Month: April 2022

By the time Carly Pearce was in first grade, she was already in training to be a country singer — and she owes a lot of that drive and ambition to LeAnn Rimes.

Ahead of tonight's premiere of CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends, Carly says that her admiration for LeAnn runs deep.

“When I say I imitated her in my childhood years, it's the truth. I won talent shows at school singing versions of her songs. My mom had to push to try and find a vocal coach at six, seven, eight years old because LeAnn was a 14-year-old doing it,” she recounts to CMT.

Now, Carly's one of a stellar lineup of country's new female acts tributing LeAnn on the special, alongside Mickey Guyton, Ashley McBryde and Brandy Clark.

“When this came up, my little childhood self was so excited,” Carly adds.

The special will review LeAnn's storied career in country music, dating all the way back to her 1996 breakout hit, “Blue,” which came out when she was just 13. Onstage, she'll revisit those early hits as well as previewing material from her new album, god's work, which features Mickey.

LeAnn began her career so young that the artists celebrating her tonight grew up with her music, even though they're not much younger than her themselves.

“To hear her story of how she put the yodel on Blue' when she was 13 years old, she's a mastermind,” Ashley marvels. “She's a prodigy. She's been doing what I wanted to do my whole life already for 25 years.”

The CMT Crossroads episode premieres tonight at 8 p.m. CT on CMT.

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In case you missed it, Breland led a sold-out benefit show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium earlier this week, featuring appearances from Sam Hunt, Dierks Bentley, Kane Brown and many others. The event raised over $140,000 for Nashville's at-risk youth.

After airing on the Circle Network back in February, Randy Travis' More Life documentary is on its way to YouTube and iTunes. It'll premiere as a seven-part series with a roll-out lasting through July 7.

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As promised, Garth Brooks unveiled the name of his downtown Nashville entertainment complex this week, and the moniker is an homage to one of his biggest hits of all time.

The venue is called Friends in Low Places, named after Garth’s classic breakout single from 1990. In true Garth fashion, he found a creative way to share the name of his new hot spot with fans, slowly assembling the letters in the windows of the second and third stories of the building.

That means that fans walking down Nashville’s bustling Lower Broadway could see Friends in Low Places slowly emerging, and after the full reveal, Garth posted a time-lapse video of the process to his socials.

Just a couple of weeks after he officially confirmed the opening of his new entertainment complex, Garth is already bringing Friends in Low Places to life. The downstairs merch store is open for business, and fans have been posting their snapshots of the inside — and their purchases — to Twitter, using the hashtag #FILPonBroadway.

Meanwhile, Garth’s gearing up for a two-night stand at Music City’s Nissan Stadium. Those shows, which take place Friday and Saturday, are both stops on his Stadium Tour.

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Maren Morris got to play the role of surprise guest at a John Mayer show in Nashville on Wednesday night, stepping onstage to sing two duets with the star singer-songwriter.

One of those was “Last Train Home,” a song off John's recent Sob Rock album. Maren provides backing vocals on the studio version, so it's no surprise they'd choose that tune to perform in a live setting.

Maren also duetted with John at the Grammys in 2021, performing her cross-genre mega-hit, “The Bones.” But even though she's gotten a few different opportunities to sing with him, Maren's as starstruck as ever: A fact she made clear during a post to her socials after the show.

“Hello, Maren can't be reached right now because she went back to 2006 and told her younger self that this would happen in year 2022 and her brain exploded,” the singer wrote, alongside video of her and John onstage together.

“Thank you [John Mayer] for bringing your new light to Nashville & blessing our ears,” Maren continued. “WHAT a band.”

When she's not being a fan, Maren's hard at work on her own tour plans: She launches her Humble Quest Tour in June.

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Lady A is headed out on the road this August, and it'll be a tour unlike none other: This time around, they're counting on fans to help determine their set lists.

Dubbed the Request Line Tour, the trek will allow fans to interact with the band in real time during their performances and request the songs they want to hear. It's an idea that came up during their Las Vegas residency, the trio's Dave Haywood explains.

“We've been touring for over 15 years and have played some of the biggest venues in the world but there's something truly special about being close to your audience and having the flexibility to include the fans in how the show goes,” Dave says.

True to the tour's name, Lady A has set up a special number for fans to call to request their favorite songs. It's (615) 882-1975.

“During our Vegas residency, our favorite moments allowed the three of us to talk with the fans and play what they wanted to hear,” he continues. “So we're taking that spirit and making it a regular part of our shows this year.”

The Request Line Tour launches August 13 with a two-night hometown stand at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, and it'll extend through the end of October, wrapping with a stop in Indianapolis.

Tickets go on sale on April 22, but members of Lady A's fan club will have access to a special presale starting April 19.

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