Brooke Moriber

Reviver Entertainment Group has signed singer-songwriter Brooke Moriber for publishing and artist development.

Earlier this year, New York native Moriber released her debut single “Cry Like A Girl.” The track was also featured on Spotify’s New Music Nashville playlist for several weeks.

“I am very excited and proud to be part of the Reviver family,” Moriber says. “I love the vision that David Ross and Gator Michaels have for my music. Carole Ann-Mobley and Clay Myers have been wonderful on the A&R front and helping this native New Yorker tell her story and plant new roots in Nashville.”

Reviver CEO David Ross adds, “We couldn’t be happier to welcome a talent like Brooke Moriber. We love her spirit, her powerhouse voice and feel that she will make a big impression on people in a very short period of time. She has already accomplished so much, and we are excited to continue her musical journey with her.”

Founded in 2011 by Ross, Reviver Entertainment Group is home to label Reviver Records; the company’s roster includes David Lee Murphy, Big & Rich, Thompson Square, Michael Tyler, Tenille Arts, Aaron Goodvin, Blackjack Billy, and more.

Pictured: EmiSunshine. Photo: Alan Messer

Teen country and Americana singer-songwriter EmiSunshine has been selected as the 2019 recipient of The ASCAP Foundation Desmond Child Anthem Award. The award, which recognizes promising young musical artists, will be presented at The ASCAP Foundation Honors on Wednesday, Dec. 11 in New York City.

The event will also honor high school and college scholarship recipients and other music creators, including multi-Platinum recording artist, songwriter and social justice activist Natalie Merchant, who will receive The ASCAP Foundation Champion Award, and Francisco Núñez, composer, conductor, artistic director and founder of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC), who will accept The ASCAP Foundation Life in Music Award.

The Desmond Child Anthem Award was established by Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer Desmond Child as part of his ManUp4Kids program, which provides low-income families with opportunities to attend music, theater and other cultural events in their communities.

“I’m honored to be selected for this award,” EmiSunshine said. “The arts allow us to express what we as humans have to give of ourselves that no one else can. If children are not exposed to the arts, they will miss out on what they could bring into this world by creating, writing, imagining, dreaming, dancing, painting, drawing. All artful creations begin on the inside and are only allowed out through hope. Giving the kids arts programs blooms hope for a lifetime to come.”

15-year-old Emi started writing songs with her mother, Alisha Hamilton, at the age of five in their East Tennessee home. The mother-daughter creative team still collaborate, with Emi now also writing with acclaimed songwriters in Nashville, including Jim Lauderdale, Vicky McGehee, and others. Her album, Family Wars, addresses such topics as domestic violence, mass murder, dysfunctional families, political corruption, and freedom in America; and was produced by Grammy-winning producer Tony Brown.

The International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) World of Bluegrass, presented by Chiesi USA, and PNC presents Wide Open Bluegrass festival saw a combined attendance of 218,301 in their seventh year in Raleigh. This year’s festivities also generated $18.65 million in direct economic impact within Wake County, the highest single-year total yet according to figures released today by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh).

The events held from Sept. 24-28, 2019 included: the three-day IBMA Business Conference and Music Expo, the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show, Bluegrass Ramble and the two-day festival, which also included the North Carolina Pork Council’s 2019 Whole Hog Barbecue State Championship. Notably, the $18.65 million is a conservative estimate that does not include locals’ spending, nor does it include a multiplier of indirect or induced impacts. It represents tourism economic impact only, which is new money coming into the local economy.

A new format was implemented this year for the PNC presents Wide Open Bluegrass festival, allowing all shows at Red Hat Amphitheater to be open to the public for free. This marked the first time all eight stages and 100+ live performances during the PNC presents Wide Open Bluegrass Festival were available for free.

“It is gratifying to see our close partnership with Raleigh continue to benefit both the bluegrass music community and the Greater Raleigh area in many ways. We are proud to see our new ‘Mission Forward’ model successfully make the festival more accessible to everyone in year one,” said IBMA Executive Director Paul Schiminger. “As we’ve said all along, we will continue to fine-tune and evolve the festival so that it keeps pace with the growing needs of the increasingly large and diverse bluegrass community.”

“This year’s increase in economic impact can be attributed in large part to a five percent increase in overnight visitation,” said Loren Gold, executive vice president of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh) and tri-chair of the Raleigh Local Organizing Committee. “This is great news as it shows the event continues to draw more visitors from around the world each year and is truly the signature event for Raleigh we felt it could become from day one.”

With more than 218,000 attendees this year it’s still the largest multi-day festival held in Greater Raleigh annually. Last year, the IBMA and Raleigh Local Organizing Committee announced a three-year extension to keep the event in Raleigh, N.C. through 2021.