Month: April 2023

Reba McEntire announces new book and hints at new music

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on Reba McEntire announces new book and hints at new music

Reba McEntire took to Instagram to announce her new book, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots.

Arriving on October 10, the compilation, which includes a foreword by fellow Oklahoma native and superstar Garth Brooks, will feature over 50 recipes from Reba, as well as lifestyle tips, exclusive photos, anecdotes from her personal and professional life, and more.

To celebrate this news, Reba and Garth will host a TalkShopLive livestream event on Monday, April 17, at 7 p.m. ET. During the special, fans can preorder exclusive signed copies of Reba’s soon-to-be-released book and “some new music,” as Reba hinted on Instagram.

Visit TalkShopLive to watch the interview on April 17 and grab your autographed copy of Not That Fancy.

Go Country 105

Brothers Osborne join the Artist of the Day lineup at CMA Fest

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
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Brothers Osborne will take the CMA Close Up Stage inside Fan Fair X as the Artist of the Day on Saturday, June 10, at 10:45 a.m.

During their appearance, the pair’s John and T.J.Osborne will chat with hosts Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson about their career, music and tour as part of a live recording of Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast.

Previously announced Artist of the Day Reba McEntire will be on the CMA Close Up Stage on Friday, June 9, for a conversation about her career.

The next artist will be revealed on the CMA’s social media pages next week.

On the music front, Brothers Osborne released their three-song set, Nobody’s Nobody Sampler, on April 7. The title track serves as their new single on country radio.

Grab four-day and single-day tickets for Fan Fair X at CMAfest.com/FanFairX.

Go Country 105

Lainey Wilson's grateful for her six ACM nominations: “This never gets old”

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on Lainey Wilson's grateful for her six ACM nominations: “This never gets old”

Lainey Wilson has been nominated in six categories at the 2023 ACM Awards, including Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for her latest LP, Bell Bottom Country.

This makes Lainey the second-most-nominated artist and the most-nominated female singer among her peers.

“Woke up this morning to this and y'all.this never gets old,” Lainey writes on Instagram after receiving the news.

“Thank you to every single person who has made this possible,” she continues. “I am so proud to be in these categories alongside some of my favorite artists and friends, especially my buddy @hardy.thank you for letting me be a part of the incredible song that is ‘wait in the truck’.Love y'all and see y'all down in TX. Let's go!!!”

Hardy leads the nominations with seven nods, including Song of the Year, Visual Media of the Year and Music Event of the Year for his duet with Lainey, “wait in the truck.”

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, streams live on Amazon Prime Video May 11 at 8 p.m. ET.

Go Country 105

Get ready for Luke Combs' multiple-level entertainment complex

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on Get ready for Luke Combs' multiple-level entertainment complex

Global country superstar Luke Combs and Opry Entertainment Group, a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties, have revealed plans to launch a multiple-level entertainment complex in the heart of downtown Nashville. The venue is dubbed a “reimagined” Wildhorse Saloon, according to a press release.

Located at 120 Second Ave. North, the 60,000-square-foot venue will be a “reimagined” Wildhorse Saloon, according to a press release. The Wildhorse Saloon, which currently operates there, will be open throughout the planned refurbishment period.

“I got my start in town playing on this stage and to have the opportunity to work with Opry Entertainment to transform it into my own bar is a dream come true,” says Luke. “I can't wait for my fans to see what we're up to.”

“I knew there was something extraordinary about Luke from the first time I heard him perform ‘Hurricane,'” adds Colin Reed, executive chairman of Ryman Hospitality Properties. “Even as he's gone from filling bars to stadiums around the world, Luke has remained deeply committed to his fans and his craft. As the downtown entertainment district continues to evolve, we view this new experience as a tremendous opportunity to position Second Avenue with a global audience of country music lovers, anchored by Luke Combs' massive international fan base.”

The music program for Luke’s upcoming venue will feature live music experiences that include the existing main stage and dance floor with line dancing. In addition to daily live music, a full calendar of ticketed concerts and events will be offered, as well.

Luke’s entertainment complex is slated for completion in the summer of 2024.

Go Country 105

Kelsea Ballerini's celebrating her ACM nominations at Bojangles

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on Kelsea Ballerini's celebrating her ACM nominations at Bojangles

Kelsea Ballerini notched two nominations for the 2023 ACM Awards: one for Female Artist of the Year and another for her song “HEARTFIRST,” which received a nod in the newly created Visual Media of the Year category.

Taking to Instagram to share her excitement in real time, Kelsea posted a Story of her at a gas station on the way to grab some food at Bojangles.

“I look like absolute chaos,” Kelsea said in her sweatshirt and hat. “But the bus stopped at a rest stop to get some fuel and I just got two ACM nominations! … And there’s a Bojangles,” she says while walking toward it and telling fans she’s “celebrating” there. The Instagram Story ends with her aptly singing a line from Phil Vassar‘s “Just Another Day In Paradise.”

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, streams live on Amazon Prime Video May 11 at 8 p.m. ET.

Go Country 105

Watch Dylan Scott react to his first ACM nomination, from the sauna

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on Watch Dylan Scott react to his first ACM nomination, from the sauna

Dylan Scott was done with his morning workout and sweating it out in the sauna when he found out about his ACM nomination for New Male Artist of the Year.

This marks the first time Dylan has received an ACM nomination.

“Just finished a workout, in the sauna minding my own dang business in my underwear, and I just got nominated for a freakin’ ACM award! Like, I’m freaking out right now! What?!” Dylan exclaimed in a video on Instagram.

“I’ve been in this town for freakin’ 13 years and I just got nominated for an ACM award, and I’m absolutely beside myself,” he adds.

Dylan’s current single, “Can’t Have Mine (Find You A Girl),” is approaching the top 30 on the country charts. The track is off his latest album, Livin’ My Best Life, which dropped in August 2022 and includes the hit “New Truck.”

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, streams live on Amazon Prime Video May 11 at 8 p.m. ET.

Go Country 105

HARDY & Lainey Wilson grab a “truck” full of ACM nominations

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on HARDY & Lainey Wilson grab a “truck” full of ACM nominations

HARDY leads the nominations for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards with seven, with his “wait in the truck” partner Lainey Wilson following close behind with six. Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Cole Swindell all check in with a very respectable five nods each as well.

Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks team up to host the live Amazon Prime Video show Thursday, May 11, live from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Here’s the complete rundown of this year’s contenders:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Morgan Wallen

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Lainey Wilson

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Jordan Davis
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen

DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War and Treaty

GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Priscilla Block
Megan Moroney
Caitlyn Smith
Morgan Wade
Hailey Whitters

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Zach Bryan
Jackson Dean
ERNEST
Dylan Scott
Nate Smith
Bailey Zimmerman

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville — Ashley McBryde
Bell Bottom Country — Lainey Wilson
Growin’ Up — Luke Combs
Mr. Saturday Night — Jon Pardi
Palomino — Miranda Lambert

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“Heart Like a Truck” — Lainey Wilson
“Never Wanted to Be That Girl” — Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” — Cole Swindell
“Thank God” — Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown
“‘Til You Can’t” — Cody Johnson

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Sand in My Boots” — Morgan Wallen
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” — Cole Swindell
“‘Til You Can’t” — Cody Johnson
“wait in the truck” — HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson
“You Should Probably Leave” — Chris Stapleton

VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR
“HEARTFIRST” — Kelsea Ballerini
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” — Cole Swindell
“Thank God” — Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown
“‘Til You Can’t” — Cody Johnson
“wait in the truck” — HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson
“What He Didn’t Do” — Carly Pearce

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Nicolle Galyon
Ashley Gorley
Chase McGill
Josh Osborne
Hunter Phelps

ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
ERNEST
HARDY
Miranda Lambert
Morgan Wallen

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
“At the End of a Bar” — Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” [Remix] — Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina
“Thank God” — Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown
“Thinking ‘Bout You” — Dustin Lynch featuring MacKenzie Porter
“wait in the truck” — HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson

News Daypop

Juul to pay $462 million to settle multiple state lawsuits over marketing to minors

Post author By Staff
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on Juul to pay $462 million to settle multiple state lawsuits over marketing to minors

On Wednesday, electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs has reached an agreement to pay $462 million to settle multiple lawsuits alleging it marketed vapes to minors. New York Attorney General Letitia James said during a press conference (alongside attorneys general for Washington, D.C., California, Illinois and Massachusetts) that the settlement is the largest multistate settlement which includes the most “stringent restrictions on the company’s marketing and sales to protect and to prevent minors from vaping … JUUL’s lies lead to a nationwide public health crisis and put addictive products in the hands of minors who thought they were doing something harmless … There is no doubt that JUUL played a central role in the youth vaping epidemic. Today, Juul is paying for the widespread harm it caused and will undergo severe restrictions on its marketing and sales practice.” Two other states, Colorado and New Mexico, are also recipients of the funds from the settlement.

The attorneys general said on Wednesday that JUUL’s decision to target underaged students was widespread, with James alleging that the e-cigarette company targeted middle and high school students in New York using “colorful ads featuring young models and flashing parties in New York City and the Hamptons, all while downplaying the harmful effects of vaping.” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb claimed JUUL’s “online verification systems were riddled with flaws and loopholes that allow kids of any age to purchase the products it knew but did not care,” and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Cambell said JUUL’s “targeting of young people rolled back decades of progress in combating underage tobacco and nicotine use and has led to a nationwide public health crisis for young people all across this country.”

Juul released a statement about the settlement, saying in part it was a “total resolution of the company’s historical legal challenges … With this settlement, we are nearing total resolution of the company’s historical legal challenges and securing certainty for our future. We have now settled with 47 states and territories, providing over $1 billion to participating states, in addition to our global resolution of the U.S. private litigation. Since our company-wide reset in the fall of 2019, underage use of JUUL products has declined by 95% based on the National Youth Tobacco Survey. Now we are positioned to dedicate even greater focus on our path forward to maximize the value and impact of our product technology and scientific foundation.”

A substantial portion of the funds acquired in the settlement will be directed towards education to lessen the effect of JUUL’s vaping in the next generation. James said that New York’s $112 million will be used to “help government agencies and educational organizations to prevent young vaping to support community and school based anti vaping programs to help individuals quit vaping to help localities and counties enforce vaping laws and regulations and monitor and research efforts to read to reduce vaping.”

Editorial credit: Steve Heap/ Shutterstock.com

News Daypop

NPR quits Twitter amid dispute over labeling as “state-affiliated media”

Post author By Staff
Post date April 13, 2023
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National Public Radio plans to shut down its official Twitter accounts, saying a recent decision by the platform to label it as “government-funded media” undermines its credibility. Being labeled as “government-funded media” or “state-affiliated media” is a warning often applied to media outlets controlled by authoritarian governments such as Russia, China, and Iran.

NPR said in a statement that Twitter was “falsely implying that we are not editorially independent ..We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public’s understanding of our editorial independence.”

In a separate statement, NPR CEO John Lansing said, “Actions by Twitter or other social media companies to tarnish the independence of any public media institution are exceptionally harmful and set a dangerous precedent.” Lansing emailed NPR staff, saying, “It would be a disservice to the serious work you all do here to continue to share it on a platform that is associating the federal charter for public media with an abandoning of editorial independence or standards.”

The 52 official Twitter accounts associated with NPR will now fall silent as a result of the the company’s decision on Wednesday. On its website, NPR describes itself as “an independent, non-profit media organization” and says less than 1% of its budget comes from grants from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies and departments.

Editorial credit: Piotr Swat / Shutterstock.com

Go Country 105

At the end of the day, Dierks Bentley is still the “Same Ol' Me”

Post author By abookbinder
Post date April 13, 2023
No Comments on At the end of the day, Dierks Bentley is still the “Same Ol' Me”

As Dierks Bentley‘s “Gold” ascends the country charts, he’s looking back on his life and sharing how, in a lot of ways, he’s still the same guy, “for better or worse.”

“You feel like you’ve moved on so much and grown so much now, being [a] husband and having three kids and just musically and life and, you know, trying to practice more presence and mindfulness and all this stuff,” Dierks says.

That’s why when his frequent collaborator Luke Dick shared the song “Same Ol’ Me” with him, he didn’t really resonate with it. “I’m not the same old man, I’m this whole new guy!” he recalls of his initial reaction.

Eventually, as the pair started penning the song with Jon Randall, Dierks realized that he, indeed, is still “in a lot of ways, the same kid” he’s always been.

“I’m still driving around the same tour bus from 2003, a lot of the same band guys, I’m playing The Station Inn on [the] first Tuesday of the month, I got the same guitar. I got some new dogs, but there’s still, there’s always a dog with me,” he notes.

“It’s kind of weird. It’s kind of sad. It’s like you feel like you’ve evolved so much and at the end of the day, like, for better or worse, still the same guy. I mean, that’s kind of pathetic,” Dierks adds in jest.

Dierks’ “Gold” is in the top two and rising on the country charts. The track and “Same Ol’ Me” are featured on his latest album, Gravel & Gold, which arrived in February.