Miranda Lambert. Photo: Becky Fluke
Some days, the decisions are as clear as a bright blue sky.
There is no question, for instance, that the Disc of the Day award belongs to Miranda Lambert. In a sea of songs about beer drinking, hot honeys, pickup trucks and being proud to be redneck, she has a lyric about real life. She has always had an edge that other artists lack. No more so than she does today.
We have a number of newcomers in today’s column. But, again, the choice is easy. Cody Johnson triumphs over the competition to win the DisCovery Award.
MAGNOLIA BELLE/Lucky Number
Writers: none listed; Producer: Kimo Forrest; Publisher: none listed; Heartland (track)
– It’s kinda synth-y and pop, but very sunny, upbeat and bright sounding. Enjoyable.
FRANKIE BALLARD/Cigarette
Writers: Kip Moore/Chris Stapleton/Jaren Johnston; Producer: Marshall Altman; Publishers: WB/Cool Change/Music of the Corn/Spirit Catalog Holdings/Spirit Two/Sony-ATV Harmony/Texa Rae, ASCAP; Warner Bros.
– Get a load of those writer credits. Too bad he couldn’t get anybody talented involved. This is the song of a man in lust, loaded with steamy vocal phrasing and intensely atmospheric production. A hit.
ZACH SEABAUGH/Nothing Good Happens After Midnight
Writers: Bruce Burch/Wally Montgomery; Producers: Zach Seabaugh, Jason Pendley & Bruce Burch; Publisher: none listed; Open Roads
– This Georgia teenager competed on The Voice last year. His solid baritone carries this uptempo romantic number with confidence and aplomb. The thumping rhythm track is especially cool. A contender, for sure.
VINCE GILL/Me and My Girl
Writer: Vince Gill; Producers: Vince Gill/Justin Niebank; Publishers: Vinne Mae/Songs of Kobalt, BMI; MCA Nashville
– A gentle rhythm carries this along like a summer breeze. It’s a lovely “road” song about traveling side-by-side with the one you adore, heading for nowhere under a yellow moon. In a word, enchanting.
MIKE SMITH/Green Eyed Girl
Writer: Mike Smith; producer: Nioshi Jackson; Publisher: Color Blind, ASCAP; EMS (track)
– The track rumbles along nicely. He’s not the strongest singer I’ve ever heard, but he gets the job done without drifting off pitch or meter.
CODY JOHNSON/With You I Am
Writers: David Lee/Cody Johnson/Trent Willmon; Producer: Trent Willmon; Publisher: Mood Merchant Music/4 Cow Ranch Songs/Cojo Country Publishing/Ascamp/Barnes and No Bull Music, ASCAP/BMI; Cojo (track)
– I dig this guy. He has a smooth-as-silk delivery, a relaxing warmth and an instantly likable vocal personality. The lyric of this mid-tempo charmer is about a man who changes his ways because of love.
AARON LEWIS/That Ain’t Country
Writers: Aaron Lewis; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Publisher: WB/Greenfund, BMI; Dot
– Country, country, country, complete with stuttering electric guitar, whining steel and a classic shuffle rhythm. Waylon, Jones, David Allan Coe, Johnny & June, Hank Jr., Haggard, Willie and Charlie Daniels all get name-checked along the way. What he wants, you see, is a return to heartache and gritty real life that he used to hear in country music.
BOO RAY/Sea of Lights
Writers: none listed; Producer: Noah Shain; Publisher: none listed; BR (track)
– The mix is kinda muddy. But the song about a country boy with shattered dreams in Hollywood is right on the money.
BAILEY JAMES/Kiss Me
Writers: Koehler/Norris/Haws; Producer: David Norris; Publisher: Bailey James/Norrisong/Harry Haws, ASCAP/BMI; BJ (track)
– I have admired this neo-traditionalist in the past. Her new entry is a straightforward invitation to romance. As before, she’s a forceful vocalist.
MIRANDA LAMBERT/Vice
Writers: Miranda Lambert/Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne; Producers: Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf & Eric Masse; Publisher: none listed; RCA (download)
– Dark, sordid, simmering with sin…..and thoroughly fabulous. She’s trapped in a soul-killing vortex of drinking and promiscuity, and there is no escape. A Record of the Year contestant, and certainly one of the greatest performances of her career.
Weekly Chart Report (7/29/16)
/by Troy_StephensonClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.
Leadership Music Announces Incoming President, New Board Members
/by Jessica NicholsonJeff Gregg (center) received the ceremonial Leadership Music President’s Cup as incoming President of the organization. Mike Craft (left) is immediate Past President and Stacy Widelitz (right) is President-Elect
Leadership Music has selected its leadership for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which began July 1.
Jeff Gregg, an agent at CAA, has been elected president; songwriter Stacy Widelitz, is president-elect; Mike Craft, Big Machine Label Group, is Past President; and Amy Smartt, CMA, joins as treasurer.
Justin Levenson remains as secretary. Other members of the Executive Committee include Julie Boos, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy; Andrew Kautz, Big Machine Label Group; Diane Pearson, City National Bank, and Jimmy Wheeler, Provident Label Group/Sony Music Nashville.
In addition, Leadership Music has selected four new board members. Incoming board members are: Ron Cox, Avenue Bank; BJ Hill, Warner Chappell Music; Chandra LaPlume, Taillight TV; and Widelitz.
The complete board list is:
Jon Anthony, Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Radio
Jeff Black, Lotos Nile
Linda Bloss Baum, SoundExchange
Julie Boos, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy,
Carey Nelson Burch, My Own Shingle/Hideout Pictures
Bradley Collins, BMI
Ron Cox, Avenue Bank
Mike Craft, Big Machine Label Group
Jaynee Day, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
Joe Galante, Galante Entertainment Organization
Teresa George, ACM
Jeff Gregg, CAA
BJ Hill, Warner Chappell Music
Andrew Kautz, BMLG
Chandra LaPlume, Taillight TV
Ellen Lehman, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
Justin Levenson
Tom Lord, Red Light Management
Wendell Moore, Baker Donelson, et al
Lynn Morrow, Adams & Reese
Diane Pearson, City National Bank
Chip Petree, Ritholz Levy
Amy Smartt, CMA
Neal Spielberg, Spielberg Entertainment
Jimmy Wheeler, Provident Label Group/Sony Music Nashville
Stacy Widelitz, Stacy Widelitz Music
Lane Wilson, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment
Erika Wollam-Nichols, NSAI/Bluebird Café.
Will Cheek of Bone, McAllister & Norton serves as legal counsel
Industry Ink: Musicians On Call, UTA, Warner Music Nashville
/by Jessica NicholsonMusicians On Call To Honor Lady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum. Photo: Joseph Llanes
Musicians On Call (MOC), a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities, will honor Lady Antebellum with the Music Heals Award at an exclusive invitation-only event on Aug. 9 in Nashville.
MOC launched an auction on Charitybuzz where one lucky winner and their guest will meet the trio and get front row seats to the show. The private event is a part of Musicians On Call’s Half A Million Moments campaign, celebrating the organization’s milestone of performing for half a million patients, families and caregivers. It will be hosted by iHeartRadio on-air personality Bobby Bones, and will feature special guest performances and appearances.
UTA Promotes Nashville-Based JD McCorkle To Agent
JD McCorkle
UTA has announced a round of promotions including the elevation of Nashville-based JD McCorkle to the role of agent.
Additional promotions to agent include: Ryan Edmundson, Joe Fucigna and Parrish McKittrick (all based in New York City); Emilio Grijalva, Zach Hyde, Chad Lehner, Darius Sabet and David Winther (all based in L.A.); Sarah Chipon, Stefanie Purificati and Rob Thornton (all based in Toronto); and Alice Hogg (based in London). Additionally, UTA hired Mary Petro and Ryan Soroka as music agents in New York.
Aubrie Sellers Celebrates Label Signing With Pickin’ On The Patio Performance
Pictured (L-R): Justin Luffman, VP Brand Management, WMN; Megan Joyce, VP of Legal & Business Affairs, WMN; Mary Hilliard Harrington, Manager, Red Light Management; Aubrie Sellers; Frank Liddell, Producer; Jordan Pettit, VP Promotion, WMN; Cris Lacy, VP A&R, WMN; Kevin Herring, SVP Promotion, WMN.
Following news of her signing last week, Aubrie Sellers performed at WMN’s Pickin’ on the Patio. She performed songs from her LP New City Blues. Sellers, who has been supporting the album on the road all year, including stops at Bonnaroo, CMA Music Fest, SXSW and Stagecoach, will continue her trek across the country through the rest of 2016.
DISClaimer: Miranda Lambert Lights Up Radio With “Vice”
/by Robert K OermannMiranda Lambert. Photo: Becky Fluke
Some days, the decisions are as clear as a bright blue sky.
There is no question, for instance, that the Disc of the Day award belongs to Miranda Lambert. In a sea of songs about beer drinking, hot honeys, pickup trucks and being proud to be redneck, she has a lyric about real life. She has always had an edge that other artists lack. No more so than she does today.
We have a number of newcomers in today’s column. But, again, the choice is easy. Cody Johnson triumphs over the competition to win the DisCovery Award.
MAGNOLIA BELLE/Lucky Number
Writers: none listed; Producer: Kimo Forrest; Publisher: none listed; Heartland (track)
– It’s kinda synth-y and pop, but very sunny, upbeat and bright sounding. Enjoyable.
FRANKIE BALLARD/Cigarette
Writers: Kip Moore/Chris Stapleton/Jaren Johnston; Producer: Marshall Altman; Publishers: WB/Cool Change/Music of the Corn/Spirit Catalog Holdings/Spirit Two/Sony-ATV Harmony/Texa Rae, ASCAP; Warner Bros.
– Get a load of those writer credits. Too bad he couldn’t get anybody talented involved. This is the song of a man in lust, loaded with steamy vocal phrasing and intensely atmospheric production. A hit.
ZACH SEABAUGH/Nothing Good Happens After Midnight
Writers: Bruce Burch/Wally Montgomery; Producers: Zach Seabaugh, Jason Pendley & Bruce Burch; Publisher: none listed; Open Roads
– This Georgia teenager competed on The Voice last year. His solid baritone carries this uptempo romantic number with confidence and aplomb. The thumping rhythm track is especially cool. A contender, for sure.
VINCE GILL/Me and My Girl
Writer: Vince Gill; Producers: Vince Gill/Justin Niebank; Publishers: Vinne Mae/Songs of Kobalt, BMI; MCA Nashville
– A gentle rhythm carries this along like a summer breeze. It’s a lovely “road” song about traveling side-by-side with the one you adore, heading for nowhere under a yellow moon. In a word, enchanting.
MIKE SMITH/Green Eyed Girl
Writer: Mike Smith; producer: Nioshi Jackson; Publisher: Color Blind, ASCAP; EMS (track)
– The track rumbles along nicely. He’s not the strongest singer I’ve ever heard, but he gets the job done without drifting off pitch or meter.
CODY JOHNSON/With You I Am
Writers: David Lee/Cody Johnson/Trent Willmon; Producer: Trent Willmon; Publisher: Mood Merchant Music/4 Cow Ranch Songs/Cojo Country Publishing/Ascamp/Barnes and No Bull Music, ASCAP/BMI; Cojo (track)
– I dig this guy. He has a smooth-as-silk delivery, a relaxing warmth and an instantly likable vocal personality. The lyric of this mid-tempo charmer is about a man who changes his ways because of love.
AARON LEWIS/That Ain’t Country
Writers: Aaron Lewis; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Publisher: WB/Greenfund, BMI; Dot
– Country, country, country, complete with stuttering electric guitar, whining steel and a classic shuffle rhythm. Waylon, Jones, David Allan Coe, Johnny & June, Hank Jr., Haggard, Willie and Charlie Daniels all get name-checked along the way. What he wants, you see, is a return to heartache and gritty real life that he used to hear in country music.
BOO RAY/Sea of Lights
Writers: none listed; Producer: Noah Shain; Publisher: none listed; BR (track)
– The mix is kinda muddy. But the song about a country boy with shattered dreams in Hollywood is right on the money.
Writers: Koehler/Norris/Haws; Producer: David Norris; Publisher: Bailey James/Norrisong/Harry Haws, ASCAP/BMI; BJ (track)
– I have admired this neo-traditionalist in the past. Her new entry is a straightforward invitation to romance. As before, she’s a forceful vocalist.
MIRANDA LAMBERT/Vice
Writers: Miranda Lambert/Shane McAnally/Josh Osborne; Producers: Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf & Eric Masse; Publisher: none listed; RCA (download)
– Dark, sordid, simmering with sin…..and thoroughly fabulous. She’s trapped in a soul-killing vortex of drinking and promiscuity, and there is no escape. A Record of the Year contestant, and certainly one of the greatest performances of her career.
Kip Moore Continues Comeback Kid Skatepark Project
/by Craig_ShelburnePictured (L-R): Shawn McSpadden, Red Light Management; Ryan Daughtridge, Bustin Boards; Kip Moore; John Hunter, American Ramp Co. (ARC); Brad Turcotte, UMG Nashville
Kip Moore was on hand at the opening of a new skatepark in Cincinnati on Wednesday (July 27) as part of his Comeback Kid Skatepark Project.
The Warsaw Federal Skatepark, a project of the Lower Price Hill Neighborhood Enhancement Program, features a 35-foot-by-68-foot pump track, three grind rails and a Hubba skate ledge. Kids in attendance were surprised with free skateboards, helmets, knee pads, and backpacks filled with T-shirts and socks.
“I’m always searching for purpose in my life,” said Moore. “I battle the feeling of if I’m doing enough with the small amount of time I have on this earth each day. I’m so blessed to get to do what I do, but I have always believed with those blessings come responsibility. Days like today give me that feeling of purpose. I get to see a direct impact in a needed community. I get to see the smiles on these kid’s faces and the positive impact it creates. There are so many things I wanna do in the inner cities and this is just the beginning.”
The Comeback Kid Skatepark Project is the first initiative of Kip’s Kids Fund, a donor-advised fund through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee focused on youth and teens.
Other skatepark locations include Nashville; Boston; San Marcos, Texas; and Annapolis, Maryland.
Kip Moore at the opening of Warsaw Federal Skatepark in Cincinnati
Keith Urban Named Presenting Sponsor Of Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament
/by Craig_ShelburneKeith Urban
The Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament (MRLGT) has announced that Keith Urban has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the 30th annual charity event.
The tournament, which will take place on Aug. 15 at Old Natchez Country Club in Nashville, will once again benefit United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee. The event is also sponsored by ASCAP, City National Bank, Tim McGraw and more.
Registration for the tournament opened in early July. Team space is limited and the event sells out each year. Participants are encouraged to compete in the traditional team costume contest.
MRLGT has raised over $1.775 million dollars for United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee.
Chris Young Aligns With CASE Construction Equipment For Tour
/by Jessica NicholsonChris Young. Photo: David McClister
Chris Young and CASE Construction Equipment are teaming up in 2016 for the fall run of Young’s I’m Comin’ Over Tour. The partnership will begin Sept. 5 with the Labor Of Love concert in Racine, Wisconsin.
Proceeds from the concert, headlined by Young, will benefit Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization comprised of more than 36,000 veterans and first responders, with the goal of helping the organization expand its veteran’s skills training programs.
The partnership with CASE and Team Rubicon is a natural one for Young. His father works in construction and multiple family members, including his younger sister, are either in the Marines or are U.S. military veterans.
“It’s going to be great having CASE out on tour with us,” said Young. “The work they do with connecting military veterans to job and training opportunities in the skilled trades is close to my heart, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to support those efforts.”
Dierks Bentley To Bring ‘Black’ To Vinyl
/by Jessica NicholsonDierks Bentley’s latest album Black will be released on vinyl and available on Aug. 12.
The project includes the multi-week No. 1 hit “Somewhere on a Beach,” and his new single, “Different For Girls,” featuring Elle King. Before Bentley’s Aug. 12 stop on his 2016 Somewhere on a Beach Tour in St. Louis, Missouri, Bentley will visit Vintage Vinyl for an intimate in-store performance to celebrate the release with fans.
“When we created this album, I kept imagining the flow of this record being told with an ‘A’ side and ‘B’ side,” said Bentley. “We’ve released vinyl before, but I’ve never had the chance to really master it properly and didn’t really put the time in before that it deserved. With Black, every little detail has mattered to me…Sterling Sound in New York really gave the mix a warmth that you don’t hear on MP3 or CD, and I can’t wait for fans to hear the whole album this way.”
‘Billboard’ Reveals 2016 Nashville Power Players
/by Jessica NicholsonMike Dungan
Billboard has unveiled its 2016 Nashville Power Players, with UMG Nashville’s chairman/CEO Mike Dungan named Executive of the Year.
The music trade publication highlighted prominent executives from labels, management, live events, agencies, media, publishing, legal and civic areas.
Other label representatives included in this year’s group of power players are BMLG’s Scott Borchetta, BBR Music Group’s Benny Brown and Jon Loba, Warner Music Nashville’s John Esposito, Sony Music Nashville’s Randy Goodman, Capitol Christian Music Group’s Bill Hearn, UMG Nashville’s Cindy Mabe, Thirty Tigers’ David Macias, Third Man Records’ Jack White.
The methodology behind the selected group of industry superstars includes chart performance ticket sales, company growth, touring grosses, social media impressions, radio/TV audiences, local influence, career trajectory, and impact on the industry in the past 12 months.
Charlie Daniels Will Be Subject Of CMHoF Exhibit
/by Craig_ShelburneCharlie Daniels
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will examine the life and career of Charlie Daniels in the exhibition Charlie Daniels: Million Mile Reflections, opening Sept. 23 and running through March 2017.
Featuring musical instruments, stage wear, manuscripts, awards, childhood mementos and previously unpublished photographs from Daniels’ personal collection, the exhibit will describe his significant impact on American entertainment and explore the new musical style and image he brought to country music. Daniels is a 2016 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.
“I can’t even articulate how honored I am by this exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I couldn’t think of a better name myself unless it would be Five Million Mile Reflections,” said Daniels.
“Charlie Daniels forged a bracing new musical style out of bluegrass, blues, country, jazz and rock & roll. His sound quickly became popular on country, pop and rock radio stations,” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “His musical journey has led him to the Country Music Hall of Fame, where he will be inducted in October. It is only appropriate that we celebrate his remarkable career with our latest exhibition.”
Daniels began writing and playing music professionally in the 1950s. His first significant musical success, as co-writer of Elvis Presley’s hit “It Hurts Me,” came in 1964. Daniels moved to Nashville in 1967 at the urging of Columbia Records producer Bob Johnston, who hired him to play on albums by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Marty Robbins. Daniels also worked as a studio musician on Ringo Starr’s Nashville-recorded Beaucoups of Blues in 1970.
That same year, Daniels released his first solo album, on Capitol Records. In 1972, fronting the newly formed Charlie Daniels Band (CDB), he signed to Kama Sutra Records and released the album Te John, Grease, & Wolfman. Daniels began the Volunteer Jam in 1974 as a Southern rock festival.
Over the years—he hosted sixteen through 1996—the Volunteer Jam became known for its large, diverse musical lineup. The Volunteer Jam brand later was revived as short U.S. tours (1999–2004) and as a one-time concert (2015), both headlined by the CDB. The Volunteer Jam will return on Nov. 30 to celebrate Daniels 80th birthday.