When Opera Met Bluegrass: How the Renée Fleming & Béla Fleck Album Actually Came Together

A collaboration between opera soprano Renée Fleming and genre-jumping banjo auteur Béla Fleck may seem, on the surface, like something that came out of nowhere. But truth is their Appalachian-flavored album The Fiddle and the Drum, which comes out Friday (May 29) has been a long time coming.

The pair — which has 23 combined Grammy wins and numerous other honors — has been talking about the project for nearly two decades, since a meeting to discuss it at a restaurant on 57th Street in New York City. “Renée was thinking about making a record like this, and for some reason I don’t understand I was suggested as the producer,” Fleck, who was recommended by Fleming’s associates at Decca Records, tells Billboard. “And I was like, ‘I’d love to do this.’

“I’ve always been a fan of great female vocalists, from Joni Mitchell to Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou (Harris), people like that. I always liked their records even though they didn’t relate so much to what I did in my own music. So I was very excited to work with somebody of (Fleming’s) ability and stature, with creative music.”

The Fiddle and the Drum — which features guest appearances by Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Aoife O’Donovan, Sierra Hull and Sarah Jarosz — is perhaps more of an eyebrow raiser coming from Fleming than Fleck, who has worked frequently in the album’s bluegrass and folk idioms. The set’s 10 tracks draw from both public domain traditionals (“In the Pines,” “The Cuckoo,” “Blackest Crow”) and more contemporary fare, including the Mitchell-penned title track, Ola Belle Reed’s “My Epitaph,” one of the set’s prerelease singles, and Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett’s “The Scarlet Tide” from the Cold Mountain film soundtrack. It’s not Mozart, Verdi, Handel or Strauss, in other words.

But Fleming maintains that her interest in Americana music is not at all new.

“I’ve always had eclectic tastes in music,” notes the vocalist, whose grandfather was a fiddler and drummer in rural Pennsylvania. “In junior high and high school and through college I played guitar and dulcimer. I did coffee houses. I was studying classical music but I was also singing with a jazz trio every Sunday night. Up where I went to school (SUNY-Potsdam) there was a band I saw every weekend, and we clogged; I didn’t know what clogging was, but it seemed like a natural response to that music. So I always loved it.”

Fleming says that the soundtrack to the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? helped steer her back to the rootsy path. “It was T Bone Burnett’s work on that film that reminded me how much I loved that music,” she notes, which planted the seed for The Fiddle and the Drum. Fleming and Fleck even made a half-dozen demos back when they first started talking, which he says “turned out pretty good, but they never got acted on. They never got completed. But we would run into each other in all these different situations — including in China with Abigail (Washburn, my wife) — and (Fleming) said, ‘We should do something with that stuff sometime.’”

The two began working in earnest on The Fiddle and the Drum during 2023 in Nashville, with a core band that included Douglas on Dobro, Sam Bush on mandolin, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Bryan Sutton on guitar and Mike Bub on bass. “We had a really fun time working on the music,” Fleck recalls. “For me, if you can get those guys…they’re just such marvelous musical people who are also very comfortable with that (stylistic) direction and trying unusual ideas and putting their hearts and soul into it. Being in the room with Renée was really fun and interesting and new. And everybody brought their A game.”

Fleming, meanwhile, refers to Fleck as “a secret weapon” in the process. “He did more than a producer normally would, in my experience,” she explains. “He had more artistic kinds of ideas and felt strongly about certain things, and in my recording experience that wasn’t the norm. I felt like we really worked on this together, and (Fleck) did the lion’s share of the work….and he kept coming back to it, like, ‘I found some more things. What do you think about this?’ That’s unheard of in classical music.”

Fleck adds that he was particularly intrigued by the way Fleming sang The Fiddle and the Drum material compared to the classical work that’s earned her a National Medal of the Arts, a Kennedy Center Honor and other international accolades. “I discovered that in her low voice she was like a different singer altogether, which was really interesting, too,” he says. Fleming elaborates, “I learned early on that when I step outside of the classical word I need to stay within a certain range, because when I get to the top of the staff my voice is going to sound like my voice. So we keep the register low for me, and then I could really find another, more spoken sound that seemed to work really well. I did sing some more whoops and hoo-hoos and things like that. People who know my classical singing would never recognize my voice in this.”

To which Fleck quips, “whoops and hoo-hoos — that’s going to be the next album title.”

Fleming was flattered by all of the guests who took part on The Fiddle and the Drum — “I would’ve thought, ‘Bluegrass with an opera singer? Run away!’” she says with a laugh — while an unquestioned standout is the album-closing a cappella rendition of “Pretty Bird” with Hull and Jarosz. “The thing was it had been done a lot,” says Fleck. “But Renée did such an incredible performance of it that it changed my point of view.” Fleming, he adds, brought up the idea of having other singers on the track. “I was like, ‘I think we’re done,’ and Renée said at various times, ‘Hey I think there should be some other singers on it.’ I was like, ‘Oh, how do we match what you did?’ I didn’t want to lose anything…. It had to be singers who were willing to work on it and figure out how to match her. But I knew the people who could do it.”

Fleming and Fleck previewed The Fiddle and the Drum on May 16 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and also have upcoming performances booked at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado during June, at the Chautauqua Institution in New York during August and on Dec. 3 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. And since Fleck has already identified the “Whoops and Hoo-Hoos” title, what are the prospects for another album together?

“We haven’t had that conversation,” Fleming says. “I’ve been concerned since the beginning that it would find an audience at all, and Béla’s convinced me people will like what they hear, so we’ll see. It is really fun to step outside your genre and do other things — Béla’s a phenomenal example of that.”

Fleck, meanwhile, adds that he and Fleming “have a good trust and a good friendship, so I think the door’s open for other things. We just have to get there. It has to be the right thing at the right time. We both have such busy lives, but I loved working with Renée. It was a really wonderful experience and cool thing to do. I would love to do it again if we can.”

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

Why Austin Neal’s Agency Has Attracted Morgan Wallen, Riley Green and Ella Langley: ‘How Can We Make Their Day As Easy As Possible?’

When Austin Neal launched his talent booking firm, The Neal Agency, in 2022, he faced a steep learning curve.

“It was like I was dropped into the ocean. I had to figure out how to swim,” he says with a laugh as he looks back on that daunting period. From his years as an agent at prominent country music booker Buddy Lee Attractions and WME, he knew how to book and route clients, but he had no clue about setting up his own company. “I didn’t know what I needed to do to form an LLC. My assistant at the time, who is now an agent with us, jokes that she walked into my apartment and saw Business for Dummies sitting on the counter.”

With a little aid from the instructional book, a much greater assist from lawyer Elliot Groffman (the powerhouse attorney who represents Dave Matthews Band, Phish and more) and a business management team that handled everything including setting up payroll, “it’s like I blinked and we had an office, a lot of employees and new artists,” he says.

Fast forward four years and, in addition to flagship client Morgan Wallen — who is performing double stadium plays in nearly every market on his current tour — Neal, 39, and his team have developed Riley Green (who Neal signed in 2017, when he started at WME), Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and HARDY into arena headliners.

“Austin saw what Riley was doing in the Southeast long before [his career] took off in Nashville. Over the years he has helped us navigate a steady and strategic path to building a strong business both in the U.S. and internationally,” says Zach Sutton, who co-manages Green with Daniel Miller.

“When Austin decided to [open] The Neal Agency, we were instantly on board with his vision,” Miller adds. “He has been able to take his generational experience and channel it through a modern approach. His competitive spirit and sharp instincts resonate throughout the team and have led their incredible success.”

As a third-generation music industry executive, Neal has entertainment in his blood. His grandfather, Bob Neal, founded The Neal Agency in the 1960s after serving as Elvis Presley’s first manager before Colonel Tom Parker. (Neal named his own distinct agency in his grandfather’s honor.) His father, Kevin, who retired last year, is a renowned agent who worked at Buddy Lee Attractions (which closed in 2018) and then WME, representing such artists as Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line during his career.

Growing up in Nashville, Neal fell in love with a wide range of acts, including Deftones, Three 6 Mafia, Incubus and Metallica. “Music discovery was my thing,” he says. “I used to make mixtapes for everybody.”

But his father initially discouraged him from going into the music industry. “My dad said, ‘Don’t get in this business. It’s too brutal … You don’t need to be the third generation to go through it,’ ” Neal recalls.

At the University of Mississippi, he studied chemistry with the intention to attend medical school. “Medicine was very interesting to me,” he says. “I was always drawn to [science] in my brain. If I find something, I want to learn as much as I can about it and the deep, dark details of every little thing. Science and math really played to how my brain is wired.”

After graduation, he interned at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the drug chemistry lab running confirmatory tests on confiscated marijuana. Neal then worked at lab services company Aegis Sciences Corp. before deciding to do “something that had a little more excitement to it.”

He switched career paths to work for School of Legends, a now-defunct website that was “trying to be the Facebook of the NFL,” Neal says. The website faltered but Kevin noticed a spark in his son. “My dad saw me working deals and being around NFL players and that was when the light bulb went off with him, like, [saying], ‘Hey, you should actually come try the music thing. I think it’s a good time for you to try it out and see if you like it.’ ”

Neal began working at Buddy Lee Attractions with his father, booking acts with names like Old Southern Moonshine Revival on the Southeast’s club circuit. He then switched to working at management firms, joining the teams that represented acts like Big & Rich and Josh Abbott Band.

He decided he liked being an agent more than a manager and was planning to move back into the agency world. Then, in 2016, his father had a major stroke. Neal left Triple 8 Management to help care for Kevin. After Jay Williams, partner and co-head of WME’s Nashville office, visited Kevin in rehab, he texted Neal: “It’s time for us to get you over to WME.”

Austin Neal, left, and Morgan Wallen — Neal (left) and Wallen

Diana King

At WME, Kevin was working with then-developing act Wallen, whom the younger Neal had already met playing golf and bonded with over their shared love for acts like the synth-pop duo Empire of the Sun. After Kevin’s stroke, Wallen would check in with Neal and his family frequently, so when Neal moved over to WME, he took over booking Wallen, who at that point was playing clubs for $500 a gig.

In February 2021, as Wallen was on the precipice of becoming an arena headliner — and early in the 10-week run his second full-length, Dangerous: The Double Album, would have atop the Billboard 200 — the artist was caught on camera using a racial slur, and the video went viral. WME dropped Wallen from its roster, but Neal continued to work with him as a friend, booking Wallen’s 2022 tour before Neal officially left WME in December 2021.

“It was a big strain for both of us, because here I am continuing to work at WME,” Neal says. “We’re coming off COVID. He’s still over in this corner and he’s [radioactive], and we’re still friends and we’re still hanging out. We’re trying to work through it together behind the scenes.”

In February 2022, Neal officially launched The Neal Agency. His initial clients, some of whom he’d represented at WME, included not only Wallen, but also Green, Chase Rice, Ashland Craft, Seaforth, John Morgan, ERNEST and HARDY (he wooed the lattermost while they were playing video games). His elevator pitch to join the new company was simple: “ ‘Hey, you guys, come with me and if you’re not happy, leave me. But I’m going to bust it. I’m going to build a company that can support everything you need and just have some faith.’ ”

As he built the company, Neal found his lane: a boutique agency focused on young artists who could grow alongside it. The Neal Agency now has 34 acts, none of whom are older than 40 and whose careers are all still on the rise.

“If you look at WME, they’ve been able to become so big because they have the top headline talent. We’re not going to go beat them at having the biggest roster,” he says. “We’re not going to beat these heritage-leaning agencies that know the nooks and crannies in the places that I used to book in Georgia that book Diamond Rio two or three times a year. I’d rather focus on keep[ing] our brand cool, young, hip. Could we sign an artist that [is] on the backside of their touring career? Yeah, but I think being hungry, signing new stuff and trying to develop has always been at the heart of The Neal Agency.”

After about a year, Neal brought in WME agent Adi Sharma as co-head and agent. “Adi is like me. He’s a math guy. We’re nerds. We would just look at deals in the WME system and think about tour deals and scaling. We would be the last ones at WME every single night when we were there, because we just loved it,” Neal says of himself and Sharma, who started as Kevin Neal’s assistant at WME. “If I was going to take somebody from WME with me, getting Adi was worth the flak that I was going to catch. It just was important to have another person that I trust implicitly be riding shotgun with me.”

Adi Sharma, left, and Austin Neal — Sharma (left) and Neal

Diana King

While Neal is creating a new-school agency, he’s built on plenty of the practices he learned from his dad. “The first [Florida Georgia Line] tour where he had a relationship dealing directly with the buildings versus going through a promoter, that was always kind of my goal: to be more hands-on and involved in every aspect,” Neal says.

Neal, who spends up to 150 nights a year on the road with his artists, also took his prior experience working in management into account: “I just tried to look at an agency through a manager’s lens and [think], ‘How can we make their day as easy as possible on the live side?’ ” That includes providing marketing, branding (his team recently coordinated Langley’s American Eagle deal) and other services for all acts on the roster, not just “the top 1%,” he says. “One of my main focuses initially was, ‘We need to get our own tour marketing team in house and really have them focus on the small artists while also doing work on Morgan’s tours. Let’s have white glove service with our managers to where they’re not having to dig through to make sure if we use the right country radio station in [a] market.’ ”

The Neal Agency represented 13% of the acts playing Stagecoach this year, according to bookingagentinfo.com, including Langley, Green, Nate Smith and Zimmerman — a higher percentage than much larger agency UTA and only slightly less than THE·TEAM (formerly Wasserman Music). Wallen, The Neal Agency’s highest-earning client, does not report his grosses to Billboard Boxscore, but some of the agency’s growing acts are already outpacing last year’s grosses. Zimmerman’s 2025 reported dates grossed $7.1 million over 17 shows; with more than 30 dates to come on his 2026 headlining arena tour, he’s already grossed more than $8.1 million.

Neal has ventured into other areas: In 2023, he started a publishing company, TNA Publishing; in 2024, he launched Cervidae Records with clients Palmer Anthony, who is also signed to TNA Publishing, and McCoy Moore, who Cervidae has since partnered with Sony Nashville on. Later that year, he founded Sticks Management with Wallen as a partner and first client. He’s since added Gavin Adcock and is looking for more artists.

As his businesses expand, Neal’s life is expanding in other ways, too: He and his wife are expecting their first child in July. He’s already thinking about balance and “making sure that I’m giving enough time to everybody. It’s really tough to do that,” he says. “I’ve had to learn that there’s only so much to give in a day and my family is my priority.”

And as for that college degree, he still puts it to good use when tackling challenges. “The thing that keeps me up at night is just making sure I fully understand every aspect. Goes back to my chemistry mind. I don’t ever want to walk into a room where I feel unprepared.”

This story appears in the May 30, 2026, issue of Billboard.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

Billboard’s 2026 Country Power Players Revealed

The Neal Agency’s Austin Neal leads the annual list honoring the top executives driving the success of the genre now across multiple industry sectors.

Labels, Distributors And Artist Services

Seth England
Co-founder/CEO, Big Loud
Patch Culbertson
Executive vp/GM, Big Loud
Stacy Blythe
President, Big Loud
Brianne Deslippe
Senior vp of marketing, Big Loud
Sara Knabe
Senior vp of A&R, Big Loud

Scott Borchetta
Founder/chairman, Big Machine Records/Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment/Borchetta Entertainment Group
Jimmy Harnen
President/CEO, Big Machine Records/Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment

Jake Basden
CEO, Blue Highway Records

Jon Loba
President of frontline recordings for North America and South America, BMG
JoJamie Hahr
Executive vp of recorded music for Nashville, BMG Nashville
Katie Kerkhover
Senior vp of A&R of frontline recordings for North America, BMG
Peter Strickland
GM, BMG Nashville

Ben Maddahi
Executive vp of A&R, Columbia Records
Julian Swirsky
Executive vp, Columbia Records
Evan Honor
Vp of commercial partnerships, Columbia Records
Amy Collins
Senior director of A&R, Columbia Records
Natalie Landsberg
Director of digital marketing, Columbia Records

Mike Curb
Chairman, Curb Records

Ghazi
Founder/CEO, EMPIRE
Jennifer Way
Executive vp of Nashville, EMPIRE
Eric Hurt
Vp of A&R publishing, EMPIRE

Katie Dean
Label head, Leo33

“I’m most proud of helping bring Zach Top’s sophomore album, Ain’t in It for My Health, to life and watching it all come together,” says Dean, who co-founded Leo33 in 2023.

“Our team was incredibly intentional at every step of the process, and you could feel that in both the rollout and the response.

“It was one of those rare moments when everything just clicked, and seeing it ultimately win the Grammy for best traditional country album made it even more special.”

Favorite musical moment: “C2C [the Country to Country festival] in London earlier this year.

“One of my first jobs in the business was at the [Country Music Association], where I worked as the international coordinator helping grow the global profile of country music. Watching Zach play a sold-out show at the O2 less than three years after signing him felt like a true full-circle moment for me, both personally and professionally.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Managing the pace of the genre’s growth.

“With the recent surge in popularity, there’s been a lot more attention from the coasts, which is exciting, but it has also created unrealistic expectations around how quickly artists and audiences should develop.

“Followers don’t always translate to real engagement, and a viral moment isn’t a long-term strategy. The focus has to stay on building something sustainable, which is exactly [why] my team tries to keep our attention on the bigger picture.”

Mike Harris
President/CEO, MCA
Dave Cobb
Chief creative officer, MCA
Rob Femia
COO/executive vp of business and legal affairs, MCA
Katie McCartney
Executive vp/GM, MCA
Stephanie Wright
Executive vp/head of A&R, MCA

Tyler Arnold
Chairman/CEO, Mercury Records
Alex Coslov
Executive vp, Mercury Records
Jackson Weingart
Vp of marketing and digital strategy, Mercury Records

Heather Vassar
Senior vp of Nashville, The Orchard

Dan Chertoff
Senior vp of A&R, RCA Records
Aaron Stern
Vp of marketing, RCA Records

Barry Weiss
Founder/partner, RECORDS Nashville
Joe Fisher
Executive vp of A&R, RECORDS Nashville
Josh Easler
Executive vp of promotion and commercial strategy, RECORDS Nashville

Monte Lipman
Executive chairman, REPUBLIC Collective
Avery Lipman
Vice chairman, REPUBLIC Collective
Jeffrey Remedios
President/CEO, REPUBLIC Collective

Jim Roppo
Chairman/CEO, Republic Records
Mary Catherine Kinney
Executive vp of artist and label strategy, Republic Records

Taylor Lindsey
Chair/CEO, Sony Music Nashville
Ken Robold
President/COO, Sony Music Nashville
Margaret Tomlin
Vp of A&R, Sony Music Nashville

Kevin Herring
Co-president, Triple Tigers Records/Akando Music
Annie Ortmeier
Co-president, Triple Tigers Records
George Couri
Managing partner/co-president, Triple Tigers Records

For Triple Tigers Records, the past year has brought “so many proud moments,” Herring says, “from watching Shane Profitt develop at radio to signing Ian Munsick. But the success of No. 1 singles in that time period has sure been a fun ride.” Ella Langley, the Columbia Records artist for whom Triple Tigers provided radio country promotion, has spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her hit “Choosin’ Texas”; Russell Dickerson’s “Happened to Me” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart; “and top all that with Scotty McCreery’s [Country Airplay] No. 1 hit ‘Bottle Rockets,’ featuring Hootie & The Blowfish, the band’s first No. 1 single ever [on Country Airplay]. This will be a tough year to follow.”

Favorite musical moment: “Hard to choose one,” Herring says. “But I’d have to say, while driving to lunch one day with our vp of promotion, Raffaella Braun, I was emailed the first mix of ‘Bottle Rockets.’ Up until then I’d only heard the demo. When we both heard Darius [Rucker] come in on the chorus for the first time, I almost had to pull over. We both knew right then and there [that] we had something special.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Personally, I think it’s not being afraid to be too country. Country is the business we are in and what attracts our core audience. It’s OK to step out a little — but two-step our ass back as soon as we can.”

Jesse Morav
Vp of A&R, UnitedMasters

Cris Lacy
Chair/president, Warner Music Nashville
Victoria Mason
Executive vp of marketing, Warner Music Nashville
Patrick Sabatini
Executive vp of WRN operations and business and legal affairs, Warner Music Nashville
Kristen Williams
Executive vp of radio and commercial partnerships, Warner Music Nashville

Aaron Bay-Schuck
Co-chairman/CEO, Warner Records Group
Tom Corson
Co-chairman/COO, Warner Records Group
Miles Gersh
Executive vp of A&R, Warner Records

Management

Bob Doyle
CEO, Bob Doyle & Associates/Major Bob Music/Major Bob Productions
Mike Doyle
Manager, Bob Doyle & Associates

Simon Tikhman
Kevin “Chief” Zaruk
Co-founders/co-CEOs, The Core Entertainment
Tracy Martin
President, The Core Entertainment

Danny Nozell
CEO, CTK Entertainment

Austin Rosen
Founder/CEO, Electric Feel Entertainment
Bobby Greenleaf
Creative director, Electric Feel Entertainment

Scott Siman
President, EM.Co

Jeb Hurt
Founder, Floating Leaf Entertainment

Daniel Miller
Manager, Fusion Music/Red Light Management

Kerri Pauley Edwards
Owner/president, KP Entertainment

John Meneilly
Founder, Left | Right Management

Chris Kappy
Founder/owner, Make Wake Artists
Jarrod Holley
Sophia Sansone
Managing partners, Make Wake Artists

“We’re most proud of how the company has grown around the artists,” says Kappy, whose management firm represents Luke Combs, Flatland Calvary and The Castellows. “A major focus has been building out our internal infrastructure, including digital, label services, merch and PR. We want our managers focused on the artists, not buried in logistics.”

Favorite musical moment: “One moment that stood out was Luke Combs selling out three nights at Wembley Stadium” when tickets went on sale for this summer’s London stops on his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour. “Wembley is one of the most iconic venues in the world, and seeing a country artist not just play it but sell it out across multiple nights says a lot about how far the genre has come internationally,” Kappy says.

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Balancing short-form momentum with long-term artist development. Platforms reward constant output that is great for exposure but exposure doesn’t guarantee a career. There’s constant pressure on artists to stay in a perpetual content cycle. The artists who last will be the ones who capture attention in the short term without sacrificing great songs.”

Clarence Spalding
Chris Parr
Partners, Maverick Nashville

Hayley Corbett
Manager, Megan Moroney

“I’m incredibly proud of Megan’s Billboard 200 No. 1 debut with Cloud 9,” Corbett says.

“The entire rollout surrounding the album was incredibly intentional and deeply fan-focused, and I’m proud of the campaign our team built. Every decision, from the visual world to the fan experiences and live moments, centered around Megan’s vision and the connection she and her fans have built together, ultimately helping her land the No. 1 spot.”

Favorite musical moment: “Megan’s surprise in-the-round show in Athens [Ga.] during the ‘9 Cities in 9 Days’ album campaign stands out as one of the past year’s most special musical moments.

“She sold out Akins Ford Arena performing the new album in a setting that felt intimate and centered around the music and the fans. Just three days after the album’s release, the crowd was unbelievably loud, with some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen screaming every word back to her from the moment she walked onstage.

“It wasn’t the biggest production or the largest crowd she’s played for, but it perfectly captured the heart of the Cloud 9 era and the connection Megan has built with her audience.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Continuing to break down the perception that it exists separately from mainstream music.

“Over the last few years, the genre has grown tremendously and reached wider audiences than ever before. But there is still room for country music to be viewed on the same global scale as pop or any other major genre.

“The opportunity now is to continue evolving while still preserving the authenticity and storytelling that make country music so special.”

Clint Higham
Partner/president, Morris Higham Management

Megan Hinde
Bradley Jordan
Managers, Painted Rock Management

John Peets
Founder, Q Prime South Management

Matt Graham
Co-founding managing partner; head, Range Music
Jack Minihan
Co-founding managing partner, Range Media Partners/Range Music
Jared Cotter
Managing partner, Range Media Partners/Range Music
Abas Pauti
Artist manager/vp of artist development, Range Music
Shawn McSpadden
Managing partner, Range Music; GM, Range Music Nashville

Coran Capshaw
Founder/CEO, Red Light Management
Tom Lord
Executive/manager, Red Light Management
Mandelyn Monchick
Zach Sutton
Managers, Red Light Management
Enzo DeVincenzo
Manager, Red Light Management/377 Management

Jason Owen
Founder/CEO, Sandbox Entertainment

Ian Thornton
Owner/manager, WhizzbangBAM

Mary Hilliard Harrington
Executive/manager, Wild Heart/Red Light Management

Danny Kang
Stefan Max
Managers, Zach Bryan

Publishing

Rakiyah Marshall
Founder/CEO, Back Blocks Music

Brad Kennard
Senior vp of A&R, Concord Music Publishing

Stephanie Cox
GM/senior vp of creative, Nashville, Kobalt Music

Rusty Gaston
CEO, Sony Music Publishing Nashville

Troy Tomlinson
Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville

Austen Adams
President, Warner Chappell Music Nashville

Live

Rich Schaefer
President of global touring, AEG Presents
Adam Weiser
Senior vp of global touring, AEG Presents
Amy Buck
Vp of marketing, global touring, AEG Presents
Weston Hebert
Vp of global touring, AEG Presents

Stacy Vee
Executive vp, Goldenvoice

Brian O’Connell
President of country music touring and festivals, Live Nation
Milly Olykan
Senior vp of global touring and artist development, Live Nation
Tara Traub
Senior vp of global touring, Live Nation
Aaron Spalding
Global tour promoter, Live Nation

Louis Messina
Founder/CEO, Messina Touring
Mike Dugan
President, Messina Touring
Rachel Powers
Vp, Messina Touring

Patrick Moore
CEO, Opry Entertainment Group
Dan Rogers
Senior vp/executive producer of the Grand Ole Opry, Opry Entertainment Group

“What we are most proud of at Opry Entertainment Group [OEG] is our expansion,” Moore says, “because it amplifies our ability to grow the genre by engaging country artists and fans wherever they might be.

“In just the last year, we celebrated the Opry’s 100th anniversary, added both music festivals and amphitheaters to our portfolio and announced new locations of our Category 10 and Ole Red brands with our respective partners Luke Combs and Blake Shelton.

“We now have a much more substantial footprint across the U.S., and I am tremendously proud of the team and what they continue to achieve every day.”

Favorite musical moment: “Watching the Grand Ole Opry: Live in London at Royal Albert Hall. We had so many terrific Opry members perform: Luke Combs, Darius Rucker, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce and Marty Stuart. The rehearsals were conducted at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios, and the performance itself was awe-inspiring.

“Seeing and hearing how enthusiastic the crowd was throughout an Opry show in London validated everything we know about the exploding popularity of country music worldwide. In fact, the fans were dancing in the aisles — something that the team at Royal Albert Hall had never seen before.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “As country music continues to gain in popularity through music streaming, we need to ensure it is easily accessible to these new fans through live performances, broadcast and other forms of media.

“That accessibility will expose these new audiences to more artists and more music, ultimately building long-lasting superfans that will engage across the entire country genre for a lifetime.

“This is a top priority for us at OEG, which is why we have invested in getting Opry content and shows distributed across the country and around the world.”

Agencies

Jeff Krones
Head of Nashville music, CAA
Marc Dennis
Chad Kudelka
Darin Murphy
Music agents, CAA

Kyle Carter
Joshua Rittenhouse
Senior vps of global touring, IAG

Austin Neal
Founder/co-head, The Neal Agency
Adi Sharma
Co-head, The Neal Agency
Ryan Beuschel
GM, The Neal Agency

Austin Neal photographed on May 6, 2026 at The Neal Agency in Nashville. — Neal photographed on May 6, 2026 at The Neal Agency in Nashville.

Diana King

When Austin Neal launched his talent booking firm, The Neal Agency, in 2022, he faced a steep learning curve.

“It was like I was dropped into the ocean. I had to figure out how to swim,” he says with a laugh as he looks back on that daunting period. From his years as an agent at prominent country music booker Buddy Lee Attractions and WME, he knew how to book and route clients, but he had no clue about setting up his own company. “I didn’t know what I needed to do to form an LLC. My assistant at the time, who is now an agent with us, jokes that she walked into my apartment and saw Business for Dummies sitting on the counter.”

With a little aid from the instructional book, a much greater assist from lawyer Elliot Groffman (the powerhouse attorney who represents Dave Matthews Band, Phish and more) and a business management team that handled everything including setting up payroll, “it’s like I blinked and we had an office, a lot of employees and new artists,” he says.

Fast forward four years and, in addition to flagship client Morgan Wallen — who is performing double stadium plays in nearly every market on his current tour — Neal, 39, and his team have developed Riley Green (who Neal signed in 2017, when he started at WME), Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and HARDY into arena headliners.

Read the full story on Executive of the Year Austin Neal here.

Jonathan Levine
Executive vp/managing executive, THE·TEAM
Shannon Casey
Senior vp of fairs and festivals, THE·TEAM
Keith Levy
Senior vp, THE·TEAM
Chappel McCollister
Senior vp of business development, THE·TEAM

Elisa Vazzana
Partner/agent, UTA
Nick Barnes
Agent, Heartland, UTA
Brett Saliba
Alec Vidmar
Agents, UTA

Becky Gardenhire
Joey Lee
Jay Williams
Co-heads of Nashville office, WME
Aaron Tannenbaum
Senior partner of country music, WME

Streaming

Michelle Tigard Kammerer
Global head of country music, Amazon Music
Emily Cohen Belote
Global lead of country music programming, Amazon Music
Chris Graham
Global head of artist relations, Amazon Music

Madison Hanten
Global programming lead of country and Americana, Apple Music
Kelleigh Bannen
Host of The Kelleigh Bannen Show, Apple Music Country
Laurissa Phillips
Executive producer, Apple Music Country
Taylor Eickenhorst
Head of marketing for country music, Apple Music
Sally Seitz
Head of artist relations for country and Americana, Apple Music

Tim Foisset
Head of label partnerships for Nashville and Canada, Spotify
Jackie Augustus
Lead of country and folk for artist partnerships, Spotify
Gemma McInturff
Lead of label partnerships for Nashville, Spotify
Claire Heinichen
Senior editor of country, Spotify

Margaret Hart
Head of Nashville label and industry partnerships, YouTube/Google
Copeland Isaacson
Head of Nashville artist partnerships, YouTube/Google

Business and Associations

Damon Whiteside
CEO, Academy of Country Music
Taylor Wolf
Executive director, ACM Lifting Lives

“One of my proudest accomplishments was celebrating the 60th anniversary of the ACM Awards [in May 2025],” says Whiteside, who is leaving his post at the end of June.

“It was incredibly rewarding to take the year to honor the history and legacy of the show and reflect on what the ACM Awards have meant to the country music industry over the past six decades.

“I truly believe the 60th show was one of the best ACM Awards shows of all time because of the balance we were able to create between legendary artists, current superstars and exciting new acts.

“Having Reba [McEntire] return as host for the milestone anniversary and present the inaugural Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award to Alan was also incredibly meaningful.

“I was also proud of how we celebrated songs of the year from each decade during the opening performance, which really showcased the lasting impact of country music across generations. The show was sold out, the response was amazing and it felt like a true celebration of the genre and its community.

“Beyond the awards show itself, the 60th-anniversary gala, ‘Play Something Country,’ was another major highlight. It was only the second gala we’ve ever produced, but it was an incredible success. Celebrating Brooks & Dunn with such an amazing lineup while also raising significant funds for ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music, made it an especially meaningful event.

“Looking ahead, another exciting milestone has been moving the ACM Awards back to Las Vegas. After such a historic 60th-anniversary celebration, returning to Vegas feels like going back to our roots and beginning a new chapter for the show while continuing to celebrate the foundation of the organization.”

Favorite musical moment: “Alan Jackson’s performance of ‘Remember When’ during the 60th ACM Awards. That song has always been incredibly emotional and timeless to me, and it felt like the perfect way to celebrate Alan’s extraordinary career.

“Knowing it would be the final song he performs on an awards show stage made the moment even more powerful. It felt deeply personal, full circle and incredibly poignant — not just for the academy but for country music fans everywhere. Being able to honor him in that way was truly special.

“Another moment I [was] especially excited about [was] Carter Faith’s performance of ‘Let’s Go to Vegas’ for the 61st ACM Awards. It’s a fun way to celebrate the show’s return to Las Vegas and capture the energy and excitement surrounding this new chapter for ACM.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “Maintaining its authenticity and strong sense of community during a period of rapid growth and crossover success.

“With so many cross-genre artists, musicians, producers and labels moving toward Nashville, the city has truly become a creative hot spot, which brings a lot of exciting opportunities for the genre.

“At the same time, it’s important to preserve what makes country music special and unique — the storytelling, the quality of the artistry and the genuine way it connects with audiences.

“Country music has always felt approachable and deeply rooted in fan connection and community. Nashville itself operates like a family, and that sense of community has always been a defining part of the industry.

“As country music continues to grow, the challenge is keeping that community strong while ensuring the music and artistry remain authentic. It’s about embracing new voices and growth while continuing to foster the connection between artists, fans and the broader country music community that makes the genre so meaningful.”

Lori Badgett
Diane Pearson
Senior vps/team leaders, Nashville, entertainment and sports banking, City National Bank

Sarah Trahern
CEO, Country Music Association
Tiffany Kerns
Senior vp of industry relations and philanthropy, Country Music Association; executive director, CMA Foundation

“This year has been a meaningful period of momentum for CMA and for the genre,” says Trahern, who announced in January that she would step down from leading the Country Music Association after a 12-year tenure.

“We have made important, foundational decisions that will help shape the next decade, from reaffirming our long-term headquarters in Nashville to securing media rights agreements that create new ways for fans to connect with and experience our television shows.

“We are also navigating a thoughtful leadership transition as we begin onboarding my successor this fall, an important step in ensuring both stability and fresh perspective as CMA continues to grow and evolve.

“At the same time, we remain deeply committed to serving as a resource for the country music industry and the people within it. One area that feels especially close to my heart is our growing investment in mental health resources. Taking care of the entire country music ecosystem is essential to the long-term health of this industry. If we want country music to continue to thrive for generations, we have to support the people who bring it to life every day.

“Not to mention, we are on the horizon of two special milestones in the coming year — the 60th anniversary of the CMA Awards this November and the grand opening of the new Nissan Stadium in 2027, our host site for the nightly concerts at CMA Fest each year. Moments like this remind me how far the genre has come and the opportunity we have to continue shaping what comes next. It has certainly been an exciting year, and I am even more excited for what lies ahead.”

Favorite musical moment: “Over the past year, I have had several moments, especially during our Songwriters Series events, that have reminded me just how powerful country music can be.

“One that sticks out to me was a recent songwriters show in New York that featured Dierks Bentley, Karen Fairchild, Jim Beavers, Jon Randall, Charlie Worsham, Derek Wells, Priscilla Block and Matthew Ramsey. It was just a few voices, a few guitars, and it completely held the room.

“Experiences like that always bring me back to the heart of what makes country music so special: the storytelling. It also tends to send me back to songs and stories that I haven’t listened to in a while and helps me reconnect with the depth of a catalog.”

The greatest challenge facing country music now: “I would say country music’s biggest challenge is also its biggest opportunity. Country music today is less format-driven than it has been in the past, and that opens the door for the genre to exist across multiple platforms and alongside other genres in new and exciting ways.

“The challenge becomes how we embrace that growth while still maintaining a clear sense of identity.

“As country reaches broader audiences, it is important that we continue to champion the elements that define us — the storytelling, the authenticity and the connection to fans, while also welcoming innovation. If we strike that balance, we not only preserve what makes the genre unique but we expand it in a way that feels both organic and sustainable.”

Sherrese Clarke
Founder/CEO, HarbourView Equity Partners

Carter Robinson
Financial advisor, Pinnacle Financial Partners

Jackie Jones
Senior vp of artist and industry relations, RIAA

Rights Organizations

Mike Sistad
Vp of Nashville membership, ASCAP

Clay Bradley
Vp of creative for Nashville, BMI

Shannan Hatch
Senior vp/head of Nashville creative, SESAC

Media

Tim Roberts
Country format vp, Audacy

RJ Curtis
Executive director, Country Radio Broadcasters/Country Radio Seminar

Travis Daily
Vp of country, Cumulus Media
Mike Moore
Operations manager, Cumulus Atlanta; program director, WKHX (New Country 101.5) Atlanta
Mike Preston
Program director, KPLX (99.5 The Wolf) Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas/KSCS (New Country 96.3) Dallas-Fort Worth, Cumulus Dallas

Rod Phillips
Executive vp of programming, iHeartCountry
Bobby Bones
Vp/creative director, iHeartCountry; host of The Bobby Bones Show, Country Top 30 With Bobby Bones and Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast; executive producer, Women of iHeartCountry
Gator Harrison
Chief media officer on the Ministry Leadership Team, K-Love; former iHeartCountry brand coordinator; senior vp of programming, iHeartMedia Nashville; program director, WSIX (The Big 98) Nashville
Jackie Tigue Caldwell
Senior director of iHeartCountry artist relations, iHeartMedia

Johnny Chiang
Vp of music programming, SiriusXM
John “Trapper” Morris
Kathleen St. Clair
Program directors of music programming, SiriusXM

Contributors: Katie Bain, Eric Renner Brown, Anna Chan, Ed Christman, Hannah Dailey, Kyle Denis, Angel Diaz, Thom Duffy, Paul Grein, Lyndsey Havens, Gil Kaufman, Joe Lynch, Taylor Mims, Melinda Newman, Jessica Nicholson, Russ Penuell, Kristin Robinson

Methodology: Billboard executive power list honorees are chosen by our editorial staff with consideration given to industry nominations. For industry-sourced executive lists, nominations open no less than 150 days in advance of publication. A submission link is sent to all who request to participate in the power list process before the nomination period. (Email thom.duffy@billboard.com for inclusion on the email list for nomination links and for how to obtain an editorial calendar.) Priority for the Country Power Players list was given to companies previously recognized on the Billboard Power 100. Priority for managers was given to those whose clients ranked highest on year-end artist and Billboard Boxscore charts and those whose clients are participants in the Country Power Players event. Honorees are chosen by editors based on factors including the impact of honorees and their companies on consumer behavior, as measured by year-end Billboard charts, sales and streaming performance, market share, revenue or, where not available, Billboard revenue estimates, which may be aided by company guidance, social media impressions and radio audiences reached, using data available as of Feb. 19. Career trajectory and momentum were also considered. Where required, U.S. record-label market share was consulted using Luminate’s current market share for albums, plus track-equivalent and streaming-equivalent album consumption and Billboard’s quarterly top 10 publisher rankings. Unless otherwise noted, Billboard Boxscore and Luminate are the sources for tour grosses and sales/streaming data, respectively. Luminate is also the source for radio audience metrics. The source for radio metrics is monitored station airplay from Mediabase provided by Luminate.

Executives on the Rise

Separate from Country Power Players, these five executives are designated by Billboard as up-and-comers to watch.

Mike Giangreco
President of A&R, Big Loud Publishing

Grace Watson
Senior director of streaming and revenue, Black River Entertainment

Sarah D’Hilly
Senior vp of digital marketing and strategy, MCA Records

Nikki Boon
Artist manager, Neon Coast

Brooke Hardesty
Senior vp of digital marketing, Warner Records Nashville

This story appears in the May 30, 2026, issue of Billboard.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

Sting Blames Deindustrialization For Rise in Toxic Masculinity: ‘We’ve Lost That Direction For Our Energy, That Male Strength’

For the past decade, Sting has been mounting versions of his Tony-nominated musical, The Last Ship, all around the world, even stepping in to play the lead role of Jackie White in several productions and tours.

Now, in an interview with The Guardian newspaper, the 74-year-old former singer/bassist for the Police and solo star is suggesting that the loss of physically demanding jobs in which men use their hands has helped drive up the prevalence of toxic masculinity in our modern society.

Announcing that the musical inspired by Sting’s childhood in a family of English shipwrights will be returning to London’s West End this fall, the singer told the Guardian that modern deindustrialization has led to men being less physically productive.

“I work with my hands every day as a musician, and I’m lucky. It’s a rare thing for modern men to actually use their hands and use their strengths to do anything. We’ve lost something there,” said Sting, who earlier this month praised his adult children’s “extraordinary work ethic” in confirming that he doesn’t plan to hand over his considerable fortune to them. “I don’t have any answers, but maybe the toxicity in society at the moment is [a result of the fact] that we’ve lost that direction for our energy, that male strength. It’s rare we have to use it.”

The Last Ship debuted in Chicago in 2014 before moving on to Broadway, the U.K./Ireland, Toronto and then North American and world tours. It tells the story of the men who toil at a shipyard similar to the Swan Hunter’s yard at Wallsend, near where Sting grew up, before deindustrialization in the 1970s and 80s led to their closure.

The show features a mostly original score written by Sting, along with four previously released songs from his solo catalog, “Island of Souls,” “All This Time,” “When We Dance” and “Ghost Story.” The singer, who will once again star in the musical when it kicks off a run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London in September, blamed the closure of the shipyards on the failure of a series of English governments, saying, “Britain’s wealth was created in the coalfields and the steel towns and the mill towns and the shipyards.” All of those skill sets were thrown on the scrapheap … for [late prime minister Margaret] Thatcher’s dream of a service economy.”

The story touches on the male characters’ feeling that the loss of their physically demanding work is tantamount to the erasure of their identities. “’For what are we men without a ship to complete?’,” one of the characters asks at one point.

And while it is a loving look at yet another industry that has fallen prey to the changes in industrialization in the modern era, Sting made it clear that his hands were meant for bass plucking, not the backbreaking work of welding, fabricating and pipe fitting. “I’m the guy who didn’t want to work there and for good reason,” he said.

“They were working in asbestos, all kinds of toxic chemicals. At the same time, I’m nostalgic for the sense of community that I was brought up in. That environment was so rich with symbolism,” the singer added. “The town, although it was depressed a lot of the time, was extremely proud of the ships that were built there. The work was awful and dangerous and hard, but those guys could look back and say: ‘Well, I built that.’ The civic pride was massive.”

Sting is currently on the road with his 3.0 solo band, who will set up shop for a run of nine shows at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York beginning on June 9.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

Here’s How Olivia Rodrigo Really Feels About ‘Internet Detective’ Speculation Surrounding Rumored Taylor Swift Feud

Fans are always going to wonder about how Olivia Rodrigo really feels about Taylor Swif t, but the Gen Z pop star has made her peace with that.

While appearing on the Thursday (May 28) episode of New York Times podcast Popcast, Rodrigo acknowledged the perpetual speculation about where she stands with Swift, the person whom she used to praise effusively as her childhood idol before retroactively giving the Eras Tour headliner songwriting credits on Sour single “Deja Vu” in 2021, after which people noticed Rodrigo stopped mentioning Swift altogether. Many have speculated that Swift’s camp may have strong-armed the former Disney Channel star into crediting her on the Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 hit, causing a rift between the two stars.

“I don’t really read too far into it,” Rodrigo said when discussing the fan theories surrounding the situation. “I think it comes with the territory, and it’s par for the course. If I dove into every internet detective sleuth that got things right or wrong about my life or any of my relationships, I think I’d just go crazy. There’s not enough time in the day.”

She also touched on the way her prior openness about being a grade-A Swiftie seemingly backfired on her when the songwriting credit business went down. After all, it was three months after Rodrigo raved about Swift’s “Cruel Summer” while breaking down how “Deja Vu” came together for a Rolling Stone video in April 2021 that the latter song’s credits underwent the chang e to add Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent. (About a month after that, the credits on Rodrigo’s Hot 100 No. 1 “Good 4 U” also updated to include Paramore for the song’s similarities to the punk-rock band’s “Misery Business.”)

“I try to not let it get to me or upset me,” she told Popcast of whether she feels more cautious of vocalizing her love for her inspirations now. “It was so long ago — there’s no use in harping on it. I just try to make songs that I love and try to be kind and good to other people, and supportive of other people.”

She added, “At the end of the day, I think that’s all you can do.”

The podcast comes about two months after public interest in Rodrigo’s relationship with Swift got renewed when the two singers were among the stars spotted in attendance at the same Paul McCartney concert in Los Angeles. Before that, in 2023, fans had wondered whether the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series alum had penned songs such as No. 1 smash “Vampire” or Guts deep cut “The Grudge” about any possible hurt feelings that still might lingering after their rumored conflict. But the following year, when Rodrigo was performing “Vampire” at the Grammys, Swift was in the audience singing along.

Rodrigo also conceded to Popcast that she was “a little caught off guard” by the “Deja Vu” credit change in a 2023 Rolling Stone cover story. “At the time, it was very confusing, and I was green and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” she told the publication at the time. “I don’t think I would ever personally do that. But who’s to say where I’ll be in 20, 30 years. All that I can do is write my songs and focus on what I can control.”

These days, Rodrigo — who is gearing up to release her third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, on June 12 — feels at ease with the nonstop speculation about her standings with other celebrities, telling Popcast that she learned how to deal with it through the trial-by-fire experience of her breakout hit “Drivers License” spawning endless theories about her supposed love triangle with Sabrina Carpenter and Joshua Bassett in 2021.

“I think it made me feel detached from it,” she said. “I had to detach from it in order to literally be OK. It was such a crazy experience for everyone involved.”

Watch Rodrigo’s full Popcast interview above.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

Carín León’s Manager Jorge Juárez on the ‘Significant Cultural Moment’ of History-Making Sphere Shows

Last November, when Carín León announced a series of shows at the Sphere in Las Vegas — a coveted venue where he is set to become the first Latin artist to headline — the regional Mexican singer-songwriter and his manager, Jorge Juárez, finally unveiled a secret that had been kept under wraps for a year, and an idea that had started even earlier.

“We thought of it three years before we announced it,” Juárez says. “We said, ‘Okay, maybe we won’t be ready next year, but in two years we definitely will be.’”

Thinking and planning ahead has been a strategy and a mindset that has proved successful for the power duo. Since signing with Juárez in December 2022 — and becoming his business partner in the Socios Music indie label — León has become one of the biggest Latin stars of his generation. In 2023, he landed on Billboard’s 10 highest-grossing Latin tours list with his Colmillo de Leche Tour and also was one of Billboard’s Top Latin Artists on the year-end charts. In 2024, León and Juárez signed a joint global deal with Virgin Music Group and Island Records, through which both companies distribute and market León’s product under Socios Music.

Among other milestones, the uber-versatile León — known for seamlessly blending música mexicana with any genre, from country and blues to salsa and reggaetón — has won four Latin Grammy and two Grammy Awards; debuted at Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry; played festivals including Coachella and Stagecoach; and opened for the Rolling Stones in Glendale, Ariz.

Ahead of his seven sold-out shows at the Sphere this September, León held his own music festival this spring in his native Hermosillo, Sonora, called La Cura Fest, with an eclectic lineup including Midland, Alejandro Sanz, Kany García and Grupo Frontera, and an attendance of 70,000 people over two days, according to the local government. He also embarked on his North America Tour 2026 on May 20 and is set to play for the first time in Japan, at the Summer Sonic Festival, in August.

“Reaching these goals is like building a skyscraper: you can’t put 20 stories on a building if you don’t lay a solid foundation,” Juárez says. “So, we have very clear objectives; we are planning two to four years ahead in Carín’s career — mapping out which collaborations, venues and festivals to pursue, which countries to conquer, and how to take Mexican music to the world.”

Juárez’s scope, however, goes beyond his work with León. As CEO of Westwood Entertainment — the management and booking company he founded in Mexico in 2000 with David West — he manages a wide array of mostly Mexican pop acts, including Carlos Rivera, Reik and Camila. Through Westwood’s concert promotion division, he has also promoted large-scale shows in Mexico, including by Karol G and Bad Bunny, as well as tours for artists such as Sin Bandera, Reik and Rivera across the United States and Latin America — something he continues to do through his company Enso Music.

“The connection I’ve shared with Jorge Juárez is incredibly important,” León says. “When a manager stops focusing solely on the money and the accolades and begins to think a bit more empathetically — even prioritizing the music itself and weighing in on opinions and production from a place of true expertise — that is when I truly grasp just how vital a manager’s support and connection are to your project.”

Jesús Navarro from Mexican pop band Reik adds: “I believe we have grown together — first learning to adapt to what existed, and now learning to leverage this ever-changing industry and all the opportunities it presents. I am very proud of him and grateful for his support and companionship on this journey.”

Juárez expands on his achievements of the last year, his strategy with León and why the Mexican star is exactly where he’s supposed to be.

In the last few years, you have had major milestones with Carín León, but the Sphere shows feel truly historic. What does this mean to you?

It is something that very few artists manage to achieve — let alone Latin artists — because the Sphere has a limited number of available dates, and there are many iconic artists worldwide who could potentially perform there. The most difficult part is securing the dates. Secondly, getting approval for the actual content you intend to present there; you simply cannot go in and put on a show that falls short of the standard set by acts like the Backstreet Boys or Phish. Then there are the logistics and the costs involved, because every time you perform the show, you have to completely dismantle the entire production to make way for film screenings.

We have actually been working on the production and the visuals for a full year now. This isn’t the kind of show you can just set up quickly and perform; it is a truly unique undertaking. It is going to be an impressive spectacle — a production worthy of immense pride, representing not just a Latin artist, but any artist performing at that venue. To be honest, we are incredibly excited about it. We feel that this will mark a major turning point in Carín’s career. For me, this is a significant cultural moment: Carín becoming the first Spanish-speaking artist to perform at what is currently the most challenging venue in the world to book — securing that space and bringing this specific production to life. From this point forward, a new phase begins for Carín.

When did you say, “We want the Sphere,” and how did you make it happen?

Three years before we announced it. We had already reached the necessary ticket sales volume, secured the collaborations and performed at both Coachella and Stagecoach in the same year [2024]. We felt it was the perfect opportunity to transform the audience experience. Carín and I discussed a concept I firmly believe in: that nowadays, people have grown tired of simply buying tickets to attend a show; what they really want is an experience. We believe a Las Vegas residency offers an experience that fans won’t soon forget — and not just because of the show itself. The experience actually begins 100 days before the concerts, during which we’ll gradually roll out details: how people should dress, which songs he’s going to perform, challenges we’ll be hosting, and more.

The Sphere is a venue where securing dates is somewhat tricky due to the high demand; consequently, I assembled a team of professionals from within the American industry — people who have supported me throughout my global touring endeavors. I enlisted the help of Rich Schaefer, president of touring at AEG Presents; my legal counsel — one attorney specializing in the U.S. market and another in the Latin American sector — as well as a designer renowned for creating massive-scale productions. I wanted to arrive backed by a fully prepared team to present my proposal. We developed a comprehensive project showcasing exactly how Carín would look and perform inside the Sphere, a video presentation accompanied by a storyboard detailing every aspect of our planned production. But it wasn’t just about the visuals; we devised an entire strategic plan — one outlining the specific setlist we would perform there, and another detailing exactly how we would launch the Sphere announcement to the public, as we were determined to avoid doing what everyone else does.

We presented our proposal; they congratulated us and informed us, “It’s not possible next year, but we can make it happen two years from now.” At that moment, we said to ourselves, “Perfect. We did it.” And for an entire year, we kept that secret completely under wraps.

How did you reframe the strategy for Carín once you booked Sphere?

We stopped touring in the U.S. and began undertaking a data-driven effort that few others attempt: a study to determine how many people across Nevada, California, Arizona — the key markets surrounding Las Vegas — had previously attended a Carín concert. We discovered that the number stood at 80,000. Our initial concept called for just three dates at Sphere. Consequently, we leveraged our data to craft a communication strategy targeting all of Carín’s fans for the announcement, but we didn’t stop there. I wanted to make a monumental announcement — one that would resonate across the entire globe.

We have numerous partners in various countries who serve as our local promoters. I executed an NDA with each of them and told them, “In one week, I am going to unveil Carín’s Sphere engagement. I need each of you to join in by submitting a plan within three days so that every country can make the announcement simultaneously.” Everyone got on board — [in addition to Mexico], Chile, Argentina, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Central America, the U.S. and Spain.

The announcement was so impactful that when we went on sale, we received 500,000 requests to purchase tickets. Based on that, we made the decision to add four more dates — all of which are now completely sold out — and we won’t be adding any dates beyond those initial seven for this leg of the tour. It’s not that we don’t want to add more — it’s simply that we want to preserve that special feeling: ensuring that the people who bought early enjoyed the exclusive benefit of securing their tickets right from the start and getting to experience the whole journey.

You also run your management company, Westwood Entertainment. How do you balance that with Socios and Carín’s career?

Ultimately, everything stems from a single core principle: building careers grounded in purpose, authenticity and a long-term vision. With Westwood Entertainment, we worked closely on the artistic and strategic development of talents such as Carlos Rivera, Reik, Sin Bandera and Camila. Meanwhile, with Socios Music, we have created a much broader platform that integrates management, publishing, strategy and global expansion.

Rather than viewing my time as divided between different companies or artists, I see them as complementary ecosystems — supported by a great team that brings together experience, relationships and vision to continue elevating Latin music on a global stage.

You mentioned that you and Carín are always thinking years ahead, planning for the future. Is Carín where you expected him to be at this stage?

He is exactly where we believed he needed to be. In other words, every step — the entire strategy — has worked. And one of the things I’ve observed is that, for a strategy to succeed, two things are essential: First, your leader — the artist — must be fully aligned with the strategy and motivated. Second, you need a team — because it’s not just me working alone, I have a great team and we are absolutely convinced that Carín is the greatest Mexican artist out there today. And finally, I have a team that works 24/7 that gets fired up and that, quite simply, never runs out of ideas.

And Carín and I share a special bond. I’ll wake up with an idea, give him a call and he’ll say, “That’s absolutely wild — let’s do it!” I mean, it’s never, “Nah, what a hassle,” or “Sorry, I can’t, I’ve got so-and-so’s First Communion.” For him, music comes first. It is, without a doubt, the greatest love of his life.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

Chart Rewind: In 2021, Eric Church Had a ‘Hell of a View’ From the Top

Most people visit a restaurant for a meal, and the wilderness to decompress. For Eric Church, they were the sites of a creative endeavor.

In January 2020, Church settled in with his band at the Artisinal restaurant on the North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains for a month of music-making. The goal was simple: Write and record a new song each day until he built up enough material for three albums: Heart, & and Soul. The lattermost collection wound up including “Hell of a View,” which topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated May 29, 2021.

The song became an exercise after Church and his cowriters got their steps in one morning. Casey Beathard returned from his walk with an idea about a couple living and loving on the edge, and he developed the initial lines with Monty Criswell. Church joined in once he got back from a run.

After they finished writing it, they recorded the song that day with drummer Craig Wright mic-ed up in the wine cellar. Producer Jay Joyce (Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne) finished it overnight after Church and the rest of the musicians went to bed.

Released to country radio on Oct. 20, 2020, “Hell of a View” scaled Country Airplay in its 29th week on the list, becoming the 10th of Church’s 11 career No. 1s. It also hit No. 2 on the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart. He led the list most recently as featured on Morgan Wallen’s “Man Made a Bar” for a week in April 2024.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

‘Goofball’ Tucker Wetmore Is Taking His Brand of Country Global: ‘If You Can’t Get Onstage and Be Exactly Who You Are, Then You’re Not Doing You Justice’

There comes a moment in most Tucker Wetmore shows — between performing lively hits like “Proving Me Right” and “3,2,1” — when the Washington state-born country artist sits down at a piano and leads the crowd through a medley of classics, from Beethoven to Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire.”

“I’m an old cat. I’m an old soul,” the 26-year-old says. “I like ’60s, ’70s, ’80s music, early-’90s stuff.” Wetmore grew up listening to the Eagles, Hall & Oates, Queen, Van Morrison, Elton John, Billy Joel and Atlanta Rhythm Section, and at 11 taught himself how to play piano. His path to a life in music didn’t quite start then and there — a college football career intervened, until an injury cut it short — but watching Wetmore on the keys today, his destiny, and, now, chief mission as an artist is clear: to connect and entertain.

“I like the thought of people getting together for one sole reason: for the same love of the music,” he says. “And I personally take responsibility for that. It’s my job to make sure they have a night that they’re going to talk about two, five, 10 years down the road. That’s what I tell my guys before every show … Every night I get onstage, I’m going to give them the best time I possibly can give them.”

Wetmore landed on the country scene in 2024 with his Billboard Hot 100 breakthrough, “Wine Into Whiskey.” His debut album, What Not To (Back Blocks/MCA/Mercury), reached the top 15 on the all-genre Billboard 200 last year and yielded a trio of Country Airplay top three hits: “Wind Up Missin’ You,” “3,2,1” and “Brunette,” a fast-paced, energetic track that Wetmore says he “immediately believed” in — and that just became his first Country Airplay No. 1.

“It was like a week of it being out; I played a show and people went crazy, jumping up and down, waving their hands in the air,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘You can’t really deny that.’ It proved itself live time and time again and it still does.” The song’s rapid-fire lyrics remind him of childhood moments spent riding in the car with Eminem on repeat, trying to keep up with the rapper’s bars. “I feel like ‘Brunette’ is one of those songs where it’s so fast and high-energy, you can’t really help but try to learn all the words.”

Onstage and online, it’s not uncommon to see Wetmore talking candidly to his audience, gyrating and shaking his hips to the music, or unabashedly showing off the results of his workout regimen — usually from the waist up, though a recent shot he posted of his bare backside also made the rounds on social media, to much ribbing from his tourmate Dasha, among others.

“I feel like if you can’t get onstage and be exactly who you are, then you’re not doing you justice,” the self-professed “goofball” says of his antics. “Somebody who I think does a great job of it is Luke Bryan. He will get up there and say whatever crosses his mind and people love it. If you’re just authentically yourself, it’s going to resonate with the majority of the crowd, because they leave there saying, ‘He’s just a normal dude.’ And that’s all I am — I’m a normal dude and I like to make music and shake my little tail feather onstage every night.”

He might be carefree onstage, but Wetmore is serious about building a global fanbase. His current The Brunette World Tour has already staged legs in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe and is now back in America for more shows through the fall; he recently carved out some studio time in Switzerland, another step toward his goal of “distill[ing] a worldwide sound in a small-town genre.”

That expansive outlook toward his potential audience has, Wetmore says, been a priority for him since the outset of his career. “I feel like in the past, especially with country, [artists will have] grown so much in the States and then they’re five years into their career, a couple of albums in, and they’re like, ‘All right, let’s go take this thing worldwide,’ ” he says. “They’re kind of playing catch-up, taking steps back [into] smaller venues — which is not wrong, it’s [one] way to do it — but I’ve always said I want to grow as much in the States as I am overseas at the same time.”

It was during a sold-out three-show run in London in late April that his former tourmate (and, now, confidant) Thomas Rhett surprised Wetmore on video with news that he’d won the Academy of Country Music Award for new male artist of the year, while Wetmore’s mother, Sia, presented the accolade to him onstage. It was a fitting moment: Raised in a single-parent household after his father left their family when Wetmore was 11 (a subject he touches on in the poignant “What Not To”), Wetmore forged a tight bond with his mom and sisters. Professionally, too, he’s surrounded himself with strong women, including his manager, Autumn Ledgin.

“I was raised by women. I grew up around women my entire life. I’m just more comfortable around women and feel more creative around women, and I trust women more, honestly,” Wetmore says. “Women are powerhouses … especially the women around me. They set a goal and they’re going to achieve it. And if they can’t, they’re going to find another way.”

Wetmore is quickly seeing results of that team effort. Next up, at this summer’s CMA Fest in Nashville, he’ll graduate to playing the Nissan Stadium stage.

“When I first played CMA Fest [in 2024], I had no album out. I [just] had a couple of songs that were doing really good things. That first time I ever played at the Hard Rock stage, 8,500 people shut down Broadway to watch me [play] a 25-minute set,” he recalls. “That was two years ago, and now I got my own slot at Nissan on the main stage. I think that’s just a testament of trust in the process; keep doing what you’re doing.”

This story appears in the May 30, 2026, issue of Billboard.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

Ella Langley, Morgan Wallen & More: Inside Country Music’s Historic Decade and What’s To Expect Next

By the time Ella Langley’s second album, Dandelion, arrived April 10, the country star had already made chart history several times over — and symbolized the commercial boom that country music has experienced in the 2020s. All decade long, artists like Langley, Morgan Wallen and Megan Moroney have been smashing records and spilling over onto the pop charts, yielding one of country music’s most culturally significant eras.

In February, for example, Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” accomplished an unpredecented hat trick, making her the first woman to concurrently hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. By March, she and Moroney became the first women who primarily record country music to simultaneously top the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 (with Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and Moroney’s Cloud 9, respectively). As Langley told Billboard in April, “Every day I wake up, it’s like something more insane has happened.”

Upon its release, Dandelion debuted atop the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums, making Langley one of just eight women to launch an album on the latter chart with at least 100,000 weekly units. And of those eight, two others also released albums this year: Moroney’s Cloud 9 and Kacey Musgraves’ Middle of Nowhere (joining Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain). Since Dandelion arrived, it has remained No. 1 on Top Country Albums, setting a modern-era record (referring to 2017 onward) for the chart as the first album by a woman to earn 100,000-plus units for five consecutive weeks.

All the while, Langley has maintained her reign atop Hot Country Songs and the Hot 100, with “Choosin’ Texas” ruling for 26 weeks on the former (through May 30) and 10 weeks on the latter (through May 23). More history has followed: As “Choosin’ Texas” and “Be Her” held at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Hot 100, Langley became the first artist known for primarily recording country music in the chart’s 67-year history to simultaneously occupy the list’s top two spots for multiple weeks (May 6 and 23). The last country artist to come close? Wallen pulled it off for one week in May 2025.

Wallen has, without a doubt, led the charge for country music’s record-shattering run. The 2021 release of his Dangerous: The Double Album set things in motion by spending a record 97 weeks at No. 1 on Top Country Albums. He dethroned himself with his 2023 set, One Thing at a Time, which topped the list for a second-place 87 weeks, and he continued his historic run with 2025’s I’m the Problem, which set a then-weekly record of 37 Hot 100 entries (he once again replaced himself, as he held the previous record at 36).

Wallen’s rise runs parallel to country’s rising streaming numbers. The genre hit a new high in the United States at the start of 2020 with a record 1.24 billion on-demand audio streams of its songs, according to Luminate. By 2023, country had become the fastest-growing U.S. format for on-demand audio streaming. And in the first six months of 2025, country was the most common genre in the Hot 100’s top 10, claiming 29% of all top 10 hits, according to Hit Songs Deconstructed.

This decade, so far, the genre has also become more diverse: In April 2024, Shaboozey and Beyoncé made history on Hot Country Songs when the former’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” replaced the latter’s “Texas Hold ’Em” at No. 1, marking the first time two Black artists led the ranking back-to-back. And they continued to break chart records throughout the year. When Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums, it was the first time a Black woman led the list. By the year’s end, “A Bar Song” tied for the then-longest-reigning Hot 100 chart-topper when it hit its 19th week at No. 1 in November (matching Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus).

They weren’t the only ones new to the genre to make history: In February 2024, former Christian artist Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” tied Wallen for a record 10 weeks at No. 1 on Country Airplay; rap-rocker-turned-country star Jelly Roll became the only soloist with at least four songs to hit No. 1 on Country Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay; and newcomer Oliver Anthony became the first artist to debut atop the Hot 100 — with his viral “Rich Men North of Richmond” — without previously appearing on any Billboard ranking. Plus, three icons made history this decade as well: In 2023, Luke Combs became the only artist to place two titles with no billed collaborators in the top two on Country Airplay simultaneously (“Love You Anyway” and “Fast Car”) — and he did it again this April with “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” and “Days Like These”; “Fast Car” also helped Tracy Chapman make history, as she became the first Black woman to have solely penned a Country Airplay No. 1; and country legend Dolly Parton made personal history when her 2023 album, Rockstar, marked her career-best on the Billboard 200, debuting at No. 3. And with such rising stars as Alexandra Kay, Carter Faith and Stella Lefty making strides of their own, women in country are poised to dominate the latter half of the decade.

“Seeing women at the top of the charts together is incredible,” Langley recently told Billboard. “It’s a testament to the stories we’re telling and how they’re resonating with fans.”

Lainey Wilson — who made her own chart history in 2023, accomplishing the fastest return by a woman to No. 1 on Country Airplay when her collaboration “Save Me” with Jelly Roll topped the tally just six weeks after her single “Watermelon Moonshine” — shares Langley’s sentiment. As she told Billboard in April at Women in Music, where she presented Langley with the Powerhouse honor, “I’ve been telling the boys for a long time, ‘Y’all ain’t seen nothing.’ And that’s exactly what’s happening right now. These girls are making history and doing things that we didn’t even know could happen.”

Additional reporting by Russ Penuell.

This story appears in the May 30, 2026, issue of Billboard.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

News

How Death Cab for Cutie Recaptured Its Roots for ‘I Built You a Tower’

When the joint Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service tour – paying tribute to the indie classics Transatlanticism and Give Up, respectively – passed through the Washington, D.C., area in 2023, Ben Gibbard made an unexpected detour.

“I had been listening to an egregious amount of Fugazi, and I was reconnecting with that music that was so important to me when I was younger,” the Death Cab and Postal Service frontman says. “Nick [Harmer, Death Cab’s bassist] and I went to the Dischord House, and Ian [MacKaye, Fugazi and Minor Threat frontman and Dischord Records founder] showed us around. He was just showing us all this emphemera, and we’re sitting there talking in the basement that Minor Threat practiced in. You know, crazy s–t – like, 27-year-old me wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

But the visit was more than a pinch-me music nerd moment for Gibbard, now 49. “I started to take a lot from how they arranged their music,” he continues. “Their music was so unadorned.”

Death Cab’s 11th album, I Built You a Tower, due out June 5, is not a hardcore punk record. But the record does contain some of the band’s most direct music in years, stripped of many of the accoutrements that defined its material throughout the 2010s. The back-to-basics ethos conjures Death Cab’s early albums – and fittingly, Tower is the band’s first album on an indie label in more than 20 years. For the record, Death Cab signed with ANTI- Records, home to the likes of MJ Lenderman and The Beths, after two decades on Atlantic, and the move creatively reinvigorated it.

Even as Death Cab and Gibbard mine their pasts – through anniversary tours, revisiting old inspirations and resurrecting old recording techniques – the band remains a present-day force. “Riptides,” Tower’s lead single, became the band’s ninth No. 1 hit on Adult Alternative Airplay earlier this month, and Tower is continuing the creative renaissance that began with 2022’s acclaimed Asphalt Meadows.

“We feel so fortunate that, after all these years – and we’re coming up on 30 years in 2027 – people still care enough to come and see us play,” says Gibbard as the road warriors prepare for another summer of heavy touring. “We feel that we would be doing ourselves and the people who love this band a great disservice if we just phoned that part in.”

Gibbard connected with Billboard to discuss getting inspired by The Cure and AC/DC, eschewing studio perfection and why this divorce record is different from his last one.

Over the last few years, you’ve embraced the anniversary tour model where you play classic albums front to back. Why has that format appealed to you?

First and foremost, I’m a music fan. The older I get, I’ve been trying to think strategically in regards to how we tour, what we play on tour, how we make records, everything else from a fan’s perspective. “If this was my favorite band, what would I want?” In the same way that when I see The Cure is playing Disintegration in its entirety, in order [in 2019], like, Hooo-ly s–t, I guess I’m flying to Sydney. I wanted to see that so bad. And making no kind of comparisons between us and The Cure, but the reality is that there are a lot of people who have formed a bond with [Death Cab], with those records.

What was so fun about doing the records in order like that is that everybody knows what’s coming. You’re seeing a record in the order it was conceived as an album, but not necessarily how you would play it for dramatic effect when you’re doing it live. It’s really fun.

Did revisiting those records every night influence your creative process for this new one?

During the course of a normal Death Cab show, we’re toggling between eras in my life, and I’m playing a song I wrote when I was 20, the next song is something I wrote last year. As a performer, you’re living in that version of yourself for three minutes at a time. But doing [Transatlanticism and Give Up] back to back, I’m living in my 25-, 26-year-old version of myself for the evening. I was forced to think about how different some of my approach to writing music has been between 2001 and 2002, when I was writing those records, and how I had been writing music for the last couple records.

A lot of it just came down to process. When I was first writing music for the early Death Cab records, the first three or four albums, I was using a four-track. had to have it all written before I could record it. I decided that I really wanted to get back to starting from a similar place as I did on those first three or four records. As I was writing songs in this fashion, it was connecting me back to a creative M.O. that I had been using when I was younger that I was really inspired by, that I had kind of left on the side of the road 20 some years ago. But I’m still writing from the perspective of where I am now. I started to really like how those things hybridized with each other.

How evident do you think this approach is on the final product?

In a limitless multitrack world of compute recording and computers, we have had a number of moments where we’re just spending way too much time triple-tracking the guitar with different sounds to give it some shape, or whatever, rather than just moving on to the next thing — and telling ourselves, “This is important.” The songs that I was writing for this record, they didn’t seem to need that. I kind of had a manifesto [for this album] where I was like, “Look, I really don’t want to overstack stuff. If the guitar sounds good, that’s the guitar.” You listen to an old AC/DC record, there’s nothing on those songs. They’re not triple-tracking those guitars. They sound fine; they sounded huge. Everybody realized that this was going to work.

This was your second album working with John Congleton (Courtney Barnett, Sleater-Kinney), after he produced Asphalt Meadows. What did he bring to the table?

The two albums [2015’s Kintsugi and 2018’s Thank You For Today] we had made before Asphalt Meadows were arduous processes. And that wasn’t [producer] Rich Costey’s fault, that had as much to do with the material we came in. The songs I had brought in weren’t complete. They weren’t arranged. There’s some stuff on there I really like, but it just took a long time. Those records took longer to make than any records we’d ever made. I’d put the majority of that on us, the band. But when we made Asphalt Meadows, that was the quickest record we had made —soup to nuts, tracked — since The Photo Album in 2001.

We made I Built You a Tower in even less time — three and a half weeks. I love that John just moves really fast. He just keeps everybody on track — and he won’t let you sit there and play your guitar line 50 times to get it perfect. We’ll do a song two or three times, and you’ll hear him come over the intercom, and he’ll be like, “Hey, man, you can do it again if you want, but I got it.” Like, we don’t need to do this. He studied under the great Steve Albini; he takes a lot of stuff from Steve.

One of the things he would tell us all the time is, like, in six months, you’re not going to hear any of this stuff. Nobody is going to listen to this record and be like, “Ooh, Dave kind of f–ked up that note.” That’s something that I really have taken to heart when it comes to everything in my performance. I’m not going to get bogged down in the weeds — because then you run the risk of chipping away what makes that performance special.

It’s always interesting to hear how, even for a veteran artist, a producer can still change how they think about their craft.

Well, you also have to go in wanting to be produced. We have talked to John about some of the artists he’s worked with where he’s like, “We started working on the record and it became apparent they didn’t want a producer.” Before we made Asphalt Meadows, he talked about that, and was like, “If you tell me you want it to be like, A, B, C, D and E, and that’s why you’re hiring me, I’m gonna do that. So don’t get weird when I start doing the thing you asked me to do, and it makes you uncomfortable because it doesn’t sound like your old records.” I was like, “No problem, man, go for it.” Because I don’t want to make Transatlanticism again, you know? I just don’t.

This album follows your second divorce, and a major lyrical theme is compartmentalizing grief. For some artists, grief can make writing more difficult, but for others, it can act as a creative accelerant. How did the challenges in your personal life impact this record?

I had made the decision that in writing about a divorce for the second time, this wasn’t going to be a bitter record or an angry record or a score-settling record. I didn’t have any desire to tell that story. I really wanted to focus on what this experience had brought out in me, and to talk about the more internal side of what this experience was, rather than “here’s what happened.” Kintsugi is a bit of a “here’s what happened” record; I’d already written that record.

I felt that if I wrote about this experience and the compartmentalization of this kind of experience to just get through the day and to do my job, that there would be elements of that story that would be relatable to people who maybe hadn’t gone through a divorce, but who had experienced some other kind of loss. It’s never been my goal to write a universal song or record. But I felt that if I spoke about this in a little broader internal terms, that there would be more in this that people would find relatable than me just telling a story about my life.

May 29, 2026/by Yveto

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