Country Update BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS NOVEMBER 26, 2018 | PAGE 1 OF 19 INSIDE BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE [email protected] Dan + Shay Leap To No. 1 After Borderline Shooting, Country Artists >page 5 Begin To Speak Out On Gun Control ‘Clown’ Case Impacts Songwriters At least a dozen families spent Thanksgiving with an unoccupied red carpet. >page 9 chair at the table and an empty place in their hearts following the Indeed, artists’ responses to questions this year about the slaughter of 12 people at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand issue are a sharp reversal from the 2017 CMA Awards, which Oaks, Calif. occurred 39 days after the massacre at the Route 91 Harvest The Nov. 7 attack marked the 307th mass shooting in the festival in Las Vegas, where 58 country concertgoers were killed Kenny Chesney’s New United States in the first 311 days of 2018. The Country Music and another 441 were injured. With the industry’s emotions Paradigm Association acknowledged the tragedy as Garth Brooks led still raw, the CMA initially threatened journalists last year with >page 9 a moment of silence for expulsion if they asked the victims at the start of artists on the red carpet the CMA’s 52nd annual about gun violence. It awards on Nov. 14. rescinded that order after Bentley, Stapleton, In contrast to that Morris and Brad Paisley Aldean Aid Charities silence, the Borderline publicly criticized the >page 10 incident seems to have policy. Regardless, most made country artists artists shied away from more vocal about the the subject or spoke in MORRIS BRICE PRICE Makin’ Tracks: Carly subject of guns. Most of general “thoughts and Pearce Gets ‘Closer’ them on the red carpet prayers” platitudes if >page 14 before the CMA Awards — and the ASCAP, BMI and SESAC reporters asked. Few journalists did. songwriter awards that were held the three preceding nights This time, artists were willing to speak in greater depth, and — were willing to address the issue, revealing a mix of sorrow, some even expressed gratitude for the chance to discuss the rage, fear and resignation. Beyond their concern for the victims, issue. Country Coda: they addressed their own worries about stepping onstage and “That’s the most important question I’ve been asked all Taylor’s Fearless how the shootings affect them and their fans. night,” said Margo Price on the SESAC red carpet. Leader Much like the nation at large, the artists don’t have a single, Country artists typically avoid politics for fear of offending >page 19 easy solution to fix the ongoing problem, but their willingness the conservative elements in their fan bases, but few topics to at least field questions represented a remarkable change in make them go silent as quickly and completely as gun control. attitude in the past year. The genre’s very roots include singing-cowboy movies, where “The fact that it’s even being uttered in conversation is some such good guys as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry policed the West sort of step forward,” said Maren Morris on the CMA Awards with a big iron on their hip. A chunk of the country audience SMITH RYAN BRYCE: ACCESS THE BEST IN MUSIC. A DIGITAL VERSION OF EVERY ISSUE, FEATURING: COVER STORIES . SPECIAL REPORTS . CHARTS . REVIEWS INTERVIEWS . EVENT COVERAGE & MORE AVAILABLE FREE TO CURRENT BILLBOARD SUBSCRIBERS billboard.com/iPad BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE NOVEMBER 26, 2018 | PAGE 2 OF 19 embraces gun culture and passionately defends the Second Amendment, but the number of artists who recently had a cozy relationship with the National Rifle Association has dwindled. From 2010 until the Route 91 shooting, the NRA had partnered with performers through its NRA Country arm, a soft- sell lifestyle brand meant to attract younger NRA members, by featuring a different artist each month on its website. Such stars as Alan Jackson and Jon Pardi played its conventions and trade shows, which have become increasingly controversial as the mass-shooting epidemic continues. The Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, is a significant marker in the timeline. Some 13 victims were gunned down in what seemed to be an aberration at the time. But in the ensuing 19 years, the number of incidents has increased dramatically while gun rights activists — led by the NRA — have largely refused to compromise on most prevention measures, stoking fears in their base that their rights to own firearms might be taken away. Carlton Anderson performed Nov. 19 when WKSF Asheville, N.C., As mass shootings have increased, the country industry has typically hosted the Kiss Country Guitar Jam at the Orange Peel. From left: addressed the issue by performing at vigils or holding benefits for survivors, WKSF music director Aaron Michael, Anderson and Arista Nashville but with the Harvest 91 tragedy, artists themselves were survivors. Jason regional promotion manager Southeast Ali O’Connell. Aldean, Chris Young, Luke Combs and Jake Owen — all whom were onstage or backstage when the shooting began in Las Vegas — have the horrors of that night etched in their memories. Artist links and references were soon scrubbed from the NRA Country website. Now with the Borderline shooting, the country industry and its fans are feeling more and more under siege. “The thought [of a concert shooting] goes through my mind every single night,” said Lindsay Ell. “It’s sad that we live in a day that we need to think about it, but it’s true. Any time you’re in a room full of people — especially when you’re on a stage or walking a carpet and brought to attention — anybody’s in jeopardy.” The artists recognize that it’s increasingly important to discuss the issue if they intend to see a change. “The fact that more people are willing to talk about it shows that progress is JR. BURNS GEORGE BRYAN: being made — small progress, but it’s still progress,” said Brothers Osborne Luke Bryan (left) guested Nov. 20 on the syndicated Pickler & Ben. He’s guitarist John Osborne prior to the ASCAP Awards. “If people keep talking shown with co-hosts Kellie Pickler and Ben Aaron. about it, I think healthy change will be made.” Cultural changes were already underway before Borderline. In addition to country’s reduced involvement with the NRA, some corporate partners ended relationships in the last year with the organization, which is now struggling financially. Polls show that many voting blocs — including suburban females, who proved key in the November midterm elections — favor legislation that would tighten gun ownership laws. Voters in Washington State approved new restrictions on assault weapons. Additionally, numerous candidates, even in such traditionally conservative states as Kansas and South Carolina, won at the ballot box while pledging to fight for stricter gun laws. “A lot [of voters] in Georgia were talking about [gun control], and people who weren’t even politicians were running on it,” reflected Sugarland’s Kristian Bush on the BMI carpet. “Thank goodness people are talking about it, because conversation makes it go forward.” Outsiders have criticized the country music industry for dragging its feet on the topic, even in the past few weeks. The New Yorker chastised the CMA KJLO Monroe, La., played host when record executives arrived Nov. 17 Awards for shying away from politics under the headline “The Scripted, Gun- for the first Bayou Stock Country Festival in Sterlington, La. From left: Free Escapism Of The Country Music Association Awards.” A story in The KJLO afternoon drive host “Hot” Rod Thompson, Curb West Coast New York Times proclaimed that “Country Music Will Talk About The Hurt, regional Lori Hartigan and 1608 West Coast regional Roger Fregoso. But Not The Politics.” Some artists did, in fact, discuss policy on the red carpets. Price, Lee Brice and Drake White specifically advocated for tighter background checks. “If it was harder for me to go get a gun, that’s OK with me,” said Brice, who is a gun owner. “That background check, it takes about 30 minutes to go in, get it filled out and get a gun. Maybe that’s a big first thing to be changed. Maybe you have to wait two weeks to get it back for an extensive search — or longer.” “I’m a gun owner,” said Price. “My dad was a hunter, but we don’t need AR- 15s, we don’t need Glocks to hunt. And I really think that we need to tighten regulations, how people get guns, and gun safety in general.” Others, such as Jerrod Niemann, focused on the mental health aspect of the cultural crisis. Niemann, whose new single “Old Glory” honors the sacrifices of soldiers, spent several hours in a Nov. 13 Facetime chat with survivors from the Borderline shooting. The killer, noted Niemann, was a veteran who may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Independent artist CJ Solar discussed his current single, “American “A lot of people don’t realize one of our vets commits suicide every 65 Girls,” with the WFMS Indianapolis morning team when station staff minutes,” he said. “It seems like it’s kind of swept under the rug. There’s no visited Nashville. From left: WFMS personalities Kevin Freeman and excuse, obviously, to ever take innocent lives, but we just need to pay more Jim Denny, Solar and WFMS personality Deborah Honeycut. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE NOVEMBER 26, 2018 | PAGE 3 OF 19 NASHVILLE & NATIONAL TOM ROLAND about gun control is significant, even if they don’t have specific remedies. When pop artists in the 1960s protested racism and the Vietnam War, it helped turn the tide.