Nate Barnes. Photo: Jason Myers

Singer-songwriter Nate Barnes was working at a nuclear power plant in Michigan when his musical dreams came to fruition. He spent years playing bars, coffee shops, small venues and festivals in and around his hometown until one fateful day when he met chart-topping songwriter Jason Sellers while passing through Nashville.

Now he’s the flagship artist on Quartz Hill Records, helmed by industry veteran Benny Brown alongside Sellers and Paul Brown.

“A year and a half ago, I was living up in Michigan working in a nuclear power plant and blueberry farms on the side, playing and gigging anywhere I could. I took a vacation to Gatlinburg around that time. On my way to Gatlinburg, I stopped at Nashville to meet a buddy for the first time,” Barnes recalled to MusicRow in a recent artist visit. The songwriter he met was Rob Hatch, he had been referred to him by a buddy at the power plant.

“It was an amazing thing to be able to sit there and meet him. Jason Sellers comes walking in the door, randomly. He didn’t know I was going to be there, and I didn’t know he was going to be there. Me and Jason just hit it off. I played him a few songs and he said, ‘Nate, I’ve got a guy you need to meet.’ And that guy was Benny Brown.”

Barnes went to meet Benny and Paul, they signed him on the spot.

“I had a week and a half to make a decision and get all my affairs in order to leave everything, with the power plant. I had to move away from my 12-year-old boy, which was really hard. I had to sell everything I could and pack everything else up with me, my dog and my truck. I moved down here and lived in a hotel room for over a year.”

A year and a half later, Barnes is working in the studio with producers Mickey Jack Cones (Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett) and Derek George (Dustin Lynch, Randy Houser) on his Quartz Hill Records album debut. He released his debut single, “You Ain’t Pretty,” which earned him a DisCovery Award from MusicRow‘s Robert K. Oermann for its “warmth and sincerity.” The single impacts country radio on Feb. 16.

The brand new artist on the new Quartz Hill label has made a significant entry. The lyric video for “You Ain’t Pretty” has surpassed 400,000 views, and Barnes’ TikTok streams have surpassed 13.7 million at press time.

Pictured (clockwise): Byron Kennedy, Marathon Talent Agency’s Peter Strickland, Spielberg Entertainment’s Neal Spielberg. Illustration: Marjory Boyer

Comedian Byron Kennedy has signed with Spielberg Entertainment for management representation and Marathon Talent Agency.

Kennedy spent the past two decades channeling his comedic colors through the airwaves as a major market broadcast personality and programming executive. He transitioned his skills to a major Nashville based label, where he quarterbacked the careers of international Platinum recording artists. Now, less than two years removed from a career in the music business, Kennedy draws from life experiences working in entertainment and having served in the U.S. Army in a comedy trajectory that has taken him from open mic nights to being featured in Las Vegas and beyond.

Morgan Wallen. Photo: John Shearer

Morgan Wallen has been dropped from WME’s roster, MusicRow has confirmed.

The talent agency’s decision to drop Wallen is the latest development since a video surfaced on Feb. 2 of him using a racial slur. The video was reportedly shot Sunday (Jan. 31) night outside Wallen’s Nashville home by neighbors and shows him yelling profanities, including the N-word. Wallen has since been suspended from his label (Big Loud Records), and his music has been removed from iHeartMedia, Cumulus, and CMT, as well as major playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, and other organizations’ platforms. Read more here.

The Academy of Country Music also announced they will halt Wallen’s potential involvement and eligibility for this year’s ACM Awards.

Wallen issued an apology to TMZ, “I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.” MusicRow confirmed its authenticity.

Kellie Pickler (right) on one of her twelve USO Tours. Photo: courtesy DOD and USO.

Kellie Pickler has been named a USO Global Ambassador in support of the organization’s 80th anniversary.

Pickler, alongside USO Global Ambassador actor Wilmer Valderrama, will support the organization’s Give More Than Thanks initiative, a campaign encouraging Americans to find actionable ways to express their gratitude for the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families. Throughout the year, Pickler and Valderrama will participate in events and engagements for service members, raise awareness of our military’s needs, and share ways Americans can help the USO give more than thanks.

Pickler performed on her first USO Tour in 2007 to Iraq and has since completed 12 total tours, visiting 13 international locations including Afghanistan, Germany, Iraq, Kosovo, United Kingdom, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Norway; a ship at sea; and three domestic locations.

“I am honored to join the USO as a Global Ambassador for their 80th anniversary of supporting America’s military and especially this campaign encouraging all Americans to give more than thanks,” shares Pickler. “The USO has allowed me so many opportunities to serve those who serve us, and this is another way I can help shine a light on something that matters…supporting our servicemen, servicewomen, their families and letting them know we don’t take what they do for granted.”

Activist Artists Management Partner Caitlin Stone

Activist Artists Management has promoted Caitlin Stone from Senior Artist Manager to Partner. She has been with the company 11 years and is the day-to-day manager for acclaimed musician and humanitarian Michael Franti.

The promotion has Stone joining the current Activist Partners: Bernie Cahill, Greg Suess, Matt Maher, Liz Norris and Tony Khan.

Based in Nashville, Stone is Activist’s Head of Activism, and serves as the day-to-day management lead for the Activist Artists Fellowship.

As a Co-Chair of The Activist Foundation, her work was instrumental in raising millions of dollars in COVID-19 related emergency relief, including providing over 350,000 meals to desperate Nepali families during the COVID-19 crisis.

“We are delighted to announce the promotion of Caitlin Stone to Partner,” said Maher. “Just over 11 years ago, we hired Caitlin straight out of college when she resourcefully submitted her website HireCaitlinStone.com. Her leadership, dedication and passion for making positive change in the world are the embodiment of everything that Activist stands for.”

Stone also leads Activist’s Health & Wellness program and is a Grammy U mentor for the class of 2021.