Artist Action: Chris Young, Oak Ridge Boys, Chris Janson, Evan Cline

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Chris Young Joins The Pandora Billionaire Club

Pictured (L-R): Beville Dunkerley (Pandora), Chris Young, and Alina Thompson (Pandora). Photo: Chris Hollo

Following the release of his new eighth studio album, Famous Friends, multi-Platinum entertainer Chris Young has recently earned over 4 billion streams to date on Pandora.

Young was surprised backstage following a performance at the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday (Aug. 7) with a plaque to commemorate the achievement. In recognition of the Opry member’s new status with the streaming platform, Chris has also been added to the Pandora Country Billionaires station.

His new 14-song project, led by the multi-week Gold-certified No. 1 title track duet with Kane Brown, features several more of Young’s famous friends, including a collaboration with Mitchell Tenpenny on “At The End Of A Bar” which debuted as the No. 1 country song on Pandora’s Top Thumb Hundred Chart this week. The new project also features a collaboration with Lauren Alaina, plus background vocals from Sarah Buxton and Hillary Lindsey.

 

 

The Oak Ridge Boys Return To Opryland For A Country Christmas

Grammy Award-winning and Country Music Hall of Fame members, The Oak Ridge Boys, will return to Gaylord Opryland to celebrate the holiday season with a 31-show residency as part of the resort’s 38th annual A Country Christmas event. The Oaks’ Christmas in Tennessee Dinner Show, running Nov. 24 through Dec. 25, 2021, features a holiday meal followed by The Oak Ridge Boys and their band performing Christmas classics, new favorites, and timeless hits.

“We are excited to be home in Nashville again for our 2021 Christmas shows,” said The Oak Ridge Boys’ Joe Bonsall during their 10th-anniversary appearance as Grand Ole Opry members on Saturday night (Aug. 7). “This opportunity to return to the remarkable Gaylord Opryland Resort is a blessing. We had a great time last year, and we look forward to 31 more shows this year! We hope you will join us there to celebrate the joys of Christmas at the Gaylord Opryland Resort!”

The Oak Ridge Boys also helped ring in the inaugural Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 8, after Swedish racer Marcus Ericsson took home the trophy.

 

 

Chris Janson Receives Key To His Hometown Of Perryville, Missouri

Pictured (L-R): Mike Sauer (Presiding commissioner, Perry County), Keith Hoehn (Dist. #1 Commissioner, Perry County), Chris Janson, Jay Wengert (Dist. #2 Commissioner, Perry County), Ken Baer (Mayor, Perryville). Photo: Zachary Sinclair

Chris Janson returned to his hometown of Perryville, Missouri on Saturday (Aug. 8), selling a personal record 5,000 hard tickets. He treated fans to a set boasting his four No. 1 hits and new music, due for release soon.

To commemorate the occasion, Perryville Mayor Ken Baer and several members of the county government joined Janson on stage to present him with a key to the city.

On Aug. 25, Janson will help commemorate the behind-the-scenes talent of country music via the ACM Industry and Studio Recording Awards. Then, on Sept. 2 the Grand Ole Opry member will close out the Grand Ole Opry at Bonnaroo 2021 event with a special finale performance.

 

 

Evan Cline Signs With LP Creative For Management Representation

Pictured (L-R): Dustin Kovacic, Jordan Keller (Keller, Turner, Andrews & Ghanem), Evan Cline, LeAnn Phelan (LP Creative MGMT). Photo: Annie Lauren

Pop producer, songwriter, and artist Evan Cline has signed with LP Creative for management representation.

Hailing from Pennsylvania, Cline produced pop artist Karl Michael’s recently released single “Liar” ft. Teddy Swims, which earned 400,000 streams its first week out. He has also signed on to co-produce forthcoming EP’s by Michael and rising country artist Peytan Porter. The triple threat singer, songwriter, and producer is currently in the studio working on new music to be released in 2022.

Cline moved to Nashville three years ago, and since then has collaborated with David Ryan Harris, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, CB30, and Matt Bronleewe. In addition, Carnival Cruise Line featured his solely written and self-produced song, “Time For A Comeback,” in their digital ad campaign across social media platforms this year.

“I met Evan over zoom and instantly connected with him. And then I heard his music. It blew me away. His melodies, production, songwriting and voice are all truly special. I’m excited to be on this journey with such a talented and kind soul,” says LeAnn Phelan, Owner, LP Creative.

“LeAnn was someone I met from the start, and she really embraced my sound and she continues to encourage me to be authentic to myself. I am grateful for her, and so inspired and energized by the artist and songwriter community in Nashville,” shares Cline.

BMI’s “How I Wrote That Song” Series Launches Featuring Lauren Alaina, Chris Lane, More

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“How I Wrote That Song,” a limited-edition of BMI’s signature series, has been launched featuring acclaimed songwriters and producers from country, rock and R&B/hip-hop by BMI, Beasley Media Group, and Xperi’s HD Radio Technology.

Each episode of the 12-part series will give audiences an insider’s look into the creative process of writing and producing hits as well as the stories behind them. Hosted by Brian Ives, music creators in the series include Lauren Alaina, Chris Lane, John Popper (Blues Traveler), Kevin Griffin (Better Than Ezra), Oak Felder, Mooski and Parker McCollum, among many others. A new episode will air every two weeks on Beasley Media Group radio stations across the country, with the video component posted on https://bbgi.com/.

YouTube video

“After last year’s successful ‘Hundred Years of Radio’ project, BMI is thrilled to join forces again with longtime partners Beasley Media Group and Xperi’s HD Radio Technology for the launch of ‘How I Wrote That Song,’” says Clay Bradley, BMI’s Vice President, Creative, Nashville. “Thanks to Beasley Media Group and Xperi’s HD Radio for giving our songwriters a platform to share their music and the stories behind how they created some of their biggest hit songs.”

“We are thrilled to once again join BMI and Beasley Media Group to celebrate the power of music and honor the artists who write the songs that inspire us, move us, and contribute to the soundtrack of our lives,” says Joe D’Angelo, Xperi’s Senior Vice President Radio. “Xperi recently marked the 15th anniversary of HD Radio technology’s launch in a US vehicle, and we are proud to help deliver these amazing songs with HD Radio technology’s crystal clear, static-free sound to tens of millions of listeners.”

“After a highly successful and similar partnership with BMI and Xperi in 2020, we decided to bring back this popular feature to celebrate the biggest hit songwriters that are heard on our great radio stations,” says Justin Chase, Beasley Media Group’s Chief Content Officer. “It’s always fascinating to hear the story behind our favorite songs, and we’re excited to present this exclusive content to our on-air and digital audiences.”

Chase Rice Earns Third Career No. 1 With ‘Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.’

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Chase Rice has achieved his second chart-topper as an artist with his latest single “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen. (feat. Florida Georgia Line),” this week. The track also reached No. 2 on Spotify’s most-streamed Hot Country songs of 2021 thus far.

The single follows his double Platinum-certified, two-week chart topper “Eyes On You,” which was one of the Top 5 most-played songs on country radio in 2019. “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.” marks a full circle moment for Rice and Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, who first topped the charts as co-writers on FGL’s Diamond-certified hit “Cruise” when making music together as new-to-Nashville roommates more than a decade ago.

“Sharing a No. 1 song together not once, but twice, is more than we ever could have imagined years ago, when we were just three friends chasing a crazy dream,” notes Rice. “I’m so grateful to the fans and country radio for connecting with and supporting this song the way they have. There’s no better feeling as an artist than knowing that writing and singing your truth resonates with people… The journey of this song has been so special. Not only did it give me, Brian and Tyler the chance to work on music together again; it was also written on the bus at one of my last live shows before the world shut down–and now it’s sitting atop the chart just as we’re getting back to enjoying live music together. The timing couldn’t be more perfect.”

“There is always an inspiring energy when the three of us come together,” add Kelley and Hubbard, who co-produced the song alongside Rice and Corey Crowder. “You could just feel it in the house back when we were roommates, and it is amplified that much more now when we collaborate. Our first No. 1 changed all of our lives in more ways than we could have ever imagined, and we’ve certainly lived a lot of life since then. To be celebrating our second No. 1 together is surreal and a full circle moment. We’re so thankful to Chase for his friendship over the years and sharing in this crazy dream of ours.”

Shane McAnally Makes Top 10 On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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Shane McAnally moves into the top 10 this week on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart. He is a co-writer on “Half Of My Hometown” (Kelsea Ballerini feat. Kenny Chesney), “I Was On A Boat That Day” (Old Dominion), and “Next Girl” (Carly Pearce).

For the forth consecutive week, Ashley Gorley stays at No. 1 on the chart with “Good Things” (Dan + Shay), “Country Again” (Thomas Rhett), “Give Heaven Some Hell” (Hardy), “Sand In My Boots” (Morgan Wallen), “Single Saturday Night” (Cole Swindell), “You Should Probably Leave” (Chris Stapleton), and “Beers On Me” (Dierks Bentley, Hardy & Breland).

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the only songwriter chart of its kind.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

In Pictures: The Oak Ridge Boys, More Play Grand Ole Opry Show At Music City Grand Prix

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The Oak Ridge Boys. Photo: Chris Hollo

The Oak Ridge Boys performed at the Grand Ole Prix show following the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand alongside Danielle Bradbery, Callista Clark, Riley Green, and Justin Moore on Sunday night (Aug. 8.) The show, which also celebrated the Oak Ridge Boys’ 10th Opry anniversary, was hosted by Opry announcer Bill Cody. Moore joined the Oaks on stage for the band’s iconic “Elvira.” The Opry performance closed out the three-day racing event.

Justin Moore. Photo: Chris Hollo

Sunday night’s performances were also live-streamed on Circle Network’s social channels, hosted by Natalie Stovall, a member of Runaway June and a Circle TV personality. The Country Music Hall of Fame members shared the stage at the Grand Ole Opry House Saturday evening with fellow Opry members Ricky Skaggs, Chris Young, and more. The special performances aired on Opry Live on Circle TV.

Danielle Bradbery. Photo: Chris Hollo

Bradbery also took part in the Grand Prix’s opening ceremony on Sunday evening, riding in the Ruoff Fastest Seat in Sports with racing legend Mario Andretti. Bradbery released a music video for her newest song “Stop Draggin’ Your Boots” on CMT on July 30.

Clark made her Opry debut on July 30. Her song, “It’s Cause I Am,” from her debut EP is currently sitting at No. 18 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Radio Chart. Green’s song “If It Wasn’t For Trucks” is also on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Radio Chart, sitting at No. 16.

Callista Clark. Photo: Chris Hollo

Riley Green. Photo: Chris Hollo

Weekly Register: ‘Fancy Like’ Keeps Walker Hayes At The Top For Fifth Week

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Walker Hayes. Photo: Robert Chavers

Monument Records’ recording artist Walker Hayes spend his fifth “Fancy Like” week at No. 1 on the top country streaming songs chart. The breakout hit earns Hayes another 11 million streams this week, contributing to a total 64 million RTD, according to Nielsen.

Nelly & Florida Georgia Line continue their stay at No. 2 as “Lil Bit” gains another 7.3 million streams. Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris move up to third with “Chasing After You” adding another 7.1 million streams this week. Meanwhile, Dan + Shay recover the fourth spot as “Glad You Exist” earns 6.7 million streams, and Luke Combs solidifies the top five with “Forever After All” gaining 6.6 million streams this week.

The top five country streaming albums remain intact this week, according to Nielsen. Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album takes the top spot with 44,000 (53 million RTD) and If I Know Me stays at fourth with 15,000 streams this week. Combs continues his residency at No. 2 with What You See Is What You Get earning 24,000 streams and No. 3 with This One’s For You earning 17,000 streams. Chris Stapleton rounds out the top albums as Traveller adds another 12,500 streams.

CRS To Launch New Heads Of State Series With Top Music Executives In 2022

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CRS will launch CRS Heads Of State, a new series that will debut during CRS ’22 from Feb. 23-25, 2022. This series will feature a mix of the industry’s most prominent leaders and highest-profile CEOs from the realms of radio and record labels for daily exclusive, one-on-one conversations.

The inaugural series will include Caroline Beasley (CEO/Beasley), Ginny Morris (CEO/Hubbard), Bob Profitt (CEO/Alpha Media), Bill Wilson (CEO/Townsquare), Scott Borchetta (President/CEO, BMLG), Mike Dungan (Chairman/CEO, UMG), John Esposito (Chairman/CEO, WMN), Randy Goodman (Chairman/CEO, Sony), and Jon Loba (President, BMG), with more music industry executives to be added in the coming weeks. Joel Denver (All Access Media Group), Erica Farber (RAB), Lon Helton (Country Aircheck/Country Countdown USA), and Mike McVay (McVay Media) will serve as moderators.

Each day of CRS will start and end with one of these impactful conversations which will share unique insight and global perspective on the current status of the music and broadcast businesses, how they have emerged post-pandemic, and ways their respective companies plan to achieve continued success in the near future.

“In just two eventful, arduous years, the country music industry has undergone disruption, challenges, revival, and innovation that have and will continue to reshape the world and our business as we know it. It’s time to hear what insights leaders of our genre–the Heads Of State–have to say about all that, to share what they know, and forecast where all of us are headed,” shares CRS Executive Director RJ Curtis.

Early bird registration for CRS ’22 opens at 10 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Aug. 17. Following the success and popularity of CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience, CRS will also be offering a virtual track featuring livestream sessions and on-demand content from the 3-day event. Musical performances will only be available in-person and not available through the virtual experience. For more information about registration, click here.

Heather Cook, Liz Rogers, More To Look At Current State Of Sync In AIMP Webinar

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The AIMP Nashville Chapter, in partnership with the Nashville Film Festival, will address the Current State of Sync in a new webinar this Thursday, Aug. 12 at 4:30 p.m. CT.

Sync music executives Heather Cook (Director of Marketing & Brands at peermusic & Sr. Music Event Producer at Nashville Film Festival), Kourtney Kirkpatrick (VP of Sync, Concord Music Publishing), Liz Rogers (Founder & Creative Director, Anacrusis), Alex Stefano (VP of Sync, Big Yellow Dog Music), and moderator ET Brown (Senior Director, Creative Services at SESAC) will discuss the current condition of the film, TV, advertising, and game sync markets during the online event.

As the group will discuss, with COVID-19 shifting production schedules, many music supervisors were forced to shift their music searches, and thus music publishers, labels, and sync rep companies shifted the music they pitched. This webinar will reveal the current needs of the sync market and potential trends that may be coming.

Registration for this webinar is free for AIMP members and $5 for non-members. To register, click here.

Asleep At The Wheel Celebrate ‘Half A Hundred Years’ With New Album

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Asleep At the Wheel. Photo: Mike Shore

10-time Grammy-winning band Asleep At The Wheel are ringing in their 50th anniversary with Half A Hundred Years on Oct. 1 through Home Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers. The album’s title track is available everywhere now.

The nineteen-track celebration of the legendary band’s half-century-long career will feature a number of world-class friends of the band. Country greats, such as Willie Nelson, George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, and Lyle Lovett appear throughout the upcoming project. On top of that, three original members of the group—Chris O’Connell, Leroy Preston, and Lucky Oceans—returned after 4o years to lend their voices and musicianship to a number of the album’s tracks.

“I went over to the ACL stage to see Jamey Johnson,” says longtime frontman Ray Benson. “I told him ‘Ya know it’s Asleep at the Wheel’s 50th anniversary!’ He looked at me and said, ‘That’s Half a Hundred years!’” Benson says of the upcoming and title track, “I was trying to get across the sacrifices you have to make in 50 years on the road and the other positive side of it. The great experiences, the places I’ve been, and all the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to meet and play music with.”

Since its founding in 1970, Benson and Asleep at the Wheel set out to bear a torch and carry the roots of American popular music into the future. The new record serves as a reminder to take ownership and care of the things they love, just as Ray Benson has cherished, polished, built, and rebuilt Asleep at the Wheel.

Half A Hundred Years Track List:
1. Half A Hundred Years
2. It’s The Same Old South feat. Chris O’Connell
3. I Do What I Must feat. Leroy Preston
4. There You Go Again feat. Lyle Lovett
5. My Little Baby feat. Chris O’Connell
6. Paycheck To Paycheck feat. Leroy Preston
7. Word To The Wise feat. Bill Kirchen
8. That’s How I Remember It feat. Chris O’Connell
9. The Photo feat. Leroy Preston
10. I Love You Most Of All (When You’re Not Here) feat. Lucky Oceans
11. The Wheel Boogie
12. Take Me Back To Tulsa feat. George Strait and Willie Nelson
13. The Letter That Johnny Walker Read feat. Lee Ann Womack
14. Bump Bounce Boogie Feat. Chris O’Connell, Elizabeth McQueen, & Katie Shore
15. Miles And Miles Of Texas
16. Get Your Kicks On Route 66 Feat. Leroy Preston, Johnny Nicholas, & Ray Benson
17. Marie Feat. Willie Nelson
18. Spanish Two Step Feat. Johnny Gimble And Jesse Ashlock
19. The Road Will Hold Me Tonight Feat. Emmylou Harris And Willie Nelson

Live Nation Announces New COVID-19 Best Practices For Artists, Concertgoers, Staff

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Over the last two weeks, many states, cities, and businesses have responded to the growing spread of COVID-19, specifically the extremely contagious Delta variant that is running rampant across the United States and the rest of the world. Included in many of these responses are vaccine requirements, such as those recently announced by President Joe Biden for federal employees and some Nashville music venues.

With the U.S. reporting over 100,000 new cases of COVID on average each day, the nationwide vaccine campaign has begun to see a bit of an uptick as over 70% of Americans have received at least one of the three available vaccines to those 12 years or older.

Last week, Live Nation, the world’s leading entertainment and ticketing company, announced that they have developed best practices that will allow artists the option to require their concertgoers and staff to be fully vaccinated or show a negative test result for entry at their U.S. shows. This is not a requirement and will be completely determined by the artist.

Live Nation has already implemented this model at many major events over the past few weeks, including at Lollapalooza in Chicago. As shared by Live Nation’s President and CFO Joe Berchtold from the company’s earnings call on Aug. 3, over 90% of the festival’s patrons were fully vaccinated, signaling positive commitment and support of being vaccinated in order to attend shows.

“We are working to ensure we are reopening in the best way possible for staff, artists, crew, fans, and communities at large. Our teams have worked together to put new processes in place so that artists doing shows with Live Nation in the U.S. can require all attendees and staff to be fully vaccinated or show a negative test result for entry, where permitted by law,” said Live Nation’s CEO Michael Rapino in a letter to the company’s staff. “We know people are eager to return to live events and we hope these measures encourage even more people to get vaccinated. That is the number one thing anyone can do to take care of those around them and we are encouraging as many shows as possible to adopt this model.”

Additionally, Live Nation will be requiring all employees in the U.S. be vaccinated in order to enter any of its events, venues, or offices—with limited exceptions as may be required by law—beginning Oct. 4 as their offices are set to reopen.

“We’ve seen great vaccination enthusiasm among our staff so far, and we want to ensure we’re taking every step possible to keep you all safe,” Rapino explained. “Our business and our industry is about uniting people and vaccines are one of the greatest tools for making sure that everyone can continue to enjoy live music together.”

For more information regarding CDC guidance, vaccinations, and the Delta variant, click here.