The Radio Award winners for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards have been announced and include first-time National On-Air Personality of the Year winner Kix Brooks with American Country Countdown, and KNIX-FM, which received two awards for Major Market On-Air Personality of the Year and Major Market Station of the Year.

The announcement was revealed on the ACM’s official social media pages in a series of videos capturing winners receiving surprise gifts from the Academy. This is the seventh overall win for KNIX-FM for ACM Major Market Station of the Year, and the fourth overall for KUZZ-AM/FM in the ACM Medium Market Station of the Year category. WQDR-FM received their third win for ACM Large Market Station of the Year, while KKNU-FM and Buzz Jackson each received their second trophies for Small Market Station of the year and Medium Market Personality of the Year, respectively. And first-time winners in the On-Air Personality of the Year categories include Lexi & Banks, Lois Lewis, and Steve, Ben & Nikki.

“Congratulations to all of our 56th ACM Awards radio winners. Country radio is a vital part of the country music industry and artists’ success and we are grateful for the contributions they make to the industry every day,” said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “For the first time, the Academy was able to showcase our appreciation to these winners with a special package reveal to each of them, along with an iconic ACM trophy. We hope the memory of their win is one they cherish throughout their careers.”

Radio Award winners for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards:

On-Air Personality Of The Year Winners:
National – American Country Countdown – Kix Brooks
Major Market – Double L – Lois Lewis – KNIX-FM – Phoenix, AZ
Large Market – Lexi & Banks – Lexi Papadopoulos, Jared Banks – KUBL-FM – Salt Lake City, UT
Medium Market – Buzz Jackson – KIIM-FM – Tucson, AZ
Small Market – Steve, Ben & Nikki – Steve Stroud, Ben Walker, Nikki Thomas – WXBQ-FM – Bristol, VA

Radio Station Of The Year Winners:
Major Market – KNIX-FM – Phoenix, AZ
Large Market – WQDR-FM – Raleigh, NC
Medium Market – KUZZ-AM/FM – Bakersfield, CA
Small Market – KKNU-FM – Eugene, OR

Sarah Jarosz. Photo: Kaitlyn Raitz

Fresh off her win Grammy win for Best Americana Album, Sarah Jarosz has announced she will release another project, Blue Heron Suite, on May 7. She composed the collection of songs after becoming the recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission in 2017.

Blue Heron Suite was recorded in December of 2018 at Reservoir Studios in New York City and features Jeff Picker on bass and Jefferson Hamer on guitar and harmony vocals. The piece was inspired by frequent trips Jarosz and her parents made to Port Aransas, a small town on the Gulf Coast of Texas a few hours from the family’s home in Wimberley.

“2017 was an emotional year for me—my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer the previous winter and the town of Port Aransas was severely impacted by Hurricane Harvey,” recalls Jarosz. “Those two events caused me to think back to the early morning walks my mom and I would take along Mustang Island beach—we would always spot the Great Blue Herons along the shore… The bird came to be a symbol of hope for my family during a difficult time, and even now, throughout my travels, whenever I spot a Blue Heron, I always think of it as a good omen; a little reminder of the important things in life, especially family.”

Jarosz notes, “Thankfully, my mom is now in remission and Port Aransas is slowly on the mend, but Blue Heron Suite still encapsulates so many of the feelings associated with that time – I like to think of the song cycle as a quiet acknowledgment of life’s many uncertainties; you never know what will be thrown your way, but you can always work to try to face the highs and the lows with grace and strength.”

Jarosz also recently announced a pair of livestream concert events scheduled for April 29 and May 9 which are slated to feature different set lists for each show. On April 29, Jarosz will perform her Grammy-winning album World on the Ground with a full band for the first time since its release. Meanwhile, on May 9, Jarosz will celebrate the release of Blue Heron Suite by performing it in its entirety.

Tickets for both shows, which will stream via Mandolin, are now available for purchase.

Parmalee. Photo: Ford Fairchild

Parmalee has signed with WME.

The ACM-nominated band is one of only four groups since 2001 to earn three consecutive Top 10 singles from a debut country album. Since their debut at country radio, Parmalee has earned more than 427 million Pandora streams, 253 million on-demand streams, and over 58 million YouTube views.

Comprised of brothers Matt and Scott Thomas (lead vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), cousin Barry Knox (bass), and life-long friend Josh McSwain, the North Carolina natives recently went No. 1 with their Platinum-certified single featuring BBR labelmate Blanco Brown, “Just the Way,” which amassed more than 160 million streams in the U.S. alone. The reimagined pop version of the smash, co-produced by Andrew Goldstein and David Fanning, was recently released and features pop/hip-hop maverick Bryce Vine in addition to fellow country artist Brown. Offering a message of self-acceptance and praise to those that are true to themselves, the song will ship to pop radio April 12.

Parmalee is represented by David Fanning and attorney Derek Crownover at Loeb & Loeb LLP.

Pictured (L-R): Given Sr. VP of Publishing and Artist Development Cliff Downs; Given Founding Partner Cindy Owen; Billy Dean; Given Creative Director Kelsey Wise. Photo: McIntyre Barnhardt

Billy Dean has signed a publishing deal with Given Entertainment.

The signing reunites Given Founding Partner Cindy Owen and Dean from their days at Starstruck Entertainment, when Owen brought the artist to Narvel Blackstock for management.  At the time, she served as the company’s Creative Director.

Since his launch in the early ’90s, Dean has sold millions of records, won numerous music industry honors and amassed a loyal following with his brand of pop-folk-influenced country. He won his first of several major awards in 1992 when the Academy of Country Music named him Top New Male Vocalist of the Year, and also presented him with the Song of the Year honor for “Somewhere In My Broken Heart.” The smash single also won Song of the Year from the Nashville Songwriters Association International, as well as awards from BMI and a Grammy nomination. Dean was also part of the Grammy-winning album Amazing Grace: A Country Salute To Gospel Vol 1, and Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, which won 1994 CMA Album of the Year. Other career accolades include CMT’s Rising Star Award and TNN’s Top Songwriter Award for his song “Billy the Kid.”

In addition to music, Dean has worked as an actor, appearing in several TV shows including Wings and Lois and Clark as well as the Dolly Parton movie Blue Valley Songbird. He also hosted some network music specials including ABC’s In Concert.

“Signing Billy is a no-brainer. His passion for music is as strong as it ever was and he is writing and singing better than ever,” Owen says. “We are proud to give him a platform to continue to build on the Billy Dean legacy that had so many of us hooked.”

“When Cindy listened to my new music, she said, ‘Billy, your best years of writing are ahead of you.’  That’s the kind of encouragement and support I look for in a publisher,” Dean says. “Given is giving me the freedom to dig deep to craft songs for this generation of incredibly gifted country music artists.”

Photo: Reid Long

Eric Church will share songs from his new three-part album project and answer fan questions with a live Q&A during an exclusive event on the Amazon Music Twitch channel on April 20.

Following the release of Heart this Friday (April 16), the first album from his anticipated new three-part project, Church will perform new music, including “Rock And Roll Found Me” from Soul for the first time ever ahead of the album’s release. Starting at 8 p.m. CT on April 20, fans can watch along via the Amazon Music Twitch channel and within the Amazon Music mobile app. The performance will also be available to watch on the Amazon Music Twitch channel for four days afterwards.

Heart & Soul was created during a secluded session in rural North Carolina, where Church and his collaborators wrote and recorded a song from start to finish each day for nearly a month. The three-part, 24-song collection begins with Heart, on April 16, and concludes with Soul, out April 23. In keeping with his longtime commitment to his fans, Church created the middle album, &, specifically for the Church Choir and will make it available exclusively to those fans and only as a vinyl record on Tuesday, April 20.

To gear up for the event, fans can now explore Church’s full discography on CD and vinyl in his Amazon Music Store, featuring 22 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified singles off Gold-certified Desperate Man (“Some Of It”), Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”).