Sony Music Nashville artist Ryan Hurd stopped by the MusicRow offices on Wednesday (April 24) to play some new tunes and visit with old friends. In the midst of his first headlining tour, Hurd is seeing his breezy, romantic single, “To A T,” climb the charts.

After years of success as a songwriter, writing hit songs for Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley and more, Hurd is finally putting out music of his own. “I’m just going to play you songs that are on my own project, because I can actually do that now,” he quipped.

Hurd played his climbing “To A T” and “Michigan For The Winter,” as well as a yet-to-be recorded tune called “Wish For The World.” “This is the song that after we do all the songs, this is like my prayer to my audience before they go and do whatever else they’re going to do on a Friday night or Saturday night.” he said.

Hurd is set to record the song next month. “If I can make a wish for the world, everyone would say they’re sorry when they knew they were wrong, and if they don’t, we’d still forgive. If I can make a wish for the world, there would be more music,” the verses read.

Hurd is continuing working with long-time collaborative partner and friend, Aaron Eshuis, and has also began working with the hit-making Dann Huff.

“For me it’s about trust,” Hurd said. “I can call Aaron and say ‘This is wrong but I don’t know why,’ and he will say ‘I got you’ and go try to figure it out. Maybe with a different producer I wouldn’t be as brave, but I think if you’re making any kind of art, the trust part is very important.

“Dann is the most positive producer I’ve ever met,” he continued. “He gets the best out of every single person. I think we both learned so much about what it means between the difference in a good record and a great record. Without both of those dudes, I don’t feel like I would be making creative strides like I have been in the last year.”

Hurd also mentioned his gratitude to SiriusXM and The Highway, where he had three songs—”Diamonds Or Twine,” “To A T” and  “Michigan For The Winter”—hit No. 1 in 2018 on the Highway Hot 30 Countdown.

Hurd talked about his connection to MusicRow, knowing staff member Eric Parker since their college days at Belmont University. MusicRow‘s Sarah Skates wrote Hurd’s first bio.

“I got my first challenge coin right when y’all started doing that with The Swon Brother’s ‘Later On,'” Hurd said. “The only award we ever got from that tune was a Challenge Coin from MusicRow. I feel like I’m among friends which is really fun for me.”

In 2016, the duo High Valley released their debut album, Dear Life, which earned the duo a Gold-certified single with “Make You Mine,” as well as “She’s With Me,” which became the duo’s first Top 10 single.

Now, High Valley’s Brad and Curtis Rempel are back with new music–and a new album on the way.

“We are over halfway done with the new record and we are quite certain that by the end of the year it will be totally completed. But we are writing so many songs that we want to keep putting out new music,” Brad said during a recent visit to the MusicRow office. He estimates the duo has penned more than 100 songs while creating the upcoming album, set to release on Warner Music Nashville.

Following an acoustic rendition of “She’s With Me,” High Valley performed a new track, “Your Mama,” noting this was the second time they had ever performed the song.

“This song salutes our wives and it’s a great message to our kids at the same time,” said Curtis, whose family includes wife Myranda, son Ben (5) and daughter Millie June (2). Brad Rempel is husband to wife Rebekah and father to sons Drew (10) and Cash (7).

The duo’s new single, “Single Man,” penned by Brad Rempel alongside Derrick Southerland, and Jordan Schmidt, pulls from the same bluegrass sensibilities displayed on “Make You Mine,” while meshing them with a driving energy and earnest lyrics that praise family life. The song was penned following a redeye flight back to Nashville following a concert, as the duo balances songwriting, touring and making time for their families.

“We have a lot of red-eye flights,” Brad notes. “There were two Seattle gigs last year where we got offstage, went to the airport and flew to get back to Nashville for a 9 a.m. game the next morning. If you can get offstage and fly from Seattle to Nashville, that’s how the stars are really aligning…”

“But you can’t see them because your eyes are bloodshot,” Curtis interjected.

Last year, High Valley played 100 shows to over 500,000 fans, and already have several festival dates on the books through July.

 

The lineup for Breakaway Music Festival’s second year in Nashville on Oct. 11-12 has been announced. The Prime Social Group festival draws some of the most notable performers across hip-hop and EDM, and this year will feature performances from Future, Lil Baby, Kaskade, Zeds Dead, FISHER, Chris Lake, Bryce Vine, Ekali, Gashi, Shallou, Kid Quill, Emogee, Chris Jobe, and CVBZ. 

Platinum artist/Atlanta rapper Future will headline the hip-hop portion of the festival. The celebrated rapper has been dominating the charts for years, and his seventh album The Wizrd debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making it his sixth number one album in the US. EDM headliners include veteran DJ/renowned producer, Kaskade, best known for his new wave influences and uplifting, melodic productions that have helped shape the progressive house scene over the last decade including tracks like “Disarm You,” “I Remember,” “Never Sleep Alone,” and more. Toronto-based house/dubstep trailblazers Zeds Dead will also be headlining this year. The pair have had no shortage of heavy-hitting collaborations with the likes of Diplo, Pusha T, Illenium, Jauz, Jadakiss and more. Australia’s most popular export FISHER will also be joining them. The “Losing It” professional surfer turned DJ is sure to attract a wild crowd with his mischievous and energetic performance.

Marty Stuart‘s 18th annual Late Night Jam, set for June 5 at 9 p.m. at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, will welcome Dierks Bentley, Sheryl Crow, Steve Miller and Tyler Childers, among others. As always, the popular event will also feature performances from the evening’s host Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives.

Each year’s event typically features an eclectic lineup of entertainers, with previous performances from Chris Stapleton, LeAnn Rimes, Dolly Parton, Eric Church, Maren Morris, and more.

The event is sponsored by MusiCares, Keep The Music Playing, and Stuart’s own Congress of Country Music, a performance center and artifact exhibit set to open in Stuart’s hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. The $30 million, 50,000-square-foot project will be home to the world’s largest private collection of country music artifacts, with more than 20,000 pieces.

Tickets for Marty Stuart’s 18th annual Late Night Jam will go on sale Friday, April 26.

Stuart was also recently named as the Country Music Hall of Fame’s artist-in-residence for 2019.

Altadena held their most recent “Pop Hang” in Nashville, where Music City pop artists, songwriters and producers gather at Altadena Creative Director Noreen Prunier‘s home to network, play demos to receive feedback from fellow industry professionals and to discuss how to continue to grow the pop scene in Nashville.

Songwriter-producer busbee, known for his work with artists including Maren Morris and Keith Urban, launched Altadena in late 2018 as a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records, to provide a range of services to the label’s recording artists. Altadena also entered into a publishing agreement with Warner/Chappell Music to provide support to its roster of writers, and a creative partnership with Red Light Management.