Austin’s Moody Center Surpasses $15 Million In Ticket Sales Ahead Of Grand Opening

Moody Center, the new 15,000+ seat arena on The University of Texas’ campus in Austin, has surpassed over $15 million in ticket sales for upcoming concerts and live events ahead of its official grand opening.

The venue will be christened on April 29 and 30 with the “Strait from Moody Center” presented by Bud Light. The two sold-out shows will feature George Strait with special guests Willie Nelson & Family and Randy Rogers Band.

“Austinites and the surrounding communities love live music and entertainment. Austin has a unique vibe and music is still at the center of it,” says Casey Sparks, assistant general manager of Moody Center. “In all my years of working in this industry, I haven’t seen a calendar this full of artists wanting to come to a city. This will be an inaugural year of non-stop entertainment.”

Leading up to the grand opening celebration, Moody Center will host 7x Grammy award-winning artist John Mayer on April 20 and 21 and Grammy award-winning global entertainer Justin Bieber on April 27. Also included in Moody Center’s lineup are 6x Grammy award-winning act Eagles performing on May 19 and 20, Jack White on May 25, Italian phenomenon Andrea Bocelli on June 22, The Killers on Sept. 9, and Shawn Mendes on Oct. 3. For a full lineup of upcoming shows, click here.

Vista 22 Entertainment Adds Tristan Tritt To Artist Management Roster

Tristan Tritt

Nashville-based Vista 22 Entertainment has signed 22-year-old Tristan Tritt to its artist management roster.

The oldest son of country music mainstay Travis Tritt, the Georgia native’s style incorporates heavier rock driven performances rather than his family’s outlaw country music roots.

Tritt started playing guitar at a young age and grew up on the road.

Dan Lavery and Patra Sinner of Vista 22 share: “He knows the direction he wants this to go, he has the talent to make it happen and he is ready to put in the hard work. We couldn’t be more excited to start this journey with Tristan.”

With the advisement of Vista 22 and long-time family friend Mike “Cheez” Brown, Tritt is currently in the studio writing and recording with Leroy Powell, a part of his father’s band. Fans can expect two new singles from Tritt in the first quarter of 2022 with his first full length EP to follow.

Odyssey Entertainment Group Expands Offices By Four

Pictured (L-R): Kerriann Salmon, Gabi Coccio, Riley Reed, and Julianne Hatton

Odyssey Entertainment Group, a women-run management company, has expanded its Nashville and New York teams with 4 employees.

Commenting on the expansion, Odyssey Entertainment Group’s co-owner Paige Kosinski shares, “Since we launched in February 2021, we’ve dreamed of being able to add creative-minded, intelligent, and motivated women to our team.”

Gabi Coccio has been promoted to Management Coordinator, a role that entails running influencer campaigns for part of the company roster. This promotion comes after previously working as an intern and Management Assistant for the company. She’s a Belmont University alum with previous internship experience at Rixon Entertainment Group, Kore Public Relations, The AMG, and TKO Artist Management.

Julianne Hatton has been named Management Assistant, working on company administrative duties and organizing campaign information for the roster of influencers. The Belmont University graduate previously served as Marketing Coordinator for City Winery.

Riley Reed has joined the team as Campaign Manager, working on handling influencer brand deals and talent coordination. She has past industry experience at companies including Live Nation, Creative Artists Agency, and Prime Social Group.

Kerriann Salmon has been named Influencer & Artist Project Manager. Based in New York City, she will assist in meeting the creative needs of the company’s roster of artists as well as the logistics behind all special projects for the influencer roster.

Travis Tritt. Photo: Jeremy Cowart

Travis Tritt will launch his “Set In Stone” tour this spring.

Beginning March 11 in Orange Beach, Alabama, the tour will visit Shreveport, North Charleston, Topeka, Jacksonville, and 13 other cities across the country through May 1. Fans will have the opportunity to hear songs from Tritt’s recent album, Set In Stone, during the shows, which features 11 new songs and was produced by Dave Cobb.

Throughout the course of his career, Tritt has recorded eleven studio albums, charted five No. 1s, and earned 20 Top 10 hits, including “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore,” “Can I Trust You with My Heart,” “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” “Here’s A Quarter,” “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive,” and more.

Tickets for the shows or more information on the dates can be found here.

“Set In Stone” Tour Dates:
March 11 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater
March 12 – Shreveport, LA – Shreveport Municipal Auditorium (on-sale now)
March 18 – Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center (on-sale now)
March 19 – Hagerstown, MD – The Maryland Theatre (on-sale now)
March 25 – Cherokee, NC – Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center
March 26 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center (on-sale now)
March 31 – Evansville, IN – Victory Theatre
April 1 – Cape Girardeau, MO – Show Me Center
April 2 – Robinsonville, MS – Gold Strike Millennium Theatre
April 9 – Cocoa, FL – Cocoa Riverfront Park
April 10 – Ormond Beach, FL – The Pavilion at Destination Daytona
April 14 – Topeka, KS – Topeka Performing Arts Center (on-sale date – 1/14)
April 15 – Wichita, KS – Century II Performing Arts Center
April 16 – Springfield, MO – Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts (on-sale date – 1/14)
April 22 – Dalton, GA – Dalton Convention Center (on-sale now)
April 23 – Peachtree City, GA – Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater
May 1 – Jacksonville, FL – Florida Theatre

DelFest is returning to Cumberland, Maryland on May 26-29 after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

The lineup for this year’s festival is set to include hosts The Del McCoury Band and The Travelin’ McCourys, along with performances from Railroad Earth, Bela Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart, Sam Bush, Leftover Salmon, Watchhouse, California Honeydrops, Sierra Hull, Anders Osborne & Jackie Green, Cabinet, The Lil Smokies, and more.

Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets for the genre-spanning festival are on sale now.

In addition to traditional stage sets by world-class artists, attendees can expect one-of-a-kind collaborations, special guest sit-ins, various tributes to McCoury and his musical legacy, and intimate appearances from artists on the lineup.

Taylor Swift. Photo: Beth Garrabrant

Taylor Swift maintains both the No. 1 song and album on the country charts for the week ending on Dec. 23, 2021. “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” adds 8.6 million streams, contributing to a cumulative 113 million RTD. The single comes from the week’s No. 1 album, Red (Taylor’s Version), which earned 76,000 in total consumption (46,000 album only/36 million song streams).

Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album takes the second spot on the top country albums, gaining 48,000 in total consumption (4,000 album only/54 million song streams). Burl Ives‘ Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer comes in third with 35,000 streams, Brenda Lee‘s Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree takes fourth with 31,000 streams, and Carrie Underwood‘s My Gift seals the top five with 29,000 streams.

Walker Hayes‘ “Fancy Like” keeps its place at No. 2 on the country songs chart with 7 million streams, and Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan stay at No. 3 as “Buy Dirt” earns 5.2 million streams. Dustin Lynch and Mackenzie Porter move up one to fourth with “Thinking ‘Bout You” adding 5.1 million streams, knocking Wallen down to No. 5 as “Wasted On You” gains 4.4 million streams.

The Nashville skyline during Nashville’s Big Bash on Dec. 31, 2021. Photo: Alan Poizner/Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp

Nashville’s Big Bash New Year’s Eve event lived up to its name over the weekend, with approximately 200,000 people attending the star-studded, five-hour show downtown.

This year’s event was a primetime New Year’s Eve concert special on CBS, which featured heavy hitters Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and more.

The Bash was anchored at Nashville’s annual free concert and music note drop at Bicentennial Mall, but also moved around to some of Music City’s famed honky-tonks and a rooftop stage setting for the night’s many performances.

Co-host Bobby Bones dubbed the show a “once-in-a-lifetime New Year’s Eve bar crawl,” which featured some of Nashville’s biggest names taking the stage at their own bars, including Lambert from her Casa Rosa Cantina; Bryan from 32 Bridge; and Shelton from Ole Red.

All attendees age 11 and up were required to either submit a negative COVID test or could volunteer proof of vaccination to gain entry. The production, backstage crew and artists underwent stringent testing protocols in the days leading up to the event.