Gina Miller
The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.
Gina Miller has been passionate about music for as long as she can remember. A musician, educator, entrepreneur and executive, her love for music and the arts has forged the way and proven to be a significant part of her life’s purpose and work. Having spent nearly two decades with MNRK Music Group (formerly Entertainment One), Miller’s current role as the label’s Sr. VP and General Manager for Nashville has her overseeing day-to-day operations and creative output for Nashville, including MNRK subsidiaries Light Records and IndieBlu Music.
Throughout her career, she has used her platform and voice to both improve the ways the music business operates and create opportunities for those who are marginalized in our industry. An advocate for equality and equity, she is a sought-after speaker, clinician and consultant. The music industry veteran is an active champion, serving on several advisory councils, including Music Makes Us, The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), St. Jude Urban Cares and the Country Music Association D&I Task Force.
Miller also serves on The Americana Music Association Board, Secretary of the Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter, Vice President of Nashville Music Equality, as well as The Music Business Association (Music Biz, Board Chair) and The National Association of Black Female Executives in Media & Entertainment (NABFEME). Named to Leadership Music’s Class of 2022, Billboard’s Women in Music executive class in 2018 and 2020 and the Nashville Business Journal’s Women Of Influence 2021 Class, Miller continues to use her influence to inspire and drive change, not only in the organizations she faithfully serves, but in this community and world in which she lives.
Earlier this year, Miller was honored with the Music Biz Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive Achievement in recognition of her leadership and commitment to bolstering diversity and inclusion across the music industry.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in south Memphis, Tennessee, which I am incredibly proud of. Quite frankly, I think it set the tone for everything that’s shaped me to be the person, the leader and the musician that I am with the music background that I have. All of that was developed not only in Memphis, but specifically in south Memphis.
Gina Miller
Tell me about growing up there.
My community played a large part of exposing me to the music that I’m aware of. My mom was our church musician and the church was in our neighborhood. The first records I remember buying were from a mom and pop record store on the same street as Stax Records. That community shaped a lot of my musical upbringing.
How did you start playing music?
I started playing in church. Our neighborhood piano teacher sought my mom out and asked my mother to bring me to her when I was about five or six. I took piano all the way through college at Belmont.
By the time I got to seventh grade, I was playing the flute in the band. I wanted to be a clarinetist, but we had a flute because my older sister played the flute, so my mom was like, “This is what you’re going to play.” [Laughs]
The flute got me a scholarship to UT Knoxville [before I went to Belmont]. I marched in the band at UT for a while. I played piccolo and the flute between football and basketball season. I have been eaten up in music my entire life. It’s pretty clear now that I was going to be a part of it.
When you were playing flute in the band at UT Knoxville or studying at Belmont, what was your dream?
That was my dream: music. While I was growing up, I listened to R&B, pop music, country music and more. I was classicially trained—that’s where I got my start with my piano teacher. My father had a huge LP collection and we listened to Johnny Cash, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Mahalia Jackson and all kinds of music. I had a big appreciation for all genres of music. That is absolutely why I fight so hard to make sure that we’re inclusive of so many different formats, genres and art styles, because there’s so much to appreciate.
Gina Miller and team
What happened after college that put you on your path to MNRK Music Group?
You probably hear a lot about people who got their start from making a connection with somebody—that’s exactly what happened to me. First and foremost, I think it’s important to point out that when I went back to Belmont, I was married with two sons.
[After I went to Belmont], my oldest son was playing pee wee football in Brentwood. The families [that were driving their kids to games] were driving very modest cars. There was one guy that was getting out of a Porsche every Saturday morning with his kid. I thought, “Who is that? I need to know who that is because he’s doing something different.” [Laughs]
Eventually I introduced myself. The next week, we were making small talk and he said, “So what kind of music are you into?” I knew what was coming then. When I asked him, he named all this music that I grew up listening to. I asked him, “What is your relationship to this music and to these artists?” He said, “I’ve got a little label in Nashville [called Light Records] and we are the main distributor and label for these artists.” I told him, “I need to be a part of that.”
What happened next?
He told me that he didn’t do the hiring, but that he would introduce me to the president of the label. Long story short, I met with him and he told me they didn’t have any jobs. I said, “Okay, can I just come hang out? Can I come in every day and just see what’s going on, learn and be of service in any way?” He agreed to that and I did that for a year. That absolutely changed the trajectory of my life. That was almost 20 years ago now and I’ve never walked out.
Gina Miller and sons
Wow! That is some dedication. How did you transition that into a job?
Once that year passed, he created a job for me, which was basically a part-time coordinator position. The fast version of my story is that from there to now, I just moved around and worked in every division, which I feel was very worthwhile in being able to actually lead the label group now. I’ve always lived with this belief that nothing is wasted and everything is purposeful. I knew that it was all going to make sense at some point.
The CEO of the label [who I met at the football park], Michael Olsen, was super encouraging. I will never forget this, but one day we were talking to each other and he said, “You’re going to have my job one day.” We laugh about it, but I literally went home and ordered a book called Next Stop, Corner Office on Amazon. It took a minute to get there—there were a lot of turns and a lot of other people that were put in a position to lead before me. From that day at the football park to now, he’s still my mentor and he’s still my friend. He’s been instrumental in this path I’ve been on and in my life.
Because you were able to experience a lot of different roles at a record label, what have been some of your favorite things you’ve gotten to do?
Artists at every level have a goal. Emerging talent, established artists and legendary acts all have goals. For us to try to step in and make something on those wish lists possible for artists, there’s no greater joy than that. We still have a handful of artists that get to terrestrial radio, so for those artists who’ve never heard their song on the radio, to be able to be part of those stories and be responsible for them having radio hits, that’s still very special to me. I worked radio promotions for a long time, so I’m beholden to radio in a way. I also love having events where we can touch our audience, invite them, thank them and love on them for being supporters.
What have been some more difficult challenges in those roles?
Every job has different variations of challenges. The most challenging thing for me has been something I couldn’t change. I think about this a lot now, especially with all the diversity work I do. People are always asking me about being Black in the city. I think being a female leader has been hard. It’s not necessarily that one is more or less significant, but I’ve probably felt that more as a woman here. I feel like I’m consistently thanking my team for rocking with me and respecting me. I still see that being a space that we have got to do a lot more work in: respecting women’s voices.
I’ve been really fortunate in the sense that I’ve had people in leadership around me who were very blatant about saying, “I don’t really care if you’re Black or a woman. I just care about being successful.” I’ve lived in this body a long time and while there are a lot of things that I’m able to do for this community and in this city, the only form of training I had was life experience.
Gina Miller
You’ve been one of the leading voices for diversity and inclusion on Music Row. Do you feel like we are making any progress towards becoming a more diverse genre and industry?
First, I’m extremely excited to be able to do the things that I get to do and be a part of this community. I don’t have a reason to not be truthful, honest and sincere about how we can make what’s already such an incredible place better. That’s really my main goal right now, to be one of the louder voices in the room so we can listen and pay attention to the things that will just make us better.
I will say there is progress being made. I think that’s the right answer. What a lot of people probably measure it by is: is it big progress? Could there be more? Yes, but progress is not defined by how much more it could be. It’s just that it is better than what it has been.
If we look around Music Row and consider that most of the major labels and independent labels have been run historically by white men; and that a lot of those labels are now being led by white women as of this year—that’s progress. To go a step further, do we see people that look like me leading labels? No. That’s across this whole entire city. That’s not just the music business. We still have a lot to do.
Tell me about becoming the Sr. VP/GM of MNRK.
The man who was leading us at the time left to go to a major label, which left us needing somebody to lead the label group. I ended up talking to Mike about it and we had a lot of conversations during that time about his philosophy on what that would look like.
Before I was given the job, I worked under three other men. They were all given opportunity to lead before me. But I will say, I needed to experience that. It just makes my point all the more valid. Now I’m able to have these conversations internally when I see things happening where you’ve got qualified women working in divisions who get skipped over for unqualified white men. Thankfully, women are having a moment right now. Most companies who are tuned in are giving opportunities to women who are deserving, who are qualified and who’ve put in the work.
What is your favorite part about your job?
One of the favorite things about my job is watching my team grow and develop. I have an incredible team. I’m so proud of them.
My dream has always been to know artists and to have solid relationships with people who are making a difference. I had set out a goal years ago that I would not be limited to one kind of music and that I wanted to know music people. I feel really good that when I look through the people who are in my circle, that they’re doing all kinds of amazing things from producers, engineers and studio owners, all the way into film and television. If it all ends tomorrow, it’s been great.
What is exciting you right now?
Like I said, I have two sons. My 23-year-old son works down on fourth at Rocketown. My 28-year-old son has s worked in corporate America for the last eight years while living in Richmond. He moved to Nashville about a year ago and has been playing up and down Broadway. Not long ago, he told me he was going to apply for some jobs here and try something different. Now my oldest son works at SESAC. That makes me so proud. I had nothing to do with it—I didn’t call anybody. We’re so excited about that. We are working together to extend our legacy and make change on Music Row.
Musicians On Call Announces Staff Promotions & Additions
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R, top): Kat Weeks, Sasha Arnkoff and Caroline Love; (L-R, bottom) PJ Cowan, Orenda Senior and Torianne Valdez
Musicians On Call (MOC) has promoted Kat Weeks to Vice President of Marketing, Caroline Love to Senior Program Manager, Torianne Valdez to Senior Talent Manager and PJ Cowan to Senior Program Manager. The company has also welcomed Orenda Senior as Program Coordinator and Sasha Arnkoff as Executive Assistant.
Weeks joined the nonprofit in 2011 to lead and grow the organization’s marketing department. She oversees a team that manages all digital, communications, promotions, press and fundraising events for the organization. In her role as VP she will continue to guide the strategy for promoting MOC as the nation’s leading provider of live music in the hospital.
Love came to MOC from TriStar Centennial Medical Center in 2019 and has overseen program management and implementation in markets across the country. As Senior Program Manager she will continue to grow MOC Bedside and Virtual programs in these markets, recruiting and managing volunteers and working with hospital partners to implement programs.
Valdez has been a part of the team since 2017, managing programs and volunteers for the Nashville, Memphis and Atlanta markets. In her new role as Senior Talent Manager, she will be responsible for managing MOC’s national talent strategy, including cultivating relationships with celebrity talent and industry teams, recruiting and executing celebrity visits and partnership opportunities as well as managing talent requests for programs, events, fundraisers and auctions.
Cowan joined the organization in 2015 and most recently served as Senior Manager of Grants & Research, where he managed all grant applications and funding in addition to spearheaded research initiatives surrounding the impact of MOC’s programs. As Senior Program Manager, Cowan will manage hospital relationships and program execution in markets including Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Jose and Houston.
As Program Coordinator, Senior joins MOC’s Program Team to manage volunteer and hospital relationships and program execution in Nashville and Murfreesboro. Prior to joining MOC, Senior attended Sacred Heart University, where she studied public health with an emphasis on health equity, and completed internships working on community health initiatives for Hartford Healthcare.
In her new role, Arnkoff will be responsible for all areas of administrative support for the organization. She earned a degree in communications from the University of Central Florida and has previously worked in administrative roles within the entertainment industry. Arnkoff joined the MOC community in 2014 as a Volunteer Musician and has performed for nearly 1,000 patients, families and caregivers locally through MOC’s bedside program.
“Our exceptional team not only works tirelessly to deliver the healing power of music where it’s needed most, but they are the backbone of why Musicians On Call is named a best nonprofit to work for year after year. I am very proud of all of the team members whose promotions we are celebrating, and can’t thank them enough for their roles in furthering our mission,” says Pete Griffin, Musicians On Call President & CEO. “With the additions of Orenda and Sasha we are well equipped to continue impacting thousands of patients, families and caregivers nationwide.”
For more than 20 years, the nonprofit has used music to promote the healing process through bedside, virtual and digital streaming programs that are available across all 50 states. As the nation’s leading provider of live music in hospitals, MOC volunteers have performed for more than one million individuals in healthcare facilities nationwide. The organization has also appeared on The NonProfit Times‘ Best Nonprofits To Work For list, which recognizes 50 organizations as the best employers in the industry, for five consecutive years.
AmericanaFest Announces Keynote Speaker Details
/by Lorie HollabaughAmericanaFest has announced the keynote speakers for the upcoming conference at The Westin Nashville Sept. 20-22.
Panelists including Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal, Bettye LaVette & Steve Jordan, Lyle Lovett, Marty Stuart, Rufus Wainwright & Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams.
Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal: The Wheel 30-Year Anniversary
Tuesday — 3 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater
On the heels of launching their co-founded new record label, RumbleStrip Records, Cash and Leventhal will discuss their extensive history together as artist and producer. The duo will highlight the 30th anniversary reissue of Cash’s 1993 album, The Wheel (the couple’s first collaborative effort), as well as Leventhal’s upcoming solo debut. Cash is a recipient of the Americana Music Association’s Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award and has won the organization’s Song of the Year and Album of the Year honors. Leventhal was also named the Americana Music Association’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2015.
The World of Marty Stuart
Wednesday — 12 p.m.
Following the release of his new album, Altitude, Stuart explores a cosmic country landscape of dreamers and drifters, misfits and angels, honky-tonk heroes and lonesome lovers. The Country Music Hall of Famer, five-time Grammy winner and Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement honoree will sit with music journalist and broadcaster David Fricke to discuss his fifty-year career spanning music, photography, history, artifact collection and his latest museum project to revitalize his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Becoming Lyle Lovett: A Keynote Conversation
Thursday — 10 a.m.
With a career spanning nearly four decades, Lovett will provide a reflection on his songs, recordings and international tours. He will offer insight into moments throughout his career when he had to dig deep to find the next version of himself. The careful balance of continuity and change is at the heart of any long career, and Lovett stands as a master of taking it forward without losing sight of home.
Reunited in Music: Bettye LaVette & Steve Jordan
Thursday — 1 p.m.
LaVette and Jordan will come together again to discuss their latest collaboration for her album LaVette! The two will discuss their accomplished careers and creative processes as well as what led to recording an album of songs by Randall Bramblett. LaVette! arrived in June on Jay-Vee Records, the label co-founded by Jordan and Meegan Voss.
Telling Secrets: A Conversation with Lucinda Williams
Thursday — 3 p.m.
Grammy-winning artist Williams will sit down with music journalist and author Holly George-Warren to participate in an engaging discussion about her illustrious life and career. After several years of playing hardscrabble clubs, Williams gained solid footing to record a self-titled album that would become a touchstone for the embryonic Americana movement – helping launch a thousand musical ships.
Friends of Folk: A Conversation with Rufus Wainwright & Emmylou Harris
Friday — 2 p.m.
Wainwright’s new album, Folkocracy, pays tribute to his Canadian and American folk roots through an array of cover songs. Harris will join him to discuss their approach to music and storytelling, drawing from their decades of experience in the industry. Together, they will talk candidly about their musical heritage, personal growth and lessons learned.
My Music Row Story: MNRK Music Group’s Gina Miller
/by LB CantrellGina Miller
Gina Miller has been passionate about music for as long as she can remember. A musician, educator, entrepreneur and executive, her love for music and the arts has forged the way and proven to be a significant part of her life’s purpose and work. Having spent nearly two decades with MNRK Music Group (formerly Entertainment One), Miller’s current role as the label’s Sr. VP and General Manager for Nashville has her overseeing day-to-day operations and creative output for Nashville, including MNRK subsidiaries Light Records and IndieBlu Music.
Throughout her career, she has used her platform and voice to both improve the ways the music business operates and create opportunities for those who are marginalized in our industry. An advocate for equality and equity, she is a sought-after speaker, clinician and consultant. The music industry veteran is an active champion, serving on several advisory councils, including Music Makes Us, The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), St. Jude Urban Cares and the Country Music Association D&I Task Force.
Miller also serves on The Americana Music Association Board, Secretary of the Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter, Vice President of Nashville Music Equality, as well as The Music Business Association (Music Biz, Board Chair) and The National Association of Black Female Executives in Media & Entertainment (NABFEME). Named to Leadership Music’s Class of 2022, Billboard’s Women in Music executive class in 2018 and 2020 and the Nashville Business Journal’s Women Of Influence 2021 Class, Miller continues to use her influence to inspire and drive change, not only in the organizations she faithfully serves, but in this community and world in which she lives.
Earlier this year, Miller was honored with the Music Biz Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive Achievement in recognition of her leadership and commitment to bolstering diversity and inclusion across the music industry.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in south Memphis, Tennessee, which I am incredibly proud of. Quite frankly, I think it set the tone for everything that’s shaped me to be the person, the leader and the musician that I am with the music background that I have. All of that was developed not only in Memphis, but specifically in south Memphis.
Gina Miller
Tell me about growing up there.
My community played a large part of exposing me to the music that I’m aware of. My mom was our church musician and the church was in our neighborhood. The first records I remember buying were from a mom and pop record store on the same street as Stax Records. That community shaped a lot of my musical upbringing.
How did you start playing music?
I started playing in church. Our neighborhood piano teacher sought my mom out and asked my mother to bring me to her when I was about five or six. I took piano all the way through college at Belmont.
By the time I got to seventh grade, I was playing the flute in the band. I wanted to be a clarinetist, but we had a flute because my older sister played the flute, so my mom was like, “This is what you’re going to play.” [Laughs]
The flute got me a scholarship to UT Knoxville [before I went to Belmont]. I marched in the band at UT for a while. I played piccolo and the flute between football and basketball season. I have been eaten up in music my entire life. It’s pretty clear now that I was going to be a part of it.
When you were playing flute in the band at UT Knoxville or studying at Belmont, what was your dream?
That was my dream: music. While I was growing up, I listened to R&B, pop music, country music and more. I was classicially trained—that’s where I got my start with my piano teacher. My father had a huge LP collection and we listened to Johnny Cash, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Mahalia Jackson and all kinds of music. I had a big appreciation for all genres of music. That is absolutely why I fight so hard to make sure that we’re inclusive of so many different formats, genres and art styles, because there’s so much to appreciate.
Gina Miller and team
What happened after college that put you on your path to MNRK Music Group?
You probably hear a lot about people who got their start from making a connection with somebody—that’s exactly what happened to me. First and foremost, I think it’s important to point out that when I went back to Belmont, I was married with two sons.
[After I went to Belmont], my oldest son was playing pee wee football in Brentwood. The families [that were driving their kids to games] were driving very modest cars. There was one guy that was getting out of a Porsche every Saturday morning with his kid. I thought, “Who is that? I need to know who that is because he’s doing something different.” [Laughs]
Eventually I introduced myself. The next week, we were making small talk and he said, “So what kind of music are you into?” I knew what was coming then. When I asked him, he named all this music that I grew up listening to. I asked him, “What is your relationship to this music and to these artists?” He said, “I’ve got a little label in Nashville [called Light Records] and we are the main distributor and label for these artists.” I told him, “I need to be a part of that.”
What happened next?
He told me that he didn’t do the hiring, but that he would introduce me to the president of the label. Long story short, I met with him and he told me they didn’t have any jobs. I said, “Okay, can I just come hang out? Can I come in every day and just see what’s going on, learn and be of service in any way?” He agreed to that and I did that for a year. That absolutely changed the trajectory of my life. That was almost 20 years ago now and I’ve never walked out.
Gina Miller and sons
Wow! That is some dedication. How did you transition that into a job?
Once that year passed, he created a job for me, which was basically a part-time coordinator position. The fast version of my story is that from there to now, I just moved around and worked in every division, which I feel was very worthwhile in being able to actually lead the label group now. I’ve always lived with this belief that nothing is wasted and everything is purposeful. I knew that it was all going to make sense at some point.
The CEO of the label [who I met at the football park], Michael Olsen, was super encouraging. I will never forget this, but one day we were talking to each other and he said, “You’re going to have my job one day.” We laugh about it, but I literally went home and ordered a book called Next Stop, Corner Office on Amazon. It took a minute to get there—there were a lot of turns and a lot of other people that were put in a position to lead before me. From that day at the football park to now, he’s still my mentor and he’s still my friend. He’s been instrumental in this path I’ve been on and in my life.
Because you were able to experience a lot of different roles at a record label, what have been some of your favorite things you’ve gotten to do?
Artists at every level have a goal. Emerging talent, established artists and legendary acts all have goals. For us to try to step in and make something on those wish lists possible for artists, there’s no greater joy than that. We still have a handful of artists that get to terrestrial radio, so for those artists who’ve never heard their song on the radio, to be able to be part of those stories and be responsible for them having radio hits, that’s still very special to me. I worked radio promotions for a long time, so I’m beholden to radio in a way. I also love having events where we can touch our audience, invite them, thank them and love on them for being supporters.
What have been some more difficult challenges in those roles?
Every job has different variations of challenges. The most challenging thing for me has been something I couldn’t change. I think about this a lot now, especially with all the diversity work I do. People are always asking me about being Black in the city. I think being a female leader has been hard. It’s not necessarily that one is more or less significant, but I’ve probably felt that more as a woman here. I feel like I’m consistently thanking my team for rocking with me and respecting me. I still see that being a space that we have got to do a lot more work in: respecting women’s voices.
I’ve been really fortunate in the sense that I’ve had people in leadership around me who were very blatant about saying, “I don’t really care if you’re Black or a woman. I just care about being successful.” I’ve lived in this body a long time and while there are a lot of things that I’m able to do for this community and in this city, the only form of training I had was life experience.
Gina Miller
You’ve been one of the leading voices for diversity and inclusion on Music Row. Do you feel like we are making any progress towards becoming a more diverse genre and industry?
First, I’m extremely excited to be able to do the things that I get to do and be a part of this community. I don’t have a reason to not be truthful, honest and sincere about how we can make what’s already such an incredible place better. That’s really my main goal right now, to be one of the louder voices in the room so we can listen and pay attention to the things that will just make us better.
I will say there is progress being made. I think that’s the right answer. What a lot of people probably measure it by is: is it big progress? Could there be more? Yes, but progress is not defined by how much more it could be. It’s just that it is better than what it has been.
If we look around Music Row and consider that most of the major labels and independent labels have been run historically by white men; and that a lot of those labels are now being led by white women as of this year—that’s progress. To go a step further, do we see people that look like me leading labels? No. That’s across this whole entire city. That’s not just the music business. We still have a lot to do.
Tell me about becoming the Sr. VP/GM of MNRK.
The man who was leading us at the time left to go to a major label, which left us needing somebody to lead the label group. I ended up talking to Mike about it and we had a lot of conversations during that time about his philosophy on what that would look like.
Before I was given the job, I worked under three other men. They were all given opportunity to lead before me. But I will say, I needed to experience that. It just makes my point all the more valid. Now I’m able to have these conversations internally when I see things happening where you’ve got qualified women working in divisions who get skipped over for unqualified white men. Thankfully, women are having a moment right now. Most companies who are tuned in are giving opportunities to women who are deserving, who are qualified and who’ve put in the work.
What is your favorite part about your job?
One of the favorite things about my job is watching my team grow and develop. I have an incredible team. I’m so proud of them.
My dream has always been to know artists and to have solid relationships with people who are making a difference. I had set out a goal years ago that I would not be limited to one kind of music and that I wanted to know music people. I feel really good that when I look through the people who are in my circle, that they’re doing all kinds of amazing things from producers, engineers and studio owners, all the way into film and television. If it all ends tomorrow, it’s been great.
What is exciting you right now?
Like I said, I have two sons. My 23-year-old son works down on fourth at Rocketown. My 28-year-old son has s worked in corporate America for the last eight years while living in Richmond. He moved to Nashville about a year ago and has been playing up and down Broadway. Not long ago, he told me he was going to apply for some jobs here and try something different. Now my oldest son works at SESAC. That makes me so proud. I had nothing to do with it—I didn’t call anybody. We’re so excited about that. We are working together to extend our legacy and make change on Music Row.
Restless Road To Release ‘Last Rodeo’ In October
/by Lorie HollabaughRestless Road (Zach Beeken, Garrett Nichols and Colton Pack) is gearing up for the release of their debut album Last Rodeo, due out Oct. 20, and will unveil new track “Roll Tide Roll” this Friday (Aug. 11).
The 18-track collection features brand new songs as well as previously-released songs “Last Rodeo,” “I Don’t Wanna Be That Guy,” “Sundown Somewhere,” “On My Way,” their breakout single “Growing Old With You” and fan favorite “Bar Friends.” Songwriters contributing to the project include Ben Hayslip, Brice Long, Charles Kelley, Devin Dawson and more.
“If you would have told us a few years ago that we would be where we are today we wouldn’t have believed you,” says Restless Road. “We’ve been through so many ups and downs as a band, and that’s what this is about. Never giving up and always keeping your eyes on the road. It’s about believing in yourself even when people tell you no, and persevering until your dreams become a reality. And that’s why the three of us are so excited for the biggest thing we’ve done yet.”
2023 started with a bang for the trio, as they were named one of Spotify’s Hot Country Artists To Watch and released a number of songs including “On My Way,” “I Don’t Wanna Be That Guy” and “Last Rodeo.”
Last Rodeo Album Track Listing:
1. “Last Rodeo” (Trannie Anderson/Lindsay Rimes/Garrett Nichols/Zach Beeken/Colton Pack)
2. “Head Over Heels” (Zach Beeken/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack/Jacob Rice/Kyle Sturrock)
3. “Growing Old With You” (Charles Kelley/Jordan Minton/Jordan Reynolds)
4. “Could’ve Been a Love Song” (Zach Crowell/Ben Hayslip/Hunter Phelps)
5. “Roll Tide Roll” (Zach Beeken/Garrett Nichols/Kyle Sturrock)
6. “Bar Friends” (Geoff Warburton/Jordan Schmidt/Kyle Clark/Tyler Filmore)
7. “Tell Me Not To” (Zach Beeken/Emma-Lee/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack)
8. “Go Get Her” (Josh Jenkins/Brice Long/Mark Nesler)
9. “I Don’t Wanna Be That Guy” (Colton Pack/Garrett Nichols/Zach Beeken/Jared Keim/Travis Wood)
10. “10 Things” (Zach Beeken/Devin Dawson/Jared Keim/Garrett Nichols)
11. “Leave Them Boots On” (Zach Beeken/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack/Jonathan Smith)
12. “Easy for You to Say” (Zach Beeken/Josh Kear/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack/Lindsay Rimes)
13. “You Don’t Have to Love Me” (Austin Shawn/Zach Beeken/Nate Kenyon/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack)
14. “No Can Do” (Jessi Alexander/Zach Beeken/Matt Jenkins/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack/Jacob Rice)
15. “That Town and You” (Ben Burgess/Devin Dawson/Joshua Kerr/Jordan Reynolds)
16. “Most Nights” (feat. Erin Kinsey) (Zach Beeken/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack/John Pierce/Lindsay Rimes)
17. “Sundown Somewhere” (Ben Hayslip/Jacob Rice/Cole Swindell/Cole Taylor)
18. “On My Way” (Zach Beeken/Kyle Clark/Garrett Nichols/Colton Pack/Lindsay Rimes)
2023 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Breakthrough Songwriter Of The Year
/by LB CantrellFollowing the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 35th annual MusicRow Awards, we take a closer look at the Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year category.
The Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year is voted by MusicRow’s subscribers to honor a Nashville songwriter who wrote or co-wrote a Top 10 song for the first time during the eligibility period of June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023. Outside nominations from Nashville’s publishing community are considered for this award.
This year’s winners will be announced online on all MusicRow platforms on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.
Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.
Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribers. Voting is now open and closes on Aug. 18 at 5:00 p.m.
To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow subscriber here.
Trannie Anderson scored her first No. 1 hit this year with Lainey Wilson’s “Heart Like A Truck,” which she co-wrote with the country star and Dallas Wilson. Anderson has also written songs recorded by Tenille Arts, Gabby Barrett, Dan + Shay, Hannah Dasher, Pentatonix, Nate Smith, Noah Thompson and Meghan Trainor.
Rian Ball hit the top of the charts for the first time with “Down Home,” which he co-wrote with Jimmie Allen, Cameron Bedell and Tate Howell, and Allen recorded. Ball has also had songs cut by Chris Young, Michael Ray, Filmore and more artists in other genres.
Cameron Bedell earned his first No. 1 with Jimmie Allen’s “Down Home,” which he co-wrote with Allen, Rian Ball and Tate Howell. Dylan Scott, Hailey Whitters, Lauren Alaina, Seaforth and more have cut Bedell’s songs, and he produces Tiera Kennedy.
Jimi Bell scored his first No. 1 hit with Jon Pardi’s “Last Night Lonely.” He co-wrote the tune with Joe Fox and Dylan Marlowe. Bell’s songs have also been recorded by Brantley Gilbert, Bailey Zimmerman, Kip Moore and more.
Rocky Block notched his first top 10 with Morgan Wallen’s “Man Made A Bar,” featuring Eric Church. He co-wrote the song with Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet and Brett Tyler, which is one of four of his credits on Wallen’s third album. Block has also had songs recorded by Breland, Jake Owen, Nelly, Jordan Davis, Chris Lane and more.
Will Bundy hit the top of the charts for the first time with “Half Of Me,” recorded by Thomas Rhett featuring Riley Green. He co-wrote the song with Rhett, Josh Thompson and Rhett Akins. Bundy has also written songs recorded by Keith Urban, Jordan Davis, Parker McCollum, Jon Pardi, Jason Aldean and more.
John Byron had a big hit with Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” which he co-wrote with Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Ryan Vojtesak. It is one of nine songs Byron co-wrote for Wallen’s third album. He’s also had songs cut by Chris Lane and Sean Stemaly.
Jamie Davis hit the top of the charts for the first time with Luke Combs’ “The Kind of Love We Make,” which he cowrote with Combs, Dan Isbell and Reid Isbell. Davis has also had songs recorded by Lily Rose, Jenna Paulette, Leith Loftin and others, and is also a member of Combs’ touring band.
Jordan Dozzi co-wrote the Top 10 hit, “Man Made A Bar,” recorded by Morgan Wallen featuring Eric Chruch. Dozzi co-wrote the tune with Rocky Block, Larry Fleet and Brett Tyler. He has also had cuts with Nelly, Jake Owen, Seaforth, Chase Matthew and more.
David Fanning has had lots of success as a producer and manager to Parmalee. He added “hit songwriter” to his resume with “Take My Name,” recorded by Parmalee and co-written with Matt Thomas, Ashley Gorley and Ben Johnson, and “Tennessee Orange,” co-written and recorded by Megan Moroney along with Ben Williams and Paul Jenkins.
Joe Fox topped the charts with the Jon Pardi-recorded “Last Night Loney,” which he co-wrote with Jimi Bell and Dylan Marlowe, whom he produces. Fox has had songs recorded by Blake Shelton and Matt Stell as well.
Jaxson Free celebrated his first No. 1 with “Thank God,” recorded by Kane and Katelyn Brown. He wrote the duet with Christian Davis, Kyle Fishman, Josh Hoge and Jared Mullins. Free also has cuts with Chase Rice, Dalton Dover, Zach Seabaugh and others.
Jacob Hackworth scored a big hit with Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place,” which he co-wrote with Jet Harvey and Heath Warren. Hackworth has also had songs recorded by Chase Matthew and Logan Crosby.
Jet Harvey hit the top of the charts with Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place,” which he co-wrote with Jacob Hackworth and Heath Warren. The song was Harvey’s first cut.
Styles Haury earned his first hit with Luke Bryan’s “Country On.” He co-wrote the tune with Mark Nesler, Mitch Oglesby and David Frasier. Haury has also written songs recorded by Craig Morgan and Craig Campbell.
Tate Howell earned his first No. 1 with Jimmie Allen’s “Down Home,” which he co-wrote with Allen, Rian Ball and Cameron Bedell. He has also had songs recorded by Nate Smith and LANCO.
Reid Isbell hit the top of the charts with Luke Combs’ “The Kind of Love We Make.” He co-wrote the tune with Combs, Dan Isbell and Jamie Davis. Isbell has also had cuts with Jon Pardi, Lainey Wilson, Kameron Marlowe, King Calaway and more.
Gavin Lucas celebrated his first No. 1 with Bailey Zimmerman’s “Fall In Love,” which he wrote with Zimmerman and Austin Shawn. Zimmerman has cut many of Lucas’ songs.
Austin Shawn hit the top of the charts with Bailey Zimmerman’s “Fall In Love,” which he wrote with Zimmerman and Gavin Lucas. Lucas has also produced Zimmerman’s hits, as well as some work with Chase Matthew.
Christian Stalnecker earned his first No. 1 with “Thank God,” recorded by Kane and Katelyn Brown. He wrote the duet with Jaxson Free, Kyle Fishman, Josh Hoge and Jared Mullins. Stalnecker has also worked with Blake Shelton, Chris Young, T-Pain, Rick Ross and more.
David Ray Stevens celebrated his first rock No. 1 with Jelly Roll’s “Dead Man Walking” and his first country No. 1 with his “Son Of A Sinner,” which he wrote with Jelly Roll and Ernest.
Heath Warren scored a big hit with Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place,” which he co-wrote with Jet Harvey and Jacob Hackworth. Warren has also had songs recorded by Waterloo Revival, Colbie Caillat, Josh Ross and more.
Ben Williams earned his first No. 1 with “Tennessee Orange,” recorded and co-written with Megan Moroney as well as David Fanning and Paul Jenkins. He co-wrote seven of the 13 songs on Moroney’s debut album.
GMA Announces Nominees For 54th Annual Dove Awards
/by Caela GriffinThe Gospel Music Association (GMA) has revealed the nominees for the 54th annual GMA Dove Awards.
The top male nominees include Brandon Lake, Jeff Pardo, Jason Ingram and Kirk Franklin. The top female nominees are Katy Nichole, Lauren Daigle, Naomi Raine and Tasha Cobbs Leonard. Country stars Dylan Scott, Tyler Childers and Walker Hayes each earned first-time nominations.
Jason Crabb, Jordan Feliz, Danny Gokey, Natalie Grant and JJ Hairston announced the nominees today (Aug. 9) via YouTube live stream.
GMA’s Professional Membership chose this year’s nominees from over 2,046 submitted entries. The final round of voting will run from Aug. 17 to Aug. 24. The GMA Dove Awards event will take place live in Nashville on Oct. 17, before airing exclusively on TBN and the TBN app on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. CT.
“I want to congratulate this year’s wonderful list of Dove Awards nominees,” says Jackie Patillo, GMA President. “Each year, we choose a theme to represent our community and why we celebrate. Today we announced this year’s theme, Joyful Echo. Like it says in Isaiah 42:12 from The Message, ‘Make God’s glory resound, echo His praises from coast to coast.’ We expect and believe this year’s show will be a joyful echo of the love of Jesus.”
For the complete list of nominees, click here.
Neon Union Inks With CAA
/by Lorie HollabaughNeon Union
Red Street Records’ rising country duo Neon Union, made up of Leo Brooks and Andrew Millsaps, has signed with CAA.
Brooks is a Grammy-winner who spent over a decade as the bass player and Musical Director for multi-Platinum artist Pitbull, and has collaborated with Lauren Hill, Rick Ross and more. When Brooks and his musical talent united with Millsaps and his distinct vocals and evolving writing style, the duo found success as country newcomers. With more than 50 dates under their belt this year alone, they recently released their debut EP Double Wide Castle Sessions.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that Neon Union is now represented by the wonderful team at CAA,” says Red Street Records CEO Jay DeMarcus. “It’s another vital piece that’s now in place for these boys that are poised to take the next big step in their careers.”
2023 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Producer Of The Year
/by LB CantrellFollowing the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 35th annual MusicRow Awards, we take a closer look at the Producer of the Year category. This visionary class of nominees created up some of country music’s most innovative projects during the eligibility period of June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023.
This year’s winners will be announced online on all MusicRow platforms on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.
Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.
Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribers. Voting is now open and closes on Aug. 18 at 5:00 p.m.
To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow subscriber here.
Zach Crowell lent his production talent to Cole Swindell for his award-winning, multi-week No. 1 “She Had Me At Heads Carolina,” in addition to other hits by the artist over the past year. He produced Dustin Lynch’s record-breaking duet with MacKenzie Porter, “Thinking ‘Bout You,” which was the No. 1 song on the Mediabase 2022 Year-End Country Chart. Crowell’s work can also be heard on Sam Hunt’s rising new single “Outskirts,” Russell Dickerson’s “God Gave Me A Girl” and Conner Smith’s “Creek Will Rise,” as well as music from Jelly Roll and Madeline Merlo.
Dan Huff continued his legacy of producing hit records over the past year. Continuing his long-standing relationship with Kane Brown, he lent his talents to his Different Man album, producing No. 1 hits “Like I Love Country Music,” “Thank God,” “One Mississippi” and “Bury Me In Georgia.” Huff also produced Thomas Rhett’s recent hits “Slow Down Summer” and “Half Of Me,” Keith Urban’s “Brown Eyes Baby” and Brett Young’s “Dance With You,” to name a few. His work can also be heard on music from Darius Rucker, Russell Dickerson, Brian Kelley, Kameron Marlowe, Restless Road, Caylee Hammack, Tiera Kennedy and more.
Jay Joyce helmed the production on longtime client Lainey Wilson’s fourth studio album, Bell Bottom Country, which won the ACM’s Album of the Year prize and secured Wilson more hits with its “Heart Like a Truck” and “Watermelon Moonshine.” He also produced another longtime collaborator Eric Church’s 2021 triple album Heart & Soul, containing recent hits such as “Hell Of A View,” and Corey Kent’s major label debut album Blacktop and new music from LANCO.
Shane McAnally was celebrated for his production credits on projects from Carly Pearce, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, Kelsea Ballerini and more over the past year. Alongside Josh Osborne, McAnally worked on Pearce’s 29: Written In Stone album, containing hits “What He Didn’t Do,” “Next Girl” and “Never Wanted To Be That Girl.” He also lent his production skills to Old Dominion’s Memory Lane project, Ballerini’s Subject To Change album as well as singles for Hunt, Walker Hayes and Kylie Morgan.
Joey Moi is the production architect for Morgan Wallen’s record-breaking projects Dangerous: The Double Album and One Thing At A Time, both of which stayed in the top echelons of the country albums chart since their respective releases. Released in March, the record-shattering One Thing At A Time album has yielded hits such as “Last Night,” “You Proof,” “Thought You Should Know,” “Don’t Think Jesus” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me.” Moi also contributed to Hardy’s The Mockingbird & The Crow album, as well as projects from Jake Owen, Lauren Alaina, Ernest and more.
In addition to recent production credits with Russell Dickerson, Chase Matthew and more over the past year, Alysa Vanderheym really impressed with her work with Kelsea Ballerini. Vanderheym co-produced Ballerini’s lauded Rolling Up The Welcome Mat EP, which has become some of the star’s most well received work to date by both fans and critics. Vanderheym’s talents can also be heard on music from Tyler Rich, Joy Oladokun, Fancy Hagood and more.
SMACK Launches SMACKRecords With Flagship Artist Jenna Davis [Exclusive]
/by LB CantrellJenna Davis, SMACKRecords’ flagship artist. Photo: Lily Nelson
SMACK has officially launched a record label branch, SMACKRecords, as its next endeavor. The company’s flagship signing is the multi-faceted artist Jenna Davis.
SMACKRecords is now the fourth enterprise to launch under SMACK, which is also home to the highly successful publishing house SMACKSongs as well as SMACKManagement, which represents Walker Hayes and Kylie Morgan, and SMACKTok, which specializes in digital marketing. Under the helm of Shane McAnally, SMACK has celebrated more than 60 No. 1 songs and 3 Grammy Award wins.
“Cultivating and developing creatives is what we pride ourselves on here at SMACK, so extending that to developing artists through SMACKRecords is an endeavor that we’re really excited to launch with Jenna,” says SMACK President Robert Carlton. “She’s blown us all away with her talent and work ethic.”
With her pop-country sound, Davis will build on the millions of streams she has already garnered independently. In addition to being a singer-songwriter, she is a successful actress, having recently voiced the titular character in the hit horror-thriller M3GAN. She has over 9 million follows across her social platforms and her music videos have garnered over 70 million views.
Announced today, Davis was named to Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood Impact Report List 2023, which recognizes young artists in the worlds of film, television, music and digital. She was the only other country artist named to the list alongside Bailey Zimmerman.
In addition to becoming SMACKRecords’ flagship artist, Davis will also be represented by SMACKManagement.
“When I met 17-year-old Jenna what struck me most was how poised, professional and well-spoken she was,” shares SMACK’s Marissa Turk, who will manage Davis. “We obviously knew who she was as an actress, but when she came to us with new music what excited me most was the way in which she knew exactly who she was and what she wanted to say. To say we’re jacked for the opportunity to introduce Jenna to the country music community is an understatement.”
Davis will released her debut single, titled “DiCaprio,” for SMACKRecords on Friday (Aug. 11). The tune was co-written by Hayes, Kelsea Ballerini and Ross Copperman.
To contact SMACKRecords, reach out to Molly Bouchon, Director of Marketing + Artist Development at label@smacksongs.com.
Industry Ink: Mark Wills, The American Country Network, King Calaway
/by Lorie HollabaughMark Wills Turns 50 With Star-Studded Grand Ole Opry Bash
Pictured (L-R): Sonya Isaacs, Ben Isaacs, Lee Greenwood, Mark Wills, Lily Isaacs, Vince Gill, Amy Grant and Eddie Bayers
Noah Gordon, Tommy Snyder Launch American Country Network
Former CEO of The Country Network Tommy Snyder and Noah Gordon, President of 8 Track Entertainment, have partnered to launch the American Country Network, a new national country music television network based in Nashville. In addition to over-the-air broadcast, the new network will launch a streaming platform in Q1 of 2024 to include ROKU, Sling TV, LG TV, STIRR, Freebie TV, Amazon TV, Apple TV, IOS and Android. ACN will launch with the Chad Brock Show on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. CT and a hosted ACN Video Countdown show in the first quarter of 2024.
Keith Chester joins the network as Chief Information Officer with over 25 years in the entertainment industry, managing and producing artists, actors and TV personalities. Jeff Goodwin, a marketing industry executive with 40 years experience in corporate partnerships and marketing, will be ACN’s Chief Marketing Director.
King Calaway Celebrates New Album Launch With Opry Appearance
Pictured (L-R): Caleb Miller, Simon Dumas, Grand Ole Opry member Connie Smith, Chad Michael Jervis, Chris Deaton
King Calaway celebrated the launch of their new album Tennessee’s Waiting on Friday night (Aug. 4) with a three-song set at The Grand Ole Opry. Before their performance, the band spent time backstage with Grand Ole Opry member Connie Smith.