[The story below is an excerpt from a piece included in the recently released 2019 MusicRow Awards print issue. To read the full interview, pick up a copy at musicrow.com or subscribe to MusicRow.]
As Maren Morris held court earlier this year at country music’s Mother Church, the Ryman Auditorium, on her GIRL: The World Tour, the sense of camaraderie between two superstars was as spiritual as it was physical, as Miranda Lambert quietly joined Morris (and hit songwriter Natalie Hemby) at the Ryman’s center stage, both hugging Morris before lifting their intertwined voices in song on “Virginia Bluebell,” a track Hemby co-wrote on Lambert’s 2009 album Revolution. They followed with “I Wish I Was,” from Morris’ 2016 debut album Hero. The fact that the musical selections were both deep album cuts speaks to mutual admiration Lambert and Morris hold for each other, as musicians, as artists with their own singular perspectives, and as women in control of their artistry and businesses.
“This moment was not planned, but it made my heart explode,” Morris later stated on social media.
As spontaneous as the moment was, it played perfectly within the female-first framework Morris has crafted with her recently-released album GIRL, along with her recent radio single of the same name, and her GIRL: The World Tour, with openers Kassi Ashton, Cassadee Pope, RaeLynn, Tenille Townes, and Hailey Whitters.
And Morris isn’t alone. This year, three of country music’s superstars—Miranda Lambert, Morris and Carrie Underwood—are bringing an all-female slate of talent on their headlining tours. Last month, Underwood launched her Cry Pretty Tour 360, alongside Maddie & Tae and Runaway June.
“We have to lift each other up because no one is going to do it for us,” Underwood says. “We have to do it ourselves. We’re all just out there trying to work together, work hard and show our fans and the industry what we can do.”
In September, Lambert will reprise her Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars Tour, with acts Morris, Elle King, Pistol Annies cohorts Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack, and more. This isn’t Lambert’s first all-female tour lineup; her 2015 iteration of the tour (which she originally conceived in 2009) was also an all-female bill, with openers including RaeLynn, Clare Dunn, Courtney Cole and Ashley Monroe.
“I’ve always supported other women, and other women have always supported me, and I’m in a girl band. When we were talking about the tour, I felt like it should be an all female lineup. Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars has been a running theme throughout my career, and they generally turn out to be the most fun tours,” Lambert muses. “They’re all amazing artists that have something important to say.”
The hope is that if country radio isn’t going to listen to what female artists have to say, that concertgoers and promoters will.
A recent study by Stone Door Media Lab’s Jeff Green found that over the past 44 years (1974-2018), female artists (including solo female artists, duos or groups with a female vocalist and duets that included a female artist) have achieved 27 percent of the Top 15 singles on country radio. The number of female artists notching songs in the Top 15 on country radio fell to an average of 21 percent from 2007-2018. Over the past five years, that number continued to plummet, to a 16 percent average.
Kelsea Ballerini earned the first No. 1 country single by a solo female artist in more than 15 months when her single “Miss Me More” crowned the Mediabase chart the week of June 10 (the song topped out at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart). Morris’ “GIRL” reached the Top 10 on the Country Airplay chart, and on the Mediabase chart as of June 10. Runaway June’s “Buy My Own Drinks” became the first Top 20 country radio single by an all-female group since 2005.
It’s a bit of welcome news, given that in December 2018, the downward trend in country radio airplay for female artists hit a new low when, for the first time, there were zero female artists in the Top 20 songs on the Country Airplay chart.
Newcomer artists who can’t claim a hit at country radio are less familiar to country listeners and country music concertgoers, which makes these artists less competitive when it comes to netting slots on major country tours.
The cycle of rejection doesn’t sit well with Underwood.
“You try to figure out what the issue is and when you get back, ‘The song’s not testing well,’ or ‘She’s not testing well,’ I feel like everybody’s just over it,” Underwood says. “It’s frustrating because I see Maddie & Tae, Runaway June and so many other people who have got the goods, they have incredible songs, they are genuinely talented, and nice people who work their tails off. It’s frustrating to see them work for so long, to make minimal gains. We have to put our money where our mouth is and take women on the road with us and lift each other up.”
Underwood is the most-recent female artist to garner a nomination in the coveted Entertainer of the Year category at either the Country Music Association (in 2016) or the Academy of Country Music Awards (in 2017).
The most recent female artist to take home either honor? Taylor Swift, who was named Entertainer of the Year by both the CMA and ACM back in 2011.
Lambert, Morris and Underwood all are primed to upend the nearly decade-long drought in the EOY categories. However, while awards nominations and wins are deserved, each artist is following a higher purpose: to remind country listeners, programmers and the industry that female artists can—and do—sell out venues and tours and are worthy of being played on country radio.
[Read more in MusicRow‘s 2019 Awards print issue, available at musicrow.com or with MusicRow subscriptions.]
Nic Dugger Named President of Midsouth Chapter of Television Academy, NATAS
/by Lorie HollabaughNic Dugger has been elected President of the Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Scientists, NATAS. TNDV: Television owner Dugger most recently served as Vice President of the Board as well as the Student Awards Chairman, and has served the organization for 22 years.
The Nashville/Midsouth Region, founded in 1984, encompasses North Carolina (except Asheville) and Tennessee, and the TV market of Huntsville, AL. In addition to granting the Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards, the chapter awards scholarships, honors quarter-century industry veterans with the Silver Circle, conducts Regional Student Television Awards of Excellence for high schools, offers a free nationwide job bank, provides member discounts, and participates in judging Emmy entries at regional and national levels.
“Nic has been one of the most active members of our chapter since become an intern in 1997,” says NATAS Midsouth Executive Director Geneva Brignolo. “He volunteered while a student at Middle Tennessee State University, and went on to provide his mobile units for our live telecasts when he started TNDV: Television in 2004. We are proud of Nic, and we look forward to many years of service to come.”
This new appointment adds to a growing list of accolades for Dugger, which includes TNDV’s recognition as Nashville’s Overall Small Business of the Year in 2016. He also joined the list of the Nashville Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2017, and was selected for the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award by Middle Tennessee State University, its highest honor.
Band Of Heroines: Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert & Maren Morris Lift Up Talented Newcomers [Excerpt]
/by Jessica Nicholson[The story below is an excerpt from a piece included in the recently released 2019 MusicRow Awards print issue. To read the full interview, pick up a copy at musicrow.com or subscribe to MusicRow.]
As Maren Morris held court earlier this year at country music’s Mother Church, the Ryman Auditorium, on her GIRL: The World Tour, the sense of camaraderie between two superstars was as spiritual as it was physical, as Miranda Lambert quietly joined Morris (and hit songwriter Natalie Hemby) at the Ryman’s center stage, both hugging Morris before lifting their intertwined voices in song on “Virginia Bluebell,” a track Hemby co-wrote on Lambert’s 2009 album Revolution. They followed with “I Wish I Was,” from Morris’ 2016 debut album Hero. The fact that the musical selections were both deep album cuts speaks to mutual admiration Lambert and Morris hold for each other, as musicians, as artists with their own singular perspectives, and as women in control of their artistry and businesses.
“This moment was not planned, but it made my heart explode,” Morris later stated on social media.
As spontaneous as the moment was, it played perfectly within the female-first framework Morris has crafted with her recently-released album GIRL, along with her recent radio single of the same name, and her GIRL: The World Tour, with openers Kassi Ashton, Cassadee Pope, RaeLynn, Tenille Townes, and Hailey Whitters.
And Morris isn’t alone. This year, three of country music’s superstars—Miranda Lambert, Morris and Carrie Underwood—are bringing an all-female slate of talent on their headlining tours. Last month, Underwood launched her Cry Pretty Tour 360, alongside Maddie & Tae and Runaway June.
“We have to lift each other up because no one is going to do it for us,” Underwood says. “We have to do it ourselves. We’re all just out there trying to work together, work hard and show our fans and the industry what we can do.”
In September, Lambert will reprise her Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars Tour, with acts Morris, Elle King, Pistol Annies cohorts Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack, and more. This isn’t Lambert’s first all-female tour lineup; her 2015 iteration of the tour (which she originally conceived in 2009) was also an all-female bill, with openers including RaeLynn, Clare Dunn, Courtney Cole and Ashley Monroe.
“I’ve always supported other women, and other women have always supported me, and I’m in a girl band. When we were talking about the tour, I felt like it should be an all female lineup. Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars has been a running theme throughout my career, and they generally turn out to be the most fun tours,” Lambert muses. “They’re all amazing artists that have something important to say.”
The hope is that if country radio isn’t going to listen to what female artists have to say, that concertgoers and promoters will.
A recent study by Stone Door Media Lab’s Jeff Green found that over the past 44 years (1974-2018), female artists (including solo female artists, duos or groups with a female vocalist and duets that included a female artist) have achieved 27 percent of the Top 15 singles on country radio. The number of female artists notching songs in the Top 15 on country radio fell to an average of 21 percent from 2007-2018. Over the past five years, that number continued to plummet, to a 16 percent average.
Kelsea Ballerini earned the first No. 1 country single by a solo female artist in more than 15 months when her single “Miss Me More” crowned the Mediabase chart the week of June 10 (the song topped out at No. 2 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart). Morris’ “GIRL” reached the Top 10 on the Country Airplay chart, and on the Mediabase chart as of June 10. Runaway June’s “Buy My Own Drinks” became the first Top 20 country radio single by an all-female group since 2005.
It’s a bit of welcome news, given that in December 2018, the downward trend in country radio airplay for female artists hit a new low when, for the first time, there were zero female artists in the Top 20 songs on the Country Airplay chart.
Newcomer artists who can’t claim a hit at country radio are less familiar to country listeners and country music concertgoers, which makes these artists less competitive when it comes to netting slots on major country tours.
The cycle of rejection doesn’t sit well with Underwood.
“You try to figure out what the issue is and when you get back, ‘The song’s not testing well,’ or ‘She’s not testing well,’ I feel like everybody’s just over it,” Underwood says. “It’s frustrating because I see Maddie & Tae, Runaway June and so many other people who have got the goods, they have incredible songs, they are genuinely talented, and nice people who work their tails off. It’s frustrating to see them work for so long, to make minimal gains. We have to put our money where our mouth is and take women on the road with us and lift each other up.”
Underwood is the most-recent female artist to garner a nomination in the coveted Entertainer of the Year category at either the Country Music Association (in 2016) or the Academy of Country Music Awards (in 2017).
The most recent female artist to take home either honor? Taylor Swift, who was named Entertainer of the Year by both the CMA and ACM back in 2011.
Lambert, Morris and Underwood all are primed to upend the nearly decade-long drought in the EOY categories. However, while awards nominations and wins are deserved, each artist is following a higher purpose: to remind country listeners, programmers and the industry that female artists can—and do—sell out venues and tours and are worthy of being played on country radio.
[Read more in MusicRow‘s 2019 Awards print issue, available at musicrow.com or with MusicRow subscriptions.]
Bobby Bones Show Makes Top 5 In iHeartRadio’s Inaugural Top 100 Podcast Chart Week
/by Lorie HollabaughThis week’s top five includes:
Bill Anderson To Be Honored At Love From Music City Gala
/by LB CantrellBill Anderson
Love From Music City, a nonprofit founded by Shanda and Robb Tripp, announced today that country music legend and Grand Ole Opry star ‘Whisperin’ Bill Anderson will be honored with the lifetime achievement award on Thursday Sept. 5.
Bluegrass stars Daily and Vincent will headline the gala and perform live on stage. The event will take place from 7 – 9:30 p.m. at the Bluegrass and Yacht Club (550 Johnny Cash Pkwy.) in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Love From Music City (LFMC) supports and sponsors orphan projects in 12 countries including the U.S. and underwrites three orphanages in the country of Haiti; one is exclusively for handicapped children.
The Love From Music City Gala is an entertaining fundraiser to bring businesses and people of the community together to help reach many hurting people in our own community and bring hope to those suffering abroad.
General admission is $125 per person; Exclusive VIP admission is $250 and adds premier reserved table seating at the front of the room and a special “Meet & Greet” with our guest stars in the VIP lounge. Tickets are available now.
Willie Nelson Debuts Two New Products in Hemp Remedy Line
/by Lorie HollabaughWillie Nelson‘s hemp-infused product line with his wife Annie, Willie’s Remedy, is rolling out two new products: Willie’s Remedy Relief Balm and Willie’s Remedy Tea.
The new offerings infused with full-spectrum hemp oil arrive close on the heels of the brand’s debut of its flagship product, Willie’s Remedy Coffee, and Willie’s Remedy Hemp Oil Tincture. The Remedy Relief Balm is inspired by a cannabis topical that Annie Nelson created in her kitchen and has used for years, along with her husband, his band and numerous friends. The muscle balm contains shea butter, coconut oil, and full spectrum hemp flower oil concentrate, as well as menthol, plant-derived Vitamin E, organic lavender and CO2-extracted arnica concentrate.
“Willie’s Remedy is all about giving people easy access to the healing benefits of hemp in the same way we look to other plants for wellness,” Mrs. Nelson said. “By expanding our product line to include a topical, tea and decaf coffee we hope to bring this amazing plant to new audiences.”
All products are available online and at select stores beginning in July, in time for Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic in Austin.
Willie’s Remedy is also a sponsor of the Outlaw Music Festival Tour which begins in September and features Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters, Luke Combs, Bonnie Raitt, The Avett Brothers, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Alison Krauss, Gov’t Mule, Brothers Osborne, and Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real. Willie headlines the 17-city tour and is celebrating the release of his new studio album, Ride Me Back Home.
Ross Copperman Highlights ’90s Country Hits, Rising Nashville Singers On Latest ‘Homegrown Kids’ Installment
/by Jessica NicholsonRoss Copperman has been busy in the studio for the past several months, co-writing songs with Kenny Chesney and Ed Sheeran, producing the recently-released debut album from BBR Music Group trio Runaway June, and taking part in the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp in Nashville.
But this songwriter-producer, who counts nearly 20 No. 1 hits, has also been working as an executive producer on a fun side project that welcomes some of Nashville’s talented youth performers to lend their voices to some of the most uplifting ‘90s country hits.
As the second installment of the Homegrown Kids series, Homegrown Kids: ‘90s Country features 10 of country music’s most well-known tracks, including the Dixie Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces,” The Judds’ “Love Can Build a Bridge,” Garth Brooks’ “The River,” Martina McBride’s “Happy Girl,” Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” and more.
Dana Anderson (known for work on children’s music projects including VeggieTales, Songs for Worship and Getty Kids) and session singer/arranger David Wise produced the album, which released June 28.
“I wanted to do something for the parents to enjoy maybe on a long ride to the beach, you know? To hear [Joe Diffie’s] ‘John Deere Green’ and be like, ‘I haven’t heard that song forever,’” Copperman says. “And maybe the kids will sing along too, because it’s kids singing it. Everybody loves ’90s country and I thought it could be fun.”
They brought in a group of 10 youth singers from Nashville and the surrounding areas to perform the tracks. Some of the singers already have their own followings, such as Marisa McKaye, a featured vocalist on several tracks. McKaye released her first EP at age 12, and in 2017, she debuted as the youngest Song Suffragette at Nashville’s The Listening Room.
“I think there are so many kids on this project that will go on to be future stars, then it’s going to be cool for them to look back and go, ‘Oh yeah, I sang on that Homegrown Kids record when I was like 15.’” Copperman says.
Looking ahead to future installments of the Homegrown Kids series, Copperman muses the series could evolve into featuring original songs.
“Also, since the concept of albums is kind of starting to go away in general, I would love to just drop a song on streaming. Kids Bop already did ‘Old Town Road,” or else we would have done that. But I would love to do a version of Blanco Brown’s ‘The Git Up.’
“But my whole goal is I wanted these songs to have a positive message, and to give kids an outlet to get in a studio and sing on a record, just to get that experience so young. It’s about music education and having fun.”
Homegrown Kids Track Listing:
Music Industry’s Heather Kinder And Kassie Perkins Gear Up For Mrs. And Miss America Competitions
/by LB CantrellMiss. Tennessee Kassie Perkins and Mrs. Tennessee Heather Kinder. Photo: Jodie Kelly
Music Row industry members Heather Kinder and Kassie Perkins have earned their place in the entertainment industry over many years. Kinder has worked at Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group as Senior Executive Assistant to Tri Star’s CEO/Owner, Lou Taylor, since 2012; and Perkins works for Kris Wiatr at Wiatr & Associates.
But on top of their professional titles, Kinder and Perkins have each earned another title: Mrs. and Miss Tennessee. The two will compete in Las Vegas for Mrs. and Miss America in August.
“I competed in pageants growing up, moved to Nashville, got married and gave up the pageant life and then I decided this year to do Mrs. Tennessee,” said Kinder. “I just think it’s so interesting that in all of the women in the state of Tennessee that entered, both of us won and not only do we both work in the entertainment industry, but we both work for business management firms.”
Perkins added, “I participated in my first pageant during my freshman year of college. I now work for Wiatr and Associates, and transitioned from public accounting to business management in January of this year. I love helping my clients reach their financial goals which translates into them reaching their personal goals and creating fantastic music! Miss Tennessee for America was my first pageant after my three-year break and I was fortunate enough to win.”
Miss. Tennessee Kassie Perkins and Mrs. Tennessee Heather Kinder. Photo: Demarcus Bowser
Since crowned in March, Kinder and Perkins have been volunteering with the following organizations: Habitat for Humanity, Baby Steps, Imagination Library, Kinder’s Kids Foundation, Rock n Roll Marathon Series, Julia Green Elementary School, Safe Haven, Walk Bike Nashville, Love the Way You Lyme. Kinder and her musician husband, Ryan, also have their own foundation called Kinder’s Kids that provides—through music and the arts—a toy for as many children as possible affected by natural disasters.
“I feel that my work, both in the entertainment industry and in pageantry, have the same common thread of service,” Perkins said. “I love to see others grow and I love being a part of their success. I’m very fortunate that I get to do that in both of my jobs.”
“I think it’s important to represent the business-women in the entertainment industry,” Kinder said. “I think that the business-women in the industry are the driving force behind what’s happening in the industry. So having the opportunity to go to nationals and really ride that out as ‘Here’s what I do, I’m in the entertainment industry, I work for a female,’ that is making such a difference. It is a good opportunity to show that females are making a difference and that we can also have our own things going on at the same time. I’m pursuing this dream of mine and my boss is so supportive of it and I think that’s because she is a female. She wants me to have my own ambitions and goals and dreams.”
Kinder and Perkins didn’t know each other before the Mrs and Miss Tennessee for America pageant, but were fast friends once they learned how much they had in common.
“It’s been amazing because we have similar schedules, we have similar demands, we have similar expectations in our jobs so it’s been really good to be able to help each other through this time of balancing our schedule, balancing our work loads, supporting each other because we both understand what the other is going through on all sides of it,” Kinder said.
Perkins and Kinder will have a Mrs. Tennessee and Miss Tennessee for America Send Off Party on Sun, July 21 at Layman Drug Company in Nashville. Portions of the proceeds will go to Victoria’s Voice Foundation. Click here for tickets.
Industry Pics: BMI, Grand Ole Opry, FlyteVu, Charlie Daniels
/by Jessica NicholsonIngrid Andress Performs For Florida Association Of Broadcasters Annual Convention
Pictured (L-R): BMI Industry Relations Vice President Dan Spears, FAB President & CEO Patrick Roberts, WCTV-TV Vice President & General Manager Heather Peeples, BMI songwriter Ingrid Andress, Sinclair Broadcast Group Market Manager for West Palm Beach and FAB Board Chair Mike Pumo, Montclair Communications President Lara Kunkler, Actualidad Radio President & CEO Adib Eden, Univision Communications President & Regional Manager Luis Fernandez-Rocha.
Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville artist Ingrid Andress performed during this year’s Florida Association of Broadcasters Annual Convention, held June 26-27. The performance, courtesy of BMI, opened the convention, which includes executives from iHeartMedia, Beasley Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Univision Communications.
Andress, who has co-written with the likes of Alicia Keys and Sam Hunt, made her national TV debut in April when she performed on Late Night with Seth Myers. Her debut single, “More Hearts Than Mine” will hit country radio July 8.
7eventh Time Down Makes Opry Debut
Pictured (L-R): 7eventh Time Down’s Cliff Williams and Scoop Roberts; Opry member Jeannie Seely; and 7eventh Time Down’s Mikey Howard and Austin Miller. Photo: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry
BEC Recordings artist and Christian radio hitmakers 7eventh Time Down marked a career milestone last weekend with their debut on the Grand Ole Opry. The band performed their signature hits “Just Say Jesus” and “God Is On The Move” before a sold-out audience at the Opry.
FlyteVu Hosts Third “Escape The Ordinary” Showcase Series
Pictured (L-R): Jeremy Holley (Partner, FlyteVu), Hunter Hayes, Sarah Zimmermann, Justin Davis, Caylee Hammack, Taylor Eickenhorst (Account Manager, FlyteVu). Photo: Courtesy FlyteVu
FlyteVu hosted its third “Escape the Ordinary” Showcase Series on June 25, which featured performances by Hunter Hayes, Striking Matches and Caylee Hammack.
Charlie Daniels’ Veteran Impact Celebration Raises Over $150K
Pictured (L-R): MTSU president Sidney McPhee, Carolyn Corlew, Lt. Gen. Keith M. Huber, Charlie Daniels, David Corlew, General Max Haston, Angela Wheeler
Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Daniels‘ second Veteran Impact Celebration generated more than $150,000 for Middle Tennessee State University’s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center on June 27.
The fundraiser held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at
During the event, Daniels, his manager David Corlew, and retired Major General Terry “Max“ Haston (on behalf of their veterans non-profit The Journey Home Project) presented a $100,000 check to the Daniels Center.
Warner Chappell Music Nashville Signs Johnny Dailey
/by Jessica NicholsonWarner Chappell Music Nashville has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Johnny Dailey. The Tussville, Alabama, native began playing guitar at an early age and moved to Charleston after high school, where he honed his performance chops playing original songs up and down the city’s infamous King Street. He now lives in Nashville.
Dailey is managed by Morris Higham Management, led by President and co-founder, Clint Higham.
Pictured (L-R): Kyle Quigley (Morris-Higham), Ben Vaughn (WCM), Johnny Dailey, Ryan Beuschel (WCM), Will Overton (WCM)
Spotify To Close Beta Program That Let Indie Artists Upload Music Directly
/by Eric T. ParkerAt the end of July Spotify will close its Upload Beta Program, which has let independent artists upload their music directly to Spotify for the past year.
“Thank you to the artists who participated in our upload beta,” said Spotify in a statement. “We’re incredibly proud to have played a small part in the music they released. Spotify wouldn’t be what it is today without artists and labels who are willing to collaborate with us to build a better experience for creators and listeners.”
Spotify is working with distribution partners to help simplify the transition for artists who uploaded music through the beta. Spotify will stop accepting any new uploads through Spotify for Artists, and artists will need to move their already released content to another provider. Artists who have released music in the beta should review FAQs and keep an eye on their email for more details — including discount codes from our preferred distributors.
A note released to Spotify artist users includes the following statement: