Month: August 2021

In a year where many entrepreneurs saw their profits flagging, Dolly Parton was among those who not only survived, but thrived. 

In fact, the legendary country multi-hyphenate saw her wealth increase over the last year, enough to land her a spot as one of Forbes' 15 new additions to their list of the richest self-made women in the world. 

With Dolly's revenue coming from diverse sources — her her holiday album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, a Netflix film, Christmas on the Square, and of course, her stake in her namesake theme park, Dollywood — the superstar's net worth topped out at $350 million.

That puts her well over the $225 million cut-off to makes Forbes' list, and in impressive company. Among those named to Forbes' new crop of richest self-made women this year are supermodel-turned-skincare-entrepreneur Cindy Crawford, and CEO and chair of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi. At 75, Dolly is the oldest of the 15 women to make Forbes' list. 

Most recently, Dolly is expanding her portfolio yet again with the release of her new line of perfume. Called “Dolly — Scent from Above,” the fragrance is a collaboration with ScentBeauty. To go along with it, she released a new song called — you guessed it — “Sent from Above.”

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Ever since Reba McEntire's mother, Jacqueline McEntire, died last spring, the singer has been hoping to have the chance to have a public memorial for her late mom. 

A service was previously scheduled for this Sunday, August 8, but Reba now explains that that event is being canceled in light of an uptick in local COVID-19 cases.

“If you knew mama, you know she would scold us to pieces for putting on a memorial on her behalf with so many lives in danger of COVID exposure,” Reba wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of her mother. “If and when we are able to honor our Mama, we will let you know.”

The singer also asked for help spreading the word to anyone who might have been planning on attending, since the cancellation was coming on such short notice. 

Jacqueline died of cancer on March 14, 2020, at the age of 93. Earlier this year, on the one-year anniversary of her death, Reba remembered her mom with a moving social media tribute that featured her song “You Never Gave Up on Me.” 

 

 

 

 

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The stars came out this week for the first-ever benefit show for non-profit Feeding Nashville. Co-founded by Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard and his wife, Hayley, along with pro football player Taylor Lewan and his wife, Taylin, the initiative seeks to provide daily meals as well as nutrition education and other services to those in need.

FGL took the stage during the benefit show, called Together: Feeding Nashville, and they were one of many big-name acts to do so. Thomas Rhett, Maren Morris, Russell Dickerson and Lily Rose all performed as well, along with a slew of surprise guests, including rapper Nelly, Chase Rice, Chris Tomlin, Ryan Hurd, Breland and Blanco Brown.

The benefit raised over $450,000 for the cause. “We're still on cloud nine and feeling overwhelmed with all of the love that everyone poured into Together: Feeding Nashville,” Hayley gushed after the show.

“So many lives will be impacted by the incredible generosity from our community and we are forever grateful,” she continued. “We'll definitely be reliving this special night for a long time and dreaming up the next one!” 

Not only was it the first benefit show for this particular nonprofit, but it also marked the first concert at new Franklin, Tennessee, venue FirstBank Amphitheater. Over 7,500 fans attended the show, and Entertainment Tonight also captured live footage of the artists' sets and offered a sneak peek into the backstage fun.

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As its annual ACM Honors celebration nears, the Academy of Country Music is adding new performers to the show's bill. 

Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Jamey Johnson and Sam Williams are all among the newly-added acts. The ACM also announced on Thursday that Carly Pearce — who's hosting the show — will perform, too. Also on the bill are acclaimed songwriters Jordan Reynolds, Nicolle Galyon and Jessie Jo Dillon and Laura Veltz. 

Chris Janson was previously announced as a performer, but this week, it was revealed that he will also present this year's ACM Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards. Other special guest presenters are Trace Adkins and Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern. 

Previously-announced performers include Lady A, RaeLynn, Lauren Alaina, Ashley McBryde and many more. While Keith is a new addition to the bill itself, the ACM did previously announce that he's playing the annual pre-show ACM Party for a Cause, which takes place this year on August 24. 

This year's ACM Honors will take place at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on August 25. It will livestream on Circle Network's social channels, and will also be filmed for a television special set to air on the Circle Network later this year.

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Recently, Trisha Yearwood's had reason to think back to her early days in country music: She just celebrated the 30th anniversary of her debut single, “She's in Love with the Boy.”

Trisha tells Billboard that when that song first came out, she was surprised by its success, simply because she never expected her first single to be a chart-topping hit. 

“The thought process was that normally your first song is an introduction to the artist, because it won't get to No. 1; at least that was the thinking back then,” she reflects.

But get to number one it did. “She's in Love With the Boy” was a hit for Trisha, the first of five chart-topping country songs she'd snag over career to date. When she saw its success, the singer says, she was “amazed, actually.” 

“I was a demo singer prior to being signed to MCA and this was a dream of mine since I was five,” she continues. “The thoughts ranged from, Wow, that was easy,' to, Well, if we can't follow this up, I'll just be the answer to a trivia question about one-hit wonders.'”

Once she got her first hit, Trisha had to confront the pressure of replicating her success. “I didn't even know what a sophomore jinx was until I was asked about it in every interview I did,” she admits. 

Fortunately, she never succumbed to the sophomore slump. After a handful of memorable top-10 hits, Trisha scored her next number one three years later, in 1994, with “XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl).”

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Brad Paisley and Eric Church are just two of the country A-Listers who have joined a bill in tribute to ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons. The sold-out show, which took place at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry back in May, will air on various U.S. television stations on different dates in August and September.

Joining Brad and Eric on the program are Chris Janson, Travis Tritt and Lucinda Williams, along with other acts such as Dennis Quaid, Larkin Poe, Jimmy Vaughan and others.

Called the America Salutes You honors “ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons,” the event will support veterans and first responders via nonprofit organizations such as ThanksUSA, the USO, First Responders Children's Foundation and CreatiVets. Fans who wish to make a donation can do so through America Salutes You's website. 

Gibbons recently released his third solo album, Hardware, and he's also on tour with ZZ Top. Since this concert was filmed, the band has lost their bassist; Dusty Hill died on July 28 at age 72. 

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The Canadian country star behind hits like “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” “If I Were You” and “Emotional Girl” is celebrating her 53rd birthday today. Can you name her? ANSWER: Terri Clark.

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Chris Janson is among the acts booked for the Grand Ole Opry's showcase at Bonnaroo 2021. Also on the bill are Amythyst Kiah, Dom Flemons, The Travelin' McCourys, Foo Fighters member and solo country performer Chris Shiflett and more. Grand Ole Opry at Bonnaroo will kick off the three-day festival on September 2. 

Tanya Tucker will wait “a few more weeks” before resuming touring as she continues to recover from hip surgery. The singer shared an update with fans on social media, also thanking them for “all the flowers, love and support” she has received in recent weeks. 

Lainey Wilson has been announced as the Opry NextStage artist for August. She's booked to perform at the Grand Ole Opry on August 10.

 

 

 

 

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