Morgan Wallen has transformed Jason Isbell’s award-winning song, “Cover Me Up,” into an eight-minute short film about a military vet with PSTD.
Jason penned the personal song for his girlfriend—now wife—Amanda Shires after struggling with sobriety. He recorded the tune for his Grammy-winning album, Southeastern. “Cover Me Up” was recognized at the 2014 Americana Music Awards as Song of the Year.
Morgan first covered Jason’s “Cover Me Up” in 2018, scoring more than 20 million streams on Spotify. Morgan’s new short film, which was directed by Justin Clough, follows the story of a young vet returning home from war and his struggles with PSTD.
Cam is getting into the holiday spirit by releasing her rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Cam, who is expecting her first child in December, released the track as a thank you to her fans, noting that she will be dropping a new album in 2020 with a new single in February.
“New baby, new decade, new music! I’m delivering this bundle of joy in December and then I’m delivering the new album for you in 2020,” says Cam. “First single is coming in February. But right now you get a special holiday treat: my version of my favorite Christmas song: ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’—especially tugs on my heartstrings this year with baby being due December 26th—and since it’s the season of gratitude, I want to say a heartfelt thank you for allowing me the time to explore, digest and perfect this new album. The universe says we’re right on time.”
Cam’s version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” was recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville. Bing Crosby scored a Top 10 hit with the classic yuletide tune in 1943.
Listen to Cam’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” below.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden both passed career milestones in the Vols’ 76-41 victory over Alabama State Wednesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena.
For the second consecutive season, Tennessee had two players join the 1000-Point Club in the same game. Last season, Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield reached the milestone against Louisville (Nov. 21, 2018). This season, it was Turner and Bowden, becoming the 51st and 52nd Vols to score 1,000 career points.
Bowden finished with a game-high 16 points, while Turner added 13 points to go along with a game-high six assists. Turner has had six or more assists in every game this season and came into Wednesday’s contest ranked second in the country with 9.3 assists per game.
Josiah-Jordan James snagged a game-high 13 rebounds, the first time a Tennessee player has had 10 or more boards this season. The Vols finished with a +15 rebounding margin in the game.
The Hornets’ 41 points in the game were the fewest points by a UT opponent this season and the fewest since Lenoir-Rhyne also managed just 41 points against Tennessee on Nov. 6, 2018.
The Vols held Alabama State without a field goal over the last 9:39 of the game, as all six of ASU’s points during that span came from the free-throw line.
Tennessee’s defensive effort helped it build the lead out to as much as 37 points as the Big Orange closed the game with a 24-6 run.
For the second consecutive game, John Fulkerson scored in double figures. It marked the first time in his career he had back-to-back double-digit games. Fulkerson ended the night with 10 points.
Yves Pons has now scored in double-digit in every game this season, totaling 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting Wednesday night.
After Tennessee a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the game, UT held the Hornets to just three points over the next 9:06 of the first half. It helped the Vols build their lead to 13-6 and maintained the lead through the final buzzer.
By halftime, Tennessee had pushed the margin to double digits with a 34-23 lead. Turner and Bowden nearly outscored the entire Alabama State team in the first half, as they had 22 points combined at the midway point.
1000-POINT CLUB: Both Turner and Bowden eclipsed the 1000-career point milestone Wednesday night. Bowden became the 51st player in program history to reach the milestone when he knocked down a jumper at the 5:54 mark of the first half.
Later in the game, Turner joined him, becoming the program’s 52nd all-time 1,000-point scorer. He hit the milestone with 11:38 left in the second half when he scored on a right-handed layup before adding an “and one” free throw.
HOME COOKING: With the victory, Tennessee extended its home winning streak to 29 games, the longest active streak in Division I. A 37-game win streak (2006-09) and a 33-game win streak (1966-68) stand as the only longer home win streaks in program history.
The Vols also now eclipsed a 75 percent winning percentage all-time in Thompson-Boling Arena, owning a 388-129 record (75.05 percent) in 33 seasons.
CRASHING THE BOARDS: With a season-high 13 rebounds, Josiah-Jordan James became the first Tennessee freshman guard to grab 10 or more rebounds since Armani Moore had 11 on Jan. 19, 2013, in a win over Mississippi State.
FRESHMAN CONNECTION: When Oliver Nkamhoua subbed in for John Fulkerson with 3:50 remaining in the game, it marked the first time this season UT’s entire four-man freshman class was on the floor simultaneously. In the 3:14 that they were on the floor together, Tennessee went on a 12-1 run, including nine points from freshmen.
UP NEXT: Tennessee is back in Thompson-Boling Arena Monday night when it hosts in-state foe Chattanooga for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff. The game will air on the SEC Network.
Tennessee is set to join the eight-team field at the 2020 Charleston Classic, which takes place Nov. 19-22, 2020, in beautiful and historic Charleston, South Carolina.
The tournament field also includes Florida State, Houston, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Seton Hall, VCU and host College of Charleston. The tournament bracket will be released in the summer, and games will take place at CofC’s 5,100-seat TD Arena.
The recent signing of the nation’s fourth-best recruiting class has boosted anticipation of Tennessee’s 2020-21 season. This tournament—in the hometown of current Vols freshman Josiah-Jordan James—will provide a great early-season test for the Big Orange. That Tennessee squad projects to be led by seniors John Fulkerson, Jalen Johnson and Yves Pons.
Charleston is a five-hour drive from Knoxville and easily accessible via air travel. Direct flights to and from Nashville are available.
Fans can secure up to a $25 discount on all-tournament ticket books by signing up for an exclusive discounted pre-sale on www.charlestonclassic.com. Those who sign up between now and Sunday, Nov. 25 will receive first access to purchase tickets at a discount before they go on sale to the general public in July.
The Charleston Classic is owned and operated by ESPN Events and will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.
Jason Aldean may be one of the Top 10 earners in the country music industry, but the father of four is still trying to keep his kids grounded.
Jason sat down with the titular host of The Blair Garner Show to talk about his new album, 9 (Nov. 22), as well as a number of additional topics, including trying to maintain a balance of normalcy in his kids’ lives.
“Part of why I love what I do and I’m glad for the success that I’ve had is that I get to give [my kids] things that I never had,” says Jason. “But there’s also a fine line between doing that and giving them everything that they want. I try to be conscious of that. I want them to work and have jobs and know what it’s like to earn money. It’s not easy. That’s something I’m pretty conscious of.”
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
While Jason acknowledged he’s humbled by and appreciative of his recent accolades in the country music industry—including winning ACM Artist of the Decade and scoring his 23rd No. 1 single—the best part of his career is providing for his family: wife, Brittany, and kids, Keely, 16, Kendyl, 12, Memphis, 23 months, and Navy, 9 months.
“The best part of [my music career] is it’s allowed me to do something that I enjoy doing and take care of my family—to me, that’s the number one thing,” says Jason. “I love playing music, I love going out and playing my shows, it’s allowed me to make a living do something that I love to do and give my family a great life. That’s the best part.”
Since releasing his self-titled debut album in 2005, Jason has dropped new albums at a prolific rate—never waiting more than two calendar years between projects. Jason’s most recent album, 2018’s Rearview Town, spawned four No. 1 hits, including the title track, “You Make It Easy,” “Drowns the Whiskey” and “Girl Like You.” Jason will drop his ninth studio album, 9, on Nov. 22. The 16-song offering features a host of top songwriters, including Josh Thompson, Jordan Schmidt, Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Ben Hayslip, Rhett Akins and more, as well as artist/songwriters Morgan Wallen, Tyler Hubbard and Brantley Gilbert.
Sam Hunt was arrested for driving under the influence and having an open container in Nashville on Nov. 21, according to a report from WKRN.com.
According to the arrest warrant, police were notified that a driver was traveling the wrong way on a Nashville road. Officers located the vehicle going the wrong way and pulled the car over. The driver, identified as Sam Hunt, had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. A field sobriety test was administered. Sam had a blood alcohol content of .173. The legal limit in Tennessee is below .08.
Sam was arrested and later released from jail around 9 a.m. on a $2,500 bond. His court date is Jan. 17, 2020.
Although Luke Bryan earned almost $10 million less than last year, his $42.5 million was good enough for this year’s top spot. Luke earned the majority of his income via his headlining tour as well as his role as a judge on American Idol. Keith Urban moved into the Top 5 this year after being absent from the Top 10 last year, while ZBB, Blake Shelton and Kenny Chesney are once again in familiar territory in this year’s Top 5.
To formulate the list, Forbes looked at touring numbers from Pollstar, Bandsintown and Songkick, as well as record sales data from Nielsen, while performing independent research on outside business ventures and endorsement deals.
The 5 Highest-Paid Country Stars of 2018
Luke Bryan, $52 million
Garth Brooks, $45.5 million
Kenny Chesney, $37 million
Zac Brown Band, $31 million
Blake Shelton, $28 million
The 5 Highest-Paid Country Stars of 2017
No. 1: Garth Brooks, $60 million
No. 2: Kenny Chesney, $42.5 million
No. 3: Luke Bryan, $42 million
No. 4: Dolly Parton, $37 million
No. 5: Toby Keith, $34.5 million
No. 5: Florida Georgia Line, $34.5 million
photos: Keith Urban by Curtis Hilbun; Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Alabama frontman Randy Owen was presented with the CMA Foundation’s Humanitarian Award in surprising fashion.
Under the guise of presenting radio vet Lon Helton with an industry honor, Randy and wife Kelly attended a reception at Nashville’s Analog at Hutton Hotel on Nov. 19. As the event unfolded, Lon took the stage to present Randy with the Humanitarian Award, which recognizes an individual who has served as a humanitarian through community leadership, financial support, personal volunteerism and advocacy.
“I’m truly surprised and grateful for this award,” says Randy. “Hopefully, this will inspire other artists to follow their hearts to help the down and out, the helpless and especially sick children and families in need. I am so grateful to my longtime friend Lon Helton for presenting me with this award.”
Randy’s philanthropic efforts include starting Country Cares, which has raised more than $875 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since its inception in 1989. Randy is also involved in a variety of additional philanthropic endeavors, including tornado and hurricane relief efforts.
After postponing more than 25 shows on their 50th Anniversary Tour in 2019 as Randy dealt with vertigo and migraines, Alabama is planning to announce rescheduled shows for 2020 in the coming weeks. Two shows in Nashville have already been announced.
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