Introducing: Metro Jethros

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Metro Jethros on Country Music News Blog

When it comes to reviewing new music I tend to follow the advice of Nashville legend Erv Woolsey when he said “No matter what, you can’t beat a good song.” Of course, having helped George Strait select so many astronomical chart-toppers, the man has a point. And that point is well-made on the debut self-titled album from North Carolina’s own Metro Jethros. To be honest, I haven’t had such a solid album submission in a very long time… to the point that I wonder if this is really the bands’ first album. Each song is a well-written story on par with the raw honesty of Eric Church, the humor of Blake Shelton, and the classic composure of Alan Jackson. Songs like “Storm” manage to capture the exact moment when you realize the life you’re living is about to come undone. Meanwhile “Tailgate” is just a fun barn-burner of a bonfire tune, perfect for your summer party playlist. Find out more about the Metro Jethros band from their Official Website or follow the band on Facebook!

2018 CMT Music Award Nominees

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CMT Music Awards

It’s that time of year again! CMT revealed the nominees and host for this year’s highly anticipated “2018 CMT Music Awards.” Country music stars Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean lead the pack with the most nominations. In addition to recognizing the work of country favorites like Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini, this is the most musically diverse CMT Music Awards to date with nominations celebrating some of the biggest names in pop including Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys and Common. And as if the show needed anything more to make it must-see on TV, CMT has tapped Grammy and Emmy award winners Little Big Town to host. In celebration of blended-genre collaborations dominating all formats, this year’s nominations feature the most eclectic and diverse list to date, spanning the worlds of pop, hip-hop, Americana and R&B. Each winner is selected by the fans with voting open now atCMT.com.   Little Big Town, nominated for three awards this year, is set to host their first-ever awards show when the “2018 CMT Music Awards” premieres LIVE from Nashville next month. With multiple “CMT Music Awards” wins and performances under their belts, the chart-topping and record-breaking group are no strangers to dominating the loudest night in country music.   For the first-time ever, the highly-coveted “Video of the Year” category features pop artists, as Justin Timberlake’s soul searching “Say Something,” featuring Chris Stapleton, and Bebe Rexha’s head-bopper hit “Meant To Be,” with Florida Georgia Line are added into the mix, along with videos from Blake Shelton, Brett Young, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood featuring Ludacris, Dan + Shay, Jason Aldean, Kane Brown featuringLauren Alaina, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, and Thomas Rhett. The top five “Video of the Year” nominees will be announced the morning of the show and fans will be able to vote all day and throughout the show on Twitter.   Country superstar Carrie Underwood, who holds the title of most “CMT Music Awards” wins with 17, looks to add to her trophy case and defend her crown against superstars Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean, who are tied with Underwood for the most nominations with four each. Other artists with multiple nominations include “2018 CMT Music Awards” hosts Little Big Town (3), Chris Stapleton (3), Lauren Alaina (3),Thomas Rhett (3), Bebe Rexha (2), Blake Shelton (2), Brothers Osborne (2), Carly Pearce (2), Dan + Shay (2), Danielle Bradbery (2), Justin Timberlake (2), Kane Brown (2), Keith Urban (2), Kelsea Ballerini (2), Lady Antebellum (2), LANco (2), Ludacris (2) and Maren Morris (2).   As a longtime advocate and supporter of the emerging artist community, each of this year’s nominees for “Breakthrough Video of the Year” (Carly Pearce, Danielle Bradbery, Devin Dawson, LANco, Russell Dickerson, Walker Hayes) have been featured across CMT’s multiple platforms and screens as part of its “CMT Listen Up” campaign and/or highly-lauded “CMT Next Women of Country” franchise.   Artists with first-time nominations this year include Andra Day, Backstreet Boys, Bebe Rexha, Carly Pearce, Common, Derek Continue reading 2018 CMT Music Award Nominees→

Introducing: J. Antonette

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J. Antonette on Country Music News Blog

J.Antonette’s New York meets Nashville styled country pop EP, “Paper Trail”, has created quite the buzz on the airwaves. Her singles, “Hello, Goodbye” and “Somewhere In The Middle” have already been featured on stations such as Nash FM, Big Frog 104, Kiss FM, Bug Country and more! J.Antonette got her start as a background singer for Grammy Award winning artist Melissa Etheridge, Jerry Wonda’s Platinum Sound Band, and since has toured with Gary Douglas in support of South Side Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. She’s most recently teamed up with NASH FM and shared the stage with a number of celebrity artists, including country top charter, Jordan Davis!   Throughout her journey, she was lead back to her country roots and created a movement called “#NYDoesCounty”.This movement rallies support around fellow New York based country artists to fight the stereotypes of what country artist are perceived to be, and supports the right to be authentically you no matter what genre you are. “While writing my latest EP, the perceptions and expectations people had regarding what being a country artist was frustrated me. I was told I’d have to relocate to Nashville or Texas to succeed. People expected me to all of a sudden change my wardrobe because I live in New York and they felt I didn’t dress “country” enough. NYDoesCountry was an idea to challenge the misconceptions that country music success would depend on one’s location or wearing daisy dukes, flannel, or cowboy boots and have/sing with a southern drawl to be accepted fully as a country artist. Although I love those classic country ideas, there are many types of “country”. I’d rather be authentically me, than conforming just because that’s the image someone has for me. This movement goes beyond music. Your looks and locations doesn’t determine your success, you do. I was raised in a small country town in upstate New York. Why would being born in a NY country environment make me any less “country”? It’s a way of life. Afterall, country music is for the WHOLE country. We are blessed to have a choice to wake-up and be whomever we want. For me, I’m country, my clothes and location can change, country music is rooted in me.”- Jessica Antonette   Her first country music video, “Somewhere In The Middle” is set to exclusivly premiere on Big Frog 104 (website) in the beginning of May 2018. Visit www.Jantonette.com for other news and tour dates!

The Power of Music Festival Unites Songwriting with Education

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Power of Music Festival 2018

World-class songwriters traveled to Bentonville, Arkansas, during the Power of Music Festival on April 26-29, giving listeners a rare chance to hear the stories behind the songs. The proceeds benefit the I’ll Fly Away Foundation’s music education program, which brings songwriting into area schools in order to elevate test scores and classroom engagement. With dozens of shows and artists, the event drew top talent like 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Steve Dorff (“Through the Years,” “Every Which Way But Loose”). His solo performance at the elegant Haxton Road Studios in Bentonville attracted cast members of HBO’s True Detective, including his son Stephen Dorff and Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali. Steve Dorff also participated in multiple book signings for his new memoir, I Wrote That One, Too…: A Life in Songwriting From Willie to Whitney. Three members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame united for a well-attended round at Meteor Guitar Gallery. The lineup featured Roger Cook (“I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”), Richard Leigh(“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”) and Dennis Morgan (“I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”). Other highlights included original music from Steve Poltz (Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me”),Jerry Salley (Chris Stapleton’s “Outlaw State of Mind), and Keith Sykes (Jimmy Buffett’s “Volcano”). Additional talent included indie-Americana band The Accidentals, female vocal group Farewell Angelina, Latin rock ‘n’ roll band Making Movies, inspiring rapper Saul Paul, guitarist-songwriter David Starr, and Emmy-winning composer Jonathan Wolff (Seinfeld, Will & Grace). A number of aspiring songwriters from the region also performed at venues like Two-25 Events and Bike Rack Brewery. The festival featured 42 shows and 51 artists over four days and included an education series for aspiring performers with guest speakers like soul music icon Al Bell (Stax Records). The festival is organized by the I’ll Fly Away Foundation, named for the iconic song “I’ll Fly Away,” written by  Albert E. Brumley. His granddaughter, Betsy Brumley-Bernier, founded the I’ll Fly Away Foundation with her husband, Kevin Bernier.

Watch now: Kacey Musgraves – Butterflies

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Kacey Musgraves News

The darling of the jukebox, Kacey Musgraves takes us back to that first taste of sweet sweet love with her new single “Butterflies” off her 2018 album “Golden Hour“. “Butterflies” was released to rave reviews, with NPR proclaiming it as “stepping easily beyond any genre category with a sunny sense that this is just where country should be these days.” The track is featured on Kacey’s critically-acclaimed new album Golden Hour, her third #1 debut on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Golden Hour has been praised by everyone from NPR, Time, The Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Pitchfork, and The FADER, among others, with USA Today declaring “Golden Hour may be 2018’s best album yet,” and The Huffington Post calling it “the work of a self-assured artist breaking the mold instead of the younger version telling us that one day she would.” Kacey has performed music from Golden Hour on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, TODAY, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and she will make her debut on Saturday Night Live next Saturday, May 12th. Kacey played Stagecoach festival this past weekend, with Noisey announcing her set “proves she’s the best future country music has” and The Los Angeles Times observing Saturday’s lineup “offered a triumphant set from Kacey Musgraves, who delivered on her early promise and handled her new stature as a soon-to-be headliner with confidence.” Kacey will wrap up her tour with Little Big Town this weekend, and will go on to support Harry Styles on his tour this summer. Kacey will kick off her headlining Oh, What A World: Tour this fall in Europe, with additional global dates to be announced. For more information, visit http://www.kaceymusgraves.com/tour.

Watch Now: Carrie Underwood – Cry Pretty (Official Video)

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Carrie Underwood Cry Pretty

Carrie Underwood is BACK and better than ever with her release of the official video for the tearjerker anthem “Cry Pretty“. You can catch Carrie Underwood returning to American Idol and a superstar guest mentor on May 13th. Underwood will also perform her hit single, “Cry Pretty,” which Underwood co-wrote and co-produced, and debuted in its first week sales at #1 in the U.S. all-genres, topping the iTunes Top Songs charts in 12 countries. The new album – her first for Capitol Records Nashville – will be released on September 14, marking the first time she has co-produced her own album.

Out Today: Jeff Plankenhorn ‘Sleeping Dogs’ feat. Ray Wylie Hubbard and Patty Griffin

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Jeff Plankenhorn News

AUSTIN GUITARIST JEFF PLANKENHORN SHIFTS FROM SIDE (AND SLIDE) WORK INTO THE SOLO SPOTLIGHT WITH ASSERTIVE SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE, SLEEPING DOGS, OUT TODAY, MAY 4 Roots-rocking follow-up to 2016’s acclaimed SoulSlide finds the Ohio-born, Texas-based artist expanding his musical playing field with help from friends Ray Wylie Hubbard, Patty Griffin, and co-producer “Scrappy” Jud Newcomb. When Jeff Plankenhorn, arguably one of the busiest and most highly regarded guitar players on the Austin music scene, tells you that he “hardly ever takes sideman gigs anymore,” take it with a grain of salt. Yes, it’s true he’s made a concerted effort to carve out more time for his own solo career ever since issuing his breakout second studio set, 2016’s SoulSlide — and he aims to find even more of that “me time” come the May 4, 2018 release of his new album, Sleeping Dogs on Spike Steel Records. But as far as scaling back on the whole sideman thing goes … bear in mind that there’s a big difference between “hardly ever” and never. Namely, the former still leaves the guy just enough wiggle room to happily say “yes” when legends (and friends) on the level of Ray Wylie Hubbard or the Flatlanders need a can-do guitar man for a sold-out theater engagement. Or, say, when fellow A-list Austin sideman “Scrappy” Jud Newcomb — the MVP co-producer of Sleeping Dogs —finds out he can’t make it to a very special Johnny Nicholas gig in Hawaii, and asks “Plank” if he’d be up for subbing for him. Who in their right mind is going to say no to that? Plankenhorn still selectively takes those kinds of calls not because he gets them, but because he’searned them. For the better part of the last 17 years, ever since he first moved to Texas with nothing to his name but a Geo Prism, $100, seven guitars and the generous hospitality of Ray andJudy Hubbard, the gifted multi-instrumentalist from Columbus, Ohio has busted ass to prove himself not just able and willing, but above all worthy of playing with the best of the best. And the reason so many song poets like Hubbard and Joe Ely like having Plank at their side is not just because of his prodigious chops on all things stringed (especially those played with a slide), but because of his intuitive knack for knowing when to hold back, always allowing the singer room to land a lyric and go for the proverbial kill. “That’s just part of the skill set I learned very early on: ‘When in doubt, lay out,’” Plankenhorn explains with a chuckle. “That joke about knowing when notto play? It’s true.” Not surprisingly, that particular skill — along with myriad other lessons in the finer points of songcraft that he’s picked up from sharing stages with the masters — has come to greatly inform Plankenhorn’s own music over the years. But it’s never been more apparent than it is on Sleeping Dogs. Make no mistake: Plank plays a lot Continue reading Out Today: Jeff Plankenhorn ‘Sleeping Dogs’ feat. Ray Wylie Hubbard and Patty Griffin→

WhiskeyChick’s Top Five Favorite Dives Featuring an Exclusive Release from Will Thomas Reed

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Will Thomas Reed on Country Music News Blog

In celebration of the release of Will Thomas Reed’s “Home Is Where the Bar Is“, we’re taking you on a tour of WhiskeyChick’s Top Five Favorite Dives, so click play and read on! For many of us working in the music industry, we spend more time in honky tonks than we do in our own homes, so knowing where the best spot in town is becomes just part of the job. Now it wouldn’t be fair to list the same old tried and true small music venues that every town can get famous for, so for this list we dug real deep to find our favorite hole-in-the-wall neighborhood bars where the regulars are family and the staff are your friends. Mercury Lounge, Tulsa Oklahoma This former garage-turned-bar features a small stage that hosts a variety of acts from Red Dirt to folk, rock, and even the occasional Irish punk. The neighborhood is littered with larger venues, gastropubs, and dance clubs, making “the Merc” a relaxing alternative for hanging out in a low-pressure crowd. Handlebar J’s, Scottsdale Arizona If you ever find yourself in the Metro-Phoenix area, a stop in Handlebar J’s is an absolute must. More than a dance hall, J’s is an institution. It’s where I got my first two-step lesson and where some of my most lasting friendships were made. With free line-dance classes in the happy hour, killer food from the kitchen, and live music on the weekends, it’s everything my twangin heart could ask for. Creekside Taproom, Siloam Springs Arkansas New to the neighborhood, the Creekside Taproom is an absolute charm of a community gathering place. The local brews and open and airy patio right off the mineral springs in Northeast Arkansas makes this one of my favorite places for an afternoon cider, especially on a beautiful spring day. Star Bar, Atlanta Georgia For something a little left of center when you’re in the south, the Star Bar has you covered. Live music five nights a week, a smaller performance space off to the side and a crazy variety of entertainers to fill it, this seems to be the bar the local entertainment scene has claimed as their own. If you’re ever dry on inspiration or just have a thirst for adventure, this is definitely where you’ll whet your whistle. Losers, Nashville Tennessee Off the beaten path of the tourist traps in downtown Nashville, Losers is set at the end of Music Row, making this a hidden happy hour gem where the industry insiders go. Many times I’ve stepped in after a long day of conferences and showcases only to find some of the biggest country stars plucking out tunes in the corner to test on a smaller crowd. There’s no pretension and no over-commercialization in this joint, just cold drinks and great conversations. And for the bonus bar, Will Thomas Reed submits his own personal favorite: James River Brewery, Scottsville Virginia “…for always playing host to musicians and artists alike, and also making delicious beer!” Continue reading WhiskeyChick’s Top Five Favorite Dives Featuring an Exclusive Release from Will Thomas Reed→

May Gift Guide: Concert and Festival Essentials

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May Gift Guide: Festival Essentials

Covering festivals can be dirty business, so it always helps to show up prepared for anything! From center stage to late-night campground parties, here are a few concert essentials I’ll never wristband up without! *this post contains affiliate links* Pelikus Felt Purse & Tote Organizer Insert / Multi-Pocket Handbag Shaper (Medium–Slender, Red) When you’re living the tote life, it’s impossible to stay organized without a little extra help. I use a combination of ipsy pouches and this handy bag insert to keep my blogging & beauty gear separated and easy to sort through. View on Amazon Peaches & Petals | Monthly Lifestyle Box I’m a proud subscriber to Peaches & Petals monthly glam box simply so I can stock up on fun flirty jewelry, scarves, and accessories that always seem to come in handy over the summer. In the past I’ve gotten hammocks that easily tie up between cars in the campgrounds, notebooks, pens, cooling cloths, sunglasses, sun cover-ups and so much more that I continue to treat myself all year long! View on Peaches & Petals Ipsy Beauty Bag | 5 Beauty Products. $10/Month. Free Shipping. The sample and travel-sized cosmetics, cleaners, and fragrances that ipsy sends are perfect for packing up a bare-essentials beauty pouch to get you through a festival without lugging along your whole bathroom cabinet, and the little bags they come in are cute to boot! View on ipsy.com Tim And Ted Bad Decisions Make Good Stories Be Wild Festival Shopping Carrier Tote Bag Soft, washable, and convenient, a canvas tote is the perfect all-weather festival friend!View on Amazon NFASHIONSO Women’s Chiffon Bikini Swimwear Printed Bathing Suit Cover Up Capture the breeze, but not the burn! I always keep a sheer cover-up in my festival bag to protect my skin when the sun starts to scorch. Just because there’s a Phoenix on my back doesn’t mean today is burning day! View on Amazon MIRA 40 Oz Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Wide Mouth Water Bottle | Thermos Keeps Cold for 24 hours, Hot for 12 hours | Double Walled The key to a good time is feeling good the whole time, and at a festival the fastest way to finish early is by getting sunsick and dehydrated, so I keep a wide-mouth refillable insulated water bottle with me at all times, and fill it with icewater every chance I get. View on Amazon PURELL Advanced Hand Sanitizer Portable Bottles – 1 oz. Variety Pack Travel Sized Jelly Wrap Bottles (Case of 8) You know nobody wants to come home with the festiflu! I keep one of these strapped to my bag through all the meet & greets and communal campgrounds all through festival season and manage to come out clean!View on Amazon Plugable Bluetooth Headset (Neckband, In-Ear, Audio EQ, Built-in Mic) When you’re camping on the festival grounds, tuning out the neighbor’s noise an be a real challenge. I like to pop in a pair of earbuds for my morning run and while I finish up articles covering Continue reading May Gift Guide: Concert and Festival Essentials→