Pictured (L-R): Kathryn Carell Brown, Joe Don Rooney, Jay DeMarcus and Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, Allison DeMarcus, Dr. Margaret Rush, Scott Borchetta, Maddie Wright, Dalton Waggoner, Sandi Spika Borchetta, Sheryl Crow, Carly Pearce and Thomas Rhett. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Big Machine Label Group)
Big Machine Label Group’s CEO/Founder Scott Borchetta, along with wife and BMLG Sr. VP/Creative Sandi Spika Borchetta have teamed with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to dedicate the Big Machine Neighborhood, a music-inspired Neonatal Intensive Care Unit located on the hospital’s 11th floor. The new space will officially open in March.
The official ribbon cutting for the new area took place Monday morning (Feb. 24). Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus, Thomas Rhett and Carly Pearce were among those in attendance.
The new 40,000-square-foot space will include a 23-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as well as 15 acute care beds, increasing the hospital’s total number of beds from 305 to 343.
The Borchettas first began conversations with hospital executives regarding how to help the hospital in 2014, and made their commitment in 2016. The hospital recently completed an approximately three-year, $150 million construction project to build an additional four floors atop the hospital—that section of the expansion was made possible by the Borchettas and Big Machine Label Group.
“We wanted to do something for Nashville specifically, because this city has given so much to us. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to be part of the community and give back,” said Borchetta.
“The Big Machine Label Group staff and all of our amazing artists are super excited to be a part of this,” said Spika Borchetta. “But the real work comes from the nurses, the doctors and the brave parents. Their work will start really soon, so we salute them and we welcome them to the Big Machine Neighborhood. Music has value, music connects, and music definitely heals.”
“As part of our NICU, the Big Machine Neighborhood will help us better serve our smallest and most vulnerable patients. We are so thankful to Scott and Sandi Borchetta and Big Machine Label Group for helping us care for even more of these tiny patients,” said Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, president of Children’s Hospital. “Our expansion, including this latest floor opening, is truly made possible by the amazing support and generosity of our community and partners. I am also grateful to and proud of our amazing physicians, nurses and staff who have worked tirelessly over these last several months to prepare for the upcoming floor opening.”
Jenn Tressler, Haley Montgomery Join Opry Entertainment
/by Lorie HollabaughJenn Tressler, Haley Montgomery
The Opry Entertainment Group has formed a new Artist & Label Strategy Team specifically devoted to supporting the growing opportunities for artists under its umbrella of brands including the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, 650 AM WSM, Ole Red and the Circle network. Jenn Tressler and Haley Montgomery have both joined the new team as Artist & Label Strategy Managers reporting to Jordan Pettit, Director of Artist Relations & Programming Strategy.
Tressler joins the company with eight years of artist and label relations experience at Vevo before joining L3 Entertainment in Nashville where she worked in artist management. Montgomery joins the company from her most recent role as Strategic Partnerships Project Manager at CMA, bringing seven years of experience in partnership acquisition, project management and event planning.
“Just like the world of entertainment overall, there are more ways than ever at Opry Entertainment Group for artists to connect with fans,” said Pettit. “I’m thrilled to have Jenn and Haley’s expertise on board as we work to provide unique value to the artists who partner with us and deliver exceptional entertainment to fans who visit and tune in. The two of them will be invaluable additions to this growing team.”
Opry Entertainment Group is looking to fill one additional position of Manager, Artist & Label Strategy. For more information and to apply visit rhpcareers.com.
RaeLynn, Jimmy Robbins To Perform At Orioles’ “Athletes & Artists Play For Kids” Event
/by Lorie HollabaughRaeLynn
RaeLynn, Jordan Schmidt, Jimmy Robbins, Carter Faith and special guest emcee Renee Blair will take part in the upcoming fifth annual “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” charity weekend hosted by the Baltimore Orioles. The weekend, which will take place at Ed Smith Stadium from March 5-8, 2020, celebrates current country hits and combines song and sport to support arts education and girls’ empowerment. The event will feature the fifth annual “Nashville’s Music Row Comes to the Ballpark” VIP charity event, two Orioles home games, and free community workshops for local youth.
A portion of proceeds from the weekend’s events will benefit the Orioles Charitable Foundation’s Music & Arts Education Scholarship, which was created in 2019 to support deserving students and programs in Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville. To date, the “Athletes and Artists” series has raised over $400,000.
“We are thrilled to once again use our platform to bring song and sport together in support of arts education and girls’ empowerment,” said Jennifer Grondahl, Orioles Senior Vice President, Community Development and Communications. “The ‘Athletes & Artists’ series has become an integral part of our community development efforts, and acts as a catalyst for change in the Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville communities.”
This year’s weekend-long series of events will begin Thursday, March 5, when the Orioles host the Minnesota Twins. On Saturday, March 7, the Orioles will once again offer free community workshops for local youth at Ed Smith Stadium, hosted by participating musicians and baseball alumni who donate their time and talent to ensure that gifted kids in disadvantaged communities have access to arts and music education.
Bobby Braddock, Buddy Cannon, Ashley Gorley, Craig Wiseman, Liz Rose Among Tin Pan South Lineup
/by Lorie HollabaughTin Pan South has announced its talent-packed lineup for the upcoming festival, slated for March 24-28 in Nashville. Bobby Braddock, Jamey Johnson, Luke Laird, Leslie Satcher, Casey Beathard, Dallas Davidson, Jeff Hyde, Lori McKenna, Craig Wiseman, Nicolle Galyon, Ashley Gorley, Liz Rose and dozens more of the best songwriters in the business will perform on stages across the city during the five-day celebration of songs and the writers who create them.
The full lineup by day with additional information can be found here. Fast Access passes for the 28th annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival are now on sale.
Tin Pan South Week At-A-Glance:
March 23 – Tin Pan South will kick off the 2020 festival with a Whiskey Jam takeover, giving attendees a taste of what to expect for the upcoming week.
March 23-24 – Tin Pan South Songwriting Seminar offering an opportunity to learn from over a dozen industry professionals (including several songwriters who will be performing later in the week during the festival)
March 25 -NSAI will host an Open House at its location on Music Row from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
March 26 – In an invitation-only event, NSAI will hold its first Member Awards (presented by Regions Bank). First-year honors include awards voted by NSAI’s global membership and select honorees recognized by NSAI staff members.
March 26-28 – Afternoon programming at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum beginning at 2 p.m. each day.
Florida Georgia Line Earns Pandora Billionaire Honor
/by Jessica NicholsonFlorida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley (L) and Tyler Hubbard (R) celebrate two certifications. Photo: Country Radio Seminar/Kayla Schoen
During last week’s Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, duo Florida Georgia Line was surprised with honors for two milestones on Pandora. The duo earned a Billionaire plaque for surpassing five billion lifetime spins and was named among the Top 10 most-spun country acts in Pandora’s 20-year history.
Tyler Hubbard exclaimed, “Now that is a lot of zeroes!” as his fellow FGL bandmate Brian Kelley laughed and added, “Wow. We are constantly blown away by the support from our fans and are grateful to Pandora for sharing our music around the world. This honor inspires us even more and we can’t wait for you to hear what’s coming next!”
With more than 12 million streams per week on Pandora, Florida Georgia Line’s latest single “Blessings,” featured on the duo’s Gold-certified BMLG Records project Can’t Say I Ain’t Country, has remained on its Top Spins chart for seven consecutive weeks.
FGL was first played, even before they were signed to a label deal, in 2012 on SiriusXM’s The Highway channel as a “Highway Find.”
“It’s exciting to acknowledge these great Pandora achievements for the duo,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM. “We were confirmed believers years ago when we played them as an unsigned act, and now we look forward to more great music to come for Pandora listeners and SiriusXM subscribers.”
The duo just released a country remix of the Justin Bieber track “Yummy,” and are in the studio working on new music. They will join Kenny Chesney’s Chillaxification 2020 Tour this summer.
Pictured (L-R): Back Row – Pandora’s Beville Dunkerley, Big Machine Label Group’s Allison Jones, Big Machine Label Group’s Bekah Digby; Front Row – Big Machine Label Group’s Dave Kelly, BMLG Records’ Jimmy Harnen, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley & Tyler Hubbard, Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta, Pandora’s Alina Thompson. Photo Credit: Country Radio Seminar/Kayla Schoen
Pictured (L-R): Pandora’s Beville Dunkerley, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley & Tyler Hubbard, Pandora’s Alina Thompson. Photo Credit: Country Radio Seminar/Kayla Schoen
Cumulus Media Names Mike Preston Program Director At KPLX, KSCS
/by Jessica NicholsonMike Preston
Cumulus Media has named Mike Preston as program director for its Dallas/Fort Worth country radio stations KPLX/99.5 The Wolf and KSCS/New Country 96.3.
Preston most recently served as Sr. VP/Programming for iHeartMedia in Baltimore, Maryland and was Program Director for country station WPOC and Adult Hits station WQSR/102.7 JACK-FM. During his career, Preston has also worked as PD for Entercom country station KKWF/100.7 The Wolf and Rhythmic AC station KHTP/Hot 103.7 in Seattle. Preston has also previously served as senior programmer with CBS Radio in San Francisco and Seattle and served at ABC Radio’s WPLJ in New York.
“These two country brands, each in their own distinctive way, have captured the hearts of DFW country music fans. We believe Mike Preston is the right person to lead our talented teams into the future,” said Dan Bennett, Regional Vice President, Cumulus Dallas-Houston. “Mike has had big success in his career as a creative PD who knows how to coach big time talent. We can’t wait to have him in Dallas to further ignite two of the most listened-to country stations in America.”
Preston added, “I’m honored to be joining Cumulus and taking the helm of these two storied stations. Country music is alive and well in Texas and I can’t thank Dan Bennett, Brian Philips and Bruce Gilbert enough for the chance to work with these amazing brands and their teams.”
Round Hill Music Nashville Adds Three
/by Jessica NicholsonBrenner, Bottari, Wirths
Round Hill Music Nashville has welcomed three new hires to its administration, sync licensing, and label operations services. Robert Brenner will take on the role of Manager, Royalty Services – Label Operations after spending two years as a Joint Venture Analyst at Warner Music Nashville. Lindsay Bottari will assume the title of Senior Coordinator, Administration after working as a Licensing Coordinator at Fast Track Music Publishing, and Marin Wirths will handle duties as Coordinator, Sync Licensing.
Mark Brown, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Round Hill Music’s Nashville office, said, “We have been very fortunate to attract many talented and driven people to Round Hill. I am excited to add Lindsay, Robert, and Marin to our team.”
Round Hill Music Publishing Nashville recently celebrated their 40th No. 1 single with Chris Janson’s “Good Vibes” (writer: Ashley Gorley), and they will be celebrating their 41st with Dustin Lynch’s “Ridin’ Roads” (writer: Ashley Gorley) and their 42nd with Maren Morris’ two-week No. 1 single “The Bones” (writer: Jimmy Robbins).
Tenille Townes Celebrates Platinum Following CRS Show
/by Lorie Hollabaugh(L-R): Simon Rayner (Sony Canada), Samantha Chong (Sony Canada), Tenille Townes, Warren Copnick (Sony Canada), Crystal Dishmon (Shopkeeper Management), Randy Goodman (CEO and Chairman, Sony Music Nashville)
Tenille Townes performed at Sony Music Nashville and the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “In Harmony” showcase last Thursday night (Feb. 20) during CRS and was surprised with a Platinum plaque following her performance. Her single “Somebody’s Daughter” was just certified Platinum in Canada and “Jersey on the Wall (I’m Just Asking)” was just certified Gold in Canada.
Both songs also reached No. 1 at BDS Canada and Mediabase Canada, making Tenille the first and only female in Mediabase Canada history to achieve two No. 1 singles.
Industry Ink: Haven, Big Loud, In2une
/by Jessica NicholsonDemolition Music Artist, Haven Earns Support from Selena Gomez; Added To Dinah Jane World Tour
Signed to Demolition Music And Lh7 Management, Nashville-based pop artist Haven will head out on the road, opening for the Dinah Jane World Tour. Haven will open for the star (and former Fifth Harmony singer) and Agnez Mo. She also recently earned support from Selena Gomez in a video posted on Instagram, for the release of “Be With You,” which debut at No. 6 on Radio Disney’s Top 10. She co-wrote “Be With You” with Emile Ghantous (Pitbull, Chris Brown, JoJo), who also produced the song. The tour launches April 7 in Phoenix, Arizona and will wrap its U.S. run on May 10 in Los Angeles.
“I’m so proud of how hard she has worked. It’s only a matter of time before the world knows her name!” says, Demolition Music President, Jon D’Agostino.
“I’m truly at a loss for words. You’ve been so welcoming and kind to me and this honestly doesn’t feel real,” says Haven in response to Selena’s post adding, “I am so excited to go on tour with Dinah Jane and Agnez Mo! I’m so thankful for the opportunity.”
Big Loud Adds Roberts As Marketing Manager
Kelcie Roberts.
Big Loud has named Kelcie Roberts as Marketing Manager for its Records division, reporting to VP, Marketing Candice Watkins. Roberts previously worked as Digital Marketing Director for 287 Entertainment. The Belmont University graduate’s career also includes time at Girlilla Marketing and internships at various Nashville-based labels.
“Kelcie came highly recommended from trusted colleagues and I’m thrilled to have her join our team. I love her passion for our artists and her do-whatever-it-takes attitude,” says Watkins. “Kelcie shares the same vision of where we’re going as a company, and will prove to be the glue of our marketing team as Big Loud continues to chart its own path.”
In2une At CRS
Pictured (L-R): Chris Bandi (Records/Wide Open/GCE), John King (Starstruck Entertainment/In2une), Jamice Jennings (In2une), David Corey (WKLB), RaeLynn (Round Here Records/AWAL), Canaan Smith (Round Here Records/AWAL) and Rayne Johnson (In2une)
In2une’s Jamice Jennings visited with artists and WKLB at Country Radio Seminar, where In2une was named Indie Promo of the Year at the CRS/Country Aircheck Awards, held at Nashville’s Omni Hotel.
Big Machine, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital At Vanderbilt Unveil Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Wing
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Kathryn Carell Brown, Joe Don Rooney, Jay DeMarcus and Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, Allison DeMarcus, Dr. Margaret Rush, Scott Borchetta, Maddie Wright, Dalton Waggoner, Sandi Spika Borchetta, Sheryl Crow, Carly Pearce and Thomas Rhett. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Big Machine Label Group)
Big Machine Label Group’s CEO/Founder Scott Borchetta, along with wife and BMLG Sr. VP/Creative Sandi Spika Borchetta have teamed with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to dedicate the Big Machine Neighborhood, a music-inspired Neonatal Intensive Care Unit located on the hospital’s 11th floor. The new space will officially open in March.
The official ribbon cutting for the new area took place Monday morning (Feb. 24). Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus, Thomas Rhett and Carly Pearce were among those in attendance.
The new 40,000-square-foot space will include a 23-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as well as 15 acute care beds, increasing the hospital’s total number of beds from 305 to 343.
The Borchettas first began conversations with hospital executives regarding how to help the hospital in 2014, and made their commitment in 2016. The hospital recently completed an approximately three-year, $150 million construction project to build an additional four floors atop the hospital—that section of the expansion was made possible by the Borchettas and Big Machine Label Group.
“We wanted to do something for Nashville specifically, because this city has given so much to us. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to be part of the community and give back,” said Borchetta.
“The Big Machine Label Group staff and all of our amazing artists are super excited to be a part of this,” said Spika Borchetta. “But the real work comes from the nurses, the doctors and the brave parents. Their work will start really soon, so we salute them and we welcome them to the Big Machine Neighborhood. Music has value, music connects, and music definitely heals.”
“As part of our NICU, the Big Machine Neighborhood will help us better serve our smallest and most vulnerable patients. We are so thankful to Scott and Sandi Borchetta and Big Machine Label Group for helping us care for even more of these tiny patients,” said Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, president of Children’s Hospital. “Our expansion, including this latest floor opening, is truly made possible by the amazing support and generosity of our community and partners. I am also grateful to and proud of our amazing physicians, nurses and staff who have worked tirelessly over these last several months to prepare for the upcoming floor opening.”
Trea Landon To Release Five-Song EP On Friday
/by Jessica NicholsonTrea Landon will release his five-song debut EP via Warner Music Nashville on Friday (Feb. 28), titled Dirt Road Dancin’.
“Dirt Road Dancin’ is a pretty good sample of everything that makes me who I am,” says the 26-year-old Georgia native. “It’s everything that makes a country boy, a country boy. Long drives, late nights, field parties and falling in love. I’m excited for fans to get to know me better and have fun doing it.”
Landon co-wrote four of the project’s five songs, alongside writers including Dallas Davidson, Justin Wilson, Rob Hatch, Kyle Fishman and more. Scott Hendricks produced the EP.
Landon will soon join Cole Swindell‘s Down To Earth Tour, which begins March 5 in Toledo, Ohio.
This week also marks the first installment of Landon’s new video series “Training Trea,” which features Landon joining guests and industry friends including Michael Ray, as well as Nashville experts in everything from mixology to etiquette. The series launches Wednesday, Feb. 26 on YouTube.