Pictured (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.
Curb Records Promotes Blair Munday To VP, Creative Services
/by Jessica NicholsonBlair Munday
Curb Records has promoted Blair Munday to Vice President, Creative Services. Munday will oversee all aspects of Creative for the label’s country, Christian and pop rosters, and will continue to report to Curb Records Vice President of Marketing, Jeff Tuerff.
Munday has served in the Creative department since joining the company in 2003.
Tuerff says, “Blair’s creativity and passion for her work and the artist roster are a tremendous asset to the Creative department. We are incredibly pleased to recognize her hard work with this well deserved promotion!”
Munday says, “It’s such an honor to work at a company that has a clear vision for its future under the leadership of Jim Ed Norman and Taylor Childress. I am excited about my new role and look forward to continuing to work with Jeff Tuerff. This is an exciting season for our company with a great roster full of young, diverse talent.”
Congratulations can be sent to bmunday@curb.com.
Weekly Register: Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban Top Country Charts
/by Jessica NicholsonChris Stapleton. Photo: Terry Wyatt/Webster PR
Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller returns to the top of the country albums rankings this week, with 11K sold. Those numbers put the album topping 1.781 million in sales to date.
Miranda Lambert‘s The Weight Of These Wings is at No. 2 with 7.8K sold. Keith Urban‘s Ripcord lands at No. 3, with 7.7K sold, followed by Blake Shelton‘s If I’m Honest at No. 4, with 7.5k sold. Jason Aldean‘s They Don’t Know is at No. 5 with 6.2K.
Garth Brooks‘ Ultimate Hits remains in the top spot on the Country catalog chart, selling 4.7K this week, for total sales of 2.648 million.
Overall album sales are down 15.2 percent year to date, while overall digital album sales are down 16.9 percent year to date. Country album sales have decreased 1.8 percent, while country digital album sales declined 15.1 percent year to date.
Keith Urban
On the digital track sales chart, Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” remains in the top slot, with 32K sold, for a total of 692K to date. Little Big Town‘s “Better Man” is at No. 2, with 26K, while Jon Pardi‘s “Dirt On My Boots” lands at No. 3, with 21K. Florida Georgia Line‘s “May We All” featuring Tim McGraw is at No. 4, with 19K, while Little Big Town‘s 2015 hit “Girl Crush” remains in the Top 5 this week with 18K sold, following last week’s return to the chart.
Brantley Gilbert‘s “Outlaw In Me” debuts at No. 29 country (No. 119 overall), with 7K sold.
Overall track sales have declined 25.7 percent year to date, while country track sales have decreased 26.1 percent YTD.
Information provided by Nielsen Soundscan.
Rezonant Music Publishing Appoints Rebekah Gordon As VP, Creative
/by Jessica NicholsonRebekah Gordon
Rebekah Gordon joins the staff of Rezonant Music Publishing as Vice President, Creative, according to an announcement from Tim Wipperman, the company’s CEO and founding partner.
In her new role at Rezonant, Gordon will create and explore opportunities for the writers and their works, as well as the catalog of Rezonant Music songs. She will also focus on new writer and artist development.
Gordon has been involved in the Nashville music community for nearly a dozen years, having most recently worked as Director of A&R at Warner Music Nashville. Outside of the Nashville community, she oversaw the A&R direction of Jimmy Fallon’s comedy album Blow Your Pants Off, as well as the soundtrack for the major motion picture, Footloose.
“Rebekah has a reputation in town for getting things done, and that fits perfectly with the Rezonant culture,” Wipperman said. “Our company is entering this new year with tremendous excitement about the team and the talented writers we have signed.”
Gordon can be reached at rebekah@rezonantmusic.com.
LifeNotes: Ruth Jackson, Mother of Alan Jackson, Dies at 86
/by Lorie HollabaughAlan Jackson‘s mother, Ruth Musick Jackson, affectionately known by family and friends as “Mama Ruth,” passed away Saturday (Jan.7) at her home in Newnan, Georgia, where she resided for 70 years. She was 86.
“Mama Ruth” was well-known and loved by her son’s fans and her influence factored heavily into his songs throughout his career. She inspired his Precious Memories album, a collection of hymns originally created as a gift to her for Mother’s Day with no intention of being a commercial release. And Jackson’s second holiday album, Let It Be Christmas, was also inspired by Mama Ruth’s desire to hear her son sing some of the holiday’s traditional classics. And the early days of his parents’ marriage of course inspired his song “Home,” as well.
Mama Ruth was born in 1930 in Lowell, Georgia, and married Jackson’s daddy, Eugene Jackson, in 1946. The two had five children, Alan and four girls, and she is survived by her children as well as 12 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
U2 to Headline Bonnaroo as Part of Special ‘Joshua Tree’ Tour
/by Lorie HollabaughU2 is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their Joshua Tree album this year with a special international stadium tour, which will include the band’s first-ever U.S. festival headlining appearance at Bonnaroo, according to Billboard.com.
The legendary band will perform their classic fifth album in its entirety on every date of the upcoming tour, which kicks off May 12 in Vancouver and hits Dallas, Seattle, Miami, Boston, and other U.S. cities plus a handful of European dates as well. Opening acts for the stateside dates will include Mumford & Sons, OneRepublic or The Lumineers.
The Joshua Tree 2017 tour is the band’s first tour since 2009’s 360, which made history by grossing more than $736,137,344 with a total attendance of 7,268,430, both the highest tour tallies ever reported to Billboard. Tickets for the North American leg go on sale January 17th. More information can be found at u2.com and livenation.com.
U2: The Joshua Tree Tour 2017:
NORTH AMERICA DATES:
May 12 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place*
May 14 – Seattle, WA – CenturyLink Field*
May 17 – Santa Clara, CA – Levi’s Stadium*
May 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Rose Bowl+
May 24 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium+
May 26 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium+
June 3 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field+
June 7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field+
June 8-11 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Festival
June 11 – Miami, FL – Hard Rock Stadium^
June 14 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium^
June 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field+
June 20 – Washington DC – FedExField+
June 23 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre+
June 25 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium+
June 28 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium+
July 1 – Cleveland, OH – FirstEnergy Stadium^
17
* with Mumford & Sons
+ with The Lumineers
^ with OneRepublic
EUROPE DATES:
July 8 – London, UK – Twickenham
July 12 – Berlin, DE – Olympic Stadium
July 15 – Rome, IT – Olympic Stadium
July 18 – Barcelona, ES – Olympic Stadium
July 22 – Dublin, IE – Croke Park
July 25 – Paris, FR – Stade de France
July 29 – Amsterdam, NE – Amsterdam Arena
August 1 – Brussels, BE – Stade Roi Baudouin
with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
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