For the foreseeable future, drive-in theater concerts will continue popping up across the country, as artists including Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, Eli Young Band and more have either held or announced headlining shows as a way keeping live music going during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June, two of Contemporary Christian Music’s top touring draws—TobyMac and Newsboys United— will bring 24 headlining concerts to drive-in theaters around the Southeast and Midwest, with each artist headlining 12 shows each.
Newsboys United—which includes sets led by both Newsboys co-founder Peter Furler as well as current Newsboys lead vocalist Michael Tait (who first shot to fame alongside TobyMac as a member of groundbreaking CCM group DC Talk in the ‘90s)—will launch the tour June 18 at Marshall, Arkansas’ Kenda Drive-In Theater.
“A few Saturday nights every summer my family and I head to a local drive in movie theater. We always love it” TobyMac said via a statement. “When we started discussing live shows in this quarantine season and the idea of playing drive-ins came up… I said, let’s gooooo! It feels like summer, safe for everybody, and we all get to enjoy live music again. We bout to make some memories.”
Among the venues on TobyMac’s route is a stop on June 25 at Watertown, Tennessee’s Stardust Drive-in Theater, which recently hosted a private concert from Keith Urban as a way to pay tribute to Vanderbilt Medical workers on the frontlines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Franklin, Tennessee-based promotion company Awakening Events, which handles 300+ shows per year, including tours for Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys and TobyMac, worked with First Company Management’s Dave Wagner.
“We saw where there was an artist in Denmark who did a one-off at a drive-in theater and thought that was cool,” says Awakening’s Principal Owner Dan Fife. “We were in the middle of rescheduling—we rescheduled 100 shows from spring to fall. Dave had worked with the band back in 2000-2004 or so, when the Newsboys did the Dome Tour. They carried around an inflatable dome, which could fit up to like 3,500 people, on the tour. They were creating this really cool planetarium vibe for fans. So Dave and Tony Johnsen at CAA were thinking about innovative ways to get artists back out to fans.”
Fife and his team started looking at the more than 300 drive-in theaters across the United States, ultimately landing on the nearly two dozen selected for the tour.
“At first we thought, drive-ins those are like a ‘60s and ‘70s type venue. How do we get the signal from our modern-day digital fiber optic cable connections to the screen? We quickly learned that most of these drive-ins already have digital projectors already. We are able to plug right in and those type of screens are stadium quality.”
The setup will include a mobile, covered hydraulic stage, as well as sound, lighting, and four IMAX digital cameras to be set up around the stage to project video images to the screens.
“It’s the equivalent of what we would use for a 3,000-4,000 seat theater,” Fife says.
Fife says each drive-in theater is meeting the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention’s COVID-19 guidelines. Patrons will be allowed up to six people per vehicle, and social distancing restrictions will be in place between each vehicle, allowing for attendees to bring their lawn chairs and blankets to sit outside their cars for the concert. The majority of the drive-in theaters already use apps to allow customers to order concessions.
The tour marks the first full-fledged drive-in theater tour in the CCM market, and Fife says the CCM genre also brings an added assurance to drive-in owners.
“I think to these drive-in owners who are not concert venue people, we brought a comfort zone in the fact that we are a very family-oriented type event. I think they saw that their drive-ins were able to get a lot of exposure that they don’t normally get.”
Newsboys vocalist Tait acknowledges the experience of holding a concert at a drive-in theater will be a first for both fans and the artists, but he looks forward to bringing artists and fans together again.
“People don’t get to see the big shows sometimes,” he says. “I think backstage will be different. Usually you have a venue to go to, so the bus will be the hotel for the most part, since there’s no big setup for catering and the usual amenities you have, but it’s great to visit some smaller towns that don’t always get bands through there and just to bring some joy and light and sunshine in tough times. That’s what we like to do.”
TobyMac, Newsboys United Set Drive-In Theater Tour For Summer
/by Jessica NicholsonFor the foreseeable future, drive-in theater concerts will continue popping up across the country, as artists including Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, Eli Young Band and more have either held or announced headlining shows as a way keeping live music going during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June, two of Contemporary Christian Music’s top touring draws—TobyMac and Newsboys United— will bring 24 headlining concerts to drive-in theaters around the Southeast and Midwest, with each artist headlining 12 shows each.
Newsboys United—which includes sets led by both Newsboys co-founder Peter Furler as well as current Newsboys lead vocalist Michael Tait (who first shot to fame alongside TobyMac as a member of groundbreaking CCM group DC Talk in the ‘90s)—will launch the tour June 18 at Marshall, Arkansas’ Kenda Drive-In Theater.
“A few Saturday nights every summer my family and I head to a local drive in movie theater. We always love it” TobyMac said via a statement. “When we started discussing live shows in this quarantine season and the idea of playing drive-ins came up… I said, let’s gooooo! It feels like summer, safe for everybody, and we all get to enjoy live music again. We bout to make some memories.”
Among the venues on TobyMac’s route is a stop on June 25 at Watertown, Tennessee’s Stardust Drive-in Theater, which recently hosted a private concert from Keith Urban as a way to pay tribute to Vanderbilt Medical workers on the frontlines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Franklin, Tennessee-based promotion company Awakening Events, which handles 300+ shows per year, including tours for Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys and TobyMac, worked with First Company Management’s Dave Wagner.
“We saw where there was an artist in Denmark who did a one-off at a drive-in theater and thought that was cool,” says Awakening’s Principal Owner Dan Fife. “We were in the middle of rescheduling—we rescheduled 100 shows from spring to fall. Dave had worked with the band back in 2000-2004 or so, when the Newsboys did the Dome Tour. They carried around an inflatable dome, which could fit up to like 3,500 people, on the tour. They were creating this really cool planetarium vibe for fans. So Dave and Tony Johnsen at CAA were thinking about innovative ways to get artists back out to fans.”
Fife and his team started looking at the more than 300 drive-in theaters across the United States, ultimately landing on the nearly two dozen selected for the tour.
“At first we thought, drive-ins those are like a ‘60s and ‘70s type venue. How do we get the signal from our modern-day digital fiber optic cable connections to the screen? We quickly learned that most of these drive-ins already have digital projectors already. We are able to plug right in and those type of screens are stadium quality.”
The setup will include a mobile, covered hydraulic stage, as well as sound, lighting, and four IMAX digital cameras to be set up around the stage to project video images to the screens.
“It’s the equivalent of what we would use for a 3,000-4,000 seat theater,” Fife says.
Fife says each drive-in theater is meeting the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention’s COVID-19 guidelines. Patrons will be allowed up to six people per vehicle, and social distancing restrictions will be in place between each vehicle, allowing for attendees to bring their lawn chairs and blankets to sit outside their cars for the concert. The majority of the drive-in theaters already use apps to allow customers to order concessions.
The tour marks the first full-fledged drive-in theater tour in the CCM market, and Fife says the CCM genre also brings an added assurance to drive-in owners.
“I think to these drive-in owners who are not concert venue people, we brought a comfort zone in the fact that we are a very family-oriented type event. I think they saw that their drive-ins were able to get a lot of exposure that they don’t normally get.”
Newsboys vocalist Tait acknowledges the experience of holding a concert at a drive-in theater will be a first for both fans and the artists, but he looks forward to bringing artists and fans together again.
“People don’t get to see the big shows sometimes,” he says. “I think backstage will be different. Usually you have a venue to go to, so the bus will be the hotel for the most part, since there’s no big setup for catering and the usual amenities you have, but it’s great to visit some smaller towns that don’t always get bands through there and just to bring some joy and light and sunshine in tough times. That’s what we like to do.”
"Here’s To You" Singer Abby Bannon Signs With Fourward Music
/by Jessica NicholsonAbby Bannon
Abby Bannon has plenty to celebrate today. The 18-year-old graduated from high school—and signed a publishing deal with Nashville-based Fourward Music.
Bannon’s song “Here’s To You,” which she co-wrote with two friends earlier this year after learning that her high school in Crawfordsville, Indiana would keep its doors closed through the remainder of the school year, has earned more than one million digital streams.
“We are excited to have Abby Bannon signed to our publishing roster!” said Shannan Hatch, President of Fourward Music. “She is a perfect fit to our diverse team and we can’t wait for the world to hear and recognize her talent.”
Bannon, who finished high school in the Top 10 of her class, will enroll at Nashville’s Belmont University, where she will study business and music.
“Here’s To You” is also the official graduation song for Varsity Brands, which offers athletic gear, graduation uniforms and more.
Tanya Tucker Postpones Tour Dates Through August
/by Lorie HollabaughTanya Tucker has elected to postpone the Summer leg of her CMT Next Women of Country: Bring My Flowers Now Tour through the end of August, she announced Friday (May 29). The tour launched in February.
Tucker will announce the new dates for the shows soon, and fans wanting refunds on their tickets can receive them at the point of purchase. Tucker promised a surprise for fans when the shows return as well:
ASCAP Nashville Announces GPS Project Class of 2020
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R, top row): Bailey Callahan, Ethan Baumgarner, Jordan Keim, Kate Malone, (L-R, bottom row) Kaylee Rose, Morgan Johnston, Nell Maynard, and Stephen Carey
ASCAP’s Nashville creative team, led by Vice President Mike Sistad, has revealed the songwriter participants for its ninth annual ASCAP GPS (Guidance from Publishers for Songwriters) Project, which showcases songwriters who are ready, or nearly ready, for a publishing deal.
The ASCAP GPS Project class of 2020, curated by ASCAP Creative Director Evyn Mustoe Johnston, includes songwriters Ethan Baumgarner, Bailey Callahan, Stephen Carey, Morgan Johnston, Jordan Keim, Kate Malone, Nell Maynard, and Kaylee Rose.
Publishers participating include Anthem Music Publishing’s Tim Hunze, BMG’s Jake Gear, Concord Music Publishing’s Brad Kennard, King Pen Music’s Kelly King, Red Door Music Group’s Abbey Adams, Sea Gayle Music’s Kim Wiggins, Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Anna Weisband, and Spirit Music Nashville’s Katie Flynn and Kara Jackson.
Over the next year, these eight writers will be paired with publishers who will critique their songs and host virtual follow-up meetings to help the writers develop.
Orville Peck Will Release Six-Track ‘Show Pony’ Project In June
/by Lorie HollabaughArtist/songwriter Orville Peck is readying his new album Show Pony for release on June 12. The self-produced six-track EP is an evolution of Peck’s debut album Pony, which was released in March 2019 and features all new songs including a duet with Shania Twain, as well as a cover of Bobbie Gentry’s “Fancy.”
“I loved my experience with Pony,“ said Peck. “However, Show Pony is a more confident perspective and allows me to share even more both lyrically and musically. Like all country albums, Show Pony is a little collection of stories – some sad, some happy – and I am excited for people to hear it. Working with Shania was a dream come true, her music made me feel empowered as a kid and was a huge influence on me.”
To celebrate the news of Show Pony, Peck has released a new track and video for “No Glory in the West.” Directed by Isaiah Seret with narrative and creative direction by Peck and his creative director Carlos Santolalla, the video finds Orville and his horse traversing across a darkened, frozen landscape. Prior to “No Glory in the West” Peck released the Show Pony track “Summertime.”
Show Pony Track List:
1 Summertime
2 No Glory in the West
3 Drive Me, Crazy
4 Kids
5 Legends Never Die (duet with Shania Twain)
6 Fancy
Brad Paisley, Shania Twain, Lauren Mascitti To Thank HCA Healthcare Workers With Virtual Concert
/by Lorie HollabaughNurse and entertainer Lauren Mascitti with her fellow healthcare workers.
Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is thanking their healthcare heroes in over 186 hospitals with a virtual concert tonight (May 29) put on by some of music’s biggest names, including Brad Paisley, Shania Twain, Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, Lauren Alaina, Blanco Brown, Amy Grant, Lindsay Ell, and more, including one of HCA’s own nurses, Lauren Mascitti.
Mascitti was a contestant on season 18 of American Idol and performed her new single for the show at work, still in her scrubs, while her fellow artists taped their performances at home. She sang her original song “God Made a Woman,” which was inspired by her “Nana” and being raised by her grandparents.
The first-of-its-kind event will take place during shift change this Friday May 29 at 7 p.m. The audience will include over 90,000 nurses, 47,000 doctors, 280,000 HCA employees, as well as any patient who turns on their hospital TV. It will also be run on every hospital TV and elevator at all of the 186 HCA Healthcare medical facilities locations.
Dolly Parton Aims To Inspire With Latest Track "When Life Is Good Again"
/by Jessica NicholsonThroughout her five-decade career, Dolly Parton has been committed to releasing songs that inspire and uplift listeners, from her signature “I Will Always Love You,” to her 1991 hit “Eagle When She Flies.”
Recently, she’s doubled down on that ethos with recent collaborations with CCM artists For King & Country and Zach Williams.
Her latest release “When Life Is Good Again,” aims to bring hope and assurance as the world struggles with the the medical, mental and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The released video for the song combines Parton’s performance with footage of the frontline workers fighting to keep people safe.
“Since our world was forever changed by the COVID virus, I have felt a deep respect and appreciation for all of our frontline responders,” Parton said. “This video is to pay respect to them and to remind all of us that this too shall pass. If we pull together as a community, we can rise above and look forward to more beautiful days on the horizon. I hope you love this song as much as I have loved bringing it to you.”
Parton has certainly done her part to help and inspire, not only with new music, but by donating $1 million to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center to aid COVID-19 research. She also began a video series for children that finds Parton reading bedtime stories of classic children’s books, inspired by her Imagination Library. She also released six of her albums to streaming services for the first time.
Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing Offers Safety Checklist For Studio Reopenings
/by Lorie HollabaughGuidelines include:
1. Evaluate rooms in the studio facility and make necessary adjustments to ensure social distancing (a minimum of six feet). In areas such as hallways where six feet of distance is not possible, stagger the use of the spaces to keep distance. Do not congregate in hallways, elevators or other spaces.
2. Until further notice, consider requiring individuals to wear cloth face coverings while inside the entire facility; in some parts of the country, face coverings may be required by law in outdoor areas as well. Ask clients to bring their own face coverings or masks, but consider having additional disposable masks, washable face coverings and disposable gloves on hand.
3. Have vocals or any instruments that cannot be performed with face coverings take place in an isolation room or an otherwise empty studio. No vocals in the control room if there are other people, including engineers and producers, in the control room.
4. Consider limiting studio access to essential personnel or, at minimum, limit the number of visitors. Limit the number of people allowed in the control room and/or performance spaces so that people can be at least six feet apart.
The full list of guidelines can be found here. Directives for opening are on a state-by-state and city-by-city basis and since knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic is constantly evolving, the P&E Wing requests comments and suggestions from others in the recording community, which can be sent to pe.wing@recordingacademy.com. In addition to the guidelines, they also suggest consulting national, state and local government agency guidance, including from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Weekly Radio Report (5/29/20)
/by Alex ParryClick here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Radio Report.
Former CBS Records, Warner, Asylum Music Exec Stan Byrd Dies At 77
/by Robert K OermannVeteran country record promoter and Music Row businessman Stan Byrd died in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, on Saturday, May 23, at age 77.
He began his music career by working in radio while a student at Texas A&M in the 1960s. He then became a regional promotion representative for Capitol Records in Houston.
Byrd initially made his mark in Nashville in the promotion department of CBS Records in 1970-76. At the time the company’s Columbia and Epic labels included such stars as George Jones, Marty Robbins, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Ray Price, Lynn Anderson, Joe Stampley, Charlie Rich, Tanya Tucker, Larry Gatlin and David Allan Coe.
Byrd was named national director of country promotion at Warner Bros. Records, where he worked in 1976-83. The Warner roster then included Emmylou Harris, Margo Smith, John Anderson, T.G. Sheppard, David Frizzell & Shelly West, Hank Williams Jr., Gail Davies and The Bellamy Brothers, among others.
In 1984, he became the president of his own firm, Chart Attack, working as an independent promoter for such artists as B.J. Thomas, Ricky Van Shelton, Joe Diffie and Earl Thomas Conley. During this same period, he founded BDM Management and signed Mark Chesnutt as his first client.
Byrd also became a real-estate entrepreneur. He owned a number of houses on Music Row that he converted into business buildings for publishing companies, management firms, publicists and booking agents.
In 1997-2001, he was vice president of promotion at Asylum Records. That label’s roster included Bryan White, Kevin Sharp, George Jones, Lila McCann, Mark Nesler and Monte Warden.
He resumed work as an independent promotion consultant in the new millennium. Among his clients were Brent Maher’s Morraine Music companies in Berry Hill. Byrd also continued to work as a real-estate investor.
Byrd reportedly had been suffering from the after effects of a stroke. He is survived by his wife Valerie, daughter Caitlin Foote, stepchildren Will and Claire Wilson, three grandchildren and sisters Peggy and Christa.
Arrangements are being handled by Sellars Funeral Home, 2229 Mt. Juliet Rd., Mt. Juliet, TN 37122. According to Sellars, the family will schedule a service at a later date.