Nashville Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The tide of Black women in country is a phenomenon that much of the world has suddenly become aware of, thanks to Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” and the lesser-known artists being championed through guest slots on the album. Does this mark the true signal change that advocates for diversity in country have long dreamed of? Or is the real progress within the ranks of the music industry that could allow young Black country artists so lacking that the current excitement might be destined to go down as a glorious blip? These were among the topics of a presentation by the Black Music Action Coalition at Live Nation’s Beverly Hills headquarters Wednesday, with Mickey Guyton, songwriter-artist INK (who is a key contributor to “Cowboy Carter”) and academic researcher Dr.

Lexi Carson Nearly a month after Queen Bey dropped her record-breaking album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé‘s documentary “Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance” is now available to stream Max. The documentary is produced by CNN FlashDocs and will highlight how high-profile artists like Beyoncé and Lil Nas X challenge the country music genre, and how their impact connects to the history of Black artists in Nashville. Released on March 29, “Cowboy Carter” is Beyoncé’s eighth solo studio album.

Porter Robinson has announced a massive world tour that will see him perform across five continents in 2025 – see the full list of dates below.The tour announcement, which was made by the producer-DJ-singer via social media, comes shortly after Robinson announced his third studio album ‘SMILE! :D’, which will be released on July 26 via MOM+POP Records. So far, he has also shared the singles ‘Knock Yourself Out XD’ and ‘Cheerleader’ as a preview of the album, which you can pre-order here.The upcoming tour will kick off in late August, and will run until March next year.

Billy Porter is joining the list of celebs who will NOT be in attendance at the upcoming 2024 Met Gala!

Thania Garcia Música Mexicana artist Carin León has announced his international “Boca Chueca Tour,” slated for this fall. León will kickoff the trek later this year after making debut appearances at both Coachella and Stagecoach. The “Boca Chueca Tour” will hit major cities across North America and Europe, including a night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, two nights at the United Center in Chicago, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, and BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Have Taylor Swift fans tracked down the statue referenced in thanK you aIMee?

Louis Tomlinson is going live with LIVE!

Thania Garcia Kanye, aka Ye, and Ty Dolla $ign have confirmed May 3 as the new release date for “Vultures 2,” the sequel to their Billboard 200-topping album. The album, originally slated for a March 8 release, will include the pre-existing “Let Me Chill Out,” a single featuring Rich the Kid and NBA Youngboy and the late Migos member Takeoff. Kanye revealed the “Vultures 2” release date news during a recent appearance on Justin LaBoy’s “The Download” podcast.

Victoria Beckham is officially 50 years old, and the former Spice Girls member had what looks like one of the most epic parties of 2024. Held in London, the businesswoman was surrounded by her family, closest friends, and husband, David Beckham, who gave her a piggyback ride out of the exclusive members club, Oswald’s, when it was time to go home.With famous names like Tom Cruise and Salma Hayek, in attendance, it seemed like all her closest friends were there.

Holly Gleason There used to be a joke in old-school country music: How many girl singers does it take to sing Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”? The punchline was always an eye-rolling “All of them.” It spoke to the ubiquity of Cline’s influence, as well as the tired renditions of Willie Nelson’s torch lament every “chick singer” clung to. Back in those pre-internet days, Cline’s ubiquity was word-of-mouth, but deeply felt.

EXCLUSIVE: The Daniel Hoff Agency has hired former KMR agent, Kate Lackey, in the firm’s Atlanta office.

Variety curates a list of the top film school programs across North America. From universities that are as old (or older) than the moving picture itself, to budding programs, the schools on this list collectively offer an impressive array of educators, facilities and lessons to be learned. Countless alumni from these programs have become legendary names in the industry.

More details have emerged in the case of Blaise Taylor, the football star accused of poisoning his pregnant girlfriend.

died by suicide in February 2023, the country star performed for the first time since his death on Monday night.The occasion for her triumphant comeback was the “Walkin’ After Midnight” tribute to Patsy Cline at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium.“How we doin’ tonight, y’all? I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m incredibly nervous right now,” she said in a video shared via TikTok while addressing the crowd. “It’s been the first time I’ve been up on stage in a while.”To make it even more of an emotional moment, the 2006 “American Idol” alum even sang a song that she co-wrote with her late husband: “The Woman I Am.”“My husband and I actually wrote this song together, gosh, over a decade ago,” she said.

Kellie Pickler is back.

Paul McCartney & Wings are set to release their 1974 live studio album ‘One Hand Clapping’ for the first time.The album was recorded back in August 1974, while the band were enjoying their seventh week in a row at the top of the UK album charts with ‘Band On The Run’. It was recorded when McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the recording of a documentary and possible live studio album – ‘One Hand Clapping’.Filmed across four days and directed by David Litchfield, the album was never officially released despite overwhelming demand, although various bootleg versions emerged over the years.Set to arrive on June 14, the upcoming version of the LP marks the first time in 50 years that it has received an official release.“’One Hand Clapping’ showcased Wings‘ new line-up, fresh off their return from Nashville where they recorded the classic single ‘Junior’s Farm’,” read a press release.

Johnny Cash, titled ‘Songwriter’, will be released later this year – check out the single ‘Well Alright’ below.The recordings are taken from a series of sessions the country legend played in a Nashville studio in 1993, but which have been shelved ever since.Now, Cash’s son John Carter Cash has unearthed the recordings, isolated the original vocals and recruited a group of Cash’s former bandmates to create the new set of songs.‘Songwriter’ will be released on June 28 via Mercury Nashville/UMe, and you can pre-order it here. Check out the first song to have been released from it, ‘Well Alright’, below:At the time of the original recording sessions, Cash was between contracts, but the tracks were put to one side after he met Rick Rubin and embarked on the now-legendary ‘American Recordings’ series of albums.After coming across the tracks, John Carter Cash and producer David ‘Fergie’ Ferguson brought together musicians including guitarist Marty Stuart, bassist Dave Roe, drummer Pete Abbott, to the ‘Cash Cabin’ in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where the tracks on ’Songwriter’ finally came together.The album is comprised of 11 Johnny Cash originals, one of which, ‘Spotlight’, will feature a guitar solo from The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.In other Johnny Cash news, Paul McCartney recently credited him for inspiring him to form Wings.“We were in bed one night,” he said, “newly married, when Johnny Cash came on the telly with a new band he’d formed with Carl Perkins, a big hero of mine.

Gary Goodman has signed a new multi-year deal to continue in his role as exec VP of worldwide production. He’ll continue to oversee production on the studio’s slate of scripted series as well as East Coast television production facilities in Yonkers, N.Y., Atlanta and a new site opening soon in Newark, N.J.

Antonela Roccuzzo and Lionel Messi were partying this weekend. The pair attended Bresh party, in Miami, alongside Inter Miami fellow teammate and friend Luis Suarez and his wife Sofia Balbi.Messi celebrates his ‘princess’ Antonela Roccuzzo’s 36th birthdayLionel Messi helps Inter Miami acquire various important partnershipsA post shared by BRESH (@bresh)Photos show Roccuzzo and Messi posing for the camera, standing in front of a big pink teddy bear. Roccuzzo is seen looking at Messi while he looks at the camera.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic More than 20 years after his death, there are treasures in the Johnny Cash vault that have remained unmined, despite assumptions that everything interesting might have been brought into the light in the posthumous recordings that came out in the years following his 2003 death. On June 28, Universal Music will issue “Songwriter,” a collection of 11 previously unreleased recordings that Cash demo-ed in 1993, all of them self-penned originals.

Range Media Partners has secured a minority investment from a group including Liberty Global and TPG founding partner David Bonderman’s family office Wildcat Capital Management.

a press release.“The (surviving) 29-year-old victim reported the group was hanging out cordially for some time before the three suspects attempted to rob his group of friends,” police said. “It was then that he heard gunfire and realized he was struck.”The surviving victim has not been publicly identified by police.

Drew Afualo and her Two Idiot Girls podcast co-host, Deison Afualo, are embarking on a summer comedy tour. The Loud Tour will travel across the U.S. and make stops in 21 cities, supporting her first book, Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve.

American Idol is set to pay tribute to the late Mandisa, a Season 5 contestant in the singing competition.

Shucked, the Broadway musical she co-wrote with longtime collaborator Shane McNally.“[It] was really, honestly incredible to be nominated across three genres, with country, Americana, and musical theater,” she says.These days, Clark feels pretty well embraced by the country music industry. She’s part of an unprecedented wave of LGBTQ performing artists in Nashville, a lineup that includes TJ Osborne of Brothers Osborne, Orville Peck, Lily Rose, Brooke Eden, Allison Russell, and, of course, Carlile.Clark had established herself as a top-notch songwriter for hire in Nashville long before she launched a recording career.“When Kenny Rogers recorded a song of mine called ‘She’ll Believe You,’ that was a massive pinch-me moment,” Clark says.

Katcy Stephan Liberty Global and the family office run by TPG chairman David Bonderman have made a minority investment in Range Media Partners as the management and production firm brings in new capital to drive growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. The investment will help the four-year-old Range solidify its operations in the U.S. while allowing it to grow in new markets.

being arrested in Nashville nearly two weeks ago.Fans donned ponchos amid the downpour as they packed into the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, Saturday night for the 30-year-old singer’s concert.Ahead of the show, inclement weather was predicted for the area over the weekend. Despite online speculation that the show might be canceled, Morgan’s concert, which was the latest stop on his One Night at a Time World Tour, went ahead as scheduled.Wallen’s performance followed opening acts by Bailey Zimmerman, Lauren Watkins and Nate Smith.The show also marked his return to Ole Miss after last year’s mishap when Wallen abruptly canceled his performance after the opening acts had already finished and just minutes before he was slated to take the stage.

Morgan Wallen broke his silence Friday, nearly two weeks after he was arrested in Nashville for allegedly throwing a chair off a rooftop bar. The country star took to X, formerly Twitter, to denounce his actions while reassuring fans his One Night at a Time tour will continue as planned. "I didn't feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks," Wallen wrote on social media.

American Idol and Grammy award-winning singer Mandisa has died age 47.The star was found deceased at her home in Nashville on 18 April, with the details surrounding her death yet to be determined, according to The People.The singer, whose full name was Mandisa Lynn Hundley, was a standout contestant on the fifth season of American Idol and went on to find huge access in the Christian music scenes. She is being remembered for her "huge heart" and incredible talent. A tribute from Christian radio station K-Love said: "Even more than her music, the Platinum-selling singer will forever be known for her huge heart and sincerity.

Morgan Wallen has apologized for his arrest in connection with a chair-throwing incident from the roof of a Nashville bar.

Jordan Moreau Mandisa, the Grammy-winning Christian singer who began her career on “American Idol,” was found dead in her Nashville home on Thursday. She was 47. “We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased,” her representative confirmed to local outlet The Tennessean.

Kings Of Leon have shared their new single ‘Nothing To Do’ – check out the video to the song below.The third single is the latest taster of the Nashville band’s ninth album ‘Can We Please Have Fun’, which is due for release on May 10 (pre-order here). It follows previous singles ‘Split Screen’ and ‘Mustang’.The band have shared a hand-held video for the track which was directed by the band and Casey McGrath, with frontman Caleb Followill shooting it in one take.The raucous song sees Followill sing: “I’m a man on a mission of going insane / There’s a gold in the breeze / It’s running in your hair/ Is it in my head is neither here nor there / And a picture framed of the day we met / It’s a mystery/ How could i forget that you/ You want nothing to do with love.”According to a press release, the track “delves into their post-punk sound with its jagged guitar riffs and propulsive drumming.”The upcoming album – the follow-up to 2021’s ‘When You See Yourself’ – has been produced with new collaborator Kid Harpoon.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The troubled Hipgnosis Songs Fund, whose former CEO Merck Mercuriadis drove up the value of music catalogs with more than $3 billion in acquisitions before overspending and problematic management caused the company to lose more than half of its value, has agreed to a $1.4 billion sales to Nashville-based Concord, the companies announced in the early hours of Thursday. The catalogs involved include assets by Neil Young, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira and others.

Riley Strain’s family is beyond upset by the “appalling” behavior of his fraternity brothers after he went missing.

and combo.“Not all are equal,” says , a professional makeup artist in Nashville. “Prepping your skin with great skin care is the best way to ‘prime’ your skin for makeup.” What’s more, a lot of primers that double as sunscreen don’t actually contain enough SPF to adequately protect you from the sun’s UVA and UVB rays.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Fremantle is to handle worldwide sales on country music feature documentary “Rebel Country,” which will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film looks at a new breed of stars who are rewriting the rules and challenging the culture of country music.