Weekly Radio Report (9/13/19)

/by

Click here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Report.

Lorrie Morgan Releases Cookbook, Opens Florida Restaurant

/by

Lorrie Morgan has released a new cookbook, a collection of her favorite recipes.

The collection, titled To Eat Or Not To Eat. That Is The Question., will also include stories from Morgan’s life and career on the road and never before seen photos.

“Of all the recipes I’ve ever made, from southern classics passed down from my family to favorite dishes I’ve experienced while traveling the world, I’ve pulled together some of my absolute faves,” Morgan says. “Remember to always sprinkle with a little bit of love.”

Earlier this year, she opened a restaurant and bar in Panama City Beach, Florida, named Lorrie Morgan’s Spicy Hot Chicken Coop. The restaurant brings traditional Nashville hot chicken to the Gulf Coast, while the menu also includes fried okra, slaw and potato salad, sandwiches, hamburgers and more.

Morgan, known for hits including “Five Minutes,” “What Part Of No,” “Something In Red,” and “Watch Me,” has sold more than 6 million albums. She remains the youngest artist ever to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry (at age 24).

In 2013, she teamed with fellow Opry star Pam Tillis for the album Dos Divas and the 2017 followup Come See Me and Come Lonely, as well as the joint tour, the Grits & Glamour Tour.

Morgan’s recent albums include A Picture of Me: Greatest Hits & More (2016) and Lorrie Morgan Live (2017).

On The Row: Cooper Alan

/by

Pictured: Cooper Alan. Photo: Haley Crow for MusicRow

Newcomer Cooper Alan has a warm, rich country voice and the support of hit songwriter, producer, and artist developer Victoria Shaw (Garth Brooks’ “The River,” Lady Antebellum).

Alan first visited Nashville at age 15 when he took part in the GRAMMY Camp; he later went on to attend college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Shaw became acquainted with Alan’s music through a friend of a friend, and heard something special in the North Carolina native’s voice.

“He doing an internship in New York at the time and I happened to be going to New York, so we met for breakfast. He could sing, he could write, the songs were good,” she says. At the time, Shaw advised Alan to finish college and then make the move to Nashville.

“He emailed me like two days before his graduation and said, ‘I’ll be in Nashville on Sunday.’ And he’d already booked a gig in Nashville, so he had a lot of hustle.”

YouTube video

Alan recently inked a deal with Shaw’s Fabulicious Music Publishing and AvaRu Production company. He’s also aligned with SESAC.

During a recent visit to the MusicRow Magazine offices, Alan offered an acoustic take on his current song “Climate Change,” which he wrote alongside Shaw and Seth Mosley. Shaw and Mosley also co-produced the song. He also performed “Warm Beer,” a let’s-come-together style track that centers on things that everyone can agree they don’t like.

“Even with Lady A, it took a few years to get everything ready,” says Shaw, who co-produced the group’s doube-Platinum debut album. “But he already has the live performance down and had the songs, so it was like, ‘Well, let’s go!’”

Cooper Alan with MusicRow Magazine owner Sherod Robertson.

Industry Ink: Dixie Gamble, Kinkead Entertainment Agency, Belmont University

/by

Dixie Gamble Celebrates Book Release

(L-R): Rodney Crowell, Shari Smith (book publisher, Working Title Farm), Dixie Gamble and John Jorgenson. Photo credit: Dan Heller | DZH Photo

John Jorgenson, Rodney Crowell, Bee Taylor, Harry Stinson, Lauren Braddock, Hannah Sutherland and Beth Hooker performed recently at the launch event for former country music executive Dixie Gamble‘s book Witch Hairs: Mirth, Miracles, Mayhem & Music (Working Title Farm) at Parnassus Books. 

The event featured a live performance of songs from the book’s companion CD, Chiaroscuro, produced by Jorgenson (Gamble’s husband). Gamble was the first female president of Elektra Asylum Music, a publishing division of Warner Bros. Records in Nashville, guiding the careers of Pam Tillis, Lewis Storey, KT Oslin and numerous other writers.
 
 

Tim Rushlow Signs With Kinkead Entertainment Agency

(L-R:) TKEA’s VP Head of Live Performance – Greg Scott and CEO – Bob Kinkead; Tim Rushlow; TKEA’s President Head of Film/TB – Julie Devereux and Clif Doyal Agency/Artist Manager – Clif Doyal. Back Row L to R: TKEA’s Marketing/Booking Coordinator-Caylee Mizzell-Smith; Agent – Art Benson Agent; Contracts/BookingCoordinator – Paige Zuidema; Assistant – Lea Swatosch and Agent – Dennis Kurtz. Photo Credit: Moments By Moser Photography


Tim Rushlow has signed exclusively with The Kinkead Entertainment Agency for worldwide booking representation. Rushlow first achieved multi-platinum success in the ’90s as the lead vocalist of supergroup Little Texas, with chart-toppers such as “God Blessed Texas,” “What Might Have Been” and “Amy’s Back In Austin.” Rushlow is a three-time Grammy nominee, CMA and ACM Award winner.

“TKEA is proud to be the exclusive agents for Tim Rushlow, and welcome him, and his team to our booking/talent agency. Tim is a true artist in the sense that he has reinvented his brand over the course of his career several times and has left a mark in the entertainment industry,” stated Bob Kinkead, CEO. “A lead singer of one of the most successful bands to break in the country music business in the early 90s, to a singer-songwriter with his one man show, to the high energy of his big band show and PBS special. I have seen the fire, passion and drive in his eyes that will take his career to a whole new level, and I am excited to be part of his career and opportunities that we will create together.”
 
 

Belmont Faculty Contribute To PBS Learning Media Program

Belmont faculty are contributing lesson plans to PBS’s ‘Country Music’ Curriculum so that middle and high school students can be challenged to learn in conjunction with the release of the new Ken Burns’s Country Music documentary, which premieres Sunday evening on PBS. The materials, including video and lesson plans drawn from the research that went into the 16-hour film, will explore American history through country music, illustrating the extent to which this distinctly American art form reflects the times in which it evolved. Materials will cover the musical style, the genre’s history, and the workings of the music industry. Students and teachers will be able to access the collection for free on PBS Learning Media which reaches one million users each month throughout the school year.

A small selection of materials will be available starting Monday, following Sunday night’s premiere of the documentary on PBS, with more materials being published in the fall. Burns said, “The history of country music provides an engaging, thoughtful and often soulful way to help students understand unique parts of the American story.”

 

 

DISClaimer: Sarah Potenza, The Marcus King Band Top New Americana Releases

/by

It’s Americana week here in Guitar Town, and there’s non-stop music in nightspots all over the city.

There’s non-stop music on disc, too. Of the hundreds of hopefuls lined up for a listen, I chose these 10 for your edification.

The Disc of the Day belongs to that force-of-nature, body-positive and completely fabulous Sarah Potenza. She is one incredible piece of work.

For our DISCovery Award, I turn to a youngster I only learned about this week. And, boy, am I glad I did. The Marcus King Band makes me hopeful about the future of rock & roll.

MANDOLIN ORANGE/Belly of the Beast
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Yep Roc
– This compelling North Carolina folk duo (Andrew Marlin & Emily Frantz) captivates audiences at sold-out venues like the Ryman. This new single casts its spell with weaving, wandering banjo droplets and dreamy vocals. Haunting.

DELBERT McCLINTON/Let’s Get Down Like We Used To
Writers: none listed; Producers: McClinton/Bob Britt/Kevin McKendree; Publishers: none listed; Hot Shot/Thirty Tigers
– Loose limbed and funky, this is a gently rocking, swaying, romantic come-on for couples of a certain age. Senior citizenry sounds sexy here. Delbert showcases on Saturday at 11:30 pm at 3rd & Lindsley.

AUBRIE SELLERS/Drag You Down
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Thirty Tigers
– Sassy and ferociously rocking. She lays down the law on this searing, roaring outing, promising doom and despair to her paramour. Aubrie’s fusion of country singing with alternative-rock bashing is completely unique. Also check out her new duet with Steve Earle on “My Love Will Not Change.” Her crystalline country soprano and his backwoods growl are terrific contrasting textures. Coupled with a dark, pounding track they are gripping, essential and utterly magnetic. Both tunes are previews of an album that drops early next year. Catch Aubrie at 8:00 pm Saturday in Mercy Lounge.

CORB LUND & HAYES CARLL/The Cover of Rolling Stone
Writers: none listed; Producer: Corb Lund/John Evans; Publisher: none listed; New West
-This always-welcome Canadian troubadour drops his new, 8-song CD tomorrow. Titled Cover Your Tracks, it is a set of reinvented oldies by everyone from Marty Robbins to AC/DC. Also represented are classics popularized by Billy Joel, Willie Nelson & Ray Charles, Nancy Sinatra, Bob Dylan and The Eagles. And then there’s this, a delightfully rumpled, rollicking duet with Hayes Carll on the 1973 Dr. Hook hit. The original version actually did get Dr. Hook on the cover of Rolling Stone. Can lightning strike twice in the same place? Lund is on Saturday’s bill of the all-day “Under the Sun” show at the Rooftop Lounge of the Westin Hotel.

JOHN HIATT/Cry To Me
Writer: John Hiatt; Producer: Kevin McKendree; Publisher: So Not That, BMI; New West
– Hiatt is in the spotlight this week as the 2019 winner of BMI’s Troubadour Award. His current album is titled The Eclipse Sessions and includes this strummy, rootsy, midtempo shuffle. His national-treasure strangled rasp promises to never oppress a lover, even though he might not be all that reliable. Rolling, strolling brilliance.

SARAH POTENZA/Diamond
Writers: Potenza/Ian Crossman/Justin Wiseman; Producer: Jordan Brooke Hamlin; Publishers: none listed; Snax
– This former contestant on The Voice is a take-no-prisoners artist. Cross this bodacious, soulful, brassy, in-your-face dame at your own peril. Drawn from her Road to Rome CD, this stormy, fierce, edgy, roaring number is a powerful self-love anthem. The whole album is anchored by this East Nashvillian’s colossal, bluesy voice and her lyrics of determination, self-worth and empowerment. A feminist battle cry. Her live performances are super theatrical, and she’s showcasing at 10:30 pm Friday at Analog in the Hutton Hotel.

THE MARCUS KING BAND/Goodbye Carolina
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Easy Eye Sound
– He’s a young pup of 23, but King is a full-grown guitar slinger. Blessed with a rock-star’s soulful shout as well as instrumental chops to spare, he gets down to basics on this deliciously moaning ode. He has, indeed, said farewell to South Carolina and now calls Music City home. You’ll be tempted to call his sound throwback Southern rock, but he’s a lot cooler than that. The Marcus King Band showcases at 8:15 pm tonight at Musicians Corner in Centennial Park. Expect to have your socks rocked.

STURGILL SIMPSON/Sing Along
Writers: none listed; Producer: Sturgill Simpson/John Hill; Publishers: none listed; Elektra
– This dude simply refuses to fit in any musical category. Instead of a neo-classicist country guy, he’s now a ZZ Top techno stomper, at least judging by this throbbing track. Exciting, electronic and innovative.

NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS/Up and Rolling
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; New West
-Despite the band name, these guys are Nashvillians. Their new album doesn’t appear until next month, but this advance single/video of the title track is out now. As the lyrics indicate, the vibe is Delta-dirt hippies tripping on LSD to a languid, bluesy accompaniment. Mellow and groovy. The group will be at the “Music City Roots” broadcast from Yee Haw Brewing Company tonight at 7:00 pm.

GARY NICHOLSON  & THE McCRARY SISTERS/Hallelujah Anyhow
Writers: none listed; Producer: Gary Nicholson; Publisher: none listed; Blue Corn
-This esteemed, hit-machine, Music Row tunesmith has crafted a semi-political collection titled The Great Divide. Its songs contemplate our nation’s troubled state and search for understanding and cooperation. On this bluesy, ragtimey hand clapper Gary offers a tuneful prescription to your “blues watching the evening news.” He’s helped along in no small measure by our city’s favorite soul siblings and some get-happy piano tickling by Catherine Marks. Catch Gary on Friday at 8 pm at 3rd & Lindsley and the McCrarys on Friday at 9:30 pm at Analog in the Hutton Hotel.

HARDY To Release ‘HIXTAPE VOL. 1’ Featuring 17 All-Star Friends

/by

Cover Art By: @SOMEHOODLUM

Big Loud Records/Tree Vibez Music artist HARDY will release his HIXTAPE VOL. 1, an album comprised of ten collaborations with 17 country artists, tomorrow (Sept. 13).

Produced by Joey Moi and Derek Wells, HIXTAPE VOL. 1 features a wide range of collaborators, including the likes of Keith Urban, Devin Dawson and Lauren Alaina as well as Tracy Lawrence, Trace Adkins and Joe Diffie.

“The more we kept asking people and taking chances … people kept saying ‘yes’ and it just became this really cool thing,” HARDY says. “Eighty percent of them are my friends. The spectrum is really broad. We have everyone from Devin Dawson to Joe Diffie, and everything in between. I think there’s something for every type of country fan on the record.”

HARDY has already released HIXTAPE VOL. 1 tracks “He Went to Jared” featuring Morgan Wallen here and “Nothin’ Out Here” featuring Thomas Rhett.

“I think it’s a perfect representation of who I am as an artist,” HARDY says. “There will be more. One hundred percent there will be more. My personal goal is that this does really well, that other artists hear this and they want to be on the next one…to which I would reply, ‘absolutely.’”

HARDY HIXTAPE VOL. 1 Track List:
1. “Boy From the South” featuring Cole Swindell and Dustin Lynch (Matt Dragstrem, Michael Hardy and Brett Tyler)
2. “He Went to Jared” featuring Morgan Wallen (Michael Hardy, Chase McGill and Morgan Wallen)
3. “Redneck Tendencies” featuring Trace Adkins and Joe Diffie (Michael Hardy, Brian Kelley, Ernest K. Smith and Ben Stennis)
4. “Nothin’ Out Here” featuring Thomas Rhett (Michael Hardy, Ben Hayslip and Jimmy Yeary)
5. “My Kinda Livin'” featuring Hunter Phelps and Jameson Rodgers (Michael Hardy, Cameron Montgomery and Hunter Phelps)
6. “No Place Like Hometown” featuring Keith Urban and Hillary Lindsey (Michael Hardy, Mark Holman and Hillary Lindsey)
7. “Something a Lil’ Stronger” featuring Mitchell Tenpenny and Jon Langston (Bart Butler, Michael Hardy, Jake Mitchell and Brett Tyler)
8. “What They Make Backroads For” featuring Tracy Lawrence and Jake Owen (Michael Hardy, Jordan Schmidt and Josh Thompson)
9. “Turn You Down” featuring Morgan Wallen and Zakk Wylde (Ben Burgess, Jacob Durrett, Michael Hardy and Morgan Wallen)
10. “One Beer” featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson (Michael Hardy, Hillary Lindsey and Jake Mitchell)

Blake Shelton Helps Craig Morgan Earn No. 1 Song On iTunes

/by

Today, Craig Morgan earned the No. 1 song on iTunes’ all-genre chart with his intensely personal new song “The Father, My Son, and The Holy Ghost”—with some help from his friend and fellow country artist Blake Shelton.

Morgan’s moving song was written nearly three years after the death of his 19-year-old son Jerry, who passed away following a boating accident in 2016. On Aug. 30, Craig Morgan released the track, marking his first new music in three years.

“As difficult as this song was to write and as difficult as it is to sing, it gives me strength in my faith in God,” Morgan said. “My hope is it does the same for others.”

The song is intensely vulnerable, mournful, yet hopeful with lines such as In the morning I wake up, give her a kiss, head to the kitchen/Pour a cup of wake-me-up and try to rouse up some ambition| Go outside, sit by myself but I ain’t alone/I’ve got the Father, my son, and the Holy Ghost.

When Shelton heard “The Father, My Son, and The Holy Ghost,” he took to social media to help spread the word, essentially becoming a one-man promotional machine for the track and even reaching out to some of his famous friends to help promote the song.

“I would gladly give up my spot on country radio to get this song on,” Shelton said via Twitter on Sept. 9. “There’s nothing easy or fun about writing a song like this, but sometimes it’s just something you gotta do.”

Over the past few days, Shelton flooded his social media account with a steady stream of posts about the song, urging people to move the song higher on iTunes.

By 8 p.m. on Sept. 10, the song had reached No. 11 on the iTunes country chart.

“We are almost there!!! This is a great moment for country music fans. The power is in yalls [sic] hands!” he tweeted.

By Sept. 11, the song reached the Top 5.

“I’m asking any DJs that see this tweet to please give this song 1 [sic] chance on your show on this day of all days. Watch what happens,” Shelton tweeted.

As the song continued to rise higher on the iTunes chart, Shelton tweeted fellow celebrities including Hoda Kotb and his fellow The Voice star Carson Daly to keep spreading the word.

Talk show host Ellen chimed in with a tweet of her own to support the song.

This morning (Sept. 12), the song reached not only No. 1 on the iTunes country chart, but the song reached No. 1 on the all-genre chart, ahead of Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts,” OneRepublic’s “Somebody To Love,” and Post Malone’s “Take What You Want.”

Twelve6 Entertainment And Downtown Music Publishing Ink Joint Venture, Sign Alex Hall

/by

(L-R): Tom Becci (Red Light Management), Autumn House-Tallant (Red Light Management), Matt Turner (Downtown Music Publishing), Katie Roth (Downtown Music Publishing), Garrett Stephenson (Downtown Music Publishing), Austen Adams (Dickinson Wright) Next Row: Steve Markland (Downtown Music Publishing), Natalie Osborne (Downtown Music Publishing), Alex Hall, Travis Myatt (Twelve6 Entertainment), Nicolette McCann (Twelve6 Entertainment)

Twelve6 Entertainment has entered into a multi-faceted partnership with Downtown Music Publishing that includes an admin deal and a new joint venture. Through the agreement, Downtown will provide its bespoke creative and administration services globally to Nashville-based Twelve6’s roster of writers and artists, including Old Dominion’s Trevor Rosen and Jerry Flowers.

Additionally, a new joint venture between the two companies will focus on identifying and signing talent. Monument Records recording artist/writer Alex Hall is the first signing under this new partnership. Hailing from Gainesville, Georgia, Hall just released his debut track, “Half Past You,” and is currently in the studio recording his full debut project, produced by Shane McAnally, Pete Good, and AJ Babcock.

 

‘CMT Crossroads’ To Feature Sheryl Crow & Friends

/by

Sheryl Crow‘s latest album, Threads, is a star-studded affair. The album debuted at No. 1 on the americana/folk charts, and at No. 2 on Nielsen Soundscan’s country albums chart rankings and the project’s 16 tracks include performances from Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Eric Clapton, Sting, and more.

On Sept. 27, CMT will help bring the collaborative spirit of Crow’s Threads album to the stage with a special edition of CMT Crossroads. For CMT Crossroads: Sheryl Crow & Friends, Crow will be joined by Emmylou Harris, Jason Isbell, Lucius, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Stapleton and Joe Walsh as part of a one-hour special beginning at 9 p.m. CT.

Watch a clip of Sheryl Crow with Chris Stapleton performing “Tell Me When It’s Over” below:

YouTube video

 

Spotify Acquires Audio Production Talent Marketplace Soundbetter

/by

Spotify has acquired SoundBetter, the global audio production marketplace that helps creators worldwide connect and hire top audio professionals.

SoundBetter taps into the growing market of audio professionals looking to create better sounding content and searching for partners to advance their work. Since its founding in 2012, SoundBetter has helped tens of thousands of music professionals buy and offer services across the globe, and has a community of more than 180,000 artists registered on its network.

“As we build out our tools for creators, we want to give them the resources they need to thrive. SoundBetter has the same vision,” said Beckwith Kloss, VP Product, Creator at Spotify.  “We’re excited that creators can generate income through SoundBetter, as well as benefit from its network of top professionals – from instrumentalists to songwriters to producers – as they perfect their tracks.”

“SoundBetter offers the most comprehensive global marketplace for music and audio production professionals for hire in the world along with a member community spanning 176 countries and 14,000 cities worldwide,” said SoundBetter Co-Founder and CEO Shachar Gilad. “We are excited to benefit from Spotify’s global scale, resources, and vision to expand our network and drive more economic opportunities for artists of all levels.”