Willie Nelson To Be Honored With 2021 Clio Cannabis Lifetime Achievement Award

Clio Cannabis, the award program that celebrates the creators of cannabis marketing and communications, has announced that Willie Nelson will be honored with the 2021 Clio Cannabis Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor will be presented as part of the 2021 Clio Cannabis Awards, exclusively streaming on Social Club TV beginning Dec. 7. Additional specialty award recipients will include Fab 5 Freddy, Mary Pryor and Ophelia Chong.

Nelson was selected to receive the 2021 Clio Cannabis Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades-long reputation of advocating the plant’s healing powers, elevating cannabis in the mainstream and innovating in the business space. His team is responsible for introducing marijuana and hemp-based wellness products like Willie’s Reserve and Willie’s Remedy, in addition to launching a new cannabis conference called Luck Summit: Planting the Seed.

“As the cannabis industry continues its rapid growth, we are tasked with ensuring the Clio Cannabis Awards evolve at the same pace to properly honor those at the forefront of creating change and driving the industry forward,” says Michael Kauffman, executive director, Clio Cannabis. “With four game-changing specialty award recipients and an exclusive streaming partner to help us reach a wider audience, we’re taking the 2021 Clio Cannabis Awards higher than ever before.”

 

Brett Young’s “Lady” Earns Platinum Certification

Multi-Platinum entertainer Brett Young has earned an RIAA Platinum certification for his chart-topping hit “Lady,” which was inspired by his expanding family.

The track marks Young’s seventh consecutive No. 1 hit to earn Platinum or multi-Platinum certification. Written with Ross Copperman and Jon Nite, Young recently celebrated the milestone at BMLG Records’ Nashville office alongside Jimmy Harnen, president/CEO BMLG Records.

Young is slated to return to the CMT Crossroads stage for the first-ever Christmas-themed episode on Wednesday, Dec. 8. The special will feature Young alongside an all-star lineup of friends and collaborators such as Boyz II Men, Chris Tomlin, Colbie Caillat, Dann Huff, Darius Rucker, Gavin DeGraw and Maddie & Tae performing classic Christmas hits from his inaugural holiday album, Brett Young & Friends Sing the Christmas Classics.

 

Skillet Earns Wave Of RIAA Album Certifications

Christian rock band Skillet are celebrating a flurry of RIAA certifications as their Awake album earns triple-Platinum status, Awake & Alive earns double-Platinum status, Hero sees a triple-Platinum certification, and Monster—with over 4 billion global streams—goes quadruple Platinum.

Skillet’s forthcoming album, Dominion, was produced by Kevin Churko (Papa Roach, Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch) and features songs written by John Cooper, Korey Cooper, Churko and Kane Churko.

“Dominion is about the celebration of freedom, a liberation from fear—to be who we want to be, say what we want to say, believe what we want to believe,” frontman John Cooper says. “In some ways it’s a reminder of the God-given rights that we were born with. It’s time to regain some sort of control over our lives and not be a slave to fear. I hope this record is going to make people feel empowered, inspired, uplifted and want to rock their faces off!”

Skillet is set to headline Winter Jam 2022 alongside Tauren Wells, kicking off on Jan. 7 in Charleston, West Virginia.

Following 18 career No. 1s, Thomas Rhett impacts country radio with his latest single, “Slow Down Summer.” The single earned 195 new station adds across the Billboard, Mediabase, and MusicRow CountryBreakout charts. Rhett is also the highest debut landing at No. 23 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, No. 30 on Mediabase, and No. 51 on MusicRow with the collective spin gain of +2,988 spins.

“Slow Down Summer” kicked off a fresh chapter of new music for Rhett as he sets his sixth studio album, Where We Started for release early 2022. The single was written by Rhett, Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure, Sean Douglas, and Rhett Akins and captures a red hot romance that’s destined to change with the seasons.

“I wrote this song from the point of view of two people who are in love during senior year of high school,” Rhett explains. “I envisioned them headed off to different schools and they’re starting to understand that the moment the weather starts to change, they’ve got a 99-percent chance this relationship is not going to work. I know that myself and a lot of people have been there before, wishing the fireworks stage doesn’t have to end.”

For more chart data, view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly.

Joe Nichols will kick off 2022 with the release of a long-awaited new album, Good Day For Living, on Feb. 11. A new song from the project, “Screened In,” written by Neil Thrasher and Anthony Jerome Martin, is out today.

The 13-song collection, his inaugural project for Quartz Hill Records and 10th studio album, ushers in a new era of classic country from Nichols. Good Day For Living reunites the traditionalist with producers Mickey Jack Cones and Derek George, who helmed his 2013 album Crickets which featured the back-to-back Gold hits “Sunny and 75” and “Yeah.” Cones also produced Nichols’ follow-up album Never Gets Old.

“For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel any pressure,” Nichols said. “I’m around great people. I’m the type of person who’s always striving for more, but I’ve reached a place where I’m grateful for everything I’ve accomplished so far. It’s been such a good run. I feel at peace, and that has freed me up to make new music that’s very honest.”

Other songs releasing in advance of the full album include “I Wanna Be Your Tonight” (Dec. 10) and the title track,” Good Day For Living” (Jan. 28).  The entire project is a nod to Nichols’ traditional roots, showcasing his baritone on dancehall stunner “Brokenhearted,” the light and fun “I Got Friends That Do,” featuring Blake Shelton, and the classic country tear-jerker “She Was.”

Good Day For Living – Track List:
1. “Brokenhearted” (Rhett Akins, Marv Green, John Thomas Harding)
2. “I Got Friends That Do” (feat. Blake Shelton) (Danick Dupelle, Tebey Ottoh, Jimmy Thow)
3. “Home Run”* (Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson, Ross Copperman)
4. “Dance With the Girl” (Jason Gantt, John Pierce, Emily Shackelton)
5. “I Wanna Be Your Tonight” (Philip O’Donnell, Wade Kirby, Marv Green)
6. “Good Day For Living” (Dave Cohen, Bobby Hambrick, Neil Mason)
7. “Screened In” (Neil Thrasher, Anthony Jerome Martin)
8. “That’s How I Grew Up” (Steven McMorran, Josh London, Adam Craig)
9. “Reckon” (Derek George, Randy Montana, Jeremy Stover)
10. “Why Can’t She” (Adam Craig, Jon Nite, Matt Rogers)
11. “One Two Step Closer”* (Justin Lantz, Clint Daniels, Lance Miller)
12. “Hawaii on Me”^ (Chris Janson, Will Nance, Kelly Roland)
13. “She Was” (Neal Lee Coty, Jimmy Edward Melton)

Newly-crowned CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs is launching a mini headlining stadium tour next year that will include performances at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High on May 21, Seattle’s Lumen Field on June 4, and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 30. Special guests on the dates include Cody Johnson, Zach Bryan and Morgan Wade.

Tickets for the newly confirmed shows will be available for pre-sale starting next Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. local time through Ticketmaster Verified Fan, with general on-sale following on Nov. 19.

Combs surprise-released his new song, “Doin’ This,” a personal reflection on his own life and career, earlier this week, debuting it live during the CMA Awards broadcast. His current single, “Cold As You,” is Top 5 and rising at radio, and is his seventh single released from What You See Ain’t Always What You Get. Combs also recently released his new song “South On Ya,” which has been selected as the official theme song for the SEC Network’s 2021 football season.

“This week has been a whirlwind–got to debut a new song on the CMAs, release the song and music video to my fans, and announce three stadium shows at NFL stadiums. Talk about a week! It will be hard to top this one,” admits Combs.

Luke Combs Tour Dates:
Nov. 16—New Orleans, LA—Smoothie King Center
Nov. 18—Dallas, TX—American Airlines Center
Nov. 19—Dallas, TX—American Airlines Center
Nov. 20—Memphis, TN—FedEx Forum
Nov. 29—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden
Nov. 30—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden
Dec. 2—Boston, MA—TD Garden
Dec. 3—Boston, MA—TD Garden
Dec. 15—Las Vegas, NV—T-Mobile Arena
Dec. 16—Salt Lake City, UT—Vivint Smart Home Arena
March 11, 2022—Glasgow, Scotland—C2C Festival at The SSE Hydro
March 12, 2022—Dublin, Ireland—C2C Festival at 3Arena
March 13, 2022—London, England—C2C Festival at The O2
March 20, 2022—Toronto, ON—Scotiabank Arena
March 21, 2022—Toronto, ON—Scotiabank Arena
March 24, 2022—Ottawa, ON—Canadian Tire Centre
March 26, 2022—Quebec City, QC—Videotron Centre
March 28, 2022—Montreal, QC—Centre Bell
March 30, 2022—London, ON—Budweiser Gardens
March 31, 2022—London, ON—Budweiser Gardens
May 1, 2022—Indio, CA—Stagecoach
May 21, 2022—Denver, CO—Empower Field at Mile High
June 4, 2022—Seattle, WA—Lumen Field
July 7, 2022—Cavendish, PEI—Cavendish Beach Music Festival
July 9, 2022—Ottawa, ON—RBC Bluesfest
July 23, 2022—Columbus, OH—Buckeye Country Superfest
July 30, 2022—Atlanta, GA—Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Sony Music Nashville has elevated Scott Stachelski to Senior Vice President, Finance.

In Stachelski’s new role, he will continue to oversee the finance department and Sony Music Nashville’s day to day financial operations, including internal and external reporting, deal analysis, forecasting, budgeting and analysis. He joined Sony Music Nashville as Director of Finance in 2006, and rose to his previous position of Vice President of Finance in 2017.

Stachelski is a Clark, New Jersey native and a graduate of Pace University’s Lubin School of Business with a BBA in Public Accounting and a CPA. Prior to moving to Nashville, he was Director of Financial Reporting for Sony BMG Entertainment and Senior Internal Auditor for BMG Entertainment.

Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Ken Robold, says: “It gives me great pleasure to be able to promote someone of Scott’s caliber, both as a professional and as a person. In addition to his in-depth knowledge of all elements of Label Finance, Scott continually demonstrates his understanding of all the nuances of label decision making, which makes him an invaluable employee and a great teammate.”

“I would like to thank Ken Robold for his leadership and support,” adds Stachelski. “I am humbled and honored to continue overseeing the finance team. It is privilege to work with Sony Music Nashville’s extremely talented staff and gifted roster of artists with Randy Goodman at the helm.”

Stachelski can be reached at scott.stachelski@sonymusic.com.