Nominees Revealed For 33rd Annual MusicRow Awards

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MusicRow is proud to reveal the nominees for the 33rd annual MusicRow Awards. The industry-voted winners of the MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually on all MusicRow platforms on Aug. 19. Subscribed members of MusicRow will receive their ballots via email on Wednesday, July 14.

Click here to view the digital “Nominator” newsletter for a complete list of all nominees.

Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.

There are 11 member-voted categories, including:
1. Producer of the Year
2. Label Group of the Year
3. Talent Agency of the Year
4. Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year
5. Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year
6. Male Songwriter of the Year
7. Female Songwriter of the Year
8. Song of the Year
9. Discovery Artist of the Year
10. Breakthrough Artist of the Year
11. Artist of the Year

Nominees for the MusicRow Awards are determined by committee, with outside nominations being considered for Breakthrough Songwriter and Breakthrough Artist-Writer. Male and Female Songwriter nominees are based on data from MusicRow’s Top Songwriter Chart. Eligible projects were active between June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

MusicRow‘s August/September print magazine, which is produced and mailed out prior to the MusicRow Awards winners announcement on Aug. 19, features all of the nominees for the 33rd Annual MusicRow Awards. This print edition also includes exclusive industry-related editorial features.

Top 10 Album All-Star Musician Awards for Bass, Drums, Engineer, Fiddle, Guitar, Keyboards, Steel, and Vocals will also be announced on Thursday, Aug. 19, recognizing the studio players who performed on the most albums reaching the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart during the eligibility period.

Voting for the MusicRow Awards will begin Wednesday, July 14 and run through Friday, July 23 for all MusicRow subscribed members. To become a subscribed member and become eligible to vote, sign up here.

Martin Johnson Enters Top 10 On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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Martin Johnson

Newly-signed Warner Chappell writer Martin Johnson has jumped 10 slots to No. 10 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week. Johnson is a co-writer on “Like A Lady” recorded by Lady A and “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” recorded by Elle King and Miranda Lambert.

Corey Crowder remains at No. 1 on the chart this week for the seventh consecutive week. He is a co-writer on “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.” (Chase Rice feat. Florida Georgia Line), “Famous Friends” (Chris Young and Kane Brown), and “Minimum Wage” (Blake Shelton).

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.

Dierks Bentley’s Seven Peaks Music Festival Cancelled For 2021

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Dierks Bentley. Photo: Jim Wright

Dierks Bentley has announced that his Seven Peaks Music Festival 2021 has officially been cancelled.

Bentley took to social media to break the news, informing fans that, despite attempts to make it work, the festival’s home of Chaffee County, Colorado had decided against lifting capacity restrictions. All 2021 passes purchased for Seven Peaks Music Festival will be fully refunded within 30 days back to the original form of payment.

“I want to thank my team for the work, the artists for the trust, and above all our fans, who look forward to this event all year long,” Bentley shares on Instagram. “Really appreciate you guys hanging in there with us through the ups and downs of Covid. Together we built something very special and it’s going to be a big celebration when our 7P family is together again. We will be back!”

 

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Originally scheduled for Labor Day weekend in Buena Vista, Colorado, the three-day campout experience was set to feature a full list of performers, including Bentley, Keith Urban, Kip Moore, Old Crow Medicine Show, Randy Houser, Travis Denning, Ingrid Andress, Caitlyn Smith, Hailey Whitters, Callista Clark, Payton Smith, Clay Walker, Reyna Roberts, and Pam Tillis, among others.

Cody Jinks Forms Indie Label Late August Records

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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.

Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs To Headline Stagecoach 2022

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Stagecoach is hitching the wagon back up in 2022 with recently announced headliners Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs heading to the desert on April 29-May 1. Passes go on sale starting July 16 at 12 p.m. CST at stagecoachfestival.com.

“I have been looking forward to this for so long! I dreamed about headlining Stagecoach ever since I first played there in 2014. I cannot wait to get back out in the desert in 2022 and play for those fans,” says Rhett.

“There’s nothing like a Stagecoach audience and I can’t wait to take that stage and be with the fans in the desert again,” Underwood shares. Combs adds, “Stagecoach, it’s a dream come true to headline the festival in 2022. It will be here before we know it, and I’m already looking forward to seeing y’all there!”

Also on tap for the 14th annual Indio, California festival are Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, The Black Crowes, Midland, Lee Brice, Cody Johnson, Jordan Davis, Cody Jinks, and many more. Additionally, YouTube and Goldenvoice are partnering this year to offer an exclusive, first time livestream of the famed Stagecoach festival.

“We are so excited to be adding Stagecoach, country music’s biggest festival weekend, into our live stream lineup for the first time ever,” says YouTube’s Head of Live Music and West Coast Artist Relations Ali Rivera. “2022 marks our 10th year partnering with Goldenvoice to stream some of their most coveted music festivals like Stagecoach and Coachella. We are both honored and proud to be bringing three consecutive weekends of extraordinary live music to fans around the world next year.”

Returning to the festival this year is the SiriusXM Spotlight Stage, which will once again highlight today’s rising stars like Breland, Caylee Hammack, Hailey Whitters and others. In addition to the Spotlight Stage, Stagecouch Weekend will also be returning featuring headliners Combs and Rhett, as well as new performances from Morris, Dierks Bentley, Old Dominion, Carly Pearce, and more. Stagecouch Weekend begins July 16 at 11 a.m. CST through July 18 on SiriusXM’s The Highway.

Weekly Register: Walker Hayes Takes “Fancy Like” To The Top Of Streaming Charts

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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.

Anthem Entertainment Acquires Country Catalog From Combustion Music

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Anthem Entertainment has acquired the Combustion Music catalog, including some of the genre’s biggest hits from Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, and many more. Anthem will also administer Combustion’s active songwriter roster, which includes songwriters Brett Tyler, Jameson Rodgers, Faren Rachels, Matt Jenkins, Leanna Crawford, and Matthew West, among others.

Combustion’s catalog features songs written by top songwriters including Ashley Gorley, Jenkins, AJ Pruis, Rodgers, Zach Crowell, Jerry Flowers, West, and more. Among those are 38-charting topping singles that reached No. 1 on Billboard’s US Country Airplay chart, including the 8x-Platinum hit single “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt, “Heartbeat” by Carrie Underwood, “Setting the World On Fire” by Kenny Chesney featuring Pink, “Fix a Drink” by Chris Janson, and “Song for Another Time” by Old Dominion.

“This has been a crazy year for us all, but having a company as strong and significant as Anthem believe in Combustion this much, means an awful lot,” says Chris Farren, Founder of Combustion. “We couldn’t be happier to be working with their team together going forward, and know the next phase of Combustion will be better for it.”

“Chris is an incredibly talented creative and an amazing entrepreneur, as well as a hit producer and songwriter, with over 100 top ten hits in his career to date,” says Helen Murphy, CEO of Anthem Entertainment. “He understands and feels the creative process in a way that inspires his talent to greatness. We are proud to be in business with him and welcome the Combustion team to the Anthem.”

Lauren Jenkins Releases Part One Of ‘Miles On Me’ Trilogy

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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.

Miles On Me, Part 1 Track List:
1. Like You Found Me
2. She’s a Star
3. Miles on Me (Feat. David Ramirez)
4. My Own Advice

Nashville’s Historic Bluebird Cafe Announces Reopening

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Photo: Courtesy Bluebird Cafe

After a long 16 months, Nashville’s historic Bluebird Cafe has announced that it will be reopening its doors on Friday, July 16, with an already sold out crowd. The venue’s first show back will include performances from Nashville’s songwriters Joel Shewmake, Annie Mosher, and Jason Matthews.

“It’s the news everyone has been waiting for!” reads a post on the Bluebird Cafe’s Instagram. “After a long and challenging year and a half, we are ecstatic to announce that The Bluebird Cafe’s doors will soon be opening and we will once again have music filling our room!”

 

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The Bluebird Cafe closed its doors in March 2020 due to the pandemic, but has hosted several virtual shows since closing. It was also one of the venues that housed the ACM Awards.

Other artists and songwriters featured in the Bluebird Cafe’s newly announced lineup include Riley Weston, Kent Blazy, Doug Johnson, JT Harding, Chris DeStefano, Brett James, Ted Drozdowski, Chrissy Metz, Blessing Offor, Jimmy Robbins, and many more. For a full list of upcoming shows at The Bluebird Cafe, click here.

Mickey Guyton Closes The Chapter On A Decade With ‘Remember Her Name’

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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