Cooper Alan Earns First No. 1 On SiriusXM The Highway

Rising country artist Cooper Alan has earned his first No. 1 song on SiriusXM’s The Highway with his track “Take Forever (Hally’s Song).” The tune appears on Alan’s latest EP Take Forever, released last year.

“I’ve jammed to the Highway in my car for years now.” says Alan. “It’s an honor to have my music played on there and I’m so grateful to the fans for giving me my first number one song! It’s a moment I’ll never forget. Excited to release a bunch of new music the rest of this year!”

 

SOURCE Members Gather For ‘Blurred Lines: Creating Boundaries in a Boundaryless Business’

Members of SOURCE recently gathered at the CMA building for the panel “Blurred Lines: Creating Boundaries in a Boundaryless Business.” The discussion was moderated by SOURCE Programming Co-Chair Ashley Hertzog Embry and featured Big Loud Senior VP of A&R Sara Knabe, singer-songwriter Emily Shackelton and Porter’s Call Co-Executive Director and Counselor Beth Barcus.

The conversation centered around each woman’s journey in the music industry and setting boundaries, struggles to say “no” and finding work-life balance. “If it’s a ‘maybe’ it’s a ‘no’,” Knabe shared during the panel. “That’s helped me … and being okay with that allows me to set up boundaries for my personal time and work.”

 

Brandy Clark Completes Americana NYU Artist-In-Residence

Grammy-winning artist Brandy Clark completed her NYU Americana Artist-In-Residence program at New York University, in partnership with the Americana Music Foundation. In her residency, she mentored university students, providing insights and sharing her experience as an artist and songwriter.

Recently Clark gave a performance of “Songs That Made Me Want To Write Songs” at the university. Phil Galdston, Director of Songwriting at NYU, also hosted a Q&A with Clark in front of students.

 

Bandit Lites Ups Craig Richter To Project Manager & Designer

Full-service design, management and production company Bandit Lites has promoted Craig Richter to Project Manager & Designer. In his new role, Richter will plan, direct and coordinate with Bandit’s clients to ensure the goals and objectives are accomplished within defined budget and time frames.

“One of the best things I have always liked about working at Bandit is the stability and ability to grow through the company,” says Richter. “When I was touring, I liked having the stability of knowing I always had work once a tour was coming to an end and a place to ‘go home to.’ I had always heard Michael Strickland talk about wanting his employees to have a career at Bandit not just look at it like a job, so once I felt that it was time to come off the road, I approached Bandit about taking the next step in my career here, they were extremely helpful and excited about taking this next step with me.”

Eclipse Music Group has acquired hit songwriter Dean Dillon’s stake in the classic tune “Tennessee Whiskey.”

First recorded by David Allan Coe in 1971, “Tennessee Whiskey” landed at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Singles chart when George Jones released his rendition in 1983. Over three decades later, Chris Stapleton‘s version took the song to greater heights when it appeared on his debut album, Traveller, and became a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Diamond-certified single.

“Dean is an icon, and the journey of ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ to the top is remarkable,” says Penny Gattis, Partner, Eclipse Music Group. “This acquisition underscores the enduring value of great songwriting and exceptional songs. Thank you, Dean, for entrusting us with a share of this special song. We are thrilled to add ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ to the Eclipse Music Group catalog.”

Matt Cottingham of Lewis Brisbois handled the transaction on behalf of Eclipse Music Group, and Matthew Beckett of Milom Crow Kelley Beckett Shehan PLC handled the transaction on behalf of Dillon.

The acquisition follows Eclipse Music Group’s recent deals including Jamie Moore’s JMZL song catalog and Cory Batten’s catalog interest.

Koe Wetzel will kick off his headlining “Damn Near Normal World Tour 2024,” which is set to hit arenas and amphitheaters across the globe, this summer.

Treaty Oak Revival, Kolby Cooper, Pecos & The Rooftops, Tanner Usrey, Dylan Wheeler, Kat Hasty and Kolton Moore will join as special guests on select dates.

Selling over 275,000 tickets in 2023, Wetzel made Pollstar’s Top Worldwide Tours list for the third time, and aims to keep growing this year.

Starting July 27 in his home state of Texas, the tour will visit Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Boston, Nashville and more before concluding its stateside run at Morrison’s famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Oct. 13. Wetzel will then head overseas for 12 stops in the U.K., Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark on Oct. 26.

Tickets for all dates go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. local time tomorrow (April 5). American Express Card Members have early access to tickets now until 10 p.m. local time tonight (April 4). For more information, click here.

“It’s been a fun winter in the studio working on new music, but we can’t wait to be back on the road getting rowdy with the fans,” shares Wetzel. “And who knows, we might even have some more new music to sing for y’all at these shows soon…”

Additionally, the artist is slated to perform at various festivals this year, including Rock the Country, Tortuga Music Festival, Cattle Country Music Festival, Country Thunder Bristol Festival, Country Jam Colorado, Watershed and more. He also plans to headline several dates across California this month, and join Morgan Wallen for a “One Night At A Time 2024 Tour” stop in his hometown of Arlington this July.