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Dua Lipa Buys Back Her Publishing Rights

TaP Music Publishing has sold Dua Lipa back her publishing rights, the company announced Thursday (Nov. 2). She was previously a client of the company’s artist management roster as well.

TaP said in a statement: “We wish Dua all the best for the future.” 

Anna Neville, co-president of TaP Music, added: “This is an exciting time for our publishing company — we are expanding our services and teams globally and continue to add talented writers and artists to our already stellar roster.”

Lipa signed with TaP management co-CEOs Ben Mawson and Ed Millet in 2013 and spent almost a decade with them as she skyrocketed to international superstardom. She parted ways with the firm in February 2022 and has since been managed by her father, Dukagjin Lipa.

TaP’s management roster includes Lana Del ReyEllie Goulding and Noah Cyrus, among others, and also includes a record label venture with Universal Music Group and a publishing venture with UMPG. The company’s publishing clients include Yaeji, Dermot Kennedy, Larry Heard and others.

Lipa is preparing to release a new single, “Houdini,” on Nov. 9. The announcement of the new track followed several weeks of cryptic teasers on social media. Her most recent release prior to that was “Dance the Night” for the Barbie soundtrack, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The singer-songwriter hasn’t released a studio album since 2020’s Future Nostalgia, which included the Hot 100 hits “Levitating” (No. 2), “Don’t Start Now” (No. 2) and “Break My Heart” (No. 13). Following that, she scored another Hot 100 hit with “Cold Heart” alongside Elton John and PNAU (No. 7) and also released collaborations with Megan Thee Stallion (“Sweetest Pie,” No. 15) and Calvin Harris and Young Thug (“Potion,” No. 71).

Future Nostalgia followed the 2017 release of Lipa’s self-titled debut album, with the single “New Rules” peaking at No. 6 on the Hot 100. Other Hot 100 entries from the album included “One Kiss” with Calvin Harris (No. 26), “IDGAF” (No. 49) and “Electricity” with Silk City featuring Diplo and Mark Ronson.

Mariah Carey Shows Off New Holiday Merch on Dem Babies

The Queen of Christmas has officially declared that “it’s time” for the holiday season, and she’s now celebrating with some new merch.

Mariah Carey took to social media on Thursday (Nov. 2) to share a photo of her 12-year-old twins, daughter Monroe and son Moroccan, whom she affectionately calls “dem babies,” posing in Carey’s new t-shirts. The white shirts feature a photo of the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” singer in a festive outfit, with “It’s Time!” written across the top.

The shirt is now available to purchase for $35 on Amazon here.

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At the stroke of midnight on Nov. 1, Carey bid farewell to spooky season and hello to the holidays with an annual seasonal kick-off video. The singer posted an elaborate 35-second video of a frozen vault with a red countdown clock above it that reads “November 1 12:00.” The vault opens to reveal a number of Carey’s assistants dressed in a variety of scary masks using hair dryers to help Mariah escape defrost from the block of ice.

Carey ultimately cracks open the ice by belting out “It’s time!” in her signature whistle note and emerges from the frost in a red and white Santa-style costume. Monroe and Moroccan also joined in on the video’s festivities and dance around with their mother as Carey’s iconic holiday hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” officially blasts out for the first time this season.

Carey is slated to hit the road for her 13-date Merry Christmas One and All! tour on Nov. 15 in Highland, CA and ride her sleigh across North American until a Dec. 17 gig at Madison Square Garden in New York.

A Day in the Life of K-Pop Girl Group STAYC | Billboard News

K-pop girl group STAYC takes us through a day in their lives in this special episode of Billboard News.

Isa:
Hey, Billboard! We are STAYC and this is a day in the life on the Teen Fresh world tour in Los Angeles.

Seeun:
This looks amazing! Let’s eat!

Sieun:
This is our concert. This is our first concert outfit of tonight. Because it is our first concert, our stylists paid special attention to this costume, well … dresses. Actually it is really sparkling, there are lots of decorations and also lots of pretty accessories, and I really liked this. There are whites and blacks. So white looks like an angel, and black looks like charismatic. Today I put lots of ribbons too. Yay! Bye.

Live Nation Boasts Another Record Quarter As Music Fans Continue Flocking to Shows

Live Nation had another record-setting quarter as music fans swarmed to concerts and continued to spend on live entertainment amidst persistent inflation, high gas prices and a resumption in student loan repayments in the United States. The concert promotion and ticketing giant posted third-quarter revenue of $8.2 billion, up 32% from the prior-year period, the company announced Thursday (Nov. 2). Adjusted operating income (AOI) rose 35% to a record $836 million. 

A year ago, revenue reached a then-record $6.2 billion as artists returned to the stage after pandemic layoffs. In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic shut down the global touring business, Live Nation posted third-quarter revenue of $3.8 billion — 54% below what the company reported Thursday. Some growth since 2019 stems from acquisitions such as OCESA, the Mexican concert promoter Live Nation bought in 2021 for $416 million. But m uch of the record-setting result comes from the high number of touring artists and greater fan spending. 

“While we have benefitted from tailwinds for many years, it has accelerated due to the globalization of our business along with a fundamental shift in consumer spending habits toward experiences,” president/CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement. “With the majority of opportunity still untapped from Milan to Bogotá to Tokyo and beyond, we expect the industry will continue growing in 2024 and for years to come.”

Through the first nine months of 2023, Live Nation’s revenue increased 36% to $16.9 billion and AOI rose 33% to $1.7 billion. Both nine-month figures were greater than Live Nation’s revenue and AOI for full year 2022. 

In the concerts division, third-quarter revenue rose 32% to $7 billion and AOI grew 21% to $341 million. The number of fans at Live Nation concerts also grew 21% overall — 34% in international markets and 13% in North America. 

Venue Nation, Live Nation’s venue management company for venues it does not own, increased ancillary revenue at operated venues. At amphitheaters, ancillary per-fan revenue was up 10% to $40 year to date. At theaters and clubs, ancillary per-fan spending rose in the double-digits globally. 

Ticketmaster revenue grew 57% to $833 million while AOI jumped 94% to $316 million. Total fee-bearing gross transaction value was up 36% to $10 billion, with North America growing 32% and international markets climbing 49%. The ticketing company had 17 million net new client tickets in the first three quarters of the year.

Sponsorship and advertising revenue rose 7% to $367 million in the third quarter, while the division’s AOI improved 11% to $250 million. 

Through mid-October, Ticketmaster sold 140 million tickets to Live Nation shows, up 17% year-over-year and surpassing the 121 million tickets sold in full-year 2022. Over the same period, the company sold 257 million fee-bearing tickets, a 22% improvement, and expects to surpass 300 million fee-bearing tickets in 2023. 

For full-year 2023, the company expects 55 million fans at Live Nation-operated venues, up from 49 million in 2022. Ticketmaster expects full-year margins to remain in the high 30s through the fourth quarter. Sponsorship and advertising margins are expected to remain in the low 60s. 

Looking forward to 2024, event-deferred revenue — ticket sales for future events — was up 39% to $2.6 billion through mid-October. About half of 2024’s expected show count has been booked for large venues — amphitheaters, arenas and stadiums — which is up double digits from the same point in 2022. 

  • Revenue up 32% to $8.2 billion.
  • Adjusted operating income is up 35% to $836 million. 
  • Year-to-date operating cash flow of $762 million, down from $928 million in Q3 2022. 
  • Year-to-date free cash flow (adjusted) of $1.3 billion, up from $996 million in Q3 2022. 
  • Ticketmaster revenue up 57% to $833 million.
  • Sponsorship and advertising revenue up 7% to $367 million. 
  • Earnings per share rose 28% to $1.78. 

Heavy Slime: Fans React As New Photo of Young Thug Shows He Put On Weight

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Young Thug Looks Heavier In New Photo, Fans React

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty / Young Thug

While Gunna has shed all his pounds, his mentor, Young Thug, apparently has gained weight while in prison.

The jury has finally been chosen for Young Thug’s YSL RICO trial, but that’s not the only thing fans of the rapper are talking about.

A new photo of the rapper has hit timelines, showing a much heavier-looking Young Thug. The “Barter 6” rapper is well known for his slender build, but now he’s looking like he isn’t skipping any meals while being locked up as he awaits his trial to begin.

“Gunna came out like Thug, Thug came out looking like Gunna,” one person hilariously wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“WTH…How you gain so much weight in jail,” another X user wrote.

“He is big thug now,” another person jokingly said in an X post.

Other users attributed Thugger’s apparent weight game to him being drug-free while locked up.

“That drug free weight,” one person wrote in the comment section of a post of the photo on The Neighborhood Talk’s Instagram account.

“That’s Sober Weight ? no more drugs and liq will do that,” another commenter wrote.

Another comment read, “that’s what happens when you no longer on drugs and lean and all the bad shit!”

Young Thug Has Bigger Things To Worry About

Well, Thugger’s weight is the least of his current worries. The Hip-Hop star is looking at life in prison if he is found guilty on all of the charges in his RICO indictment.

Per Fox 5 Atlanta:

The RICO indictment was filed on May 9, 2022. Initially, Williams was only named in counts one (conspiracy to violate RICO) and 56 (participation in criminal street gang activity). Count 56 alleges that he was in a position of leadership within YSL and was either directly or indirectly involved in acts of murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, theft, sale of drugs, and other criminal acts.

He was later indicted on six additional counts after searches of his home. If Williams is found guilty on all counts, he could face life in prison.

Yikes.

You can see more reactions to Young Thug putting on some pounds in the gallery below.

Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty

Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks of the Month: Teejay, Chronic Law, Mystic Marley, Shaggy, Mavado & More

Between Teejay and Bryon Messia’s ongoing beef, a brand new From the Block live performance video from Shenseea, and the passing of dancehall star Gully Bop, it’s been a packed month for the West Indian music scene — and most of these things only happened within the past week!

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To help sort through all the new Caribbean music released in October, Billboard’s monthly Reggae/Dancehall Fresh Picks columns returns with a host of new selections for your listening and wining pleasure. Of course, as is the case across genres in today’s age, there’s an overwhelming amount of new music released every day, let alone every month. Naturally, this column will not cover every last track, but our Spotify playlist — which is linked below — will expand on the 10 highlighted songs.

Without any further ado, here are 10 tracks across reggae, dancehall and their cousin genres that are heating up both our personal playlists and late-night functions from Kingston to Queens:

Freshest Find: Teejay, “Unwanted Child”



Although it’s still unclear what exactly sparked the beef between Teejay and Byron Messia, the new-school dancehall stars are continuing to fire off diss tracks. This week, Teejay sent some more direct hits to the “Talibans” singer with the blistering “Unwanted Child,” a scathing diss track that alleges that Byron is a literal unwanted child (“Act like a we mek him madda disown him”) who doesn’t live the life he raps and sings about in his music. The dark, grimy beat is a smart complement to Teejay’s sinister delivery; his voice drips with equal parts disdain and haughtiness, two of the most important feelings for a proper diss track.

Khalia feat. Shaggy, “Double Trouble”



On this selection from Stay True, Khalia’s debut project, the Westmoreland singer joins forces with Shaggy for a conversational duet that traces the story of two partners with undeniable sexual chemistry who simply cannot work in a proper relationship. She employs a cadence reminiscent of contemporary R&B as she recounts this roller coaster of a relationship over the slow-burning dancehall-inflected beat. “Anuh any any man can win da spot ya inna my heart/ Keep it premium on a level affi inn a path/ You affi show me all your cards before let dung my guard/ And den I work it and reverse it so I’m keeping him sharp,” she croons.

Valiant, “Beer & Salt”



When you reach the top of of the food chain, there are always going to be those people waiting for you to slip up — even Valiant can’t escape that phenomenon. After a less-than-impressive performance at Miami Carnival and a subsequent social media backlash, Valiant uses “Beer & Salt” as way to respond to his detractors and reflect on his tumultuous past few months. “And if a badness, just talk, make me load me strap/ I see them lurking on my IG/ I know your profile private/ All of this was a dream but you can’t ketch the flows I’m finding,” he spits over the slinky DJ Mac-produced beat.

Mavado, “No Sorry”



Taking a similar approach to Valiant, Mavado uses “No Sorry” to champion his lack of regrets for the way he has chosen to live his life. Backed by a skittering trap dancehall beat, Mavado sings, “A ghetto youth pon the top of the mountain ah di greatest story,” once again reaffirming that his intentions are genuine and pure, even if his actions may garner mixed reactions from some. He’s unapologetic in who he is and where he comes from as he reflects on his life and success across the self-affirming track. After all, “Don’t make excuses, we make sacrifice,” he sings on “No Sorry.”

Chronic Law, “War Cycle”



Moving away from the self-motivating introspection of Valiant’s and Mavado’s new tracks, Chronic Law opts for despondent piano to anchor his stab at trap dancehall — a solemn reflection on the emptiness he sometimes feels in spite of his success, likening the dynamic to the ongoing violence that plagues his home country. “What a cycle/ The likkle scheme warm than Grove Street turf/ Me a drink and pretend mi don’t feel hurt/ Cyaa describe mi pain with no real words,” he croons.

Mystic Marley, Nailah Blackman & Walshy Fire, “Jump”



This new track from the granddaughters of Bob Marley and Lord Shorty, respectively — with production contributions from Walshy Fire of Major Lazer — combines bits of dancehall, reggae and soca for one of the most undeniable party records of the year. With bubbly brass stitching together elements of Marley’s “Rainbow Country” (1971) and Shorty’s “Endless Vibration” (1974), Mystic and Nailah balance the familiarity of old-school reggae guitars and infectious soca percussion as they implore their listeners to, well, “jump!”

Intence, “Lesson”



Rising Jamaican dancehall artist Intence delivers a heartfelt reflection on the most pertinent lessons life has taught him. Staunchly within the modern trap-inflected dancehall arena, Intence offers up several nimble flows as he recounts various life-altering experiences that remind him of both his mortality and his divine protection. “Just another ghetto youth and if you ask me I would have tell you from the start the amount a times them double cross me/ Me a real youth me don’t need to tell you that so let them talk cause me don’t care as long as God see,” he spits in an impressive rapid-fire delivery.

Zagga, “Believe & Pray”



Released near the top of last month (Oct. 13) as the penultimate song on his Energy Never Lie album, “Believe & Pray” finds Zagga both talking with God and encouraging his listeners to have faith and trust in the power of prayer. “Prayer move mountain, prayer with faith, dawg/ Jah Jah eva on time, never yet late, dawg/ Whula we a sin but mi no ready fi graveyard/ Conscious, but the world mek mi behave bad,” he sings over the solemn, uplifting beat, which is part of a new riddim produced by Shane Creative.

Talia Goddess, “Forever Young”



Guyanese-British multi-hyphenate Tayahna Walcott, aka Talia Goddess, perfectly captures the buzzing sensuality of hot summer nights during the prime of your youth with this smooth dancehall and R&B-inflected banger. In the hook for “Forever Young,” which is built around a thumping dancehall riddim, she reaches for high-pitched, Amaarae-esque tone as she sings, “Tell me is you really mine my lover?/ Cah you make me feel alive, so true/ I can take you to the light my darling/ I just wanna live my life with you.” Both the track and its globe-trotting music video are testaments to the rich global legacy of West Indian music and culture.

Roze Don, Countree Hype & Konshens, “Unch It Remix”



Some of the best dancehall tracks are the instructive ones; they’re inherently interactive and personable. For the official remix of their function-rocking “Unch It,” Roze Don and Countree Hype recruit dancehall star Konshens to add his own spice to the steady, percussive beat. Their tones are calm, just shy of nonchalant, but glimpses of staccato flows and the sneaky sensuality of a whisper add dynamics that elevate the song nicely. From the booming bass to irresistibly danceable melody, the “Unch It” remix is nice update of the August orignal for the autumn season.

For good measure, here are two bonus Fresh Picks that are only available to stream via YouTube.

Dissident Iranian Composer Mehdi Rajabian Receives United Nations Award

Dissident Iranian composer Mehdi Rajabian became the first musician to win the United Nations’ second annual International Art Contest for Minority Artists on Thursday (Nov. 2). The honor, which went to three artists working with “themes relating to intersectionality and compounded forms of discrimination,” according the global organization’s website, was presented to him in absentia because Rajabian, who has been jailed three times for his music, is unable to leave Iran.

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“This is an important award,” Rajabian says of the recognition, but he adds, “Happiness is a collective event, and unfortunately no one is happy here [in Iran]. The situation has become completely different after the recent protests. No award can be a criterion for determining the artistic value of an artist, but it can definitely be a platform for the voice of human rights and freedom of art.

Rajabian, who collaborated virtually with 20 musicians — many of them Grammy winners and nominees — to record and release his symphony It Arrives in September 2022, was among approximately 80 artists from all continents who applied for the prize. He was ultimately chosen by a panel of judges that consisted of three minority artists, the director of the Geneva Museum of Ethnography and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights. The other two primary award winners were multidisciplinary visual artist Babatunde “Tribe” Akande and painter Bianca Batlle Nguema.

Claude Cahn, a U.N. human rights officer who works in the Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section says the judges were moved by Rajabian’s bravery, resilience and commitment. “In the views of the judges panel, at the risk of his health and own life, he has used his spirit and music to be a human rights light in the darkness,” he says.

Sverre Pedersen, the executive committee chair of Freemuse, a non-governmental organization that documents abuses of artistic freedom internationally, serves as a consultant to the United Nations, and is a partner in the contest, says, “It is a great pleasure that the jury chose Mehdi as one of this year’s laureates. And I strongly believe that he is a worthy winner. Mehdi is under constant surveillance and is often subjected to harassment and threats. Nevertheless, he continues his artistic work and his courageous human rights work.”

Pedersen shared a quote from the jury elaborating on its the reasons for choosing Rajabian as one of the laureates: “Mehdi embodies what many of us feel in the Persian and Arab world. A deep love of our cultures and people while wishing and knowing that our societies can be better. Banned from producing music after imprisonment and risking arrest at any moment, Mehdi moves through this potential by not giving into this threat, but rather valuing communicating his thoughts and giving voice to people through his music. Protesting a system of authority that violates human rights, he does so with eloquent melancholy and hope for a better world.

Rajabian also shared the statement he sent to the U.N. in his absence, which reads in part:

“Silence in the face of any oppression is definitely cooperation with the oppressor, and perseverance, standing, and independence should be our duty against cruelty, oppression, and violation of human rights; against any dictatorial system. Today, peace cannot be expected from sound and music when we still hear a mother’s cry because her child is to be executed. Today, it is not possible to have images of wide fields [of] green [on a] canvas, when a bullet has split a child’s chest and her red blood has painted the painting of freedom on the street floor. Today, a dancer’s dance cannot be enjoyed when a person is on the gallows for the death sentence and performs the last dance of his life. Today, we cannot expect to imagine a fictional horror novel when there is a real horror story of human rights violations in prisons.”

Rajabian was arrested in 2013, put in solitary confinement for three months, released on bail and arrested again in 2015 for recording an album titled The History of Iran Narrated By Setar (a lute-like instrument used in traditional Persian music).

After his 2015 conviction, he says he was moved to Evin prison in Tehran — where, in 2016, he began a 40-day hunger strike that led to his release on parole in 2017. (He says that his three-year prison sentence, which was suspended, could be enforced at any time.) Rajabian was arrested again in 2020 but not imprisoned because of his album Middle Eastern, which was released but was part of a larger performance art project that involved dance, painting and a book that were not realized. The charges levied against him then were that he was “encouraging prostitution,” he says, because female vocalists, who are banned in Iran, sang on the album.

The long-term effects of Rajabian’s imprisonment and hunger strike took a toll on his health. “My body and soul have been damaged,” he told Billboard in 2021 after the release of another symphony, Coup of Gods, which was engineered by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. “I lost 15 kilograms of weight [33 pounds] and 40% of my vision and my joints swelled because of the hunger strike,” he explains. “I couldn’t even play an instrument on my album. I could only compose and arrange. I did it just to say that no power can stop the freedom of music.”

Rajabian says his father, who died earlier this year, would be very happy to hear his son had won the U.N. award: “My father was always by my side and supported me, he worked for my freedom for months and always gave me hope that it is difficult to achieve freedom, but it is certain. His last sentence an hour before his death was, ‘I hope we will live and see the day of freedom.’”

Watch ENHYPEN Sing as a Beluga Boy Band in New ‘Baby Shark’s Big Movie’ Video

ENHYPEN is making another big splash to extend their dominance beyond the K-pop, beauty and fashion scenes.

Following the news that the group was joining Cardi B, Offset, Lance Bass, Ashley Tisdale and more stars in the cast of Baby Shark’s Big Movie!, the septet teamed with Nickelodeon and The Pinkfong Company to launch a music video for a new single “Keep Swimmin’ Through” for the viral character’s first feature film.

In the visual aquatic extravaganza, ENHYPEN members Jungwon, Heeseung, Jake, Sunghoon, Jay, Sunoo and Ni-ki perform as both themselves and a boy band of beluga whales. The guys deliver inspiring, oceanic-themed lyrics (“So don’t give up when the tide turns against you, you know you got friends in the deep blue”) to the delight of Baby Shark and friends (with appearances by Mommy Shark, Daddy Shark and ENHYPEN superfan William).

After wrapping the U.S. leg of their Fate World Tour in October, ENHYPEN will return stateside to perform “Keep Swimmin’ Through” on Nickelodeon and Pinkfong’s Baby Shark float during the 97th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 23. Nickelodeon described their display as a “25-foot-long Baby Shark balloon and an 18-foot-long float that showcases an underwater seascape featuring the lovable Shark family,” per a press release.

The new collaboration follows the previous Big Movie music video “It’s Stariana!” that introduced Tisdale’s singing starfish character Stariana. Actors like Aparna Nancherla, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman, plus Baby Shark series regulars like Kimiko Glenn, Luke Youngblood, Natasha Rothwell, Eric Edelstein, Debra Wilson and Patrick Warburton are also on hand for the flick.

ENHYPEN’s “Keep Swimmin’ Through” releases worldwide across streaming platforms tomorrow, Nov. 3. The song comes ahead of the group’s upcoming ORANGE BLOOD album, dropping on Nov. 17, which Jake recently told Billboard is “our best album to date.”

The video will appear across Nickelodeon platforms and stream on Paramount+ leading up to the winter premiere of Baby Shark’s Big Movie. Watch the exclusive premiere of “Keep Swimmin’ Through” below:



Joe Jonas Left Confused After CVS Security Said He Looks ‘Crazy in Person’

Joe Jonas called for an S.O.S. after an unusual interaction with a security guard at CVS.

The Jonas Brother took to TikTok on Wednesday (Nov. 1) to playfully share the moment while walking around in the drugstore’s snack aisle. “I just walked into CVS and the security guy goes, ‘Oh! Joe Jonas?’” he said. “And I said, ‘Hey man, what’s going on?’ and I shook his hand and he goes, ‘Man, you look crazy in person.’”

Joe then jokingly added, “Is that a compliment?”

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In other Joe Jonas news, last month, the singer and Sophie Turner reached a tentative agreement to resolve her lawsuit demanding the return of their two young daughters to her native England amid the former couple’s divorce. In a joint statement from Turner and Jonas shared with Billboard, the duo said: “After a productive and successful mediation, we have agreed that the children will spend time equally in loving homes in both the U.S. and the UK. We look forward to being great co-parents.”

After four years of marriage, Jonas filed for divorce in Miami on Sept. 5, stating that that “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken.” In her own court filings, Turner has said his “sudden” divorce filing came after an argument on the singer’s birthday on Aug. 15. The day after Jonas filed the case, the couple released a joint statement confirming the split.

Jelly Roll to Perform During 2023 Nashville Bourbon Auction

Jelly Roll will be the special performer during the third annual Nashville Bourbon Auction, presented by Alliance Bernstein, and set for Nov. 16 at Nashville supper club The Electric Jane.

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Buffalo Trace Distillery is sponsoring the 2023 Nashville Bourbon Auction, and will present its full antique collection. The evening will include a live auction, hosted by Nashville business leaders Max Goldberg and Mark Lombardi, that features allocated whiskey, exclusive experiences and a barrel of one of Buffalo Trace’s award-winning bourbons.

The 2023 Nashville Bourbon Auction will benefit the youth development and mentoring program Impact Youth Outreach (IYO) and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity.

The idea to bring in two-time Billboard Country Airplay chart-topper — and current five-time CMA Awards nominee — Jelly Roll as the featured performer for this year’s event came through a friendship between Bernstein Private Wealth principal Dan Weisman and Jelly Roll’s co-manager John Meneilly.

“He came to last year’s event, and mentioned the idea of Jelly Roll performing at this year’s event, and of course Jelly’s career has skyrocketed even more since then,” Weisman tells Billboard.

The Nashville Bourbon Auction launched in 2021, spearheaded by Weisman, musician Drew Holcomb, Lombardi and Goldberg. That inaugural event raised over $100,000 for the TN Golf Foundation. Last year, the event moved to Nashville’s SoHo House and raised $170,000 for former senator Bill Frist’s healthcare nonprofit NashvilleHealth.

The 2023 auction is presented by AllianceBernstein, Bridgeford Trust and Best Brands, and hosted by Weisman, Goldberg, Lombardi, Holcomb, Ryan Moses, Ken Levitan, Robert Sherrill, Paul Steele, Adam Sansiveri, Q Taylor, Sam Reed, Seth Seigle, Jessie Beegle and Meneilly.

“I attended the first annual Nashville Bourbon Auction as a guest in 2021 and was sat next to Master P,” Levitan said in a statement. “It was at that moment I realized what a special event Dan had put together. This year’s event with Jelly Roll is raising money for two great organizations including another one I’m on the board of, the CMHOF, and I’m excited to help the event continue to grow.”

“The nonprofit Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is honored to be a beneficiary of the Nashville Bourbon Auction, and grateful to Daniel Weisman, Adam Sansiveri and AllianceBernstein for creating this opportunity,” Lisa Purcell, the Museum’s executive vice president of external affairs, said in a statement. “We’re pleased that Jelly Roll will be performing, knowing his music inspires empathy and builds community, much like the Museum education programs the event will support. In 2023, the Museum is on pace to serve over 130,000 people through more than 1,300 educational programs, and the sponsors, hosts and contributors to this event help make our work possible.”

Weisman adds that there are hopes to expand the event to other markets such as Los Angeles.

“Buffalo Trace, they are the pinnacle of having a bourbon partner on this,” he says. “The event structure is very repeatable because it mixes bourbon aficionados, music and business leaders in whatever market you are in, and you get this powder keg of people wanting to support a great cause and have a good time.”

Tickets are available at donorbox.org.