PORTLAND, OR | DECEMBER 8, 2019 | ALADDIN THEATER
Lineup Features Kenny Foster, Marcus Hummon, Lori McKenna, Lee Thomas Miller, and Tenille Townes.
A portion of ticket sales benefits music education programs throughout the country. For more information visit www.cmafoundation.org.
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PERFORMERS
Kenny Foster
Kenny has shared the stage with artists including Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Patty Griffin, Marc Broussard, Butch Walker, Buddy Miller and countless others. He was named one of the Top 10 New Artists You Need to Know by Rolling Stone and received press in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and Forbes. He has been featured in two Superbowl commercials with Sheryl Crow and Danica Patrick, respectively, and appeared in several episodes of ABC’s “Nashville” as well as had songs placed in “Extreme Home Makeover” and “Boston Med ” and has become a regular fixture on NASH-FM’s internationally-syndicated radio show “The Ty Bentli Show” as part of their series “The 10 Minute Tune.” His song “Wood and Steel” was recently awarded the Americana Song of the Year award with the Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition. Kenny has cultivated a strong following in the UK and Western Europe over the last few years and after several successful solo tours, 2019 ushered in Kenny’s debut at the highly-acclaimed C2C Festival in London, as well as invitations to perform at the launch of C2C Berlin as support for Keith Urban and at the famed Melkweg venue in Amsterdam as support for Hunter Hayes, and an October tour across Germany as part of their inaugural Country Music Week. Additionally, Kenny will be featured in an upcoming documentary to air on the BBC alongside artists like Emmylou Harris, Brandy Clark and Jamey Johnson. Kenny recently headlined an Armed Forces tour to Asia, performing at bases in Guam, Singapore and Diego Garcia, which brings the countries in which he’s performed in so far this year to 11. And he has done all of this as an independent artist.
Marcus Hummon
Grammy winner and two-time NSAI Songwriter’s Hall of Fame nominee, Hummon has enjoyed a successful career as a songwriter, recording artist, composer, playwright and author. His songs have been recorded in many genres – pop, R&B, gospel – and most notably in Country Music, where he has written some of the genre’s most iconic songs. Hummon has received seven BMI Awards and five BMI No. 1 Awards. He’s known for Rascal Flatts’ “Bless The Broken Road†(winner of the Grammy for Best Country Song in 2005 and nominated for Song Of The Year in all genres 2005, two-time NSAI Song Of The Year Award in 2005 and 2007 and nominated for a Dove Award for Song Of The Year in 2007); Sara Evans’ “Born To Fly†(In 2001, nominated for CMA Song Of The Year and won CMA Video Of The Year); Wynonna Judd’s “Only Love†(nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female). Another Hummon co-written song, the Dixie Chicks’ “Ready To Run,†was Grammy-nominated Country Song Of The Year, and won the Grammy for Best Country Performance By A Group Or A Duo, off the Grammy-winning Country Album Of The Year, Fly in 2000. In addition, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was nominated for a Grammy in Best Country Performance By A Group Or A Duo With Vocal for ‘Roll The Stone Away’ co-written by Hummon. He’s had several songs featured in film, notably three songs which he wrote and produced in Disney’s “The Fox And The Hound 2â€: “Friends For Life†(One Flew South), “Good Doggie No Bone†(Reba McEntire) and “We Go Together†(Little Big Town). Turning to theatre, Hummon has written six musicals and an opera. Hummon lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife and their three sons.
Lori McKenna
Home and the people who make it have captivated Lori McKenna for years. Over the last three decades, as she became a wife and mother of five, she has also emerged as one of the most respected, prolific singer-songwriters in popular music. Her 2016 release The Bird and the Rifle netted three Grammy nominations, along with Americana Music Association nods––all firsts for McKenna as an artist. Then, she made history: In 2016, she became the first woman ever to win the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year two years in a row thanks to co-writing Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush†and penning Tim McGraw’s no. 1 “Humble and Kind†solo. Both songs also clinched back-to-back Grammy wins for Best Country Song. In 2017, she became the Academy of Country Music’s first female Songwriter of the Year. The Tree, her much-anticipated eleventh studio album, was released on July 20th, 2018 on CN Records via Thirty Tigers. Produced by Dave Cobb, The Tree, recently nominated for the 2019 Americana Awards Album of the Year, takes one of McKenna’s signature themes––family––and builds a tapestry of experiences she has lived and overheard, been told and dreamed up, to create a stunning ode to life’s defining relationships.
Lee Thomas Miller
Lee is a full time songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. He earned a Bachelors degree in Music Theory/ Composition from Eastern Kentucky University. It was there that he studied classical violin, guitar, piano and voice. He was inducted into the EKU “Hall of Distinguished Alumni†in 2010. Lee has charted 15 years worth of singles with, to date, 7 of them reaching #1. These songs have reached radio plays in excess of 10 million spins. Lee is a 3 time Grammy award nominee and has won other major industry awards including Song of the Year at the Country Music Association awards (in Nashville) and Academy of Country Music awards (in Las Vegas) as well as Music Row Magazine and Nashville Songwriter’s Association International annual awards. He has also won multiple “Songs I Wish I’d Written†awards as voted on and given by the Nashville Songwriter’s Association as well as 11 BMI awards. Lee served as President of the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International (NSAI) for 5 years. He spent the last 15 years traveling to Washington D.C. representing and lobbying for the rights of the American songwriter. He has testified before both houses of the U.S. congress as well as countless meetings with Congressmen, Senators, White house cabinet members from multiple administrations, Dept of Justice officials, and countless bureaucrats reaching from the U.S. Chamber of Congress to the Register of Copyright. Ultimately this led to the passing of the federal Music Modernization Act in the fall of 2018 of which he was present in the West Wing for the President’s signing. In 2015 Lee was presented with BMI’s inaugural “Champions†award for legislative efforts. Lee has had success also as a record producer. He produced a pair of top 20 hits on recording artist Steve Holy including his 2006 #1 record “Brand New Girlfriendâ€. Lee lives in Brentwood, Tennessee with his wife of 27 years, Jana, and their 4 kids.
Tenille Townes
Canadian-born and Nashville-based, Tenille Townes is “poised for a breakthrough†(Refinery29). On top of an ever growing list of accolades that includes Amazon Music’s “2019 Artists To Watch,†The Bobby Bones Show’s “Class of 2019,†CMT’s “Next Women of Country,†CMT’s “Listen Up,†iHeartRadio’s “Artists To Watch in 2019,†iHeartCountry’s “On The Verge†artist and the inaugural class of “Opry NextStage,” Townes is currently on tour with Miranda Lambert as part of her “Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour†and will perform select dates with Maren Morris later this fall. She has garnered widespread attention including praise from Billboard, The Tennessean, Sounds Like Nashville, The Boot and NPR Music, who declares, “…one of the most promising arrivals in mainstream Nashville’s burgeoning singer-songwriter movement.†Townes has released four tracks from her forthcoming full-length debut album, “Somebody’s Daughterâ€â€”which reached No. 1 on both Mediabase and Nielsen BDS Country Airplay in Canada—“White Horse,†“I Kept The Roses†and her current single, “Jersey On The Wall.† Produced by Jay Joyce, the album is set for release via Columbia Nashville.