Jake Owen released a live acoustic performance of his new song, “In It,” via Vevo.
Penned by Jimmy Robbins, Josh Thompson and Laura Veltz, “In It” is featured on Jake’s recent album, Greetings From . . . Jake, which has already spawned No. 1 hit, “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” and Top 10 hit, “Down to the Honkytonk.” The new album reunited Jake with producer Joey Moi, who helmed some of his biggest hits, including “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “Beachin'” and “Alone With You.”
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Dream have signed Tennessee women’s basketball standout Meme Jackson to a training camp contract, the WNBA franchise announced on Wednesday evening.
Jackson, a 5-foot-11 graduate of Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is the 48th Lady Vol to move on to the WNBA and the 60th to play professionally in any league.
The wing player was UT’s third-highest scorer during the 2018-19 season, averaging 10.8 ppg. and leading the team in scoring on seven occasions. She led UT in 3-pointers made as a senior, hitting 54, and knocked down three or more treys in nine games. Jackson finished with 129 career three-balls, just missing the Lady Vols’ all-time top 10 by four.
Starting 27 games as a senior and averaging 29.9 minutes per contest, she was the Big Orange’s second leading free throw shooter at 83 percent. Jackson earned her way onto the Junkanoo Jam All-Tournament Team following Tennessee wins over Clemson and UAB for the Junkanoo Division title.
Among her most memorable games in 2018-19, Jackson went four of nine from behind the arc and nine of 11 from the free throw line en route to a career-high 33 points against No. 12 Texas. She also knocked down five threes and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line to finish with a team-high 27 points at Auburn.
Courtesy of our Knoxville TV partner, FOX 43, for Tennessee Sports Night (weeknight TV & radio simulcast sports show, 7-7:30pm ET,) here’s highlights they videoed for us at Cumulus Broadcasting Knoxville and the show from Saturday’s U. of Tennessee Orange & White game at Neyland Stadium. Get an up-close look from the view of the talented videographers at FOX 43 and don’t miss the show!
UT players at the Orange & White Game / Credit: FOX 43
Garth Brooks is bringing his Stadium Tour to Autzen Stadium at the University of Oregon in Eugene on June 29. The upcoming stop marks Garth’s first performance in Eugene.
Garth’s Stadium Tour, which features in-the-round staging, has already visited St. Louis and Glendale, with upcoming stops in Gainesville (April 20), Minneapolis (May 3 and 4), Pittsburgh (May 18) and Denver (June 8).
Tickets for the show in Eugene will go on sale on April 26 at 10 a.m. PT. for $94.95.
Tim McGraw teamed with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham to pen a new book, Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest and the Music That Made a Nation, which will be released on June 11. 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.”
In conjunction with the book’s release, Tim and Jon will be hitting the road for a seven-date book tour, which kicks off on June 10 in New York and makes additional stops in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and more.
During the tour, Tim and Jon will give a behind-the-scenes look at what went into creating the book and their friendship, as they combined their individual perspectives as writer and artist. The tour will also include Tim performing songs featured in the book.
Songs of America explores both famous songs and lesser-known ones, including “My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” “God Bless America,” “Over There,” “We Shall Overcome” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
Every tour ticket purchased includes a copy of Songs of America.
Songs of America Book Tour
June 10 | Beacon Theatre | New York
June 11 | Charleston Gaillard Center | Charleston, S.C.
June 12 | The Anthem | Washington, D.C.
June 21 | Magnolia Market at the Silos | Waco, Texas
June 22 | Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre | Atlanta
June 23 | Belt Theater | Charlotte, N.C.
June 24 | Raleigh Memorial Auditorium | Raleigh, N.C
Sheryl Crow is bringing Johnny Cash back to radio airwaves on April 19 with a little editing ingenuity. Sheryl will release a re-booted version of her song, “Redemption Day,” in the form of a duet with the Man in Black.
After touring war-torn Bosnia with First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1996, Sheryl penned “Redemption Day” and included it on her self-titled album that same year. Johnny recorded the song shortly before he died 2003, and it was featured on his posthumously released 2010 album, American VI: Ain’t No Grave.
With the blessing of Johnny’s estate, Sheryl re-recorded “Redemption Day” and added Johnny’s vocals to the new arrangement for her upcoming album of collaborations.
“Johnny Cash recorded it [in 2003] and felt like it would be the cornerstone of his record,” says Sheryl. “He was adamant about knowing what every lyric meant and he really delivered the song in a way that felt like for him it would be the most important song on his record . . . but two months later he passed, so cut to now and I’m making a record of collaborations and I asked the family if they would give me their blessing in letting me use his vocal. I feel like the song has finally found its moment. I re-recorded it, rearranged it, and Johnny and I are both singing the song. I hope he would be proud of what we’ve done and feel like it has met its moment.”
The video for “Redemption Day,” directed by Shaun Silva, incorporates footage of Johnny next to scenes of a young child watching history unfold, in all of its tragedy and triumph.
“As a mom of two young kids,” says Sheryl, “I see that our kids watch what we do on their behalf and how we shape their future. They’re privy to everything visual, especially now, and there’s no way to shield your child from the roughness of reality. If we could see the world through a child’s eyes, we would make different decisions.”
After Little Big Town invited Kelsea Ballerini to join the Grand Ole Opry on March 5, Carrie Underwood inducted the Tennessee native on April 16 in front of a packed Opry House.
Carrie presented Kelsea with her Opry trophy, saying, in part, “The Grand Ole Opry is the heart and soul of country music.”
After recounting her first visit to the Opry as a fan, her 2015 Opry debut and subsequent Opry appearances, Kelsea held her award close and said, “Grand Ole Opry, thanks for seeing something in me and for believing that I’ll always love you like I do because I do, and I will.”
Kelsea and Carrie then teamed up for a duet of Trisha Yearwood’s 1992 hit, “Walkaway Joe.”
Earlier in the night, Keith Urban made a surprise appearance to deliver congratulations to Kelesea and to perform “Blue Ain’t Your Color.” Later in the show, Vince Gill surprised the audience yet again by joining Del McCoury Band during the group’s portion of the show.
Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes and new assistant coach Kim English spoke to the media on Tuesday to talk about his offer from UCLA and the new hire to the staff at UT.
Vols HC Rick Barnes & assistant Kim English / Credit: Cumulus Knoxville Staff
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee redshirt senior Lou Brown got some great news on Tuesday morning, receiving confirmation from the NCAA that her Extension of Eligibility Waiver has been approved. She is cleared to play basketball for the Lady Vols during the 2019-20 season.
Brown, a graduate transfer from Washington State, arrived in Knoxville after the start of the fall semester from her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 6, 2018. She had been held up by unexpected delays in getting her student visa renewed. After a little over a month on campus, she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in preseason practice on Oct. 17, 2018, forcing her to sit out the entire 2018-19 campaign.
“This injury has been tough on me in more ways than one,” Brown said. “So waking up to this news just reassured everything that I’ve put into getting back to being healthy. I came here for a reason, and I’m just so excited to have the opportunity to live that out with my team.”
Brown, who returned to the court Monday for offseason workouts along with her teammates, was a supportive presence at practice and games last season. Her UT family was understandably thrilled to learn that her hard work and patience had been rewarded.
“I am very happy to hear this great news for Lou Brown,” Lady Vol head coach Kellie Harper said. “To suffer an injury like that is devastating, and I am pleased that she was granted another year of eligibility. We are so excited for her and look forward to seeing what the future holds for Lou.”
The 6-foot-3 forward started 71 of 95 career games at Washington State from 2014-18. She averaged 5.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while knocking down 80 three-pointers during her time in Pullman. Brown graduated from WSU in May 2018 with a degree in sport management and is pursuing a master’s degree in communications.
After her 2016-17 season ended prematurely due to a foot injury while she was averaging 10.4 points and 6.9 rebounds through seven games, Brown returned to the court in 2017-18 as a redshirt junior. She started 23 of 28 contests and averaged 6.4 points and 6.0 rebounds for WSU. She was the team’s leading rebounder and fifth-leading point-producer, scoring in double figures nine times and tallying six games with double digits in rebounds. She had four double-doubles to lead the squad.
Brown connected on a single-season career-most 29 threes in 87 attempts (.333) two seasons ago. She tallied her most field goals and attempts, hitting 62 of 171 (.363), and shot a team-best 78.1 percent from the free throw line (25-32). She also posted a career high for assists in a season with 49.
In conjunction with the book’s release, Tim and Jon will be hitting the road for a seven-date book tour, which kicks off on June 10 in New York and makes additional stops in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and more.
