Nashville’s Women’s Music Business Association marked it 25th Anniversary of uniting and celebrating Music City’s women on 12/2 at its 2024 Wonder Woman Awards ceremony.
The gala, held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, bestowed honors on a wide array of Nashville’s finest, including Rachel Rodriguez, performer/songwriter and CEO at RR Productions, who earned the 2024 Wonder Woman Award.
The evening’s other honorees included Katie Sundra, Lisa Smoot, Nikki Deaton, Rachel Mangan, Kelsey Roche and Aimee Graham.
"This year's WMBA Wonder Woman Awards was an extraordinary event acknowledging not only our members and their accomplishments, but also celebrating our 25th year of doing so," said Amery Fridenstine, chairwoman of the board. "Recognizing the influence of these incredible women in the industry alongside our current members and alumni in such an iconic space as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum made our 25th that much more special!”
Pictured: Rachel Rodriguez
During an advance listen of forthcoming new music from Brothers Osborne, UMG Nashville and Q Prime staff surprised the Grammy-winning duo with two plaques, commemorating their 2016 debut album Pawn Shop earning RIAA platinum certification and chart-topping single “Stay a Little Longer” becoming 3X platinum.
The pair is currently up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 67th Grammys with “Break Mine,” from their 2024 EP of the same name. Previously winning in this category, they took home their first Grammy in 2022 with “Younger Me” and have scored 13 total noms.
Seven-time CMA Award winners, they have also tallied seven ACM Awards and notched multiple RIAA gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications, all while surpassing 3b career streams.
Pictured actively ignoring our calls are (l-r) TJ Osborne, UMG Nashville’s Lori Christian, Q Prime’s John Peets, UMG Nashville’s Rob Femia, John Osborne and Q Prime’s Randi Tolbert.
Photo Credit: Chris Hollo
Lainey Wilson put an exclamation point on a great 2024 by renewing her longtime deal with Sony Music Publishing Nashville.
The CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year winner, who took home her first-ever Best Country Album Grammy in 2024 for Bell Bottom Country and got a 2025 nomination in that category for the Broken Bow release Whirlwind, has been with the pubbery since 2017.
Wilson said, “I couldn’t be happier to continue my partnership with Sony Music Publishing. I’ll always be a songwriter first and I appreciate having such a supportive team that agrees it all starts with the songs."
SMP Nashville VP creative Anna Weisband added, “Lainey Wilson is one of the most inspiring songwriters the world has ever known. She is continuing to redefine the country music genre with every song she writes.”
Brenda Lee’s halls have been decked with a slew of certifications and plaques from the RIAA and Spotify – all in honor of her enduring holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
The RIAA presented Lee with a 7x platinum cert for the song – the second highest cerfified Christmas title—song or album—in the organization’s history. Spotify, meanwhile, celebrated Lee for reaching 1b streams of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” the only holiday song by a female country artist to enter the streamer’s Billions Club. The song also stands at #1 on Spotify’s Top 50 US chart.
The UMG Nashville singer, who’ll celebrate her 80th birthday on 12/11, was also honored last week by Tennessee governor Bill Lee and Nashville-area state representative Jason Powell, who issued a proclamation naming the 1958 classic the state’s official holiday song.
Pictured (l-r): Spotify’s Gemma McInturff, Tim Foisset, Rachel Whitney. Brenda Lee.UMGN’s Cindy Mabe, Tatiana Angulo, Vipin Reddy, Derek Anderson
Mercury Nashville’s The War and Treaty have revealed their fourth full-length album, Plus One, will arrive 2/14. “Carried Away” serves as the project’s latest offering, which is featured alongside previously released songs "Can I Get an Amen," "Call You by Your Name," "Stealing a Kiss" and "Leads Me Home."
On top of the 18-track set, which follows their 2023 Grammy-nominated Lover’s Game, the husband-and-wife duo also announced The Plus One Tour. Hitting 30+ U.S. cities, the trek kicks off 3/26 and will hit venues like NYC’s Irving Plaza, DC’s The Howard Theatre, L.A.’s The Troubadour, plus more before wrapping on 6/19 in Bristol, TN. General ticket on-sale begins 12/13 at 10AM local time.
Mainly produced by Michael, Plus One features a singular sound with elements of gospel, bluegrass, contemporary country, classic soul, symphonic pop, folk-rock and more. Enlisting their longtime live band, the project was also partly made in collaboration with producers like Jonathan Singleton (Luke Combs, Chase Rice), John Shanks (Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow) and Jesse Frasure (Jelly Roll, Kelsea Ballerini).
“We see this record as an open invitation to be a part of what we’re doing—it came from wanting to be the hope we believe people need right now, as well as the hope that we need for ourselves,” said Tanya Trotter.
“One of our main intentions with this album is to inspire people to share themselves with others, and open themselves up to the possibility of being loved,” adds Michael Trotter Jr.
Pre-save Plus One here and find more info on the tour here.
Garth Brooks will give an up-close-and-personal performance of some of his classic songs on Amazon Music today (12/6), to celebrate the release of his Pearl Records collection The Anthology Part IV: Going Home.
Garth will be performing live from Caesars’ Palace in Las Vegas, where he just launched the last of his residency shows before the holidays. The Anthology, which compiles nearly 200 photos and six discs of music, details his years in Oklahoma raising his daughters and his welcoming Trisha Yearwood to the family.
The special performance will air live at Amazon Music starting at 7pm ET.
Girlilla Marketing founder/CEO Jennie Smythe is set to release her memoir, Becoming Girlilla: My Journey to Unleashing Good - in Real Life, Online, and in Others, on 4/15/25, via Resolve Editions/ForeFront Books (Simon & Schuster).
An unfiltered account of her path to becoming a digital marketing trailblazer, the book chronicles Smythe’s rise—from navigating early career uncertainty and battling breast cancer to building her Nashville-based firm, Girlilla Marketing.
Smythe, whose client roster includes Willie Nelson, Dead & Company, Darius Rucker, Blondie, Kristin Chenoweth, Vince Gill and more, blends raw grit with humor as she recounts her journey while offering practical insights on authenticity, resilience and creating meaningful connections in the digital age.
Additionally, Smythe also serves as President Elect of the Country Music Association and is on the boards of the CMA Foundation and Music Health Alliance.
“I bleed passion for what I do, who I represent and who I stand next to. And here’s the secret: there’s no secret. To be successful, you must go to work every day like it’s your first day on the job,” said Smythe. “I hope with my own story that I can save you some hassle. I hope that I can make you think, laugh and see your own story in mine… because we are all connected, online and offline.”
Becoming Girlilla is available for pre-order here.
From covering Country hits on TikTok to climbing DSP charts, 18-year-old Bayker Blankenship is making waves with his breakout debut single, “Maxed Out.” The track hit 100m+ streams, #2 on the Spotify Viral charts and #41 on Apple Music’s Country chart, while its music video—shot in his Tennessee hometown—has earned 12m+ views.
Over the weekend, Blankenship made his TV debut on CBS Saturday Morning, performing the viral hit and “Tennessee Sunset,” as well as debuting his forthcoming single “300 Miles.”
Blankenship will release his Double A-Side release "300 Miles”/"Blame It on Me,” on 12/11 via Lone Star/Santa Anna Records, while his second collaborative single with fellow rising star Waylon Wyatt is due in January. The pair’s recent duet “Jailbreak” is currently taking off on YouTube and TikTok.
“Bayker is one of the rare, special artists who possesses a pure, singular talent, matched only by his unaffected personality and big heart,” said Todd Moscowitz, CEO Lone Star/Santa Anna Records.
And to kick off what will surely be a busy year for the up and comer, Blankenship will hit the road on 1/15 for first national tour, which is nearly sold out.
Watch the music vid for "Maxed Out" below.
