This year’s inductees for the Country Music Hall of Fame were announced this morning (March 20). Paul Overstreet, The Stanley Brothers and Tim McGraw will join the prestigious Hall later this year.
Overstreet will be inducted into the Songwriter category, which is awarded every third year in rotation with the Non-Performer and Recording and/or Touring Musician categories. The Stanley Brothers will be inducted into the Veterans Era Artist category and McGraw will be inducted into the Modern Era Artist category.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Marty Stuart hosted the press conference to announce the news, which was also streamed live on CMA’s YouTube channel.
“Each year, this moment serves as a powerful reminder of the people whose passion and dedication have defined Country Music at its very best,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO. “As we welcome Tim McGraw, Paul Overstreet and The Stanley Brothers into the Country Music Hall of Fame, we celebrate not only their extraordinary achievements, but the lasting influence their music will have on future generations. It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to help recognize these legacies and share in this unforgettable milestone.”
“The new inductees each followed their own distinctive career paths, but they have one critical commonality: they have left an indelible mark on Country Music,” said Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO. “Louisiana native Tim McGraw has built a catalog of hits defined by emotionally resonant, thought-provoking songs, achieving more than 60 Top 10 Country hits, nearly 30 No. 1 Country singles, and a formidable acting career. Raised in Mississippi, hit songwriter Paul Overstreet has penned modern Country classics for numerous Country Music Hall of Fame members, as well embarking on a successful recording career of his own. Hailing from mountainous southwestern Virginia, the Stanley Brothers – Ralph and Carter – were a foundational act in bluegrass whose music has influenced generations of artists in a variety of genres. Now, they will permanently be enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame alongside their esteemed peers and fellow pioneers.”
“First of all, as a writer, sometimes we’re faced with the task of putting into words something there aren’t really words for,” says Overstreet. “But in this case, my writer instinct didn’t have the words at all. I was in a bit of shock – total surprise. When Sarah called, I was in the South China Sea, or the Gulf of Thailand on a boat and the words she spoke gave me such an amazing feeling. I was sitting at a table with 10 people, and I had to fight back tears. What an honor it is to be recognized for my work by such an iconic institution as the Country Music Hall of Fame. I realize now what my friends felt when they were told they were being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Wow… it still hasn’t completely hit me yet.”
“This moment is deeply personal for our entire family,” says the family of The Stanley Brothers. “Seeing Ralph and Carter – The Stanley Brothers – inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame is an extraordinary honor, and something we know would have meant so much to them. The fact that people around the world still love their music speaks to the heart and soul they poured into every recording and performance. Carter’s emotional lead combined with Ralph’s haunting tenor created a sound that was truly special. After Carter’s passing, Ralph carried on the music they began together, dedicating his life to preserving the spirit of traditional mountain music and sharing it with audiences everywhere through the Clinch Mountain Boys before his passing in 2016. To see The Stanley Brothers recognized together, side by side, is incredibly meaningful for our family and a testament to a legacy that continues to live on through their music.”
“Everything good in my life has come from Country Music,” says McGraw. “From my best memories as a kid, to meeting my wife, to this music community, to the friendships I’ve made along the way. To represent Country Music at the highest level is the greatest honor anyone could bestow on me. I admit, I’ve imagined this moment many times through my career — worked towards it, thought of how I could be the kind of artist who was worthy of it. But my imagination didn’t do it justice. As I stand here, I’ll be the first to tell you I’m only worthy of it because it’s not mine alone. It also belongs to my family, to my team on and off the road, to the songwriters who trust me with their songs, to the musicians, the actors, the co-authors and to the many, many greats that came before me and taught me how it’s done. I am so honored.”
About the Inductees:
Songwriter Category – Paul Overstreet
Paul Overstreet was born March 17, 1955, in Newton, MS, to Mary Lela and William E. Overstreet. He was the youngest of five children. His father preached in small Baptist churches across Mississippi and Louisiana. When Overstreet was a small child, his family returned to his parents’ hometown, a small rural town in Vancleave, MS, where he would spend most of his growing-up years.
A few years later, at age six, his parents divorced. His dad moved to California and his mom stayed in Vancleave. Left with little to no money, his mother kept her family fed with government commodities. Connected to music through the church, Overstreet and his siblings all had musical talent, but his songwriting instinct came early. As a small child, Overstreet would stay home with his mother while the older kids went to school, listening to Country radio while she ironed.
“I would hear all these songs,” he told Songwriter Universe in 2022, “and I always felt like I knew some of the lines they were going to say next just because of the rhyming.” He could hear the architecture of Country songs before he could read. He loved the songs of Hank Williams, Sr., Marty Robbins, Johnny Horton, and of course, Elvis Presley.
Overstreet left Vancleave when he was a junior in high school to play quarterback in Prentiss, MS, where he lived with his oldest brother, Wiley. He formed a band there, performing locally. At the same time, he continued to sharpen his songwriting, looking to writers like Tom T. Hall and Creedence Clearwater Revival for inspiration. The teenage Overstreet pressed 300 copies of a 45 called “The Wanderer” and sold them for a dollar apiece at a local grocery store.
Graduating in 1973, he set out on his musical journey at just 18 years old. Leaving Mississippi behind, he moved to Waco, TX, where he lived with his older brother, Norman, and took a job as a mechanic at a construction company. Everything changed after he saw Tanya Tucker and Johnny Rodriguez perform in Waco. That night sparked something deeper. He quit his job and headed for Nashville. When he arrived, he had little money and few resources – sleeping in his car, on church pews and cleaning up at gas stations. But he remained persistent. Along the way, he met people like Bill Owens, who encouraged him to keep going and pursue the path he had chosen.
Eventually, Overstreet secured a publishing deal and earned his first charting single as both a songwriter and artist. His 1982 release “Beautiful Baby” peaked at No. 76. But that same year marked a turning point when George Jones recorded Overstreet’s “Same Ole Me,” with harmony vocals from the Oak Ridge Boys, taking the song to No. 5 on the Billboard Country chart. It was the first crack in the door.
That momentum led to another publishing opportunity with the then-little-known Writer’s Group, where he began collaborating with Thom Schuyler, Fred Knoblock and Dan Tyler. Those partnerships soon paid off, producing Overstreet’s first No. 1 hit, “I Fell in Love Again Last Night,” recorded by The Forester Sisters and written with Schuyler.
Things got even more interesting when Don Schlitz asked Overstreet if he would write with him. They were different from one another, yet they immediately clicked. Their partnership produced “On the Other Hand,” in which a married man tempted by another woman puts his wedding ring back on, a radical choice in a format built on cheating songs. Warner Bros. re-released the single in 1986 after an initial run stalled, and it became Randy Travis’ first No. 1, earning him the CMA and ACM Award for Song of the Year and launching one of the most important careers of the neotraditional era.
Overstreet was just getting started with Travis. He wrote “Diggin’ Up Bones,” Travis’ second No. 1, with Al Gore and Nat Stuckey, then reunited with Schlitz for “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Deeper Than the Holler,” giving Travis four No. 1 singles across three albums. “Forever and Ever, Amen” spent three weeks atop the Billboard Country chart in 1987 and won a CMA Award for Song of the Year and a GRAMMY for Best Country Song. The title phrase came from Schlitz’s young son, who had taken to reciting the Lord’s Prayer around the house.
Then came “When You Say Nothing at All.” Keith Whitley took it to No. 1 in 1988. Alison Krauss revived it to the Country Top 5 in 1995. It would go on to win CMA Single of the Year that same year. Four years later, Ronan Keating rode it to No. 1 in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand, and was certified double Platinum in the U.K. It was featured in the Notting Hill soundtrack, which boosted its international success. Three decades, three versions, three hits.
From 1987 to 1991, BMI named Overstreet its Country Songwriter of the Year five consecutive times. No one had done it before. No one has done it since. Travis and Whitley weren’t the only singers benefiting from Overstreet’s songs. He topped the Country charts with The Forester Sisters, Tucker, Marie Osmond, Paul Davis, Michael Martin Murphy, Ronnie Milsap, Kathy Matthea and The Judds, whose “Love Can Build a Bridge” earned him a second GRAMMY.
As an artist, he also found success at the top of the charts. As part of S-K-O, he earned a No. 1 hit with “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love,” a song he co-wrote with Schlitz and recorded alongside Tucker and Davis.
As a solo artist on RCA Nashville, his momentum continued. From his 1989 album Sowin’ Love, four of five singles reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Country chart. His follow-up album, Heroes, delivered three more Top 5 hits, including his solo No. 1, “Daddy’s Come Around.”
His crossover impact was equally significant. As both an artist and songwriter, he earned three Dove Awards: Country Recorded Song of the Year for “Seein’ My Father In Me” in 1991, Country Album of the Year for Love Is Strong in 1993, and Country Recorded Song of the Year for “There But For the Grace of God Go I” in 1994.
His range extended well beyond earnest balladry. In 1999, Overstreet and Jim Collins turned a trip to a farm supply co-op, during which his wife’s affections nearly caused a wreck, into “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” which Kenny Chesney took double-Platinum. Five years later, Overstreet and Rory Lee Feek turned a phonetic play on a Southern profanity into “Some Beach,” giving Blake Shelton his first No. 1 song in 2004. It held that spot for four weeks and would continue to spend 30 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart.
Overstreet met his future wife on Halloween night in 1984. After writing songs with Davis earlier that evening, the two stopped by a local hangout off Music Row, where Overstreet was introduced to a young woman dressed as Marilyn Monroe. They talked until closing, said goodnight and went their separate ways – no numbers exchanged, and names not even remembered.
Eleven days later, Overstreet arrived on the set of a TV pilot, The Nashville Skyline, and was sent to makeup. He struck up a conversation with the makeup artist, who soon asked if he remembered meeting “Marilyn Monroe” on Halloween.
He did. Overstreet married Julie Lu Miller in 1985 just two and a half months after their first meeting.
They later raised six children on a farm outside Nashville – Nash, Summer, Chord, Harmony, Skye and Charity. Today their family also includes sons-in-law Alex and Patrick and four grandsons: Langston, Gabriel, Bear and Woods.
Overstreet was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and his songs have since amassed more than 50 million U.S. broadcast performances. He still writes from the home studio on that farm outside Nashville, the place where the tractor that inspired a Kenny Chesney hit once sat, and where a preacher’s kid who would sleep in his car, built the life his songs described.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Overstreet continues to make his mark. He has three cuts on Billy Currington’s latest album, King Of The Road, and two songs on each of Zach Top’s last two projects, Cold Beer And Country Music and I Ain’t In It For My Health.
Veterans Era Artist Category – The Stanley Brothers
At a session for King Records in 1960, The Stanley Brothers recorded a version of Hank Ballard’s R&B smash, “Finger Poppin’ Time.” James Brown and his band, who just happened to be in the studio, added finger snaps on the record. It was an unlikely pairing — two mountain boys rooted in Primitive Baptist Church harmonies backed by the hardest-working man in show business, but it made a certain kind of sense: Like Brown, Carter and Ralph Stanley made music that hit you in the gut before it got to your head.
Born Aug. 27, 1925, in Dickenson County, VA, Carter Stanley and his younger brother Ralph, born Feb. 25, 1927, grew up on Smith Ridge, a remote stretch of the Clinch Mountains where their father, Lee, sang the old ballads without instrumental accompaniment. Their mother, Lucy, played the clawhammer banjo. The brothers listened to the Monroe Brothers, the Grand Ole Opry and the Carter Family on the radio, absorbing both traditional mountain music and the new style that would come to be called bluegrass.
After Ralph returned from Army service in 1946, the brothers formed the Clinch Mountain Boys and landed a spot on WCYB-AM radio in Bristol, VA, the town at the Tennessee border where the Carter Family had made its first recordings two decades before. Bristol would remain the Stanleys’ base for the next 12 years. They cut their first records in 1947 for the Rich-R-Tone label, then moved to Columbia Records, Mercury and King.
From the start, The Stanley Brothers’ sound set them apart from Bill Monroe’s. Where Monroe typically built his music around a duo, his own high tenor against a lead voice, Carter and Ralph added a third harmony part, creating a trio sound with roots less in professional performance than in shape-note church singing. Carter sang lead with a plainspoken directness that disguised how emotionally devastating his best songs could be. Ralph’s tenor rode above it, high and keening. “Dad couldn’t play a thing as far as an instrument,” Ralph told folklorist Mike Seeger in 1966, “but his voice was just the same as ours. He sang ‘Pretty Polly’ and ‘Man of Constant Sorrow.’ I guess that’s where we got what little singing we know.”
In 1958, as rock ‘n’ roll gutted the market for traditional Country Music, the brothers moved nearly a thousand miles south to Live Oak, FL, to headline the weekly Suwannee River Jamboree on WNER-AM. A sponsorship deal with Jim Walter Homes provided their most stable income yet and funded local TV shows across the state. In July 1959, they appeared at the inaugural Newport Folk Festival, where their music reached the young audiences that would soon embrace Bob Dylan. That September, the duo recorded a new version of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” — a song they’d first cut in 1950 — with Carter’s arrangement adding a distinctive vocal refrain around the verses. That arrangement planted the song in cultural soil where it took root for decades, reaching new audiences through the folk revival and, ultimately, a film that made it famous.
Carter Stanley was a gifted songwriter whose lyrics carried emotional weight with deceptive simplicity, but a decade of hard road travel and thin financial returns deepened an already serious problem with alcohol. On Dec. 1, 1966, he died of liver failure. He was 41.
Ralph kept the Clinch Mountain Boys going for another 50 years, recording for labels including Rebel and Freeland. As band leader, he mentored successive generations of bluegrass musicians. Among those who passed through the group as teenagers were Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, both of whom went on to reshape the sound of Country Music in the 1980s. The biggest stage of Ralph’s career arrived unexpectedly. His a cappella performance of “O Death” on the soundtrack to the 2000 Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou? introduced his voice to millions. The album won the CMA Award and GRAMMY for Album of the Year, while Ralph’s solo won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, making him, at 75, one of the oldest artists ever to receive the honor. Ralph Stanley died on June 23, 2016, at his Virginia home, not far from where he and Carter had grown up. He was 89.
Their music — fierce, mournful and rooted in the oldest traditions of the American mountains — has outlived the era that produced it by generations. The Stanleys never chased the mainstream. They didn’t have to. From King Records to Newport to O Brother, it kept finding them.
Modern Era Artist Category – Tim McGraw
For three decades, Tim McGraw has been one of the surest bets in Country Music. He has placed 49-plus No. 1 Country singles, sold more than 106 million records worldwide and sent 13 studio albums to the top of Billboard‘s Country Albums chart. Three singles, “It’s Your Love,” “Just to See You Smile” and “Live Like You Were Dying,” were named Billboard’s top Country song of their respective years, while “Something Like That” was the most played song of the decade – for every single genre. His “Soul2Soul” tours with Faith Hill rank among the highest-grossing concert packages in Country Music history.
But McGraw’s commercial musical dominance doesn’t fully explain his endurance and longevity. Across a catalog that runs from honky-tonk stompers like “I Like It, I Love It” to the contemplative weight of “Humble and Kind,” McGraw has let his music grow up alongside his audience. The party-hat cowboy of the mid-’90s gave way to a singer drawn to songs about mortality, fatherhood and second chances — without ever losing his connection to the crowd.
Samuel Timothy McGraw was born May 1, 1967, in Delhi, LA, and raised in nearby Start. He grew up believing his stepfather, truck driver Horace Smith, was his dad. At 11, he found a birth certificate in his mother’s closet that told a different story: his biological father was Tug McGraw, a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Tug denied parentage for seven years. When they finally connected, Tim changed his surname, and the identity he built became inseparable from the name he claimed. As McGraw has said, finding out that name gave him the confidence that he could accomplish bigger things.
McGraw attended Northeast Louisiana University in nearby Monroe on a baseball scholarship, majoring in pre-law, but a knee injury — and as he tells it, maybe a few inches in height — ended those plans. He traded his high school ring for a guitar at a pawn shop and started to teach himself to play by watching videos and looking at chords on music sheets. Eventually he began playing clubs around the college. A brief move to Florida only made McGraw more determined to get to Nashville. He attended a local concert by Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan. With only enough money for one picture, he picked musical hero Whitley and stood in the autograph line. He told Whitley he was a singer, and that he was moving to Nashville. Whitley wished him well and told him, “I’ll see you there.”
On May 9, 1989, McGraw arrived on a Greyhound bus in Nashville, the same day Whitley died. That same night at the other Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame Motor Inn, in what now looks like Nashville reaching out to meet McGraw, he heard “Indian Outlaw,” a song years later he would make his own. He spent two years singing in Printers Alley where Skull would slip him some bucks and tell him what nights somebody in the business was going to be there, so he needed to get down there. With the help of Tug, he got a meeting with Mike Borchetta at Curb Records in 1990, and a record deal followed. His self-titled 1993 debut album produced no Top 40 Country singles. McGraw often jokes that it didn’t go Platinum, it went “wood.”
When the label wanted him to stay the course, McGraw trusted his gut not the formula. He pulled out “Indian Outlaw” and other songs he had been collecting for his next album that he believed in. Not a Moment Too Soon changed the trajectory. The 1994 album topped both the Country and pop charts and became the year’s best-selling Country album due to the song he heard the first night he came to town, the controversy-courting novelty hit “Indian Outlaw.” His performance at Country Radio Seminar’s “New Faces” event of the single and the follow up, the emotionally resonant “Don’t Take the Girl,” proved he could hold an audience.
McGraw spent the next decade as one of Country radio’s most reliable hitmakers. He married fellow “New Faces” performer Hill on Oct. 6, 1996, and their duet “It’s Your Love” stormed to No. 1 and reached the pop Top 10 the following year. But it was a string of solo hits — “Something Like That,” “Where the Green Grass Grows,” “My Best Friend,” “The Cowboy in Me” and “Please Remember Me” — that established McGraw as the format’s commercial center of gravity, winning back to back CMA Album of the Year awards in 1998 and 1999. He became a dominant touring draw, filling arenas on his own before the “Soul2Soul” dates with Hill turned the couple into a stadium-level act.
In 2002, McGraw broke convention by recording Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors with his road band rather than Nashville session musicians, a move signaling broader ambitions. The album featured an Elton John cover and featured vocals from Kim Carnes, and fellow Eagles Timothy B. Schmidt and Don Henley.
Then came the record that redefined his career. Tug McGraw died of brain cancer on Jan. 5, 2004, at 59. McGraw had spent the final weeks at a cabin on his farm with Tug and Tug’s brother Hank, paying for experimental treatments and keeping vigil. Later that year, he recorded “Live Like You Were Dying,” a song written by Craig Wiseman and Tim Nichols about a man whose frightening diagnosis transforms how he lives. McGraw cut the vocal at three in the morning, with Tug’s brother Hank weeping on a couch nearby.
The song spent seven weeks at No. 1, won GRAMMYs for Best Country Song and Best Male Country Vocal Performance as well as the CMA Award for Single of the Year and the ACM Award for Single and Song of the Year. Its video closed with footage of Tug recording the final out of the 1980 World Series. During the 2008 baseball season, he scattered some of his father’s ashes at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
“Live Like You Were Dying” marked a permanent shift. The albums that followed leaned into songs about time, family and reckoning — “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” “My Old Friend,” “Southern Voice,” and “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s”— and McGraw’s audience followed him. His groundbreaking duet with hip-hop star Nelly, “Over and Over,” topped the pop charts for 11 weeks later that year. With Nelly, he crossed musical barriers, paving the way for other artists in Country Music to this day.
He moved from Curb Records to Big Machine Records in 2012 after a protracted legal battle, a fight that looked familiar to anyone who followed his career from the start. The change reinvigorated his output once more. “Humble and Kind,” a Lori McKenna-penned song for her family transitioned to a universal message that became a cultural moment in 2016. It showed McGraw could still find the song that defines a season. He continues topping the charts into his late 50s.
What sets McGraw apart from so many artists in music is the breadth of his career. He built a parallel career in film and television. He made his major film debut in Friday Night Lights in 2004 and took a supporting role in the Oscar-winning The Blind Side five years later. He starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in Country Strong and in the lead role in 1883, a Yellowstone prequel, alongside Hill and Sam Elliott, and somehow found the time to author a few bestselling books. With presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham, he co-wrote Songs of America, documenting the role music played in our history, which made The New York Times bestseller list.
His career totals — 11 CMA Awards and three GRAMMYs — tell the story of someone who stayed relevant without chasing trends. But the detail that may matter most is the one that started it all: a name on a birth certificate that had been crossed out, belonging to a boy in a small Louisiana town who spent the rest of his life making sure everyone knew exactly who he was.
Tyler Nance Celebrates ‘Midwest Memoir’ At Nashville Palace
/by Madison HahnenTyler Nance. Photo: Justin Mayotte
Tyler Nance celebrated his debut album Midwest Memoir with a release show at the Nashville Palace last night (March 19), delivering a confident, crowd-pleasing set that showcased both his songwriting depth and growing stage presence.
He opened with “Ain’t Getting Paid” and quickly settled into a groove, moving into “Hell If I Know,” where he balanced guitar work with harmonica. “Don’t Care At All” drew strong audience engagement, with the crowd clapping along and feeding off the band’s energy. From there, Nance leaned into the emotional core of the record with “Shovel,” “Under the Weather,” and “Bad News,” before delivering standout performances of “I’m Not Him” and “Whiskey Me or the Pain.”
Nance kept the momentum high with “Too Good to Be True,” before bringing out Karley Scott Collins for “Leave Me Alone.”
Karley Scott Collins & Tyler Nance. Photo: Justin Mayotte
Midway through the performance, the band temporarily exited, leaving Nance in a stripped-down setting with just a guitar player. This quieter segment, featuring “Beer Tabs,” “Liza Ann,” and “Sorrows,” highlighted his songwriting and vocal delivery, offering a more intimate connection with the audience.
When the full band returned, so did the energy. “Nothing’s What It Seems” with another guest appearance from Jackson Dean. Nance then introduced “Whitney Wants a Song,” performing it live for the first time.
Closing out the night, “Same Song and Dance” and “Here’s to Tomorrow” set the stage for the album’s title track, “Midwest Memoir,” before the final run of “Ways Away” and “Keeps Me Sane.” The latter, already a viral hit, brought the evening to a peak as the crowd sang along loudly, turning the performance into a shared moment of celebration.
Midwest Memoir dropped today (March 20) via Santa Anna Nashville. Nance will support Ian Munsick and Gavin Adcock on select dates this year, as well as make festival appearances at Cattle Country, Windy City Smokeout, Country Thunder Wisconsin, and more.
Jackson Dean & Tyler Nance. Photo: Justin Mayotte
Tyler Nance. Photo: Justin Mayotte
Industry Ink: Kane Brown, Gabby Barrett, Manhead Merch, ‘La Cara De La Música’
/by Lorie HollabaughKane Brown Appears On Bobby Bones’ ‘The Bobbycast’
Bobby Bones and Kane Brown
Kane Brown was a guest on Bobby Bones Presents: The Bobbycast yesterday, which is now airing on Netflix. During his visit he and Bones talked about not knowing he was bi-racial until he got called a racial slur in school, how he lost $10 million in a bad music deal, his new bar in Nashville and its Miami feel, his Top 5 songs to perform live for fans, and more.
Gabby Barrett Celebrates Platinum Milestones At CRS
Gabby Barrett and Cris Lacy, Chair & President, Warner Records Nashville. Photo: Kayla Schoen
Gabby Barrett took the stage at the annual Warner Records Nashville luncheon, where she delivered a powerful performance of “The Easy Part,” and also debuted a brand-new, unreleased song, setting the tone for what’s to come. Following the performance, Barrett’s team surprised her with news that two of her hits have reached Platinum status, as three-week No. 1 “The Good Ones” reached 5X Platinum and her record-breaking debut “I Hope” achieved 9X Platinum.
Jennifer Pirch Joins Manhead Merch
Jennifer Pirch
Jennifer Pirch has been named Vice President of Retail & Licensing at Manhead Merch. In her role, Pirch will lead global retail expansion and licensing strategy, with a focus on scaling distribution, entering new categories, and developing partnerships that extend artist IP into new consumer touchpoints. Pirch brings over 15 years of experience across music, entertainment, and consumer products, and previously held leadership roles at Apex Global Brands and Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandise and brand management division. Having started her career as a designer, she brings an end-to-end perspective across product development and dealmaking, with experience spanning toys, apparel, and multi-category licensing partnerships.
Univision Series ‘La Cara De La Música’ Hosts Private Nashville Media Screening
Rick Rodriguez, Founder of Cara Productions. Photo: Jake Blount
Media members and industry guests gathered recently at InDo Nashville for a private screening of the upcoming TV series La Cara De La Música, hosted by La Cara Productions. The bilingual series focused on Latin music, culture, and entertainment will premiere soon on Univision Nashville. Hosted by producer and creator Rick Rodriguez, La Cara De La Música (translated as “The Face of Music”) shines a spotlight on the artists, executives, and cultural leaders representing Nashville’s Latino community within the music industry. The show aims to celebrate the growing influence of Latin music and culture while highlighting the important role the Latino community plays in the broader entertainment landscape.
BREAKING: Tim McGraw, The Stanley Brothers & Paul Overstreet To Be Inducted Into Country Music Hall Of Fame
/by LB CantrellThis year’s inductees for the Country Music Hall of Fame were announced this morning (March 20). Paul Overstreet, The Stanley Brothers and Tim McGraw will join the prestigious Hall later this year.
Overstreet will be inducted into the Songwriter category, which is awarded every third year in rotation with the Non-Performer and Recording and/or Touring Musician categories. The Stanley Brothers will be inducted into the Veterans Era Artist category and McGraw will be inducted into the Modern Era Artist category.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Marty Stuart hosted the press conference to announce the news, which was also streamed live on CMA’s YouTube channel.
“Each year, this moment serves as a powerful reminder of the people whose passion and dedication have defined Country Music at its very best,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO. “As we welcome Tim McGraw, Paul Overstreet and The Stanley Brothers into the Country Music Hall of Fame, we celebrate not only their extraordinary achievements, but the lasting influence their music will have on future generations. It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to help recognize these legacies and share in this unforgettable milestone.”
“The new inductees each followed their own distinctive career paths, but they have one critical commonality: they have left an indelible mark on Country Music,” said Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO. “Louisiana native Tim McGraw has built a catalog of hits defined by emotionally resonant, thought-provoking songs, achieving more than 60 Top 10 Country hits, nearly 30 No. 1 Country singles, and a formidable acting career. Raised in Mississippi, hit songwriter Paul Overstreet has penned modern Country classics for numerous Country Music Hall of Fame members, as well embarking on a successful recording career of his own. Hailing from mountainous southwestern Virginia, the Stanley Brothers – Ralph and Carter – were a foundational act in bluegrass whose music has influenced generations of artists in a variety of genres. Now, they will permanently be enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame alongside their esteemed peers and fellow pioneers.”
“First of all, as a writer, sometimes we’re faced with the task of putting into words something there aren’t really words for,” says Overstreet. “But in this case, my writer instinct didn’t have the words at all. I was in a bit of shock – total surprise. When Sarah called, I was in the South China Sea, or the Gulf of Thailand on a boat and the words she spoke gave me such an amazing feeling. I was sitting at a table with 10 people, and I had to fight back tears. What an honor it is to be recognized for my work by such an iconic institution as the Country Music Hall of Fame. I realize now what my friends felt when they were told they were being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Wow… it still hasn’t completely hit me yet.”
“This moment is deeply personal for our entire family,” says the family of The Stanley Brothers. “Seeing Ralph and Carter – The Stanley Brothers – inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame is an extraordinary honor, and something we know would have meant so much to them. The fact that people around the world still love their music speaks to the heart and soul they poured into every recording and performance. Carter’s emotional lead combined with Ralph’s haunting tenor created a sound that was truly special. After Carter’s passing, Ralph carried on the music they began together, dedicating his life to preserving the spirit of traditional mountain music and sharing it with audiences everywhere through the Clinch Mountain Boys before his passing in 2016. To see The Stanley Brothers recognized together, side by side, is incredibly meaningful for our family and a testament to a legacy that continues to live on through their music.”
“Everything good in my life has come from Country Music,” says McGraw. “From my best memories as a kid, to meeting my wife, to this music community, to the friendships I’ve made along the way. To represent Country Music at the highest level is the greatest honor anyone could bestow on me. I admit, I’ve imagined this moment many times through my career — worked towards it, thought of how I could be the kind of artist who was worthy of it. But my imagination didn’t do it justice. As I stand here, I’ll be the first to tell you I’m only worthy of it because it’s not mine alone. It also belongs to my family, to my team on and off the road, to the songwriters who trust me with their songs, to the musicians, the actors, the co-authors and to the many, many greats that came before me and taught me how it’s done. I am so honored.”
About the Inductees:
Songwriter Category – Paul Overstreet
Paul Overstreet was born March 17, 1955, in Newton, MS, to Mary Lela and William E. Overstreet. He was the youngest of five children. His father preached in small Baptist churches across Mississippi and Louisiana. When Overstreet was a small child, his family returned to his parents’ hometown, a small rural town in Vancleave, MS, where he would spend most of his growing-up years.
A few years later, at age six, his parents divorced. His dad moved to California and his mom stayed in Vancleave. Left with little to no money, his mother kept her family fed with government commodities. Connected to music through the church, Overstreet and his siblings all had musical talent, but his songwriting instinct came early. As a small child, Overstreet would stay home with his mother while the older kids went to school, listening to Country radio while she ironed.
“I would hear all these songs,” he told Songwriter Universe in 2022, “and I always felt like I knew some of the lines they were going to say next just because of the rhyming.” He could hear the architecture of Country songs before he could read. He loved the songs of Hank Williams, Sr., Marty Robbins, Johnny Horton, and of course, Elvis Presley.
Overstreet left Vancleave when he was a junior in high school to play quarterback in Prentiss, MS, where he lived with his oldest brother, Wiley. He formed a band there, performing locally. At the same time, he continued to sharpen his songwriting, looking to writers like Tom T. Hall and Creedence Clearwater Revival for inspiration. The teenage Overstreet pressed 300 copies of a 45 called “The Wanderer” and sold them for a dollar apiece at a local grocery store.
Graduating in 1973, he set out on his musical journey at just 18 years old. Leaving Mississippi behind, he moved to Waco, TX, where he lived with his older brother, Norman, and took a job as a mechanic at a construction company. Everything changed after he saw Tanya Tucker and Johnny Rodriguez perform in Waco. That night sparked something deeper. He quit his job and headed for Nashville. When he arrived, he had little money and few resources – sleeping in his car, on church pews and cleaning up at gas stations. But he remained persistent. Along the way, he met people like Bill Owens, who encouraged him to keep going and pursue the path he had chosen.
Eventually, Overstreet secured a publishing deal and earned his first charting single as both a songwriter and artist. His 1982 release “Beautiful Baby” peaked at No. 76. But that same year marked a turning point when George Jones recorded Overstreet’s “Same Ole Me,” with harmony vocals from the Oak Ridge Boys, taking the song to No. 5 on the Billboard Country chart. It was the first crack in the door.
That momentum led to another publishing opportunity with the then-little-known Writer’s Group, where he began collaborating with Thom Schuyler, Fred Knoblock and Dan Tyler. Those partnerships soon paid off, producing Overstreet’s first No. 1 hit, “I Fell in Love Again Last Night,” recorded by The Forester Sisters and written with Schuyler.
Things got even more interesting when Don Schlitz asked Overstreet if he would write with him. They were different from one another, yet they immediately clicked. Their partnership produced “On the Other Hand,” in which a married man tempted by another woman puts his wedding ring back on, a radical choice in a format built on cheating songs. Warner Bros. re-released the single in 1986 after an initial run stalled, and it became Randy Travis’ first No. 1, earning him the CMA and ACM Award for Song of the Year and launching one of the most important careers of the neotraditional era.
Overstreet was just getting started with Travis. He wrote “Diggin’ Up Bones,” Travis’ second No. 1, with Al Gore and Nat Stuckey, then reunited with Schlitz for “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Deeper Than the Holler,” giving Travis four No. 1 singles across three albums. “Forever and Ever, Amen” spent three weeks atop the Billboard Country chart in 1987 and won a CMA Award for Song of the Year and a GRAMMY for Best Country Song. The title phrase came from Schlitz’s young son, who had taken to reciting the Lord’s Prayer around the house.
Then came “When You Say Nothing at All.” Keith Whitley took it to No. 1 in 1988. Alison Krauss revived it to the Country Top 5 in 1995. It would go on to win CMA Single of the Year that same year. Four years later, Ronan Keating rode it to No. 1 in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand, and was certified double Platinum in the U.K. It was featured in the Notting Hill soundtrack, which boosted its international success. Three decades, three versions, three hits.
From 1987 to 1991, BMI named Overstreet its Country Songwriter of the Year five consecutive times. No one had done it before. No one has done it since. Travis and Whitley weren’t the only singers benefiting from Overstreet’s songs. He topped the Country charts with The Forester Sisters, Tucker, Marie Osmond, Paul Davis, Michael Martin Murphy, Ronnie Milsap, Kathy Matthea and The Judds, whose “Love Can Build a Bridge” earned him a second GRAMMY.
As an artist, he also found success at the top of the charts. As part of S-K-O, he earned a No. 1 hit with “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love,” a song he co-wrote with Schlitz and recorded alongside Tucker and Davis.
As a solo artist on RCA Nashville, his momentum continued. From his 1989 album Sowin’ Love, four of five singles reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Country chart. His follow-up album, Heroes, delivered three more Top 5 hits, including his solo No. 1, “Daddy’s Come Around.”
His crossover impact was equally significant. As both an artist and songwriter, he earned three Dove Awards: Country Recorded Song of the Year for “Seein’ My Father In Me” in 1991, Country Album of the Year for Love Is Strong in 1993, and Country Recorded Song of the Year for “There But For the Grace of God Go I” in 1994.
His range extended well beyond earnest balladry. In 1999, Overstreet and Jim Collins turned a trip to a farm supply co-op, during which his wife’s affections nearly caused a wreck, into “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” which Kenny Chesney took double-Platinum. Five years later, Overstreet and Rory Lee Feek turned a phonetic play on a Southern profanity into “Some Beach,” giving Blake Shelton his first No. 1 song in 2004. It held that spot for four weeks and would continue to spend 30 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart.
Overstreet met his future wife on Halloween night in 1984. After writing songs with Davis earlier that evening, the two stopped by a local hangout off Music Row, where Overstreet was introduced to a young woman dressed as Marilyn Monroe. They talked until closing, said goodnight and went their separate ways – no numbers exchanged, and names not even remembered.
Eleven days later, Overstreet arrived on the set of a TV pilot, The Nashville Skyline, and was sent to makeup. He struck up a conversation with the makeup artist, who soon asked if he remembered meeting “Marilyn Monroe” on Halloween.
He did. Overstreet married Julie Lu Miller in 1985 just two and a half months after their first meeting.
They later raised six children on a farm outside Nashville – Nash, Summer, Chord, Harmony, Skye and Charity. Today their family also includes sons-in-law Alex and Patrick and four grandsons: Langston, Gabriel, Bear and Woods.
Overstreet was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and his songs have since amassed more than 50 million U.S. broadcast performances. He still writes from the home studio on that farm outside Nashville, the place where the tractor that inspired a Kenny Chesney hit once sat, and where a preacher’s kid who would sleep in his car, built the life his songs described.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Overstreet continues to make his mark. He has three cuts on Billy Currington’s latest album, King Of The Road, and two songs on each of Zach Top’s last two projects, Cold Beer And Country Music and I Ain’t In It For My Health.
Veterans Era Artist Category – The Stanley Brothers
At a session for King Records in 1960, The Stanley Brothers recorded a version of Hank Ballard’s R&B smash, “Finger Poppin’ Time.” James Brown and his band, who just happened to be in the studio, added finger snaps on the record. It was an unlikely pairing — two mountain boys rooted in Primitive Baptist Church harmonies backed by the hardest-working man in show business, but it made a certain kind of sense: Like Brown, Carter and Ralph Stanley made music that hit you in the gut before it got to your head.
Born Aug. 27, 1925, in Dickenson County, VA, Carter Stanley and his younger brother Ralph, born Feb. 25, 1927, grew up on Smith Ridge, a remote stretch of the Clinch Mountains where their father, Lee, sang the old ballads without instrumental accompaniment. Their mother, Lucy, played the clawhammer banjo. The brothers listened to the Monroe Brothers, the Grand Ole Opry and the Carter Family on the radio, absorbing both traditional mountain music and the new style that would come to be called bluegrass.
After Ralph returned from Army service in 1946, the brothers formed the Clinch Mountain Boys and landed a spot on WCYB-AM radio in Bristol, VA, the town at the Tennessee border where the Carter Family had made its first recordings two decades before. Bristol would remain the Stanleys’ base for the next 12 years. They cut their first records in 1947 for the Rich-R-Tone label, then moved to Columbia Records, Mercury and King.
From the start, The Stanley Brothers’ sound set them apart from Bill Monroe’s. Where Monroe typically built his music around a duo, his own high tenor against a lead voice, Carter and Ralph added a third harmony part, creating a trio sound with roots less in professional performance than in shape-note church singing. Carter sang lead with a plainspoken directness that disguised how emotionally devastating his best songs could be. Ralph’s tenor rode above it, high and keening. “Dad couldn’t play a thing as far as an instrument,” Ralph told folklorist Mike Seeger in 1966, “but his voice was just the same as ours. He sang ‘Pretty Polly’ and ‘Man of Constant Sorrow.’ I guess that’s where we got what little singing we know.”
In 1958, as rock ‘n’ roll gutted the market for traditional Country Music, the brothers moved nearly a thousand miles south to Live Oak, FL, to headline the weekly Suwannee River Jamboree on WNER-AM. A sponsorship deal with Jim Walter Homes provided their most stable income yet and funded local TV shows across the state. In July 1959, they appeared at the inaugural Newport Folk Festival, where their music reached the young audiences that would soon embrace Bob Dylan. That September, the duo recorded a new version of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” — a song they’d first cut in 1950 — with Carter’s arrangement adding a distinctive vocal refrain around the verses. That arrangement planted the song in cultural soil where it took root for decades, reaching new audiences through the folk revival and, ultimately, a film that made it famous.
Carter Stanley was a gifted songwriter whose lyrics carried emotional weight with deceptive simplicity, but a decade of hard road travel and thin financial returns deepened an already serious problem with alcohol. On Dec. 1, 1966, he died of liver failure. He was 41.
Ralph kept the Clinch Mountain Boys going for another 50 years, recording for labels including Rebel and Freeland. As band leader, he mentored successive generations of bluegrass musicians. Among those who passed through the group as teenagers were Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, both of whom went on to reshape the sound of Country Music in the 1980s. The biggest stage of Ralph’s career arrived unexpectedly. His a cappella performance of “O Death” on the soundtrack to the 2000 Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou? introduced his voice to millions. The album won the CMA Award and GRAMMY for Album of the Year, while Ralph’s solo won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, making him, at 75, one of the oldest artists ever to receive the honor. Ralph Stanley died on June 23, 2016, at his Virginia home, not far from where he and Carter had grown up. He was 89.
Their music — fierce, mournful and rooted in the oldest traditions of the American mountains — has outlived the era that produced it by generations. The Stanleys never chased the mainstream. They didn’t have to. From King Records to Newport to O Brother, it kept finding them.
Modern Era Artist Category – Tim McGraw
For three decades, Tim McGraw has been one of the surest bets in Country Music. He has placed 49-plus No. 1 Country singles, sold more than 106 million records worldwide and sent 13 studio albums to the top of Billboard‘s Country Albums chart. Three singles, “It’s Your Love,” “Just to See You Smile” and “Live Like You Were Dying,” were named Billboard’s top Country song of their respective years, while “Something Like That” was the most played song of the decade – for every single genre. His “Soul2Soul” tours with Faith Hill rank among the highest-grossing concert packages in Country Music history.
But McGraw’s commercial musical dominance doesn’t fully explain his endurance and longevity. Across a catalog that runs from honky-tonk stompers like “I Like It, I Love It” to the contemplative weight of “Humble and Kind,” McGraw has let his music grow up alongside his audience. The party-hat cowboy of the mid-’90s gave way to a singer drawn to songs about mortality, fatherhood and second chances — without ever losing his connection to the crowd.
Samuel Timothy McGraw was born May 1, 1967, in Delhi, LA, and raised in nearby Start. He grew up believing his stepfather, truck driver Horace Smith, was his dad. At 11, he found a birth certificate in his mother’s closet that told a different story: his biological father was Tug McGraw, a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Tug denied parentage for seven years. When they finally connected, Tim changed his surname, and the identity he built became inseparable from the name he claimed. As McGraw has said, finding out that name gave him the confidence that he could accomplish bigger things.
McGraw attended Northeast Louisiana University in nearby Monroe on a baseball scholarship, majoring in pre-law, but a knee injury — and as he tells it, maybe a few inches in height — ended those plans. He traded his high school ring for a guitar at a pawn shop and started to teach himself to play by watching videos and looking at chords on music sheets. Eventually he began playing clubs around the college. A brief move to Florida only made McGraw more determined to get to Nashville. He attended a local concert by Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan. With only enough money for one picture, he picked musical hero Whitley and stood in the autograph line. He told Whitley he was a singer, and that he was moving to Nashville. Whitley wished him well and told him, “I’ll see you there.”
On May 9, 1989, McGraw arrived on a Greyhound bus in Nashville, the same day Whitley died. That same night at the other Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame Motor Inn, in what now looks like Nashville reaching out to meet McGraw, he heard “Indian Outlaw,” a song years later he would make his own. He spent two years singing in Printers Alley where Skull would slip him some bucks and tell him what nights somebody in the business was going to be there, so he needed to get down there. With the help of Tug, he got a meeting with Mike Borchetta at Curb Records in 1990, and a record deal followed. His self-titled 1993 debut album produced no Top 40 Country singles. McGraw often jokes that it didn’t go Platinum, it went “wood.”
When the label wanted him to stay the course, McGraw trusted his gut not the formula. He pulled out “Indian Outlaw” and other songs he had been collecting for his next album that he believed in. Not a Moment Too Soon changed the trajectory. The 1994 album topped both the Country and pop charts and became the year’s best-selling Country album due to the song he heard the first night he came to town, the controversy-courting novelty hit “Indian Outlaw.” His performance at Country Radio Seminar’s “New Faces” event of the single and the follow up, the emotionally resonant “Don’t Take the Girl,” proved he could hold an audience.
McGraw spent the next decade as one of Country radio’s most reliable hitmakers. He married fellow “New Faces” performer Hill on Oct. 6, 1996, and their duet “It’s Your Love” stormed to No. 1 and reached the pop Top 10 the following year. But it was a string of solo hits — “Something Like That,” “Where the Green Grass Grows,” “My Best Friend,” “The Cowboy in Me” and “Please Remember Me” — that established McGraw as the format’s commercial center of gravity, winning back to back CMA Album of the Year awards in 1998 and 1999. He became a dominant touring draw, filling arenas on his own before the “Soul2Soul” dates with Hill turned the couple into a stadium-level act.
In 2002, McGraw broke convention by recording Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors with his road band rather than Nashville session musicians, a move signaling broader ambitions. The album featured an Elton John cover and featured vocals from Kim Carnes, and fellow Eagles Timothy B. Schmidt and Don Henley.
Then came the record that redefined his career. Tug McGraw died of brain cancer on Jan. 5, 2004, at 59. McGraw had spent the final weeks at a cabin on his farm with Tug and Tug’s brother Hank, paying for experimental treatments and keeping vigil. Later that year, he recorded “Live Like You Were Dying,” a song written by Craig Wiseman and Tim Nichols about a man whose frightening diagnosis transforms how he lives. McGraw cut the vocal at three in the morning, with Tug’s brother Hank weeping on a couch nearby.
The song spent seven weeks at No. 1, won GRAMMYs for Best Country Song and Best Male Country Vocal Performance as well as the CMA Award for Single of the Year and the ACM Award for Single and Song of the Year. Its video closed with footage of Tug recording the final out of the 1980 World Series. During the 2008 baseball season, he scattered some of his father’s ashes at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
“Live Like You Were Dying” marked a permanent shift. The albums that followed leaned into songs about time, family and reckoning — “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” “My Old Friend,” “Southern Voice,” and “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s”— and McGraw’s audience followed him. His groundbreaking duet with hip-hop star Nelly, “Over and Over,” topped the pop charts for 11 weeks later that year. With Nelly, he crossed musical barriers, paving the way for other artists in Country Music to this day.
He moved from Curb Records to Big Machine Records in 2012 after a protracted legal battle, a fight that looked familiar to anyone who followed his career from the start. The change reinvigorated his output once more. “Humble and Kind,” a Lori McKenna-penned song for her family transitioned to a universal message that became a cultural moment in 2016. It showed McGraw could still find the song that defines a season. He continues topping the charts into his late 50s.
What sets McGraw apart from so many artists in music is the breadth of his career. He built a parallel career in film and television. He made his major film debut in Friday Night Lights in 2004 and took a supporting role in the Oscar-winning The Blind Side five years later. He starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in Country Strong and in the lead role in 1883, a Yellowstone prequel, alongside Hill and Sam Elliott, and somehow found the time to author a few bestselling books. With presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham, he co-wrote Songs of America, documenting the role music played in our history, which made The New York Times bestseller list.
His career totals — 11 CMA Awards and three GRAMMYs — tell the story of someone who stayed relevant without chasing trends. But the detail that may matter most is the one that started it all: a name on a birth certificate that had been crossed out, belonging to a boy in a small Louisiana town who spent the rest of his life making sure everyone knew exactly who he was.
Keith Urban Honored With St. Jude Angels Among Us Award
/by Lorie HollabaughRandy Owen, patient Faith and Keith Urban. Photo: Kayla Schoen / CRS
Keith Urban received The Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award yesterday (March 19) at CRS in Nashville for his outstanding commitment and service to the mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
During the St. Jude program at CRS, iHeartCountry Brand Coordinator/SVPP Gator Harrison interviewed Urban about the importance of his support for St. Jude throughout his career. After the discussion, Owen surprised Urban with the award, having made the first call to his fellow artists in 1989 to rally around St. Jude from the stages of CRS. St. Jude patient Faith was in attendance to help Owen present the award to Urban.
“Being recognized with the Angels Among Us Award is not something I take lightly,” says Urban. “I’ve witnessed the courage shown by the children and families at St. Jude for more than 20 years, and it never ceases to amaze me. By standing together, we’ve been able to help St. Jude continue advancing research and treatment for children around the world with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is an absolute honor to stand behind a mission this meaningful.”
Urban has supported St. Jude for more than 20 years and began visiting the hospital in 1998. In 2015, St. Jude named him the founding Artist Ambassador of the Connected Caring program, connecting Urban and patients to share personal stories and a love for music. Over the years, Urban has participated in countless benefit concerts, radiothons, livestreams, St. Jude marketing campaigns, a special album release and meet-and-greets with St. Jude patients.
“Country music has a long and meaningful history of supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Keith Urban stands among our most enduring champions,” says Ike Anand, President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. “We are grateful to Keith and the country music community for their continued commitment to the St. Jude mission. Thanks to the generosity of artists like Keith and Randy Owen, St. Jude is able to advance lifesaving research and treatment while also bringing moments of joy and comfort to patients and families through the power of music.”
Music Gives to St. Jude Kids helps to raise more than $70 million annually to accelerate research and treatment by St. Jude to help children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The program unites more than 350 radio and music partners in the shared mission.
Jordan Davis Secures The No. 1 Position On The MusicRow Radio Chart
/by John Nix ArledgeJordan Davis secures the top spot on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart this week with his latest hit, “Turn This Truck Around.”
The track, off of his 2025 album Learn The Hard Way, was written by Davis, Devin Dawson, Jake Mitchell and Josh Thompson.
Davis is currently on the road in Australia through the end of the month, with a stop in Perth, WA, on March 28 before he heads back to the States
“Turn This Truck Around” currently sits at No. 20 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and No. 12 Mediabase chart.
Click here to view the latest edition of the MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.
The Core Entertainment Adds Sarah Pfeiffer & Gabriella Pulley
/by Lauryn SinkSarah Pfeiffer & Gabriella Pulley
The Core Entertainment has added Sarah Pfeiffer and Gabriella Pulley. Both will report to The Core Entertainment’s CEOs and Co-Founders, Simon Tikhman and Chief Zaruk, and will be based in The Core’s Nashville offices.
Pfeiffer joins the company as Head of Marketing. She arrives from Columbia Records, where she spent eight years working across campaigns for artists including Harry Styles, Ella Langley, ROSALÍA, Tyler, The Creator, blink-182, The Chainsmokers, Koe Wetzel, Max McNown and Alana Springsteen. In her new role, she will oversee marketing for The Core Entertainment’s roster of artists, with a focus on The Core Records which includes Baylee Lynn, Brandon Wisham and more.
“Throughout my career, I’ve discovered a deep passion for developing artists,” says Pfeiffer. “I feel truly at home here at The Core and am excited to step into this role—continuing to grow our team and craft innovative, intentional, and competitive marketing campaigns that help our artists elevate their music and expand their fan bases.”
Pulley joins The Core Entertainment as Chief of Staff. Pulley most recently served as day-to-day manager at 7s Management, where she worked with Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, including through the band’s Madison Square Garden sellout. Earlier in her career, she oversaw day-to-day management throughout Zach Bryan’s rise from theaters to arenas and stadiums. In her new role, Pulley will work across management, records, partnerships and company operations, helping support the next phase of The Core’s expansion.
“I’m thrilled to join a company that prioritizes investing not only in its artists but also in the people behind them,” shares Pulley. “The leadership team is one of the most experienced and forward-thinking groups I’ve had the opportunity to work with. The Core has an exciting road ahead, and I’m honored to be part of a team building what we believe will be a lasting impact on the industry.”
“We’re really excited to welcome Sarah and Gabriella to The Core,” adds Tikhman and Zaruk, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of The Core Entertainment. “Sarah is an incredibly sharp and thoughtful marketing executive who really understands how to build campaigns around artists in a meaningful way, and Gabriella brings a level of organization, leadership and calm that is so valuable as a company grows. Just as importantly, they’re both great people, and culture matters a lot to us. We’ve been very intentional about building this team, and these are the kind of hires that make us better.”
Jacob Hackworth Signs With MCA
/by Lauryn SinkPictured (L-R): Rob Femia (MCA), Sam Shelton, Jacob Hackworth, Stephanie Wright (MCA), Katie McCartney (MCA), Mike Harris (MCA) and Kos Weaver (Goat Island).
Jacob Hackworth has signed to MCA in collaboration with Goat Island Sound.
The West Plains, Missouri native has amassed more than one billion streams in 2025 alone. He signed a publishing deal in 2022 and has since attained roughly 60 major label cuts and notched two No. 1s. He launched his artist career in 2025 with three songs including “When I Don’t,” “You Ain’t” and “Bad As I Do.” In celebration of the announcement, Hackworth released his new single “What Took You So Long” today.
“Getting to know the MCA team while on the Tucker (Wetmore) tour, it quickly became clear they were the right fit—not just as a label, but as people I genuinely connect with. I’m incredibly excited for what lies ahead and grateful to have them on my team as we build this next chapter together,” shares Hackworth. “When I moved to Nashville, my goal was to earn a record deal—without fully understanding how difficult that would be. I dove deep into songwriting along the way but this moment was always what I was working toward, now that it’s happening I’m honestly a little speechless. I don’t know how to explain the excitement, gratitude, motivation and all of the other feelings I have right now. It also isn’t lost on me that, of the hundreds of songs I’ve written, my first radio single was inspired by the breakup that drove me to Nashville. Life has a funny way of working out.”
“Jacob is the kind of artist that reminds you why Nashville works the way it does,” says Mike Harris, President & CEO of MCA. “He came here chasing a dream, put in the work as a songwriter, and built a reputation the old-fashioned way—one great song at a time. When you combine that level of craft with a voice and presence like his, you know there’s something special happening. We’re thrilled to welcome Jacob to the MCA family as we help bring his next chapter to life.”
“Jacob is a power house creative force. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with the passionate and formidable people that are MCA,” adds Kos Weaver, Founder, Goat Island Sound.
Hackworth is currently on his first-ever radio tour and will pick up his third leg on tour with Tucker Wetmore this summer.
He is signed to Goat Island for management and The Neal Agency for booking.
Kenny Chesney To Perform Exclusive Show At Flora-Bama
/by Lauryn SinkKenny Chesney. Photo: Allister Ann
Kenny Chesney will perform an exclusive show at Flora-Bama on April 18 with SiriusXM.
The intimate show celebrates 10 years of Chesney’s exclusive SiriusXM channel, No Shoes Radio. Curated and presented by Chesney, the channel features music from himself, his favorite artists across multiple musical genres, live performances, backstage moments and more. To further celebrate, No Shoes Radio will feature daily re-broadcasts of past live concerts, exclusive SiriusXM events with fans, and best-of highlights from Chesney’s summer tours over the coming months.
“We started No Shoes Radio on the internet as a something fun to do, a place to play that special cocktail of reggae, rock, country and more,” says Chesney. “When SiriusXM embraced what we were doing, it opened up a whole other portal for people who live in these songs. After ten years, we needed to do something that captured the sea salt, the joy and all the memories in our music. What better place than inside the Flora-Bama?”
“Kenny Chesney has built something truly special with No Shoes Radio over the past ten years. It’s more than a channel, it’s a community that captures the spirit of his music and the connection he has with his fans,” adds Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer. “Celebrating a decade of No Shoes Radio on SiriusXM with a concert in Flora-Bama, a place that embodies that same laid-back, coastal energy, feels like the perfect way to mark this milestone.”
SiriusXM subscribers can enter for a chance to win a trip to the concert here.
DISClaimer Single Reviews: Luke Combs Delivers ‘Soulful Vocal Performance’
/by Robert K OermannLuke Combs. Photo: Robby Klein
The stars are out in DISClaimer today.
Esteemed veterans Willie Nelson, Jo Dee Messina and Vince Gill are snuggled up with Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson and Gabby Barrett in this edition.
Big voice, big award winner Luke Combs claims the Disc of the Day award.
Alas, we have no first-timers in the column today. That’s what happens when everyone is already twinkling to brightly.
CLAY STREET UNIT / “Left Unsaid”
Writers: Sam Walker/Scottie Bolin; Producer: Chris Pandolfi; Label: Leo33
– A troubled relationship, set to stuttering steel, rippling banjo, scampering mandolin and brushed drumming. Hearty and bluegrassy and ultimately listenable. Also check out the road-weary “Drive” from this Colorado band’s album Sin & Squalor.
JO DEE MESSINA / “Some Bridges”
Writers: Jo Dee Messina/Kat Higgins/James T. Slater; Producer: David Spencer; Label: Dreambound Records
– Messina’s comeback album after a 10-year silence is heralded via this fierce single. In the wake of a failed romance, she sings, “Some bridges are meant to build; some bridges are meant to burn.” It’s a spitfire performance and a welcome return. Sing on, sister.
LUKE COMBS / “I Ain’t No Cowboy”
Writers: Cody Johnson/Jake Mears/Luke Combs; Producers: Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton, Luke Combs; Label: Seven Ridges Records/Columbia Nashville
– She’s left him in a cloud of dust. Combs delvers one of his most soulful vocal performances to date in this yearning ballad of regret. Torrid, believable and gripping. This is a superstar at the peak of his powers. The song comes from his sixth album, The Way I Am, which drops tomorrow (March 20).
LAINEY WILSON / “Can’t Sit Still”
Writers: Aslan Freeman/Dallas Wilson/Lainey Wilson/Trannie Anderson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Label: Broken Bow Records
– Wilson rocks out on this feisty, fresh tempo tune. The production is somewhat too “busy,” with layers of processed, overdubbed vocal sounds.
ALEX MILLER & EMILY ANN ROBERTS / “More Country Than You”
Writers: Alex Miller/Bill Whyte/Emily Ann Roberts; Producer: Jerry Salley; Label: Billy Jam Records
– The title tune of Miller’s upcoming CD is a bopping retro ditty. It’s also totally cute, with him swapping hillbilly boasts with co-writer Roberts. As the title suggests, this Kentucky wonder is wonderfully C-O-U-N-T-R-Y whenever and whatever he sings.
WILLIE NELSON / “Dream Chaser”
Writers: Bobby Tomberlin/Buddy Cannon/Willie Nelson; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Label: Legacy Recordings
– The living legend is gearing up to release his 79th (!) album this spring. Its title tune marries his gentle, world-weary vocal delivery with a gorgeous, rolling, evocative production by Cannon. I was thoroughly enthralled, and it really made my heart feel good. Also on the collection will be a Willie/Buddy/Bob Dylan co-write and a revival of the 1966 George Jones goldie “Developing My Pictures.” Can’t wait.
BRIT TAYLOR / “Around and Around”
Writers: Adam Chaffins/Adam Wright/Brit Taylor; Producer: Adam Chaffins; Label: Cut A Shine Records
– This former Discovery Award winner remains a peerless Appalachian stylist. Taylor issued her new Land of the Forgotten LP this month, and that’s where you’ll find this terrific twang fest. In addition to being wildly catchy, the country-rocker paints a portrait of a dead-end, working-class existence that she vows to escape. This is an absolutely essential country artist. Buy her on vinyl now.
ALEX HALL & MAE ESTES / “We Should Probably Stop Here”
Writers: Alex Hall/Clara Park; Producer: Pete Good; Label: Yeehall Records/Blue Harbor Music
– They’re trapped in a relationship that neither one can quit. Both sing splendidly, and they’ll perform their duet live for the first time on the Opry next Tuesday (March 24). They’ll also perform in the round at Anzie Blue during the Tin Pan South festival next Friday (March 27).
BRIAN KELLEY / “The Queen of 30A”
Writers: Chase McGill/Cole Taylor/Michael Carter/Shane Minor; Producer: Katlin Owen; Label: BK
– The former FGL member adopts a beach-y groove in this sunny romance. Jaunty and bopping.
LOCASH / “Wrong Hearts”
Writers: Chris Lucas/Josh Thompson/Matt Dragstrem/Preston Brust; Producer: Jacob Rice; Label: LOCASH
– He’s been in all the wrong bars, made all the bad decisions and took all the wrong turns on his way to her. Smooth and classy country.
GABBY BARRETT / “The Easy Part”
Writers: Gabby Barrett/Jon Nite/Michael Hardy/Zach Abend; Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Abend, Zach Kale; Label: Warner Records Nashville
– Her throaty vocal is super compelling as she describes a crumbling relationship. She warns him that leaving is the easy part and that living without her will be tougher than he thinks. A churning, echoey production supports her at every turn. Nicely done.
VINCE GILL / “Lonely’s What I Do”
Writers: Belle Frantz/Sharon Vaughn/Vince Gill; Producer: Vince Gill; Label: MCA
– Exquisitely sad and reflective. We all love the songs that evoke that “Born to Lose” vibe. Someone’s leavin,’ someone’s cheatin,’ someone’s crying, someone’s driving. Ache in every country note. I will go to my grave loving this man’s music.
ASHLAND CRAFT / “Yard Sale”
Writers: Ashland Craft/Kasey Tyndall/Lee Starr; Producers: Jess Grommet, Lee Starr; Label: Leo33
– She’s getting rid of all his stuff, and she’s selling it cheap. Rollicking and sassy. Ashley McBryde and Mae Estes provide vocal harmonies.
CRS 2026 Day One: ‘Y’all Means All,’ Cycle of A Song, CRS Honors, More
/by Lauryn SinkCountry Radio Seminar kicked off Wednesday (March 19) at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Below are some of the highlights from yesterday’s programming.
‘Y’all Means All: Expanding The Audience’ Kicks Off CRS Week
Photo: Courtesy of CRS
CRS 2026 kicked off yesterday with the “Y’all Means All: Expanding The Audience” breakfast. Moderated by Amber Anderson, the event featured Al Farb, Ty Herndon, James Marsh and MŌRIAH.
Streaming Experts Share Findings On Teen Music Listeners
Photo: Courtesy of CRS
CMA presented findings from its recently completed teen-focused research study, a custom project designed to better understand the next generation of country music listeners. Following the data presentation, a panel composed of radio and streaming programmers, as well as Conner Smith, discussed the future audience pipeline for the genre.
‘Cycle of A Song’ Highlights ‘Single Again’
Photo: Courtesy of CRS
As part of the “Cycle of A Song” series, Wednesday’s session focused on Josh Ross‘ chart-topper “Single Again.” Panelists Damon Moberly, Julia Robert, Jackie Augustus, Tracy Martin, Julie Adam and Justin Cole joined Ross to explain the journey the song took to become a hit, showcasing the vital roles social media, streaming platforms, radio play and touring can play in building an artist’s audience.
Warner Music Nashville Luncheon
Photo: Courtesy of CRS
CRS attendees enjoyed lunch and good music at the Warner Music Nashville Luncheon. This year’s edition featured performances from Ashley McBryde, Blake Whiten, Gabby Barrett, The Band Loula and The Creekers.
CRS Honors Recognizes Industry Professionals
Photo: Courtesy of CRS
The Country Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2026 were announced during CRS Honors. This year’s honorees include Chris Carr, Michael J, Rick Jackson, Marci Braun, Phil Hunt, Bruce Logan and John Marks. CRS also presented four prestigious scholarships during the event, including the Rusty Walker Scholarship, the Lisa McKay Women in Radio Scholarship and the Whitney Allen “Hot Mic” Scholarship.
The event featured performances from Frank Ray and HARDY, and Parker McCollum joined to help unveil the honorees.
Amazon Music Presents ‘Country Heat’ at CRS 2026
Photo: Courtesy of CRS
To end the Digital Music Summit on day one of CRS, Amazon Music brought the party of their “Country Heat” show. Attendees were treated to music from headliner Parker McCollum along with Max McNown, Carter Faith and Zach John King.