Blake Shelton, who’s no stranger to country radio love, just had the single biggest radio add day of his career with the anthemic “Texas.”

The track, Shelton's first for Wheelhouse/BBR/BMG Nashville, dropped on 11/15 and racked up 156 adds, 149 of which are Mediabase reporting outlets, right out of the box. Shelton will take “Texas” to the stage of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday (11/20) for an interview and outdoor stage performance of the song.

Reflecting on the success, Shelton said, “I moved to Nashville the month after I graduated from high school to sing country music and hopefully get to hear one of my songs on the radio. After all these years, it’s still exciting, and thanks to fans for listening and coming out to shows. I can’t wait to play ‘Texas’ live!”

The star already has a full calendar for early 2025, starting with his Live In Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, which is set for 2/ 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15. His Friends And Heroes Tour, featuring support from Craig Morgan, Deana Carter, Trace Adkins and Emily Ann Roberts. will kick off at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on 2/27.

Pictured (l-to-r): BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville general manager Peter Strickland, BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld, Blake Shelton, BMG Americas president Jon Loba amd BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville EVP JoJamie Hahr.

Taylor Lindsey has been appointed chairman and CEO of Sony Music Nashville, a position she’ll assume in January of 2025.

In a corresponding move, Ken Robold has been named president and COO of SMN, reporting directly to Lindsey and overseeing operations of assets, including the Christian label Provident Entertainment. Meanwhile, Lindsey, who had served as the company’s head of A & R since 2021 , will report to Rob Stringer, chairman, Sony Music Group.

Prior to joining SMN in 2013, Lindsey worked in A&R at BMG Publishing where she represented Grammy-award winning songwriters such as Hillary Lindsey and Tony Lane.

In making the announcement, Stringer said, “I am very excited that we can promote a creative talent from within the company to this top position. She is ideally suited to plot the future for our Nashville team in a chapter where country music is clearly evolving and thriving as a key musical genre.”

Lindsey added, “Along with Ken and the incredible SMN team, we are committed to fostering collaboration with our artists, creators, and fans and will create a vibrant community that not only honors our rich heritage in storytelling but also redefines the sound of country music for generations.”

The Country Music Association has lined up an impressive array of presenter talent for this year’s CMA Awards, from country standard-bearers like Clint Black to decorated athletes like Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.

Hosts Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning will welcome an array of presenters, including CMA award winners Little Big Town, Mark Collie, Carly Pearce and the Oak Ridge Boys, the last of which are also members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The list also includes standouts from other fields, such as World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, Golden Globe and SAG Award winner Jeff Bridges and Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton.

Performers taking the stage for the 58th annual CMA Awards include of the biggest names in music, “The 58th Annual CMA Awards” is a must-see event. Artists taking the CMA Awards stage include Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Riley Green, Sierra Hull, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Noah Kahan, Ella Langley, Ashley McBryde, Megan Moroney, Kacey Musgraves, Post Malone, Shaboozey, Chris Stapleton, Teddy wims, Thomas Rhett, Molly Tuttle and Bailey Zimmerman.

“The 58th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, at 8 p.m. [ET] on ABC.

Ringo Starr returns to Music City for the first time in decades with the 11/15 release of “Thankful,” the first single from his country-steeped UMG Nashville debut Look Up.

The song, which also features Alison Krauss, is Starr’s sole co-write on the T-Bone Burnett-produced album, which is set for release on 1/10. His songwriting partner on the track is Bruce Sugar, who earned a Grammy nomination for his engineering work on the Beatles ‘Now and Then.

Ringo said, “I love this track. I wrote it with my producer and engineer Bruce Sugar and I feel we put an L.A. country sound to it. For the lyrics, I always like to focus on the positive, and for this song in particular, about what we can be thankful for. I hope it brings you some joy and peace and love.”

It’s not the first country rodeo for rock legend, who dipped his toes into the pool with tracks like “Don’t Pass Me By” and the Fab Four’s cover of Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally.” He went back to the well for his second solo album, 1970’s Beaucoups of Blues, which was recorded during a three-day session in Nashville.

Ringo will test-drive the new material when he rolls into Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on 1/14-15.

HITS is currently wondering if we can convert those old Beatle boots into cowboy boots in Ringo’s honor.

By Holly Gleason

Country has been at a crossroads for over a decade. When bro country started to seem like too much of a good thing, it was inevitable that something new would emerge, much like the new traditionalist boom of the ’80s. For a moment it looked like Nashville would go hick-hop. But if the 2025 Grammy nominations are any indication, there are two new world orders in country music.

Beyond the radio-driven, populist vibe that has propelled the lion’s share of today’s country stars, streaming has now become a force to be reckoned with. Lack of airplay on KPLX in Dallas, WBOS in Boston or WSM and WSIX out of Nashville will no longer knock you out of the game. Indeed, Beyoncé—who is represented in all four country categories as well as Best Americana Performance—didn’t need Country radio at all to have a seismic impact with COWBOY CARTER.

Shaboozey, who had existed outside the mainstream for a decade despite major-label releases as far back as 2017, hit the top of the Country radio charts, propelled in part by his streaming success. His “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” wasn’t just a cultural moment, it has also gained recognition across genres, notching Best New Artist and Song of the Year noms.

No one would’ve bet on Post Malone being this year’s “sweetheart of the rodeo.” But his unabashed love of the genre, deep historical knowledge of the artists and deep dive into various Nashville wells has made him the most popular guy on campus. Rather than worrying about carpetbagging, Academy voters loaded him up with nods for Best Country Album (F-1 Trillion), Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, both for “I Had Some Help,” his collab with fellow disruptor Morgan Wallen.

In addition, Malone joined Nashville expat Taylor Swift on “Fortnight,” which is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video, and with Queen Bey for “LEVII’S JEANS” in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Not bad for a guy who was on the Bonnaroo mainstage in a Dolly Parton short-pants/bowling-shirt combo six years ago.

The biggest merging agent may well be Jelly Roll. The hip-hop kid from Antioch, Tennessee, always had a taste for country. His WHITSITT CHAPEL invoked classic-era Merle Haggard, setting up the tattooed rapper to return the genre to its roots. His terrifyingly real “I Am Not Okay” deservedly pulled down Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance nods.

Jelly Roll harkens back to a kind of working-man’s country that was about tangled emotions, not a jacked-up truck or a black-out drunk. That porous kind of life that’ll give you splinters doesn’t always hit with people looking for low-hanging fruit, but it’s defined the genre’s legends (George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, even Tanya Tucker) for more than half a century.

That more classic approach to a songwriter-driven, hardship-and-hallelujah approach to life with classic turns of phrase and strong melodies has been inhabited over the last decade by progressive Texas songwriter and John Prine fave Kacey Musgraves and Kentucky’s bluegrass-steeped country-soul torchbearer Chris Stapleton. Musgraves pulled down Best Country Solo and Song mentions for “The Architect,” picked up Country Album for Deeper Well and Best Americana Performance for her turn on Madi Diaz’s “Don’t Do Me Good,” while Stapleton snagged nominations for Country Solo Performance for “It Takes A Woman” and Album for Higher.

Freight-train newcomer Lainey Wilson, who’s riding a two-year breakout, earned a single Country Album nomination for Whirlwind, but in a year with less strength from non-Nashville artists she might well have had several nominations.

The Duo/Group category has become a haven for top country names looking to stretch out: Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay and Malone with Morgan Wallen, Kelsea Ballerini’s duet with rootsy pop chart-topper Noah Kahan on “Cowboys Cry Too” and Beyoncé’s pairing with Miley Cyrus on the yearning “Shotgun Rider” create space for hybrid exploration, space that may yield even more intriguing music.

While Nashville is embracing more folks from outside Music Row, the city’s denizens are also reaching into categories outside the typical country confines. With Ian Fitchuk nominated for Producer and Jessie Jo Dillon and Jessi Alexander both vying for Songwriter of the Year, it makes sense that country’s impact is leveling up. Twisters: The Album, which leaned country, is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, and Luke Combs’ “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” finds itself competing for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Additionally, June, the documentary devoted to June Carter Cash’s life and music beyond her storied love affair with husband Johnny, is nominated for Best Music Film. The second generation of the first family of country music’s story competes with American Symphony, Run-DMC, Little Steven Van Zant and the doc that explores the recording of “We Are The World.”

Sometimes it’s not what you say, it’s what you do. Sometimes inclusion isn’t something that needs touting. This year’s Grammy ballot sure looks like that shift is happening. Hard to believe, and yet most things eventually find their way to where they ought to be.

Canadian-born songwriter Brock Phillips has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Big Loud Publishing /Local Hay.

Phillips, a Berklee School of Music grad, relocated to Nashville from Vancouver earlier this year to ply his trade in Music City’s competitive writing pool, working with peers like Wyatt, Regan Stewart and others.

Big Loud Records A & R SVP Sara Knabe said, “Brock’s first writing trip to Nashville was such a success we knew we wanted him to move here ASAP. He is a perfect addition to our writing roster. You’ll be hearing his songs soon and for years to come.”

Local Hay president Scott Cooke added, “The first time I heard Brock’s songs I knew there was something special and unique about him. We are so proud to have him on the roster and can't wait for everyone to hear what he’s working on.”

Pictured (l-to-r): Michael Giangreco (VP of A&R, Big Loud Publishing), Kimberly Gleason (SVP, Big Loud Publishing), Brock Phillips, Scott Cooke (President, Local Hay Records), Sydney Burdette (Creative Manager, Big Loud Publishing), Sara Knabe (SVP of A&R, Big Loud Records)

CAA and client Niko Moon joined Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville’s Music Row Build on Friday (11/8). The annual event plucks several country music artists to help create affordable housing for those who work in the music industry.

“We are incredibly proud of our newly formed partnership with Habitat for Humanity and are committed to leveraging our resources to create positive impact within the community,” CAA’s Katie Anderson previously shared. “This partnership will make a significant difference for those working and living in Nashville and for the artists and musicians who are integral to Nashville, the music community, and CAA, ensuring they have access to quality, affordable housing."

Pictured wishing they could dig a hole to shove us in are (l-r) CAA's Marc Dennis, Moon and CAA's Brian Manning.

Warner Music Nashville is going honky-tonkin’ with new signee Braxton Keith.

The 23-year-old Texan’s label debut single, “Fall This Way,” is out now, paving the way for his first EP, Blue, which is set to drop on 12/6.

Discussing his style, the singer-songwriter said, “There’s something romantic about the country music scene in Texas – it’s that connection with that crowd. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, whether it’s an old raggedy bar or wherever the hell you are, they’re going to show up, and I fell in love with creating moments with those fans.”

Keith, who’s managed by by Alex Torrez and Emily Vincent at Torrez Music Group and represented by Andrew McWiliams at Evergreen Artist Group, next hits the stage as a headliner at The Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio on 11/14. He’ll also open a run of dates of Cody Johnson’s Leather Tour, starting on 11/15 at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.

Pictured: (Back Row,l-to-r): Patrick Worstell (Director of Marketing, WMN), Cris Lacy (Co-Chair/Co-President, WMN), Victoria Mason (SVP Marketing & Analytics, WMN), Patrick Sabatini (SVP Legal & Business Affairs, WMN), Mason Domke (A&R, WMN)

(Front Row, l-to-r): Alex Torrez (Torrez Music Group), Braxton Keith, Emily Vincent (Torrez Music Group), Stephanie Davenport (VP A&R, WMN)