Wanda Jackson

Wanda Jackson will serve as the special guest mentor of the second Change the Conversation Presents: Rising Young Artists Mentoring Sessions, which will be held at the Bluebird Cafe, on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. The event is part of the 17th Annual Americana Music Festival & Conference.

Change the Conversation co-founder Tracy Gershon will lead Jackson in a talk designed to provide advice and guidance to the young artists chosen for the event.

The evening will also feature performances by the artists Arielle, Ella Mae Bowen and Kree Harrison. Taylor Guitars will present each artist with a guitar.

Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. She has released more than 30 studio albums during her international career. Her hits include “Tears Will Be the Chaser for Your Wine,” “A Woman Lives for Love” and “Fancy Satin Pillows.”

“Wanda Jackson is the perfect mentor for our Change The Conversation series. Wanda broke through the male-dominated genre of rock in the early fifties and earned her title as The First Lady of Rock and Roll. Her insight and stories will prove to be inspiring to the young women facing similar challenges today,” says Gershon, who is also Rounder Records Group’s vice president of A&R.

Change the Conversation was formed by Gershon, Beverly Keel and Leslie Fram in 2014. It was formed initially to create an informal atmosphere where women could gather and develop productive ways of solving the problem. The coalition has grown into an organization of influence, which funds research and hosts events where industry experts address their segments of the industry.

“Quality mentoring is so important to our Change The Conversation mission.  Young female artists can gain invaluable knowledge and wisdom from successful women who have paved the way,” says Fram, Sr. VP of Music Strategy and Talent at CMT.

Pictured (L-R): Lon Helton, Joseph Kahn, Shane McAnally, Karen Fairchild. Photo Credit: Kayla Schoen/CMA

CMA unveiled the music video of “Forever Country” with key industry members on Monday night (Sept. 19) at a viewing party presented by YouTube at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville.

CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern welcomed the guests and acknowledged the dedicated work of the CMA Board of Directors – many of whom were in attendance – for spearheading the project through numerous committees and developing a global release plan over the past 18 months.

“I mean it from my heart when I say that ‘Forever Country’ would never have been possible without the industry putting aside individual interests for the opportunity to help us promote the genre around the world and celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the CMA Awards,” said Trahern.

The evening also featured a panel with Karen Fairchild, a CMA Board member and member of CMA Award-winning act Little Big Town; Joseph Kahn, Grammy Award-winning director of “Forever Country”; and Shane McAnally, “Forever Country” producer, also a CMA Board member and CMA Award winner. The panel was moderated by Lon Helton, CMA Board member and CMA National Broadcast Award winning host of Country Countdown USA.

Thirty CMA Award-winning acts with careers that span all five decades of the CMA Awards are featured in the “Forever Country” music video, which will be featured in a special sneak peek on Tuesday night on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (8:00-10:00 PM/ET). Fans will be able to view the full version immediately following at ForeverCountry50.com.

The music video is set to a medley of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” Denver, Nelson, and Parton are all former CMA Entertainers of the Year.

Following remarks from Trahern at the industry party, Vivien Lewit, a member of the CMA Board and YouTube Director of Music Content Partnerships, and John Esposito, CMA Board Chairman and CEO/President of Warner Music Nashville, addressed the audience. Also in attendance was CMA Award winner and 2016 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Randy Travis, who makes a special appearance in the “Forever Country” music video.

Pictured (L-R): Steve Buchanan, Opry Entertainment President; Vivien Lewit, YouTube Director of Music Content Partnerships; Lon Helton, host of Country Countdown USA; Terry Calonge, owner of Richards and Southern, Inc.; Mark Bright, owner of Mark Bright Productions; Kurt Johnson, Townsquare Media Senior Vice President of Programming; Karen Fairchild; Deb McDermott, Media General Chief Executive Officer; Shane McAnally; Joseph Kahn; Tony Conway, Conway Entertainment Group President; Randy Travis; Scott Scovill, owner of Moo TV, CenterStaging, LLC, and Moo Creative Media; Sally Williams, Ryman Auditorium General Manager; Sherod Robertson, MusicRow Enterprises President and owner; Victoria Shaw; Biff Watson, Biff-Bangs Productions, Inc. President; Kerri Edwards, KP Entertainment President; Butch Spyridon, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation President and CEO; Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer; Damon Whiteside, CMA Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships; Pat Collins, SESAC Vice Chairman; and John Esposito, CEO/President of Warner Music Nashville. Photo Credit: Kayla Schoen / CMA

ACM Welcomes Tucker Beathard

Pictured (L-R): Lisa Lee, ACM; Tucker Beathard; Brooke Primero, ACM. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music welcomed Big Machine Label Group artist Tucker Beathard to the office while he was in Los Angeles last week. While at the Academy, Beathard performed songs off his upcoming EP Fight Like Hell slated for release on Oct. 7, including his debut single “Rock On.”

 

Maggie Rose Performs For CMHoF Fifth Annual Troubadour Society Event

Pictured (L-R): Katie Cline, Mandy Gallagher, Maggie Rose, Emilee Warner, Leanne Weber, Maya Akser

On Thursday (Sept. 15), Maggie Rose performed in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Event Hall for their fifth annual Troubadour Society event, Nightfall at the Hall. Nightfall at the Hall is a benefit to Troubadour Society members, and hundreds of young professionals gathered to enjoy original songs from Rose, as well as a few covers including Drake’s “Hotline Bling.”

 

Duke FM Teams With Webster Public Relations For Video Vault Series

Duke FM has teamed with Webster Public Relations again to spotlight their clients as part of the second round of Duke FM’s Video Vault series.

Legacy artists including T. Graham Brown, Danny Shirley, Exile, Jimmy Fortune, Lorrie Morgan, T.G. Sheppard, and John Anderson are featured in candid, sit-down interviews on-air, online, and on Midwest Communications digital platforms.

The Video Vault series will be hosted on Duke FM’s eight stations in Knoxville, Tennessee; Appleton, Wisconsin; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Lansing, Michigan; Evansville, Indiana; Fargo, N.D.; Duluth, Minnesota; and Terre Haute, Indiana.

Pictured (L-R): Nick Harris, Alpha Sports + Entertainment; Chris Lisle, Chris Lisle Lighting Design; Adam Warren, Alpha Sports + Entertainment

Chris Lisle, one of the touring industry’s prominent lighting designers, has signed to Alpha Sports + Entertainment, LLC, for management representation.

Lisle is the first signee under the company’s new division that will provide management services for its entertainment clients, in addition to legal representation.

“We’re so excited about launching our new division and signing Chris as our first entertainment management client,” says Adam Warren, Partner Alpha Sports + Entertainment, LLC. “Chris has been a long-time client of our firm in a legal capacity so it was a smooth transition to adding the management aspect. We can’t wait to see what the future brings.”

“I’m thrilled to be working with Adam and everyone at Alpha Sports + Entertainment,” says Lisle, a 2016 graduate of Leadership Music. “I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together.”