Moon River Music Festival, presented by Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, will return to Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Coolidge Park on Sept. 11 and 12. In partnership with AC Entertainment, the full lineup was revealed this morning and tickets for the festival are on sale now.

Among the list of 2021 Moon River performers are Wilco, Lord Huron, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lake Street Dive, Dr. Dog, Indigo Girls, Hippo Campus, Dawes, COIN, Shovels & Rope, YOLA, Mipso, Amythyst Kiah, Molly Tuttle, Madison Cunningham, Rebirth Brass Band, Seratones, Overcoats, The National Parks, American Aquarium and Allison Russell.

“I am beyond thrilled that we can gather again together around our mutual love of music and community!” Drew shares. “It means the world to me to be able to announce that Moon River is back on! Can’t wait to see you in Chattanooga.”

Founded in 2014, Moon River Music Festival celebrates its sixth installment this year and its third in Chattanooga. As in previous years, a portion of every ticket supports Outdoor Chattanooga and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A special Friday night event will be held on September 10 exclusively for VIP ticket holders. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.moonriverfestival.com.

Health & safety measures will also be in place to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for fans, artists, and staff with Moon River festival organizers continuing to work closely with local health and public safety officials to implement guidelines that are current at the time of the event. As the festival approaches, Moon River patrons will receive regular updates with important information regarding safety policies and procedures before entering the festival grounds.

Newcomer Norman North’s brand new EP, The Otherside, is available now and is celebrating a No. 10 spot on the iTunes country chart and a spot in the Top 40 of all genre sales chart.

North has been successfully writing and producing hip-hop music for years for the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, Kevin Gates, Akon, and Moneybagg Yo, but North rediscovered his love for country music after his mother’s recent passing. His single “Plain Jain” merges North’s infamous hip-hop writing and production with country elements.

The EP is a manifestation of the Sunnyside, Texas native’s relationship with music which he uses as a way to connect with people. North’s goal for this EP, which he solely penned except for “Us Now”, is for fans to discover the same feelings he felt when he first listened to country as a kid.

North’s music is distributed by pop and hip-hop industry stalwart Troy Carter (Lady Gaga, John Legend, Meghan Trainor) and Suzy Ryoo’s company Venice

“It’s amazing how channeling yourself and being authentic shines through a project and connects with the fans in indescribable ways,” explains North. “This is the first time in my life I’ve ever charted on a sales chart and for it to be Top 10 and rising is insane. I didn’t really expect any of this to happen. I just wanted to make a great body of work and I’m happy the world likes the vibes I provide.”

The Otherside Track Listing:
1. Us Now
2. Always
3. Plain Jane
4. You’re Not Alone
5. Here Goes Nothing

Round Hill Music Nashville Adds Lindsay Will As Manager, A&R

Round Hill Music Nashville has hired Lindsay Will as the new manager of A&R.

As an Arkansas native, Will previously interned for Big Deal Music and Round Hill prior to graduating from Middle Tennessee State University. She joins Round Hill most recently from Liv Write Play where she operated as the Creative Manager.

“We’re thrilled to have Lindsay on board,” says Round Hill’s Bob Squance. “Her knowledge, experience, and energy are a great addition to the creative team, and we look forward to building upon the amazing success of our songwriters.”

Since opening its doors in 2014, Round Hill Music Nashville has celebrated over 50 No. 1 songs from its roster of hit songwriters, including Ashley Gorley, Jimmy Robbins, Zach Crowell, Katie Pruitt, Eric Arjes, Kyd the Band, Adam Sanders, and more.

 

Tenille Arts And Her Team Celebrate Her No. 1 ‘Somebody Like That’

Tenille Arts and her 19th & Grand Records’ team were finally able to celebrate Arts latest No. 1 on country radio with “Somebody Like That.”

She first celebrated the historic milestone last month when the hit single placed the top spot on the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart and became the first song in country music that was written, performed, and produced by all females to do so.

Arts co-wrote “Somebody Like That” with Allison Cruz and Alex Kline; Kline also produced the track which made her the first solo female producer to have a No. 1 single at country radio. The single took a record 70 weeks to hit the top spot, making it the longest chart run for a female act in the history of Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart.

 

 

Hard 8 //Working Group Adds Aimee Beren To Manager Roster

Dirk Hemsath, Co-Founder and CEO of Hard 8 // Working Group has announced that manager Aimee Beren and her client Awfultune will be joining the company’s Nashville division.

Beren signed Awfultune while previously working in a label services role at the indie record label Amuse. She will continue to handle the artist, who has over 125 million streams globally, and be the day to day manager for multi-Platinum selling artist Daughtry.

“I’m so happy to welcome Aimee to the Hard 8//Working Group family. Aimee comes so highly regarded and recommended by people inside and outside of the company. I’m proud she chose our company to be the home base for herself and her wonderful client,” says Hemsath.

“It feels great to be part of such a collaborative team and work alongside such esteemed individuals in the industry with Hard 8//Working Group. They were the perfect home for my artist and I,” shares Beren.

 

Ontourage Management Signs The Flying Buffaloes

East Nashville-based, alt/roots rockers Flying Buffaloes have signed with Ontourage Management for exclusive representation, and they will also be releasing a new single “A New Day is Gonna Dawn” on May 21.

Co-written collectively by the Flying Buffaloes and produced by Donnie Reis at Twelve 3 South Recording, “A New Day is Gonna Dawn” reflects upon the group’s approach to times of trouble—to fight through the darkness with positivity and light. 

“We couldn’t be more pleased to have the support of such a notable and respected industry leader like Conway Entertainment Group,” says frontman Barry Stone. “After many years in the trenches, we finally feel we have the backing we need to elevate the band to its highest level and we can’t wait to see what the future holds!”

Ontourage Management will represent the band in its entirety with Manager Cody Payne running point as the band’s day-to-day representative. The team is currently booking dates in-house as well.

Change the Conversation and MediaRow have created a quarterly spotlight series to highlight three rising female artists across multiple genres and backgrounds. The new series begins with Jillette Johnson, Harper Grae, and Reyna Roberts on June 3 at 4 p.m CST.

Change the Conversation, a coalition designed to help create an even playing field for women in country music, was formed by Tracy Gershon, Beverly Keel and Leslie Fram in 2014. MediaRow offers artist development strategy, creative services, and digital marketing services such as social media & paid ad strategy, DSP release support, TikTok campaign activations and more.

“Tracy, Leslie, and Beverly are true artist and female advocates,” says Kaitlyn Parmenter, CEO and co-founder of MediaRow. “It’s an honor to partner with Change the Conversation & Starstruck to highlight female acts we are really excited about!”

“Fostering a community of talented up-and-coming female artists is part of the Change the Conversation mission,” says Gershon, co-founder of Change the Conversation. “We are pleased to resume our spotlight series to further this mission and highlight some of our community’s most promising talent.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with MediaRow & Starstruck to continue our work on supporting female artists,” says Fram, Change the Conversation co-founder.

Sponsored by Starstruck Entertainment, the first event will be held in Starstruck’s historic Gallery Studio and will have limited in-person attendance on a first come, first served basis. The event will also be broadcast live via Zoom for those who have registered to attend. For information regarding registration, click here.

Iconic country singer Connie Smith has announced her highly anticipated 54th album, The Cry of the Heart, will release on August 20 via Fat Possum. This marks the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s first release in a decade.

Known for the pain and heartache in her timeless country sound, The Cry of the Heart finds Smith collaborating on production for the third time with her husband and fellow Hall of Famer Marty Stuart.

Smith and Stuart contributed two original tracks written together as well, including “Here Comes My Baby Back Again” and weeper “Spare Me No Truth Tonight.” Other songs on the project include “I Don’t Believe Me Anymore” the 72nd song Smith has recorded written by Hall of Fame songwriter Dallas Frazier, and Merle Haggard’s “Jesus Takes a Hold,” which is a reflection of Smith’s faith in the midst of troubled times. Grammy award-winning producer and songwriter Carl Jackson pens “To Pieces” and “I’m Not Over You,” the latter composed with classic country singer Melba Montgomery.

“People ask me, ‘What is country music,’” says Smith. “I say, ‘To me, country music is the cry of the heart.’ We all have these experiences in our hearts and I’m trying to identify and communicate with people so they know they’re not alone.”