Morgan Wallen with the Spotify Nashville and Big Loud teams

Morgan Wallen returned to his alma mater in Sneedville, Tennessee on Thursday (March 2) to perform a surprise show for the Gibbs High School 2023 senior class, faculty, the baseball team and other locals.

Brought to students by Spotify, Wallen performed an hour+ set including eight new songs from his new mega-album One Thing At A Time, out now. Guests could create their own Gibbs High School baseball card to commemorate the evening, write letters on album-themed postcards and participate in other games and activities all housed on the field so much of Wallen’s teamsmanship stems from.

The event also included a surprise presentation of a 2021 championship ring by baseball coach Geff Davis, and Wallen had his parents, son and both grandmothers in the crowd, making the evening that much more special.

“This is so cool. There are a lot of special people here,” said Wallen. “Having graduated in 2011, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming back—but this place will always hold a special place in my heart.”

“The impact that Morgan has had on both the country genre and Spotify is undeniable. He is one of the most streamed artists on our platform, and we are thrilled to celebrate his new album with a deeply personal event in his hometown,” shared Brittany Schaffer, Spotify Head of Nashville Label Partnerships, Music Strategy. “We cannot wait to watch fans connect with his new music in person and on our platform once the record comes out this week.”

In a night filled with surprises, Wallen topped them all, presenting a $35,000 check on behalf of the Morgan Wallen Foundation to provide instruments for the school’s students.

Morgan Wallen. Photo: Happy Monday

“I started the Morgan Wallen Foundation about a year ago—It combines my love of sports and music. Without those two things I don’t know where I’d be,  I don’t know what my life would look like. I know it would look a lot different, so that’s what I’m going to try to do—give back to those two areas, as well as communities in need. That’s our focus,” Wallen shared. “We wanted to say thank you tonight and help you out with a couple things, so we wrote a $35,000 check. It’s going to go towards instruments for the choral department, instruments for the band department and then for baseball—a new field cart—so we can help get this field back in shape after y’all trampled on it tonight.”

The Morgan Wallen Foundation provides opportunities for children to thrive by creating access to music and sports. MWF supports programs that share its core belief that Every Child Deserves A Chance to thrive, play and create and is also dedicated to being there for communities in times of need, whether offering a helping hand during natural disasters with urgently needed supplies or turning concert parking lots into food distribution centers providing bags of groceries to food insecure families.

Wallen has remained true to his roots throughout his career, and his pride in his hometown has played an integral role in songs like “More Than My Hometown” and “Tennessee Fan.” He will host another free-to-fans show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena tonight (March 3). The at-capacity celebration distributed every ticket available in just 3 hours and 5 minutes, with fans lining up for blocks around the downtown arena yesterday upon hearing the announcement.

Country Radio Seminar (CRS) has announced the lineup for the Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) luncheon, scheduled for March 15, during CRS 2023.

Eight of BMLG’s artists will take the stage in the Broadway Ballroom at Omni Nashville. This year’s lineup includes Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Chris Janson, Riley Green, Danielle Bradbery, Conner Smith, Shane Profitt and Mackenzie Carpenter.

“The goal has always been to create a CRS ‘must-see’ event and, over the years, our artists have made it just that,” says Scott Borchetta, BMLG Chairman & CEO. “There have been so many unforgettable memories on the BMLG CRS stage and this year will be no exception—it is certainly one you won’t want to miss!”

Entry for the luncheon is only available to registered CRS attendees. Registration for CRS 2023 is open and available for purchase here.

The work of celebrity photographer Raeanne Rubenstein is on display in a new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in the Community Corridor on the first floor.

“Raeanne Rubenstein: Shooting Stars,” features an array of photographs of celebrities and musical luminaries taken between 1969-1979, including many iconic images of country artists. The exhibit is free and open to the public through May 2023.

Born in 1945 in Staten Island, New York, Rubenstein got her start in the East Village underground scene and became a favored photographer for Life, People, Rolling Stone, Time and other publications. A 1970 assignment to photograph Johnny Cash at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium led Rubenstein to embrace country music, and she played a significant role in many Nashville stars gaining their first feature articles in leading national publications. After thirty years as a New York-based celebrity photographer, she made Nashville her full-time residence in 1998. That year, she founded Dish, an online entertainment and style magazine based in Music City.

Over the course of more than 50 years, Rubenstein photographed a diverse array of cultural figures, including Bob Dylan, Debbie Harry, Jimi Hendrix, Dustin Hoffman, Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, Kiss, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Yoko Ono, the Who, Andy Warhol, Robin Williams and Country Music Hall of Fame members Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others.

The museum’s adjacent Haley Gallery, which is also free to access, will feature an additional selection of Rubenstein’s images beginning Friday, March 10.

Other items on display in the Community Corridor include magazine covers featuring Rubenstein’s work, two of her cameras and correspondence, including a note from Lennon and Ono — in Lennon’s handwriting — specifying the couple’s selections of Rubenstein’s photos for use on the front and back covers of the 1971 edition of Ono’s pioneering work of conceptual art, Grapefruit.