MaRynn Taylor’s self-titled debut project, released on Friday (Aug. 22), is built to offer fans an authentic glimpse into her life. Across its 12 tracks, she captures emotions that many listeners know all too well — the trials, heartbreaks and joys of navigating your 20s.

“I wanted to name it MaRynn because it feels like a first name basis kind of album. It shows all the different sides of me,” Taylor tells MusicRow.

This kind of honest artistry is something Taylor says she discovered while on the road with Kelsea Ballerini earlier this year.

MaRynn Taylor performing at Bridgestone Arena during “Kelsea Ballerini: Live On Tour”

“I really found myself on stage and as an artist through that tour. I’m just so thankful for it,” she shares.

That experience also shaped several of the record’s key tracks. “free ain’t free” tackles the personal costs and lasting impact of a challenging situation, making it one of the album’s most vulnerable moments. On the lighter side, “dirty blonde,” which Taylor calls “a very sassy blonde anthem,” showcases her playful, confident side.

Taylor’s storytelling comes through in a range of perspectives on the record. On the standout track “pretty much,” which Taylor wrote alongside Josh Kerr and Dan Wilson, she leans into honesty about the pressures of womanhood. “I was really just feeling the weight of the world and what it puts on women — whether it comes to how we’re acting or how we look — it can all feel really pretty impossible,” she explains. “I went into the write with two guys and basically trauma dumped on them. They are girl dads, so they kind of understood what I was going through in the sense that they don’t want their daughter to grow up in the same mentality. The approach to this song is really special.”

With “she broke up with the boy,” Taylor pays tribute to her love of ’90s country while adding her own spin. A twist on Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s In Love With The Boy,” Taylor reworked the iconic song to relate to her story. “I grew up loving ’90s country and I really wanted a song that sounded like that. It’s a celebratory breakup song. Not all breakups are sad, and mine wasn’t,” she says.

The last track on the record is the only outside cut on MaRynn, written entirely by Anna Vaus. “longer than me” reflects on the kind of legacy Taylor says she hopes to leave in the world. “The goal of my career, and in my life, is I want to be a good person. I want to do this career right, I want to be kind to people, I want to make friends. I just want to be a good person and leave a good legacy.”

As for what she hopes people take from this chapter, her goal is clear. “I just hope they find their story in my story. I write for therapy. I write when I’m going through something and don’t understand it. Somehow writing about it makes me understand. When I’m writing it, I’m writing for myself. When I put it out, I’m putting it out for other people in hopes that it maybe helps them too.”

Taylor, who just wrapped her time as direct support for Jake Scott, will join Chris Young this fall on his “It Must Be Christmas – An Acoustic Evening with Chris Young Tour.”

Apple Music has partnered with TuneIn to expand access to six of its radio stations. This marks the first time Apple’s 24/7 global radio stations are available outside of its own native platform.

The six featured stations include Apple Music Country, Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, Apple Música Uno, Apple Music Club and Apple Music Chill.

“Apple choosing TuneIn as the first platform to stream its radio stations reinforces our position as the go-to distribution partner for global audio,” said Rich Stern, CEO of TuneIn. “With deep integrations across connected devices and cars, TuneIn is uniquely positioned to deliver premium content to listeners everywhere. Our mission is simple: to be the world’s leading live audio platform, bringing nonstop, audio experiences to audiences 24/7.”

Beginning today, listeners can stream Apple Music Radio on the TuneIn app and website.

The Red Bull Jukebox is returning to Nashville on Nov. 15 at the Pinnacle with a lineup that includes Treaty Oak Revival, Ashley Cooke, Kashus Culpepper and Carter Faith, along with a few surprise guests.

Leading up to the event, fans can visit the Red Bull Jukebox website to cast their vote across multiple categories and shape the performances they want to see on stage. The first voting categories are open to the public now. Attendees will also be able to vote on more unique categories live in person during the show at The Pinnacle, as well as on artists’ socials leading up to the event. Each attendee will receive a light-up wristband upon entry into the venue, allowing them to cast their “red” or “blue” vote for each live pick, all while giving fans an unprecedented live experience.

Ward Guenther of Whiskey Jam will return to co-host the event, and artist performances will be backed by the Red Bull Jukebox house band, a group of renowned musicians specially curated for Red Bull Jukebox Nashville and led by Miles McPherson.

The announcement came with the debut of a high-octane trailer featuring an exclusive sneak peek of “Blue Star,” a brand new song by headliners Treaty Oak Revival. “We’re so excited to be playing Red Bull Jukebox at The Pinnacle! We can’t wait to have fans really get to choose the show,” says headliners Treaty Oak Revival.

Earlier this summer, Red Bull announced the return of the Red Bull Jukebox Songwriting Competition. This year’s songwriting competition judges include 2024 Red Bull Jukebox Alum Breland, Whiskey Jam’s Ward Guenther and Red Bull Records executive Greg Hammer. The top three finalists will be announced next month and will score a trip to Nashville, and the winner will be announced from the stage at Red Bull Jukebox and awarded an all-expense-paid trip to record at Red Bull Music Studios in Los Angeles. The winner will also receive one-on-one coaching sessions with a professional songwriter and BMI and the winning song will also be played live during the event.

Old Dominion. Photo: Dove Shore

Old Dominion have always had a knack for pairing clever turns of phrase with irresistible hooks, but on their new album Barbara, the reigning CMA and ACM Group of the Year reveal a deeper side of themselves. Out now via Sony Music Nashville, the band’s sixth studio effort takes their familiar mix of country, rock and, pop and pushes it further, leaning into personal reflections and unexpected sounds without losing the easygoing charm that’s defined their career.

The name alone hints at the band’s headspace. “We just thought it would be funny,” the men explain of how Barbara rose from a running list of potential titles. “It’s like naming your dog Gary. You don’t know that many Barbaras out there. And then it just sort of took on a life of its own. It felt like a woman that’s been through a lot. She’s mature, she still knows how to party. Trash and sophisticated all at the same time — just like us.”

That mix of humor and depth carries through a record that the band’s Matthew Ramsey calls their most unified to date. Recorded in two sessions, the album spans playful country anthems and vulnerable meditations. “Making Good Time” kicks things off on an upbeat note, while “Me Most Nights” showcases their approach to crafting songs that are both clever and unexpected.

“It started with the title,” Ramsey recalls of “Me Most Nights.” “And then the way we continually kept turning that into a new phrase—that’s just how we think as songwriters. What screws can we turn here that are left unturned?”

“At the end of the session we basically deconstructed the whole thing,” Brad Tursi adds. “The chorus ended up being like the anti-chorus, and the way it breaks down at the end…”

“It just felt like this compelling, rock band moment,” Trevor Rosen says. “I picture it in a club, and it’s the kind of thing that draws you in without having to be a big banger.”

Elsewhere, Barbara ventures into uncharted territory for the group. “What Doesn’t Kill A Memory” introduces a trap beat to their sound, something Ramsey says wasn’t an easy decision. “It took us a minute to commit,” he admits. “It wasn’t like that in the studio for the longest time, and I felt like a stick in the mud in that session. At some point we pulled the demo back up and said, ‘What elements are we not doing that maybe are a big part of this song?’ Once we embraced it, everybody was like, ‘Oh, this works.’”

“Water My Flowers” might be the album’s most striking moment, beginning as a simple, bluegrass-feeling idea and morphing into something much darker.

“That was a crazy day writing that one,” Ramsey says. “Our challenge as songwriters is to find a new way to write about the same things. This one was just a different way to approach, how do I find my forever person? What kind of legacy am I going to leave? And then in the studio it turned into this whole other thing—almost cinematic vibe.”

“It’s kind of Tarantino-ish in my mind for some reason,” Rosen says.

On “Man Or The Song,” they take an even more introspective turn, asking where the artist ends and the person begins.

“We actually recorded that in the same session as ‘Coming Home,’ and it just always stayed in the back of our mind,” Ramsey says. “We knew it was special because we hadn’t gone that internal in the past. We overthink everything in this business, so we did have the discussion if it was ‘too inside’ [the business for fans to relate to.]”

“You don’t have to be a band or a musician to relate to it,” Rosen says. “I think everybody can get lost in whatever their career is, or the caricature of themselves, and ask that question: am I what I do for a living, or am I this person separate from that?”

Ramsey adds, “If we’d put that on our first album, it wouldn’t have resonated as much. Now we have fans who are invested in who we are, so they can enjoy hearing that side of us.”

The album closes with “Goodnight Music City,” a tribute to the town that launched their career, built around a simple but powerful idea.

“We made the choice to reference the children’s book Goodnight Moon,” Ramsey explains. “In that book they’re looking around, saying goodnight to all the different things. We thought, if we did that with the city of Nashville, what would we see?”

“This is a song I don’t think we could have written unless we’ve been around for a little while. It felt cool to pick out all those little details—like the recession special down at Roberts,” Tursi adds.

After a decade of chart-toppers, sold-out tours and industry accolades, Old Dominion could have easily stayed the course. Instead, Barbara finds them embracing growth and vulnerability as much as the feel-good spirit they’re known for.

“I don’t think we sat down and said, ‘Let’s make a personal album,’” Ramsey says. “I think we’re just less afraid to put more personal notes in now—and maybe even excited by that idea. Earlier we were like, let’s just make bangers and get on the radio. Now we’re just comfortable and can see the value in doing something more.”

It’s a reflection of a band hitting their stride creatively and personally. Barbara shows a band still aiming high, but doing it on their own terms.

Kellie LaJack. Photo: Courtesy of Black River Entertainment

Black River Entertainment has promoted Kellie LaJack to Director of National Promotion.

“My goal when we hired Kellie was to bring her into the National position,” says Bill Macky, Vice President of Promotion. “She’s a natural leader, and her passion for our artists and team-first attitude have all contributed to this well deserved promotion. She will continue to manage her territory for us while taking on additional responsibilities.”

LaJack has played a key role in driving national radio campaigns across its roster since joining Black River. In her new role, she will continue to lead national promotion strategies and expand the label’s presence at country radio.

“A heartfelt thank you to Gordon Kerr, Rick Froio, and Bill Macky for blessing me with this incredible opportunity,” adds LaJack. “I’m truly grateful to be part of such an amazing company, surrounded by a team and a group of artists who have welcomed me like family. I won’t let you down!”

LaJack can be reached here and will remain based in Nashville.