Cole Swindell dropped his new EP, Down Home Sessions IV, on Nov. 24.
The five-song EP features acoustic versions of songs Cole wrote for other artists, including “Beer in the Headlights,” a tune Luke Bryan recorded on his 2013 album, Crash My Party.
“‘Beer in the Headlights’ was the song that—when Luke recorded it, it was right before I got my record deal—I said, ‘Man, if I ever write another song I love this much, I’ve got to keep it,’” said Cole to Nash Country Daily. “Two months later, I wrote ‘Chillin’ It’ and here we are.”
Watch Cole’s new video for “Beer in the Headlights” below.
With the November release of his new single, “Female,” Keith Urban gave fans the first taste from his upcoming—and as of yet unannounced—10th studio album.
Keith heard the empowering tune on Oct. 11, one day after it was penned by Nicolle Galyon, Ross Copperman and Shane McAnally. On Oct. 31, Keith recorded the song that boldly tackles themes of misogyny and rape culture—especially heavy topics when compared to the Top 40 stylings of recent No. 1 hits like “Body Like a Back Road” and “All the Pretty Girls.”
“I had an immediate reaction to ‘Female’—as a father of two daughters, as a husband, as a son, it just resonated with me,” says Keith to Nash Country Daily. “I went and grabbed my acoustic guitar and started playing it right away.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes and sophomore forward Grant Williams visited with media Wednesday before practice to preview UT’s upcoming home game against seventh-ranked North Carolina on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Sunday’s game is a sellout, and Tennessee is encouraging fans to “checker” Thompson-Boling Arena by wearing the color shirt designated for the section in which they’re seated. Fans can visit CheckerTBA.com to learn whether their section is designated to wear orange or white Sunday. A limited number of t-shirts will be provided for UT students who attend the game.
Fans also are encouraged to arrive early Sunday and be in their seats in time for tipoff, which is set for 3:01 p.m. ET.
The 20th-ranked Volunteers enter Sunday’s showdown with a 7-1 record. Tennessee’s only loss came against the now top-ranked Villanova Wildcats last month at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.
Tennessee’s RPI sits at No. 8. The Tar Heels (No. 5) will be the fourth UT opponent this season that currently owns a top-50 RPI.
“When we started the year, we had one thing in mind and that was being as good as we can possibly be,” Barnes said Wednesday. “We knew that we had a schedule to start the season that would give us opportunities. If you go back to last year in Maui, we played two games against teams that ended up (making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament in Wisconsin and Oregon), but we weren’t able to get it done. I have talked about this with our league. We want to be known as the league gets seven or eight great teams in the tournament a year. You have to win early, though. I don’t think you can read too much into rankings and all of that at this time in the year. Our goal has to stay the same. We have to get better.”
Williams, who stands as Tennessee’s top scorer (16.1 ppg) this season and is a Charlotte native, said the Tar Heels will present a great challenge, and that he’s looking forward to the atmosphere in Thompson-Boling Arena this weekend.
“I see this as another game to try and win,” Williams said. “It will be a fun environment, and the game will be competitive. It’s the first hard sellout for us in two years. It’s should to be a fun time.”
Barnes’ full media session Wednesday can be viewed HERE, and complete video of Williams’ media session can be accessed HERE.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Senior Jaime Nared and Head Coach Holly Warlick met with members of the media prior to No. 7/7 Tennessee’s practice on Wednesday. The Lady Vols are preparing to leave for California, where they will face Long Beach State (2-7) on Sunday before traveling north to play No. 18/17 Stanford (5-4) on Dec. 21.
Nared was named SEC Player of the Week on Tuesday, Dec. 12 after posting 27 points and 6 rebounds against Troy the previous Wednesday and following that up with 23 points and 13 rebounds against Texas on Sunday. Answering questions from the media, Nared shared her thoughts on how the team is preparing for its upcoming west coast trip and what it means for the program to be ranked in the Top 10. Warlick’s answers included discussion on how the team has responded to challenging opponents and situations this season, as well as how the seniors have emerged as leaders.
Tennessee will face Long Beach State on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) in Long Beach, Calif. The game will be available for viewing online via Beach Vision.
On how the team will respond on the road:
“Yes, I am anxious to see how the team will respond. We’ve been through some tough games as well, and they have practiced well. We practiced yesterday, and they did a great job, so I anticipate them being very focused and continuing to do what we’ve been doing.”
On her thoughts about the team’s performance against Texas:
“We fought for loose balls, we rebounded out of our area, and we were physical. I just loved our heart and our passion. It really stood out to me, and it was really fun to watch.”
On if the freshmen had exceeded her expectations:
“I had great expectations for them, so I think they’re pretty spot on. They’re talented; they’re mature. We put them in situations when we were in Cancun to play three games back-to-back-to-back, and they responded. So I think they’re right where we thought they would be.”
On the seniors being leaders for the freshmen:
“It’s a combination of both – it’s who they are. They have a little bit of a calming effect to them, and I think Jaime and Mercedes have done a great job of taking (the freshmen) in and making sure they understand what’s expected and what’s going to happen. Those two have done an excellent job… they’ve talked to them about their experiences, and I think it’s prepared them.”
On the team consistently getting to the free throw line:
“It’s a product of the shots we’re taking that have been created out of our offense. That’s our goal, to get to the line. And we’re doing that. We’re not settling. We’re not settling for a contested jump shot. If it’s going to be contested, get to the basket. And we’ve got players that can get to the basket, so that helps the situation with the free throws.”
On if recent success will affect the way the team plays:
“I would be shocked if they changed their demeanor, personality or how they play. I’d be shocked. We’ve been pretty consistent since day one about how hard we’ve been playing and the things we’ve been doing, so that really hasn’t changed. We’ve missed shots, but for the most part, our effort has been solid.”
On learning things about her team through the past 10 games:
“Just everybody’s heart. I didn’t really know how everybody was going to respond to such big games, but I think everybody is super competitive, and everybody wants to compete and win. That’s what I’ve learned about this group, and I’ve been really happy to see that they’re willing to compete and just play hard.”
On what she means when she uses the term playing hard:
“Definitely competitiveness, especially with the freshmen. Freshman year you kind of don’t really know what to expect, and they’ve done a great job with just competing and doing everything the coaches have asked of them. They’ve over exceeded expectations.”
On how eager she is to see how they play on the road:
“We’ve played in Cancun. I thought we did pretty good. California is beautiful, and there are a lot of things that could be a distraction, but I think seeing how we’ve handled the first 10 games just shows the maturity of our team, and how competitive everybody is. I think that everybody will be fine on the road trip.”
On advice she would give to the freshmen heading into a tough road matchup at Stanford:
“I think just playing our game and just staying together. That’s the biggest fear of road games – giving into the crowd and people saying inappropriate things or things that they shouldn’t say. You don’t really know what to expect, but just always staying together as a team, always be dialed into the game, making sure we’re just staying together.”
On stressing communication on the road:
“(In the) Texas game, it was hard to hear. We really had to come together and sometimes we found ourselves saying things ten times before we finally got together because it was just so loud. At any game that you play, and especially road games, it’s going to be like that. I’m not really sure about Long Beach, but I know it’s going to be loud. They have a small arena, but as long as we’re paying attention to coaches and to each other, I think we’ll be fine.”
On how starting the game strong benefits a particularly younger team:
‘It’s great. I thought about this same thing the other day. We used to get off to terrible starts last year, but this year it seems like everybody is just ready. In warmups we don’t really have to say, “Come on, focus guys.” We don’t have to get everybody dialed into the game. It’s just completely different, and it’s been great. Having that opportunity and everybody focusing, doing their part. It’s really great.”
On being less nervous when they are consistent:
“Sometimes shots just don’t fall, but you can’t really let that affect your game. It may not happen every game. You may miss your first couple of shots, but I think defensively we’ve been doing great in the beginning of the games, which has kind of helped us to propel our offense.”
On their additional focus:
“Maybe just our attention to detail. I think that’s a big thing. When we start the game off, everybody is focused. Everybody knows what their job is for the game and is dialed in to what they need to do, so I don’t think it’s anything in particular rather than everybody being focused in on what they need to do, and being together.”
On what it means to be in the Top 10:
“It’s great. It’s still early December. It doesn’t really matter right now. I like to see that we’re growing each game, and that we’re just playing well together. That’s something I like to see, especially this early in the season. Obviously we have to keep it going. We can’t settle with where we are now. We have to keep getting better each game and keep working hard, not letting our little success that we’ve had so far affect the rest of our season because that could make for an up and down season. We’re not letting that get to us.”
On if freshmen have asked quested about what to expect on the road:
“They don’t really know what to expect. I think they’ll be fine though. That’s just what I’ve learned about them. They’re true competitors. They’re freshmen, and that’s just great to see. They work hard. I don’t think it will really affect them. It’s easy to tell them how it’s going to be, but when we’re in the environment and we’re working together they’ll calm down because they understand that we have each other’s back.”
On the freshmen being really composed:
“Sometimes we do get a little happy with our passes, kind of up-tempo, but we always just remind each other to slow our pace down and remind ourselves who we are. At the end of the day, we’ve just done a great job accepting what everybody has to say to them and just making changes.”
On freshmen exceeding expectations:
“I remember what freshman year was like. Obviously it was a big adjustment, and you just have to kind of accept your role in college and do whatever it takes for your team. Obviously they’ve had different roles. Everybody has a different role once you get to college, and it’s finding out what that is and doing what you’re told. I just know that they’re still in the gym. It’s easy to do it when you first get here and probably don’t have as much, but as the season goes on and you’re trying to get better, that’s a product of who they are and success that they’ve had.”
On the roles of the freshmen being pretty clear:
“We have 10 people on our team. We don’t have a big team, which kind of is cool just because we’re all close together, and we all have an understanding of what we’re supposed to do. We all met with Holly maybe last week or a couple weeks ago, and she basically told everybody what they’re role is on the team, what she expects of us, and just to do what we can every night. Just compete. That’s her biggest thing. She wants us to compete. That’s not really something that we’ve had to question from each other this year. I think everybody has just done a great job.”
On what the older players learned from being on the road:
“I think we learned a lot from last year – the past couple of years, honestly. Our teams in the past couple of years have been not very cohesive. We were one of the most talented teams in the country (last year), and we had one of the most up and down seasons. That’s not something that we’re really focusing on as much this year. We know what we needed to fix. We’ve warned everybody about what we needed to do every single game, and everybody’s responded. Last year is just kind of whatever now; it doesn’t really matter anymore. We can’t fix the past, we’re just worried about now.”
On freshmen being able to focus solely on basketball while on road trip:
“I think it’ll be fun. We’re going to the movies, so we’re going to do a little team bonding as well. We’re going to Bubba Gump; I’m excited for that. School is a little part of it, but I mean, how they’ve handled it during school and finals week, I’m excited to see how they’ll handle basketball without school. Sometimes you get worries about your school work and stuff, but when you don’t have it, it’s easier to just focus on the game.
On if consistency and cohesiveness makes playing games more fun:
“Yes, it does. It makes it easier to play together and play for each other. We have each other’s back. I don’t question that with the people on our team. I think you kind of see that when we play together. Somebody gets beat, somebody’s there and we’re rotating. We’re always communicating with one another, and we genuinely want each other to do well. It makes all these games so much better. It’s just been a fun year, and just seeing how well we get along and everything that comes along with our success so far. How much we can grow throughout the rest of our season, I’m excited to see.”
What would the Christmas season be without music? It’s the soundtrack for trimming the tree, wrapping presents and cooking Christmas dinner.
While those aforementioned activities are fun for a lot of folks and Martina McBride’s White Christmas is must-have musical accompaniment, I created this playlist to listen to during my favorite holiday activity: sipping spiked eggnog around an outdoor bonfire.
Without further ado, here we go.
10. “Santa Claus and Popcorn”
Merle Haggard
1973
Most people will tell you that Merle Haggard’s finest holiday tune is “If We Make It Through December,” and it’s hard to argue against that. But for my Merle money, it doesn’t get any better than when the Okie sings “Santa Claus and Popcorn,” a warm, upbeat track that’s full of sleigh bells, mistletoe and reindeer horns.
9. “Christmas in Prison” John Prine
1973
You probably won’t hear “Christmas in Prison” on a conventional holiday playlist, but then again, John Prine is anything but conventional. What you will hear if you take the time to listen to this song are lyrics as rich as figgy pudding and an accordion that’s sweeter than wassail.
8. “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’” Jerry Reed
1983
Bill Monroe first recorded the tune in 1951 and a slew of other artists have covered it—including Johnny Cash and Sammy Kershaw—but Jerry Reed lays the hammer down on this bluegrass ditty like only the Snowman can. That’s a big 10-4, good buddy.
7. “Christmas Cookies” George Strait
1999
Not only is George Strait’s Texas two-step the greatest song about Christmas confections, it’s also quite simply the best cookie song of all-time, topping the Cookie Monter’s stellar “C Is for Cookie.” With George’s signature vocal swagger and some dynamite chicken-pickin’, “Christmas Cookies” is a sweet ditty from the first chomp to the last bite.
6. “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy” Buck Owens
1965
With the backing of his Buckaroos, Buck Owens adds a little West Coast warmth to the holiday season with his Bakersfield-infused tune. Everyone’s Christmas needs equal doses of honky and tonky, and Buck happily supplies it with “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy.”
5. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Gene Autry
1949
Many country singers have tried to top Gene Autry’s version of “Rudolph”—including Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton—but the Singing Cowboy’s classic interpretation of “Rudolph” is the like a spiked glass of eggnog: the perfect holiday concoction.
4. “Come On Christmas” Dwight Yoakam
1997
The holidays aren’t always as warm and fuzzy as a pair of Frosty the Snowman footie pajamas—for many people, it’s a sad, lonely time of year. Dwight captures those forlorn sentiments with his haunting, melodic voice in “Come on Christmas,” a tune that beckons the season to conclude so his loneliness will end.
3. “Blue Christmas” Elvis Presley
1957
Ernest Tubb took “Blue Christmas” to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country & Western chart in 1950, but Elvis Presley cemented the tune as a perennial holiday must-hear when he put his aching croon on it in 1957, and later featured it on his 1968 television special. Bing Crosby can keep dreaming of a “White Christmas”—I’ll take a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas every year.
2. “Pretty Paper” Willie Nelson
1964
With both a whisper and a roar, Willie delivers a melancholy ballad about a disabled street vendor trying to sell pretty paper, ribbons and pencils to busy holiday passersby. Much like a medieval minstrel going from town to town to sing his story-songs, Willie’s tender rendition of “Pretty Paper” is the perfect parable to prompt us to slow down during the holidays, help those in need and be thankful for what we have.
1. “Merry Christmas From the Family” Robert Earl Keen
1994
Robert Earl puts the “fun” in dysfunctional with his twisted Texas anthem of Christmas cheer. In keeping with the spirit of the season, REK reminds us that the holidays are about spending time with family—in this case, a motley crew that likes to drink champagne punch, smoke Marlboro Lights and eat bean dip while singing “Silent Night” and making runs to the local Stop ’N Go for “some celery and a can of fake snow.” That’s my kind of crowd.
Willie Nelson by Jim Herrington/UMG; Dwight Yoakam courtesy Warner Bros. Records; Gene Autry courtesy Buena Vista Home Video; Merle Haggard from If We Make It Through December album art;
After dropping his new album, This Ride, in October, Jerrod Niemann is back on country radio with a new single, “I Got This.”
Jerrod is hoping the laid-back groove, which was co-penned by Rodney Clawson, Luke Dick and Cole Taylor, continues to highlight his musical evolution and foster a connection with fans, much the same way past singles “Lover, Lover” and “Drink to That All Night” did. In fact, Jerrod’s fans had a hand in helping him pick “I Got This” as his new single.
“‘I Got This’ is one of the songs that was getting a lot of traction, a lot of excitement after playing it live at shows,” says Jerrod to Nash Country Daily. “I was seeing it pop up a lot online after I played. This Ride is my fourth [major-label] record, so I just tried to make stuff that people—who I have connected with in the past—will appreciate, and maybe connect with some more people in the future. I worked on this record for a couple of years and I hope people will give it a shot.”
Dylan Scott and wife Blair welcomed their first child, a son named Beckett Scott Robinson, on Dec. 12.
The “My Girl” singer posted a photo on Instagram of his family of three, noting in the caption that Beckett was born at 5:20 p.m. and weighed 8 pounds.
Dylan and Blair were married in 2016, and as Dylan told Nash Country Daily earlier this year, the couple has known each other for 10 years.
“We started dating at 15, so she’s known since then exactly what I wanted to do,” said Dylan. “She’s never once given me a hard time. There were times when we were dating and I’d tell her, ‘I just don’t know if this is what I’m really supposed to be doing. It’s just so tough. All these other guys are coming on the scene and going straight to the top.’ And she’d just tell me, ‘You have the best job, you’re there, you’re doing it, it will work.’ She was just a great motivator. She still is.”
Trey Smith & Ty Chandler – UT / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee freshman offensive lineman Trey Smith and freshman running back/kick returner Ty Chandler have been named to Phil Steele’s 2017 All-SEC Teams.
Smith was named to Steele’s second-team offense and Chandler was named to the third-team special teams as a kick returner.
Smith was named to the AP All-SEC Second Team, Coaches All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team last week. The Jackson, Tennessee, native was the only Tennessee offensive lineman to start all 12 games for the Vols in 2017. He had eight starts at right guard, three at left tackle and one at left guard. Smith led the Vols in pancakes and was UT’s second-highest rated offensive lineman behind only senior Jashon Robertson. Smith became the first Tennessee true freshman to start at left tackle in at least 30 years.
Smith made several highlight reels with his physical blocking style and showed the poise of a veteran player despite 2017 being his first year of college football. Smith’s blocking helped pave the way for career-best seasons by running backs John Kelly(778 rushing yards), Chandler (305 yards) and Carlin Fils-aime (215 yards).
Smith, who is also a candidate for Freshman All-America honors, was the No. 1 overall rated player in the nation in 2017 recruiting according to ESPN.com.
Chandler played in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2017. He rushed for 305 yards and two touchdowns on 71 carries, caught 10 passes for 108 yards and returned 17 kickoffs for 416 yards (24.5-yard average) and one touchdown. His 24.5-yard kickoff return average ranked fourth in the SEC.
Against Indiana State on Sept. 9, Chandler returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, making him the first Tennessee true freshman to return an opening kickoff for a score since Leonard Scott scored off a 100-yard kickoff return against Georgia in 1999. Chandler earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors for his performance against Indiana State.
Against Kentucky on Oct. 28, Chandler posted career highs in carries (22), rushing yards (120), rushing touchdowns (two) and receiving yards (33). His performance against the Wildcats marked the first time since 2014 that a Tennessee freshman had rushed for 100 yards.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee senior forward Jaime Nared has been named the Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday.
Nared averaged 25.0 points and 9.5 rebounds, as the Lady Vols improved to 10-0 on the season and rose to No. 7 in the AP poll after racing past Troy, 131-69, and outlasting #2/4 Texas, 82-75, last week.
The 6-foot-2 native of Portland, Ore., helped Tennessee defeat its highest ranked opponent at home since 2010, firing in a game-high 23 points and carding her fourth double-double of the season with a game-high 13 rebounds in the wire-to-wire win over the Longhorns on Sunday.
Nared scored 15 of her 23 points in the second half vs. Texas, hitting 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Vols snap a three-game series losing skid vs. the Longhorns.
Playing all 40 minutes, Nared also registered a game-high four steals as the Big Orange knocked the Burnt Orange from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Against Troy on Tuesday night, Nared drained 10-of-14 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point land, to finish with a game-high 27 points in only 24 minutes of duty vs. the Trojans. She added six rebounds, three steals and two blocks and assists for UT, which posted the third-most points in school history as well as the most assists and field goals in Thompson-Boling Arena history.
Nared contributed to an offensive onslaught against the 4-1 Troy squad, helping Tennessee tally a school-record 44 points in a quarter (third), and helped UT limit high-scoring Troy (91.8) and Texas (93.0) to 69 and 75, respectively.
For the season, Nared is Tennessee’s leader at 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and has registered five 20+ points games and four double-doubles.
Nared was named the College Sports Madness National and SEC Player of the Week on Monday.
NEW ORLEANS — Legendary former Tennessee football player and head coach Johnny Majors has been named to the inaugural class of the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame, as announced on Monday by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Majors is one of 16 legends who starred in the annual New Orleans football classic. The first class of Hall of Famers spans seven decades of Sugar Bowl action and includes 12 all-star players, two national championship coaches and two individuals who had the rare distinction of both playing and coaching in the Bowl.
Majors played in the 1957 Sugar Bowl and coached Tennessee to a 35-7 win over Miami (Florida) in the 1986 Sugar Bowl and a 23-22 win over Virginia in the 1991 Sugar Bowl. He also coached Pittsburgh to a 27-3 win over Georgia in the 1977 Sugar Bowl and the Panthers were named national champions.
“The Sugar Bowl has had the opportunity to host many of the greatest coaches and players in college football history,” said Stanley Cohn, the President of the Sugar Bowl Committee. “We wanted to have a way to recognize the best-of-the-best in our history – what better way to do that than to create a Hall of Fame?
“We believe we have an inaugural class which should go down as one of the most accomplished groups of inductees into any Hall of Fame. But let me tell you, it was very challenging to limit it to 16. There have been so many legends in our game, our future classes figure to be just as impressive as this one.”
The living members of the inaugural class of the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame have all been invited to New Orleans for this year’s Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Attendees and their guests will participate in select Sugar Bowl VIP activities and will be recognized on the field during the pregame ceremony leading up to the big Clemson vs. Alabama showdown.
In the 1957 Sugar Bowl, Majors, who was the Heisman Trophy runner-up, led Tennessee against Baylor. Majors was bottled up by a tenacious Bears defense, but he still managed 51 rushing yards and a key touchdown in a 13-7 loss. He later returned to the bowl decades later to find success as a coach.
In UT’s 1986 Sugar Bowl victory over Miami (Fla.), the Vols seized control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back. After trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, UT tied the game when Daryl Dickey hit Jeff Smith for a six-yard touchdown pass that sparked a run of 35 unanswered points.
Tennessee enjoyed a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback in the 1991 Sugar Bowl to defeat Virginia. The Vols scored 20 points in the fourth quarter. Tony Thompson rushed for 151 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth, including a game-winning one-yard touchdown hurdle over the line with 31 seconds remaining.
