
Pictured (clockwise from top left): Ben McPeak, Dylan Jakobsen, Midland
Happy New Year.
We’re starting 2017 the right way in DISClaimer, by showcasing artists who are new and promising. In a first for this column, we have a three-way tie for the DisCovery Award. Let me direct your attention to one of the most solid singers I’ve heard in a while, Ben McPeak. Next pay heed to a trio of hunks called Midland. Then lend the edgy Dylan Jakobsen your ears. All three are fine, fine listening experiences.
One theme of the day seemed to be weird band names — Australia’s Tornadoes, The Runaway Hamsters, The Easy Leaves — and that’s the most interesting thing about all three.
The Disc of the Day goes to veteran Billy Hardwick Jr. His “The Day Merle Haggard Died” is as country as it gets.
THE EASY LEAVES/Fresno
Writers: Sage Fifield; Producer: Brad Dollar; Publisher: none listed; Omega (track)
-The tempo slogs through sludge. The echo chamber is ten miles deep. The vocals are hillbilly nasal and way pitchy. It says here that it was recorded live.
BILLY HARDWICK JR./The Day Merle Haggard Died
Writers: Billy Hardwick Jr.; Publisher: Rusty Washboard, BMI; Producer: none listed
-Country to the core. It name-checks the Hag’s song titles as it tells the tale of a performer who yearns to be just like his idol. This veteran has always been considered “too country.” Which is fine with me.
THE RUNAWAY HAMSTERS/A Little Country
Writers: The Runaway Hamsters/Kent Wells; Producer: Kent Wells; Publisher: Way West/Creek Valley, BMI/ASCAP
– This acts consists of three sisters and a brother, all of whom are pre-teen. They sound exactly like little kids playing dress-up. Bouncy and bubblegummy.
MIDLAND/Drinkin’ Problem
Writers: Jess Carson/Cameron Duddy/Mark Wystrach/Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne; Producer: Shane McAnally, Dann Huff & Josh Osborne; Publisher: WB/Jess Carson/Warner-Tamerlane/Vaqueros Galacticos/Tropical Cowboy/Smack Hits/Kobalt/Songs of Black River/One Little Indian Creek, ASCAP/BMI/GMR; Big Machine
-Airy and vaguely “western” sounding, with plenty of breezy steel and lightly twanging guitar work. Nicely understated vocal work on the gentle melody. Extremely promising.
GARY WEST/Right
Writer: Wynn Varble; Producer: Gary West; Publisher: none listed
-West’s new CD is a salute to The Man in Black, titled For the Love of Cash Volume 2. He offers his own take on standards like “Ring of Fire,” “Understand Your Man” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” mixed in with new tunes. This witty, tongue-in-cheek ditty is a catchy toe tapper with stuttering guitar and rumbled, Cash-like vocals. Also check out the equally catchy “I Ain’t Playin’ No Jason Aldean.”
JOSEPH WELZ/Save The Night
Writers: Joey Welz; Producer: Joey Welz; Publisher: Ursula, BMI
-His whispered vocal wobbles from note to note, seldom landing accurately. The cheesy, piano-and-saxophone production is a riot.
THE HAMMOND BROTHERS/Let It Rain On Me
Writers: Dale & Gale Hammond; Producers: Dale & Gale Hammond; Publishers: Vonger, no performance rights listed; Vonger (CDX)
– Pleasant and inoffensive, featuring good sibling harmony vocals. But I don’t know that I’d play it more than just this once.
AUSTRALIA’S TORNADOES/Cowboy For A Night
Writer: Darrell T. Ewing; Producers: Hillbilly Rick, Dave Goodger, Mark Borg; Publishers: none listed; BMI; HR (CDX)
– Basic neo rockabilly, with a rollicking piano, a honking sax and a jitterbug beat. There’s nothing special about the singing, but it gets the job done.
DYLAN JAKOBSEN/Silverado
Writer: Dylan Jakobsen; Producer: Dylan Jakobsen; Publishers: none listed, BMI; CB (CDX)
– I like the rasp in his voice and the powerful rhythm track. The lonesome lyric is sweet, too. This is very, very cool sounding. Who are you? Send more.
BEN McPEAK/Fix You Up
Writers: Hayslip/Wiseman/Akins; Producer: Billy Decker; Publisher: none listed; BMM (CDX)
– He’s gonna cure her heartache with a night on the town, followed by some smooching in the car. He sings with plenty of chesty oomph, and the track rocks nicely. Well done.
Industry Ink: Kris Lamb, Blair Garner, Elissa Newland
/by Lorie HollabaughDot Records VP To Teach At Belmont University
Dot Records VP of Promotion, Kris Lamb, will teach a new class at Belmont University during the Spring 2017 semester. Beginning Monday, Jan. 9, Lamb will begin teaching as an adjunct professor, bringing over 11 years of radio promotion experience to the 3-hour-credit course Music Promotion Strategies.
“Belmont was invaluable to me during my formative years in radio and records,” expressed Lamb. “I’m blessed to have the opportunity to give back by teaching and mentoring students in real-time on the process of taking an artist from zero to hero utilizing all the evolving tools in the world of music promotion.”
Lamb graduated from Belmont in 2005 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis on Music and Entertainment Studies. He joined Big Machine Label Group in 2010; his past roles include Senior Director West Coast Promotion (Big Machine Records) and Director National Promotion (Dot Records). He will continue his full-time position as the Dot Records VP of Promotion, guiding the careers of Drake White, Maddie & Tae, Tucker Beathard and Aaron Lewis.
Blair Garner Marries
Elissa Newland has joined the Country Music Hall of Fame as Creative Department Traffic & Assets Manager. In her new department, Newland will work closely with the museum’s graphic design team. She will be responsible for facilitating job workflow, creating schedules, tracking project progress, routing work for review and approval and more.
Newland comes to the Hall of Fame from NASH Country Weekly, where she was Photo Editor. Prior to moving to Nashville, she worked in New York City as a photo editor of celebrity portraiture that was licensed to media outlets globally. She also managed special gallery and e-commerce projects for key accounts with Duggal Visual Solutions. A California native, she graduated from the Brooks Institute of Photography with a bachelor’s degree in Media.
Promotions, Departures At Black River Entertainment
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (Clockwise, L-R): Bailey White, Dawn Delvo, Tanya Welch, Mike Wilson
Black River Entertainment CEO Gordon Kerr has announced the promotion of Dawn Delvo, Tanya Welch, and Mike Wilson. Bailey White is welcomed as the new Promotion Coordinator. Exiting the company are General Manager Greg McCarn, and Promotion Coordinator Taylor Weil.
Delvo, who joined the team nearly six years ago in 2011, has been promoted from Director of Public Relations to Head of Media and Public Relations for the company.
Following more than 20 years with Sony Music Nashville, Welch joined Black River Entertainment in June of 2015 as Senior Director, Marketing and has been promoted to Vice President, Marketing.
Wilson, who joined the Black River team in 2013 and has served most recently as Vice President of Promotion, has been elevated to Sr. Vice President of Promotion.
“We continue to make strides to become the company we know we have to be in order to help our artists, songwriters, and staff reach their full potential,” said Kerr. “Elevating Dawn and Tanya is the natural step towards that end. I am continually impressed with their leadership, vision and commitment to the Black River family!”
“Mike has mentored and guided our excellent promotion staff, and through that leadership, we have achieved history making results,” said Black River Records’ Executive Vice President Rick Froio. “We are thrilled to announce that Mike will continue to play a major role in the company as our Sr. Vice President of Promotion.”
Dawn and Tanya continue to report to Kerr and can be reached by phone at 615-780-3070 or via email, dawn@blackriverent.com or tanya@blackriverent.com.
Mike reports to Black River Records’ EVP Rick Froio, Mike can be reached at mike.wilson@blackriverent.com or by phone at 615-780-3070.
Joining Black River’s promotion department as Promotion Coordinator is Bailey White. With a background in pop, country, and Christian formats, Bailey’s previous stops include Sony Music Nashville, Checkd.in, Provident Label Group, Crowd Surf, and most recently the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
“We are very excited to have Bailey joining us,” said Mike Wilson. “She brings in new energy, passion for music, and a great work ethic.”
Bailey reports to Black River’s Sr. Vice President of Promotion Mike Wilson, and can be reached at bwhite@blackriverent.com or by phone at 615-780-3070.
Nashville Predators To Host Music Row Preservation Night
/by Troy_Stephenson“The Predators are proud to host Music Row Preservation Night in support of efforts to continue making Nashville known around the world as ‘Music City’,” said Nat Harden, Nashville Predators Senior VP of Tickets, Premium Sales and Youth Hockey. “Music Row has been around for over 60 years and it is important to all of us in the Nashville community that it to continue to thrive.”
Tickets for Music Row Preservation Night are now available online nashvillepredators.com/musicrow or by contacting Michael Matts at mmatts@nashvillepredators.com.
Carrie Underwood To Present At 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonCarrie Underwood at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards.
Carrie Underwood will serve as a presenter on the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards, set to air this Sunday, Jan. 8 on NBC.
Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, the event will air live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California and will be available to view in more than 236 countries around the world.
Underwood previously attended The Golden Globes in 2011 as a nominee in the Best Original Song-Motion Picture category for the song “There’s A Place For Us,” co-written with Hillary Lindsey and David Hodges for Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
This year, Underwood joins a list of presenters including Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Kristen Bell, Annette Benning, Pierce Brosnan, Naomi Campbell, Jessica Chastain, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gal Gadot, Hugh Grant, John Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, Felicity Jones, John Legend, Ryan Reynolds, Sting, Emma Stone, Vince Vaughn, Carl Weathers, and Kristen Wig.
Old Crow Medicine Show To Release ‘Best Of’ With Bonus Tracks
/by Eric T. ParkerTitled, Best Of, the tracks were selected from the band’s three albums released via Nettwerk – O.C.M.S. (2004), Big Iron World (2006), Tennessee Pusher (2008). Previously unreleased tracks “Black-Haired Québécoise” and “Heart Up In The Sky” were recorded for the band’s 2006 effort (full track listing below).
The album will be made available on vinyl, a format on which none of these songs are currently available. The gatefold-packaged 180 gram vinyl will include a 4-page lyric insert, plus a bonus red vinyl 7” including the two previously unreleased tracks (download card included).
Best Of is available to pre-order now.
Best Of Track Listing:
1. Wagon Wheel
2. Tell It To Me
3. Down Home Girl
4. Alabama High-Test
5. Big Time in the Jungle
6. CC Rider
7. Take ‘em Away
8. Humdinger
9. Fall On My Knees
10. My Good Gal
11. I Hear Them All
12. Caroline
13. Black-Haired Québécoise**
14. Heart Up in the Sky**
**previously unreleased
St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Shovels & Rope Set Ryman Performances
/by Lorie HollabaughSt. Paul & The Broken Bones will play two shows at the Ryman Auditorium on February 16-17 in support of their sophomore release Sea Of Noise, which was released in September. The group made a splash with their debut CD Half The City in 2014 and went on to make appearances on CBS Saturday Morning, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Husband & wife duo Shovels & Rope will also play two nights at the Ryman Auditorium the following two days on February 18-19 in support of their album Little Seeds, which released October 7 on New West Records. The duo has appeared on Conan, Austin City Limits, PBS Bluegrass Underground, and The Late Show with David Letterman. The has played almost every major U.S. festival including Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, Sasquatch, and Hangout.
The Mavericks Set New Course With ‘Brand New Day’
/by Lorie HollabaughThe Mavericks will release their first independent studio album, Brand New Day, on their own label Mono Mundo Recordings/Thirty Tigers on March 31. Their last studio album, Mono, was released in 2015 via BMLG’s Valory Music Co. Last year, the group released the live album All Night Live Vol. 1 via its own Mono Mundo label.
After years on major labels, The Mavericks chose to set a new course last year by founding Mono Mundo and releasing their first live album, 2016’s All Night Live, Volume 1. with Thirty Tigers. The new album due out this Spring includes tracks like the tejano/bluegrass-inspired “Rolling Along”, the ‘60’s-flavored “Easy As It Seems,” the accordion-fueled shuffle “I Will Be Yours” and the beautiful “Goodnight Waltz.”
The band will celebrate the album with a special release show at the Ryman on March 31. Tickets for the show go on sale January 13th and can be purchased here.
Alison Krauss to Release Classics Project on Capitol in February
/by Lorie HollabaughAlison Krauss has recorded a new solo project of classics for Capitol Records, Windy City, which is due out Feb. 17. The CD is her debut effort for Capitol, and her first project separate from her band Union Station since 2007’s Raising Sand. The 10-song collection was produced by Buddy Cannon, and features the album’s lead track, “Losing You,” which is out now and is available as an instant download to fans who preorder the new album.
Krauss first became inspired to record the collection of standards when she went into the studio with Cannon to record her lines on Hank Cochran’s “Make The World Go Away” for Jamey Johnson’s 2012 album Living For A Song. The two selected well-known classics like “Gentle On My Mind,” and “You Don’t Know Me,” along with more obscure tracks such as “Poison Love,” a B-side track on a Bill Monroe single released in 1951 and “River In The Rain,” penned by Roger Miller for his 1985 Broadway musical Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The collection has a melancholy thread that runs through it, but exudes strength thanks to Krauss’ delivery.
“It’s almost like you didn’t know it was sad,” Alison says, “because it doesn’t sound weak. It doesn’t have a pitiful part to it, where so many sad songs do. But these don’t. And I love that about it. I love that there’s strength underneath there. That whatever those stories are, they didn’t destroy. That that person made it right through it. I love that.”
The new CD also includes a track written by Cannon himself, “Dream of Me,” that features Cannon on backing vocals along with his daughter Melonie Cannon. Others lending backing vocals to the tracks include Jamey Johnson, Dan Tyminski, Teddy Gentry, and Hank Williams Jr.
Windy City Track Listings:
Weekly Chart Report (1/6/17)
/by Troy_StephensonClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.
DISClaimer: Three Promising Newcomers Earn DISCovery Honor
/by Robert K OermannPictured (clockwise from top left): Ben McPeak, Dylan Jakobsen, Midland
Happy New Year.
We’re starting 2017 the right way in DISClaimer, by showcasing artists who are new and promising. In a first for this column, we have a three-way tie for the DisCovery Award. Let me direct your attention to one of the most solid singers I’ve heard in a while, Ben McPeak. Next pay heed to a trio of hunks called Midland. Then lend the edgy Dylan Jakobsen your ears. All three are fine, fine listening experiences.
One theme of the day seemed to be weird band names — Australia’s Tornadoes, The Runaway Hamsters, The Easy Leaves — and that’s the most interesting thing about all three.
The Disc of the Day goes to veteran Billy Hardwick Jr. His “The Day Merle Haggard Died” is as country as it gets.
THE EASY LEAVES/Fresno
Writers: Sage Fifield; Producer: Brad Dollar; Publisher: none listed; Omega (track)
-The tempo slogs through sludge. The echo chamber is ten miles deep. The vocals are hillbilly nasal and way pitchy. It says here that it was recorded live.
BILLY HARDWICK JR./The Day Merle Haggard Died
Writers: Billy Hardwick Jr.; Publisher: Rusty Washboard, BMI; Producer: none listed
-Country to the core. It name-checks the Hag’s song titles as it tells the tale of a performer who yearns to be just like his idol. This veteran has always been considered “too country.” Which is fine with me.
THE RUNAWAY HAMSTERS/A Little Country
Writers: The Runaway Hamsters/Kent Wells; Producer: Kent Wells; Publisher: Way West/Creek Valley, BMI/ASCAP
– This acts consists of three sisters and a brother, all of whom are pre-teen. They sound exactly like little kids playing dress-up. Bouncy and bubblegummy.
MIDLAND/Drinkin’ Problem
Writers: Jess Carson/Cameron Duddy/Mark Wystrach/Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne; Producer: Shane McAnally, Dann Huff & Josh Osborne; Publisher: WB/Jess Carson/Warner-Tamerlane/Vaqueros Galacticos/Tropical Cowboy/Smack Hits/Kobalt/Songs of Black River/One Little Indian Creek, ASCAP/BMI/GMR; Big Machine
-Airy and vaguely “western” sounding, with plenty of breezy steel and lightly twanging guitar work. Nicely understated vocal work on the gentle melody. Extremely promising.
GARY WEST/Right
Writer: Wynn Varble; Producer: Gary West; Publisher: none listed
-West’s new CD is a salute to The Man in Black, titled For the Love of Cash Volume 2. He offers his own take on standards like “Ring of Fire,” “Understand Your Man” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” mixed in with new tunes. This witty, tongue-in-cheek ditty is a catchy toe tapper with stuttering guitar and rumbled, Cash-like vocals. Also check out the equally catchy “I Ain’t Playin’ No Jason Aldean.”
JOSEPH WELZ/Save The Night
Writers: Joey Welz; Producer: Joey Welz; Publisher: Ursula, BMI
-His whispered vocal wobbles from note to note, seldom landing accurately. The cheesy, piano-and-saxophone production is a riot.
THE HAMMOND BROTHERS/Let It Rain On Me
Writers: Dale & Gale Hammond; Producers: Dale & Gale Hammond; Publishers: Vonger, no performance rights listed; Vonger (CDX)
– Pleasant and inoffensive, featuring good sibling harmony vocals. But I don’t know that I’d play it more than just this once.
AUSTRALIA’S TORNADOES/Cowboy For A Night
Writer: Darrell T. Ewing; Producers: Hillbilly Rick, Dave Goodger, Mark Borg; Publishers: none listed; BMI; HR (CDX)
– Basic neo rockabilly, with a rollicking piano, a honking sax and a jitterbug beat. There’s nothing special about the singing, but it gets the job done.
DYLAN JAKOBSEN/Silverado
Writer: Dylan Jakobsen; Producer: Dylan Jakobsen; Publishers: none listed, BMI; CB (CDX)
– I like the rasp in his voice and the powerful rhythm track. The lonesome lyric is sweet, too. This is very, very cool sounding. Who are you? Send more.
BEN McPEAK/Fix You Up
Writers: Hayslip/Wiseman/Akins; Producer: Billy Decker; Publisher: none listed; BMM (CDX)
– He’s gonna cure her heartache with a night on the town, followed by some smooching in the car. He sings with plenty of chesty oomph, and the track rocks nicely. Well done.