Ian Munsick
Warner Music Nashville’s Ian Munsick is on a mission to bring back western influenced country music. With his recently released debut album, Coyote Cry, the Wyoming native describes the project as “a firm handshake of the cowboy and the hippy, the traditional and the contemporary.”
Munsick grew up on a ranch, playing country and western music with his family band, The Munsick Boys.
“Modern western culture is one that is extremely underrepresented in today’s country music. Most people think that cowboys only existed in that age of the 1800s, but cowboys are still out there,” Munsick told MusicRow in a recent virtual visit. “They’re still out there doing work and being model Americans. They’re honest, hard-working people that you want as your neighbor and as your friends.”
He counts a wide array of musical artists as influences. “Being in the generation that I was born in, we’ve had access to Spotify, MTV, Apple and just everything. But growing up in Wyoming, we never had artists come through our state. The only ones were Chris LeDoux and more of that cowboy western [music]. I just remember as a young kid—probably eight years old was when it started—I was glued to MTV and to music videos, taking in all this music from System Of A Down to Eminem, to just everything that I could get my hands on.”
The 27-year-old’s access to music discovery via multiple platforms and his varietal taste in music inspired him to start producing his own music.
“That opened up the whole new world of hip-hop, pop, and rock music,” Munsick said. “Then trying to incorporate that into a country feel that I feel most connected to has been what I’ve been trying to do for the last few years. I think that this album is a strong interpretation of how modern the west is.”
He came to Warner Music Nashville with Coyote Cry fully formed, and made his WMN introduction with the dreamy, strikingly visual “Long Haul.” The tune will be his first single to country radio.
The 10-song project also includes a stomping romp about confidence called “Humble,” a Fleetwood Mac cover of “Dreams,” and a slow burner, “Come Home To You,” among other unique songs.
Munsick is signed under a co-management deal with The Erv Woolsey Company and his wife’s Caroline Rudolph Munsick / Not A Public Figure Management. After moving to Nashville in 2012 to attend Belmont, the singer-songwriter met Caroline, who was looking to start her own management company. They released an EP in 2017 and worked hard to establish a fully-formed brand with cohesive imagery.
“[The EP] started to grow some legs and we started to figure out our brand and how to capitalize on it. We decided that it was time to make a new album and went into the studio at the beginning of 2018,” Munsick said. “Once we had the project all done, Caroline and I were like, ‘Hey, this album deserves as much help as we can get.’ So Caroline and I reached out to Allen [Mitchell] and Erv [Woolsey].”
A few months later the team partnered with Warner Music Nashville.
“I’m definitely glad that we waited to form the right team around us because, as you guys know, the artist is only as good as the team around us. Our team is awesome and I’m very grateful to be with them.”
Pictured (L-R, top row): The Erv Woolsey Company’s Allen Mitchell, Warner Music Nashville’s Victoria Chaitoff, MusicRow‘s Haley Crow; (L-R, middle row): MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson, Not A Public Figure Management’s Caroline Rudolph Munsick, Ian Munsick; (bottom row): MusicRow‘s LB Cantrell
Richie McDonald Exits Lonestar, Joins Frontmen Of Country Full-Time
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): Richie McDonald, Tim Rushlow, Larry Stewart. Photo Credit: Trae Edwards for 5 West Media Group
Richie McDonald, lead singer of multi-Platinum group Lonestar, has exited the band to tour full-time with The Frontmen of Country. The group also includes former lead singer of Little Texas, Tim Rushlow, and lead singer of Restless Heart, Larry Stewart. The trio has also signed an exclusive deal with The Kinkead Entertainment Agency.
“I’ve been with Lonestar for almost 30 years and have enjoyed my time with the guys,” says McDonald. “With everything that has happened in the past year, it has made me think about other things I want to do in life. This opportunity with The Frontmen came up and I’ve decided to go a new direction. I’ve always enjoyed performing with Tim and Larry and I can’t wait to see how this new chapter unfolds. I want to thank my bandmates Dean, Keech and Michael for a great run. I wish them nothing but the best.”
“The three of us have proudly performed for our country on battleships USS Bush and USS Truman, in the Middle East and even the Presidential Inauguration,” says Stewart. “Touring the United States for country music fans coast-to-coast, backed by a world class band, performing hit after hit, will be exciting and something we have never done together. I’m looking forward to hitting the stage with these two great singers!”
“We are ecstatic to have this amazing opportunity to bring this show on the road and celebrate the music of three of the biggest bands from the ’90s in one night,” says Rushlow. “I don’t know that I have ever seen three lead vocalists on a tour like this. There’s a common thread that runs through our collective catalog of hits and it will be awesome to sing them all in one concert event!”
The trio will kick off a new tour on April 16 at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Grant, Oklahoma. “I’m so excited to be involved with The Frontmen of Country, featuring Richie McDonald, Larry Stewart and Tim Rushlow,” says The Kinkead Entertainment Agency CEO Bob Kinkead. “I’ve seen these gentlemen perform and they still have incredible vocals and live performance energy. They have been working together as a team of singers for over a decade and now are finally going to work full-time throughout the summer, fall and winter to bring their 30 Number One collective hits to the fans.”
Pictured (L-R): Richie McDonald, Larry Stewart, Julie Devereaux (Kinkead Entertainment), Bob Kinkead (Kinkead Entertainment), Tim Rushlow, Greg Scott (Kinkead Entertainment). Photo: Kinkead Entertainment Agency
On The Row: Ian Munsick Brings The West To The Rest
/by LB CantrellIan Munsick
Warner Music Nashville’s Ian Munsick is on a mission to bring back western influenced country music. With his recently released debut album, Coyote Cry, the Wyoming native describes the project as “a firm handshake of the cowboy and the hippy, the traditional and the contemporary.”
Munsick grew up on a ranch, playing country and western music with his family band, The Munsick Boys.
“Modern western culture is one that is extremely underrepresented in today’s country music. Most people think that cowboys only existed in that age of the 1800s, but cowboys are still out there,” Munsick told MusicRow in a recent virtual visit. “They’re still out there doing work and being model Americans. They’re honest, hard-working people that you want as your neighbor and as your friends.”
He counts a wide array of musical artists as influences. “Being in the generation that I was born in, we’ve had access to Spotify, MTV, Apple and just everything. But growing up in Wyoming, we never had artists come through our state. The only ones were Chris LeDoux and more of that cowboy western [music]. I just remember as a young kid—probably eight years old was when it started—I was glued to MTV and to music videos, taking in all this music from System Of A Down to Eminem, to just everything that I could get my hands on.”
The 27-year-old’s access to music discovery via multiple platforms and his varietal taste in music inspired him to start producing his own music.
“That opened up the whole new world of hip-hop, pop, and rock music,” Munsick said. “Then trying to incorporate that into a country feel that I feel most connected to has been what I’ve been trying to do for the last few years. I think that this album is a strong interpretation of how modern the west is.”
He came to Warner Music Nashville with Coyote Cry fully formed, and made his WMN introduction with the dreamy, strikingly visual “Long Haul.” The tune will be his first single to country radio.
The 10-song project also includes a stomping romp about confidence called “Humble,” a Fleetwood Mac cover of “Dreams,” and a slow burner, “Come Home To You,” among other unique songs.
Munsick is signed under a co-management deal with The Erv Woolsey Company and his wife’s Caroline Rudolph Munsick / Not A Public Figure Management. After moving to Nashville in 2012 to attend Belmont, the singer-songwriter met Caroline, who was looking to start her own management company. They released an EP in 2017 and worked hard to establish a fully-formed brand with cohesive imagery.
“[The EP] started to grow some legs and we started to figure out our brand and how to capitalize on it. We decided that it was time to make a new album and went into the studio at the beginning of 2018,” Munsick said. “Once we had the project all done, Caroline and I were like, ‘Hey, this album deserves as much help as we can get.’ So Caroline and I reached out to Allen [Mitchell] and Erv [Woolsey].”
A few months later the team partnered with Warner Music Nashville.
“I’m definitely glad that we waited to form the right team around us because, as you guys know, the artist is only as good as the team around us. Our team is awesome and I’m very grateful to be with them.”
Pictured (L-R, top row): The Erv Woolsey Company’s Allen Mitchell, Warner Music Nashville’s Victoria Chaitoff, MusicRow‘s Haley Crow; (L-R, middle row): MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson, Not A Public Figure Management’s Caroline Rudolph Munsick, Ian Munsick; (bottom row): MusicRow‘s LB Cantrell
DelFest Postponed Until September
/by Lorie HollabaughDelFest has been pushed back from its May date to September 23-26, due to the pandemic.
Current ticket holders can use their tickets for the September date, or can also use them in 2022. Details on tickets and refund requests will be announced at a later date.
Rob and Ronnie McCoury issued a statement on behalf of the festival and the McCoury family, reporting most of the acts have been able to accommodate the new dates and will be part of the September event, and they will be posting an updated lineup with ticket sale information in the near future. See the full statement below:
Kings Of Leon, Yellowheart Team To Present The ‘NFT YOURSELF’ Collection
/by Lorie HollabaughThe Kings of Leon are releasing a digital art collection drop, NFT YOURSELF, this Friday, March 5, that includes real-world vinyl and one-of-a-kind experiences. The Legacy NFT (non-fungible token) drop coincides with the release of the band’s 8th studio album, When You See Yourself, also out worldwide this Friday.
The collection was made in collaboration with longtime creative partner Night After Night, and is being made available by YellowHeart, a socially responsible ticketing platform and a pioneer of the emerging NFT marketplace empowering artists to sell collectibles directly to their fans. For this collection, the power of the band’s music and their new album visuals are harnessed to deconstruct, degenerate, and distort iconic band symbols and photography and the result is a striking re-imagination of the band’s body of work. Using no outside material, every source photograph was taken by either Night After Night Creative Director Casey McGrath or band member Matthew Followill.
The NFT YOURSELF open edition will run for two weeks starting March 5 at 12:00 p.m. ET. This Legacy NFT collection includes up to 25 unique pieces starting with a $50 exclusive NFT collectible and limited-edition Golden Eye Vinyl. All proceeds will benefit Live Nation’s Crew Nation Fund.
In addition, collectors will have the chance to bid on one of six golden ticket experiences, offering fans four front row seats to the show of their choosing, anywhere in the world, for life.
“Here at YellowHeart, our mission is to create a symbiotic relationship between artists and fans by empowering artists to sell music and tickets directly to their fans,” says CEO and Founder of YellowHeart, Josh Katz. “Through our NFT and smart contract technology, we are changing the way fans interact with artists. We’re thrilled to be working with Kings of Leon as we pioneer a transparent, fan-friendly experience that ultimately gives control back to the artists and fans.”
Midland Goes Back To The Beginning In New ‘Sonic Ranch’ Documentary, Soundtrack
/by Lorie HollabaughMidland is looking back on the magic that brought them together as a band in a brand new documentary and accompanying soundtrack, Midland: The Sonic Ranch, due out March 19. The leadoff track from the album, “Cowgirl Blues,” is available now.
The new double project takes a deep dive into the backstory of the band’s origins prior to landing on country radio with their 2017 Platinum-certified smash “Drinkin’ Problem.” Using footage as an anchor not only shows their baby steps, but also measures their rise to a group capable of selling out the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, packing Billy Bob’s for multiple nights, and re-opening North Hollywood’s storied Palomino Club.
CMT will premiere Midland: The Sonic Ranch documentary, directed by the band’s Cameron Duddy and Riverside Entertainment’s Brian Loschiavo, on March 19 across ViacomCBS platforms including CMT Music, MTV Live, and PlutoTV’s CMT Equal Play channel, with a global premiere on CMT Australia.
“We were always about the music,” says Midland’s Jess Carson, “and the way real people could create something different. We’re all vintage people, whether old concert t-shirts or rhinestone suits, and recognizing what’s beautiful in the past set us up for this sound that we found out we had, a sound that borrowed from Gary Stewart and Mickey Gilley, Merle Haggard, Dwight, Buck Owens. Once we knew that, we wanted to chase it across the skyline. Now people can see our journey.”
“Midland was not so much a band as an experiment fueled by an assortment of spirits, but mostly tequila and the possibilities painted in our imaginations. We had no record label or manager and we had never played a show together. These recordings capture three friends, at a live-in studio in the desert, trying to make a dream come true,” says Midland’s Mark Wystrach.
Midland: The Sonic Ranch Track List:
1. Fourteen Gears (Adobe House Version)
2. Cowgirl Blues
3. Worn Out Boots
4. Champagne For The Pain
5. Will This Life Be As Grand
6. Fool’s Luck
7. Whiskey
8. She’s A Cowgirl
9. Runnin’ Wild
10. Texas Is The Last Stop
11. Cowgirl Blues (Jess Carson Vocal)
12. This Town
Old Dominion Debuts Band Van Radio On Apple Music Country
/by Steven BoeroOld Dominion has debuted their new show, Band Van Radio with Old Dominion, on Apple Country Radio.
The reigning ACM and CMA Group of the Year’s new show will air monthly and will feature the band traveling through their native Virginia, talking about their old college bands, and memories from the road, as well as highlighting other Virginia songwriters and artists.
Old Dominion has scored eight No. 1 songs, won many CMA and ACM awards, and headlined arenas and amphitheaters around the world since their 2014 debut. On Band Van Radio, the five-piece band will give listeners a backstage pass into their minds and offer their opinions on the latest hits and the music that influenced them—striving to create a radio show atmosphere that matches their lively, collaborative spirit.
“Touring is such a huge part of what makes us who we are as a band,” says band member Matthew Ramsey. “We’ve seen and experienced so much, we thought this would be a great way to give our fans a taste of that. It will be lots of stories, lots of laughing, and lots of music. We can’t wait to share Band Van Radio with you!”
“I can only hope y’all have as much fun listening to these episodes as we did recording them,” says band member Trevor Rosen. “Reliving the stories, it’s like I’m right back in that van driving through every little town that started us on this journey to where we are now. It’s funny back then, we couldn’t wait to get out of that thing—now it feels so good to be back there in our minds!”
CDX Celebrates 30-Year Anniversary
/by Lorie HollabaughCDX Nashville is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a special thank you to the music industry.
The company, founded in 1991 by late Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame member Charlie Douglas and national record promotion veteran Paul Lovelace, has been a trusted promotional delivery service to country radio in the U.S. and worldwide for 30 years. The service reaches key programming decision makers as well as the major streaming platforms, labels, publishing companies, and more, and they cater to individual goals for airplay or exposure to potential labels and publishing companies for furthering artists’ careers. In celebration of 30 years in business, for the month of March only, a special discounted rate is available here.
“Paul Lovelace and Charlie Douglas recognized a problem and developed a solution and 30 years ago on March 1st, CDX was launched. Innovation was and continues to be in the company DNA. We aren’t slowing down. Here’s to 30 more years to come,” says CDX President Joe Kelly.
Along with all genre music distribution to radio, CDX has launched a radio monitoring solution in their TRACTION program, that gives artists, labels and managers the data they need to grow artist careers. In addition, the CDX TRACTION Mainstream Country and True Indie charts are featured weekly in Country Insider. In 2021, CDX is planning a partnership with POLLSTAR and an added booking feature for CDX customers.
John Hiatt And The Jerry Douglas Band Explore ‘Leftover Feelings’ On New Collab
/by Lorie HollabaughJohn Hiatt and Jerry Douglas. Photo: Patrick Sheehan
John Hiatt has collaborated with The Jerry Douglas Band on a unique new project, Leftover Feelings, set for release on May 21 via New West Records.
The 11-song collection was produced by Jerry Douglas and recorded at the Historic RCA Studio B in Nashville. The meeting of these two forces in American music in such a legendary setting produced an album filled with deep and true grooves, empathetic musicianship, and startlingly vulnerable performances from Hiatt. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum premiered the video for the track, “All The Lilacs In Ohio,” which was filmed at RCA Studio B during the recording sessions. Additional digital content that highlights the project will also be published by the museum, expanding its educational commitment to the iconic studio.
Leftover Feelings will be available across digital platforms, on CD, and on standard black vinyl. A clear and black splatter vinyl edition limited to 750 copies and autographed by Hiatt and Douglas will also be available exclusively at Barnes & Noble, a blue marble vinyl edition limited to 2,000 copies will be available at independent retailers worldwide, and a gold marble vinyl edition limited to 700 copies is available for pre-order now via New West Records.
The collaboration follows Hiatt’s 2018 studio album The Eclipse Sessions, which received widespread critical acclaim, and The Jerry Douglas Band’s 2017 studio album, What If, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” category. Hiatt’s lyrics and melodies have graced more than 20 studio albums, and have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, B.B. King & Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, and scores of others, and earned him a place in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, A BMI Troubadour award, and a lifetime achievement in songwriting designation from the Americana Music Association. Douglas, a Dobro master who reinvented the instrument and is responsible for bringing it to popular presence in modern times, has performed on more than 1,500 albums for artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, Alison Krauss, Earl Scruggs, and James Taylor, to name a few.
SoundCloud Introduces Fan-Powered Royalties
/by Steven BoeroSoundCloud is introducing a brand new system of fan-powered royalties starting on April 1.
This new model of payouts aims to level the playing field by allowing up-and-coming and independent artists to make money off of SoundCloud based on the dedication of their listeners. Starting April 1, each listener’s subscription or advertising revenue is distributed among the artists that they listen to, rather than their plays being pooled. Fan-powered royalties reflect feedback from the independent artist community on SoundCloud who want equitable payouts, transparency, and control over their own careers.
“Many in the industry have wanted this for years. We are excited to be the ones to bring this to market to better support independent artists. SoundCloud is uniquely positioned to offer this transformative new model due to the powerful connection between artists and fans that takes place on our platform,” said Michael Weissman, chief executive officer of SoundCloud. “As the only direct-to-consumer music streaming platform and next generation artist services company, the launch of fan-powered royalties represents a significant move in SoundCloud’s strategic direction to elevate, grow and create new opportunities directly with independent artists.”
The new process also aims to weed out bots and fake plays, and allow for listeners and artists to build connections and create a community of fans. The nearly 100,000 independent artists monetizing directly on SoundCloud through SoundCloud Premier, Repost by SoundCloud or Repost Select will benefit from fan-powered royalties.
The Basement East To Reopen Tomorrow
/by Sarah SkatesBasement East staff. Photo: Kit Wood
The Basement East will reopen with events on March 4, 5 and 6, for what it is describing as “a much needed socially distanced hang to commemorate one year since the tornado ravaged our city.”
The beloved music venue in East Nashville was heavily damaged during the March 2020 storm. The 5,000 square foot space has since been repaired, including getting a new roof, and is ready to receive fans.
On Thursday and Friday, March 4 and 5, there will be DJ sets from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. On Saturday, March 6 the party moves to the 2,000 square foot deck with performances by The Minks, The Tigerbeats, Lilly Hiatt, Adams Street Trio, India Ramey and Tim Easton from 3 until 7 p.m., followed by DJ Spice J at 8 p.m.
In an Instagram post announcing the reopening event, The Beast thanked fellow venues Mercy Lounge, Nashville Urban Winery and Marathon Music Works for loaning them tables and chairs for the weekend.
The venue has outlined a core safety policy including face coverings and temperature checks. Click here for more details.