Ryan Kinder describes the sound of his upcoming debut album Room To Dream as “riff-roaring rock with a sweet side of southern soul,” and fans will get it on July 31.

He has released two new singles from Room To Dream, “Hell Is,” a radio-ready heartbreaker inspired by an argument overheard in a YMCA locker room, and “Blame,” a guitar-laden rocker driven along with stomps, claps, and thick background vocals.

“I had a lot of time to figure out what I wanted to do after a certain time in my life, and all these songs came together with different aspects of who I was when I wrote them,” says Kinder. “It was a beautiful realization that some of the bad things and not-so-fun situations led to the opportunity for me to have the room to dream, and to really be myself.”

Kinder began his journey towards a music career while enrolled in college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and commuted to and from Nashville to write songs with his mentor, producer Keith Stegall. A couple of short-lived record deals came and went before Kinder secured the opening slot on a huge tour with some of his heroes,  ZZ Top and John Fogerty. During that tour, Fogerty gave Kinder a piece of advice that’s carried him steadily through to today: “Don’t play to the empty seats.” “It took me a couple of days to figure out what he was talking about,” Kinder admits, “and it was as simple as playing to the people who are there, who care enough to come early and hear the guy that nobody knows about. I think about that every time I go on stage.”

Devin Dawson has released The Pink Slip EP Live, a six-song collection that was recorded during a full-band, no audience set last year in Nashville in attempt to keep music alive during COVID-19.

“In a year where live music was pretty much wiped off the face of the earth, this EP was a muse for my creative heart,” explains Dawson. “We recorded this project in late August 2020, still in the middle of the ‘unknown’ and dreadfully missing the connection of an audience and the one of a kind feeling of playing live. This was the first time my band and I had played these songs since we finished recording them earlier that year and was the first time I had really sang in months. The first time I got to have a taste of the ‘live show feeling’ that I had probably taken for granted. I’m so glad we got to immortalize this moment. It will always remind me how lucky I am to be an artist, to be able to play live, and to be surrounded by the best band and fans in the world.”

The Pink Slip EP was originally released in January and marked the first new music from the Warner Music Nashville/Atlantic Records artist since his debut album, Dark Horse, in 2018.

Dawson most recently topped the charts again as a featured artist alongside Lauren Alaina on Hardy‘s “One Beer,” which received a nomination for Music Event of the Year at the 56th ACM Awards. This follows the massive success of his Grammy-nominated, ACM, and CMA Single of the Year, “God’s Country,” that he co-wrote for country superstar Blake Shelton. The multi-week No. 1 also landed Dawson his first-ever ACM and CMA award nominations for Song of the Year.

The Pink Slip EP Live is available on all digital platforms now.

Pictured (L-R): Exile’s Steve Goetzman, JP Pennington, Sonny LeMaire, Marlon Hargis and Les Taylor. Photo: Mark Conner

Country rock band Exile has announced it will perform an exclusive online concert through Sessions on May 20 at 7 p.m. CT.

The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame band will perform the VIP event at the Kinkead Entertainment Soundstage Studio in Nashville. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in a virtual Zoom hang with the band, buy merchandise and more.

Exile’s career, spans nearly six decades with 11 No. 1 songs, three Gold albums and eight million records sold. Fans can expect to hear hits like “Kiss You All Over,” “Woke Up In Love,” “Give Me One More Chance” and many more.

“Exile joins a growing list of high profile country artists to join our platform,” says Sessions Founder, Tim Westergren. “Word is clearly spreading fast across the community as more and more artists discover the benefits of a fully integrated livestreaming product that offers not just the streaming infrastructure, but also large scale audience acquisition and highly effective monetization.”

Tickets for the virtual concert on sale Friday (April 23).

Country Radio Broadcasters will present the next installment of CRS360, Talk Data To Me Too, on Wednesday, April 28 at 1 p.m. CST.

This series aims to examine how data can be leveraged to understand country consumers and their engagement with new music, and is a continuation of the popular session held during CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience. Talk Data To Me Too will feature panelists Kenny Jay (previously with Big Loud), Haley Jones (MRC Data), and Annie Ortmeier (Universal Music Group). Stonedoor Media Lab’s Jeff Green will also return to moderate the April episode of CRS360.

“The response to the Talk Data To Me session at CRS 2021 was overwhelmingly positive,” says CRB Executive Director RJ Curtis. “This shows us programmers can never get enough useful data to help identify actual hit songs and how listeners are engaging with new music. That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome back Jeff Green and his expert panel for the April CRS360 episode, Talk Data To Me Too, offering even more analysis and insight all programmers will find actionable.”

Only a limited number of slots are available for the April edition of the CRS360 webinar series, and registration is open now.

CRS will return in person in 2022 and is set for Feb. 23 – Feb. 25, 2022, at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Registration for next year’s event will open later this year.

Sarah Trahern To Speak At Vanderbilt Business Class of 2021 Commencement

Sarah Trahern. Photo: Courtesy CMA

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern is returning to her alma mater and will speak at Vanderbilt’s Class of 2021 Commencement on May 15.

Trahern is a graduate of Georgetown University and received her MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Trahern has served as CEO of the CMA since 2014. She helms the organization’s three acclaimed network television properties (CMA Fest, CMA Country Christmas, and the CMA Awards), one of the biggest music festivals in the world, and serves as President of the CMA Foundation, which funds meaningful music education initiatives across the country.

Ryan Hurd’s “To A T” Certified Platinum

Ryan Hurd’s hit “To A T” has accumulated over one million consumption units and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. Hurd is pictured here embracing his brand new “To A T” Platinum plaque as well as a celebratory cocktail. “To A T” was written by Hurd, Laura Veltz and Nathan Spicer, and was included on his critically-acclaimed Platonic EP. Hurd’s latest song, “Chasing After You,” with wife Maren Morris officially impacted country radio less than a month ago, and has since amassed over 24 million streams.

Hope Garrison Promoted To Manager Marketing/Promotion Triple Tigers Records

Hope Garrison. Photo: Courtesy of Triple Tigers Records

Hope Garrison has been promoted from Promotions Coordinator to the newly-created position of Manager of Marketing and Promotion at Triple Tigers Records. While earning her Music Business degree from Belmont University, Garrison was an intern for Big Machine Label Group and Black River Entertainment, before joining Triple Tigers in August 2018. Garrison will report to SVP of Promotion Kevin Herring and VP of Marketing Laura Hostelley.

“As a promotion coordinator Hope has no equal,” says Herring. “Her attention to detail, ability to multi-task, while handling every challenge thrown at her, is amazing. I’m excited to continue to watch her grow in her new expanded role.”