Inside Track on Music Row: April 2022

GARTH NEWS:

Garth Brooks is adding a brand new opening night in Nashville. The new opening night concert will be Friday, April 15th, 7:00 PM at Nissan Stadium. The second night show will be Saturday, April 16th, 7:00 PM.  This will be Garth’s final Stadium Tour stop in Nashville and the only Stadium Tour stop in Tennessee and Kentucky. Over 70,000 fans attended the anticipated 2021 performance at Nissan Stadium before it was cancelled due to weather.  Tickets go on sale, Friday, April 1st at 10:00 AM CT.  It will be in-the-round seating. There will be an eight-ticket limit per purchase.  There are only 3 ways to purchase tickets: at www.ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or on the Garth Brooks line at Ticketmaster, 1-877-654-2784 or through the Ticketmaster App on your mobile phone. Please note there will be NO ticket sales at the venue box office on Friday, April 1st.  Tickets will cost $94.95, all inclusive. More about Garth at https://www.garthbrooks.com/ and  https://www.facebook.com/GarthBrooks  @garthbrooks

GIBSON NEWS:

The Les Paul Foundation, whose mission includes honoring and sharing the life, spirit and legacy of Les Paul has launched “Les Paul Thru the Lens,” an exclusive traveling gallery of photos highlighting the life and career of Les Paul, the inventor, musician and icon.  The Les Paul Thru the Lens exhibit features twenty-four gallery matted and framed black and white photographs chronicling Les’ life from a small child to his later career. It includes rare personal family photos, Les behind-the-scenes, famous musicians and photos of the man with a larger-than-life sense of humor and an amazing curiosity for innovation. Guests of the exhibits can follow along while viewing each photograph on the web-initiated storylines for each rare image. From Les’ time inventing in his famous Hollywood garage studio to his popular Reality TV show and appearances with Mary Ford, the exhibit provides fans with the opportunity to see Les like never before.  Stops on the tour include the NAMM Show, Anaheim, CA, June 3-5, 2022 and the Musicians’ Hall of Fame, Nashville, TN, July 1 – Sept 30, 2022. Updates at https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLesPaul  and @LesPaulOfficial


In more Gibson news… Blues and rock prodigy, Eric Gales, will join blues-rock icon Devon Allman for a special, live benefit concert, presented by Gibson Gives, at the National Blues Museum (NBM) in downtown St. Louis, MO on May 7th and 8th. The two-night concert series will also feature music by blues legend Albert King. Allman and Gales are generously donating all proceeds of this concert to the National Blues Museum to support the mission, music, and education programs. Tickets for the National Blues Museum benefit start at $139, with VIP packages available. For concert tickets and more information, visit: https://nationalbluesmuseum.org/event/eric-gales-and-devon-allman-a-salute-to-the-king-2.  Both legends in their own right, Devon Allman and Eric Gales bring more than 30 years of professional experience including a performance resume that reads like a who’s who in both rock and the blues. Both performers represent two of the most unique and experienced voices in contemporary blues and rock music, demonstrating Blues’ evolution as a piece of living music.  Details at https://nationalbluesmuseum.org.   More about the Gibson Gives program at https://www.gibsonfoundation.org.  @gibsongives

INDIE ARTIST NEWS:

Lauded by Rolling Stone as “a tough-girl with vocals that swell, yell and sometimes recall the gritty badassery of Amy Winehouse,” Meghan Linsey unleashes her powerful, blues-driven single, “If You Need Me Don’t,” available everywhere now. American Songwriter exclusively premiered a first listen to the track, noting it “lands somewhere between an Americana-steeped singer-songwriter and full-bodied soul singer,” while People.com premiered the music video which “embodies female empowerment.” Stream/download “If You Need Me Don’t” at https://fanlink.to/ifyouneedmedont.   Gibson Guitars sponsored Linsey’s single release event on Thursday, March 17 at their innovative new showroom in Nashville. During the release party, Gibson helped Linsey raise money for The Roots of Music non-profit organization in her hometown of New Orleans. A portion of the profits from her single will be donated to The Roots of Music, which helps underprivileged students have access to music education, academic support and mentorship. More about Meghan Linsey at http://www.meghanlinsey.com and Twitter and Instagram @meghanlinsey


Rising country songwriter and performing artist, Dallas Remington pulls no punches with her new single, “Dirty Roses.”  Valentine’s is over, all of the chocolate has been eaten and most of the flowers have died. Dallas Remington has released a song for all of those whose happy, loving relationships and Cupid-induced infatuations have since died as well: “You’ve been playing in the mud and everybody knows it, so don’t give me no ‘Dirty Roses.’” This almost punk rock-country song is an upbeat, fierce anthem telling all of those cheaters and bad guys to get lost. “Dirty Roses” was co-written by Nancy Deckant and Eric Mallona and Dallas Remington. The gritty and assertive song was produced by Corey Lawson. “Dirty Roses” is available on all digital streaming and download platforms at https://smarturl.it/dirtyroses.   “Sometimes being good doesn’t make up for being bad and that’s exactly what we wanted to say when we wrote ‘Dirty Roses!’ This song is so fun live and our studio band captured that perfectly with this almost punk-rock country anthem! Y’all crank it up!” exclaimed Dallas Remington. More at https://www.dallasremington.com.  @dallasremington

INDUSTRY NEWS:

Legendary record producer, arranger and musician Fred Mollin has engaged Nashville-based Chris Keaton Presents as his U.S. producer representative. Mollin’s working experience has been at the highest levels of the music industry producing monumental artists including Jimmy Webb, Johnny Mathis, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jackie Evancho and countless others. Additionally, Mollin is Disney’s most successful instrumental lullaby album artist. “Chris is known as The Connector,” says Mollin. “Of course, I want to be represented by him!” “The opportunity to represent a talent like Fred is an absolute joy and I look forward to our future,” comments Keaton, an award-winning music publisher, entrepreneur and 2016 North Carolina Music Hall of Fame Inductee. Chris Keaton can be reached through email chris@chriskeaton.com or via www.fredmollin.com.

LABEL NEWS:  

(BMLG)

Riley Green fans nationwide can now take the experience of his headline tour home with the release of We Out Here: Live via BMLG Records. Stream/listen at https://rileygreen.lnk.to/WeOutHereLivePR.   

“We’ve seen our biggest and loudest crowds so far on this tour, and to thank all the fans who have come out, we recorded one of the nights for them,” says Riley.  “Can’t wait for y’all to hear it.”

As more dates are added to his We Out Here Tour, including a stop at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on July 3 to kick off one of the largest Independence Day weekends in the country, the Alabama-raised singer/songwriter is set to deliver those same concert vibes to playlists. The stripped-down version fittingly opens with “Different ‘Round Here” before diving into fan favorites like “If It Wasn’t For Trucks” and “Georgia Time,” plus his Platinum-certified No. 1 “There Was This Girl.”  For more information on upcoming and recently-added tour dates visit https://www.rileygreenmusic.com and @RileyGreenMusic

MEDIA NEWS:

Grand Ole Opry stars Dailey & Vincent have added another accomplishment to a long list of accolades, making history when their rendition of Karen Staley’s “I’ll Leave My Heart in Tennessee” was unanimously voted on and signed in as an official state song by Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee. The honor came just a few days ahead of the GRAMMY®-nominated duo’s 5th anniversary as members of the Opry.  “We’ve played ‘I’ll Leave My Heart in Tennessee’ on the road for quite some time, and every time it’s gotten an overwhelming reaction,” said Darrin Vincent of the song. “We recently recorded it, and we’re honored the recording has made history and become an official state song.”  “We’d especially like to thank Senator Paul Bailey and Brandy Foust, Representative John Mark Windle, Representative Terry Lynn Weaver, and the entire House and Senate for their interest in and support of this song,” added Jamie Dailey. More about Dailey & Vincent including tour dates at https://www.daileyandvincent.com.  @officialdaileyvincent

MUSIC EVENT NEWS:  

ACM Lifting Lives®, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music® hosted Topgolf Tee-Off & Rock On Presented by Canteen Spirits Sunday, March 6 at Topgolf Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Headliner Luke Bryan was joined by Jordan Davis, ACM New Female Artist of the Year and Song of the Year winner Lainey Wilson, rising star Erin Kinsey, Spotify “Hot Country Artist to Watch” Ian Munsick, multi-Platinum singer and songwriter Chase Rice, dynamic trio Restless Road and ACM New Male Artist of the Year nominee Elvie Shane. The fundraising event leading into Monday’s 57th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Prime Video and on IMDb TV attracted artists, industry and fans competing for a cause. Topgolf Tee-Off & Rock On has become a fan-favorite awards-week event as it features a reimagined golf tournament experience that brings artists, industry members and fans together. Through partnerships with artists and strong ties in the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives® funds music health programs while also serving members of the music community who face unexpected hardships through its Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund. Details at https://www.acmliftinglives.org.

MUSIC ICON NEWS:

Captured at Woodstock, New York’s Levon Helm Studios in the summer of 2011, ANTI- Records announced the May 20, 2022 release of ‘Carry Me Home’, a new album that showcases the music of Mavis Staples and Levon Helm, two of the past century’s most iconic voices who came together in love and joy, tracing their shared roots and celebrating the enduring power of faith and music. Watch and listen to their version of “You Got To Move” that also features footage of Mavis and Levon rehearsing together   

Neither Staples nor Helm knew that this would be their last performance together—the collection marks one of Helm’s final recordings before his death—and listening back now, a little more than a decade later, tunes like “This May Be The Last Time” and “Farther Along” take on new, bittersweet meaning. The result is an album that’s at once a time capsule and a memorial, a blissful homecoming and a fond farewell, a once-in-a-lifetime concert—and friendship—preserved for the ages. Listen/pre-order Carry Me Home and see Mavis Staples tour updates at https://mavisstaples.com.

MUSIC NEWS:

Critically-acclaimed singer songwriter Jenny Tolman has released a new video for the title track of her sophomore album “Married in a Honky Tonk.”  Stream or download the track at https://fanlink.to/miahtjt.   The Tennessean exclusively premiered the video, which was shot at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson, Wyo. Jackson has become a special place for Tolman and her fiancé, Grammy-nominated producer Dave Brainard. As featured on People.com, Tolman and Brainard got engaged in Jackson in October of 2020 after four years of dating and are scheduled to marry there later this month. 

“The first time I ever played ‘Married in a Honky Tonk’ for a live audience was at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson, Wyo. The song mentions the Cowboy Bar in it, so I said from the stage that I had a dream to get to shoot the music video for this song, there. Well, the crowd absolutely loved the song and went wild, and the next thing I knew, the community came together to make that dream a reality,” Tolman shared with the Tennessean. More about Jenny Tolman at https://www.jennytolman.com.  @jennytolman

MUSIC ROW NEWS:

Kacey Musgraves has been named to Time magazine’s Women of the Year list that honors twelve leaders that help to create a more equal world. Time hosted an invitation-only gala on International Women’s Day, March 8, in Los Angeles. In 2021 Musgraves released her album Star-Crossed that included songs about her personal journey since her divorce and her 2018 hit album Golden Hour.  In an interview with Time, Musgraves said, “I have been told ‘no’ a lot in terms of something that I would want to take a creative risk on. “I decided I’d rather go down in flames for something I really believe in than present a watered-down version of myself that may make me more money. You have to fight that until you can get to a place where you can have total creative freedom, and I’m getting there.” Musgraves’ song “Camera Roll” received nominations in both Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance categories for this year’s Grammy Awards, scheduled for April 3. More at https://www.kaceymusgraves.com and @KaceyMusgraves #Kacey Musgraves

NUMBER ONE NEWS:

COJO Music / Warner Music Nashville Platinum recording artist Cody Johnson landed the first No. 1 of his career in March as “’Til You Can’t” topped the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase charts. Johnson will make his debut appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on April 8 to perform the single. He will join the Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band as special guest on two shows this summer during their 2022 international “Out In The Middle Tour.” Johnson will appear on the July 15 Fenway Park/Boston and August 18 Citi Field/New York City concerts.  The tour announcement with Zac Brown Band comes on the heels of Johnson’s Rodeo Houston performance where he became the third performer ever to sell out opening night following records set in previous years by Garth Brooks (2018) and George Strait (2017). With a crowd of 70,554 cheering fans, Johnson launched the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s ™ 90th anniversary season after a forced hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic. Johnson continues his own headline concerts through this fall. Tour dates and more at https://www.codyjohnsonmusic.com/home and @codyjohnson, Instagram & Twitter.