The 14th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors has revealed some additions to the evening’s previously announced lineup of performers. Included in the second round of artists are Jessie Jo Dillon, Nicolle Galyon, Jamey Johnson, Toby Keith, Jordan Reynolds, Keith Urban, Laura Veltz, and Sam Williams. This years Honors, hosted by two-time ACM Award winner and newest Grand Ole Opry member Carly Pearce who also joins the performance lineup, will be held on Aug. 25 at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

In addition to the performances, Chris Janson will be presenting the ACM Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards for the evening. Additional special guest presenters include Trace Adkins and CEO of the Country Music Association Sarah Trahern.

Special Award recipients to be celebrated include Joe Galante and Rascal Flatts (ACM Cliffie Stone Icon Award), Lady A and Ross Copperman (ACM Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award), Luke Combs (ACM Gene Weed Milestone Award), Dan + Shay (ACM Jim Reeves International Award), RAC Clark (ACM Mae Boren Axton Service Award), Toby Keith (ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award), Loretta Lynn, Gretchen Peters and Curly Putman (ACM Poet’s Award) and Ken Burns’s Country Music (ACM Tex Ritter Film Award). The evening will also honor winners of the 55th ACM Industry Awards, 55th & 56th ACM Studio Recording Awards, along with 55th and 56th ACM Songwriter of the Year winner, Hillary Lindsey.

The event will also be livestreamed on all Circle Network social platforms with a television special of the night to be announced at a later date.

Primary Wave Music and Audio Up Media are launching a new Sun Records podcast, Midnight at the Sun Diner. The podcast is being rolled out just in time for the legendary label’s 70^th anniversary.

In this time traveling musical series, listeners will go on a ride through the rich history of one of the most iconic labels of all time. Set in Memphis, listeners follow along with the series narrator who is a music journalist assigned a feature on Sun Records. The writer finds himself at the Sun Diner, where he stumbles into a multiverse portal that takes him back to the early years of Sun Records, where he gets to meet all of Sun Records’ legendary artists including Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, as well as Sun Records founder Sam Phillips. As the story unfolds, artists of the present day learn that they can travel back in time to meet their heroes face to face and even host jam sessions together, bringing fresh inspiration and new ideas to their own music.

The podcast will weave in the tales of Sun Recording artists and take a deeper dive into the legacy of the label and studio, ultimately telling the story of the famed label through the personal history of its artists. Each episode will also feature performances of songs from the Sun Records catalog with a discussion to follow by contemporary artists. Future plans for the podcast will also include recording artists performing their favorite Sun Records songs live from the Sun Diner.

“The Sun Records story has been told in many ways. I’m convinced that fiction is a great way into this rich and lush music meta verse for artists to collaborate and explore the Sun vault through,” says Jared Gutstadt, founder and CEO of Audio Up. “Podcasts are another gateway for music and story exploitation. I already see this as a streaming visual series once we accomplish season one’s concept in the podcast space. With IP and publishing assets from Sun Records, the potential for a soundtrack and spin-off content is limitless.”

“’Midnight at the Sun Diner’ will help convey the impact of Sun Records on music and culture through an entirely new lens,” shares Dominic Pandiscia of Sun Label Group and Natalia Nastaskin, chief content officer at Primary Wave Music. “It will be an incredibly immersive listening experience for both the existing fan of Sun Records, as well as for the fan of any podcast that provides endless entertainment value with a touch of history.”

Pictured (L-R): Adria DeLaune (The AMG), Kailyn Finnegan (The AMG), Martha Earls (EFG Management), Becky Harris (Huskins-Harris Business Management), Ken Robold (Sony Music Nashville), Chris Young, Kane Brown, Randy Goodman (Sony Music Nashville), Jennifer Way (Sony Music Nashville), Caryl Atwood (Sony Music Nashville), Amanda Good (The AMG), Rob Beckham (The AMG). Photo: Alan Poizner

RCA Records Nashville labelmates Chris Young and Kane Brown’s hit collaboration, “Famous Friends,” has officially earned a Gold certification. Last night (Aug. 4), the pair celebrated the achievement and received their coveted Gold plaque at the top of Sony Music Nashville at Capstar Tower.

Kane Brown & Chris Young. Photo: Alan Poizner

The track, which took home the CMT Music Award for Collaborative Video of the Year, spent back-to-back weeks at No. 1 on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart, in addition to topping Billboard’s country radio chart and accumulating an impressive 8 weeks inside the Top 5. Young was also surprised with a triple Platinum plaque for his 2017 mega-hit “I’m Comin’ Over,” and a Gold plaque for his 2017 album, Losing Sleep.

“I’m really, really proud of this song and had no idea that it was going to end up blowing up like it did,” shared Young. “I couldn’t be happier, honestly, that I get to have a hit on the radio with someone who’s been a friend of mine for a long time.”

“It’s a full circle moment for me,” responded Kane. “You inspired me to get into music and we actually got to take this one to No. 1.”

“It’s amazing what’s happened this past year and the music you’ve delivered,” Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Randy Goodman shared with Young. “We’re so proud of you and for you and the success you’ve had with Kane on ‘Famous Friends’ makes this a very sweet moment.”

With nearly five billion career streams in addition to his twelve No. 1 singles, Young will release his 8th studio album–named after the chart-topping duet with Brown–tomorrow, Aug. 6. The 14-song project features several more of Young’s famous friends, including, Mitchell Tenpenny and Lauren Alaina, plus background vocals from Sarah Buxton and Hillary Lindsey.

Young will also hit the road on his upcoming Famous Friends Tour 2021 which includes over a dozen arena and amphitheater dates from October through December. Tenpenny and Callista Clark, who recently made her Grand Ole Opry debut, will join him along the way.

Photo: Courtesy City Winery

Following the rapid spike in COVID-19 cases across the United States and beyond over the last couple of weeks, the CDC has recently revised their guidelines for vaccinated individuals. Included in this new guidance is the return of mask-wearing under certain conditions and restricting international travel.

However, with the rampant Delta variant currently circulating in the United States, some states and businesses are bringing back the conversation of vaccination and/or testing requirements for their staff and patrons, such as New York City which will require vaccines for entry into certain establishments beginning in the next few weeks. Since the CDC’s announcement, companies like Walmart, Disney, Apple and Google, among others, have enforced a similar requirement, while President Joe Biden also announced new vaccination rules for federal employees.

As Tennessee continues to see COVID-19 case counts rise each day, some of Music City’s businesses and venues have announced that they will be requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter their establishments. Among those who have made the leap are City Winery, which has multiple locations across the northeast, and The 5 Spot in East Nashville.

“At this stage in the pandemic, with the Delta variant on the rise, the remarkable roll-out of vaccines, and the overwhelming numbers of our customers now fully inoculated against COVID-19, we can create an environment that is as safe as possible moving forward. Our recent July survey indicated that more than 75% of our patrons are already vaccinated,” says City Winery’s Founder Michael Dorf in a letter to its patrons. “Given this, our decision to move forward with creating an environment where we request that all patrons are vaccinated, and wear masks when moving indoors, will allow even more psychological comfort that our facility is as safe a place to be as possible. Of course, we respect that if a person does not want to get vaccinated for any reason, be it religious, health or other, they can get tested showing a negative result within 72 hours to gain admission. All guests are welcome on our outdoor patios, however masks will be required when entering the building.”

The 5 Spot took to social media to share their new rules saying, “After due consideration we’ve decided to require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry into our venue beginning Saturday, Aug 7. In times such as these we must behave as reasonably and responsibly as possible.” The post continues, “Before you come party with us, please make sure you have your vaccination card (or a photo of it) at the ready. We will be verifying vaccination status before admission to The 5 Spot is granted.”

To our 5 Spot family and friends,
After due consideration we’ve decided to require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry into our venue beginning Saturday Aug 7th. In times such as these we must behave as reasonably and responsibly as possible. 1/2

— The 5 Spot (@five_spot) August 4, 2021

These decisions, coupled with artists like Garth Brooks announcing he will be reassessing the state of COVID before continuing his nationwide stadium tour, begs the question of what will happen to the just-reopened touring industry as we move into the changing of seasons and cases continue to rise.

For more information on the CDC guidelines and the Delta variant, click here.