Clay Walker, Tracy Lawrence

Clay Walker and Tracy Lawrence are joining forces for a new tour this spring that will visit nine cities through the month of March.

The tour kicks off on March 3 at Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, North Carolina with stops in Augusta, Chattanooga, Huntsville, Milwaukee and more through March 19. The two country stars will share a stage and band during the shows, performing alongside each other as they revisit some of their timeless hits as well as their latest releases. Tickets for the dates go on sale on Dec. 3.

Commemorating his three-decade career in 2021, Lawrence is releasing three new albums of all new music along with some of his favorite career hits. He also hosts the nationally syndicated radio show “Honky Tonkin’ With Tracy Lawrence.”

Walker released his debut album for Show Dog Nashville, Texas To Tennessee, which was produced by Michael Knox and chart-topping songwriter Jaron Boyer. He has also become a bit of a social media sensation in the last year, racking up more than 1 million fans on TikTok.

“So excited to be sharing the stage with my friend! Many years of hits between us and now we get to go out and play them together for all our fans,” says Lawrence. “While we have toured together over the years, this time we decided to switch things up and share the stage and band for the entire show. No question—this is going to be a good time!”

“Tracy and I have been good friends for a lot of years and being on the same stage at the same time, singing one hit after another is one of the highlights of my career,” adds Walker.

Tour Dates:
March 3 | Charlotte, NC | Ovens Auditorium
March 4 | Roanoke, VA | Berglund Coliseum
March 5 | Augusta, GA | William Bell Auditorium
March 10 | Charleston, WV | Municipal Auditorium
March 11 | Chattanooga, TN | Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Auditorium
March 12 | Huntsville, AL | Von Braun Center
March 17 | Kalamazoo, MI | Wings Event Center
March 18 | Milwaukee, WI | The Riverside Theater
March 19 | Owensboro, KY | Owensboro SportsCenter

The Nashville Unlimited Christmas benefit concert in support of Room in the Inn will return Tuesday, Dec. 7 for the 22nd consecutive year at Christ Church Cathedral at 900 Broadway.

The annual show is produced and hosted by Dave Pomeroy, with songwriter Don Henry as co-host. Musical guests will include The Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra, Charlie McCoy, The Farmer and Adele, Fiddle Frenzy, Regina McCrary, The Coral Bay Steel Drum Band, Timothy and Josh Kimbrough, Will Barrow, and more.

“In addition to our wonderful musical guests, we are very fortunate to have Brad Hall, Dave Sinko, and a world-class video and audio team to record this special concert,” says Pomeroy, the creator of the event. “Everyone involved is donating their time and skills to help raise money for this great cause, and we hope to top $500,000 in total donations since 2000. We are very grateful to Christ Church Cathedral for this ongoing opportunity to help our community through music, and Room in the Inn for the amazing work they do to help those less fortunate than ourselves. That’s the Christmas Spirit and the Nashville Way!”

This year’s show will be filmed in front of a live audience, and masks and vaccination cards or a negative COVID-19 test will be required. The concert will be available via streaming, starting around Dec. 10. The concert is free but a minimum donation of $20 is suggested.

Over the past 21 years, Nashville Unlimited has raised more than $488,000 for Room in the Inn.  Last year’s show, which was filmed without a live audience and was available for viewing online, raised over $25,000.

Pictured (L-R, top row): Alexis Bingham, Assistant, Events; Lanni (Gagnon) Niggli, Director, Events; Hannah Kellis, Coordinator, Creative & Content; (L-R, bottom row): Carrie McDonough, Assistant, Marketing & Communications; Melissa Moldovan, Director, Communications, Media Relations & Radio; Dayna Poskanzer, Coordinator, Digital & Social Media. Photo: Courtesy of Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music has announced a wave of new hires and promotions within three departments.

Promotions include Melissa Moldovan who was elevated to Director, Communications, Media Relations & Radio; Lanni (Gagnon) Niggli who was upped to Director, Events; Hannah Kellis who was promoted to Coordinator, Creative & Content; and Dayna Poskanzer who has risen to Coordinator, Digital & Social Media. Additionally, Alexis Bingham has joined the staff as Assistant, Events and Carrie McDonough has joined as Assistant, Marketing & Communications.

“The Academy is thrilled to continue expanding our team with the addition of Alexis and Carrie, and to celebrate the well-deserved promotions of Melissa, Lanni, Hannah and Dayna,” says Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “Each of these individuals have worked tirelessly the past year to create innovative solutions and overcome unique challenges, contributing to the Academy’s success through each of our tentpole events. I look forward to seeing them each embrace their new roles in the months ahead as we prepare for another monumental year.”

Moldovan joined the Academy in 2015 after a four-year stint at The Big Time radio show. Since joining the ACM, Moldovan has been an integral part in leading on all publicity, marketing, radio and promotional efforts throughout the past six years. In her new role, Moldovan executes and oversees all media relations, radio promotions, and leads on Academy and ACM Lifting Lives press materials. She will also oversee media relations and radio promotions for The 57th ACM Awards, among other duties. She reports to Rory Levine, VP, Marketing and Digital Strategy & Engagement.

Niggli first joined the Academy full time in December 2017 as Coordinator, Events. In her role as Director, Niggli oversees the planning and logistics for the ACM Awards, ACM Honors, and ACM Party for a Cause events, including event production, budgets, security, health and safety, red carpet, transportation, food and beverage and partnership fulfillment. She also works to create new and strategic event initiatives that will benefit both the ACM community and ACM Lifting Lives. Niggli reports to Alexa Fasheh, VP, Finance & Operations.

Kellis joined the Academy in early 2020 as Assistant, Creative & Content. In her new role, Kellis will oversee day-to-day responsibilities of the Creative & Content department, manage the Academy’s photo archives and EPK pages, and serve as a production assistant for all major events. She reports to Brandon Campbell, Director, Content.

Poskanzer interned with the Academy’s Marketing department during The 54th ACM Awards and the 13th Annual ACM Honors, before joining full-time in the fall of 2019. In her new role, she will support the day-to-day responsibilities of the Academy’s Digital and Social department. She will play a collaborative role in all strategic expansion and growth–including launching official Academy-branded presence on new platforms, articulating and deploying new tactical approaches on existing platforms, and developing new content and creative materials. She reports to Levine.

Both Bingham and McDonough joined the ACM as interns. Bingham reports to Niggli and supports the events team with several projects surrounding the planning of the ACM Awards, ACM Honors, and ACM Party for a Cause. She also assists the department with various needs, and any other internal or external events that occur throughout the year. McDonough reports to Levine and assists the Marketing and Communications teams with all day-to-day needs, with special attention to administrative and support duties, proofreading, culling media lists, radio and press coverage, and serving as a production assistant for all major events, among other duties.

Diversify The Stage has released its official mission statement, as well as revealed details about its new “Diversify The Stage” Inclusion Initiative.

“The tremendous efforts of everyone involved in this process thus far has been incredibly inspiring,” says Noelle Scaggs of Fitz & The Tantrums and Diversify The Stage founder. “This collective push will encourage other artists to look at our touring businesses through a new lens, to see where we may have greater impact; but also, by creating safe spaces for our fans, care for our crews and everyone who works behind the scenes to make these shows come to life. I look forward to seeing how the goals of this initiative will help move the needle towards a more inclusive, fair, and equitable live events and production industry.”

In its mission statement, Diversify The Stage states: “Diversify The Stage recognizes that Black, Indigenous, Latin/Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander Identifying persons, as well as Women of all backgrounds and identities, Gender Nonconforming and Non-Binary Individuals, LGBTQIA2+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersexual, Asexual, Two-Spirit and all sexual identifications), Disabled Persons, and all intersecting identities between these groups, have been marginalized and are drastically underrepresented in our industry.

“To address this, several leading organizations, including Diversify The Stage, UTA, WME, CAA, Wasserman, ICM, Live Nation, C3 Presents, AEG Presents, TAIT, Touring Professionals Alliance, Omalilly Projects, TMWRK; NIVA AND NIVF, and others, have pledged to strengthen the industry’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility practices by creating and utilizing a strong pipeline of professionals from historically excluded, and or underrepresented groups, and increasing the experience, diversity and strength of the talent pool within this sector of the industry. We strive to encourage more fair and equitable systems for the benefit of all persons, including all social and intersecting identities, throughout the concerts, events and touring industry.”

This initiative provides guidance and recommendations aimed towards specific objectives on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (I.D.E.A), as well as a range of resources to further the DTS mission.

To take the pledge or to learn more about the “Diversify The Stage” Inclusion Initiative, click here.

Contributing Members: 
Sam Kirby-Yoh, Kristen Saig, Kevin Bhatia, Shanique Bonelli-Moore, Marissa Smith – United Talent Agency
Kevin Shivers, Gisselle Ruiz, Romola Ratnam, Brian Edelman, James Rubin, Steve Gaches – WME/Endeavor
Ali Harnell & Lesley Olenik – Live Nation
Binta Niambi Brown – Omalilly Projects
Rob Light, Ina Jacobs, Niloofar Shepherd, Sharoni Little – CAA
Jessica Blanc, Denise Melanson, Stephanie Morris, Lindsay LaBennett – Wasserman
Shakira Gagnier – Lightbay Capital
Jae Pi’ilani Requiro – AEG
Marni Bobich – AEG Presents
Tadia Taylor – W.O.Q.E & The DoLab
Aluna – AlunaGeorge
Mike Kadziulis – Talent Manger- Aluna/AlunaGeorge
Matthew Walt – Thrive Entertainment/ Hustle Like You Broke.
Susan Eisner – PRG
Talia Ortisi – Contractor, Music Festivals
Adam S Harrison – FullStop Management
Rob Gibbs, Joi Brown, Yves Pierre, Julia Johnson, Travis Merriweather – ICM
Lotje Horvers – Tour Manager

Jameson Rodgers. Photo: Chris Hollo

Jameson Rodgers has been named the Opry NextStage featured artist for December. Rodgers joins prior 2021 Opry NextStage artists Hailey Whitters, Parker McCollum, Lainey Wilson, Niko Moon, Yola and Priscilla Block.

Rodgers’ new single “Missing One” just landed at radio and follows his two consecutive No. 1s: his Platinum-certified debut single “Some Girls” and “Cold Beer Calling My Name” featuring labelmate Luke Combs. Rodgers is currently on his headlining “Cold Beer Calling My Name Tour,” which wraps with two nights at Nashville’s Exit/In on Dec. 16-17.

“I’ll never forget the day I got to invite my grandmother to Nashville for my Opry debut. My late grandfather named my dad after Ernest Tubb and my family has listened to the Opry on WSM radio for over 80 years,” shares Rodgers. “Not only have I been able to perform several times at the Opry but to be their NextStage artist for December is truly an honor. I’m grateful every time I step in the circle and am excited about this opportunity as a NextStage artist!”

With the release of his debut album, Bet You’re from a Small Town, the singer-songwriter has been credited on multi-Platinum-selling songs for Florida Georgia Line (Top 10 single “Talk You Out of It”) and Chris Lane (No. 1 hit “I Don’t Know About You”). Rodgres was named a member of MusicRow’s Next Big Thing Class of 2021, and hit the Opry stage Nov. 21 during the first-ever Opry NextStage Live in Concert.

Opry NextStage collaborations include live performances, strategic marketing support and short-form documentary-style storytelling created by Opry Entertainment’s content team. Opry NextStage presents rising artists who are making standout music at the forefront of their careers through the Opry’s marketing platforms, which are set to deliver more than 100 million impressions.