Pictured (L-R): Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar and Lizzy Rector, Anna Vaus, Big Machine Music’s Tim Hunze, Longshot Management’s Rob Baker. Photo: Courtesy of Big Machine Music

Big Machine Music (BMM) has signed rising singer-songwriter Anna Vaus to an exclusive songwriting agreement.

A graduate of Belmont University, Vaus was the first-ever recipient of the Miranda Lambert Women’s Creator Fund. She has had songs recorded by reigning CMA/ACM Awards Female Vocalist/Artist of the Year Carly Pearce (“Lightning In A Bottle”) and Abby Anderson (“Bad Posture”), among others. Her frequent collaborators include Jessie Jo Dillon, Brandy Clark and Luke Laird.

“We have admired Anna’s unique songwriting from afar for years and are so excited for the opportunity to work together directly,” says BMM General Manager Mike Molinar.

Vaus recently penned her latest single, “Didn’t Even Date,” alongside Steve Moakler and Mark Trussell. She also co-produced the track with Laird and Trussell. Her third EP, Younger Version of Myself, is due later this year.

“Songwriting is such a foundational part of my artistry and I’m thrilled to get to work with the Big Machine Music team,” Vaus adds. “I’m incredibly excited to have Mike, Tim [Hunze] and Lizzy [Rector] and rest of the team alongside me as I continue to grow as a songwriter.”

Morgan Wallen. Photo: John Shearer

This week’s country consumption charts feature the usual suspects as of late, with Morgan Wallen continuing his charge on both the top country streaming songs and top country albums charts.

Wallen’s “You Proof” adds another week at the top of the songs chart with 11 million streams, contributing to a total of 137 million streams RTD. The Big Loud singer-songwriter also bookends the top five on the country albums chart as Dangerous: The Double Album maintains its spot at No. 1 with 49K in total consumption (1.3K album only/60 million song streams) and If I Know Me takes No. 5 with 17K.

Elsewhere on the albums chart, Zach Bryan claims the second spot as his American Heartbreak record adds 23K in total consumption. Luke Combs earns the remaining spots with Growin’ Up in third at 21K and This One’s For You in fourth at 17K, according to Luminate data.

Filling out the remaining spots on the top country streaming chart are “The Kind Of Love We Make” (Luke Combs) at No. 2 with 10.5 million streams, “Something In The Orange” (Zach Bryan) at No. 3 with 9 million streams, “Rock And A Hard Place” (Bailey Zimmerman) at 8.7 million streams, and “She Had Me At Heads Caroline” (Cole Swindell) sealing the top five with 8.5 million streams.

Rodney Crowell will celebrate the release of his upcoming book, Word For Word, with a special in-depth, virtual conversation with longtime pal Emmylou Harris on Sept. 13.

The BMG Books project gathers 150 of Crowell’s most impactful songs in a collector-sized compilation of lyrical poetry and artwork, and features 50 pages of prose from Crowell’s own pen, plus vibrant photos and handwritten lyrics. Within its pages, the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter describes his early days in Nashville and the backstory of selected songs.

The book also features a cover photo taken by Marty Stuart, and includes contributions from everyone from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy to broadcast journalist Ted Koppel.  

“Emmylou Harris is like the sister I never had growing up,” shares Crowell. “It isn’t lost on me that in the beginning she was the very lifeblood of my songwriting career. We’ll talk about that on September 13, the release date of my book, Word for Word.”

The virtual event will begin at 6 p.m. CT, co-hosted by independent booksellers Gramercy Books in Columbus, Ohio; Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas; Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston, Illinois; and Literati in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Viewers may visit these stores websites for the links to attend the event.

Following the virtual release party, Crowell will launch his tour of music and memories with more than a dozen shows, including a hometown event in Nashville on Sept. 23 at Parnassus Books and AmericanaFest on Sept. 15.

Kameron Marlowe will embark on his headlining “We Were Cowboys Tour” this fall.

The tour will kick off in Nashville at the Brooklyn Bowl on Sept. 8, and singer-songwriter Wyatt McCubbin will join Marlowe on most dates. Tickets for the trek, which includes stops in New York City, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Little Rock, Chicago and more, can be purchased here.

The tour comes on the heels of the release of Marlowe’s debut album We Were Cowboys, out Aug. 26. Produced by Dann Huff and Brad Hill, the album features 16 tracks including his current, Gold-certified single “Giving You Up” and advance release “Girl on Fire.”

“I’m incredibly proud of this album and getting to hit the road in the fall to play them live is going to be so rewarding,” shares Marlowe. “I can’t wait to see y’all out there!”

Marlowe continues to achieve streaming and radio success, surpassing 350 million on-demand career streams. “Steady Heart,” Marlowe’s fastest-growing track to date, continues to gain traction on social media and reached No. 6 on SiriusXM The Highway’s Top 30 Countdown.

Pictured (L-R): Kaique Pacheco, songwriter Wynn Varble, Stampede coach Justin McBride, and country artist Brice Long. Photo: Courtesy of Josh Vaughn Photography

As the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Team Series season kicks off, the Music City-based team–the Nashville Stampede–is preparing for its home event at Bridgestone Arena on Aug. 19-21. Gearing up for the upcoming festivities, the Nashville Stampede now has its own theme song. “Stampede,” written and performed by country artist Brice Long, debuted on all streaming platforms on Friday, July 22.

Long’s songwriting hits include the No. 1 singles “Heartache On The Dance Floor” (Jon Pardi) and “Nothing On But The Radio” (Gary Allan), along with Randy Houser’s “Like a Cowboy,” which garnered a nomination for CMA Song of the Year.

Stampede Head Coach and former two-time PBR World Champion Justin McBride met Long in 2006 when traveling to Nashville to work with songwriters Tim DuBois and Wynn Varble. The pair had mutual friends as Long had grown up roping and in the western lifestyle. As their friendship grew, Long went on to write a few songs that McBride cut and was tapped to tour with him, playing guitar and doing a few songs on his own.

When McBride found out he was coaching the Stampede, he reached out to Long and explained what the Stampede meant and what he wanted its theme song to convey. Long is the sole writer on the track.

Throughout a 10-event regular-season, each PBR team will compete in 28 five-on-five bull riding games. The winner of each game will be the team with the top aggregate score. During the regular-season, each team will host a three-day homestand, with the Nashville Stampede scheduled to host their first home event Aug. 19-21.

Fans interested in ticket packages for the team series and or the full weekend can gets tickets on Ticketmaster.