Pictured (L-R): Darius Rucker, Brian Phillips, Josh Wolf, Billy Ray Cyrus, Cyma Zarghami, Kellie Pickler, Kyle Jacobs, Philippe Dauman, and Joey Logano attend the Annual 2015 CMT Upfront at The Times Center on April 2, 2015 in New York City. Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for CMT
CMT revealed a new slate of programming in the midst of a company-wide restructuring. CMT, which is now part of Viacom’s new kids and family division, is focusing on more original programming. Among the new offerings are two comedies featuring Billy Ray Cyrus and Kellie Pickler.
I Love Kellie Pickler (working title) will follow the daily life of country singer and former Dancing With the Stars winner Kellie Pickler, along with husband and producer/songwriter Kyle Jacobs. The series will be produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions. I Love Kellie Pickler will premiere Sept. 18.
Executive VP of Development for CMT Jayson Dinsmore speaks onstage at the Annual 2015 CMT Upfront at The Times Center on April 2, 2015 in New York City. Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for CMT
Billy Ray Cyrus will star in Still The King, a comedy that features the singer-songwriter as Vernon Brown, a washed up country singer who becomes an Elvis impersonator. After crashing into an old country church, he is sentenced to return and perform community service. He pretends to be the congregation’s new minister and discovers he has a 15-year-old daughter he’s never met.
Hideout Pictures, a division of Average Joes Entertainment, will produce Still The King with Cyrus serving as executive producer and writer. Average Joes’ CEO/President, Shannon Houchins, Hideout’s Potsy Ponciroli, and Travis Nicholson will also executive produce. Ponciroli will serve as Showrunner. Julia Silverton and Jayson Dinsmore will executive produce for CMT. Still The King will premiere in 2016.
These were just two of the new series announced today (April 2) in New York City during the annual 2015 CMT Upfront, held at The Times Center. The event featured a performance from Darius Rucker. Billy Ray Cyrus, Kellie Pickler and husband Kyle Jacobs were also in attendance.
American Speed: The True Story of NASCAR, an account of the story behind NASCAR, will be narrated by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. American Speed is executive produced by Stephen David of Stephen David Entertainment and Zane Stoddard for NASCAR. Jayson Dinsmore, Lewis Bogach and John Miller-Monzon executive produce for CMT. American Speed will debut in 2016.
CMT will launch its first-ever nightly talk show, The Josh Wolf Show, starring comedian Josh Wolf and produced by Chelsea Handler. the show will feature panel discussions, interviews, and sketches with artists from country music, Hollywood and more.
Also coming are The Ed Bassmaster Show, starring Ed Bassmaster, as well as the docu-series Gainesville, from the producers of Brick City. Gainesville, produced by Wheels Off Entertainment, is set to premiere May 14 and follows a group of friends in small town Florida as they transition into adulthood.
Additionally, the entire series of the highly lauded ensemble drama Friday Night Lights starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton will begin airing in May.
This spring CMT will premiere new seasons of Party Down South, Party Down South 2, and Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, as well as the music events CMT Music Awards, CMT Artists of the Year, and CMT Championship Kickoff Party.
Pictured (L-R): Kyle Jacobs and Kellie Pickler. Photo: Getty Images for CMT
Sony Pictures Classics Gains Worldwide Rights To Hank Williams Biopic
/by Jessica NicholsonThe biopic I Saw The Light is based on Escott’s ‘Hank Williams: The Biography.’
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired global rights to the upcoming Hank Williams biopic, I Saw The Light, according to Variety.
No release date has been slated for the project.
Tom Hiddleston stars as Williams in writer/director Marc Abraham‘s project, which began filming in Shreveport, La., in 2014. The biopic is based on Colin Escott‘s biography of the late singer-songwriter and country legend.
Also taking part in I Saw The Light are Elizabeth Olsen, Bradley Whitford, David Krumholtz, and Cherry Jones.
Executive producers include RatPac’s James Packer and Creative Wealth Media Finance’s Jason Cloth. Producers include RatPac Entertainment’s Brett Ratner and Bron Studios’ Aaron L. Gilbert, as well as G. Marq Roswell and Abraham.
“All of us at RatPac Entertainment are thrilled that Sony Pictures Classics is distributing I Saw the Light, as Michael and Tom are unparalleled in their marketing and distribution expertise,” Ratner said. “This film is a perfect fit, especially given their passion for country music, and we could not be in better hands.”
Track Listing and Cover Art Revealed for Kelsea Ballerini Debut
/by Eric T. ParkerClosing in on 150k sales, the single has seen 15k+ downloads this week. The official music video is currently out.
The Knoxville, Tenn., native co-wrote every track on the Forest Glen Whitehead– and Jason Massey-produced project. Ballerini’s currently released five-track digital EP contains five tracks that also appear on the forthcoming full-length project.
Ballerini, who was named one of CMT’s “Next Women of Country” late last year, moved to Nashville at 15. At age 19, she signed a publishing deal with Black River Publishing in 2013 and later that year signed a record deal with Black River Entertainment.
Tour schedule and track listing below.
Official Track Listing for The First Time
1. “XO” (Ballerini, Gravitt, O’Brien)
2. “Peter Pan” (Ballerini, Whitehead, Lee)
3. “Love Me Like You Mean It” (Ballerini, Whitehead, Kerr, Carpenter)
4. “Square Pegs” (Ballerini, Osborne, Stepakoff)
5. “The First Time” (Ballerini)
6. “Lookin’ At Stars” (Ballerini, Whitehead, Stepakoff)
7. “Sirens” (Ballerini, Whitehead, Denmark)
8. “Secondhand Smoke” (Ballerini, Kerr, Shellhart)
9. “Dibs” (Ballerini, Kerr, Griffin, Duke)
10. “Stilettos” (Ballerini, Whitehead, Savigar)
11. “Yeah Boy” (Ballerini, Whitehead, Timmer)
12. “Underage” (Ballerini, Kerr, Stepakoff)
Upcoming Tour Dates Include:
4/3 – Augusta, GA – The Country Club
4/10 – Norfolk, NE – w/ Scotty McCreery
4/12 – Green Bay, WI
4/17-19 – Dallas, TX – ACM Awards
4/25 – Los Angeles, CA – Radio Disney Music Awards
5/2 – Indianapolis, IN
6/6 – Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Field
6/17 – Wichita, KS
6/19 – Pueblo, CO – Bands in the Backyard w/ Toby Keith; Eli Young Band
6/26 – Cadott, WI – Chippewa Valley Music Fest w/ Tim McGraw
Ray Scott Unleashes Adult Beverage Apparel and Accessories Line
/by Jessica NicholsonRay Scott at the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show.
Ray Scott has partnered with Team Cocktail to launch a line of adult beverage apparel and accessories, dubbed The Ray Scott Collection.
The line includes t-shirts, glassware, and koozies featuring Scott’s one-liners. Scott and Team Cocktail introduced the collection at the 30th annual Nightclub and Bar Convention and Trade Show, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Merchandise will be available at retail locations, online, and at Scott’s concerts, beginning in May.
Scott recently augmented his professional team, adding Brian Crews of Crewser Entertainment to oversee day-to-day management and booking, and producer Dave Brainard to lead creative, music supervision and production.
Weekly Chart Report (4/3/15)
/by Troy_StephensonClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report
Date Set For 2015 CMT Music Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonThis year, the CMT Music Awards will be held Wednesday, June 10, with the show airing beginning at 7 p.m. CT. The show airs just before the kickoff for CMA Music Festival, which will bring multitudes of fans to downtown Nashville June 11-14.
Performers and ticket on-sale dates for this year’s CMT Music Awards will be announced soon.
Yesterday, CMT announced several new and returning programs as part of CMT’s upcoming lineup. The announcements were made in New York City during the annual 2015 CMT Upfront, held at The Times Center. The event featured a performance from Darius Rucker. Billy Ray Cyrus, Kellie Pickler and husband Kyle Jacobs were also in attendance. Cyrus is set to star in the comedy Still The King, while Pickler and Jacobs will invite fans to get an inside look at their life on the comedy I Love Kellie Pickler (working title).
Country Cooking: Trisha Yearwood, Matt Moore Offer New Recipes
/by Sarah SkatesTrisha Yearwood’s third cookbook, Trisha’s Table: My Feel-Good Favorites For A Balanced Life (Clarkson Potter) hit shelves this week. Written by Yearwood with her sister Beth Yearwood Bernard, and including a foreword by husband Garth Brooks, the book’s 100-plus new recipes include dairy-free Angel Hair Pasta with Avocado Pesto, vegetarian Smashed Sweet Pea Burgers, Edamame Parmesan, Slow Cooker Georgia Pulled-Pork Barbecue, Chicken Tortilla Casserole, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.
On April 18, the sixth season of Trisha’s Southern Kitchen premieres at 10:30 a.m. ET/PT on Food Network.
Her line of cookware, Trisha’s Precious Metals, will also be revealed in April. It will be available at Walmart and Sears, among others places.
In 2014, Yearwood returned to the road with Brooks and released a new album, PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit, featuring current single, “I Remember You.”
A Southern Gentleman’s Kitchen
Nashville songwriter-turned-chef Matt Moore recruited some country music pals from his homestate Georgia for his new cookbook, A Southern Gentleman’s Kitchen. Luke Bryan and Dave Haywood are both featured in the Southern Living/Oxmoor House release, available April 28.
Moore offers over 150 recipes fashioned with a realistic, simple, and healthy approach—with plenty of anecdotes mixed in.
How does this meal sound? Crab Cakes with Caper Remoulade, Georgia Peach Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction, Pecan-Crusted Chicken and Peppered Goat Cheese, Grilled Corn with Tequila-Lime Butter and Momma’s Carrot Cake, with a savory Bacon Old-Fashioned.
His self-published debut cookbook, Have Her Over for Dinner, was highlighted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Today Show.
Warner Bros. Nashville Working Kid Rock Single to Country Radio
/by Jessica NicholsonThe singer-songwriter has long had ties to Nashville. In 2002, his duet with Sheryl Crow, “Picture,” was a staple on country radio. His single “All Summer Long” hit No. 4 on the country radio chart in 2008.
Kid Rock hosted the CMT Music Awards in 2010 and 2011 in Nashville.
LifeNotes: Singer-Songwriter Sandy Mason Passes
/by Robert K OermannSandy Mason Theoret
Nashville singer-songwriter Sandy Mason died in Ormond Beach, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon, April 1.
She is best known for writing the 1979 Crystal Gayle hit “When I Dream” and for co-writing the Garth Brooks 1998 No. 1 smash “Two Pina Coladas.” She was 71 years old.
Sandy Mason Theoret was a native of Birdsville, PA, a town near Tarentum northwest of Pittsburgh. She was a child performer on Pittsburgh radio and TV. By the time she was in her teens, she excelled as a pianist, comic, singer, guitarist and ventriloquist. She became an alumnus of The Pittsburgh Playhouse, Western Pennsylvania’s top venue for training stage performers.
By the age of 20 in 1963, Mason was in New York recording for Roulette Records and working as a ventriloquist at a club called The Boulevard Room. During her 1963-64 booking at The Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago, she revamped her act from ventriloquist to singer. Returning to Pittsburgh, she landed her own local television show in 1965.
She first attracted attention in Nashville by being signed to Hickory Records in 1966. Her Hickory single “There You Go” appeared on the country charts in 1967. She subsequently released singles for Epic, Mercury and JMI in the early 1970s.
Her songwriting career took off in the late 1970s. After Gayle sang Mason’s “When I Dream,” the song was recorded by more than 70 other artists. Mason’s “Only Love” was popularized by Don Williams, Roger Cook and John Prine, the latter two of whom were her co-writers on the song. Another perennial favorite was “All I Want to Do in Life,” which was recorded by George Jones, Jack Clement, Gayle and Marianne Faithfull. Mason co-wrote it with Allen Reynolds, her most frequent collaborator.
Debby Boone and Paul Anka both recorded her “I’d Even Let You Go.” Pat Alger co-wrote and recorded “You’ll Come Back to Me.” Petula Clark recorded Mason’s “Feel the Love Go Round.” Johnny Cash recorded “After All.”
Others who recorded her songs include Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Roger Whittaker, Nanci Griffith, Julie Andrews, Floyd Cramer, Tompall Glaser, Mac Davis, Willie Nelson, George Hamilton IV, Trisha Yearwood, Helen Reddy and several European and Japanese artists.
Sandy Mason sang backup on records by Cash, as well as Gayle, Prine, Brooks and others. Her own recording career resumed with the 1982 LP Only Love.
She co-wrote “Two Pina Coladas” with Shawn Camp and Benita Hill. It became her biggest hit and again led to recording her own albums. There Goes That Song Again (2001), Romance (2003), Angels in Disguise (2004) and Out There and In Here (2008) captured her distinctive performing style.
Sandy Mason’s music was never easily classified. Roger Cook described her songs as being “between The Beatles and George Gershwin.” Her amusing, self-deprecating, pixie-like musical personality frequently charmed audiences at The Bluebird Cafe, Douglas Corner and other local venues.
Sandy Mason left Nashville after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer several weeks ago. She reportedly declined aggressive chemo therapy, opting to let the disease take its course as she reposed in Florida.
No funeral arrangements have been announced.
Kellie Pickler, Billy Ray Cyrus To Star In CMT Comedies
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Darius Rucker, Brian Phillips, Josh Wolf, Billy Ray Cyrus, Cyma Zarghami, Kellie Pickler, Kyle Jacobs, Philippe Dauman, and Joey Logano attend the Annual 2015 CMT Upfront at The Times Center on April 2, 2015 in New York City. Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for CMT
CMT revealed a new slate of programming in the midst of a company-wide restructuring. CMT, which is now part of Viacom’s new kids and family division, is focusing on more original programming. Among the new offerings are two comedies featuring Billy Ray Cyrus and Kellie Pickler.
I Love Kellie Pickler (working title) will follow the daily life of country singer and former Dancing With the Stars winner Kellie Pickler, along with husband and producer/songwriter Kyle Jacobs. The series will be produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions. I Love Kellie Pickler will premiere Sept. 18.
Executive VP of Development for CMT Jayson Dinsmore speaks onstage at the Annual 2015 CMT Upfront at The Times Center on April 2, 2015 in New York City. Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for CMT
Billy Ray Cyrus will star in Still The King, a comedy that features the singer-songwriter as Vernon Brown, a washed up country singer who becomes an Elvis impersonator. After crashing into an old country church, he is sentenced to return and perform community service. He pretends to be the congregation’s new minister and discovers he has a 15-year-old daughter he’s never met.
Hideout Pictures, a division of Average Joes Entertainment, will produce Still The King with Cyrus serving as executive producer and writer. Average Joes’ CEO/President, Shannon Houchins, Hideout’s Potsy Ponciroli, and Travis Nicholson will also executive produce. Ponciroli will serve as Showrunner. Julia Silverton and Jayson Dinsmore will executive produce for CMT. Still The King will premiere in 2016.
These were just two of the new series announced today (April 2) in New York City during the annual 2015 CMT Upfront, held at The Times Center. The event featured a performance from Darius Rucker. Billy Ray Cyrus, Kellie Pickler and husband Kyle Jacobs were also in attendance.
American Speed: The True Story of NASCAR, an account of the story behind NASCAR, will be narrated by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. American Speed is executive produced by Stephen David of Stephen David Entertainment and Zane Stoddard for NASCAR. Jayson Dinsmore, Lewis Bogach and John Miller-Monzon executive produce for CMT. American Speed will debut in 2016.
CMT will launch its first-ever nightly talk show, The Josh Wolf Show, starring comedian Josh Wolf and produced by Chelsea Handler. the show will feature panel discussions, interviews, and sketches with artists from country music, Hollywood and more.
Also coming are The Ed Bassmaster Show, starring Ed Bassmaster, as well as the docu-series Gainesville, from the producers of Brick City. Gainesville, produced by Wheels Off Entertainment, is set to premiere May 14 and follows a group of friends in small town Florida as they transition into adulthood.
Additionally, the entire series of the highly lauded ensemble drama Friday Night Lights starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton will begin airing in May.
This spring CMT will premiere new seasons of Party Down South, Party Down South 2, and Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge, as well as the music events CMT Music Awards, CMT Artists of the Year, and CMT Championship Kickoff Party.
Pictured (L-R): Kyle Jacobs and Kellie Pickler. Photo: Getty Images for CMT
Industry Pics: SOURCE Welcomes Marcie Allen; In The Studio with Producer Mickey Jack Cones
/by Kelsey_GradySOURCE held its monthly Members Luncheon at ASCAP on March 26, 2015. Marcie Allen, President and Founder of MAC Presents, was this month’s guest speaker. MAC Presents is an award-winning New York City-based music sponsorship and activation agency. For nearly a decade, they’ve been creating dynamic partnerships and unforgettable live events with top tier artists and the world’s leading brands.
(L-R): Susan Myers Woelkers, GW Entertainment; Shauna Collins, Boys and Girls Club of Benton County; Marcie Allen, President and Founder of MAC Presents; Bebe Evans, Charlie Daniels Band; Wendy Crosby York, Major Bob Music. Photo: Denise Fussell
• • •
Nashville-based producer Mickey Jack Cones is currently in the studio with Joe Nichols, Trace Adkins and Thompson Square recording new projects for each artist at Westwood Studios. The studio, a log cabin in Nashville’s Berry Hill area, is owned by Cones.
Cones, a native of Texas and a graduate of Belmont University, has previously produced Dustin Lynch, Jeff Bates, Randy Houser, Exile, and the Act of Valor soundtrack.
In the studio with Joe Nichols
Thompson Square with Mickey Jack Cones
In the studio with Trace Adkins