Following the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 33rd MusicRow Awards, we take a look at the MusicRow Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year category. The Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year is voted by MusicRow’s subscribed members to honor a Nashville songwriter who wrote or co-wrote a Top 10 song for the first time during the eligibility period of June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

The MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.

Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.

Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribed members. Voting is now open and closes on July 23 at 5 p.m.

To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow member here.

Matt Alderman has a recent hit as a co-writer and coproducer of “Nobody” recorded by Dylan Scott. Perfect for summer, he’s also a writer on the sunny new single from Dustin Lynch and Chris Lane, “Tequila On A Boat.” This follows previous cuts by Clare Dunn, Matt Stell, Brett Young and Jake Owen.

Benjy Davis and fellow Breakthrough Songwriter nominees Joey Hyde and Neil Medley teamed up to write the hit song “Made For You,” recorded by Jake Owen. Davis has a track record of cuts by Dan + Shay, Eli Young Band, Josh Abbott Band, Rascal Flatts, and Chris Young.

Nicolette Hayford had her first hit as a co-writer of the award-winning song “One Night Standards,” recorded by Ashley McBryde. Hayford’s other McBryde credits include “Little Dive Bar In Dahlonega,” “Shut Up Sheila,” “Voodoo Doll” and “Sparrow.” Additionally Hayford has recent cuts by Chrissy Metz and Kylie Morgan.

Joey Hyde scored his first hit with “Made For You,” cowritten with fellow nominees Benjy Davis and Neil Medley, and recorded by Jake Owen. Hyde’s credits include the new single by Walker Montgomery and recordings by Luke Dick, Sam Grow, Lindsay Ell, and Ryan Hurd.

Dan Isbell earned his first hit as a co-writer of “Better Together” recorded by Luke Combs. He wrote the song with Combs, who is nominated for MusicRow Artist of the Year, and Randy Montana, who is nominated for Male Songwriter of the Year. Isbell also has new cuts by Flatland Cavalry, Kameron Marlowe, Laine Hardy, Matt Stell, Tucker Beathard and Scotty McCreery.

Greylan James was honored when his first hit single “Happy Does” was recorded by one of his heroes, Kenny Chesney. James is a Knoxville native with other cuts by Chris Young, Chris Janson, Drake White, and Alexander Ludwig.

Alex Kline is part of the first all-female team to write, perform and produce a No. 1 country radio single, with Tenille Arts’ “Somebody Like That.” Accordingly, Kline is also nominated for Female Songwriter of the Year. She has previous cuts by Ronnie Dunn, Reba McEntire, Mitchell Tenpenny, Gary Allan, Terri Clark, and Cassadee Pope, as well as numerous production credits. Kline wrote the song with Arts, who is nominated for two MusicRow Awards, and Allison Veltz Cruz, who is also nominated for Female Songwriter of the Year.

Chris La Corte scored his first hit with “Breaking Up Was Easy in the ‘90s” recorded by Sam Hunt, from the album Southside. La Corte is the first writer signed to Hang Your Hat Music, Hillary Lindsey’s partnership with Concord. He also has a new cut by Andrew Jannakos.

Emily Landis charted her first hit as a co-writer of ”The Good Ones” recorded by Gabby Barrett. Landis is a graduate of Belmont University where she studied songwriting and has other cuts by Smithfield, Carolyn Miller, Eric Paslay and Kassi Ashton.

Michael Lotten earned his first hit with “Momma’s House” recorded by Dustin Lynch. This follows cuts by Mitchell Tenpenny (“Alcohol You Later”), Jon Langston (“All Eyes On Us”), Dylan Schneider, Chuck Wicks, Willie Jones, and Sam Grow.

James McNair has had several Luke Combs cuts and scored a hit with Combs’ recording of “Lovin’ On You.” Other artists who have recorded McNair’s songs include Kylie Morgan, Chase Rice, RaeLynn, The Cadillac Three, Chris Janson, Scotty McCreery, Morgan Wallen and Craig Campbell.

Neil Medley teamed with Benjy Davis and Joey Hyde to write “Made For You,” a hit for Jake Owen. He has had previous singles by Lindsay Ell (“I Don’t Love You”) and Josh Abbott Band (“Wasn’t That Drunk”). Medley also has cuts by Hailey Whitters, Tiera, CJ Solar, Cody Johnson, Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, and Brent Cobb.

Jordan Minton is a co-writer of Niko Moon’s hit “Good Time,” along with fellow Breakthrough Songwriter nominees Anna Moon, Joshua Murty, and Mark Trussell. He has cuts on Keith Urban’s Graffiti U record, as well as by Dan + Shay, Trent Harmon, Abby Anderson and Mitchell Tenpenny’s track “Telling All My Secrets.”

Jake Mitchell is the only nominee in this category with two qualifying songs: “Some Girls” recorded by Jameson Rodgers, and “One Beer” recorded by Hardy ft. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson. He co-wrote the title track to Luke Bryan’s current album Born Here Live Here Die Here, and has other cuts by Dawson, Rodgers, Ashley McBryde, Ashley Monroe, Matt Stell, Chrissy Metz, Florida Georgia Line and CJ Solar.

Anna Moon co-wrote “Good Time” with fellow Breakthrough Songwriter nominees Joshua Murty and Mark Trussell, and Breakthrough Artist nominee Niko Moon. Anna Moon contributed multiple songs to her husband’s debut project.

Joshua Murty teamed with Anna Moon, Niko Moon, Jordan Minton, and Mark Trussell to write Niko’s hit “Good Time.” They collaborated on much of the EP, with Murty co-producing. Murty’s career includes time as a touring guitarist with Maren Morris.

Mitch Oglesby scored his first hit with Chris Janson’s recording of “Done.” The song was co-written with Janson, Jamie Paulin and fellow Breakthrough Songwriter nominee Matt Roy. Oglesby has multiple cuts by Janson, as well as artists Cody Johnson, Tyler Booth, and Styles Haury.

Matt Roy earned his first hit with Chris Janson’s “Done,” cowritten with Janson, Jamie Paulin and fellow Breakthrough Songwriter nominee Mitch Oglesby. Roy also has cuts by Chris Young, Alexander Ludwig, and Kane Brown.

Mark Trussell is a co-writer of the Niko Moon hit “Good Time,” which he penned with Niko, Anna Moon, Jordan Minton, and Joshua Murty. Trussell also has recordings by Chris Lane (“Fill Them Boots”), Keith Urban (“Polaroid”), Devin Dawson (“Range Rover”), Billy Currington (“Details”), Maren Morris (“RSVP”) and many others.

Dallas Wilson, Matt Alderman, and Dylan Scott penned Scott’s hit single “Nobody,” which earned Breakthrough Songwriter nominations for Wilson and Alderman. Among Wilson’s other co-writes are cuts by Mitchell Tenpenny, Lainey Wilson, Jimmie Allen, Dylan Scott and Karl Michael. He is the son of studio musician and songwriter Lonnie Wilson.

Chase Rice. Photo: Jason Myers

Chase Rice rises three spots to No. 1 this week on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart. “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.” features duo Florida Georgia Line and was written by Rice, Hunter Phelps, Cale Dodds, and Corey Crowder. 

Rice sat down with MusicRow to discuss his three-part project, The Album, and returning to live music after the pandemic. “I played ‘Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.’ at the Ryman a couple of weeks ago and it was mind blowing! Everybody stood up and came to the front–I don’t know if that was allowed or not– but we didn’t care. It was a special moment and I haven’t seen a reaction like that since ‘Ready Set Roll,’ to be honest. Even ‘Eyes On You’ didn’t get a reaction like that live. I feel like I finally have a party song that’s going to become a hit for the first time since ‘Ready Set Roll,’ which I think is going to be one of the coolest moments during shows.” Click here to read the full interview. 

Click here to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.

Monument Records, SMACKSongs Host Tuesday Night Music Club At Basement East

Pictured (L-R): Lindsey Jones (CMA Foundation), Tiffany Kerns (CMA Foundation), Krista Slaubaugh of Tigirlily, Kendra Slaubaugh of Tigirlily, Katie McCartney (Monument Records), Caitlyn Smith, Alex Hall, Tenille Townes, Robert Carlton (SMACKSongs), Falon Keith (CMA Foundation)

On Tuesday, July 13, Monument Records and SMACKSongs hosted the second edition of Tuesday Night Music Club at the Basement East. This week’s show was headlined by Caitlyn Smith who sang her current single, “I Can’t,” as the track—which features Old Dominion—approaches the top 40 at country radio.

The full band show was preceded by a songwriter session that included performances from Tenille Townes, Alex Hall, and sister-duo Tigirlily.

The Tuesday Night Music Club event is a monthly residency at the venue to celebrate the return of live music since the onset of COVID-19 in March of 2020.

615 Leverage + Strategy Adds Emma DiMaio As Project Manager

Emma DiMaio

615 Leverage + Strategy has brought on Emma DiMaio as the team’s new Project Manager. The New Jersey native will support client initiatives for the boutique marketing agency, with a focus in digital strategy and creative design.

“Bringing a background in publicity, digital marketing and graphic design, Emma’s tenacity and drive impressed Jackie and I from the first time we met her,” says 615 Leverage + Strategy President & Chief Strategy Officer, John Zarling. “It’s rare to find new talent who relish challenges at the pace Emma does. In a business that is fast-paced, and for a company like ours that is offering an array of services, Emma’s talent will be a tremendous asset.”

“I have such an admiration for the work that Jackie and John have accomplished amidst their storied careers,” says DiMaio. “Being prime examples of the adaptability that the music industry requires, their expertise and background has made it all the more exciting for me to have the opportunity to collaborate and share my ideas, while fulfilling my own passion of playing an integral role in the elevation of artists and brands.”

She can be reached at 908-477-5305 and via email at emma@615leverage.com.

UTA Inks With BlackHawk, The Outlaws

BlackHawk

Country music group BlackHawk and southern rock band The Outlaws have signed exclusive booking deals with United Talent Agency. UTA will represent both bands worldwide in all areas — live concert bookings, literary deals, film, television and more.

“We’re thrilled to be working with UTA,” says Henry Paul, a founding member of both bands. “This is the dawning of the return to the road for BlackHawk and The Outlaws, and getting back to what we have loved to do for so many years.”

The Outlaws. Photo: John Gellman

“The Outlaws are a pillar in the history and the fabric of southern rock music today,” notes UTA’s Alec Vidmar, Greg Janese, and Lance Roberts in a joint statement. “BlackHawk produced some of the most iconic songs of ’90s country music with distinctive three-part harmonies. It is not every day we have the opportunity to work with such genre-defying acts. We are over the moon to work with both iconic groups to bring their music to crowds everywhere.”

BlackHawk and The Outlaws are managed by Charlie Brusco and Darren Hagen in the Atlanta Red Light Management office.

Rhiannon Giddens. Photo: Ebru Yildiz

Rhiannon Giddens has announced that she will be releasing a new Audible Original audiobook, To Balance on Bridges, on July 22. Giddens also shared that she has inked a new four-book publishing deal with Candlewick Press which includes two picture books. The first of these, Build a House, will be due in fall of 2022.

Giddens’ Audible Original will debut as part of the Words + Music series exclusively on Audible. The 1.5 hour audio-only memoir follows Giddens as she examines the multitude of influences and identities that have defined her creative life. Throughout To Balance on Bridges, she leads listeners through a journey of musical styles, lyrical patterns, and instrumentation while confronting questions on race, culture, appropriation, and class with searing precision while also delivering performances from several of her acclaimed albums. Audible’s signature Words + Music series has recently featured top recording artists such as Common, Tom Morello, and Patti Smith.

Following the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 33rd MusicRow Awards, we take a look at the MusicRow Producer of the Year category. This stellar class of nominees conjured up some of country music’s most innovative projects during the eligibility period of June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

The MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.

Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.

Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribed members. Voting is now open and closes on July 23 at 5:00 p.m.

To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow member here.

Dave Cobb lent his production talents to a wide swath of artists, ranging from the traditional country sounds of Chris Stapleton to rock band Kaleo to Americana heroes Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit. Among his recent hits are Stapleton’s “Starting Over” from the ACM Album of the Year by the same name. Cobb worked on the heralded album by The Highwomen, and with icons John Prine, Barry Gibb and The Oak Ridge Boys, as well as the talents of A Thousand Horses, Anderson East, Blackberry Smoke, Dawes, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Randy Rogers Band, and Travis Tritt. Cobb was nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 63rd Grammy Awards. He is a two-time MusicRow Producer of the Year.

Ross Copperman is co-producer of Gabby Barrett’s blockbuster debut album Goldmine, home to the hits “I Hope” and “The Good Ones.” Over the last year Copperman also had hits including Darius Rucker’s “Beers and Sunshine,” and worked with newcomers Bexar and King Calaway. He produced new music by Darius Rucker (“My Masterpiece”), Brad Paisley (“City of Music”) and Michael Ray (“Picture”). Copperman’s own recent EP, Somewhere There’s A Light On, is out now via Photo Finish Records. This is his fourth nomination for MusicRow Producer of the Year.

Corey Crowder enters the Producer of the Year category for the first time in 2021, thanks to numerous hits including Chris Young and Kane Brown’s “Famous Friends,” Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard’s “Undivided,” and Florida Georgia Line’s “Long Live.” His credits also include FGL’s 6-Pack EP, Chris Tomlin & Friends and Chase Rice’s “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.” featuring FGL. Crowder re-upped with Tree Vibez Music in late 2020, where he produces artists including Brian Kelley and RaeLynn, and also released his own song as an artist.

Dann Huff is the producer and/or co-producer of Kane Brown’s “Worldwide Beautiful” and “Cool Again,” Russell Dickerson’s “Love You Like I Used To” and “Home Sweet,” and Brett Young’s “Lady.” He also worked with MusicRow Artist of the Year nominee Thomas Rhett on “What’s Your Country Song” and “Country Again,” and produced Lady A’s current single “Like A Lady,” and Rascal Flatts’ “How They Remember You.” Additional credits include Brantley Gilbert, Brad Paisley, Danielle Bradbery, Dillon Carmichael, Heath Sanders, Lanco, Lindsay Ell, Noah Schnacky, Restless Road, Robert Counts, and Ross Ellis. Huff has been voted MusicRow Producer of the Year for the last two years, and is an overall four-time winner.

Jay Joyce produced recent hits by Eric Church (“Stick That In Your Country Song,” “Hell Of A View”), and Brothers Osborne (“I’m Not For Everyone”), as well as Miranda Lambert’s Grammy-winning album Wildcard. In addition, “Hell Of A View” is nominated for MusicRow Awards Song of the Year, while Church and Lambert are nominated for MusicRow Awards Artist of the Year. Joyce also produced acclaimed artist Brandy Clark, and newcomer Lainey Wilson, who is in the running for Discovery Artist of the Year. He also has credits on fresh tracks from Charlie Worsham, Declan McKenna, Devin Dawson, Kip Moore and Tenille Townes. Joyce is a two-time MusicRow Producer of the Year.

Joey Moi produced one of 2021’s most-streamed albums, Dangerous: The Double Album by Morgan Wallen. Moi, a partner at Big Loud, also produced many of the company’s other artists including Chris Lane, Ernest, Hardy, Jake Owen, Larry Fleet, Lily Rose, MacKenzie Porter, and Sean Stemaly. This includes hits by Lane (“Big, Big Plans”), Owen (“Homemade,” “Made for You”) and Hardy (“One Beer,” “Give Heaven Some Hell”). Hardy’s “Give Heaven Some Hell” is nominated for MusicRow Song of the Year. This is Moi’s second nomination for Producer of the Year.