Singer-songwriter Brandon Ratcliff has released a series of songs leading up to a forthcoming album Tale Of Two Towns, all of which have been received well. The project is set for release on Jan. 6 via Monument Records.

Ratcliff’s new music is the result of a reconnection to his roots in Cotton Valley, as he spent the last two years discovering, questioning, and wrestling with who he is as a man and as an artist. The artist recently stopped by MusicRow‘s office to play a sampling.

“Like most of us, when COVID happened, I had this unique new thing in my life: silence. For me, it was the first bit of silence I had since I moved to Nashville. Very early on, I remember thinking to myself, ‘I don’t want to come out of this season feeling like I wasted this time. I want to use this to my advantage,'” Ratcliff tells MusicRow. “I gave myself permission to give myself over to my creative desires, whatever those are. That informed the whole last season of my life. I became consumed with the concept of ‘The Tale Of Two Towns.”

The inspirational title track finds Ratcliff analyzing the consequences and benefits of leaving your hometown. He says the tune was the first he’s written that felt starkly true to himself.

“In Nashville, everybody who came here was the best in their hometown. It’s like college sports in some sense because everyone is coming to the next level to learn how to write, play, and sing. That’s great, but you can hit a ceiling at some point with the formular of writing songs. That was the season I was in,” he says. “I was bored with myself because I felt like I was writing and singing stuff that was good, but it didn’t necessarily have anything to do with my life.

“I realized that I wanted my personal life and my professional life to be somewhat tethered together, at least philosophically, so [the music] is in the same place that I’m at or came from.”

An unreleased track on the album, “Where I’m Coming From,” deals with the other side of the coin about the people in his family—namely his grandfather—who were also musically inclined, but felt a responsibility to stay in their hometown.

“My Papaw passed away a few years ago. I unfortunately never got to have this conversation with him while he was alive, but this song is the ghost of my grandpa talking, coming from the other side of the equation,” Ratcliff says. “I was the guy who left in my family, went off, chased my dreams, and planted new roots. They were the ones who started the music in our family but they always had one foot in and one foot out. They would play shows and come back to Cotton Valley and raise their family.”

He adds, “There are pros and cons to both of those [ways of life], but this is his perspective.”

Sonically, the songs that have been released from Tale Of Two Towns differ from Ratcliff’s earlier music. The shift is something Ratcliff has been trying to identify since signing with Monument Records in 2018. The same year he signed, he found great success with his R&B-flavored debut single “Rules Of Breaking Up,” which helped him accumulate over 50 million streams and tour with the likes of Keith Urban, Brett Young, and Kelsea Ballerini.

With Tale of Two Towns, Ratcliff hopes to reintroduce himself to fans with music that he feels is confident and true to himself.

“This is a growing up record. It’s me leaving my hometown and really facing those hypothetical questions of who would I be if I never left, versus who am I today because I did?”

The full-length project is available for pre-order now.

The Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum has hired Katie Bramell as Director of Family and Community Programs, and promoted Maggie Banker to Director of Marketing.

Bramell is a museum professional and public historian with a decade of experience. She previously served as the Director of Museum Experiences at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bramell has a Master of Arts in public history from Northern Kentucky University and a bachelor’s in history from the University of Central Missouri.

In her new role, she will oversee all programs and services for youth and local audiences, including providing activities and resources for children and family groups, and access and connection with the museum for local audiences in neighborhoods across Middle Tennessee.

Banker joined the museum’s marketing team in 2018 and most recently served as Senior Marketing Manager, leading the team responsible for integrated campaign management focusing on reaching new audiences and expanding public access to the museum collections. She has over eight years of experience in the tourism, hospitality, music and entertainment industries. Banker holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Iowa.

In her new position, she will oversee marketing strategy, paid media, promotions and partnerships for museum exhibitions and initiatives.

The Gregg Allman Estate and Belmont University have announced the creation of the Gregg Allman Endowed Scholarship for students in Belmont’s Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.

Endowed posthumously, the scholarship honors Allman’s Nashville heritage and continues his legacy by supporting music business and entertainment education. It will specifically support students within Belmont’s Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Before his death, Allman created two similar scholarship funds at the University of Georgia and Syracuse University.

Gifts to the Gregg Allman Scholarship Fund at Belmont can be made at belmont.edu/give. Select “scholarship” in the Area of Support field then select “Gregg Allman Scholarship.”

“The Allman Family is proud of the newly-established Belmont University scholarship made in Gregg Allman’s name and memory. We hope these future assets will go towards helping up and coming musicians pave the way to achieving their dreams. Our beloved father would be thrilled with this endeavor,” shares Allman’s son Devon Allman.

“Gregg was, without a doubt, a rock and roll pioneer and we are grateful for his legacy to live on at Belmont University. Through Gregg’s estate and his team’s generosity, more students will have the opportunity to study and pursue successful careers in the entertainment and music business,” adds Dr. Sarita Stewart, Interim Dean of Curb College.

A celebration concert for the anniversary of “Midnight Rider: Gregg Allman’s 75th Birthday Jam,” will be held Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Beacon Theatre in New York Citys. Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne, Needtobreathe, Charles Kelley, Shakey Graves, Shaun Munday, Lucie Silvas, Jackson Dean, Gavin DeGraw, Kameron Marlowe, Pete Levin and more are slated to perform in tribute to the southern rock legend. Net proceeds from the jam will benefit the newly-endowed Belmont scholarship.

Chris Janson is set to kick off his new “Heavy & Western Tour” on Dec. 17. The new tour will include special guests Tim Montana and Shane Profitt.

He’ll make stops in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Sioux Falls, Iowa; Deadwood, South Dakota; Marietta, Georgia; and more through July 8, with additional dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

Janson has earned more than 7.4 billion airplay impressions to date and more than 1.7 billion global career streams with tracks such as his triple Platinum, No. 1 debut single “Buy Me A Boat,” as well as Gold No. 1s “Fix A Drink,” “Good Vibes” and “Done.” 

Through his ongoing partnership with Bass Pro Shops, Janson’s Limited Edition Bass Pro Hats have raised nearly $1 million for a rotating group of charities, including Hunters for the Hungry, Tennessee Riverkeeper, and the Harpeth Conservancy.

The founders of Group Projects–Anthony Manker and Cooper Anstett–have partnered with Warner Chappell Music to launch a new publishing joint venture, Group Projects Publishing. Songwriter and producer Sam Martinez is the venture’s flagship signee.

The Fairfax County, Virginia native grew up writing, recording, and performing in bands across the D.C. area. Following high school, Martinez moved to Nashville to pursue a music degree at Belmont University, and has worked closely with Zack Dyer, Ben Stoll, Jared Scott, Halle Kearns, Lindsay James, and more.

“Sam and I have been close friends for over a decade, and I witnessed his demos and work ethic firsthand through the wall we shared while roommates during our Belmont days,” Manker shares. “When Cooper, Ben [Vaughn], Spencer [Nohe], and I discussed the idea of a publishing venture, it was a no-brainer for us all that Sam should be our first signing. Ben Vaughn is one of my closest mentors, and this is truly a full-circle moment. I’m grateful to everyone involved, and excited to get to work.”

“Anthony and I have been working together for years and have been close friends since our freshman year at Belmont. He and Cooper are both extremely talented and hard-working individuals that have had incredible success in the industry with several artists,” Martinez shares. “When Group Projects and Warner Chappell came together with the concept for a publishing partnership, it felt like the perfect evolution of what Anthony and I had already been working on. I have huge respect for Spencer, Ben, and the entire team at Warner Chappell, and I am so honored to work with such amazing people.”

“We are grateful for our history and existing relationship with Group Projects across several artists and are thrilled to be expanding that relationship into a publishing venture with Cooper and Anthony,” adds Spencer Nohe, Senior Director, A&R at Warner Chappell Music. “Sam Martinez is the perfect fit as the flagship signing as he is an incredibly talented writer/producer whose talents reach beyond genre lines with the work ethic to match. He and Anthony have been in lock-step for years, and we’re looking forward to helping elevate and amplify what they’ve already accomplished.”

Group Projects’ client roster includes Jake Scott, Josie Dunne, Josh Kerr, Paco Versailles, as well as label artist Sam MacPherson in partnership with Elektra Records.