Month: May 2022

Dolly Parton says she's “honored and humbled” by her inclusion into this year's class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, which were announced on Wednesday.

“Of course I will accept it gracefully,” Dolly continues in a statement on social media. “Thanks to everyone that voted for me and to everyone at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I will continue to work hard and try to live up to the honor.”

The crossover country legend will join the Hall in its Performers category, alongside Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Carly Simon, Eminem, Eurythmics and Lionel Richie.

Dolly hasn't always been sold on the idea that she deserves to be part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When nominees were first announced for this year, she asked to be removed from the ballot, explaining that, as an artist primarily working in country music, she didn't feel as if she'd earned that recognition in the rock world.

“I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out,” she said at the time.

But the Hall countered that Dolly would stay on the ballot, regardless of her wishes, pointing out that rock “is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture,” according to a statement.

Subsequently, in an installment of NPR's Morning Edition, Dolly said she'd “accept gracefully” if inducted, elaborating, “I just felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me, because I never considered myself a rock artist. But obviously, there's more to it than that.”

The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place November 5 in Los Angeles.

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Tyler Hubbard, one half of the currently defunct superstar duo Florida Georgia Line, has signed a new deal with EMI Nashville as a solo act.

The singer is expected to start debuting new music soon, Billboard reports, with private listening sessions beginning at Universal Music Group's Nashville offices this month.

Tyler and his FGL duo partner, Brian Kelley, announced that the band was going on hiatus in February. “I think ‘taking a break’ is the proper term, as opposed to breaking up,” Tyler told People at the time.

As they parted ways, both members of FGL indicated that they had plans for solo pursuits: Brian put out his debut solo project, Sunshine State of Mind, months before the initial announcement, and he's currently on a solo tour. He also formed his own label, called Nashville South Records, which is expected to be the home for his future releases.

Meanwhile, Tyler said that he hoped to concentrate on songwriting. He co-wrote Little Big Town's current single, “Hell Yeah,” as well as his Thomas Rhett-led collab with Russell Dickerson, “Death Row.”

FGL fans still have a handful of chances to see the duo share a stage this year: They've got seven festival dates booked, including the upcoming Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City Beach, Florida next month.

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Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer John Anderson is getting the spotlight on Something Borrowed, Something New: A Tribute to John Anderson, and the album contains covers by some heavy hitting country stars.

Luke Combs, Eric Church, Ashley McBryde and Brothers Osborne are just a few of the acts interpreting some of John’s best-loved songs.

Luke takes on the brooding, mid-tempo “Seminole Wind,” which was a top-five hit for Anderson in 1992. Meanwhile, Eric covers “Mississippi Moon,” the Brothers perform “You Can’t Judge a Book (by the Cover)” and Ashley handles what’s arguably become John’s signature song: “Straight Tequila Night.”

According to Billboard, the album is due out on August 5 on Easy Eye Sound. It was co-produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys alongside David Ferguson, who is John’s longtime producer.

Americana and roots acts are also well represented on the track list, with Tyler Childers, the duo of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and more contributing songs. Welch and Rawlings’ version of “I Just Came Home to Count the Memories” is out now, ahead of the album’s full release.

You can pre-order Something Borrowed, Something New now.

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Kane Brown's fans have been clamoring for his third album for months now, but the project's not out just yet — and that's because the singer's working hard to make sure it's a well thought-out, truly representative body of work.

“I've definitely taken my time and made sure of the songs I want on there,” Kane tells American Songwriter in the magazine's latest cover story. “Some I kicked off and put back on again and kicked off again and now they're back on.”

The singer describes his upcoming project as “very country-rooted.” That's evident in the new songs he's put out thus far, including the fiddle-packed chart-topper “One Mississippi” and the slow jam “Leave You Alone.”

Now, Kane's teasing another new tune, called “Like I Love Country Music,” so country it samples Brooks & Dunn.

But he's been around long enough to know how it important it is to be intentional with the music he releases.

“At the beginning, I never realized that whatever song I released, [if it's a hit, then] more than likely I'm going to be singing it through my career,” Kane points out. “So, that's come into my mind a lot of times on my latest releases.”

He adds, “I think it's a huge maturing game — definitely.”

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Keith Urban led a crowd in a powerful rendition of “Love Can Build a Bridge” during a show in Manchester, England this week.

The unforgettable moment happened at Manchester's 02 Apollo during the European leg of Keith's The Speed of Now Tour. Of course, Keith's performance was in tribute to country legend Naomi Judd of The Judds, who died over the weekend.

Keith led the crowd in a sing-a-long of the Judds' celebrated ballad, while strumming along on his acoustic guitar. He shared footage of the moment on his social channels, along with a remembrance of the late legend.

“Naomi Judd sowed so many important seeds in her precious time here. Here's one of many,” Keith reflected. “On the other side of the world in Manchester tonight they were all singing Love Can Build a Bridge.' Thank you Naomi. We love you.”

Keith's one of many country artists to pay tribute to Naomi's legacy in the days since her death, which took place just one day before the Judds were officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Naomi passed away on April 30 at the age of 76. A joint statement from her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley, stated that the cause of death was related to mental illness.

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It’s no longer up for debate: Dolly Parton‘s officially being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

In early February, the Cleveland, Ohio-based institution announced the country superstar was on this year’s ballot. A little more than a month later, Dolly announced she wanted to “respectfully bow out,” because she didn’t “feel that [she had] earned that right.” 

It only took a matter of days for the Hall to say they declined to remove her from the running, adding that rock is “not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture,” and they were “proud to have nominated her.” Just last week, Dolly acquiesced, telling NPR she would “accept gracefully” should she be voted in.

Now, she’ll do just that, alongside eighties greats like Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, and rapper Eminem.

“It was an interesting evolution…” the Hall’s President and CEO Greg Harris tells ABC Audio. “I think early on she just wasn’t aware that Jimmie Rodgers and Bill Monroe and Hank Williams and Bob Wills are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and that we look at artists from multiple genres that have all contributed to music.”

When the induction takes place November 5 at L.A.’s Microsoft Theater, plan on a spectacle worthy of the beloved legend.

“It’s a long list of artists that would love to pay tribute to Dolly Parton, and they cut across all genres — perhaps it’s more than one artist paying tribute,” Harris speculates. “Think of some of the other amazing tributes for, say, Linda Ronstadt, when we had Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks and Carrie Underwood.”  

You’ll be able to watch the ceremony later via HBO and HBO Max.

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