Author: Lauren Zimmerman

RECORDS/Arista Nashville breakthrough entertainer Matt Stell thrilled hundreds of fans last evening when he performed a pop-up show at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row Nashville. Stell dubbed the event a celebration of the recent launch of his Give A Damn Foundation, and during his intensely energetic 13-song set, attendees made donations in tip buckets totaling over $1320 which will go directly to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Matt Stell expands upon Give A Damn Foundation HERE .

“A wise man once told me, that the only thing you have to do to make the world a better place is to just give a damn,” explained the singer-songwriter. “And that always meant something to me. And that’s why I called our new cause theGive A Damn Foundation.” 

Stell continued, “This pop-up show made so much sense to me. There’s nothing better in the world than having fun with your friends playing music, except, having fun playing music with your friends, and doing it for a good cause.”

“So what’s the Give A Damn Foundation? Well basically, it’s our way to give back. Because the way I see it – I get to live my dream everyday playing music all over the country, and we want to make other peoples’ dreams come true.” 

According to Stell, “We’re going to have a great time choosing the charities we care a lot about. For the pop-up show, donations went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Additional charities we’ve made Give A Damncommitments to are Doctors Without Borders and the Humane Society, just to name a few. Because the bottom line is, if you give a damn and I give a damn, we’re going to make this world a better place and have a lot of fun doing it.”

Limited edition Give A Damn wristbands are now available HERE. 100% of all the proceeds from wristband purchases go to Give A Damn Foundation. 

Matt Stell’s latest single, “Everywhere But On,” is the title track of Stell’s debut EP (listen HERE) and the name of his first headline tour which kicked off January 24 featuring support artists Chris Bandi and Ray Fulcher. “Everywhere But On” was co-written by Matt Stell, Paul Sikes and Lance Miller and produced by Ash Bowers and Stell.

The RECORDS/Arista Nashville entertainer performed his Gold-certified multi-week No. 1 airplay smash “Prayed For You” on two nationally televised programs on ABC – “Bachelor in Paradise” (Aug. 2019) and “Good Morning America (Jan. 2020). On the Billboard Country Airplay chart, “Prayed For You” was the ONLY debut artist single to top the chart in 2019. In addition to holding No.1 for two consecutive weeks on Billboard, Stell’s hit topped the Country Aircheck/ Mediabase Airplay chart as well. Penned by Stell, Ash Bowers, and Allison Veltz Cruz, “Prayed For You” has massed nearly 165 million streams.

The official music video for “Prayed For You” (view HERE) premiered via People, and reached No.1 on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown. Stell was the only country artist picked for Vevo DSCVR 2020, which spotlights promising new talent, as well as being named a CMT Discovery Artist and Taste of Country’s “Ones To Watch.” “Prayed For You” along with “Home In A Hometown,” a collaboration with Jimmie Allen, and Stell’s sultry cover of Ariana Grande’s “God is a woman” can be found on Stell’s EP, Everywhere But On . Last fall, the singer-songwriter joined Chris Young on his “Raised On Country World Tour 2019.”  

ACM, CMA and CMT Award-winning artist Luke Combs made his debut as the musical guest on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” this past Saturday with host JJ Watt performing two songs from his critically acclaimed new album, What You See Is What You Get: “Lovin’ On You” and “ Beer Never Broke My Heart.” 

The performance is just the latest achievement in what continues to be a groundbreaking and historic series of years for Combs. In November, his critically acclaimed new album, What You See Is What You Get, debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart as well as Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with 172,000 equivalent units sold. It was also a global No. 1 album, topping charts in Canada, Australia and the U.K. Out now via River House Artists/Columbia Nashville (stream/purchase here ), the record enjoyed the largest streaming week ever for a country album with 74 million on-demand streams. It also achieved the biggest first week of album streams ever for a country artist on Apple Music and was the first country album ever to hit No. 1 on the platform’s U.S. overall albums chart, while also setting a new global record for first-week streams for a country album at Spotify and breaking the Amazon Music record for more first-week streams than any other country album debut. 

Produced by Scott Moffatt, What You See Is What You Get features 17 songs including the five tracks previously released via The Prequel EP last summer. The EP debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with all five tracks charting on Billboard ’s Hot Country Songs Top 25—a feat not accomplished by any artist in 60 years since Johnny Cash in 1959. Additionally, Combs’ most recent single, “Even Though I’m Leaving,” spent its third week at No. 1 at country radio, making it Combs’ seventh consecutive No. 1—a first on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Following this success, Combs’ new single, “Does To Me” featuring Eric Church, was recently shipped to country radio. 

In celebration of the release, Combs is set to headline his first ever stadium show at Appalachian State University’s Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, NC on May 2. The sold-out stadium show is part of Combs’ “What You See Is What You Get Tour,” which continues Combs’ historic success on the road with all ten of the concerts selling out immediately after going on-sale.

Adding to his landmark year, Combs’ debut album, This One’s For You, was recently certified RIAA Triple Platinum. Since its release in 2017, the album has spent 50 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart—tying the record for the longest reign atop the chart with Shania Twain’s Come On Over in 1997. This One’s For You was also the most-streamed country album of 2019. Moreover, several of Combs’ songs have also received new RIAA certifications: 4x Platinum “Beautiful Crazy,” 4x Platinum “When It Rains It Pours,” 2x Platinum “She Got The Best of Me” and Platinum “Must’ve Never Met You.”

Soulful rising country star Ryan Hurd kicked off his headlining PLATONIC TOUR this weekend at The Bluestone in Columbus, OH and Manchester Music Hall in Lexington, KY to captivated packed houses.

The crowd was hanging on every word as Hurd performed his Top 20-and-rising Gold single “To a T” as well as cuts from his recent PLATONIC EP. Featuring special guests Niko Moon and Adam Doleac on select dates the PLATONIC TOUR rolls on this week to Nashville’s Cannery Ballroom and Memphis’ Minglewood Hall. Throughout the cross-country run, “country music’s next big star” (AOL) is also slated for high-profile two-night stands at Joe’s on Weed Street in Chicago, IL and NYC’s Gramercy Theatre.

Ryan Hurd’s PLATONIC TOUR
Feb. 6 – Cannery Ballroom | Nashville, TN
Feb. 7 – Minglewood Hall | Memphis, TN
Feb. 21 – 8 Seconds Saloon | Indianapolis, IN
Feb. 22 – Mercury Ballroom | Louisville, KY
Feb. 27 – Joe’s on Weed Street | Chicago, IL
Feb. 28 – Joe’s on Weed Street | Chicago, IL
Feb. 29 – St. Andrews Hall | Detroit, MI
March 4 – Gramercy Theatre | New York, NY
March 5 – Gramercy Theatre | New York, NY
March 6 – Paradise Rock Club | Boston, MA
March 7 – Theatre of the Living Arts | Philadelphia, PA
March 13 – The Midland Theater | Kansas City, MO
March 14 – DelMar Hall | St. Louis, MO
March 19 – Terminal West | Atlanta, GA
March 20 – Georgia Theatre | Athens, GA
March 21 – Coyote Joe’s | Charlotte, NC

Acclaimed 2-time CMA Vocal Group of the Year and 2-time ACM Group of the Year Old Dominion reveal their newest single, “Some People Do.” The song is off the band’s self-titled 3rd studio album. Click HERE to listen.

Old Dominion frontman Matthew Ramsey said of the song, “It’s a breaking-point kind of song. I think inherently we’re all good people and want to be good people, but no matter who you are, sometimes you hurt the ones you love. It’s about that desire to be the best person you can be for those people.”

The band is showing no signs of slowing down. Their latest No. 1 hit single, “One Man Band” has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. With over 275 million streams, this marks the band’s 8th consecutive No. 1 and biggest song to date. They recently performed it on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” HERE . In addition, they also received certifications for 5 of their other songs: “Written in the Sand” (2x Platinum), “Break Up With Him” (2x Platinum), “Hotel Key” (Platinum), “Make It Sweet” (Gold) and “Nowhere Fast” (Gold). 

Old Dominion recently announced a U.S. leg of their WE ARE OLD DOMINION tour with 13 cities and support from Dustin Lynch and Carly Pearce. Later this week, the band will make their return to Canada for the Canadian run with Mitchell Tenpenny and Meghan Patrick. This summer, the Old Dominion is also set to join Kenny Chesney on his Chillaxification 2020 stadium tour which will see them hitting stadiums across the nation as well as performances at several fairs and festivals throughout the summer. Click HERE for more info.

Sony Music Nashville and Villa 40 announce the signing of singer/songwriter Tyler Booth to Villa 40/Sony Music Nashville. Booth is the first artist to launch as part of an exclusive, long-term joint-venture agreement between the label group and Villa 40, co-founded by music industry executives including Joe Fisher, Brad Margolis and Trace Ayala.

“I’m so excited to sign with Sony Nashville/Villa 40; they plucked me out of the hills of Kentucky,” Booth said. “They told me they believed in me, loved the music I was making and felt like they wanted to be apart of my future.  I’ve grown to know them like family and feel like it’s where I belong.” 

Born and raised in Wolfe County in the Southeastern region of Kentucky, Tyler Booth has been writing songs and honing his craft for years, but, it was his smooth baritone vocals that first caught the attention of producer/songwriter Phil O’Donnell. Hailing from the stomping grounds of John Michael Montgomery, Montgomery Gentry and George Molton, the 21-year-old performs regularly at the famed Austin City Saloon in Corbin, Kentucky. 

“On behalf of the Villa 40 team, we couldn’t be more thrilled to announce our joint venture with Sony Music Nashville,” remarked Villa 40 co-founder Brad Margolis. “We have watched the Sony team repeatedly break genre-defining artists, and we look forward to continuing that tradition with our signing of Tyler Booth.” Margolis continues, “Villa 40 was founded with the goal of developing artists across all aspects of their careers, and we know that working with the SMN team will allow us to help artists like Tyler define the next decade of country music.”

Sony Music Nashville EVP A&R Jim Catino responded, “Brad and Joe and the entire Villa 40 team are creative and passionate collaborators. What better way to kick-off our new relationship than to share the news of signing the incredibly talented singer-songwriter Tyler Booth.”

Tyler Booth’s newly-released tracks “Long Comes A Girl” and “Where The Livin’ Is” are available now at all streaming platforms and digital retailers. 

View Booth’s “Long Comes A Girl” music video HERE.

For further info on Tyler Booth, go to www.tylerboothmusic.com

Tenille Townes’ “Jersey On The Wall (I’m Just Asking)” is No. 1 at BDS Canada and Mediabase Canada country radio charts this week—the acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer’s second chart-topping single following her Canadian Platinum-certified “Somebody’s Daughter,” which reached the pinnacle exactly a year ago this week. The feat makes Townes the only female in Mediabase Canada history to achieve two No. 1 singles.

Of the accomplishment, Townes shares, “My heart is bursting because this song and the people who inspired it mean so much to me. And hearing stories from so many of you and how it’s made you feel less alone in your grieving and your questions, means the most to me.”

Released to widespread acclaim, Rolling Stone calls the single, “a stirring, full-bodied anthem about loss and faith,” while Taste of Country proclaims, “Townes continues to release music grounded in empathy…She aims for a higher brand of acclaim and satisfaction.”

Both “Jersey” and “Somebody’s Daughter” are featured Townes’ new EP, Road to the Lemonade Stand, which was produced by Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town) and will be released February 7 via Columbia Nashville (pre-save/pre-order here). With the release of the EP, Townes is inviting fans to join her on the journey to her highly anticipated debut album, The Lemonade Stand, which will be released later this spring. Additional details to be announced soon.  

In celebration of the release, Townes will tour extensively this year including a series of dates supporting Alan Jackson. Upcoming stops include Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center, Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena, Tulsa’s BOK Center, Denver’s Pepsi Center and Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena among many others. See below for complete details. 

Today, CMT revealed the 17 artists to watch in its much-anticipated 2020 LISTEN UP campaign, which recognizes and supports country music’s most promising newcomers across CMT platforms. The year-long initiative raises awareness for new artists via support for their music and videos across CMT and CMT Music channels, CMT Hot 20 Countdown, CMT.com and @CMT social media channels, in addition to company-wide opportunities including live events and the ViacomCBS’ Times Square NYC Billboard. 

“CMT has curated an incredible list of emerging talent for 2020! Equally important, it’s a diverse group of new artists with 50/50 parity for female and male artists, with one bonus wildcard – Hot Country Knights – thrown in for good measure!” shared Leslie Fram, SVP of Music & Talent at CMT. “We will follow and support these newcomers throughout the year with opportunities from video airplay, content rollout, social support and live performances. We can’t wait for our audience to see and hear more of what they can do!”

The below 17 artists join CMT’s prestigious 2020LISTEN UP roster:  

·         Adam Doleac
·         Avenue Beat
·         Blanco Brown
·         Caleb Lee Hutchinson
·         Caylee Hammack
·         Gabby Barrett
·         Hailey Whitters
·         Hot Country Knights
·         Madison Kozak
·         Marcus King
·         Niko Moon
·         Parker McCollum
·         Payton Smith
·         Sam Williams
·         Sykamore
·         Tiera
·         Walker County

Since 2011, CMT’s LISTEN UP franchise has introduced new artists to the network’s passionate fan base and has helped launch the careers of superstars including Brett Eldredge, Carly Pearce, Dustin Lynch, Jon Pardi, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Midland and RaeLynn, among others.

Earlier this week, CMT pledged 50/50 video airplay parity for female and male artists across CMT and CMT Music channels and teased its forthcoming #CMTEqualPlay campaign. Several of CMT’s LISTEN UP artists – Aubrie Sellers (2016), Brandy Clark (2016), Hailey Whitters, Madison Kozak and Walker County – are among those slated to open for GRAMMY-nominee Tanya Tucker when the CMT Next Women of Country: Bring My Flowers Now Tour kicks off on February 5. 

RCA Nashville exciting newcomer Niko Moon has dropped his latest sonic-melding track “PARADISE TO ME” today (1/24). Listen here.

This new release is another glimpse into Moon’s singular sound, blending Atlanta-bred hip-hop and rural-fed traditional country, which takes center stage on Moon’s debut EP GOOD TIME – set for release Feb. 14. Listeners can pre-save GOOD TIME to their collections here. 

The rising star was recently named to CMT’s annual “LISTEN UP” campaign, which recognizes and supports country music’s most promising newcomers, as well as Amazon Music’s 2020 Artists to Watch list.

Following standout runs supporting Filmore and Eli Young Band, Moon kicks off his opening stint on Ryan Hurd’s PLATONIC TOUR Thursday, Jan. 30 at The Bluestone in Columbus, OH. Later this spring, he’ll head overseas to perform at C2C London, CMC Rocks QLD, and CMA Introducing Nashville series throughout Australia and New Zealand. 

Riser House/Columbia Nashville artist Mitchell Tenpenny is delivering more new digital music to his Night Owl fans releasing “Can’t Go To Church” today. The song was written by Mitchell, Jordan Schmidt and Matt Rogers. Find it HERE .

“I grew up in Nashville and went to a Christian school, David Lipscomb High School. All my friends and I attended both school and church together. The girlfriend I had at the time broke up with me and the first thing you do at that age is try to avoid them. And I knew if I went to church, I would see her. So, I wrote this song not because I didn’t believe in God and didn’t want to fellowship, I just didn’t want to see her. I said a prayer to God that ‘I will praise you, I just can’t walk in there anymore.’”

Mitchell’s current single “Anything She Says” was delivered to country radio after fans streamed the song over ten million times. Since its release streams have reached 25 million and it’s climbing the charts at radio. The single’s music video debuted on YouTube Music on January 10 and was played for the in-house audience before Mitchell’s Opry at The Ryman performance that night.

Last week, Mitchell launched the second leg of his ANYTHING SHE SAYS TOUR with special guests Seaforth and Adam Doleac. PEOPLE Magazine shared an exclusive look behind the scenes.