Philadelphia public radio station WXPN has launched a new podcast called Artist To Watch: Black Opry Residency, airing each Thursday through Black Music Month.

Hosted by John Morrison, the podcast presents five stories of up-and-coming Black musicians seeking to reclaim country and Americana as inclusive genres. The first episode of the five-part series is available to stream across all digital platforms now, with subsequent episodes airing each Thursday.

Pictured (L-R): Shane McAnally, Robert Horn and Brandy Clark

Shucked, the Tony-nominated musical, is heading to London.

Based on the book written by Robert Horn, Shucked is a tale from the heart of the heartlands directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien and produced by Sandbox Entertainment’s Jason Owen alongside Mike Bosner. The show features music and lyrics by renowned songwriters Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, and is also nominated for 12 Drama Desk Awards, seven Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Drama League Awards.

The musical will open in London’s West End theatre district in 2024, confirmed by U.K.’s preeminent producer and theater owner, Cameron Mackintosh. Casting, theater location, ticketing information and other details will be announced in the coming months.

“I’m delighted to confirm that London is going to get Shucked in one of one of my theatres next year! Shucked is a rarity: a completely original musical and the funniest show since The Book of Mormon, with a terrifically tuneful rollicking country and western score,” says Mackintosh.

“The truth about this kind of entertainment is it should make people feel good,” says Owen. “You can make people think or look at their values with a smile on their face just as easily as you can by being serious. But where the world is right now, people need to come together, to laugh and honestly recognize that Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio or even Arkansas where I’m from is as much a part of America as Wall Street or Hollywood – and Shucked is about bringing all these people together.”

Pictured (L-R, back row): Duane Hobson (ASCAP), Shaina Botwin (Boom Music Group) Joe Fisher (Boom Music Group), Ben Kline (Warner Music Nashville), Cris Lacy (Warner Music Nashville), Ryan Beuschel (Warner Chappell Music), Clay Bradley (BMI) Sam Shelton (Goat Island Sound) Emma Kiefer (Boom Music Group); (L-R, front row): Jacob Hackworth (BMI), Gavin Lucas (ASCAP), Heath Warren (BMI), Bailey Zimmerman (BMI), Austin Shawn (BMI), Jet Harvey (BMI). Photo: Steve Lowry for BMI

Breakout country star Bailey Zimmerman celebrated his first two chart-topping hits earlier this week with a double No. 1 party at Hi-Fi Clyde’s.

Industry members gathered to toast to Zimmerman’s debut chart-topper “Fall In Love” along with its follow-up, the multi-week No. 1 hit “Rock and a Hard Place.” The celebration brought together writers Zimmerman (BMI), Austin Shawn (BMI) and Gavin Lucas (ASCAP) for “Fall In Love,” along with Jacob Hackworth (BMI), Jet Harvey (BMI) and Heath Warren (BMI) for “Rock and a Hard Place.” Shawn is the producer on both hits.

“Fall In Love” and “Rock and a Hard Place” collaborators with their MusicRow No. 1 Challenge Coins. Pictured (L-R, back row): MusicRow‘s LB Cantrell, MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson; (L-R, front row): Jacob Hackworth, Gavin Lucas, Heath Warren, Bailey Zimmerman, Austin Shawn, Jet Harvey. Photo: Steve Lowry for BMI

All parties were celebrating their first ever No. 1 song. As part of BMI tradition, the BMI writers got their custom-made Taylor guitar to commemorate their first.

BMI’s Clay Bradley welcomed the crowd to the party. “What better way to kick off the 50th anniversary of CMA Fest than with these fresh and new faces, voices, energies and sounds for country music,” he said.

Zimmerman’s new sound has been incredibly well received by country music fans. Since breaking onto the scene in 2021, Zimmerman has amassed 2 billion streams to date. His debut album Religiously. The Album. arrived as not only the biggest all-genre streaming debut since 2021, but also the biggest streaming country debut of all time.

“I think it’s safe to say country music is in safe hands,” Bradley said.

ASCAP’s Duane Hobson was on hand to support affiliate songwriter Gavin Lucas. Studio Bank’s Ron Cox let the writers know that the bank had made a donation in their names to CreatiVets. Country Aircheck‘s Lon Helton presented Zimmerman with a plaque commemorating his success at country radio.

When Warner Chappell’s Ryan Beuschel got up to speak, he let the crowd know that the publishing giant represented everyone on stage, whether through direct publishing deals or administration partnerships.

“This crew has become like family to me,” Beuschel said, adding some backstory about his and Zimmerman’s first meeting. “You delivered song after song for this album. I’m so proud of you. What an amazing run that you’ve been on.”

Beuschel then went on to speak about each writer, complimenting them on what they bring to the songs.

Warner Music Nashville co-head Cris Lacy presented some stats on Zimmerman’s record-breaking run thus far. She let the crowd know that WMN originally asked for a re-write of “Fall In Love.” After Zimmerman, Shawn and Lucas humored them, they let the label executives know that they felt it was good as is.

“Sometimes the best thing for a record label to do is get the hell out of the way, so we did. This is the result,” Lacy said. “That gave us the fastest debut single to reach No. 1 since 2015, making this the quickest an artist has earned a chart-topping No. 1 on their first two singles in nearly 25 years.

“Then ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ hit No. 1 only 15 weeks after ‘Fall In Love,’ and held that top spot for six weeks,” Lacy said. “There are some people whose job isn’t to get the hell out of the way—that’s the radio people. It’s their job to push people out of the way.”

Lacy acknowledged WMN’s Kristen Williams and her radio warriors and streaming experts.

Gregg Nadel from Elektra, who partners with WMN on Zimmerman, visited Nashville to share some kind words about the star. He recalled a night on the road when the crowd wouldn’t settle down after Zimmerman finished his set with “Rock and a Hard Place.” After a moment backstage, the young performer went out and sang it again for them.

More publishers spoke about their writers, such as Goat Island Sound’s Sam Shelton, who was also celebrating his first No. 1. He and Boom Music Group’s Shaina Botwin were on hand to speak about Hackworth. Both made sure to thank everyone involved in the song, especially Zimmerman for cutting an outside song.

“Fall In Love” co-writer Lucas was the first songwriter to speak. “Meeting Bailey Zimmerman changed my entire life,” he said. “It’s hard to write a song and hear someone else sing it in the way you meant for it to be sang. This guy sings it 10 times better than I could have thought of.”

Co-writer and co-producer Shawn shared a bit about the beginning of his partnership with Zimmerman, highlighting how quickly the artist went from a “regular guy” to a superstar.

“I met Bailey three months after he started singing. He didn’t know how to play a chord on a guitar, he didn’t know how to sing a harmony, he didn’t know anything, but what he did have and what I saw was his heart… This is the power of having heart and having drive,” he said, “We had nothing at the same time and now we have everything we could have ever imagined.”

“Rock and a Hard Place” co-writer Warren was next up. “This has been an incredible journey. I have learned a lot of lessons along the way through this entire thing, but the thing I’ve really learned is to appreciate the people you’ve surrounded yourself with,” he said.

Harvey shared that “Rock and a Hard Place” was based on argument he and his wife Kristin had. “I never thought that an argument would turn into such a miracle,” he said. “Bailey says something every night after his shows—he talks about believing in yourself. I never had anyone believe in me until I met Kristin.”

Hackworth summed everything up by saying, “Everything you’ve heard is exactly the truth. Everyone in these seats are incredible people. We all work really hard at what we do and we’re really thankful that we’re here today.”

Zimmerman told the stories behind his connection to both songs. He thanked everyone on his impactful team.

“You hear it takes a village and it really does. If I wouldn’t have had everyone I have here, it would have been awful,” Zimmerman said. “Thank you for everything you guys do. I’m so grateful to be a part of this. I love y’all with my whole heart.”

Pictured (L-R): Honorees Trisha Yearwood, Mickey Guyton and Leslie Fram attend Save The Music & SongFarm.org’s 4th annual “Hometown to Hometown” event at City Winery Nashville. Photo: Catherine Powell/Getty Images for Save The Music

The fourth annual “Hometown to Hometown” event from Save The Music and SongFarm.org brought the Nashville music community together Monday night (June 5) for a great event, raising over $200k for music education programs in under-resourced public high schools.

Trisha Yearwood, Mickey Guyton and CMT’s Leslie Fram were honored as the 2023 Champions of the Year for their contributions to the music industry and their passion for music education. Funds raised from the event will go towards developing music technology programs in Nashville as well as the honoree’s respective hometowns in Jasper, Georgia (Yearwood) and Dallas, Texas (Guyton).

Pictured (L-R): Madeline Edwards, Leslie Satcher, Karyn Rochelle, Kelsea Ballerini, honoree Trisha Yearwood, honoree Mickey Guyton, honoree Leslie Fram, Caylee Hammack, Brittney Spencer and Julie Williams. Photo: Catherine Powell/Getty Images for Save The Music

Throughout the event, honorees, performers and speakers including Kelsea Ballerini, Madeline Edwards, Caylee Hammack, Wendy Moten, Leslie Satcher, Brittney Spencer, Karyn Rochelle and Julie Williams spoke passionately about the bonds shared by women in the music industry, including via CMT’s Next Women of Country program, and the importance of supporting each other’s careers.

Highlights from the evening included Fram leading a powerful conversation between fellow honorees Yearwood and Guyton on themes including inclusivity and the unique challenges women face in the country music industry.

Kicking off the night’s performances, Rochelle and Satcher paid tribute to Yearwood with heartfelt renditions of “Georgia Rain” and “Help Me,” both recorded by Yearwood. Tracy Gershon presented Yearwood with the first Champion of the Year award of the night.

Performing on behalf of  Guyton, Spencer earned the night’s first standing ovation with a rendition of Guyton’s powerhouse anthem “Black Like Me.” Hammack followed with a performance of “Sister,” further cementing the night’s theme. UMG Nashville’s Cindy Mabe later presented a tearful Guyton with her award as she reflected on her journey throughout her career and the shift she has brought to country music.

Pictured (L-R): Honorees Mickey Guyton, Trisha Yearwood and Leslie Fram speak during Save The Music & SongFarm.org’s 4th annual “Hometown to Hometown” event. Photo: Catherine Powell/Getty Images for Save The Music

Dedicating her song “The Wolves” to Leslie Fram, Edwards touched on the ways Fram has impacted her career. She was followed by Ballerini, who shared anecdotes about her and Fram’s relationships over the past 10 years before putting a fun spin on her latest single “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too).”

Billboard’s Melinda Newman presented Fram with her award, describing her as a “truth teller” and applauding her “fearless nature” when it comes to tackling issues in the industry. Fram then handed over her acceptance speech to singer Moten, who commanded the stage with a powerful performance of “Don’t Give Up,” delivering the night’s second standing ovation.

Save The Music grant recipient school Whites Creek High School educator Jonathan Curri and his three students Eric Yarber, Briah Robinson and Isaiah Bailey recounted the impact that the music technology grant has had on their school, noting the significance of the evening.

Since its inception in 2019, “Hometown to Hometown” has empowered nine high schools with essential music technology equipment and valuable resources—with three additional schools planned for the fall of 2023.

Pictured (L-R, top); Alicia Mitchell and Josh Joseph; (L-R, bottom) Allison Davenport and Jeff Jowdy

Musicians On Call (MOC), the nonprofit that brings music to the bedsides of patients, families and caregivers in healthcare environments, has added four new members to its National Board of Directors.

The new members include American Hospital Association (AHA) Senior Vice President of Communications Alicia Mitchell, Big Plan Holdings Founder & CEO Josh Joseph, Riveredge Hospital CEO Allison Davenport and Lighthouse Counsel President Jeff Jowdy.

MOC has also appointed Senior Vice President of G7 Marketing Rick Whetsel as Vice Chair, and re-elected Baker Sullivan Hoover PLC Managing Partner Cathy Sullivan as Treasurer.

“The Musicians On Call National Board of Directors is headed in an exciting direction with the addition of our newest members. Vice Chair Rick Whetsel has been instrumental in connecting us with passionate and experienced leaders who can help us push our organization forward as we head down the road to our next million served,” says Pete Griffin, Musicians On Call President & CEO. “All of these newest members have already made great strides for our mission through their past support and we look forward to utilizing their expertise to further grow our programs and reach.”

As Senior Vice President of Communications for the AHA, Mitchell is responsible for promoting the association’s advocacy agenda among members of the public, the media and the association’s 5,000 member hospitals. She also serves as AHA’s Chief Communications Strategist. Mitchell earned her Bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Joseph founded Big Plan Holdings in Nashville to incubate new business ventures along with strategic investments with joint venture partners, and to mentor and educate up-and-coming entrepreneurs. The company invests in real estate, cannabis, music and entertainment, sports, hospitality, food and beverage, philanthropy, branding and licensing opportunities, fashion and other diversified positions. He also sits on boards for MAD TASTY, Sliver Therapeutics Inc., Milk & Honey Baseball, SpinIntel and The Lupus Society of Illinois.

For more than 15 years, Davenport has been a leader in the healthcare and hospital management industry. As CEO of Riveredge Hospital, affiliated with Universal Health Services, she leads the largest free-standing psychiatric facility in the state of Illinois. Davenport earned her MBA with a focus on Healthcare Administration from the Belmont University Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations/marketing from Lipscomb University in Nashville.

Jowdy has more than 35 years of nonprofit experience as a CEO, advancement professional, human resources professional and consultant. As President & Founder of Lighthouse Counsel, he works with nonprofits across the country in fundraising, strategic planning and more. He also serves on boards for Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business Executive Advisory Council, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Tennessee, The Giving Institute, the NonProfit PRO Editorial Advisory Board and the US Foundation for Philanthropy Fundraising Board.

In his role as Senior Vice President, Whetsel oversees the talent buying and event production division at G7 Marketing. Prior to his work at G7, Whetsel was the owner of event production and concert promotion company Great Big Shows. He joined MOC’s National Board of Directors in 2019, and has helped with event production and fundraising for the organization’s programs through brand partnerships.

Sullivan is a CPA whose focus is family planning for individuals and helping clients achieve lifestyle goals. She is a trained Volunteer Guide for MOC, helping the organization launch its bedside program in Nashville in 2007, and served on MOC’s Advisory Council for more than a decade. She joined the board in 2021.