Month: April 2021

On Friday, Lanco shared their nostalgic song “First Beer,” an evocative look back at some of the special moments that never fade, no matter how much time passes.

In this instance, it's the memory of trying a beer for the first time. It’s a milestone moment in many people’s lives but even more memorable than the event itself is the memory of the friends who were there with you.

“There are some memories in life where you don't remember every detail, but one vivid experience that stuck with all of us was our first drink and the people we were with,” says frontman Brandon Lancaster, who co-wrote “First Beer” with the group's drummer Tripp Howell as well as The Cadillac Three's Jaren Johnston.

“[First Beer'] is a universal song that's going to be fun to get back on the road and play for our fans. They might not remember the beer, but they will take away an experience, which is the entire sentiment of the song,” Brandon adds.

Lanco's new song follows their equally nostalgic “Near Mrs.,” a romantic tribute to all the almost-right relationships men experience along the way to eventually finding true love.

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The release of Eric Church's Heart & Soul triple album is fast approaching, but before its arrival later this month, members of the Chief's Church Choir fan club have one more chance to get an early listen to an album track..

That's “Kiss Her Goodbye,” which Eric is debuting exclusively for his Church Choir. The song comes from the middle album of the three, &, which will remain a fan club vinyl exclusive: The song won't be available to the general public.

Heart & Soul's rollout begins on April 16 with its nine-track first installment, Heart. The six-song & arrives to Church Choir members on April 20, and the triple album wraps with Soul, another nine-track collection arriving on April 23.

In the meantime, fans have quite a few Eric appearances to look forward to: The singer will feature in an Ad Council PSA for the COVID-19 vaccine, which debuts during the upcoming 2021 ACM Awards.

Eric's also resuming his rigorous touring schedule this fall. He's booked an ambitious run of dates for his Gather Again Tour, which launches September 17 and runs through May of 2022. 

The country superstar's current single, “Hell of a View,” is now a top-15 hit.

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One half of country duo Sugarland and a genre-defying solo artist and actor, Jennifer Nettles announced on Friday that she's planning to release an album full of beloved classic songs from American musicals.

“As a child who grew up in musical theater, this album feels like a homecoming to me,” says Jennifer. “…It is thrilling to be able to celebrate this amazing songwriting with arrangements and vocals that allow them to be rediscovered anew.”

Called Always Like New, the collection features hits from perennial favorite shows such as My Fair Lady and Oklahoma!, as well as newer hit productions like Hamilton.

To assist with arrangements, Jennifer tapped Alex Lacamoire, who is best known for his work on shows such as Hamilton, In the Heights and Dear Evan Hansen, and the singer says she “savored” every aspect of the collaborative creative process.

Always Like New comes out on June 25, but it's available for pre-order and pre-save now. On Friday, Jennifer also previewed her new album with a first taste of the track list: She released “Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat,” which originally appeared in the 1950 Broadway musical Guys and Dolls. 

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This month, Tim McGraw will return to his August 2020 Here on Earth album, delivering a deluxe version of the project that also features a slew of accompanying videos for its songs.

The Here on Earth Ultimate Edition and Here on Earth Ultimate Video Edition will arrive later this month, but they're both available for pre-order now. The deluxe treatment bumps the album's track list up to 22 songs, plus two additional bonus movie tracks on the Video Edition.

Among those movie tracks are “Keep Your Eyes on Me” — featuring Faith Hill, Tim's wife and fellow country superstar — from the soundtrack of 2017 film The Shack, and “Gravity,” which comes from 2018 documentary Free Solo.

The other new additions to the track list include “Thought About You” and “Neon Church,” two stand-alone singles that Tim released in 2018 and 2019 before departing Sony's Columbia Nashville to return to his previous label home, Big Machine Records. Tim also included “Cuttin' Onions” and “Truth Is,” two songs that were Target-exclusive bonus tracks for Here on Earth's initial release.

The new package also features “Undivided,” Tim's collaboration with Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard, which came out early this year. Then, there's the brand-new “God Moves the Pen,” which Tim dropped on Friday.

Six standouts on the track list — “Here on Earth,” “I Called Mama,” “Gravy,” “Undivided,” “Thought About You” and “Neon Church” — get the visual treatment on the Ultimate Video Edition, with special videos for each song.

Both projects come out on April 16, and Tim's celebration of all things Here on Earth won't stop there: On June 12, for Record Store Day, he's dropping a special edition 12″ vinyl of “Undivided,” with an acoustic performance of “I Called Mama” as a B-side. 

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On this date in 1983, two country superstars rode to number-one on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart with their joint project, Pancho & Lefty. It wouldn't be their last duet album together: Five years later, they joined forces once again for Seashores of Old Mexico. Can you name them? ANSWER: Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.

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Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockBrett Eldredge has a stop on Ellen planned for April 14. He’ll perform his current single, “Good Day.”

‘90s hitmaker Mark Collie returns with his latest music video for “The Son of a Gun,” which comes off his upcoming album, Book of My Blues. Mark charted 16 country singles during the late ‘80s and through the ‘90s, including top-10 hits “Born to Love You” and “Even the Man in the Moon is Cryin’.”

Margo Price joins Farm Aid as the first female artist to be appointed to the organization’s board of directors. She’ll serve alongside Farm Aid founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, as well as Dave Matthews and newly-elected board member Annie Nelson, a humanitarian and farmers’ rights advocate who is also Willie Nelson’s spouse.

By Carena Liptak
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