Kenny’s LIVE IN NO SHOES NATION Dominates First Week Sales

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Kenny Chesney on Country Music News

Kenny Chesney Live in No Shoes Nation is #1 219,000 in first-week sales makes 8th #1 Billboard 200 Bow, 15th Country Album – Biggest Live Country Album Debut of This Century Somewhere in No Shoes Nation — When Kenny Chesney started listening to show tapes from the last decade, it was just to relive some special moments from a life lived largely on the road. But the more he listened, the more he was struck by what he heard coming back from the other side of the footlights. It was the fans – known as the No Shoes Nation – who knocked him out track after track, summer after summer. And with that knowledge Live in No Shoes Nation came to life. “It’s such a rush to hear No Shoes Nation in full force,” Chesney says. “As fast as the nights go down, I didn’t even realize how good they sound – and the energy, the heart and the voices are awesome in the moment – so I wanted to make sure they got to hear what I was hearing during my year off.” To heighten that connection between the live experience and these recordings, Chesney opted to make the physical recordings available to anyone purchasing a ticket to next summer’s Trip Around the Sun 2018 stadium shows. As the only country artist on Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years, in spite of only becoming a true headliner in 2002, Chesney has been called “The King of the Road” by The Wall Street Journal and “The People’s Superstar” by Los Angeles Times for his ability to connect at the stadium level for the last dozen years. “It is about the connection,” he says. “Before the people ever get close, I’m sitting at the farthest point from the stage feeling how far it is from where I’ll be standing. Whether it’s somewhere intimate like Stone Pony in Asbury Park or AT&T Stadium, I want to know how far to reach – so everyone is brought into these songs and this moment.” Evidently, it was a moment to hold onto. With stadium tickets on-sale, pre-orders and physical album sales, Chesney’s Live in No Shoes Nation comes in with total sales of 219,000. Beyond the sheer number, Live in No Shoes Nation becomes Chesney’s eighth No. 1 Billboard 200 debut, as well as his fifteenth No. 1 Top Country Albums bow. Live in No Shoes Nation is the biggest country live debut this century. Beyond seminal concert recordings Frampton Comes Alive, Bruce Springsteen’s Live 1975-1985, and the Allman Brothers’ Live at the Filmore East, Live in No Shoes Nation is the biggest double live country release since Garth Brooks’ 1998 Double Live. With this week’s sales, Chesney has hit Gold long before the 30 days needed for certification. “So much has happened over the last 10 years,” Chesney marvels. “But the one thing that remained consistent, that’s been there no matter what are the people of No Shoes Nation. Continue reading Kenny’s LIVE IN NO SHOES NATION Dominates First Week Sales→

Chris Stapleton’s “Scarecrow In The Garden” out today

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Chris Stapleton News

CHRIS STAPLETON’S “SCARECROW IN THE GARDEN” OUT TODAY SECOND SONG UNVEILED FROM NEW ALBUM FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 2 OUT DECEMBER 1 NOMINATED FOR ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR AT THE 51ST ANNUAL CMA AWARDS Chris Stapleton’s “Scarecrow In The Garden” is available today (listen HERE, purchase HERE). Written by Stapleton, Brice Long and Matt Fleener, the song is the second new material unveiled from Stapleton’s anticipated new album, From A Room: Volume 2, which will be released December 1 on Mercury Records Nashville and is now available to pre-order digitally and with exclusive limited-edition bundles. Listen to the first song, “Millionaire,” HERE. The forthcoming album takes its name from Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A (the capital “A” in “From A Room”) where it was recorded over the last year with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb. Along with Stapleton on vocals and guitar and Cobb on acoustic guitar, the album features Morgane Stapleton on harmony vocals as well as longtime band-members J.T. Cure on bass and Derek Mixon on drums. In addition to “Millionaire,” the album features seven songs co-written by Stapleton as well as the Homer Banks/Lester Snell-penned song made famous by Pops Staples, “Friendship” See below for complete track list. Volume 2 follows the release of From A Room: Volume 1, which debuted earlier this year at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, #2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and, with its RIAA Gold certification, remains the #1 best-selling country album of 2017. Stapleton’s 2015 double-platinum solo debut, Traveller, is currently the #2 best-selling country album of the year. The critically acclaimed album, which Rolling Stone awarded four stars declaring, “From A Room is strikingly focused, sonically and thematically,” was recently nominated for Album of the Year at the 51st annual CMA Awards. Stapleton is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year and will perform on the live awards telecast—airing Wednesday, November 8 at 8/7c on ABC. Stapleton will soon wrap-up his extensive and widely praised “All-American Road Show” tour, which includes upcoming shows in Columbus, Grand Rapids, Tampa, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Oklahoma City and Omaha. Special guests Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb will join for the final leg of the tour. See below for details. Live Nation is the national tour promoter for “Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show.” Many of the shows on “Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show” have already sold out, with limited tickets remaining for others. Check ChrisStapleton.com/tour for tickets and more information. In addition to the “All-American Road Show” dates, Stapleton will perform as part of the “All In For The Gambler: Kenny Rogers Farewell Concert” on October 25 and will join fellow country performers for the “COUNTRY RISING” benefit concert on November 12. Stapleton will also make his debut on PBS’ legendary “Austin City Limits” program later this month. The taping will be streamed live via ACL’s YouTube channel on Monday, October 23 at 8pm CT/9pm ET with the broadcast version airing on PBS early next Continue reading Chris Stapleton’s “Scarecrow In The Garden” out today→

Watch Special Features from The CMA Awards LIVE Online With Vevo!

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Watch the CMA Awards LIVE Online with Country Music News Blog

VEVO LIVE TO FEATURE PERFORMANCES BY LUKE BRYAN, BRETT YOUNG, DEVIN DAWSON, CAM AND APPEARANCES BY LITTLE BIG TOWN, CHRIS LANE, RYAN HURD AND MORE Vevo, the world’s leading provider of premium music videos, today announced that it is celebrating “The 51st Annual CMA Awards” in Nashville with an exclusive CMA version of Vevo Live. This special edition of Vevo Live will be complete with performances, video premieres, and appearances from many of country music’s biggest names and rising stars including Luke Bryan, Brett Young, Little Big Town, Devin Dawson, Chris Lane, Ryan Hurd and many more. Hosted by Ashley Eicher with celebrity guest hosts including Carly Pearce and Cam. Vevo’s broadcast will take place at on November 6, 2017 at 4pm CT. As a promotional partner of CMA Awards, Vevo is eager to celebrate Country Music leading up to “The 51st Annual CMA Awards,” broadcasting live November 8 at 8pm ET from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Overall the country genre has averaged 414.7 million monthly views on Vevo in 2017 (Source: Vevo Internal Analytics, US viewing metrics through 10/31/17). During a Vevo Live, the audience can tune in on different devices and from different locations. With video broadcast capabilities, fans are now able to get a deeper engagement with the artist, while keeping the music video at the heart and center of the experience. As a multiple screen co-viewing experience, this exclusive Vevo product allows artists to engage in a live chat with their fans, giving artists the ability to broadcast interactively alongside their music videos, and especially for this episode Vevo will be hosting multiple artists in Nashville streaming for two hours. Vevo Live at the CMA’s will be broadcast on Vevo.com. Fans can join through a special URL on mobile or desktop devices with the action also streamed on Youtube. To chat with the artists, fans must engage through Vevo.com, via desktop or mobile. The stream will be also available to view on Twitter at twitter.com/vevo. Facebook and Instagram. Fans can get a jump on the action by chatting with their fellow music lovers and asking questions to the artists in advance by heading to vevo.ly/VevoLiveCMA starting Friday 11/3 at 12pET. About Vevo Vevo is the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform with over 24 billion monthly views globally. Vevo delivers a personalized and expertly curated experience for audiences to explore and discover music videos, exclusive original programming and live performances from the artists they love on mobile, web and connected TV. About the CMA Awards The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas,” through 2021. The CMA Awards air in 43 countries.

Dig Deep On Country Music History with “Cocaine & Rhinestones” Podcast

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Tyler Coe with Cocaine & Rhinestones

As country music moves even further into the digital age, unheard voices are finally reaching our ears, and in this case one such voice is that of Tyler Coe, an industry insider with a LOT of stories to tell. Tyler is the eyes, ears, and main speaker on the brand new podcast “Cocaine & Rhinestones” which dives right into the deep end of some of country music’s most controversial moments in history. The first two episodes are out already and the response has been huge, right out of the gate. CR 001 is about the time Ernest Tubb decided to shoot ex-Grand Ole Opry manager Jim Denny. (check it out on: CR website – iTunes – Stitcher)  CR 002 is about Loretta Lynn’s banned song which became a hit anyway, “The Pill.” (check it out on: CR website – iTunes – Stitcher)   From Tyler: “13 years of my life, mostly before smartphones existed, were spent with the David Allan Coe Band, riding around the country with nothing to do but read books on the history of country music artists and institutions (Grand Ole Opry, Starday Records, etc.). I’ve got all these stories sitting around in my head and, turns out, you don’t need anyone’s permission to make a podcast, so that’s what I’ve done.”   The first season will cover: the musical partnership of Buck Owens and Don Rich, the three major players of “Harper Valley PTA” (Tom T. Hall, Shelby Singleton, Jeannie C. Riley), Wynonna Judd’s path from childhood through The Judds into her solo career, Doug and Rusty Kershaw (with a huge section on Neil Young’s LP ‘On the Beach,’ which Rusty steered), Spade Cooley torturing and murdering his wife (not pleasant to hear), The Louvin Brothers and an episode dedicated to everything Ralph Mooney did for the entire genre of country music. Give Cocaine & Rhinestones a listen and tell us what you think!

Dustin Lynch, Lauren Alaina, More To Perform At Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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DUSTIN LYNCH, LAUREN ALAINA, CAM, and SARA EVANS are slated to perform at the “91ST ANNUAL MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE” in NEW YORK CITY. The parade will air on NBC-TV beginning at 9a until noon (ET) on THANKSGIVING DAY. Other performances include Pop acts 98 DEGREES, SABRINA CARPENTER, ANDRA DAY & COMMON, FLO RIDA, BEBE REXHA, and more.

Garth Brooks Announces Nashville Tour Stop

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Garth Brooks on Country Music News!

PEARL RECORDS’ GARTH BROOKS has announced the final show for the NORTH AMERICAN leg of his “GARTH BROOKS WORLD TOUR WITH TRISHA YEARWOOD,” and it will be in his adopted hometown of NASHVILLE. BROOKS originally launched the tour in CHICAGO back in SEPTEMBER 2014 and has since played approximately 400 shows in just over 70 cities across the span of three years. BROOKS’ NASHVILLE show is set to hit BRIDGESTONE ARENA on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16th at 7:30p (CT). In celebration of the conclusion of the three-year tour, and to commemorate the impending seventh anniversary of BROOKS’ “NASHVILLE FLOOD RELIEF CONCERT” series at BRIDGESTONE ARENA in 2010, BROOKS was joined today (11/1) by NASHVILLE Mayor MEGAN BARRY and TENNESSEE Governor BILL HASLAM to unveil a banner that will hang permanently at the ARENA. BROOKS also discussed the conclusion of his tour, telling ALL ACCESS, “If you want to see a GARTH show, come on out. This is the last stop. So, if it goes one show, or if it goes 40 shows, I’m going to run, because you’re home. This is going to be fun.” Tickets for the show go on sale FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10th at 10a (CT) via TICKETMASTER. Per BROOKS’ typical model, shows will be added until ticket demands are met.

Coming Soon: David Lee Murphy – “Alright” feat. Kenny Chesney

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David Lee Murphy Arrives at Radio with “Alright” Lead Track from No Zip Code Teams w Friend Kenny Chesney NASHVILLE, Tenn. —  When David Lee Murphy decided to go into the studio with his pal Kenny Chesney, he thought it would be fun to cut some tracks and drill down on a sound he created that was long on roadhouse, big on fun and built on solid songwriting. A few tracks led to a few more, and the good friends – along with co-producer Buddy Cannon — realized they had a really good album on their hands. Today, people can get their first taste of No Zip Code, an album two years and a couple upgrades in the making. “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” is a song for the times, stretched too thin, worried more than is healthy and ultimately realizing and embracing life’s inevitable leveling. With a shuffling groove, an attenuated pre-chorus and just enough reggae lift on the chorus, “Alright” may be a hymn for finding the balance to get through whatever is in front of you. “You watch the news, and look around… it’s a tough world,” the man known for No. 1 “Dust on the Bottle” and popular song “Party Crowd” says of the song. “You know, you can lean into all of that, or you can step back and trust life. When you do that, it makes it easier to take a deep breath and roll with everything that’s going on around you.” “I knew when I heard the song how good it was,” Chesney marvels. “And I knew David Lee had to cut it. I’m just lucky he let me sing on it.” Chesney is – and always has been — a big fan of Murphy. As he says, “David Lee is the original hillbilly rock star. He can dig in, drill down and turn a song inside out. Back when he was solely an artist, he understood what a guy like me was thinking, feeling and getting into… Now you put him on a mic, and he sings even better than he did back then. And the songs, like that wine ole Creole Williams makes in ‘Dust on the Bottle,’ have just gotten better and better. So genuine, so real, he’s just awesome.” Murphy has written No. 1s for Kenny Chesney, Gary Allan, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and others. “Living in Fast Forward,” “The Only Way I Know,” “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not,” “The More I Drink,” “Big Green Tractor,” “Anywhere With You,” “A Feelin’ Like That” and “Pirate Flag” have gone on to become the soundtrack of the last many years: all capturing the rush of being alive, the hardcore work ethic of country fans and desire that quickens the pulse. “When I was growing up in my early ‘20s, I was listening to Waylon, Willie, Haggard and Jones,” Murphy says. “I was out on a back road, drinking beer, hearing those songs, knowing those guys lived that stuff. That’s kinda the Continue reading Coming Soon: David Lee Murphy – “Alright” feat. Kenny Chesney→

Haggard Family Unveils Plans for Merle Haggard Museum

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Bill and Shannon Miller, the founders of Icon Entertainment Group, joined Merle Haggard’s family to unveil plans for the new Merle Haggard Museum and Merle’s Meat + 3 Saloon to be located at 121 Third Avenue South, Nashville, TN.  Working together, the Millers and the Haggards have curated performance wardrobes, instruments, professional and personal possessions and are designing interactive exhibits, to ensure that Merle’s fans are treated to a unique experience.  On this date, which marks the 50th Anniversary of the Capitol Records release of “Sing Me Back Home,” it was revealed that Merle’s Meat + 3 Saloon will also be a part of the plans to preserve this country music legend in in Music City. “The world lost one of the greatest country singers of all time and I lost the love of my life when Merle Haggard died on his 79th birthday April 6, 2016,” says Theresa Haggard. “Now, nearly one and half years later, I have partnered with my friends Bill and Shannon Miller, owners of the acclaimed Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline Museums to open the Merle Haggard Museum. Merle would be very happy knowing that his museum will be next door to his dear friend Johnny Cash. I’m sure he is up there smiling about that. Our family is also very excited about the Merle-themed restaurant and bar featuring first-class, Southern home cooking and a saloon to boot. This museum will be a way to preserve and share the love Merle had for music and life.” “My family is honored to join with our dear friends, the Haggard family, to bring a new, world-class museum to Nashville,” says Bill Miller, Founder of Icon Entertainment Group. “Merle Haggard is one of the most iconic country music singers and songwriters of all time. Rolling Stone and Billboard magazines both named him the number one country entertainer of all-time. We are very excited to begin the process of designing and building Merle’s museum which will also feature a Southern-style restaurant and saloon bearing his name. We are thrilled to be working with long time Nashville family restaurant operator David Swett, who brings his highly respected expertise to our restaurant. Swett’s opened their doors in 1954 and is still going strong.” Located at 121 Third Avenue South, the building will house Merle’s Meat + 3 Saloon on the ground level with the Merle Haggard Museum on an upper floor. Projected to open in the summer of 2018, the restaurant will be operated by the Swett Family, who are a staple on the Nashville scene operating their Swett’s Restaurant for 62 years. This new venture for Bill and Shannon Miller will mark the fifth attraction currently owned and operated by Icon Entertainment Group. Their first property was The Johnny Cash Museum, which opened its doors in April of 2013 and would go on to become one of the most applauded museum in the U.S. most recently earning the distinction as the only museum and music attraction on TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Trending U.S. Continue reading Haggard Family Unveils Plans for Merle Haggard Museum→