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14 Mar 2023

Bob Marley ‘One Love’ Exhibit in Los Angeles Extended Another Month

The Bob Marley interactive exhibition “One Love Experience” has been extended for an additional four weeks in its current Los Angeles home at the Ovation Hollywood, its producers announced today (March 14). The exhibit, which opened Jan. 27, was originally slated to run until April 23, but now will close after May 21.

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The “One Love Experience” spans multiple rooms across some 15,000 square feet, and includes the full Marley archive of previously-unseen photos and memorabilia, and a 2,000-square foot One Love Forest, which is an immersive trip through Marley’s Jamaica, complete with cannabis garden and “a giant joint,” according to a press release. There’s also a Soul Shakedown studio with a silent disco for fans who want to grab a pair of headphones and street artwork from the likes of Mr. Brainwash, The Postman, Camoworks, Idiotbox and others, as well as a section commemorating the enduring legacy of Marley through his family’s works and charitable endeavors, among other components.

The exhibit initially launched in London in February 2022, spending 10 weeks at the Saatchi Gallery in the city, before moving to Toronto, where it spent 16 weeks at the Lighthouse Immersive Artspace. The exhibit is produced by the Marley family and Terrapin Station Entertainment, a division of Sony Music.

“Extending the exhibit in Los Angeles will give even more people the opportunity to come and feel the positive vibrations,” exhibit producer Jonathan Shank of Terrapin Station Entertainment said in a statement to Billboard. “We’ve had so many people from all over the world and of all ages come through and we’re thrilled that it’s been so well received.”

As the exhibit has gone on, additional features have been added. On weekends, fans can reserve a tour from reggae historian and author Roger Steffens, who guides attendees through the exhibit; meanwhile, for the additional four weeks that it will run, there are now One Love DJ Nights each Friday night, with sets from Marley granddaughter Sachia Päyne and Afro Funke DJs Garth Trinidad, Jeremy Sole, Glenn Red and Francesca Harding. And, of course, there will be a special event on 4/20.

“After successful runs in London and Toronto, we are thrilled that L.A. is looking to be the biggest city yet for the Bob Marley One Love Experience,” Shank added. “The extension just shows how powerful the Marley legacy continues to be and alongside all the critical praise and positive reviews the exhibit has received, it was a natural decision to keep the doors open at Ovation Hollywood.”

14 Mar 2023

Metallica Sells So Much Vinyl It Just Bought Its Own Pressing Plant

Metallica has always had a strong independent streak for a band that spent its formative years on a major label. Now, a decade after getting the rights back to their biggest albums, the band is buying Furnace Record Pressing, a plant in Alexandria, Va., to serve its vinyl business, which has grown by keeping catalog albums in print and releasing ambitious box sets aimed at its legions of hardcore fans.

For a decade, Furnace has pressed records for the band, which has a reputation for releasing high-quality vinyl. At a time of supply-chain issues and manufacturing delays, the plant helped the group keep most of its albums available, plus a growing number of ambitious box sets. (Its most recent “black album” box set includes a double LP of the album, three live LPs, 14 CDs and 6 DVDs.) Last year, the group pressed more than 902,500 pieces of vinyl for more than 620,000 packages, according to management, not all of which are made at Furnace. The band sells roughly half of these in the U.S.

“We couldn’t be more happy to take our partnership with Furnace,” and its founders “to the next level,” said Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich in a statement. James Hetfield, the singer-guitarist who co-founded the band with Ulrich, said that the plant had been “great to Metallica and more importantly to our fans,” and that the purchase would ensure that potential vinyl buyers “will have continued access to high quality records in the future.”

Those fans are already buying a good deal of vinyl. In 2022 and 2021, Metallica rated among the best-selling acts on vinyl in the U.S., according to Luminate – No. 6 in 2022, with 387,000 albums sold and No. 7 in 2021 with 337,000 sold. That’s especially remarkable for a brand that hasn’t released a new album since 2016. (In 2022, the group’s most popular release was Master of Puppets, which sold 91,000, followed by “the black album” and Ride the Lightning.) In most years, the U.S. accounts for roughly half of the group’s vinyl sales worldwide.

“Metallica over-indexes dramatically with physical product,” says Marc Reiter, who helps run Blackened Recordings, the band’s label. “The fans enjoy owning the physical product.”

Although the band hasn’t released a new album since 2016 – the new album, 72 Seasons, comes out April 14 – there’s plenty of product out there. The band regularly releases box sets devoted to their albums, most recently Bob Rock-produced “black album,” and does a good job keeping in print its older releases.

Its relationship with Furnace, which goes back almost a decade, has been part of that. “The catalog is always being pressed,” says Brant Weil, head of marketing at Q Prime, the band’s management company. A couple of years after the band got back the rights to its older albums, its management team realized that it needed a steady supply of vinyl that could live up to the bandmembers’ high standards.

Furnace, which then also brokered vinyl pressing capacity at other plants, arranged a deal with Pallas, a German pressing plant with a reputation for high-quality work, and Q Prime was able to arrange to essentially lease its own presses there. “We never want to be out of stock on Metallica vinyl,” Weil says. “I didn’t want our release plans to be dictated by manufacturing timelines.”

At that point, “any vinyl shortages ceased to be,” Reiter says. Eventually, as Furnace started pressing more records itself, they started pressing more for Metallica as well.

Gradually, the two companies grew close. “We looked at them as more of a partner than a client,” says Furnace found CEO Eric Astor. (As it happens, the first record Furnace worked on was the 2008 re-release of “the black album” as an audiophile edition.) Furnace, like Pallas, has a reputation for doing quality work at a time when some pressing plants have sacrificed quality for output. “We’d rather throw out some bad records than make as many as we can,” says Furnace COO Ali Miller. (Discarding some vinyl is a factor in quality control.) Furnace has been pressing copies of the band’s forthcoming album, 72 Seasons, since January.

Furnace will not change much, Astor says, and plans call for the plant to keep working on other projects, as well as ones for Metallica. “They want to keep the quality and service the whole industry,” Astor says. “It will give us the opportunity to invest more.”

The hope is that Furnace can grow – as both a partner to the band, as well as an investment the group and its team have come to understand well. “They have the same indie spirit we have,” Reiter says, “and they like doing things the right way, which is also the Metallica way.”

14 Mar 2023

Lenny Kravitz to Host & Perform at 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards

Fresh off his performance at the 2023 Oscars, Lenny Kravitz will host and perform during the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards. The event will air live from Dolby Theatre in Hollywood (where the Oscars were also held) on Monday, March 27, on Fox.

At the Oscars on Sunday night, Kravitz sang “Calling All Angels,” a song from his 2004 album Baptism, over the In Memoriam spot.

“I’m thrilled to host and perform at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards to celebrate the best in music,” Kravitz said in a statement. “As always the show will feature some great surprises and unforgettable performances that music fans across the country won’t want to miss.”

Additionally, Latto joins the previously announced performance lineup, which includes 2023 Icon Award recipient P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Muni Long, Cody Johnson and Coldplay (via a live performance from Brazil).

Taylor Swift will receive the 2023 iHeartRadio Innovator Award, though she won’t perform. LL Cool J, who hosted last year’s iHearts, is set to make a special appearance.

In addition to previously announced categories, iHeartMedia has announced its nominees for songwriter of the year and producer of the year.

Amy Allen, Ashley Gorley, Justin Tranter, Omer Fedi and The-Dream are nominated for songwriter of the year. Allen and The-Dream were also nominees for the Grammys’ inaugural songwriter of the year, non-classical award.

Blake Slatkin, Jack Antonoff, Kid Harpoon, Louis Bell and Tyler Johnson are nominated for producer of the year. Antonoff won producer of the year, non-classical at the Grammys on Feb. 5 for the second year in a row.

Now in its 10th year, the iHeartRadio Music Awards will celebrate the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2022.

Fan voting will determine this year’s best lyrics, best music video, best fan army, the social star award, favorite tour photographer, TikTok bop of the year, favorite documentary, favorite tour style, favorite residency and favorite use of a sample.

Social voting will close on March 20 at 11:59 p.m. PT for all categories. Fans can vote on Twitter using the appropriate category and nominee hashtags or by visiting iHeartRadio.com/awards.

Executive producers for the iHeartRadio Music Awards are Joel Gallen, for Tenth Planet; and John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Bart Peters, for iHeartMedia. Ahead of the event, fans can tune in to the live red-carpet pre-show. For breaking news and exclusive iHeartRadio Music Awards content, visit iHeartRadio.com/awards.

The iHearts will air on Monday, March 27 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET live (tape-delayed on the West Coast) on FOX. The event can also be heard on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app

14 Mar 2023

Alejandro Sanz Announces U.S. ‘Sanz En Vivo’ Tour: Here Are the Dates

The first time Alejandro Sanz toured in the U.S. was over 20 years ago. A lot has changed since then.

“I remember the first few times I went to the U.S. on tour, there were very few Latin companies,” the Spanish singer-songwriter tells Billboard. “There was probably a promoter in Miami, another in Los Angeles. But all of us together have been paving this road, we’ve created a world in the U.S. that is now a huge market. It’s now time to go back and celebrate what we’ve been able to accomplish in this country with Spanish music.”

Sanz is set to come back to the U.S. for the first time since the pandemic with his Sanz En Vivo Tour, produced by Loud And Live. The 11-date trek kicks off in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in September and has stops in cities such as Chicago, New York and Houston before wrapping up in Los Angeles in October. “I expect this comeback will be filled with a lot of love, magic, good energy. Let’s enjoy music,” adds Sanz, who recently wrapped up a 15-date stint in Mexico.

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To still be able to tour and do sold-out shows at this point of his decades-long career, is everything, says Sanz. “For an artist, everything is about being on a stage. Everything else is a bonus, even recording. To be able to be on stage is what one dreams when you dream of being a musician. You dream of sharing, to be able to fill spaces with emotions.”

In his shows, Sanz promises to perform the classics, such as “Corazón Partío,” “Amiga Mía” and “Mi Persona Favorita,” plus new music, including songs from his 2021 Latin Grammy-nominated album SANZ. Tickets are set go on sale March 17 at 10am local time via www.alejandrosanz.com.

Below, the complete list of dates for Sanz En Vivo:

Sept. 16 – San Juan – Coliseo de Puerto Rico
Sept. 21 – Orlando – Amway Center
Sept. 23 – Miami – Miami-Dade Arena
Sept. 27 – Chicago – Rosemont Theater
Sept. 29 – Washington, D.C. – EagleBank Arena
Sept. 30 – New York – The Theater at MSG
Oct. 5 – McAllen – Bert Ogden Arena
Oct. 7 – Dallas – Texas Trust CU Theater
Oct. 8 – Houston – Smart Financial Centre
Oct. 12 – El Paso – El Paso County Coliseum
Oct. 14 – Los Angeles –Microsoft Theater

14 Mar 2023

‘The Voice’ Contestant Impresses With Harry Styles’ Cover

Harry Styles is so hot right now. Like, smoldering, earth-torching hot. The former One Direction singer had the top single on the planet last year with “As It Was,” lifted from his hit third album Harry’s House, which bagged Grammy Awards, Brit Awards and No. 1s, pretty much everywhere.

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Oh, and he’s currently playing stadiums across the globe, and starring in feature films. That kind of hot.

Laura Littleton captured a little bit of that heat when she stepped onto The Voice stage on Monday night (March 13) for the Blind Auditions. A native of Dickson, Tennessee, Littleton, a “country girl through and through,” took that early solo Styles song “Sign Of The Times,” added some country tones and immediately won the hearts of three judges.

When Kelly Clarkson used her block on country star Blake Shelton, it was game on.  

As the performance wrapped, Clarkson praised the contestant’s energy. “I feel like you match mine,” she enthused. She also admitted she ought to have blocked Niall Horan instead, seeing as, you know, he played with Harry in 1D and, just maybe, Littleton is a Directioner.

Kelly lifted her sales pitch. “I feel like you’re gonna attract people from different genres. You just have all these cool, like, connections vocally. I was like, ‘this is like Dolly meets Florence and the Machine.’”

Horan took the mic and paid tribute to the “super unique” style of her voice, with its “natural shakes.” And, yes, he was into her song choice.

Littleton had a big decision to make. Go country, or go with a member of 1D?

In the end, she chose Horan.

Watch below.

14 Mar 2023

Calvin Harris And Ellie Goulding Eye ‘Miracle’ Debut On U.K. Chart

It might take a miracle to halt Miley Cyrus’ reign over the U.K. singles chart. Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding could have just the thing.

The all-British collaboration “Miracle” (via Columbia), a throwback to ‘90s warehouse raves, dropped last Friday (March 10) and is dancing to a fast start on the national survey.

“Miracle” debuts at No. 4 on the Official U.K. Chart Update, and is set to become Harris’ 29th and Goulding’s 12th top 10 singles, and their third as a duo. The pair previously landed hits with 2012’s “I Need Your Love” (peaking at No. 4) and 2014’s “Outside” (No. 6).

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The top of the chart update looks no different from recent weeks. Cyrus “Flowers” (Columbia) is the midweek leader, and looks set to land a ninth consecutive week at No. 1, while its parent Endless Summer Vacation, has a strong grip on the U.K. albums chart race. If matters stay as they are, Cyrus will bag a U.K. chart double later in the week. The U.S. pop star also looks to enter the singles chart with “River” (No. 13) and “Jaded” (No. 29), for what would be Cyrus’ 22nd and 23rd top 40 appearances.

An unchanged top three on the singles chart update sees PinkPantheress’ “Boy’s a liar” (Warner Records) and the Weeknd’s “Die For You” (Republic Records/XO) hold positions No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, while Afrobeats artist Libianca could snag a new high with “People” (5K), up 10-6.

Finally, the U.K.’s entrant to the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Mae Muller, is enjoying early support in her homeland with “I Wrote A Song” (Capitol). It’s on target for a No. 24 debut for what would be the 25-year-old singer’s first-ever solo charting single in the U.K.

All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday.

14 Mar 2023

Play Ball! Daddy Yankee Is Global Ambassador For 2023 World Baseball Classic

Daddy Yankee gets to swing for the fences in his new role as ambassador for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

As part of his ambassadorial duties, the reggaeton artist throws his superstar status behind an anthem for the current tournament, “Chispa,” which he co-produced with Play-N-Skilz.

According to a statement from organizers, “Chispa” will be featured across WBC and MLB social platforms, and with the Classic’s coverage, in-park activations and more.

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Also, Daddy Yankee is expected to attend several games played at loanDeport park in Miami throughout the tournament, which he launched by throwing out the first pitch last Sunday (March 12) before the Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico game.

Much has happened in the year since Yankee announced his retirement from music.

The Puerto Rican artist (born Raymond Ayala) ends his touring career on a high, with his La Ultima Vuelta trek raking-in $197.8 million and 1.9 million tickets sold over 83 shows in 2022, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

That’s by some distance the biggest tour of his career, and behind only Bad Bunny among Latin artists.

Yankee’s collaboration with Luis Fonsi, “Despacito,” last year extend its reign as the most-viewed music video on YouTube, by hitting the magical 8 billion streams milestone. And his final album, 2022’s Legendaddy, gave Yankee a career-high No. 8 peak on the Billboard 200, his second top 10 appearance on the all-genres chart.

The 46-year-old artist’s beloved Puerto Rico is one of 20 nations competing in the Classic, which reaches its climax March 21 in Miami. Sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), it’s the sport’s premier international competition — essentially, the world cup for baseball.

14 Mar 2023

Monsta X’s Minhyuk Announces Military Enlistment Date in Heartfelt Letter To Fans: ‘I’ll Be Back Soon’

Monsta X member Minhyuk shared a personal letter with fans to confirm his upcoming military enlistment date.

The 29-year-old singer and host will enter the South Korean military for his mandatory service on April 4. He’s the second Monsta X member to enlist in Korea’s military after group leader Shownu who enlisted in July 2021. Shownu will be discharged in late April, days after Minhyuk enlists.

The K-pop star shared a handwritten letter with Monsta X fans—affectionately known as Monbebe—on the group’s fan cafe website. Read the full letter below (with translations provided by Soompi):

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Hello, this is Minhyuk!

I feel like our Monbebe came in to this post already feeling sad after seeing the words “this is Minhyuk” so I feel apologetic.

On April 4, for my national duty, I won’t be able to see you all often for a very short period of time. I have to come in to the fan cafe and write posts, promote, upload photos, let you know when I’m done working out, do bubble live [broadcasts], and do all the things Monbebe likes often, but not being able to do that for a little while is what hurts my heart most. Besides this, I plan to go with a happy heart!

I will use this upcoming period as a time to make myself stronger and become a cooler Minhyuk. I’m already excited to receive Monbebe’s even greater love haha.

Also, I’m not going somewhere far so don’t be too sad. I think Monbebe will be very sad but I hope you aren’t!

Thank you for always giving so much love to me, who is just a regular person. I feel like I cannot repay it well no matter what I do, so I’m also sorry.

For the time we cannot see each other, I will be healthy in mind and body and return after becoming a cool person.

Monbebe, I love you so, so much, thank you, and let’s meet next year while smiling!

I’ll be back soon!!

Minhyuk

In other news, Monsta X was previously announced as one of the headliners for the upcoming Las Vegas K-pop festival We Bridge Music Festival & Expo in late April. The fest confirmed that Minhyuk would not appear but that “the remaining members of Monsta X are still confirmed and scheduled to be at the We Bridge Music Festival and Expo.”

The most recent chart Monsta X entered was the World Digital Song Sales chart earlier this year when latest single, “Beautiful Liar,” peaked at No. 8 to become their 17th top 10 entry on the chart to date.

14 Mar 2023

Avril Lavigne Wins Fan Choice Award at 2023 Juno Awards; Deftly Handles Topless Stage-Crasher

Avril Lavigne won the fan-voted Fan Choice Award for the fourth time at the 2023 Juno Awards on Monday (March 13). And she reminded fans why they love her with her deft handling of a topless stage-crasher.

When Lavigne was introducing a performance by AP Dhillon, the first Punjabi artist to perform at the Junos, a topless woman appeared on the stage behind her. According to a CBC News report, a message written on her back appeared to read “SAVE THE GREEN BELT” — an apparent reference to a controversial development plan by the Ontario government.

Lavigne turned around and told her to “get the f— off,” and the protester left the stage.

The moment recalled the most famous stage-crashing incident at a music awards show, when a stage crasher with the words Soy Bomb scrawled on his chest was able to get on stage at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York in 1998. He gyrated while Bob Dylan was performing “Love Sick.” Dylan endured the strange moment stoically and just kept on playing.

Lavigne, by contrast, put the woman in her place. When she later won the Fan Choice Award, Lavigne joked about her take-charge attitude. “Now nobody try anything this time. I’ll f— a b—- up.”

Marvel star Simon Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), who hosted the show for the second year, praised Lavigne for “handling that topless lady like a champion.”

The 52nd Annual Juno Awards were held at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. Just five competitive awards were presented on the two-hour show. More than 40 awards had been presented at the Juno Opening Night Awards on Saturday (March 11), which allowed the Monday telecast to focus on performances by Tenille Townes, Alexisonfire, Aysanabee, Jessie Reyez, Tate McRae, AP Dhillon, Banx & Ranx, Preston Pablo and Rêve, as well as a 50th anniversary to hip-hop which focused on Canadian hip-hop talent.

The Weeknd won five awards over the course of the two nights. These five awards bring The Weeknd’s total of Juno Awards to 22, which puts him in second place on the all-time Juno leaderboard. Anne Murray continues to lead all artists with 25 Junos.

Abel Tesfaye won four of those awards at the Juno Opening Night Awards, which was livestreamed from the Edmonton Convention Centre. On the live telecast, he won one more award — album of the year for FM Dawn. It was his third win in the category, following Beauty Behind the Madness and After Hours. But he wasn’t on hand to accept his honor, which led to ringing boos from the audience.

The Weeknd has famously been on the outs with the Grammys since the annual ceremony gave him a grand total of zero nominations in the year of “Blinding Lights,” one of the biggest and best singles of recent years. But the Junos have showered him with awards. It’s easy to see why the audience felt he was disrespecting them by not showing up.

The Weeknd has yet to win the Fan Choice Award. Lavigne, by contrast, is one of only three artists to win it four or more times. Justin Bieber leads with five wins in the category. Shawn Mendes has also won it four times. (Either Lavigne or Mendes has won the award in each of the last seven years.)

Toronto singer Jessie Reyez won the first award of the night, contemporary R&B recording of the year for her 2022 album Yessie. The Weeknd had won the award in each of the last two years.

Nickelback was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Actor Ryan Reynolds called the band “the pride of Alberta” during a pre-taped segment, which was followed by an onstage introduction from Edmonton Oilers hockey player Connor McDavid.

The band closed the show with a performance with included such global hits as “Rockstar” and “How You Remind Me.”

Rappers Haviah Mighty and Kardinal Offishall introduced a 50th anniversary tribute to hip-hop in Canada.

“One of my favourite MCs went on to be the world’s favorite,” said Kardinal Offishall, referring to Drake. “The world would not look the same if it wasn’t for the unprecedented talent, influence and vision of [a man] like Drake. He continued to open doors and help focus the world’s attention on our thriving hip hop scene.”

Kardinal Offishall is best known in the U.S. for his 2008 single “Dangerous” (featuring Akon), a top five single on the Billboard Hot 100.

Maestro Fresh-Wes, who won the first Juno for rap album of the year (1991’s Symphony in Effect), announced this year’s winner, TOBi’s Shall I Continue?

Here are the nominees in the categories that were presented on the live telecast, with winners checked.

Here’s our report on the winners from Saturday’s Opening Night Juno Awards.

TikTok Juno Fan Choice

WINNER: Avril Lavigne, Warner

Lauren Spencer-Smith, Island/Republic*Universal

MacKenzie Porter, Big Loud*Independent

Preston Pablo, 31 East*Universal

Rêve, 31 East*Universal

Shawn Mendes, Island*Universal

Tate McRae, RCA*Sony

The Reklaws, Starseed*Independent

The Weeknd, XO*Universal

Tyler Shaw, Sony

Album of the year

Who Hurt You?, Ali Gatie, Warner

Love Sux, Avril Lavigne, Warner

Demons Protected by Angels, NAV, XO*Universal

i used to think i could fly, Tate McRae, RCA*Sony

WINNER: Dawn FM, The Weeknd, XO*Universal

Breakthrough artist of the year

Dax, Columbia*Sony

Devon Cole, Arista*Sony

WINNER: Preston Pablo, 31 East*Universal

RealestK, Columbia*Sony

Rêve, 31 East*Universal

Rap album/EP of the year

GONZO, Boslen, Capitol*Universal

Retrospected (Acoustic), Classified, Halflife*Universal

The Fleur Print Vol. 2, Jazz Cartier, Petal Garden*Believe

Demons Protected by Angels, NAV, XO*Universal

WINNER: Shall I Continue?, TOBi, RCA

Contemporary R&B recording of the year

“When Flowers Bloom,” Adria Kain, ArtHaus*Warner

“If I Get Caught,” dvsn, OVO

“No Longer in the Suburbs,” Dylan Sinclair, Five Stone*The Orchard

WINNER: “Yessie,” Jessie Reyez, Island*Universal

“WTF,” Savannah Ré, Universal

Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee Award

Nickelback

MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award

Jewel Casselman, Lakewood School, Winnipeg

14 Mar 2023

Garth Brooks Advises Radio Programmers to Lead with Love at CRS

Garth Brooks put forth a call for unity to radio programmers at Country Radio Seminar during a Monday (March 13) session, asking them to use their platform for good.

“How divided is this nation right now and who on the planet has a single voice to cover this entire nation? You do,” he said, in a session moderated by CRS executive director RJ Curtis. “Think about what you say when you open your mouth on those airwaves. Think about the music you play. Do the people listening to your station feel better about the future than they did [before]?”

He continued with a dire warning if cooler, more unified heads don’t prevail. “You’ve got a big voice. This country needs a big voice spreading the most important thing and that’s love. People, I’m telling you, with the Internet, people, if it keeps going the way it is civil war is waiting for this country again. It will be here before your children grow up,” he said. “Those are real voices behind those real microphones talking to those real people [at radio]. Unify them. Find that common ground. Amplify our similarities instead of our differences.”

He also gave programmers a tough love pep talk as terrestrial radio finds itself competing streaming. 

“You guys have convinced yourselves for some reason you are the victim of streaming. You have convinced yourself that your time is coming to an end,” he said. “People, I am promising you radio’s time is not coming to an end. What radio has that streaming will never have is discovery. I can’t ask for anything new on Alexa. Alexa doesn’t know how to play anything new. You guys get to play it all and we get to hear if first through you.”

He then went on to tell an anecdote that flies in the face of the popularity of on-demand listening about turning to terrestrial radio while working on his truck and, as the hours go by, hearing a new song repeatedly that he grows fonder of each time he hears it until it becomes his favorite song. “If I had the option of going ‘next,’ I would never have heard the song. That’s a gift you have. Do not take it lightly,” he said. “You guys will forever be discovery. That’s the coolest part of this business.”

The purpose for Brooks’ appearance was to tout the Garth Brooks “No Fences” Award, which was announced in November and will be handed out at CRS starting in 2024. The award will honor someone in the country music community who has “defied traditional standards and practices, positively changed the face of the industry, and established higher standards for measuring success,” as well as raised country music’s profile on a national level for a sustained duration.  

Curtis and Brooks looked back to the superstar’s first visit to CRS in February 1989, when his first single, “Much Too Young (to Feel This Damn Old),” was struggling at radio. Brooks and his team, including managers Bob Doyle and Pam Lewis, roamed the halls greeting programmers and handing out buttons, now collector’s items, with the song title on them. 

By the time he returned to CRS a year later in 1990 to debut “Friends in Low Places” at a luncheon, he’d scored four top 10s, including No. 1s with “If Tomorrow Never Comes” and “The Dance.” 

While much of the conversation was looking back on those early days, Brooks also gave hints at what is coming up for him, including his new Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace that begins in May. 

While he didn’t give a timetable for when his long awaited bar/entertainment space, Friends in Low Places, would open in Nashville, he said he “owed” Nashville the bar for all the town has given him. He also added, “If there was ever a song that described Lower Broadway…,” to strong audience laughter. 

He also alluded to another attraction—“it’s not a museum because I’m not dead”—that will house his archives and will feature interactive exhibits, spanning his entire career. “We’re very fortunate that we own every bit of music that we’ve ever played. We own every frame of footage… we own everything we’ve ever done,” he said. In addition to static displays, he brought up that fans will be able to take photos with his record-breaking seven CMA entertainer of the year awards and with his nine diamond RIAA awards, the most of any artist, for sales of 10 million or more for an album or song. “It’s coming, that’s where the archives live,” he said.