Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Will Hoge releases his new single, “Middle Of America,” to iTunes and other digital retailers today (8/12) following the exclusive premiere of the tune on Rolling Stone Country. Teaming up with Producer Marshall Altman (Marc Broussard, Eric Paslay, Frankie Ballard) for the first time, “Middle Of America” was recorded in Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A and is the first single from Hoge’s forthcoming album, which is due in early 2015.
 
Written by Hoge, Jessi Alexander and Tommy Lee James, the song vividly depicts small town dreams and rural living, taking listeners back to life growing up in the heartland.
 
"It tells the story of my growing up in a small town in Tennessee. One thing I've realized in all my travels is that it is the same for everyone no matter where they’ve grown up. We all know the same characters, just with different names, and that’s what ‘Middle Of America’ is to me,” says Hoge.

Bringing this heartland anthem on the road, Hoge is currently playing shows across the country and has opened for Dierks Bentley, John Mellencamp, Pistol Annies, Shinedown, Sugarland, ZZ Top and many more.
 
Hoge catapulted into the national spotlight with the release of his top-selling single “Strong.” Providing the musical backdrop for General Motor’s 2014 Chevy Silverado ad campaign, “Strong” has sold 200,000 copies and is the featured bonus track on Hoge’s latest album NEVER GIVE IN. The celebrated project peaked at No. 4 on the Americana Airplay Charts and held steady in the Top 10 for fifteen consecutive weeks.
 
For tour dates and more information, visit www.WillHoge.com

Dierks Bentley announced that a second leg has been added to his 2014 RISER TOUR. The 20 city run begins Oct. 2 in Stockton, CA and runs through the  end of the year with special guests Randy Houser and Eric Paslay on the US dates and Houser and rising Canadian artist Tim Hicks on the stops north of the border. Fans can now purchase tickets for the first announced dates at www.dierks.com with more details to be revealed over the next few weeks.
 
“It’s going to be tough to top this summer, but every night I get more excited and don't want this run to end.  I'm just living in the moment as much as I can and taking it all in…it really has been the best summer of my life," said Bentley.  “I'm looking forward to having Randy, Eric and Tim out on the road for the next leg…all three of them are crazy talented."
 
While capacity crowds have filled amphitheaters across the country, Bentley’s tour has also caught the attention of critics who note headlining is “what the man was born to do” (Arizona Republic).
  
First Announced Cities on the 2014 RISER TOUR’s Second Leg:
Stockton, CA
Fresno, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Boise, ID
Missoula, MT
Edmonton, AB
Saskatoon, SK
Calgary, AB
Winnipeg, MT
Fargo, ND
Bismark, ND
Brookings, SD
Hershey, PA
Bethlehem, PA
Uncasville, CT
Utica, NY
Huntington, WV
Roanoke, VA
Baltimore, MD
Ottawa, ON
Hamilton, ON
Oshawa, ON
London, ON

Kacey Musgraves will be embarking on a ten day tour that starts in Tulsa, OK and wraps up in Savannah, GA. John and Jacob will be supporting Kacey on the run.

Presale Tickets & VIP Packages will be available for all dates. Presale for all dates will begin on Tuesday, August 12 at 10am (local venue time).
VIP Packages will be also be available at that time. 

All presales will be sold through either KaceyMusgraves.com or Ticketmaster and all will require a code. To find out what code you'll need for your city, head HERE.







Tour Dates:
9/25 - Tulsa, OK - Cains Ballroom
9/26 - Springfield, MO - Gilloz Theatre
9/27 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
10/1 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
10/2 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
10/3 - Baton Rouge, LA - Varsity Theatre
10/4 - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre
10/17 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
10/18 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
10/19 - Savannah, GA - Trustees Theater

Not many people would start off their album with a portion of the Our Father, but Mitch Rossell makes that brave choice with "God, Girls and Football." The song reminisces about the simpler times earlier in one's life when things revolved around God and going to church (salvation), girls (temptation) and football. 
The song is from his terrific album I Got Dressed Up For This which Mitch released earlier this year. He recently shot a video for the tune, but until it premieres, enjoy Mitch's acoustic version below.

EMI Records Nashville recording artist Eric Church debuted the new music video for his current hit single, “Cold One,” in three stages over the past few days.

On Friday, Aug. 8, the music video debuted exclusively for members of his fan club, The Church Choir, at EricChurch.com.

On Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10, anyone who visited EricChurch.com and entered their e-mail address or social login was able to unlock “Cold One” for viewing and be eligible to win a Church-branded Yeti cooler.

On Monday, Aug. 11, “Cold One” will be available on CMT, GAC, VEVO, and all other music video outlets.

“Cold One” features the CMA and ACM Award winner along with his band members Jeff Cease, Lee Hendricks, Jeff Hyde, Driver Williams, and Craig Wright in both performance and acting roles. Directed by Peter Zavadil, the music video was shot at a beer warehouse and bar outside Nashville. “Cold One” was written by Church, Hyde, and Lynn Hutton and is featured on Church’s current album The Outsiders.

"Cold One" will undoubtedly be an audience favorite when Church launches his highly-anticipated The Outsiders World Tour at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City, LA on Sept. 11. The first leg of the tour will take place throughout Sept.-Dec. in the U.S. and Canada and is exclusively promoted by Louis Messina of The Messina Group/AEG Live. The dates for the first leg of The Outsiders World Tour with special guest Dwight Yoakam (#TheOutsidersLive) are as follows:

Sept. 11 | Bossier City, LA | CenturyLink Center*
Sept. 12 | Little Rock, AR | Verizon Arena*
Sept. 13 | St. Louis, MO | Scottrade Center*
Sept. 16 | Minneapolis, MN | Target Center*
Sept. 17 | Des Moines, IA | Wells Fargo Arena*
Sept. 18 | Omaha, NE | CenturyLink Center*
Sept. 25 | Louisville, KY | KFC Yum! Center*
Sept. 26 | Charleston, WV | Charleston Civic Center*
Sept. 27 | Greensboro, NC | Greensboro Coliseum*
Oct. 9 | Grand Rapids, MI | Van Andel Arena*
Oct. 10 | Cleveland, OH | Quicken Loans Arena*
Oct. 11 | Pittsburgh, PA | Consol Energy Center*
Oct. 16 | Charlottesville, VA | John Paul Jones Arena**
Oct. 17 | New York, NY | Madison Square Garden**
Oct. 18 | Philadelphia, PA | Wells Fargo Center**
Oct. 23 | Manchester, NH | Verizon Wireless Arena**
Oct. 24 | Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun**
Oct. 25 | Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun**
Oct. 30 | Knoxville, TN |Thompson-Boling Arena**
Oct. 31 | Memphis, TN | FedExForum**
Nov. 1 | Tulsa, OK | BOK Center**
Nov. 13 | London, ON | Budweiser Gardens**
Nov. 14 | Hamilton, ON | FirstOntario Centre**
Nov. 15 | Ottawa, ON | Canadian Tire Centre**
Nov. 20 | Green Bay, WI | Resch Center
Nov. 21 | Peoria, IL | Peoria Civic Center***
Nov. 22 | Evansville, IN | The Ford Center***
Dec. 4 | Wichita, KS | INTRUST Bank Arena***
Dec. 5 | Kansas City, MO | Sprint Center
Dec. 6 | Sioux Falls, SD | Denny Sanford Premier Center***
Dec. 11 | Atlanta, GA | The Arena at Gwinnett Center***
Dec. 12 | Greenville, SC | Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Dec. 13 | Birmingham, AL | BJCC Arena***
All dates with special guest Dwight Yoakam
*denotes Brothers Osborne
**denotes Brandy Clark
***denotes Halestorm

Readying the release of his latest album, Moonshine In The Trunk, Brad Paisley has been "leaking" tracks and previews via social media over the past few days. This video however, is apparently legit. His next single from the album, which sounds completely like a Brad love song (and like something he has put out before), is called "Perfect Storm." Watch the lyric video below.

The Wild Feathers just announced their October and November US tour & you won't want to miss it! Apache Relay and Desert Noises will be joining them out on the road. 
Check out all of the tour dates HERE including a stop at Irving Plaza in NYC on November 21st. 
 
The Wild Feathers also premiered their new video for “Left My Woman” on Relix.com. Watch it HERE. The video was shot from shows at the Bowery in NY (we were there!), the Troubadour in LA, and Marathon in Nashville, so lots of friends and favorite fans are in it.

Sunny Sweeney has teamed up with Thirty Tigers and acclaimed producer Luke Wooten to develop Provoked, a highly anticipated project that once again proves she isn’t afraid to share her vulnerable stories and hardships through her music. Sweeney’s third studio album includes 13 personal and heartbreakingly real songs – all but two penned by Sweeney herself. With the success of the album’s lead single “Bad Girl Phase” on Sirius XM’s “The Highway,” Sweeney has already garnered the attention and support of her adoring fans and was even voted “Album of the Month for August 2014” on TheBoot.com. Since it's midnight release, the album has steadily climbed, reaching No. 9 on the iTunes Country Album's Chart -- it can be purchased here.
 

Sweeney fearlessly combines real life accounts with her audacious, tongue-in-cheek songwriting to create this fiery new album. An album that Rolling Stone Country describes as being “loaded with equal parts humor and heartache, it's also brutally honest and straight-ahead country, both of which are completely on purpose.”  

Collaborating with critically acclaimed writers including Brett Beavers, Connie Harrington, Lance Miller, Ashley Monroe, Angaleena Presley, Mark D. Sanders, and The Warren Brothers, Sweeney is successfully achieving her goal of delivering her devoted fans ‘the truth.’ "My fans are everything to me," she says. "If your fans' opinions don't matter to you, I would assume that you wouldn't be in this business. That's why I put a lot of songs on [the album] that I have been doing for a couple of years. If nothing else, I feel completely confident because I know my fans and I know what they want from me."  

And what Sweeney’s fans want is more music, going as far as to help fund her album via PledgeMusic, an interactive program that allows artists and fans to connect while raising funds for upcoming music projects. In addition to self-funding the album, Sweeney is thrilled that a portion of the album’s sales will go to one of Sweeny’s favorite charities --  CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).    

Provoked track listing and songwriter information:

1. "You Don't Know your Husband" (Sunny Sweeney/Angaleena Presley/Mark D. Sanders)
2. "Bad Girl Phase" (Brandy Clark/Jessie Jo Dillion/Shannon Wright)
3. "Second Guessing" (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)
4. "Carolina on the Line" (Sunny Sweeney/Brett Warren/Brad Warren/Lance Miller)
5. "Find Me" (Sunny Sweeney/Buddy Owens/Jay Clementi)
6. "Can't Let Go" (Randy Weeks)
7. "Front Row Seats" (Sunny Sweeney/Lance Miller/Brett Warren/Brad Warren)
8. "My Bed" (Sunny Sweeney/Angaleena Presley/Ashley Monroe)
9. "Uninvited" (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)
10. "Sunday Dress" (Sunny Sweeney/Monty Holmes/Buddy Owens)
11. "Used Cars” (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)
12. "Backhanded Compliment" (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)
13. "Everybody Else Can Kiss My Ass" (Sunny Sweeney/Brett Beavers/Connie Harrington)    

For more information, visit SunnySweeney.com 
Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @GettinSweenered 
Find her on Facebook @OfficialSunnySweeney

Today, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® releases Put Your Needle Down: Deluxe Edition, an exclusive and expanded edition of the critically-acclaimed album from The Secret Sisters. The album, produced by T Bone Burnett, contains two brand-new and exclusive bonus tracks (for a total of 14 songs) and retails for $11.99 at all 632 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® locations and online at crackerbarrel.com. The digital version will be available beginning tomorrow, Tuesday Aug. 5, via iTunes and Amazon.com.

The original version of Put Your Needle Down was released by Universal Republic Records on Apr. 15, 2014, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Folk Album Chart. In its review, USA Today wrote that the album was “…steeped in exquisite sibling harmonies…” People also praised their vocal talent and musical versatility, stating that The Secret Sisters “…blend country, folk, blues and gospel as naturally as they harmonize their voices.” Southern Utah’s The Independent praised the project, saying “From start to finish, Put Your Needle Down is one of the best country albums I’ve heard in quite a long while, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up on my top 10 best albums list of 2014. It’s that good.”

The Secret Sisters, a duo comprised of sisters Laura and Lydia Rogers, wrote or co-wrote all but three of the songs on Put Your Needle Down: Deluxe Edition. Other composers contributing to the album include legends (Bob Dylan and Boudleaux Bryant), artists (Brandi Carlile and PJ Harvey), and noted songwriters (Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth, Angelo Petraglia, Gordie Sampson, and Dan Wilson).

About The Secret Sisters

Natives of Muscle Shoals, Ala., sisters Laura and Lydia Rogers grew up loving country music and singing a cappella harmonies in their church. As The Secret Sisters, they released their self-titled debut album in 2010 to much acclaim. Later that year, they also released a 7-inch single featuring their take on the classic country songs “Big River” and “Wabash Cannonball,” with Jack White on guitar. The Secret Sisters recorded duets with former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart for his 2011 album, Blackbird Diaries. Their song “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder” was included on The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond (the soundtrack album to the hit film), which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. In 2014, they have toured with Nickel Creek and Iron & Wine, among other acts. For more information on The Secret Sisters, visit SecretSistersBand.com.

About the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® Exclusive Music Program

The Secret Sisters’ Put Your Needle Down: Deluxe Edition is the latest CD release in the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® exclusive music program. Since 2005, Cracker Barrel has released CDs with a wide variety of artists, some of which have debuted in the top three spots on a range of Billboard’s charts including Top DVD Music Videos, Top Country Albums, Top Contemporary Christian Albums and Top Bluegrass Albums. The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® exclusive music program includes CDs with Alabama, Rodney Atkins, Mandy Barnett, Clint Black, Jason Michael Carroll, Steven Curtis Chapman, Dailey & Vincent, The Charlie Daniels Band, Ronnie Dunn, Edens Edge, Sara Evans, Bill Gaither, Vince Gill and Paul Franklin, Amy Grant, The Grascals, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, George Jones, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Montgomery Gentry, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Craig Morgan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Ricky Skaggs, Michael W. Smith, Aaron Tippin, Randy Travis, Josh Turner, Wynonna, and the Zac Brown Band. For details, visit crackerbarrel.com.

Warner Bros. Records’ Frankie Ballard is preparing for his first headlining run – LIGHT ‘EM UP TOUR – as part of the exclusive Live Nation Ones To Watch with Skype tour that taps today’s hottest emerging artists. Kicking off October 19 in Minneapolis, MN, the tour will stop in 19-cities across the country. Supporting Ballard will be Republic Nashville’s newly signed band A Thousand Horses and David Nail to co-headline select dates.
 
“So pumped to be taking my full show on the road this fall,” exclaims Ballard. “Killer venues, all my buddies and no rules … I feel like somebody gave me the keys to the castle!”
 
Known for his energetic live shows, Ballard has caught the eye of many superstars and landed coveted opening slots for Jake Owen, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and longtime idol Bob Seger.
 
Since releasing his first #1, GOLD-certified smash “Helluva Life,” Ballard has lit up the country music scene. The Battle Creek, MI, native continues the hot streak with follow-up anthem “Sunshine & Whiskey.” The infectious, summer tune shot to Top 10 on the iTunes Country Songs Chart and is already Top 25-and-climbing at Country radio. Both songs are featured on his latest album,SUNSHINE & WHISKEY, which debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart. Produced by Marshall Altman (Mark Broussard), the project captures the newcomer’s unique blend of blues-infused, country rock and his undeniable guitar prowess on every song.
 
 FRANKIE BALLARD ONE’S TO WATCH TOUR 
 
Date                Venue/City                                                  
10/16              Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN                       
10/17              The Pageant - St. Louis, MO                      
10/23              Bogart’s - Cincinnati, OH                           
10/24              Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY             
10/25              Egyptian Room* - Indianapolis, IN
10/30              House of Blues - Cleveland, OH                           
11/1                Fillmore - Detroit, MI            
11/8                House of Blues* - Boston, MA                   
11/13              Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA             
11/14              Fillmore - Charlotte, NC                 
11/15              Fillmore - Washington, DC             
11/19              House of Blues - Houston, TX                                 
11/20              House of Blues - New Orleans, LA                       
11/22              House of Blues - Dallas, TX             
11/28              House of Blues - Orlando, FL                     
12/6                Neptune - Seattle, WA                               
12/11              House of Blues - San Diego, CA                                       
12/12              House of Blues - Anaheim, CA                 
12/13              House of Blues - Los Angeles, CA           
                 
(* co-headline with David Nail)
 
For on-sale dates, pre-sale information and more, check out FrankieBallard.com.
 
Keep an eye out on www.facebook.com/onestowatch for a chance to connect with Frankie via Skype on the road.
 
Ballard’s SUNSHINE & WHISKEY is now available on iTunes.