Mia McNeal. Photo: Danielle Shields Photography

Mia McNeal has joined the CMA as Senior Director, Industry Relations & Inclusion.

In the newly-created strategic role, McNeal will serve CMA’s commitment to nurturing an inclusive and equitable culture. Through community building, strategic planning and internal assessment, she will help shepherd the organization and the country industry towards greater connection.

As a key member of CMA’s Industry Relations team, McNeal will be responsible for guiding the organization’s DEI strategies and initiatives for CMA staff, members and industry partners, as well as liaising and optimizing with the industry.

Prior to joining CMA, McNeal owned and operated the Ceteris Consulting Group, where she developed diversity, equity and inclusion practices and policies for companies. With a track record for creating belonging concepts, McNeal brings more than 20 years of experience in leading inclusion-related initiatives and programs.

“Mia joined CMA the week before CMA Fest and has already hit the ground running,” says Tiffany Kerns, CMA Vice President, Industry Relations & Philanthropy. “We are thrilled to welcome a truly innovative individual to CMA, who not only shares our commitment to building an inclusive future for our industry where everyone feels welcome, but someone who brings an authentic passion for bettering our business.”

She continues, “We recognize that by building a more diverse industry, we have the opportunity to produce better ideas, expand growth and success, and create greater connection with all communities country music serves. We look forward to sharing more progress soon as Mia further adds to our work already underway.”

McNeal will report directly to Kerns and can be reached at mmcneal@cmaworld.com.

Gilles Godard has been promoted to President of Anthem Nashville Music Publishing. Godard, who previously held the global Senior Vice President of Publishing position, replaces Tim Wipperman, who will be leaving the company at the end of the month.

After joining Anthem in 2006, Godard has been an instrumental force in helping build the company’s publishing catalog. He helped Anthem acquire a Jody Williams catalog containing several Taylor Swift and Liz Rose copyrights that were included in her re-release of Fearless, and he oversaw Anthem’s acquisition of country hits from songwriter Kelly Archer, who he initially signed in 2008. Under Godard’s leadership, singer, guitarist and Anthem Records artist, José Feliciano, released the collaboration “Eagle When She Flies” with Dolly Parton in September of 2021.

“I am thrilled to announce Gilles as President of Anthem Music Publishing Nashville,” says Anthem Entertainment CEO Helen Murphy. “Gilles is a true creative at heart and he has spent the last several years working with me, the global business team, our talent, and society partners making him a great fit for the new role. I believe we have one of the best creative teams in all of country music and I am excited to see Gilles take Anthem Nashville Music Publishing to new heights. We all wish Tim well on his next adventure.”

Godard shares, “I am honored to be appointed President of Anthem Nashville Music Publishing and I look forward to working with our CEO Helen Murphy and our amazing team and roster of world class writers. I believe that our job as publishers is to provide the best opportunities for our writers and to ensure that the hits they write are heard around the world. As I like to say, the future always exceeds the past, and here’s to a great future!”

Details regarding Wipperman’s next move will be announced in the coming weeks.

Ingrid Andress. Photo: Olivia Bee

Ingrid Andress‘ sophomore album, Good Person, will be released on Aug. 26 via Warner Music Nashville / Atlantic Records. As a preview of the music to come, she has released a special track from the project, “Pain,” which is available now alongside a music video directed by Olivia Bee.

On the new track, Andress speaks to a past version of herself, reminding her that pain is a necessary part of growing. The accompanying music video follows Andress through a period of self-reflection, where she eventually discovers a budding flower, showing that with pain comes new beginnings.

Throughout the record’s 12 tracks, the 3x Grammy nominee returns to her signature brand of reflection and confession, with co-writing and co-producing credits throughout. Good Person will also feature the recently released song “Seeing Someone Else” and titular track “Good Person.”

“Making this album was one of the most painful processes I’ve ever been through, but it was also the brightest and the best,” Andress admits. “The first album was me trying to discover who I was as an artist, but the last two years forced me to really sink into what my reality was and what I was feeling. It led me to what this album is, which is me realizing I wasn’t happy and that I needed to fix it.”

She continues, “This album not only helped me grow as a person, but also as a producer. I realized how scared a lot of people are to push boundaries and how I am not, that’s my bread and butter,” she says. “Isn’t that the goal, to discover new things? What are we doing here if we’re not trying to make new art?”

This album follows Andress’ record-breaking debut, Lady Like, named one of Billboard’s Top 10 Best Country Albums of 2020. The LP earned Andress three Grammy nominations for Best New Artist, Best Country Album, and Best Country Song for the multi-Platinum No. 1 single “More Hearts Than Mine.”

She is currently in the top 25 at country radio with “Wishful Drinking” featuring Sam Hunt. The fan-favorite track has garnered over 130 million global streams, debuting at No. 8 on Spotify’s all-genre Top 10 USA Song Debuts Chart and remaining within the top 20 on their Hot Country chart since its release.

With nearly a billion global streams, Andress will join Keith Urban for his 52-date North American “The Speed of Now World Tour,” which kicks off this Friday (June 17) in Tampa, Florida.

Good Person Track List:
1. Good Person (Ingrid Andress, Steph Jones, Sam Ellis)*
2. Yearbook (Ingrid Andress, Pete Good, Shane McAnally, Derrick Southerland)*
3. Seeing Someone Else (Ingrid Andress, Derrick Southerland, Jesse Frasure)*
4. Talk (Ingrid Andress, Alex Stacey, Tommy Gee, David Fremberg, Mich Hansen)*
5. How Honest Do You Want Me to Be? (Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis, Derrick Southerland)*
6. No Choice (Ingrid Andress, AJ Pruis, Liz Rose)**
7. Pain (Ingrid Andress, Laura Veltz, Sam Ellis)*
8. Feel Like This (Ingrid Andress, Julia Michaels, Sam Ellis)*
9. Blue (Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis, Derrick Southerland, Shane McAnally)*
10. Falling For You (Ingrid Andress, Derrick Southerland, Sam Ellis)*
11. All the Love (Ingrid Andress, Derrick Southerland, Sam Ellis)*
12. Things That Haven’t Happened Yet (Ingrid Andress, Derrick Southerland, Sam Ellis)
*Produced by: Ingrid Andress & Sam Ellis
**Produced by: Ingrid Andress & AJ Pruis

Live On The Green

Lightning 100, Nashville’s independent radio station, has announced the return of Live On The Green after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Slated for Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-5, this year’s event will take place at Nashville’s Public Square Park.

“In 2020, we turned to our Nashville listeners to help Save Our Airwaves,” shares Lester Turner, President of Tuned in Broadcasting, Lightning 100 and the Executive Producer of Live On The Green. “We were humbled by the way the community stepped up to keep the music playing on Nashville’s Independent Radio… Lightning 100 celebrates all things local, delivering on our commitment to serve our community–which includes presenting Live On The Green as a free, multi-day festival again in 2022.”

Among the first acts added to the 2022 lineup are Moon Taxi, The Shindellas and LadyCouch, as announced exclusively on 100.1 FM yesterday (June 15). The full lineup and schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

Live on the Green will continue to be free and open to the public with five-day premium packages available for purchase, including Reserved Seating, Lightning 100 Lounge, or VIP Plaza. These upgrades will be available beginning Friday, June 17 at 10 a.m. CT.

Chris Stapleton‘s musical career will be chronicled in a brand new exhibit at the Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum, “Chris Stapleton: Since 1978,” presented by Ram Trucks.

Stapleton’s 1966 Gibson Trini Lopez Standard electric guitar, used during the recording of his song “Traveller.” This item will be on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s upcoming exhibition on Chris Stapleton, opening on Friday, July 1. Photo: Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Opening July 1 and running through May 14, 2023, the exhibit will shine a spotlight on Stapleton’s multi-faceted career, from his Kentucky roots and success as a Nashville songwriter to his rise to stardom as one of country’s most unique voices.

Items featured in “Chris Stapleton: Since 1978” include Stapleton’s first guitar amplifier; a 1960s Gibson GA-8 Discoverer; the Pendleton flannel jacket, Dee Cee denim western shirt, and Manuel leather vest worn by Stapleton on the album cover of his 2015 album Traveller; and much more.

A powerhouse singer, songwriter and musician, Stapleton has collaborated with artists ranging from Country Music Hall of Fame member Bobby Bare and Carlos Santana to Justin Timberlake and P!nk. Before his breakout success with his quadruple-Platinum album Traveller, he proved his musical mettle for more than a decade as one of Nashville’s in-demand songwriters.

Gary Allan (“Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey”) and Patty Loveless (“Higher Than the Wall”) were among the first to release songs written by Stapleton in 2003, but he scored his first Billboard No. 1 hit as a songwriter with Josh Turner’s “Your Man” in 2006. As a songwriter, Stapleton has also earned Billboard No. 1s with Kenny Chesney (“Never Wanted Nothing More”), Darius Rucker (“Come Back Song”), Luke Bryan (“Drink a Beer”) and Thomas Rhett (“Crash and Burn”), as well as three of his own recordings.

Chris Stapleton wore this Pendleton flannel jacket, Dee Cee denim western shirt and Manuel leather vest on the album cover of Traveller. This item will be on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s upcoming exhibition on Chris Stapleton, opening on Friday, July 1. Photo: Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

In addition to his own hits, more than 170 of his songs have been recorded by artists, including Alison Krauss and Union Station, George Strait, Sheryl Crow, Lee Ann Womack and more.

“Chris Stapleton is a powerful and emotive singer, a prolific and poetic songwriter and a skilled and expressive guitar player,” shares Kyle Young, CEO for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “His rise as a successful artist may have seemed instantaneous to many, but he has been a force in country music for more than 20 years–whether writing hit songs for other country artists or contributing to studio recordings. Throughout it all, he has maintained his own unique perspective by staying true to his authentic self and artistic vision, and he continues to open the door to country music for new fans across generations and genres.”