Watch Hardy’s Stripped-Down Performance of Blake Shelton’s No. 1 Hit, “God’s County”

Watch Hardy’s Stripped-Down Performance of Blake Shelton’s No. 1 Hit, “God’s County”

Posted on August 15, 2019

Over the last couple of years, Michael Hardy, known professionally as Hardy, has earned a rep as one of Nashville’s hottest songwriters.

The Mississippi native has co-penned recent No. 1 singles “God’s Country” (Blake Shelton), “Simple” (Florida Georgia Line) and “Up Down” (Morgan Wallen). Hardy also had a hand in writing FGL’s “Talk You Out of It” (currently No. 11) and Chris Lane’s “I Don’t Know About You” (currently No. 14). In addition, Hardy is a co-writer on Blake Shelton’s new single, “Hell Right,” which drops on Aug. 16.

Blake recently shared some high praise regarding Hardy’s songwriting chops.

“The first time I ever heard ‘Hell Right,’ [producer] Scott Hendricks sent it over to me—and we had pretty much decided that we were finished recording for a while, and I wasn’t even thinking about it,” says Blake. “But he said that Hardy had written a song and he wanted me to hear it, so with the success of ‘God’s Country’ and just knowing how talented that guy is, I thought, ‘Man, I better at least listen to it even though I don’t see myself going in and recording.’ About three-quarters of the way through the song, I decided, ‘Oh, my god, I’m not done recording. I’ve gotta go cut this song. It’s just so much fun and just so infectious. It seems like something that would be great to have out this summer, like, let’s do this thing, let’s get it out now.’ It’s one of the reasons that I’ve been so excited about not releasing an album because it’s awesome to be able to react to great songs and just get em out there to the fans.”

Hardy is also a talented singer. His debut single, “Rednecker,” is currently No. 28 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

Watch Hardy perform an acoustic version of “God’s Country,” a tune he penned with Devin Dawson and Jordan Schmidt that Blake Shelton took to No. 1 in July.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Trio of Vols Named to Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team

Trio of Vols Named to Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team

Posted on August 15, 2019
Credit: UT Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Led by senior wide receiver Marquez Callaway’s second-team selection as a return specialist, three Tennessee football players were named to the 2019 Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team on Thursday.

Joining Callaway and capturing preseason honors were redshirt senior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor and senior defensive back Nigel Warrior, who each grabbed third-team accolades.

Callaway’s career punt return average of 13.4 is the highest among active players in the FBS. He has returned 29 punts for 389 yards and two touchdowns in his career, including an 82-yard score a year ago. He averaged 11.9 yards per punt return in 2018, ranking him third in the SEC and 13th in the nation.

Additionally, he is expected to start for a third-consecutive year at wide receiver for the Vols. He led Tennessee with 37 catches for 592 yards in 2018. The Warner Robins, Ga., native also was named to the 2019 Preseason All-SEC Second Team by the media in June.

Taylor proved to be one of the SEC’s top pass rushers in 2018 and his eight sacks last fall are the most of any returning conference player. He has 11 sacks, 16.5 TFLs, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries over his 30-game career. Last season, Taylor captured National Defensive Player of the Week honors after tallying four sacks in 24-7 upset of No. 11 Kentucky. He also had a three-sack, two-forced-fumble game at Georgia. Taylor has been named to the preseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronco Nagurski Trophy and Butkus Award for 2019.

Warrior is expected to enter his third season as a starting safety for the Vols this fall after registering 169 tackles over 36 career games. The College Park, Ga., native has started 24 consecutive games. He ranked second on the Vols with 64 tackles in 2018. He finished 13th in the league with 83 stops in 2017, and added three forced fumbles.

Tennessee 2019 Preseason All-SEC Honors
Marquez Callaway – Second Team Return Specialist (Media, Coaches)
Darrell Taylor – Third Team Linebacker (Coaches)
Nigel Warrior – Third Team Defensive Back (Coaches)

Tennessee 2019 Preseason Watch List Selections 
Jarrett Guarantano – Maxwell Award
Darrell Taylor – Chuck Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Ty Chandler – Doak Walker Award
Dominick Wood-Anderson – John Mackey Award
Brandon Kennedy – Rimington Trophy
Ryan Johnson – Wuerffel Trophy
Trey Smith – Wuerffel Trophy

 

UT Athletics

Miranda Lambert Announces Release Date for New Album, “Wildcard” [+Listen to New Song “Bluebird”]

Miranda Lambert Announces Release Date for New Album, “Wildcard” [+Listen to New Song “Bluebird”]

Posted on August 15, 2019

Miranda Lambert announced she will release her seventh studio album, Wildcard, on Nov. 1.

The upcoming album marks Miranda’s first collaboration with producer Jay Joyce and features lead single, “It All Comes Out in the Wash,” as well as previously released tracks “Locomotive” and “Mess With My Head.”

“When people listen to this record, I want them to know that I see them and hear them,” said Miranda. “I feel you, because I’m just a girl from East Texas, writing about all the things that go on in my world and in the worlds of people around me. I want people to get along, you know, just be who you are, own it and move on from the moments you couldn’t live in.”

Coinciding with today’s announcement, Miranda released a new track, “Bluebird,” which she co-wrote with Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby.

Listen to “Bluebird” below.

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Maren Morris Drops Trippy New Video for “The Bones” [Watch]

Maren Morris Drops Trippy New Video for “The Bones” [Watch]

Posted on August 15, 2019

Maren Morris released a “trippy” new video for her song “The Bones.”

Directed by Alex Ferrari, the video features footage of Maren vacationing on the beach with husband Ryan Hurd. The lovebirds share plenty of hugs and kisses in the clip as Maren croons the chorus: “When the bones are good, the rest don’t matter / Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter / Let it break ’cause you and I remain the same / When there ain’t a crack in the foundation / Baby, I know any storm we’re facing / Will blow right over while we stay put / The house don’t fall when the bones are good.”

Maren co-penned the tune, which is featured on her 2019 album, Girl, with Laura Veltz and Jimmy Robbins.

Watch Maren’s new video below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Trace Adkins & More Walk the Red Carpet at L.A. Premiere of “Bennett’s War” [Photo Gallery]

Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Trace Adkins & More Walk the Red Carpet at L.A. Premiere of “Bennett’s War” [Photo Gallery]

Posted on August 15, 2019

Trace Adkins will co-star in the upcoming film, Bennett’s War, which hits theaters nationwide on Aug. 30.

During the flick’s L.A. premiere on Aug. 13, Trace walked the red carpet with his co-stars—Michael Roark, Ali Afshar, Allison Paige and more—as well as his longtime friend Blake Shelton, who was joined by girlfriend Gwen Stefani.

For his role on the big screen in Bennett’s War, Trace plays Cal Bennett, father of the titular character. According to the movie’s synopsis: Marshall Bennett (Michael Roark) is a young soldier with the Army Motorcycle Unit who survives an IED explosion in combat overseas, and is medically discharged and sent back to the U.S. When he gets home to his family farm, he discovers that his dad, Cal Bennett (Trace Adkins), is behind in the mortgage and may lose the farm. Against all odds, Marshall Bennett pledges to help his family by the only means he knows how, as a motocross racer.

Blake and Trace, who joined forces on the 2009 No. 1 hit, “Hillbilly Bone,” will release a new single, “Hell Right,” on Aug. 16.

“I decided it would be great to have Trace Adkins on this [song] just because he’s got that low, deep, big voice and he’s so great at the ad-lib stuff,” says Blake. “He just brings a certain quality to any recording that nobody else can touch. The guy’s got so much personality in his voice and the way he sings, and I still think that he’s one of the most underrated country artists out there, so I called him and asked if he would be on the record with me and he said something that was close to ‘hell right,’ but it was a different cuss word.”

Check out our photo gallery of the L.A. premiere of Bennett’s War, courtesy of photographer Janet Gough, AFF-USA.com.

photos by Janet Gough/AFF-USA.com

Lil Nas X on “Time” Cover, While Tim McGraw & Jon Meacham Pen Article on Country Music’s Role in Politics & Diversity

Lil Nas X on “Time” Cover, While Tim McGraw & Jon Meacham Pen Article on Country Music’s Role in Politics & Diversity

Posted on August 15, 2019

Lil Nas X, the man behind No. 1 hit “Old Town Road,” is featured on the cover of Time magazine (Aug. 26), while Tim McGraw and Jon Meacham teamed up to write an article that discusses country music’s role in politics and diversity.

Lil Nas X continues to break chart-topping records with his viral song that features Billy Ray Cyrus, hitting 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Tim and Jon recently joined forces to pen the new book, Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest and the Music That Made a Nation, which was released in June. According to the book description, “Jon and Tim take readers on a moving and insightful journey through eras in American history and the songs and performers that inspired us. Jon chronicles our history, exploring the stories behind the songs, and Tim reflects on them as an artist and performer.”

Below are a few excerpts from the Time articles.

Lil Nas X:

  • “I was doing radio tours, and one guy looked me in the eye and said, ‘I love the song, but I don’t think I’ll play it.’ The perception was that the audience wouldn’t accept an African-American singer.”
  • “I know the people who listen to this the most, and they’re not accepting of homosexuality.”
  • “Seeing digital numbers, it’s a good feeling. It goes so quickly, though. You have to keep going.”

Tim McGraw & Jon Meacham:

  • “Country is in the midst of a renewed debate over the nature of its sound and the related question of who counts as part of its club…. In some ways, these questions are not so different from the ones the broader nation is asking itself in the age of Trump…. The answer, much like the music itself, is more complicated than even its fans tend to realize.”
  • “Things will always be changing in country music. That’s as it should be. We can embrace tradition, and we can embrace the more current sounds of the day—this is, after all, what our musical forebears did so brilliantly. At its heart, country is the music of inclusion and universality, and there must be an open door—and open ears and hearts—for artists who don’t look like Jimmie Rodgers or Hank Williams. Country is songs with stories for everyone, our life experience played out in 3½ minutes. Complexity is country’s friend, not its enemy, and more people need to realize that.”

Time magazine goes on sale on Aug. 16.

photograph by Kelia Anne/Time Magazine

Video: Tennessee football fall practice 11 highlights

Video: Tennessee football fall practice 11 highlights

Posted on August 14, 2019

Cumulus Broadcasting Knoxville’s Sports Department staff covers Tennessee football practice daily. The Vols held practice #11 of the fall on Wednesday at Haslam Field in Knoxville.

Vols Pass Game Coordinator and WR Coach Tee Martin (L), WR Marquez Callaway (M) and WR Jauan Jennings (R) / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal

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