Month: July 2020

ABC/Image Group LAAshley McBryde will do three songs from her new album, Never Will, on morning TV this Saturday.

The socially distanced performances were filmed at the Ryman Auditorium alongside two of her band mates, an experience the CMA New Artist of the Year describes as a joyful one. 

“The thing about this time, in life and in music, is that connection matters even more when we can’t be together,” Ashley says in a statement. “I hope our joy in performing these songs for you comes through and helps lighten your mood this weekend like it did ours.”

The breakthrough star delivered a stirring take on “Amazing Grace” on the Ryman stage in April in honor of the lives lost during the pandemic.

You can catch her new performances on CBS This Morning on July 11. Check your local listings to see when it airs in your area.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Columbia RecordsThe Chicks have unveiled the titles of the dozen songs on their highly anticipated album, Gaslighter. 

In addition to the already released “Julianna Calm Down,” “March March” and lead single title track, Gaslighter boasts titles including “Everybody Loves You” and “For Her,” along with the cleverly phrased “My Best Friend’s Weddings” and “Tights on My Boat.” 

The 12-song collection ends with “Hope It’s Something Good” and “Set Me Free.” The Grammy-winning group co-wrote nearly all of the album’s songs alongside co-producer Jack Antonoff and popular songwriters Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter and Teddy Geiger. 

The Chicks revealed in a tweet that they’ll share some song lyrics soon. 

Formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, the trio dropped the “dixie” from their name in June, due to its negative association with the former Confederate states, in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other Black people at the hands of police.   

Originally supposed to be released on May 1, Gaslighter was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’ll now be released on July 17.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Image Group LABlake Shelton is hosting a drive-in concert later this month. 

Following in Garth Brooks‘ footsteps, Blake is the next artist to participate in the Encore Drive-In Nights concert series in partnership with production company Encore Live, which produced Garth’s drive-in concert on June 27.

Blake will also perform in a one-night-only, pre-recorded event that will broadcast at several drive-in theaters across North America on July 25.

Blake’s girlfriend and fellow The Voice coach Gwen Stefani, and longtime friend and collaborator Trace Adkins, will also appear. In addition to performing beloved hits, the show will include interviews and story shares from the artists, with Blake hinting that he may also perform new songs. 

“This is such a great way to enjoy music with your family and friends and stay safe,” Blake says in a statement. “I’m excited we’re getting the chance to perform a concert for fans, and we’re going to go back and play old hits like ‘Austin,’ newer songs like ‘God’s Country’ and we might even introduce something brand new!”

Tickets go on sale July 14. Prices are $114.99 per vehicle. Drive-in venues will be following local and state guidelines in relation to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Erick Anderson Charlie Daniels will be laid to rest on Friday.

According to the Tennesean, a funeral service for the country icon will be held at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee Friday at 11 a.m. CT, preceded by an open visitation at Sellars Funeral Home in his hometown of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT. 

Fans will also be able to pay their respects with a special memorial service tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT outside of Sellars Funeral Home. The event will feature appearances by Charlie’s country music peers and friends Trace Adkins, Darryl Worley and Tracy Lawrence, along with former Arkansas GovernorMike Huckabee. There will also be a military flyover and 21-gun salute. 

In lieu of flowers, Daniels’ family has asked that fans make a donation to The Journey Home Project, a nonprofit co-founded by Charlie in 2014 that supports veterans returning from war and connects donors to various veteran organizations. 

Charlie passed away on July 6 at the age of 83 from a hemorrhagic stroke.  

The trailblazing star became a Southern rock pioneer when he formed the Charlie Daniels Band in 1972. The band is known for such hits as the Grammy-winning “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” “Simple Man,” and “Long Haired Country Boy.”  He’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Comstock/ThinkstockTen years ago today, this signature hit by Miranda Lambert was certified gold by the RIAA. The heartfelt song about returning to one’s childhood home hit number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and earned Miranda the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 2011. Can you name the song? ANSWER: “The House That Built Me.”  

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Mark LevineThe conflict between country trio Lady A and Seattle-based soul singer Anita “Lady A” White may be far from over. 

It all started almost a month ago, when Lady A decided to drop the word Antebellum from their name, out of sensitivity over the fact that it’s connected to slavery. Shortly after, they learned of White, who says she’s been performing as Lady A for more than two decades. 

After a subsequent meeting via Zoom, it seemed all was well between the two acts. But on Wednesday, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood revealed that’s no longer so.

“Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended,” the three said in a statement.

“She and her team have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years.”

The suit seeks no money from White, but simply asks the courts to reiterate that the country trio is lawfully using the name.

The court filings allege that Lady Antebellum was using Lady A interchangeably as far back as 2006-2007, and applied to register the name in 2010, which was approved the next year. 

“We never even entertained the idea that she shouldn’t also be able to use the name Lady A,” the trio’s statement continues, “and never will – today’s action doesn’t change that.”

The “What If I Never Get Over You” hitmakers reveal they’d also been working on a song with White, and they’ve also taken steps to “prioritize racial equality as a key pillar of the work of LadyAID,” their charity.

So far, White hasn’t released a public response. 

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ABC/Mark LevineTim McGraw currently has his biggest hit since 2016’s “How I’ll Always Be,” as “I Called Mama” approaches country’s top ten. 

The emotional song about reaching out to your mom for comfort is the first taste of Tim’s forthcoming sixteenth studio album, titled Here on Earth. And the title track seems likely to be equally as moving. 

“That song, it just tells a story, I mean, which I love more than anything,” Tim explains. “And what’s great about country music anyway is telling great stories.”

“It tells a story from start to finish,” he continues, “and it sort of tells it in a lyrical way, about meeting for the first time and, you know, having kids and what life’s like and what the meaning of life is, Here on Earth. You know, it talks about what all that means and how important it is. And that’s what being here really means.”

“That’s what the theme of the whole album is, in a lot of ways,” Tim adds. “It’s just vignettes of life.”

Here on Earth is the follow-up to 2017’s The Rest of Our Life, Tim’s first duet album with his wife, Faith Hill. 

So far, we don’t know exactly when Tim’s next record will arrive, though he’s hinted it should be Here on Earth by fall. 

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockKalie Shorr, Maggie Rose, Hannah Ellis, Lillie Mae and Paulina Jayne are teaming up with Real Music TV for a livestream show, The Live Sessions. The show will tape at Nashville’s famed club, 3rd & Lindsley, on July 14 and stream on Real Music TV on July 15 at 8 p.m. ET. It will be available to view for 24 hours.

Songwriter Kendell Marvel has released a cover of Lee Hazlewood‘s “Houston.” Kendell is the co-writer of Chris Stapleton‘s Grammy-winning single, “Either Way.”   

Newly formed duo Exit 216 is releasing the new single, “Brother,” on July 17. The duo is comprised of songwriters Steven Battey and Cole Burkett, the former of whom has co-written a range of songs from Luke Combs‘ “One Number Away” to Justin Bieber‘s “Eenie Meenie.”

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.