MusicRow recently checked in with Wrensong’s Ree Guyer Buchanan to find out about the path that took Old Dominion from hard-working indie band to rising major label stars. Old Dominion is comprised of Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Geoff Sprung, Whit Sellers, and Brad Tursi, all seasoned songwriters and musicians. The band’s Sony Music Nashville debut Meat and Candy will be released Nov. 6. It was produced by Shane McAnally.

Here’s what Buchanan had to say about the project:

Ree Guyer Buchanan

Two summers ago, Shane McAnally saw Old Dominion perform, and he told me that they had focused their songs and really figured it out. So I partnered with Shane and Michael Baum to cut about eight sides on Old Dominion. We shopped it to the labels but everybody passed.

The band was getting booked everywhere, and gaining traction. So that fall, we went to John Marks at SiriusXM. He told us to pick a single. We picked a polarizing song, “Dirt on A Road,” because we wanted it to be controversial. After it was released, it started selling about 500 downloads a day, and sold about 25,000 in a couple of months while it was playing on The Highway. We realized, “Oh my God. We have something here.”

John Marks encouraged us to pick a follow-up single. We had a pot of money and we wanted to keep going. Still, none of the labels knocked on our door, so we went to Thirty Tigers to help us put out an EP. Pam Newman heads radio promotion there, and she’s a firestarter at terrestrial radio.

Old Dominion’s manager Clint Higham has an amazing team, including Buffy Cooper who also jumped in with radio promotion. They were booking the band everywhere. And Thirty Tigers and Morris Higham were both working social media. So we put out another single, “Shut Me Up,” which did really well too.

It took a year of weekly team meetings and being our own label.

When we put out “Break Up With Him” in November 2014, we knew it was a big hit, because right away it was selling 5,000 digital downloads per week. When that happened, the labels came around. Sony signed Old Dominion in April and took over the whole thing.

In June “Break Up With Him” was released to terrestrial radio and it was the most-added song. Even though it had been out since November, right away it jumped to 20,000 digital downloads per week. It goes to show that terrestrial radio is really important.

The great thing about John Marks and SiriusXM, is that they break new music, but what stays on the radio is due to the statistics.

This is a preview of the Publisher Town Hall Meeting, which will be featured in the upcoming Publisher Issue of MusicRow magazine.

In the time since this interview was recorded, John Marks has exited SiriusXM.

Three new albums are lined up at the top of this week’s country album chart. Don Henley and George Strait are shoulder to shoulder at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, with Thomas Rhett entering at No. 3

Henley’s Cass County arrives atop the country chart with 87K units. Featuring duets with Merle Haggard, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, and more, the collaborative collection arrives at No. 3 overall.

Strait’s Cold Beer Conversation lands at No. 2 with 83K units. The project is an Apple and Walmart exclusive. Rhett’s Tangled Up makes a strong showing at No. 3, with 63K units.

Rounding out the top 5 are Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights (19K) and Sam Hunt’s Montevallo (9K).

Clint Black lands at No. 13 with On Purpose, his first new album to be released in a decade, with sales of 3K. Roger Creager and Mac McAnally also make debuts on the country album chart this week.

Bryan’s “Strip It Down” remains the top country track (No. 15 overall), selling 41K. Rhett’s “Die A Happy Man” holds down the No. 2 spot (No. 25 overall). Rounding out the Top 5 country tracks are Cam’s “Burning House” (32K), Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break” (24K) and Keith Urban’s “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (23K).

On the overall charts, Fetty Wap enters at No. 1 on the Top 200 with 129K units (75K) album only. Drake’s track, “Hotline Bling,” keeps its spot at No. 1 on the tracks chart with 101K sold.

Info according to Neilsen Soundscan.

MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson announced today (Sept. 30) that longtime industry journalist Craig Shelburne has joined MusicRow as General Manager. In this newly created position, Shelburne will manage the daily operations for the Nashville music industry trade publication, as well as contribute to editorial content and oversight.

“Adding a General Manager to our team enhances MusicRow and strategically positions our publication for continued success,” said Robertson. “With Craig’s extensive experience in media and excellent skills as a project manager, I am thrilled to bring such a qualified and respected member of our industry to MusicRow.”

Shelburne says, “MusicRow has an incredible reputation in town and I’m proud to be part of one of the city’s most established publications. I’m passionate about country music and the songwriting community, and I look forward to bringing my industry experience into this new role.”

In March, Shelburne concluded a 13-year run at CMT, where he served as Senior Editor of CMT.com, curator of CMT Edge and producer of Concrete Country. He recently completed a contract position with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s educational program, Words & Music. He has also served as a freelance contributor for the Nashville Scene, Nash Country Weekly, Rolling Stone Country, ACM Tempo, The Billboard Music Awards, Paste, and others. Most recently, he wrote the script for the 2015 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, taking place tomorrow (Oct. 1) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Shelburne grew up in rural Nebraska and moved to Nashville in 1994 to attend Belmont University. He graduated with a journalism degree in 1997. Prior to CMT, he worked at New Country magazine and Citysearch.com.

He can be reached at cshelburne@musicrow.com.

By Sarah Skates and Eric T. Parker

Sometimes the unpredictability of an outdoor festival adds to the fun. So attendees didn’t let the overcast sky keep them from this weekend’s inaugural Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival. The event was a welcome addition to the Williamson County, Tenn. calendar, bringing a boatload of top-notch musical artists to the usually quiet suburb. The festival and its expected 10,000+ guests invaded Harlinsdale Farm, across from The Factory at Franklin.

The huge field offered plenty of room for attendees to spread out around three main stages, plus a children’s stage. In between the stages, numerous vendors sold jewelry, art, clothing, cigars, chocolate and more, mostly from local companies.

Many music fans took advantage of free admission for ages 10 and under, showing up with kiddos in tow.

Football fans enjoyed cheering on their teams while watching televisions inside the beer tent, but the long lines left them with short patience. Overheard from fans: “This line is too long. They’re losing money.” The response from another fan was clear: “No, we’re losing music!”

We arrived Saturday (Sept. 26) in time to see Cage The Elephant create a firestorm spectacle. Crowdsurfing frontman Matt Shultz was shirtless by the time he exited the stage. The Jay Joyce-produced band ran through their well-known songs including “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” “Shake Me Down,” “Aberdeen,” “Cigarette Daydreams,” “Come A Little Closer” and “Back Against The Wall.”

On a different stage, Sheryl Crow accompanied her multitude of hits with a six-person band. Those standards included “All I Wanna Do,” “My Favorite Mistake,” “Soak Up The Sun,” “Everyday Is A Winding Road,” and a medley of “Picture” and “If It Makes You Happy.”

“It’s so fun to drive down the street to go to work,” said the Nashville resident.

Crow welcomed friend and fellow festival performer Holly Williams and her husband Chris Coleman to the stage for “Are You Strong Enough To Be My Man.”

Crow’s instrumental prowess was on full display behind a piano and harmonica when stagehands weren’t feeding her bass, electric, or acoustic guitars for other songs. Accordions, mandolins, an upright bass and steel guitar—thank God—all added flair to her solid set.

On another stage, the Punch Brothers were performing their brand of punchy bluegrass. Earlier in the day, Nashville mainstay Will Hoge was on the docket, as well as Iron & Wine and Neko Case.

Despite the threatening skies, we stuck around for Weezer. A full-on rain started as Rivers Cuomo sang “Say It Ain’t So,” echoing the sentiments of the drenched crowd. Many troopers waited it out in the downpour, and the band reciprocated with a slew of old and new hits.

Wilco was set to close out Saturday evening.

On Sunday (Sept. 27) Chris Stapleton was joined by wife Morgane Stapleton and five band members who all performed on his Mercury debut album, Traveller. For the festival, his all-star line-up included producer Dave Cobb, Willie Nelson’s harmonica player Mickey Raphael and Waylon Jennings’ steel player Robby Jennings.

As a tribute, the soulful outlaw performed a Waylon cover, “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” and a David Allan Coe/George Jones cover “Tennessee Whiskey.”

After the first song (“Nobody To Blame”) was over, the smell of marijuana filled the air. “It smells good out there,” said Stapleton from the stage. Appropriately, his set also included “Might As Well Get Stoned.”

Steven Tyler’s set brought to life the sentiments expressed in his daughter Mia Tyler’s book about her father’s positive energy. The Sunday crowd lured the international rock star by chanting: “Walk this way, Steven!” The stage was finally ready about 10 minutes behind schedule, but Tyler more than made up for it with his trademark energy and about a 20-minute addition to his 30-minute slot.

The Hall of Fame songwriter performed many of his hits including “Sweet Emotion,” “Cryin’,” “Walk This Way,” “Jaded,” and “Dream On” while on a white Steinway piano. He played two covers: Janis Joplin’s “Piece Of My Heart,” and The Beatles’ “I’m Down.”

One thing is for sure, Tyler still has his magic touch. His larger-than-life energy led to him throwing aviator glasses to the crowd and a harmonica from his pocket. His six-person backing band, Loving Mary, features Tyler’s longtime co-writing cohort Marti Frederiksen as well as Rebecca Lynn Howard.

“I live [in Nashville] now,” announced Tyler, who has been working on a Big Machine Records country album. Tyler performed the forthcoming effort’s single, “Love Is Your Name,” written by Eric Paslay and Lindsey Lee.

Festival organizers, including Franklin resident Kevin Griffin (interview here), have already announced Pilgrimage will return in 2016.