Month: September 2020

Courtesy of Amazon MusicOld Dominion puts a fresh spin on a classic today with the release of their “Lean on Me,” an Amazon Original cover of Bill Withers’ timeless friendship anthem from 1972.

Though the feel-good message of finding mutual support and understanding in your community never loses relevance, it’s a particularly poignant message in 2020, amid worldwide division, a global pandemic, a rejuvenated Civil Rights movement and more.

“We chose ‘Lean on Me’ because it’s a song that’s really timely right now,” explains bandmate Brad Tursi. “Everyone’s just a little on edge and we need to lean on each other in these times.”

The band stays true to the feel-good vibes of the original song, while also adding their own personal touches to their version of “Lean on Me.”

“We switched it up and made the chords just a little bit more angsty and put our own spin on it, so we hope you all like it,” Brad adds.

It’s also a sweet tribute to the late Withers, who died on March 30, 2020 at the age of 81.

Old Dominion’s version of “Lean on Me” is available exclusively on Amazon Music. It comes out just a couple of days after the 2020 ACM Awards, where the band brought home two trophies: Group of the Year and Song of the Year for “One Man Band.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

We cut #leanonme as an #amazonoriginal because it's a song that's timely right now. Everyone's a little on edge & we need to lean on each other in these times. We switched it up & made the chords a little more angsty & put our spin on it. https://t.co/QS8UWKyTc2 @amazonmusic pic.twitter.com/cs9HsCLrfn

— Old Dominion (@OldDominion) September 18, 2020

River House Artists/Columbia NashvilleHot on the heels of his ACM Album of the Year win for What You See Is What You Get, Luke Combs is readying a deluxe version of that project, and it will include five new songs.

On Friday, the singer was ready to shed some light on the new material included on his deluxe album, which is called What You See Ain’t Always What You Get. He offered up the list of new tracks in an Instagram post, and even dropped one in full to tide fans over until the rest are released.

That song is “Without You,” which features Highwoman and member of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit Amanda Shires on fiddle. Though the Americana-leaning singer-songwriter might seem like an unusual choice of partner for a mainstream country artist, it’s not a huge surprise that Luke teamed up with Amanda: The pair previously performed “Beautiful Crazy” at the 2019 ACM Awards.

The song is a tender ode to Luke’s support system, paying tribute to the people in his life behind the scenes who make sacrifices so that he can pursue his musical dreams.

As for the rest of the new material? Fans will have to wait just a little bit longer to hear what Luke’s got in store. What You See Ain’t Always What You Get will be available on October 23.

In the meantime, here’s the list of new songs included on Luke’s deluxe album:

“Cold as You”
“The Other Guy”
“My Kinda Folk”
“Without You” (feat. Amanda Shires)
“Forever After All”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Comstock/ThinkstockOn this date back in 1967, one of country’s living legends released her debut album. It included her first ever Top 30 hit, “Dumb Blonde.” Since then, she has charted a whopping 110 singles, joined the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and become one of the most successful crossover artists. Can you name her? ANSWER: Dolly Parton.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Big Machine RecordsRascal Flatts are continuing to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band with the announcement of a new best-of album: Twenty Years of Rascal Flatts The Greatest Hits.

The 20-song collection, which includes 13 of their 17 number-one hits, will take fans on a journey through the superstar trio’s career. Fan-favorite tunes like “Bless the Broken Road,” “My Wish” and “What Hurts the Most”  all appear on the project, and the bandmates say that selecting the track list was a sweet walk down memory lane.

“When we were putting together the track listing for this, it was an emotional but nostalgic feeling, getting a chance to look back during this anniversary year,” singer Gary LeVox reflects. “We hope that our fans feel the same way when they listen to it. This release and this year as a band is all a huge thank-you and celebration for them.”

At the start of 2020, Rascal Flatts announced plans to break up at the end of their milestone anniversary year. In the meantime, they made plans for a big year of surprises and live shows. However, the pandemic has rearranged that timeline a bit, and the band’s 2020 tour schedule has been scrapped.

That didn’t stop the group from releasing new music, though: In addition to this new greatest hits project, they also dropped their How They Remember You EP earlier in the year.

Twenty Years of Rascal Flatts The Greatest Hits will be out on October 2, but you can preorder it now. Here’s the track list: 

“I’m Movin’ On”
“These Days”
“Bless the Broken Road”
“Fast Cars and Freedom”
“What Hurts the Most”
“Life is a Highway”
“My Wish”
“Stand”
“Take Me There”
“Here Comes Goodbye”
“Why Wait”
“I Won’t Let Go”
“Easy” (featuring Natasha Bedingfield)
“Banjo”
“Come Wake Me Up”
“Changed”
“Rewind”
“Riot”
“I Like the Sound of That”
“Yours if You Want It”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

We are so excited to announce TWENTY YEARS OF RASCAL FLATTS THE GREATEST HITS will be out October 2nd. This release and this year as a band is all a huge thank you and celebration for you, our amazing fans. You can preorder the album now: https://t.co/A6pOCAoJYf pic.twitter.com/X5hXJNUSiX

— Rascal Flatts (@rascalflatts) September 18, 2020

Capitol NashvilleKeith Urban‘s The Speed of Now Part 1 arrives today, shaped — at least partially — by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I had a record that I could have put out prior to February, March of this year,” the Australian superstar tells ABC Audio. “But I had this feeling that there was just a few songs missing.”

“And the ones that came from just the stay-at-home orders and lockdown and everything just grinding to a halt,” he continues, “the songs that came from that turned out to be the ones I was missing… ‘Out the Cage,’ ‘Say Something,’… ‘Live With,’ all of those songs came from that period.”

While Keith typically prefers to simply follow the muse when making records, this time, he had more of an intention in mind.

“I think my vision was clearer…” he explains, “on what kind of spirit I wanted to manifest — or let manifest, probably.”

“You know, people talk about pushing boundaries, and I think I never think about pushing boundaries,” he reveals. “I think about making sure no one stops — no part of me stops — the thing from naturally flowing… I think about making sure there’s no fences or borders in the way.”

With his tenth album finished, Keith confesses he’s still grappling with the realities of 2020.

“I guess we’re feeling a lot of things,” he reflects. “If anybody’s like me, it fluctuates from moment to moment. I’m walking around, getting on with my life, and then I go, ‘What the hell happened?… Where did everything go?’ You know?”

”’… I feel… just surreal feelings every now and then,” he says, “of this sort of parallel universe: the one we used to be in, the one we’re kind of in, the one that isn’t quite here yet. So we’re sort of in between.” 

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

Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockStarting today, Granger Smith will launch his new fall line of Yee Yee Apparel. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Veteran Outdoors, an organization that provides hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities to veterans.

Brantley Gilbert will appear on Fox & Friends today during the 8AM ET Hour. He’s debuting a special acoustic performance video for his new single, “Hard Days.”

Legendary songwriter the late John Prine’s Souvenirs album will soon be available for the first time on vinyl. The new version of the record comes out September 25 on John’s own Oh Boy Records.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.