Out June 8th: New Sugarland Album “Bigger”

Posted on by
Sugarland Bigger Album Release

SUGARLAND’s highly anticipated sixth studio album, titled BIGGER, will be released on June 8 and is currently available for preorder on April 13. Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush co-wrote nearly all of the songs on the album, which was co-produced by Kristian, Jennifer, and Julian Raymond. The project’s lead single, “Still The Same,” is currently climbing the Country radio charts ahead of the duo’s spring-summer STILL THE SAME 2018 TOUR. After taking a hiatus to pursue a series of high profile solo projects, BIGGER is the duo’s first new music in seven years and the first project under their new joint venture with Big Machine Records and UMG Nashville. It will be available to pre-order at digital retailers as well as the title track, “Bigger,” available to download on April 13. As fans have come to expect from Sugarland, BIGGER embodies the musical spirit of the band: it contains tracks both uptempo and upbeat as well as powerful message songs that address specific issues facing the world. “Our hopefulness and our sparkiness and our joy is one of the things I think we do uniquely well, especially in the country format,” says Jennifer of the set’s sunnier material. “We offer that in a unique way.” The bold graphics of the recently unveiled album cover conjure up images of a circus tent, representative of both that fun side and some of the more enigmatic content on the project, which was written over and influenced by the course of the past six months. “This album has a whole bunch of mystery,” says Kristian, who has been enjoying peeling back the layers of the production and the nuanced songwriting. “I’m listening to it every two days just to see what’s in it. I have entire pints of blood in that thing, but I still don’t know where it all came from, and I love that.” Their STILL THE SAME 2018 TOUR kicks off May 25 and will visit 48 cities in the U.S. and Canada, but the duo has already delighted audiences in the U.K. with their new material, earning standing ovations during their performances at the C2C: Country to Country festival in March. Since the band’s inception in 2002, Sugarland has sold nearly 10 million albums domestically, earned seven No. 1 singles to date and amassed more than 260 million on-demand streams, making Sugarland one of the most popular Country music duos of all time. Lauded by Entertainment Weekly as one of the format’s “most successful and beloved acts,” both members of the duo say their time away from writing and recording together has only made them come back stronger and, yes, BIGGER. “We have always enjoyed playing in the margins and stretching the format,” says Jennifer. “But it’s fun to have taken this time away and seen how the format has expanded and how music has evolved. Before, we were playing in the margins. Now, the margins have moved, and that’s fun to hear.” “It’s not like we stopped creating Continue reading Out June 8th: New Sugarland Album “Bigger”→

Introducing: Stephanie Owens – EP Release May 18th

Posted on by
Stephanie Owens on Country Music News Blog

Nashville newcomer Stephanie Owens is set to make a big impact with her debut self-titled EP due out May 18th. Stephanie’s talent may be singing and songwriting, but her passion is spreading body-positivity and support for youth suffering from eating disorders. Listen to Stephanie Owens’ “Little Girl in the Mirror” and let us know what you think! “Little Girl in the Mirror” Available Now: http://smarturl.it/LittleGirlMirror Follow: Spotify | http://sptfy.com/F1E Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/stephowensmusic Facebook | https://facebook.com/stephowensmusic Twitter | https://www.twitter.com/stephowensmusic

Brantley Gilbert Graces People Magazine

Posted on by
Brantley Gilbert on People

Less than ten days after PEOPLE hit the road. Brantley Gilbert lands in the pages of the iconic celebrity news weekly. Fresh from a show at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheatre where he performed his entire hard-edged set backed by a symphony orchestra, his profile lands him in the May 21st issue, on-stands May 11. “It’s been a pretty incredible several days,” says the man whose “Dirt Road Anthem” was nominated for CMA Song of the Year. “To play Nashville with an orchestra, the last thing people would expect from me, was awesome. Selling t-shirts that say, ‘I Believe in Heroism’ to benefit the families of the young people shot at the Waffle House felt so good. So to hear the People story is running so quickly, well, that’s crazy and alright.” To kick off the double truck spread, People.com is running several pieces that expand correspondent Eileen Finan’s reporting for the print magazine. Check out the first piece here: http://people.com/country/brantley-gilbert-alcoholism-pain-pill-addiction-recovery/ Brantley deep dives into the turmoil his life was almost a decade ago, explaining the path to where he is now in his life. A fierce teller of truth in songs like “Grown Ass Man,” “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” and “Take It Outside.” As Eileen Finan writes in the intro to an unflinching, ultimately triumphant look at the ways life can get away from you, “Today, the 33-year-old “One Hell of An Amen” singer is a country star with back-to-back platinum albums. He’s married to the girl he pined forand — by his own admission – didn’t deserve for years and, as of November, he’s also anew dad.” Out on his The Ones That Like Me Tour, Gilbert is taking his kind of outlier country across America. With 3 dates to go, one of the only artists to score back-to-back platinum albums in the last decade is continuing his program of providing companion animals to veterans through his continued alliance with the PEDIGREE® Brand and theDisabled American Veterans. “It’s been a great tour so far this year,” says the man who won the American Music Awards’ Favorite Country Album for Just As I Am. “I think everything that’s happened in my life has changed things up in so many good ways, and it’s opened me up to the BG Nation in a whole lot of new ways, too.” With People hitting stands on May 11, a dozen dates with Kid Rock in the fall and writing for his next record, the hardcore country star whose lived his music from the inside out, has a professional life that’s almost as buoyant as his homelife. Given he has the woman of his dreams and a brand new little boy, that’s saying something.

Op-Ed: Why Kacey Musgraves Matters to Today’s Country Music

Posted on by
Kacey Musgraves on Country Music News Blog

Riding high on the wave of modern traditionalists that have starting taking over country radio airwaves in recent years, Kacey Musgraves is a breath of fresh air. After what seems like decades of hollow country pop princesses being force-fed to fans, she’s shaking things up and giving young women everywhere a brand new voice to relate to. Press play and follow along as we take a deeper look at why Kacey Musgraves is probably the most important female ambassador of modern country music today. In the early 2000’s country radio was slammed with the onset of bro-country, pushing women to the back-burner and the content they sang about into tiny little boxes of home, family, and love or heartbreak. Taylor Swift is probably the best example of the overall place girls were put in, and as a result, most of country music felt that it lacked substance and real relate-ability for anyone past their prom years. Artists like Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert would come along and make a big splash with a fiery sass or heart-wrenching anthem, but those hits were few and tucked far in-between the tropes of, as Maddie & Tae put it, being a girl in a country song. Then along comes Kacey Musgraves. Right out of the gate, Kacey gave us raised eyebrows and a hidden chuckle or two as she slipped her open-minded point of view onto the airwaves masked in a traditional sound.In the same fashion as the legendary Loretta Lynn did while singing about birth control and taking her man, Kacey pulls no punches when speaking (or singing) her mind in the most conservative platform available, and we love her all the more for it! One of the things country music has always done, and Kacey does so well is bring light to the parts of life that are really hard to talk about. In her track “Merry Go Round” off the album “Same Trailer, Different Park” she manages to capture the exact feeling you get when observing life in the small towns of rural America. The simple truths set against a beautiful but melancholy tone paint a superbly clear picture of something that so often gets glossed over as a anecdotal cliche. Same checks we’re always cashin’ To buy a little more distraction Cause Mamas hooked on Mary Kay Brothers hooked on Mary Jane Daddies hooked on Mary two doors down Mary Mary quite contrary We get bored so we get married And just like dust we settle in this town Her game-changing approach to otherwise controversial topics has made her an icon in young country fans hearts, and a favorite among the legends of the industry. Instead of playing it safe like so many others, she flows head-on into lines about smoking marijuana, girls kissing girls, and being honest about the hardships of life. In a time when pedal steel and rhinestone suits are relics of the past, Kacey Musgraves reminds us all why this sense of pageantry and propriety Continue reading Op-Ed: Why Kacey Musgraves Matters to Today’s Country Music→

Dustin Lynch Kicks Off a Good Summer with “Good Girl”

Posted on by
Dustin Lynch News

Surprise Debut Performance During 2018 iHeartCountry Festival Named One Of The Event’s “Best Moments”, Up For First Billboard Music Award May 20 Broken Bow Records star DUSTIN LYNCH is getting his summer off to a “good” start, unveiling brand new music and the groove-country vibes of his new single “Good Girl.” After performing the song live for the first time at the iHeartCountry Festival by AT&T in Austin, TX, on Saturday (5/5), “Good Girl” made its world premiere across iHeartCountry radio yesterday (5/6). The track just felt too perfect for the moment to hold back any longer. “We came across something that I just fell in love with immediately, and we just said, ‘Well, why not just go and record the song?’ And once we did that, I got to thinking, ‘Man, I can’t live with this song not being heard this summer,’” Lynch said in a video message to fans. “So, I called my record label, they were cool with going ahead and letting me record it, and then I asked, ‘Man, what if we went ahead and put this out for summer ’18. Like, I can’t wait all year long to put this out next year, or something.’ And they were like, ‘Well, hell yeah!’” Listen to “Good Girl” here. Written by Lynch with Justin Ebach and Andy Albert, and produced by Zach Crowell, “Good Girl” taps back into the classic-meets-contemporary sound of Lynch’s biggest country hits. Doused in sunshine and overflowing with effortless romance, the lucky-to-be-me anthem is all about living the good life – one where the right partner makes even the best of times better. It follows closely after a remarkable streak of five straight GOLD or PLATINUM-certified #1 singles – two of which stemmed from the Tullahoma, TN native’s 2017 Top 5 album, CURRENT MOOD (“Seein’ Red” and “Small Town Boy”). Lynch’s performance ranked as one of the night’s “best moments” (iHeartRadio) when he surprised the crowd with the “new summer jam” (Whiskey Riff) at the 2018 iHeartCountry Festival Saturday (5/5), taking place at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX. The boundary pushing singer-songwriter is also on the bill for this year’s all-genre iHeartRadio Music Festival, which takes place September 21–22 in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Lynch is up for his first-ever Billboard Music Award on May 20, nominated in the coveted Top Country Song category for his PLATINUM-certified, multi-week #1, “Small Town Boy.” The star-studded ceremony will air live on NBC at 8 p.m. ET from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. Having just wrapped his run as the featured supporting artist on Brad Paisley’s WEEKEND WARRIOR WORLD TOUR, Lynch is slated to perform at North American fairs and festivals through September. For tour dates and more information, visit DustinLynchMusic.com, and reach out to him on Facebook,Instagram. About Dustin Lynch: Since releasing his PLATINUM debut single, “Cowboys and Angels,” Lynch has been on a steady path toward superstardom with five consecutive #1s, three Top 5 albums, PLATINUM-level certifications and tours with the biggest Continue reading Dustin Lynch Kicks Off a Good Summer with “Good Girl”→

Lauren Alaina, Bobby Bones, Jay Cutler, Brandi Cyrus, Trent Harmon, Tegan Marie, Lucas Hoge and Marc Mariani Join City of Hope Softball Game

Posted on by
City of Hope News on Country Music News Blog

City of Hope’s 28th annual Celebrity Softball Game continues to announce talent for the Saturday, June 9, event at First Tennessee Park. Bobby Bones, Brandi Cyrus, Lauren Alaina, Tegan Marie, Trent Harmon, Lucas Hoge, Jay Cutler and Marc Mariani have been added to the list of talent participating in the event. Teams iHeart Radio andGrand Ole Opry will meet at the field for a friendly competition for a great cause. CLICK HERE for tickets ranging $15 – $35. For media and photo passes, CLICK HERE. Office Depot will join the game for the first time as a supporting sponsor. Other notable partners include CMA Fest, U.S. Army, Grand Ole Opry and iHeart Radio. Big Machine artist and Season 15 winner of ABC’s “American Idol” Trent Harmon will also perform the national anthem. City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game veteran and national radio personality Bobby Bones will continue as iHeart’s team captain. Reigning ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year Lauren Alaina will return to the game after several years of support. DJ, fashion blogger and member of the Cyrus dynasty Brandi Cyrus will play in the game for the first time. Warner Music Nashville artist Tegan Marie, 14, one of the youngest female country singers to sign a record deal in decades, will participate in the game along with Billboard No. 1 artist Lucas Hogeand NFL players Jay Cutler and Marc Mariani. [bctt tweet=”.@cityofhope announces @mrBobbyBones @laurenalaina @brandicyrus @trentharmon @teganmariemusic @lucashoge and more for #strikeoutcancer18″ username=”My_CountryMusic”] As previously announced, The Scott Brothers are warming up for some sibling rivalry this year and Naomi Judd, who participated in the game in the early ’90s, is dusting off her glove and returning as a play-by-play guest announcer. More talent will be announced soon. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com. As always, 100 percent of event net profits benefit City of Hope. For more information,visitcityofhope.org/softball or follow City of Hope onTwitter, Facebook and Instagram. ABOUT CITY OF HOPE: City of Hope is an independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as one of only 49 comprehensive cancer centers, the highest recognition bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, City of Hope is also a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, with research and treatment protocols that advance care throughout the world. City of Hope is located in Duarte, California, just northeast of Los Angeles, with additional locations throughout Southern California. It is ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” in cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation, diabetes andnumerous breakthrough cancer drugs based on technology developed at the institution.

Work Hard, Play Hard with Gretchen Wilson, Redneck Riviera, and more!

Posted on by
Gretchen Wilson

Redneck Riviera Whiskey Taps Gretchen Wilson, Granger Smith And Colt Ford As Spirit Ambassadors Redneck Riviera Whiskey (EAST: NASDAQ) has struck a chord with three of John Rich’s friends and fellow country artists – Gretchen Wilson, Granger Smith and Colt Ford. Rich has selected the three country stars to serve as Redneck Riviera Whiskey ambassadors, supporting the brand and its efforts to give back to veterans’ families through their social media channels, performances and beyond.  For further information on the brand, please visit http://redneckriviera.com/. This Redneck Riviera Whiskey partnership is a natural fit for these artists, as they’re fans of the whiskey and its American roots. Gretchen Wilson says, “When John and I wrote ‘Redneck Woman’ 15 years ago, little did we know there would be a Redneck Riviera Whiskey someday. While that changed my life, here’s to hoping this whiskey will change your attitude.” Portions of Redneck Riviera Whiskey sales benefit Folds of Honor, whose mission is to provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. John Rich says, “Folds of Honor is such an important organization to me so I knew I had to give back to them through this whiskey. I love that my friends also got behind it and are supporting a great cause.” Rich has recently traveled throughout the Southeast meeting fans and signing bottles sold at select whiskey tastings. The efforts the ambassadors will put behind Redneck Riviera will continue to enhance the overall marketing of the brand. “Redneck Riviera Whiskey gives me the opportunity to support a friend’s venture, our veterans’ families and its the smoothest whiskey around,” Colt Ford said. Granger Smith added, “I’ve been known to sing a song or two about whiskey so I’m excited to support a friend and partner with John’s Redneck Riviera.” Eastside Distillng announced on April 23 that Redneck Riviera Whiskey is now being distributed in 15 states, with the addition of Kentucky as the 15th. Grover Wickersham, CEO of Eastside Distilling, says “Eastside is thrilled at the trajectory of Redneck Riviera Whiskey and our partnership with John Rich. For him to bring some of his friends to help spread the word on whiskey is only a win-win for the team. We love to have brand extenders that truly represent the brand and its complex.” About Redneck Riviera: John Rich’s Redneck Riviera is a privately held lifestyle brand that celebrates America’s hard-working men and women. Built for people who live to turn up the music and have fun with friends and family, Redneck Riviera is America’s ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’ brand that offers something for everyone who likes to rock the red, white and blue all year long. Launched in 2014, the brand brings these values to life through footwear, apparel, hospitality, food, spirits and licensed products in a variety of categories. The brand will expand its reach with the opening of honky-tonk bar Redneck Riviera Nashville on Nashville’s Lower Broadway this spring. More information can be found at www.redneckriviera.com. About Continue reading Work Hard, Play Hard with Gretchen Wilson, Redneck Riviera, and more!→

Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar To Open This June

Posted on by
Jason Aldean News

BROKEN BOW RECORDS’ JASON ALDEAN is set to open JASON ALDEAN’S KITCHEN + ROOFTOP BAR in JUNE. The space will be located in the middle of downtown NASHVILLE on Lower Broadway and will feature a dining area, six bars, a menu of SOUTHERN food created by Chef TOMASZ WOSIAK, live music, and more. “It’s pretty cool to finally have my own spot downtown where people can go and have a good time,” said ALDEAN. “We’ve been working on this for a while, and I’m looking forward to having everyone in town for CMA MUSIC FEST help break it in.”