
Pictured at today’s announcement (L-R): Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Kyle Young, Luke Bryan and manager Kerri Edwards. Photo: Alan Poizner
Luke Bryan’s 2015 schedule includes a few firsts and a few lasts. He will perform overseas for the first time, and will christen a few stadiums (including Vanderbilt’s) as the first country artist to perform there. He will also perform his last spring break concert in Florida, ending a tradition that drew over 230,000 fans in 2014.
Bryan’s Kick The Dust Up Tour will launch May 8 in Grand Forks, ND. Several cities on the outing will host two-night arena stands. Seven stadiums are on the schedule, with his first stadium concert of the year set for June 6 in Denver. Bryan will be the first country act to play in St. Paul’s stadium (June 20) and Nashville’s Vanderbilt football stadium (July 11). Joining Bryan for all dates will be Dustin Lynch and Randy Houser. Stadium concerts will additionally feature Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett.
Bryan shared news about his tour during a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville this morning (Jan. 21). Having played to 1.7 million fans last year, Bryan says he’s more confident than ever going into 2015. “This is still only my third year of true headlining. I don’t ever want to take for granted being able to do a double [show] in a city. It’s nice having that confidence that we’ll be able to roll in there and add to production and add to the show. Our fans have shown me that they are going to show up in full support, and we can start stretching our boundaries on how big we want to make the show. It’s a wonderful place to be in, to announce the show and have true excitement of what’s to come, not necessarily the anxiety of whether we going to be able to pull it off or not.”

Pictured (L-R): Luke Bryan, Brian O’Connell share details of Bryan’s upcoming tour.
The singer-songwriter recalled the lesson he learned from his first stadium show. “I never will forget when we walked onstage for the first time in Heinz Field last year in Pittsburgh. It was my first stadium show. I remember hitting that stage and thinking, ‘Well the only way to learn how to do this is to run your butt out there and do it.’ I remember at the end of the show, thinking, ‘Well, that was an experience.’ That’s what you live for, pushing yourself. Now I have four stadium [shows] behind me, and now I’ll know a little better how to make every fan feel special.”
Bryan has decided to end his run of spring break shows in Panama City, Fla. after this year. He will perform two free concerts at Spinnaker Beach Club on March 11 and 12. His seventh spring break album Spring Break…Checkin’ Out will be released March 10.
In 2015, Bryan is touring overseas for the first time. He ventured to Canada last year and is going to Europe in February and March, playing festivals and clubs in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Norway, including four C2C: Country to Country shows.
Brian O’Connell, Pres. of Live Nation Country Touring, joined him at today’s event which was streamed live on Bryan’s website. CMHoF director Kyle Young came onstage to announce that Bryan will be the subject of the Museum’s next major exhibition, set to open in May. Fan club members were also in attendance.
“Just five or six years ago, I walked Broadway and these streets, walking by the Country Music Hall of Fame, being in this room and being all through the halls of this place,” said Bryan. “My parents used to come to town and I’d take them to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Now family and friends can come to town and see an exhibit of mine is truly…I remember driving down Music Row and seeing Carrie [Underwood]’s ad on the billboards, and wondering if that would ever happen to me. When you consider how much attention and how Nashville is such a bubbling, vibrant city and all the people coming through here and they can see part of my life on display, it’s exciting. I’m sure my boys [Thomas Boyer, age 6, and Tatum Christopher, age 4] will have some interesting things to say about seeing dad behind the cases.”
Bryan’s career tally includes 11 No. 1 hits, 7 million albums, and 27 million tracks sold. He also promises a new album soon. “We were in the studio in conjunction with recording the Spring Break album, and we recorded four new songs to start wrapping our heads around the new album, and ‘Kick The Dust Up’ was one of those new songs. I only have four songs recorded, so that tells you how much work we still have to do on the album.”
Cabela’s is a sponsor of the tour. Cabela’s Club Visa members and Citi cardmembers will have exclusive ticketing options.
For a complete list of tour dates visit lukebryan.com.
-with additional reporting by Jessica Nicholson
Luke Bryan Reveals Stadium Dates, European Run
/by Sarah SkatesPictured at today’s announcement (L-R): Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Kyle Young, Luke Bryan and manager Kerri Edwards. Photo: Alan Poizner
Luke Bryan’s 2015 schedule includes a few firsts and a few lasts. He will perform overseas for the first time, and will christen a few stadiums (including Vanderbilt’s) as the first country artist to perform there. He will also perform his last spring break concert in Florida, ending a tradition that drew over 230,000 fans in 2014.
Bryan’s Kick The Dust Up Tour will launch May 8 in Grand Forks, ND. Several cities on the outing will host two-night arena stands. Seven stadiums are on the schedule, with his first stadium concert of the year set for June 6 in Denver. Bryan will be the first country act to play in St. Paul’s stadium (June 20) and Nashville’s Vanderbilt football stadium (July 11). Joining Bryan for all dates will be Dustin Lynch and Randy Houser. Stadium concerts will additionally feature Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett.
Bryan shared news about his tour during a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville this morning (Jan. 21). Having played to 1.7 million fans last year, Bryan says he’s more confident than ever going into 2015. “This is still only my third year of true headlining. I don’t ever want to take for granted being able to do a double [show] in a city. It’s nice having that confidence that we’ll be able to roll in there and add to production and add to the show. Our fans have shown me that they are going to show up in full support, and we can start stretching our boundaries on how big we want to make the show. It’s a wonderful place to be in, to announce the show and have true excitement of what’s to come, not necessarily the anxiety of whether we going to be able to pull it off or not.”
Pictured (L-R): Luke Bryan, Brian O’Connell share details of Bryan’s upcoming tour.
The singer-songwriter recalled the lesson he learned from his first stadium show. “I never will forget when we walked onstage for the first time in Heinz Field last year in Pittsburgh. It was my first stadium show. I remember hitting that stage and thinking, ‘Well the only way to learn how to do this is to run your butt out there and do it.’ I remember at the end of the show, thinking, ‘Well, that was an experience.’ That’s what you live for, pushing yourself. Now I have four stadium [shows] behind me, and now I’ll know a little better how to make every fan feel special.”
Bryan has decided to end his run of spring break shows in Panama City, Fla. after this year. He will perform two free concerts at Spinnaker Beach Club on March 11 and 12. His seventh spring break album Spring Break…Checkin’ Out will be released March 10.
In 2015, Bryan is touring overseas for the first time. He ventured to Canada last year and is going to Europe in February and March, playing festivals and clubs in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Norway, including four C2C: Country to Country shows.
Brian O’Connell, Pres. of Live Nation Country Touring, joined him at today’s event which was streamed live on Bryan’s website. CMHoF director Kyle Young came onstage to announce that Bryan will be the subject of the Museum’s next major exhibition, set to open in May. Fan club members were also in attendance.
“Just five or six years ago, I walked Broadway and these streets, walking by the Country Music Hall of Fame, being in this room and being all through the halls of this place,” said Bryan. “My parents used to come to town and I’d take them to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Now family and friends can come to town and see an exhibit of mine is truly…I remember driving down Music Row and seeing Carrie [Underwood]’s ad on the billboards, and wondering if that would ever happen to me. When you consider how much attention and how Nashville is such a bubbling, vibrant city and all the people coming through here and they can see part of my life on display, it’s exciting. I’m sure my boys [Thomas Boyer, age 6, and Tatum Christopher, age 4] will have some interesting things to say about seeing dad behind the cases.”
Bryan’s career tally includes 11 No. 1 hits, 7 million albums, and 27 million tracks sold. He also promises a new album soon. “We were in the studio in conjunction with recording the Spring Break album, and we recorded four new songs to start wrapping our heads around the new album, and ‘Kick The Dust Up’ was one of those new songs. I only have four songs recorded, so that tells you how much work we still have to do on the album.”
Cabela’s is a sponsor of the tour. Cabela’s Club Visa members and Citi cardmembers will have exclusive ticketing options.
For a complete list of tour dates visit lukebryan.com.
-with additional reporting by Jessica Nicholson
K-Love Announces Awards Nominees, TV Channel
/by Eric T. ParkerPictured (L-R): Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman, Plumb, John Sanders (Co-Creator and Producer), Jon Klein (TAPP Co-Founder and CEO), Mike Novak (K-LOVE President and CEO), Francesca Battistelli, David Pierce (K-LOVE CCO) and Colton Dixon. Photo: Aaron Crisler
K-LOVE–the Christian radio network in 47 states with an estimated weekly audience of over 14 million–has revealed the nominees for its third annual K-LOVE Fan Awards Show and separate plans for a TV channel.
Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House will hold the awards event on May 31 as the pinnacle event of the K-LOVE Ultimate Fan Experience, which includes dinner with the K-LOVE staff and friends, a weekend kick-off concert, two breakfasts, speakers, Fan Zone and more.
Leading the 2015 nominations with four each were for KING & COUNTRY and Newsboys (full list below). For the first time, nominees were selected and voted upon completely by fans. Voting will open at Midnight ET on May 1 and will close at Midnight ET on May 30. Nominees for Film/Television Impact, Book Impact and Sports Impact Awards will be announced at a later date.
Additionally K-LOVE has unveiled K-LOVE TV, a network set to launch as a subscription-based TV channel this spring. TAPP, the brainchild of reality television pioneers Jeff Gaspin and Jon Klein, recently launched the Sarah Palin Channel, Herman Cain Channel, New Life TV and is partnering with K-LOVE and John Sanders LLC to build K-LOVE TV from the ground up.
2015 K-LOVE Fan Awards Nominees
Male Artist of the Year
Chris Tomlin
Colton Dixon
Crowder
Jeremy Camp
Matthew West
Steven Curtis Chapman
Female Artist of the Year
Francesca Battistelli
Jamie Grace
Kari Jobe
Mandisa
Natalie Grant
Plumb
Group/Duo of the Year
Casting Crowns
for KING & COUNTRY
MercyMe
Newsboys
Tenth Avenue North
Third Day
Best Live Show
for KING & COUNTRY
NEEDTOBREATHE
Newsboys
Tenth Avenue North
Third Day
TobyMac
Worship Song of the Year
“Overwhelmed” Big Daddy Weave
“Jesus Loves Me” Chris Tomlin
“Come As You Are” Crowder
“No Other Name” Hillsong Worship
“How Can It Be” Lauren Daigle
“Because He Lives” Matt Maher
Song of the Year
“Hope In Front of Me” Danny Gokey
“Fix My Eyes” for KING & COUNTRY
“He Knows My Name” Francesca Battistelli
“Do Something” Matthew West
“Greater” MercyMe
“We Believe” Newsboys
Artist of the Year
Casting Crowns
Chris Tomlin
for KING & COUNTRY
MercyMe
Newsboys
TobyMac
Miranda Lambert Added To List Of Grammy Performers
/by Troy_StephensonMiranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert has been added to the list of performers for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Lambert is already a Grammy winner and is nominated this year in four categories. Her nominations include Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Automatic,” Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Somethin’ Bad” with Carrie Underwood, and Best Country Album for Platinum.
Also announced as performers are eight-time Grammy winner Usher, and two of this year’s leading nominees, Sam Smith, and Pharrell Williams, who have six nominations each.
They join previously announced acts Eric Church, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, AC/DC, and Madonna. That story can be read here.
Grammy winners Common and John Legend will perform the song “Glory” from the film Selma.
The event will be broadcast live from The Staples Center in Los Angeles on CBS. “Music’s Biggest Night” will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8 from 8pm-11:30pm/ET.
Industry Ink: NMPA, YEP, Nashville Underground Entertainment
/by Jessica NicholsonJody Gerson
Jody Gerson Named To NMPA Board of Directors
The National Music Publishers’ Association has announced that Jody Gerson, the new chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group, has officially joined the NMPA Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jody,” said Irwin Z. Robinson, chairman of the NMPA Board. “Her reputation as a songwriter advocate precedes her, and we are grateful to add her expertise to our Board.”
“Jody is a rock star and I am so pleased to have her join the NMPA Board,” said NMPA President and CEO David Israelite. “NMPA’s Board, its members and its advocacy efforts will benefit greatly from her years of experience helping creators thrive.”
Formerly the co-president of Sony/ATV Publishing, Gerson fills the vacancy left by former UMPG chairman Zach Horowitz.
YEP Upcoming Events
Feb. 10 will bring a Musicpreneur No. 2 session at the Entrepreneur Center at 5:30 p.m. For more information on these events, visit yepnashville.com.
Nashville Underground Entertainment Expands To Include Nashville Underground Online
“I’ve said before that the Nashville Underground brand has limitless potential,” says Matt Williams, co-founder of Nashville Underground Entertainment. “This is not only proof of that, but was an inevitable next step for our company as viral marketing and design is something we make a living at anyway.”
Nashville Underground Online is a partnership between Nashville Underground Entertainment and Brand Ur Band, a digital marketing and social media company.
“This partnership with Nashville Underground will change the game,” says Damar Howard, founder and CEO of Brand Ur Band. “This is a powerhouse team of people with the goal to help artists become truly independent, as well as promote local culture and business.”
LifeNotes: Music Journalist Bill Littleton Dies
/by Robert K OermannBill Littleton
Veteran country music journalist Bill Littleton passed away last weekend in his home state of South Carolina. He was 75 years old.
Littleton died on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. He was a native of Greenwood, S.C. who spent 47 years in Nashville.
He is probably best known as the Nashville bureau chief of Performance magazine for more than 20 years. Littleton was also an actor, a singer-songwriter and a writer of fiction. He had character roles in such films as I Walk the Line (1970), co-starring Gregory Peck and Tuesday Weld; Payday (1973), starring Rip Torn; and Deadhead Miles (1973), co-starring Alan Arkan and Charles Durning.
Bill Littleton recorded several of his songs, occasionally performed in clubs and posted both audio and videos of his music online over the years. He notably accompanied Tom T. Hall on the journey that resulted in Hall’s 1971 LP In Search of a Song. Littleton wrote the album’s liner notes and his many snapshots of the trip were featured on its back jacket.
At the time of his death, Bill Littleton was residing in Boiling Springs, SC. He was predeceased by his parents, his sister and his wife, Connie Fuller Littleton. He is survived by sister Linda Griebno and several nieces and nephews. Celebration of life services are being planned for Boiling Springs as well as Nashville.
Clearview Artist Management Signs Elizabeth Lyons
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Elizabeth Lyons & Clearview Artist Management’s Steve Schweidel
Clearview Artist Management has signed Vanderbilt University graduate Elizabeth Lyons to its roster.
Steve Schweidel, Principal of Clearview, says, “This young talented artist will be the next big female star in country music and I’m just lucky to have stumbled upon her.”
“Our paths crossed after playing at The Bluebird Cafe.” Lyons said. “So thankful to be working with such an experienced manager! From the moment I met Steve we shared the same vision. I’m honored to be working with him. This #PartyRules! WOOWOO!”
Last week, Lyons released her new music video for her single, “#PartyRules,” which is being worked to country radio.
Clearview Artist Management clients have included Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, James Otto, Ty Murray, and Ocean Street.
Word Music Publishing Extends Agreement with Songwriter Justin Ebach
/by Jessica NicholsonJustin Ebach
Songwriter Justin Ebach has extended his publishing agreement with Word Music Publishing.
Ebach has penned the current singles for Group 1 Crew, David Dunn, Ashes Remain and OBB, as well as cuts for Francesca Battistelli, Sidewalk Prophets, Chris August, The Newsboys and more. Ebach has also garnered cuts recently with Josh Turner, Casey James, Ashley Gearing, and more.
“It is an honor to get to team up with such a talented and hardworking songwriter like Justin,” says Janine Appleton, Creative Director of Word Music Publishing. “It’s so impressive that he not only writes consistent radio songs in various genres, but he’s equally as talented in the studio, able to turn around a full demo quickly, on which he plays is player, vocalist and producer. His songs continue to receive positive attention from A&R and artists alike. Songwriters like him don’t come around every day.“
‘Bluegrass Underground’ Reveals Fifth Season Line Up
/by Sarah SkatesArtists set to perform on ‘Bluegrass Underground.’
The fifth season of Emmy-winning TV series Bluegrass Underground is packed with some of the genre’s biggest stars. The shows will be recorded in front of live audiences March 27, 28 and 29 at Cumberland Caverns’ Volcano Room in McMinnville, Tenn.
Friday, March 27: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Hot Rize, Robert Earl Keen, Chatham County Line
Saturday, March 28: Jerry Douglas presents The Earls of Leicester, Lee Ann Womack, Amos Lee, The Quebe Sisters
Sunday, March 29: Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass
Tickets to all shows go on sale at bluegrassunderground.com on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. A limited number of all-inclusive overnight ticket packages are being offered for the first time.
The show’s fourth season is now airing on PBS stations everywhere. Check local listings.
Cumulus to Launch NashTV Programming on January 26
/by Jessica NicholsonThus far, NashTV involves 12 programs, including content from radio programs America’s Morning Show, Nash Nights Live, and Kickin’ It with Kix. Other programs include style program Nash Lash, cooking shows BBQ Tricks, and Grits & Hits, as well as American Music Overseas and Real Live Performances, Proud: Everyday American Heroes, and sports programming Hick Xtreme and Picks From The Sticks.
The programming will be available on-demand via musicchoice.com, as well as Music Choice’s iOS and Android apps.
A preview video of the programming is available at nashtvpreview.com.
ACM Award Nominations To Be Revealed January 27
/by Jessica NicholsonThe awards show will broadcast live for the first time from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM live ET/ 7:00 PM CT on the CBS Television Network. Four-time ACM Award winners Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan will return to co-host this year’s awards show.
Additional information on nominations will be released soon.
Last year, George Strait was honored as Entertainer of the Year, while Jason Aldean was named Male Vocalist of the Year and Miranda Lambert earned the Female Vocalist of the Year trophy. Kacey Musgraves‘ Same Trailer, Different Park took home Album of the Year honors, while Lee Brice‘s “I Drive Your Truck” (penned by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary) earned Song of the Year.