Exactly one year after topping the charts, Music Row, friends and family assembled at The Sutler Saloon in Nashville on Tuesday (Sept. 5) to celebrate Jake Owen’s sixth No. 1 single “American Country Love Song.”

Written by BMI’s Ross Copperman and ASCAP’s Ashley Gorley and Jaren Johnston, the close friends—who cumulatively boast over 50 No. 1 hits—shared many laughs as they rejoiced in their second shared chart-topping hit.

BMI’s David Preston hosted the crowd and congratulated Copperman on his 16th No. 1 country song. ASCAP’s Evyn Mustoe thanked their partner, First Tennessee Bank, and spoke on behalf of writers Gorley and Johnston, who is also her husband.

Rezonant Music’s Copperman was up first and recognized his fellow writers and Owen for recording the song.

“Everybody asks when you’re at these things, do you take these for granted after a while. And I always hear Ashley say it, and Jaren, and everyone, that having a No. 1 song is like winning the Super Bowl every time. It’s so special to be here,” Copperman remarked. “When Jake sings a song it comes to life in a whole new way. I just feel lucky that I got to work with him on this track. He sang it in my basement with me and now we hear it on the radio. I’m honored to be here with you guys.”

Up next, four-time ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Gorley celebrated his 34th No. 1 hit as a writer and 12th No. 1 as a publisher with his company Tape Room Music.

“This was a blast to write this song,” said Gorley. “This is one of the best cuts I’ve heard that I’ve had. So I want to thank Ross and Shane [McAnally] and Jake for making an amazing record on this one.”

The Cadillac Three’s Johnston celebrated his second No. 1 recorded by Owen, after penning 2014’s “Beachin.”

“Jake, buddy, your delivery on this whole thing is great. You made it a hit and you bought me a house and made a wonderful life for me and my wife and our new kid and I really appreciate that,” Johnston praised.

On writing with Copperman and Gorley, Johnston remarked, “It’s pure excitement and it’s pure creative bliss. It’s pure flexing those muscles that you don’t get to do with most other co-writers in this town. It’s always a joy and I really appreciate you guys writing with me. Let’s do it again!”

Presenters on stage included Rezonant Music’s Tim Wipperman and Cumulus Radio/CRB’s John Shomby.

“A hit song has staying power. I hear this song three times a day at least on our stations. It continues. It is probably one of the biggest on the radio still and that tells you something about the type of song that Jake sings and that these guys write. Congratulations on behalf of all the country radio broadcasters and thanks for keeping our radio stations alive with a good tune,” said Shomby.

Owen wrapped up the celebration by thanking the writers, publishers, country radio and his team for their continued support. “I first say thanks to these three guys for writing a song that’s not just a hit song but a career song, there’s a difference. This is something that for my career is a major player and I’m thankful for guys like the three of them.

“Thanks to so many songwriters in this town that graciously give their songs to artists like myself. I like to consider myself a songwriter but I’m also not dumb enough to just not record songs that aren’t mine that are great like these, that these guys are writing,” said a humble Owen.

“To sum it all up, thirteen years ago I moved to Nashville and my entire life has changed and it’s been for the best. I’m super thankful to every single one of you guys that have been a part of my life and my career and I look forward to many more years of doing this and calling this a job.”

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s unparalleled 50-year career is celebrated in a new retrospective two-disc set, Anthology, due out Sept. 29 on Capitol Nashville/ UMe. The collection covers the band’s recording career from “Buy For Me The Rain,” the first track from their 1967 self-titled Capitol Records debut, all the way to “The Resurrection,” from their most recent studio release, 2009’s Speed of Life.

“We really wanted this collection to historically reflect our band’s timeline, but in addition to that, felt like it was important to include deeper cuts,” says NGDB member Jeff Hanna.

Among the songs fans can expect on the 39-track career overview are the classic 1970 hit “Mr. Bojangles,” “An American Dream” featuring Troubadour pal Linda Ronstadt, “Make a Little Magic” with Nicolette Larson, 1984’s “Long Hard Road (Sharecropper’s Dream)” penned by Rodney Crowell and featuring Ricky Skaggs on fiddle and a young Jerry Douglas on Dobro, 1987’s platinum-certified “Fishin’ In The Dark,” and many, many more, all in chronological order of release.

The set also includes favorites from the groundbreaking Will The Circle Be Unbroken album and its sequels, featuring a dozen cuts from the three volumes. Will The Circle Be Unbroken has been inducted into the U.S. Library of Congress as well as the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

Anthology is available for preorder now at UMe.lnk.to/NGDBAnthology.

CMT will honor Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban and Luke Bryan as the premiere country artists of 2017 during the CMT Artists of the Year television special. The eighth annual event will air live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

With this year’s honors, Aldean and Bryan extend their lead as the artists with the most wins, with six each. Additionally, Bryan earns the distinction as the artist with the longest winning streak to date (2012 to present). This marks both Aldean and Urban’s return to the list for the first time since 2014. Stapleton and Florida Georgia Line notch their second and fifth consecutive wins, respectively.

This year, the special will extend beyond music to honor those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and the volunteers contributing to the ongoing recovery efforts. In addition, throughout the event, country’s biggest stars will encourage fans to continue supporting the extensive recovery over the next year. More information will be announced at a later date.

During the 90-minute special, artists will toast one another with one-of-a-kind performances. Previous CMT Artists of the Year performances have included Adele and Darius Rucker performing Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now;” Meghan Trainor, Jill Scott and Kelsea Ballerini honoring Shania Twain with a medley of her biggest hits; Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis paying tribute to Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush;” and Maroon 5 covering Taylor Swift’s “Mine.”

Last year’s annual special honoring Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan, Shania Twain and Thomas Rhett fueled growth across the board with L+3 ratings climbing 21 percent from the prior year among A18-49, attracting nearly 2 million total viewers on premiere night and nearly 4 million total viewers throughout six telecasts throughout the weekend on CMT.

Dierks Bentley’s 2017 What The Hell World Tour Brings In More than 750K Fans

Dierks Bentley‘s 2017 What The Hell World Tour wrapped this weekend, after bringing more than 60 shows to arenas and amphitheaters across the country since January and consistently bringing crowds of more than 25,000. The tour has sold more than 750,000 tickets this year to date. The tour featured openers Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi.

“This tour has been one of those experiences you wait for your entire life,” said Bentley. “To the fans and all the people who filled every seat in the house, who stood on their feet for hours and spent their hard-earned money to come see a show, you have made this an unforgettable journey. It’s going to be weird not having Cole and Pardi around, but I can’t thank those guys enough for coming along for this ride. Night after night the crowds were more explosive than the last…it will be a really hard year to top!”

 

Annelle Staal Makes SESAC Performance

New artist/songwriter Annelle Staal recently performed songs from her EP MARS as well as other originals for the staff at SESAC’s Nashville office. Staal was part of SESAC’s Living Room Sessions that feature SESAC writers performing in a casual atmosphere with up close seating for the staff.

 

Jillian Cardarelli’s New Video To Debut On CMT Today

CMT will debut the new music video for Jillian Cardarelli‘s single “Rerun” Tuesday (Sept. 5) as part of their Artist Discovery Program, which releases new videos along with a short bio about the artists.

“Rerun” was penned by Maren Morris, Tina Parol and Jordan Reynolds. Cardarelli is currently opening shows for Lonestar, Jake Owen and Jana Kramer. She is signed with William Morris Endeavor and with Suretone Entertainment.