Hootie & The Blowfish. Photo: Todd & Chris Owyoung
Twenty-five years after releasing their iconic hits including “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry,” and “Only Wanna Be With You,” rock band Hootie & The Blowfish have announced they will embark on the 2019 Group Therapy Tour, beginning May 30 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 44-city tour will welcome Barenaked Ladies in the opening tour slot.
The tour marks the group’s first official outing in more than a decade, and will feature a stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Sept. 7.
Hootie & The Blowfish, led by Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, has also announced they have signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, home to Rucker’s solo country efforts.
The group’s debut album, Cracked Rear View, released in July 1994, launched a whirlwind of success for the group. The album has now been certified by the RIAA as 21x Platinum and the fifth-most certified studio album of all time, while Hootie & The Blowfish have earned two Grammys and sold over 25 million albums.
“Once the four of us met and started playing shows, we toured for years before signing a record deal,” reflects Rucker who, in the 10+ year break since their last formal tour and nearly 15 years since their last studio album as a band, has charted nine No. 1 singles on country radio.
Felber notes, “Having those shows at fraternity houses, clubs and dive bars under our belt prepared us for success to a degree, and it’s something we’re proud of – that we put in the work – but what matters to me the most is that we’re still a band all these years later. We’ve never stopped being a band.”
“We were content playing clubs and small theaters, so playing to three-, four- and five-times that size was incredible, and we’re looking forward to that feeling again on this tour,” Sonefeld echoes.
Bryan adds, “There’s nothing like playing music live. For the first time in nearly 20 years we’ll be coming back to Columbia, South Carolina where it all began,” before Rucker interjects, “and we’re ready to rock.”
2019 Group Therapy Tour
May 30 Virginia Beach, Va. | Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
May 31 Raleigh, N.C. | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
June 1 Atlanta, Ga. | Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
June 6 Orange Beach, Ala. | The Wharf
June 7 Tampa, Fla. | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 8 West Palm Beach, Fla. | Coral Sky Amphitheatre
June 13 Austin, Texas | Austin360 Amphitheater
June 14 Houston, Texas | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
June 15 Dallas, Texas | Dos Equis Pavilion
June 19 Phoenix, Ariz. | Ak-Chin Pavilion
June 21 Chula Vista, Calif. | North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 22 Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena
June 23 Irvine, Calif. | FivePoint Amphitheatre presented by Mercury Insurance
June 25 Los Angeles, Calif. | Hollywood Bowl
June 28 Wheatland, Calif. | Toyota Amphitheatre
June 29 Mountain View, Calif. | Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 11 Englewood, Colo. | Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 13 Maryland Heights, Mo. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 14 Rogers, Ark. | Walmart AMP
July 19 Monticello, Iowa | Great Jones County Fair
July 20 Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverbend Music Center
July 21 Burgettstown, Penn. | KeyBank Pavilion
July 26 Cleveland, Ohio | Blossom Music Center
July 27 Bristow, Va. | Jiffy Lube Live
July 28 Camden, N.J. | BB&T Pavilion
August 2 Guilford, N.H. | Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
August 3 Mansfield, Mass. | Xfinity Center
August 4 Saratoga Springs, N.Y. | Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 8 Columbia, Md. | Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 9 Canandaigua, N.Y. | Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center: CMAC
August 10 New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden
August 16 Detroit, Mich. | DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 17 Noblesville, Ind. | Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
August 18 Des Moines, Iowa | Iowa State Fair
August 22 St. Paul, Minn. | Minnesota State Fair
August 23 East Troy, Wis. | Alpine Valley Music Theatre
August 24 Tinley Park, Ill. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
August 29 Toronto, Ont. | Budweiser Stage
August 30 Hershey, Penn. | Hersheypark Stadium
August 31 Hartford, Conn. | XFINITY Theatre
September 5 Charlotte, N.C. | PNC Music Pavilion
September 6 Birmingham, Ala. | Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
September 7 Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena
September 13 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
Mark Your Calendar—December 2018
/by Eric T. ParkerSingle Add Dates
December 3
Luke Combs/Beautiful Crazy/Columbia Nashville/River House Artists, LLC
Big & Rich/Brand New Buzz/New Revolution Entertainment
Russell Dickerson/Every Little Thing/Triple Tigers
Ddendyl Hoyt/Where I Come From/Arrow Music Agency
Ryan Sims/Get Away/High 4 Recordings/Hive Records
December 10
Devin Dawson/Dark Horse/Atlantic/WMN/WEA
Album Releases
Brett Young/Ticket To L.A./BMLG Records
Jimmy Charles/Hard Way To Go/Osprey Sky
Various/Homegrown Kids Country, Vol 1./BBR Music Group-BMG
December 14
Mitchell Tenpenny/Telling All My Secrets/Riser House-Columbia
Industry Events
Pictured (L-R): Tommy Kail, Lin Manuel Miranda, Andy Blankenbuehler, Alex Lacamoire; Seated: Wayne Shorter, Cher, Reba McEntire, Philip Glass. Photo: Scott Suchman
December 7
2019 Grammy Awards nominations in select categories on CBS This Morning and Apple Music beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by full slate at 8:45 a.m. ET at grammy.com
December 8
Nashville’s 34th annual Symphony Ball at Schermerhorn Symphony Center
December 26
2018 Kennedy Center Honors on CBS at 7 p.m. CT
December 31
Singer-songwriter Bill Luther Signs Co-Pub Deal With BMG
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Chris Oglesby, VP Creative, BMG Nashville; Courtney Allen, Creative Director, BMG Nashville; Rakiyah Marshall, Creative Director, BMG Nashville; Bill Luther; Kos Weaver, EVP, BMG Nashville; Chip Petree, Partner, Ritholz Levy Fields
Veteran singer-songwriter Bill Luther has signed a new co-publishing agreement with BMG.
Luther has penned several hits recorded by Tim McGraw, including “My Best Friend,” “‘Let It Go,” “How Bad Do You Want It,” and McGraw’s Grammy award-winning duet with Faith Hill, “Let’s Make Love.” Luther has also co-written the Kenny Chesney Top 5 hit “Who You’d Be Today” and Top 10 “What I Need to Do,” in addition to songs for Joe Nichols, Jo Dee Messina, Clint Black, Lee Ann Womack, Lee Greenwood, and more.
Luther said, “I’m very excited and blessed to be working with people who love music and believe in songwriters. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together. I love my BMG family.”
Kos Weaver, EVP, BMG Nashville, said, “Bill Luther’s songwriting is timeless, the care he puts into every word and phrase is unmatched. We are fortunate to be working with him.”
Russell Dickerson Mines Some “Tacoma” Gold
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): John Dennis, Russell Dickerson and Norbert Nix.
Russell Dickerson recently celebrated the RIAA Gold certification for his second single, “Blue Tacoma.” The song has reached over 500K in sales and over 121 million streams since its release.
“The song going gold is a huge milestone for me. The fact that so many people have connected with this single is what I dreamed about when I first started writing songs,” said Dickerson. Quoting lyrics from the newly gold single he finished, “…never running out of golden road, baby!”
Dickerson is releasing his third single, “Every Little Thing,” to radio, and the uptempo track and third consecutive single off his debut album “Yours,” is a personal favorite of his and follows back-to-back No. 1s “Blue Tacoma” and debut single “Yours.”
“This is easily one of my favorite songs on the record. The sound, the vibe and the message is me to a ‘T’,” said Russell about “Every Little Thing.” “It’s a fun uptempo jam, just bragging about how amazing my girl is!”
Dickerson will soon hit the road on the co-headlining The Way Back Tour with an artist who has had her own chart-topping hit with a song called “Every Little Thing,” Carly Pearce. The 11-city trek launches Jan. 24. No word whether there will be a mashup of the two title-sharing tracks.
Submissions Now Open For 54th Annual ACM Awards
/by Lorie HollabaughThe Academy of Country Music announced Monday (Dec. 3) that submissions for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards are now open, through Jan. 4, 2019. As previously announced, categories eligible for submissions include Main Awards, Industry Awards, Radio Awards and Video of the Year. The awards will broadcast live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at p.m. ET on CBS.
The submissions eligibility period for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards is Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2018. Key dates for Academy professional members for the 2019 ACM Awards cycle are as follows:
For members, new membership applications and existing membership renewals, the deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 31, 2018 at 7 p.m. CT for members to be eligible to vote during the 2019 Awards cycle. To apply online for a membership with the Academy of Country Music, visit the ACM Membership platform at ACM Membership.
CRS Reveals New Faces Of Country Music Class Of 2019
/by Jessica NicholsonCountry Radio Seminar officials have announced the CRS 2019 New Faces of Country Music® Class of 2019. Jimmie Allen (Stoney Creek), Russell Dickerson (Triple Tigers), Lindsay Ell (Stoney Creek), LANCO (Arista), and Dylan Scott (Curb) will all perform as part of this year’s New Faces of Country Music® Dinner and Show, to be held Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 during Country Radio Seminar at the downtown Omni Nashville.
Co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the annual new artist showcase event officially closes out the seminar and remains one of the most anticipated events each year at CRS. Performances will be powered by Live Nation and will take place in the CRS Performance Hall.
Registration for Country Radio Seminar (CRS) 2019 is currently available at the rate of $599 and is available at countryradioseminar.com. This year marks the 50th annual Country Radio Seminar.
Crowder Celebrates Vinyl Release Of ‘I Know A Ghost,’ RIAA Gold Certification
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R) : Hudson Plachy, CMO, CCMG; Brad O’Donnell, CCO, CCMG; David Crowder; Shelley Giglio, Chief Strategist/Dir. of Label Operations & Artist Mgmt., sixstepsrecords; Louie Giglio, Pastor and Founder, Passion City Church/Passion MovementPhoto: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry
Crowder celebrated the vinyl release of his album I Know A Ghost (sixstepsrecords/Capitol Christian Music Group) with two performances at Opry at the Ryman on Friday night (Nov. 30).
Prior to taking the stage, he received a special surprise, when he was presented with the RIAA GOLD-certified plaque celebrating the success of “Come As You Are,” his first-ever No. 1 radio hit and Gold single of his solo career. I Know A Ghost debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Christian Albums chart and is now available on vinyl and digitally.
“It is a real honor to play the Grand Ole Opry— and to be there at the Ryman is a whole different level of something special. You can feel the history still hanging in the air. Can’t imagine a better space to celebrate the vinyl release of I Know A Ghost,” said Crowder.
Crowder performed “Child Of God,” and his widely-embraced song “Red Letters,” which is currently Top 20-and-climbing on Billboard’s Christian Airplay charts. Featured by Relevant, BREATHECast and The Christian Beat, the music video for “Red Letters” has already garnered well over half a million views since debuting release week.
Hootie & The Blowfish Sign With UMG Nashville, Announce New Tour
/by Jessica NicholsonHootie & The Blowfish. Photo: Todd & Chris Owyoung
Twenty-five years after releasing their iconic hits including “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry,” and “Only Wanna Be With You,” rock band Hootie & The Blowfish have announced they will embark on the 2019 Group Therapy Tour, beginning May 30 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 44-city tour will welcome Barenaked Ladies in the opening tour slot.
The tour marks the group’s first official outing in more than a decade, and will feature a stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Sept. 7.
Hootie & The Blowfish, led by Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, has also announced they have signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, home to Rucker’s solo country efforts.
The group’s debut album, Cracked Rear View, released in July 1994, launched a whirlwind of success for the group. The album has now been certified by the RIAA as 21x Platinum and the fifth-most certified studio album of all time, while Hootie & The Blowfish have earned two Grammys and sold over 25 million albums.
“Once the four of us met and started playing shows, we toured for years before signing a record deal,” reflects Rucker who, in the 10+ year break since their last formal tour and nearly 15 years since their last studio album as a band, has charted nine No. 1 singles on country radio.
Felber notes, “Having those shows at fraternity houses, clubs and dive bars under our belt prepared us for success to a degree, and it’s something we’re proud of – that we put in the work – but what matters to me the most is that we’re still a band all these years later. We’ve never stopped being a band.”
“We were content playing clubs and small theaters, so playing to three-, four- and five-times that size was incredible, and we’re looking forward to that feeling again on this tour,” Sonefeld echoes.
Bryan adds, “There’s nothing like playing music live. For the first time in nearly 20 years we’ll be coming back to Columbia, South Carolina where it all began,” before Rucker interjects, “and we’re ready to rock.”
2019 Group Therapy Tour
May 30 Virginia Beach, Va. | Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
May 31 Raleigh, N.C. | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
June 1 Atlanta, Ga. | Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
June 6 Orange Beach, Ala. | The Wharf
June 7 Tampa, Fla. | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 8 West Palm Beach, Fla. | Coral Sky Amphitheatre
June 13 Austin, Texas | Austin360 Amphitheater
June 14 Houston, Texas | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
June 15 Dallas, Texas | Dos Equis Pavilion
June 19 Phoenix, Ariz. | Ak-Chin Pavilion
June 21 Chula Vista, Calif. | North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 22 Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena
June 23 Irvine, Calif. | FivePoint Amphitheatre presented by Mercury Insurance
June 25 Los Angeles, Calif. | Hollywood Bowl
June 28 Wheatland, Calif. | Toyota Amphitheatre
June 29 Mountain View, Calif. | Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 11 Englewood, Colo. | Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 13 Maryland Heights, Mo. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 14 Rogers, Ark. | Walmart AMP
July 19 Monticello, Iowa | Great Jones County Fair
July 20 Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverbend Music Center
July 21 Burgettstown, Penn. | KeyBank Pavilion
July 26 Cleveland, Ohio | Blossom Music Center
July 27 Bristow, Va. | Jiffy Lube Live
July 28 Camden, N.J. | BB&T Pavilion
August 2 Guilford, N.H. | Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
August 3 Mansfield, Mass. | Xfinity Center
August 4 Saratoga Springs, N.Y. | Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 8 Columbia, Md. | Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 9 Canandaigua, N.Y. | Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center: CMAC
August 10 New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden
August 16 Detroit, Mich. | DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 17 Noblesville, Ind. | Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
August 18 Des Moines, Iowa | Iowa State Fair
August 22 St. Paul, Minn. | Minnesota State Fair
August 23 East Troy, Wis. | Alpine Valley Music Theatre
August 24 Tinley Park, Ill. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
August 29 Toronto, Ont. | Budweiser Stage
August 30 Hershey, Penn. | Hersheypark Stadium
August 31 Hartford, Conn. | XFINITY Theatre
September 5 Charlotte, N.C. | PNC Music Pavilion
September 6 Birmingham, Ala. | Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
September 7 Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena
September 13 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
ONErpm Expands Publishing Operations Worldwide
/by Jessica NicholsonLabel services, rights management, and distribution company ONErpm is expanding its publishing operation worldwide, offering publishing administration and sync services to clients around the globe. These services were previously available in Brazil only, where ONErpm has direct deals with major digital service providers (DSPs) as well as an exclusive administration deal with Brazilian rights society ADDAF.
“ONErpm is thrilled to add worldwide publishing administration and synchronization licensing to the many services we provide our clients,” said Jennifer Newman Sharpe, General Counsel and Head of Business Affairs for ONErpm. “We have had tremendous success with our publishing operation in Brazil and look forward to providing our entire roster with access to these powerful resources.”
ONErpm hosts an extensive publishing catalog of Latin American music, including over 37,000 compositions in Brazil alone from artists such as Jhef, Mc Kevin o Chris, Junior Lord of Tem Café, Renato Gues of Cuidado, Yuri Hawaiano of Encosta, Marcia Araujo of Estaca Zero, Junior Lord Anitta of Furacão 2000 and successful children’s duo Patati Patata. The company works closely with major DSPs including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora, and more. Over a dozen artists under ONErpm were nominated for the 2018 Latin GRAMMY Awards, with Anaadi winning for Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album, and Q4 2018 will bring the release of albums from Judith Hill and Method Man.
Luke Bryan, Lady A, Cole Swindell To Play Bobby Bones 4th Annual Million Dollar Show
/by Lorie HollabaughBobby Bones & The Raging Idiots’4th Annual Million Dollar Show benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will take place Jan. 14 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Cole Swindell, Jon Pardi, Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down, Maggie Rose, Bailey Bryan, Adam Hambrick and Rachel Wammack will all perform at the benefit concert, which will also feature Bones & The Raging Idiots and likely a few surprise special guests as well.
The annual show has raised more than eight million dollars for St. Jude since its inception, and tickets for this year’s concert are available for purchase beginning Dec. 7.
Bones recently won Season 27 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and will hit the road along with Mary Lou Retton, Joe Amabile, Juan Pablo Di Pace, John Schneider and Milo Manheim on the Dancing with the Stars: Live! A Night to Remember tour, which begins Dec. 15. He’ll also lend his expertise to the latest season of ABC’s American Idol as the official in-house mentor.
61st Annual Grammy Awards Nominations Reveal Moved To Friday, Dec. 7
/by Jessica NicholsonThe 2019 Grammy Awards nominations, which were previously scheduled to be announced Wednesday, Dec. 5, have been moved to Friday, Dec. 7. The Recording Academy announced today that because of former President George H.W. Bush‘s public viewing and funeral this week, the Grammy nominations reveal will be delayed.
The body of former President George H.W. Bush is in Washington for public viewing, launching four days of events, which will include a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral on Wednesday (Dec. 5) and a private service in Houston on Thursday.
Grammy nominees in select categories will be announced Dec. 7 on CBS This Morning and Apple Music beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. A full slate of nominees will be revealed at 8:45 a.m. ET at grammy.com.