Miranda Lambert and her MuttNation Foundation have partnered with guitar dealer Norm Harris of Norman’s Rare Guitars to help L.A. area animal shelters with wildfire recovery.
Harris and a close friend have each donated a rare Gibson R9 1959 Les Paul Reissue Custom Shop Murphy Lab guitar for auction. All proceeds will go toward helping animals displaced by the devastating wildfires that began earlier this month.
“The fires have displaced so many people and animals, and I wanted to do something that would immediately help the overcrowded animal shelters,” Harris explained. “When my friend said he wanted to buy one of these guitars but that he didn’t want the guitar, he wanted to auction it and have the funds go support animals, I jumped right in and said I’d donate one, too. These are two incredibly special guitars, each with a slightly different finish that I hand-selected. The guitars have a value of over $8,000 each, but this is for charity, so I hope people will be generous.”
Lambert added, “Although I haven’t met Norm, I’ve heard about him and his guitar store for years and the next time I’m in L.A., it will be my first stop. There’s nothing better than finding another like-minded music and mutt-loving person and I’m really honored that he chose to partner with MuttNation.”
The auction is already under way here and will wrap up on Saturday (1/25) at 3pm PT.
Cole Swindell will perform at the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival on 5/3 at Austin's Moody Center. Presented by Capital One and hosted by Bobby Bones, the event will feature additional performance by Brooks & Dunn, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Sam Hunt, Megan Moroney, Bailey Zimmerman and Nate Smith.
Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday (1/24) at 1pm ET/10am PT via Ticketmaster.
For those unable to attend in person, Hulu will livestream the event to all subscribers at no additional cost. Additional information about the livestream will be posted across Hulu’s platform and social media channels in the coming weeks. The event will also broadcast across iHeartCountry stations nationwide and the iHeartRadio app on the day of the show beginning at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Head here for more information while we bust out our chaps.
BMI kicked off the new year by celebrating the success of Stoney Creek Records’ Parmalee and their latest chart-topping single, “Gonna Love You,” during a gathering at its Nashville office on 1/15.
With five #1 radio singles—four of which have come consecutively in the past four years—Parmalee has now achieved more chart-toppers than any other band or group in country music during that time.
The event, hosted by BMI and emceed by BMI’s Josh Tomlinson, highlighted the song’s writers: Matt Thomas (BMI), Abram Dean (BMI), Andy Sheridan (BMI) and songwriter/producer David Fanning (BMI). Each shared insights into the creative process behind the track. For Thomas, this marks his fifth #1 hit, while it’s Fanning’s fourth as a songwriter and the first for both Dean and Sheridan.
The celebration, sponsored by Studio Bank, also included a special donation presentation from Kari Barnhart on behalf of the band and songwriters to support the Mental Health Initiative.
Spotted wondering who’s gonna love us are (l-r) back row: Stoney Creek Records’ Adrian Michaels, Tomlinson, Concord’s Matt Turner, Dean, Reservoir’s Greg Gallo, Fanning, Major Bob’s Andy Friday, Sheridan, Barnhart, Sony Music Publishing’s Tom Luteran, BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville’s JoJamie Hahr and Jon Loba; front row: Scott Thomas (BMI), Thomas, Josh McSwain (BMI) and Barry Knox (BMI).
Photo credit: Larry McCormack/BMI
UMG Nashville Chair/CEO Cindy Mabe and rootsy super-producer T Bone Burnett have teamed to bring back Lost Highway, a label that virtually defined Americana and roots music from its founding in 2000 until its lapse into dormancy in 2012.
Lost Highway returned with a big splash on 1/10 with the release of Ringo Starr’s country album, Look Up, which provided the foundation for the two-night Ryman Auditorium stand being spun into a star-studded prime-time special for CBS and Paramount+.
Burnett, who produced and co-wrote of most of Look Up’s songs, has intimated that the rejuvenated label will share much of the original’s DNA by releasing blues, R&B, country, folk and rock n' roll music.
In its initial run, Lost Highway issued albums by Elvis Costello, Kacey Musgraves, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett and Willie Nelson, as well as the Album of the Year Grammy-winning soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Mabe has shared ambitious plans for Lost Highway’s future, including film, television, releasing select catalog items and signing new artists.
Sony Music Nashville has signed rising singer-songwriter Zach John King, who sealed the deal by dropping his first label single, “Slow Down.”
King, a native of Fayetteville, Georgia, moved to Nashville in 2021 after a period of fronting an indie-rock band in his college years. He developed a grass-roots following with tracks like his 2024 singles “Wannabe Cowboy” and “Hole in the Wall,” which helped him notch 3.4m streams worldwide across multiple platforms. He’s also earned placements on high-profile playlists like Spotify’s New Boots, Fresh Country and Next from Nashville.
Reacting to the deal, King said, “I’m so dang grateful to be with such a stellar team. They’ve been there since day one and have been behind some of my favorite artists of all time. I’m proud to have a home team here in Nashville. I’m ready to get to work.”
The singer, who spent much of 2024 on tour, will return to the road as an opener for Vincent Mason’s Hell Is a Dancefloor tour, starting 1/25 at Bulls, Bands and Barrels in Duluth, Georgia.
Pictured (l-r): Lexi Stringer (Director, A&R, SMN), Ken Robold (President & COO, SMN), Taylor Lindsey (Chair & CEO), Zach John King, Matt Reed (Hyphen Media Group), Kayla Hoffman (Hyphen Media Group), Nathan Thomas (Director, A&R, SMN)
Ringo Starr is more than a little bit country, as he shows on Look Up, his UMG Nashville debut, which dropped today (1/10).
The album, produced and largely co-written by T-Bone Burnett, features guest spots by Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Larkin Poe and Alison Krauss, who adds vocals to “Thankful,” the sole Ringo co-write. Ringo also dropped a video for the album’s title track, the sort of sunny evocation of peace and love that fans have come to expect from him.
It’s not the first country rodeo for the rock legend, who brought tracks such as “Don’t Pass Me By" to The Beatles when he joined the band in August 1962 and handled vocals on the Fab Four’s cover of Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally.” He went back to the well for his second solo album, 1970’s Beaucoups of Blues, which was recorded during a three-day session in Nashville.
Ringo will saddle up to perform the new material, and maybe a few older hits, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on 1/14-15.
RECORDS Nashville popped a lot of corks on New Year’s Eve after closing out 2024 with back-to-back #1 radio hits from country singer-songwriter George Birge and country/rock singer-songwriter Koe Wetzel, featuring powerhouse vocalist and songwriter Jessie Murph.
Austin native Birge topped the Country Aircheck/Mediabase Country charts with his latest single “Cowboy Songs” off his April EP release of the same name. The RECORDS Nashville team was also the promotion machine behind Columbia Records artist Wetzel and Murph’s “High Road” helping both artists each make their first appearance at #1 on those charts.
Looking to the new year, RECORDS Nashville/Columbia will release 17-year-old singer/songwriter Ty Myers’ debut album THE SELECT on 1/24. The young Texan will support that release with a headlining tour that begins at Haute Spot in Cedar Park, Texas on 1/16.
Josh Easler, EVP of promotion and commercial strategy at RECORDS Nashville, said, “We are so excited for George Birge, Koe Wetzel and Jessie Murph as they all earn major career milestones. Each have spent the past year delivering incredible music and are truly deserving of their #1 spots, and the RECORDS Nashville team were proud to help bolster these artists on their journey.”
Women in Music will mark its 40th anniversary next month with a three-day virtual summit keynoted by Nashville power manager Martha Earls, who reps Kane Brown, Restless Road and Dylan Schneider under her Neon Coast management shingle.
The summit, which is slated for 1/15-17, will consist of workshops, panels and breakout sessions and will concentrate on a different goal each day. Day one is dubbed “educate,” day two, “empower" and day three, “advance.” Earls will deliver her keynote on the last day, which will spotlight recruiting, networking and job search.
WIM members can attend for free, while non-members can purchase tickets for $100, with a special rate of $10 for students.
Nicole Barsalona, President of Women in Music, said “We are delighted to kick off our 40th year in service to the music industry with our fourth annual WIM Summit. Our goal is to create a transformative experience where attendees make meaningful connections, build their network and safety net, feel empowered in their leadership, and equipped to navigate and shape the future of our industry.”
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