Month: August 2022

Lady A is getting a spotlight at the Nashville Symphony's annual Symphony Ball this December. The country trio will receive the organization's “Harmony Award,” an honor presented each year to a Nashville-connected artist, group or industry figure.

According to the Tennesseean, the “Harmony Award” — which celebrates those who “exemplify the harmonious spirit of Nashville's musical community” — will be presented at the symphony's fundraising gala, set to take place at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Others who have won the award in the past include Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini and Toby Keith.

Over their years as a band, Lady A has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including recognition for the charitable efforts and contributions to the Nashville community.

Recently, though, the band has kept relatively quiet: They postponed their planned Request Line Tour a year in order to support bandmate Charles Kelley's decision to get sober.

“So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together,” the band said in a statement at the time.

The group will receive their award at the Symphony Ball on December 10.

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Keith Urban, Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson are just a few of the featured collaborators joining Rita Wilson for her new 70s cover album, Now & Forever: Duets.

The track list features a span of guest vocalists from a variety of different genres — for example, Smokey Robinson and Elvis Costello each get a feature — but country music is especially well represented. Jimmie Allen and Vince Gill also join Rita for a track.

According to Billboard, Rita chose to focus on 70s covers because of the personal significance the decade holds for her.

“I wanted to honor where I came from with songs from the ’70s,” the singer explained. “It was really about showing enormous appreciation for the songwriting of that period — how these songs are still relevant even though they're 50 years old. This album is really a continuation of sharing who I am musically, and what it is that I want to say.”

Now & Forever is due out September 27.

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Chris Young intended to wrap up the month of August with a series of U.K. shows, but COVID-19 threw a wrench in those plans. The singer is halting a handful of tour dates due to illness in his camp.

“This week started off incredibly with with my 13th #1 single and plans to tour in the UK,” the singer wrote in a statement on social media. “But unfortunately COVID has hit my band.”

The affected shows are Chris' planned tour stops in Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and London, plus his set at The Long Road Festival, a country and Americana fest in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

Chris hasn't yet announced makeup plans for the shows, but he did let U.K. fans know that he's hoping to see them soon. “We will update you soon on plans to reschedule the run of shows,” he added in his statement.

Chris' latest chart-topping hit is “At the End of a Bar,” his duet with Mitchell Tenpenny.

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Miranda Lambert is headed to Panama City Beach, Florida, next June.

She's been announced as the second headliner for the 2023 Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam, joining previously announced headlining act Morgan Wallen. They'll each head up a bill on one night of the four-day festival, with two headliners yet to be announced.

The “Strange” singer has got a lengthy history with the Florida country fest.

“Miranda headlined one of our very first Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam festivals, and we've been working like crazy to get her back ever since,” says Rendy Lovelady, executive producer of the event. “She is an entertainer who leaves it all on the stage every time she performs, and we're excited to add her to our amazing 2023 lineup.”

The historically three-day festival celebrated its 10th year in 2022 and added an extra day of festivities to celebrate. That new tradition will keep going for its next iteration, returning June 1-4, 2023.

Tickets for next year's event are on sale now.

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Mitchell Tenpenny and Chris Young just notched a chart-topping hit with their duet, “At the End of a Bar,” a song that Mitchell says is particularly special because it's based on real-life events.

The two artists are good friends, and they often meet up at local Nashville hot spots like Tin Roof or Losers Bar & Grill. “And that's where the song came from,” Mitchell recounts to ABC Audio.

“We were totally just having fun talking, and we went to write the song — or, went to write a song — that day, and we're like, Man, you should've seen us tear it up at the end of a bar the other day,'” he explains. “And I was like, Man, that sounds like a song that we might need to write about today.'”

What exactly do the two artist pals get up to when they're “At the End of a Bar” together? Well, Mitchell says their antics might involve golf arcade games, goofing off with other country stars or just hanging out.

“We have saved Jon Pardi from a fight one time,” Mitchell continues. “Multiple artists, we have gotten hammered there. A lot of Golden Tee, a lot of trash talk. But more than anything, good memories.”

That's because Mitchell and Chris have been close since they first met when Mitchell signed to Chris' record label. “He just kind of latched on to me, and was so kind to me and gave me all this advice,” the younger star says. “And with that comes a lot of drinking.”

Hot on the heels of his latest hit, Mitchell is preparing for the release of his next album, called This is the Heavy, on September 16.

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