Connie Bradley
Iconic industry leader Connie Bradley, who spent more than three decades with ASCAP, passed away Wednesday morning (March 24) in Ft. Myers, Florida.
Bradley joined ASCAP in 1976, and rose to Senior Vice President and Nashville Head. Under her leadership, ASCAP signed and supported the careers of Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Rodney Crowell, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, John Rich, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood and Chris Young, among many. She led the ASCAP Nashville office until 2010, when she stepped back to take the role of strategic advisor.
Bradley was born Connie Darnell in Fayetteville, Tennessee on October 1, 1945. She grew up in Shelbyville, Tennessee, studied at Middle Tennessee State University, and worked at News Channel 5 and in the mortgage industry before starting her career in the music industry. She spent time at Famous Music/Dot Records, the Bill Hudson & Associates public relations firm, and RCA Records before joining ASCAP.
Bradley was among a handful of pioneering women in the Nashville music industry that also included Jo Walker-Meador, Donna Hilley, Frances Preston, and more.
Connie Bradley with husband Jerry Bradley at his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Photo: Donn Jones/CMA
The Music Row stalwart was honored many times for her legacy and contributions to the music industry. Bradley was awarded the Nashville Symphony’s highest honor, the Harmony Award, in 2006. She was inducted into the SOURCE Hall of Fame in 2012.
The main conference room at ASCAP’s Nashville office was named the Connie Bradley Board Room in 2010.
She received the Country Music Association’s Irving Waugh Award of Excellence in 2018. Bradley served on the CMA Board of Directors from 1983 to 2012, having been elected both President and Chairperson.
(L-R) Connie and Jerry Bradley with Harold and Patsy Bradley at the Owen Bradley statue on Music Row. Photo: Courtesy of Jerry Bradley
Bradley is survived by her husband, renowned music executive Jerry Bradley, and step-children, Leigh Jankiv and BMI’s Clay Bradley.
Plans for memorial services have not been announced at this time.
“As head of ASCAP’s Nashville office for more than three decades, Connie Bradley was a mentor to so many of country music’s greatest songwriters and an indelible part of ASCAP’s history. She was a maverick leader in country music with an enormous heart who passionately advocated for the songwriters she loved so much. ASCAP and country music lost an iconic leader today. Our hearts go out to her family and the large community of songwriters who loved her,” says ASCAP Chairman and President, and songwriter Paul Williams of Bradley’s passing.
“I am so saddened to hear the news of Connie’s passing. She was one of the many trailblazers, along with Frances Preston and Jo Walker Meador, for women in the Nashville music business. Her passion for artists, songs and the Country Music industry as a whole paved the way for so many. Personally, I will miss her class, her stories and her humor. I am heartbroken for Jerry, and offer my deepest condolences to him and their family during this time,” says Sarah Trahern, Country Music Association CEO.
Women’s Audio Mission To Host WAMCon Virtual Recording Arts Conference
/by Lorie HollabaughPhoto: Courtesy Women’s Audio Mission
Women’s Audio Mission’s WAMcon, an interactive recording arts conference series for women and gender diverse individuals, will take place virtually on April 24.
Women’s Audio Mission is a San Francisco/Oakland-based nonprofit that uses music and media and the only professional recording studio in the world built and run by women/GNC individuals to attract over 2,000 underserved women, girls, and GNC individuals every year to STEM and creative technology studies that inspire them to amplify their voices and become the innovators of tomorrow. WAM’s award-winning curriculum weaves art and music with science, technology and computer programming and works to close the critical gender gap in creative technology careers.
This year’s WAMcon virtual’s interactive series will feature Nashville producers, engineers, and artists including Academy of Country Music audio engineer of the year nominee, Gena Johnson; music producer/engineer/mixer, Shani Gandhi; Grammy-nominated, double-Platinum artist, Cam; singer-songwriter and host/creator of Color Me Country radio show, Rissi Palmer; recording engineer, Rachael Moore; recording engineer/producer, Leslie Richter; and producer/engineer/keyboardist, Kazuri Arai.
Tickets for WAMcon are available here.
Marty Stuart Announces New Acoustic Album ‘Songs I Sing In The Dark’
/by Steven BoeroMarty Stuart will release a new 20-song acoustic album, Songs I Sing In The Dark, recorded at his former house outside of Nashville. Stuart will share a song from the album a month, alongside a personal statement about the song’s importance, both personally and in the context of country music.
“The title tells the story,” says Stuart. “I have a long line of songs that range from obscure, originals, to old favorites from various musical worlds that I often sing to myself when I’m alone. Until recently, I had never formally made a list of all the titles. When I did, I saw in those titles so many great songs that need to be remembered and passed down. There was a mighty congregation of names of profound songwriters whose presence and lyrics are to be cherished. And, looking into those songs I could hear the music of those brilliant musicians, arrangers, and singers who brought those tunes to life, and gave the world reason to love them. In the wake of these revelations, I was inspired to finally go to work on the idea of Songs I Sing in the Dark.”
The five-time Grammy winner released an introduction video with a description of the new album and why he wanted to record it, as well as a lyric video of the first song off the record “Ready For The Times To Get Better,” written by Allen Reynolds.
“I love the restless wisdom in the words, and those words are shadowed by a lonesome melody that is served up from the blue side of town,” says Stuart. “As the pandemic raged on, ‘Ready for the Times to Get Better’ became my personal theme song. I can’t seem to quit playing it. Several months later, I’m still at it. The title proclaims what every soul on planet earth undoubtable feels. It is the perfect country song and I consider it an honor to sing such words.”
In December of 2020, the Country Music Association announced Stuart would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in the Modern Era Artist category alongside Dean Dillon and Hank Williams Jr.
Terry McBride Releases Special ‘Live From The Castle’ EP
/by Lydia FarthingOn Friday, March 19, seasoned songwriter Terry McBride released his new Live From The Castle EP with help from his friends Trey Keller and Brandon Hood. Recorded at Nashville’s legendary Castle Recording Studio, the EP features reimagined acoustic versions of tracks from his latest studio album, Rebels & Angels.
“It has a raw and understated quality that doesn’t always happen with a full band and a certain energy that was surprising for a stripped-down, somewhat unplugged trio. It’s not perfect, but each track is a heartfelt and honest performance that I’m proud to share,” says McBride.
Over the past four decades, McBride has seen his fair share of accomplishments, including more than 25 cuts from Brooks & Dunn, as well as tracks recorded by Garth Brooks, George Strait, Reba McEntire, and more. His band, McBride & The Ride, had a string of top 5 singles in the ‘90s and recently announced that they are reuniting.
McBride’s current single, “Callin’ All Hearts,” hit No. 1 on the Texas Regional Radio Report this week.
Live From The Castle Track List:
1. Callin’ All Hearts – Live
2. Love Me Some Texas – Live
3. She Shows Up – Live
Average Joes’ New Artist, Tommy Chayne, Passes Away
/by LB CantrellTommy Chayne
Average Joes Entertainment’s newly added recording artist, Tommy Chayne, died on Monday (March 22). He was 32.
Chayne’s most recent song and video, “Captain America,” was released just days before his passing, on Friday, March 19.
Born Thomas Alan Herring, he grew up in Citronelle, Alabama. During his time at Average Joes he celebrated several milestones, including having over 1 million streams worldwide. In his free time he enjoyed being around his family and friends listening to music or watching Alabama football.
Funeral services for Chayne will be held Friday, March 26 in Citronelle.
Industry Ink: Anita Cochran, Anacrusis, Rhythmic Rebellion
/by Steven BoeroAnita Cochran Launches 2021 ‘Love Anchors Concert Series’
Anita Cochran. Photo: Shelby Borda
Country singer and breast cancer survivor Anita Cochran is launching the 2021 Love Anchors Concert Series this spring to raise money for her charity, The Love Anchors Fund, to help pay-it-forward to the music industry who helped support her following her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in recent years.
“With the pandemic all but shutting down the touring industry, so many musicians and crew are in financial crisis,” says Cochran. “I know they are turning to the same organizations I did, and I want to help contribute by replenishing the money I was given when I too couldn’t tour.”
The first socially-distanced event of the year, Love Anchors Concert Series; Waves On The Water, will take place on May 15 along the scenic Watts Bar Lake, at the Tennessee National Marina, Resort and Village in East Tennessee. The all-star female lineup will feature Cochran along with Terri Clark, Jamie O’Neal, Brandy Clark, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Emily Brooke. The event will adhere to local COVID-19 safety protocols. Tickets are available here.
Anacrusis Hosts All-Female Songwriting Retreat
Pictured (L-R): Sinclair, Daniella Mason, Liz Rogers (Anacrusis), Carrie K, Sarah Troy, Gatlin, Kenna. Photo: House on a Hill Photography
Anacrusis hosted an all-female songwriting retreat celebrating women with a goal to elevate and provide more opportunities for the women in the Nashville pop community.
The retreat took place at lakefront recording studio Sandy Cove Lake House, in conjunction with Six1Five Living. It featured songwriters Carrie K, Daniella Mason, Gatlin, Kenna, Sarah Troy, and Sinclair. Kenna, Gatlin, and Sinclair wrote a song, “Fly Together,” about female empowerment which featured a recap video that was written and produced entirely at the camp in only 6 hours.
“The reality of how much talent and capability was more apparent in this setting & in a way challenged me to push myself to even greater heights,” says Sinclair, Nashville-based writer, artist, and producer.
Rhythmic Rebellion To Help Artists Monetize And Grow Fanbase
Entrepreneur, singer/songwriter and founder Greg Allen has launched Rhythmic Rebellion, a new platform that helps artists build and monetize a fanbase in light of plummeting album sales and low royalty streaming rates that has diminished revenue sources for creatives.
Through this platform artists have the potential to increase album sales by bundling the album with karaoke, the Fan Song Mixer, and access to exclusive content in their Artist Penthouse. Rhythmic Rebellion also allows artists to interact build relationships with their fans and it even pays artists $2 for every fan for that signs up for an account on the artist site.
For more information go to rhythmic-rebellion.com/artists.
After Midtown Signs With CAA
/by Lorie HollabaughAfter Midtown
After Midtown has signed with CAA for worldwide representation.
The country duo of Adam Ernst and Michael Rotundo have created a genre-bending sound that is quickly creating a buzz with their self-penned debut single “Boys Like Us.” The duo came to life after gigging together as solo artists, through which they discovered their chemistry as vocalists, writers, and instrumentalists.
After Midtown co-wrote all of the tracks on their upcoming EP Don’t Give Away The Ending, set to be released on March 26, as well as playing the guitar and drums themselves. Ernst’s skills with a wide array of instruments and recording experience, as well as Rotundo’s hip-hop and punk vocal aesthetic, create a unique, cross-genre sound all their own.
After Midtown is managed in partnership by The Core Entertainment’s Kevin “Chief” Zaruk and Simon Tikhman, as well as 10th Street Entertainment’s Scott Frazier and Chris Nilsson. They are signed to Sony Music Publishing.
Iconic Music Industry Leader Connie Bradley Dies
/by LB CantrellConnie Bradley
Iconic industry leader Connie Bradley, who spent more than three decades with ASCAP, passed away Wednesday morning (March 24) in Ft. Myers, Florida.
Bradley joined ASCAP in 1976, and rose to Senior Vice President and Nashville Head. Under her leadership, ASCAP signed and supported the careers of Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Rodney Crowell, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, John Rich, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood and Chris Young, among many. She led the ASCAP Nashville office until 2010, when she stepped back to take the role of strategic advisor.
Bradley was born Connie Darnell in Fayetteville, Tennessee on October 1, 1945. She grew up in Shelbyville, Tennessee, studied at Middle Tennessee State University, and worked at News Channel 5 and in the mortgage industry before starting her career in the music industry. She spent time at Famous Music/Dot Records, the Bill Hudson & Associates public relations firm, and RCA Records before joining ASCAP.
Bradley was among a handful of pioneering women in the Nashville music industry that also included Jo Walker-Meador, Donna Hilley, Frances Preston, and more.
Connie Bradley with husband Jerry Bradley at his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Photo: Donn Jones/CMA
The Music Row stalwart was honored many times for her legacy and contributions to the music industry. Bradley was awarded the Nashville Symphony’s highest honor, the Harmony Award, in 2006. She was inducted into the SOURCE Hall of Fame in 2012.
The main conference room at ASCAP’s Nashville office was named the Connie Bradley Board Room in 2010.
She received the Country Music Association’s Irving Waugh Award of Excellence in 2018. Bradley served on the CMA Board of Directors from 1983 to 2012, having been elected both President and Chairperson.
(L-R) Connie and Jerry Bradley with Harold and Patsy Bradley at the Owen Bradley statue on Music Row. Photo: Courtesy of Jerry Bradley
Bradley is survived by her husband, renowned music executive Jerry Bradley, and step-children, Leigh Jankiv and BMI’s Clay Bradley.
Plans for memorial services have not been announced at this time.
“As head of ASCAP’s Nashville office for more than three decades, Connie Bradley was a mentor to so many of country music’s greatest songwriters and an indelible part of ASCAP’s history. She was a maverick leader in country music with an enormous heart who passionately advocated for the songwriters she loved so much. ASCAP and country music lost an iconic leader today. Our hearts go out to her family and the large community of songwriters who loved her,” says ASCAP Chairman and President, and songwriter Paul Williams of Bradley’s passing.
“I am so saddened to hear the news of Connie’s passing. She was one of the many trailblazers, along with Frances Preston and Jo Walker Meador, for women in the Nashville music business. Her passion for artists, songs and the Country Music industry as a whole paved the way for so many. Personally, I will miss her class, her stories and her humor. I am heartbroken for Jerry, and offer my deepest condolences to him and their family during this time,” says Sarah Trahern, Country Music Association CEO.
Bill Anderson-Penned ‘Once A Day’ Makes Library Of Congress National Recording Registry
/by Lorie HollabaughBill Anderson
Bill Anderson‘s song “Once a Day,” recorded by Connie Smith, has been inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Recorded at RCA’s famous Studio B in Nashville, “Once a Day” was Smith’s biggest hit and became her signature song.
Anderson’s song joins other groundbreaking sounds of history and culture to be inducted, including Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints Go Marching In,” Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade,” Nas’ “Illmatic,” Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration,” and Kermit the Frog’s “The Rainbow Connection.”
“I had the honor of performing at the Library Of Congress in 2015, and while I was there I was privileged to get to see some of the songs housed in the National Recording Registry,” says Anderson. “I saw songwriter names like George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, and now to think that my name will be there alongside those legendary composers is mind-boggling. I am thrilled that Connie Smith’s record and my little three-chord country song …written in the front seat of my car at a four-way stop sign in the Nashville suburbs…is being honored in such a remarkable fashion.”
“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” says Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. “We received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry, and we welcome the public’s input as the Library of Congress and its partners preserve the diverse sounds of history and culture.”
The Library of Congress recordings were selected as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage. The recordings most recently selected for the National Recording Registry bring the number of titles on the registry to 575, representing a small portion of the national library’s vast recorded sound collection of nearly three million items.
SXSW Announces Dates For 2022
/by Steven BoeroSXSW has announced its 2022 dates for March 11-20 in Austin, Texas, after having its 2021 festival be virtual only.
The festival organizers are staying positive that it will be safe enough to have a live, in-person festival for next year.
“I’m very confident that SXSW will look normal, or near-normal next year,” says Austin Public Health’s Interim Authority, Dr. Mark Escott.
SXSW just finished up its week-long virtual festival which included over 230 online sessions with keynote speakers including Stacy Abrams, Pete Buttigieg, Priya Parker, Charles Yu, Willie Nelson and more.
The music featured at the virtual festival included performances by artists Ximena Sarinana, The Chat, Awich, Black Country, New Road, Indigo Spark and more. These performance took place all over the world, including in a Taoist temple, a cable car in Norway, a Los Angeles freeway overpass, Abbey Road Studios and the 606 Club in London, the historic Leith Theatre in Scotland, suburban and bush backyards across Australia, a café-floriculture in Brazil, The Powerstation in New Zealand, and Austin hometown favorites Hotel Vegas and Empire Control Room & Garage.
‘Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute’ To Air On Netflix In April
/by Lorie HollabaughDolly Parton. Photo: Rob Hoffman
Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute will be available to watch on Netflix on April 7.
The special, hosted by Little Big Town, honors Parton and celebrates the unmatched generosity she has shown the music community over her years of performing. The star-studded lineup of performers appearing to pay tribute to the country legend in the special include Garth Brooks, Katy Perry, Leon Bridges, Miley Cyrus, Shawn Mendes, Trisha Yearwood, Yolanda Adams and more, and Parton herself performs as well in the never-before-seen event.
Parton is the first country star to be honored with the award, which has also been bestowed upon musical greats Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen.
“We are so excited to share Dolly Parton’s 2019 Person of the Year tribute with music fans all over the world,” Laura Segura, Executive Director of MusiCares, said. “Not only is Dolly one of the greatest musicians of all time, she also has one of the biggest hearts in the industry and is dedicated to helping musicians and people everywhere.”
Viewers will also get an intimate look back into Parton’s life and career, highlighting the moments that have made her the beloved artist and household name she is today.