Cody Jinks

Cody Jinks has launched his own indie label, Late August Records, which will be headed up by longtime manager Arthur Penhallow Jr. at True Grit Management, as well as Malia Barrett. Jinks’ entire catalogue as well as all future releases will be available via Late August Records.

This past spring, Jinks released the fan-favorite acoustic album, Adobe Sessions Unplugged. Recorded during a livestream concert this past fall, the project is a stripped-down recreation of Jinks’ 2015 record, Adobe Sessions, featuring the Platinum track, “Loud and Heavy.” In conjunction with the release, he also recorded a special interview series, Behind the Mind and Music of Cody Jinks, where he dissects each track on the album.

Jinks was named MusicRow’s 2020 Independent Artist of the Year award at the CountryBreakout Awards after receiving the most radio spins for an independent artist in 2020. He has sold over 1.5 million equivalent units throughout his career and received over 2 billion lifetime streams to date.

Jinks and his band will spend much of the year on the road including newly confirmed shows at New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre and Las Vegas’ The Chelsea later this year, added due to high demand after selling out two nights within minutes in each city. He’ll also make stops this fall in Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, and Bristol, Tenn. as well as his own festival in Luckenbach, Texas.

Walker Hayes. Photo: Robert Chavers

After only three weeks, Monument Records’ Walker Hayes has earned the No. 1 spot on this week’s top country streaming songs with “Fancy Like.” This week, the track received an impressive 9.9 million streams with 20 million streams RTD, according to Nielsen. “Fancy Like” lands at No. 21 overall.

Nelly & Florida Georgia Line hang on to the second spot with “Lil Bit” gaining 7.8 million streams this week, and Luke Combs claims the third position as “Forever After All” gains 7.7 million. Chris Young & Kane Brown rack up another 6.7 million streams this week with “Famous Friends” sitting at No. 4, while Dan + Shay enter the top five with “Glad You Exist” earning 6.2 million streams.

After 26 weeks of release, Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album maintains its residency at the top, adding 46,000 streams this week to a total 56 million RTD. Wallen also holds on to the No. 4 spot with his 2018 album, If I Know Me, receiving 15,000 streams. Combs continues to stake his claim to the No. 2 with What You See Is What You Get and the No. 3 spot with This One’s For You earning 26,000 and 18,000 streams, respectively. Solidifying the top five is Toby Keith‘s 2008 compilation album, 35 Biggest Hits, which had 13,000 streams this week.

Lauren Jenkins. Photo: Brooke Stevens

Lauren Jenkins has released, Miles On Me, Part 1, the first installment of her three-part independent EP series. The title track from the new project features indie-folk artist David Ramirez.

In 2020, Jenkins parted ways with her former label, Big Machine Records, and became an independent artist for the first time in nearly seven years. “I finally had the freedom to write, record, produce and tell my story exactly the way I wanted to,” she shares. “It’s strange to hear your own voice and realize you’ve been whispering for a long time. With this realization, the sparks ignited. I called on my friends and collaborators to make this record with me, and it’s been one of the most beautiful processes of my life.”

The Texas-born, Carolina-raised artist spent years playing on the road and garnered attention, and was named an Artist to Watch by the New York Times, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Pandora, and more. An accomplished actress and filmmaker, Jenkins wrote, produced, and starred in an original short film, Running Out of Road, that accompanied the release of her debut album, No Saint, on Big Machine Records. In May of 2020, she released “Ain’t That Hard,” her first song as a fully independent artist.

Mickey Guyton will release her much-anticipated new album, Remember Her Name, on Sept. 24.

She co-penned 15 of the 16 songs on the new album along with writers including Nathan Chapman, Victoria Banks, Jennifer Hanson, Karen Kosowski, and more. The project follows the release of her EP Bridges, which included “Black Like Me” which received a historic Grammy nomination.

“Remember Her Name is a culmination of the last ten years of my life in Nashville,” shares Guyton. “This album is the closing of a chapter. All those years ago, I set out to create music that would make people feel self-empowered, loved, and comfortable with being themselves and this album holds true to all of that. I hope everyone who listens finds something that connects and speaks to them.”

Guyton has had an incredible year so far this year, co-hosting the 56th ACM Awards in April with label-mate Keith Urban, and performing on the 63rd Grammy Awards in March.

Remember Her Name Track List:
1. Remember Her Name (Mickey Guyton, Parker Welling, Blake Hubbard, Jarrod Ingram) Produced by Karen Kosowski
2. All American (Mickey Guyton, Victoria Banks, Emma-Lee, Karen Kosowski) Produced by Karen Kosowski
3. Different (Mickey Guyton, Emma-Lee, Karen Kosowski) Produced by Karen Kosowski
4. Love My Hair (Mickey Guyton, Anna Krantz) Produced by Karen Kosowski with additional production by Johnny Simmen
5. Lay It On Me (Mickey Guyton, Jaden Michaels, Gavin Slate) Produced by Karen Kosowski and Gavin Slate
6. Higher (Mickey Guyton, Nathan Chapman, Fraser Churchill, Preston Glass, Narada Walden) Produced by Nathan Chapman
7. Dancing In The Living Room (Mickey Guyton, Karen Kosowski, Victoria Banks, Emma-Lee) Produced by Karen Kosowski
8. Do You Really Wanna Know (Mickey Guyton, Melissa Fuller, Andy Skib) Produced by Andy Skib
9. Black Like Me (Mickey Guyton, Emma Davidson-Dillon, Fraser Churchill, Nathan Chapman) Produced by Nathan Chapman and Forest Whitehead
10. Words (Mickey Guyton, Abbey Cone, David Kalmusky) Produced by David Kalmusky
11. What Are You Gonna Tell Her? (Mickey Guyton, Karen Kosowski, Victoria Banks, Emma-Lee) Produced by Karen Kosowski
12. Smoke (Mickey Guyton, Nathan Chapman, Balewa Muhammad) Produced by Karen Kosowski
13. Rosé (Mickey Guyton, Karen Kosowski, Victoria Banks) Produced by Karen Kosowski and Forest Whitehead
14. Indigo (Mickey Guyton, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz, Mozella) Produced by Jimmy Robbins
15. If I Were A Boy (Toby Gad, Brittany Jean Carlson) Produced by Karen Kosowski
16. Better Than You Left Me (Fly Higher Version) (Mickey Guyton, Nathan Chapman, Jennifer Hanson, Jenn Schott) Produced by Johnny Simmen

Pictured (L-R): Ken Madson (ONErpm, GM), Loyd Potts (Holler Boy Records, Vice President), Ryan Upchurch (Holler Boy Records, CEO), Diana Garcia (ONErpm, Director of Marketing), Chase Matthew. Photo: Eloquent Creative – Sam Grant

ONErpm has partnered with independent country artist Ryan Upchurch and his Holler Boy Records to sign his first artist, Chase Matthew.

Born, raised and still living in Ashland City, Tennessee, Upchurch has accomplished significant success as an artist himself, independently landing multiple albums in the top 30 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. He launched Holler Boy Records this summer.

The label will follow Upchurch’s lead, supporting artists’ individual approach rather than focus on a particular music style. Joelton, Tennessee native Loyd Potts serves as VP of Holler Boy Records and handles the label’s day-to-day operations.

“I am a music fan,” Upchurch says. “I see what’s happening and how fans are reacting to the music. Fans don’t want watered-down versions of anything, and they are drawn to authenticity and honesty. Holler Boy Records will empower an artist’s creative vision and give them the resources they need to succeed.”

Chase, who already has nearly 65,000 followers on social media, will be releasing a six-song EP, County Line, later this month featuring his self-penned debut single of the same name. The single has already hit 2.59 million streams on Apple Music, garnered 1.4 million streams on Spotify and has earned over 631K views on YouTube.

“Chase embodies the kind of artist I want on my label. His songs have an authenticity that reflect a shared experience,” Upchurch continues.

“Chase Matthew is a rare artist who has a lot of intangibles that are incredibly hard to teach,” says Ken Madson, GM for ONErpm. “He can write, produce and perform; that’s a trifecta not often found.”

“I wrote these songs about growing up outside of Nashville,” Chase explains. “The REAL country boys. These songs are about me and my friends hanging out at the bonfire. They are unique to me but certainly universal to everyone who grew up like me. I couldn’t be more excited to have Ryan in my corner. His experience and guidance have already been invaluable. I’m thankful for the opportunity and am going to work as hard as I’ve ever worked to make this a success.”