Parker McCollum’s ‘Handle On You’ Certified Gold

MCA Nashville recording artist Parker McCollum‘s rise continues with the RIAA Gold certification of his hit “Handle On You.” On March 29, McCollum was presented with a plaque by UMG Nashville President Cindy Mabe and RIAA’s Jackie Jones to commemorate the accomplishment.

“Another Gold record – what an awesome thing to be able to say,” shares McCollum. “I can’t thank the fans enough for always showing up. Y’all keep this whole thing going and I couldn’t do it without you.”

“Parker McCollum is a redefining, culture shaping artist,” shares Mabe. “At a time when star power is being undervalued and streaming metrics are crowned king, Parker proves that you can have, and be, both. Parker is a very important artist for the future of country music and we are beyond blessed that he is helping define our next era of country music at Universal Music Group Nashville.”

“The RIAA is excited to share in this incredible accomplishment with Parker, his team and everyone at UMG Nashville,” shares Jones. “RIAA certifications are earned solely based on what the fans are choosing to listen to. Seeing this song get certified so quickly is a true testament to the impact Parker has on his fans.”

McCollum us celebrating with a performance of “Handle On You” on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight (March 30) and with the upcoming release of his album, Never Enough, on May 12.

Texas Regional Radio Awards

The T3R Texas Regional Radio Report Music Awards held its 13th annual ceremony on March 27 at Texas Live! in Arlington, Texas. Aaron Watson, Bri Bagwell, Wade Bowen, Sarah Hobbs, and radio programming directors from across the nation attended.

Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top received this year’s Living Legend Award. Bowen took home three of the night’s biggest awards—Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year—for his song “Everything Has Your Memory.” Watson won the Entertainer of the Year award, and Ariel Hutchins received the Female Vocalist of the Year and Music Video of the Year awards for “Stuck.”

Kin Faux Band, The Great Divide, and William Clark Green were part of the lineup, among others. Several stations won radio awards during the evening including KFWR/Fort Worth, KOKE-FM/Austin, and KRMX/Waco.

The weekend, including the Sunday Gathering worship event and T3R’s Future Faces Show, saw over a thousand attendees. For a full list of winners, click here.

Noah Thompson Featured in Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum

On March 21, the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a new exhibition honoring Noah Thompson, American Idol‘s 2022 winner and a Louisa, Kentucky native. The exhibit features singers, songwriters, business owners, and musicians that have made a recent impact on Kentucky music.

“I knew the moment that he auditioned on American Idol that Noah Thompson had a special vocal talent,” recalls Jessica Blankenship, Executive Director. “This young man represented Kentucky in a positive manner and continues to do so. The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame wanted to capture that moment of winning American Idol with a special exhibit.”

“Winning American Idol and being able to do music full time has been a dream come true and something I never imagine could happen,” shares Thompson. “I’m thankful I could make my home state proud.”

Fans will be able to see clothing that Thompson wore on the finale, as well as photos along his journey. The exhibit is open to the public daily and will be up through the end of 2023.

Sac Song & Wine Series Kicks Off May 17 with Lee Thomas Miller, Wendell Mobley

The inaugural Sac Song & Wine Series is set to begin May 17 at Miner’s Leap Winery in Clarksburg, California. Hit songwriters Lee Thomas Miller (“The Impossible” by Joe Nichols, “You’re Gonna Miss This” by Trace Adkins, “In Color” by Jamey Johnson) and Wendell Mobley (“We Can’t Love This Anymore” by Alabama, “How Forever Feels” by Kenny Chesney, “Fast Cars and Freedom” by Rascal Flatts) are the featured performers.

“We’re incredibly excited to bring this unique music experience to the Sacramento area!  I hope it will become a tradition for friends and family to come together and enjoy amazing wine, incredible country music performed by the most talented songwriters themselves, all while taking in the beautiful sunset framed in the backdrop of Miner’s Leap Winery,” said Randi Moody, Sac Song & Wine Series event producer and owner of rlm events inc.

Songwriters including Nicolle Galyon, Chris DeStefano, Hunter Phelps, Rodney Clawson, Bobby Pinson and more are set to take part in the series that runs through next fall.

Alex Miller Brings ‘Miller Time’ To European Country Station

Alex Miller is launching a new, curated one-hour radio show, Miller Time, for CMR Nashville, one of Europe’s top country music stations. Set to run on the third Sunday of every month this year, each episode will include a broad array of songs from country standards to new artists

“I did a similarly formatted show on my Facebook for a couple of years,” American Idol alum Miller states. “It’s a ton of fun and a lot of folks seem to enjoy it. I just love sharing music, and CMR is giving me a cool way to do that.”

“I am proud to have Alex on board as a special guest presenter,” notes CMA International Broadcaster and CMR founder Lee Williams. “I’ve loved him since American Idol and, as I’ve gotten to know him a bit over the last few years, I’m sure our listeners will love him and his show.”

Alex joins the current CMR Nashville roster, which features Diamond Rio’s Dana Williams. The station’s popular regular presenters include Stuart Cameron, Tim Rogers, Marie Crighton, Johnny Da Piedade and Paul Taylor.

 

PLA Media Adds in:ciite Studios To Its Roster

Nashville-based Emily Stephenson is now the President of Publishing at Downtown Music. The news was announced on Thursday (March 30) by Downtown Music Holdings.

Stephenson most recently served as the division’s Vice President of Business Operations during her 10-year tenure at the company. She has been responsible for all aspects of publishing administration and client services for Downtown’s songwriter and publishing clients, including Ryan Tedder, Big Yellow Dog and the John Lennon Estate. Downtown’s publishing administration services currently have nearly 2 million songwriters and more than 1.5 million copyrights under management.

In her new role, Stephenson will oversee all publishing efforts, including client acquisition and business development, A&R, rights management, and client services for the group’s publishing companies—Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust and Sheer. She will report to Downtown Music President, Pieter van Rijn.

It was also announced today that London-based Mike Smith will exit his position as Global President of Downtown Music Services.

“Thanks to Mike’s fantastic leadership over the past three years, Downtown’s publishing divisions are in a great position to align our efforts and maximize revenue for our clients, whether they use Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust or Sheer,” Stephenson shares. “This unified approach means that Downtown can offer the industry’s leading publishing services both at scale and in-depth, working more closely with our current and future clients at every stage.”

Since Downtown Music Publishing was established in 2007—and Songtrust in 2011—publishing has been at the core of Downtown’s mission. The company divested its owned song catalog in 2021 to focus exclusively on providing publishing administration and creative services.

Under Stephenson’s leadership, Downtown Publishing will focus on employing the strengths of each division to create an aligned offering that shares technology and expertise. According to Downtown, Songtrust has experienced significant growth over the past five years and in 2022, reached the milestone of having distributed over $100,000,000 in royalties to independent songwriters, producers and creators.

Stephenson’s immediate team includes Jedd Katrancha, who has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer, Publishing after sixteen years at Downtown. New York-based Katrancha was the first hire to be made by founder, Justin Kalifowitz, and subsequently led the company’s creative services and sync licensing business from its inception. In his new role, Katrancha will report to Stephenson and oversee Business Development, A&R, and Sync for Downtown’s group of publishing companies.

Of the news, Downtown Music President Rijn shares, “Emily is a proven leader and Downtown Publishing is excellent hands. Mike stewarded Downtown Music Services through a period of great change and leaves it as a global leader. Now, with Downtown’s publishing companies aligned, we’ve created a powerful service offering that will maximize client revenue and present new opportunities to Downtown’s client base.”

Tin Pan South kicked off the 31st annual songwriters festival on Tuesday night (March 28) in bars and listening rooms across Nashville. This year’s festival includes over 400 songwriters in a variety of genres performing in nearly 100 rounds running through April 1.

SESAC songwriters started the first night with a showcase at Live Oak featuring Allison Veltz Cruz, Megan Moroney, Jon Nite and Dave Pittenger. Over at The Listening Room, attendees were treated with music from ASCAP songwriters Everette, Makayla Lynn and Dylan Scott.

At The Vinyl Lounge, Ash Bowers, Johnny Dailey, Jeffrey East, Natalie Madigan and Paul Sikes played the 6 p.m. show. Matt Dragstrem, Ft. Worth Ferguson, Maddie & Tae and Jordan Minton took the stage at the Analog room at the Hutton Hotel, while Kassi Ashton, Barry Dean, Luke Laird and Lori McKenna played at 3rd & Lindsley.

During the 9 p.m. slot, Rodney Clawson, Matt McGinn, Jimmy Robbins and Chris Tompkins took over the stage at 3rd & Lindsley. The Bluebird Cafe featured performances from Kelly Archer, Dylan Guthro, Adam Hambrick and Jenn Schott.

BMI songwriters Nicolle Galyon, Jo Dee Messina, Lauren Watkins and Anne Wilson took over The Listening Room for the 9 p.m. show. Ray Fulcher, Neil Medley, Drew Parker and Austin Snell performed at the Hard Rock Cafe, while Trent Harmon, Rob Hatch, Rebecca Lynn Howard and Shane Stevens took over Live Oak.

Among the songwriters who will be featured at tonight’s rounds (March 29) are Ashley Gorley, Laura Veltz, Will Weatherly, Hunter Phelps, Will Weatherly, Ingrid Andress, Tenille Townes, Ben Johnson and many more. See the full schedule here.

A GoFundMe page has been created for Emma Grandillo, who for the last nine years, has worked for Grammy-winning producer/songwriter Jay Joyce at Neon Cross Studios.

Grandillo had successful surgery to remove a benign meningioma in her brain behind her eye. She underwent surgery previously for this condition—the first time was back in 1997. Her brain, incision, and eye are healing well from the recent surgery, but it will take a few months for the swelling to subside and the nerves to recover completely. In the meantime, Grandillo is left unable to drive herself to work or to her doctor appointments, and is relying on Uber, Lyft, and friends for transportation.

Grandillo was a writer, vocalist, and bassist for the band In Pursuit on MTM/Capitol Records. Their song “Walking on a Thin Line” reached No. 18 on the pop AC charts. She also worked at Capitol Records from 1991-2006, and after leaving Capitol, organized special events, including artist and writer/publisher showcases at various Nashville hot spots. She also worked with songwriters Monty Powell and Anna Wilson.

She has volunteered for the Garth Brooks Teammates For Kids Foundation and hosted directors, producers, and actors from films showcased at the Nashville Film Festival. She also recently secured the new single for the group Runaway June, “Broken Hearts (Do Broken Things).”

The GoFundMe page to help Grandillo can be found here. 

Turnpike Troubadours, Whiskey Myers and Gary Allan are set to headline the upcoming Born & Raised Music Festival Sept. 14-16 in Pryor, Oklahoma.

This year’s festival has been expanded to three full days of music for its third annual experience, and will feature performances from more than 40 artists including Ryan Bingham, Randy Rogers Band, Lukas Nelson + POTR, Randy Houser, Flatland Cavalry, William Clark Green, Wade Bowen, Reckless Kelly and more.

The country music and camping event at the Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds will also host a special festival pre-party on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

“There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being born and raised on the red dirt in this part of the country, and that’s exactly what our festival celebrates – the roots, the heritage, and the music that define us,” shares Dave Geincke, Founder & Vice President, General Manager of Pryor Creek Music Festivals. “So we invite you to come on over, kick up your boots and show the world what it means to be an outlaw at Born & Raised Music Festival.”

General tickets go on sale tomorrow, March 31 at 12 p.m. CT for level two pricing. The campgrounds will open on Sunday, Sept. 10 with GA camping available for $99 and VIP camping for $119 in addition to glamping experiences. For more information, click here.

Born & Raised Music Festival first debuted in 2021, and has featured performances from ZZ Top, Cody Jinks, Zach Bryan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tanya Tucker, Blackberry Smoke, Brothers Osborne, Margo Price, Parker McCollum and more.