A popular local adage is that Nashville is a “10-year town,” suggesting it takes an artist a decade to finally make it “big.”
Sarah Darling has been in Music City for almost a decade—singing, writing, releasing music and winning over new fans with each performance. Is it finally Sarah’s time?
In this week’s WWTHW conversation, I talk with Sarah about her patience, journey, obstacles and successes, including building a fan base in Europe. This was my first time meeting Sarah, and if it is your first time too, I think you’re going to be just as happy as I was.
Podcast Participants:
Sarah Darling
Elaina Smith, host of Women Want to Hear Women
Videos:
Sarah “Plays It Forward” by covering Carly Pearce’s 2017 No. 1 hit, “Every Little Thing.”
Former Tennessee quarterback Sterling Henton had his case dismissed today regarding a July 3 charge of criminal simulation for depositing a check worth more than $95,000.
Henton said he was part of a “catfishing’’ scheme. He said he did not take any funds from the check after depositing it.
Sean McDermott of the Assistant District Attorney General’s office said charges were dismissed after a “complete and thorough investigation’’ conducted by the DA’s office.
“After obtaining the file from KPD, the District Attorney met with Mr. Henton who cooperated with KPD investigators, Special Agents of the United States Secret Service, and Postal Inspectors with the United States Postal Service and was able to provide evidence that he was the victim of a scam,’’ the DA office said in a statement.
“It is the duty of the District Attorney not only to pursue the guilty but also to protect the innocent to assure that justice is achieved. The dismissal of this case was necessary in order to meet that duty.’’
Wade Davies, Henton’s attorney, said his client was the “victim of a scheme that looked like a legitimate business transaction. He was sent a check that turned out to be fake. He didn’t attempt to withdraw any money. He cooperated fully with the investigation. The case was dismissed because he was innocent.’’
Davies said the court date was continued twice in order to complete the investigation.
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all
Brett Young will hit the road this fall for his headlining Here Tonight Tour.
Officially dubbed CMT On Tour: Here Tonight, the trek will kick off on Nov. 16 in Royal Oak, Michigan, and make stops in St. Louis, New York, Atlanta and more. Tyler Rich and Rachel Wammack will serve as support.
“This tour has got me pumped already,” said Brett. “We teamed up with CMT to name it after a new song I’ve been working on. It’s all about losing track of time because you’re so wrapped up in the moment. That’s what I want it to be all about out with the fans each night, and Rachel and Tyler are going to be a great way to get it started.”
Nov. 16 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Theatre
Nov. 17 – Northfield, OH – Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park
Nov. 18 – Saint Louis, MO – The Pageant
Nov. 29 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
Nov. 30 – Columbia, SC – Township Auditorium
Dec. 1 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues
Dec. 2 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues
Dec. 6 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre
Dec. 9 – New York, NY – Playstation Theatre
Dec. 14 – Atlanta, GA – Coca Cola Roxy Theatre
Dec. 16 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
Carrie Underwood revealed via an Instagram video on Aug. 19 the titles of the 13 songs featured on her upcoming sixth album, Cry Pretty, which drops on Sept. 14.
“Can’t wait to share these songs with you on September 14th!!! #CryPretty,” said Carrie in the post.
The album’s title track and lead single, which Carrie co-wrote with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose, is currently No. 12 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 18 weeks. In addition, “The Champion,” which features Ludacris and was used in coverage of both Super Bowl 52 and the 2018 Winter Olympics, is included on the album as a bonus track.
Carrie co-wrote nine songs on the new album, which she co-produced with David Garcia.
The new record will be Carrie’s first since 2015’s Storyteller, which spawned hits such as “Smoke Break,” “Heartbeat,” “Church Bells” and “Dirty Laundry.”
Cry Pretty Track Listing
“Cry Pretty” (Carrie Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose)
“Ghosts On the Stereo” (Hillary Lindsey, Tom Douglas, Andrew Dorff)
“Low” (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
“Backsliding” (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
“Southbound” (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Josh Miller)
“That Song That We Used To Make Love To” (Hillary Lindsey, Jason Evigan)
“Drinking Alone” (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Brett James)
“The Bullet” (Marc Beeson, Andy Albert, Allen Shamblin)
“Spinning Bottles” (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
“Love Wins” (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Brett James)
“End Up With You” (Hillary Lindsey, Brett McLaughlin, Will Weatherly)
“Kingdom” (Carrie Underwood, Chris DeStefano, Dave Barnes)
“The Champion” feat. Ludacris Bonus Track (Carrie Underwood, Brett James, Chris DeStefano, Ludacris)
Lone Star State luminary Robert Earl Keen will once again hit the road this holiday season for his annual Christmas tour.
This year’s eight-stop holiday extravaganza, which is dubbed Robert Earl Keen’s Cosmic Cowboy Christmas, will kick off on Dec. 18 in Oklahoma City and make additional stops in Houston, Nashville, Dallas and more. The festive set is sure to include REK’s classic, “Merry Christmas From the Family,” and many more out-of-this-world tunes.
“Wait until you to see what this year’s Christmas theme is going to entail,” REK adds. “I always say, if you’re not in the holiday spirit now, you will be when you leave this show.
Shinyribs will serve as support for seven dates, while guitar virtuoso Pat McLaughlin will open on Dec. 27 in Nashville. Tickets go on sale on Aug. 24.
Editor’s Note: I attended REK’s holiday tour in 2016 and 2017 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium—and they were outstanding concerts.
Robert Earl Keen’s Cosmic Cowboy Christmas Tour
Dec. 18 – Oklahoma City, OK (The Jones Assembly)*
Dec. 19 – Waco, TX (Waco Hippodrome Theatre)*
Dec. 20 – San Antonio, TX (Aztec Theatre)*
Dec. 21 – Houston, TX (House of Blues)*
Dec. 22 – Austin, TX (Moody Theater)*
Dec. 27 – Nashville, TN (Ryman Auditorium) **
Dec. 28 – Dallas, TX (House of Blues)*
Dec. 29 – Fort Worth, TX (Bass Performance Hall)*
Here’s some video from Tennessee football fall practice #13 in Knoxville on Friday. We did not have footage from practice 12. Check back daily for UT football updates.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee women’s basketball non-conference schedule has been been approved for release, and the Lady Vols’ out-of-league slate is highlighted by visits from defending national champion Notre Dame and perennial power Stanford, a road test at Texas, as well as two early-season tournament games in the Bahamas.
Tip times and television network assignments will be available at a later date when the information is approved for release.
The Lady Vols, who are rated No. 9 in Charlie Crème’s espnW “Way Too Early Top 25 for next season,” return three starters and seven letterwinners for 2018-19. Returning starters include 6-2 forward Rennia Davis (12.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), 6-0 point guard Evina Westbrook (8.4 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 4.3 apg.) and 5-11 wing Meme Jackson (8.2 ppg., 4.2 rpg.). Top returning reserves will include 5-7 guard Anastasia Hayes (9.3 ppg., 2.5 reg. 3.4 apg.), 6-3 forward Cheridene Green (4.1 ppg., 3.7 rpg.) and 6-4 center Kasiyahna Kushkituah (1.8 ppg., 1.4 rpg.). Davis and Westbrook were SEC All-Freshman Team honorees, while Hayes was the SEC’s 6th Woman of the Year.
In addition to returning the quartet comprising the consensus No. 1-ranked 2017 recruiting class, the Lady Vols welcome a 2018 freshman foursome that was rated No. 4 by both ProspectsNation.com and HoopGurlz/espnW. The 2018 unit includes 6-0 guard Zaay Green, 6-0 point guard Jazmine Massengill, 6-3 forward Mimi Collins and 6-1 wing Rae Burrell. Green, Massengill and Collins were McDonald’s and Jordan Brand Classic All-Americans, and Collins was a top-five finalist for Naismith Girls’ High School Player of the Year.
The 2018-19 non-conference slate features 14 possible opponents, with 10 of those foes seeing postseason action a year ago. Combined with the SEC teams Tennessee is scheduled to face, the Lady Vols will feature 17 of 29 contests against schools earning NCAA (13), WNIT (3) or WBI (1) berths last season.
Among the marquee out-of-conference match-ups, the itinerary includes home games vs. Stanford (Dec. 18) and Notre Dame (Jan. 24) and a Dec. 9 contest at Texas. Combined with SEC showdowns at home vs. South Carolina and on the road at Mississippi State, the schedule provides Tennessee games against each of last year’s NCAA finalists (Notre Dame and Mississippi State) and four of the nation’s preseason top 10, according to Charlie Crème’s ESPN.com Way-Too-Early Top 25.
Among UT’s opponents this season, Notre Dame (1st), Stanford (6th), Mississippi State (8th), Texas (10th), Missouri (11th), Georgia (13th), South Carolina (15th) and Texas A&M (22nd) are in Crème’s Top 25. The Lady Vols, as previously mentioned, are picked ninth.
With eight members of Tennessee’s roster occupying either freshman or sophomore status, Holly Warlick‘s troops will take advantage of having the home crowd on their side for the Nov. 5 exhibition game vs. 2018 NCAA Division II Elite Eight finisher Carson-Newman as well as in eight of the first 12 non-league contests.
UT will open the official schedule with a three-game home stand, featuring Presbyterian, UNC Asheville and Florida A&M on Nov. 11, 14 and 18. UNCA participated in the Women’s Basketball Invitational a year ago, losing in the first round. FAMU is the only team of that trio that the Lady Vols have previously faced, falling to the Big Orange in Knoxville during the 1995 NCAA Tournament, 96-59.
Just as they did a year ago, the Lady Vols will head somewhere tropical after their opening three-game set. This time, UT will venture to the Bahamas to take part in the Junkanoo Jam at Resorts World Bimini. The Lucaya Division champions at the 2013 Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas, Tennessee will open play on Nov. 22 vs. Clemson at 3 p.m. ET in the Junkanoo Division bracket. The winner will play either Oklahoma or UAB at 2 p.m. on Nov. 24. The losers of the opening games will meet on Nov. 23 at 7:45 p.m. OU (NCAA First Round) and UAB (WNIT Second Round) are coming off postseason appearances.
For the second year in a row, Tennessee and Oklahoma State will meet. The Lady Vols, who defeated the Cowgirls in the Cancun Challenge last November, 79-69, will travel to Stillwater for their first-ever visit to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Dec. 2 as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. OSU advanced to the NCAA Second Round in 2018 and tied for third in the Big 12 with in-state rival Oklahoma.
After playing host to Stetson, a WBI participant last season, on Dec. 5, the Lady Vols will travel to Austin to take on perennial NCAA tourney team Texas on Dec. 9. The Lady Vols defeated a No. 2/4-ranked Longhorns squad last December in Knoxville, 82-75.
Tennessee will return home and host a string of four games at Thompson-Boling Arena, including two before the holiday break and two afterward. A week after playing at Texas, the Lady Vols welcome NCAA power Stanford to Knoxville for a Dec. 18 contest. UT has won three of its last four over the Cardinal, including the program’s first victory at Maples Pavilion since 2005 last Dec. 21.
Warlick’s squad plays host to 2018 WNIT participant East Tennessee State on Dec. 21, followed by tilts against Murray State on Dec. 28 and 2018 NCAA Tournament team Belmont on Dec. 30. This will mark the fourth straight season ETSU and the Big Orange have met, while UT faces BU for the first time since 1979 and MSU for the first time ever.
The annual contest with Notre Dame closes out the non-conference portion of the regular-season schedule on Jan. 24. The Lady Vols won two years ago in Knoxville and led the Irish on the road last season before dropping the contest to the eventual national champions.
The Southeastern Conference portion of Tennessee’s schedule is expected to be released in late August.
Season tickets go on sale in early September, and single-game tickets will be available in October. Fans interested in purchasing tickets are encouraged to visit AllVols.com or call 1-800-332-8657.
Scotty McCreery will hit the road this fall and winter for his headlining Seasons Change Tour. The 13-date trek, named after his 2018 album, will kick off on Nov. 29 in Dallas and make additional stops in Chicaco, Atlanta, Boston and more.
Jimmie Allen and Heather Morgan will serve as support.
“Even though I’m always performing on the road, I really wanted to put together a specific tour surrounding Seasons Change because it is my favorite and most personal project yet,” said Scotty. “I am so excited to bring Jimmie Allen and Heather Morgan out with me. They are such talented singer/songwriters and I know the fans are going to love them.”
Tickets for the Seasons Change Tour will go on sale to the general public on Aug. 24, 10 a.m. local time.
Seasons Change Tour
Nov. 29 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
Nov. 30 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre
Dec. 1 – Houston, TX – House of Blues *
Dec. 7 – St. Paul, MN – Myth Live
Dec. 8 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room *
Dec. 9 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Dec. 13 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
Dec. 15 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live
Jan. 17 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
Jan. 18 – Charlotte, NC – Fillmore
Jan. 19 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
Jan. 25 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
Jan. 26 – Westbury, NY – NYCB Theatre at Westbury
*Dates without Jimmie Allen
Mike Ryan will perform on Dec.1
Tennessee and West Virginia stand to gain a substantial bonus depending on ticket sales for the Queen City Kickoff Sept. 1 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Each team is guaranteed $2.5 million, based on the contract signed in 2014.
If ticket sales reach 66,000, each team gets a $400,000 bonus.
If ticket sales reach 70,000, each team gets an additional $100,000.
If the game is a sellout (72,500) each team gets $200,000 more.
Thus, if the game sells out, each team would get $3.2 million.
One source said ticket sales are about 60,000 at this time, meaning the only likely bonus would be if sales reach 66,000. The ticket sales to achieve any bonus do not include discounted student tickets.
UT has sold its allotment of 16,397. The Vols got an initial allotment of 12,000 but requested almost 4,400 more, based on previous history of Vol fans traveling well to neutral site games. UT sold more than 25,000 tickets to the game last season in Atlanta against Georgia Tech.
West Virginia sold its allotment of 12,000 but did not request more tickets, a source said.
Tickets remain on sale. UT fans can go to allvols.com and click on a link to Ticketmaster to buy tickets.
Meanwhile, UT has sold more than 65,000 season tickets. The number was about 61,000 when the season-ticket renewal deadline ended in May. However, UT offered donors the right to purchase more season tickets without an additional donation and some season tickets in the South end zone did not require a donation.
UT also has offered various three-game packages and has sold about 2,000 of those.
Cry Pretty Track Listing
Robert Earl Keen’s Cosmic Cowboy Christmas Tour
