The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced this week it will present Garth Brooks with the artist of a lifetime award at the upcoming RIAA Honors event in Washington, D.C. The country icon is being recognized for his unprecedented reach and success, having had 10 diamond-certified records.
 
The event — which recognizes artists, industry executives and policymakers who have shaped American music and culture — will also honor Disney Music Group president Ken Bunt (label exec of the year) and US. Representatives Nathaniel Moran of Texas and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania.
 
“The RIAA sits at the intersection of politics, art and culture, and we wanted to create an event that brought together the trailblazing artists, policymakers and executives who have done something extraordinary,” RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier tells Billboard.

Prior RIAA Honors events delivered awards to the likes of Miranda Lambert, one of the first female country artists to break through with huge commercial success; Grandmaster Flash and MC Lyte, for their contributions to furthering the hip-hop genre; Gloria Estefan, for her role in taking Latin music mainstream; multiplatinum artist Lauren Daigle; and several policymakers, including House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, and U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Chris Coons, among many others.
 
Brooks has been breaking sales and concert attendance records since his 1989 breakout hit “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old),” released when he was 27. The RIAA calls Brooks the No. 1-selling album artist in U.S. history, with more than 200 million certified album sales, and the only artist to ever have 10 albums sell more than 10 million each, achieving diamond status 10 times.
 
Brooks’ music is so widely consumed, Glazier says, that the RIAA does not have enough room at its Washington, D.C. headquarters to hang all of his diamond awards.
 
“At the RIAA headquarters, we have a wall that has every diamond album ever certified, but Garth has 10,” Glazier says. “The wall won’t fit Garth.”
 
Asked to comment on the honor, Brooks echoed James Taylor’s comment that music is a deeply personal craft not motivated by record sales or Billboard hits.
 
“It’s not about numbers, it is about the music,” Brooks says through a spokesperson. “This milestone goes directly to country radio. It introduced me to the world’s biggest, best, and most loyal audience: the country music audience.”
 
The RIAA will deliver its label executive of the year award to Bunt for his role in elevating Disney Music to become a critical part of Disney’s storytelling. Bunt helped launch the careers of Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Hilary Duff, Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus, thereby expanding the genres of music children were introduced to through Disney content.

As a member of the RIAA board, Bunt has frequently met with representatives to explain the impact legislation can have on music, culture and human artistry, says RIAA COO Michelle Ballantyne.

“We want policymakers to know how the work gets done to bring music to everyone — that it’s hard,” Ballantyne says. “What really moves the needle is when people are in the trenches willing to explain. He’s willing to take the time to make those discussions with us.”

The RIAA’s policymakers of the year award will be delivered to Representatives Dean, a Democrat, and Moran, a Republican. Earlier this year, the pair introduced the Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks (TRAIN) Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to give musicians, artists and writers new ways to determine if their copyrights were used in the training of generative AI models by granting them access to training records upon legal request.
 
“Every year we honor a Republican and a Democrat because it’s important to show that both sides are participating in helping to move things along legislatively in a way that protects American music and creativity,” says Ballantyne. “It’s not just a corny saying. Music actually brings people together.”

During The Rebel Lounge’s opening week in 2015, co-owners Steven Chilton and Chucky Duffy received an unexpected glimpse into the Phoenix venue’s storied past.

The catalyst: A call to 9-1-1 after a young woman took ill during a show. Once disaster was averted — emergency responders determined the woman was simply dehydrated — Chilton recalls overhearing a crew of firefighters who were lingering outside the 300-capacity venue. “There’s this 50-year-old firefighter and he’s like, ‘you guys aren’t going to believe it, but I saw Guns N’ Roses here,’” he tells Billboard.

The rest of the crew then began telling their own stories about their experiences at The Mason Jar, the iconic venue that previously inhabited The Rebel Lounge space from 1979 to 2005. The Mason Jar (also named just The Jar for a short time) was a quintessential 1980s rock club that served as every local band’s first venue.

“It was your dingy black box,” says Chilton, “gross bathrooms, everything painted black.” And it wasn’t just local acts who played there.

The list of artists who played The Mason Jar is a who’s-who of late 20th and early 21st century rock royalty: Metallica, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, Black Flag, Fishbone, Social Distortion, Avenged Sevenfold, Fall Out Boy and The Black Keys all performed at the small club, while Linkin Park — whose lead singer, Chester Bennington, was originally from Phoenix — played their first ticketed show there, Chilton says.

Over its 26-year run, The Mason Jar changed hands multiple times, but its most recognizable owner was Franco Gagliano.

“I can date what era someone was going to the Mason Jar by what price they remember the Kamikaze [drink] specials as,” Chilton says. “[Gagliano] used to get on the mic between bands and promote whatever Kamikaze special it is. Oh, the 25 cent Kamikaze? You were going there way early. Oh, the $2 Kamikaze? That was when you were going there.”

A big proponent of metal and punk music, Gagliano brought a lot of big names through Phoenix, which was smaller during The Mason Jar’s run but is now the fifth-largest metro market in the U.S. Local bands throughout Arizona played at the venue, and it also drew from nearby Southern California’s punk and rock scene.

“He was the kind of old school shady promoter that bands either loved or hated,” Chilton says. “If you bring him up to bands, there’s bands that go, ‘Oh my god. I love Franco! He always took care of us.’ And then there’s bands that go, ‘Oh my god. I hated Franco! He always ripped us off.’ And there is no in-between.”

The Mason Jar officially closed its doors in 2005. Over the next decade, the space held several different gay clubs before it went back on the market in 2015. Chilton and Duffy had been in search of a small club years earlier, and when Duffy saw the news that The Mason Jar was on sale, he called Chilton. “Chucky called me and was like, ‘I think we can make this work,’” Chilton says. That year, they bought the venue and got to work.

By 2015, Chilton was already a seasoned promoter. He started promoting shows in 2000 — while he was still in high school — under the name Psycho Steve Presents, and continued on that way through college before going on to work for local promoters. Around 2008, Chilton started doing gig work for Arizona promoter Stateside Presents (working the door at venues, being a runner for shows, making flyers, etc.), which turned into a full-time job, in addition to his work with Psycho Steve Presents. In 2011, Stateside opened the 500-capacity Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, and Chilton served as the talent booker there until three years later, when the strain of doing multiple jobs became too much. He continued to co-promote shows with Stateside, but Psycho Steve was promoting enough shows on its own to fill the calendar at a venue the size of The Mason Jar.

“I knew there was a hole in the market,” says Chilton of jumping at the chance to take over the venue. “I knew I could book enough shows. And there really was a need for more venues of that size. We had a lot of bars that I could do shows at that size, but not enough that were really good venues.”

Duffy and Chilton decided on a full remodel of the building that they joke “has been a music venue longer than rock’n’roll has been a thing.” After existing as a honky tonk in the 1940s, it later hosted go-go dancers, punk and club music. By 2015, it had been gutted, and the new owners used that as an opportunity to make it their own. They redid all the plumbing and electrical, doubled the recommended number of AC units and got rid of the drop ceilings to open up the space. The black walls were toned down to grey, and white tiles were added to the bar for a modern feel. Old brick was left exposed, and they kept the 100-year-old wooden door that leads to the walk-in fridge.

“We wanted something that felt neutral,” says Chilton. “I really wanted a place that felt comfortable for every audience.”

To further distance the venue from The Mason Jar’s reputation, Chilton and Duffy renamed it The Rebel Lounge, inspired by the seminal surf rock song “Rebel Rouser” by Duane Eddy, who grew up in Arizona. While they opened Rebel with the sorts of rock shows The Mason Jar became known for — including concerts by metal band Atlas, Thrice’s Dustin Kensrue and English punk outfit GBH (whose first U.S. tour in 1983 included a stop at The Mason Jar) — the new owners were set on creating their own legacy.

“We knew we didn’t want to keep the name the Mason Jar, because, as nostalgic as people are about it now, at the end, it was a pretty divey spot. And we knew that wasn’t going to be the style of artist we were booking,” says Chilton. “We wanted it to have its own identity programming-wise.” 

In just over 10 years, Rebel has hosted Soccer Mommy, The Heavy, Louis The Child, Declan McKenna, LANY, The Maine, TV Girl, Xavier Omär, Beach Bunny, Still Woozy, Shooter Jennings, Chicano Batman, Mitski, Pale Waves, The Lone Bellow, The Regrettes, Save Ferris, Tiny Meat Gang, Khruangbin, Japanese Breakfast, Snail Mail, Porches, Alex G, Men I Trust and many more.

“We get to take chances. That’s what I like most about booking a room like this,” says Chilton, who has seen megastars like Benson Boone and Chappell Roan come through the 300-cap room. For example, while Charley Crockett’s first show at the venue only sold 100 tickets, Chilton says “it felt like a win” to showcase an artist they believed in. Similarly, while the first Mitski show at Rebel Lounge wasn’t a sellout, the staff knew there was something about her — and Chilton says he listens to that kind of feedback. He adds that how many tickets an artist sells also doesn’t dictate how they’re treated.

“I don’t care if there’s 32 tickets sold, we’re going to treat this band right. Give them an extra drink. Put extra drinks in their green room,” he says. He stresses that it costs the venue nothing to be polite and that small matters like keeping the bathrooms clean, replacing a sagging couch and making sure the AC is blasting in the dead of summer make all the difference for artists, especially at the beginning of their careers.

“Chappell Roan was in Rebel twice and both times she was the opener,” he says. “You don’t know [if] that next opener [is the next] Chappell Roan, or if that opener is thinking about their next tour. Do they want to come back and headline a year from now?”

That mentality has paid off. The Rebel Lounge has hosted underplay shows from artists they’ve built relationships with, including Jimmy Eat World, TV Girl, Beach Bunny and hometown favorites The Maine, whose festival Psycho Steve Presents helps promote. Psycho Steve is also the promoter of Geese’s upcoming show at the 5,000-capacity Arizona Financial Theatre in October. “The only reason I am getting Geese,” Chilton says, “is because we took a chance on them at Rebel.” 

At the end of the day, that’s what Chilton and Duffy care most about: Setting the stage for today’s crop of rising stars.

“When we first opened, I had all these people like, ‘Are you gonna bring back all these bands that used to play at the Jar? Are you gonna get Jane’s Addiction? Are you gonna get Tool? Rage Against the Machine?” says Chilton. “And I was like, ‘No. None of those bands are playing a room like this again.’ What I’ve said over and over again is, our goal is to get the next generation of bands. Ten years from now I want people saying, ‘Oh my god. Can you believe I saw them at The Rebel Lounge?’”

For Maluma, his priorities as an artist have changed drastically, to the point where he says he is no longer interested in collaborating with American artists or pursuing the crossover success that once motivated him early in his career.

During a recent interview on Univision’s All Access, the Colombian singer spoke about the shift he has experienced. He reflected on how his mindset has evolved after years of chasing opportunities in the U.S. music industry. The artist, whose real name is Juan Luis Londoño, shared that there was a time when working alongside iconic English-speaking industry names was one of his biggest goals.

“I used to really want to collaborate with American artists. I was always, like, super obsessed,” Maluma shared during the conversation. According to him, that ambition was tied to what he once considered the next natural step for his international career.

“I was chasing what you could call the American dream, right? Not anymore. Now it’s the Colombian dream, it’s my dream and my country’s dream” added Maluma, whose standout collaborators include The Weeknd, Black Eyed Peas, Jason Derulo and Ty Dolla $ign, as well as Madonna on the single “Medellín,” named after his native city.

In 2022, he even took his first steps as an actor by starring in Marry Me alongside Jennifer Lopez. He spent years building strong ties within the mainstream American music scene, helping expand his global audience beyond Latin music. But now, Papi Juancho, as some of his fans call him, says his focus has shifted away from seeking recognition in the United States and toward investing his time and energy into Colombia’s growing urban music movement.

“It’s my dream, it’s my dream of my homeland, it’s the dream of my grandparents,” the singer explained to All Access. “It’s the dream that has always existed and that keeps my feet on the ground.”

The artist also shared that his focus is now on looking inward to find the next step in his career. He no longer feels the need to constantly look outside his country for inspiration or validation. “That phase of always having to look to the United States to see what’s next is over,” he added. “Now I’m looking at my country.”

Maluma’s remarks come at a moment when Latin music continues to dominate internationally without relying as heavily on English-language crossovers as in previous years. While he has a roster of stellar collaborations with Colombian artists such as Karol G, J Balvin and Shakira on songs including the latter’s “Chantaje” — which spent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 — his plan now is to continue supporting emerging talent within the country.

The artist also recently released his latest album, Loco X Volver, a project that showcases his current focus and reflects the more personal and grounded chapter he appears to be entering both professionally and personally.