Tre Twitty and Tayla Lynn, the grandchildren of Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, have joined forces to form the new country duo Twitty & Lynn and follow in the footsteps of their legendary relatives.

The two released their first full-length album, Cookin’ Up Lovin,’ on April 20. Produced by Scott Baggett, the 12-song compilation includes covers of three of Conway and Loretta’s No. 1s as a duo: “After the Fire Is Gone” (1971), “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” (1973) and their last No. 1 together “Feelins'”(1975). The project also features “Spiders and Snakes,” a Jim Stafford single that Conway and Loretta covered, and a remake of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire,” which was included as a tribute to Tayla’s mom.

The seven originals on the album, all co-written by the duo, include “Cookin’,” “Need Your Love (Give It Up),” “I Hate Me (For Lovin’ You),” “Hillbilly Git-Down,” “Me and You,” “Always Be You” and “Thinkin’ of a Number.”

The two are also collaborating on several other projects. Twitty & Lynn: Together Again is the name of their new podcast and a documentary series celebrating the power of music and family legacies. Produced by Nashville radio personality and country music historian Devon O’Day, the podcast debuted on April 5 with over 350,000 views its first week, and delves into everything from Conway and Loretta to online dating in front of a studio audience. The pilot episode of the docuseries will have a private screening in Nashville later this spring.

Cookin’ Up Lovin’ Track Listing:
(Side A)
1. “Cookin’ Up Lovin’” (Shelly Fairchild/Tayla Lynn/Mark Narmore/Tre Twitty)
2. “After the Fire Is Gone” (L.E. White)
3. “Need Your Love (Give It Up)” (Tayla Lynn/Mark Narmore/Liz Rose/Tre Twitty)
4. “Spiders and Snakes” (Jim Stafford/David Bellamy)
5. “Me and You” (Tayla Lynn/Mark Narmore/Tre Twitty)
6. “I Hate Me (For Lovin’ You)” (Scott Baggett/Tayla Lynn/Jeffrey Steele/Tre Twitty)
(Side B)
7. “Feelins’” (Troy Seals/Will Jennings)
8. “Always Be You” (Tayla Lynn/Mark Narmore/Tre Twitty)
9. “I’m on Fire” (Bruce Springsteen)
10. “Hillbilly Git-Down” (Scott Baggett/Tayla Lynn/Jeffrey Steele/Tre Twitty)
11. “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” (Becki Bluefield/Jim Owen)
12. “Thinkin’ of a Number” (Tayla Lynn/Mark Narmore/Tre Twitty)

The lineup has been unveiled for the upcoming Outside Lands Festival, taking place Aug. 9–11 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California.

Now in its 16th year, the festival will include performances by Sturgill Simpson, who is returning for his first full show in three years, as well as Tyler the Creator and The Killers. Post Malone will also return to the Outside Lands main stage to perform a special country set.

Other acts on the bill include The Postal Service, Grace Jones, Kaytranada, Jungle, Snoh Aalegra, Gryffin, Young the Giant, Schoolboy Q, Chappell Roan, Reneé Rapp, Victoria Monét, The Last Dinner Party and more.

Also coming back for 2024 is Dolores,’ an inclusive dance floor where everyone is welcome. The space aims to be a celebration of queer and trans communities. The full lineup for Dolores’ will be announced in the coming months.

Soma, the festival’s techno stage, will return with a new, open-air format and an expanded dance space featuring performances from Idris Elba, Uncle Waffles, The Blessed Madonna and Shiba San B2B CID, among others.

“Every year we start with a blank canvas and because of the diverse and sophisticated palette of Bay Area music fans, we get to program a festival that is not only multigenerational but shows an incredible range of genres and musical subcultures,” says Allen Scott, Co-Founder of Outside Lands and Head of Concerts & Festivals at Another Planet Entertainment.

Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) held its annual “World’s Largest No. 1 Party” on Tuesday (April 25) at Analog at the Hutton Hotel, recognizing the songwriters of 2023’s hits.

The morning celebration was held to honor all songs with a Nashville-associated writer that topped the Billboard Airplay, Digital, Hot or Mediabase charts during the period of January 2023–December 2023. Awards were presented by NSAI representatives Bart Herbison (Executive Director), Lyndsie McClure (Director of Development) and Jill Moody (Director of Membership) for a total of 21 songs who had writers present.

Additionally, NSAI gave its Champion Award to MusicRow Magazine’s Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson. The Champion Award recognizes an individual who shows unwavering support of songwriters, and serves as a champion for the music industry as a whole.

“Sherod Robertson and MusicRow are champions and appropriately deserve the NSAI Champion Award,” shared Herbison. “The Nashville music industry is lucky to have MusicRow and its associated publications. But we are also blessed that Sherod and his team have championed songwriters, females in the industry, and do amazing work on a daily basis.”

For the morning’s last award, Herbison welcomed special guest, veteran manager TK Kimbrell, to say a few words about the final No. 1 recipient, Toby Keith, who notched his last chart-topper with “Don’t Let The Old Man In” before his passing.

Kimbrell spoke about Keith’s love of songs and songwriters, sharing stories about how the country giant wrote many of his hits by himself, but that he knew a great outside song when he heard one.

“Toby Keith’s career was launched in NSAI’s headquarters, The Music Mill, many years ago when he was signed by Harold Shedd. Toby and TK Kimbrell supported NSAI and The Bluebird Cafe both financially and with their time and talents for many years,” Herbison shared. “We are grateful for Toby, and not a day passes by that we don’t feel his ongoing presence in The Music Mill.”

To end the event, Keith’s friend and frequent collaborator Scotty Emerick gave a moving performance of “Don’t Let the Old Man In.”

Songs recognized for reaching No. 1 between January 2023 – December 2023:

“Build A Boat”
Written by: Pete Becker, Colton Dixon, Michael Gormley, Johan Lindbrandt, Seth Mosley
Recorded by: Colton Dixon

“Can’t Have Mine”
Written by: Matt Alderman, Josh Melton, Dylan Scott, Dallas Wilson
Recorded by: Dylan Scott

“Dancin’ In The Country”
Written by: Ross Copperman, Tyler Hubbard, Jon Nite, Keith Urban
Recorded by: Tyler Hubbard

“Don’t Let The Old Man In”
Written by: Toby Keith
Recorded by: Toby Keith

“Down Home”
Written by: Jimmie Allen, Rian Ball, Cameron Bedell, Tate Howell
Recorded by: Jimmie Allen

“Girl In Mine”
Written by: Casey Brown, David Fanning, Matt Thomas, Travis Wood
Recorded by: Parmalee

“Going, Going, Gone”
Written by: Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher, James McNair
Recorded by: Luke Combs

“Handle On You”
Written by: Monty Criswell, Parker McCollum
Recorded by: Parker McCollum

“Heart Like A Truck”
Written by: Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson
Recorded by: Lainey Wilson

“I See Grace”
Written by: Zachary Kale, Micah Tyler, Matthew West
Recorded by: Micah Tyler

“Need A Favor”
Written by: Jason DeFord, Austin Nivarel, Joe Ragosta, Rob Ragosta
Recorded by: Jelly Roll

“Next Thing You Know”
Written by: Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, Josh Osborne
Recorded by: Jordan Davis

“Praise The Lord”
Written by: Jake Henry, Jeff Pardo, Micah Tyler
Recorded by: Micah Tyler

“Religiously”
Written by: Marty James, Alexander Palmer, Frank Romano, Austin Shawn, Bailey Zimmerman
Recorded by: Bailey Zimmerman

“Running Home”
Written by: Michael Cochren, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West
Recorded by: Cochren & Co.

“Tennessee Orange”
Written by: David Fanning, Paul Jenkins, Megan Moroney, Ben Williams
Recorded by: Megan Moroney

“Thank God”
Written by: Kyle Fishman, Jaxson Free, Josh Hoge, Jared Mullins, Christian Stalnecker
Recorded by: Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown

“Try That In A Small Town”
Written by: Kurt Allison, Kelley Lovelace, Tully Kennedy, Neil Thrasher
Recorded by: Jason Aldean

“Wild As Her”
Written by: Kelly Archer, Brett Tyler, Morgan Wallen
Recorded by: Corey Kent

“You, Me, And Whiskey”
Written by: Jessi Alexander, Brock Berryhill, Cole Taylor
Recorded by: Justin Moore & Priscilla Block

“Your Heart Or Mine”
Written by: Bart Butler, Justin Ebach, John Pierce
Recorded by: Jon Pardi

BMI brought Riley Green and his team together on Monday afternoon (April 22) to celebrate his chart-topper “Different ‘Round Here.”

The morning’s chill gave way to a beautiful afternoon atop the BMI building. Industry members enjoyed the view as they eagerly awaited BMI’s Clay Bradley to take to the podium. Gathered on stage were the song’s co-writers Jonathan Singleton, Randy Montana and Green.

Bradley opened the event by welcoming the guests, introducing the songwriters and nodding to the pivotal re-release of “Different ‘Round Here.” Originally released on Green’s 2019 album of the same name, the song was revitalized in a duet with country star Luke Combs, paving the way for Green’s second studio album Ain’t My Last Rodeo. Bradley continued, acknowledging Green as a “pivotal voice in the ‘new era’ of country music,” and congratulating Montana on his eighth No. 1.

Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment’s Jimmy Harnen and Scott Borchetta took the stage next, with Harnen stepping to the mic first to tout Green’s impressive numbers. “I spent the weekend with Riley on the road, and I saw some interesting stuff. He played in Tuscaloosa, Atlanta, North Carolina and Johnson City, and all four of these were sold out. Between today, and Riley’s June 1 show, he’ll sell over 90,000 tickets.”

Borchetta followed suit, praising Green and assuring the crowd they were just getting started. “Riley is an artist of the ages. He is quickly becoming one of our leading men, and I know none of you are surprised. He does the work, he makes the friends, and these audiences are properly losing their minds [for Green]. It’s all on the way up, and we are just scratching the surface with Riley Green.”

On deck to congratulate their songwriters were ASCAP’s Evyn Johnston, Warner Chappell’s Jessi Stevenson, Big Machine’s Alex Heddle and Spirit Music’s Mike Fiorentino. Following this, Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart stepped up to present a congratulatory donation to the Buford Bonds Charitable Fund, established by Green.

Next, it was time for the songwriters to speak. Singleton took the mic first, primed to take a few shots at his co-writers, “Thank you to the radio team that made this thing go No. 1. It wasn’t that great of a song, so we appreciate the hard work. Thank you to my family and my co-writers–Randy wrote a couple of words that day so that was fun. Thank you so much.”

After the laughter died down, Montana took the chance to speak to the writers’ bond saying, “When we get together to write a tune, we sit and talk about other stuff. We talk about hunting, fishing and more before we ever get to the writing part. I think it is cool to have a hit song with two guys that I genuinely love spending time with. Thank you to all the teams involved.”

“I only came today because I knew this would be the only time Jonathan had to say something nice about me, and he didn’t, he said the song was bad,” joked Green. “I am still fairly new to the country music world, and I have had some success with a great team. I know how tough it is for this to happen, so thank y’all for the hard work.”

Finally, producer Dan Huff stepped up from the crowd to say a few closing words, “Congrats to all you guys. All the superlatives are well placed, and I feel like we are on the right path and doing the right stuff. Thank you to all the teams that have worked so hard on this.”

Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves‘ “I Remember Everything” reclaims the top slot on the country streaming songs chart this week with 17 million new streams, adding to 672 million ATD, according to Luminate data.

Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘Em” trickles down to No. 2 with 14 million streams, adding to 198 million ATD, followed by Morgan Wallen‘s “Last Night” at No. 3 with 12.1 million new streams, adding to 1.3 billion ATD. Bryan’s “Something In The Orange” slides up to No. 4 with 12 million streams, adding to 1.3 billion ATD, while Wallen’s “Thinkin’ Bout Me” shifts down to No. 5 with 11.5 million new streams, adding to 722 million ATD.

The top five remain the same on the country albums chart as Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter continues at No. 1 with 98K in total consumption (28K album only/86 million song streams). Wallen’s One Thing At A Time stays at No. 2 with 71K (1.2K album only/91 million song streams), while his Dangerous: The Double Album notches No. 3 again with 40K (307 album only/52 million song streams). Bryan’s self-titled album bides at No. 4 with 37K (2K album only/46 million song streams), and his American Heartbreak follows at No. 5 with 29K (632 album only/37 million song streams).