Morgan Wallen recording Abbey Road Sessions in London, U.K. Photo: Matt Paskert

Morgan Wallen surprise-released a new collection, Abbey Road Sessions, on Sunday (March 3).

The project was dropped to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Wallen’s One Thing At A Time album, which topped the Billboard Top 200 chart for 18 non-consecutive weeks, tying Garth Brooks‘ 1991 Ropin’ the Wind record with the most weeks at No. 1 for a country album and becoming the most-streamed album of the year across all genres on Spotify.

The project’s songs were recorded in London in the iconic Studio Two at the world-renowned Abbey Road Studios on Dec. 5, 2023. The digital series includes five live recordings from One Thing At A Time, an unreleased fan favorite, “Lies Lies Lies” and a never-before-recorded cover of Nothing But Thieves‘ “Graveyard Whistling.”

“Playing the O2 in London last fall and getting to record at Abbey Road, where so much iconic music has been made, was legendary for me and my band. We will never forget it,” shares Wallen of his trip overseas. “I’m so excited to release these Abbey Road Sessions for my fans on the one-year anniversary of One Thing At A Time. They make all this possible.”

Playing to over one million fans in 2023, Wallen’s “One Night At A Time World Tour” was named Pollstar‘s Country Tour of the Year, surpassing attendance records in numerous stops. Resuming this April in Indianapolis, the 2024 extension of the “One Night At A Time World Tour” takes Wallen to 29 additional stadium shows.

Abbey Road Sessions Track List:
1. “Thinkin’ Bout Me”
2. “Lies Lies Lies”
3. “Sunrise”
4. “Everything I Love”
5. “I Wrote The Book”
6. “I Deserve A Drink”
7. “Graveyard Whistling”

Country Radio Seminar (CRS) wrapped up Friday (March 1) at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Below are some of the highlights from the last day of programming. Next year, Country Radio Seminar will take place Wednesday, Feb. 19 – Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.

Women’s Networking Breakfast

Women’s networking breakfast during CRS 2024.

Sponsored by Nuvoodoo Media Services, CRS day three kicked off with the Women’s Networking Breakfast. The event offered a place for women to network with other women in an array of industry positions.

Those at the breakfast included Abby Leigh (WQDR/Raleigh), Athena Puharic (The Valory Music Co.), Blake Carter (SEVENS Radio Network), Brooke Diaz (Big Machine Label Group), Charlene Bryant (UMG Nashville), Jessica “Carsen” Humphreville (Silverfish Media), Karina Farias-Day (Edison Research), Katie Dean (Leo33), Katie McCartney (Monument Records), Krista Hayes (Cumulus Nashville), Laura Hostelley (Triple Tigers Records), Melissa Quinones (WWKA), Mia McNeal (CMA), Nikki Thomas (WXBQ), Sarah Kay (WQMX) and Zena Burns (Futuri).

Big Machine Label Group Hosts Luncheon & Performance

Pictured: Back Row (L-R): RJ Curtis (CRB), Greylan James, Kris Lamb (Big Machine Records), George Briner (The Valory Music Co.), Kurt Johnson (CRB); Middle Row (L-R): Jimmy Harnen (Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment), Chris Janson, Brian Kelley, Riley Green, Charles Kelley, Allison Jones (Big Machine Label Group); Front Row (L-R): Dierks Bentley, Jackson Dean, Carly Pearce, Scott Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group), Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood, Mackenzie Carpenter, Sandi Spika Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group)

Big Machine Label Group hosted the final label luncheon and performance of the week. The label’s showcase included newcomers and superstars from their diverse artist roster.

Lady A kicked off the event with a performance of “Love You Back.” Dierks Bentley then came out and surprised the crowd with his Tom Petty cover of “American Girl.” Chris Janson performed his most recent No. 1 “All I Need Is You.” Mackenzie Carpenter rocked the crowd with unreleased track “Sound Of A Heartbreak.” Greylan James then performed his BMLG debut track “Young Man.” Jackson Dean showed off his top 15 track “Fearless.”

Brian Kelley gave a preview of his forthcoming debut album with “Acres.” Carly Pearce invited Lady A’s Charles Kelley back on stage to perform her top 20 hit “We Don’t Fight Anymore.” Riley Green performed his next radio single “Damn Good Day To Leave.” To close out the event, country superstars Garth Brooks and Ronnie Dunn surprised the crowd with a performance of their song “Rodeo Man.”

New Faces Of Country Closes Out The Week

Pictured (L-R): George Birge, Megan Moroney, Conner Smith, Dillon Carmichael, Corey Kent

CRS 2024 wrapped up with the annual New Faces Of Country show. This year’s new faces were George Birge, Megan Moroney, Conner Smith, Dillon Carmichael and Corey Kent.

The New Faces of Country Music Show stars five emerging artists who have achieved notable country radio success during the qualification period, which spanned from Nov. 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023, for the 2024 show. The event has served as a pivotal moment in the careers of established country hitmakers since its inception in 1970.

Pictured (L-R): Sam Katz (Homebase Management), Roxy King (UMPG Nashville), Dylan Gossett and Federico Morris (Range Media Partners). Photo: Courtesy of UMPG Nashville

Singer-songwriter Dylan Gossett has signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) Nashville.

Gossett came onto the scene with his critically acclaimed debut EP, No Better Time, which he wrote, recorded, produced and mixed in his bedroom in Austin, Texas. The EP includes the viral breakout single “Coal,” which has garnered over 150 million global streams to date and is now certified Gold in the U.S. “Coal” recently debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 and climbed to No. 21 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Gossett will follow up the successful project with a new EP, Songs In The Gravel, set for release on March 22 via Big Loud Texas/Mercury Records. He released the second single, “Somewhere Between,” today (March 1).

Roxy King, Director A&R at UMPG Nashville, says, “Gossett has a natural ability to tell meaningful stories in a unique and poetic way. It caught my ear from the get-go. Meeting Dylan is what sealed the deal. He is a star in every sense of the word. I am thrilled to work alongside of Dylan, Range Media Partners, Big Loud Texas and Mercury Records to help spread Dylan’s words around the world.”

“From my first meeting with Troy Tomlinson, Roxy King and the UMPG Nashville team, I knew they were the perfect creative partner. They have been passionate supporters of my songs since day one and I could not be more excited to have Roxy and the whole UMPG team in my corner,” Gossett shares.

Scotty McCreery will release his fifth studio album Rise & Fall via Triple Tigers Records on May 10.

With McCreery co-writing 12 of the album’s 13 tracks, Rise & Fall explores themes of heartbreak, rowdy nights, nostalgia, faith, newfound joy, fatherhood and enduring love. The singer-songwriter released a taste of the new project last night (Feb. 29) with the the track “Slow Dance.”

“I know every artist says it, but this is truly my favorite album I’ve made so far,” shares McCreery. “I wanted to create an album that reflected the music I grew up on and wasn’t chasing trends. So, I brought several of my songwriting buddies to the mountains of North Carolina to sit down and write a full-on country album that told a story, start to finish, and spoke to my soul. We’ve been performing most of the album live on the road and the response from the audiences has been overwhelming. I can’t wait for everyone to hear Rise & Fall when it comes out May 10th.”

Rise & Fall was produced by McCreery’s longtime collaborators Frank Rogers, Aaron Eshuis and Derek Wells, and includes his top 12-and-rising single “Cab In A Solo” as well as tracks “Can’t Pass the Bar” and “Love Like This.”

With five consecutive No. 1 hits under his belt and multiple Gold and Platinum certifications, McCreery was recently invited by his musical hero Garth Brooks to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. His induction will take place on April 20 with another of his heroes, Josh Turner, officially welcoming him into the Opry family.

“I feel like we’re on the rise now, but I’ve fallen pretty low as well,” McCreery says regarding the highs and lows of his career. “I learned from every little part of that, and it helped me to know who I was as a person—let alone an artist. The rises and the falls helped craft these songs. They made this album what it is.”

Rise & Fall Track Listing:
1. “Little More Gone” (Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Frank Rogers, Bobby Hamrick, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell)
2. “Cab In A Solo” (Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Frank Rogers)
3. “Lonely” (Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Frank Rogers, Bobby Hamrick, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell)
4. “Can’t Pass the Bar” (Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Cale Dodds, Frank Rogers)
5. “Hey Rose” (Jay Brunswick, Jeremy Bussey, Bobby Hamrick)
6. “Fall of Summer” (Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Frank Rogers, Monty Criswell)
7. “Love Like This” (Scotty McCreery, Frank Rogers, Aaron Eshuis)
8. “Slow Dance” (Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Monty Criswell)
9. “No Country for Old Men” (Scotty McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Frank Rogers, Monty Criswell)
10. “And Countin’” (Scotty McCreery, Frank Rogers, Bobby Hamrick, Jeremy Bussey)
11. “Stuck Behind a Tractor” (Scotty McCreery, Chase McGill, Rhett Akins)
12. “Red Letter Blueprint” (Scotty McCreery, Derek George, Brent Anderson, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell)
13. “Porch” (Scotty McCreery, Greylan James, Heather Morgan)