Aaron Watson
When Aaron Watson’s fans request new music, he listens.
“For the past four or five years, my fans have just been harassing me for a Christmas record,” Watson tells MusicRow Magazine. “We’ve been flirting with the ideas of doing one for the past couple of years, but it always seemed like we ran out of time.”
This year, he’s made good on the idea.
Instead of just heading into the studio to lay down a collection of solo tracks, Watson decided to make the project a family affair, recording the album with his wife Kimberly and three children, Jake (12), Jack (10) and Jolee Kate (8).
An Aaron Watson Family Christmas, available now, features a slate of classic Christmas songs, as well as a couple of originals.
To record the album, the Watson family canceled a June vacation and decided to do a 12-day “staycation” at their home in Texas. Mornings were spent swimming and cooking out in the scorching 100-degree Texas heat.
“The kids would be swimming and listening to Christmas music on the speakers,” he recalls. “They got such a kick out of it.”
While evenings were spent in the “studio”—Kimberly’s closet, where Aaron strung Christmas lights and set up recording equipment, microphones and his computer.
The whole family sings on “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” while Jolee Kate sings on Christmas Time Is Here, with Jack offering a scripture reading. Eldest son Jake sings on “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.”
Aaron Watson with wife Kimberly and children Jake, Jack and Jolee Kate.
“The kids would put on the headphones and sing their hearts out. I think this is one of the best little Christmas records and I’m biased because my babies are singing on it,” he says. “For me, it’s so special because it is like a time capsule, just with their little voices and how sweet they are. They won’t sound like this for long and they are at the right age…if they were too young being part of a project like this might be challenging and if they are too old, it kind of loses the sweetness.”
Kimberly appears on a few tracks, including “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” “Jingle Bells,” and the flirty “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” and Aaron says it took a little convincing to get her to sing on the album.
“She’s never sang on anything before, but I’ve heard her sing in church,” he says. “She has a sweet, beautiful voice, but she just kept avoiding me like the plague. We ran through [“Baby It’s Cold Outside”] the first couple of times and I was like, ‘You’re not evening singing!’
“I still laugh about it, because I was going from the loving husband to the frustrated producer. She was acting shy and embarrassed, but we are literally in her closet surrounded by her clothes, it’s not like we were live on television. Finally, she just sang her heart out, and it sounded great.”
Elsewhere on the album, Watson gives a nod to classic country with the self-penned “Lonely Lonestar Christmas,” and offers a touching take on “She Stared At Him All Night,” penned by solo artist and former Sons of the Desert member Drew Womack.
Rather than record a straight-ahead country holiday album, Watson infuses it with shadings of big band music.
“One of the reasons I wanted to sing ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ with Kimberly is that Dean Martin had one of my favorite versions of this song. The girl he had singing with him has a very airy, soft voice like the girls used to sing in the ‘30s and ‘40s, and Kim’s voice is just like that. The kids just got such a kick out of hearing their mama sing.”
Watson recalls growing up listening to music from Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
“I was born about 50 years too late but I’ve always loved that music. I probably sing that stuff better than country music,” he notes, adding that he hopes to one day record a Sinatra cover album.
As it is, Watson has plenty more country music and touring in the works. On January, he will launch another headlining trek beginning in Goliad, Texas.
2019 will mark Watson’s 20th year as a music artist and according to Watson, he celebrate with a new (non-holiday) album, Red Bandana, which is slated for June 21, 2019. The album includes 20 tracks, all penned by Watson.
“It’s been tough focusing on anything else because for the past two years I’ve been writing for this new album, and I wrote all 20 songs. It was important that I wrote this album. I wanted 20 new songs, to give the fans both quality and quantity. I think I’m starting to catch my stride as a singer and songwriter, so it’s exciting.”
Russell Dickerson Mines Some “Tacoma” Gold
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): John Dennis, Russell Dickerson and Norbert Nix.
Russell Dickerson recently celebrated the RIAA Gold certification for his second single, “Blue Tacoma.” The song has reached over 500K in sales and over 121 million streams since its release.
“The song going gold is a huge milestone for me. The fact that so many people have connected with this single is what I dreamed about when I first started writing songs,” said Dickerson. Quoting lyrics from the newly gold single he finished, “…never running out of golden road, baby!”
Dickerson is releasing his third single, “Every Little Thing,” to radio, and the uptempo track and third consecutive single off his debut album “Yours,” is a personal favorite of his and follows back-to-back No. 1s “Blue Tacoma” and debut single “Yours.”
“This is easily one of my favorite songs on the record. The sound, the vibe and the message is me to a ‘T’,” said Russell about “Every Little Thing.” “It’s a fun uptempo jam, just bragging about how amazing my girl is!”
Dickerson will soon hit the road on the co-headlining The Way Back Tour with an artist who has had her own chart-topping hit with a song called “Every Little Thing,” Carly Pearce. The 11-city trek launches Jan. 24. No word whether there will be a mashup of the two title-sharing tracks.
Submissions Now Open For 54th Annual ACM Awards
/by Lorie HollabaughThe Academy of Country Music announced Monday (Dec. 3) that submissions for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards are now open, through Jan. 4, 2019. As previously announced, categories eligible for submissions include Main Awards, Industry Awards, Radio Awards and Video of the Year. The awards will broadcast live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at p.m. ET on CBS.
The submissions eligibility period for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards is Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2018. Key dates for Academy professional members for the 2019 ACM Awards cycle are as follows:
For members, new membership applications and existing membership renewals, the deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 31, 2018 at 7 p.m. CT for members to be eligible to vote during the 2019 Awards cycle. To apply online for a membership with the Academy of Country Music, visit the ACM Membership platform at ACM Membership.
CRS Reveals New Faces Of Country Music Class Of 2019
/by Jessica NicholsonCountry Radio Seminar officials have announced the CRS 2019 New Faces of Country Music® Class of 2019. Jimmie Allen (Stoney Creek), Russell Dickerson (Triple Tigers), Lindsay Ell (Stoney Creek), LANCO (Arista), and Dylan Scott (Curb) will all perform as part of this year’s New Faces of Country Music® Dinner and Show, to be held Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 during Country Radio Seminar at the downtown Omni Nashville.
Co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the annual new artist showcase event officially closes out the seminar and remains one of the most anticipated events each year at CRS. Performances will be powered by Live Nation and will take place in the CRS Performance Hall.
Registration for Country Radio Seminar (CRS) 2019 is currently available at the rate of $599 and is available at countryradioseminar.com. This year marks the 50th annual Country Radio Seminar.
Crowder Celebrates Vinyl Release Of ‘I Know A Ghost,’ RIAA Gold Certification
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R) : Hudson Plachy, CMO, CCMG; Brad O’Donnell, CCO, CCMG; David Crowder; Shelley Giglio, Chief Strategist/Dir. of Label Operations & Artist Mgmt., sixstepsrecords; Louie Giglio, Pastor and Founder, Passion City Church/Passion MovementPhoto: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry
Crowder celebrated the vinyl release of his album I Know A Ghost (sixstepsrecords/Capitol Christian Music Group) with two performances at Opry at the Ryman on Friday night (Nov. 30).
Prior to taking the stage, he received a special surprise, when he was presented with the RIAA GOLD-certified plaque celebrating the success of “Come As You Are,” his first-ever No. 1 radio hit and Gold single of his solo career. I Know A Ghost debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Christian Albums chart and is now available on vinyl and digitally.
“It is a real honor to play the Grand Ole Opry— and to be there at the Ryman is a whole different level of something special. You can feel the history still hanging in the air. Can’t imagine a better space to celebrate the vinyl release of I Know A Ghost,” said Crowder.
Crowder performed “Child Of God,” and his widely-embraced song “Red Letters,” which is currently Top 20-and-climbing on Billboard’s Christian Airplay charts. Featured by Relevant, BREATHECast and The Christian Beat, the music video for “Red Letters” has already garnered well over half a million views since debuting release week.
Hootie & The Blowfish Sign With UMG Nashville, Announce New Tour
/by Jessica NicholsonHootie & The Blowfish. Photo: Todd & Chris Owyoung
Twenty-five years after releasing their iconic hits including “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry,” and “Only Wanna Be With You,” rock band Hootie & The Blowfish have announced they will embark on the 2019 Group Therapy Tour, beginning May 30 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 44-city tour will welcome Barenaked Ladies in the opening tour slot.
The tour marks the group’s first official outing in more than a decade, and will feature a stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Sept. 7.
Hootie & The Blowfish, led by Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, has also announced they have signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, home to Rucker’s solo country efforts.
The group’s debut album, Cracked Rear View, released in July 1994, launched a whirlwind of success for the group. The album has now been certified by the RIAA as 21x Platinum and the fifth-most certified studio album of all time, while Hootie & The Blowfish have earned two Grammys and sold over 25 million albums.
“Once the four of us met and started playing shows, we toured for years before signing a record deal,” reflects Rucker who, in the 10+ year break since their last formal tour and nearly 15 years since their last studio album as a band, has charted nine No. 1 singles on country radio.
Felber notes, “Having those shows at fraternity houses, clubs and dive bars under our belt prepared us for success to a degree, and it’s something we’re proud of – that we put in the work – but what matters to me the most is that we’re still a band all these years later. We’ve never stopped being a band.”
“We were content playing clubs and small theaters, so playing to three-, four- and five-times that size was incredible, and we’re looking forward to that feeling again on this tour,” Sonefeld echoes.
Bryan adds, “There’s nothing like playing music live. For the first time in nearly 20 years we’ll be coming back to Columbia, South Carolina where it all began,” before Rucker interjects, “and we’re ready to rock.”
2019 Group Therapy Tour
May 30 Virginia Beach, Va. | Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
May 31 Raleigh, N.C. | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
June 1 Atlanta, Ga. | Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
June 6 Orange Beach, Ala. | The Wharf
June 7 Tampa, Fla. | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 8 West Palm Beach, Fla. | Coral Sky Amphitheatre
June 13 Austin, Texas | Austin360 Amphitheater
June 14 Houston, Texas | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
June 15 Dallas, Texas | Dos Equis Pavilion
June 19 Phoenix, Ariz. | Ak-Chin Pavilion
June 21 Chula Vista, Calif. | North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 22 Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena
June 23 Irvine, Calif. | FivePoint Amphitheatre presented by Mercury Insurance
June 25 Los Angeles, Calif. | Hollywood Bowl
June 28 Wheatland, Calif. | Toyota Amphitheatre
June 29 Mountain View, Calif. | Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 11 Englewood, Colo. | Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 13 Maryland Heights, Mo. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 14 Rogers, Ark. | Walmart AMP
July 19 Monticello, Iowa | Great Jones County Fair
July 20 Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverbend Music Center
July 21 Burgettstown, Penn. | KeyBank Pavilion
July 26 Cleveland, Ohio | Blossom Music Center
July 27 Bristow, Va. | Jiffy Lube Live
July 28 Camden, N.J. | BB&T Pavilion
August 2 Guilford, N.H. | Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
August 3 Mansfield, Mass. | Xfinity Center
August 4 Saratoga Springs, N.Y. | Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 8 Columbia, Md. | Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 9 Canandaigua, N.Y. | Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center: CMAC
August 10 New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden
August 16 Detroit, Mich. | DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 17 Noblesville, Ind. | Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
August 18 Des Moines, Iowa | Iowa State Fair
August 22 St. Paul, Minn. | Minnesota State Fair
August 23 East Troy, Wis. | Alpine Valley Music Theatre
August 24 Tinley Park, Ill. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
August 29 Toronto, Ont. | Budweiser Stage
August 30 Hershey, Penn. | Hersheypark Stadium
August 31 Hartford, Conn. | XFINITY Theatre
September 5 Charlotte, N.C. | PNC Music Pavilion
September 6 Birmingham, Ala. | Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
September 7 Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena
September 13 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
ONErpm Expands Publishing Operations Worldwide
/by Jessica NicholsonLabel services, rights management, and distribution company ONErpm is expanding its publishing operation worldwide, offering publishing administration and sync services to clients around the globe. These services were previously available in Brazil only, where ONErpm has direct deals with major digital service providers (DSPs) as well as an exclusive administration deal with Brazilian rights society ADDAF.
“ONErpm is thrilled to add worldwide publishing administration and synchronization licensing to the many services we provide our clients,” said Jennifer Newman Sharpe, General Counsel and Head of Business Affairs for ONErpm. “We have had tremendous success with our publishing operation in Brazil and look forward to providing our entire roster with access to these powerful resources.”
ONErpm hosts an extensive publishing catalog of Latin American music, including over 37,000 compositions in Brazil alone from artists such as Jhef, Mc Kevin o Chris, Junior Lord of Tem Café, Renato Gues of Cuidado, Yuri Hawaiano of Encosta, Marcia Araujo of Estaca Zero, Junior Lord Anitta of Furacão 2000 and successful children’s duo Patati Patata. The company works closely with major DSPs including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora, and more. Over a dozen artists under ONErpm were nominated for the 2018 Latin GRAMMY Awards, with Anaadi winning for Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album, and Q4 2018 will bring the release of albums from Judith Hill and Method Man.
Luke Bryan, Lady A, Cole Swindell To Play Bobby Bones 4th Annual Million Dollar Show
/by Lorie HollabaughBobby Bones & The Raging Idiots’4th Annual Million Dollar Show benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will take place Jan. 14 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Cole Swindell, Jon Pardi, Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down, Maggie Rose, Bailey Bryan, Adam Hambrick and Rachel Wammack will all perform at the benefit concert, which will also feature Bones & The Raging Idiots and likely a few surprise special guests as well.
The annual show has raised more than eight million dollars for St. Jude since its inception, and tickets for this year’s concert are available for purchase beginning Dec. 7.
Bones recently won Season 27 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and will hit the road along with Mary Lou Retton, Joe Amabile, Juan Pablo Di Pace, John Schneider and Milo Manheim on the Dancing with the Stars: Live! A Night to Remember tour, which begins Dec. 15. He’ll also lend his expertise to the latest season of ABC’s American Idol as the official in-house mentor.
61st Annual Grammy Awards Nominations Reveal Moved To Friday, Dec. 7
/by Jessica NicholsonThe 2019 Grammy Awards nominations, which were previously scheduled to be announced Wednesday, Dec. 5, have been moved to Friday, Dec. 7. The Recording Academy announced today that because of former President George H.W. Bush‘s public viewing and funeral this week, the Grammy nominations reveal will be delayed.
The body of former President George H.W. Bush is in Washington for public viewing, launching four days of events, which will include a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral on Wednesday (Dec. 5) and a private service in Houston on Thursday.
Grammy nominees in select categories will be announced Dec. 7 on CBS This Morning and Apple Music beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. A full slate of nominees will be revealed at 8:45 a.m. ET at grammy.com.
Columbia Nashville Adds Two To Promo Department
/by Jessica NicholsonSenior Vice President, Promotion, Columbia Nashville Shane Allen has announced the addition of Lauren Longbine as Director, Southeast Promotion to the label. Lyndsay Church has been named Director, Northeast Promotion, effective immediately. Both positions will report to Allen.
“The entire Columbia team is extremely excited to have Lauren join our staff. Her reputation as a promotion all-star and sincere passion for her artists and their music is undisputed,” he said.
Longbine joins from Big Machine Label Group, where she served as Director of Southwest/Midwest Regional Promotion & Marketing, leading promotions effort in the region for artists including Florida Georgia Line, Brett Young, and Danielle Bradbery. A University of Kansas alumna, she was also previously an account executive at Steel City Media.
“I’m very grateful to Steve Hodges and Shane Allen for this exciting opportunity to take on a new region in the next chapter of my career. The Columbia Nashville team is white-hot right now, and I can’t wait to hit the ground running!” enthused Longbine.
Longbine will assume her role beginning Jan. 1, 2019.
Church joined Columbia Nashville as Manager, Regional Promotion in 2016, supporting the label’s roster of artists including Luke Combs, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Tenille Townes. Her previous stops include Red Light Management, Capitol Records Nashville, and Loomis, Sayles & Company.
Lyndsay Church
Lauren Longbine
Aaron Watson Makes A “Time Capsule” Family Holiday Album, Talks New Music For 2019
/by Jessica NicholsonAaron Watson
When Aaron Watson’s fans request new music, he listens.
“For the past four or five years, my fans have just been harassing me for a Christmas record,” Watson tells MusicRow Magazine. “We’ve been flirting with the ideas of doing one for the past couple of years, but it always seemed like we ran out of time.”
This year, he’s made good on the idea.
Instead of just heading into the studio to lay down a collection of solo tracks, Watson decided to make the project a family affair, recording the album with his wife Kimberly and three children, Jake (12), Jack (10) and Jolee Kate (8).
An Aaron Watson Family Christmas, available now, features a slate of classic Christmas songs, as well as a couple of originals.
To record the album, the Watson family canceled a June vacation and decided to do a 12-day “staycation” at their home in Texas. Mornings were spent swimming and cooking out in the scorching 100-degree Texas heat.
“The kids would be swimming and listening to Christmas music on the speakers,” he recalls. “They got such a kick out of it.”
While evenings were spent in the “studio”—Kimberly’s closet, where Aaron strung Christmas lights and set up recording equipment, microphones and his computer.
The whole family sings on “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” while Jolee Kate sings on Christmas Time Is Here, with Jack offering a scripture reading. Eldest son Jake sings on “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.”
Aaron Watson with wife Kimberly and children Jake, Jack and Jolee Kate.
“The kids would put on the headphones and sing their hearts out. I think this is one of the best little Christmas records and I’m biased because my babies are singing on it,” he says. “For me, it’s so special because it is like a time capsule, just with their little voices and how sweet they are. They won’t sound like this for long and they are at the right age…if they were too young being part of a project like this might be challenging and if they are too old, it kind of loses the sweetness.”
Kimberly appears on a few tracks, including “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” “Jingle Bells,” and the flirty “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” and Aaron says it took a little convincing to get her to sing on the album.
“She’s never sang on anything before, but I’ve heard her sing in church,” he says. “She has a sweet, beautiful voice, but she just kept avoiding me like the plague. We ran through [“Baby It’s Cold Outside”] the first couple of times and I was like, ‘You’re not evening singing!’
“I still laugh about it, because I was going from the loving husband to the frustrated producer. She was acting shy and embarrassed, but we are literally in her closet surrounded by her clothes, it’s not like we were live on television. Finally, she just sang her heart out, and it sounded great.”
Elsewhere on the album, Watson gives a nod to classic country with the self-penned “Lonely Lonestar Christmas,” and offers a touching take on “She Stared At Him All Night,” penned by solo artist and former Sons of the Desert member Drew Womack.
Rather than record a straight-ahead country holiday album, Watson infuses it with shadings of big band music.
“One of the reasons I wanted to sing ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ with Kimberly is that Dean Martin had one of my favorite versions of this song. The girl he had singing with him has a very airy, soft voice like the girls used to sing in the ‘30s and ‘40s, and Kim’s voice is just like that. The kids just got such a kick out of hearing their mama sing.”
Watson recalls growing up listening to music from Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
As it is, Watson has plenty more country music and touring in the works. On January, he will launch another headlining trek beginning in Goliad, Texas.
2019 will mark Watson’s 20th year as a music artist and according to Watson, he celebrate with a new (non-holiday) album, Red Bandana, which is slated for June 21, 2019. The album includes 20 tracks, all penned by Watson.
“It’s been tough focusing on anything else because for the past two years I’ve been writing for this new album, and I wrote all 20 songs. It was important that I wrote this album. I wanted 20 new songs, to give the fans both quality and quantity. I think I’m starting to catch my stride as a singer and songwriter, so it’s exciting.”