Trisha Yearwood made a triumphant return to country radio last week with her brand new single “Every Girl In This Town,” which was released on June 6. With 84 total adds, “Every Girl In This Town” marks Yearwood’s highest debut and biggest add day of her career, and the song is Billboard’s highest female debut of 2019 on the Country Airplay Chart, coming in at No. 21, and the No. 4 highest Billboard country radio debut of 2019.

Yearwood had a busy week last week, presenting at the CMT Awards Wednesday night (June 5) and joining Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker for a powerhouse performance of “Delta Dawn” along with Lauren Alaina, Carly Pearce, Martina McBride, RaeLynn and Deana Carter. CMA Fest also selected her as its Artist of the Day and hosted CMA Fest Artist of the Day—Every Girl: Trisha Yearwood and Friends.” She graced the CMA Close Up Stage for a very special performance and Q&A alongside friends Ashley McBryde, Lucie Silvas, and Karyn Rochelle. Shortly after, she visited the Spotify House in Nashville with another performance and closed out the weekend on Sunday with a special performance of “Every Girl In This Town” at Nissan Stadium.

The new song is the first taste of Yearwood’s upcoming first full-length country album since 2007’s critically acclaimed Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love, and follows on the heels of her 2019 Frank Sinatra homage, Let’s Be Frank.

Dan Hays departed as Executive Director of the Franklin Theatre on June 10.

Hays was named Executive Director in 2011, a few months after the 300-seat venue reopened as a completely re-imagined state-of-the-art live music and performing arts center.

“What attracted me to this post was a compelling vision of what the theater could become, and a community invested in a quest for it to be the ‘Best 300 Seat Live Music Venue In The World,’” said Hays. “During my tenure, we’ve met or exceeded every expectation in that quest hosting almost 600 events and 80,000 ticketed patrons each year, extraordinary customer service ratings, helped raise over $5 million for area charities and provided a cultural and economic impact on Franklin I’m told was never imagined. The finances of the theater are, by all accounts, in extraordinary shape and our live music programming has built a national reputation for excellence in an intimate atmosphere unlike any other.”

The venue hosted a “who’s who” of music talents of all genres during that time including Art Garfunkel, Keb’ Mo’, Michael McDonald, Sheryl Crow, Michael W. Smith, Indigo Girls, Ricky Skaggs, Nick Lowe and hundreds more. The venue has also been host to a long list of broadcast and video productions during Hays’ tenure.

Prior to his work at the Franklin Theatre, Hays led the International Bluegrass Music Association for 22 years, during which time the organization relocated from Owensboro, Kentucky, to Music Row. He plans to remain involved in the entertainment industry, including such organizations as Leadership Music for which he and his wife Suzanne annually present leadership programs and discussions like “Win As Much As You Can.”

Erin Enderlin

In 2017, Erin Enderlin put an interesting twist on her album Whiskeytown Crier, allowing each of the songs on that album to introduce another character, all living and interacting in the fictional Whiskeytown.

She recently released a new four-song project, Chapter One: Tonight I Don’t Give a Damn, the first in a series of four EPs that allow her to further plumb the depths of the characters that settled in Whiskeytown.

“I decided to just take that even weirder and make mini-concept EPs. I get to follow one character through three songs on the EP.”

Two tracks, “Broken” and “Till It’s Gone,” are reprised for the new EP. “Broken” traces two young lovers from rough home lives, and the heart-wrenching decision a young mother makes to make sure certain those coping mechanisms aren’t passed on to her son.

A favored songwriter in Nashville’s music community, Enderlin has recently had her music included on Reba’s latest album. Others who have recorded her works include Alan Jackson (“Monday Morning Church”), Lee Ann Womack (“Last Call”), Luke Bryan (“You Don’t Know Jack”), Terri Clark, and Joey+Rory.

Enderlin visited the MusicRow offices to play a few songs from her new EP, Chapter One: Tonight I Don’t Give A Damn. Much like her coveted compositions, her guitar has a story, too.

“Jimmy signed it the first time I got to play the Opry,” she said, gesturing to the signature from the late Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens that adorns the instrument’s polished wood.

Before stepping onstage at the Grand Ole Opry as a performer, Enderlin was a Grand Ole Opry employee for about two years, and watched as Dickens and others took the stage each night.

“He just came in every night and was so positive and excited to be there and excited to give 150 percent,” she recalls.

The same could be said of Enderlin, whose talent and hustle has allowed her to pursue a career as both writer and artist.

Enderlin recently finished a string of performances opening for Jamey Johnson, who produced Whiskeytown Crier.

Chapter One is a collaboration between Enderlin’s Black Crow Productions and label partner Blaster Records, with management by Marty Winsch. A trio of music videos offer visual representations of Enderlin’s stories.  

“It’s interesting how we all hear these songs, like ‘Jesus take The Wheel,’ and with some songs, you know what happens to the character. What happened to the ‘Coat of Many Colors’ girl? She grew up to be Dolly Parton. But with Delta Dawn, it tells a bit of that story but what if there was another song about her falling in love with this guy and what happened to her later on? That’s really interesting for me to think about.”

She notes a second digital EP will be out by the end of June, followed by a third and fourth EP, with a physical release of the music slated before the end of the year.