As one-third of superstar music trio Rascal Flatts for the past two decades, Jay DeMarcus is no stranger to the camera, whether that means appearing on awards shows, television interviews or performing at CMA Fest.
He has also been remarkably open about both the mountaintop highs that come with performing as part of a group that has earned 17 No. 1 hits and sold more than 23 million albums, as well as the darkest times in his life and career, when he released the book Shotgun Angels: My Story of Broken Roads and Unshakable Hope in 2019.
Starting today (Aug. 19), music fans and Netflix users can get an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at what life is like in the DeMarcus household, tucked in Nashville away from the concert stages and awards shows, in the new Netflix series DeMarcus Family Rules.
Unfolding over the course of six episodes, DeMarcus Family Rules centers on Jay and his family, including his wife Allison DeMarcus, a media personality and Triple Crown beauty pageant winner-turned-co-executive director of the Miss Tennessee pageant, as well as their two children, Madeline (age 9) and Dylan (8).
The series, produced by Maverick TV USA, All3Media America, and Todd Chrisley Productions, follows the family as they juggle busy schedules, and navigate family relationships and differing parenting styles (with Allison being the more rule-oriented parent, versus Jay’s more free-wheeling style). Jay says a conversation with their close friends, Todd and Julie Chrisley of Chrisley Knows Best, set plans in motion for the show.
“We’d appeared on the Chrisley Knows Best show a handful of times, and Todd and Julie live right around the corner,” Jay says. “After we had been on there, we went to dinner one night and Todd said, ‘You know, I’ve never done any [shows] outside of my own family before, but I think you guys have a show. The way you are with each other, and your kids are so funny and unpredictable.’ He felt people would enjoy seeing a peek behind the curtain of what it’s like when I come home off the road.
“We had our little trepidations about having cameras follow us everywhere but the more we talked about it, the more he laid our fears to rest that he would protect us and make sure we were presented in the best light and protect the brand I had built with Rascal Flatts, which was important to me.”
A film crew joined the family to capture footage for the episodes over the course of three months from October through December last year.
“They filmed everything from our daughter’s birthday party to Thanksgiving,” Allison says. “With our kids, we are all normally running in 100 different directions—or at least we were at that time, obviously everything came to a screeching halt in March. But it was all filmed pre-COVID.”
“We didn’t map out anything,” Jay adds. “They just asked us what we would normally be doing during that time and I said, ‘I’m just getting off the road and it’s a big enough deal to try to come home and re-introduce myself into the family circle here, so they filmed a bunch of that. And they shaped the episodes after it was all filmed. We did a Thanksgiving scene where everyone came to town and this particular time was different from us because it was the first time our entire family was all around the table since Allison’s father had passed away in 2016. So we were dealing with a lot of deep things while the cameras were here.”
They say their children—especially son Dylan—adapted easily to the film crews.
“Our son [Dylan] is Jay’s child, so he does not mind the camera being around at all, and would honestly prefer if a camera was around all the time,” Allison says. “He was upset when people were leaving; he really wanted the cameras to come back. Madeline is a little more shy and reserved, so it took her more time to get used to things. But because we had been on the Chrisley’s [show] several times, it didn’t throw them too badly because they had had those experiences which I think put them and us at ease with the process as well.”
Though Jay’s Rascal Flatts bandmates don’t appear in the first episodes, he says there is a possibility they could appear on future seasons. For now, Jay, Allison and their family are watching the series’ first six episodes on Netflix alongside everyone else.
“We haven’t seen any of the final episodes,” Allison says. “We are going to be watching it when everyone else does. We are excited to see what their take was after they had stayed with us for weeks and how they pieced it all together.”
“We hope that everyone that watches the show will see a little bit of themselves in our family, and see that we deal with the same kinds of issues with kids, with our spouses and with whatever life throws at us,” Jay sums. “In a lot of ways, Allison and I feel like we are learning every day how to juggle the responsibilities of being good marriage partners, good parents and good family members. I hope people can identify with us and at the end of the day can laugh at themselves like we have done a lot through this process.”
BREAKING: Academy Of Country Music Honors Tenille Townes, Riley Green With Early Award Wins
/by Jessica NicholsonThis 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’
/by Jessica NicholsonSmith & 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
/by Jessica NicholsonThough 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
/by Jessica NicholsonOn 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.
From Byrds To Burritos And Beyond: Chris Hillman Looks Back In New Memoir
/by Lorie HollabaughChris Hillman is chronicling his legendary career as one of the pioneers and founding fathers of country rock in a new memoir, Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother and Beyond, due out Nov. 17 on BMG Books.
In the book Hillman takes readers behind the curtain of his quintessentially Southern Californian experience. Raised in San Diego County’s then-rural Rancho Santa Fe, Chris grew up in an idyllic 1950s environment that was filled with TV cowboys, horseback riding, exploring the outdoors, surfing, and falling in love with music. When his older sister came home from college with records by folk artists such as Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly, Chris was hooked. He soon fell in love with the bluegrass music of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers, spending hours mastering the guitar and mandolin.
After playing the Southern California folk and bluegrass circuit, he joined Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke as an original member of The Byrds. He went on to partner with Gram Parsons to launch The Flying Burrito Brothers, recording a handful of albums that have become touchstones of the Americana genre.
In the new book he sheds new light on his sometimes-complicated relationship with Gram Parsons and offers insight into the real man behind the myth. He reveals what really happened on the Opry stage when the Byrds made their controversial appearance during the recording of the Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions, and offers up details on the band’s disastrous trip to South Africa. From becoming one of the first musicians to move to the artistic enclave of Laurel Canyon, to quitting the Byrds, breaking new “outlaw country” ground with the Flying Burrito Brothers, recording with Manassas, and making the connections that launched the careers of Buffalo Springfield and Emmylou Harris, Hillman opens up the fascinating pages of his life and career with engaging detail.
The memoir includes a foreword by Dwight Yoakam and dozens of photos from Chris’ personal collection, and is packed with his encounters with characters like Lenny Bruce, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bo Diddley, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry, and Buck Owens, as well as his musical collaborations with Clarence White, Bernie Leadon, Stephen Stills, Dan Fogelberg, Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Al Perkins, and more. From tales of hanging out at the famed Ash Grove club in L.A. as a teen to Hillman’s 2018 Sweetheart of the Rodeo anniversary tour with Roger McGuinn and Marty Stuart, the engaging book always comes back around to Hillman’s first love.
“I never thought about the money, the future, or chasing down stardom,” he writes. “It was always all about the music. And it’s not over — we’re not done.””
Jay And Allison DeMarcus Showcase Life Off The Road On New Netflix Series ‘DeMarcus Family Rules’
/by Jessica NicholsonAs one-third of superstar music trio Rascal Flatts for the past two decades, Jay DeMarcus is no stranger to the camera, whether that means appearing on awards shows, television interviews or performing at CMA Fest.
He has also been remarkably open about both the mountaintop highs that come with performing as part of a group that has earned 17 No. 1 hits and sold more than 23 million albums, as well as the darkest times in his life and career, when he released the book Shotgun Angels: My Story of Broken Roads and Unshakable Hope in 2019.
Starting today (Aug. 19), music fans and Netflix users can get an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at what life is like in the DeMarcus household, tucked in Nashville away from the concert stages and awards shows, in the new Netflix series DeMarcus Family Rules.
Unfolding over the course of six episodes, DeMarcus Family Rules centers on Jay and his family, including his wife Allison DeMarcus, a media personality and Triple Crown beauty pageant winner-turned-co-executive director of the Miss Tennessee pageant, as well as their two children, Madeline (age 9) and Dylan (8).
The series, produced by Maverick TV USA, All3Media America, and Todd Chrisley Productions, follows the family as they juggle busy schedules, and navigate family relationships and differing parenting styles (with Allison being the more rule-oriented parent, versus Jay’s more free-wheeling style). Jay says a conversation with their close friends, Todd and Julie Chrisley of Chrisley Knows Best, set plans in motion for the show.
“We’d appeared on the Chrisley Knows Best show a handful of times, and Todd and Julie live right around the corner,” Jay says. “After we had been on there, we went to dinner one night and Todd said, ‘You know, I’ve never done any [shows] outside of my own family before, but I think you guys have a show. The way you are with each other, and your kids are so funny and unpredictable.’ He felt people would enjoy seeing a peek behind the curtain of what it’s like when I come home off the road.
“We had our little trepidations about having cameras follow us everywhere but the more we talked about it, the more he laid our fears to rest that he would protect us and make sure we were presented in the best light and protect the brand I had built with Rascal Flatts, which was important to me.”
A film crew joined the family to capture footage for the episodes over the course of three months from October through December last year.
“They filmed everything from our daughter’s birthday party to Thanksgiving,” Allison says. “With our kids, we are all normally running in 100 different directions—or at least we were at that time, obviously everything came to a screeching halt in March. But it was all filmed pre-COVID.”
“We didn’t map out anything,” Jay adds. “They just asked us what we would normally be doing during that time and I said, ‘I’m just getting off the road and it’s a big enough deal to try to come home and re-introduce myself into the family circle here, so they filmed a bunch of that. And they shaped the episodes after it was all filmed. We did a Thanksgiving scene where everyone came to town and this particular time was different from us because it was the first time our entire family was all around the table since Allison’s father had passed away in 2016. So we were dealing with a lot of deep things while the cameras were here.”
They say their children—especially son Dylan—adapted easily to the film crews.
“Our son [Dylan] is Jay’s child, so he does not mind the camera being around at all, and would honestly prefer if a camera was around all the time,” Allison says. “He was upset when people were leaving; he really wanted the cameras to come back. Madeline is a little more shy and reserved, so it took her more time to get used to things. But because we had been on the Chrisley’s [show] several times, it didn’t throw them too badly because they had had those experiences which I think put them and us at ease with the process as well.”
Though Jay’s Rascal Flatts bandmates don’t appear in the first episodes, he says there is a possibility they could appear on future seasons. For now, Jay, Allison and their family are watching the series’ first six episodes on Netflix alongside everyone else.
“We haven’t seen any of the final episodes,” Allison says. “We are going to be watching it when everyone else does. We are excited to see what their take was after they had stayed with us for weeks and how they pieced it all together.”
“We hope that everyone that watches the show will see a little bit of themselves in our family, and see that we deal with the same kinds of issues with kids, with our spouses and with whatever life throws at us,” Jay sums. “In a lot of ways, Allison and I feel like we are learning every day how to juggle the responsibilities of being good marriage partners, good parents and good family members. I hope people can identify with us and at the end of the day can laugh at themselves like we have done a lot through this process.”
Industry Ink: SMACK, peermusic, King Business & Financial Management
/by Lorie HollabaughAmber Anderson Joins SMACK As Executive Assistant
Amber Anderson
Amber Anderson has joined SMACK as Executive Assistant to CEO Shane McAnally and President Michael Baum. She comes to SMACK from 5by5 Agency, where she worked with companies to solidify their messaging and branding. At SMACK, Anderson will serve as the primary contact for McAnally and Baum.
“We are so excited to have Amber on board the Smack team. We have seen her experience and enthusiasm working indirectly with her for years, so having her as part of the team officially, is a perfect and natural fit!” says McAnally.
Heather Cook Promoted To Director Of Marketing And Brands At peermusic
Heather Cook
Heather Cook has been promoted to Director of Marketing and Brands at peermusic. Since joining peermusic in 2013, she has helped to land song placements for IKEA, Marriott, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, KIWI Shoe Polish, Kay Jewelers, Pandora, Nordstrom, Hershey’s, ESPN and more. She has also been instrumental in brand partnerships and collaborations with EA Games, Dragon Age, Mist Twist (PepsiCo), and Question Tequila and in the company’s signings of The Royal Foundry, The Weeks, Grand Canyon Music (Bob Feldman), Kid Politics, Nikki’s Wives, Luna Aura, Jamie Kent and more.
Cook previously served as Creative Manager for peermusic’s Advertising Markets department where she helped manage promotional and marketing strategies for peermusic’s catalog and for its new, emerging repertoire. Prior to joining peermusic, Cook owned a small boutique management company, Cook’n Up Music, where she managed indie artists. In addition, she worked as Administrative Director for the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) in Nashville. Cook graduated Cum Laude from Belmont University.
Sienna Gomez Joins King Business & Financial Management
“We’re excited to have Sienna join our team to help serve clients to the best of our abilities, which is especially important during the current environment of our industry,” said Chris King, owner of KBFM.
Laura Bell Bundy Inks Album Deal With ONErpm
/by Jessica NicholsonLaura Bell Bundy
Musical solutions company ONErpm has signed a deal with Laura Bell Bundy for the release of her forthcoming album Women Of Tomorrow, set for release next year.
Yesterday, Bundy released her first single and video from the project, “Get It Girl, You Go,” featuring Shoshana Bean and Anika Noni Rose. The song examines women’s issues in a modern and at times theatrical way.
With this new release, ONErpm will share the music through various and unique verticals that will include a number of special events. The first will be partnering with the non-profit organization Women In Music (WIM) to present a “fireside chat” with Bundy, moderated by ONErpm’s General Counsel and Head of Business Affairs, Jennifer Newman Sharpe,who also serves on WIM’s Advisory Board.
Emmanuel Zunz, Founder/CEO of ONErpm states: “We are very excited to be working with Laura Bell Bundy, a true multi-hyphenate. Women of Tomorrow effortlessly blends timeless sounds with many of the pressing issues we are facing as a country and planet. ”
“Laura Bell’s music is a unique continuation of thought provoking, empowering, witty and extremely catchy. I feel honored to lead the conversation with Laura Bell at the upcoming WIM event to learn more about her incredible career and personal path and the process of creating this important album,” states Newman Sharpe.
Bundy says, “I’m so thrilled to be releasing my passion project about the female experience and gender equality with ONErpm. They understand that this isn’t just an album, this is a soundtrack to a movement. As women raise their collective voices, this album operates as the beat backing them up.”
MusicRow Honors Recipients “Virtually” At 32nd Annual Industry-Voted MusicRow Awards
/by LB CantrellThe 2020 MusicRow Award trophies. Photo: MusicRow
MusicRow, Nashville’s leading music industry publication, virtually presented its 32nd annual MusicRow Awards on Tuesday, Aug. 18 via a series of videos on all online MusicRow platforms.
Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.
MusicRow Owner/Publisher Sherod Robertson and respected television host, entertainment journalist, writer and producer, Alecia Davis, served once again as ‘hosts’ on each winner’s video.
“We are uniquely positioned to witness the hard work and dedication these artists, songwriters, and respective team members execute each and every day,” says Robertson. “It’s our privilege to use our platform to honor those deserving talents, and despite the unique challenges the pandemic has unleashed on all of us, these accolades are deserved now more than ever. Congratulations to all of our nominees and winners!”
Pop-country star Ingrid Andress swept every category she was nominated in, including Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year for her debut hit, “More Hearts Than Mine,” co-written with Sam Ellis and Derrick Southerland.
Country hitmaker Luke Combs is the reigning MusicRow Award Artist of the Year, after winning the inaugural award last year.
The Robert K. Oermann Discovery Artist of the Year Award, named in honor of the magazine’s legendary contributor, honors a Nashville developing artist who demonstrates significant talent and potential to rise. Nominated for the Robert K. Oermann Discovery Artist Award were Avenue Beat, Jameson Rodgers, Niko Moon, Payton Smith, Randall King, and Trea Landon. Jameson Rodgers took home the 2020 honor.
The virtual celebration also included a video presentation of the Top 10 Album All-Star Awards, recognizing session musicians achieving the most marks on albums that charted in the top 10 of Billboard’s albums sales chart during the eligibility period. Steel player Paul Franklin continues his reign as the highest-earning Top 10 Album All-Star Musician this year, earning his 24th MusicRow Award. On the other hand, drummer Jerry Roe wins his first ever MusicRow Award, in a tie with Nir Z. See full winner list below.
There is a strong correlation between MusicRow’s Breakthrough Artist and Breakthrough Songwriter winners, many going on to win Grammys, CMA and ACM Awards having included previous recipients Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Luke Combs, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Lady A.
The 2020 MusicRow Awards once again tapped Nashville cement artist Santana Matlock for the exclusively designed artisan trophies. The East Nashville creator produced the design from his Abstrakt Concrete studio in East Nashville, in the composition of the trophy includes soil from Nashville’s famed Music Row.
LIST OF 32nd ANNUAL 2020 MUSICROW AWARDS WINNERS
Producer of the Year [VIDEO]
Dann Huff
Label of the Year [VIDEO]
UMG Nashville
Agency of the Year [VIDEO]
Creative Artists Agency
Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year [VIDEO]
Randy Montana
Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year [VIDEO]
Ingrid Andress
Male Songwriter of the Year [VIDEO]
Ashley Gorley
Female Songwriter of the Year [VIDEO]
Hillary Lindsey
Song of the Year [VIDEO]
“More Hearts Than Mine” — Songwriter(s): Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis, Derrick Southerland
Robert K. Oermann Discovery Artist of the Year [VIDEO]
Jameson Rodgers
Breakthrough Artist of the Year [VIDEO]
Ingrid Andress
Artist of the Year [VIDEO]
Luke Combs
MusicRow also honors the Top 10 Album All-Star Musicians at the 2020 MusicRow Awards, recognizing the studio players who performed on the most albums reaching the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart during the eligibility period.
LIST OF MUSICROW’S 2020 TOP 10 ALBUM ALL-STAR MUSICIANS
Bass
Jimmie Lee Sloas
Drums (tie)
Jerry Roe
Nir Z
Engineer
Justin Niebank
Fiddle
Stuart Duncan
Guitar
Ilya Toshinskiy
Keyboards
Dave Cohen
Steel
Paul Franklin
Vocals
Russell Terrell
Billy Strings To Launch Drive-In Tour In September
/by Lorie HollabaughBilly Strings is embarking on a seven-night “Meet Me At The Drive-In Tour” which will kick off on Sept. 11 for three nights at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The tour then heads to the Chicago area for two already sold-out shows on Sept. 16-17 at McHenry Outdoor Theater, followed by two nights in Peoria, Illinois at the Expo Gardens on Sept. 18-19. Presale tickets are available beginning tomorrow (Aug. 20) at 12 p.m. ET for Billy Strings newsletter subscribers. Public on-sale begins Friday, Aug. 21 at 12 p.m. ET.
All tickets are available via billystrings.com.
All CDC and local guidelines will be followed during the shows, and the band and crew are working closely with local promoters and government to ensure the shows meet or exceed all recommended standards.
The drive-in shows will support his latest album HOME, which fuses bluegrass with elements of punk, country, folk rock, and more into his own unique brew. The project includes guest appearances from Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle and was produced by Glenn Brown.
Meet Me At The Drive-In Tour Dates:
Sept. 11 @ Mohegan Sun Arena | Wilkes-Barre, PA
Sept. 12 @ Mohegan Sun Arena | Wilkes-Barre, PA
Sept. 13 @ Mohegan Sun Arena | Wilkes-Barre, PA
Sept. 16 @ McHenry Outdoor Theater | McHenry, IL – SOLD OUT
Sept. 17 @ McHenry Outdoor Theater | McHenry, IL – SOLD OUT
Sept. 18 @ Expo Gardens | Peoria, IL
Sept. 19 @ Expo Gardens | Peoria, IL