Renowned songwriter Luke Laird will be featured in the next installment of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s in-depth interview series, Poets and Prophets, on Oct. 28 at 2:30 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater.

The series features songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music. The interview is included with museum admission, and will be illustrated with vintage photos, film and recordings. After the program, Laird will sign commemorative Hatch Show Print posters.

A native of Hartstown, Pennsylvania, Laird moved to Tennessee after high school to attend Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). In the more than 25 years since, he has become one of country’s most sought-after songwriters. After graduating from MTSU with a degree in recording industry management in 2001, he took a job as Assistant Tour Manager for Country Music Hall of Fame members Brooks & Dunn. The following year, Laird signed his first publishing contract.

He has penned more than 20 No. 1 songs since 2007, when Carrie Underwood reached the top of the country chart with “So Small,” which she co-wrote with Laird and Hillary Lindsey. Laird’s biggest hits include Eric Church’s “Drink in My Hand,” Sara Evans’ “A Little Bit Stronger,” Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” and Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins’ “Hillbilly Bone.”

As a producer, he has worked with Brett Eldredge, Mickey Guyton, Thomas Rhett and others. He co-produced Kacey Musgraves’ albums Same Trailer Different Park, which won a Grammy for Best Country Album, and Pageant Material, contributing to six songs on each album. Laird also co-wrote the Grammy-winning song “Space Cowboy” on Musgraves’ third major-label album, Golden Hour.

His other accolades include six CMA Triple Play Awards and ACM Songwriter of the Year. In 2011, Laird and his wife, Beth Mason Laird, co-founded Creative Nation, a music publishing, management, artist development and record company. He released his debut solo album, Music Row, in 2020.

Kane Brown. Photo: Diwang Valdez

Kane Brown has announced details for his upcoming 2024 “In The Air Tour,” kicking off in March. Artists supporting him on various dates include Tyler Hubbard, Jon Pardi, Chris Young, Bailey Zimmerman, Cole Swindell, Parmalee, LoCash and RaeLynn.

The tour will hit 29 cities including Toronto, Las Vegas, Atlanta and more before wrapping in Arlington, Texas at Globe Life Field on Sept. 14. Brown will play five major stadium shows during the trek, returning to Fenway Park in Boston, where he made history earlier this year as the first black artist to sell out a headlining show in the venue’s 100-plus year history.   

Earlier this summer, Brown wrapped his “Drunk or Dreaming Tour,” which included his first headlining arena show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and a massive stadium show in Boston at Fenway Park. He also wrapped the international leg of the same tour this year, which hit Sydney, London, Amsterdam and Berlin.

 The tour announcement comes on the heels of Brown receiving the ACM Honors International Award honor  for his contributions to the format on a global scale. Additionally, he will release his new single, “I Can Feel It,” tomorrow (Sept. 21).

Bobby Bare. Photo: Dennis Carney

Country Music Hall of Famer Bobby Bare will be honored with the Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award at the upcoming Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (NaSHOF) Gala on Oct. 11.

During his 60-year career, Bare has recorded more than 300 songs – including 35 top 40 singles – written or co-written by 76 NaSHOF songwriters – roughly 30 percent of the Hall’s entire membership. He is a 2013 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry from 1970-1973 and has been again since 2018. He becomes the first recording artist to receive the award named for Frances Williams Preston, who influenced and nurtured the careers of thousands of songwriters, performers and publishers in all genres during her five-decade career at BMI.

“Throughout his storied career, Bobby Bare has changed the lives of countless songwriters,” says Mark Ford, Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. “He has befriended numerous NaSHOF legends, including Shel Silverstein, Tom T. Hall, Billy Joe Shaver, Bob McDill, Harlan Howard and Kris Kristofferson. He discovered Waylon Jennings and helped him sign with RCA Records in the mid-1960s.  He featured many songwriters on his TNN TV show, Bobby Bare and Friends, from 1983-1988. Bobby has made a tremendous impact upon our music, and we are proud to salute him in this way.”

Previous Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award recipients are music publisher Bob Beckham (2008), music publisher Bill Hall (2009), Preston (2010), music publisher David Conrad (2011), music publisher Donna Hilley (2012), Bluebird Café founder Amy Kurland (2013), music publisher Pat Higdon (2014), music publisher Bill Lowery (2016) and songwriter advocate Ralph Murphy (2019).

Needtobreathe

Rock band Needtobreathe released their ninth studio album, Caves, last week, hailing it as their most ambitious project to date.

When they set out to create the project a few months back, band members Bear Rinehart, Seth Bolt, Josh Lovelace, Tyler Burkum and Randall Harris, stole away to a serene mountaintop cabin in Utah. There, in the company of each other, they did most of the writing for the album over the course of a couple weeks.  They fostered their personal friendships while out west, clearing the way for the album to take shape.

“It started in Utah. We met and we thought we were making demos, so we didn’t put a lot of pressure on the recording part. It wasn’t a real studio, it was a house,” explains Rinehart.

“It was about reconnecting as people first,” he says. “We were getting to have these conversations late at night that we don’t have as much anymore.”

Lovelace remembers, “We’d get up in the morning and we’d work all day. Then, when most people clock out and go home to do their own thing, we were like, ‘Now is the time to invest in our friendships.’”

In the cabin’s living room—surrounded by mountain views—the band brought ideas to each other, workshopped and recorded what would become Caves.

“We honestly got back [home] and were like, ‘Woah, this sounds like a record. Maybe we can use a lot of this,” explains Rinehart. “On this one, there was no [deadline for] the album to come out or any of that. It was more, ‘We’re going to work on this until we feel like it’s finished.’ That’s a huge luxury to have in music. That’s what we see as success—the ability to have that creative freedom.”

In a two-part documentary series, A World Without A Mirror – The Making of CAVES, the band shares insight into the Utah trip. One of the greatest benefits of that time away came with one of the biggest challenges of creating art: the listener’s reaction.

“You’re making something that no one is hearing along the way,” says Rinehart. “You’re trying to image there’s 10,000 people there—what does this feel like? You’re trying to remind yourself of that the whole way through.”

Burkum adds that chasing the live performance feeling of the music is an inspiration. He says, “[The music is] going to go through so many different iterations, but that’s a very life-giving thing: to keep your eye on the prize and get excited about those songs.”

As a band that’s spent nearly two decades on the road in front of crowds, from opening for Taylor Swift to selling out arenas, Needtobreathe wanted to write an album with the live shows in mind. They stacked this album with old friends and new, and blended genres through featured artists.

“We have Foy Vance who we’ve been friends with for a long time. He’s one of the greatest artists making music now—maybe ever,” says Lovelace. “Then we have our new friends in Old Dominion and Carly Pearce.

“For Old Dominion, we met them at an event we did and realized that we’re a lot alike. They had been listening to our band and we’d been watching them. We also had our friends, Judah & The Lion, who we’ve known forever,” Lovelace adds.

Needtobreathe will kick off “The Caves World Tour” in October with their friends Judah & The Lion.

“It’s fun to do things with people that you admire and respect,” continues Lovelace. “We play a song called ‘Waste of Time’ with Old Dominion. It’s really fun. On the record it’s three and a half minutes, but when we’re playing [it live], it’s like 11 minutes long right now and it keeps getting longer and longer. It’s a jam.”

Whether fans listen to the album or hear it played live on tour, Bolt says, “I hope when people hear it, they hear a group of people are just really inspired to do what they do.”

Needtobreathe feels grateful heading with their ninth studio album out. With a couple thousand live shows under their belt, they are determined to make each song, album and tour as special as the one before.

“It’s a really special thing to make this much music with people you grew up with and experience life with,” says Bolt. “I remember early on when we were making our first and second records, you’d hear people say, ‘A lot of bands don’t make it past their second record or their third record.’ So to be making the ninth one just feels very extraordinary.”

Caves is available to stream on all platforms, and tickets to “The Caves World Tour” are on sale online.

Scotty McCreery Strikes Gold With ‘It Matters To Her’

Pictured (L-R): Triple Tigers’ Laura Hostelley, Triple 8 Management’s Allison Bostrom, Triple Tigers’ Raffaella Braun, RIAA’s Jackie Jones, Triple Tigers’ Kevin Herring, Scotty McCreery, Triple Tigers’ Annie Ortmeier, Triple 8 Management’s Scott Stem, Triple 8 Management’s George Couri and Grand Ole Opry’s Dan Rogers. Photo: Chris Hollo

Scotty McCreery celebrated his latest hit “It Matters to Her” going Gold during his recent Grand Ole Opry appearance on Sept. 14. Written by McCreery, Rhett Akins and Lee Thomas Miller, the song captures lessons learned during the artist’s first four years of marriage to wife, Gabi.

“I am thankful to my fans and my team anytime a song of mine is certified Gold,” shared McCreery. “I don’t take it for granted. But, to be presented a Gold album plaque for ‘It Matters to Her’ on the Grand Ole Opry stage is something I will always treasure.”

Levi Hummon, Lewis Brice, More To Play ‘Spreading Hope’ Benefit

The “Spreading Hope With Keith Griner” concert series has announced its next benefit at 3rd & Lindsley on Sept. 26. The lineup includes Levi Hummon, Lewis Brice, Noah Thompson and Ryan Griffin. Tickets are available in advance and at the door with all proceeds to be donated directly to Hope On The Row, a local nonprofit serving Nashville’s unhoused.

Hope On The Row will also be on site taking donations including lightly used clothing, new socks and new personal essentials (shampoo, toothbrushes, women’s hygiene, etc). The concert will be live-streamed for free via Phierce Productions on Volume.com, with opportunities to donate as well. So far, “Spreading Hope” has raised over $25,000 for Hope On The Row through over 200 artist performances.

CMHOF Hosts Conversation With Bill Anderson

Pictured (L-R): Mark Wills, E. W. “Bud” Wendell, Jeannie Seely, Bill Anderson, Paul Kingsbury and Dan Rogers. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

“Whisperin’ Bill” Anderson, Jeannie Seely, E. W. “Bud” Wendell and Mark Wills came together for an intimate conversation about the Opry and Anderson’s long, storied association with the show. The program, which was hosted in support of the exhibition “Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See,” was led by Paul Kingsbury, the museum’s Senior Director of Editorial & Interpretation.

As of July 2023, Anderson has the longest tenure of any cast member in the Grand Ole Opry’s history — 62 years. The program was filmed and will premiere at a later date as part of the museum’s Live at the Hall digital programs series, available to stream on the museum’s website. Visitors will have through Sept. 24 to visit the “Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See” exhibit.

Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi Performs At Music Row Build Porch Party

Pictured (L-R): Brad Tursi, Penny Gattis, Mark Brown, Elissa Brown, Pete Robinson, Alissa Robinson, Sherry Stinson, Kurt Denny and Johnny Haffner

Mark and Elissa Brown and Pete and Alissa Robinson recently hosted a porch party benefiting the Habitat for Humanity Music Row Build. Guests enjoyed dinner from chef Johnny Haffner and a performance from Old Dominion band member Brad Tursi.

Chris Keaton Partners With DownTown Mystic

Robert Allen. Photo: Mark Maryonavich

Chris Keaton has formed an alliance with singer-songwriter and producer Robert Allen and the 100-plus titles in the DownTown Mystic music publishing catalog.

Among the collection are “Way To Know,” “Think A Little Louder” and “Can’t Let Go.” Allen’s songs have been featured on CMT’s Tobacco Wars (“Backdoor”), Inside Fame on Darius Rucker (“Losing My Mind”), Urban Cowboy The Rise and Fall Of Gilley’s (“Everything”) and Inside Fame on Florida Georgia Line (“Lost & Found,” “No Exceptions”). DownTown Mystic’s compositions have also been played on over 5000 radio stations in 44 countries.

“I am grateful for the opportunity that Robert has shared with me to represent this outstanding catalog,” states Keaton. “These are songs that can change people’s lives.”

Allen adds, “I look forward to reuniting with Chris and expanding the DownTown Mystic Rock and Roll footprint in Music City and beyond.”