Elizabeth Heidt

Gibson Brands has promoted Elizabeth Heidt to Chief Marketing Officer. Heidt will also join Gibson’s worldwide leadership executive team.

A seven-year veteran of Gibson, Heidt spent her early years at Gibson in Entertainment Relations, and was promoted to Vice President of Cultural Influence in 2021. Prior to Gibson, she worked in brand strategy, production and experiential marketing with House of Blues, Red Bull and Fortune 500 brands including Samsung, Hyundai, Live Nation, Verizon and AT&T.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Heidt will be responsible for overseeing Gibson Brands’ global brand and marketing teams, entertainment and artist relations, social media, partnerships, public relations, multi-media divisions as well as the Gibson Gives Foundation.

She is a board member of the Gibson Gives Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Gibson whose mission is to support nonprofits in their efforts to advance musicians, youth-focused education, music and wellness initiatives. In the last three years, Gibson Gives has raised over $3.5 million worldwide through its mission. Heidt is also on the Music Advisory Board of the Save The Music Foundation.

“We are excited to elevate and promote Beth to Chief Marketing Officer and a member of the Gibson Leadership Team. Beth has been instrumental in the success that we’ve had over the last five years,” says Cesar Gueikian, President & Interim CEO, Gibson Brands. “She has been a thought partner, leader, and a key player in shaping and implementing our global strategy. She has led our cultural influence team of artist relations and multi-media divisions, and emerged as a critical voice in how we engage with fans around the world and deliver the Gibson experience. As the Chief Marketing Officer, Beth will now lead all our marketing initiatives globally, including all aspects of cultural influence. We all look forward to working with Beth to continue to shape the sound of music.”

“It is a privilege to work with the unparalleled talent of Gibson, from our team and craftspeople to our partners and artists, whose passion and dedication is absolutely awe inspiring,” says Heidt. “It is our mission to connect and better lives through music, to enable and empower all levels of creators with our instruments, products, programs and philanthropy. It is an honor to be a part of shaping the future of music culture for Gibson and for fans worldwide.”

Russell Dickerson will launch his “Big Wheels & Back Roads Tour” on Sept. 21 in Philadelphia. Restless Road will provide support on all dates, with Parmalee and Niko Moon performing on select dates.

Tickets will be available for purchase starting Friday, May 19 with RD Fan Club presale starting Tuesday, May 16 with code RDFAM23. For more information, click here.

Dickerson will visit  Boston, Birmingham, New Orleans, Houston and more through November, hitting 13 states across the country.

“To me, there’s nothing better than performing live and getting the whole RD Fam together,” says Dickerson. “‘Big Wheels and Back Roads’ has been one of my favorite songs to sing live for a while now, so it was just the perfect fit for the name of the tour. Can’t wait to see y’all out there this fall!”

Dickerson recently guest starred on the season finale of Call Me Kat and also performed his heartfelt single, “God Gave Me A Girl,” on Today. He’s currently on the road, kicking off a packed summer of shows at fairs, festivals and more.

Reba McEntire. Photo: Tyler Golden/NBC

Reba McEntire will bring her decades of experience from her iconic career to NBC’s The Voice, stepping in as a coach for season 24.

McEntire previously served as the Mega Mentor for season 23 of the singing competition show. For the coming season, she joins veteran coach John Legend and returning coaches Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani. She fills a seat left empty by Blake Shelton, who ends his tenure with The Voice this season after 23 seasons.

In addition to her new coaching gig, McEntire is getting ready to release her new lifestyle book, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots. The book is a collection of funny, poignant and deeply personal stories, photos, lifestyle tips and recipes. It will go on sale Oct. 10.

She is also releasing an accompanying album also titled Not That Fancy. Teaming with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, the 14-track album includes stripped-down versions of some of McEntire’s most iconic songs as well as a brand new single, “Seven Minutes In Heaven.” The album is set to release Oct. 6.

Luke Bryan performs at the 10th annual iHeartCountry Festival. Photo: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio

The 10th annual iHeartCountry Festival, presented by Capital One, took place May 13 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Kane Brown performs at the 10th annual iHeartCountry Festival. Photo: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio

Broadcasting across iHeart’s country music radio stations and iHeartRadio.com, the event featured sets from Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, Carly Pearce, Sam Hunt, Elle King, Parker McCollum, Justin Moore, Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny Bailey Zimmerman, Priscilla Block, Cooper Alan and surprise guest Brothers Osborne.

Bryan kicked off the 2023 iHeartCountry Festival with an electric performance of some of his biggest hits throughout his career, including “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” “One Margarita” and “Country Girl.” Pearce lit up the stage with her bold breakup anthem, “Diamondback,” and she delivered an unforgettable performance of her hits including “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” and “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”

Hunt performed many of his hits throughout his career-spanning set, including “House Party,” “23,” “Hard To Forget,” “Body Like A Back Road” and “Break Up In A Small Town.” Brown closed out the night with “Lose It,” “Like I Love Country Music,” “One Mississippi,” “Heaven,” “Bury Me In Georgia,” and “Good As You.” Just when fans thought the show was over, he brought out his wife, Katelyn Brown, to help him sing “Thank God.”

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will unveil a new photography exhibit, In the Hands of the Fans: Fifty Years of CMA Fest, highlighting CMA Fest’s half-century history on June 6.

The new exhibit will feature photos conveying the spirit of the festival and capturing memorable moments over the years. The CMA Fest photo exhibit is free and will be open to the public through November 2023 in the museum’s first-floor Community Corridor.

Other items on display in the Community Corridor exhibit will include posters, promotional items and a Guess stone-washed denim jacket decorated with rhinestones and plastic stars, signed by 102 performers and personalities during super-fan Martha Allums’ visits to Fan Fair from 1991 to 2000.

Celebrating its 50th year in 2023, CMA Fest has been uniting country fans and artists since 1972, when it was called Fan Fair. Launched by the CMA in partnership with radio station WSM, Fan Fair was intended to relieve over-crowding from the annual DJ Convention, a gathering of country music industry professionals and entertainers that attracted zealous fans to Nashville in hopes of catching a glimpse of their favorite stars.

The first Fan Fair, held at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium in April 1972, was attended by 5,000 fans and more than 120 artists, including luminaries such as Roy Acuff, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe, Dolly Parton, Marty Robbins, Ernest Tubb and Tammy Wynette. As country’s popularity exploded, Fan Fair attendance soared, averaging 25,000 by the 1990s. In 2004, CMA assumed full sponsorship and changed the name of the event to CMA Music Festival. Last year, what is now known as CMA Fest drew more than 80,000 daily attendees from all 50 states and 39 foreign countries and featured performances by 260 acts.