maxmeetsmusiccity

maxmeetsmusiccity Self-appointed hype person for the best singer-songwriters in Nashville chasing their music dreams

05/23/2026

Twinnie Training is sweeping the nation, my friends. Whatever your flavor of dysfunction, Twinnie will fix you, whether you’re the avoidant, the manchild, the alpha male, or something even worse.

Enrolling in ’s training took courage, and now I’m proud to call myself a recovering manchild (see the video for proof). Twinnie is the miracle cure.



Okay, jokes aside. The bit is hilarious, but the message underneath is even better.

You’ve heard me call my friend Twinnie a “creative genius,” and frankly that barely does her justice. She’s a West End-trained triple threat now writing country songs in Nashville. I’ve worked with her for three-plus years. I have the receipts. Take my word for it, or just watch the video. You’ll get the drift.

Twinnie is the consummate creative director from top to bottom. I’m talking concept, choreography, casting, costume, staging.

On shoot day she walked in and built the dance routine and this entire 1980s world from the ground up, with the help of her longtime videographer and her two backup dancers, and . I watched it happen. They didn’t workshop it for weeks. By the time the cameras were rolling, they were locked. He didn’t miss a beat.

Twinnie is an honest-to-God Gypsy by birth and upbringing who came up on London’s stages before she ever set foot in Nashville. She can do backflips and splits on demand. She will outwork everyone in this business. She is, as I keep telling people who don’t know yet, a force of nature.

Underneath the spandex and behind the boombox, “Thank Me Later” is a song about walking away from someone because they’ll be better off without you: “I’m the twist in the plot you didn’t see, but there’s happy ever after me.”

Her music video offers an alternative. Either your girlfriend leaves you, or Twinnie trains you. I think most men will choose the training.

Go stream “Thank Me Later” by Twinnie. Go see her live the next time she’s anywhere near you. Hate her now if you have to. I promise you will thank her later. 💪

05/22/2026

This is ’s electric performance of “Brunette” at the takeover of last November, months before this song helped land him on the stage and atop country radio. As of today, “Brunette” is officially the #1 song on country radio, making it his third career #1 after a nearly five-month run and a fitting payoff for his 2026 New Male Artist of the Year ACM win.

Tucker is no overnight success. He’s been building toward this for years with a world-class team around him. After landing in Nashville in 2020, he signed his publishing and development deal with in 2023 and his major label deal with Mercury Nashville in 2024.

Keen observers know that a #1 at country radio is never accidental. It takes the right song, the right artist, the right team, and a well-funded, well-executed radio campaign to land one.

The “right song” part of this equation has a clean inside story. “Brunette” came out of a January 2024 session that producer hosted at his Nashville office with co-writers , , and Back Blocks’s flagship songwriter , who also co-wrote ’s “20 Cigarettes” and and ’s “Ain’t A Bad Life.”

Back Blocks founder and CEO , a formidable power player in Nashville and beyond, received the demo from one of the song’s publishers and put it in front of Tucker among a dozen options. He chose “Brunette” on a tarmac in Oklahoma. Rakiyah’s ear is the through-line across her roster, the same instinct that led her to sign and .

Jimmy Rector and his team at Mercury Nashville executed the radio campaign that pushed “Brunette” to #1 this week. That is not a small thing. It takes targeted investment, a clear strategy, and real follow-through to land a song at the top of country radio, and they delivered.

Whiskey Jam and Country Central put Tucker on a Nashville stage in November while the song was still climbing. The audience that night already knew. 🎯

It’s a beautiful New Music Friday in Hilton Head this week.  leads off this week with “Paul Revere,” and she keeps doing...
05/22/2026

It’s a beautiful New Music Friday in Hilton Head this week. leads off this week with “Paul Revere,” and she keeps doing the thing nobody else in town does quite like she does. Elizabeth walked away from law school to write country songs, and the lawyer’s eye for precision still shows up in every line. Her songs are clever, specific, often very funny, and built like closing arguments. “Paul Revere” is the latest exhibit.

The powerhouses are out in force. goes all-in on her new album “Love You To Death,” red dress, candelabras, the whole gothic dinner party. and split “Almost Don’t,” a title that’s basically the entire emotional arc of country music in two words. drops “Gentle Man.” is back with “All The Best.” .tyler is out with “Fear of Flying.” keeps building with “For What It’s Worth.”

The emerging class shows up loud. ’s “Lose the Baggage” wins the visual gag of the week, three women in curlers gossiping their way out of their hang-ups. joins Presents on “Saving This Bottle.” pairs with on “One Of Us.” teams with on “Say I’m Wrong.” is out with “Lover Girl,” with “Don’t Let Me Go,” with “Talk.”

delivers “Darlin’.” wins the bluntest title of the week with “Who the F**k Do You Think You Are?” Fair question.

Five full-lengths land this week between Julia Cole, Sammy Arriaga’s “Seven Roses Vol. 3,” ’s debut “Hot & Young,” ’ “DOG DAYS,” and ’s “Feet On Fire.”

teamed with and on “Carolina When I Die,” now the official South Carolina state song. drops “Would U Still Love Me” via Diplo Presents.

Swipe through for the full lineup and click the link in my bio to hear all of these bangers on my New Music Friday playlist on Spotify.

Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of covering ’s sold-out show at . It was a unique and memorable night. There was ...
05/21/2026

Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of covering ’s sold-out show at . It was a unique and memorable night. There was something inspiring about watching a fan base this powerfully engaged, even if it meant wearing a poncho in the pit to dodge the beer and other beverages flying through the air, especially during “Boomtown.” These are a few of my favorite frames from my Bridgestone photo pit debut.

05/20/2026

.anna.music walked onto the Rooftop on the Row stage last night still carrying the glow of her win for New Female Artist of the Year, and you could hear it in every song. The whole set was sharp, but this performance of “Make It Look Easy,” one of my favorite Avery Anna songs, was one that really stuck with me. Congrats again, Avery. 🙌🤘

05/16/2026

I think the reason “Be Her” hits so hard is because every one of us knows exactly what it feels like to want to be the version of yourself who’s grounded, who calls their mama, who drinks wine by the glass instead of the bottle, and who doesn’t need anyone’s validation. We all just wanna be her so bad it hurts.

What’s wild is watching actually become “her” in real time.

Ella picked up another ACM today as Artist-Songwriter of the Year. ‘Choosin’ Texas’ is still parked at No. 1. Dandelion is on the Billboard 200. She’s doing it on her own terms, co-producing with , telling the truth in her writing, and calling her own shots.
This is the second video I’m posting of her singing ‘Be Her’ live because I can’t stop coming back to it. The song is a confession. Ella is the answer.

Congratulations Ella! You’re showing the rest of us what it looks like when you actually go and be her.”

It’s another beautiful New Music Friday here in Nashville, and this one is stacked with star power and a big dollop of d...
05/15/2026

It’s another beautiful New Music Friday here in Nashville, and this one is stacked with star power and a big dollop of debuts and deluxe releases.

leads us off with “Ain’t Over Me Yet,” the first taste of her Cherry Valley Forever deluxe arriving July 24.

teamed up with on “Hypothetically Speaking,” a darkly comedic duet from her upcoming third LP Pink Pocket Pistol (RIP Carl). dropped her debut EP “Is This Heaven?” which includes her duet with on “Something To Lose.” released “Contigo” off her upcoming Whiskey & Hemingway album. .watkins kicked off her 2026 with “Heartbreakaholic,” her first release of the year. is back with “High Pony.” followed her ACM nomination with “Things You Didn’t Know.” And officially released “Traitor (Roles Reversed)” everywhere after it lived as a Target exclusive on Cloud 9.

On the next slide, shared “We Didn’t Make It That Far.” performed “Heart Shaped Necklace” on the premiere of Dutton Ranch, with a John Osborne-produced full-length on the way. expanded her debut album “The Right People Will Love You” with a deluxe edition. And .band, the East Nashville blues-rock crew, dropped “Back In My Groove.” , the sibling duo of Laela and Max Dasher, is also out with “Ouachita Woods.”

(“Copy & Paste”), (“What You Don’t Know”), and (“Strip or Sell”) also have new ones out this week. They’re all worth your time.

Swipe through for the full lineup and build your playlist for the week ahead.

A month ago,  added 24 daytime stage acts to the 2026 lineup. Seventeen of those twenty-four were women or artists from ...
05/15/2026

A month ago, added 24 daytime stage acts to the 2026 lineup. Seventeen of those twenty-four were women or artists from underrepresented communities. That’s 71%. I called it real progress, because it was.

Yesterday, the Fan Fair X lineup dropped. The Tractor Supply Spotlight Stage will host 37 acts. 23 of those 37 are women or artists of color. That’s an impressive 62%.

The CMA Close Up Stage will run the festival’s emerging-artist programming and panels: Latino Trailblazers, Country Central Presents, Country and Rap: The Black Southern Roots of American Music, Sound and Story, and Behind the Hits. Country music actually leans on these conversations for inclusion work. The work groups like , .opry, , and have been doing for years runs underneath this list.

I’ve spent real time with more than thirteen of the artists on this lineup. These thirteen are the ones I had photos and footage ready to share. Every photo and video here is mine, shot over the last three years. Some I just met this year. Some I’ve known since before this account existed.

Ten on the Spotlight Stage: . . . . . . . . . .

Three on the Close Up Stage panels: and on Latino Trailblazers. on Presents.

Stream them. Catch them at Fan Fair X June 4 through 7. Either does more for an emerging artist than most people realize.

See y’all in June.

 reliably delivers a phenomenal night of original live music twice a week, but last Thursday was probably my favorite sh...
05/14/2026

reliably delivers a phenomenal night of original live music twice a week, but last Thursday was probably my favorite show of the year so far. I knew the lineup was going to be good. I did not know it was going to be that good.

I was there to cover , a past client who keeps climbing, and she turned in the brilliant set I knew she would. Then the rest of the bill spent the night raising the floor for everyone watching.

absolutely blew me away. The 19-year-old from Leesburg is tapping into something the room can feel before she opens her mouth. That reel of her last set has not stopped moving. Remember the name.

played as a duo with a full band behind them, and their harmonies were one of the real finds of the night for me.

played pregnant and turned in one of the most commanding sets of the night. I walked in not knowing her music and walked out completely blown away.

was terrific and earned his spot in the carousel.

That was probably my favorite Whiskey Jam of the year so far, and that is saying something. These are my favorite photos from a memorable night of music.

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