Some of country music's biggest stars are teaming up with ACM Lifting Lives and Tickets-for-Charity to offer you some of the best seats in the house for concerts this summer. You pay less than anywhere else for fantastic seats and exclusive VIP experiences. Every purchase automatically benefits ACM Lifting Lives, and other charities supported by your favorite artists. Country stars involved include Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band and Toby Keith. To see the available seats and packages click here.
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www.askmen.com File under we can't say we did not see this coming. Jennifer Nettles of duo Sugarland announced today that she will release a solo album in the Fall. It will be produced by Rick Rubin, previously co-president of Columbia Records and the founder of Def Jam Records. Rubin has worked with a variety of artists such as Johnny Cash & Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Jennifer said on her website: "I am absolutely thrilled and wholly proud to be working with Rick”, said Nettles. “If you ask any musician who is on their producer ‘bucket list’, Rick would be on each and every one." Jennifer will be presenting at the Billboard Music Awards on Monday. Lady Antebellum just garnered their third consecutive #1 album across all genres on the Billboard Top 200 chart with "Golden". Their second single from that album, "Goodbye Town", is at radio now and the just released video can be watched above. For more information visit www.ladyantebellum.com
On her first Mother's Day, Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles shared via twitter the first public photo of her son Magnus Hamilton Miller. The baby boy was born in December. You can catch up with Jennifer on her new website www.jennifernettles.com where she wrote a blog entry entitled "Meet Magnus". Dierks Bentley announced the title of his new album slated for a Fall release, via twitter, today. The official release reads as follows: Seven albums into one of country music’s most-respected and most-unpredictable careers, award-winning singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley continues to grow. His latest evolution comes in the form of RISER, a project due this fall that stands as his most personal to date. Written and recorded in the year following his father’s death, the album draws its title from “I’m A Riser,” a song about resilience and determination. “I’m A Riser” works as a commentary on spiritual, personal and societal commitment, but it also applies to the competitive battlefield of the music industry. It’s particularly appropriate for an album about rejuvenation delivered by Bentley. "Life in general has a way of knocking you down,” Bentley says. “It’s different reasons for different folks – could be personal reasons, could be family reasons, your job, drugs, alcohol. That song really applies to anybody that’s lived. There have always been those moments when we have to get back up and get on our feet. They are defining moments…breakthrough moments.” Accepting change – and growing from it – is a key theme in RISER, and it’s reflected by the tone of the album, which demonstrates a new artistic depth and an extralevel of intensity for Bentley. It evolves from track to track, exuding a range of emotions, all the while impressing upon the listener that Bentley’s instinct for a hit is stronger than ever. Bentley made significant reconfigurations in his creative team to shake up his sonic texture without sacrificing his commercial drive. He re-enlisted executive producer Arturo Buenahora Jr., who worked on Bentley’s first two albums; and utilized producer Ross Copperman, who co-wrote “Tip It On Back” for Bentley’s current album Home. The new atmosphere yielded the most focused and intense vocals of Bentley’s career. Some were recorded live with the band as the musicians laid down the tracks, but others were captured in less-than-obvious locales. One track’s vocal was recorded on Bentley’s tour bus. Still others were cut at Copperman’s house with the producer literally at Bentley’s side, pushing him to some of his most emotional, and seasoned, performances. "It's not even really a studio,” Bentley says of Copperman’s set-up. “It’s just kind of a corner of the house he’s taken over, so there was a kind of intimacy to the vocal process. It was important to get out of the studio and sing in different places, and to do it with other people in the room. That way, you have an audience and you get a sense of what’s working, what’s not working, when it’s feeling good, not feeling good. It brings a little more emotion and energy out of your voice.” Since making a life-altering drive with his father from Phoenix to Nashville when he was 19 years old, Bentley has forged his own path in an industry built predominantly on formula. He has mixed elements of modern country, classic country, bluegrass and rock, maintaining an unmistakable identity while constantly reinventing his sound. His album Home debuted at No. 1 and spawned three consecutive chart-topping hits, marking 10 career No. 1 songs for Bentley as a singer and songwriter. His five previous studio albums have sold more than five million copies, garnered 11 GRAMMY nominations and earned him an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry. Bentley is currently out on the road playing sold out arenas and amphitheaters on the Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley: Locked & Reloaded Tour through October. For a short trailer on RISER and updates on when the first single will be revealed, check www.dierks.com. We are really excited for this new record, are you? Phil Vassar Concerts are great, but there is nothing like a good songwriter's show! Hearing the stories behind the songs we hear on the radio every day is an evening not to be missed. And the show on Tuesday night did not disappoint. The CMA Songwriter's Show was back in NYC Tuesday May 7th & Wednesday May 8th celebrating 9 years of bringing country music stories, songs, and songwriters to NYC. This time host Bob DiPiero brought Phil Vassar, Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark with him for four shows over two nights. Bob performed five of his famous numbers including "The Church on Cumberland Road", "Gone", "Southern Voice", "Blue Clear Sky" and "Daddy's Money". Shane McAnally is one songwriter having a terrific year. He is one of the writers behind of a string of recent number one hits. He performed "Come Over", "Somewhere With You", "Downtown", and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye". He said he gets a lot of his ideas from his mom because she is "a lunatic". He relayed the story of how there were so many cars coming and going at a neighbor's house and when his mom was asked what's going on she replied "they're either selling mary kay or mary jane"....which of course are now lyrics in Kacey Musgraves' hit "Merry Go Round". He also expressed a genuine gratitude to be able to come to NYC for this writer's round, speaking of his deep admiration for Bob DiPiero. He called Bob a "hero" but jokingly asked him to "retire please"! This was also Brandy Clark's first time performing at a CMA Songwriter's Show and from her warm reception from the crowd, it will hopefully not be her last. She co-wrote and performed Miranda Lambert's current #1 "Mama's Broken Heart". She spoke of her fascination of all things HLN and women who commit murder. Her interest in those headlines sure leads to some amazing lyrics. She did two songs related to those topics, which hopefully someone will cut, because they were terrific. One was about a woman going to prison and how she did not look good in stripes & the other had the memorable line of "the only way to get by is to get high". Her final song was The Band Perry's recent #1 "Better Dig Two". She too spoke about looking up to Bob and remembering seeing his name on the bottom of the videos at CMT and wanting to become a songwriter. And last but not least, there was Phil Vassar, who has done prior CMA shows. Saying he felt like Schroder of the Peanuts "up here on the keyboards", he packed energy, humor and killer piano playing & vocals into every turn he had in the round. He spoke of living in Antioch, TN, the "hood" if TN had one, and meeting and having a songwriting partnership with Craig Wiseman. He sang "Joe and Rosalita" which he said was the true story about two of his friends he set up. And then there was "Bye Bye" which he wrote about his now ex-wife, who he is good friends with today. He also sang "Another Day in Paradise" with the entire audience singing along. The next CMA shows at Joe's Pub are July 23 and 24th, with guests currently unannounced. No matter, we'll be there because it is sure to be a terrific show. For more info: www.joespub.com Well all know Faith Hill announced that she will no longer be the voice of Sunday Night Football on NBC. It was revealed yesterday that Oklahoma country cutie Carrie Underwood would be her replacement. She will be the voice of "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" starting with the September 8th broadcast. Carrie says the song will be changed up a bit in the studio: "It's the same general song and lyrics, but we definitely have been working on putting my spin on it," she says. "It's gonna look different, it's gonna sound different. It's gonna be me." I am certainly not, but maybe you are? If so, you can test your knowledge about Rascal Flatts for a chance to win prizes like VIP passes to their shows. The grand prize is a an all expense paid trip to the 2013 CMA Awards in Nashville. Good Luck!!https://www.facebook.com/FarmersInsurance/app_308017269325281
And doing a full 180degrees, Blake Shelton also released his video for "Boys Round Here" today. Not everything in music has to be rocket schience, sometimes you just need a song to have fun and let loose to. This video is pure fun on the farm with cameos from the Pistol Annies and RaeLynn
Will Hoge It may only be May, but on July 25th, the Bowery Ballroom will have a can't miss show: Will Hoge with Wade Bowen. These singer/songwriters are two of our faves and missing this show would be a definite mistake! Will Hoge is a Grammy, ACM and CMA nominated singer songwriter from TN. He has toured with ZZ Top, Squeeze and Dierks Bentley. He has released numerous albums, his latest titled Modern American Protest Music" was released in September. He is the co-writer of the #1 song performed by the Eli Young Band "Even If It Breaks Your Heart". Wade Bowen is a singer/songwriter from Texas. His latest album was "The Given" released on May of 2012. He and Will have written a song together that went to #1 in Texas "Another Song Nobody Will Hear". Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster and are only $15. So no excuses!! If you want to see fantastic performers and listen to top notch music, get a ticket fast! |
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February 2020
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