Luke Combs hit the top of the charts with his debut single, “Hurricane,” and now he’s hoping his second weather-related single, “When It Rains It Pours,” will do the same.
Written by Luke, Ray Fulcher and Jordan Walker, the fun-loving single is currently No. 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after nine weeks. Yesterday (Aug. 15), Luke dropped the tune’s new music video, which he filmed over the Fourth of July weekend in Charleston, S.C.
“It’s just a fun song and I always think, ‘Damn, I kinda wanna be this guy in the song. He’s got it figured out,’” says Luke. “So for the video, I convinced my buddies to meet me in Charleston. We traced the footsteps of the song for two days at the beach and somehow they let us film it as an official music video.”
Watch Luke’s video for “When It Rains It Pours” below.
Shania Twain will make her silver screen debut in a major role opposite John Travolta, Michael Madsen and Kevin Dunn in a new dirt-track racing movie, Trading Paint, according to Variety.
In the upcoming flick, which began principal photography this week in Alabama and is directed by Karzan Kader, Travolta portrays a down-and-out dirt track racing legend who is drawn back into the winner’s circle after his son, an aspiring driver, joins a competitor’s racing team and incites an intense and dangerous competition between father and son.
According to IMDB, Shania will play a character named Becca. Although Shania has starred in more than a few big-budget music videos, this will be her first time acting in a film, other than when she portrayed herself in a small role in 2004’s I Heart Huckabees.
More than 18 months after parting ways with Universal Music Group’s Mercury Nashville label in 2016, Scotty McCreery has signed a new record deal with Triple Tigers Records/Sony Music Entertainment.
“I’m very excited to become part of the Triple Tigers/Sony Music Entertainment family,” said Scotty. “They believe in me and my music, they work hard, and for being a brand-new company, they are already succeeding. I am fired up to see what we can achieve together.”
Can’t tell yall how fired up I am to sign with Triple Tigers / Sony today! Time to get to work on the rest of this album! #ComingSoon#5MM
“We had a full record pretty much ready to go [when I lost my record deal in February 2016],” said Scotty to Nash Country Daily in May. “We’ve still got all that music, and we are probably going to use some of that music on the upcoming album. But we’ve been writing, too. I’ve been writing just a ton here recently, and I feel like I’m in a really cool spot creatively. On the album, we’re probably going to use a lot more of what’s happening right now, now that I’m writing, but I’ll probably still use three or four from the record that we had made in 2015 and piece it all together.”
Madame Tussauds Nashville, which opened its doors in April, houses nearly 50 wax figures representing artists from all genres of music, including Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.
Before their Soul2Soul Tour stop in Nashville on Aug. 5, Tim and Faith got to meet meet their waxy doppelgangers backstage at Bridgestone Arena—and both artists were quite impressed with their likenesses.
“Wow, that is amazing,” said Faith on first glance, before Tim added, “It looks just like us.”
Watch Tim and Faith’s reaction below.
In addition to Tim and Faith, Madame Tussauds Nashville features wax figures of Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, Kenny Rogers, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Waylon Jennings, Minnie Pearl, Patsy Cline, Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday, Taylor Swift, Rhianna, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Little Jimmy Dickens, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Eric Church, Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Muddy Waters and more.
Southern rock group Blackberry Smoke headed to NYC last night (Aug. 15) for their debut on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
The Atlanta-based quintet—Charlie Starr (lead vocals/guitar), Paul Jackson (guitar/vocals), Richard Turner (bass/vocals), Brandon Still (keyboards) and Brit Turner (drums)—treated fans to a rocking performance of “Waiting on the Thunder,” which is featured on their 2016 No. 1 album, Like an Arrow.
(L to R) Marquez Callaway, Eli Wolf and Nigel Warrior / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football head coach Butch Jones, assistant head coach Robert Gillespie and three student-athletes spoke to reporters after Tuesday’s fall camp practice at Haslam Field.
Jones and the team surprised sophomore tight end Eli Wolf at the start of practice when Jones announced that the former walk-on has been awarded a scholarship.
“I had the opportunity to award Eli Wolf a scholarship,” Jones said. “He’s earned that playing for us and I can’t say enough about him and what he’s meant to our program. He’s very deserving.”
Stable of Young Running Backs Impresses Gillespie, Kelly
Gillespie, who serves as Tennessee’s assistant head coach, running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, said that the trio of Ty Chandler, Trey Coleman and Tim Jordan was the smartest group of freshmen running backs he has ever seen. The veteran coach has enjoyed working with young newcomers who were eager to get ahead of the curve.
“The pressure was kind of put on me to make sure I had things lined up for them,” Gillespie said. “Even when we were going through the spring, they were calling after practice every day. They wanted to know what we did and how it worked. I wanted them to enjoy their senior year, but they still wanted to learn the offense and know what was going on. They did a good job of watching film from afar. They would call and want to Skype. When they came here, I was surprised and pleased by the baseline of knowledge they already had before getting on campus.”
Gillespie praised junior John Kelly for mentoring the young running backs this summer. Kelly echoed Gillespie’s description of the freshmen’s football smarts.
“As far as the knowledge standpoint, they’ve got a lot more to learn but they’re just like sponges, all of them,” Kelly said. “They’re just taking on as much knowledge as they possibly can. Everything that Coach G and I tell them, they’re just doing a good job of attaining the knowledge that we give them.”
Defense Continues To Improve
Tennessee’s defense, which lost playmakers such as first-round pick Derek Barnettand team captains Cameron Sutton and Jalen Reeves-Maybin to the NFL Draft, has found several new voices of leadership and it has seen veterans ready to step into a larger role. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Kendal Vickers started every game in 2016 and has been one of the most respected returning players from the spring through fall camp.
“I think we’ve progressed a lot,” Vickers said. “I know this group is a lot closer than we were say in the beginning of camp. We’ve been getting to know each other off the field and that’s actually been helping us on the field as well because we know where each guy is going to be at on the field and it helps the whole chemistry of everything.”
Home Opener Tickets On AllVols.com
Tickets for Tennessee’s Sept. 9 home opener against Indiana State at Neyland Stadium are now available for purchase on AllVols.com.
Additional Quotes
Tennessee Football Head Coach Butch Jones
(On Eli Wolf receiving a scholarship)
“I had the opportunity to award Eli Wolf a scholarship. He’s earned that playing for us and I can’t say enough about him and what he’s meant to our program. He’s very deserving.”
(On the team’s progression heading into Practice No. 14)
“We need to establish who our playmakers are going to be on both sides of the ball. I have a better gauge on defense right now than I do offense. It’s a lot of these younger players understanding that we’re getting close now. Game time is getting closer and you have to come out and continue to put your identity on video. For some individuals, the margin of error is getting smaller and smaller and others are taking advantage of those opportunities. By tomorrow night, we should have a pretty good gauge of where we’re at as a football team and what we need to concentrate on in the next week and a half. We should also have an idea of who is going to play this year. These young players have to understand that every rep counts whether it’s an individual rep or a team rep.”
(On Larry Scott as offensive coordinator)
“I knew he was the right choice. I’ve been with him for a year. I’ve seen how he interacts in a staff meeting and I’ve seen how he interacts with our players. I’ve been able to gauge his expertise and his ability to relate from a fundamental standpoint and he also understands the standards and expectations in our football program. He understands our players.”
(On the competition at corner)
“A freshman that is really starting to step up is Shawn Shamburger. He’s gaining valuable repetitions and he’s getting better and better. Obviously, Justin Martin has also had a very good preseason camp. Having Emmanuel Moseley back has really helped us back there as well. We need to find our third corner right now and Shawn is one of those individuals who has taken advantage of the repetitions that he’s getting right now, not just on defense but on special teams as well.”
Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Robert Gillespie
(On the freshmen running backs adjusting to the collegiate level)
“They are probably the smartest group of freshmen that I have ever been around. A lot of that is with them coming from really good programs. The biggest thing that has helped them has been John Kelly. He took them under his wing this summer when we couldn’t meet with them as coaches. It surprised me when I came back from vacation just how smart those guys were. They do a good job of coming in and watching film. I think they understand the pressure they are under to come in and play immediately. All three of those guys have really surprised me by how much I can put on their plate. They are very smart kids.”
(On the benefits of the freshmen watching film during the spring)
“It helped, especially with me bringing in three true freshmen at the same time and having to get them ready to play. The pressure was kind of put on me to make sure I had things lined up for them. Even when we were going through the spring, they were calling after practice every day. They wanted to know what we did and how it worked. I wanted them to enjoy their senior year, but they still wanted to learn the offense and know what was going on. They did a good job of watching film from afar. They would call and want to Skype. When they came here, I was surprised and pleased by the baseline of knowledge they already had before getting on campus. They have just ran with it so far.”
Junior Running Back John Kelly
(On what he likes about where the young running backs are at)
“I’m pretty pumped with them right now as far as being able to get in the game. Just being comfortable with them and knowing that they’ll be able to manage the ball well. That’s really what we’ve been focusing on a lot, was just being able to manage the ball and ball security and stuff like that. As far as the knowledge standpoint, they’ve got a lot more to learn but they’re just like sponges, all of them, so they’re just taking on as much knowledge as they possibly can. Everything that Coach G and I tell them, they’re just doing a good job of attaining the knowledge that we give them.”
(On how the running backs are doing in the pass game)
“I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job. Coach G has been helping us a lot along with some of the receiver coaches as far as like working some slot work and just working on the jug machine too. We’re always doing that in between periods just to make sure our hands are right and ready.”
(On having Larry Scott as the offensive coordinator this year)
“One thing about Coach Scott is we’re definitely a more versatile offense now, I would say. And we’re playing a lot faster. Coach Scott has definitely helped us with our game speed with just like some one-word things that we can do and it’s really helping us play a lot faster, which is one thing that we definitely love to do on offense.”
Redshirt Sophomore Tight End Eli Wolf
(On earning a scholarship)
“It was a shock. I didn’t see it coming at all, but it’s not going to change the player I am. I will still be as competitive as ever. It was a total shock and very exciting.”
(On what it meant to receive the scholarship and what was going through his mind)
“Every walk-on’s dream is to eventually mean enough to the team to the point where they put you on scholarship. Today wasn’t any different. I thought it was just another day. They threw me in the Circle of Life with my brother, and I was thinking about putting him on his butt. The last thing I was thinking about was being put on scholarship. For the first five periods of practice, I was still wandering around up in the stars. It was a surreal moment.”
Senior Defensive Lineman Kendal Vickers
(On how the defense has progressed in camp)
“I think we’ve progressed a lot. I know this group is a lot closer than we were say in the beginning of camp. We’ve been getting to know each other off the field and that’s actually been helping us on the field as well because we know where each guy is going to be at on the field and it helps the whole chemistry of everything.”
(On Eli Wolf earning a scholarship)
“Yeah it’s awesome. Eli, he worked his butt off. I know a bunch of players in the locker room, we were like ‘man, Eli is going to get a scholarship sooner or later’, it was just a matter of time. So I wasn’t surprised, I don’t think any of the guys were surprised he got a scholarship because he’s been working so hard and he’s actually going to help us this year.”
Here’s an interview with Vols running backs coach Robert Gillespie who talked about his freshmen running backs and much more after practice 13 Tuesday.
Here’s an interview with Vols head coach Butch Jones who discussed a number of topics after practice 13 on Tuesday. You won’t see it in the video, but Butch Jones just before this announced that true freshman wide receiver Jacquez Jones (Clearwater, FL) will miss the 2017 season with a knee injury.
Here’s an interview with Vols junior running back John Kelly who talked about ball security, Quinten Dormady’s ability to run and much more after practice 13 Tuesday.
