Ashley McBryde Celebrates Upcoming Album Release

Pictured (L-R): Anna Pittman (VP Artist Development, WMN); Tim Foisset (SVP Commercial Partnerships, WMN); Shane Tarleton (EVP Artist Development, WMN); John Peets (Q Prime); Ashley McBryde; Cris Lacy (Co-Chair & Co-President, WMN); Ben Kline (Co-Chair & Co-President, WMN); Kristen Williams (SVP Radio, WMN); Torie Mason (SVP Strategic Marketing & Analytics, WMN). Photo: Hayley Gjertsen

Ashley McBryde gathered with friends and industry members to celebrate her upcoming album The Devil I Know (due out Sept. 8) at Nashville’s Analog at Hutton Hotel on Wednesday night (Aug. 30).

Performing the album in its entirety, McBryde entertained the packed room with engaging behind-the-scenes stories about each song. Warner Music Nashville Co-Chair & Co-President Cris Lacy welcomed the crowd, describing McBryde as “absolutely essential in our format.”

Scotty McCreery Performs at Memorial Stadium for ‘Volleyball Day in Nebraska’

Pictured: Scotty McCreery with University of Nebraska Ladies Volleyball Team and Coach John Cook. Courtesy of University of Nebraska.

Triple Tigers recording artist Scotty McCreery performed a concert following the University of Nebraska Ladies Volleyball Team’s winning match against Omaha at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska on Aug. 30.

The event set a new world record for the highest attendance at a women’s sporting event with 92,003 fans in attendance and was designated “Volleyball Day in Nebraska.”

“That was something I will never forget,” said McCreery after coming off stage. “It’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of, and they were fantastic. Hearing 92,003 people sing along and watching them dance and enjoy themselves is something I will never forget. Congrats to the Nebraska Volleyball Team on their win and setting the new world record. Those ladies are amazing athletes and it was exciting to watch their games. I thank them for having me be a part of the event!”

Randy Rogers, Williams Clark Green, More Attend Wade Bowen Invitational Raising Nearly $1 Million

Pictured (L-R): Wade Bowen, Jamey Johnson. Photo: Andrew Quinn.

Wade Bowen hosted his annual two-day, invite-only golf tournament, Bowen Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, raising nearly $1 million for the Bowen Family Foundation on Aug. 27 and 28. Guests at the event included  Robert Earl Keen, Randy Rogers, William Clark Green, Jamey Johnson, Heather Morgan, William Beckmann and more.

The Bowen Family Foundationwas started by Wade and his family to support worthy causes in and around Texas that directly affects families in the community all year round. To-date, the organization has raised more than $6 million.

In true Wade fashion, the Bowen Invitational was a lot of golf, with a little bit of music too. A major highlight of the weekend was an impromptu, one-of-a-kind jam session on Sunday night (Aug. 27) with Rogers, Morgan, Green, Johnson, Beckmann and Bowen.

Monday evening featured a spectacular performance from Keen in what was a full circle moment for Bowen. This year’s live auction featured a George Strait autographed guitar and Vegas show tickets, Sunday passes to the 2024 Masters and a private acoustic performance from Bowen. The live auction alone raised more than $600, 000 for the Bowen Family Foundation.

ACM Celebrates Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary with OnRamp Showcase

ACM will celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop at a special celebration show, “Music City Hip Hop,” on Wednesday, Sept. 6. Presented by its much-heralded OnRamp program, the event will feature live performances by four members of the OnRamp inaugural class: Roz Malone, Daisha McBrirde, Qualls, and Kendall Warner aka “Ken-Say.”

The show will be at The Basement in Nashville at 7:00 p.m. and tickets are on sale now.

OnRamp is a partnership with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) focused on improving inclusivity and equity within Music City and aiming to empower the next generation of leaders in the early stages of their careers by granting access to informational panels, professional development opportunities, 360º mentorship, industry exposure, and other opportunities.

Additionally, through the program, each participant receives a monthly stipend for one year. Half of the inaugural class are artists; the other half come from across the industry and range from attorneys to audio engineers, publicists to business managers.

Eric Church performs as Artist-in-Residence at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Eric Church wrapped a two-night stand as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2023 artist-in-residence Aug. 30.

Accompanied by his nine-piece band with a trio of backing vocalists, Church performed sold-out shows on Aug. 29 and 30 in the museum’s CMA Theater offering a chronological, retrospective journey through his life and career.

The shows featured many of Church’s biggest hits as well as unreleased new music in a setlist representing his career milestones and life events, from the earliest days of carving his own path and chart-topping success, to personal trials including his brother’s death and his own medical emergency in 2017. Song performances chronicling the two-decade journey were interspersed with video and audio commentary, including news headlines, album and concert reviews, personal voicemails and even Church’s own words.

Pictured (L-R): Brandon Schneeberger, Museum CEO Kyle Young, Vince Gill, Robert Oermann, Eric Church, VP of Museum Services Michael Gray, John Peets, Museum Board Chair Mary Ann McCready and Marshall Alexander. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Journalist and country music historian Robert K. Oermann welcomed Church to the stage each night to complete a “full circle” moment, harkening back to 2006 when Oermann introduced Church at his debut album showcase at the museum. Church was also joined by a special guest for both performances, with Country Music Hall of Fame member and past museum artist-in-residence Vince Gill taking the stage to perform a stirring, solo rendition of his song “Go Rest High on that Mountain” in honor of Church’s late brother, Brandon.

The show will air in its entirety during a special on Church’s Outsiders Radio channel on the SXM App. The special, “Eric Church LIVE! From the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” will premiere on Monday, Sept. 4, at 8 p.m. ET. Replays will air Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 5 p.m. ET; Friday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. ET; and Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. ET.

The artist-in-residence shows were produced by Church’s longtime manager, John Peets, with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit museum’s educational mission.

Kelsea Ballerini. Photo: Daniel Prakopcyk

Kelsea Ballerini will celebrate her 30th birthday by taking the MTV/Video Music Awards (VMA) stage for the first time on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The multi-Platinum country star plans to treat fans to a world premiere performance of the expanded version of her latest critically-acclaimed EP Rolling Up The Welcome Mat (For Good).

This has been a record-breaking year so far for Ballerini, who just wrapped three sold-out legs of her headlining “Heartfirst Tour” as well as a successful trio of coast-to-coast fan screenings for the EPs short film, which she wrote and co-directed.

Other acts slated to perform at the event include Anitta, Doja Cat, Tomorrow x Together and Lil Wayne, who will return to the VMA stage for the first time in over a decade.

Mat Koehler. Credit: Gibson

Gibson has promoted Mat Koehler to the role of Vice President of Product at Gibson Brands, reporting to President & CEO Cesar Gueikian.

In his new role, Koehler will continue leading the Product Development team, expanding his responsibility across Instruments and Sound, two key pillars of Gibson’s global brand strategy and business organization.

“Mat has been instrumental in the evolution of Gibson’s portfolio architecture and is successfully leading the way across research, design and development for all Gibson Brands,” says Gueikian. “He is an extraordinary custodian of our iconic past, and he will continue to innovate, empowering musicians and music lovers with new and exciting products as a steward of our future.”

“I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the Vice President of Product at Gibson Brands,” says Koehler. “I am excited to lead our exceptional team as we embark on this new chapter, shaping the future of our industry. Together, we will continue to inspire and deliver unparalleled value with instruments and sound.”

Wisconsin-born Koehler has been leading research, design and development creating new product introductions for Gibson, Custom Shop, Acoustics, the Murphy Lab, Epiphone and Kramer. This new position adds the responsibility of leading research, design and product development for amplifiers, effects and pro-audio, across all brands including Mesa Boogie, Maestro and KRK.

Koehler started as a product specialist for Gibson Custom Shop and Gibson Memphis, and became the Custom Shop Product Manager in 2018 as well as Head of Product Development the following year. His passion for guitar history has led him to be considered one of the top vintage guitar experts in the world, and also enables his work maintaining and recovering Gibson archive assets.

Jim Lauderdale and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys are set to release The Long And Lonesome Letting Go, a new 12-song bluegrass LP on Sept. 15.

The project includes all-new Lauderdale co-writes, with half of the tracks penned with the band’s guitarist Josh Rinkel. Other co-writers contributing to the collection include Becky Buller, Joe Newberry, Jimmy Ritchey, Logan Ledger and Alex Leach.

Lauderdale and The Po Ramblin’ Boys have shared the album’s lead-off track, “Long And Lonesome Letting Go,” a co-write with multi-instrumentalist, Bob Minner. Also joining the already-stacked lineup is Bluegrass Hall of Famer Del McCoury.

“I felt like that song ought to kick off the record, and somebody in Po’ Ramblin’ Boys said, ‘You know, Del would sound great on this,'” says Lauderdale. “Of course! So we reached out and luckily he was available. It didn’t feel right to just have him on the chorus, so he and I switch off a few lines in the verses. I’d never gotten to record with Del before, so that was a real treat.”

Lauderdale and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys will head to this year’s IBMA World Of Bluegrass conference in Raleigh, North Carolina in late September, performing The Long And Lonesome Letting Go tunes as well as separate sets of their own original songs.

The Long And Lonesome Letting Go Track Listing:
1. “Long And Lonesome Letting Go”
2. “She’s On A Different Train”
3. “I’m Only So Good At Being Good”
4. “You Fell Off The Face Of The Earth”
5. “Last Resort”
6. “Ghost Of A Rose”
7. “Darkness Is The Other Side of Light”
8. “If I Could Only Get My Heart To See”
9. “That Was When We Were Together”
10. “A Better Place”
11. “She’s The Light”
12. “Drop The Hammer Down”