Music News (9/6/17)

Cris Lacy Promoted at Warner Music Nashville

Cris Lacy

Warner Music Nashville executive Cris Lacy has been promoted to the role of SVP, A&R where she will continue to sign and develop new artists and the existing roster by helping to identify songs, songwriters and producers while providing A&R resources and creative support. Additionally, Lacy will oversee the day to day operations of the A&R department. She will report directly to EVP A&R, Scott Hendricks.

Lacy graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in English before beginning her first full-time industry job at Tom Collins Music Publishing. She continued her publishing experience at Rick Hall / FAME Publishing, Island Bound Music and Warner/Chappell Music before accepting an A&R position at Warner Music Nashville in 2005. In 2016, Lacy was selected as a “Rising Women on the Row” honoree by MusicRow magazine and was highlighted as one of the “100 Most Powerful Executives” in Billboard’s “Women in Music” feature.

CMA Awards Final Nominees Revealed

The final nominees for this year’s Country Music Association Awards were announced Monday (Sept. 4). The CMA Awards air Nov. 8 on ABC.

Visit MusicRow.com for a full list of nominees.

George Strait Plans Hurricane Benefit Concert Featuring Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton

George Strait‘s benefit concert for Hurricane Harvey Relief will be held Tues., Sept. 12 at San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre and will include performances by Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen.

Select performances from the Majestic Theatre will air as part of Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief, being broadcast on ABC, CBS, CMT, Fox and NBC on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. EST.

Tickets to Strait’s Hand in Hand Texas show are available at ticketmaster.com.

Dustin Lynch To Hold Hurricane Harvey Benefit

Photo Credit: Ford Fairchild

Dustin Lynch will hold a benefit concert at Cowboys Red River in Dallas on Tuesday (Sept. 12) to support ongoing emergency storm relief efforts throughout the state. 

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on the KPLX and KSCS websites as well as at the door. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a physical copy of Lynch’s hotly-anticipated upcoming album Current Mood, due out Sept. 8.

All ticket proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Storm Relief.

CMT Reveals 2017 Artists of the Year

CMT will honor Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban and Luke Bryan as the premiere country artists of 2017 during the CMT Artists of the Year television special. The eighth annual event will air live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

This year, the special will extend beyond music to honor those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and the volunteers contributing to the ongoing recovery efforts. In addition, throughout the event, country’s biggest stars will encourage fans to continue supporting the extensive recovery over the next year.

More information will be announced at a later date.

Save The Date: ASCAP Country Music Awards Set For November 6

The 55th annual ASCAP Country Music Awards will be held on Monday, Nov. 6 at the historic Ryman Auditorium and will include the announcements of the ASCAP Country Music Songwriter of the Year, Songwriter-Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Publisher of the Year.

The evening will feature live performances of some of the top five most-performed songs by the award-winning songwriters and/or the artists who recorded them.

Warner/Chappell Music, Warner Music Nashville Name Katie Jelen To Synch Creative Manager Role

Katie Jelen

Warner/Chappell Music (WCM) and Warner Music Nashville (WMN) announced the appointment of Katie Jelen as Creative Manager, Synchronization, Warner/Chappell Music & Warner Music Nashville. In this newly created Nashville-based role, Jelen will serve WCM songwriters and WMN recording artists by developing new opportunities for their music in film, TV, advertising, video games, and new media. She will be an integral member of Warner Music Group’s unified synchronization team, representing both recorded music and music publishing rights, and will report to Ron Broitman, Executive Vice President & Head of Synchronization, Warner/Chappell Music & WMG Masters.

Jelen was previously Head of Artist Relations for Secret Road Music Services, and one half of the creative team for Secret Road Music Publishing, where she handled the company’s Nashville operations.

Emily Shackelton Signs Joint Publishing Deal With Liz Rose Music, BMG, Busbee

Pictured (L-R): Daniel Lee, VP Creative, BMG; busbee; Shackelton; Liz Rose, Owner, Liz Rose Music; Scott Ponce, President, Liz Rose Music

Singer-songwriter and Minnesota native Emily Shackelton has signed a joint publishing deal with her longtime publishing home, Liz Rose Music; frequent collaborator, busbee; and BMG.

Shackelton moved to Nashville after studying at Berklee College of Music, where she won the coveted BMI John Lennon Songwriting Competition. Shackelton has penned the current Carly Pearce single, “Every Little Thing,” which hit No. 1 last week on the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart, as well as the current Lauren Alaina single, “Doin’ Fine.”

Her catalog includes cuts by Reba McEntire, Sara Evans, Jana Kramer, David Cook, Mickey Guyton, Seth Ennis, and Cassadee Pope. Several of her songs have also been featured on TV shows, including Nashville and American Idol.

Gatlin Brothers Ink Deals With The Holland Group, Huskins-Harris

Pictured (L-R): Steve Gatlin, Becky Harris (Huskins-Harris), Billy Holland (THG), Larry Gatlin, Jason MacDowall (THG), Cathy Nakos (THG), Donna Huskins (Huskins-Harris), Rudy Gatlin, Michael D’Ancona (THG), Kelly Charest (THG), and Don Murry Grubbs (Absolute Publicity). Photo: Christian Bottorff/CMA

Country music trio Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers has signed on with The Holland Group (THG) for artist management. Additionally, Larry Gatlin has signed on with Huskins-Harris for daily business management responsibilities.

So Much MOORE Media Inks Deal With Bernie Faulkner

Bernie Faulkner

Former Exile member Bernie Faulkner has signed with Martha Moore‘s so much MOORE media for PR representation for his upcoming project, Pot Belly Stove. Faulkner played B3 Organ, acoustic guitar, sax and sang background vocals during Exile’s rock days in the mid-’60s and ’70s.

Augustana And Dan Layus Sign With Red 11 Music

(L-R): Lauren Shatlock, Red 11 Music; Tyler Robertson, Red 11 Music; Geoff Turner, Red 11 Music; Dan Layus; Jon Folk, Red 11 Music; Taylor Williamson, Red 11 Music; Josh Green, Red 11 Music

Rockers Augustana and frontman Dan Layus have signed with Nashville-based Red 11 Music for booking.

The band achieved mainstream success with hits like “Boston” and “Sweet and Low,” selling over a million records worldwide and performing on shows like David Letterman, the Today Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Layus will also be re-releasing his solo album Dangerous Things this fall through Nashville label Folsom Records, and is on tour with Will Hoge this fall.

Lazer Lloyd Inks With PLA Media

Singer/songwriter and virtuoso guitarist Lazer Lloyd has signed with PLA Media. Lloyd is gearing up for the release of his upcoming project which is being produced by Eric Paul (Townes Van Zandt, Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson). The artist has gained a loyal fanbase touring America, Canada and his home land of Israel over the past 20 years.

Bryan White Aligns With Brickshore Media For PR Representation

Bryan White

Brickshore Media, Inc. has added Bryan White to its roster for PR representation. He joins fellow Brickshore Media clients including Brady Seals (Little Texas), Crystal Day, Renegade Radio Nashville, Hope Nation Radio, Julia Capogrossi, Nick Hickman, Travis Rice and Williams Honor, among others.

White recently released the single “I Surrender,” and is working on a new music business venture to be announced soon.