On 10/9, UMG Canada/UMG Nashville’s Josh Ross sold out L.A.'s storied Troubadour as part of his headlining Single Again Tour. The Core-managed Ross performed tracks off his debut album, Complicated, including hits “Single Again” and “Trouble,” as well as new music like “Want This Beer” f/Julia Michaels. Just before the show, the Canadian singer-songwriter obliged to smile through a tedious photo op with our own Nicole Ghapgharan and Jesse MacMillan. Seen regretting their choices are (l-r) UMG’s Michael Seltzer, The Core’s Tracy Martin and Chief Zaruk, Ross, HITS’ Ghapgharan, The Core’s Simon Tikhman, HITS’ MacMillan and The Core’s Kenzie Schrambach.

Sony Music Nashville’s Kane Brown has revealed his new album, The High Road, is due on 1/24, and announced its supporting tour of the same name.

The multi-platinum, 5X AMA award winner hits the road on 3/13 in San Diego next year and will perform in 23 cities along the way, including Portland, Montreal, Nashville and more before wrapping in Gilford, NH on 5/25. Scotty McCreery, Mitchell Tenpenny, Ashley Cooke and Dasha will serve as support.

The news arrives on the heels of Brown’s performance of “Miles on It” at the AMAs 50th Anniversary special on 10/6 and his appearance on the People’s Choice Country Awards, where he was recognized with the Country Champion Award and performed “Fiddle in the Band.”

Both tracks are featured on the upcoming album, along with his new song, “Backseat Driver,” which Brown will debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight (10/10).

Fans can register for artist pre-sale tickets on 10/15, with general on sale beginning 10/18. For tickets, tour dates and more info, click here.

Photo: Dennis Leupold

Jelly Roll knows what it means to need a hand when it comes to mental health, so he’s teaming with American Greetings for a line of inspirational “Creatacards” aimed at helping out.

The genre-jumping superstar, who will drop the much-anticipated Broken Bow/Republic album Beautifully Broken on 10/11, was personally involved in the design of the digital four-card series, which will be available for free on 10/10 (World Mental Health Awareness Day). The cards all include a clip from Jelly Roll’s hit “I Am Not Okay.”

Jelly Roll has earmarked profits from Beautifully Broken pre-orders to benefit several charities committed to mental and physical health, including Wounded Warrior Project, Shatterproof, Folds of Honor and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Rob Matousek, executive director, direct to consumer business at American Greetings, said, “Having the opportunity to collaborate with Jelly Roll to bring this topic to life in a thoughtful way through virtual greeting cards is an honor and a great opportunity to help us achieve our mission to help make the world a more thoughtful and caring place.”

WME has signed rising singer-songwriter Adrien Nunez, who’s become a social media presence over the past year.

Nunez, who spent four years with the University of Michigan basketball team before devoting himself entirely to music, broke out earlier this year with the viral hit “Low Road.” That track registered over 50m views across all platforms in its first weekend and nearly 8m streams in its first month.

More recently, he’s been turning up the heat with “Minnesota,” which he previewed on TikTok, generating 8m interactions.

“We're absolutely thrilled to partner with someone as incredibly talented and multifaceted as Adrien," said WME Partner Braeden Rountree. "There's no limit to what he can achieve!”

The Brooklyn native, who’s managed by Dillon Goldberg at FNGRPRNT, is hitting the road with Dasha for a run that starts 11/5 at the Fine Line in Minneapolis.

Pictured above are (back Row) Doug Neff, Braeden Rountree, Carlile Willett, Michael Coughlin, Adam Fisher; (front row) Moira McCravey, Sloane Logue, Adrien Nunez, Dillon Goldberg, Carrie Murphy.

Grab your cowboy hats as we present, in words and pictures, an exhibition of Nashville artists and creatives earning Grammy buzz.

This first batch features Brandy Clark , Anne Wilson, LeAnn Rimes, Ashley McBryde and Brent Maher.

UMPG Nashville has inked Matraca Berg to an exclusive, global publishing deal.

With a career spanning nearly four decades, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and BMI 2023 ICON Award recipient has accumulated 11 BMI Millionaire Awards.

Her credits include chart-toppers like Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine,” Trisha Yearwood’s Wrong Side of Memphis” and “XXX’s and OOO’s,” Patty Loveless’ “I’m That Kind of Girl” and Kenny Chesney’s “You and Tequila” f/Grace Potter.

“Cyndi Forman has known and worked with Matraca for more than 20 years. She and I were discussing songwriters that we both loved and respected, and it became obvious to both of us at the same moment that we needed to work with Matraca,” said UMPG Nashville Chairman/CEO Troy Tomlinson.

“I’ve been with the same publisher since my early 20s. Pat Higdon has always had my back. Finding another home after all these years was daunting,” added Berg. “It feels good and natural to be at Universal Music Publishing now. Troy and Cyndi have the same love of songs and deep respect for the music.”

Berg joins a roster that includes Chase McGill, Paul DiGiovanni, Troy Verges, Brad Tursi, Benjy Davis, Ray Fulcher, Jacob Davis, John Pierce, Caitlyn Smith, Brandy Clark and more.

Photo: Glen Rose

Eric Church has dropped a surprise single called "Darkest Hour (Helene Edit)" he said is dedicated to “the unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world’s falling apart," a reference to the carnage Hurricane Helene has inflicted on his home state of North Carolina. The BigEC/EMI Nashville artist signed over all of his publishing royalties from the song “to the people of North Carolina."

Hurricane Helene devastated much of the Southeast last weekend and left more than 200 people dead.

"From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida, which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted," Church said in a statement. "Specifically in the area that I'm from, the mountains of western North Carolina were devastated. There are places that are just biblically gone. These are our family members, they're our friends, they're our neighbors — and they're in dire need of help."

He added "it didn't feel right to wait" to release "Darkest Hour" next year along with more new music, explaining, "Sometimes you give songs their moment, and sometimes they find their own moment."

Church's organization, Chief Cares, also pledged assistance "in all states and communities affected, from Appalachia to the Gulf." His good deed follows Dolly Parton's promise to donate $1m to Mountain Ways Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing immediate assistance to Hurricane Helene flood victims. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this disaster. Please check in if possible and let us know if and how we can help.

In the meantime, read more about Chief Cares here and listen to "Darkest Hour" below.