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AMAZON MUSIC TO RELEASE EXCLUSIVE KANE BROWN MINI-DOCUMENTARY AND AMAZON ORIGINAL LIVE EP
Today, Amazon Music announced an upcoming exclusive mini-documentary titled Velocity. The projectcaptures Kane Brown’s meteoric rise to superstardom, from his early days posting clips on social media, to his first headlining show at STAPLES Center last month, which sold out in just 90 minutes and made Brown one of the rare country stars who have played the venue.
Watch the trailer for Velocity HERE
In addition to an interview with Brown, the mini-documentary will feature conversations with his manager Martha Earls; his wife, Katelyn; agent, Braeden Rountree; day-to-day manager, Nikki Boon; tour manager, Shawn Richardson; friend, David Bliek; and his longtime friend and barber, CT Kutz. Throughout Velocity, the group reflects on the moments that led them to the STAPLES Center last month. Alongside the mini-documentary, an Amazon Original Live EP will launch only on Amazon Music, featuring tracks from the headlining performance.
Velocity is the fifth mini-documentary created by Amazon Music since last Spring, diving into pivotal moments in artists’ careers including; Mariah Carey is Christmas: The Story of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,”Still Ill: 25 Years of the Beastie Boys’ Ill Communication, The Birth of Biggie: 25 Years of Ready to Die and Departure, a detailed look at Sharon van Etten’s final days of living in New York City before her move to LA.
The full mini-documentary and Live EP will become available this Thursday, February 20.
JAMESON RODGERS KICKS OFF HEADLINING GREW UP IN THE COUNTRY TOUR
River House Artists/Columbia Nashville rising star Jameson Rodgers’ headlining GREW UP IN THE COUNTRY TOUR officially got underway Friday in St. Louis, MO.
Rocking a packed house, Rodgers brought the heat with his Top 40 debut single “Some Girls,” fan-favorite “Missing One,” and more. To celebrate the tour’s opening night, Rodgers released his latest track, “Grew Up in the Country,” which he co-wrote with Jake Mitchell, Josh Miller, and Smith Ahnquist. Listen here.
The GREW UP IN THE COUNTRY TOUR continues on Feb. 28 at The Blue Note in Columbia, MO. Tickets are available now at JamesonRodgers.com. Limited VIP upgrade packages including an acoustic performance, meet & greet, photo with Rodgers and more are available on select dates.
GREW UP IN THE COUNTRY TOUR 2020
Feb. 28 – Columbia, MO / The Blue Note*
Feb. 29 – Fayetteville, AR / George’s Majestic Lounge*
March 5 – Statesboro, GA / The Blue Room*
March 6 – Sarasota, FL / White Buffalo Saloon*
March 13 – Springfield, MO / Midnight Rodeo*
March 14 – Des Moines, IA / Wooly’s*
March 20 – Lancaster, PA / Chameleon Club#
March 21 – Boston, MA / Brighton Music Hall#
March 22 – Uncasville, CT / Mohegan Sun Wolf Den&
March 25 – New York, NY / Mercury Lounge#
March 26 – Washington, DC / Union Stage#
March 27 – Warrendale, PA / Jergel’s Rhythm Grille#
March 28 – Rootstown, OH / The Dusty Armadillo#
April 17 – Athens, GA / Georgia Theatre+
April 18 – Starkville, MS / Rick’s Café+
April 23 – Nashville, TN / Exit/In+
April 24 – Oxford, MS / The Lyric Oxford+
*Drew Parker
#Hunter Phelps
+Jordan Rowe
&Free Show
NIKO MOON RELEASES GOOD TIME EP
Niko Moon has released his debut GOOD TIME EP today via RCA Nashville to all digital retailers and streaming platforms. Listen here.
Moon co-produced the project with Joshua Murty and co-wrote every song. The title track, which has notched more than 24 million on-demand streams, will officially hit terrestrial radio airwaves March 16. GOOD TIME also features “feel-good tune” (NY Country Swag ) “PARADISE TO ME,” “DRUNK OVER YOU,” “WAY BACK,” and previously unreleased “GOOD AT LOVING YOU.”
Additionally, Moon is scheduled to make his debut on the famed Grand Ole Opry April 14. Following standout runs supporting Filmore and Eli Young Band, Moon is currently wowing sold-out audiences during his opening stint on Ryan Hurd’s PLATONIC TOUR. Later this spring, he’ll head overseas to perform at C2C, CMC Rocks QLD, and the CMA Introducing Nashville series throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
GOOD TIME Tracklisting:
1. GOOD TIME (Niko Moon/Jordan Minton/Anna Moon/Joshua Murty/Mark Trussell)
2. DRUNK OVER YOU (Niko Moon/Anna Moon/Joshua Murty)
3. WAY BACK (Niko Moon/Anna Moon/Joshua Murty)
4. PARADISE TO ME (Niko Moon/Anna Moon/Joshua Murty)
5. GOOD AT LOVING YOU (Niko Moon/Blake Bollinger/Anna Moon/Joshua Murty)
MAREN MORRIS’ “THE BONES” REACHES NO. 1 AT COUNTRY RADIO
Grammy-winning artist Maren Morris’ “The Bones” reaches No. 1 on country radio this week, making it the first solo female Billboard country No. 1 since her single “GIRL” topped the chart last summer. This is also the first solo female back-to-back No. 1 since 2016 and Morris’ fourth No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay single to date.
Additionally, Morris is appearing on the 50th season of “Sesame Street” in an episode titled “Let’s Draw.” The episode will air Feb. 15 on HBO at 9 A.M. EST. Watch/share her performance HERE.
Morris is confirmed to perform at the Houston Rodeo on March 7, as well as BottleRock Napa Valley, Governors Ball Music Festival and Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience, with more tour dates to be announced.
2019 was a monumental year for the singer songwriter who took home Album of the Year at the 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards, where she was the most nominated artist. Her record shattering albumGIRL continues to receive widespread critical praise—Variety hailed it as “the best as well as most important mainstream country-star album of the year.” GIRL was also featured amongst the Best of 2019 by Rolling Stone, Billboard, Esquire, GQ, People, Vice, Paste, Stereogum and Uproxx. Much more to come from Morris in 2020.
CHRIS YOUNG ADDS DATES TO “TOWN AIN’T BIG ENOUGH WORLD TOUR 2020”
Multi-platinum entertainer Chris Young has added additional dates to his headlining “Town Ain’t Big Enough World Tour 2020” – now launching Thursday, April 30 in Columbus, OH. He’ll be joined by special guests Scotty McCreery as direct support along with Payton Smith on tour April through September . In addition, Chris will highlight various Next From Nashville artists at his shows, offering the opportunity for up-and-coming acts to showcase their talents in front of a massive audience. Chris and The AMG Management will personally pick opening acts to play each week of the tour.
Live Nation is the official tour promoter and fans can now purchase tickets for select cities as part of Live Nation’s Country Megaticket at www.Megaticket.com. Find a complete listing of Chris Young concert dates, including Houston Rodeo (Mar. 9), Orlando, FL (Mar. 20), the PGA’s Valspar Championship @ Palm Harbor, FL (Mar. 21) and other stops, and purchase tickets at ChrisYoungCountry.com .
Chris Young’s “Town Ain’t Big Enough World Tour 2020” with special guests Scotty McCreery and Payton Smith
Date Market Venue
April 30^ Columbus, OH The Schottenstein Center
May 1^ Cape Girardeau, MO Show Me Center
May 2# Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
May 7+ Spokane, WA Spokane Arena May 9+ Boise, ID Century Link Arena
May 28 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
May 29 Indianapolis, IN Ruoff Music Center
May 30 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 10 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
June 12 Portland, OR Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
June 13 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheater
June 20 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheatre
June 27 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheater
June 28 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
July 9 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
July 10 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
July 24 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
July 25 Gilford, NH Bank of NH Pavilion
July 30 Brandon, MS Brandon Amphitheater
July 31 Tuscaloosa, AL The Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
August 1 Orange Beach, AL The Wharf Amphitheater
August 13 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
August 14 Raleigh, NC Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek August 15 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
August 20 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
August 21 Rogers, AR Walmart AMP
August 22 Dallas, TX Dos Equis Pavilion
August 28 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center August 29 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
September 11 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater September 12 Pittsburgh, PA S&T Bank Music Park
September 25 Atlanta, GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
September 26 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
*Dates subject to change, please check chrisyoungcountry.com for the latest information ^on sale February 14 #on sale February 28 +on sale TBD
The ACM and Grammy nominated vocalist kicked off 2020 with the news of his new tour and the launch of his weekly podcast, “The Quad with Chris Young.” Listen now to his latest releases: “Drowning,” named to Rolling Stone’s Best Country and Americana Songs of 2019, plus “ Raised On Country” and “Town Ain’t Big Enough,” featuring Lauren Alaina.
TENILLE TOWNES RELEASES ROAD TO THE LEMONADE STAND EP
Acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer Tenille Townes’ new EP, Road to the Lemonade Stand, is out today via Columbia Nashville (stream/purchase here).
Of the release, Townes shares, “It makes my heart so happy that this EP is out in the world with this collection of songs and that we are headed towards the full album coming in the spring! I’ve been hearing people on the road ask about coming back for my own shows and I couldn’t be more grateful and excited for my very first acoustic headlining dates on the ‘Road to the Lemonade Stand Tour.’ I can’t wait to have hang time with everyone at these shows and keep walking down this road together.”
Townes will kick off the “Road to the Lemonade Stand Acoustic Tour” this spring with stops at Chicago’s Carol’s Pub, Boston’s City Winery, New York’s Rockwood Music Hall and Washington DC’s City Winery among others. The headline run adds to an impressive 2020 tour itinerary, which includes All For The Hall at Bridgestone Arena on February 10, Stagecoach Festival on April 25, Ryman Auditorium with Hot Country Knights on April 29 and a series of spring/summer dates supporting Alan Jackson. See below for complete details. Townes will also be included in the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum’s new American Currents: State of the Music exhibit, which opens on March 6.
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. Produced by Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town), the EP features five songs written by Townes including her current single, “Jersey On The Wall (I’m Just Asking) ,” as well as a rendition of Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy.” Last week, “Jersey” reached No. 1 on the BDS Canada and Mediabase Canada country radio charts, making it Townes’ second chart-topping single following her Canadian Platinum-certified “Somebody’s Daughter.” This accomplishment makes Townes the only female in Mediabase Canada history to achieve two No. 1 singles. Released to critical acclaim, Rolling Stone calls “Jersey,” “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.”
Canadian-born and Nashville-based, Townes is nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year at the 2020 Juno Awards and recently won four awards at the 2019 Canadian Country Music Awards: Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year (“Somebody’s Daughter”), Anthem Entertainment Songwriter of the Year and Video of the Year (“Somebody’s Daughter”). Winning all four of her nominated categories, Townes lead the night with the most awards received. She is also a MusicRow 2020 Next Big Thing Artist, an iHeartCountry’s “On The Verge” artist and has been included in Amazon Music’s “2019 Artists To Watch,” CMT’s “Next Women of Country,” iHeart Radio’s “Artists To Watch in 2019,” “The Bobby Bones Show’s” “Class of 2019,” CMT’s “Listen Up” and the inaugural class of “Opry NextStage.” Townes also recently participated in Cracker Barrel’s “Five Decades, One Voice” campaign—a project created to highlight the importance of women in country music by celebrating legendary female artists and those following in their footsteps. For the project, Townes was personally selected by Brandi Carlile to collaborate on new versions of two songs—Townes’ “ Somebody’s Daughter” and Carlile’s “Fulton County Jane Doe.”
In addition to her work as a musician and songwriter, Townes remains committed to charitable causes including her own initiative, Big Hearts For Big Kids, which has raised over $1.9 million to date benefiting a youth shelter in her hometown of Grande Prairie, Alberta. More information can be found at bigheartsforbigkids.com.
ROAD TO THE LEMONADE STAND TRACK LIST
1. “Holding Out For The One”
2. “White Horse”
3. “Jersey On The Wall (I’m Just Asking)”
4. “I Kept The Roses”
5. “Somebody’s Daughter”
6. “Stupid Boy”
KANE BROWN TO PLAY IN 2020 NBA ALL-STAR CELEBRITY GAME
NBA officially released their 2020 Celebrity Game line up, naming Kane Brown to the team. In addition to Brown, each team features a star-studded array of participants across the music, film, television and sport industries. The event will emanate from the Wintrust Arena – home of the WNBA Chicago Sky – in Chicago, Ill. ESPN will exclusively televise the 2020 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Presented by Ruffles on Friday, February 14, at 7 p.m. ET.
4X AMA winner Kane Brown will play only a few days after returning from the European kick-off of his first international headlining Worldwide Beautiful Tour. Brown, who is the only artist to have two songs in the Top 5 of the most-streamed country songs of all time, recently celebrated the 5X platinum certification of these same two No. 1 hits, “What Ifs” and “Heaven.” The 26-year-old entertainer is one of only five artist with multiple 5X Platinum RIAA country single certifications.
Popular ESPN commentators Stephen A. Smith and Chicago native Michael Wilbon are the celebrity coaches for this year’s game. Wilson’s team will be designated as the “home team”, while Stephen A’s team will serve as the “away team.” Actor Jesse Williams (“Grey’s Anatomy”) will serve as Wilbon’s assistant coach, while television host and chef Guy Fieri (Food Network) will serve as assistant coach to Stephen A.
Three-time Grammy® Award winners and Chicago natives Chance The Rapper and Common have been named team captains for this year’s Celebrity Game. Fellow hip-hop artist and 2018 Celebrity Game MVP Quavo will also participate. Cassidy Hubbarth will be reporting live couchside from the ESPN stage in the Ruffles Celebrity Game Lounge, a new area on the court featuring celebrities and influencers who will enjoy the game while relaxing on couches and playing pop-a-shot, cornhole and other games.
MATT STELL MAKES POP-UP APPEARANCE AT DIERKS BENTLEY’S WHISKEY ROW NASHVILLE TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF HIS GIVE A DAMN FOUNDATION
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.”
LUKE COMBS DEBUTS ON NBC’S “SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE”
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.”