Kenny Chesney and songwriters celebrate “Knowing You” at No. 1 party

34th Number One for Kenny Chesney

By Preshias Harris

Kenny Chesney joined with friends and members of Nashville’s music business community to honor the writers of his 34th Number One hit, “Knowing You.”

It seems like forever ago, but Number One parties were a regular occurrence in Music City – sometimes several in a month – but concerns for the coronavirus put an end to the festivities.  For those gathered at The Sutler in Nashville on January 25, it felt like a chance to reconnect and celebrate together.

(L to R) Kat Higgins, Kenny Chesney, Brett James, Adam James. Photo credit: Alister Ann

Clay Bradley, Vice President of Creative at BMI Nashville, opened the proceedings saying that Number One parties celebrate the milestones in the lives of songwriters and there would be more such celebrations as the music industry returns to normal.

Released in March 2021 on Blue Chair/Warner Nashville, “Knowing You” was written by Adam James, Brett James and Kat Higgins, and produced by Chesney and Buddy Cannon.  It was the fourth single release from his 2020 album, Here and Now. The song marks the 26th Number One country hit for Brett and a first chart-topper for both Adam and Kat.

Continue reading “Kenny Chesney and songwriters celebrate “Knowing You” at No. 1 party”

The Y’all Show with Preshias, June 30, 2020

Gabby Barrett, Rascal Flatts, Caylee Hammack & Reba, Tenille Townes, Kenny Chesney … Jon and Preshias talk about that and more!

Livestreamed on The Y’all Show

Another edition of our weekly livestream of the Y’all Show hosted by Jon Rawl. Watch the entire episode here on the Y’all Show YouTube channel.

  • Gabby Barrett is Country’s ‘golden girl’ breaking records with her album Goldmine
  • Rascal Flatts set to release seven-track EP July 31
  • Blake Shelton’s Ole Red Orlando ‘virtual’ launch party postponed
  • Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum remains closed – for now
  • Reba joins Caylee Hammack on “Redhead” song and video
  • Tenille Townes (Lemonade Stand) & friends have “Big Hearts for Big Kids”
  • Kenny Chesney score 31st chart-topper with “Here and Now
  • A country music Q&A from my book I Know Country
  • …and more from this week’s Y’all Show With Preshias. Scroll down to read more

Gabby Barrett is Country’s new ‘golden girl’ as she continues to break records with her debut album Goldmine.  Among her achievements:

  • Gabby is the first-ever female artist with a Country song to log over 10 million on-demand streams in a single week with 11.3 million.
  • The ACM New Female Artist Of The Year Nominee has racked up nearly 400 million on-demand streams to date.
  • Gabby is the youngest artist to have a debut #1 in over two decades. 
  • Additionally, Goldmine breaks the first day Country streaming records on Amazon Music globally with first-day streams exceeding any other debut Country album ever.
Continue reading “The Y’all Show with Preshias, June 30, 2020”

Inside Track on Music Row September 2018

Tour updates, album releases, awards, music industry news and more

Scroll down for news on Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Scotty McCreery, Dan+Shay, Bill Anderson, Kenny Chesney, Charlie Daniels, LANCO, plus plenty more.

This is the September 2018 edition of my column, Inside Track on Music Row, the longest-running country music column in the USA. It is published in Nashville Music Guide and on websites around the world. Check out previous columns at Nashville Music Guide’s website   and at my ‘I Know Country’ website.

Send me music stuff, I love to get it! / Preshiaswriter@hotmail.com 

VERSE OF THE MONTH: ‘Let the word of God dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. –  Colossians (3:16)

Album News

Thomas Rhett’s latest album LIFE CHANGES has earned RIAA Platinum Certification, hitting the noteworthy sales mark less than a year from its release. An instant hit out of the gate, LIFE CHANGES debuted at No. One on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, marking the first Country release to take the top spot in 2017, also drawing a 2018 Grammy nomination for Best Country Album.

Resonating with fans, each of the album’s three singles have soared to the top of the charts, bringing Thomas Rhett’s No. One tally to 10. His latest Gold-certified hit ‘Life Changes’ is Top-5-and-climbing at radio, becoming his 12th song to earn an RIAA sales certification.  “I found out LIFE CHANGES went PLATINUM and the single was GOLD the same day I got to play Nissan Stadium at home in Nashville, so that was a really special moment for me,” Rhett said. More info at ThomasRhett.com.

Americana Music News

The AMA’s 18th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference will take place September 11-16, 2018 gathering thousands of artists, fans, and industry professionals from all over the world in Nashville, TN. It is a must-attend event for anyone who loves the melting pot of Americana’s influences including roots, folk, country, blues and soul-based music. Each year, AMERICANAFEST℠ brings together legendary artists, the next generation of rising stars, fans, and industry professionals for six days of music and education.

AMA receives enormous support from the Tennessee Department of Tourism, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC among others. AMERICANAFEST℠ will feature 500+ live performances at almost 60 of Nashville’s most prominent venues and much, much, more. The Americana Honors & Awards Show will take place September 12th at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. For more info on the Americana Music Association℠ and to become a member, visit the official website  Facebook  Twitter and Instagram.

Artist News

Continue reading “Inside Track on Music Row September 2018”

Music Row One Sheet October 1, 2018

Nashville Music News Roundup

Scroll down to read these Music Row One Sheet news items

  • Music Modernization Act inches closer
  • Irish artist Mags launches ‘Strong Enough’ radio tour
  • Garth goes ‘Triple Live’ with free album downloads
  • Randy Houser launches ‘Magnolia’ tour, new album
  • Kenny Chesney surprises one millionth fan
  • Listen to Preshias on Y’All Radio

Scroll down to read these Music Row One Sheet news items

Music Modernization Act inches closer

Some encouraging news for songwriters and publishers emerged a few days ago. The Music Modernization Act (MMA)  had passed the House unopposed but appeared to hit a potential roadblock as it moved toward a Senate vote.

In May, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced an alternative bill that conflicted with key parts of the MMA bill. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with the backing of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) has been negotiating with Sen. Wyden to reach a compromise. The RIAA stated that they have reached a ‘handshake’ deal with Sen. Wyden, according to an article in Billboard magazine posted August 28.

However, SiriusXM is still lobbying against the bill that would not require terrestrial radio stations to pay royalties on pre-1972 recordings. Earlier, proponents of the MMA – a bill that is seen as beneficial to songwriters and music publishers – overcame objections to the bill lodged by Blackstone, owners of SESAC and the Harry Fox Agency.

See the full report on Billboard’s website, here.

Irish artist Mags launches ‘Strong Enough’ radio tour

Mags McCarthy

Irish-born, singer-songwriter and international recording artist, Mags recently celebrated her debut at country radio here in the USA with the original tune ‘Strong Enough.’ Last week, Mags kicked off the first leg of her radio promotion tour making her way through the Midwest visiting radio stations in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Continue reading “Music Row One Sheet October 1, 2018”

Music Row One Sheet Mid-August 2018

Nashville Music News Roundup

Scroll down to read these Music Row One Sheet news items

  • Nashville Songwriter Awards set for Sept 19
  • Half of UMG up for sale
  • Kenny Chesney breaks Nashville attendance record
  • Dan+Shay toast No. 1 with Tequila Tuesday
  • R.I.P. Aretha Franklin
  • Catch these acts on tour
  • Preshias on Y’all Radio podcasts

Scroll down to read these Music Row One Sheet news items

Nashville Songwriter Awards set for Sept 19

The star-studded line-up continues to grow for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) annual Nashville Songwriter Awards presented by City National Bank.

This event is always a ‘must’ on my calendar as we show our appreciation and respect for Nashville’s incredibly talented songwriters. Country megastar and five-time CMA ‘Male Vocalist of the Year’ Blake Shelton, along with eleven-time GRAMMY nominated singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson and ACM, BMI, and CMT Award winning artist Scotty McCreery will participate in the evening dedicated to songwriters. They will join previously confirmed artists Bill Anderson, Chris Janson and LANCO.

Blake Shelton, Jamey Johnson, Scotty McCreery

Awards given will include Song, Songwriter, and Songwriter-Artist of the Year as well as the coveted ‘10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ awards. As previously announced, country legend Bill Anderson will receive the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award.  This year’s Nashville Songwriter Awards will take place on September 19, 2018 at 7:30pm at the historic Ryman Auditorium. More details and tickets available here.

Half of UMG up for sale

If you’ve got some spare cash laying around, here’s an opportunity:  Vivendi is looking for investors to buy 50% of Universal Music Group.  UMG includes: Capitol Music Group, Republic Records, Island Records, Def Jam, UMG Nashville and more.  UMG revenues were up 6.8 percent for the first half of 2018 compared to 2017 (although physical record sales and downloads were down). The 50% share could be worth around ten billion dollars, but would probably not require the new investment partner to come up with anything like that much cash. See a full report at Billboard here.

Kenny Chesney breaks Nashville attendance record

Continue reading “Music Row One Sheet Mid-August 2018”