Don’t Fear the Beard . . . Just Listen to Jordan Davis’ New Single, “Singles You Up”

Don’t Fear the Beard . . . Just Listen to Jordan Davis’ New Single, “Singles You Up”

Singer/songwriter Jordan Davis may have the most formidable beard in country music . . . and that’s saying something. Sure, Chris Stapleton has a prominent prospector’s beard and William Lee Golden has a wicked wizard’s beard, but Jordan has the only beard that looks like it would break your hand if you punched him in the face. Not that anyone would want to do that.

“It’s definitely full,” says Jordan with a laugh. “It’s been three years in the making, and now people probably wouldn’t recognize me without it.”

While Jordan’s beard has been three years in the making, his journey to a career in country music has taken considerably longer. The Shreveport, La., native picked up the guitar at age 12 . . . and he picked up a number of varied influences along the way, including John Prine, Jim Croce, Don Williams, Kings of Leon, Usher, and his uncle, Stan Paul Davis, who penned Top 5 hits “Today’s Lonely Fool” and “Better Man, Better Off” for Tracy Lawrence in the 1990s. Jordan’s older brother, Jacob, is also a Nashville country artist, currently signed to Black River Records.

“Me and Jacob tried to outrun it as long as we could, but music was around us so much growing up that I never realized it,” says Jordan. “That’s 100 percent honest. I can remember just always wanting to write songs, always looking for new songs. Finally, it just knocked me down enough that I decided to go to Nashville.”

After graduating from LSU with a degree in resource conservation, Jordan moved to Nashville in 2012. He signed a publishing deal with ole Rights Management in 2015 and a recording contract with Universal Music Group in 2016.

As he continues to work on his first studio project expected “later this year,” Jordan released his debut single, “Singles You Up,” to country radio on June 5. Co-penned by Jordan, Justin Ebach and Steven Dale Jones, the clever tune is a “gentlemanly” take on a situation a lot of guys have found themselves in—pining for a girl who’s dating someone else.

“Justin had just gotten engaged, and we were congratulating him, and we told him he was smart not to ‘single her up,’” says Jordan. “I remember we all looked around and were like, ‘Is that dumb or should we write it?’ I bet you a lot of great songs have been written after saying that. We had all be in that situation with a girl, but we tried to be respectful when writing ‘Singles You Up.’ We didn’t want the guy to come across as a jerk or the girl to cheat . . . we wanted to be as gentlemanly as we could about it. Every once in a while you have to wait your turn. If you do get a chance, you have to capitalize on it.”

Check out Jordan’s “Singles You Up” below.

Chris Stapleton Returns to the Stage After Postponing Tour

Chris Stapleton Returns to the Stage After Postponing Tour

After postponing his All-American Road Show earlier this month because of a finger injury, Chris Stapleton will return to the stage tonight (June 22) in Tulsa, Okla.

Anderson East and Brent Cobb will serve as openers for the sold-out show. In addition, Chris has rescheduled the seven dates he was forced to postpone.

Chris’ new album, From A Room: Volume 1, is the only country album released in 2017 that has been certified gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units.

All-American Road Show
June 22—Tulsa, OK—BOK Center* (SOLD OUT)
June 23—Manhattan, KS—Country Stampede
June 24—North Platte, NE—Nebraskaland Days
June 29—Chicago, IL—Wrigley Field† (SOLD OUT)
July 5—Milwaukee, WI—Summerfest†
July 6—Milwaukee, WI—Summerfest†
July 14—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center*
July 15—Hartford, CT—The XFINITY Theatre*
July 16—Darien Lake, NY—Darien Lake Performing Arts Center*
July 20—Holmdel, NJ—P.N.C. Bank Arts Center*
July 21—Wantagh, NY—Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater*
July 22—Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live*
July 28—George, WA—Watershed Festival (SOLD OUT)
July 29—Central Point, OR—Country Crossings Music Festival
July 30—Mountain Home, ID—Mountain Home Country Music Festival
August 3—Duluth, MN—AMSOIL Arena‡ (SOLD OUT)
August 4—Prairie Du Chien, WI—Country on the River
August 5—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre‡
August 10—Hershey, PA—Giant Center‡
August 11—Pittsburgh, PA—KeyBank Pavilion‡
August 12—Philadelphia, PA—BB&T Pavilion‡
August 17—Toronto, ON—Budweiser Stage‡
August 18—Cleveland, OH—Blossom Music Center‡
August 19—Clarkston, MI—DTE Energy Music Theatre‡ (SOLD OUT)
August 25—Gilford, NH—Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion‡
August 26—Gilford, NH—Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion‡
August 31—Fresno, CA—Save Mart Center at Fresno State+
September 1—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre+
September 2—Wheatland, CA—Toyota Amphitheatre+ (SOLD OUT)
September 8—Cincinnati, OH—Riverbend Music Center+ (SOLD OUT)
September 9—Noblesville, IN—Klipsch Music Center+
September 15—Southaven, MS—BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove* (SOLD OUT)
September 16—Birmingham, AL—Oak Mountain Amphitheatre* (SOLD OUT)
October 5—Moline, IL—iWireless Center‡
October 6—Des Moines, IA—Wells Fargo Arena‡
October 7—St Paul, MN—Xcel Energy Center‡
October 13—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena§ (SOLD OUT)
October 14—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena§ (SOLD OUT)
October 19—Baton Rouge, LA—Raising Cane’s River Center Arena# (SOLD OUT)
October 20—San Antonio, TX—AT&T Center#
October 21—Bossier City, LA—CenturyLink Center# (SOLD OUT)
October 26—Austin, TX—Austin360 Amphitheater#
October 27—Houston, TX—Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman# (SOLD OUT)
October 28—Dallas, TX—Starplex Pavilion#
November 2—Charleston, WV—Charleston Civic Center (SOLD OUT)
November 3—Columbus, OH—Nationwide Arena#
November 4—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena#
November 10—Tampa, FL—MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre#
November 11—Jacksonville, FL—Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena#
November 16—Little Rock, AR—Verizon Arena#
November 18—Omaha, NE—CenturyLink Center Omaha#
*with special guests Anderson East and Brent Cobb
†with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
‡with special guests Margo Price and Brent Cobb
+with special guests Anderson East and Lucie Silvas
§with special guests Brothers Osborne and Brent Cobb
#with special guests Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb

photo by Jason Simanek

Watch Jason Isbell Perform Haunting Tune About Love and Mortality on “The Daily Show”

Watch Jason Isbell Perform Haunting Tune About Love and Mortality on “The Daily Show”

Jason Isbell has been busy making the television rounds in support of his new album, The Nashville Sound, which dropped on June 16.

One day after performing “Hope the High Road” on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Jason took his talents to The Daily Show With Trevor Noah on Comedy Central for a performance of “If We Were Vampires,” a tune he penned about love and mortality that’s featured on the new album.

Watch Jason’s performance below.

Watch Aaron Lewis Drink a Shot, Sip a Beer, Smoke a Cig & Perform “It’s Been Awhile”

Watch Aaron Lewis Drink a Shot, Sip a Beer, Smoke a Cig & Perform “It’s Been Awhile”

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) held its second Rooftop on the Row summer concert last night (June 21) in Nashville with performances from Emily Earle and Aaron Lewis.

Emily kicked off the night’s festivities atop the BMI building with a set that included “Say Goodbye” and “News From Colorado,” a tune she co-penned with her uncle, Steve Earle, and Allison Moorer.

Check out a few pics of the singer in action.

After Emily’s set, Aaron Lewis treated the industry-only crowd to a sampling from his catalog, including “Sinner,” “Mama,” “Folded Flag” and “It’s Been Awhile,” a tune he took to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2001 as the frontman for Staind.

Last night’s show was the second of five scheduled BMI Rooftop on the Row summer concerts. The concert series was created in partnership with George Dickel Tennessee Whisky, as well as sponsors NASH FM, Yeti Coolers, Texas Roadhouse and Topo Chico. Listen to NASH FM for your chance to win free tickets to the next Rooftop show on July 18 featuring William Michael Morgan, Fairground Saints and Payton Taylor.

In the meantime, watch Aaron take a shot of whiskey, sip a beer, drag a cig and sing his 2001 hit, “It’s Been Awhile.”

Lindsay Ell Proves She’s Worth the Wait With Performance of “Waiting on You” on “Jimmy Kimmel”

Lindsay Ell Proves She’s Worth the Wait With Performance of “Waiting on You” on “Jimmy Kimmel”

Lindsay Ell jammed with house band Cleto and the Cletones on Jimmy Kimmel Live on June 20, but she also stepped out front to perform “Waiting on You.” The tune, which Lindsay co-penned with Adam Hambrick and Andrew DeRoberts, is the lead track from her debut EP, Worth the Wait. Lindsay also revealed her first full-length album, The Project, will drop in August.

“It is the first song that started this whole project because when we originally started talking with Kristian Bush to produce my whole record, ‘Waiting on You’ was the song that all of us were like, ‘You know what, there’s something to this,’” Lindsay said in April. “As an artist, I came to town really trying to find what I wanted to sound like. I think it took me years of doing the wrong thing to finally find the right thing. ‘Waiting on You’ is the first song where I could honestly by like, ‘That’s me.’ If I was given three minutes with somebody whose never heard my name before, to really hear what’s going on in my heart and hear what I sound like, ‘Waiting on You’ would be it.”

Watch Lindsay’s performance of “Waiting on You” below.

Big Orange Caravan Headed to Tri-Cities July 11

Big Orange Caravan Headed to Tri-Cities July 11

Smokey & fans / Credit: UT Athletics

Tennessee Athletics, in partnership with the UT Knoxville Office of Alumni Affairs and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, announced details Wednesday regarding next month’s Big Orange Caravan event in the Tri-Cities.

The Kingsport Farmers Market (308 Clinchfield St, Kingsport, TN 37660) will serve as the host site on Tuesday, July 11 from 5-7 p.m. ET.

UTAD representatives confirmed to attend the Tri-Cities Big Orange Caravan stop are Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics John Currie, head football coach Butch Jones and “The Voice of the Vols,” Bob Kesling. Additional coaches and VFLs may be added to that roster in the coming days; updates will be posted via @Vol_Sports on Twitter.

Family-friendly activities at each Big Orange Caravan event include music, a prize wheel, a photo booth with a Neyland Stadium backdrop, cornhole, a social media station, free popcorn, face painting and more. Combined attendance at this summer’s first two caravan stops–Chattanooga and Memphis–approached 2,000.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase from local vendors/food trucks.

Admission is $5 per person in advance–online registration is encouraged via BigOrangeCaravan.com–and $10 at the door. Children 12 and under receive complimentary admission. Online registration will close three days prior to the event.

All proceeds from admission will be split evenly between the Sullivan County Alumni Chapter’s Scholarship Fund and the Washington County Alumni Chapter’s Scholarship Fund and will benefit local students who will be attending UT Knoxville. This donation is non-refundable.

Representatives from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will be present at the caravan to celebrate new incoming Vols and share information with families who have students with an interest in attending UT.

-UT Athletics

 

Rodgers Named to ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team

Jordan Rodgers – UT / Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee baseball’s Jordan Rodgers was named to the 2017 ABCA/Rawlings Division I Gold Glove Team on Wednesday as announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods.

Rodgers earned the nod at third base after a stellar senior season for the Volunteers in which he was a rock at the hot corner, committing only four errors in 160 chances. He also racked up 117 assists on the year, good for second on the team.

The ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Awards are selected by ABCA coaches committees at each level: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division, and High School. To view the complete ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Teams, click HERE.

The Gold Glove honor is just the latest achievement for Rodgers over the past month after earning first-team All-SEC honors in late May before being the first Vol selected in the 2017 MLB Draft last week, going to the Atlanta Braves with the 170th overall pick in the sixth round.

Rodgers made the most of his senior season on Rocky Top by leading the team and posting career highs with a .322 batting average, 66 hits, 39 runs scored and nine home runs. The Bartlett, Tenn., native also led the team with 35 RBI on the year.

-UT Athletics

 

After Opening Back Catalog to Streaming Services, Taylor Swift Sells a Bunch of Albums and Makes a Bunch More Money

After Opening Back Catalog to Streaming Services, Taylor Swift Sells a Bunch of Albums and Makes a Bunch More Money

When Billboard released its Top Country Albums chart this week, a familiar name kept popping up in the Top 25: Taylor Swift, who had the No. 47 (Taylor Swift), No. 21 (Speak Now), No. 19 (Fearless) and No. 13 (Red) albums on the chart. In addition, 1989 (her non-country album) was No. 31 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.

After releasing her back catalog of music to streaming services Spotify, Tidal, Pandora and Amazon on June 8 (it was already available on Apple Music), Taylor’s five studio albums sold 39,154 adjusted albums, which takes into account pure album sales, song sales and song streams.

Here’s the streaming breakdown of Taylor’s five previous albums over the past week, courtesy of Nielsen Music.

  • Taylor Swift: 3,354 adjusted albums sales
  • Fearless: 6,119 adjusted albums sales
  • Speak Now: 5,681 adjusted albums sales
  • Red: 7,765 adjusted albums sales
  • 1989: 16,225 adjusted albums sales

According to Billboard estimates, streams of Taylor’s songs generated $310,000 in revue, with an additional $64,000 in publishing royalties. We don’t know Taylor’s exact cut of the $310,000 because that depends on her label contract with Big Machine. The $64,000 is divided among Taylor, co-writers and publishers, depending on the contracts in place.

Whatever the final tally, it’s pretty good for a week’s worth of work streaming.

photo courtesy Big Machine

Kip Moore Announces New Album, “Slowheart,” for Sept. 8 + Track Listing

Kip Moore Announces New Album, “Slowheart,” for Sept. 8 + Track Listing

Kip Moore announced today (June 21) that he will release his third studio album, Slowheart, on Sept 8.

The 13-track offering features 11 songs that Kip co-wrote, including his current single, “More Girls Like You,” which is No. 21 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 18 weeks.

“This is the record I’ve been waiting to make,” said Kip in a press release. “The one that leaves you with a peace in your heart, knowing you did it exactly the way you wanted to. The one that makes it okay if you fail, because it truly came from your soul and no other place. You can’t go wrong if you can lay your head on your pillow with no regrets.”

Kip is currently on the road this summer, playing some of country music’s biggest festivals. He’s also scheduled to tour the United Kingdom in the fall, including stops in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and London.

Slowheart Track List With Songwriters

  1. “Plead the Fifth” – Luke Dick, Josh Kear
  2. “Just Another Girl” – Kip Moore, Westin Davis, Ben Helson
  3. “I’ve Been Around” – Kip Moore, Dan Couch
  4. “Fast Women” – Kip Moore, Blair Daly, Westin Davis, Troy Verges
  5. “Bittersweet Company” – Kip Moore, Josh Miller, Troy Verges
  6. “Sunburn” – Kip Moore, David Garcia, Josh Miller, Steven Olsen
  7. “More Girls Like You” – Kip Moore, Steven Olsen, Josh Miller, David Garcia
  8. “The Bull” – Jon Randall, Luke Dick
  9. “Blonde” – Kip Moore, Steven Olsen, Josh Miller, David Garcia
  10. “Good Thing” – Kip Moore, Josh Miller, Troy Verges
  11. “Last Shot” – Kip Moore, Dan Couch, David Lee Murphy
  12. “Try Again” – Kip Moore, David Garcia, Josh Miller
  13. “Guitar Man”  – Kip Moore, Dan Couch, Westin Davis

photo by Jason Simanek

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