U2 Records At Third Man Records Nashville

U2 capped off their Saturday night show in Music City at Bridgestone Arena with a little more stripped-down gig on Sunday at Third Man Records. The band alerted fans to the special session 15 minutes before setting up to play, and proceeded to make the first-ever direct-to-acetate live recording of “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way” and “Red Flag Day” at the label, broadcasting video of their acoustic performance live from their Facebook page for fans.

The recording was made in the main storefront space, using the direct-to-acetate equipment usually reserved for Blue Room performances for the first time outside of that room.

Third Man previously released a 12-inch single of “The Blackout,” a song from U2’s 2017 LP Songs of Experience, for Record Store Day Black Friday.

Rhythm House Signs Steven Lee Olsen, Brandon Day

Pictured (L-R): Brandon Day, Steven Lee Olsen and Stevie Frasure

Rhythm House has announced the addition of several new members. The Roc Nation joint venture welcomes Steven Lee Olsen and Brandon Day to the roster, and has promoted Stevie Frasure to VP of Creative.

Olsen, known for penning the hits “Blue Ain’t Your Color” and “More Girls Like You,” joins Rhythm House’s writing roster in partnership with Warner/Chappell Music Nashville. As an artist, Olsen is managed by Chris Parr at Maverick and is currently working on his first EP.

“Steven is an incredible artist and writer. We are thrilled to have him part of our team, ” says Roc Nation’s Executive Vice President of Business Affairs Tamara Conniff.

Day, a 23-year-old writer and producer, joins Rhythm House with an exclusive songwriting agreement. With a background in rock and pop, the North Carolina native has production and writer credits ranging from The Plain White T’s to Big & Rich.

“Brandon was the perfect fit for our multi-genre minded family and we are excited to help take his brand to the next level,” says Rhythm House’s Jesse Frasure.

Stevie Frasure has been promoted to VP of Creative at Rhythm House. The Georgia native has held previous music industry positions at EMI, ole and Patrick Joseph Music where she helped land many major label cuts and guided songwriting careers.

“We love Stevie’s energy and are thrilled to have her continue to help develop our Nashville roster,” says Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown.

Rhythm House was formed in 2016 as a partnership between Roc Nation and Jesse Frasure, with help from Warner/Chappell’s administration. Rhythm House represents Roc Nation’s first partnership in Nashville’s publishing community.

Maren Morris, Bebe Rexha, Alessia Cara To Headline ‘River On The Rooftop’ Lineup

Maren Morris, Bebe Rexha, Alessia Cara and more will perform on iHeartMedia’s 107.5 The River’s annual River on the Rooftop concert series presented by FreelandAuto.com throughout the summer. The free, three-part concert series with dates on June 11, June 25 and July 23, will be hosted at a brand new venue, Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar at 311 Broadway.

River on the Rooftop has become synonymous with summer in Nashville,” said Jonathan Shuford, Program Director for iHeartMedia Nashville. “We’ve welcomed some of the most prolific artists in the world over the past three years, and we’re incredibly proud to offer our listeners what we believe to be our best lineup yet in 2018. The wide spectrum of artists represented this year blur the lines of traditional musical genres, but what they have in common is that they’re all incredible musicians and it’s truly an honor to be able to bring them all to Music City for this series.”

All shows are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis until the rooftop patio is at capacity. Additional patrons will be able to watch the performances on screens inside the venue. More performers to be announced at a later date.

  • June 11 – Bebe Rexha, Bazzi, MAX
  • June 25 – Alessia Cara, Madison Beer, The Vamps
  • July 23 – Maren Morris, Cash Cash, Loote

Promotions, Hirings At Maximum Artist Group

Pictured (clockwise from top left): Dennis Disney, Ben Pogue, Tina Johanning, and Jordan Greiner

Nashville-based artist management and content development firm, Maximum Artist Group, has announced a round of promotions and hirings.

Dennis Disney has been promoted to Sr. VP/Chief Operating Officer, and Ben Pogue has been promoted to Artist Manager.

Jordan Greiner has been added as an artist manager, handling day-to-day responsibilities on clients, while Tina Johanning has joined the team as Executive Assistant to the company’s President, Mitchell Solarek, and Sr. VP.

“Our Maximum Artist clients have seen tremendous growth over the past two years—massive consumption numbers, Grammy, Dove, and Stellar Award nominations and wins; packed houses on big tours; multiple and multi-week number one radio singles; explosive growth in social media fan bases—all necessitating our firm’s expansion,” says Solarek. “I can’t describe how excited I am for our clients and for the future of our firm with the team we have in place.”

Disney joined Maximum in January 2016 as its first Vice President, overseeing operations and day-to-day responsibilities for several clients. His newly expanded role adds all business and legal affairs, strategy development for the firm and its 13 clients, sponsorship and sponsor relations, book publishing opportunities, and value-added initiatives for the client roster.

Pogue has been with Maximum for over four years. His expanded role into artist manager includes overseeing day-to-day duties for Grammy-winning songwriter/producer, Bernie Herms and breakout Capitol CMG artist, Riley Clemmons. Additionally, he remains the primary point person in Maximum’s relationships with all major Digital Service Providers and a key liaison with record label partners’ digital teams, helping drive digital revenue growth across all platforms.

Greiner, joining artist managers Kristi Brazell (Natalie Grant/Curb) and Penny Railey (Danny Gokey/Capitol CMG), brings eight years of artist management experience and network to the firm. Previously, Greiner was a manager at Eaglemont Entertainment where he worked with such artists as High Valley, Jason Gray, Aaron Shust, and Grammy-nominated Lauren Daigle. At Maximum, he will oversee the day-to-day management for four-time GRAMMY® nominee Tauren Wells (Essential/Sony), hip-hop duo Social Club Misfits (Capitol CMG), GRAMMY® and Stellar Award nominee Todd Dulaney (eOne), and The Voice finalist, R&B/Gospel sensation Koryn Hawthorne (RCA Inspiration).

Backstreet Boys, Carrie Underwood Added To CMT Music Awards

The Backstreet Boys, Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, and Jason Aldean are the latest stars announced who will be performing on the upcoming 2018 CMT Music Awards at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena June 6.

The show will also include some star-studded collaborations as Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne team up and Darius Rucker performs with Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Charles Kelley.

Fans can vote for their favorite artists now via CMT.com until Monday, June 4 for categories including Video of the Year, Male Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, Duo Video of the Year, Group Video of the Year, Breakthrough Video of the Year, Collaborative Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year.

MercyMe Are Big Winners At K-LOVE Fan Awards

MercyMe took top honors at the 2018 K-LOVE Fan Awards Sunday night (May 27), racking up a win in all nominated categories including Film Impact (for the box office smash I Can Only Imagine), Group or Duo of the Year, Song of the Year for “Even If” and Artist of the Year. Cory Asbury‘s captivating hit “Reckless Love” also won big, honored for both Worship Song of the Year and Breakout Single.

Dennis Quaid, a lead actor in the film I Can Only Imagine, surprised fans with a moving performance on the show, and other performers included Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Cory Asbury featuring Francesca Battestelli, for KING & COUNTRY, Hillsong Worship, Jordan Feliz, Mandisa, Matt Maher, MercyMe featuring Trace Adkins, Newsboys United, Tauren Wells featuring Natalie Grant, TobyMac, We are Messengers featuring Social Club Misfits, Zach Williams, and Matthew West, whose performance was a moving tribute to the late Rev. Billy Graham.

Matthew West and Mandisa teamed up to host the show from the Grand Ole Opry stage, and surprised a teen who had just undergone a heart transplant after a 15-year journey of heart complications with a special K-LOVE Fan Award. John Corbell and his family would listen to K-LOVE during his time at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and his family was among the special guests of the night from Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s Seacrest Studios at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

TBN will broadcast the 2018 K-LOVE Fan Awards on Thursday, May 31 at 8 p.m. ET. 

K-LOVE Award Winners:
Film Impact
I Can Only Imagine
Sports Impact
2017 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles
Book Impact Recipient
Dimas Salaberrios, “Street God” 
Male Artist of the Year
TobyMac
Female Artist of the Year
Lauren Daigle
Group or Duo of the Year
MercyMe
Breakout Single
Cory Asbury, “Reckless Love”
Worship Song of the Year
Cory Asbury, “Reckless Love”
Song of the Year
MercyMe, “Even If”
Artist of the Year
MercyMe

Pandora Launches Premium Family Plan

Pandora has revealed a $15-per-month family plan subscription tier, similar to offerings by Spotify and Apple Music.

The new plan, called Premium Family Plan, offers premium features for up to six Pandora accounts, for $14.99 per month. The plan allows users to choose music at a higher quality without ads, to create radio stations, to customize playlists, and to download music for offline listening. Users will also be able to access Pandora’s newly-unveiled Soundtrack playlists.

However, Pandora users who subscribe via iTunes, Roku, Google Play or Amazon’s Appstore, will not be able to access the new plan. In order to sign up for the premium family plan, users would need to cancel their subscription and subscribe from a computer rather than a mobile device.

Luke Bryan Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary Of Farm Tour In September

Luke Bryan is honoring the American farmer once again this fall as his tenth annual “Bayer Presents Luke Bryan Farm Tour” is set to run Sept. 27-Oct. 6. Bryan will take the six-city tour from Ohio to Florida, setting up stages in the fields of local farmers across those states.

Over 100,000 fans have attended the tour each year since its inception in 2009, and Luke will continue giving back to the farmers by awarding college scholarships to students from farming families who are attending the local college or university near the tour stops. To date, more than 50 scholarships have been granted. Bayer will also continue their #HeresToTheFarmer campaign on the tour, where for every share, Bayer will donate a meal to someone in need through Feeding America. In years past, nearly two million meals have been donated and $140,000 went to area food banks and local farmers in each of the tour cities. Visit HeresToTheFarmer.com to learn more.

Tickets for the “Bayer Presents Luke Bryan Farm Tour 2018” go on sale June 6 at lukebryan.com/FarmTour.

Presale tickets for Luke’s Fan Club (the Nut House), Luke’s official App and Citi cardmembers at CitiPrivatePass.com begin June 1.

“I can’t believe we’ve been doing this 10 years!” Bryan said. “Our goal was to bring big-city production concerts into these small towns across the U.S. giving those communities the opportunity to attend shows that would never come their way.”

Sept. 27: Irwin, OH-Springfork Farms
Sept. 28: Pesotum, IL-Atkins Farm
Sept. 29: Boone, IA-Ziel Farm
Oct. 4: Archer, FL-Whitehurst Cattle Company
Oct. 5: North Augusta, SC-Misty Morning Farms
Oct. 6: Ringgold, GA-Doug Yates Farms

The Valory Music Co.’s The Church Sisters Offer First Album, ‘A Night At The Opry’

The Church Sisters, a new sibling duo signed to Valory Music Co., has released their first full-length album, titled A Night At The Opry. The 11-track album showcases the harmonies of fraternal twins Savannah and Sarah.

The 22-year-old Virginia natives have been in the studio with songwriter/producer Julian Raymond, putting their vocal stamp on songs penned by Raymond, Maren Morris, Lori McKenna and Trent Dabbs.

“We’ve worked hard on this album and are so excited to finally be able to share it with the world,” Savannah said. “We hope people get a feel for who The Church Sisters are when they listen to these songs.”

Sarah added, “After a long road of recording and touring together since we were 12, we are ready to embark on this new journey and for our fans to hear this music. We hope that they love it as much as we do!”

“From the first moment I heard The Church Sisters sing, I was completely mesmerized with their vocal abilities,” said Raymond. “A Night at the Opry is an incredible mix of old fashion blood harmony with their Bluegrass, Gospel, Appalachian and modern country music influences.”

A NIGHT AT THE OPRY Track List
1. “A Night At The Opry” | Julian Raymond
2. “House Of Dreams” | Jessie Early, Angela Lauer
3. “The Little I Got” | Jabe Beyer, Maren Morris, Brett Tyler
4. “Growing Up” | Katie Cole
5. “Pearly Gates” | Julian Raymond
6. “Starting Over Again” | Julian Raymond
7. “I’m Free” | Jill Andrews, Kevin Rhoads
8. “Your Next Lover” | Lori McKenna
9. “Can’t Cage Me In” | Katie Cole
10. “Exile From Main Street” | Julian Raymond
11. “I’m Not OK” | Jill Andrews, Trent Dabbs

Canaan Smith Inks Deal With Tree Vibez

Pictured (L-R): Back Row – ASCAP Senior Creative Director Mike Sistad; TVM Creative Director/TVM Tour Manager Adam Romaine; TVM General Manager Leslie T. DiPiero; ASCAP Creative Director Robert Filhart; Front Row – Tyler Hubbard; Canaan Smith;
Brian Kelley. Photo: Tree Vibez Music

Tree Vibez Music has welcomed its latest addition to the writing roster, with Canaan Smith signing on as the company’s newest staff writer.

Celebrating the news at the Nashville headquarters of ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) on Tuesday (May 22), Smith joined TVM founders and Florida Georgia Line superstars Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, TVM general manager Leslie T. DiPiero, TVM creative director/TVM tour manager Adam Romaine, ASCAP senior creative director Mike Sistad, and ASCAP creative director Robert Filhart, to toast the news in laid-back style.

“I’m right where I need to be,” said Smith of his new songwriting home. “I’ve never felt more inspired to make great music.”

“We are so excited to be able to team up with such an amazing artist and one of our best friends,” Hubbard added of his fellow Belmont University college mate. “This is a full circle dream come true for all of us and the journey is just beginning.”

A native of Williamsburg, Virginia, Smith earned his first Top 10 hit as a songwriter with Love and Theft’s 2009 debut, “Runaway.” He’s built on that success with more co-written hits including cuts by Jason Aldean, FGL and Cole Swindell, as well as Big Loud Records/Atlantic Records breakout star Mason Ramsey, who has made the Smith co-write “Famous” into a viral smash.

As an artist, Smith’s co-written 2014 single “Love You Like That” became a Platinum-certified hit, and his latest single “This Night Back” currently has over 25 million digital streams and counting.

Tree Vibez also represents Corey Crowder, Jordan Schmidt, and RaeLynn, as well as James McNair, Cameron Montgomery and Daniel Ross.