Chris Young Keeps the Late-Night Party Going by Extending “Losing Sleep World Tour” With Dan + Shay

Chris Young Keeps the Late-Night Party Going by Extending “Losing Sleep World Tour” With Dan + Shay

Posted on June 20, 2018

After kicking off his Losing Sleep World Tour in January and extending it with dates in February, April and May, Chris Young will keep the party going with 15 new dates this fall and winter.

The new leg begins on Oct. 25 in Evansville, Ind., and makes stops in Milwaukee, Detroit, Baltimore and more, before capping on Dec. 8 in Manchester, NH.

Special guests Dan + Shay, Morgan Evans and Dee Jay Silver will serve as support on the new dates. Tickets go on sale on June 26 at 10 a.m. (local time).

Losing Sleep World Tour

Oct. 25, Evansville, IN Ford Center**
Oct. 26, Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin Entertainment & Sports Center**
Oct.27, Champaign, IL State Farm Center**
Nov. 1, London, ON Budweiser Gardens**
Nov. 2, Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena++
Nov. 3, Dayton, OH Wright State University Nutter Center**
Nov. 8, Norfolk, VA Constant Convocation Center++
Nov. 9, Hershey, PA Giant Center**
Nov. 10, Syracuse, NY The Onecenter War Memorial Arena**
Nov. 29, Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena**
Nov. 30, Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena**
Dec. 1, Raleigh, NC PNC Arena**
Dec. 6, Baltimore, MD Royal Farms Arena+
Dec. 7, Long Island, NY NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum ~
Dec. 8, Manchester, NH SNHU Arena*+

**with Dan + Shay, Morgan Evans and Dee Jay Silver
*+ Dan + Shay and Morgan Evans
++with Morgan Evans and Dee Jay Silver
+Morgan Evans

photo by Jason Simanek

Lee Brice Talks Releasing New Single “Rumor,” Spending Time With His 3 Kids, Getting Back Into Shape, Hitting the Road & More

Lee Brice Talks Releasing New Single “Rumor,” Spending Time With His 3 Kids, Getting Back Into Shape, Hitting the Road & More

Posted on June 19, 2018

Jim Casey talks with Lee Brice about:

  • spending Father’s Day with his three kids: Takoda, 9, Ryker, 4, and Trulee, 1
  • celebrating his 39th birthday on June 10
  • the goal of getting into the best shape of his life by his 40th birthday
  • earning membership into the Pandora Billionaire Club by getting 2 billion career spins
  • releasing new single, “Rumor,” on July 16
  • co-penning the single with Ashley Gorley and Kyle Jacobs
  • deciding to release “Rumor” as the follow-up single to Top 20 hit, “Boy”
  • putting 15 songs on his 2017 self-titled album
  • hitting the road this summer for a busy tour schedule
  • some of the cool places he has visited while touring, including Alaska

Show participants:

  • Lee Brice
  • Jim Casey, NCD editor in chief

Kennedy, London Officially Join Tennessee Football Team

Kennedy, London Officially Join Tennessee Football Team

Posted on June 19, 2018
RB Madre London & OL Brandon Kennedy / Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt officially announced the additions of graduate transfers Brandon Kennedy and Madre London on Tuesday.

Both players will be eligible to play this fall.

Kennedy, who has two years of eligibility remaining, comes to the Vols after graduating from Alabama.

After redshirting in 2015, Kennedy played in 10 games as a reserve center in 2016 and 2017, winning a national championship last fall. He was a four-star recruit out of Wetumpka High School in Wetumpka, Ala., and was selected for the 2015 Under Armour All-American Game in addition to capturing 6A All-State honors from the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

London, who has one year of eligibility, was a three-year contributor at running back at Michigan State.

The Little Rock, Ark., native played in 33 games with eight starts from 2015-2017 after redshirting in 2014. He rushed for 924 yards and eight touchdowns on 230 carries for the Spartans, while catching 13 passes for 62 yards and a score.

In 2017, he had a 50-yard rush and a 16-yard touchdown reception at No. 7 Michigan in addition to a 74-yard, one-touchdown performance in a start at Minnesota. He rushed for 304 yards and three touchdowns for the season last fall. He had 500 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in 2015, including a 103-yard rushing performance against No. 7 Oregon. London totaled 120 yards and two scores in 2016.

The duo joins fellow graduate transfer, quarterback Keller Chryst, on the Vols’ roster.

Trey Smith on Sports Illustrated’s Top 100, Captures Preseason Honor

Sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith was mentioned in Sports Illustrated’s annual Top 100 College Football Players list on Monday, coming in at No. 59.

Additionally, Smith was named a preseason Third Team All-American by Athlon Sports.

Smith authored one of the finest seasons of any freshman in the country in 2017, starting all 12 games for the Vols and leading the UT with 55 knockdowns. After spending most of the season at guard, Smith became the first Tennessee true freshman to start at left tackle in over 30 years against Southern Miss on Nov. 4, 2017.

Smith collected FWAA Freshman All-America honors as well as All-SEC Freshman and All-SEC Second Team accolades.

-UT Athletics

 

Dierks Bentley’s “The Mountain” Summits Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart

Dierks Bentley’s “The Mountain” Summits Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart

Posted on June 19, 2018

Dierks Bentley scored the seventh Billboard No. 1 album of his career as “The Mountain” summited this week’s Top Country Albums chart.

Dierks’ ninth full-length album moved 102,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music, besting his previous record of 101,000 units for 2017’s Black. The Mountain also debuted at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.

“This album started as the smallest seed of an idea,” said Dierks. “It was inspired by where I am in my life right now, but also by the people I meet out on the road who triumph over hardship every day. We all share this underlying sense of gratitude and hope, which really became the base of The Mountain.”

The impetus for the album’s creation was Dierk’s June 2017 performance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in the town of Telluride in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Dierks returned to Telluride a short time later for a week-long retreat with fellow songwriters Natalie Hemby, Luke Dick, Ross Copperman, Jon Randall, Jon Nite and Ashley Gorley and wrote the bulk of the album’s songs, including the title track.

Dierks scored the 17th No. 1 single of his career as the album’s lead single, “Woman, Amen,” reached the top of both the Billboard Country Airplay chart and the Mediabase chart earlier this month. “Woman, Amen” was penned by Dierks, Josh Kear and Ross Copperman in Nashville in between the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and his songwriting retreat.

“My wife and our relationship has been the one constant element in my life over all the ups and downs of my career and personal life,” said Dierks. “Our journey together has made me the man I am today. I doubt my heart would even recognize the old me. This song addresses that in the most direct possible way. The personal gratitude expressed in the lyrics, mixed with a track that leans heavily on some bigger sounds, is the perfect way to introduce the album.”

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Garth Brooks Puts Some Honky in His Tonky With New Single, “All Day Long”

Garth Brooks Puts Some Honky in His Tonky With New Single, “All Day Long”

Posted on June 19, 2018

Garth Brooks shipped a new single—“All Day Long”—to country radio and Amazon Music on June 19.

Co-written by Garth, Mitch Rossell (“Ask Me How I Know”) and Bryan “Chuck” Kennedy (“American Honky-Tonk Bar Association,” “The Beaches of Cheyenne’’), “All Day Long” is the lead single from Garth upcoming 2019 album.

Garth says the new single was inspired by his Lower Broadway performance at Nashville honky-tonk Layla’s in February.

“‘All Day Long’ was pretty much born from getting to play Layla’s,” says Garth. “Just realizing how much I miss honky-tonks, how much that music is me. I cannot wait to hear it live with people getting to sing that right back to ya. That’s why I love it.”

Fans who pre-order the album today now (available at a limited time price of $10) will receive the new single immediately, as well as an exclusive bonus track, “The Road I’m On,” which will be the opening song of Garth’s upcoming tour.

“From the very first lick, this song is a party,” says Garth. “Country radio, uptempo honky-tonk and summer go so good together!”

Midland Announces “Electric Rodeo Tour”

Midland Announces “Electric Rodeo Tour”

Posted on June 18, 2018

Following a fall run on Thomas Rhett’s Life Changes Tour, Midland will embark on their own Electric Rodeo Tour. The eight-date trek will kick off on Oct. 24 in Tucson, Ariz., and make stops in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Minneapolis and more.

Tickets go on sale on June 22 at 10 a.m. CT.

Electric Rodeo Tour

  • Oct. 24 / Valencia Amphitheatre / Tucson, AZ
  • Nov. 8 / 9:30 Club / Washington, DC
  • Nov. 9 / The Stone Pony / Asbury Park, NJ
  • Nov. 10 / Cone Denim Entertainment Center / Greensboro, NC
  • Nov. 15 / Variety Playhouse / Atlanta, GA
  • Nov. 16 / The Mill and Mine / Knoxville, TN
  • Dec. 13 / Varsity Theatre / Minneapolis, MN
  • Dec. 14 / Boondocks / Springfield, IL

 

photo by Tammie Arroyo / AFF-USA.com

4th Annual NASH Next Competition Begins the Search for the Next Great Country Star

4th Annual NASH Next Competition Begins the Search for the Next Great Country Star

Posted on June 18, 2018

Aspiring country stars have the opportunity to kick-start their careers via the 4th annual NASH Next competition.

NASH Next 2018 officially launched on June 18, bringing together aspiring stars, a major record label (Big Machine Label Group) and the power of country radio (Cumulus Media). The winner of the four-month competition will receive a record deal with Big Machine Label Group and substantial radio exposure on Cumulus radio stations nationwide.

Artists can enter the competition via NASH Next or participating local stations. Listeners in local markets will rate each original song, along with local music industry professionals. Local markets will then host live events or select their finalist by judging the contestants in a video performance of their original song.

Ten of the local finalists will be selected by industry professionals to compete at the national finale event in Nashville in October where a panel of celebrity judges—including BMLG’s Scott Borchetta and Brooks & Dunn’s Kix Brooks—will announce the NASH Next 2018 winner.

“I’m always on the hunt for great new talent, and there’s arguably no better way to do it than through country radio,” said Borchetta. “In our fourth year with NASH Next, this program provides the Big Machine Label Group an incredible opportunity to have our eyes and ears on the ground in all of the great Cumulus country radio markets. If you want to be next, enter now. Game on.”

“I really enjoyed being part of NASH Next last year,” added Kix Brooks. The level of talent continues to get better and more competitive every year, and this music platform is working! It’s been fun to watch last year’s winner, Radio Romance, catch the wave and surf it to the next level of their career.”

Radio Romance released their debut single, “Weekend,” in April 2018 and cracked the Top 50 on the country charts in their first week on the radio.

“This whole experience has been truly incredible,” said Radio Romance’s frontman Sam Hayes. “There is honestly no way to describe what it’s like when you hear your first single played on the radio or when you see your name on the country music charts.”

After More Than 20 Years, David Lee Murphy Scores His Second No. 1 Single With “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” Featuring Kenny Chesney

After More Than 20 Years, David Lee Murphy Scores His Second No. 1 Single With “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” Featuring Kenny Chesney

Posted on June 18, 2018

There might be a little “dust on David Lee Murphy, but don’t let it fool ya about what’s inside.”

David Lee, 59, scored the second No. 1 single of his career this week with “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” which features vocals from Kenny Chesney. The tune topped both the Billboard Country Airplay chart and Mediabase chart.

“When Kenny asked me about making a record, I thought that sounded like a whole lot of fun,” says David Lee. “I love to make music, just as much as I love writing songs. So, we went in without expectations, and I wouldn’t have imagined this. But it sure feels good.”

David Lee, who’s probably best known for his 1995 No. 1 hit, “Dust on the Bottle,” hadn’t scored a hit—as a singer—since 2004’s “Loco,” which reached No. 5. But over the last dozen or so years, the Illinois native has stayed busy as a songwriter, penning hits such as “Big Green Tractor” (Jason Aldean), “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” (Thompson Square), “Anywhere With You” (Jake Owen), “The More I Drink” (Blake Shelton), “’Til It’s Gone” (Kenny Chesney) and more.

“It feels good,” says David Lee. “To know my music is hitting this kind of place in people’s hearts . . . that’s the reason I write these songs: to make people feel something about their life. So, the response when I play it live, now with the No. 1, is everything I could hope for, and I am so grateful to the Reviver Records team for believing, and to country radio for letting this music be heard. That’s how the dots get connected.”

photo by Kristin Barlowe

Watch Jason Aldean’s New Video for “Drowns the Whiskey,” Featuring Miranda Lambert

Watch Jason Aldean’s New Video for “Drowns the Whiskey,” Featuring Miranda Lambert

Posted on June 18, 2018

Jason Aldean dropped a new video for his current single, “Drowns the Whiskey,” which features vocals from Miranda Lambert.

Like the song, Jason enlisted Miranda’s talents during the filming of the new clip at Nashville’s oldest dive bar, Springwater Super Club & Lounge.

“I wanted keep the video simple and really let the heartbreak and loneliness come through,” says Jason.

“Drowns the Whiskey,” which is the second single from Jason’s 2018 album, Rearview Town, was written by Brandon Kinney, Jeff Middleton and Josh Thompson.

“The way fans and radio have responded to this record has been really cool for me,” says Jason. “‘Whiskey’ has always been a favorite of mine, but when Miranda came in and knocked out her parts in only a couple takes, I knew it was special.”

“Drowns the Whiskey” has the chance to become Jason’s 21st No. 1 single. Check out the new video below.

Scotty McCreery Marries Gabi Dugal

Scotty McCreery Marries Gabi Dugal

Posted on June 18, 2018

Scotty McCreery, 24, and longtime girlfriend Gabi Dugal, 24, tied the knot in North Carolina on June 16.

The couple met in kindergarten in Garner, N.C., and grew up together in the close-knit community. They began dating six years ago during their senior year at Garner High School. Gabi has appeared in several of Scotty’s music videos, including “The Trouble with Girls,” “Feelin’ It” and “Five More Minutes.”

Scotty and Gabi got engaged in September 2017 during a hike in the mountains of North Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. When the couple summited the mountain, Scotty got down on one knee, presented a ring he had helped design specifically for her, and asked Gabi to be his wife.

“I’ve been planning this moment for so long that it feels surreal for it to have finally happened,” said Scotty. “Gabi is the perfect girl and my true love, and I cannot wait to begin building our life together as husband and wife.”

The wedding ceremony, which was officiated by Scotty’s childhood pastor, was attended by more than 200 family and friends. Congrats to the happy couple.

photo by Arroyo/O\’Connor/AFF-USA.com

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