MEDIA NEWS:
Momentum continues for Shenandoah leading up to the release of Every Road as the GRAMMY®, ACM and CMA winning group releases “If Only” with Ashley McBryde. The sweetly nostalgic ballad is the third track to be released off the upcoming album, available everywhere Nov. 13 via Foundry Records, which also includes star power collaborations with Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Lady A, Zac Brown Band, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson and Brad Paisley. Written by Lori McKenna, Phil Barton and Jaron Boyer, “If Only” follows “I’d Take Another One of Those” with Zac Brown Band and “Every Time I Look At You” with Lady A. Every Road will be the band’s 10th studio album, and first album of all-new music since 1994, after notching 13 No. 1 hits and charting 26 singles on Billboard country charts throughout their career. More about Shenandoah at https://www.shenandoahband.com/ and on social media.
MUSIC MILESTONE:
Ronnie Milsap has always had a soft spot in his heart for the holidays, so it’s amazing it’s taken almost three and a half decades for new Christmas music. Milsap’s notion of cheer is highly ironic. “Merry, Merry Christmas Baby,” originally a holiday hit for teen queen Dodie Stevens in 1960, is a bluesy bit of missing the one who got away. For the man who won two successive GRAMMY Awards for Best Country Vocal Performance Male, both for “Lost In The ‘50s Tonight,” Milsap knows his way around that yearning, bluesy doo-wop sensibility. The Country Music Hall of Fame member, six-time GRAMMY Award winner and CMA Entertainer of the Year has always believed that music blurs lines, heals hearts, and brings people together.
MUSIC NEWS:
Garth Brooks met overwhelming fan-demand as he made “Shallow” (the duet with Trisha Yearwood) officially available at country radio, and now streaming only on Amazon Music. Brooks and Yearwood initially performed the track based on a fan’s request during a live Facebook performance and then again on their CBS Special “Garth & Trisha Live!” Their moving performance of the track, best-known from the film “A Star Is Born,” sparked an onslaught of support to officially record it and release it as a single. The song will appear on Brooks’ anticipated 14-song studio album FUN, which is set for release on November 20th and also features Brooks’ recent top 5 single “Dive Bar, as well as “All Day Long” and “Stronger Than Me.” Music and more at https://www.garthbrooks.com/
NUMBER ONE NEWS:
CJ Solar got some GOOD NEWS this week. His buddy Jameson Rodgers’ debut single, “Some Girls,” hit #1 on the national country charts. CJ co-wrote the song with Jake Mitchell and HARDY. The accomplishment marks CJ’s second #1 song as a writer, following his first chart topper with Morgan Wallen’s “Up Down” featuring Florida Georgia Line. As a songwriter, CJ won a “Songs I Wish I’d Written” trophy from the Nashville Songwriter Awards for co-writing Morgan Wallen’s #1 hit “Up Down.” CJ co-wrote Jason Aldean’s “I Don’t Drink Anymore” and has had cuts by Jerrod Niemann, Justin Moore and others. Taste of Country named CJ as one of their “5 Country Artists to Watch,” and Rolling Stone Country listed him as one of their “New Artists You Need To Know.” Keep up with CJ Solar at: www.CJSolar.com
ORPY NEWS:
More than a million fans have made it a priority since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to tune into Steve Wariner’s #WarinerWednesday and leave their worries behind for an hour while the four-time GRAMMY® winner and singer/songwriter/instrumentalist entertains virtually. Previous episodes are available to watch on-demand at WarinerWednesday.com. A busy troubadour, on Oct. 21, Steve Wariner was part of “Inside the Circle” on the Grand Ole Opry’s Facebook for its “Ryman Memories” Live stream. Wariner looked back on the Opry’s original run at the Ryman, as well as highlights since its wintertime return in 2000, with moderator Bill Cody. To keep up with Steve Wariner, visit https://www.stevewariner.com/ and follow him on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. This week also marks one year since Garth Brooks inducted Wariner into the Musicians Hall of Fame at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
PERFORMANCE NEWS:
Tanya Tucker has shared a new live version of her now classic Top 10 country smash “Delta Dawn”. The new track, which premiered via American Songwriter, appears on her latest album, Live From The Troubadour, via Fantasy Records. On October 2, Tanya and her band took the stage for the first time since the pandemic hit with a show at Beaver Dam Amphitheater in Beaver Dam, KY. The special drive-in concert was a part of the rescheduled CMT’s Next Women of Country Tour with social distancing and protective precautions in place. Additional tour dates for 2021, tickets and more info at www.tanyatucker.com. Additionally, the official music video for Tanya’s GRAMMY-winning song “Bring My Flowers Now,” featuring Brandi Carlile and directed by Trey Fanjoy, was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2020 CMT Music Awards.
PODCAST NEWS:
Grammy-winning artist, John Berry and his wife Robin have worked together most of his music career, and now have embarked on a new journey and project they are creating together through the podcast series Faith, Family & Friends. The bi-weekly subscription-based podcast is an interview series where John and Robin provide a warm atmosphere of conversation in their ‘sitting around the kitchen table’ approach to talking with their guests. Subscribe to Faith, Family & Friends online at https://www.johnberry.com. Each episode features a high-profile guest, including celebrities, sports stars, Hall of Fame members, best-selling authors and entertainers, who share personal stories about how their faith, family and friends have impacted their lives and careers. Future guests will include Kim Campbell, Megan Alexander, Marty Raybon, Scott Hamilton, T Graham and Sheila Brown and Bill Cody along with many others including surprise guests along the way.
ROAD NEWS (Sorta):
“If the folks of Nashville can’t go and see live music, we’ll take the live music to the people,” said Johan Stone, lead singer of Flying Buffaloes and member who came up with the idea. “Music is a universal healer and we’ve got plenty in supply and a whole lot of healing to do!” The idea Stone came up with: short, mobile concerts at strategic locations throughout the city from within the see-through walls of a “3-D Mobile Showroom” provided by nomADic Genius. The mobile ‘road show’ took place Sunday, October 25. The Flying Buffaloes broke these “sound barriers” and delivered LIVE music throughout the city via Operation Music City Uplift, a program they designed to lift spirits, feed the musical soul, and raise money to help the community. Funds raised benefited Music Venue Alliance Nashville. More at https://www.flyingbuffaloes.com/
SINGER-SONGWRITER NEWS:
Shelby Lee Lowe’s new EP Something In Me premiered on all online retailers mid-October and he secured coveted spots on the Academy of Country Music’s official ACM New Music Friday and Whiskey Riff’s New Music Friday playlists.
“’Something in Me’ is really the song that set this project in motion. I brought this idea to a Zoom co-write from my bedroom with Andy Wills and Rick Huckaby and it came together so well that I knew I had to cut it. It’s about finding a real connection when someone is brave enough to look past all of your imperfections.”
Lowe is a country songwriter and performer who delivers a sound that can best be described as a modern adaptation of traditional country. Shelby would first pick up the guitar and start honing his craft in high school under the mentorship of his great uncle, a penitentiary worker who had formed a band with some of the inmates. A graduate of MTSU’s Recording Industry program, Shelby has acquired publishing and booking deals since the release of his debut, self-titled album in 2016.
SINGLE RELEASE NEWS:
Dierks Bentley is back with the release of his new single “Gone” (Capitol Records Nashville). Grounded by the unmistakable grit in his vocal and driven by an aching groove that builds into an infectious chorus, it’s a heartbreak story with big effect.
“Country music is the best genre for storytelling, and I feel like we are realizing it probably now more than ever since we can’t congregate together at concerts, high five each other, sing and shout at the top of our lungs. A good country show is just about the greatest communion there is out there,” Bentley said. “We are all relying on lyrics and melodies at home and trying however we can to find different ways to connect with our fans, so that they know how important they still are to us. I hope this song resonates with mine, and I’m counting the days until we can all be back together again, beers in the air.”
Bentley continues to be a dominant voice for the genre with over 6.4 billion streams. For more information visit https://www.dierks.com/welcome.
SONG NEWS:
“Uncommon Man,” is very personal song that Dallas Remington recorded and dedicated to her dad and all essential workers. She co-wrote the song with indie Nashville songwriter Courtney Bumbacher, who shares the same feelings toward her father. The highly appraised artist continues to rise up the Country music charts with over 380K organic streams on Spotify and been added to over 2000 Spotify playlists. Dallas has released a ‘behind the song’ video of the heartfelt tune penned by Remington and co-writer Bumbacher. It is now available to watch on her artist YouTube channel:
“‘Uncommon Man’ holds a very dear place in my heart and it has been a big part of my life since Courtney and I wrote it a couple years ago” shared Dallas Remington. “There have been so many amazing people involved in the journey of sharing this special song with the world and I am so excited to give everyone an inside look behind the story of how it came to be!” “Uncommon Man” is available for streaming and download on all digital music platforms. Updates at https://www.facebook.com/dallasremingtonmusic/
ST. JUDE NEWS:
With the changing of the clocks comes the crisp air and the crackling of campfires serving as the perfect backdrop for a good old-fashioned cowboy sing-a-long with Grande Star recording artist Bobby Marquez. Marquez launched a fall virtual concert series called Country Campfire Pickins on Sunday, November 1st at 6pm central time. Each livestream show will feature Bobby Marquez and friends performing their hits, classic favorites and new songs in an intimate setting of strumming guitars and storytelling.
“I love watching the old western movies when the cowboys would kick back after a long day of hard work and pull out their guitars around a campfire and harmonize. It is such a laid-back way to swap stories,” shares Bobby Marquez.
Fans can enjoy Country Campfire Pickins on https://www.facebook.com/bobbymarquezmusic. Upcoming dates and guests will also be announced there throughout the season. Bobby Marquez has been spending much of 2020 songwriting. Marquez plans to debut some of his new co-writes with top hitmakers on this series.
STREAMING MUSIC NEWS:
Luke Combs has once again made history with the release of his new deluxe album, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get – out now on River House Artists/Columbia Nashville setting new records on multiple streaming platforms. On Apple Music, the album reached #1 on their overall U.S. Top Albums chart – making Combs the only country artist in history to top the chart, doing so twice in the past 12 months – and enjoyed the most first day streams ever for a country album on the platform. This accomplishment breaks Combs’ own record, which he set last November following the release of his platinum-certified, global #1 album, What You See Is What You Get. Moreover, new album track, “Forever After All,” also debuted at #1 on Apple Music’s Daily Top 100: Global Songs chart and broke the record for the biggest first day of streams for a country song. Combs is also Apple Music’s most streamed country artist this year. On Spotify, Combs achieved the biggest all-time first day streaming record for a country album—also breaking the record that he’s held since the release of What You See Is What You Get. Meanwhile, “Forever After All” had the most first day streams for a country track by a solo artist and reached #2 on Spotify’s Top 10 Global Song Debuts chart. More muse at www.LukeCombs.com.
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