Scotty McCreery will release 15, a retrospective album featuring nine of his hit songs and four new recordings, on July 17.

In celebration of the announcement, he teamed up with Josh Turner to release a new version of “Your Man,” the song McCreery sang during his American Idol audition. The track releases tomorrow (May 15).

15 contains nine previously released tracks including McCreery’s seven No. 1 hits, “Bottle Rockets,” “Five More Minutes,” “This Is It,” “In Between,” “You Time,” “Damn Strait” and “Cab in a Solo,” as well as “It Matters to Her” and “See You Tonight.”

Additionally, McCreery recorded versions of Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me, Lord?”

The album also features “Been a Good Run,” a new track written by McCreery, Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell and Derek George.

“Man, fifteen years goes by like a flash,” shares McCreery. “Some days it feels like yesterday when I did my initial American Idol audition in Milwaukee, while other days it feels like it happened a hundred years ago. I’ve lived a lot of life, traveled millions of miles, and followed my dreams, all thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my family, my team, and all the fans who have supported me through these 15 years.”

McCreery will make stops at various fairs and festivals throughout the summer.

15 Track List:
1. “See You Tonight” (Scotty McCreery/Ashley Gorley/Zack Crowell)* – available on vinyl and CD only
2. “Five More Minutes” (Scotty McCreery/Frank Rogers/Monty Criswell)*
3. “This is It” (Scotty McCreery/Frank Rogers/Aaron Eshuis)**
4. “In Between” (Scotty McCreery/Frank Rogers/Jessi Alexander/Jonathan Singleton)*
5. “You Time” (Scotty McCreery/Frank Rogers/Aaron Eshuis)**
6. “Damn Strait” (Jim Collins/Trent Tomlinson)**
7. “Cab in a Solo” (Scotty McCreery/Frank Rogers/Monty Criswell/Derek George/Brent Anderson)*
8. “It Matters to Her” (Scotty McCreery/Rhett Akins/Thomas Lee Miller)**
9. “Bottle Rockets” featuring Hootie & The Blowfish (Scotty McCreery/Frank Rogers/Monty Criswell/Derek George/Brent Anderson/Jeremy Bussey/Bobby Hambrick/Darius Rucker/Mark Bryan/Dean Felber/Jim Sonefeld)*
10. “Your Man” featuring Josh Turner (Chris Stapleton/Chris DuBois/Jace Everett)*
11. “Hello Darlin’” (Conway Twitty)*
12. “Been a Good Run” (Scotty McCreery/Rodney Clawson/Monty Criswell/Derek George)*
13. “Why Me,Lord?” (Kris Kristofferson)*
(*) produced by Frank Rogers
(**) produced by Frank Rogers, Derek Wells, and Aaron Eshuis

MusicRow’s LB Cantrell moderates a panel with hit songwriter Emily Weisband, Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Gabe Simon, Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston and Perfect Game Creative founder Jessi Vaughn Stevenson

Spotify recently welcomed songwriters, artists, executives and music students to Nashville for a Mental Health & Songwriter Summit at Belmont University’s Fisher Center.

The event held in partnership with Backline and powered by BetterHelp, the world’s largest online mental health platform, was an extension of Spotify’s ongoing Heart & Soul, Mental Health for Creators initiative, which offers tools, care and space to reflect on the emotional side of creative life.

Belmont’s Center for Mental Health in Entertainment’s Debbie Carroll moderates a panel with Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi, genre-blending artist Breland, hit songwriter Barry Dean and singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun

The summit brought together nearly 200 members of the songwriting community for a day of conversation, resources and shared experiences centered on mental health in the music industry. The programming kicked off with “The Unsung Heroes,” a panel exploring the rejection, comparison and quiet pressures that come with songwriting and song plugging. Moderated by MusicRow‘s LB Cantrell, the conversation featured Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Gabe Simon, hit songwriter Emily Weisband, Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston and Jessi Vaughn Stevenson, founder of Perfect Game Creative.

From there, Christopher O’Reilly, Owner, Remedy Counseling and Wellness, led an interactive session on emotional regulation, giving attendees tools they could take into the studio and beyond. The afternoon’s “Creativity on Demand” panel explored how to live a consistent, balanced, healthy lifestyle while sustaining creative inspiration. Moderated by Debbie Carroll, Executive Director of Belmont’s Center for Mental Health in Entertainment, the panel featured Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi, singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun, genre-blending artist Breland and hit songwriter Barry Dean.

Spotify’s Alex Tamashunas leads a conversation with songwriter Steph Jones

The day closed with a fireside chat between songwriter Steph Jones and Spotify’s Songwriter and Publisher Partnerships Lead, Alex Tamashunas, for a candid conversation on identity, balance and creative longevity.

Local organizations including MusiCares, Porter’s Call, Onsite and Belmont’s Center for Mental Health in Entertainment also shared resources for songwriters and spoke directly with those in the room. The summit offered support people could use right away including a dedicated wellness space, which gave writers the opportunity to connect with wellness practitioners and take a moment to rest and reset. Backline provided pathways to ongoing care through their Case Management program, Global Resource Hub and B-LINE, the music industry’s 24/7 crisis and support line, while BetterHelp extended access to continued mental health support beyond the event.

During the event, Spotify and Backline unveiled Between the Lines, a vital mental health guide for songwriters developed by Backline’s clinical team. The guide offers songwriters a way to stay grounded, care for their wellbeing, and sustain a meaningful connection to their craft as it grows and changes over time.

Photo: Madison Thorn

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert at the Opry House became a moment in music history on Wednesday evening (May 13).

The group is in the home stretch of its final tour, which also marks the Dirt Band’s 60th anniversary. Moreover, the Opry House show was staged on the exact anniversary date. Group leader Jeff Hanna founded the act in Long Beach, CA in 1966, and May 13 was the date of its first concert.

The 2.5 hour show was expertly staged, mingling the band’s hits with Americana music classics and alternating acoustic folkie performances with full-on country-rock romps. It featured guests Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Kathleen Edwards and Suzy Bogguss. During the concert, each of the band’s members was in the spotlight at various times.

Photo: Madison Thorn

The evening’s music was utterly refreshing, since we experienced a real band, playing and singing without pre-recorded sounds, click tracks, synth effects, video walls or pitch adjusters. “No hard drives up here,” as lead guitarist Jamie Hanna quipped. “And that’s the way we like it.”

Such Dirt Band hits as “Mr. Bojangles,” “Long Hard Road,” “Fishin’ in the Dark,” “An American Dream,” “Workin’ Man (Nowhere to Go),” “Make a Little Magic” and “Stand a Little Rain” were offered. Sprinkled among them were sounds from the pens of such songwriting greats as Kenny Loggins, Rodney Crowell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Michael Martin Murphey, Jerry Jeff Walker and John Prine.

Father-son band members Jeff and Jamie both excelled on lead guitars. The show included featured standout moments for longtime keyboardist Bob Carpenter (“Stand a Little Rain”), drummer/harmonica player Jimmie Fadden (“Workin’ Man,” which he wrote), fiddler/mandolinist Ross Holmes (“Grandpa Was a Carpenter”) and bass player Jim Photoglo (“Fishin’ in the Dark,” which he co-wrote).

The entire group shone brightly on “You Ain’t Going Nowhere,” “Cosmic Cowboy,” “Girl From the North Country,” the bluegrass-gospel “Take Me in Your Lifeboat,” “Helpless,” “House on Pooh Corner” and the new “Nashville Skyline,” Jeff Hanna related that he cowrote and Carpenter sang “Bless the Broken Road,” but it was unsuccessful for the band. Ten years later, Rascal Flatts made it a major country hit.

Photo: Madison Thorn

Following an acoustic segment with band members and guests in various combinations, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band rocked splendidly on “Bayou Jubilee” and “Cadillac Ranch” as the show’s finale. The entire cast then assembled for the encore, a medley of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “The Weight.”

But no song summed up the mood of the evening better than the lyrics of the group’s 1986 hit tune “Partners, Brothers, and Friends.” As Jeff sang, “It’s great to be a part of something that’s lasted so long.”

“It’s not lost on us how lucky we are to have been doing this with you guys all these years,” he told the crowd. “You are beautiful. Thank you so much.”

Approximately 2,500 attended. Many in the sweetly enthusiastic audience looked like they shared the band’s vintage. Ten dates remain on The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s farewell concert tour, which concludes in Denver on June 18.

Pictured (L-R, back row): Bart Herbison, Ralston Wells, Bryan Mitschell, James Maltese, Gabe Walsh, Jake Arthur, Maxwell Trotter, Grayson May, Adam Epstein, Dewey Longuski, Jessie Brackin, Philip Morgan, Sharon O’Donnell and Josie Bisto. (L-R, front row): Lauren Murray, Tracy Richardson, Sarah Arnold, Natalie Flynn, Allison Barrett, Garland, Jonathan Olivares, Megan Kelley, Jill Moody, Abbey Rowe and Julia Keefe. Photo: NSAI/Tom Turk

NSAI recently held its annual member awards at 3rd and Lindsley Nashville, honoring over a dozen individuals, including standout NSAI members and industry supporters.

After a welcome address, the ceremony began with a performance from NSAI Board Member and songwriter Lydia Vaughan as she shared a few songs and words of inspiration with the audience.

Dewey Longuski was the first honoree, receiving the Ones To Watch Award. Megan Kelley stepped on stage to receive the Bob Kingsley Top 40 Award for receiving the most song placements on Bob Kingsley’s NSAI Top 40 lists in 2025. Longtime NSAI member Jonathan Oliveres was honored with the Volunteer Award, given to a member that has extended assistance and support with their time and efforts for the organization.

To honor the newest Friend of NSAI Award recipients, songwriter Brooke Hatala surprised Ralston Wells with a performance, Adam Epstein was honored with a song by hit songwriter Victoria Shaw, and Julia Keefe, Partner, Edgehill Music Publishing, was honored with a performance by Willie Morrison.

This year NSAI recognized Gabe Walsh, Jacob Rice, Abbey Rowe, Philip Morgan and Jessie Brackin with Milestone Awards.

Additionally, Carl Slack was given the Online Pitch award, Bella Garland nabbed the Mentor Award, and Bryan Mitschell took home the Online Song Feedback Award. Various competitions and challenge winners from the past year were also recognized, including Sharon O’Donnell and Josie Bisto, the Grand Prize winners of the 25th annual NSAI Song Contest, NSAI’s 2025 Chapter Challenge winners, James Maltese and Jake Arthur, and the latest recipient of the Todd Givens Memorial Scholarship, Grayson May.

To close out the event, Song of the Year was given to James Maltese for his song “Grass Roots.”

Vince Gill receives Ken Burns American Heritage Prize.

Vince Gill was recently awarded the 2026 Ken Burns American Heritage Prize at an event held on May 6 at the American Museum of Natural History.

The honor recognizes an individual whose body of work has advanced our collective understanding of the indomitable American spirit.

“Tonight, we are celebrating two vital American traditions—the arts and conservation, both of which act as a kind of conscience to our nation,” Burns shared from the stage. “This is why I’m particularly delighted to present this prize to Vince Gill tonight. I can spot the kinship of a storyteller a prairie mile away.”

“In Country Music, we explored the idea that this quintessentially American art form is simply ‘three chords and the truth.’ But every once in a while, an artist comes along who elevates that truth into something transcendent,” he continued. “He is a master of his craft, a keeper of the flame, and quite simply, one of the finest souls I’ve had the privilege to work with, document, and learn from. It is my distinct honor to present this year’s American Heritage Prize to a man whose heart is as big as the Montana sky.”

“With a grateful heart, thank you for this amazing honor,” Gill shared. “I think the world of Ken Burns and I think the world of what you’re doing – and you’re trying to make this place better, trying to make it matter, trying to make us have some reverence for what’s been around for a long, long time.”

Throughout the night, Sting, Rosanne Cash, Marty Stewart, Keith Urban and Amy Grant shared well wishes through videos. Gill took the stage to perform “One More Last Chance” and “Whenever You Come Around.”

Burns, a revered visual historian and documentary filmmaker, has directed and produced films including The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The War, The National Parks, America’s Best Idea, Prohibition, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, The Vietnam War, Country Music, The U.S. and the Holocaust, The American Buffalo, Leonardo da Vinci, and The American Revolution.