Month: July 2021

Chris Janson, Scotty McCreery, Gary Allan and many more acts have been added to the 2021 Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam lineup, joining previously revealed headliners Chris Stapleton, Old Dominion and Brooks & Dunn. The festival will take place September 3-5 in Panama City Beach, Florida.

After suffering a bout of appendicitis last weekend, Lady A's Charles Kelley is “ready to rock” once again. The singer posted an update on social media, saying he's healthy and his doctors have cleared him to perform. The group's next scheduled shows are July 16 and 17 at Texas honky-tonk Billy Bob's. 

Dylan Scott has announced his next single, “New Truck,” which will head to radio later in the month. Currently, fans can catch him on the road as an opening act for Luke Bryan's Proud to Be Right Here Tour.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Charles Kelley (@charleskelley)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Toby Keith, Rhett Akins, Buddy Cannon, Amy Grant and John Scott Sherrill will join the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame this year.

“Today is one of my favorite days of the year, as we begin our journey to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala in November with the announcement of our upcoming class,” says Sarah Cates, who serves as chair of the Hall's board of directors. “Nashville has always been the home of legendary songs written by the world's finest songwriters — and this class is no exception.”

The five incoming inductees will join 213 members of the Hall of Fame. They're joining the prestigious organization via four different categories: Akins and Cannon in the songwriter category; Sherrill in the veteran songwriter category; Keith as a songwriter/artist; and Grant as a veteran songwriter/artist.

The official induction gala is set for November 1 in Nashville. It'll be a double feature this year, as last year's class of inductees never got an in-person celebration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That class, who will join this year's honorees, includes Bobbie Gentry, Steve Earle, Kent Blazy, Brett James and Spooner Oldham.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Morgan Wallen's Dangerous: The Double Album continues to be one of the highest-performing albums of 2021 thus far, in any genre, despite the controversy that has surrounded the singer for most of the year.

According to MRC Data's 2021 Mid-Year Report, Morgan's album outpaced every other country release so far this year by a wide margin, netting 2,108,000 equivalent album units sold. By comparison, the number-two album was Luke Combs' What You See Is What You Get, clocking in with 740,000 — less than half of the equivalent album units that Dangerous returned.

Also in the top five country albums from this year so far is Taylor Swift's Fearless (Taylor's Version), which earned 560,000 equivalent album units.

Thanks in part to sweepingly successful projects by artists like Morgan and Taylor, MRC Data reports a 13.5% uptick in overall music consumption during the first six months of 2021. Across all genres, music has seen an increase in audio streaming as well as vinyl LP sales growth. 

Other artists who've contributed significantly to the rise in consumption include Olivia Rodrigo, the singer-songwriter and actor who blazed into the pop world this year with her massive debut single, “Drivers License.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Earlier this month, over the Independence Day weekend, Matt Stell made his first trip overseas to perform for U.S. service members. The rising star gave several live shows at Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf.

Matt's set list included his back-to-back number-one hits, his 2019 debut “Prayed for You” and hit follow-up, “Everywhere but On.” Both songs come off the singer's debut EP, which is also titled Everywhere but On.

He also performed his current single, “That Ain't Me No More,” which broke country radio's top 40 last month.

Before his breakout country success, Matt spent time pursuing other career dreams: He played college basketball at Drury University, and nearly pursued a pre-med program after being accepted to Harvard University. Still, getting the chance to perform overseas for military members was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the singer says.

“This doesn't happen to me often, but I really can't find the words to express what this trip has meant to me,” Matt admits. “I am so thankful for the opportunity and I will never forget the experience.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Last weekend brought some disappointment for Dierks Bentley fans, when the singer had to scrap his 2021 Seven Peaks Festival due to local capacity restrictions. But there's good news, too: The singer dropped a five-track surprise EP called Live from Telluride.

The project was recorded last month during Dierks' Telluride Bluegrass Festival set and features guest appearances from The War and Treaty, Larkin Poe and Sam Bush. The track list includes selections from the singer's The Mountain and Up on the Ridge albums, plus covers of classics by Pink Floyd and U2.

“This really was a once in a lifetime show for me,” Dierks explains. “Getting to play at my favorite festival…with some of my favorite musicians and performers…in one of my favorite places in the world…felt like a dream.”

He added, “Luckily, this dream was captured on tape and I can go back and relive the way it felt that night whenever I want.”

As an added bonus, Dierks is also offering fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the show. He shared a backstage clip of his U2 cover, “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which he performed with The War and Treaty and Sam Bush. Dierks also performed the song with The War and Treaty — who are husband-and-wife duo Michael and Tanya Trotter — at the ACM Awards earlier this year. 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jimmie Allen's first-ever children's book, My Voice Is a Trumpet, is out now.

Illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson, the book celebrates how every voice — from the roar of a lion to the buzz of a bee — has the power to enact change. That's a message that's especially important to Jimmie, both as a country musician and as a father.

“It's very important to me that kids learn at a young age that they have a voice, and that it is powerful. It is up to us adults to teach them to use their voice to encourage and show love,” Jimmie explains. “Being a father of two kids, I try to encourage them to be themselves and love everyone around them. I'm hoping this book inspires at least one child and they always remember their voice is a trumpet.”

Jimmie is dad to 7-year-old Aadyn; he and his wife, Alexis, also share 1-year-old daughter Naomi. The couple will soon add a third child to the mix, as they're expecting another baby — a girl — later this year.

In musical news, Jimmie's current single, a duet with Brad Paisley, called “Freedom Is a Highway,” is rising at radio. He'll join Brad on tour later this summer. 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.