While Memorial Day Weekend is celebrated as the unofficial start of summer (holla for tank tops & flip flops!), make sure to take some time to reflect on the real reason for the day.
THANK YOU to all the past and present troops for your service, and we remember those who gave their lives for us. As Toby Keith sings below, “freedom don’t come free”.
Toby Keith – “American Soldier”
Listen up people, Kacey Musgraves is about to take the country world by storm! She made waves this past year with her debut single “Merry Go ‘Round” and her new album Same Trailer, Different Park is about to create a tsunami.
When the Academy of Country Music award nominees were announced earlier this year, Kacey was the surprise nominee – up for 3 awards! Not to say that they were undeserved, just a rare honor for an artist whose debut single was released only several months earlier. Expect the same to happen come Grammy time next year. With the critical praise that Kacey is already receiving, I’ll go out on a limb now and predict that Kacey’s name will be on the list of nominees for the all-genre Best New Artist award!
Aside from co-writing and producing all 12 tracks on her own album, Kacey also co-wrote Miranda Lambert’s current hit single, “Mama’s Broken Heart” (watch the video of Kacey’s version below).
Ms. Musgraves is also known for her openly progressive views that are glaringly absent in the majority of the country music community – a breath of fresh air that this genre desperately needs in the year 2013. Particularly inspiring is her song “Follow Your Arrow” which calls on girls to be themselves despite what others may say. Kacey advises that either way you’re not going to please everyone, so you might as well be true to yourself and “just follow your arrow wherever it points”. And if that includes kissing other girls or rolling up a joint, then hey, that’s fine by her!
Must Listen: Follow Your Arrow, Blowin’ Smoke, Step Off
Must Watch:
Social: Kacey’s Facebook; Kacey’s Twitter (@KaceyMusgraves), Kacey’s Instagram (@spaceykacey)
Last night NYC (and the rest of the world, thanks to iHeartRadio’s internet broadcast) got a taste of The Band Perry’s brand new album, Pioneer. Thanks to Justin’s speedy reaction to an iHeartRadio tweet, we won us some free tickets to experience the show first hand!!
Kimberly and her brothers, Reid and Neil, performed an hour of hits like “If I Die Young”, “Postcard From Paris”, and “All Your Life”, as well as cuts from Pioneer, including “Better Dig Two” (the album’s first single), brand new single, “DONE.”, and likely future singles “Mother Like Mine” and “I’m a Keeper” (hear them in the Must Listen below!). On top of all of the band’s original music, the trio also treated us to covers of Queen’s “Fat Bottom Girls” and Fun.’s “Some Nights”.
See below for some videos that I recorded live at the show, and if you want to experience The Band Perry’s awesomeness for yourself, you can catch them out on the road this summer with Rascal Flatts! For you NYC area fans, that would be May 31 at the Jones Beach Pavilion in Wantagh, NY or June 2 at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. See you there!
Must Listen: “DONE.”, “Mother Like Mine”, “I’m A Keeper”
Must Watch:
Social: The Band Perry on Facebook, The Band Perry on Twitter (@thebandperry)
If the CMA Awards are “Country Music’s Biggest Night”, the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) are “Country Music’s Biggest Party”. The ceremony for the (let’s be honest) 2nd-most prestigious country music awards, are held annually at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be co-hosted this year by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. Today, nominations for the 2013 ACMs were announced and some up-and-coming artists were featured among the nominees.
Hunter Hayes was nominated for a whopping 6 awards and Florida Georgia Line for 3. But perhaps the biggest surprise of all was Kacey Musgraves who came out with 4 nominations, including Female Vocalist of the Year – huge!!
Leading up to today’s nomination announcement, fans have been able to vote on three New Artist categories: New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist, and New Vocal Duo or Group. The winner of each category then goes on to face off for the overall New Artist of the Year award.
The nominees in each category were:
New Male Vocalist:
New Female Vocalist:
New Duo or Group:
The category winners who will move on to compete for New Artist of the Year are:
Brantley Gilbert
Jana Kramer
and Florida Georgia Line
This should make for an interesting race as all 3 have had an incredible year – especially Brantley and Jana, who recently announced their engagement! Me personally, I will be pulling for my boys in Florida Georgia Line! As you can tell, I’m quite a fan.
The winner of the New Artist of the Year Award, along with the rest of the ACM’s, will be announced live on Sunday, April 7 at 8pm EST on CBS.
Click here for a complete list of 2013 ACM nominees!
Typically, when Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw are used in the same sentence it is in reference to Taylor’s first ever single (2006’s “Tim McGraw”). Now, nearly 7 years later, Taylor has collaborated with the very legend who helped indirectly launch the then 16-year old’s career.
Featured on Tim McGraw’s new album released today, Two Lanes of Freedom, “Highway Don’t Care”, also showcases the ridiculous guitar prowess of American Idol judge, and country superstar in his own right, Keith Urban.
Already #6 on the iTunes Top Songs chart, any project with these 3 names attached is bound to be a hit!
Take a listen to the new track below!
It’s been a long time coming, but after 17 years New York City is once again home to a country music radio station! Nash FM 94.7 made it’s debut on January 21, much to the delight of the NYC and Tri-State area country music fans.
After debate about which format the station would take on, country was ultimately selected as the winner – thanks in large part to Jason Aldean selling out Madison Square Garden in less than 10 minutes earlier this month. In an interview shortly after the sell-out, Jason said he believes people underestimate country music’s popularity in New York City. Jason proved that the audience is out there, so hopefully Nash FM will give a voice to these overlooked fans and, ultimately, rope in plenty of new ones who have yet to be exposed to the genre.
Coincidentally (or maybe strategically), the first song played after the official switch to country was Randy Houser’s hit, “How Country Feels”, whose opening line is “You were raised on an asphalt farm / ain’t never heard a rooster crow”. Hey, they know their audience!
As is typical with new stations, Nash FM is currently airing sans DJs, focusing on the music so listeners know what they can expect to hear: a solid mix of new releases, recent hits, and classic favorites. Last night I was pleasantly surprised to hear Travis Tritt’s classic “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive”. If they didn’t have me before, they sure did after that!
If you’re a country fan in the NYC area, make sure you add 94.7FM to your radio pre-sets. If you’ve not been converted yet, do yourself a favor and see how country feels (and sounds!).
Social: Nash FM 94.7’s Facebook; Twitter (@NashFM947NY)
Being a huge country fan, I’ve always been fascinated by the city of Nashville, TN. I used to think of it as this magical, country music-fairytale land, where stars were born and dreams came true. I was lucky enough to visit some years back and, from the outside, Music City is “Hollywood with a touch of twang” as Mr. Aldean sings, but take a closer look and behind the few superstars, you’ll find thousands of hopefuls – desperate to make it and just trying to get by on waiter’s tips until they do. But even after you “make it”, there are some problems even money and fame can’t fix.
Nashville, a new drama that premiered on ABC this fall and returns from it’s winter break tonight, tells an honest, behind the scenes story of this alluring city.
If you’re not already glued to ABC every Wednesday night at 10:00pm, here’s why you need to be:
# 1. Connie Britton as “Rayna James”
Any fan of Friday Night Lights or American Horror Story knows that Ms. Connie is a fierce actress and let’s face it, the award nominations don’t lie! Connie has accrued 3 Emmy nominations in as many years and is up for a Golden Globe award (Best Actress in a TV Series – Drama) at this Sunday’s ceremony, for her portrayal of Rayna James, the Queen of Country, who is struggling to regain her place at the top of the charts.
#2 Hayden Panettiere as “Juliette Barnes”
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Now I’ll be the first to admit that prior to this show I was not the biggest fan of Hayden’s, but she is well on her way to converting me! Hayden plays bratty-but-desperately-broken country starlet, Juliette Barnes, so well that, despite her sometimes wretched character, you can’t help but feel for her. Apparently the industry has taken notice, as well – Hayden received her first Golden Globe nomination this year (Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie).
#3. Clare Bowen as “Scarlett O’Connor”
The real breakout star of the show to me, Clare plays waitress/reluctant budding singer-songwriter Scarlett O’Connor. Between her sweet, naive innocence and Alison Krauss-esque angel voice, you won’t be able to get enough of her.
#4 The Eye Candy
The ladies of Nashville aren’t the only ones worth watchin…
Eric Close as “Teddy Conrad”
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Charles Esten as “Deacon Clayborne”
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Sam Palladio as “Gunnar Scott”
Tilky Jones as “Sean Butler”
#5. The music, duh!
Many of the show’s songs are available on iTunes shortly after airing (the official soundtrack was released last month). Oh and did I mention that all of the actors do their own vocals?! Hayden’s “Telescope” has already been burning up country radio and CMT.
Must Listen:
“Fade Into You” by Clare Bowen & Sam Palladio – For some unknown reason this song didn’t make it on the soundtrack, which is just bananas to me because it is clearly one of the best songs to come out of the show thus far.
“Telescope” by Lennon & Maisy Stella – Although the better-known, up-tempo version is sung by Hayden, I cannot get enough of the acoustic version sung by Rayna’s adorable daughters (real-life singing sisters, Lennon, 13, and Maisy, 9) at their school talent show.
“When the Right One Comes Along” by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio – Just perfection.
Must Watch:
If you’re not already familiar with the show, check out this extended Nashville trailer:
Make sure you tune in tonight, January 9 at 10:00PM for the return of Nashville on ABC, and best of luck to Connie and Hayden at the 70th Golden Globe Awards airing live, this Sunday, January 13 at 8/7c on NBC!
Social: Nashville on Facebook, Nashville on Twitter (@Nashville_ABC)
Just minutes before the kick-off to “Country Music’s Biggest Night”, aka the 46th CMA Awards, the music world is buzzing about who the next class of artists will be to take their place in country music history.
A CMA is the most prestigious award a country artist can win, and one award in particular that all eyes are always on is the New Artist of the Year. This award is the equivalent of the country music industry saying “we think you have what it takes to be the next superstar”. Previous winners include Garth Brooks (1990), Brad Paisley (2000), Rascal Flatts (2002), Carrie Underwood (2006), and Taylor Swift (2007). It’s safe to say that whoever wins will be in amazing company!
Let’s take a look at the line up of this year’s nominees…
Lee Brice
Highlights: Lee saw his first #1 and platinum single with 2011’s “A Woman Like You”, and his 2012 album Hard 2 Love reached #2 on the Billboard Country chart. He is also an accomplished songwriter for other artists, co-writing Tim McGraw’s “Still” and Garth Brooks’ “More Than a Memory”.
Must Listen: “Love Like Crazy”
Social: Lee’s Facebook; Lee’s Twitter
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Brantley Gilbert
Highlights: Also a successful songwriter, Brantley wrote “My Kinda Party” and “Dirt Road Anthem” (both major hits for Jason Aldean). He’s also done quite well himself – scoring two #1 hits with “Country Must Be Country Wide” and “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do”, but my favorite is his rockin’ “Kick It In the Sticks”.
Must Listen: “Kick It In the Sticks”
Social: Brantley’s Facebook, Brantley’s Twitter
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Hunter Hayes
Highlights: Enough said.
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Love & Theft
Highlights: Before Love & Theft became a duo, they had a hit as a trio with “Runaway” and spent time touring with Taylor Swift. Now, they’ve got themselves a #1 song with “Angel Eyes” and will spend the remainder of the year touring with Jake Owen. Not too shabby.
Also nominated for: Vocal Duo of the Year
Must Listen: “Runaway“, “Angel Eyes”
Social: Love & Theft’s Facebook, Love & Theft’s Twitter
Thompson Square
Highlights: This husband & wife duo had a #1, platinum hit with “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not”. Now, they’ve just release the first single off their sophomore album, “If I Didn’t Have You”, which became the most added song at country radio this week.
Also nominated for: Vocal Duo of the Year
Must Listen: “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not“, “Glass”
Social: TS’s Facebook, TS’s Twitter
My Prediction: No surprise here – I gotta go with my boy, Hunter Hayes!
Be sure to tune in to the 46th CMA Awards TONIGHT, November 1, live at 8/7c on ABC to see who will be crowned 2012 New Artist of the Year. Best of luck to all the nominees!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few days, you’re well aware that Hurricane Sandy (aka the “Frankenstorm”), is about to tear across the East Coast and is on track to be the most destructive storm in the area’s history!
Countless schools and businesses are closed today due to the storm, so while you’re cooped up inside, enjoy this inclement weather playlist:
Storm Warning – Hunter Hayes
Hurricane – Needtobreathe
Blown Away – Carrie Underwood
Rain Is a Good Thing – Luke Bryan
Colder Weather – Zac Brown Band
Prayin’ for Daylight – Rascal Flatts
Come in With the Rain – Taylor Swift
Bring On the Rain – Jo Dee Messina
Let It Rain – David Nail
Tornado – Little Big Town
Help Pour Out the Rain – Buddy Jewel
Raining on Sunday – Keith Urban
Rainy Season – Hunter Hayes
When It Rains – Gretchen Wilson
And this classic by Garth Brooks…
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As for me, I’ll be following Gretchen Wilson’s example… “When it rains, I pour.”
Stay safe everyone!!!
Well folks, we’ve reached our final Taylor Tuesday, which means that Taylor Swift’s new album, Red, has officially been released!!
And I gotta say, Taylor has managed to out do herself, which, after 2010’s amazing Speak Now, was no easy feat. Taylor famously experimented with her sound on this album and although it is decidedly more “country-pop” than “pop-country”, it still has enough of both to appease both audiences. Overall, I’m LOVING it!
Let’s take a listen to each track and get to what you really want to know – the juice on who each song is about! As I’ve previously mentioned, Taylor encodes hidden messages into her song lyrics by capitalizing certain letters to form words or phrases that (sometimes) lead to the identity of the song’s subject:
“State of Grace” (Taylor Tuesday featured song)
Hidden Message: I love you doesn’t count after goodbye
About: Previously I had guessed current boyfriend, Conor Kennedy, inspired this tune, but I would like to retract that statement! After seeing Taylor’s hidden message for this song, it is more likely about ex Jake Gyllenhaal, who is also a fire sign (Sagittarius, like Taylor) with blue eyes.
“Red” (Taylor Tuesday featured song)
Hidden Message: sag
About: “Sag” could refer to the sagittarius zodiac sign or the Screen Actor’s Guild – fits Jake Gyllenhaal either way. The only thing stopping this song from being amazing are the sometimes lazy lyrics – at least compared to the caliber of material that we know Taylor is capable of.
“Treacherous”
Hidden Message: Won’t stop till it’s over
About: John Mayer? As Taylor reveals on the next track, she knew he was trouble from the beginning.
*“I Knew You Were Trouble” (Taylor Tuesday featured song)
Hidden Message: When you saw me dancing
About: The most notorious bad-bay that Taylor has dated, this has to be John Mayer.
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Hidden Message: When I stopped caring what you thought
About: Shockingly this one is still TBD, but I lean toward Jake Gyllenhaal. Thinking an indie record is “so much cooler than (Taylor’s)” sounds believable for him.
“I Almost Do”
Hidden Message: Wrote this instead of calling
About: TBD – could be either John Mayer or Jake Gyllenhaal.
*“All Too Well”
Hidden Message: Maple lattes
About: Anyone who reads People magazine or Perez Hilton could tell you this is most definitely about Jake Gyllenhaal – from the scarves, to his sister, to frolicking upstate, to the hidden message of maple lattes, these images of Taylor and Jake were famously strewn all over the tabloids in the fall of 2010. Might be my favorite song on the album.
*“22”
Hidden Message: Ashley Dianna Claire Selena
About: Easy one – her besties: Ashley Avignone, Dianna Agron, Claire Kislinger, and Selena Gomez. This song is FUN in all caps – expect to hear this one on the radio!
“Stay Stay Stay”
Hidden Message: Daydreaming about real love
About: No one – as Taylor says, just a delightfully adorable daydream 🙂
“Holy Ground”
Hidden Message: When you came to the show in SD
About: TBD – this one will take some real detective work. Which of her exes went to one of her shows in South Dakota or San Diego? The lyrics reference “a first glance feeling on New York time” and how they “had the big wide city all to (themselves)”. I wanna say Jake?
“The Last Time” (featuring Gary Lightbody)
Hidden Message: LA on your break
About: Jake again?
“Sad Beautiful Tragic”
Hidden Message: While you were on a train
About: Extremely vague clue seemingly aimed at the subject himself to let him know it was about him – could really be any ex of Taylor’s.
“Everything Has Changed” (featuring Ed Sheeran)
Hidden Message: Hyannis Port
About: We’ve obviously arrived at the Kennedy portion of Red – Hyannis Port, MA is where Conor and the Kennedy clan live and where Taylor spent a good portion of Summer 2012 hanging out.
“The Lucky One”
Hidden Message: Wouldn’t you like to know
About: Although Taylor is quite vague with her message – it has been speculated that the ’60’s starlet Taylor sings about is Joni Mitchell – who Taylor is actually rumored to be playing in an upcoming biopic.
“Starlight”
Hidden Message: For Ethel
About: Uh duh – Ethel Kennedy. The lyrics reference Ethel meeting Bobby (Kennedy) on the boardwalk in the summer of ’45 and dancing the night away the time they snuck into a fancy yacht club party.
“Begin Again” (Taylor Tuesday featured song)
Hidden Again: I wear heels now
About: The start of the 6′ 2″ Conor Kennedy era.
* = Must Listen
Taylor is already on track to sell 1 million albums in this first week! If she succeeds, she will be one of only 4 acts to sell over 1 million units in the debut week for two albums (the others artists are The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Eminem).
Social: Taylor’s Facebook; Twitter (@taylorswift13)
A sneak peak at new Country music and up-and-coming artists.
Exploring the world, life, and a better me
A sneak peak at new Country music and up-and-coming artists.
Fresh Roots 