CMT has announced the first round of performers for the 2023 CMT Music Awards, broadcasting live from Moody Center in Austin, Texas on April 2.

 Kelsea Ballerini will return to the CMT stage as both co-host and performer this year, and co-host Kane Brown will perform hit duet “Thank God” alongside his wife, Katelyn. Blake Shelton plans to take the CMT Music Award stage for the first time in five years to perform “No Body.”

Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Keith Urban and Lainey Wilson are the evening’s newest additions, joining 25-time winner Carrie Underwood, the most decorated artist in CMT history CMT will continue announcing performers and presenters in the coming weeks.

Leading the nominations this year is Wilson, who is up for four categories and performing her hit “Heart Like a Truck.” Johnson, Brown and first-time nominee Jelly Roll follow with three nominations each. CMT is welcoming 21 artists as first-time nominees including Bailey Zimmerman, Jackson Dean, The War And Treaty and Wynonna Judd.

Fan voting for the 2023 CMT Music Awards is open through March 27.

For a full list of nominations, click here.

The 2023 CMT Music Awards will air live on CBS April 2 at 8 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT, and will be available to watch live and on demand on Paramount+. The Award’s Extended Cut airs on CMT April 6 at 8 p.m. ET/11:30 p.m. PT.

Pat Morris

Pat Morris, Executive Director of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), has announced his plan to resign and return to the East Coast due to family medical issues.

The Board has approved former Executive Director Paul Schiminger to serve as Interim Executive Director until a permanent hire is made.

Throughout the past two years, Morris has led the organization in raising money for the IBMA Trust Fund, orchestrated the return of IBMA World of Bluegrass to Raleigh through COVID restrictions and a hurricane emergency, launched the IBMA International Band Performance Grant Program and IBMA Office Sessions, and grew the organization’s membership.

“I want to personally thank Pat for his hard work and dedication to the IBMA,” says Schiminger. “Having worked closely with him, I can attest that he was honored to serve the bluegrass community. My passion for the IBMA and bluegrass music is as strong as ever, and I look forward to working with the talented staff to make this year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass a memorable and successful celebration of our music. I also look forward to working with the next Executive Director to help realize our association’s bright future.”

“Life has a way of changing our plans,” says Morris. “I am going to miss IBMA and its wonderful members. I have been honored to do my part in helping position the industry for growth and innovation. It will always be about the music, and I wish everyone in the bluegrass community all the best.”

Pictured (L-R): Tim Rushlow, Larry Stewart and Richie McDonald. Photo: David Abbott

The Frontmen have signed with BMG/BBR Music Group.

The trio of Richie McDonald (formerly of Lonestar), Tim Rushlow (formerly of Little Texas) and Larry Stewart (Restless Heart) boasts a collective arsenal of 30 No. 1 hits and over 30 million records sold. They are set to release new music this year as well as new, re-recorded versions of their greatest hits, enlisting Mickey Jack Cones as producer.

“Tim, Larry and Richie were instantly recognizable and celebrated voices of their era, who consistently racked up Airplay and Sales success,” says Jon Loba, President of BMG Nashville. “Since the three joined forces to become The Frontmen, fans are not only continuing to celebrate their previous individual hits, but reacting passionately to their fresh, compelling and contemporary sound that while completely new, still has a warm familiarity of their instantly recognizable past. We can’t wait to reacquaint a generation of country music fans with these incredible and proven voices, while introducing them to an entirely new generation.”

The group initially began as a one-off salute to the troops, but it quickly grew into a series of tours that found the three performing for armed forces around the world. The success of the tours created a more permanent vision and The Frontmen began selling out shows from coast-to-coast, driven by a setlist that is considered the soundtrack of a generation. 

The trio has also signed with Oswald Entertainment Group for management, UTA for booking, Absolute Publicity for PR representation and Clyde Bright for business management. 

In addition to their 2023 tour dates, The Frontmen will perform on June 11 at CMA Fest on the Dr. Pepper Amp Stage.

Pictured (L-R): Symphonic’s Eric Olson, Shackelford Law’s Christian Barker, Alex Angelo, Symphonic’s Randall Foster and Melissa Barber.

Nashville-based producer and songwriter Alex Angelo has signed a global publishing agreement with Symphonic Distribution.

Angelo is the flagship writer for the brand new publishing branch of Symphonic, helmed by CCO Randall Foster and Creative Director Eric Olson.

The young musician learned from mentors including Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Antonio Dixon, and has collaborated with Patrick “J. Que” Smith (Usher, Britney Spears, Chris Brown), Gayle, Christian Stalnecker (Kane Brown, Chris Young), DQ (Beyonce, Jason Derulo, Demi Lovato), Willie Jones and more. Angelo is currently working on releasing his own music in addition to writing for other artists.

“We are thrilled to bring Alex into the family as our first signed writer,” says Foster. “His versatility and work ethic are refreshing and we cannot wait to do big things with him.”

Pictured (L-R): Greg Gallo (Reservoir), Beth St. Jean (Reservoir), T.D. Ruth (attorney with Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy Worob & Averill LLP), Christian Stalnecker, John Ozier (Reservoir)

Reservoir has announced the signing of with Grammy-nominated writer-producer Christian Stalnecker. The publishing deal includes Stalnecker’s future works, as well as several previous releases including the No. 1 hits “Thank God” by Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown, “Different Man” by Kane with Blake Shelton and “Rescue Me” by Chris Young, among others.

With Kane and Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God,” Stalnecker earned his first No. 1 as a songwriter. The tune held the top spot on Country Airplay for two weeks and also reached No. 13 on the Hot 100, No. 21 on Mediabase’s Top 40 radio chart and No. 26 on American Top 40 Hot AC chart, demonstrating its success across genres.

Stalnecker began his career in a Christian revival family band before beginning to pursue pop music in high school. He landed support slots on tours with Destiny’s Child, Christina Aguilera, the Backstreet Boys and more. After relocating to Los Angeles, he wrote for artists such as El DeBarge and Dreezy. Since moving to Nashville, Stalnecker has collaborated with artists such as T-Pain, Rick Ross, Wale, Kane Brown, Chris Young and many more. Stalnecker was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Album for Second Chance by El DeBarge.

Of the deal, Stalnecker says, “As a southern boy from Florida, who grew up on a bus in Christian music, who wound up being a pop artist, who wrote R&B and hip-hop songs, who ended up with country hits—I am thrilled to work with the Reservoir team to continue writing across genres from Nashville.” He adds, “I can’t think of a better crew to do it with. There’s a bright future ahead for all of us, and excited to be on this journey with this team.”

Reservoir EVP of Creative, John Ozier, shares, “Christian has an innate ability to write melodies that transcend genres. His recent Kane and Katelyn Brown hit is exactly the kind of song Christian is so adept at creating—music that has massive crossover appeal. We are so excited to be supporting him as he continues to write hits in multiple formats.”