Darius Rucker performs to a sold-out Ryman Auditorium crowd in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Photo: Katie Kauss
Darius Rucker kicked off CMA Fest 2019 Monday night (June 3) with his tenth annual Darius and Friends concert, benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, at the Ryman Auditorium. Prior to last night’s show, the event had raised $1.6 million for St. Jude. Rucker.
The recent recipient of the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award marked a decade of giving, along with his friends Luke Bryan, Sheryl Crow, Kane Brown, Jimmie Allen, Brett Young, Travis Denning, and Charles Kelly.
Rucker set the feel-good groove early in the night, kicking off the show with his 2009 hit, “Alright.” In his blue jeans, t-shirt and ball cap, Rucker’s contagious smile lifted everyone to their feet to dance with him. “Let’s play some country music!,” he said. “We’re at the Ryman!” Rucker transitioned from Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On,” to his most recent No. 1, “For the First Time.”
Rucker then introduced his first guest, country rocker Travis Denning. Denning started out with his new single, “After A Few,” and followed it with his ode to the fake-ID-days diddy, “David Ashley Parker from Powder Springs.” The crowd liked him, but when he went into the Allman Brothers’ iconic hit “Ramblin’ Man,” they loved him. The crowd ate him up, and the band grinned onward as Denning shredded on his electric. Denning left the stage with a standing ovation.
Travis Denning performs a dual-guitar solo during his rendition of The Allman Brothers’
“Ramblin’ Man.” Photo: Katie Kauss
Rucker returned to the stage to introduce his next friend. “There’s legends and then there’s legends,” he said. Nine-time Grammy award-winning Sheryl Crow ventured out to join him.
“Howdy!” she said, channeling her best Minnie Pearl. Crow quickly got everyone swaying to her Cat Steven’s cover “The First Cut Is the Deepest.” Hands flew up in the air with her massive hit, “Soak Up the Sun.” Crow smiled as she said, “This is my favorite place in America to play!”
Once Rucker was back to center stage, he played a sultry album cut from his latest record When Was the Last Time, titled “Hands On Me.” After following it with “Radio,” it was time for Rucker to introduce his next guest.
“This dude makes me laugh so hard,” Rucker said as Jimmie Allen walked out on stage to join him. Clad in a Clint Black t-shirt, Allen crooned on his debut No. 1 single, “Best Shot.”
Jimmie Allen performs. Photo: Keith Griner
Venturing into the crowd is becoming somewhat of a habit for Jimmie Allen. The BBR artist made his way through the Ryman aisles as he performed a Matchbox 20 cover, “Unwell.” Allen paid his respects to Rucker, and said, “I’m not brave enough to step onto the golf course with him, but he can put some Jordan’s on and I’ll take him on the basketball court.”
Rucker laughed and told him to get his skinny jeans off the stage.
Next up was Capitol label-mate Luke Bryan. After he performed his newest single, “Knockin’ Boots,” he coaxed Rucker back out on stage to take a shot. Bryan toasted Rucker for his work with St. Jude, and for being a good person. Appropriately, Bryan then went into his hit “Most People Are Good.”
After finishing with the whole crowd on their feet, shaking it with Bryan for “That’s My Kinda Night,” Bryan headed backstage.
Darius Rucker and Luke Bryan backstage. Photo: Katie Kauss
“Homegrown Honey” was the next Rucker No. 1 on deck, followed by “Come Back Song.” At this point, the whole crowd was dancing, pointing at their significant others for the epic choruses, and beaming up at a smiling Rucker.
He then introduced Big Machine hitmaker, Brett Young. Young serenaded the crowd with his first Platinum hit, “Sleep Without You,” followed it with his 2x Platinum smash, “Mercy,” and concluded with Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” When Rucker returned to the stage, he joked, “I don’t like men, but I was backstage thinking that guy is attractive.”
Rucker then turned to another new hit-maker on the scene. The crowd roared as Kane Brown walked into the spotlight.
With a fiddle player added to Rucker’s incredible backing band, Brown played his fun “Short Skirt Weather” and then transitioned into a cover of Randy Travis’ “Three Wooden Crosses.” He finished his set with the crowd screaming the words to his latest No. 1, “Good As You.”
When Rucker ventured back out, he commended Brown for his work and for his place in the industry. “When I came to Nashville they told me it would never work. It worked. That kid is about to explode the world,” he said of Brown.
Darius Rucker with event host Ashley Eicher and St. Jude patients Warner and Ian backstage. Photo: Katie Kauss
For one final surprise, good friend and golfing buddy, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, joined Rucker to perform a rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Before the final song, Rucker thanked everyone for coming and making the event so lucrative for St. Jude every year. “This event sells out in minutes every year, and no one even knows who is friggin’ playing yet!”
Rucker and all his friends came together to join voices for Rucker’s mega-hit “Wagon Wheel” to close the night, kicking off CMA Fest with a fun, spirited country music hoo-rah.
Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Maren Morris Join Forces On New Track “Prove You Wrong”
/by Jessica NicholsonSheryl Crow. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for The Valory
Sheryl Crow has teamed with Maren Morris and Stevie Nicks for a sunny, confident new track “Prove You Wrong.”
I’ve got my mind made up and my high heels on/It wouldn’t take much to prove you wrong, the three artists sing, trading lines on the track, a lighthearted take on a song that sets out to prove a heartbreak keep them “in a bed of tears.”
According to a tweet Crow sent out, the jangly, uptempo piece also features some high-powered musicians, including Vince Gill, the Eagles’ Joe Walsh and guitarist Waddy Wachtel.
The track marks the latest release from Crow, following the gritty reworking of “Redemption Day” featuring vocals from Johnny Cash, and its follow up “Live Wire,” which features Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. The tracks are all from Crow’s upcoming Big Machine Records duets album, Threads, slated for release later this year.
Video Of The Year Finalists Unveiled For CMT Music Awards
/by Lorie HollabaughCMT has announced the finalists for its coveted Video Of The Year award at tonight’s CMT Music Awards. For the last four weeks, fans have been voting on a group of nominations that have been narrowed down to the following five finalists:
As of this morning, Twitter voting is open for this award and will remain open through the live broadcast of tonight’s show. Voting is only available on Twitter, and fans will need to tweet #CMTawards with the artist-specific hashtag in order to cast a vote. If Underwood takes home the prize tonight, she will bring her total to 19 wins, as she is the most-awarded artist in CMT Music Awards history.
This year’s CMT Music Awards boasts a record-breaking number of performances and will include additional surprise guests on the live telecast, which starts at 7 p.m. CT. Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Combs will all take the stage as performers this year during country music’s biggest party.
CAA Welcomes Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum To Raise Funds For Music Education
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet, Russell Dickerson, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook. Photo: Hunter Berry
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) hosted its 27th annual CAA Nashville BBQ at Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint on June 3. More than 540 people were in attendance at the event, which raised more than $54,000 for Communities in Schools of Tennessee at Nashville and PENCIL, two organizations supporting students at local public schools.
Clients and friends of the agency were on hand, including Lady Antebellum, Kid Rock, Little Big Town, Darren Criss, Chase Rice, Russell Dickerson, Lauren Alaina, Cassadee Pope, Derrick Henry, Rex Ryan, and Colton Underwood. CAA Nashville co-founders Rod Essig and John Huie, and CAA Nashville co-heads Brian Manning, Marc Dennis and Darin Murphy were also in attendance.
“CAA has always been an active supporter of causes close to the Nashville community and we are proud to continue a tradition that helps countless students benefit from important programs through Communities in Schools of Tennessee and PENCIL,” said Dennis.
Communities in Schools helps with student dropout prevention and PENCIL works to connect community resources to Metro Nashville Public Schools. Both have longstanding relationships with the agency.
Pictured (L-R): Lauren Alaina and Cassadee Pope. Photo: Hunter Berry
Pictured (L-R): CAA’s Brian Manning, CAA’s Darryl Eaton, CAA’s Jeff Krones. Photo: Jason Myers
National Museum Of African American Music Releases 2019 State Of Black Music
/by Jessica NicholsonThe Nashville-based National Museum of African American Music has released its second annual State of Black Music summary, highlighting the top successes and trends in black music throughout the past year.
Last year, hip-hop overtook rock as the most-played music in the United States. Eight of the 10 most-streamed artists last year were rappers, with Drake ending 2018 as the most-streamed artist on the planet.
The video also noted that with the success of “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X became the most-streamed artist in a single week, following his collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus.
The video also highlighted the success of artists including Jimmie Allen, Rhiannon Giddens, Jonathan McReynolds and Wayne Shorter, as well as artists who were the subjects of documentaries such as Quincy Jones (Quincy), Beyoncé (Homecoming) and Aretha Franklin (Amazing Grace).
Missy Elliott was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music. Meanwhile, Childish Gambino‘s song “This Is America” became the first rap song to win the Grammy honor for Record of the Year.
H. Beecher Hicks III, president and CEO of the National Museum of African American Music, stated that, “the State of Black Music’s reach is larger than ever, spanning platforms, countries and genres.”
The National Museum of African American Music will open in Nashville next year, and will be the only museum dedicated to solely highlighting the work, influence, and achievements of African American musicians.
Darius Rucker And Friends Celebrate A Decade Of Raising Money For St. Jude
/by LB CantrellDarius Rucker performs to a sold-out Ryman Auditorium crowd in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Photo: Katie Kauss
Darius Rucker kicked off CMA Fest 2019 Monday night (June 3) with his tenth annual Darius and Friends concert, benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, at the Ryman Auditorium. Prior to last night’s show, the event had raised $1.6 million for St. Jude. Rucker.
The recent recipient of the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award marked a decade of giving, along with his friends Luke Bryan, Sheryl Crow, Kane Brown, Jimmie Allen, Brett Young, Travis Denning, and Charles Kelly.
Rucker set the feel-good groove early in the night, kicking off the show with his 2009 hit, “Alright.” In his blue jeans, t-shirt and ball cap, Rucker’s contagious smile lifted everyone to their feet to dance with him. “Let’s play some country music!,” he said. “We’re at the Ryman!” Rucker transitioned from Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On,” to his most recent No. 1, “For the First Time.”
Rucker then introduced his first guest, country rocker Travis Denning. Denning started out with his new single, “After A Few,” and followed it with his ode to the fake-ID-days diddy, “David Ashley Parker from Powder Springs.” The crowd liked him, but when he went into the Allman Brothers’ iconic hit “Ramblin’ Man,” they loved him. The crowd ate him up, and the band grinned onward as Denning shredded on his electric. Denning left the stage with a standing ovation.
Travis Denning performs a dual-guitar solo during his rendition of The Allman Brothers’
“Ramblin’ Man.” Photo: Katie Kauss
Rucker returned to the stage to introduce his next friend. “There’s legends and then there’s legends,” he said. Nine-time Grammy award-winning Sheryl Crow ventured out to join him.
“Howdy!” she said, channeling her best Minnie Pearl. Crow quickly got everyone swaying to her Cat Steven’s cover “The First Cut Is the Deepest.” Hands flew up in the air with her massive hit, “Soak Up the Sun.” Crow smiled as she said, “This is my favorite place in America to play!”
Once Rucker was back to center stage, he played a sultry album cut from his latest record When Was the Last Time, titled “Hands On Me.” After following it with “Radio,” it was time for Rucker to introduce his next guest.
“This dude makes me laugh so hard,” Rucker said as Jimmie Allen walked out on stage to join him. Clad in a Clint Black t-shirt, Allen crooned on his debut No. 1 single, “Best Shot.”
Jimmie Allen performs. Photo: Keith Griner
Venturing into the crowd is becoming somewhat of a habit for Jimmie Allen. The BBR artist made his way through the Ryman aisles as he performed a Matchbox 20 cover, “Unwell.” Allen paid his respects to Rucker, and said, “I’m not brave enough to step onto the golf course with him, but he can put some Jordan’s on and I’ll take him on the basketball court.”
Rucker laughed and told him to get his skinny jeans off the stage.
Next up was Capitol label-mate Luke Bryan. After he performed his newest single, “Knockin’ Boots,” he coaxed Rucker back out on stage to take a shot. Bryan toasted Rucker for his work with St. Jude, and for being a good person. Appropriately, Bryan then went into his hit “Most People Are Good.”
After finishing with the whole crowd on their feet, shaking it with Bryan for “That’s My Kinda Night,” Bryan headed backstage.
Darius Rucker and Luke Bryan backstage. Photo: Katie Kauss
“Homegrown Honey” was the next Rucker No. 1 on deck, followed by “Come Back Song.” At this point, the whole crowd was dancing, pointing at their significant others for the epic choruses, and beaming up at a smiling Rucker.
He then introduced Big Machine hitmaker, Brett Young. Young serenaded the crowd with his first Platinum hit, “Sleep Without You,” followed it with his 2x Platinum smash, “Mercy,” and concluded with Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” When Rucker returned to the stage, he joked, “I don’t like men, but I was backstage thinking that guy is attractive.”
Rucker then turned to another new hit-maker on the scene. The crowd roared as Kane Brown walked into the spotlight.
With a fiddle player added to Rucker’s incredible backing band, Brown played his fun “Short Skirt Weather” and then transitioned into a cover of Randy Travis’ “Three Wooden Crosses.” He finished his set with the crowd screaming the words to his latest No. 1, “Good As You.”
When Rucker ventured back out, he commended Brown for his work and for his place in the industry. “When I came to Nashville they told me it would never work. It worked. That kid is about to explode the world,” he said of Brown.
Darius Rucker with event host Ashley Eicher and St. Jude patients Warner and Ian backstage. Photo: Katie Kauss
For one final surprise, good friend and golfing buddy, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, joined Rucker to perform a rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Before the final song, Rucker thanked everyone for coming and making the event so lucrative for St. Jude every year. “This event sells out in minutes every year, and no one even knows who is friggin’ playing yet!”
Rucker and all his friends came together to join voices for Rucker’s mega-hit “Wagon Wheel” to close the night, kicking off CMA Fest with a fun, spirited country music hoo-rah.
Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum Celebrates Ray Stevens’ Upcoming Induction
/by LB CantrellPictured (L-R, back row): Ray Stevens Music’s Ben Surratt, Andy Firkus, Buddy Kalb, Katie Gillon, Absolute Publicity’s Don Murry Grubbs; (L-R, middle row): Ray Stevens Music’s BJ Ladd, Country Wired’s Stephanie Orr, Ray Stevens Music’s Lisa Guglielmo; (L-R, front row): Ray Stevens Music’s Hayden Oothout, CMHoF’s Kyle Young, Ray Stevens, Timi Oothout. Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum recently celebrated the upcoming induction of Country Music Hall of Fame Member Elect Ray Stevens with a special luncheon honoring him in the museum’s CMA Theater.
During the luncheon, Stevens shared this sentiment about his upcoming induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, “I tell you friends, it don’t get no better than this.”
In October of this year, Stevens, along with Jerry Bradley and Brooks & Dunn, will be formally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Kacey Musgraves, Bebe Rexha Kick Off Mentoring Campaign On Bumble Bizz
/by Lorie HollabaughBumble, the social networking app, announced a multi-year initiative to address a fundamental issue of gender disparity in the music industry with their ‘Empowered by Bumble Bizz’ program, after USC Annenberg’s 2019 survey report on inclusion in the recording studio highlighted the lack of women in popular music.
The Bumble Bizz campaign will kick-off by offering up-and-coming women musicians the opportunity to be mentored by this year’s top-billing women artists, including Bebe Rexha, Kacey Musgraves, and Hayley Kiyoko at one of the following top music festivals: Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Music Midtown, Austin City Limits Music Festival, and Voodoo Music + Arts Experience. The campaign will culminate with chances to win on-stage performance spots at top music festivals in 2020.
“Creating more opportunities for women in music has been a big initiative for me the last few years and I’m excited to be partnering with Bumble for this campaign. It’s important that we continue to champion women in the business to help create and push for equal representation within the industry,” said Bebe Rexha.
Starting today, women artists in the United States can submit their music in Bumble’s Bizz mode for both the 2019 mentorship and 2020 on-stage performance spots. Applications for the mentorship program will close on June 30 within Bumble Bizz, but Bumble’s music incubator program for women artists will continue over the next year as the company rolls out additional opportunities for its users to receive mentorships, performance opportunities and more.
Mickey Jack Cones To Lead Relaunched Verge Records
/by Jessica NicholsonMickey Jack Cones and Emmanuel Zunz
Indie label Verge Records, which had been the genesis of music company ONErpm, has relaunched with producer, publisher and artist manager Mickey Jack Cones at the helm. The Nashville-based Verge Records will leverage ONErpm’s global presence to discover and sign new talent.
Originally founded in 2006, Verge began as a social enterprise that won a grant from New York University’s Stern School of Business ‘Maximum Exposure Business Plan Competition’ to sign artists from impoverished areas, and reinvest profits from those releases in the artists’ communities to fund music education programs. The newly re-emerged Verge Records will contribute a portion of its annual profits to charitable organizations.
“Verge Records was my original passion project, ” said Emmanuel Zunz, founder of both Verge Records and ONErpm. “But I realized at the time that in order to create change at a global scale, I needed to invest in technology, so Verge evolved into ONErpm. With the music industry now undergoing healthy growth, we’ve come full circle and its time to reinvest in Verge.”
“I first met Emmanuel in 2016 when I was looking for distribution and marketing partners for my company COR Entertainment. I was impressed with ONErpm’s approach to marketing which fully utilized YouTube and streaming platforms. This approach gained the artists both exponential exposure and significantly increased income, even when those acts were not yet on radio’s radar,” said Cones.
Cones founded COR Entertainment and its subsidiaries COR Music Publishing, COR Artist Services and COR Audio Productions in 2015. He has produced, published, engineered, written or performed on projects for Dustin Lynch, Joe Nichols, Trace Adkins, Steven Tyler, Jason Aldean, George Strait, Thomas Rhett, Motley Crue, Eric Church, Ludacris, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Combs, and more.
Cam Announces Summer European Tour
/by Lorie HollabaughCam is heading back across the pond this summer for her “Oh, The Places We’ll Go!” Tour. The tour kicks off on August 31st in Millport, UK and will visit 10 cities across Europe before wrapping up in Berlin, Germany on Sept. 14.
“I’m over the moon in love with the European music fans (and the C2C crowds this year definitely made me feel like it’s a mutual thing),” says Cam. “I love the kind of show I get to put on for those audiences, it’s so genuine and connected. And adding shows in cities I’ve never played before, feels like a beautiful adventure.”
Cam has been a bit of a world traveler already this year, kicking off 2019 with a world tour that included dates in Europe, Asia, and Australia. She also performed at this year’s C2C Festival in both Germany and the UK, as well as CMC Rocks in Australia.
Tickets for the “Oh, The Places We’ll Go!” Tour will go on sale this Friday, June 7 at CamCountry.com.
Cam recently released the video for her acoustic rendition of “So Long,” her collaboration with Diplo for his new country project, Thomas Wesley. The two artists filmed the official video for the song backstage at this year’s Stagecoach, which featured guest appearances from Billy Ray Cyrus, Lil Nas X, Guy Fieri, Dwight Yoakam and Sam Hunt, who was also a co-writer on the track.
Tim McGraw, Zac Brown Band, Maren Morris, Brett Young To Perform At 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival
/by Lorie HollabaughTim McGraw, Zac Brown Band, Alicia Keys, Cage The Elephant, Camila Cabello, Chance The Rapper, Def Leppard, French Montana, Halsey, Heart, H.E.R., Miley Cyrus, Mumford & Sons and more are set to perform at this year’s 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival on Friday, September 20-21 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
The Daytime Stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival will take place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Saturday, Sept. 21 with performances by Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Brett Young, Juice WRLD, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Zara Larsson, CNCO, FLETCHER, Monsta X, Bryce Vine and Lauv, with more to be announced. In addition to live performances from today’s emerging artists, the Daytime Stage will also feature fan zones and interactive experiences by iHeartRadio’s brand partners.
“Year after year, the iHeartRadio Music Festival continues to captivate audiences nationwide,” said Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer for iHeartMedia. “Since its inception in 2011, this festival has become the can’t miss music event of the year. We’re thrilled to once again bring the world’s biggest artists together on one stage for one incredible weekend.”
Each night, the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival will broadcast live for fans via iHeartMedia radio stations throughout the country across more than 150 markets. The CW Network will broadcast a two-night TV special on Wednesday, October 2-3. Leading up to the official special, The CW will also air an hour-long Best Of special on Sunday, September 29 at 8 p.m. ET. In addition, The CW will exclusively live stream both nights of the festival via The CW App and CWTV.com.
Beginning Tuesday, June 11 through Thursday, June 13 Capital One cardholders will have access to a special pre-sale for the iHeartRadio Music Festival. Additionally, Capital One cardholders can purchase an exclusive Capital One Access Pass which includes an intimate acoustic performance with Cage The Elephant, a meet and greet with the band and a backstage tour of T-Mobile Arena. Tickets go on sale to the general public on June 14. Tickets for the Daytime Stage are also on sale and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com.
Throughout a summer-long on-air and online promotion, iHeartMedia station listeners across the country will have the chance to win a one-of-a-kind dream trip to Las Vegas where they will join thousands of other dedicated music fans to experience the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena.