Category Archives: New Music

Introducing Billy Shaw Jr., The Tucson Troubadour

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Billy Shaw Jr News on Country Music News Blog

When you think “country fiddle player”, the hills and valleys of Southern Arizona aren’t really the first place you’d expect to stumble across one, but that’s exactly where our good friend Jessica Northey found Billy Shaw Jr competing for and winning the local Cumulus Radio contest “Nash Next Country Star“. The band went on to place in the top ten in the national finals, and is quickly making a name for themselves in the Southwest. The Billy Shaw Jr Band is currently promoting their first major single “Cowboy At Heart” which tells the story of what it’s like to be a working musician coming up outside of the stereotypical country fields and off Music Row. He took to Twitter this Labor Day weekend to answer a few questions in the running #CMChat series about his influences and what keeps him fighting for his chance in the spotlight. When asked what inspired this first single, his answer was a simple one… his mom, who encouraged him to be anything he wanted to be in life. Sadly she passed away earlier this year. It does warm our hearts though here at Country Music News Blog to see him working so hard to reach his dreams the way his mamma inspired him to do. A3: I wanted to be a cowboy when I was a kid, but it wasn’t in the cards. My mom said I could be anything, it was about the heart. #CMchat https://t.co/0RTMv4W6kf — Billy Shaw Jr (@BillyShawJr) September 5, 2017 Billy Shaw Jr Band – “Cowboy At Heart” [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrWzmoSp3xg[/embedyt] Of course it’s not all hard work and serious songs. Billy Shaw Jr. showed his funny side this spring when he decided to poke a little fun at one of our favorite songstresses, Miranda Lambert with a parody cover of “Little Red Wagon“. Billy Shaw Jr Band – “Little Red Wagon (parody)” [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj-ZNpgUJAU[/embedyt] It’s clear that he understands where he falls in the flashy pop and pompous marketing machine of Music Row as he is the first to call himself a “Country Music Superman”, calling out his own Clark Kent style during the day, but blowing away fans from the stage by night. For now you can find Billy and the band playing bars and clubs across the southwest, but they have plans to first hit the studio and track a full-length album, then hit the road for a hell of a tour! Billy Shaw Jr is joined by an all-star cast of bandmates: Laki Skouras – Guitar/Vocals, AJ Gonzales – Bass/Vocals and Carlos Solorzano – Drums/Vocals. You can learn more about Billy Shaw Jr Band on Facebook. Save

Zac Brown Band “Roots” Official Video

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Zac Brown Band on Country Music News Blog

A personal favorite of ours here at Country Music News Blog, Zac Brown Band is doing a little looking back as they share a live recorded video for their latest single “Roots”. The video was shot during their Welcome Home tour. As he said himself, “This is in memory of every dive bar that I’ve played in this town.” [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW75vz11K98[/embedyt]

Video Debut: Sandra Lynn – Hey California

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Sandra Lynn News on Country Music News Blog

In a playful splash into mainstream country music, Sandra Lynn may seem like a newcomer to the Nashville scene, but this California gal has been slugging away since her 2014 self-titled EP. Now it seems like that hard work is paying off as her brand new video for “Hey California” picks up steam and is getting picked up by tv stations and blogs all over the country! Enjoy this playful take on a cute crush and tell us what you think. Do you want to hear more from Sandra Lynn? [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PUcqm8bpEA[/embedyt]

The Cadillac Three Release New Video for “American Slang”

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The Cadillac Three on Country Music News Blog

It seems to be a busy day for new releases as The Cadillac Three sneak a bit of “American Slang” into our playlist here at Country Music News Blog. The track is the latest release off their album, “Legacy” due out this Friday August 25th, 2017. The group is currently on tour in the UK on their “Long Hair Don’t Care”. “American Slang” seems to follow along the same bluesy-southern rock trend artists like Zac Brown and Blackberry Smoke have been toeing the line for now for some time. Upbeat and authentic, ‘slang tells the sum of the bands whole as it serves as an origin story of sorts for the things that make up The Cadillac Three. Take a listen and let us know what you think! [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00mV-4P3A-8[/embedyt] NEW ALBUM LEGACY OUT THIS FRIDAY ‘LONG HAIR DON’T CARE’ NOVEMBER UK HEADLINE TOUR August 23rd: Southern rockers The Cadillac Three have released a brand new video for their UK single ‘American Slang’. The track has been added straight to the Radio 2 B-list and is taken from their latest album ‘Legacy’, which is out this Friday on Big Machine Records and available for pre-order here. The track premiered on Clash who describe the new album as “hard-livin’ country rock hymns.” You can watch the video for ‘American Slang’ here. ‘American Slang’ pulses with an anthemic road-trip feel, imbued with nostalgia for The Cadillac Three’s hometown heritage and reflecting on life on the road with tenderness and pride. The track was written with Lori McKenna of The Bird And The Rifle and produced by The Cadillac Three, creating a huge, spacious sound with driving kick drum and delicate lead guitar. The track’s accompanying video aligns dreamlike visuals with the song’s heartfelt lyrics, spaced between retro TV fuzz. Time-lapse footage of open highways and cities by night incite a sensation of distance and life on the road. Having already played main stage slots at Download Festivals in both France and the UK this summer, the trio are touring the US currently before embarking on another world tour this autumn. The Nashville natives will be taking their electrifying performances around the globe throughout their ‘Long Hair Don’t Care’ tour, with nine UK dates featuring special guests Brothers Osborne in November, including a highly anticipated London show at O2 Kentish Town Forum – see the UK dates below. For full dates and album updates, visit www.thecadillacthree.com

Luke Bryan Talks “Light It Up” and Maybe Taking a Break?

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Luke Bryan on Country Music News Blog!

This morning country superstar Luke Bryan took to the Bobby Bones Show at iHeartRadio to share his newest track “Light It Up” and the story behind the song. Take a listen to the track then see what he had to say about writing with Brad Tursi, of Old Dominion. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEoIcr-_tmI[/embedyt] Luke Bryan is currently on tour for his “Huntin, fishin, and lovin every day” run with Brett Eldredge, RaeLynn, and Granger Smith, as well as a few Farm Tour dates with Jon Pardi. Afterwards he plans on taking things a little easier for a minute, telling The Boot: “I really have not ever taken a breath since I rolled into this town,” Bryan said at the time. “So I’m kind of taking a little breath and enjoying that.”

Preview Stephanie Quayle “Love The Way You See Me” Out Sept 8th

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Stephanie Quayle on Country Music News Blog!

Country music newcomer Stephanie Quayle keeps it simple on her upcoming album “Love The Way You See Me”  due out September 8th, 2017 on Rebel Engine Records. Quayle’s classic storytelling style is reminiscent of the pre-Shania era of female storytellers in country music, bringing to mind artists like LeeAnn Womack and Pam Tillis. Take a listen to the first few tracks and learn more about Stephanie Quayle in the press release below. Stephanie Quayle: Drinkin With Dolly [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUJEkd0MqyU[/embedyt] Stephanie Quayle: Winnebego [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcnuAH2zTZ4[/embedyt] “This music has changed me and I have found what I believe to be my place in country music. I have never been more comfortable in my voice and skin as I am today.” ~ Stephanie Quayle Rebel Engine recording artist Stephanie Quayle captures the heart of storytelling on new album LOVE THE WAY YOU SEE ME, as she offers the genre a fresh sound, relatable storylines and an invigorating presence. Quayle lends her hand in co-writing 6 out of 11 tracks on the new album, with contributions from a slew of GRAMMY-award winning and hit songwriters. Album highlights include the sultry, blues-infused “Selfish,” female power ballad “Ugly,” co-penned by GRAMMY-winning songwriter Nicolle Galyon (Miranda Lambert’s “Automatic”) and hit songwriter Audra Mae (Lambert’s “Little Red Wagon”) and the military-inspired love song “I’ve Got Your Six.”  Quayle co-wrote the title track “Love The Way You See Me” as well as “Post It,” which was co-written alongside hit songwriter Lance Carpenter (Kelsea Ballerini’s debut smash “Love Me Like You Mean It”). To round out the record, Rebel Engine label mate Lucas Hoge lends his songwriting chops and rich vocals on “Second Thoughts.”  Growing up on a working buffalo farm in Montana, Quayle spent much of her time out in the barn mucking horse stalls while listening to the local AM radio. Her 2016 Billboard Indicator Top 50 hit “Drinking With Dolly” served an homage to country’s greatest female artists— Dolly, Tammy, Loretta. The music video premiered on CMT and hit #1 on the CMT Music 12-Pack Countdown and the single has garnered over half a million streams to date. Lauded as one of Rolling Stone Country’s “New Artists You Need To Know,” Quayle is currently crisscrossing the U.S. on her headlining “Winnebago” tour (co-sponsored by Winnebago, KOA and Polaroid). Quayle has performed on FOX & Friends and is critically acclaimed in Billboard, Paste, FOX, Nash Country Daily, Taste of Country and One Country, to name a few. Hollywood Life named her “the epitome of girl power in Country music.”  For more information on Stephanie Quayle, please visit www.stephaniequayle.com  

Dustin Lynch Reveals Track List for “Current Mood”

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Dustin Lynch News on Country Music News Blog

Tullahoma, Tennessee native, Dustin Lynch, admits to country fans that he’s been teasing his upcoming album “Current Mood”  track list on social media for months as he finally reveals the songs that made the cut. Using t-shirts covered in lyrics, song titles, and the album’s sequence, Dustin has been peppering his profiles with everything a superfan would need to piece the album together! Now, thanks to his interview with iHeartRadio, we’ve got it all right here in one place! Here’s the official track list for DUSTIN LYNCH’s CURRENT MOOD: “I’d Be Jealous Too” (‪Dustin Lynch, Ross Copperman, Jon Nite) – Producer: Ross Copperman “Seein’ Red” (Tully Kennedy, Kurt Allison, Steve Bogard, Jason Sever) – Producer: Mickey Jack Cones “Small Town Boy” (Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, Kyle Fishman) – Producer: Zach Crowell “Why We Call Each Other” (‪Dustin Lynch, Lee Miller, Ross Copperman) – Producer: Ross Copperman “Here We Come” (‪Dustin Lynch, Zach Crowell, Jon Nite) – Producer: Zach Crowell “Love Me or Leave Me Alone” (Dustin Christensen, Chris Gelbuda) – Producer: Ross Copperman “Back On It” (Brent Anderson, Will Weatherly, Smith Ahnquist) – Producers: Brent Anderson & Will Weatherly “I Wish You Were Beer” (Jon Nite, Josh Osborne, Justin Ebach) – Producer: Ross Copperman “State Lines” (‪Dustin Lynch, Kyle Fishman, Andy Albert) – Producer: Mickey Jack Cones “Party Song” (Brett Tyler, ‪Craig Wiseman, Morgan Wallen) – Producer: Mickey Jack Cones “New Girl” (‪Dustin Lynch, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley) – Producer: Zach Crowell “Why Not Tonight” (‪Dustin Lynch, ‪Jimmy Robbins, Jon Nite) – Producer: Ross Copperman “Sun Don’t Go Down On That” (‪Dustin Lynch, Ross Copperman, Jon Nite) – Producer: Ross Copperman [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz9yRC-LWhU[/embedyt] From The Official Dustin Lynch Press Release: Nashville, Tenn. (August 22, 2017) – Broken Bow Records star Dustin Lynch has just revealed the official track list for his bold and long-awaited third album, CURRENT MOOD (out 9/8) – but in a testament to his fun-loving, good-humored personality, it seems fans have been clued in to the news for weeks. After partnering with iHeartRadio to unveil the complete CURRENT MOOD track list worldwide across all iHeartCountry station sites today (8/22), Lynch admitted he’s actually been posting the top-secret details to his millions-strong social media following for weeks. Starting in early August, the #1 hit-maker has been posting photos of himself wearing T-shirts covered in what turned out to be song titles, lyrics, and the album’s sequence – hiding the truth about his genre-bending, three-year obsession of a project in plain sight. Featuring a huge range of styles – from heartbroken Country to grooving R&B and white-hot Rock – CURRENT MOOD is the next step for one of the most successful solo male Country artists to break out in recent years. Lynch’s self-titled debut and WHERE IT’S AT follow-up landed at #1 and #2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, respectively, and his first single, “Cowboys and Angels,” achieved PLATINUM status. The Tullahoma, Tennessee, native has since racked up four consecutive GOLD or PLATINUM-certified #1 singles (“Where It’s At,” “Hell of Continue reading Dustin Lynch Reveals Track List for “Current Mood”→

Why Country Music Blogs Still Cover Taylor Swift

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Taylor Swift News and Tour information from Country Music News Blog

These days it seems that country music news sites can’t so much as MENTION Taylor Swift without a huge social media backlash of comments like “Taylor Swift abandoned her country fans!” and “Who cares? She’s pop music now“. This leaves us who cover the industry in a pickle. You see, while the songs she puts out are no longer what is widely accepted as country music, and she has done everything she can to distance herself and her career from the moral and social restraints that the Nashville crowd press upon young female artists, the fact of the matter is that the country music industry still heavily relies on artists like Taylor Swift to finance hundreds of other budding careers and an entire concert tour support system. At a current net worth of over $44MILLION, Taylor Swift’s every career move means money. According to Forbes, her 1989 tour run obliterated previous tour earning records earning a gross of around a quarter BILLION dollars. When you think about it, that’s a lot of jobs. Stage hands, dancers, security, support staff, even the 16 year old kid making corndogs in a stadium food court is benefiting by Taylor’s tour. [bctt tweet=”Why #CountryMusic still cares about @TaylorSwift13 and the #TS6 release. ” username=”My_CountryMusic”] Beyond that is the way that a flagship artist like Taylor can either make or break entire record labels. How many smaller artists on Big Machine Records would never have a PR team or a label advance if the label did not have a successful champion raking it in on the front end? Artists like Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, and Thomas Rhett all get their tours, albums and publicity funded upfront by the artists that are raking it in ahead of them on the marquee like Taylor, Reba, Rascal Flatts, and Hank Jr. Flagship artists are the building blocks of a successful music economy, so the next time you think “who cares”, then answer with the name of the last artist you went to see and every person behind the scenes who’s job is more secure today than it was before the Taylor Swift Eclipse.

Brent Cobb and Ram Team Up for Documentary

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Brent Cobb News on Country Music News Blog

Brent Cobb is featured in “Long Live the Storytellers,” a new documentary-style video series created by Ram Trucks. The first episode in the series is premiering today at Rolling Stone Country. Watch HERE. Filmed in Nashville with Greg “Freddy” Camalier (Music Shoals), the series chronicles the process of creating Cobb’s new single “Ain’t A Road Too Long,” which will be released on September 15 on Low Country Sound/Elektra Records. While getting to know Cobb with this intimate look into his musical process, “Long Live the Storytellers” also features songwriting insights from the perspective of lauded music producers, musicians, and writers, including Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb and songwriter/musician Dan Penn. Brent explains, “[Being a part of Ram’s ‘Long Live the Storytellers’] campaign is important to me because I’ve been writing songs my whole life. I was born into it. Professionally, I’ve been making a living at it for over a decade and any breaks I’ve had along the way have been because of the songs I’ve written.” Adding, “It takes drive to stay on that road, figuratively as well as literally. The first truck I ever toured in was a Ram. We toured in it all over the country. A lot of artists before me had used the same truck, so by the time it got to us it had been rode hard. As hard as it had been rode, it still got us where we needed to go. Ram understands that drive.” ABOUT BRENT COBB Brent Cobb was born in Americus, Georgia about an hour east of Columbus, in the rural south-central part of the state. His breakthrough major label debut album, Shine On Rainy Day, was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell) and was released in 2016 on Low Country Sound/Elektra Records. Since its release, the album has continued to garner overwhelming acclaim leading to a recent Americana Honors & Awards nomination for “Emerging Artist of the Year” as well as a break-out television debut on CONAN. After recently wrapping a sold-out European tour, Brent is currently in the midst of an extensive U.S. tour including over 35 dates as part of “Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show” as well as several shows with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their 2017 SOUL2SOUL Tour. In addition to his work as an artist, Brent is widely respected as a songwriter garnering cuts by Luke Bryan, The Oak Ridge Boys, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert and more. ABOUT RAM TRUCK BRAND Since its launch as a stand-alone division in 2009, the Ram Truck brand has steadily emerged as an industry leader with America’s longest-lasting line of pickups. Creating a distinct identity for Ram trucks has allowed the brand to concentrate on core customers and the features they find valuable. Whether focusing on a family that uses a Ram 1500 day-in and day-out, a hard-working Ram 3500 Heavy Duty owner or a business that depends on its Ram ProMaster commercial van every day for deliveries, Ram has the truck market covered. BRENT COBB CONFIRMED TOUR DATES August 17—Toronto, ON—Budweiser Stage* August 18—Cleveland, OH—Blossom Music Center* Continue reading Brent Cobb and Ram Team Up for Documentary→

Debut Album from Russell Dickerson Due October 13th

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Russell Dickerson News on Country Music News Blog

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some fresh faces in country music, and that’s exactly what we’re getting with Russell Dickerson. Emerging Nashville-born country artist Russell Dickerson has revealed his debut album Yours, set for release on October 13th via Sony Music. The twelve-track LP comes hot off the back of his blistering headline performance at this year’s Nashville Meets London festival, as well as arena tours with Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini. The album is available for pre-order now HERE. The first single is fan-favourite and title track ‘Yours’. Described as a “humble love song that grows into a powerful wedding anthem” by Taste Of Country, the single is currently making its ascent on the US country radio charts. Penned by Dickerson, Brown and Parker Welling, ‘Yours’ has garnered over 40 million digital streams to date, where he’s been on Spotify’s Hot Country, Country Gold Playlists and more for over a year. The track is written for his wife, who also shot and produced the music video that now has more than 3 million views. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFccdvKehQI[/embedyt] Produced by Casey Brown, the album will include popular tracks currently on his EP including ‘Blue Tacoma’, ‘MGNO’ and ‘Every Little Thing’, plus seven further cuts for followers to devour. All of the songs on Yours are co-written by Dickerson. Of the record, he says; “I’m beyond stoked to have my first full length album out and available for pre-order! The support from my fans is what has brought me this far. The Yours EP has changed my life and I cannot wait to see what the Yours album will bring!” It’s a summer of firsts for Dickerson. On the heels of his first national TV appearance on The Bachelorette, that aired on June 19th, he made his morning show debut taking his single ‘Yours’ to the Today show on July 10th. You can watch the full performance HERE. Since wrapping the Home Team Tour with Thomas Rhett in April, announcing that he will be a special guest on Florida Georgia Line’s Smooth Tour in September alongside Nelly and Chris Lane, and now, with his forthcoming full-length debut album, Dickerson is gearing up for his most massive moment yet. ‘YOURS’ TRACKLISTING Every Little Thing Yours Blue Tacoma Billions All Fall Down Float MGNO Would You Love Me Low Key You Look Like A Love Song Twentysomething Yours (Wedding Edition)