Month: August 2021

Ashley McBryde is currently one night into her three-night headlining stand at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, and on Thursday night, she kicked those shows off with a bang, inviting none other than Eric Church to join her onstage.

To a country audience, the Heart & Soul hitmaker needs no introduction, and Ashley simply introduced him to her sold-out crowd as “Eric f***ing Church.” The two performers then jammed out on a rendition of the Allman Brothers' 1971 classic, “Midnight Rider.”

Longtime followers of Ashley's career will recognize that the special surprise appearance was a full-circle moment. Back in 2017, when Ashley was just starting to gain traction in the music business, Eric invited her onstage for a performance of her “Bible and a .44.”

“Midnight Rider” wasn't the only cover song on Ashley's set list, nor was it the only duet on her agenda. She also brought opening act Lainey Wilson back out onstage during her set, and the pair sang “When Will I Be Loved,” an Everly Brothers classic that's also been a hit for Linda Ronstadt, and Vince Gillhas covered it, too.

Ashley's three nights at the Ryman are part of her This Town Talks Tour, which is slated to run through January 2022.

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Jimmie Allen is savoring the simple life in his new song, “Big in a Small Town,” a laid-back and easygoing track that arrived on Friday.

In its lyrics, the singer sings the praises of small-town life. “It's a little dream, but it's the little things / That are big in a small town,” he points out in the first verse. “My kinda living ain't made for the city / No, it don't slow down one bit / All we got is a mom and pop / Smoking ribs in the tin roof pit.”

“Big in a Small Town” is also the theme song for new Netflix reality series Titletown High, which follows the high stakes and ups and downs of a small-town varsity football team. Jimmie is an executive music producer for the show, a new title that he says marks exciting, uncharted territory for him.

“Having an executive role behind the camera has always been a dream of mine, so I'm thrilled to be the Executive Music Producer on Titletown High,” the singer notes. “I loved using music to enhance the show's already compelling nature and can't wait for viewers to hear incredible songs from many amazing artists. Having Big in a Small Town' serve as the show's theme song was the cherry on top!”

Titletown High premiered globally this week. You can watch the show on Netflix.

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After years of being one of Nashville's most in-demand country songwriters and a steadily rising artist in his own right, Ryan Hurd has announced the release of his debut album.

The project, called Pelago, will be out this fall and contain 15 songs, many of which were inspired by the singer's childhood growing up near Lake Michigan. The track list includes previously-released love ballads like “To a T” and “Diamonds or Twine,” which Ryan has released over the years in part as dedications to his fellow country artist wife, Maren Morris.

Speaking of Maren, she's featured on Pelago, too: The couple's current country radio single duet, “Chasing After You,” is the third track on the project.

Additionally, Ryan is celebrating his album announcement with another new song, called “June, July, August.” Pelago will be out in full on October 15, but it's available to pre-add and pre-save now.

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Zac Brown Band will return this fall with a new, 15-song album that's all about the resilience of the human spirit. Called The Comeback, the project is a deeply personal one to frontman Zac Brown, who co-wrote every track and also co-produced the record as a whole.

The Comeback's track list features several songs fans have already heard, including “Stubborn Pride,” “Paradise Lost On Me” and the band's current single, “Same Boat.”

To celebrate the album announcement, ZBB has added one more instant gratification track, “Slow Burn,” to preview the album. The song, says Zac, is “definitely about that first, young love,” and highlights the early memories and experiences that help shape people's lives.

“The Comeback celebrates our collective resilience as a community,” the singer explains, adding that this new chapter was also influenced by the new perspective the band gained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This music is about standing together and rediscovering our roots and what makes us human. We feel incredibly blessed to be back out on the road again, sharing these new songs with our fans,” he continues. “The only good thing about getting knocked down is The Comeback when it comes back around.”

ZBB's new album is due out on October 15, but it's available to pre-order now.

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Kacey Musgraves continues to roll out new music this week, unveiling another new song off her recently-announced star-crossed album. That song is “justified,” the sixth track on the upcoming collection.

In its lyrics, Kacey comes to terms with the non-linear, zig-zag pattern of healing that follows a breakup. “If I cry just a little and then laugh in the middle / If I hate you and I love you and then I change my mind / If I need just a little more time to deal with the fact / That you should've treated me right / Then I'm more than just a little / Justified,” she reflects in the chorus.

Set to a mesmerizing, bubbly pop beat, the new song follows “star-crossed,” the atmospheric album-opener that Kacey dropped earlier this week. 

Along with “justified,” Kacey also shared a music video, which follows her as she's driving down a variety of different rural roads and city streets, tracing a complicated emotional range that bounces between tears and laughter.

The end of the music video teases another new song ahead: The car radio static fizzles into the sound of Kacey's voice singing “Don't go through your camera roll” against a somber musical backdrop. Her phone beside her starts buzzing and lighting up, showing her old photos from her camera roll that are titled things like “The day it fell apart” and “denial.”

Kacey's new collection will arrive in full on September 10, along with an accompanying film. Two days later, she'll give the world premiere performance of the title track of star-crossed at the 2021 MTV VMAs.

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Thirty-one years ago today, Garth Brooks released his second studio album, which would become one of his most career-defining projects ever. The track list included enduring hits like “The Thunder Rolls” and “Friends in Low Places.” Do you know what it was called? ANSWER: No Fences.

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Michael Ray‘s Higher Education falls somewhere between classic country and Southern rock. 

Its track list still includes self-penned cuts like the autobiographical “Didn’t Know I Was Country” and the emotional “Picture,” plus his top-twenty throwback to nineties country, “Whiskey and Rain.” 

Simultaneously, the EP’s title track features Kid Rock and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. So is the Sunshine State native feeling like he needs to rock a little more these days? After a tough 2020 and some serious self-reflection, Michael says the answer is an authentic yes. 

“Everything got taken away from us all…” he says of the pandemic. “I was back in Florida, and I was like, ‘What if that’s it? What if… that was all… my last body of work anybody’s ever gonna hear? Am I 100% happy to hang my hat on that and that be it?'”

“I think we all had a moment in time of going, ‘Okay, I’m coming out of this better than I went into it,'” he adds.

Having grown up playing in his family’s country band, Michael immortalized his grandfather, Amos, with the title of his last record. But he realized he has more roots worth showcasing.

“I went back to what I fell in love with…” he reflects. “My dad was playing ZZ Top and Marshall Tucker [Band] and Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers and that whole list. My grandpa was playing Ray Price and Porter Wagoner and Bobby Bare and Earl Thomas Conley and John Conlee.”

“So I grew up kind of always in the middle of this rock and fiddle… thing,” he laughs. “And so I think it’s comfortably where I like to live, and I like showing those both sides of it.”

You can stream or download Michael’s Higher Education now.

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In case you missed it, Chris Stapleton stopped by Late Night with Seth Myers this week to perform his version of Guy Clark's “Worry B Gone.” The song is included on Chris' most recent album, Starting Over.

Out this week is a never-before-heard performance from Johnny Cash of “The Ballad of Ira Hayes.” The track comes off Bear's Sonic Journals: Johnny Cash, At the Carousel Ballroom, April 24, 1968, a live album recorded in between the artist's seminal At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin. The new project will arrive in full on October 29.

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