Stephanie Wright
The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.
Stephanie Wright has been an integral part of Universal Music Group for more than 20 years. As Senior VP, A&R, she aids A&R initiatives for Capitol, EMI, MCA and Mercury, including talent recruitment, artist development and oversight of respective recording projects for UMG artists Sam Hunt, Jordan Davis, Maddie & Tae, Parker McCollum, Little Big Town, Mickey Guyton and more. Her artist signings include Hunt, Davis, McCollum, Kacey Musgraves, Kassi Ashton, and Catie Offerman. She was promoted to her current role in 2018.
A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Wright came to the music business through her cousins, the Platinum-selling sibling trio SHeDAISY. Since, Wright has been instrumental in critically-acclaimed albums, including Lee Ann Womack‘s Call Me Crazy, Musgraves’ Same Trailer Different Park, and Hunt’s Montevallo. She serves on the T.J. Martell Foundation (Southern Region) board of directors and is a member of the ACM, CMA, Recording Academy and N.O.W. In addition to Rising Women on the Row, Wright has been honored multiple times as one of the Nashville Business Journal‘s Women of the Year.
Wright will be honored as part of the current class of MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row on Oct. 20. For more details about the class and the event, click here.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Utah in a town called Magna that’s about 20 minutes outside of Salt Lake. We called Magna the armpit of Salt Lake. It was close to the Great Salt Lake and the Great Salt Lake stinks. It’s sort of centered in between the lake itself and then this big copper mine that’s there. Copper smells and the Great Salt Lake smells, so we called it the armpit.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
What did you want to do when you were growing up there?
I didn’t really know. After graduating high school, I started college to be an interior designer. The creative side of that was great. My cousins are the girls from SHeDAISY. Kristyn and Kelsi had moved [to Nashville]—I don’t think Kassi had moved there yet—but they were pursuing a career and trying to get a recording contract. Kristyn and I were really close. She would call me and tell me all about what was going on here in Nashville. We had a lot in common in that I was the kid at the record store that would go in Tuesday to find the albums that had just released.
The reason I ended up moving here was because my starter marriage. My son’s dad wanted to come to Nashville or to Iowa. He wanted to become a dentist and he wanted to go to Meharry [Medical College School of Dentistry], so that’s the reason we ended up here. We ended up buying a house right next to where my cousins were living. My first trip into Nashville was the weekend Kristyn signed her record deal. I flew in and she said, “I have a busy schedule, but we can at least look at a few different houses.” I met Dann Huff that weekend because they were in the process of recording. I met Randy Goodman, Shelby Kennedy, Connie Harrington, Bonnie Baker and more. I didn’t know who any of those people were, but looking back on the magnitude of what that is, I had no idea what a blessing it was.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
Did you join the music business when you got here?
When I got here, I ended up going to work for a company that was buying up small mom and pop heating and air conditioning companies in Maryland Farms. I had a young son, so I needed to figure out how to make an income. I took that job immediately but really hated it. I started going to some of Kristyn’s business meetings. I really did not know anything about the background of what happens in the music business other than what she was doing, but the more I was in these meetings, I started thinking maybe management would be kind of cool. I also thought working at a record label seemed pretty interesting. But I found out really quickly that if you did not go to school here and you did not go through the networking process of meeting people, you were definitely an outsider. I would go into interviews and they’d be like, “So are you trying to be an artist?” [Laughs]
I probably went on 10 or 15 interviews. I got to a place where I felt like this must not be the right path for me. No one wants to let you in if you’re not already in. Then I saw this advertisement in the newspaper for an executive assistant position for a CEO of a major record label. At this point, I’d had at least enough experience to know that is not how those jobs come about, but in this particular case, it was. I had to go through a staffing agency. I had to go in and take a type test and go through several interviews. The job was to work for Capitol Records for Pat Quigley. I think the only reason I got the job is because I talked fast and he wanted someone that had not been in the music business. He wanted someone that had really just done executive assistant work outside of the business. It was a big blessing and a really great overview of structure of the label, how it all worked, and all the different departments. He was an interesting person to work for. He was also an outsider and he relished in that.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
How did you become interested in A&R?
I found myself really watching the A&R department at the time when Larry Willoughby ran it. Molly Reynolds was there as well. Larry was really good about coming in and playing songs. He would say, “Wait until you hear this new Keith Urban track we just cut.”
One day Pat came in and said, “There’s a meeting happening. I think I’m going to be let go. I have a contract, you do not, so you need to go find another job.” I didn’t know enough about the music business to know that this was not uncommon, so I was completely panicked. Larry came to me and said, “You should probably reach out to Mike Dungan because that’s who is going to take this job.” I felt like that would be a betrayal to Pat—I didn’t know how to navigate that.
Haley McLemore had been working with me at Capitol under the finance department. I called her and she said, “I think there might be a job opening in the A&R department. Why don’t you come over? I’ll introduce you to Gary Harrison and Carson Chamberlain and you can see if that’s something that might be interesting to you.” Gary Harrison and I spent the afternoon talking. I came back in for an interview and they offered me the job, thankfully. It was a lot less than what I had been making, but I needed a job and I didn’t want to not be in this anymore. Little did I know how that would greatly affect the rest of my life and where I am today.
What was one of your most memorable experiences from that time?
I was in the studio when Alan Jackson recorded “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).” It was so fresh. We were finishing up the Drive project and it was the second to last song that we recorded that day. He came in and said, “I want to play this for you. I woke up last night and finished this song.” We all sat there just completely blown away by what it was. Then the musicians all just quietly and very reverently got up and started playing music. Right after we cut that song, he forgot he had to do a song for a ZZ Top collaboration record that they were doing. We were having to shuffle from this big reverent, somber, heavy moment to ZZ Top. (Laughs)
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
What was next for you?
There’s been several mergers that have happened and different labels that have been brought under the umbrella of Universal. Gary and Carson left and they brought in Mary Martin. I got to work with her for a year and a half, which was extremely educational and very helpful. Then we merged with MCA and at that point, David Conrad came over. I was his executive assistant, but I found myself liking more of the recording admin. and I also was starting to like the creative stuff. At that point I had been divorced and I was a single parent, so I looked at the person that was in the spot I wanted and they’d been there for 28 years. So I really dug into what that process was and following up a project from start to finish. David was great about it. He said, “As long as you can take care of me or train someone to take care of me, I’ll let you have some of this.” I was still going to the studios. I was still seeing how Mark Wright, Richard Marks, and Byron Gallimore worked in the studio.
Next, we merged with DreamWorks. Then it was James Stroud and Luke Lewis that were the head of the label. James came in and said, “I want everybody in here, no matter what you’re doing in this department, to be creative.” So I started begging people to come in and play songs for me. People like Jeff Skaggs, Kerri Edwards, Cris Lacy and Cyndi Forman who I’d met booking appointments for David or for whoever else at the time. I even reached out to someone like Brandy Clark, who was just starting to come up through the ranks. I had her pitch group—which was all songwriters—come in and play for me in my little tiny office. I would have them all take turns at the CD player. I was taking notes and was really dedicated to trying to figure out how to make it work.
When did you start to have success as a creative A&R executive?
During that time, Erin Enderlin came in and played a song for me called “Last Call.” It was a song that her and Shane McAnally had written together that Lee Ann Womack eventually cut. I remember being really brave that day and I walked into Brian [Wright]‘s office saying, “This is a really great song for Womack. I know she’s looking.” It ended up getting cut. Through that, I realized I really loved this.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
During that time, we had changed buildings again. I think we had moved downtown at this point. I had met with Alicia Pruitt one day and she mentioned something about Kacey Musgraves. They had just signed her. She played me a couple things and I knew I had to reach out. I cold called her one day. I didn’t really have the ability to sign anybody at that point. I went and met with her and we had a great conversation. I came back to Brian and I said, “I don’t know what goes into signing someone, but I know that I sat across from someone today that’s magical and mesmerizing. If there was a sheet of things that you should probably have [to get signed], I think she has all of those things. She has vision. She’s unique.” It took a long time to convince people that I was serious, but I finally talked Brian and Luke into meeting with her and signing her.
It comes full circle back to Mike Dungan. When we merged with Universal, Mike and I went to breakfast one morning, which is what he was doing with everyone when we merged. He said, “I think you should be doing creative full time and not the other stuff.”
We will be honoring you tomorrow at Rising Women On the Row. If someone were to ask you what success meant to you, what would you tell them?
Where I feel like the success comes in is when you see the satisfaction of an artist when a crowd reacts to a song. You see that crowd sing a song back to the artist, and them get emotionally overwhelmed at what’s happening, that’s pretty magical. I still live for those moments. Those moments are super precious and the ones that keep me interested in trying to continue to do this for other people.
I think I take the things that I don’t have success at a whole lot harder and they stick with me a lot more, so I think learning from the mistakes I’ve made along the way is so much more of a motivator for me. I don’t do a lot of thinking on success, so that’s why these interviews are a little bit difficult because, while there is a lot of that, I think that there’s still much more to accomplish and more people to help.
My Music Row Story: UMG Nashville’s Stephanie Wright
/by LB CantrellStephanie Wright
Stephanie Wright has been an integral part of Universal Music Group for more than 20 years. As Senior VP, A&R, she aids A&R initiatives for Capitol, EMI, MCA and Mercury, including talent recruitment, artist development and oversight of respective recording projects for UMG artists Sam Hunt, Jordan Davis, Maddie & Tae, Parker McCollum, Little Big Town, Mickey Guyton and more. Her artist signings include Hunt, Davis, McCollum, Kacey Musgraves, Kassi Ashton, and Catie Offerman. She was promoted to her current role in 2018.
A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Wright came to the music business through her cousins, the Platinum-selling sibling trio SHeDAISY. Since, Wright has been instrumental in critically-acclaimed albums, including Lee Ann Womack‘s Call Me Crazy, Musgraves’ Same Trailer Different Park, and Hunt’s Montevallo. She serves on the T.J. Martell Foundation (Southern Region) board of directors and is a member of the ACM, CMA, Recording Academy and N.O.W. In addition to Rising Women on the Row, Wright has been honored multiple times as one of the Nashville Business Journal‘s Women of the Year.
Wright will be honored as part of the current class of MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row on Oct. 20. For more details about the class and the event, click here.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Utah in a town called Magna that’s about 20 minutes outside of Salt Lake. We called Magna the armpit of Salt Lake. It was close to the Great Salt Lake and the Great Salt Lake stinks. It’s sort of centered in between the lake itself and then this big copper mine that’s there. Copper smells and the Great Salt Lake smells, so we called it the armpit.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
What did you want to do when you were growing up there?
I didn’t really know. After graduating high school, I started college to be an interior designer. The creative side of that was great. My cousins are the girls from SHeDAISY. Kristyn and Kelsi had moved [to Nashville]—I don’t think Kassi had moved there yet—but they were pursuing a career and trying to get a recording contract. Kristyn and I were really close. She would call me and tell me all about what was going on here in Nashville. We had a lot in common in that I was the kid at the record store that would go in Tuesday to find the albums that had just released.
The reason I ended up moving here was because my starter marriage. My son’s dad wanted to come to Nashville or to Iowa. He wanted to become a dentist and he wanted to go to Meharry [Medical College School of Dentistry], so that’s the reason we ended up here. We ended up buying a house right next to where my cousins were living. My first trip into Nashville was the weekend Kristyn signed her record deal. I flew in and she said, “I have a busy schedule, but we can at least look at a few different houses.” I met Dann Huff that weekend because they were in the process of recording. I met Randy Goodman, Shelby Kennedy, Connie Harrington, Bonnie Baker and more. I didn’t know who any of those people were, but looking back on the magnitude of what that is, I had no idea what a blessing it was.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
Did you join the music business when you got here?
When I got here, I ended up going to work for a company that was buying up small mom and pop heating and air conditioning companies in Maryland Farms. I had a young son, so I needed to figure out how to make an income. I took that job immediately but really hated it. I started going to some of Kristyn’s business meetings. I really did not know anything about the background of what happens in the music business other than what she was doing, but the more I was in these meetings, I started thinking maybe management would be kind of cool. I also thought working at a record label seemed pretty interesting. But I found out really quickly that if you did not go to school here and you did not go through the networking process of meeting people, you were definitely an outsider. I would go into interviews and they’d be like, “So are you trying to be an artist?” [Laughs]
I probably went on 10 or 15 interviews. I got to a place where I felt like this must not be the right path for me. No one wants to let you in if you’re not already in. Then I saw this advertisement in the newspaper for an executive assistant position for a CEO of a major record label. At this point, I’d had at least enough experience to know that is not how those jobs come about, but in this particular case, it was. I had to go through a staffing agency. I had to go in and take a type test and go through several interviews. The job was to work for Capitol Records for Pat Quigley. I think the only reason I got the job is because I talked fast and he wanted someone that had not been in the music business. He wanted someone that had really just done executive assistant work outside of the business. It was a big blessing and a really great overview of structure of the label, how it all worked, and all the different departments. He was an interesting person to work for. He was also an outsider and he relished in that.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
How did you become interested in A&R?
I found myself really watching the A&R department at the time when Larry Willoughby ran it. Molly Reynolds was there as well. Larry was really good about coming in and playing songs. He would say, “Wait until you hear this new Keith Urban track we just cut.”
One day Pat came in and said, “There’s a meeting happening. I think I’m going to be let go. I have a contract, you do not, so you need to go find another job.” I didn’t know enough about the music business to know that this was not uncommon, so I was completely panicked. Larry came to me and said, “You should probably reach out to Mike Dungan because that’s who is going to take this job.” I felt like that would be a betrayal to Pat—I didn’t know how to navigate that.
Haley McLemore had been working with me at Capitol under the finance department. I called her and she said, “I think there might be a job opening in the A&R department. Why don’t you come over? I’ll introduce you to Gary Harrison and Carson Chamberlain and you can see if that’s something that might be interesting to you.” Gary Harrison and I spent the afternoon talking. I came back in for an interview and they offered me the job, thankfully. It was a lot less than what I had been making, but I needed a job and I didn’t want to not be in this anymore. Little did I know how that would greatly affect the rest of my life and where I am today.
What was one of your most memorable experiences from that time?
I was in the studio when Alan Jackson recorded “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).” It was so fresh. We were finishing up the Drive project and it was the second to last song that we recorded that day. He came in and said, “I want to play this for you. I woke up last night and finished this song.” We all sat there just completely blown away by what it was. Then the musicians all just quietly and very reverently got up and started playing music. Right after we cut that song, he forgot he had to do a song for a ZZ Top collaboration record that they were doing. We were having to shuffle from this big reverent, somber, heavy moment to ZZ Top. (Laughs)
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
What was next for you?
There’s been several mergers that have happened and different labels that have been brought under the umbrella of Universal. Gary and Carson left and they brought in Mary Martin. I got to work with her for a year and a half, which was extremely educational and very helpful. Then we merged with MCA and at that point, David Conrad came over. I was his executive assistant, but I found myself liking more of the recording admin. and I also was starting to like the creative stuff. At that point I had been divorced and I was a single parent, so I looked at the person that was in the spot I wanted and they’d been there for 28 years. So I really dug into what that process was and following up a project from start to finish. David was great about it. He said, “As long as you can take care of me or train someone to take care of me, I’ll let you have some of this.” I was still going to the studios. I was still seeing how Mark Wright, Richard Marks, and Byron Gallimore worked in the studio.
Next, we merged with DreamWorks. Then it was James Stroud and Luke Lewis that were the head of the label. James came in and said, “I want everybody in here, no matter what you’re doing in this department, to be creative.” So I started begging people to come in and play songs for me. People like Jeff Skaggs, Kerri Edwards, Cris Lacy and Cyndi Forman who I’d met booking appointments for David or for whoever else at the time. I even reached out to someone like Brandy Clark, who was just starting to come up through the ranks. I had her pitch group—which was all songwriters—come in and play for me in my little tiny office. I would have them all take turns at the CD player. I was taking notes and was really dedicated to trying to figure out how to make it work.
When did you start to have success as a creative A&R executive?
During that time, Erin Enderlin came in and played a song for me called “Last Call.” It was a song that her and Shane McAnally had written together that Lee Ann Womack eventually cut. I remember being really brave that day and I walked into Brian [Wright]‘s office saying, “This is a really great song for Womack. I know she’s looking.” It ended up getting cut. Through that, I realized I really loved this.
Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Wright
During that time, we had changed buildings again. I think we had moved downtown at this point. I had met with Alicia Pruitt one day and she mentioned something about Kacey Musgraves. They had just signed her. She played me a couple things and I knew I had to reach out. I cold called her one day. I didn’t really have the ability to sign anybody at that point. I went and met with her and we had a great conversation. I came back to Brian and I said, “I don’t know what goes into signing someone, but I know that I sat across from someone today that’s magical and mesmerizing. If there was a sheet of things that you should probably have [to get signed], I think she has all of those things. She has vision. She’s unique.” It took a long time to convince people that I was serious, but I finally talked Brian and Luke into meeting with her and signing her.
It comes full circle back to Mike Dungan. When we merged with Universal, Mike and I went to breakfast one morning, which is what he was doing with everyone when we merged. He said, “I think you should be doing creative full time and not the other stuff.”
We will be honoring you tomorrow at Rising Women On the Row. If someone were to ask you what success meant to you, what would you tell them?
Where I feel like the success comes in is when you see the satisfaction of an artist when a crowd reacts to a song. You see that crowd sing a song back to the artist, and them get emotionally overwhelmed at what’s happening, that’s pretty magical. I still live for those moments. Those moments are super precious and the ones that keep me interested in trying to continue to do this for other people.
I think I take the things that I don’t have success at a whole lot harder and they stick with me a lot more, so I think learning from the mistakes I’ve made along the way is so much more of a motivator for me. I don’t do a lot of thinking on success, so that’s why these interviews are a little bit difficult because, while there is a lot of that, I think that there’s still much more to accomplish and more people to help.
Micah Carpenter Signs With Boom Music Group
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): Emma Kiefer, Micah Carpenter, Shaina Botwin, and Joe Fisher. Photo: Nairobi Block
Rising songwriter Micah Carpenter has signed with Boom Music Group.
A multi-talented writer, producer and musician, Micah hails from Hull, Georgia. After a college career playing baseball at Georgia Tech, he made the move to Nashville in August 2019 to join his sister Mackenzie Carpenter, who recently signed with Big Machine’s The Valory Music Co.
Since moving to Nashville, Micah has worked with songwriters including Nicolle Galyon, Ashley Gorley, Chris Tompkins, and The Warren Brothers. He has garnered cuts from Megan Moroney, Mackenzie, Jonathan Hutcherson, Dylan Marlowe, Kylie Morgan, Peytan Porter, Dylan Schneider, and more. When he’s not writing songs, Micah can be found playing guitar on the road with Big Machine recording artists Conner Smith and his sister.
“I met Micah about 4 years ago, before he even moved to town (and before he even had a mullet),” shares Boom’s Shaina Botwin. “I’ve watched him grow as a songwriter, musician, and member of the Music Row community over the last few years, and couldn’t be happier that he’s making Boom his first publishing home!”
“So thankful to have such an incredible group of people believing me,” Micah adds. “Excitement is an understatement when you’re talking about being surrounded by the caliber of hard work here at Boom. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!”
Jamie O’Neal Preps Her Debut Christmas Album, ‘Spirit & Joy’
/by Lydia FarthingJamie O’Neal. Photo: Angela Talley
Grammy nominated artist Jamie O’Neal will release her debut Christmas album, Spirit & Joy, on Oct. 21 via JOG Inc. and BFD/Audium Nashville with distribution through The Orchard. The Jeffrey Steele-penned album opener, “Christmas,” is available now.
The 10-song collection will feature festive favorites, such as “White Christmas,” “River” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” as well as three originals co-written by O’Neal, including “Christmas You,” “Gulf of Mexico” and “You Were Christmas to Me.”
Spirit & Joy was produced by O’Neal and her husband, Rodney Good, and the pair also recorded their first-ever collaboration on the project’s “Please Come Home for Christmas.” O’Neal’s father Jimmy Murphy, sister Melissa Murphy and daughter Aliyah Good also chimed in on “Do You Hear What I Hear?” The album also featured fellow ACM award-winner Collin Raye on the classic “Silver Bells.”
O’Neal’s latest album, Sometimes, celebrated the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Shiver. The project featured collaborations with John Paul White, Lauren Alaina, Martina McBride, Sara Evans and Good.
1. Christmas (Jeffrey Steele)
2. Christmas You (Jamie O’Neal, Corey Lee Barker)
3. Please Come Home for Christmas Feat. Rodney Good (Charles Brown, Gene Redd)
4. White Christmas (Irving Berlin)
5. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (Kim Gannon, Walter Kent)
6. Gulf of Mexico (Jamie O’Neal, Rodney Good, Jimmy Murphy)
7. Do You Hear What I Hear? Feat. Jimmy Murphy, Melissa Murphy and Aliyah Good (Noel Regne, Gloria Shayne)
8. You Were Christmas to Me (Jamie O’Neal, Corey Lee Barker)
9. River (Joni Mitchell)
10. Silver Bells Feat. Collin Raye (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)
CRS Partners With NuVoodoo For CRS360 Webinar Series’ October Edition
/by Liza AndersonCountry Radio Seminar (CRS) has joined forces with NuVoodoo for the next edition of its monthly webinar series, CRS360.
Led by Clay Hunnicutt (GM, BMLG), Carolyn Gilbert (CEO, NuVoodoo Media) and Leigh Jacobs (Co-Founder, NuVoodoo Media), “Song Wars” will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. CT.
“Song Wars,” plans to take a closer look at the taste differences among gender, age groups, newer country music fans and long-time fans. Results will be based on a large sample size and vast demographic of adult country music listeners. NuVoodoo will analyze responses provided by active country radio listeners who were given thought-provoking sets of choices, reporting on the outcome of their findings.
“The intergalactic battle for radio superiority rages on daily, and every song matters. NuVoodoo and CRS will train you to become a musical Jedi Master, instead of a Clone,” says CRB Executive Director RJ Curtis.
Only a limited number of slots are available and are based on a first-come, first-served basis. To sign up, click here.
Zac Brown Band, Dan + Shay, Jon Pardi To Headline Country Fest 2023
/by Lydia FarthingPhoto: Courtesy of Country Fest
Country Fest 2023 has unveiled Zac Brown Band, Dan + Shay and Jon Pardi as headliners for its three-day country music and camping event, running from June 22-24 in Cadott, Wisconsin.
Taking place across five stages, over 50 acts will be featured throughout the event’s three day slate, including Ernest, Ingrid Andress, Breland, Billy Currington, Brett Eldredge, Russell Dickerson, Joe Nichols, Elvie Shane, Kidd G, Cooper Alan, Jackson Dean, Alexandra Kay, and more.
Country Fest Main Stage. Photo: Courtesy of Country Fest
“Fans can look forward to the same organized festival they love, but with a new overall theme in 2023,” festival promoter and General Manager Wade Asher shares. “If you grew up in Wisconsin, Friday nights likely found you in a friend’s field cheersing to the summer ahead. A grown-up version of a coming-of-age tradition, we’ll pay homage to our roots through a variety of Wisconsin-themed activations and experiences. We can’t wait to reunite with our Fest Family at the country’s largest party in a hayfield…and show out-of-towners what it means to ‘party like a Sconnie.’”
Ahead of the main event, three-day ticket holders will also have access to an exclusive tailgate party that will see Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jake Worthington, Frankie Justin and Nathan King Band grace the stage on Wednesday, June 21.
A variety of ticket options are available for purchase, including VIP, Reserved Lawn, General Admission, Pit Passes, and more. For the full lineup, as well as ticket and camping information, click here.
Country To Country Marks 10 Year Anniversary, Announces Lineup For 2023 Festival
/by Lorie HollabaughCountry to Country (C2C), Europe’s biggest country music festival, is returning March 10-12, 2023, marking the event’s 10 year anniversary. Tickets go on sale this Friday (Oct. 21) at 10 a.m. local time.
To celebrate, Zac Brown Band, Thomas Rhett and Lady A have been confirmed to headline the 2023 festival. C2C 2023 will once again take over The O2 London, 3Arena Dublin and The OVO Hydro, Glasgow next spring.
The lineup will also feature Midland, Jordan Davis, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lainey Wilson, Mitchell Tenpenny, Lindsay Ell and Matt Stell. In London, Breland will open C2C on the Friday night and will co-host the festival across the weekend with the legendary Bob Harris OBE.
The C2C Spotlight Stage will be back with the full lineup set to be revealed in the coming months. CMA’s international series, Introducing Nashville, will also make its return, featuring emerging newcomers performing an acoustic set and sharing the stories behind their songs.
“As founder of C2C, it is incredible to see the event moving into its 10th year,” notes Chris York, C2C Festival Co-Founder and Director at SJM Concerts. “A testament to the wonderful support of all artists, managers and agents who continue to believe in the power of country outside of North America. We have to thank our amazing event partners BBC Radio 2, the CMA and lastly the fans–who continue to drive the event forward and challenge us to keep moving forward. That’s what makes doing this worthwhile.”
Jack Dowling, C2C Festival Director, adds: “Country to Country is delighted to be bringing back the finest in US talent to the UK and Ireland. In our 10th year C2C keeps going from strength to strength. We’d like to thank our fantastic partners AEG Presents, the CMA and BBC Radio 2 who continue to help us deliver the best event and of course, more importantly our passionate fans. Country to Country would not be what it is without you. See you all for C2C 2023!”
“C2C is a tentpole event for our industry and our country music community,” Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer, shares. “As we see country music continue to expand on a global scale, it’s events like C2C that are pivotal in maintaining that forward momentum, promoting music discovery, broadening the fan base and demonstrating the growth of country music internationally. We are thrilled to be partnering with C2C again this year and look forward to the event in March!”
Chase Rice Celebrates Becoming Pandora Billionaire
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): : BBR Music Group’s John Carroll, SiriusXM/Pandora’s Buzz Brainard and Johnny Chiang, Rice, SiriusXM/Pandora’s Alina Thompson, BBR Music Group’s Jon Loba, WHY&HOW’s Bruce Kalmick and Halie Hampton, BBR Music Group’s Chris Loss. Photo: Tyler Pico
Chase Rice was recently surprised at SiriusXM The Highway’s Music Row Happy Hour with a plaque commemorating his Pandora Billionaire status, marking over 1.5 billion streams on the platform. In celebration of the honor, Rice has been added to Pandora’s Country Billionaires Radio.
“Throughout my career, no matter where we were at with touring or radio success, our incredible fans have consistently streamed the music,” Rice notes. “This is a testament to those fans and their love of country music. They’re why we keep pushing ourselves and why we’re so excited to share new songs with them now.”
Following his Pandora Billionaires celebration, Rice moved from one celebration to the next, making his way up Broadway to kick off Jason Aldean’s “Rock N Roll Cowboy Tour” stop at Bridgestone Arena.
Rice recently released his brand new song “Way Down Yonder,” written with Hunter Phelps, John Byron, Blake Pendergrass and Corey Crowder.
Kane Brown To Be Featured On Amazon’s New Weekly Concert Series, ‘Amazon Music Live’
/by Lydia FarthingAmazon Music has unveiled its new weekly, livestream concert series Amazon Music Live. Featuring artists from a wide variety of genres performing their latest hits live, the series will be hosted by Grammy-winning hip-hop artist 2 Chainz and will air on Prime Video following Thursday Night Football.
Streamed live from Los Angeles, Amazon Music Live will premiere Oct. 27 with musical guest Lil Baby. On Nov. 3, three-time Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion will grace the Amazon Music Live stage, and on Nov. 10, country music superstar Kane Brown will treat fans to songs from his new album, Different Man. More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Whether you’re a sports fan waiting for the first football game of the week, or a music fan staying up late to hear the latest drop from your favorite artist, Thursday is the biggest night for entertainment,” explains Kirdis Postelle, Global Head of Artist Marketing of Amazon Music. “With Amazon Music Live, we’ve created a new, can’t-miss series for fans to experience the most exciting new music together. For artists, this show represents a massive new stage to share their music with fans after Thursday Night Football—the biggest game of the week, airing live on Prime Video.”
Each week’s performance will be filmed in front of a live audience. In addition to hosting the series, 2 Chainz will interview each artist during Thursday Night Football shoulder programming. Each concert will also be available to stream on-demand for a limited time.
“Every Thursday night, I’m bringing the biggest and the brightest stars in music to the Amazon Music Live stage in Los Angeles,” adds 2 Chainz. “We have the people that are influencing the culture and have carved their own unique path in music, like Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion, and Kane Brown. Amazon Music Live is the only place to be for the official Thursday turn up!”
ACM Lifting Lives Announces 2022-2023 Grant Cycle Recipients
/by Lorie HollabaughACM Lifting Lives has announced its 2022-2023 grant cycle beneficiaries, which include Abilities First, Inc.; the Dee Dee Jackson Foundation; Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee; Lawrence Hall; Melodic Caring Project; Musicians On Call; Operation Song; Resounding Joy, Inc.; and Songs for Sound, Inc.
The 2022-2023 recipients work with children, veterans and active-duty military members and their families, school programs, those fighting illnesses, and more across the U.S. Additionally, ACM Lifting Lives has provided grants to organizations prioritizing mental/physical well-being, including Music Health Alliance and counseling services through Porter’s Call.
These grants, as well as the organization’s ongoing digital content series The Check-In, which features artists delving into their own mental health experiences and sharing how music has played a role in their healing, underscore the importance of supporting music therapy, mental health organizations, and individuals struggling with these mental and emotional challenges.
“We are honored to announce our newest grant recipients, compromised of organizations that will continue doing essential work and making an impact on so many people nationwide. We are grateful to the country music community for supporting ACM Lifting Lives and making it possible for us to contribute to these worthy groups and support their meaningful work,” notes Lyndsay Cruz, ACM Lifting Lives Executive Director.
Launched in May 2022 and tied to Mental Health Awareness Month, this allocation of grants continues ACM Lifting Lives’ history of supporting diverse and impactful organizations providing music therapy programs, shining a national spotlight on their work, and harnessing the healing and rejuvenating power of music.
Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival Announces Dates For 2023
/by Lorie HollabaughJon Batiste. Photo: Terry Wyatt
Fresh on the heels of its successful 2022 event just weeks ago, the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival has announced its dates for 2023. The two-day event will return to Harlinsdale Park in Franklin, Tennessee on Sept. 23-24, 2023.
Brandi Carlile. Photo: Erika Goldring
Over 17,000 packed the grounds for this year’s festival, which featured plenty of food, fun and performances from Brandi Carlile, Jon Batiste, Elle King, Butch Walker, Marty Stuart, and more. The weekend closed out with sets from the Avett Brothers and Chris Stapleton.
Crowds also enjoyed refreshments at the Farm-to-Turntable Food Truck Park and in the Craft Beer Hall, and in between sets, shopped from local artisans and retailers in Makers Village.
Fans can sign up to receive e-mail alerts at pilgrimagefestival.com and be the first to know about pre-sales, lineup information, and more.
Chris Stapleton. Photo: Terry Wyatt