Month: April 2022

It's been a year since Eric Church dropped Heart & Soul, the massive, chart-topping triple album that produced hit singles like “Hell of a View.”

To celebrate, Eric just shared a new acoustic version of another single off the project, “Heart on Fire.” The original version of the song was the first track on the first disc of the three-disc album. It was also the first song Eric wrote for Heart & Soul.

Originally released as a high-octane rock song with a music video that tips its hat to big moments from Eric's career to date, the new version of “Heart on Fire” is much simpler. Sitting alone on a stool in front of a microphone, Eric sings a stripped-down version of the song, accompanying himself only on acoustic guitar.

The acoustic version of the song premiered on Wednesday — exactly one year after the middle disc, &, dropped on April 20, 2021.

The one-year anniversary of Heart happened on April 16, and the one-year-anniversary of Soul will follow on April 23.

Eric is currently on tour, and he's also planning a couple of stand-alone stadium dates this summer: One in Milwaukee over Memorial Day weekend, and another in June, featuring Morgan Wallen and Ernest as opening acts.

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Reba McEntire is set to publish her first-ever lifestyle book in 2023. Published on Harper Collins' gift book imprint, Harper Celebrate, it'll feature personal stories, recipes and lifestyle tips and tricks.

Brett Eldredge has a new song on the way. He was on social media this week teasing a track called “Songs About You,” which will be out on Friday.

Mason Ramsey, the teenager who first went viral in 2018 for his yodeling performance in a Walmart, is back with the new music video for his song, “Before I Knew It.” Mason has been a social media phenom since the very beginning of his career, and “Before I Knew It” has racked up more than three billion views on TikTok.

Hardy is among the acts headlining the upcoming “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda” songwriters event, which will benefit the Music Health Alliance. Also performing are Randy Montana, Hunter Phelps and Jameson Rodgers.

Tune in to The Ellen DeGeneres Show this Friday to watch Jordan Davis perform his hit single, “Buy Dirt.” Check local listings to learn when to watch.

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Carrie Underwood promised a “sing into your hairbrush” kind of album, and from the sound of it, Denim & Rhinestones will deliver. The singer is teasing another high-energy new song off the track list, called “Crazy Angels.”

With a powerhouse, retro guitar line and soaring vocals, Carrie sings about being “one of those crazy angels” with a “sweet heart,” “wild side” and “tilted angel with a neon shine.”

The song comes out Friday, but Carrie shared a clip of it on her Instagram this week, plus some video footage of her singing it in the studio.

“Crazy Angels” follows “Ghost Story,” the first single to be released off Carrie's forthcoming album. The singer has also shared Denim & Rhinestone's title track, an equally uptempo, upbeat love song that delivers 80s vibes. When she shared the song, Carrie said that she drew inspiration for her new album from much of the music she grew up listening to, adding “I think this whole album ended up being a big reflection of me as a person and as an artist.”

Speaking of “Crazy Angels,” Carrie's recent performances have taken her to dizzying new heights — literally. When she sang “If I Didn't Love You” with Jason Aldean at the 2022 ACM Awards, she descended from the ceiling on a circus-style metal chair. Then, at the CMTs, she concluded her pre-recorded performance of “Ghost Story” with some jaw-dropping aerial stunt work, dangling upside down on a long white scarf as she belted out the final chorus.

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Jason Aldean drops the second half of his double album, Macon, Georgia, on Friday. The 10th studio album of his career, it’s a landmark project — part greatest hits, part live album, part brand-new record dedicated to his hometown — and the milestone is causing the singer to reflect on his legacy.

Jason tells the Tennesseean that of country music’s newer crop, he thinks that Sam Hunt and Morgan Wallen are the two artists most closely carrying forward his musical legacy.

Sam’s lyrical delivery is “so cool,” Jason elaborates, while also expressing enthusiasm for Morgan’s ascent to mega-stardom and his powerhouse fan base. Morgan recently tipped his hat to Jason with a lyrical nod to the singer’s downtown Broadway bar in his hit “Broadway Girls.”

“I know Morgan frequents my bar quite a bit, and when his manager sent [‘Broadway Girls’] to me, I backed it up when I heard him say, ‘I met her down at Aldean’s,'” Jason says. “Getting name-checked in a song that people are hearing everywhere these days is pretty cool.”

Though Jason’s been one of country’s A-Listers for years, he says it’s only recently that he’s felt comfortable with his top-tier place in the genre.

“In the past five years, I’ve finally been able to take the time to accept that I’ve accomplished far more in my career than I ever thought I would,” the singer admits. “Never in a trillion years did I expect this.”

Georgia arrives on April 22.

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Chris Stapleton tops the bill for the 2022 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, along with a host of other big names from the country and Americana spheres.

Joining Chris as a headliner is Brandi Carlile. Elle King, the Avett Brothers, Brittney Spencer, Marty Stuart and many others also appear on the bill. Two-day general admission passes go on sale Thursday, with options for VIP packages also available.

Pilgrimage is now in its eighth year. The Franklin, Tennessee-based festival returned in 2021 following a two-year hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the event will be held September 24-25. As always, festival-goers will enjoy a wide variety of goods from local creators, including food, jewelry, locally-brewed beer and more.

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Garth Brooks is doubling up on Cincinnati fun to kick off his 2022 Stadium Tour shows.

After previously announcing a show at the city's Paul Brown Stadium on May 14, Garth is adding a new opening night at the same venue a day earlier, on Friday, May 13. That means there will be a total of two shows in Cincinnati. They will be the only Stadium Tour dates to take place in Ohio, Kentucky or West Virginia this year.

It's the first time Garth's playing the venue, though he'd planned to play it as part of a 2020 run that wound up being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the shutdowns, the singer set a ticket sales record at Paul Brown Stadium, selling out the venue in just over an hour as more than 70,000 fans snapped up their tickets.

Ticket sales for the new show begin April 29 at 10 a.m. ET.

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