Before I get into this week, I want to pause to pay tribute. On Tuesday, Dolly Parton passed away at 80, after what her family called a brief battle with cancer. I am not going to pretend I have some untold personal Dolly story to add to the thousands of personal tributes already out there this week, and honestly, that is not the story I want to lead with today. What I will share is one line of hers has been sitting with me since her death, “You gotta keep trying to find your niche and trying to fit into whatever slot that's left for you, or to make one of your own.” Dolly built an entire empire on knowing exactly what her place was. That line is exactly why, this week, for us at Degy, the story that mattered most happened on a pier in a parking lot at Naval Station Norfolk.
On Saturday, August 29, we produced an Operation MWR concert at Naval Station Norfolk, headlined by Teddy Swims with special guest Miranda Lambert, opened by DJ Vito Corleone. Operation MWR launched in 2024 as a resiliency and morale program, and its whole mission is simple to say and hard to execute: put performers of every level, from openers to headliners, on Navy bases and ships around the world so our sailors and their families get a night that feels normal in a life that rarely is. On paper, that is already a special thing to be part of. But some of what happened in Norfolk this weekend reminded me of something bigger than any single show. I was again reminded what my actual place in this industry has become.
Shows are shows. Concerts are concerts. I book plenty of both, and I love… well, most of them. But military events are different, and if you do enough of them, something shifts. You stop being “the guy who books concerts” and you become the guy who gets a call when the military needs something, anything, for our service members anywhere in the world. That is when you start to understand your purpose instead of just your job title. Twenty-ish years ago, I booked my first military show. I had no idea at the time that it would end up defining more of my career than any arena date or stadium event ever would.
This weekend I had the honor of meeting some of our Gold Star Families backstage in Norfolk. It is not a designation anyone wants or ever asks for. Those families lost an immediate family member while that person was serving our country, and there is nothing fair about that kind of loss. When I get to walk one of those families down a meet and greet line, introduce them to a performer, and then watch that performer's face change, sometimes tear up, sometimes just go quiet, right there in front of everyone, I recognize my purpose.
And then there was a moment I did not see coming. A familiar face showed up in that Norfolk crowd, someone I had not seen since March. We just hugged. We cried a little too, both of us, thinking about the last time we had been together. That man is the Fun Boss on the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, which just wrapped one of the longest carrier deployments in modern U.S. Navy history at 326 straight days at sea. During that deployment the ship also fought through a serious fire onboard that displaced hundreds of sailors and forced a stop in Souda Bay, Crete for repairs, while their carrier served on the front line during the conflict with Iran. What most people reading this do not know is that I got a phone call in March, under operational security, and I was on a plane to Greece three days later to meet that ship during a brief break in an incredibly intense stretch of their deployment. We cried in Greece too. A lot. We found a small way to help boost morale for those warfighters so they could get through the rest of that deployment and make it home safely. Every single one of them came home.
These are times when I really understood my purpose, my mission, and my place both in this industry and in the career that I chose. Most people search their whole life for purpose, and sometimes it finds you instead. Sure, I book and execute shows every day, and I make people happy for a couple of hours, that part is real and I would not trade it. We’re in the business of giving people fun every night, in locations around the world. But there is something deeper running underneath it now. It has become a mission. Getting our warfighters through some of the toughest stretches of their service, helping families cope with loss they never signed up for, being the guy who shows up when it is needed, whatever “it” turns out to be. I did not plan any of this twenty years ago. I just kept saying yes, kept showing up, and somewhere along the way I found my niche, exactly the way Dolly said you have to.
G-d bless our service members, their families, and those willing to give their lives for the safety, security, and freedom of the rest of us. We often send our Navy sailors off with the phrase, ‘fair winds and following seas’, and welcome them back with ‘welcome home and BZ (Bravo Zulu)’. And a special note to those sailors I met and spent time with on the USS Gerald R. Ford in March 2026 along with their resilient, determined, inspirational and morale-boosting Fun Boss: THANK YOU for reminding me of my purpose this year.
Beyond Norfolk, this was a loaded week for touring news. Wu-Tang Clan is deep into its “Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber” run with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, hitting Darien Center, Atlantic City, and Hartford this week, with all nine surviving original members on stage together. When a group with that much history gets closer to shutting the book, it is a reminder that even legacy acts eventually have to decide what their final chapter looks like.
On the pop and R&B side, The Weeknd jumped back to number one on Pollstar's Artist Power Index this week, his second time on top in 2026 alone. And on the sports and live crossover front, Ayra Starr was announced as the halftime performer for the 2026 NFL London Game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, another example of live music finding its way into spaces that used to belong strictly to sports.
Two acts worth watching right now. Tiny Habits just kicked off “The Keepers Tour” behind harmony-driven songwriting that is building a real word-of-mouth following, the kind of act that overperforms every room they play. And Skilla Baby launched “The Price of Fame Tour” this week, riding a run of momentum that has him squarely on the radar for buyers looking to book hip-hop that still feels grounded rather than manufactured. Neither is a headline you saw on trade sites this week, and that is exactly why they belong as a ‘hidden gem’.
Nashville paused this weekend for a sold-out Grand Ole Opry tribute to Dolly Parton on Saturday night. Carly Pearce, who got her start performing at Dollywood, opened the night, Kathy Mattea sang “Jolene,” Molly Tuttle and Ketch Secor teamed up on “Just Someone I Used to Know,” and Jelly Roll made a surprise appearance to close the night out on “9 to 5” with the full room. It was a special, fitting type of night that only happens when an entire industry agrees, without needing to be asked, that someone mattered. As a few folks have mentioned, she may have been the only person in America that everyone could agree that we loved.
With the military tribute and the week's biggest headlines covered above, let me pivot to five completely different artists who belong on buyer's radar for fairs, festivals, colleges, and corporate dates.
Chase Matthew built his entire following from the ground up on social media before labels took notice. His grassroots fan base translates directly into ticket sales at fairs and festivals, where his blend of country and hip-hop energy plays especially well with younger crowds. He was great for a college show in Michigan for us this spring, and remains a top choice for our buyers.
Larry Fleet has one of the most lived-in voices in country music right now. It’s a blend of a traditional, soulful sound that works just as well at a state fair grandstand as it does opening an amphitheater date. A few European ID250 military dates in July for us this summer offered our team a first-hand look at this rising star.
Corey Kent has spent the last two years turning steady streaming growth into a real live draw, and buyers who booked him early are already seeing the payoff as his audience keeps expanding.
Chayce Beckham came out of American Idol and has quietly become a reliable ticket seller in his lane, with a rowdy, road-tested live show that fits college and corporate stages just as easily as it fits a festival slot.
Tigirlily Gold rounds out my week’s Top 5 list. The sister duo brings tight harmonies and a fun, high-energy live show, and they are still priced at a level where most buyers reading this can afford to book them, not just admire them from a distance.
I will be honest; this was a heavier week and tougher blog to write than most. Losing Dolly, then turning around and standing on another military base in Norfolk watching Gold Star Families meet performers who did not have to show up but did anyway, then hugging a friend I had not seen since a secret meet-up in Greece back in March. It is a lot to hold in one week. But it is also exactly the kind of week that reminds me why I still love what I do each day, even twenty years in. My friends often joke and make fun of me about my travels and my secret trips. Candidly, I wouldn’t trade a single mile of the travel it takes to see and support our service members around the world. I found my purpose and will keep showing up for those that need ‘me’ to help them get through the rest of their journey and find their way home. I’ll see you next weekend!
Degy Entertainment has spent more than 25 years buying and booking talent for nearly 3,000 events a year across 30 countries, everything from college concerts and state and county fairs to corporate events, festivals, and, closest to my heart, military and Department of War installations around the globe. Whether it is a headliner on a football stadium stage or an opener on a pier at a Navy base, our job is the same: find the right artist for the room and make the show happen.
Want to talk booking, or just talk shop? Reach out to Ari Nisman or visit www.degy.com to learn more.