Announced today, INTRODUCING NASHVILLE is the brand new international artist touring series, presented by the Country Music Association of America. A four-artist bill featuring some of North America’s most exciting established and up-and-coming artists – Brandy Clark, Devin Dawson, Lindsay Ell, and Tenille Townes – will take in five intimate venues across Australia, kicking off at Lismore’s City Hall on Monday 18th March, and continuing through Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
Designed to introduce current artists from Nashville to music fans around the world, the two-hour seated show will present artists on stage together, in a rare stripped-back environment. Mirroring a quintessential Nashville writers round, Introducing Nashville will see artists take turns to introduce their songs, sharing the stories behind the tracks, along with personal life and career experiences; these shows are an opportunity for Australian audiences to catch a unique glimpse into the lives and art of some of their favourite Nashville artists.
Punctuated by unrehearsed banter, and with each of the artists featured occupying different lanes musically, music lovers will come away from the evening having experienced a true cross-section of what is coming out of Music City right now.
“We are excited to invest in artists who are building international careers and to help place them in front of fans in multiple cities who seldom experience Nashville artists live,” said Milly Olykan, Vice President, International Relations and Development. “Launching the first Introducing Nashville tour with these distinct artists, each of which occupy such different lanes musically, illustrates the broad range of sounds coming out of Nashville and the Country genre.”
Hailing from Nashville, BRANDY CLARK received her first of an impressive six career Grammy nominations in 2013 in the Best Country Song category, co-writing the Miranda Lambert No.1 hit ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’. Shortly thereafter, Clark independently released her debut album, 12 Stories, which was embraced by music lovers and critics alike and garnered two Grammy nominations, along with Best Album commendations from the likes of The Boston Globe, New York Magazine, NPR, New York Post and more.
2016’s sophomore album, Big Day In A Small Town, garnered two Grammy nominations for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance, once again topping critics’ Best Of lists for the year, including NPR, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and Billboard, cementing Clark as one of Country Music’s most talented artists, beloved by fans, critics and fellow entertainers alike.
Breakout artist DEVIN DAWSON released his debut album Dark Horse, earlier this year, landing Top 5 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart on release. The record features Dawson’s current single ‘Asking For A Friend’, which he has recently performed on US television programs TODAY and Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Dawson has been recognised with multiple nominations this year including ACM’s New Male Artist, CMT’s Breakthrough Video of the Year and Radio Disney’s Best New Country Artist, among others. The Californian has received critical praise from outlets such as Billboard, Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly, People, ELLE, The Tennessean, AXS, HITS and more, recently touring with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, along with labelmate Brett Eldredge. His first headlining run, the Stray Off Course Tour, began in November and continues into 2019.
Lauded as one of “the most exciting and talented young artists in country music” (Forbes), LINDSAY ELL is a star on the rise. The Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has toured alongside the likes of Luke Bryan, Buddy Guy, The Band Perry and Keith Urban, as well as impressing audiences as Carrie Underwood’s guitar player live on The 50th Annual CMA Awards and holding her own alongside icon Melissa Etheridge on Skyville Live. This year alone, Ell exhilarated audiences as part of Brad Paisley’s Weekend Warrior World Tour, Sugarland’s Still The Same Tour and select dates of Keith Urban’s Graffiti U World Tour.
Ell’s first full-length album The Project debuted at No.1 on the Nielsen Soundscan Country Albums Chart, and was named Billboard’s Best Country Album of 2017. Her current single ‘Criminal’ was the most added song at U.S. Country radio upon release, becoming her first Top 20 hit in the US.
Up-and-comer TENILLE TOWNS is paving ground all of her own, touted as having the lyrical fortitude of Griffin or Lori McKenna, the soulful nature of Chris Stapleton or even Adele. Working on her debut album with acclaimed US producer Jay Joyce, Townes started her journey to becoming one of country music’s most promising new artists in her native rural Canada. Once settled in Nashville, Townes spent her days songwriting and her nights at guitar pulls or at the Bluebird Café, studying everything she could. Eventually, she scored a publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog and headed into the studio. Together, they tapped into her organic nature and her sheer ability to tell a story and emote it through the visceral range of her vocals – tender, bluesy, wise and full of wonder but never naive.