Meghan Linsey Joins Mount Music Group

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Pictured: David Mount, Meghan Linsey

Los Angeles-based newcomer Mount Music Group has just closed a long-term management deal with Meghan Linsey. David Mount founded Mount Music Group in 2017. His career has included time at Warner Music Group.

Linsey started her career in country music as one half of the chart-topping duo Steel Magnolia and made a shift to pop music on NBC’s The Voice. Her most recent album, Bold Like a Lion was produced by Tyler Cain and released late last year. It includes collaborations with Aloe Blacc and Fred Schneider.

Linsey’s Bold Like a Lion tour kicks off on April 19 at The Mint in Los Angeles, California.

 

Warner Music Nashville Adds VP, Finance

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Warner Music Nashville has welcomed a new VP, Finance, with industry veteran Danny Bess. Bess will report directly to COO Matt Signore.

Bess will oversee deal analysis and the execution of business strategy for the entire roster of artists. As VP Finance he will evaluate operations, systems and processes, making continuous efforts to increase effectiveness and control costs. Additionally, Bess will direct quarterly budgeting and forecasting, maintain internal policy compliance and manage the functions and professional development of the WMN finance team.

“Danny has the experience, insight and spirit to be a strong business partner to our entire team,” said Signore.

Bess transitions over to WMN after nearly 25 years at Universal Music Group, most recently as VP Finance of its Nashville division. A Vanderbilt University graduate with an M.B.A. from Tulane, Bess began his career at Sony BMG in 1989.

ACM Week In Pictures: UTA, SESAC, Play It Again Music, Change The Conversation

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SESAC and Play It Again Music Team Up for ACM Lifting Lives

Photo (L-R): Play It Again owner/publisher Dallas Davidson; SESAC singer/songwriter Lee Brice; SESAC VP of Creative Services Shannan Hatch; SESAC songwriter Rob Hatch; PIA VP of A&R Alex Torrez; PIA President Juli Newton Griffith; and Mike “Frog” Griffith.

Play It Again Music and SESAC were all smiles during Saturday’s (April 14) ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-off. ACM Lifting Lives is the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Through partnerships within the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs for those who have faced unexpected hardships.

 

United Talent Agency Celebrates ACMs

Pictured (L-R): Curt Motley, Brian Nossokoff, Troy Vollhoffer (Premier Global Production), Nick Meinema, Lance Roberts, Nick Barnes

The United Talent Agency team met with Troy Volhoffer of Premier Global Production at Sunday evening’s (April 15) Academy of Country Music Awards.

 

Cam Joins Change The Conversation Panel During ACM Week In Las Vegas

Pictured (L-R): Leslie Fram, Cam, Tracy Gershon, Beverly Keel.

Singer-songwriter Cam joined MTSU Recording Industry Chair Beverly Keel, as well as CMT’s Leslie Fram and industry executive Tracy Gershon for a Change the Conversation panel on Saturday (April 14) at Academy of Country Music’s pre-awards festivities.

 

YouTube video

Weekly Register: Country’s Top 5 Albums Chart Welcomes Three Debuts

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This past week welcomed three debuts to the Top 5 country albums rankings, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Blackberry Smoke debuts at No. 3 (and in the Top Americana slot) with Find A Light moving 16K. Restoration: The Songs of Elton John, featuring songs from artists including Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne and more, debuted at No. 4, with 15K. Johnny Cash: Forever Words, an album based on a book of the late entertainer’s poetry, debuts at No. 5 with 9.2K.

Kane Brown returns to the No. 1 spot this week, with his self-titled album moving 16.5K this week. Last week’s No. 1 debut, Kacey Musgraves‘ Golden Hour, falls to No. 2 this week, with 16K.

Another notable country debut is David Lee Murphey‘s No Zip Code, which features the duet with Kenny Chesney “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” The album debuted at No. 35 with 3.8K this week.

On the country digital sales rankings, Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line‘s “Meant To Be” continues to dominate, with 33K in sales this week. The track is now at 892K to date. The three entertainers performed the smash hit on Sunday (April 15)’s Academy of Country Music Awards.

Last night’s ACM performances also included the next three songs in this week’s digital sales rankings, including Kenny Chesney’s latest, “Get Along,” which comes in at No. 2 with 26K, and reigning Entertainer of the Year Jason Aldean‘s “You Make It Easy,” which is at No. 3 with 23K. Carrie Underwood also performed her new single, “Cry Pretty” on the awards show. The track enters at No. 4 with 21K, followed by Kane Brown’s “Heaven” at No. 5 with 19K.

Sony Music Nashville Celebrates ACM Wins, Nominations

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Pictured (L-R): Sony Music Nashville’s SVP A&R Jim Catino,
EVP/COO Ken Robold and EVP Promotion/Artist Development Steve Hodges;
ACM Awards Vocal Group of the Year Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey; ACM’s
most-awarded artist Miranda Lambert; four-time nominated Maren Morris; Randy
Goodman, Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Nashville; double-nominated Kane Brown
and Sony Music Nashville EVP Marketing/New Business John Zarling.

Sony Music Nashville’s artists, staff and guests celebrated the label’s wins and nominations at the 53rd annual ACM Awards during a post-party at Las Vegas’ Hakkasan.

During the award ceremony, Vanner Records/RCA Nashville’s Miranda Lambert won ACM Female Vocalist of the Year for the ninth consecutive year and is the current record holder for most consecutive wins in this category. Lambert also won ACM Song of the Year for “Tin Man” along with co-writers Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, receiving two awards, both as artist and songwriter. With these wins, she now has 32 ACM Awards, and is the most-awarded artist in ACM Awards history, a record previously held by Brooks & Dunn.

Additionally, RCA Nashville’s Old Dominion won ACM Vocal Group of the Year Award, their first award in this category. They previously won ACM New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year at the 51st ACM Awards in 2016.

 

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Plot Summer Tour

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have revealed their upcoming summer tour, with singer-songwriter Aimee Mann joining them for most of the dates.

Additional guests include Hiss Golden Messenger, Brandi Carlile, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Marie Lepanto, John Moreland, Amanda Shires, and Communist Daughter.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit recently took home two Grammy awards, for Best Americana Album (The Nashville Sound) and Best American Roots Song (“If We Were Vampires”), marking four total Grammy wins for Isbell.

The 400 Unit features Derry deBorja (keyboards), Chad Gamble (drums), Jimbo Hart (bass), Sadler Vaden (guitar) and Shires (fiddle).

Isbell and company sold out six nights at the historic Ryman Auditorium last fall.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Summer 2018 Tour Dates
July 5 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
July 6 – Minneapolis, MN – Basilica Block Party
July 7 – Sioux City, IA – Saturday In The Park
July 13 – Bonner Springs, KS – Americana Kansas City
July 14 – Birmingham, AL – Sloss Music & Arts Festival
July 15 – Louisville, KY – Forecastle Festival
July 17 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center (w/Hiss Golden Messenger)
July 18 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion (w/Hiss Golden Messenger)
July 20 – Canandaigua, NY – Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (w/Brandi Carlile)
July 21 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point (w/Brandi Carlile)
July 22 – Gilford, NH – Bank Of New Hampshire Pavilion (w/ Brandi Carlile)
July 24 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap (w/Hiss Golden Messenger)
July 25 – Cleveland, OH – Jacob’s Pavilion (w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan)
July 27 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival
July 28 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest
August 24-25 – Austin, TX – Bass Hall  (w/Marie Lepanto)
August 26 – Austin, TX – Bass Hall  (w/John Moreland)
August 28 – Phoenix, AZ – Symphony Hall (w/ Amanda Shires)
August 30 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre (w/Aimee Mann)
August 31 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre (w/Aimee Mann)
September 1 – San Diego, CA – Jacobs Music Center’s Copley Symphony Hall (w/Aimee Mann)
September 4 – Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater (w/Aimee Mann)
September 6 – Redmond, WA – Marymoor Park (w/Aimee Mann)
September 7 – Portland, OR – Oregon Zoo Amphitheater (w/Aimee Mann)
September 10 – St. Louis, MO – Peabody Opera House (w/Communist Daughter)
September 13 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Theater (w/Communist Daughter)
September 14 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre
September 15 – Indianapolis, IN – Lawn @ White River (w/ John Moreland)
September 23 – Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
September 28 – Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheatre

Details at www.jasonisbell.com.

Post-ACM Awards, Blake Shelton and Friends Party Into The Night

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Pictured (L-R): Blake Shelton and Cole Swindell

Following two performances during the 53rd Annual ACM Awards in Las Vegas, Blake Shelton continued the good times with a stacked line up of artists at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.

Warner Music Nashville labelmates Cole Swindell, RaeLynn, Chris Janson and Michael Ray performed to the capacity crowd, joined by fellow hitmakers Toby Keith, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Brett Young, Jon Pardi and Luke Bryan.

Shelton introduced each of the performances with personal anecdotes as his guests performed cover songs spanning decades of country music.

Chris Janson and Blake Shelton

Photos: Warner Music Nashville

ACM Awards Ratings Win Night For CBS

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Pictured during the opening segment of the ACM Awards (L-R): Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett. Photo: ACM

The Academy of Country Music Awards attracted 12.08 million television viewers on Sunday night (April 15), making CBS the evening’s most-watched network, according to Zap2it.com. Viewership was up from the 2017 ceremony, which drew 10.91 million. The show was on par with last year’s event, scoring a 2.1 rating/share among adults 18-49.

The ACM Awards aired opposite American Idol (6.25 million) on ABC, which led into an interview with former FBI director James Comey (9.78 million viewers).

ACM Awards ratings in recent years:

2017—10.91 million
2016—11.18 million
2015—15.77 million (50th annual ACM Awards)
2014—14.14 million
2013—15.38 million

Marty Stuart Sets Lineup For Annual Late Night Jam

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Marty Stuart has revealed the lineup for his 2018 Late Night Jam. Joining him on June 6 at the Ryman Auditorium will be Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Margo Price, Connie Smith and many more. The concert will start at 9 p.m.

This year marks the 17th annual event. Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam is one of the most anticipated concerts held the week of CMA Music Festival.

Shortly after the Late Night Jam, Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives will hit the road with Stapleton, as an opening act on Stapleton’s All-American Road Show this summer.

Tickets are $42.50 or $52.50, and will go on sale Friday, April 20 at 10 a.m. here.

 

Diamond Rio Marks 20th Anniversary as Opry Members

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Pictured (L-R): Grand Ole Opry’s Dan Rogers, Diamond Rio members Dan Truman, Marty Roe, Jimmy Olander, Dana Williams, Gene Johnson, Brian Prout and Grand Ole Opry announcer Bill Cody. Photo: Chris Hollo

Diamond Rio celebrated its 20th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member on Friday night (April 13) during the show at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Fellow Opry member Craig Morgan introduced the band and opened his segment of the show with a portion of the group’s 1995 release “Bubba Hyde.” The group reprised the song during its performance, and also offered two of its No. 1 hits, “Meet in the Middle” and “One More Day.”

Diamond Rio was inducted into the Opry family on April 18, 1998, becoming the first group since The Whites (who joined in 1984) to receive Opry membership. Diamond Rio was inducted into the family by Opry members Little Jimmy Dickens and Porter Wagoner.

Diamond Rio is scheduled to return to the Opry May 18.