Pictured: Sarah Trahern (Courtesy CMA), Robert Deaton (Photo: Jessica Lewis)
Last week’s 54th Annual CMA Awards, held at Nashville’s Music City Center, ushered in new winners in several categories, including Eric Church taking home his first Entertainer of the Year honor, and Maren Morris picking up her first Female Vocalist, Single and Song of the Year wins.
The evening also marked the first time country music’s artists had gathered all in one room for an awards show in 2020.
In addition to navigating an array of COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of attendees, the CMA’s team also prepared backup plans in case performers or presenters had to drop out of the show at the last minute—which did happen to a few artists and performers including Lee Brice, Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard, Lady A, Rascal Flatts and Musician of the Year winner Jenee Fleenor.
The Country Music Association’s CEO Sarah Trahern and CMA Awards Executive Producer Robert Deaton discussed the planning that went into many of the awards show’s special moments, such as tributes to the late Charlie Daniels, Kenny Rogers, Joe Diffie and Mac Davis, and bringing artists together safely in one space.
MusicRow: The CMA Awards marked a milestone in terms of awards shows in 2020, as the nominees and performers were all in one room. When you first brought this idea to artists and their teams, what was the initial response, and what has feedback been like since the awards took place?
Robert: Here’s the thing, we never move forward with anything without the approval of our artists and management. In fact, as we were trying to figure out what we were doing months before we knew nominations I reached out to about 10 different managers who I figured may have nominated artists and posed the question, saying ‘If we can, and we don’t know if we can, but if we can have artists in the room, do you think we would get the support of the artists or would you rather not participate and keep it all separate?’ And every response was, ‘My artist would like to be in the room with the other artists and keep it as much of a regular CMA Awards show as we can. If we’re allowed to do that and we can have the protocols set and it can be safe.’ From the very beginning we included artists and managers in on that decision. All the responses I’ve gotten, even the night of the show, we were about 2.5. hours into the show and Eric Church pulled me aside and said ‘The greatest thing about tonight is that we’re all together, we’re celebrating music and I’m seeing people that I haven’t seen in such a long time.’ From my viewpoint, it’s what the artists wanted to do. I think they really enjoyed themselves and it was a healing thing for them.
Most of the performances were live. How did you decide which would be live and which would be pre-taped?
Sarah: Because of COVID restrictions, even though we had two performance stages in the room, we had to allow time between performances to totally clean stages between the live performances, so a lot of the scheduling had to do with the stacking of the performances and allowing appropriate distances between live acts.
Robert: In order to be safe and follow COVID protocols, we could not have every performance live. We had to have at least a minimum of 15 minutes between each stage to be able to clean and move people on and off in a safe manner. I put together the board, first, to get a great show run and a great flow from beginning to end, and out of that, that’s how we decided who would be live and who would be pre-taped.
What did it take behind the scenes, especially for the fuller-band performances such as those from Brothers Osborne or Jon Pardi, to pull that off?
Robert: Those performances weren’t any more difficult than say, the Thomas Rhett performance. The thing about it is, this year we had to really cut down on the number of live musicians. For example on Brothers Osborne, that’s a pre-recorded track, but vocals are live and so was John Osborne’s guitars. To be safe and follow protocols, we couldn’t have that many people onstage mic’ing instruments and so on. If you look at 22 or so performances, that’s a lot of musicians. We just did not have the bandwidth to go “live, live” like we normally do on most of our performances on a normal CMA Awards year. When you cut down the number of people onstage, the setup goes a whole lot quicker, so it really was not any more difficult than Darius and Reba’s performance with just the two of them onstage.
Charley Pride, Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee were all in attendance, with Pride performing with Jimmie Allen. Were any special/additional precautions taken to make sure they took part in the show safely?
Robert: No, our protocols were in place for everybody. It was an extremely safe environment. The entire crew, everybody in Zone A, wore both masks and face shields. The precautions on a whole were so tight and safe, I don’t know what additional precautions could have been taken beyond what we did.
Sarah: I agree with Robert. We worked for months with the CDC and local health officials to make sure this was the safest environment possible and all protocol was strictly enforced across the board.
Several performers, including Lady A, Rascal Flatts and Jenee Fleenor, announced just before or during the broadcast that they were not taking part in the show due to COVID. What changes did that necessitate during the show?
Robert: There were no changes going into the show. The awakening moment for me was when Lee tested positive. We thought this could happen again, so we decided to overbook the show. Just overbook, so that in case someone fell out we were still okay and we could end on time. So we overbooked the show and I had an idea called “The CMA Flashback” taking one or two performances from the past and we showed things that were important to us. For example in 1983 at The 17th Annual CMA Awards we had Dolly and Kenny perform “Islands in the Stream.” We thought that could be a really fun moment to revisit that performance if on the day of show somebody called and said they can’t come for whatever reason. And so, we were just preparing ourselves. Luckily we didn’t have to use any of those backup plans.
This year’s show celebrated a few country greats that passed away earlier this year. Instead of featuring more obvious Charlie Daniels hits, songs like “Texas” and “Trudy” were included. And Darius and Reba honored Mac Davis with “In The Ghetto.” How did everyone decide on those particular songs to perform on the show?
Robert: I put together the Charlie Daniels tribute because I wanted to represent Charlie Daniels. I wanted it to feel like Charlie Daniels. When you do a tribute, you think of the song and then you think of the artist that it fits. So when I thought of “Long Haired Country Boy,” I thought of an acoustic guitar in the middle of the room with Dierks Bentley. When I heard “Trudy,” I thought it sounded like a Brothers Osborne song. And the same goes with Jason Aldean on “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and Ashley McBryde on “Texas.” To me, it’s about honoring the artist and getting the right song with the right artist to perform that song. It’s interesting though that with “In the Ghetto,” I did not put that together. Reba had already cut that song, prior to Mac passing away, with Darius. So when that happened and Reba said she’d cut that song, it made obvious sense for them to do that. And again with Joe Diffie. Who doesn’t love “Pickup Man?” I thought, once again, I heard Jon Pardi. It just sounds like a Jon Pardi song. It’s a little bit of A&R., putting together the right song with the right artist. That’s how those songs are chosen.
Sarah: I think that’s truly one of Robert’s gifts. A few years ago he had Little Big Town do “Wichita Lineman” for Glen Campbell. These tributes aren’t meant to be an all-inclusive In Memoriam, which we’ve only done once on the show. One of Robert’s gifts is that he can think about the artists and knows the songs so well that he has a great ability to put the right artist with the song to make it pop.
We saw that this year’s ratings were down, just like most awards shows this year. How do you interpret those ratings?
Robert: The way I interpret is that everybody is down. In historic measures. These are unprecedented times and this has been an unprecedented year for most of us. We understood that we were going to be down. We can’t sit here and look at all of our friends who have shows and they’re down and expect that we wouldn’t be. I don’t know the exact reason why that is, but we all knew this was going to happen.
Sarah: Overall we expected to be down based on the trends in television today, but still strongly believe in the impact of live programming. And although the demo was lower, we were pleased with our total viewers number. We drew a significant audience, in today’s landscape, and were able to keep them throughout the show.
There were plenty of first wins in several categories—Entertainer, Female Vocalist, Song, Single. What do you feel this signals about the country music landscape as a whole?
Sarah: We felt like the nominees across the board were particularly strong this year and that’s one of the reasons we were so excited to be able to pull off a live show in front of other artists. Some of my favorite moments were the support people gave each other in the room when they won. Whether it’s the females leaning in to support Maren and her three wins, or Luke Combs jumping to his feet to celebrate Eric Church. It’s what I think is so special about our country music community and what the CMA Awards are all about. It was an exciting night for a new generation of country artists.
CMA Awards Leaders Sarah Trahern, Robert Deaton Discuss Navigating An Awards Show During COVID-19
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured: Sarah Trahern (Courtesy CMA), Robert Deaton (Photo: Jessica Lewis)
Last week’s 54th Annual CMA Awards, held at Nashville’s Music City Center, ushered in new winners in several categories, including Eric Church taking home his first Entertainer of the Year honor, and Maren Morris picking up her first Female Vocalist, Single and Song of the Year wins.
The evening also marked the first time country music’s artists had gathered all in one room for an awards show in 2020.
In addition to navigating an array of COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of attendees, the CMA’s team also prepared backup plans in case performers or presenters had to drop out of the show at the last minute—which did happen to a few artists and performers including Lee Brice, Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard, Lady A, Rascal Flatts and Musician of the Year winner Jenee Fleenor.
The Country Music Association’s CEO Sarah Trahern and CMA Awards Executive Producer Robert Deaton discussed the planning that went into many of the awards show’s special moments, such as tributes to the late Charlie Daniels, Kenny Rogers, Joe Diffie and Mac Davis, and bringing artists together safely in one space.
MusicRow: The CMA Awards marked a milestone in terms of awards shows in 2020, as the nominees and performers were all in one room. When you first brought this idea to artists and their teams, what was the initial response, and what has feedback been like since the awards took place?
Robert: Here’s the thing, we never move forward with anything without the approval of our artists and management. In fact, as we were trying to figure out what we were doing months before we knew nominations I reached out to about 10 different managers who I figured may have nominated artists and posed the question, saying ‘If we can, and we don’t know if we can, but if we can have artists in the room, do you think we would get the support of the artists or would you rather not participate and keep it all separate?’ And every response was, ‘My artist would like to be in the room with the other artists and keep it as much of a regular CMA Awards show as we can. If we’re allowed to do that and we can have the protocols set and it can be safe.’ From the very beginning we included artists and managers in on that decision. All the responses I’ve gotten, even the night of the show, we were about 2.5. hours into the show and Eric Church pulled me aside and said ‘The greatest thing about tonight is that we’re all together, we’re celebrating music and I’m seeing people that I haven’t seen in such a long time.’ From my viewpoint, it’s what the artists wanted to do. I think they really enjoyed themselves and it was a healing thing for them.
Most of the performances were live. How did you decide which would be live and which would be pre-taped?
Sarah: Because of COVID restrictions, even though we had two performance stages in the room, we had to allow time between performances to totally clean stages between the live performances, so a lot of the scheduling had to do with the stacking of the performances and allowing appropriate distances between live acts.
Robert: In order to be safe and follow COVID protocols, we could not have every performance live. We had to have at least a minimum of 15 minutes between each stage to be able to clean and move people on and off in a safe manner. I put together the board, first, to get a great show run and a great flow from beginning to end, and out of that, that’s how we decided who would be live and who would be pre-taped.
What did it take behind the scenes, especially for the fuller-band performances such as those from Brothers Osborne or Jon Pardi, to pull that off?
Robert: Those performances weren’t any more difficult than say, the Thomas Rhett performance. The thing about it is, this year we had to really cut down on the number of live musicians. For example on Brothers Osborne, that’s a pre-recorded track, but vocals are live and so was John Osborne’s guitars. To be safe and follow protocols, we couldn’t have that many people onstage mic’ing instruments and so on. If you look at 22 or so performances, that’s a lot of musicians. We just did not have the bandwidth to go “live, live” like we normally do on most of our performances on a normal CMA Awards year. When you cut down the number of people onstage, the setup goes a whole lot quicker, so it really was not any more difficult than Darius and Reba’s performance with just the two of them onstage.
Charley Pride, Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee were all in attendance, with Pride performing with Jimmie Allen. Were any special/additional precautions taken to make sure they took part in the show safely?
Robert: No, our protocols were in place for everybody. It was an extremely safe environment. The entire crew, everybody in Zone A, wore both masks and face shields. The precautions on a whole were so tight and safe, I don’t know what additional precautions could have been taken beyond what we did.
Sarah: I agree with Robert. We worked for months with the CDC and local health officials to make sure this was the safest environment possible and all protocol was strictly enforced across the board.
Several performers, including Lady A, Rascal Flatts and Jenee Fleenor, announced just before or during the broadcast that they were not taking part in the show due to COVID. What changes did that necessitate during the show?
Robert: There were no changes going into the show. The awakening moment for me was when Lee tested positive. We thought this could happen again, so we decided to overbook the show. Just overbook, so that in case someone fell out we were still okay and we could end on time. So we overbooked the show and I had an idea called “The CMA Flashback” taking one or two performances from the past and we showed things that were important to us. For example in 1983 at The 17th Annual CMA Awards we had Dolly and Kenny perform “Islands in the Stream.” We thought that could be a really fun moment to revisit that performance if on the day of show somebody called and said they can’t come for whatever reason. And so, we were just preparing ourselves. Luckily we didn’t have to use any of those backup plans.
This year’s show celebrated a few country greats that passed away earlier this year. Instead of featuring more obvious Charlie Daniels hits, songs like “Texas” and “Trudy” were included. And Darius and Reba honored Mac Davis with “In The Ghetto.” How did everyone decide on those particular songs to perform on the show?
Robert: I put together the Charlie Daniels tribute because I wanted to represent Charlie Daniels. I wanted it to feel like Charlie Daniels. When you do a tribute, you think of the song and then you think of the artist that it fits. So when I thought of “Long Haired Country Boy,” I thought of an acoustic guitar in the middle of the room with Dierks Bentley. When I heard “Trudy,” I thought it sounded like a Brothers Osborne song. And the same goes with Jason Aldean on “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and Ashley McBryde on “Texas.” To me, it’s about honoring the artist and getting the right song with the right artist to perform that song. It’s interesting though that with “In the Ghetto,” I did not put that together. Reba had already cut that song, prior to Mac passing away, with Darius. So when that happened and Reba said she’d cut that song, it made obvious sense for them to do that. And again with Joe Diffie. Who doesn’t love “Pickup Man?” I thought, once again, I heard Jon Pardi. It just sounds like a Jon Pardi song. It’s a little bit of A&R., putting together the right song with the right artist. That’s how those songs are chosen.
Sarah: I think that’s truly one of Robert’s gifts. A few years ago he had Little Big Town do “Wichita Lineman” for Glen Campbell. These tributes aren’t meant to be an all-inclusive In Memoriam, which we’ve only done once on the show. One of Robert’s gifts is that he can think about the artists and knows the songs so well that he has a great ability to put the right artist with the song to make it pop.
We saw that this year’s ratings were down, just like most awards shows this year. How do you interpret those ratings?
Robert: The way I interpret is that everybody is down. In historic measures. These are unprecedented times and this has been an unprecedented year for most of us. We understood that we were going to be down. We can’t sit here and look at all of our friends who have shows and they’re down and expect that we wouldn’t be. I don’t know the exact reason why that is, but we all knew this was going to happen.
Sarah: Overall we expected to be down based on the trends in television today, but still strongly believe in the impact of live programming. And although the demo was lower, we were pleased with our total viewers number. We drew a significant audience, in today’s landscape, and were able to keep them throughout the show.
There were plenty of first wins in several categories—Entertainer, Female Vocalist, Song, Single. What do you feel this signals about the country music landscape as a whole?
Sarah: We felt like the nominees across the board were particularly strong this year and that’s one of the reasons we were so excited to be able to pull off a live show in front of other artists. Some of my favorite moments were the support people gave each other in the room when they won. Whether it’s the females leaning in to support Maren and her three wins, or Luke Combs jumping to his feet to celebrate Eric Church. It’s what I think is so special about our country music community and what the CMA Awards are all about. It was an exciting night for a new generation of country artists.
Dolly Parton To Receive Hitmaker Award At Billboard’s Women In Music Event
/by Lorie HollabaughJennifer Lopez will also be honored with this year’s prestigious Icon Award for her impact on the music industry and the greater artistic community. Dua Lipa is set to receive the Powerhouse Award, given to an act whose music dominated streaming, sales and radio this year, and Cardi B will receive the prestigious Woman of the Year award at this year’s event.
Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, the trailblazing minds behind the movement #TheShowMustBePaused, which launched following the death of George Floyd, will be honored with the 2020 Executive of the Year Award.
Music Knox Records/BBR Music Group’s Tim Montana To Release ‘Cars On Blocks’ EP Nov. 20
/by Jessica Nicholson“There’s something about this project that just feels really good too. Not only because the music feels so ‘me’ but teaming up with Knox and having the label’s support, everything just feels elevated from what we’ve done before.” Montana says.
Track Listing:
Industry Ink: ASCAP, American Blonde, Fusion Touring
/by Jessica NicholsonASCAP Nashville Hosts Country Songwriters Workshop
Pictured (top row, L-R): Krissy Feniak, Hannah Sears, Theris Coats, Eitan Snyder, Deidre O’Grady; (2nd row, L-R)) Lauren Jaimes, Lauren Phillips, Matt McCartney, Devon Nicholas, Felipe Oliveira; (3rd row, L-R) Annie Defatta, Tom Martin, Meghan VK, Arielle Silver, Emma Jedow; (4th row, L-R) Angela Parrish, Sumiko Sprinkle, Lisa McEwan, Emma Murdoch, Johnny Vallone; (5th row, L-R) Hayley Giovanazzo, Scott Forman, Tawna Goforth, Aniyah Buchanan, Arielle Eden; (bottom row, L-R) Bonnie Baker, ASCAP’s Beth Brinker.
The ASCAP Nashville membership team hosted the annual ASCAP Foundation Country Songwriters Workshop in honor of Garth Brooks on Nov. 14, 2020, as part of an ongoing series designed to enhance the development and education of promising new songwriters.
The one-day virtual event was hosted by longtime ASCAP member, MTSU professor and veteran songwriter Bonnie Baker. Twenty-five songwriters were selected to participate in the event, which focused on the art and craft of songwriting, expanding sources of inspiration, building a network of co-writers, creating a healthy creative life, and a music publishing presentation by LP Creative Therapy founder, LeAnn Phelan.
“The virtual format combined with Bonnie’s thoughtful curriculum created the opportunity for twenty-five songwriters across the globe to meet, collaborate and expand their creative community. In a time when connecting feels more difficult than ever, we were able to bridge that gap and reimagine the entire workshop concept and it was a great success,” said Beth Brinker, ASCAP Associate Director of Membership.
Southern Halo Becomes American Blonde
American Blonde
Trio-turned-duo Southern Halo has now been renamed American Blonde. The sister duo, including Nata and Tinka Morris, recently released the video for their track “Somethin’ In The Water.”
Fusion Touring Signs Kolt Barber
Pictured (L-R): Mike Meade, Co-VP, Fusion Touring; Kolt Barber; Chuck Rhodes, Executive VP/GM, Fusion Touring; Amy Alyward, Co-VP, Fusion Touring – In Absentia
Fusion Touring, a division under the Fusion Entertainment Company (FUSENTCO) umbrella, has signed Kolt Barber (Barbed Wire Entertainment/Maverick Management) to its roster. The Fusion Touring team will represent Kolt Barber and all mutual endeavors, including The Kolt Barber American Cowboy Showdown™ and “Saddle To The Stage”™ television show, in the live entertainment, booking, and sponsorship sectors.
A Thousand Horses To Perform Virtual Concert Live From Nashville’s Exit/In Tomorrow
/by Lorie HollabaughA Thousand Horses. Photo: Alysse Gafkjen
A Thousand Horses will perform its first show of the year this Thursday (Nov. 19), hosting a virtual live concert from Nashville’s Exit/In at 8 p.m. CT, featuring a full-band, hour-long set.
The band has also released a new, stripped down version of their current single with “A Song To Remember” (Acoustic From Studio A). The new version was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, the same location where the song made its TV debut on NBC News’ TODAY with Hoda & Jenna.
The Nashville quartet of Michael Hobby [vocals], Bill Satcher [guitar], Zach Brown [guitar], and Graham DeLoach [bass] has quietly emerged as a Platinum phenomenon with over 100 million streams. Their 2015 debut album Southernality peaked at No.3 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and featured their Platinum-certified debut single “Smoke,” which reached No. 1 on both the Mediabase and Billboard Country Airplay charts.
Mickey Guyton To Perform On ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’
/by Jessica NicholsonMickey Guyton. Photo: UMGN
In September, Mickey Guyton released her EP Bridges, filled with powerful, vulnerable songs including “Black Like Me” and “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?.” That same month, Guyton offered a stunning rendition of “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and last week, she earned a shoutout from CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year winner Maren Morris.
Tomorrow (Nov. 19), Guyton will perform “Salt,” another track from her EP Bridges, on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Guyton co-wrote all six tracks on her EP, including “Salt,” which she penned with Jesse Frasure, Cary Barlowe, and Steven Lee Olsen.
On the swirling, smoldering track, Guyton tries to warn the listener of a woman who will do whatever it takes to get ahead.
Yeah, she’ll break your heart Like it doesn’t matter/Yeah, she’ll play the part Just to climb the ladder/She’s got you blind but I see it all/You think you’re getting sugar But boy, you’re getting salt.
“We’re in an industry where there are beautiful women that work with producers that use their bodies and their beauty to get opportunities. That song’s just like, ‘Be careful, that is a real thing.’” Guyton previously told MusicRow Magazine about the track.
Guyton is also set to perform a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” on tonight’s “Stand Up For Heroes” event, airing at 9 p.m. ET on ABC News Live, TikTok, Facebook Watch, Cheddar, Twitch and Armed Forces Network.
Garth Brooks ‘Backstage And Behind The Scenes’ Radio Special Available Now
/by Lorie HollabaughThe label is offering the special free in support of Garth’s new three-disc, 30 song collection, which features four never-heard moments from his current record-shattering Stadium Tour, and it provides listeners with an unprecedented look “backstage and behind the scenes” via personal insights and reflections from the seven-time CMA Entertainer of the Year. Garth shares what the concert experience is like through his eyes – when he’s onstage, backstage before and after a show, and as he recounts some monumental concert moments.
Stations interested in running the special, which is available for download immediately, should contact their Pearl Records label rep or Maurice Miner at mauricegminer@gmail.com.
Steve Earle & The Dukes To Honor Justin Townes Earle With New Album, ‘J.T.,’ Set For January
/by Jessica NicholsonOn the project, Steve Earle and the Dukes cover 10 of Justin’s songs, including “Harlem River Blues,” which earned Song of the Year at the 2011 Americana Music Awards, following Justin’s win in the Emerging Artist of the Year category in 2009. The album closes with “Last Words,” a song Steve Earle wrote for Justin.
All of the artist advances and royalties from the album will be donated to a trust for Etta St. James Earle, Justin and Jenn Earle’s three-year-old daughter. Following the album’s January release, CD and vinyl editions will be available on March 19, 2021.
“The record is called J.T. because Justin was never called anything else until he was nearly grown. Well, when he was little, I called him Cowboy,” explains Steve Earle. “For better or worse, right or wrong, I loved Justin Townes Earle more than anything else on this earth. That being said, I made this record, like every other record I’ve ever made… for me. It was the only way I knew to say goodbye.”
Steve Earle and Justin Townes Earle. Photo: Sara Sharpe
On Dec. 13, Steve Earle, Luck Productions and City Winery will host the sixth annual John Henry’s Friends Benefit Concert for Autism, which will be held virtually this year and feature performances from Steve Earle & The Dukes, Emmylou Harris, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, and many more. 100% of donations will go to The Keswell School – an institution close to Earle’s heart at which his youngest son and the event’s namesake, John Henry, is a student.
Steve Earle – J.T. Track Listing:
1. I Don’t Care
2. Ain’t Glad I’m Leaving
3. Maria
4. Far Away In Another Town
5. They Killed John Henry
6. Turn Out My Lights
7. Lone Pine Hill
8. Champagne Corolla
9. The Saint Of Lost Causes
10. Harlem River Blues
11. Last Words
Warehouse West Entertainment Inks Development, Management Deal With TracieLynn
/by Jessica NicholsonProducer and Warehouse West Entertainment partner Luke Wooten says, “We are incredibly excited to help deliver Tracie’s brand of rowdy, raucous country music to listeners, and ’99 Bottles’ delivers on all fronts. Tracie’s energy and passion are infectious not only in her music, but also in her ability to connect with fans even during an extremely difficult time to do so.”
“What I love about ’99 Bottles’ is that its lyrics are fun, refreshing, and not necessarily expected from a female artist,” says TracieLynn. “But that’s why I decided to grab it by the reins and turn it into something that’s mine. I want it to serve as an inspiration to other rising female country artists, to show that we don’t need to fit into any specific mold.”
TracieLynn has also solidified deals with Gateway Bronco and Star Master Coaches and has had a No. 1 on Radio Disney Country with her single “Good Kind of Crazy.”
Industry Ink: CMT, Deluge Music, Pinecastle Records, Banner Music
/by Lorie HollabaughChase Martin Enjoys Virtual Visit With CMT
Pictured (Top Row, L-R): Katrina Lothamer (CMT Music & Talent), Heather Conley (Monarch Publicity), Jordan Hatton (CMT Music & Talent), Ashlee McDonald (CMT Radio); (Middle Row, L-R): Donna Duncan (CMT Music & Talent), Leslie Fram (CMT Music & Talent), Ash Bowers (Wide Open Entertainment/RECORDS Nashville), Stacey Cato (CMT Music & Talent); (Third Row, L-R): Melissa Goldberg (CMT Digital/Social), Kelsey Hendrix (CMT Digital/Social), Emma Giovino (CMT Digital/Social), Chase Martin; (Bottom Row, L-R): Jordan Walker (CMT Music & Talent), Alison Bonaguro (CMT Digital/Editorial).
Chase Martin virtually visited with CMT recently, sharing her story and playing a few new songs including her debut single, “Levi Denim.” The spirited track, written by Abby Anderson, Matt Stell and Allison Veltz-Cruz, released on Oct. 9 along with a video featuring TV star/beauty entrepreneur Savannah Chrisley.
Theo & Brenna Sign Management Deal With Deluge Music
Pictured: Theo, Chris Alderman, Brenna
Brother/Sister Bluegrass duo Theo & Brenna have signed with Deluge Music for management. Their debut record When You Go introduced the band as a rising staple in the Bluegrass and Americana world, and most recently, the duo released a timely single entitled, “Let Us Breathe Again.” Deluge recently partnered with Chris Alderman of Rough Hollow Management to form Deluge Music Management, whose roster includes Josh Mirenda, Theo & Brenna, Becky Buller and Jake Hoot.
Bobby & Teddi Cyrus Join Pinecastle Records
Bobby and Teddi Cyrus
Bobby & Teddi Cyrus have signed with Pinecastle Records. The husband-and-wife duo is set to release their forthcoming Bluegrass/Americana project in 2021, and the collection features the brand new single, “My Wedding Day,” co-written by Jimmy Sites alongside Jimmy Yeary.
Walker Campbell Joins Banner Music Roster
Pictured (L-R): Camilla Kleindienst, Walker Campbell, Daniel Kleindienst. Photo: Banner Music
Walker Campbell has signed with Banner Music. He is the newest addition to their Banner Believers roster with his single, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” and is the youngest Banner Believer at just 11 years old.
“Walker Campbell is a pleasure to work with and we are very excited to work with someone so talented and driven,” says Camilla Kleindienst, CEO of Banner Music.