Emerging artists Archives - Page 2 of 3

Mikayla Lane, rising teenage country star, signs with Brown Lee Entertainment

Mikayla Lane visits CMT with her next single, “Ambush”

By Preshias Harris

June is proving to be a busy month for emerging artist Mikayla Lane who is partnering with Red River Publishing and Brown Lee Entertainment ahead of her upcoming single, “Ambush,” set for release on July 29.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Brown Lee Entertainment and Red River Publishing!” Mikayla shared. “Dewayne has played such an important role in the development of many artists’ careers and I am honored to be next in line to learn and benefit from his industry expertise.”

*Mikayla Lane, center, with Dewayne Brown and Nancy Lee of Brown Lee Entertainment*

The folks at Brown Lee were equally excited to join forces with Mikayla and Red River Publishing and embark on releasing her new material. “When we first saw her perform at The Local, we knew right then and there she was exceptional. Her writing and performance skills swept me off my feet,” said Dewayne Brown.

Brown Lee is a fully functional independent record label and artist development company based in Nashville. Established in 2021, Brown Lee Entertainment specializes in artist development, digital marketing and more.

Written by Mikayla and John Conrad and produced by Jimmy Ritchey (Jake Owen, Clay Walker, Mark Chestnutt), “Ambush” brings a spunky, cowgirl-themed tale of unexpected love on the range and offers up a western-esque vibe.

Pre-save “Ambush” here.

Alyssa Bonagura taking off on “New Wings” and “Paper Airplane”

New single heralds upcoming album

By Preshias Harris

Hands up everyone who received their college diploma from Sir Paul McCartney? Anyone? Anyone? Step forward Alyssa Bonagura.

Attending the Paul McCartney Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts – and having the diploma placed in her hands by Macca himself – is just one of the notable moments in the unique career of Nashville-area native Alyssa Bonagura, an accomplished singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Her current release, “New Wings” is being followed by her newest song, the evocative “Paper Airplane.”

“It was three of the best years of my life,” said Alyssa, recalling her time in Liverpool. “I was looking for a school that specialized in music production, but I didn’t really find any in America that I was excited about. One day I was at a Christmas party with my parents and we met the English singer-songwriter Siobhan Kennedy who is from Liverpool. We were talking at the party and Siobhan said, ‘Have you heard of the Paul McCartney School?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me? Paul McCartney has a school?’ She told me about it and the next day I applied. I told myself that if I was accepted that I would go. Well, I got accepted and I received a full scholarship from Sennheiser, the German audio electronics company. It was such a blessing.”

This is one of a series of interviews conducted during the 2022 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Nashville.

‘Bad Boy’ Dakota Poorman shakes up country music scene

Single, “American Made,” cracks MusicRow chart; “Hippie @ Heart” set to follow

By Preshias Harris

A few decades ago, ‘Outlaw Country’ shook up the country music scene as personified by Waylon, Wille, Kris Kristofferson and David Allan Coe. Now along comes a new ‘bad boy’ of country music: Dakota Poorman who is happy to step outside the boundaries that surround many country artists.

‘New’ isn’t really the word to describe Dakota Poorman who has been earning his chops the hard way: playing gigs in bars and venues throughout the Northwest, surrounding his hometown of Maple Valley, Washington, and fronting the Dakota Poorman Band since 2010. However, he might be a ‘new’ name and a breath of fresh air in Music City.

This is one of a series of interviews conducted during the 2022 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Nashville.

Cranking up the excitement – and audiences – with what he describes as “Red, White and Blue Collar Country,” Dakota delivers his unique blend of country rock highlighted with banjo and fiddle that build on his influences as diverse as Travis Tritt, Bob Seger and The Marshall Tucker Band.

Elvie Shane, Cole Swindell, Scotty McCreery, Bobby Marquez, ACM Awards updates

Sneak peek at March edition of Inside Track on Music Row

Catch up with what’s happening with my monthly column, Inside Track on Music Row, the longest-running country music column in the USA. You can read the entire column when it is posted at Nashville Music Guide. Meanwhile, click here to read the full February 2022 column, complete with photos, graphics, music links and more, at NMG.

Scroll down for a sneak peek at some news items set for the March column, featuring Elvie Shane, Cole Swindell, western artist Bobby Marquez, songwriter Steve Dorff, Scotty McCreery, The upcoming ACM Awards, and the launch of Country Rebel Records…

Elvie Shane’s “County Roads” a ‘most added’ song at Country radio

On the heels of his No. 1 smash hit “My Boy,” Wheelhouse Records singer/songwriter Elvie Shane’s new single “County Roads” launched at country radio, and immediately became one of the ‘most added’ songs of the week. Co-written by Shane with Dan Couch and Oscar Charles, his new single is full of untamed energy, flying like an unguided missile of passion down “County Roads” and paints a picture of Shane’s early days in Grayson County, KY. Listen to “County Roads” here.

“The story in ‘County Roads’ is the American graffiti that painted my coming-of-age years,” shared Shane. “Knowing where you came from is important to understand where you are and where you could go. All the full throttle mistakes made, lessons learned, and good times had are equally important. The choice for next single was a no-brainer after showing my better sides with ‘My Boy.’”

The Gold-certified “My Boy” is taken from Shane’s just-released debut full length album, Backslider. Shane is currently on his first-ever headlining My Kinda Trouble Tour. Dates, tickets, music and more here.

Cole Swindell’s Stereotype set for April release

Grammy-nominated multi-Platinum superstar Cole Swindell will release his fourth album, Stereotype, on April 8. Stereotype includes Swindell’s milestone, 10th career, multi-week No. 1 “Single Saturday Night,” as well as his current fast-rising single, “Never Say Never,” with Lainey Wilson. Produced by Zach Crowell, Chris La Corte, Jordan Schmidt and Michael Carter, Stereotype highlights Swindell as a hit-making songwriter across the project.

Opry NextStage announces first artist in the Class of 2021

Hailey Whitters’ “12-year journey in a 10-year town”

By Preshias Harris

As the Grand Ole Opry gets back to entertaining full-capacity audiences, some rising ‘next generation’ stars will be taking the stage.

During a Zoom meeting on June 1, Jordan Pettit, the Director of Artist Relations for Opry Entertainment Group, announced the first artist to be part of the class of 2021 in the Opry NextStage program.

Pettit introduced Hailey Whitters, a singer-songwriter from Ville, Iowa. She recalled visiting the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 15. Backstage, she boldly went up to Little Jimmy Dickens and told him, “I’m going to be in country music someday.” Dickens told her to keep on saying it. Two years later, she moved to Nashville and played her first gig at Ri’chards Café in Little Creek, Tennessee. A few years later, she was back at Ri’chard’s, but this time she was waiting tables and keeping her dream alive.

As Pettit pointed out, Whitters is “now twelve years into a ten-year town” and the release of her album, The Dream, showed the depth of her creativity as an artist and a songwriter. In his introduction, Pettit described Whitters as “so vulnerable, bold, honest and raw.” Whitters said that being part of country music and performing on the Opry stage “was all I ever wanted to do.” She made her Opry debut on August 7, 2019 and will take the stage for the Opry’s Saturday show on June 5.

Josiah Siska is out to “Get a Girl” with new single

The country baritone voice that touches listeners’ hearts

By Preshias Harris

“For me, the greatest reward from performing is the satisfaction of realizing people in the crowd understand you,” says Josiah Siska, the Black River Entertainment recording artist and songwriter. He explains, “When I write songs, when I play my music or when I cut a song, it’s always something that I can relate to; a story from my life, something that I’ve lived or an experience, a mood or a love that I’ve felt.”

That’s also what draws Josiah to songs written by other songwriters such as “To Get A Girl.” It’s his current single written by Danny Myrick, Josh Ronen, and Landon Wall and released by Black River in early March 2021. Watch the official lyric video here.

“I’m not too great at communicating with strangers all the time,” Josiah admits, “But when I play my music on stage, the people in the crowd get to hear me. When they tell me that it’s good, I feel real good. That’s the most rewarding thing about being an artist for me.”

The Gwinnett, Georgia, native is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays electric, acoustic and classical guitar, as well as the banjo and piano. He was working at a Dacula, Georgia, golf club when he auditioned for Season 15 of American Idol, impressing the judges with his rendition of “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” It was the first big step on his musical journey.

Idol: A leap of faith

“It was kind of a blind leap, just blind faith,” he says of his decision to try out for Idol. “I went out to Hollywood by myself. I auditioned when I was seventeen, I turned eighteen when I got accepted on the show and I did it all on my own.”

Elvie Shane’s “My Boy” most added at Country radio

His love of stepson captures No. 1 spot on TikTok with #MyBoy

By Preshias Harris

Elvie Shane knows just how much dedication and hard work (and patience!) it takes to see one of your songs eventually begin to climb the charts. The Billboard Country Airplay chart for October 16 shows Elvie’s “My Boy” jumping in at No. 56. The song also tops Billboard’s “Most Added” chart that lists the songs added to the playlists of Country Radio stations nationwide.

Watch Elvie perform a ‘Live in Studio’ version of “My Boy” at YouTube here.

Due to the continuing corona virus, Elvie and BBR Music Group reimagined the traditional radio tour. The innovative approach involves customized, high-quality live-streamed, full-band performances and video chats, which deliver extraordinary experiences for the viewer and will likely become the model of radio tours for the foreseeable future. For six weeks straight, Elvie has performed roughly five full-band shows per day—miraculously maintaining his stamina, gaining believers and setting the bar high for future newcomers.

The song also leapt to No. 1 on TikTok’s Country chart with well over 775 million uses of #MyBoy and more than 1.5 million streams in the USA alone. You can see a few of the posted TikTok videos here.

No overnight success

*Elvie Shane wows the crowd at the 2019 CMA Fest. Photo credit: Catrina Engelby*

This achievement is no overnight success – either for “My Boy” or for Elvie himself. Growing up in rural Caneyville, KY, Elvie absorbed influences from the Gospel music of his church and the gritty rock music favored by his truck-driving dad.

He credits a professor at Western Kentucky University for encouraging him to develop his creative writing, but, much as he enjoyed listening to music it wasn’t an immediate career choice, particularly as he devoted his attention to providing for his wife and stepson.

After he watched the now-famous Chris Stapleton/Justin Timberlake duet at the 2015 CMA Awards, he saw that his voice and personal style of songwriting might find an outlet in country music. He started performing anywhere he could find a mic.

“One of the best singers I ever heard”

David Adam Byrnes lights up ‘Neon Town’

New album and single from a country artist on the rise

By Preshias Harris

Recently, I caught up with David Adam Byrnes, a singer-songwriter on the verge of major stardom with a new album, Neon Town, set for release in October.

I have known Arkansas-born David Adam for years, both as an industry friend and a fan of his music. I sent him a “12 Pack” of questions, and reading his answers (via e-mail) made me laugh and smile! It was definitely my dose of sunshine for the week.

But first, the big news about his new album. From a small-town Arkansas kid to a mainstream songwriting scholarship in Nashville to a return to his independent country music roots, David Adam Byrnes is making the scene in Texas with singles flying up the Texas radio chart.

On October 2nd, Byrnes released his new album Neon Town, and for several months its presence has already been felt with three back-to-back #1 hit singles. The very week the second single, “I Can Give You One,” hits #1 in Texas, the virus pandemic hits the world. Shows canceled, album release canceled…life as we know it, canceled. After months of shutdown David decided that the show must go on. On April 10th he released his new single “Neon Town,” the title track to the new album, and it has also reached the #1 spot.

“World Gone Mad” Josiah Siska’s timely song

The top-talent creative team behind the song

By Preshias Harris

It’s always good to hear new music from a (relatively) new singer, but when that new music is a song written by four respected Nashville songwriters – two veterans and two emerging stars – it’s certainly a newsworthy event. But here’s where it gets extra special for me. The creative team behind the song includes two long-time and much-loved friends of mine.

“World Gone Mad” is the new release from Black River Entertainment’s Josiah Siska. The song was produced by Black River’s Doug Johnson who co-wrote it with Dave Gibson, Walker Montgomery and Nick Sturms. Download/stream “World Gone Mad” here.

Doug Johnson

Hard to believe, but my friendship with both Doug and Dave goes back more than a quarter of a century! Doug is probably best-known for the Randy Travis mega-hit, “Three Wooden Crosses” (co-written with Kim Williams) that became the CMA, ACM, CCMA and NSAI ‘Song of the Year,’ as well as Lee Brice’s “Love Like Crazy”, a Billboard Song of the Year. As a producer and A&R exec, he’s worked with a “who’s who” of country music talent from Clay Walker and Joe Diffie to Blake Shelton and Kelsea Ballerini.

Dave Gibson

Dave Gibson is another Music Row stalwart who has been a long-time friend of mine. His list (a long list) of writing credits includes songs for Confederate Railroad (“Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind”), Alabama (“Jukebox on My Mind”), Montgomery Gentry (“Lonely and Gone”) plus big cuts on Conway Twitty, Pam Tillis, Steve Wariner and more. Dave’s latest project is The Waterhole Bunch, a show that premiered on ROKU TV Worldwide in August that he describes as “puppets and humans making music and mayhem.”

The Y’all Show with Preshias, June 30, 2020

Gabby Barrett, Rascal Flatts, Caylee Hammack & Reba, Tenille Townes, Kenny Chesney … Jon and Preshias talk about that and more!

Livestreamed on The Y’all Show

Another edition of our weekly livestream of the Y’all Show hosted by Jon Rawl. Watch the entire episode here on the Y’all Show YouTube channel.

Gabby Barrett is Country’s ‘golden girl’ breaking records with her album Goldmine
Rascal Flatts set to release seven-track EP July 31
Blake Shelton’s Ole Red Orlando ‘virtual’ launch party postponed
Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum remains closed – for now
Reba joins Caylee Hammack on “Redhead” song and video
Tenille Townes (Lemonade Stand) & friends have “Big Hearts for Big Kids”
Kenny Chesney score 31^st chart-topper with “Here and Now
A country music Q&A from my book I Know Country
…and more from this week’s Y’all Show With Preshias. Scroll down to read more

Gabby Barrett is Country’s new ‘golden girl’ as she continues to break records with her debut album Goldmine. Among her achievements:

Gabby is the first-ever female artist with a Country song to log over 10 million on-demand streams in a single week with 11.3 million.
The ACM New Female Artist Of The Year Nominee has racked up nearly 400 million on-demand streams to date.
Gabby is the youngest artist to have a debut #1 in over two decades.
Additionally, Goldmine breaks the first day Country streaming records on Amazon Music globally with first-day streams exceeding any other debut Country album ever.