Pictured (L-R): Samuel E. Stumpf Jr., Watkins Board of Trustees Chair; Callie Khouri; J. Kline, President
Callie Khouri, the creator of ABC’s Nashville, said she felt “triumphant”’ and remembered “moments of greatness, of joy,” when she was told that the series had been canceled.
Khouri made the remarks during a commencement speech given at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film in Nashville on May 14. Read the speech.
Khouri also received the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Fine Arts, from the 131-year-old visual arts college, which offers BFA and MFA degrees in Film, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Photography. Khouri won an Oscar for her screenplay of the 1991 film, Thelma & Louise.
The speech was delivered just one day after the news broke of the cancellation. While speaking to the graduation attendees, she noted:
I am sure you have heard by now that my show Nashville has been canceled. By some measure, that is a failure. And yet, I feel triumphant. It’s amazing that it got made in the first place. I wrote a pilot, I FINISHED it, and it got made, against incredible odds. And I got to do it for four years. Not exactly the way I wanted to do it, but there were moments of greatness, of joy. The things that didn’t work and the ways in which I fell short, I don’t hold as deficiencies, but rather lessons. Lessons learned the hard way. But please know, that I have a storage space filled to the rafters with things that I’ve written that will never see the light of day. Some of which I consider far better than some of the work you may have seen. And some is just crap. But still, it was practice. Lessons. Learned the hard way. Because I can assure you that I tried hard and felt terrible when they were rejected and I spent days in dark disappointment over each and every script that is moldering away right
now.
The series finale of Nashville airs Wednesday (May 25) on ABC.
SESAC Signs “Peter Pan” Songwriter Jesse Lee Levin
/by Craig_ShelburnePictured (L-R): SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Levin, Parallel’s Tim Hunze and Hannah Showmaker. Photo: Peyton Hoge
SESAC has announced the signing of songwriter Jesse Lee Levin for representation.
Levin, who is signed with Parallel Entertainment for publishing, is on the charts now with “Peter Pan,” as recorded by Kelsea Ballerini. Levin and Ballerini co-wrote the song with Forest Glen Whitehead.
Levin stopped by SESAC’s new Music Row headquarters with representatives from Parallel to celebrate.
ACM Honors Set For August 30 With Lady Antebellum Hosting
/by Craig_ShelburneLady Antebellum. Photo: Joseph Llanes
Lady Antebellum will host the 10th Annual ACM Honors on August 30 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The event recognizes special honorees and off-camera winners of the 51st Annual ACM Awards.
ACM Honors will be produced for television by dick clark productions and broadcast at a later date on the CBS Television Network. Performers and air date for the primetime special will be announced in the coming weeks.
Honorees include special awards recipients Glen Campbell, Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt (awarded posthumously), Tanya Tucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jeff Walker (awarded posthumously), Jimmy Webb, Little Big Town and The Statler Brothers.
Studio Recording Awards recipients include Jim ‘Moose’ Brown, Dave Cobb, Shannon Forrest, Paul Franklin, Justin Niebank, Danny Rader, Michael Rhodes and Derek Wells. In addition, Ross Copperman will be honored as Songwriter of the Year.
Video: Dierks Bentley Encores With Music Industry Guests
/by Jessica NicholsonWhen Dierks Bentley performed before a sold-out crowd of over 14,000 fans at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Detroit on Sunday, May 22, he brought the show to a close with a creative ending. Bentley recruited friends and music industry guests to spill out from a plane-shaped set prop on stage during his encore performance of “Drunk on a Plane.”
MusicRow takes you along with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the concert’s high-flying culmination.
Bentley is pictured here with Spotify’s John Marks, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, CMT’s Leslie Fram, Apple’s Sally Seitz, CMT’s John Hamlin and MusicRow’s Sherod Robertson
Callie Khouri At Watkins College Commencement: “Triumphant” Feeling After ‘Nashville’ Canceled
/by Craig_ShelburnePictured (L-R): Samuel E. Stumpf Jr., Watkins Board of Trustees Chair; Callie Khouri; J. Kline, President
Callie Khouri, the creator of ABC’s Nashville, said she felt “triumphant”’ and remembered “moments of greatness, of joy,” when she was told that the series had been canceled.
Khouri made the remarks during a commencement speech given at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film in Nashville on May 14. Read the speech.
Khouri also received the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Fine Arts, from the 131-year-old visual arts college, which offers BFA and MFA degrees in Film, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Photography. Khouri won an Oscar for her screenplay of the 1991 film, Thelma & Louise.
The speech was delivered just one day after the news broke of the cancellation. While speaking to the graduation attendees, she noted:
The series finale of Nashville airs Wednesday (May 25) on ABC.
IBMA Relocates To Gallatin Road
/by Craig_ShelburneThe International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) will move into a new location on Friday (May 27). The organization is leaving the Berry Hill neighborhood and its new address will be 4206 Gallatin Road, Nashville TN 37216.
Other contact information will remain the same. Phone numbers are 615-256-3222 and 888-438-4262. The contact email address will remain info@ibma.org.
IBMA has been based in Nashville since 2003.
2016 MusicRow Awards: Voting Closes Today At 5 P.M.
/by Craig_ShelburneVoting for the 28th Annual MusicRow Awards will close today (May 24) at 5 p.m. View the nominees.
Subscribed members of MusicRow determine the winners in four categories: Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Song of the Year.
If you have already submitted your ballot or RSVP, no further action is required.
If you do not have a MusicRow subscription, subscribe to receive your ballot.
To have your MusicRow Awards ballot resent, please email eparker@musicrow.com or call 615-499-5421. Ballots were sent by MusicRow on Wednesday, May 18.
The 2016 MusicRow Awards are an invitation-only event, hosted this year at BMI on June 29.
Little Big Town Announces New Album Produced By Pharrell
/by Craig_ShelburneLittle Big Town and Pharrell (center)
Little Big Town has enlisted Pharrell Williams to produce their next project, Wanderlust, scheduled for release on June 10 on Capitol Records Nashville. The eight-track project will include new songs from the group and producer.
Little Big Town will perform a new single, “One of Those Days,” on NBC’s The Voice on Tuesday (May 24). Little Big Town and Pharrell co-wrote the song.
“Wanderlust is the result of an incredible friendship and chemistry we have with Pharrell Williams,” said Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild. ”What started out as one writing session a few months ago turned into multiple writing sessions, as well as back and forth trips from Nashville to Los Angeles. When the songs started coming together, we realized it was too special to not share with our fans.”
She continued, “Pharrell loves country music and is a huge fan of harmony. That shared passion and appreciation took us on a creative journey we had no idea would happen. The music feels like our worlds have collided in the best possible way—his infectious grooves paired with our layered vocals and harmonies. This music is meant to be danced to, sung along with and turned up loud. It’s uplifting and hopeful. We’ve been a band for a long time and have had the pleasure of collaborating with so many people, and it’s been a complete joy to make music with Pharrell!”
“We had a great time working together because we all love harmonies and that’s a really fun way to make a record,” Pharrell added. “A lot of the songs were based on what the group were going through at the time and creating good feelings around those experiences.”
Tara Thompson Showcases Songwriting Skills On New EP
/by Jessica NicholsonValory Music Co. artist Tara Thompson crafted all five of the tracks on her upcoming EP Someone To Take Your Place, due June 10.
Thompson enlisted the help of ace writers including Erin Enderlin, Walker Hayes, Alex Kline, Jarett McAlister, Jimmy Melton, Leslie Satcher and Nicole Witt for the project. Kline also has producer credits.
Thompson took to social media today (May 23) to discuss details of Someone To Take Your Place.
Someone to Take Your Place EP Track Listing:
1. “Someone To Take Your Place” (Tara Thompson, Alex Kline, Leslie Satcher)
2. “Side Effects” (Tara Thompson, Erin Enderlin, Alex Kline)
3. “Vows” (Tara Thompson, Alex Kline, Nicole Witt)
4. “Pregnant At The Prom” (Tara Thompson, Alex Kline, Jimmy Melton)
5. “Jail” (Tara Thompson, Walker Hayes, Jarett McAlister)
Pandora Hires Glenn Peoples For Music Insights And Analytics
/by Jessica NicholsonGlenn Peoples
Pandora has added longtime Billboard staffer Glenn Peoples, MusicRow has confirmed.
Peoples will be based in Nashville, where he will handle Music Insights and Analytics. He was Billboard’s Senior Editorial Analyst for seven years before joining Pandora.
“Pandora is an industry leader with a proven track record for innovation,” said Peoples. “It’s an honor join such a forward-thinking company filled with people dedicated to pushing the music industry forward.”
A respected reporter in the field of music technology, Peoples was featured on two panels at the Music Biz conference in Nashville last week. One was titled Virtual Reality: Is This the Business Model Beyond Streaming?, while the other was titled Data To Dollars: Adapting New Data To The Music Industry.
He is a member of Leadership Music’s class of 2011 and was a director-at-large for the Academy of Country Music from 2012 to 2014.
Industry Ink: Marushka Media, BMI, Sony Red, ‘Stache Media
/by Jessica NicholsonJacquelyn Marushka Opens Marushka Media
Jacquelyn Marushka has exited Shore Fire Media and launched the branding/public relations/media coaching company Marushka Media. Marushka can be reached at jackie@marushkamedia.com or at 615-417-6500.
Prior to her work as general manager of Shore Fire Media’s Nashville office, Marushka spent several years as VP, Public Relations for Sony Music Entertainment’s Provident Label Group.
Marushka is a Leadership Music alum and member of The Recording Academy, Americana Music Association, Gospel Music Association, CMA, ACM, and A2iM.
BMI Songwriters Featured During PRLA Annual Spring Meeting
Pictured (L-R): PRLA Pres/CEO John Longstreet, Wendell Mobley, Di Pietro Ristorante owner Pietro DiPietro, Tim James, Dan Couch, PRLA Board Chair & Priory Hospitality Group President John Graf and BMI’s Dan Spears.
This year’s Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association (PRLA) Annual Spring Meeting, held May 16, featured a songwriter showcase that included three of BMI’s most successful country writers. The PRLA aims to promote, protect and improve the hospitality industry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and works together with BMI to support the value of music within the industry.
Award-winning BMI songwriters Wendell Mobley, Tim James and Dan Couch told the stories behind their songs and performed some No. 1 hits they have written for country artists like Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Lee Brice and Kip Moore.
Sony Red, ‘Stache Media Open Nashville Offices
Pictured (L-R): Billie Jean Sarullo, Samantha Gable, Alan Becker, Bob Morelli, Allison Moore, Dewayne Brown
Sony Red Nashville and ‘Stache Media music distribution and artist development firm has made the move to the Music Row area, opening offices at 1014 16th Avenue South. The staff held an opening party for industry on Monday, May 16 during Nashville’s Music Biz conference.
The division of Sony Music Entertainment is headquartered in New York City and specializes in digital and physical sales, digital and retail marketing, DTC, radio promotion and product development. The Nashville offices can be reached at 615-252-2500.