Month: August 2020

ABC/Image Group LAChris Janson extends his run at the top of the chart, as “Done” spends its second week at number one on Billboard‘s Country Airplay ranking. 

The Missouri native’s latest hit was inspired by his wife, who also stars alongside him in the song’s music video.

“It’s a love song about Kelly, and I think it’s quite possibly maybe the best song I’ve ever written,” Chris tells ABC Audio. “It’s my favorite that I’ve ever had. It’s just about her, man.”

More specifically, “Done” sums up Chris’s reaction the first time he met the woman who would be his wife.

“First time I saw her,” he recalls, “I said the words. I said ‘Done and done. I’m gonna marry her and that’s it.’ So naturally, we wrote a song called ‘Done,’ you know.”

“I just write real stuff about real life,” he continues. “And when it came to be on the album, man, that was one of the easiest first picks right out of the shoot, you know.”

“And I wanted it to kinda sound like mid-nineties, George Strait, four-week number one type song,” he adds. “So that’s how I produced it.”  

“Done” is Chris’s fourth number one overall, though it’s his first to top the chart for multiple weeks. It follows his breakthrough hit, “Buy Me a Boat,” “Fix a Drink,” and “Good Vibes.”

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

Burke/Triolo/ThinkstockA Thousand Horses have officially released their first single in three years, “A Song to Remember,” to country radio. It’s featured on the group’s upcoming album, Let the Band Play On. 

Americana and bluegrass festival MerleFest will take place September 16-19, 2021 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Past performers include Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.

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

Capitol NashvilleLuke Bryan doesn’t want to be a “sacrificial lamb” when it comes to performing live shows during a pandemic.

Like countless other artists, Luke’s cancelled or postponed many live shows scheduled for this year, including his annual Farm Tour and his Proud to Be Right Here Tour, which has been moved to next year. 

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Luke further opened up about his decision to cancel his shows, which draw thousands of fans. 

“You don’t want to be the sacrificial lamb,” Luke declares.  “If I’ve made decisions on not doing shows, it’s because ‘let’s see what we’re truly dealing with.’ We’re still learning what this virus is every day.” 

The superstar goes on to say that the idea of having marked spaces that would keep mask-wearing fans six feet apart, should he have gone ahead with the 2020 Farm Tour, wasn’t worth the risk of putting fans in potential danger. 

“I’ve got these Farm Tour shows, where say you got a ten-by-ten-square-mile field, and you put a huge stage in it and you tell everybody to stay six feet apart and wear a mask,” he says.

“I’m like, ‘We could make this happen where if somebody called bulls** on us, we could technically go spray-paint six-foot circumferences.’ But I just can’t imagine that germs aren’t getting spread,” he concludes, adding that configuring live shows during these times is “all out of whack.” 

Luke’s new album, Born Here Live Here Die Here, was released last week.

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

ABC/Image Group LADolly Parton is adding her signature flair to the culinary world as part of Williams Sonoma’s 2020 lineup of celebrity-designed spatulas. 

Dolly is one of 10 celebrities who has created a special spatula and accompanying tea towel to benefit of No Kid Hungry. The singer’s design features a brightly colored blue-and-red butterfly floating against a yellow background.

Butterflies are one of Dolly’s signature symbols; her song “Love is Like a Butterfly” hit number one on the country charts in 1974. 

Other participating celebrities include Kris Jenner, actress Kristen Bell and chefs Ina Garten and Curtis Stone.   

Thirty percent of the retail sales from the spatulas will be donated to No Kid Hungry, a charity that provides meals to children in need around the country. 

“The thought of anyone going hungry is horrible, but knowing that it’s a child is simply heartbreaking. We all have to do our part to take care of the little ones around us who need extra love,” Dolly says in a statement to People. “This spatula program might help in some small way.”

The special edition spatulas can be purchased in-store or online. 

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