Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum Hosts Musician Spotlight With Mac McAnally

Singer-songwriter Mac McAnally participated in a Musician Spotlight program at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Sept. 13.

During Musician Spotlights, artists perform, share inside stories and discuss their creative process and technique. McAnally is a 10-time CMA Musician of the Year. Kenny Chesney has recorded two tracks from McAnally’s 1990 album, Simple Life including “Back Where I Come From” and “Down the Road,” a duet with McAnally. He also penned “All These Years” and “Thank God for You” for Sawyer Brown, “Old Flame” for Alabama and “Two Dozen Roses” for Shenandoah. He is also a longtime member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band.

 

Joe Nichols Celebrates Triple Platinum Certification For ‘Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off’ At Billy Bob’s Texas

Joe Nichols was recently surprised with a plaque celebrating the Triple Platinum certification of his No. 1 hit “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” at his show at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth. The song has surpassed three million in sales, and rose to No. 1 on both the Billboard Country Airplay Chart and the Radio & Records Country National Airplay Chart.

Nichols, whose catalogue recently surpassed three billion streams, continues to climb the charts with his latest single “Say La V,” which earned Nichols the biggest radio impact date of his career.

 

Bobby Bones, Dollar General & iHeartRadio Give Back To Mountain Pine School District

Bobby Bones, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and iHeartRadio recently visited Bones’ hometown in Mountain Pine, Arkansas to give back to his former schools in the Mountain Pine School District during National Literacy Month in September. The event included a surprise $50,000 donation from Dollar General’s Reading Revolution program, which may be used to purchase books, technology programs, computers and education supplies or resources needed to advance literacy gains. Bobby Bones and iHeartRadio provided more than 700 free new books for students’ personal libraries. Additional donations included DG gift cards for supplies and materials for all teachers and staff from Dollar General as well as a copy of Bones’ children’s book, Stanley The Dog: The First Day of School for each elementary student and a copy of Bones’ bestselling motivational memoir, Fail Until You Don’t: Fight. Grind. Repeat for all Mountain Pine High School students.

“Growing up in Mountain Pine, books and education gave me the opportunity to believe bigger things were possible,” says Bones. “Every student deserves that same chance. Being able to come back home, put books into students hands and help invest in these schools means a lot. I’m grateful to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and iHeartRadio for joining me in supporting the next generation of kids in Mountain Pine.”

 

The Listening Room Launches New Sunday Singin’ Faith-Based Series

The Listening Room is hosting a new monthly “Sunday Singin‘” series. The event is centered around sharing hymns and messages of faith. The first installment, hosted by Rebecca Lynn Howard, will feature Tommy Sims and Chuck Cannon on Sept. 27.

 

Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum To Showcase Photo Exhibit From Lawson Little

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has unveiled a new photo exhibit, “Grit and Glory: The Photography of Lawson Little,” featuring a selection of photos from Little’s career. The exhibit is free and will be open to the public until August 2027 in the museum’s first-floor gallery.

Mentored by a local street photographer while he was growing up, Little attended the Rhode Island School of Design and photographed musicians for commercial work in Southern California and Nashville. Highlights of photographs on display include Hattie Louise “Tootsie” Bess and staff of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in Nashville (1972), Roy Acuff performing a yo-yo trick onstage at the Ryman in Nashville (1972), Tammy Wynette backstage at the Ryman (1972), Dwight Yoakam at the Exit/In in Nashville (2000), Billy Joe Shaver on the floor of the Opry in Nashville (2001) and more.

 

Lee Newton Inks With Wildhorse Records

Lee Newton has signed with Wildhorse Records. Lee is Josie Music Awards winner, an ISSA Entertainer of the Year and received the 2025 ISSA Song of the Year for “Meant To Be.”

“Lee is an incredibly talented artist with a genuine love for country music, and we are excited to work alongside her on select songs and upcoming projects,” says Brian Orr, Founder and CEO of Wildhorse Records. “This partnership brings together Lee’s unmistakable voice and talent with Wildhorse Records’ commitment to creating and promoting great country music. We believe this is the beginning of something special. Stay tuned! There’s much more to come!”

BMI honored Sheryl Crow with the 2026 Troubadour Award last night (Sept. 14) during a private ceremony in Nashville.

Hosted by BMI Nashville’s VP of Creative Clay Bradley, Crow was presented with the Troubadour award and a Gibson J-45 guitar to commemorate her profound impact on the creative community.

Jason Isbell, Melissa Etheridge, Eric Church, Lauren Daigle, Chris Stapleton and Olivia Rodrigo each honored Crow with a performance of one of her hit tracks. Jeff Trott took the microphone to speak about their creative partnership that spans three decades. The Chicks, Brandi Carlile, Kenny Chesney, Robert Earl Keen, John Oates, Peter Stroud and Jesse Wells each offered congratulations via video.

Crow has sold more than 50 million albums globally with multi-genre hits including “All I Wanna Do” and “If It Makes You Happy.” She has earned more No. 1 singles on the Billboard Triple A chart than any other female artist in history. Since affiliating with BMI in 1991, Crow has garnered prestigious accolades, including the 1997 BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year, 12 BMI Awards and eight BMI Million-Air awards.

She joins prior Troubadour Award recipients John Fogerty, Billy F Gibbons, John Hiatt, Robert Earl Keen, John Oates, John Prine and Lucinda Williams.

Priscilla Block has parted ways with her label, MCA, and decided to step out as an independent artist.

In a statement on Instagram Block said, “I knew this was a decision I needed to make, but when I say it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made in my career, I don’t say that lightly. I found myself at a crossroads. I could keep waiting and hoping things would change, or I could fully bet on myself, my music, and the people who have been betting on me since the beginning. Y’all know confidence hasn’t ever been something I’ve lacked. But if I’m being fully honest, somewhere along the way I started losing some of it.

“Eventually I had to ask myself…why am I waiting for somebody else to believe in something I already believe in? I leave this past chapter with nothing but love and gratitude for every person who raised their hand for me, fought for me, believed in me, and helped build this thing alongside me. I can walk away knowing I gave that chapter everything I had.”

Block released her debut album, Welcome to the Block Party in 2022, and garnered an ACM Award Nomination for New Female Artist of the Year, followed by another nomination for Breakthrough Video of the Year at the 2022 CMT Awards. A deluxe edition of the album followed in 2023, as well as an EP, PB2 featuring the single “Good On You” and fan favorite “Hey Jack.” Her sophomore album for the label Things You Didn’t See, a 14-track project produced by David Garcia, came out in 2025. 

She first rose to popularity with the success of her Platinum track “Just About Over You,” which reached the top of iTunes All-Genre and Country charts less than 24 hours after being released.

Kenny Chesney will hit the road next year on the “Original Vibe Room Tour 2027.”

The 19-date run kicks off April 24 for his eighth appearance at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with stops planned for Arlington, Philadelphia, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte and more. Special guests include Eric Church, Sheryl Crow and Greylan James.

“When we started to talk about touring next year, all I could think about was how good those stadiums feel… how loud, how fast, how much energy comes hurling at us,” Chesney says of the decision to do an all-stadium tour. “I don’t think I knew how much I missed it. And when it hit me, as well as watching comments on Instagram and Facebook, I realized: we should make next year be all about the stadiums. So, we did.

Fans can register here for early access to tickets. Additional ticket information can be found here.

The tour follows Chesney’s Las Vegas Sphere residency, which lasted two years and sold nearly 400,000 tickets.

The Original Vibe Room Tour 2027 Dates:
April 24 – Tampa, Florida || Raymond James Stadium
May 1 – Greenville, North Carolina || Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
May 8 – Arlington, Texas || AT&T Stadium
May 15 – St. Louis, Missouri || The Dome at America’s Center
May 22 – Minneapolis, Minnesota || U.S. Bank Stadium
May 29 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania || Acrisure Stadium
June 5 – Ames, Iowa || Jack Trice Stadium
June 12 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania || Lincoln Financial Field
June 19 – Buffalo, New York || Highmark Stadium
June 26 – Chicago, Illinois || Soldier Field
July 3 – Nashville, Tennessee || Nissan Stadium
July 10 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin || American Family Field
July 17 – Denver, Colorado || Empower Field at Mile High
July 24 – Kansas City, Missouri || Arrowhead Stadium
July 31 – Atlanta, Georgia || Mercedes Benz Stadium
August 7 – East Rutherford, New Jersey || MetLife Stadium
August 14 – Detroit, Michigan || Ford Field
August 21 – Charlotte, North Carolina || Bank of America Stadium
August 28 – Foxborough, Massachusetts || Gillette Stadium

Jared Scott has signed with Back Row Publishing.

Scott’s songs have been recorded by Chris Stapleton, Jon Pardi, Vincent Mason, Avery Anna, Walker Hayes, Sydney Rose, Jessica Baio and BRELAND. He also co-wrote Zimmerman’s Gold-certified “Chase Her.”

“Signing with Back Row feels like the beginning of a really exciting new chapter. I’m so grateful to have them in my corner and can’t wait to see what we do together,” says Scott.

“I’ve been a fan of Jared for years and am so excited that we finally get to work together,” says Lindsay Will, Vice President of A&R. “He brings a fresh perspective into the room and writes from a place that feels honest and real and his ability to move seamlessly across genres makes him such a special talent. We’re thrilled to welcome Jared to the Back Row Music family and to be a part of this next chapter!”