Walton's Mountain: JVC/Fort Walton Beach, FL AE and Country WHWY APD/afternoon host Scott Mallory has added OM duties for the cluster where he has worked since 2021, and previously worked under different ownership from 2014-2019. Additionally, 25-year radio veteran Brad Miller has joined the cluster as Production & Promotions Lead. Former OM Woofy Ramone departed in January of last year, with  GM John Griffo assuming those duties (CAT 1/28/25). Reach Mallory here.

Four Wheels Drive: Former Townsquare WFRG/Utica, NY Cluster Dir./Content and morning co-host Dave "Wheels" Wheeler has joined crosstown Roser Communication Networks for mornings at Country WBGK-WBUG and nights on Top 40 sister WSKS-WSKU. Wheeler left Townsquare after nearly 17 years earlier this month (CAT 2/10). Reach him here.

Hulla Ballou: Radio vet Rita Ballou will join Shouthouse KHSB/Marble Falls, TX for middays March 2. The station flipped from gospel to Red Dirt "Hill Country 104.7" last August (CAT 9/3/25), and Ballou, who will host a show called Rita's Rendezvous, is the first personality hired by PD Jim Nash. Ballou's background includes mornings and afternoons at  KOKE/Austin.

Tour Support: Brooks & Dunn's Neon Moon Tour has been extended into 2026, beginning Sept. 10 in Evansville, IN. Joining on select dates are David Lee Murphy, Tucker Wetmore, Willow Avalon, Kaitlin Butts, Caylee Hammack and Angie K. Tickets go on sale Friday (2/27) here.

Darius Rucker's 20-city Songs of Summer Tour – featuring Lauren Alaina, George Birge, Evan Honer, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Randolph and Austin Williams on select dates – kicks off June 4 in Toledo, OH; tickets here Friday (2/27).

Somewhere In My Contract: MCA's Keith Urban has signed with Crush Music for management. The company has offices in Nashville, New York and Los Angeles, and represents artists including Green Day, Miley Cyrus, Fall Out Boy, Weezer, Lorde, Train and Sia. Urban recently left Borman Entertainment after 25 years (CAT 2/23).

Benefit News: Hop On A Cure's A Nashville Night of Hearts and Hits raised more than $350,000 for ALS research. The event featured performances from the organization's John Driskell Hopkins, James Salestrom, Kix Brooks, Kristian Bush, Angie K and Rivers Rutherford.

Blue Highway's Carly Pearce will headline Nashville's City Winery April 6 to benefit the Pet Community Center. Established in 2011, PCC provides low cost vaccines and veterinary care; its clinic is named for the late Phran Galante. Limited VIP tickets are available; general on-sale is Friday (2/27) here.

Gender Reveal: Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio(MIW)’s annual Gender Analysis Study shows the percentage of women serving as radio GMs increased from 21.67% in 2024 to 22.07% in 2025. When the first study was conducted in 2004, the percentage of female GMs was only 14.9%. In the Top 100 markets, 24.09% (784 stations) were managed by women, which is almost a 5% increase from 2024 and still continues to run higher than the national average. Only 13.02% of radio stations had women as programmers, up from 12.38% in 2024. In the Top 100 markets, female programmers represent 15.25% of the total, an increase from 11.23% in 2024.

Signage: Sony/Disruptor Records' Bryan Andrews signed with WME. He is managed by 10 and 8's Nicholas Mishko, and his new single “Are We Great Yet?” will be released March 6.

Stories Of The Week: Search for news and people in the archives at countryaircheck.com.

• Gordy Rush was promoted to VP/Business Development for Guaranty Communications. (2/23)
• Jane Staszak is not joining the new Big Machine/Nashville Harbor promotion team. (2/23)
• Borman Entertainment shuttered. (2/23)

Chronicle: Retired  WBCT/Grand Rapids News Dir. Reese Rickards has died. An obituary on the site of Townsquare's crosstown WLHT called him a "legendary radio personality," and noted, "Rickards, along with his on-air partner Neal Dionne, entertained country music fans in West Michigan for more than 20 years." A Facebook tribute from iHeart SVP/Programming Dave Taft says Rickards and Dionne "started" WBCT, and "for 20 some years they set the standard for the rest of us to follow." Taft said of Rickards specifically, "He was serious about his craft, but yet unlike most news people, enjoyed a silliness he could bring to his presentation." No word yet on services.

Nashville songwriter Brett Jones died Feb. 16 at the age of 69. According to his obituary, Jones had more than "300 songs recorded as a writer, 150 major label recordings, 14 Top 10s and seven No. 1 hits ... over the course of three decades. He also recorded several albums as an artist himself." A celebration of life will be held at BMI/Nashville (10 Music Square East) March 2 at 4pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to nonprofit Gold Star Mentors.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for Feb. 23, according to Mediabase.

1. MORGAN WALLEN/20 Cigarettes (Big Loud) 4788 points
2. ELLA LANGLEY/Choosin' Texas (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) 4479 points
3. SHABOOZEY & JELLY ROLL/Amen (Empire/Magnolia/Stoney Creek) 4133 points
4. THOMAS RHETT f/JORDAN DAVIS/Ain't A Bad Life (Blue Highway/MCA) 3242 points 
5. JUSTIN MOORE/Time's Ticking (Blue Highway) 3213 points 

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for Feb. 22-23, compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase.  

1. JORDAN DAVIS/Turn This Truck Around (MCA) +616 points
2. TUCKER WETMORE/Brunette (Back Blocks/Mercury) +536 points
3. RILEY GREEN/Change My Mind (Nash. Harbor) +405 points
4. LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) +374 points
5. HARDY f/E. CHURCH, M. WALLEN & T. MCGRAW/McArthur (Big Loud) +343 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (2/25): Shawna Thompson (Thompson Square), Buck Stevens, the late Faron Young, the late Ralph Stanley.

Armadillo By Morning: Warner's Gavin Adcock (c) with the label's James Marsh and WQMX/Akron's Sarah Kay at the Dusty Armadillo.

Bless The Road Less Traveled: Nashville Harbor's Rascal Flatts (top) and Big Loud's Lauren Alaina in Oklahoma City. Pictured (top, l-r) are the trio's Gary LeVox, iHeart/Oklahoma's JJ Ryan and the trio's Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus; (bottom, l-r) Ryan, Alaina, the label's Kelley Bradshaw and KJKE’s Kevin Christopher.