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The Good No. 1s: Warner/WAR's Gabby Barrett (l) celebrates the platinum (5x) certification of "The Good Ones” and “I Hope” (9x) with the label's Cris Lacy at yesterday's (3/18) Warner luncheon.
Suite Dreams: West To The Rest/Triple Tigers' Ian Munsick with WHKO/Dayton's Nancy Wilson at CRS.
Friends In Lo Places: KKBQ's Lauren "Lo" Sessions-Barker with Wheelhouse's Blake Shelton (l) and Big Loud's Hardy at CRS '26.
Pre Haw: Sony Music Nashville’s Zach John King at the label's PreRS event at Losers. Pictured are Ken Robold, Larry Santiago, Christy Garbinski, Dan Nelson, Dennis Reese, King, Jansen Morgan, Bo Martinovich, Ali O’Connell, Anna Widmer, Nicole Walden and Mallory Michaels.
What Kinda Fan: MCA's Parker McCollum unveils the ACM Radio Award winners for On-Air Personality and Radio Station of the Year during CRS '26. Pictured (back, l-r) are WUBE/Cincinnati's Jesse Tack, WYCT/Pensacola's Brent Lane, the ACM's Damon Whiteside, McCollum, CRB's RJ Curtis, KSCS/Dallas' Mike Preston and Al Farb and WLFP/Memphis' Chris Michaels; (front, l-r) WUBE's Anna Marie, KFRG/Riverside's Heather Froglear, KEEY/Minneapolis' Chris Carr and WUSY/Chattanooga's Greg "StyckMan" Owens.
Signage: Singer/songwriter Hadlie Jo signs with Sony Music Publishing Nashville in partnership with Whitney Daane's Great Daane Music. Pictured (front, l-r) are SMPN's Rusty Gaston, Hadlie Jo and Daane; (back, l-r) SMPN's Cam Caldwell and Chelsea Kent.
Get To Tyin': Sony Music Nashville's Zach John King (l) gifts Music Choice's Jim Murphy a custom tie during a label event in Nashville Tuesday (3/18).
All I Do Is Wind Wind Wind No Matter What: Col. NY/Triple Tigers' Ella Langley celebrates No. 1s "Weren't For The Wind" (top) and "Choosin' Texas" at BMI/Nashville. Pictured at top (l-r) are Triple Tigers’ Kevin Herring, Sony Music Publishing’s Rusty Gaston, SMACK’s Sam Sarno, songwriter Johnny Clawson, Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart, Langley, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, songwriter Joybeth Taylor, Verse 2 Music’s Kent Earls, Columbia Records’ Joe Gallo and BMI’s Clay Bradley. At bottom (l-r) are Herring, Gaston, Gallo, Earls, Roberts, Barnhart, Bradley and, in front, Taylor, Langley, songwriter Miranda Lambert, songwriter Luke Dick and Little Louder’s Arturo Buenahora.
Give Heaven Some Hello: Big Loud's Hardy with Audacy's Greg "Styckman" Owens (top) and WUSY/Chattanooga's Cowboy Kyle at CRS '26.
State Of The Art: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum celebrate the opening of American Currents: State of the Music. Pictured (back, l-r) are Muscadine Bloodline's Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton, Vince Gill, Bailey Zimmerman, BigXthaPlug, Charlie Handsome and the CMHoF's Kyle Young; (middle, l-r) Barry Bales, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, Farm Aid's Shorlette Ammons, I'm With Her's Sarah Jarosz and Brandon Lake; (front, l-r) Michael Cleveland, Jason Carter, Stephen Wilson Jr., Carter Faith, Georgette Jones, Kaitlin Butts and the Opry's Dan Rogers.
Maximillion: Max Media/Cape Girardeau, MO raises more than $165,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital during a recent radiothon. Pictured (l-r) are Mike Renick, Rachel Cook, Kirby Ray, Jack Swart, Marcia Meuir and Tommy Dawson.
Wilde As Her: RCA's Corey Kent at WUBL/Atlanta's pre-St. Patrick's Day Green Solo Cup. Pictured (l-r) are iHeart's Rod Phillips, Kent, the station's Jill Strada and the label's Ali O’Connell.
Jeanealogy: Mercury's Jacob Hackworth performs for the WHKO/Dayton staff. Pictured (l-r) are the label's Jack Christopher, the station's Nancy Wilson, Hackworth and the station's Aaron “Woody” Woods.
Remember The Alamoroney: Columbia's Megan Moroney and Mercury's Tucker Wetmore play KSCS/Dallas' Texas Independence Jam. Pictured (top, l-r) are SMN's Mallory Michaels, the station's Mike Preston, Moroney and the station's Al Farb and Jessica Mackenzie-Williams; (bottom, l-r) Mercury's John Trapane, Wetmore and Preston.
YeeDM: Broken Bow's Dustin Lynch takes his DJ set to Atlanta for WUBL's Green Solo Cup Party. Pictured (back, l-r) are the Bobby Bones Show's Eddie Garcia and Stephen “Scuba Steve” Spradlin, WSIX's Ryan McKiddy and iHeart’s Rod Phillips; (front, l-r) the station's Angie Ward and Kristen Gates, Lynch, the Bobby Bones Show's “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Morgan Huelsman and Amy Brown and the station's Jill Strada and Mishelle Rivera.
Steers To The Summer: Triple Tigers' Russell Dickerson plays Rodeo Houston. Pictured (l-r) are the label's Julianna Vaughn, KILT's Chris Huff and Bruce Logan, Dickerson and KKBQ's Andy "Riggs" Riggle and Jarrett Huff.
British Airwaves: Col. NY/Records Nashville's Ty Myers visits BMI's London office. Pictured (l-r) are BMI’s Jon Miller and Jackson Kiger, Myers and BMI’s Anu Gantumer.
The newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame are: in the Modern Era Artist category, Tim McGraw; in the Veterans Era Artist category, The Stanley Brothers; and in the Songwriter category, Paul Overstreet. Details regarding induction at the annual Medallion Ceremony will be forthcoming.
iHeartMedia WNOE/New Orleans PD Casey Carter has added WQIK/Jacksonville programming duties. She succeeds Scot "Froggy" Langley, who remains with the company's Elvis Duran Morning Show and WQIK's The Big Show. Additionally, WAVW/Ft. Pierce PD Heath West is taking over WQIK afternoons. He's held the WAVW PD position since 1999. Carter has been with iHeartMedia since 2012.
Also announced this afternoon at CRS '26, Academy of Country Music Radio Award winners for the 61st ACM Awards include ...
National Daily and National Weekly Personality honorees will be recognized during the New Faces Show Friday (3/20).
Marci Braun, Chris Carr, Michael J, Phil Hunt, Rick Jackson, Bruce Logan and John Marks are the 2026 inductees into the Country Radio Hall of Fame, as announced today (3/18) during CRS in Nashville. KEEY/Minneapolis morning host Carr; WPOC/Baltimore morning host and WMZQ/Washington, DC midday host Michael J; and Rick Jackson's Country Classics host Jackson are the on-air inductees. Audacy Central Regional Brand Mgr. Braun, Consultant and Hunt Media Pres. Hunt, Audacy/Houston VP/Programming Logan and former Spotify and SiriusXM Head/Country Programming and terrestrial radio veteran Marks earned their places in the radio category.
The inductees will be honored Aug. 3 during a ceremony at the Virgin Hotel Nashville. The Country Radio Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the radio industry over a 20-year period, 15 of which must have been spent in the Country format.
Morris Higham President/Partner Clint Higham, Country Music Hall of Famer Kenny Chesney, former Warner Music Nashville Chair John Esposito and Big Machine EVP/GM Kris Lamb have formed Nashville-based Hey Now Records, with Chesney as the label's flagship artist. Lamb serves as President, while Esposito describes his role as "co-founder, advisor, mentor and cheerleader for Kris." Higham, CMA's Manager of the Year and longtime manager for Chesney, says, "In today’s flooded marketplace, Espo, Kris Lamb and I looked at this moment and saw an opportunity to super-serve a handful of talented developing and established artists." Adds Chesney, "Creating and exploring what’s possible inspires me, and this is a moment where we can realize ideas in a matter of hours." The label is named for a boat Chesney owned, memorialized in the song "Happy On The Hey Now." Details on staff and further signings will be forthcoming. Reach Lamb here.
MCA/Nashville VP/Promotion Miranda McDonald and Mercury VP/Promotion Jimmy Rector have been promoted to SVP/Promotion & Regional Marketing for their respective promotion teams and rosters. "Miranda and Jimmy are two of the most trusted and respected leaders in Country radio," says MCA SVP/Promotion & Touring Damon Moberly, to whom they both report. "They both bring a rare combination of relationships, instincts, and tireless work ethic that consistently translates into real results for our artists." Reach McDonald here and Rector here.
Curb Dir./Regional Promotion Todd Thomas has been upped to Nat'l. Dir./Promotion and will join Nat'l. Dir./Promotion & Strategic Initiatives Allyson Gelnett (Massey) in co-leading the department after the March 31 departure of SVP/Promotion RJ Meacham. Thomas will direct the regional staff, with Gelnett (Massey) focused on strategic initiatives and the Northeast region. As noted in Friday's Country Aircheck Today (CAT 3/13), Meacham is stepping down to explore a new venture, but will continue to consult the label after his departure. Thomas has been with Curb since 2013, moving to rep the West Coast two years ago (CAT 1/31/2024). Gelnett joined the label in 2018 and rose to her current post a year ago (CAT 4/23/2025). Reach Thomas here and Gelnett here.
Galaxy Label Group partners LoCash (Preston Brust, Chris Lucas) and Skip Bishop, and Canadian entrepreneur Shane Harluk, have launched artist development and marketing firm Music City Power Company (MCPC) with label vet Mara Sidweber as VP/Promotion & Strategy. Concurrently, Sidweber has been named to a National Promotion role at Galaxy. MCPC will offer clients A&R, distribution and promotion, among other services, from its Nashville headquarters as well as Calgary.
Sidweber joins after a long tenure in promotion at Capitol, following stops at Bigger Picture and Southern Ground (Breaking News 4/25/2025). Galaxy Label Group was launched two years ago (CAT 2/29/2024). In her dual role, Sidweber reports directly to Bishop and can be reached here.
It's A Mad, 'MAD World: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for January 2026 (three-month rolling average, 10/16/25-2/4/26) compared with November and December. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.
| Chattanooga, TN (Market 93) |
WUSY Audacy |
| Huntsville, AL (99) |
WDRM iHeartMedia |
| Jackson, MS (125) |
WUSJ New South 4.8 (5) - 4.2 (6) - 3.8 (7) WMSI iHeartMedia 2.5 (8) - 2.4 (9) - 2.8 (9) WHJT New South Classic Country 1.0 (14t) - 1.4 (12) - 2.1 (11) |
| Madison, WI (88) |
WMAD iHeartMedia 4.6 (3) - 4.7 (4t) - 6.5 (3) Largest share in station's 20 years in the format. WWQM Mid-West Family 2.0 (9t) - 1.9 (13t) - 1.7 (13) |
Twist-chita: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for January 2026 (three-month rolling average, 10/16/25-2/4/26) compared with November and December. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.
| Colorado Springs, CO (Market 91) |
KCCY iHeartMedia |
| Des Moines, IA (70) |
KHKI Cumulus |
| Mobile, AL (100) |
WKSJ iHeartMedia 6.0 (3) - 5.6 (2) - 5.9 (2) |
| Spokane, WA (90) |
KDRK Stephens 2.6 (7) - 2.6 (7t) - 2.2 (10t) KICR Blue Sky 2.2 (9t) - 2.0 (12t) - 2.0 (12) KXLY QueenB Does not subscribe. |
| Wichita, KS (104) |
KFDI SummitMedia 5.9 (2) - 5.3 (4t) - 5.9 (2) KZSN iHeartMedia 5.7 (3) - 5.3 (4t) - 5.4 (3t) KVWF Murfin 3.2 (11t) - 2.5 (15t) - 3.7 (9t) Largest share since entering the format in June 2023. KFTI-AM SummitMedia Classic Country 0.9 (18) - 0.7 (19t) - 0.7 (19t) |
Rate And Hook: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for January 2026 (three-month rolling average, 10/16/25-2/4/26) compared with November and December. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.
| Columbia, SC (Market 89) |
WCOS iHeartMedia |
| Little Rock, AR (94) |
KSSN iHeartMedia 7.2 (4) - 7.6 (2) - 6.6 (2) KMJX iHeartMedia Cl. Country 3.1 (10) - 3.0 (5) - 2.5 (5t) |
| Springfield, MA (102) |
WRNX iHeartMedia 4.7 (4) - 4.2 (4) - 4.3 (4) |
| Toledo, OH (108) |
WCKY iHeartMedia Classic Country 1.3 (12) - 1.3 (8) - 1.2 (7) WKKO Cumulus 8.6 (2) - N/A - N/A Does not subscribe. |
The CRS 2026
Print Special
featuring: Hey-Hi, AI: Emerging Uses
Best CRS Takeaways Ever
Label Contacts • New Faces
Travis Daily: The Interview
Inside This Issue:
MC-Yay At Ryman Lunch
Disruption Junction
You Look Like You Love Me
The Day Ahead
The 2026 Grammy
Voter's Guide
A quick reference guide to the 2026 Grammy Nominees