will be available to stream online beginning Jan. 8 at pbs.org/austincitylimits. A special companion Hall of Fame hour will salute fellow inductee Joe Ely and will close out Season 48 on Feb. 25.

“The whole idea behind our annual Hall of Fame celebration is to honor the artists who helped to build the legacy of Austin City Limits for almost half a century,” explains ACL executive producer Terry Lickona. “There’s a special magic that happens with these annual shows, and it’s just too much to pack in a single one-hour episode, so we decided to give each honoree their own hour and not sacrifice a single word or note of music.”

Season 48 of the classic show will feature performances by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Adia Victoria, Maren Morris, Spoon and more.