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Actress, singer, producer, entrepreneur and author Kate Hudson has signed with Jason Owen and Sandbox Entertainment Group for music management, the company announced Monday (Jan. 9).
Hudson is known for her work in films including Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but has also showcased her vocal talent in films including Nine and Music (which earned Hudson a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a comedy or musical), as well as episodes of the hit television show Glee.
In signing with Sandbox, Hudson joins a talent roster that includes Kelsea Ballerini, Dan+Shay, Faith Hill, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town and the Johnny Cash estate.
“Music has always been my touchstone,” Hudson said in a statement. “To finally feel ready to share mine is deeply personal to me, almost like a musical memoir. Writing this album over the past year and a half has been the most gratifying and immersive experience and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Jason to bring it into the world. I can’t wait to hit the ground running with him on this and other creative ventures.”
“Kate Hudson is a superstar of our generation,” Owen added. “Much like other icons in film and stage — from Judy Garland to Lady Gaga — Kate is a multifaceted entertainer who clearly has a deep connection to music. I could not be more honored and excited to help bring her brilliant music to the world and to work with such an incredible talent but mostly a such wonderful person. Big things are coming.”
Hudson will continue to be represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, Full Coverage Communications and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
During a recent episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hudson said that she’s been making an album for over a year, and revealed that she’s been writing music since age 19, though she had never publicly shared her own music.
“I have no expectations. I just want to put a record out,” she said during the interview. See the clip here:
It’s not a song that will change the world, but it might well change a listener’s mood for three and a half minutes.
Tyler Hubbard’s second solo single – “Dancin’ in the Country,” released to country radio by EMI Nashville on Nov. 21 via PlayMPE – is 21st-century redneck disco, a four-on-the-four backbeat topped with a joyous melody, carefree lyrics and an unfettered country band, freed to play smart fills and jaw-dropping passages that defy the genre’s historically conservative approach to arrangements.
It’s generated from Hubbard’s home life, where rambunctious energy is welcome.
“Every night after dinner, we have a dance party,” he says. “A lot of times I’m playing them songs that I’ve written, and when the kids love the songs, whether it’s songs I’ve written or other songs, it just makes them feel good and want to dance.”
Hubbard brought a story about that experience into the room and submitted it as a guiding principle when he wrote the song on Nov. 3, 2021, at a Black River studio. Originally, the writing session was booked with fellow composers Jon Nite (“Pick Me Up,” “You Didn’t”) and Ross Copperman (“Gold,” “I Lived It”), but Hubbard amped it up a few days early when he invited Keith Urban to sit in.
“I don’t think I even slept the night before,” Nite recalls, “because I was all keyed up on the nerves of like, ‘Do not screw this up.’“
Nite wasn’t sure if they were writing for Urban or for Florida Georgia Line – he didn’t know until sometime during the co-write that Hubbard was cutting some solo material – and it wasn’t fully verbalized during the process. “The whole time I was laughing because I felt like I was writing for the song,” Nite says. “Keith would be like, ‘This would be great for Tyler’ when Tyler was in the bathroom. And then Tyler would be like, ‘This would be great for Keith’ when Keith was in the bathroom.”
It took a bit to find a direction, though Hubbard was definitely in a mood to write something cheery and upbeat, and he had the “Dancin’ in the Country” title as workable idea. Copperman built a rhythm track, and Urban kicked into a guitar groove that launched with a C chord, complicated by an extra D note that creates dissonance with two of the three foundational tones in that chord.
“That [note] is what’s giving you the disco vibes,” Copperman says.
They fashioned the chorus first, starting with the title and capping the stanza by repeating it two more times. In between, the melody pushes forward with a relentless repetition, each of the first four verses ending with the same melody. It’s an approach that wouldn’t work in another setting – it would have killed a thoughtful ballad like “The House That Built Me” – but it enhances the sing-along quality of “Dancin’ in the Country.”
“It’s an ear worm, and it’s hooky, and it’s really repetitive,” Hubbard agrees. “But it still feels right, you know. It feels appropriate.”
When they developed the verses, the narrative began in a bar, where a couple yearns for a little privacy. They end up in a pasture, playing “some Alabama and Jackson” – presumably, Alan Jackson, though with the danceable beat, one could make a case for Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson or even Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson.”
With the plot serving up a little romance in a field, it’s tempting to call it a bro-country story, though it stays away from the drunken-group dynamic. And it bears some authenticity for Nite, whose first date with his wife ended with the two of them dancing in a field along Soncy Road in Amarillo, Texas during their high-school years.
“That’s where I fell in love with my wife,” he says. “We were out there listening to George Strait on the radio. Our trucks were parked off the edge of this road, and we were just watching stars.” (Romantic sidebar: Some time later, Nite draped flowers over the fence posts and barbed wire in that same location to propose.)
The musical format of “Dancin’ in the Country” got an extra boost of energy from a hip-hop-like pre-chorus. The supporting instruments dropped out, except for a volley of tribal toms and a growling bass, and that chord-less section makes the chorus feel like a blast of sound when the whole band re-emerges. “It just felt like we needed that musical break,” Copperman says. “Maybe that’s why the nursery-rhyme chorus works. You drop out all the chords, and then the chorus hits, and it feels so good.”
Hubbard laid down a vocal for the demo, then split for a late-afternoon appointment, though before he did, Urban created some clarity about which artist would keep “Dancin’ in the Country.” “When we got finished writing, Keith said, ‘I think we just wrote your first single,’” Hubbard remembers. “It was nice that Keith put his stamp of approval on it.”
Urban and Copperman stayed for another two hours, playing with a multitude of sounds and instruments as they completed the demo, stopping occasionally to ask Nite if he thought what they were doing was working. “It was like watching an artist paint the Mona Lisa,” Nite says.
Hubbard co-produced the final version with Jordan M. Schmidt (Mitchell Tenpenny, Ingrid Andress) at Ocean Way in Nashville, assembling an A-list team of musicians and letting them follow Urban’s template from the demo. Bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas provides the melodic movement in the intro and offers a few uncharacteristically bold fills, guitarist Rob McNelley recreated a key riff and fashioned a compact burning solo, and banjo player Ilya Toshinskiy wraps the whole package with a wicked flurry of notes.
“What got me into playing and learning instruments was hearing cool s–t and just being like, ‘How did they play that?’ and then sitting there and trying to learn it,” Schmidt says. “Sometimes I feel like as producers we can dumb stuff down so much, but I’ve really taken the opposite approach now. Like, ‘Let’s inspire newer generations to be players and come up with that s–t, because that’s awesome.’”
Justin Schipper’s steel added a little extra country flavor to offset the dance groove in what proved to be a drama-free experience. “We just had a lot of fun,” Schmidt says of the tracking date. “There wasn’t really anything crazy that happened. It was just a great energy, and it felt like a good new start for T-Hub.”
“Dancin’ in the Country” made its debut on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart dated Dec. 10, 2022 and steps to No. 40 on the Jan. 14 list. Hubbard is convinced that the good-time vibe that music generates in his household is the right tonic for a much wider audience.
“We’re at this point in culture and our lives where everybody needs an escape from reality for three-and-a-half minutes,” Hubbard says. “That’s kind of the intention behind this song.”
The Chicks will soon be taking over Sin City! The trio has announced a six-night residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, beginning May 3.
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The Chicks’ Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer said via a statement, “Finally getting to play live in 2022 left us hungry to continue our tour. After so many years without new music, last year felt like a long time coming. We hope our fans are ready for more in 2023 because we are not done! There is a lot more to come this year and we are excited to get it all started in Las Vegas at the Zappos Theater this Spring.”
Zappos Theater has previously hosted residencies from Shania Twain and Gwen Stefani, with current residencies including Miranda Lambert’s Velvet Rodeo The Las Vegas Residency, and Keith Urban: The Las Vegas Residency,
The trio’s most recent album, Gaslighter, was released in July 2020, and included the singles “March, March,” “Julianna Calm Down” and “Sleep at Night.”
The shows will run May 3, 5-6, 10, and 12-13, with each show beginning at 8 p.m. Pre-sale for the residency begins Tuesday (Jan. 10) at 10 a.m. PT with the code SINWAGON.
Since the release of their debut single, “I Can Love You Better,” in 1997, the trio has earned 12 Grammy wins, including four best country album — Wide Open Spaces (1998), Fly (1999), Home (2002), and Taking The Long Way (2006). They also earned the CMA’s entertainer of the year honor in 2000, and have taken home the organization’s vocal group of the year honor four times.
Morgan Wallen shared an early look at a new song over the weekend, and it is a musical nod to the late country music artist Keith Whitley.
“Sitting here waiting on the sun in a deer blind…here’s a new one,” Wallen wrote via Instagram on Sunday (Jan. 8), along with an audio snippet of a demo tape labeled “Keith Whitley Ref 1 Jan 6.”
The ballad, which includes the lyrics, “I’m no stranger to the rain/ It starts rainin’, I start pouring, I’ll take hurtin’ like hell in the morning over feeling this way…there ain’t a mirror in this house anymore,” nods to Whitley songs including “I Never Go Around Mirrors” and “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.”
This isn’t the first time Wallen has paid tribute to Whitley. Over the holidays, Wallen shared a video of himself singing a cover of Whitley’s “Kentucky Bluebird,” calling it one of his favorite Whitley songs. The song is the title track to a 1991 Whitley compilation album.
Whitley, who was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022, is known for his hits including “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” “Miami, My Amy.” As a teenager, Kentucky native Whitley teamed with another talented teen, Ricky Skaggs, to begin a bluegrass band, and soon bluegrass luminary Ralph Stanley hired Whitley and Skaggs as part of his own Clinch Mountain Boys.
By 1977, Whitley had joined J.D. Crowe & the New South, performing on albums including 1982’s Somewhere Between. In 1984, Whitley inked a deal with RCA Records and released the EP A Hard Act to Follow. He followed by his album L.A. to Miami, which included the singles “Ten Feet Away,” “Homecoming ’63” and “Hard Livin’.” Whitley’s 1988 album, Don’t Close Your Eyes, earned Whitley three consecutive Billboard Hot Country Songs chart toppers, including “When You Say Nothing at All,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” and the album’s title track. Whitley died on May 9, 1989.
Later this year, Wallen will launch his massive One Night at a Time World Tour. He will welcome several openers for various shows, including HARDY, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman and Parker McCollum. The U.S. leg of the tour includes stops at Boston’s Fenway Park, Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, St, Louis’ Busch Stadium and Detroit’s Ford Field, while the trek will also head overseas to Australia and New Zealand.
Listen to the clip of Wallen’s new tribute song to Whitley below.
Ryan Griffin is soaking up his recent success — and has “Salt, Lime & Tequila” to thank for it. The country singer and songwriter at down with Billboard News to discuss his TikTok viral song, and how co-writing a track for Kelsea Ballerini opened the doors for his music career.
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Griffin debuted “Salt” — which peaked at No. 52 and spent a total of 20 weeks on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart — via TikTok in a fun video with his dad. He explained, “I knew my dad would like that song because it has that beach-y vibe to it, and I threw the phone up and I was like, ‘Pops, listen to this! Just tell me you like the song.’”
The day after the country singer posted the video to his TikTok account, the track started making waves on the platform. “I look at my phone and it’s been going massively viral,” he added. “That’s what we’ve been touring on, that was my first single to country radio that I’ve been doing a radio tour [for] all year across the country. It’s definitely the song has launched my career and put me in the right direction.”
As for Griffin’s “Dibs” collaboration with Ballerini — her second No. 1 single on Country Airplay — it happened as a result of a serendipitous writing session.
“The day that we wrote that song, we weren’t even supposed to have written. We wrote it in 45 minutes and it popped out. I’ll never forget the day she called me and told me it would be her second single. My wife and I were pretty broke at the time, to be honest — being a broke songwriter is a real thing,” he recalled. “[Ballerini] called and told me it was going to be he second single and it was just this huge weight off my shoulders. It was really the song that helped me stick around Nashville a little bit longer and start doing my artist thing.”
Watch Ryan Griffin’s full interview with Billboard News in the video above.
The Country Music Association will soon launch its inaugural Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship, which will provide a select group of BIPOC students with an immersive educational experience leading up to the 2023 CMA Fest in June.
The CMA has partnered with the University of Alabama, Nashville’s Belmont University and Knoxville’s University of Tennessee. Six students (two from each university) will be selected to take part in the fellowship, launching this spring. Students must be an incoming junior or senior majoring in public relations, advertising, journalism, business or a related field. Each student will also receive compensation for their work, as well as a stipend to cover living expenses while in Nashville.
“As we look at our industry and how we can drive country music into the future, it’s being thoughtful about who is part of it and who feels like they can be part of it,” Mia McNeal, CMA senior director, industry relations and inclusion, tells Billboard. “Working with all three of these universities has been incredible, thinking strategically and intentionally about how we can engage the student body in a way that is very direct and making a pipeline of talent.”
McNeal adds, “There has been a push for more artists of color within the country music industry, but they also need the opportunity to team with people behind the scenes who look like them.”
In April, the students will begin working remotely with the CMA’s communications team, participating in planning meetings with cross-departmental teams and various industry partners. They will then join CMA team members in Nashville in the weeks leading up to and through CMA Fest, June 9-12. Following the event, the students will take part in a six-week assignment with a country music publicity partner, offering the students additional real-world PR experience.
“They get the 360-degree view of exactly how public relations and communications is central not only to the CMA, but to the industry at large,” says Tiffany Kerns, CMA vice president, industry relations and philanthropy.
“The idea for this fellowship came out of having significant conversations with several artists and a wide variety of industry professionals who really felt that publicists are part of the storytellers of our business,” Kerns adds.
The University of Alabama’s Dr. Kenon Brown, who was previously the faculty advisor for the UofA’s CMA EDU chapter for about three years, serves as the fellowship’s managing faculty member. Brown along with faculty representatives from the university partners and CMA staff will review applications.
“We felt the one thing that would help students be exposed to the industry would be to give them first-hand experience,” Brown tells Billboard. “We wanted to also give them mentors to give them a more realistic viewpoint of how the music industry works. Hopefully this helps make them more excited about not just working in music but working in country music.”
In describing the types of students they are looking for, Brown says, “We want students who recognize the opportunity they have here to become a leader in this industry and a voice for promoting diversity and inclusion in the country music industry. We want students who can look at the country music industry and see the strides that they have made and see the advantage that they have to really add a unique voice to the genre.”
The CMA is also working with the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations on the fellowship, as well as with Trell Thomas, a public relations executive and co-founder of My Publicist is Black, to match each student participant with an industry expert to serve as a mentor throughout the fellowship.
“At CMA Fest last year, we had diversity on all of our stages,” McNeal says. “Our fans are diverse and that representation matters so much. It’s hard to be something you cannot see.”
The application to apply for the fellowship is open today (Jan. 9) through Feb. 24 at cmaworld.com/fellowship.
The fellowship is one of multiple recent initiatives the CMA has launched to support leadership, education, and diversity. The CMA previously teamed with Discovery Education for a series highlighting STEAM careers within the country music industry. In 2022, the trade organization also launched a 16-week training program to support women in leadership throughout the country music industry.
“Flower Shops” hitmaker and singer-songwriter Ernest is launching his own music publishing venture, ERN’s Cadillac Music, with three songwriters.
The venture, in partnership with Big Loud Mountain Music, has signed writers Chandler Walters and Cody Lohden. Then, in conjunction with Big Loud Mountain Music and fellow singer-songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny’s publishing company High Dime, ERN’s Cadillac Music has signed Mitchell’s brother, Rafe Tenpenny.
As a songwriter, Ernest remains signed to a joint publishing deal between Universal Music Publishing Group and Big Loud Publishing. The CMA Triple Play Award winner has co-written hits for Morgan Wallen (“More Than My Hometown”), Chris Lane (“Big, Big Plans”), Kane Brown (“One Mississippi”), Florida Georgia Line (“I Love My Country”) and Diplo (“Heartless,” feat. Wallen).
Launching his own music publishing venture marks the fruition of a long-held dream. “It’s definitely been within my five-year plan, but I didn’t know it would happen so fast,” Ernest tells Billboard. The company’s name is a tip of the hat to the cover of Ernest’s second Big Loud project, Flower Shops (The Album), which features the beloved Cadillac that Ernest bought in September 2021.
“Cadillac music, that’s kind of what I’ve been joking and calling any of my demos that I’d listen to in the Cadillac,” Ernest says. “It’s gotta pass the Cadillac test.”
Two of the initial signings to ERN’s Cadillac Music have close connections to Ernest. Walters, whom Ernest discovered through TikTok, is his touring steel player, while Ernest met Tenpenny in the fifth grade. Ernest was introduced to Lohden’s music through a social media post from Barstool Sports.
“I respect him not only as a friend, but as one of the best writers in the game right now, so for him to show faith in signing me means the world,” Tenpenny says of Ernest, adding that they wrote their first song together in eighth grade. “It’s always just been two friends coming together and having fun. He’s always had a talent for coming up with words and rhymes on the spot, he’s one of the best freestylers ever.”
“Over the past year we’ve traveled all over the country together and I have gotten to know him as a brother,” Walters says of Ernest via email. “Ern picking me to be in Cadillac Music is super humbling for me. He is one of the most accomplished songwriters in Nashville and him seeing something in me means more than anything.”
“Ern is the GOAT,” Lohden says, adding Ernest is already giving him advice.
“Ern told me to stay humble and keep doing what I’m doing…Just keep working hard and the songs will just keep getting better. It’s very cool to have him on my side and I’m very grateful!”
Big Loud Publishing staffers will work with ERN’s Cadillac Music writers, though as the venture grows, staffers may be added in the future. Ernest says he doesn’t have a set number of writers that he would ultimately like his publishing venture to support, preferring that it grow organically.
“I’m not in a hurry to stack a roster. I love the writers I have now, and the Big Loud building is kind of like one big family,” Ernest says. “It’s like Motown in a way, where there’s several rooms going on at once and I can bounce between rooms and throw in ideas. Now, I’ve got my space over there and Big Loud writers are welcome to crash those rooms and we all just work together.”
He also credits his and Big Loud’s mission of “empowering young creatives to just be free, creatively. Magic will happen if you just create the environment for people to be comfortable and let their guards down.” He adds, “That’s the environment I flourish in and those are the types of writers that I gravitate to when it comes to signing.”
Ernest hopes ERN’s Cadillac Music helps aspiring songwriters get their big break in the same way songwriters The Warren Brothers (Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This,” Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup”) did for him.
“I want to be a source for young writers who haven’t gotten a chance yet to play ball,” Ernest says. He recalls how The Warren Brothers became advocates for Ernest and Mitchell Tenpenny earlier in their careers. “That changed our lives because we were in [writing] rooms we had no business being in, but we were getting in them because the Warren Brothers vouched for us, and then we had to do the rest on our own. But getting that one person that could bridge the gap, that’s the hardest part in this town. I want to create an environment where more writers can get a break.”
Georgette Jones already has strong ties to the Showtime limited series George & Tammy: Not only is it about her parents and based on the book she wrote, but she also appears in the final episode.
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Jones makes a cameo as a backup singer in the finale airing Sunday. In an exclusive clip provided to The Hollywood Reporter, she appears on a tour bus with band members, as well as Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon in the roles of Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Together they sing “Lost Highway,” with Georgette Jones kicking off the second verse.
The 52-year-old daughter of the country music legends said as she was preparing to visit the set of the series, producers asked her if she’d want to make an appearance.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I am not an actress but I will happily pretend to be one,’” Jones tells THR. “If they want to put me somewhere — it would be so much fun to be able to do that.”
George & Tammy is based on her 2011 memoir, The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George. She said filming her scenes was fun and pleasant — but also sentimental.
“I was swept up in a very emotional state of mind during the whole thing. It was strange, knowing that I’m on a simulated bus with what’s supposed to be my parents and their band, but at the same moment, being able to see the scene play out and know what’s happening, listening to the music and listening to the words of the song, and knowing how this is ending the series — it was very, very emotional,” Jones says. “I think it hit me full swing when we finished filming it. I just broke down at the end because it was just a release of all that emotion building up for that scene.”
The six-episode show debuted in December. It chronicles Wynette and George Jones’ complicated yet stirring relationship and the hits they produced, including Wynette’s signature classic, “Stand by Your Man.”
Jones says playing a backup singer for her parents onscreen was something she was used to doing in real life.
“I actually spent a summer working as a backup singer for my mom when I was starting college,” she recalls. “I have all these memories of — not just working for Mom then — but growing up on the road with one or both of my parents at different times. So I was flooded with a lot of memories of being on the bus and remembering those types of events.”
Chastain’s performance in George & Tammy earned her a nomination for best actress in a limited series at the 2023 Golden Globes, which take place Tuesday. Jones says she approved of Chastain and Shannon’s portrayals of her parents.
“I think they did an incredible job. I really, really do — both with the music and with the acting,” she says.
“Jessica has really been our champion for this entire process,” Jones continues of the Oscar winner, who also serves as an executive producer on the series. “I’m so thankful that she not only signed on, but stuck with it. And there were times where different people at different times, before we got to where we were in the end, were trying to suggest things and wanted it to go in a different direction. And Jessica and [show creator] Abe [Sylvia] and [EP] Andrew [Lazar] all really pushed for an honest portrayal, not just some of the glamorous things on the road. And it meant a lot to me that she pushed for that. She wanted us to have an accurate and real story of my mom and my dad.”
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
Shania Twain‘s new single “Giddy Up!” has topped this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Jan. 6) on Billboard, choosing Twain’s track as their favorite new music release of the past week.
“Giddy Up!” brought in 87% of the vote, beating out new music by YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Popcaan feat. Drake and more.
Twain’s party-ready new sing is the first track off of Queen of Me, her forthcoming album that’s set for a Feb. 3 release. The singer line danced into 2023 with “Giddy Up,” dropping the song and its music video on Jan. 5.
“The saying ‘Let’s Go Girls!’ is such a wonderfully uplifting sentiment now, but it’s just something I said during the recording in the studio and I guess that’s the same for ‘Giddy Up!’,” Twain said in a statement this week. “These lines come to me when I’m thinking about how to put a little ‘pep in my step.’ I want people to feel good when they hear the new album. I want to set a celebratory tone and ‘Giddy Up!’ is a way to call to the audience and say ‘let’s get ready for some fun!’”
Trailing behind the pop-country icon’s “Giddy Up!” on the fan-voted poll is YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s I Rest My Case album, with nearly 5% of the vote.
See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.
Americana artists gathered Saturday evening (Jan. 7) at Nashville’s City Winery for the fundraising concert Hello From the Hills, which supported a range of nonprofit organizations dedicated to addiction and substance abuse recovery, restorative justice work, and residential recovery/transitional living.
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Held by The Hello in There Foundation (which launched in 2021 to remember singer-songwriter John Prine and aims to support people who are marginalized or discriminated against) and Tyler Childers’ Hope in the Hills, the show featured performances from artists including Childers, Jason Isbell, Sierra Ferrell, Amythyst Kiah, and Margo Price with Jeremy Ivey.
Oh Boy Records leader Jody Whelan welcomed the crowd, while singer-songwriter Kathy Mattea served as host for the evening.
“I wanted to thank all the artists who quickly said yes to this show,” Whelan told the crowd. “The Hello in There Foundation would not exist without the fans who love John’s music and the artists community that has come and lifted us up.”
The ongoing love and admiration for the late Prine was palpable throughout the evening, as numerous artists spoke of the songsmith who melded elements of folk and country to build a enviable song catalog that includes “Illegal Smile,” “Sam Stone” and “Angel From Montgomery.”
The bill also included performances from Arlo McKinley, Kelsey Waldon and Tré Burt, artists signed to the Prine-co-founded Oh Boy Records. Waldon offered up “Season’s Ending,” the first song she wrote following Prine’s death in 2020.
Waldon then joined labelmate Burt for “Dixie Red,” and he wielded both harmonica and acoustic guitar for “Sweet Misery.” Other artists on the bill include Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle, William Matheny and Darrin Haquard.
The event was presented by Oh Boy Records and management company WhizBangBam (which represents McKinley and Childers, among other artists) benefiting the Prine Family’s The Hello in There Foundation as well as Childers’ Hope in the Hills. The Hello in There Foundation and Hope in the Hills each selected two organizations to receive $10,000 grants, with the donations benefiting the residential recovery program Healing Housing, the restorative justice program Raphah Institute, the substance abuse recovery program the Keith Dixon Foundation, and the transitional living facility Recovery Community Inc.
Here, we recap five standout performances:
Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, “Cover Me Up”
Americana luminaries Isbell and Shires brought raw, emotional storytelling to their performance of “Tour of Duty,” from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s 2011 album Here We Rest.
“At concerts, people will say, ‘This next song has been very good to me,’” Isbell said. “I think that’s really funny. That makes me laugh every time. I’m gonna tell you right now, I have been very good to this next song, because before I came along, it wasn’t a damn thing,” he said, drawing laughter and cheers from the crowd. He then introduced the intimate, vulnerable love song “Cover Me Up,” from his 2013 album Southeastern. The song, written during the early days of the couple’s relationship, also nods to Isbell’s own recovery journey. A key line, “But I sobered up and swore off that stuff/ Forever this time,” drew hearty cheers from the audience.
Sierra Ferrell Performs Two Unreleased Songs
Clad in a cowboy hat old-timey dress and with fiddle in hand, Ferrell showed off the undeniable musical prowess and onstage charm that earned her the emerging act of the year win at the Americana Music Association’s Honors & Awards in 2022.
But onstage at City Winery, she didn’t regale the crowd with songs such as her signature “In Dreams”—instead, she introduced two unreleased songs from an album she is currently working on. For the first, she wielded her fiddle for the charming “I Can Drive You Crazy,” before trading her fiddle for an acoustic guitar to deliver another unreleased song, this one a tribute to a string of broken hearts. Host Mattea praised Ferrell’s throwback look and sound, noting it feels like she “lives outside of time.”
Amythyst Kiah
Accompanied only by her electric banjo, the Grammy-nominated artist’s smoky, evocative voice silenced the crowd as Kiah brought the audience into the emotionally complex lyrics of “Firewater” (from her 2021 album Wary+Strange), followed by the classic old-time Appalachia song “Darlin’ Corey.” Kiah’s searing, full-bodied vocal proved a perfect match to convey this tale of a fearless, gun-toting, moonshine-making woman. Kiah’s two-song performance made such an impression on the crowd–and host Mattea–that Mattea welcomed Kiah back to the stage to embrace another round of applause from the audience.
Tommy Prine Honors His Late Father with “Ships in the Harbor”
Nashville native Prine, the son of John Prine, launched his two-song set with “This Far South.” But it was Prine’s potent performance of his debut single “Ships in the Harbor” that hushed the intimate crowd, as he musically acknowledged inevitable change, and sang of loss, pain and acceptance. In a full-circle moment of sorts, it was Isbell’s Southeastern album that inspired the younger Prine to begin writing music at age 17.
Tyler Childers Holds Court
Childers, whose song “All Your’n” was nominated for a Grammy in 2020, closed out the evening with an acoustic set that kept the focus on his well-crafted storytelling, and his full-throttle vocal—which drew numerous cheers and shouts from the crowd.
He also shared how learning fiddle helped him overcome his own struggles with alcohol, noting that he became passionate about learning to better his craft on the instrument. “I can tell you that you spend eight or nine months playing eight hours a day and get alright and then you can not play for about two weeks and [you’re] off. You can put a guitar away for awhile and pick it up and be okay…over the last three or four weeks, I’ve rededicated my life to the fiddle,” he noted. In 2020, Childers released the surprise album Long Violent History, an album largely made of traditional fiddle tunes. His set on Saturday evening included “Creeker,” “Matthew,” and “Lady May.”
