Belmont University has received a grant of nearly $150,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to fund an interdisciplinary project titled “A Model for Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Humanities Research: Redefining the Sacred in Americana Music.”

The project explores the shifting notions of the sacred within Americana music over the past several decades, and will pilot collaborative, project-based undergraduate research in the Belmont Global Honors program. Relevant courses will focus on the intersections of roots music genres including folk, country, rock and blues, and investigate how Americana musicians have engaged rhetoric, argument, spiritual themes and social context with the shifting religious identities of Americans. The effort will be spearheaded by Dr. Sarah Blomeley and Dr. Donovan McAbee.

A two-course sequence will be taught throughout the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 academic years as part of the school’s Honors Scholars’ Collaborative program. The first course will center around students using rhetorical theory to analyze Americana song lyrics, conducting archival research at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as well as interviewing key figures in the genre. In the second course, students will create a public-facing podcast with accompanying web resources. Each sequence will feature 15 students, resulting in a 30-episode podcast series by the conclusion of the two-year program.

“Through a blend of rhetoric, religion, melody and history, our project seeks to explore the often overlooked yet profound inquires of Americana music,” says Blomeley. “What does it reveal about American identity and religious beliefs? Where lies the boundary between sacred and profane in Americana’s narrative? Ultimately, our aim is to delve into Americana music’s role as a conduit for American religious discourse.”

In addition to utilizing resources, such as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s archives, students will receive instruction from the likes of Grammy winner Tammy Rogers King and folk artist Mary Gauthier, Relationary Marketing’s Clark Buckner and other Belmont faculty members. The resulting podcast and web guides seek to serve as accessible, educational resources while modeling revolutionary experiential learning at the university.

The findings of  “A Model for Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Humanities Research: Redefining the Sacred in Americana Music” will be shared through a podcast series available to the public as well as archival interviews, academic presentations by the faculty leaders and research articles.

Warner Chappell Music has signed country-rock band The Red Clay Strays to a global publishing deal.

Lead singer Brandon Coleman, electric guitarist Zach Rishel, guitarist/vocalist Drew Nix, bassist Andrew Bishop and drummer John Hall, as well as the band’s main songwriting partner and videographer Matthew Coleman, have been making music together since 2016. They spent years performing in the Gulf Coast music scene before reaching new audiences on TikTok. They independently released their album Moment of Truth in 2022 featuring the breakout song “Wondering Why,” which landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and has garnered more than 100 million streams.

After “Wondering Why” went viral last year, The Red Clay Strays made festival appearances at HWY 30 Fest, Bonnaroo, Peacemaker Festival, Under the Big Sky, Mile-0 Fest, Lollapalooza and CMA Fest. They also opened for Kip Moore, Old Crow Medicine Show, Brothers Osborne, Elle King, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and more.

The band recently signed with RCA Records and is currently working on their next album with producer Dave Cobb. In August they will launch their first-ever European tour, including five shows across the U.K.

“The Red Clay Strays are owning their moment in what’s sure to be their biggest year yet,” says WCM President, North America Ryan Press. “Their music is pure power and precision, with a sound unlike anything we’ve heard before. They’ve been consistently locked in with their fans and now they have the whole world tuned into their unique style.”

“We’re looking forward to partnering with Warner Chappell to expand our songwriting careers and continue putting good music into the world,” says Matthew Coleman.

Jamey Johnson will return to the road on his “What A View Tour,” starting June 20, with supporting acts Charles Wesley Godwin, Whitey Morgan, Ben Haggard, Drake White and Southall.

While he spent the better part of more than two decades touring, Johnson took a break last year to focus on songwriting. The name of the new tour is taken from one of the songs written during that time.

“‘What A View’ is the song that brought me back into writing songs,” he reveals. “It is the one that kicked off the desire to make new music. You can expect to hear more new music in our shows from now on. It will be fun. We will do a lot of the old stuff and a lot of the new stuff.”

The “What A View Tour ” kicks off in St. Augustine and stops in nearly 40 cities including Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Columbus, Tupelo, Kansas City and more. Tickets and VIP packages go on sale to the general public this Friday (April 19). A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Johnson’s Give It Away Foundation. For more information, click here.

Johnson’s credits include songs recorded by George Strait, Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, James Otto and Joe Nichols, among others. His album That Lonesome Song was certified Platinum, and his double album, The Guitar Song, was certified Gold. Johnson has also won two Song of the Year honors from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.

Carson Wallace has signed with WME for global booking representation.

The Nashville newcomer dropped his first singles “Lonely Look Like” and “Ghost In My Chevy” last year, and has amassed more than a million streams. Produced by Brett Truitt, Wallace’s new song “Sun Sets,” which he wrote alongside Sara Bares and Reid Sorrel, is set for release on May 3.

“Carson’s voice and songwriting talent immediately caught our attention. It’s an honor to be a part of his team and have him at WME,” says Carrie Murphy, WME Agent.

“Carrie, Braeden [Rountree] and the entire WME team were some of the earliest believers in myself and my artistry,” says Wallace. “I couldn’t be more excited and honored to be working together!”

Earlier this year, the artist signed with Red Light Management in addition to signing a global publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing and Relative Music Group.

Beyoncé continues to rule the country charts this week as “Texas Hold ‘Em” stays atop the country streaming songs chart with 17.4 million new streams, adding to 183 million ATD, and Cowboy Carter remains at No. 1 on the country albums chart with 125K in total consumption (21K album only/129 million song streams) according to Luminate data.

Elsewhere on the country streaming songs chart, Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves‘ “I Remember Everything” rises to the second slot with 17 million streams, adding to 654 million ATD. Morgan Wallen‘s “Last Night” takes the third slot with 12 million new streams, adding to 1.3 billion ATD, followed by his “Thinkin’ Bout Me” at No. 4 with 11.6 million streams, adding to 710 million ATD. Bryan’s “Something In The Orange” secures No. 5 with 11.5 million new streams, adding to 1.3 billion ATD.

On the country albums chart, Wallen’s One Thing At A Time holds No. 2 with 72K (1.4K album only/91 million song streams), while his Dangerous: The Double Album shifts up to No. 3 with 40K (408 album only/51 million song streams). Bryan’s self-titled collection moves down to the fourth slot with 36K (2.4K album only/45 million song streams), as his American Heartbreak rests in the fifth slot with 28K (735 album only/35 million song streams).