Month: April 2022

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Go Country 105

Mickey Guyton, Lee Ann Womack are leading a special music event benefiting Nashville's veterans

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The country music community has always demonstrated its support for military service members and their families, and now, Nashville will be home to a new festival benefiting local veterans.

Mickey Guyton, Lee Ann Womack, Tyler Rich and more are performing at the event, billed as the Bob Woodruff Foundation's Got Your 6 Vet Fest. In addition to the music, fans can enjoy carnival games and prizes, raffles, drinks and snacks throughout the day.

The family-friendly festival is specifically geared towards the local military and veteran community: Admission is free for active National Guard and reserve members, as well as veterans and military families.

Taking place on July 9 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., the event will be held in the Loveless Barn outside of Nashville's beloved Loveless Cafe. Advance reservations are required, and will be available starting May 2.

Mickey has long been a supporter of the military communities. Most recently, she performed as part of PBS' National Memorial Day Concert.

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News Daypop

Miami judge vacates life sentence of man wrongfully convicted of murder in 1991

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On Wednesday, a judge in Miami vacated the life sentence of Thomas “Jay” Raynard James, a 55-year-old Black man who prosecutors said was wrongfully convicted because of mistaken identity in 1991.  As he left a Miami courtroom with his attorneys and family members, James said: “I feel good. Real good.”

Still wearing his red prison uniform and shackles, James stood behind his mother, Doris Strong, earlier in the day as Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle detailed a 90-page motion her office filed asking for the conviction to be vacated. James, who was 23 when he was convicted, was expected to be released after paperwork was completed Wednesday.

Fernandez Rundle said that over the past year members of her office’s ‘Justice Project’ reviewed over 20,000 pages of documents, reinterviewed witnesses, resubmitted fingerprints and retested DNA samples. She said the case has gone through numerous appeals, post-conviction reviews, and reviews by a private investigator and the Innocence Project of Florida Inc. In a 90-page motion to vacate the conviction, prosecutors said “what appears to be a chance coincidence that the defendant, Thomas Raynard James, had the same name as a suspect named by witnesses and anonymous tipsters … led to the defendant’s photograph being included in a lineup, and set in motion a mistaken identity.”

At the trial, eyewitness Dorothy Walton told jurors that she was sure that James pulled the trigger. However beginning last fall, Walton said she had some concerns about her testimony.  She initially refused to meet with prosecutors, but earlier this month made contact and said she now believes she made a mistake in identifying James as the gunman.  Over the years there have been conflicting stories about detectives confusing James with another man who shared his name, but that man had been arrested and was in jail at the time of the shooting.

Editorial credit: Fane inc / Shutterstock.com

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News Daypop

3 dead in Mississippi hotel shooting; alleged gunman dead after 2-hour standoff

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The alleged suspect in a shooting that killed three people at a hotel in Biloxi on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast was found dead in the nearby city of Gulfport hours later, after a standoff with police. Gulfport Police Department’s incoming chief Adam Cooper said that the man holed up at a Gulfport store after fleeing from a vehicle that had been carjacked.

Cooper said police fired teargas about 20 to 30 minutes after arriving at the scene and trying to negotiate with the man. After getting no response, police entered the store to find the man dead.  Police say the carjacking victim in Gulfport was injured but he did not know whether that driver was hit by gunfire that was reported at the scene.

Gulfport and Biloxi police were working to confirm whether the dead man is connected to the triple homicide Wednesday morning at the Biloxi Broadway Inn. Biloxi Police Department Capt. Milton Houseman confirmed that three people were killed but had no details on their identity.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/dead-mississippi-hotel-shooting-police-standoff-84349819

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Go Country 105

Miranda Lambert's 'Palomino' includes a rocking B-52s feature; now she's hoping for her shot at “Love Shack”

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Miranda Lambert's giving her rocker side plenty of spotlight on her next album, Palomino, and pairing up with a few new pals in the process. The track list includes a song called “Music City Queen,” featuring the voices of rock legends The B-52s.

It all started as a pipe dream in the writing room, Miranda recounts, after she and her co-writers started picking up on some B-52s vibes in the track they were creating.

“And we're like, What if we could get them on this?'” she remembers. “So I called my manager. I was like, Do you know anyone that might know the B-52s?' Like, I don't know how this works, but can our people call their people?'”

Sure enough, when the rockers heard the song, they loved it. But with multiple vocalists, getting them together to record the song proved a little tricky.

“So they Zoomed in,” Miranda continues. “They did all their parts on Zoom, because everyone lives in different places.”

Miranda's still never met the group in person but she's hoping that will change, especially if “Music City Queen” turns out to be a stand-out moment from the album. The song would make for a fun live performance, she points out, and might give her a chance to put her spin on one of the B-52s' biggest hits.

“If I could do Love Shack' with the B-52s — I mean, how cool would that be?” Miranda declares. “If we could do Music City Queen' into Love Shack' — I think that'd be the end-all, be-all.”

Palomino comes out on Friday.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Categories
Country Daypop

Jimmie Allen reveals the lineup for the second annual Bettie James Festival

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Jimmie Allen has revealed the lineup for the second annual Bettie James Fest, taking place on Saturday, August 13th at Hudson Fields in Allen’s hometown of Milton, DE.  This year’s performers include We The Kings, Lainey Wilson, Neon Union, Chayce Beckham, JJ Rupp and Kounty. Two additional opening acts will be selected through a social media contest later this year, with details to come on Allen’s social media platforms.

Allen will once again serve as headliner for the festival, which he established in 2021 in honor of his late grandmother Bettie Snead and late father James Allen.  Said Allen: “Bettie James Fest part two! Bettie James Fest is a music festival that I put on in my hometown of Milton, DE, in honor of my grandma Bettie and father James. It’s a multi-genre day of music, celebrating life and different types of music. It’s super fun, and it’s a way for me to come back and dive back into my hometown and bring music here. It’s the one show that I look forward to most every year. To be able to come back to the place that raised me, after having a little bit of success, just means so much ‘cause these are the people that made me who I am. This is the town that made me who I am. And it’s great because we also get to have Delaware artists come down and be part of the festival as well. Bettie James Fest… Part 2… Going down August 13, 2022 – Hudson Fields in Milton, De… I’ll see y’all there!”

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 29th.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Chris Janson, Ingrid Andress, Cole Swindell and more to perform during Ascend Amphitheater Nighttime Concerts at CMA Fest

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The Country Music Association has revealed the lineup for the CMA Fest Nighttime Concerts at Ascend Amphitheater, taking place on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11.

On Friday, Chris Janson will headline and will be joined by Boy Named Banjo, LANCO, Peytan Porter and Mitchell Tenpenny.  Cole Swindell will headline Saturday’s show, which will also feature performances by Ingrid Andress, Tyler Braden, Shy Carter and Randall King. Carter will also serve as the host of the evening.

Tickets are required for entry into the Nighttime Concerts at Ascend Amphitheater. Public on-sale begins Friday, April 29 at 10:00 AM/CT.  Tickets can be purchased at CMAfest.com or Ticketmaster.com.  For $53 per night, fans can purchase standing room and pit access, or fans who prefer a reserved seat, single day seats are available as well for $39 per night. Lawn seats are also available for $24 per night.

Chris Janson and Cole Swindell To Headline CMA Fest Nighttime Concerts at Ascend Amphitheater

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Pop Daypop

Lil Nas X announces ‘Long Live Montero’ tour to launch this fall

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Lil Nas X has announced that he will embark on his first-ever tour, dubbed the “Long Live Montero Tour” in support of his smash debut album, Montero. The 14-date North American leg kicks-off in Detroit on September 6th, making stops in Chicago, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Nashville, Miami, and Los Angeles, before wrapping up in San Francisco on October 23rd. A run of UK/European shows follows in November.

Tickets to the North American leg of Lil Nas X’s “Long Live Montero Tour” go on sale Friday, April 29th at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. Pre-sale for Cash App users is available now, with a Live-Nation pre-sale to be held on Thursday, April 28th (using code ROADIE).

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Pop Daypop

2022 MTV VMAs scheduled to take place in New Jersey this August

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The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards will take place on Sunday, August 28, at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center. It’ll be the first VMAs at Prudential Center since 2019.

A press release shared the following:  “Health and safety remains the number one priority for MTV and Prudential Center. We are working hand-in-hand with state and local officials to implement stringent protocols in order to maintain the safety and wellbeing of artists, fans, staff, and partners. Prudential Center’s current health and safety protocols can be found here. Additional protocols will be announced closer to the event.”

The 2021 Video Music Awards took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in front of a live audience. The previous year, the event was broadcast from various New York locations, with no audience in attendance due to the pandemic.

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Go Country 105

Chris Janson teases a “scary” music video with Eric Church for their duet, “You, Me & the River”

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Chris Janson's new album, All In, comes out on Friday, and the track list includes a couple of eye-catching collaborations.

One of those, a duet with Travis Tritt called “Things You Can't Live Without,” is out already, along with a rollicking, performance-themed music video starring both singers as the house band entertaining a honky tonk full of country folks looking for a good time.

But things will get a little darker on the next collab, a not-yet-released and highly-anticipated team-up between Chris and one of his musical heroes, Eric Church.

Called “You, Me & the River,” the song was written solely by Eric — in fact, it's the first time Chris has ever cut a song that he didn't also co-write. Chris and Eric haven't shared the full version of their song yet, but if the teaser Chris posted to socials this week is any indication, it'll be a little bit dark and spooky.

The clip of the music video shows close-up black and white shots of Chris and Eric singing the lyrics “Hey buddy, hey buddy, ain't that Mississippi muddy? / And this time of year, she takes what you give her.”

The camera then pans across Eric as he sits in the back seat of a car, his hands tied together. In the caption of his post, Chris said that the song has “a bada** and scary video to go along with it.”

Curious fans will get all the answers about the song on Friday when the album arrives, with the music video following at 10 a.m. CT. When it premieres, Chris will be on YouTube to chat with fans and field some questions.

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Go Country 105

Nashville notes

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Lindsay Ell has a new single out, called “Right on Time.” It's her first release since her heart theory album came out in 2020.

In case you missed it, Tenille Townes' new EP, Masquerades, is out now. She'll celebrate with an album release show at Nashville's Exit/In on May 3.

Craig Campbell, who's scored top-fifteen country hits such as “Family Man” and “Keep Them Kisses Coming,” is opening his own coffee shop in Eagleville, Tennessee. Called Grindstone Cowboy, it'll have a grand opening on April 30.

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