John Berry
In the mid-â90s, there were few male vocalists with the raw soul and power of John Berry, who notched the Grammy-nominated chart-topper âYour Love Amazes Meâ in 1994, following it with hits including âStanding On The Edge Of Goodbyeâ and âSheâs Taken A Shine.â Since then, Berry has released 10 projects to date, and toured relentlessly. 2018 was no exception. In July, he released âBeautifully Brokenâ as the title track to the film of the same name. In October, he went into the studio to record the six-song EP Thomas Road, which reunited him with producer Chuck Howard. He also embarked on his 22nd annual Christmas Songs and Stories Tour.
But along the way, Berry was battling mounting vocal problems.
âStaring in October, I had this little annoying stick in my throat. It felt just like if you had the skin of a Spanish peanut stuck in your throat,â he tells MusicRow. âAnd I couldnât get rid of it. I just thought I had a swollen tonsil or something. We got home from the tour and [Berryâs wife] Robin was like, âWe gotta go see an ENT.â He looked down my throat, then looked at me and said, âIâm a no-BS kinda guy. You have cancer.ââ
On Jan. 22, 2019, Berry and Robin shared a video on social media, revealing Berryâs throat cancer diagnosis to his fans. On Feb. 13, Berry began treatment–a grueling seven-week period which included 35 radiation treatments and seven chemotherapy treatments.
âThey did a biopsy on the tonsils and they knew there was a tumor on one of them. The other tonsil had a tumor inside, so I had a tonsillectomy.â
The radiation and chemotherapy were successful; April 9 marked Berry’s final day of treatments.
âIt was a tough seven weeks, but I’m glad and grateful to be here,â Berry says.
Tonight (April 23) Berry will welcome an assemblage of country performers he has met and worked with throughout his 25-year career to Nashvilleâs City Winery for the benefit show âWe All Come Togetherâ to help raise funds for Berryâs medical treatment, as well as for the nonprofit Music Health Alliance, which aids musicians and music industry members with health insurance needs. The show will also include a silent auction.
Vince Gill, Travis Tritt, Trace Adkins, Bryan White, Clint Black, Mark Wills, Tracy Lawrence, Jimmy Fortune, Jeannie Seely (with Tim Atwood), Darryl Worley, Exile, Anita Cochran, Suzy Bogguss, the Oak Ridge Boys, Radney Foster, Shenandoah, Tim Rushlow and more will all take the stage.
âA lot of folks kept asking âWhat can we do? How can we help?â and City Winery offered their facility, which is amazing,â Berry notes. âOnce everybody knows itâs cancer and major medical things like this, there’s always needs. We’re no different. So [Berryâs manager] Brian Smith and [publicist] Bev Moser, they put this together with City Winery and some other folks that were involved. They started inviting people and the guest artist list, I’m astounded!â
Berry has known one of the eveningâs guests, fellow country entertainer Travis Tritt, since their early club days in Georgia.
âWe were playing clubs in Atlanta,â he recalls. âHe was playing at Miss Kitty’s and we would play there. Then Travis got a record deal and, of course, we had heard a lot of the songs that he put on his debut album. He was playing them there at the club. And âCountry Clubâ was a big hit [the track reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1989]. He did that song at the club before it ever came out on the radio and my wife said âThat’s gonna be a big ol’ song,â and sure enough it was. Travis has just always been very kind to me and he’s invited me to open two shows for him here and there. Always been a lot of fun. Good guy.â
âI donât know anyone that hasnât been affected by cancer in some way,â Tritt says. âKnowing that friends and family have your back is an important factor in fighting this disease. On this night, Johnâs friends and musical family will come together to show John and the world that we have his back and he is not fighting this alone.â
Berry says Tritt is slated to perform his 2000 hit, âItâs A Great Day To Be Alive,â and he hopes to sneak in a collaboration of âGeorgia On My Mindâ with his fellow Georgian. Berry could even offer a rendition of his own hits.
âI’m hoping to do a song or two as the night goes. We’ll see how I’m doin’.â he says.
Later this week will mark Berryâs first official return to the stage since his treatments, as he visits Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain, Mississippi to do a speaking engagement and offer a few songs. In May, he will open a few shows for Clint Black and Trace Adkins on their The Hits. Hats. History. Tour.
âThatâs going to be a lot of fun to go and open for them, to just go and do 20 minutes with my guitar,â Berry says.
But tonightâs show at City Winery will be about celebrating life, love and music with some of his best friends in the industry.
âIt’s going to be awesome. I told everybody on my team, please just make sure there’s boxes of tissues everywhere. I’ll be in puddles,â Berry said.
Carter Robinson Joins Pinnacle Financial Partners
/by Lorie HollabaughCarter Robinson has joined Pinnacle Financial Partners as Senior Vice President with the Music, Sports, and Entertainment Group, based in the company’s Nashville office at Cummins Station.
In his new position, Robinson will be responsible for helping artists, publishers, managers, business managers, music professionals and professional athletes with their complex banking needs. Carter was previously at SunTrust Bank for 12 years, most recently in the Sports & Entertainment Group.
A native of Milan, Tennessee, Robinson attended Middle Tennessee State University. He is on the leadership team for the Troubadour Society Advisory Committee at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, and is a CMA member.
Robinson can be reached at carter.robinson@pnfp.com.
TJ Martell Foundation Nashville Best Cellars 2019: The Night In Photos
/by Haley CrowPictured (L-R): Kix Brooks, Trevor Rosen, Bryan White, Carly Pearce, Michael Ray, Hunter Hayes and Cole Swindell. Photo: Rick Diamond/Courtesy Warner Music Nashville
The stars came out to raise a glass for cancer research last night (Monday, April 22) at the sold-out T.J. Martell Foundationâs Nashville Best Cellars held at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. The event honored Tom Black with the Billy Ray Hearn Award and raised important funds for cancer research.
Some of country musicâs biggest stars including Martina McBride, Kix Brooks, Big Kenny, Carly Pearce, Michael Ray, Bryan White, Old Dominion, Little Big Town, Steve Cropper, Cole Swindell, Charles Kelly from Lady Antebellum, and others attended. Guest chefs included television host and author Vivian Howard and Jason Stanhope of FIG who served up a night of extraordinary food and wine.
Pictured (Back Row, L-R): Chris Johnson, Michael Dorf, Chantel Esposito, Jim Clendenen, Tom Black, Melissa Beckham, Keith Browning, Pam Browning, Michael Oravecz, Marc Goldstone. (Front Row, L-R): John Esposito, Eliza Kraft-Olander, Rob Beckham, Laura Heatherly. Photo: Rick Diamond/Courtesy Warner Music Nashville
The event was presented by Secure Air Charter and the reception sponsor was Morgan Stanley.
Wine hosts include Melissa & Rob Beckham, Tom Black, Matt Donahoe & Clint Higham, Chantel & John Esposito, Marc Goldstone, Chris Johnson, Nataliia & John Sanzo, Michael Oravecz, Eliza Olander, Pam & Keith Browning, Jim Clendenen. Co-chairs of the event are Rob Beckham, John Esposito and Eliza Kraft Olander.
(All photos: Rick Diamond/Courtesy Warner Music Nashville)
David Adcock Joins Red Light Management Nashville
/by Jessica NicholsonDavid Adcock
Red Light Management has hired UK native David Adcock to bolster the marketing and shared services team at their Nashville office. In his role, Adcock will have a specific focus on the officeâs expanding non-country roster.
Adcock began his career at Sony Music/Columbia Records in London, running campaigns for artists including Mark Ronson, Lissie, Kasabian, Miike Snow and Calvin Harris. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2012, he joined the marketing team of American Idol before establishing his own management and consultancy practice, which saw him work on projects for Julian Casablancas+The Voidz, James Vincent McMorrow and Katelyn Tarver.
âI am thrilled to be joining the incredible team at Red Light Management,â says Adcock. “Nashvilleâs music scene has been growing increasingly diverse and the opportunity for artists to connect with global audiences has never been greater. I couldnât be more excited to be working with the best placed company in the business to help do this.â
Robert Earl Keen To Launch Americana Podcast
/by Jessica NicholsonRobert Earl Keen. Photo: Nick Doll, Courtesy Richlynn Marketing
Robert Earl Keen will launch Americana Podcast: The 51st State, on April 30. The podcast’s first season will launch with two episodes featuring Jamestown Revival and Lucero. The first season will profile six artists, with new episodes releasing monthly.
Americana Podcast: The 51st State is dedicated to sharing and expanding on the Americana genre’s roots, reach, and definition. Each episode is told from the point of view of the musicians that have dedicated their lives to the genre. Keen interviews musicians, exploring their unique histories, creative processes, successes, failures, and everything in between.
âOur mission is reflected in the title,â explains Keen. âWe want to define and expand the Americana music genre. Letâs unify the musical styles of folk, blues, bluegrass, country, string band, garage band rock into a powerful collectible under the same umbrella. Letâs make Americana, as Shakespeare said, âfamiliar in his mouth as household words.â That is our mission. That is our goal.”
For more, visit americanapodcast.com.
SiriusXM To Broadcast Live Performances From Stagecoach
/by Jessica NicholsonSiriusXM will broadcast live performances and backstage interviews from Stagecoach: Californiaâs Country Music Festival located in Indio, California, airing on SiriusXM’s The Highway channel.
The SiriusXM Spotlight Stage, a special Stagecoach stage highlighting up-and-coming artists, will return for the second year, including Highway Find artists Tyler Rich, Ross Ellis, SmithField, Brandon Lay and numerous others.
SiriusXM also announced that Dwight Yoakamâs exclusive SiriusXM channel will take over the Palomino stage on Sunday, April 28, to air performances from Mark Chesnutt, Terri Clark, Parker Millsap, Ruby Boots and King Leg. The Palomino Stage take over will also feature Yoakam interviewing artists live on air from Stagecoach.
âItâs been 33 years since I last played The Roxy, for the record release party of Guitars, Cadillacs. Thanks to SiriusXM and Goldenvoice, Iâm taking a ‘Stagecoach ride’ up the ‘Tom Joad Road’ to The Sunset Strip for a special appearance back at The Roxy, to kick off the weekend of Stagecoach and in celebration of Ch. 349 â Dwight Yoakam & The Bakersfield Beatâs first year anniversary,â said Yoakam. âIâm really excited about performing at The Roxy again as well as broadcasting live from the festival as part of the Bakersfield Beat Channelâs all day takeover from the Palomino Stage at Stagecoach. From The Roxy to the Palomino Stage, the weekend is certainly going to serve as a personal reference to, and reminder of, many of the moments, places and milestones in my early career. Again I want to thank Stacy Vee and Goldenvoice for letting us throw a ‘Bakersfield Beat’ party at Stagecoach, and express my lasting gratitude to Scott Greenstein, Steve Blatter, Joey Black and everyone at SiriusXM for collaborating with me to allow the channel a great first year on the air.â
In addition to all the official festival activities, a special edition of SiriusXMâs âMusic Row Happy Hourâ hosted by Buzz Brainard, will air live from Toyota Paradise Park at Stagecoach on Friday, April 26.
SiriusXMâs Stagecoach broadcast begins on Friday, April 26 at 12 p.m. PT through Sunday, April 28 on The Highway via satellite on channel 56 and through the SiriusXM app on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com.
Dan + Shay To Perform On Billboard Music Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonDan+Shay. Photo: Patrick Tracy
Grammy and three-time ACM Award winners Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney) are set to perform âSpeechlessâ on the Billboard Music Awards on Wednesday, May 1. Additional recently-announced performers include Ciara, Halsey, and Tori Kelly.
Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Lauren Daigle, More Unveiled As Performers For K-LOVE Fan Awards
/by LB CantrellPictured (L-R, top row): Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, for KING & COUNTRY; (L-R, bottom row): Lauren Daigle, Danny Gokey, Steven Curtis Chapman
The list of performers for the 2019 K-LOVE Fan Awards, slated for June 9 at the Grand Ole Opry House, has been unveiled. The lineup will feature performances from some of the Christian music industryâs biggest artists, including Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Lauren Daigle, for KING & COUNTRY, Danny Gokey, Steven Curtis Chapman, Francesca Battistelli, Big Daddy Weave, I Am They, Bethel Music’s Josh Baldwin, Micah Tyler, Phil Wickham, Rend Collective, Tauren Wells and We Are Messengers. In addition to co-hosting the evening, Mandisa and Matthew West are also slated to perform.
The fan-selected nominations will be unveiled on May 13. Purchase tickets to the 2019 K-LOVE Fan Awards here.
TBN will broadcast the show on June 9 beginning at 8 p.m. CT. Viewers can find their local TBN channel through the networkâs Channel Finder at: tbn.org. Coca-Consolidated will again participate as a sponsor, marking their fourth year of partnership.
Nashville’s Music Community Comes Together For John Berry Benefit Show
/by Jessica NicholsonJohn Berry
In the mid-â90s, there were few male vocalists with the raw soul and power of John Berry, who notched the Grammy-nominated chart-topper âYour Love Amazes Meâ in 1994, following it with hits including âStanding On The Edge Of Goodbyeâ and âSheâs Taken A Shine.â Since then, Berry has released 10 projects to date, and toured relentlessly. 2018 was no exception. In July, he released âBeautifully Brokenâ as the title track to the film of the same name. In October, he went into the studio to record the six-song EP Thomas Road, which reunited him with producer Chuck Howard. He also embarked on his 22nd annual Christmas Songs and Stories Tour.
But along the way, Berry was battling mounting vocal problems.
âStaring in October, I had this little annoying stick in my throat. It felt just like if you had the skin of a Spanish peanut stuck in your throat,â he tells MusicRow. âAnd I couldnât get rid of it. I just thought I had a swollen tonsil or something. We got home from the tour and [Berryâs wife] Robin was like, âWe gotta go see an ENT.â He looked down my throat, then looked at me and said, âIâm a no-BS kinda guy. You have cancer.ââ
On Jan. 22, 2019, Berry and Robin shared a video on social media, revealing Berryâs throat cancer diagnosis to his fans. On Feb. 13, Berry began treatment–a grueling seven-week period which included 35 radiation treatments and seven chemotherapy treatments.
âThey did a biopsy on the tonsils and they knew there was a tumor on one of them. The other tonsil had a tumor inside, so I had a tonsillectomy.â
The radiation and chemotherapy were successful; April 9 marked Berry’s final day of treatments.
âIt was a tough seven weeks, but I’m glad and grateful to be here,â Berry says.
Tonight (April 23) Berry will welcome an assemblage of country performers he has met and worked with throughout his 25-year career to Nashvilleâs City Winery for the benefit show âWe All Come Togetherâ to help raise funds for Berryâs medical treatment, as well as for the nonprofit Music Health Alliance, which aids musicians and music industry members with health insurance needs. The show will also include a silent auction.
Vince Gill, Travis Tritt, Trace Adkins, Bryan White, Clint Black, Mark Wills, Tracy Lawrence, Jimmy Fortune, Jeannie Seely (with Tim Atwood), Darryl Worley, Exile, Anita Cochran, Suzy Bogguss, the Oak Ridge Boys, Radney Foster, Shenandoah, Tim Rushlow and more will all take the stage.
âA lot of folks kept asking âWhat can we do? How can we help?â and City Winery offered their facility, which is amazing,â Berry notes. âOnce everybody knows itâs cancer and major medical things like this, there’s always needs. We’re no different. So [Berryâs manager] Brian Smith and [publicist] Bev Moser, they put this together with City Winery and some other folks that were involved. They started inviting people and the guest artist list, I’m astounded!â
Berry has known one of the eveningâs guests, fellow country entertainer Travis Tritt, since their early club days in Georgia.
âWe were playing clubs in Atlanta,â he recalls. âHe was playing at Miss Kitty’s and we would play there. Then Travis got a record deal and, of course, we had heard a lot of the songs that he put on his debut album. He was playing them there at the club. And âCountry Clubâ was a big hit [the track reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1989]. He did that song at the club before it ever came out on the radio and my wife said âThat’s gonna be a big ol’ song,â and sure enough it was. Travis has just always been very kind to me and he’s invited me to open two shows for him here and there. Always been a lot of fun. Good guy.â
âI donât know anyone that hasnât been affected by cancer in some way,â Tritt says. âKnowing that friends and family have your back is an important factor in fighting this disease. On this night, Johnâs friends and musical family will come together to show John and the world that we have his back and he is not fighting this alone.â
Berry says Tritt is slated to perform his 2000 hit, âItâs A Great Day To Be Alive,â and he hopes to sneak in a collaboration of âGeorgia On My Mindâ with his fellow Georgian. Berry could even offer a rendition of his own hits.
âI’m hoping to do a song or two as the night goes. We’ll see how I’m doin’.â he says.
Later this week will mark Berryâs first official return to the stage since his treatments, as he visits Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain, Mississippi to do a speaking engagement and offer a few songs. In May, he will open a few shows for Clint Black and Trace Adkins on their The Hits. Hats. History. Tour.
âThatâs going to be a lot of fun to go and open for them, to just go and do 20 minutes with my guitar,â Berry says.
But tonightâs show at City Winery will be about celebrating life, love and music with some of his best friends in the industry.
âIt’s going to be awesome. I told everybody on my team, please just make sure there’s boxes of tissues everywhere. I’ll be in puddles,â Berry said.
APA Promotes Steve Lassiter To Co-Head Of Worldwide Music
/by Jessica NicholsonSteve Lassiter
Steve Lassiter has been promoted to Co-Head of Worldwide Music at APA, it was announced today by Jim Gosnell, President and CEO of APA. Lassiter, who first joined APA in 1998 and most recently served as Partner, Senior Vice President and Head of Concerts at APA Nashville, will now oversee all APA Music operations for APAâs Concerts division alongside fellow Co-Heads of Worldwide Music, Bruce Solar and Steve Martin, who are headquartered in Los Angeles and New York, respectively.
âSteve has done a tremendous job guiding the success of our Nashville operations,â commented Gosnell in making the announcement. âThe quality of his leadership and contributions to our overall success cannot be understated, and Iâm very pleased to honor his hard work and dedication with this well-deserved promotion.â
âThis is an exciting chapter in my life,â added Lassiter. âI look forward to creating new success stories with Jim, Bruce and Steve as our agency continues to grow and evolve in lock-step with Music City.â
Lassiter, whose current roster includes Travis Tritt, The Charlie Daniels Band, David Lee Murphy, Sublime with Rome, The Marshall Tucker Band, BJ Thomas, Jim Messina,Sawyer Brown, KANSAS, The Outlaws, Blackhawk, Phil Vassar, Little Texas, Lee Greenwood, Crystal Gayle and many others, got his first taste in the music business in 1977 at 19-years old working as a production assistant and promotion representative for Sound Seventy Productions, the local Nashville concert production company then owned by Joe Sullivan and Charlie Daniels. Four years later, after obtaining an AS degree in Communications from Volunteer State, as well as a BS degree in Recording Industry Management from Middle Tennessee State University, Lassiter left Sound Seventy to pursue a career as a talent agent.
Lassiter currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Country Music (ACM), the National Association of Talent Directors (NATD) — where he also served as President and received their Talent Director of the Year Award in 2005 and their Honors Award in 2015, and the TJ Martell Foundation. He is also a member of the Country Music Association (CMA), the National Association of Recording Arts and Science (NARAS), the Gospel Music Association (GMA), and the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE). He has also served on the Board of Directors for the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA), on MTSUâs Recording Industry Alumni â where he additionally served as an adjunct professor and was named to their Mass Communications Wall of Fame in 2005. In 2017, Lassiter was named to Billboard‘s Nashville Country Power Players List of the top 100 leaders, achievers and influencers in Music City, and to Varietyâs Music City Impact Report recognizing the top Nashville music executives who played a pivotal role in the yearâs biggest country success stories.
George Briner Promoted To President, The Valory Music Co.
/by Jessica NicholsonGeorge Briner
Big Machine Label Group President/CEO/Founder Scott Borchetta has announced that George Briner has been elevated to President of The Valory Music Co., effective immediately.
Most recently serving as General Manager, Briner joined the imprint in 2008. He has led the charge on groundbreaking promotion and marketing strategies for Thomas Rhett, Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Eli Young Band and Aaron Lewis as well as Tyler Rich. VMCâs latest signee, Sheryl Crow, just released one of the most talked about new releases of the year â a duet with Johnny Cash âRedemption Day,â off of her forthcoming album, slated for late summer release. Brinerâs expanded duties will allow him to dive more deeply into all elements of VMCâs success.
Borchetta commented, âGeorge and I have been in each otherâs orbit longer than either of us care to admit, but I can tell you that there is no better record executive in the business. His passion for turning people on to new music is truly unmatched. George is a lifer, committed to the cause, always eager to lead and always eager to learn.  He has turned The Valory Music Co. into a force to be reckoned with any day of the week, because he is moving the needle every day of the week. Well deserved!â
Throughout Brinerâs tenure, VMC has propelled 27 singles to No. 1 across 17 multi-Platinum and Platinum-certified albums. The label has earned a plethora of awards and nominations from every major awards show including Grammys, CMA, ACM, AMA, Peopleâs Choice and iHeartRadio.
âThroughout the many years and great opportunities that have been offered to me in this business, my journey has been supported by my wife, family, friends, business associates and so many incredible artists,â said Briner. âThese past eleven amazing years with The Valory Music Co. have been the highlight of this musical journey, thus far. I am incredibly thankful to Scott Borchetta and Andrew Kautz, who have allowed me the freedom to create a business model that has been successful in supporting our music. The artists, along with Valory staff and countless within Big Machine are responsible for all the success that we have accomplished. Iâm excited to continue this amazing journey and honored by this promotion.â