The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has revealed the first round of performers joining NSAI on September 20, 2022 at the Ryman Auditorium to take part in the 5th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards presented by City National Bank.

Announced performers include: PAT ALGER, TONY ARATA, BABYFACE, KENT BLAZY, JACOB DAVIS, GAYLE, HARDY, WALKER HAYES, JOSH JENKINS, MATT JENKINS, MATT MCGINN, THOMAS RHETT, MATT ROGERS, JENN SCHOTT, NATHAN SPICER, AND MATTHEW WEST, with additional appearances to be revealed soon. A night dedicated to those that create the music we all cherish, the spotlight will be shining bright on the beloved songwriter!

Tickets for the 5th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards presented by City National Bank, go on sale Friday, July 15, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. CT and can be purchased at ryman.com.

“City National Bank has long supported the music industry and we are honored to help present the 5^th annual Nashville Songwriters Awards,” said Diane Pearson and Lori Badgett, Co-Heads of City National Bank Entertainment Division, Nashville.  “We look forward to this fantastic lineup of performers and offer a special congratulations to Garth Brooks and Jon Platt for their invaluable contributions to the music industry.”

“You don’t want to miss NSAI’s upcoming 5^th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards,” NSAI Board President Steve Bogard declared.  “We’ll be celebrating the ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ awards, a category voted on exclusively by our pro members, as well as several other achievements and those writers and artists will fill the stage! There’s a lot to celebrate this year and our great songs and songwriters are at the top of the list.”

In addition to celebrating the ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ and the song, songwriter, and songwriter-artist of the year awards, the evening will also include segments honoring previously announced award recipients, GARTH BROOKS and JON PLATT (Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Publishing).

Charles Johnson recently announced the forthcoming release of his full-length album, The Ladder, due out July 22, and dropped one final instant grat today, “Gasoline.” This release will interest fans of all genres and walks of life with stories about growing up, finding and losing love, sobriety and more, there is something for everyone to connect with. The new single, “Gasoline” will be available to anyone who pre-orders the upcoming record. Pre-save The Ladder here!: https://lnk.to/CJTLAlbum

“This project is the culmination of years of writing and years of life. I couldn’t have asked for a better team: my co-writers, my band, my producer, and my FAMILY, in developing these songs, honing this sound and finding myself as an artist. The road is long and winding. I can’t wait to share it!” says Johnson.

Those local to the Nashville area are invited to The 5 Spot on Tuesday, July 19 at 6 P.M. for The Ladder Album Release Show with special guest Delaney Ramsdell. Charles will be playing the entirety of his new record which featured his previous released singles, “Busted Lip,” “Sedona,” “Even If I Get Over You” and “Coyote.” To stay up to date with Charles, please visit charlesjohnsonmusic.com

About Charles Johnson
Independent singer/songwriter, Charles Johnson, spent many years as a jack of all trades. From farmhand to bartender, he committed to earning a living to finance his dreams of becoming an artist. Despite these hardships, he has advanced to the next level of his career. Having grown up in Oakland, California, he garnered inspiration from artists such as Dave Matthews, Tom Petty, Counting Crows, Alanis Morisette, and Boys II Men in his formative years. The West and his cultural heritage play an important role within his musical creativity, with his Mother being born of Native American descent and also having spent much of his childhood on his grandfather’s reservation in Montana. His career began with the release of his first album, Everything I Know in 2015, followed by two EP’s; Cutbank in 2015 and The Ladder in 2019. He had begun to tour across the country and had plans to start a new musical project, but with the Covid 19 Pandemic, his efforts were brought to a screeching halt. Despite facing discouragement, he pressed on and emerged from the other side refreshed and reinvigorated, ready to share his new debut album, which he intends to release later this year. Preceding his album, he plans to release several singles, the first being “Coyote”, which was released in early March of this year and has already accumulated nearly 20 thousand streams. With this song, Charles recalls the struggle of finding one’s place in an industry that is unstable and unforgiving, yet persevering through it all. With his ability to express himself through different genres and styles, his music is still characterized by his honest expression, individual experiences, and vulnerability that reach people in a unique, relatable way. For more information, go charlesjohnsonmusic.com

 Whiskey Riff exclusively announced the news that the GRAMMY Award-winning Zac Brown Band is set to release a new version of “Wild Palomino” featuring their multi-platinum-selling labelmate, Cody Johnson (PRE-SAVE HERE). The track will be available everywhere July 15 and featured on their forthcoming deluxe version of The Comeback due this fall.

The deluxe album will also include their recently released collaboration with country superstar Blake Shelton on current single, “Out in the Middle” (LISTEN HERE). The chart-topping group recently performed the track on The Late Late Show With James Corden (WATCH HERE), as it nears Top 20 at country radio. Rolling Stone has described it as “a song of praise for the country lifestyle. With a swampy, rumbling groove…bolstered by the group’s layered harmonies and joyous fiddle runs.”

Earlier this month, GRAMMY.com caught up with all nine members for their “On the Road” series, captured at the GRAMMY Block Party in Nashville (WATCH HERE). The clip gives an incredible overview of what you can find on their current international “Out in the Middle Tour,” as well as strong insight into the band’s genre diversity in live cover performances. The band began the tour in South Carolina and will soon visit Boston’s Fenway Park, where they hold the record for most consecutive sold-out shows. The band recently performed to a crowd of nearly 30,000 fans at Truist Park in their hometown of Atlanta and are set to visit other iconic venues including Wrigley Field in Chicago this Saturday (7/9), Citi Field in New York (8/18) and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (11/4). For a full list of tour dates and to purchase tickets, please visit https://zacbrownband.com/pages/tour.

Upon release, The Comeback jumped to the No. 1 spot on the Current Country Albums Sales chart and was the Top New Country Album Release. Lead singer, Zac Brown boasts a co-writer credit on every song and also co-produced the entire record alongside frequent collaborator, Ben Simonetti.

About Zac Brown Band:

Zac Brown Band is a multi-platinum, GRAMMY Award-winning, Southern rock group led by front man, Zac Brown. Throughout their career spanning more than a decade, Zac Brown Band has had six consecutive albums reach the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and five consecutive albums debut at #1 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart. To date, the group has won three GRAMMY Awards, including Best New Artist in 2010, sold more than 30 million singles, 9 million albums, amassed over 10 billion catalog streams to date, achieved 16 #1 radio singles, and are the second act to top both the Country and Active Rock formats. Zac Brown Band has headlined 8 North American Tours and currently holds the record for most consecutive sold-out shows at the iconic Fenway Park. Since their debut, Zac Brown Band has developed a reputation with critics and fans alike as one of the most dynamic live performers, marked by strong musicianship that defies genre boundaries.

As revealed on People.com, critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Jenny Tolman and her husband, GRAMMY-nominated producer Dave Brainard are expecting their first baby.

People.com reported, the exciting news is revealed at the end of Tolman’s new music video for her song “Same Train As You,” a romantic track off her recent album Married in a Honky Tonk.

 To keep up with Jenny Tolman be sure to follow her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter and visit JennyTolman.com.

ABOUT JENNY TOLMAN:
Sweet yet sassy, vintage yet fresh, an old soul with a new vision and some incredible comedic timing, country music songstress Jenny Tolman is the breath of fresh air that the genre needs now. Having woven the incredible storyline of her life into her music thus far, Tolman has found a way to create albums which tie up all that life has handed her – both the good and the bad and the downright tragic – and makes it sound beautiful. On her new album Married in a Honky Tonk, Tolman brings a kaleidoscope of stories and emotions to the country music table with the swagger of a certified superstar.

Track is Featured on Forthcoming 12-Song, Show Dog Nashville Label Debut, I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen, Set for Release July 8

On the heels of announcing of her label debut, I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen, arriving July 8 via Show Dog Nashville in partnership with Thirty Tigers, singer/songwriter Kimberly Kelly releases another taste from the forthcoming album with her take on “Black Rose.” Listen HERE.

Produced by Brett Tyler, Kelly’s husband a hit songwriter himself with No. 1s like “Cold Beer Calling My Name” under his belt and written by Kelly’s friend and mentor Country Music Hall of Famer Billy Joe Shaver, her powerful take on the track closes out an album that unintentionally became a tribute to the late country music legend.

“Billy Joe was such an important part of my journey into music, and since we used his quote as the title of the album, it just seemed like we should end with one of his songs,” shares Kelly. “We listened to his entire catalog and just couldn’t decide what to cut. We landed on this one thinking we could tell it from Billy Joe’s point of view. He was strong in his faith, but also an outlaw. ‘The second time I done it on my own.’ I can relate to that line. Sometimes you do something again just because you want to.”

Kelly continues, “We put the voicemail he left me on the end of the track to bring it all the way around. When we started recording, I didn’t set out to make a tribute record to Billy Joe, but I love how this whole project came out and I will always love him.”

The latest track follows the release of nostalgic song-of-summer ready track, “Summers Like That” which left Billboard praising Kelly’s “warm, lifting voice” as well as “Blue Jean Country Queen” featuring Steve Wariner. Listen to both tracks HERE. Kelly also recently released a video for “Summers.” Directed by Tyler Barksdale, the video brings the song to life…capturing what young love looks like. Watch HERE.

Fans can catch Kelly this Tuesday, June 28, at 7 pm CT as she concludes her 3-week residency at Nashville’s legendary venue, The Basement. For more information visit, thebasementnashville.com.

A native of Lorena, Texas, Kelly spent years in both the Texas and Nashville music scenes earning an education in experiences that have made her both fearless in her approach to creating and unafraid to defy convention when it comes to industry expectations. Those years of hard work, all while also earning a Master’s degree and working fulltime, culminated last summer in a long-awaited record deal with Show Dog Nashville. Now she is set to make her label debut. Pre-order or pre-save I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen,HERE.

The album is already earning kudos including praise from legendary singer/songwriter and fellow Texan, Radney Foster, who shared, “If you like your Country music with fiddles and steel guitars, melodies that soar and a singer who unapologetically sings with a twang, you will love Kimberly Kelly. She’s a great songwriter and her timeless voice delivers power and emotion on this fun but often poignant collection. Don’t try to drive while you’re listening to ‘Person That You Marry.’ Don’t ask me how I know.”

Off stage Kelly possesses an inviting warmth mixed with sly self-deprecation, a winsome combo only earned with some life experience, self-awareness and nothing to prove on stage just the goods to stop a listener in their tracks. “This is not my first rodeo,” Kelly says of her Show Dog Nashville label debut. “I worked really hard in Texas before I came to Nashville. I wrote songs, put out records, did a radio tour, and played every weekend while going to school and working full-time.”

The album’s title, I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen, is a clever nod to her friend and fellow Texas musician, the late Country Music Hall of Famer, Billy Joe Shaver. The abbreviated quote comes from the better-than-fiction-true story of Shaver forcing his way into a Waylon Jennings recording session after the star tried to renege on recording some of his songs. Brushing off a $100 bill to go away, Shaver said to Jennings, “I’ll tell you what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna either listen to these songs or I’m gonna whip your ass.” Waylon agreed to listen to one. The rest is history in the form of Jennings’ 1973 Honky Tonk Heroes album, on which every song but one was written by Shaver.

“I landed on this album title on a dare,” Kelly says. “I was like, ‘Sure. What do I care?’ I did the Texas music scene, I’ve done time in Nashville, and I thought my time had passed when I got offered my record deal. My husband could keep writing songs and I’d just be a speech therapist. So I made this album like it’s the last one I’ll ever get to make and the title is my mantra so to speak. I love good songs, and I let the best ones win whether I wrote them or not. It’s a compilation I’m proud of, and I’m thrilled for people to hear them!”