CMA’S INTRODUCING NASHVILLE RETURNS TO AUCKLAND THIS MARCH FEATURING COOPER ALAN, PRISCILLA BLOCK & MEGAN MORONEY.

For this first time since 2019, the Country Music Association’s (CMA) international touring series, Introducing Nashville, returns to Auckland at The Tuning Fork on Tuesday, 19 March. The 2024 lineup will include performances by Cooper Alan, Priscilla Block, Megan Moroney plus special guests.

Since 2019 Introducing Nashville has provided a platform to introduce exciting current artists to international audiences. Music fans around the world have been captivated with the unique Nashville-style writer’s round with artists appearing on stage together in an acoustic lineup, introducing their songs and sharing stories about their careers and personal lives. Since its launch, Introducing Nashville has delivered performances to fans worldwide including Amsterdam, Auckland, Berlin, Dublin, Glasgow, Hamburg, London, Oslo, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Tokyo and additional cities in the U.K. and Australia, with lineups featuring a variety of artists including Danielle Bradbery, Tyler Braden, Brandy Clark, Devin Dawson, Travis Denning, Lindsay Ell, Caylee Hammack, Walker Hayes, Tiera Kennedy, Logan Mize, Alana Springsteen, Tenille Townes, Morgan Wade, and Rachel Wammack. 

About the artists:

Cooper Alan
A rising star with the spirit of a true entertainer, a penchant for outside-the-box thinking and a growing, self-built audience, Cooper Alan is an artist willing to take Country where others have never dreamed – and fans love him for it. Whether it’s a deeply personal, step-by-step romantic saga, or an off-the-wall party anthem, Alan’s music is already some of Country’s most fearless work, and he’s just getting started. “An audience can tell when you're not being authentic to yourself,” the North Carolina native says. “So for me, I’ve gotta be willing to always go with my gut musically, wherever that takes me.” A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the independent artist has racked up more than 225 million streams, a massive digital presence with more than 14 million followers across all social media platforms, and a touring footprint that sold over 85,000 tickets to date. It all stems from an ability to meet fans where they are – a creative renegade freely mixing musical styles, with boundless energy, sharp writing and often, a sense of humour. 

Priscilla Block

One of Country Music’s most exciting new artists and one of its most authentic and relatable voices, Priscilla Block came to prominence in 2020 posting relatable songs such as “PMS” and “Thick Thighs” on TikTok, gaining a global following with her brazen honesty and infectious lyrics. In the summer of 2020, a chance encounter with an ex boyfriend inspired the song “Just About Over You,” changing her life. It went viral online, topped the all-genre iTunes charts and led to her signing a record deal. From there she released her debut EP followed by her first full-length album. Welcome to the Block Party is authentically Priscilla Block. The album includes songs like “Heels in Hand” and “Ever Since You Left” that detail the many dynamics of a relationship from the crying to the kiss-offs, to “My Bar” that flips the genre’s gender roles, to the album’s closer “Peaked in High School,” written as a victory lap for anyone who may not have been the homecoming king or queen. “I write about what I know,” Block says. “If that’s heartbreak or struggle or owning my flaws and being unapologetically me.” Doing things her own way has paid off. Pegged as a 2021 Artist to Watch by Amazon Music, PANDORA, Spotify, CMT, The Boot, MusicRow, HITS, Sounds Like Nashville, Country Now, Music Mayhem and more, Block’s streaming has topped 250 million and rising. 

Megan Moroney
A Country newcomer with massive staying power, Megan Moroney is strong-minded, sensitive, and fiercely devoted to speaking her truth. As a teenager in Georgia, she first honed her gorgeously gritty vocal style by singing covers with her dad and brother, then took up guitar at age 16. In July 2022 she offered a first glimpse at the full-force personality of her songwriting with the Pistol Made of Roses EP, inspiring CMT (Country Music Television) to praise her as a “musical risk taker with powerhouse pipes.” As her career gained unstoppable momentum, she next delivered her breakout single “Tennessee Orange”: an immediate smash that soon led to her signing with Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records, in addition to notching her first No. 1 at Country radio and earning RIAA Platinum certification. Named a 2023 Artist to Watch by the likes of Amazon Music, Pandora, and Spotify, as well as an iHeart "On The Verge" artist and one of CMT’s Next Women of Country for 2023, Moroney released her debut album Lucky in May 2023 winning Breakthrough Female Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards. With two sold-out headline tours to her name throughout 2023, Moroney is a rising star to watch for 2024.

Introducing Nashville promises to be a night of discovery and entertainment featuring Nashville’s fastest rising stars. Tickets go on sale Wednesday 14 February at midday from Moshtix.

About the Country Music Association  

Founded in 1958, the Country Music Association is the first trade organization formed to promote a type of music. The organization serves as an educational and professional resource for the industry and advances the growth of Country Music worldwide. This is accomplished through CMA’s core initiatives: the CMA Awards, which annually recognize outstanding achievement in the industry; CMA Fest, which benefits music education through the CMA Foundation and is taped for a television special, “CMA Fest”; and “CMA Country Christmas.” CMA’s television properties are screened internationally in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Gibraltar, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the U.K. CMA brings music worldwide, by presenting live performances featuring artists and songwriters through its touring series Introducing Nashville and CMA Songwriters Series. CMA members are located around the globe. Through task forces represented in Australia, Canada, Germany, Scandinavia and the U.K., industry leaders work to further Country Music in these territories. CMA presents six annual international industry awards to acknowledge the efforts of individuals working to develop Country Music in markets across the world.