Pictured (L-R, back row): Greg Beeckman (Revelry Music Group), AJ Burton (Revelry Music Group), Kevin Lane (Kobalt), George Briner (The Valory Music Co.), Leslie Roberts (BMI), Scott Borchetta (BMLG), Ryan Beuschel (Warner Chappell) and Will Overton (Warner Chappell); (L-R, front row): Josh Dunne, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Rhett Akins, Allison Jones (BMLG). Photo: Steve Lowry
Music City recently celebrated its first No. 1 party of the new decade, honoring The Valory Music Co. artist Brantley Gilbert and Stoney Creek Records artist Lindsay Ell’s “What Happens In A Small Town.” The track marks Gilbert’s fifth No. 1 as an artist and his seventh as a songwriter.
Ell earned her very first No. 1 hit with the churning ballad, which laments the difficulty in ever truly leaving a relationship behind when you live in a tight-knit community.
Members of Nashville’s music industry gathered at Music City Indoor Karting on Jan. 8, for a party hosted by BMI.
Gilbert penned the track with Rhett Akins, Josh Dunne and Brock Berryhill. Dunne celebrated his very first No. 1 with the hit, while “What Happens In A Small Town” is Akins’s 31st chart-topper, and Berryhill’s second.
Pictured (L-R): Basak Kizilisik (Morris Higham Management), Buffy Cooper (Morris Higham Management), Aaron Keiser (Morris Higham Management), Brantley Gilbert, Clint Higham (Morris Higham Management). Photo: Steve Lowry
BMI’s Leslie Roberts hosted the event, which saw BMLG powerhouses Scott Borchetta, George Briner, Jake Basden, and Allison Jones, Revelry Music Group’s Greg Beeckman and AJ Burton, Kobalt’s Kevin Lane, Warner Chappell’s Ryan Beuschel and Will Overton, Morris Higham’s Clint Higham, Basak Kizilisik, Buffy Cooper, and Aaron Keiser among the attendees.
Brantley thanked his co-writers and his label team at Big Machine Label Group, as well as his new management home at Morris Higham; “What Happens In A Small Town” marks his first No. 1 since joining the management company. Gilbert also thanked Ell for joining him on the song. “When you look for a duet partner, you want somebody that is not only going to pull their weight but exceed expectations. You did that and more. I’m honored to share this stage and this song with you,” he said.
Pictured (L-R, back row): Chris Palmer (The Valory Music Co.), George Briner (The Valory Music Co.), Scott Borchetta (BMLG), Jake Basden (BMLG), Allison Jones (BMLG), Ashley Sidoti (The Valory Music Co.); (L-R, front row): Brooke Nixon (The Valory Music Co.), Josh Dunne, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Rhett Akins. Athena Puharic (The Valory Music Co.). Photo: Steve Lowry
Ell, meanwhile, offered thanks to Brantley and his co-writers, as well as to Borchetta, for bringing her on as part of the project.
“The fact that you were the person to bring up my name and mention it to Brantley in that conference room, I’m truly humbled and honored,” she told Borchetta. “When you have a full roster of artists and pretty much anybody at your fingertips and you guys wanted me to be a part of this song, thank you from the bottom of my heart for changing my life.”
She also thanked The BBR Music Group CEO Jon Loba. “A huge thank you to Jon Loba. You have stood by me in this town ever since I got here. I have been in Nashville for 10 years and there are not a lot of labels that would stand by an artist and keep saying, ‘We just have to find the right 3 minutes,’ and you have told me that sentence so many times.”
Both Gilbert and Ell recently released new songs to country radio, including Gilbert’s “Fire’t Up” and Ell’s “I Don’t Love You.”
Pictured (L-R): George Briner (The Valory Music Co.), Brantley Gilbert, Lindsay Ell, Scott Borchetta (BMLG). Photo: Steve Lowry
Pictured (L-R): Josh Dunne, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert,Brock Berryhill, Rhett Akins. Photo: Steve Lowry
Kelsey Wise Joins Given Music Publishing
/by Jessica NicholsonKelsey Wise.
Kelsey Wise has been announced as Given Music Publishing’s new Creative Director. Wise has previously worked for Sony/ATV Music and Big Deal Music Group. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Belmont University with a degree in Music Business.
“Kelsey’s passion and drive for championing songwriters is beyond impressive, as are her incredible creative instincts,” says Given Founding Partner Cindy Owen. “She brings a number of invaluable skills to our company and is a tremendous asset as we continue to build our team at Given.”
“I am incredibly excited to be starting this next chapter with Given Music Publishing and couldn’t be more grateful for Cindy’s confidence in me,” Wise said. “There are so many cool things coming down the pike for our writers and the company in general, and I am just thrilled for the opportunity to work with such talented writers and staff.”
Wise can be reached at kelsey@givenmusicpublishing.
Jill Andrews Announces New Project, ‘Thirties’
/by LB CantrellAcclaimed singer, songwriter and musician Jill Andrews will release her anticipated new album, Thirties, Mar. 27 via Vulture Vulture/Tone Tree Music. In advance of the release, Andrews’ new song, “Back Together,” is debuting today (Jan. 10).
Thirties is Andrews’ first solo release in nearly five years and the first project she has co-produced with Lucas Morton. Andrews will also release a companion book titled, Thirties: The Album in Portrait and Prose, the same day as the album. The book provides an in-depth look at the album through essays and photographs and features a foreword written by Grammy award-winning artist Joy Williams.
In addition to Andrews and Morton, the album features several renowned musicians and songwriters including Ian Fitchuk, Natalie Hemby and Daniel Tashian.
Andrews will embark on a nationwide tour this spring to support the album, including a stop at Nashville’s Mercy Lounge.
Thirties Track List:
1. “Sorry Now”
2. “Sold My Heart”
3. “Forces”
4. “The Party”
5. “Gimme The Beat Back”
6. “Call It Even”
7. “Back Together”
8. “My Own Way”
9. “River Swimming”
10. “The Kids Are Growing Up”
11. “Falling For”
12. “Wherever I End Up”
13. “The Way To Go”
Jim Lauderdale Announces ‘When Carolina Comes Home Again’ Album
/by LB CantrellGrammy Award-winning American music icon Jim Lauderdale announced today (Jan. 10) that he will release his 33rd album, When Carolina Comes Home Again, March 6 on Yep Roc Records. The leading single, “As A Sign,” is now available at all digital platforms.
Recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, North Carolina, the 13-track album pays homage to his native state and features instrumental accompaniment from various members of North Carolina-based acts, including Balsam Range, Cane Mill Road, Hank Pattie & the Current, John Stickley, Songs From The Road Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Town Mountain; as well as Matt Pruett (banjo); Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw (fiddle); Aaron Ramsey (mandolin); Nick Dauphinais and Presley Barker on guitars.
“North Carolina has such a long and important heritage in bluegrass music,” Lauderdale says. “Since it’s where I’m originally from and where I started playing bluegrass, it seemed right to go back to my roots in bluegrass there and collaborate with musicians in that area. There’s just something in the atmosphere there. Hearing bluegrass in different areas and settings in North Carolina, the music is just there in the air. The first bluegrass festival I ever went to was Union Grove when I was 14, and it blew my mind. The music got into my bones, and I just had to get a banjo.”
Lauderdale also announced that he will continue his From Another World tour with a string of U.S. dates across the West Coast in May, before embarking on a tour in support of When Carolina Comes Home Again.
When Carolina Comes Home Again tracklist:
1. When Carolina Comes Home Again – John Oates & Jim Lauderdale
2. As A Sign – Robert Hunter & Jim Lauderdale
3. Misery’s Embrace – Charles R. Humphrey III & Jim Lauderdale
4. The Last To Know – Charles R. Humphrey III & Jim Lauderdale
5. It Takes One To Wonder – Graham Sharp & Jim Lauderdale
6. Cackalacky – Si Kahn & Jim Lauderdale
7. You’ll Have To Earn It – Charles R. Humphrey III & Jim Lauderdale
8. You’ve Got This – Jim Lauderdale
9. Mountaineer – Jim Lauderdale
10. I’m Here To Remind You – Sara Douga & Jim Lauderdale
11. Moonrider – Jim Lauderdale
12. Spin A Yarn – Jim Lauderdale
13. Better Than You Found It – Logan Ledger & Jim Lauderdale
When Carolina Comes Home Again is now available for pre-order.
Devon Gilfillian Releases New Album ‘Black Hole Rainbow’
/by Lorie HollabaughDevon Gilfillian‘s debut album Black Hole Rainbow is out today on Capitol Records. The leadoff track, “Unchained” has been released as well, and Gilfillian also shared the official video for the new song today.
The inspiring new clip features Devon’s younger brother, Ryan Gilfillian, who at age 17 was in a serious car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. The video follows him as he goes about a typical day and captures Ryan’s will to live and love fully, despite any setbacks, and was directed by Clara Aranovich and shot in the brothers’ hometown of Morton, PA.
“This song is about becoming the best version of yourself no matter what obstacles get in your way,” said Gilfillian. “My brother is a prime example of that. He doesn’t let anything hold him back from being his fullest self.”
Gilfillian is currently on tour with Grace Potter. His North American run includes shows at The Fillmore in Philadelphia (January 24), New York City’s Beacon Theatre (February 1) and a date at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville (February 19).
Brantley Gilbert, Lindsay Ell Celebrate Chart-Topper “What Happens In A Small Town”
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R, back row): Greg Beeckman (Revelry Music Group), AJ Burton (Revelry Music Group), Kevin Lane (Kobalt), George Briner (The Valory Music Co.), Leslie Roberts (BMI), Scott Borchetta (BMLG), Ryan Beuschel (Warner Chappell) and Will Overton (Warner Chappell); (L-R, front row): Josh Dunne, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Rhett Akins, Allison Jones (BMLG). Photo: Steve Lowry
Music City recently celebrated its first No. 1 party of the new decade, honoring The Valory Music Co. artist Brantley Gilbert and Stoney Creek Records artist Lindsay Ell’s “What Happens In A Small Town.” The track marks Gilbert’s fifth No. 1 as an artist and his seventh as a songwriter.
Ell earned her very first No. 1 hit with the churning ballad, which laments the difficulty in ever truly leaving a relationship behind when you live in a tight-knit community.
Members of Nashville’s music industry gathered at Music City Indoor Karting on Jan. 8, for a party hosted by BMI.
Gilbert penned the track with Rhett Akins, Josh Dunne and Brock Berryhill. Dunne celebrated his very first No. 1 with the hit, while “What Happens In A Small Town” is Akins’s 31st chart-topper, and Berryhill’s second.
Pictured (L-R): Basak Kizilisik (Morris Higham Management), Buffy Cooper (Morris Higham Management), Aaron Keiser (Morris Higham Management), Brantley Gilbert, Clint Higham (Morris Higham Management). Photo: Steve Lowry
BMI’s Leslie Roberts hosted the event, which saw BMLG powerhouses Scott Borchetta, George Briner, Jake Basden, and Allison Jones, Revelry Music Group’s Greg Beeckman and AJ Burton, Kobalt’s Kevin Lane, Warner Chappell’s Ryan Beuschel and Will Overton, Morris Higham’s Clint Higham, Basak Kizilisik, Buffy Cooper, and Aaron Keiser among the attendees.
Brantley thanked his co-writers and his label team at Big Machine Label Group, as well as his new management home at Morris Higham; “What Happens In A Small Town” marks his first No. 1 since joining the management company. Gilbert also thanked Ell for joining him on the song. “When you look for a duet partner, you want somebody that is not only going to pull their weight but exceed expectations. You did that and more. I’m honored to share this stage and this song with you,” he said.
Pictured (L-R, back row): Chris Palmer (The Valory Music Co.), George Briner (The Valory Music Co.), Scott Borchetta (BMLG), Jake Basden (BMLG), Allison Jones (BMLG), Ashley Sidoti (The Valory Music Co.); (L-R, front row): Brooke Nixon (The Valory Music Co.), Josh Dunne, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Rhett Akins. Athena Puharic (The Valory Music Co.). Photo: Steve Lowry
Ell, meanwhile, offered thanks to Brantley and his co-writers, as well as to Borchetta, for bringing her on as part of the project.
“The fact that you were the person to bring up my name and mention it to Brantley in that conference room, I’m truly humbled and honored,” she told Borchetta. “When you have a full roster of artists and pretty much anybody at your fingertips and you guys wanted me to be a part of this song, thank you from the bottom of my heart for changing my life.”
She also thanked The BBR Music Group CEO Jon Loba. “A huge thank you to Jon Loba. You have stood by me in this town ever since I got here. I have been in Nashville for 10 years and there are not a lot of labels that would stand by an artist and keep saying, ‘We just have to find the right 3 minutes,’ and you have told me that sentence so many times.”
Both Gilbert and Ell recently released new songs to country radio, including Gilbert’s “Fire’t Up” and Ell’s “I Don’t Love You.”
Pictured (L-R): George Briner (The Valory Music Co.), Brantley Gilbert, Lindsay Ell, Scott Borchetta (BMLG). Photo: Steve Lowry
Pictured (L-R): Josh Dunne, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert,Brock Berryhill, Rhett Akins. Photo: Steve Lowry
Awarded Songwriter Jessi Alexander Announces Album, ‘Decatur County Red’
/by LB CantrellJessi Alexander, a Grammy-nominated, CMA and ACM Award-winning songwriter, will release her first new album since 2014 with the release of Decatur County Red, out March 27.
Inspired by a cabin in Decatur County left to her by her grandmother, Alexander dedicates the album to “the folks that love sad songs, beer joints, pedal steel, and country music.” Decatur County Red was produced by Alexander, Jon Randall and Leslie Richter, and includes co-writers Randall, Brothers Osborne, Josh Thompson, Glen Worff and more. One track, “Country Music Made Me Do It,” features Randy Houser.
“Mama Drank,” co-written by Alexander and Randall, is out today (Jan. 10) and is a testament to her own experience as a mom-of-three.
After writing more than 70 hits, including “The Climb” (Miley Cyrus), “The Way I Talk” (Morgan Wallen), “Mine Would Be You,” “Drink On It,” and “Turnin’ Me On” (Blake Shelton), and “I Drive Your Truck” (Lee Brice), Alexander’s release of new original material is the first since her 2014 Down Home.
Decatur County Red Track List:
1. Decatur County Red
2. Mama Drank
3. Damn Country Music
4. I Should Probably Go Now
5. My Problem Is You
6. Country Music Made Me Do It feat. Randy Houser
7. Lonely Out Of Me
8. How I’m Going Out
The Lone Bellow Salute Gusto-Seekers On New Single ‘Good Times’
/by Lorie Hollabaugh“Over the years I’ve had the great joy of staying up late and hearing epic stories told by adventurous souls,” said Williams. “Some stories were told on old boats way out in the middle of the ocean, some in Irish Pubs in Manhattan, some in backyards down south, and some on hospital beds. ‘Good Times’ is a salute to the good ones who grab life by the horns and let no good time slip away.”
Half Moon Light was produced at Dessner’s studio in upstate New York and features guitarist Josh Kaufman and drummer J.T. Baites. The band celebrated the album announcement back in October by sharing their first single, “Count On Me,” a song that reminds with soul-shouting intensity that it’s safe and important to lean on one another for survival.
In support of the new record, The Lone Bellow will launch a worldwide tour that begins Jan. 22 in London for two nights at the St. Pancras Old Church. North American dates begin Feb. 12 in L.A. for two nights at The Troubadour and continue through Apr. 24 with their first-ever headlining show at the Ryman in Nashville. The band will then head to Europe and return to America for summer festival appearances.
Half Moon Light Track Listing:
Intro
I Can Feel You Dancing
Good Times
Wonder
Count On Me
Wash It Clean
Enemies
Interlude
Just Enough To Get By
Martingales
Illegal Immigrant
Friends
Dust Settles
August
Finale
TobyMac Releases Song, Video About Son Truett’s Untimely Death
/by Lorie Hollabaugh“’21 years’ is a song I wrote about the recent passing of my firstborn son, Truett Foster McKeehan,” said TobyMac about this most personal song. “I loved him with all my heart. Until something in life hits you this hard, you never know how you will handle it. I am thankful that I have been surrounded by love, starting with God’s and extending to community near and far that have walked with us and carried us everyday. Writing this song felt like an honest confession of the questions, pain, anger, doubt, mercy and promise that describes the journey I’m probably only beginning. The rest is yet to come. One thing I know is that I am not alone. God didn’t promise us a life of no pain or even tragic death, but He did promise He would never leave us or forsake us. And I’m holding dearly to that promise for my son as well as myself.”
TobyMac rescheduled a planned theater tour following the tragedy, but embarks on his Hits Deep Tour January 30, with Tauren Wells, Jordan Feliz, We Are Messengers, Ryan Stevenson, Aaron Cole, and Cochren & Co. joining him on the extensive tour.
Brandy Clark Announces ‘Your Life Is A Record’ Album
/by LB CantrellBrandy Clark. Photo: Chris Phelps
Grammy-nominated and CMA Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Brandy Clark will release her highly anticipated new album, Your Life Is A Record, March 6 on Warner Records. She released the leading single, “Who You Thought I Was,” today.
“The seed of the song came from something that John Prine said a couple of years ago at the Americana Awards. He walked out onstage at the Ryman and everyone stood up and clapped for what felt like five minutes. When everyone sat down, he said with a little laugh, ‘Well, I’m John Prine, but I’d like to go back to being who you thought I was.’ Man…that hit me. The songwriter in me instantly knew it was a song and the heart in me knew it was how I had felt in my own life many times. I mean who of us hasn’t let somebody down or wanted to be the version of ourselves that someone who loved us thought we were?” Clark says.
The album is produced by award winning producer Jay Joyce, and was recorded largely as an acoustic four-piece—featuring Clark, Joyce, Giles Reaves and Jedd Hughes—with subsequent Memphis strings and horns layered in with arrangements by Lester Snell.
To promote the record, Clark will tour throughout 2020 including select dates with Tanya Tucker on the CMT Next Women of Nashville Tour, as well as her own headlining Who You Thought I Was Tour.
Your Life Is A Record Track List
1. I’ll Be the Sad Song
2. Long Walk
3. Love is a Fire
4. Pawn Shop
5. Who You Thought I Was
6. Apologies
7. Bigger Boat (feat. Randy Newman)
8. Bad Car
9. Who Broke Whose Heart
10. Can We Be Strangers
11. The Past is the Past
Your Life Is A Record is available for pre-order now.
Weekly Radio Report (1/10/20)
/by Alex ParryClick here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Radio Report.