Chase Rice has partnered with Forward Hospitality Group to open a second location of his Welcome to The Farm entertainment venue.

The brand-new Florida location, set to open in late July, joins the flagship location in Cleveland, Ohio which opened in December 2021. Rice has been an integral part of the design process and location selection for both venues, which offer live music, drinks and food in an environment representing the lifestyle behind his music.

“It was incredible to see the response to Welcome to The Farm up in Ohio,” shares Rice. “I learned so much through that process and I’m excited to keep growing this project together with the great people at FHG. I’m a North Carolina guy through and through, but I was born in Florida and spent a lot of my childhood there,” he continues. “It’s one of my favorite places to visit and to find inspiration for my music–so it seemed only fitting to bring Welcome to The Farm there, too.”

The renovated building is located in the heart of St. Pete’s Central Arts District near the coast of Tampa Bay. Anchored by a stage which will play host to frequent live music, the space also offers both indoor and outdoor space to enjoy the bar menu.

“St. Pete has been on our radar for over a year,” notes Forward Hospitality Group COO Bobby Rutter. “The growth in the market coupled with the area’s love for live music is extremely exciting.”

Copyright Society Of The South Celebrates Songwriter Don Schlitz

The Copyright Society of the South celebrated a special evening with songwriter Don Schlitz recently at Studio Bank in Nashville. He performed several of his songs and told the stories behind the tunes.

Schlitz was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and his chart-topping songs include “The Gambler,” “On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” “The Greatest,” and “When You Say Nothing At All,” among others. His works have been recorded by Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, The Judds, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tanya Tucker, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Keith Whitley, Alison Krauss, and more.

Of his fifty top 10 singles, 24 of them are No. 1 country hits. Schlitz has won three CMA Song of the Year awards, two ACM Song of the Year prizes, two Grammy Awards, and four consecutive ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year trophies (1988-91). He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.

 

 

Craig Morgan Inducted Into The U.S. Field Artillery Hall Of Fame

Country music entertainer and 17-year Army and Army Reserves veteran Craig Morgan was recently inducted into the U.S. Field Artillery Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where Morgan was previously stationed during his military service.

The Hall recognizes a wide array of Field Artillery men and women who have contributed greatly to the branch. The United States Field Artillery Association [USFAA] class of 2022 included 33 past honorees of the USFAA Music Tattoo and four living Medal of Honor Awardees who served in the Field Artillery. In addition to those 37 individuals, eleven inductees were chosen for this new distinction.

Morgan shares stories from all aspects of his life, including serving at Fort Sill, in his personal memoir releasing Sept. 27 in partnership with Blackstone Publishing.

 

Big Feat PR CEO Doug Hall Wins Clio Music Award

Doug Hall, CEO of Big Feat PR, has been awarded a Clio Music Award for Yola‘s Stand For Myself album publicity campaign. The award acknowledged the PR campaign’s creativity and impact, helping spotlight the breakout album which received two Grammy nominations.

Hall states: “It is truly an honor to be acknowledged for the love and passion put into the publicity for Yola’s remarkable Stand For Myself album. It is a masterpiece and I’m so grateful that it was praised highly and received the attention it deserved.”

Big Feat PR, a Nashville-based boutique artist, event and brand music PR agency, also represents artists including Marcus King, Afghan Whigs, Robert Finley, S.G Goodman, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and works with labels including Universal Music Group, Verve, Decca, Concord, Easy Eye Sound, Rounder, Fantasy, Thirty Tiger, Oh Boy and New West.

The company was founded in 2018 by Hall, a Nashville-based British music publicist. He previously worked at agencies including LD Communications, working with bands such as The Rolling Stones. In 2014, Hall founded D Digital PR, where he managed successful UK campaigns for high profile artists and events including Chris Stapleton, Alison Krauss, The Lumineers, Gregory Porter, Melody Gardot, and more.

Morgan Wallen once again explodes on to the top country streaming songs chart this week as the east Tennessee native owns 4 of the top 5 songs this week and 6 of the top 10.

The newest release in Wallen’s string of new music, “You Proof,” debuts at No. 1 with 21 million streams, according to Luminate data. “Thought You Should Know” takes second with 9.9 million streams, “Wasted On You” sits in third with 8.2 million streams, and “Whiskey Glasses” re-enters the top five at the last slot with 6.2 million streams. The only other artist in the top 5 this week is Zach Bryan at No. 4 with “Something In The Orange” gaining 8.1 million streams.

Wallen continues to dominate on the albums front, taking up two spots on the top five. Dangerous: The Double Album maintains its place at No. 1 with 55K in total consumption (1.4K album only/68 million song streams). He also takes the third spot as If I Know Me moves its way up the chart, gaining 18K in total consumption.

Luke Combs also claims two spots on the albums chart: No. 2 with What You See Is What You Get adding 19K in total consumption and No. 4 as This One’s For You earns 18K in total consumption. Taylor Swift‘s Red (Taylor’s Version) seals the top five with 15K in total consumption.

BMI hosted a mixer on May 19 for Leadership Music’s Board of Directors and Black alumni to celebrate the creation of Leadership Music’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The committee is co-chaired by Phil Hughley (LM ’15), Erick Long (LM ’16) and Shannon Sanders (LM ’17).

Leadership Music was founded in 1989 by 12 music industry execs who had graduated from Leadership Nashville. They recognized that there was a unique sense of camaraderie to the Nashville music community and a need for a program designed to ensure and protect the dialogue and relationship building within the Nashville music community.

Currently the national program in Nashville has graduated more than 1,300 leaders from across the country in virtually every segment of the entertainment industry, as well as community leaders, including two Nashville mayors, the deputy chief of police and a Tennessee Congressman.