Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood Set For Opry Appearance Sept. 5

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Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will share a stage again and likely some laughs when the two step into the circle together to perform on the Grand Ole Opry’s 4,941st consecutive Saturday night broadcast on Sept. 5.

Paisley recently released his new single “No I In Beer,” and Underwood is anticipating the release of her first-ever Christmas album, My Gift, on Sept. 25. The two have been buddies since touring together early in Underwood’s career, and enjoyed an impressive 11-year run as one of the most popular and successful hosting duos in CMA Awards history. In 2011, they earned a chart-topper with the ballad “Remind Me.”

This Saturday, Aug. 22, Jon Pardi, Runaway June and Pam Tillis, celebrating her 20th Opry Anniversary, will step onto the Grand Ole Opry stage at 7 p.m. CT.

Leadership Music Announces Board Of Directors

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Leadership Music has announced its new Board of Directors. City National Bank’s Sr. VP, Entertainment Diane Pearson will continue to lead the Leadership Music board for a second year. Pearson is a member of Leadership Music’s Class of 2007.

Officers joining Pearson are President-Elect David Kells, Bridgestone Arena/Nashville Predators; Past President Jimmy Wheeler; Secretary Neal Spielberg, Spielberg Entertainment; and FBMM’s David Boyer, Treasurer. Leadership Music has also appointed three new board members: Emily Evans, CMA, Mason Hunter, BMI, and Lane Wilson, WME.

“The president for each fiscal year creates a unique bond with that class, so we felt it important that Diane remain in the role,” LM Executive Director Debbie Linn said. “The Class of 2020 will complete their program year in 2021 with Diane at the helm. Leadership Music is so fortunate to have Diane continue in this leadership role, together with a truly exemplary board of directors, as we navigate through this challenging time in our 32-year history.”

In addition, the organization has added Franklin native, Guy Evans, to fill the position of Finance Clerk. Evans received both his Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business Administration and Master of Taxation from the University of Alabama. Previously he was Tax Senior Associate at Ingram Industries.
The complete board list is below:

Linda Bloss-Baum, Senior Director, Artist & Industry Relations, SoundExchange
David Boyer, Vice President, FBMM
Debbie Carroll, Vice President, Health & Human Services, MusicCares
Emily Evans, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, CMA
Marghie Evans, Managing Partner, Do Write Music
Joe Galante, Chairman, Galante Entertainment Organization
Mitch Glazier, CEO, RIAA
Jeff Gregg, Live Music Executive
Kelli Haywood, Artist Manager, KCH Entertainment
BJ Hill, Vice President, A&R, Warner Chappell Music
Mason Hunter, Assistant Vice President, Creative, BMI
David Kells, Senior VP, Booking, Bridgestone Arena/Nashville Predators
Jerry Kimbrough, Musician
Chandra LaPlume, Film/TV/Music Executive
Erick Long, Senior VP, Events, Academy of Country Music
Heather McBee, VP, Operations, Nashville Entrepreneur Center
Diane Pearson, Senior VP, Entertainment, City National Bank
Dave Pomeroy, President, AFM Local 257
Lisa Purcell, Vice President, Development, Education & Community Outreach, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Matt Signore, COO, Warner Music Group
Neal Spielberg, President, Spielberg Entertainment
John Strohm, President, Rounder Records
Jimmy Wheeler, Music Industry Executive
Rachel Whitney, Head of Editorial, Nashville, Spotify
Stacy Widelitz, Songwriter, Stacy Widelitz Music
Lane Wilson, Senior Vice President/Agent, WME
Bret Wolcott, Freelance TV Producer
Will Cheek of Waller Law and Lynn Morrow of Adams & Reese serve as legal counsel.

We The Kingdom Debuts At No. 1 With ‘Holy Water’

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Capitol Christian group We The Kingdom released their debut project, Holy Water, on Aug. 7, and the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Christian Album chart and in the Top 10 on the All-Genre US iTunes Sales chart. The band, which includes Ed Cash, Scott Cash, Franni Rae Cash, Martin Cash and Andrew Bergthold, is also celebrating four nominations at the upcoming 51st annual GMA Dove Awards, including Song of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year, and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. The album, which was produced by We The Kingdom and recorded at their studio, features 12 tracks including their smash hit “Holy Water” and a collaboration with Bethel Music.

Their current radio single “God So Loved” is the No. 1 song on Spotify’s official Top Christian playlist with over 11.8 million global streams to date, and is already Top 10 on the Christian Airplay chart. The album also features the band’s breakout hit and debut radio single, “Holy Water” which spent seven consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Christian AC chart.

The 51st Annual GMA Dove Awards will air exclusively on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) on Friday, Oct. 30. Due to COVID-19, in lieu of the association hosting its annual awards show on TBN live, the show will be a variety of unique pre-recorded performances and acceptance speeches. For more information, visit doveawards.com.

Venture Academy Music Marketing Workshop Set For September

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Nashville-based Venture Music is launching its Venture Academy online with a 12-week digital marketing strategy course, “Music Marketing Workshop: Creating a Roadmap for Online Growth,” which is set to begin Sept. 10.

Open internationally to artists of all ages and music industry professionals looking to create an authentic and effective digital marketing strategy, Venture Academy will be centered around a curriculum that includes live webinars, individual projects, small group discussions and a Final Pitch Meeting. The goal is to provide participants with road-tested ideas and strategies that are relevant right now in the digital landscape, and the course will be led by Venture CEO and Founder Chris Nardone and his experienced staff of advertising, marketing and social media professionals.

“Our goal with Venture Academy is to open up our experience and expertise to DIY self-starters who are stuck at home right now,” said Nardone. “This is an idea our team has been working on for a while now. Once the pandemic hit, we decided to refocus and fast track the process of getting it launched.”

The workshop and all related class materials are included in the enrollment fee of $700. The registration deadline is Sept. 9, and the full application can be viewed at academy.venturemusic.com.

Three month course overview:
Weeks 1-3: Building Your Brand and Marketing Strategy
Weeks 4-6: Setting Yourself Up For Discovery
Weeks 7-9: Using Algorithms to Build a Fan Base
Weeks 10-12: Planning an Effective Content Release Cycle

Steve Azar Debuts ‘Coldwater’ Collaboration In Advance Of New Album ‘My Mississippi Reunion’

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Steve Azar is releasing a new track, “Coldwater,” today (Aug. 20) from his upcoming album My Mississippi Reunion. The newly-recorded track is a collaboration with friend and fellow Mississippian Cedric Burnside.

Burnside is the scion of a family that has been tremendously influential in the blues field. His grandfather was the legendary R.L. Burnside who shed light on North Mississippi’s idiosyncratic hill country blues style, and his father was noted drummer Calvin Jackson. Burnside is the recipient of four Blues Foundation Awards and has been nominated for two Grammys.

“I admire Cedric for everything he represents, not just because he’s a world class musician,” reveals Azar. “He’s a sterling human being and I’ve respected him for years. You’ve got two Mississippians coming together during these times in song. There’s nothing more powerful.”

My Mississippi Reunion includes songs Azar has written and recorded over the years that were inspired by his native state, and is due out Oct. 23. Every song on the album relates to a locale or aspect of the state, and more than a few take their titles from towns including “Midnight,” “Rosedale,” “Flatlands,” “Rena Lara,” “Greenville,” and “Indianola.” Azar wrote “One Mississippi” at the request of Governor Phil Bryant in 2017 as the state’s official bicentennial song, and the state also recognized him with the installation of a Mississippi Country Trail Marker in Greenville at the same time as Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Jimmie Rodgers were similarly honored.

Azar organizes and promotes the Mighty Mississippi Festival, a yearly celebration of roots music. This year’s festival, slated for the weekend of October 1, is moving from Greenville to Clarksdale where it will take place on land where Muddy Waters lived before he moved to Chicago.

 

Tootsie’s World Famous Orchid Lounge Reopens As Full-Service Restaurant

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Longtime Nashville music venue Tootsie’s World Famous Orchid Lounge reopened as a full-service restaurant on Wednesday (Aug. 19), reports WKRN. The venue had been closed to comply with modified Phase 2 guidelines.

In order to reopen, Tootsie’s owner Steve Smith expanded the venue’s menu (which now features options including steak and pork chops) and obtained a full-service restaurant license. Under current guidelines, restaurants can allow a maximum of 25 customers into the restaurant at a time, and must maintain social distancing.

According to Tootsie’s official Facebook page, new hours of operation will be Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. – 10:30 p.m., and from 10 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. the other days of the week. This complies with current guidelines requiring restaurants and bars to close to the public by 10:30 p.m. each night. Bar counters will remain closed and all patrons will be seated.

Smith also owns Nashville venues Honky Tonk Central, The Diner Nashville, and Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock ‘N’ Roll Steakhouse.

BREAKING: Academy Of Country Music Honors Tenille Townes, Riley Green With Early Award Wins

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This morning, the Academy of Country Music revealed Riley Green as the New Male Artist of the Year and Tenille Townes as the New Female Artist of the Year for the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be broadcast from Nashville for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 16,  airing from three iconic country music venues including the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe.

Keith Urban, host for the upcoming awards show, surprised Townes and Green with the news during a video meeting; both Townes and Green will perform during the upcoming ACM Awards.

“When we had to come off the road back in March, I wasn’t sure what the rest of 2020 would look like,” said Green. “So much has happened in the world since then and I’m really excited to have a moment to play music again. My grandfathers’ love for country music is what led me to this moment and I have to dedicate this award to them. Thank you to everyone who believes in my music enough to let this boy from Alabama get to share his songs like this.”

“I’ll always remember this feeling, standing here as a new artist,” said Townes. “I feel so honored and incredibly grateful just to be a part of this country music community that inspires me. Receiving this ACM Award feels like belief from that community, and that means so much to me.”

“This year’s New Artists have experienced astounding success already, and the Academy feels honored to be able to present them with their first ACM Award win,” said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “We hope this is a memory that they will carry with them as their careers continue to thrive. A huge congratulations to all of this year’s well-deserving nominees and a special thank you to the artists’ teams who helped the Academy pull off the surprise, especially our host Keith Urban for making this moment monumental. We can’t wait to see Riley and Tenille on the 55th ACM Awards stage on September 16!”

In June, Townes issued her sterling full-length project The Lemonade Stand, which includes her Top 30 hit “Somebody’s Daughter,” as well as “Jersey On The Wall (I’m Just Asking),” “Come As You Are,” and “The Most Beautiful Things,” among others. In May, Green issued his acoustic Valley Road EP, which included stripped down versions of his No. 1 hit “There Was This Girl,” and the fan favorite “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” and previewed two previously-unreleased songs called “Better Than Me” and “If It Wasn’t For Trucks.”

Smith & Wesley Announce Third Studio Album, ‘Greetings From The Land Of Y’all’

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Smith & Wesley. Photo: Alyssa Cox

Fresh off the heels of being named MusicRow’s 2020 Independent Artist of the Year, country music duo Smith & Wesley has announced a third studio album, Greetings from the Land of Y’all, to release Friday, Sept. 18 via BFD/Audium Nashville.

“The songs on this album represent a number of styles that Scott and I grew up on,” says the duo’s Todd Smith. “From the old school country vibe to the twin-guitar feel of southern rock to upbeat feel good tunes, Greetings from the Land of Y’all, like our two previous albums, remains true to who Scott and I are and remain to be. Shayne Hill and Cody McCarver did an excellent job of producing this album in the Smith & Wesley way.”

Brothers Scott and Todd Smith wrote five of the albums’ dozen songs.

“I am very excited with the progression and trajectory that we have been blessed with as artists,” explains Scott Smith. “Although we have typically written all the songs for the previous albums, it was exciting to invite other talented songwriters into the process for the development of this project. We look forward to the release of new music to our fans and hope to see them out on the road all across this great nation soon.”

“Land of Y’all,” the duo’s second single from the upcoming album, was written by Bernie Nelson and Phil O’Donnell.

Greetings from the Land of Y’all Track Listing:
Land of Y’all (Bernie Nelson, Phil O’Donnell)
Caught Up On My Drinking (Jacob Lyda, JP Williams, Josh London)
Goodbyes Are Hard To Listen To (Jacob Lyda, James LaBlanc, Jen Stegall)
Listen to the Radio (Jacob Lyda, JP Williams)
Let Me Know (Jacob Lyda, JP Williams)
Gave Her My All (Todd Smith)
She Ain’t You (Todd Smith)
Under It With You Tonight (Scott Smith, Todd Smith, Evan Kennedy)
Cheaper Than the Truth (Bernie Nelson, Philip Douglas)
Whiskey (Scott Smith, Evan Kennedy)
Southern, Country, Homegrown (Scott Smith, Todd Smith)
Never Be My Old Man (Bernie Nelson, Phil O’Donnell, Chris Cavanaugh)

Donovan Woods To Release ‘Without People’ In November

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Though artists have been off the road for much of this year due to tour cancellations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, many are making use of that time by focusing on writing and heading into the studio—or in the case of Donovan Woods, setting up shop in his own makeshift home recording studio, where he crafted his upcoming album Without People, due Nov. 6.

Woods’ fellow musicians contributed remotely to the project. He recruited co-writers including Tucker Beathard, Ashley Monroe, Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson, Thomas Finchum, and Katie Pruitt (who offers a duet on “She Waits For Me To Come Back Down”). Rounding out the team are his longtime producer and collaborator James Bunton and vocal producer Todd Clark.

“This album made me think about how easy life would be without other people, and how useless it would be,” says Woods. “This is what my brain wants to write about, so I suppose my responsibility is to follow it further and further into the most fearsome feelings I’ve got.”

On Friday, Aug. 21, he’ll release the project’s lead track “Seeing Other People.”

“I dove in deeper on this album than I ever have,” says Woods. “So if we are coming to the end of something, I can say that I tried my hardest to write truthfully about the people I’ve loved and the things I did wrong, and add my little verse to the story of what it feels like to be a person.”

Without People tracklist:
1. “Without People” (Donovan Woods, Drew Jurecka)
2. “The Last Time I Saw You” (Donovan Woods, Jake Etheridge)
3. “Seeing Other People” (Donovan Woods, Dustin Christensen)
4. “We Used To” (Donovan Woods)
5. “She Waits For Me To Come Back Down feat. Katie Pruitt” (Donovan Woods, Katie Pruitt)
6. “Clean Slate” (Donovan Woods, Jeremy Spillman, Tucker Beathard)
7. “Man Made Lake” (Donovan Woods, Ed Robertson)
8. “Interlude” (Donovan Woods, Travis Wood, Tom Douglas)
9. “Lonely People feat. Rhys Lewis” (Donovan Woods, Dustin Christensen, Jessie Jo Dillon)
10. “Grew Apart” (Donovan Woods, Travis Wood, Logan Wall)
11. “Whole Way Home” (Donovan Woods, Andy Skib, Thomas Finchum)
12. “High Season” (Donovan Woods, Ashley Monroe)
13. “God Forbid” (Donovan Woods, Ed Robertson)
14. “Whatever Keeps You Going” (Donovan Woods, Logan Wall, Femke Weidema)

Nashville Music Equality Panel "Dear Music City: Tales from the B(l)ackground" Set For Aug. 25

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On Tuesday, Aug. 25, a new installment of the “Dear Music City” series, led by Nashville Music Equality, will welcome a few of Nashville’s top Black musicians, arrangers, and vocalists, with panelists discussing the racial bias experiences that members behind some of the biggest names in music have endured.

The panel will take place Aug. 25 from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. CT via Zoom, moderated by two-time Grammy winner and Program Director of 102.1 The Ville’s Shannon Sanders and MTSU College of Media and Entertainment Dean Beverly Keel.

Panelists for the session will include Nicole Neely (an arranger/composer/conductor who has performed with artists such as Beyonce, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, H.E.R. Grammy Awards, CMAs, BET Awards, AMAs); Wendy Moten (a vocalist/songwriter who has performed with artists such as Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Julio Iglesias, Tim McGraw + Faith Hill and more); Mike Hicks (a musician/singer/songwriter who has been part of Rascal Flatts’ band and also performed with Keb’ Mo’, Jonny Lang, and more); Jason Eskridge (a musician/vocalist/songwriter with Zac Brown Band, who has also performed with Lyle Lovett, Randy Travis, Jonny Lang, Keb Mo’, Nicole C. Mullen, Marc Broussard, TobyMac, etc.); and Brian Haley (former drummer for TobyMac, who has also performed for CeCe Winans, Dr. Bobby Jones, Nashville Super Choir, Karen Clarke-Shear, Yolanda Adams, Donna McClurkin, Mandisa, Britt Nicole, Melinda Dolittle, and more).

Click here to register for the event.