The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) is accepting suggestions of songwriter candidates for its Board of Directors, Dispute Resolution Committee and Unclaimed Royalties Oversight Committee.

Recommendations can be made here until May 26.

Under the Music Modernization Act (MMA), certain governance positions at The MLC are reserved for representatives of songwriters. The MLC will submit all recommendations it receives to the Board’s Songwriter Nominating Committee for consideration. Board and committee members sit for three-year terms and may be re-elected.

The MLC’s Board of Directors and committees meet regularly, and all meetings allow for virtual participation such that travel is not generally required. Members are expected to devote sufficient time to prepare for and participate fully in all meetings.

Old Crow Medicine Show will unveil their new album Union Made on June 5 on Hartland Records via Firebird Music.

The project features appearances from nearly a dozen guests including Maggie Rose, Turnpike Troubadours’ Evan Felker, Jesse Welles, John Carter Cash and Ana Cristina Cash. The projects reflects upon the people, places and stories of America.

“This is a fascinating time in our short history as a nation,” Secor says. “We wanted to meet that moment by collecting a bunch of songs that speak to the joys and potentials, the rights and the wrongs of where we are today, where we’re going, and what can embolden us to have a more perfect union in the future. There are wonderful, ghostly American sounds that only bands steeped in folk music traditions know how to conjure, and it seems like an important time for those voices to be heard.”

The first preview, “My Side Of The Mountain,” is available now. Written by Ketch Secor, Molly Tuttle and Luke Combs, the song features Tuttle, Del McCoury and Ronnie McCoury.

“Molly Tuttle and I got together with Luke Combs to write this song,” shares Secor. “Both Luke and I owe a lot to the scenic town of Boone, high in the hills of westernmost North Carolina where the song is set. Another musician with deep roots in the area is Bluegrass legend Del McCoury. ‘My Side of the Mountain’ celebrates the distinct culture and sound of the Appalachian people of WNC, some of our country’s most self-reliant folk. This song is for them.”

The band also recently announced the first ever vinyl release of their 2006 sophomore album Big Iron World, remastered by producer David Rawlings and been on the road this year for their “Back to the Roots Tour.”

Union Made Track List:
1. “Howdy Do America (feat. Jesse Welles)” (Ketch Secor, Jody Stevens)
2. “Lincoln Highway” (Ketch Secor)
3. “My Side Of The Mountain (feat. Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury & Molly Tuttle)” (Ketch Secor, Luke Combs, Molly Tuttle)
4. “Revolution Now (feat. Evan Felker)” (Ketch Secor, Lee Oskar)
5. “Last American Waltz” (Ketch Secor, Critter Fuqua)
6. “Merrimack & Monitor” (Ketch Secor)
7. “Rainbow Stew” (Merle Haggard)
8. “Rye Whiskey” (Ketch Secor)
9. “Beautiful Land (feat. Maggie Rose & Lee Oskar)” (Ketch Secor, Eric Tyrone Dozier)
10. “Lewis and Clark” (Ketch Secor)
11. Y’all All Come (feat. John Carter Cash & Ana Cristina Cash)” (Ketch Secor)
12. “For What It’s Worth” (Stephen Stills)

Mastering engineer Raelynn Janicke, Custom House at Guitar Center Moderator Davey Rieley, Grammy®-winning producer/mixer F. Reid Shippen and multi-No 1 songwriter Jamie Moore. Photo: Courtesy of Guitar Center, Canaan Kagay

Guitar Center Business Solutions hosted its inaugural integrated technology expo Resonate at Nashville’s Music City Center on April 9.

The free, one-day event brought together account managers across the Business Solutions brands, 30-plus key manufacturer partners, and hundreds of industry professionals, innovators and creators for a day of education, demonstrations and live experiences focused on the future of audio, video and integrated systems.

Nashville was selected as the host city for its reflection of today’s converging markets and its status as headquarters of Guitar Center Business Solutions, which includes Audio Video Design Group, Guitar Center Professional, Custom House at Guitar Center and the Guitar Center Music Foundation.

Curtis Heath, Guitar Center Business Solutions President, gave the opening remarks, followed by a diverse lineup of sessions and experiences. Highlights included a standing-room-only keynote presentation from Coach Micheal Burt, presentations from Shure, Logitech, QSC, Legrand and Electro-Voice, a live radio broadcast from WSM Radio’s Lexi Carter, an appearance by the Titans Cheerleaders in support of Guitar Center’s partnership with the Titans’ new Nissan Stadium, and a Nashville songwriter round featuring Josh Phillips and Brock Berryhill.

The program also included a Guitar Center Music Foundation segment and concluded with a Pro Audio Solutions Panel titled “Technology, Workflow, and the Modern Creative Process,” featuring Nashville-based audio professionals F. Reid Shippen, Raelynn Janicke and Jamie Moore. Moderated by Custom House at Guitar Center’s Davey Rieley, It featured Shippen, a 12-time Grammy®=-winning producer and mixer and co-founder of ONCE.app; Janicke, mastering engineer at Infrasonic, with credits including Zach Bryan, Lake Street Dive, Benson Boone, The Shins and Hudson Westbrook; and  Moore, a multi-No. 1 songwriter whose work has been recorded by Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw and Morgan Wallen. The discussion explored how technology integrates into today’s creative process, from songwriting and production through mastering, while highlighting how different creators rely on different tools and workflows to bring ideas to life.

“Resonate was an excellent opportunity to bring together all the Business Solutions account managers, our key manufacturer partners and decision-makers across music, education and enterprise,” says Heath, Guitar Center Business Solutions President. “As systems are converging faster than organizations can adapt, the industry needs clear leadership around how everything connects, and Guitar Center Business Solutions is proud to meet that challenge. The Resonate expo marked a firm tentpole in that journey, with plenty more to come.”

Members of SOLID’s 2026 Board of Directors. Photo: Morgan Jergens

The Society of Leaders in Development (SOLID) hosted its 29th Annual Crawfish Boil on April 21 in the Sony Music Publishing parking lot.

This year’s event set a SOLID record with over 500 attendees, and was followed by an official after party at the Virgin Hotel Rooftop.

Attendees enjoyed crawfish from Spicy Heads Crawfish, non-seafood options from All Seasons Sports Grill, paired with a wide range of food, beverages. Participating vendors and partners included NB Goods, New Heights Brewery, Black Box Ice Cream Truck, White Squirrel Brewery, Black Sheep Tequila, Honeytree Meadery, Twisted Sistuhs, Image Brand Nashville, and more. The event also featured live music from DJ Dom and DJ Solo, games, and interactive experiences throughout the evening.

“After two years of attending the SOLID Crawfish Boil and hearing it called THE event in Nashville, being on the planning committee this year felt special,” shares SOLID’s 2026 Co-Chair, Shana Saunders. “It’s more than food and music, it’s real community. It took a lot to bring it all together, but working alongside Chandel, our social committee, and the SOLID family made it something I’m proud to be part of.”

Photo: Morgan Jergens

Photo: Morgan Jergens

Photo: Morgan Jergens

Photo: Morgan Jergens

Photo: Morgan Jergens

The Red Clay Strays will release their latest album Grateful via HBYCO Records/RCA Records on June 5. The electrifying opening track from the project, “Demons In Your Choir,” is out everywhere now.

“Demons In Your Choir” is a personal spiritual meditation unlike anything in the band’s previous body of work, swiftly building from a few stirring notes on the organ into a foot-stomping singalong, complete with wall-shaking guitar riffs and a backing gospel choir led by Grammy-winning musician Shannon Sanders.

Produced by Dave Cobb, Grateful is a collection of 11 soul-searching songs that can spill out of dance halls on Saturday night and fill church steeples on Sunday morning in equal measure. The album showcases The Red Clay Strays’ gift for time-tested soul and sweat-drenched rock on standout tracks like the churning hit single, “People Hatin’” and the tender “If I Didn’t Know You,” the latter joined by a heartwarming video co-starring avowed fan/comedian Matt Rife and fitness influencer Mariah Morse, boasting over 4.1 million views on YouTube. With Grateful, The Strays turn survival into jubilation on a celebration of faith, a soundtrack to gratitude, and a reflection of the road traveled along the way.

“Moment of Truth was a big album about having faith in dark times, looking to a higher power,” says The Red Clay Stray lead singer and guitarist Brandon Coleman. “And Made By These Moments focused on realizing those dark times that you were having to have faith through, which made you who you are. You made it through when you didn’t think you would. And now we’re at a point where we’re grateful. Looking to God in whatever situation you’re in is a denominator in all of the albums.”

“The title of the album’s a literal meaning to us at this moment in our careers,” adds bassist Andrew Bishop. “We’re grateful for how we came out of Made By These Moments and what we have now.”

The Red Clay Strays will celebrate Grateful with their biggest tour slate thus far, resuming tomorrow (April 24), with a top-billed appearance at Stagecoach. The band will hold a press conference on-site at the festival on April 24, which Amazon Music will broadcast exclusively that fans at 8:50 pm PT on Prime Video, the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, and the Amazon Music app. The group’s full Stagecoach set will also stream to fans worldwide here.

Another upcoming highlight will be the band’s special headline performance for the upcoming Season 52 of PBS’ Austin City Limits taping April 27 at the ACL Live at the Moody Theater, as well as hugely anticipated headline shows across the country through November.