BIG DEAL TURNS THREE: PASS THE HAGGIS

Kenny MacPherson’s Big Deal Music recently celebrated its third anniversary, and sent out a notice to friends and colleagues noting the benchmark (with a link to a Spotify playlist of BDM tunes). More than a few recipients who skimmed the note—or just saw the subject line—assumed that (a) there’d been a party and (b) they hadn’t been invited. In fact, Kenny and team just wanted to mark the occasion and share some songs, not to, ahem, make a Big Deal about it.

But the charming transplanted Scotsman’s young pubco does have a lot to celebrate, including a brace of Nashville smashes, writers on new tracks by One Direction, Rachel Platten, Nick Jonas, Shawn Mendes and Thomas Rhett, among many others, new music from My Morning Jacket, a strong year for St. Vincent and plenty more. Maybe a party is in order.