MCA Nashville star Jordan Davis packed the Ryman pews on Tuesday night (Sept. 27) for his first of two sold-out hometown shows.

Arista Nashville/Sony Music Nashville duo Seaforth gave a fun and charming opening set to open for Davis. Their set-list included some fun tracks, such as “Anything She Says” and “Good Beer,” but the early-bird crowd ate it up when they performed their downtrodden ballads such as “What I Get For Loving You” and “Breakups.”

It was Seaforth’s first time playing the Ryman stage, and they had a ball.

When Davis took the stage, he seemed humbled and slightly shocked that he had sold out the hallowed Nashville stage for two nights. Throughout the night, he thanked a multitude of people and continuously expressed his excitement about headlining the Ryman.

“I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2012. I never dreamed this in a million years,” he said. “I moved to town to write songs because I love country music. My uncle was a country songwriter, my brother writes songs and my dad writes songs.

“I met a lot of great people [when I moved here] and I got my first co-write,” Davis continued. “I met more great people. I met somebody from a record label who helped me get a record deal. I’ll be damned, the next thing you know, I’m standing at a sold out show at the Ryman Auditorium.”

Davis’ set was an ebb and flow of loud, hard-driving hits and tender songs about love and life, highlighting the range of his discography.

He came out with the infectiously hooky “What My World Spins Around,” skipping around the stage and pumping his fists. He continued that high-energy with “Singles You Up,” thrilling the audience with his 2018 debut hit. Davis kept the fans dancing and raising their beers to “Drink Had Me.”

Davis’ aptitude for great songs was best put on display when he slowed things down. His performance of “Next Thing You Know,” one of his newest tracks about how quickly life goes by, was sincere and deeply felt by the Ryman crowd. The pews were moving with swaying couples and concert-goers closing their eyes and taking the message in.

Another highlight of the night came when Davis sang the tune “Detours” from his 2020 self-titled project. As the song started to swell, Davis started to weave in verses from Coldplay‘s “Fix You.” By the end, the audience was in the palm of his hand.

Throughout the night, Davis called out his co-writers and team-members by name. When he performed “Money Isn’t Real,” he took a minute to recognize that although he didn’t write the song, it said exactly what he’d been trying to write for many years. He thanked the song’s writers Jameson Rodgers, Sarah Allison Turner, Jake Mitchell, and Josh Thompson.

The crowd, who stayed on their feet for most of night, was as thrilled to hear more of Davis’ hits, such as “Almost Maybes” and “Take It From Me,” as they were to hear older songs from Davis’ debut Gold-certified debut album, Home State. When he brought out surprise guest Danielle Bradbery to perform their five-day-old song “Midnight Crisis,” a lot of the crowd already knew all the words.

The ultimate highlight of the night came when Davis gave his encore, the Platinum-certified, CMA and ACM-nominated career-song “Buy Dirt.”

“The coolest moment that I’ve ever had in music happened on this stage about a week ago. In Nashville, we have the NSAI Awards and this next song that my brother [Jacob Davis], Matt Jenkins, Josh Jenkins and myself wrote won the NSAI Song of the Year,” he said as the band started to play “Buy Dirt.”

“I can’t tell y’all how special the day was when we sat down and wrote this song just south of Nashville,” he continued. “We wanted to write a song about the three most important things in our lives: our faith in Jesus Christ, our family, and our friends.”

The crowd sang along to every line and Davis smiled out at them with his chin held high with pride.

Caitlyn Smith, Ingrid Andress & Lainey Wilson Join Forces For The CMA Foundation

On Monday night (Sept. 26), Caitlyn Smith, Ingrid Andress and Lainey Wilson performed in the round to a sold out audience at the Franklin Theater. The trio shared the stories behind their award-winning songs and careers, while raising money for the CMA Foundation.

 

Warner Music Nashville Hosts First Web3 Summit At Nashville HQ

Warner Music Nashville hosted its first-ever Web3 Summit on Tuesday (Sept. 27) at its newly renovated Music Row headquarters.

Led by Victoria Mason (SVP Strategic Marketing & Analytics) and Brooke Hardesty (VP Interactive Marketing), the initiative aimed to educate artists and their teams about opportunities within emerging technologies. Featured speakers included representatives from Warner Music Group’s business development team, as well as guests from global gaming system Roblox, NFT platform POAP and NFT marketplace OpenSea.

 

Tenille Arts & Elvie Shane Take Over BMI’s Rooftop On The Row

BMI recently celebrated their monthly Rooftop on the Row concert series with BMI singer-songwriters Tenille Arts and Elvie Shane.

Previous ACM nominee Arts started off the show with tunes from her 2021 album, Girl to Girl, and her latest single “Back Then, Right Now.” The CMT Next Women of Country Class of 2021 vocalist closed her set with her No. 1 hit, “Somebody Like That.”

A Kentucky native, Shane followed and gave concertgoers a taste of his latest album, Backslider, including “My Boy,” which is currently at Top 5 on country radio.

BMI’s final rooftop event of the season will be held Oct. 18.

Tyler Key has been named Talent Buyer at the rejuvenated Cannery Hall in Nashville. In his new position he will spearhead all efforts and partnerships with artists on all three of Cannery’s Hall’s stages–Mainstage, The Mil and Row 1 Stage–for audiences ranging in size from 325–1,200.

Key has nearly a decade of experience under his belt, from managing artist booking and tour logistics to producing high energy local events like The Happening and TZKEY’s Graffiti Party in Nashville, he’s also worked with Bonnaroo, EDC, Austin City Limits, Pilgrimage Music Festival, Lollapalooza, Punk in Drublic, Music Midtown, Watershed, Rolling Loud, Hulaween Music and Arts Festival, and CMT’s Nashville.

“We want Cannery Hall to be the best venue experience, for both artists and patrons in Nashville, which is why we’re thinking through the entire artist experience from production to backstage amenities in the green room and even the booking experience,” says Brent Hyams, General Manager for Cannery Hall. “Tyler is an experienced artist manager and celebrated visual artist himself and knows what it’s like to be out on the road, creating art and performing night after night. His creativity and artistic instincts will make sure we have great acts every night across all musical genres.”

“Independent venues like Cannery Hall provide a different creative energy and platform for artists. We can highlight artists that are currently underrepresented in Nashville and don’t get opportunities on stages controlled by large corporations,” adds Key. “Cannery Row has been in Nashville for 140 years with over 40 years as a music venue. It’s an honor to be able to support artists I believe in while contributing to Cannery’s musical legacy.”

When Cannery Hall opens next year, it will be the largest independent music complex in Nashville.

Rising singer-songwriter Preston James has signed with Warner Chappell Music and King Pen Music.

Born and raised just outside of Nashville in Cheatham County, James’ father is a former tour manager and his mother was a country music publicist, allowing him to grow up surrounded by some of the top recording artists in country, such as Naomi Judd, Dixie Chicks, Miranda Lambert, George Strait and Joey & Rory, to name a few. Since he was 14, James has been performing around Music City, and has taken the stage with some of his personal heroes, including Delbert McClinton and Vince Gill.

“Preston has a wealth of experience for someone so early in their career,” notes Ben Vaughn, President & CEO, WCM Nashville. “He is incredibly talented on the guitar and has a voice that beautifully combines old school country sounds with the passion of the blues and classic rock.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Preston join our roster,” adds Kelly King, President, King Pen Music. “We have been following him for a while watching him grow as a songwriter. Once we saw his live performance, we were knocked out by his amazing charisma on stage, vocals, and guitar playing. He is the real deal, and we feel like we have found a diamond in the rough. We are thrilled to be a part of his journey as an artist and writer.”