NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Tennessee senior defensive back Todd Kelly Jr. has been named to the 2017 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List, which was announced by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation on Friday.
Kelly is one of 42 student-athletes named to the watch list. The list of the top defensive players in the country includes 17 linebackers, 14 defensive linemen and 11 defensive backs. The Pac-12 Conference has the most players on the Watch List with 10 followed by the ACC with nine, the Big Ten with eight, the SEC with six, the Big 12 with five, the AAC with two and two independents (Notre Dame and Navy).
To date, the Lott IMPACT Trophy has donated more than $1.3 million for various charities throughout the country, including more than $500,000 to universities.
The winner of the 14th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy will be announced at a banquet Dec. 10 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca.
Named after Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Ronnie Lott, The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Founded in 2004 by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The Lott Trophy is the first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player. The Lott Trophy is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and a distinguished group of former college football head coaches. To date, the Foundation has donated more than $1.1 million to various charities throughout the country. The 14th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy Awards will be held Dec. 10 at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California. For more information on The Lott Trophy visit: www.LottImpactTrophy.org
2017 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List Nominees
Marcus Allen, S, Penn State
Quin Blanding, S, Virginia
Jason Cabinda, LB, Penn State
Sean Chandler, S, Temple
Jack Cichy, LB, Wisconsin
Koron Crump, LB, Arizona State
Duke Ejiofor, DE, Wake Forest
Bryon Fields, CB, Duke
Zaire Franklin, LB, Syracuse
Micah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama
Porter Gustin, DE, USC
Brecklyn Hager, DE, Texas
Chase Hansen, S, Utah
Marquis Haynes, DE, Ole Miss
Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State
Josey Jewell, LB, Iowa
Joshua Kalu, S, Nebraska Todd Kelly Jr., S, Tennessee
Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia
Christian LaCouture, DE, LSU
Harold Landry, DE, Boston College
Tyquan Lewis, DE, Ohio State
Courtney Love, LB, Kentucky
Hercules Mata’afa, DE, Washington State
Derek McCartney, LB, Colorado
Airius Moore, LB, North Carolina State
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, LB, Oklahoma
Ed Oliver, DL, Houston
D.J. Palmore, LB, Navy
Harrison Phillips, DL, Stanford
D.J. Reed, DB, Kansas State
Cameron Saffle, DE, Cal
Tegray Scales, LB, Indiana Cameron Smith, LB, USC
K.J. Smith, DE, Baylor
Ty Summers, LB, TCU
Drue Tranquill, S, Notre Dame
Azeem Victor, LB, Washington
Jordan Whitehead, S, Pitt
Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson
Tre Williams, LB, Auburn
Kenny Young, LB, UCLA
Previous Winners of the Lott IMPACT Trophy
2004 – David Pollack, Georgia
2005 – DeMeco Ryans, Alabama
2006 – Dante Hughes, Cal
2007 – Glenn Dorsey, LSU
2008 – James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
2009 – Jerry Hughes, TCU
2010 – J.J. Watt, Wisconsin
2011 – Luke Kuechly, Boston College
2012 – Manti Te’o, Notre Dame
2013 – Anthony Barr, UCLA
2014 – Eric Kendricks, UCLA
2015 – Carl Nassib, Penn State
2016 – Jabrill Peppers, Michigan
It’s going to be a busy summer in Thomas Rhett’s household as TR and wife Lauren welcomed their adopted daughter home from Uganda, Africa. TR and Lauren shared the news on social media Friday (5/12), revealing that the little girl’s name is Willa Gray Atkins.
The exciting news comes as the expectant couple awaits Willa Gray’s little sister to arrive in early August.
TR wrote on Instagram, “Everyone meet Willa Gray Akins! I can’t believe our daughter is finally home. We have been in this adoption process for what seems like forever and are just so filled with joy that we are all finally home together! Thank you to everyone who prayed every single day for this sweet girl. The Lord blessed us with the most amazing little girl we could have ever dreamed of and we can’t wait to watch her grow up!”
Lauren wrote on Instagram, “YALL Our baby girl is hommmmeeeeee. Thank you Jesus for bringing our family together on the same continent finally 🙂 little cutie Willa Gray Akins came home yesterday after completely stealing our hearts in Uganda over a year ago & we’re sooooo happy we just can’t stand it.”
The FGL/Legend tandem joins previously announced performers Sam Hunt, Camila Cabello, Drake, Imagine Dragons, Lorde, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, The Chainsmokers and Halsey.
The Billboard Music Awards will air on May 21 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Check out all of the country-centric nominations below.
Billboard Chart Achievement Award
Luke Bryan
Nicki Minaj
The Chainsmokers
The Weeknd
Twenty One Pilots
Top Duo/Group
The Chainsmokers
Coldplay Florida Georgia Line
Guns N’ Roses
Twenty One Pilots
Top Country Artist
Florida Georgia Line
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean
Top Country Tour
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Dixie Chicks
Top Country Album
Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know
Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots
Blake Shelton, If I’m Honest
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Keith Urban, Ripcord
Top Country Song
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Florida Georgia Line, “H.O.L.Y.”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
Top Country Collaboration
Dierks Bentley featuring Elle King, “Different for Girls”
Kenny Chesney featuring Pink, “Setting the World On Fire”
Eric Church featuring Rhiannon Giddens, “Kill a Word”
Florida Georgia Line featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Chris Young featuring Vince Gill, “Sober Saturday Night”
Top Christian Artist
Lauren Daigle
Hillsong Worship Hillary Scott & the Family
Skillet
Chris Tomlin
Top Christian Album
Casting Crowns, The Very Next Thing
Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be Joey + Rory, Hymns Hillary Scott & The Family, Love Remains
Skillet, Unleashed
Top Christian Song
Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You” Hillary Scott & The Family, “Thy Will”
Skillet, “Feel Invincible”
Ryan Stevenson featuring GabeReal, “Eye Of The Storm”
Zach Williams, “Chain Breaker”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 7 Tennessee jumped out to an early lead but was unable to hold on in a 6-2 loss to No. 21 LSU in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in front of a record crowd of 2,448 fans at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Thursday night.
Brooke Vines drove in both runs for UT with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single as the third-seeded Vols raced out to an early 2-0 lead after three innings.
After Matty Moss retired the side in order to start the game, UT (44-10) wasted no time getting on the board, scoring a run in the bottom of the first. Aubrey Leach and Jenna Holcomb led off the inning with back-to-back bunt singles and moved up on a double steal. Vines drove in Leach with her seventh sacrifice fly of the year to put the Big Orange up 1-0 after one.
Vines came through again in the third inning with an RBI single to score Holcomb and increase the Vols’ lead to 2-0. An error by LSU’s Constance Quinn kept the inning going before Vines’ two-out hit.
The momentum turned in the fourth, however, as the sixth-seeded Tigers (40-17) tied the game with a pair of runs. LSU carried that momentum over to the fifth, pouncing for four runs to take control of the game.
The Tigers clawed back to tie the game with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth after Bailey Landry doubled to lead off the inning and came around to score on a Shemiah Sanchez sacrifice fly to get LSU on the board. Two batters later, Sydney Springfield doubled to left center to plate Quinn and even things up at two.
LSU kept the offense going by scoring four more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-2 lead. Savannah Jaquish and Landry both drove in runs before the Tigers added two more on a wild pitch and an error to extend their lead to four.
Allie Walljasper settled in after a rocky start and ended up going the distance to earn her 15th win of the year for the Tigers. Moss got the start and threw six innings for Tennessee, giving up a pair of runs, while Caylan Arnold was stuck with the loss after giving up four runs in just one inning of relief.
With UT’s loss, the host school has now lost its first game in the last five SEC Tournaments.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will wait to find out its seed for the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will air on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ETon Sunday night. The Vols are almost certain to earn a top-16 seed and host n NCAA regional for the 13th straight season, and are on the bubble for a top-eight seed.
VINES OFF TO HOT START TO POSTSEASON PLAY:Brooke Vines was one of the few bright spots for Tennessee on the night, driving in both of the Vols’ runs. The sophomore now has 55 RBIs for the year, ranking second on the team behind Meghan Gregg’s 71.
GAME 8 POSTGAME QUOTES
SCORE: LSU 6, Tennessee 2
LSU Head Coach Beth Torina
(Opening Statement) “Tennessee is a tough team, and I know moving forward they’re going to have a ton of success. They’re one of the teams that we fear in this league because they’re so consistent with their offensive production. Across my time in the SEC, they’ve been one of the most consistent offenses. You add to that solid defense and great athletes and they’re always scary. They have run a first-class event here. We appreciate being a part of it. I’m really proud of the way my team played. These two young women here—Allie Walljasper is just a rock for this team. You always know what you’re getting from here, and it’s going to be her best effort, it’s going to be a consistent performance and it’s going to be something that gives us a chance to win a ballgame. You’ll always get that from her. I thought our offense really swung the bats well. We were able to answer back, and that’s something that’s going to be very valuable for us moving forward.”
(On her team’s offense and where tonight’s production has been all season) “We have really talented players and really athletic players. We’ve worked really, really hard lately. (Assistant coaches) Howard Dobson and Lindsay (Leftwich)—I think they have worked really, really hard to get them back when we got in a bad spot. It is from sweat and work that we are back to where we are. We didn’t fall back into this spot; we worked back into this spot. And (our players) deserve the spot that they’re in because they’ve earned it.”
*Cell phone in the back of the room begins to ring as a reporter is asking a question*
“That’s my phone if anyone is wondering. It’s OK. I’m a mom, and I have three kids so… you know? It rings when it rings.” (smiling)
(On her team working itself into contention to host an NCAA Regional as a top-16 seed)
“I think it’s important. I really do. I think we were a bubble team to host when we got here, but we’re pretty solid now. I think we’ve done our job. I thought our team had a good resume walking in the door. I think it’s better now after this tournament. So yes, I think the (SEC Tournament) provides a really good opportunity for people to better their spot and to help themselves. I really don’t think it hurts people because everybody has a really good RPI. This is hands-down the most parity we’ve ever had in the league. I don’t think it hurts anybody, but I think it helps us.”
(On her relationship with Tennessee co-head coach Ralph Weekly) “Well Ralph is the only person I know who can run-rule you and you leave as a smarter, prettier and better coach when you walk out the door. He’s just a great guy. He knows the game. He’s been around it for a long time. I have the utmost respect for him and what he does. It really is amazing to me how year-in, year-out, they have such a consistent offense that brings so much to the table. It’s amazing how they do that year-in, year-out. They have great athletes, and I really have the utmost respect for him, for Karen (Weekly) and for their entire program. They do things the right way.”
(On five straight years in which the SEC Tournament host team has lost its first game) “Well I think the Tennessee staff sitting in the room would agree with me that it’s hard. It’s hard to host it, and it’s a lot of work, a lot of effort and a bit of a distraction for the host team and for the coach, because it’s a lot of work. This is a huge event. It’s an amazing event. But it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort, and I think it’s a distraction a little bit. I also think there’s pressure because you know how much work your staff has put into it, so you don’t want to let anyone down. You don’t want to let your fans down. So there’s definitely pressure. We knew that coming into the game today. We have felt that; we’ve been there. Tennessee was the one that took us out of our own (in 2015). I felt terrible about it. I remember it vividly because it was that bad of a loss or that bad of a feeling. I knew that coming in. We tried to play light. We tried to play upbeat. We felt like we didn’t have a lot to lose, and I knew that (Tennessee) would feel a lot of pressure on them.”
(On who she will start on the mound on Friday against Auburn) “I have no idea, but I do know I’ll have my whole staff available.”
(On Allie Walljasper’s ability to come back and pitch again on Friday) “Allie’s ready. That kid will do anything you ask of her. If she needs to go, she’ll go. Not worried about it. We have a really solid staff, though. We don’t typically have to run just one pitcher out there all the time. I’m confident in all of them. We treat them all like their No. 1s because they could be anywhere, in my opinion. We’ll go back and we’ll see. It’s been a long time since we played Auburn. We opened conference play with them. I think both teams are very different at this point. We’ll go back, take a look at what they’re doing now and make that decision.”
LSU Junior Pitcher Allie Walljasper
(On the reasons for her success after the third inning) “I was basically trying to go out there and hit my spots and throw quality balls with my strikes, and knowing that I had my defense behind me the entire time, I just kind of pitched to contact knowing that they will be there behind me.”
(On how she has managed a heavier pitching workload recently) “I just have to keep the mentality to do what’s best in what I bring to the table, not worry about the other team so much and just kind of focus on what my strengths are and what I need to do going forward.”
(On facing Auburn again) “(I’m going to) go over my film from last time pitching against Auburn. I didn’t get the outcome that I truly wanted, so go from there and I know that the other pitchers behind me are going to go out there and do great things too. So, if I get called upon, I’ve just got to go out there and try to get the win for my team.”
LSU Senior Outfielder Bailey Landry
(On LSU’s recent offensive surge) “We’ve been working really hard trying to get things back into gear. Postseason is great. We get a chance to restart. School is over now and we’re just focused on softball. So, I think we have it in us, it’s just tonight we just let it out.”
(On the atmosphere at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium) “Tennessee, we knew coming in that they would bring exactly what we had tonight. Their fanbase is awesome – it’s great for the sport of softball. We have an advantage to that. I guess playing at Tiger Park, we always have a great showing. It’s just great seeing that many fans coming out here and supporting the game and supporting these amazing young women who work so hard to play this game.”
(On facing Auburn again) “Auburn is a great team. They always have great talent. They have a great program. So I think (we have to) just go out there and play relaxed, just have fun like we did tonight and hopefully it falls in our favor.”
(On the fact that three of the four teams that played today played in Wednesday’s first round) “The SEC is just competitive. I think it just shows. Hopefully all of the SEC teams get a spot in the NCAA Tournament. But I think it just shows the caliber of talent we have in this league and it’s just really great to be able to compete day-in and day-out in the SEC.”
Tennessee Co-Head Coach Ralph Weekly
(Opening statement) “To be honest I’m not sure what happened. We were not upset and we don’t have any chemistry problems or anything like that. I thought we were prepared for the game and we knew we were going to face Walljasper and we thought we were prepared for her, but quite frankly I think it can be said it one sentence: their pitching beat our pitching. That’s exactly what happened out there tonight. The game’s called fast pitch, I’m not throwing our pitchers under the bus, I’m just saying that tonight, their pitching beat our pitching. And in the end we made a few errors, but it all stems from them hitting the ball hard too. I was just talking to Beth [Torina] coming over and she said ‘you did the same thing to us at our place.’ And we did, we hit the ball pretty good when we were down at LSU. We apologize to our fans, but we just didn’t play well. And I told our kids in the meeting that three years ago we got knocked out in the first round of the SEC Tournament and went to the World Series, so we have a week to put Humpty Dumpty back together again and just see what happens.”
(On moving on from the loss with the NCAA Tournament coming up) “One thing I want to say too is that I want to make sure that we give credit to LSU because they played an amazing game. We’ve watched them on tape many times and we played them three times. Like I said, their pitching beat our pitching and their team beat our team. That’s what happened tonight.”
(On Tennessee exceeding preseason expectations) “I think our pitchers have overachieved this year and done a really good job. I mean you have a sophomore and a freshman that was pitching for Maryville High School last year and they won 45 games or something like that. So a lot of the credit goes to our pitchers, just tonight they had the better ones.”
Tennessee Junior Shortstop Meghan Gregg
(On host team losing first game in SEC Tournament five years in a row) “I think LSU played a really good game and we didn’t play our best game. I don’t think it really has anything to do with us hosting the tournament. I think we came out flat and LSU came out swinging hard, I think it’s just as simple as that.”
(On the added attention the SEC tournament brings)
“Talking about the crowd and everything, I think that just gets us ready for more postseason games as hosting regionals. It’s going to be the exact same way so I am glad we actually got to host this and see what it’s like and it was a little louder tonight, we had a lot more fans and it was really loud but it was good experience before we get into regionals.”
(On putting the loss behind them before regionals)
“We just have to look forward to tomorrow, just keep practicing, doing our same thing not changing anything. We just had a bad night, I don’t have any doubt in our team, we’re a great team and we work really well together, and we have great chemistry. We just have to move onto tomorrow.
Tennessee DP Brooke Vines
(On the environment and the pressure of being the home team)
“First of all, we have an amazing set of fans and we play with those amount of fans all the time and we just didn’t get the job done like we usually do today. I didn’t feel much pressure just because I knew I was playing with the same girls I’ve been playing with all season and we had the same support system that we’ve had all year long.”
(On the team achieving beyond expectations this season)
“I think we just honesty want to get better every single day, I think we wanted to prove to the world that we are a way better team than many thought we were. We just have to continue to grow like we have been. If we do that and as we mature, we’ll be fine, we’ll show everyone that we’re just as good as we’ve been playing.”
(Does an early loss give the team an edge going into the regional)
“It does, I think for our freshman and our sophomores it’s just a good reminder and a good learning lesson. It’s preparing us for the crowds that are going to be before us and the completion that we’re going to go against.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee freshman Caylan Arnold received another major honor on Wednesday as she was one of 11 finalists named for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year Award.
Arnold is the second player in program history to earn a spot among the 11 finalists for the award, joining Annie Aldrete, who was the co-winner of the award in 2014. The Maryville, Tenn., native was just named the SEC Freshman of the Year on Tuesday.
The right-hander is having a sensational freshman season for the Vols with a 19-7 record, a 1.90 ERA, two saves and 140 strikeouts. Her 19 victories and 140 strikeouts are the most by a UT freshman since Ellen Renfroe has 26 and 259, respectively, in 2011. Even more impressive, eight of Arnold’s wins this season have come against ranked foes, including triumphs over Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida, who have combined to win the past five national championships.
The winner of the NFCA Freshman of the Year Award will be announced on May 30prior to the start of the 2017 Women’s College World Series.
View the complete list of finalists by clicking HERE.
Chris Young is giving fans the first taste of new music from his upcoming sixth studio album.
Today (May 12), Chris dropped “Losing Sleep,” the first single from the upcoming project. Penned by Chris, Josh Hoge and Chris DeStefano, “Losing Sleep” falls into Chris’ sexy-song wheelhouse a la “Gettin’ You Home” and “I’m Comin’ Over,” mixing an up-tempo beat with PG-13 lyrics. Chris’ longtime fans will immediately recognize his rich baritone, while the production sounds friendly enough for what’s been lighting up the charts recently at country radio.
“You don’t want to make the same song over and over or the same sounds over and over on every record,” said Chris to the Tennessean. “I think it’s still very much me. I don’t think anyone is going to hear it and think it doesn’t sound like me as an artist. It’s very, very forward production wise and definitely once the chorus hits, it’s a tempo. It’s a nice balance, and I think you have to have all of that.”
Kix Brooks is celebrating his 62nd birthday today (May 12). To help celebrate the birth of one-half of the greatest country music duo of all time, Brooks & Dunn, we’ve created a Kix-centric playlist for everyone to enjoy.
1. “Brand New Man” – Brooks & Dunn, 1991
Written by Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Don Cook
Title track of Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 debut album
Brooks & Dunn’s first No. 1 song
2. “Modern Day Romance” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 1985
Written by Kix Brooks and Dan Tyler
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s second No. 1 song
3. “Red Dirt Road” – Brooks & Dunn, 2003
Written by Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Mark Wright
A title track that went No. 1 for Brooks & Dunn in 2003
4. “Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up for Nothing” – Brooks & Dunn, 1996
Written by Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Don Cook
Kix sings lead vocals
Reached No. 13 on the Billboard chart
5. “Rock My World (Little Country Girl)” – Brooks & Dunn, 1993
Written by Bill LaBounty and Steve O’Brien
Kix sings lead vocals
No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1993
6. “Lost and Found” – Brooks & Dunn, 1992
Written by Kix Brooks and Don Cook
First Brooks & Dunn single to feature Kix singing lead vocals
Peaked at No. 6 on Billboard
7. “New To This Town” – Kix Brooks, 2012
Written by Kix Brooks, Marv Green and Terry McBride
Produced by Kix Brooks and Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus
8. “Only In America” – Brooks & Dunn, 2001
Written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Rogers
No. 1 in 2001
9. “Sacred Ground” – McBride and The Ride, 1992
Written by Kix Brooks and Vernon Rust
Kix Brooks originally recorded this song for his self-titled solo album in 1989. McBride and the Ride took it to No. 2, the band’s highest chart performance.
10. “My Next Broken Heart” – Brooks & Dunn, 1991
Written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Dunn
“My Next Broken Heart” was Brooks & Dunn’s second consecutive No. 1 song following their debut single, “Brave New Man”
11. “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” – Brooks & Dunn, 1995
Written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Dunn
Kix sang the lead vocals and earned Brooks & Dunn its 9th No. 1 song
Listen to our “Kix Brooks Birthday Playlist” on your preferred music service! Spotify – Apple Music – YouTube
Van Morrison will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the 2017 Americana Honors and Awards on Sept. 13 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Van follows in the esteemed footsteps of past winners John Prine, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty and more.
Van, who penned such tunes as “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Into the Mystic,” “Domino” and “Gloria,” is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Van will also headline Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on Sept. 14 with his daughter, Shana Morrison, during the 18th annual Americana Fest. The performance will mark Van’s first show in Nashville in eight years. Tickets for the show go on sale on May 19 at 10 a.m. CT.
Americana Fest will bring more than 200 artists to multiple venues around Music City, including 3rd & Lindsley, The Basement, City Winery, The High Watt, The Cannery Ballroom, Mercy Lounge, The Family Wash, Station Inn, Downtown Presbyterian Church, The 5 Spot and more. The event includes conferences, panels and workshops throughout the week, Sept. 12–17.
In the coming days, Americana Fest will announce additional honorees in their Lifetime Achievement Award categories.
The full list of nominees for the 2017 Americana Honors & Awards show is below.
Album of the Year American Band – Drive-By Truckers (Produced by David Barbe) A Sailor’s Guide to Earth – Sturgill Simpson (Produced by Sturgill Simpson) Close Ties – Rodney Crowell (Produced by Kim Buie and Jordan Lehning) Freedom Highway – Rhiannon Giddens (Produced David Bither, Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell) The Navigator – Hurray for the Riff Raff (Produced by Paul Butler)
Artist of the Year Jason Isbell
John Prine
Lori McKenna
Margo Price
Sturgill Simpson
Duo/Group of the Year Billy Bragg & Joe Henry
Drive-By Truckers
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
The Lumineers
Emerging Artist of the Year Aaron Lee Tasjan
Amanda Shires
Brent Cobb
Sam Outlaw
Song of the Year “All Around You” – Sturgill Simpson (Written by Sturgill Simpson)
“It Ain’t Over Yet” – Rodney Crowell (feat. Rosanne Cash & John Paul White) (Written by Rodney Crowell)
“To Be Without You” – Ryan Adams (Written by Ryan Adams)
“Wreck You” – Lori McKenna (Written by Lori McKenna and Felix McTeigue)
Instrumentalist of the Year Spencer Cullum Jr.
Jen Gunderman
Courtney Hartman
Charlie Sexton
Zac Brown Band’s much-anticipated fifth major-label studio album, Welcome Home, drops today (May 12). It’s a project Zac promised would go “straight back to our roots.”
Zac has kept his word. Following the release of “My Old Man” (Feb. 3), “Real Thing” (March 20), “Family Table” (April 7), “All the Best” (April 21) and “Roots” (May 3), it’s clear that the album is a 180-degree deviation from 2015’s Jekyll + Hyde, which pushed the country boundaries with traces of electronic music, hard rock and big band sounds.
One of the reasons the album feels so rootsy is that it’s ZBB’s first album where all of the songs were written specially for the project.
“This is the first record that I wrote all the songs for this record,” said Zac to Nash Country Daily. “I’ve never done that before. We took a personal approach. We picked different categories and we tried to write a song in that vein. And it was great because after I made my last record, Jekyl + Hyde—that was kind of a concept album to show the range of the band, which I loved doing. It was fun. Then I started my other project, Sir Roselvelt [trio with Zac, Niko Moon and Ben Simonetti]. Doing the more electronic-centered music with that band helped me to get back to a purist approach with Welcome Home. I was invigorated and I had no other pieces of songs that were floating around anywhere. Usually, an album for me is the best collection of songs that I had at the time. Welcome Home is the first one where the songs were written entirely for the album to be personal. I’m really proud of it. I’m really proud to get back to the songs. My favorite music listening to growing up was James Taylor, Jim Croce, Dan Fogelberg—it was amazing guitar parts and harmony and songs that made you feel something. It was great for me to get to come home and make this album. I like to stretch as an artist, but this was great to get back to the core of how it all began.”
Welcome Home Track List
“Roots”
“Real Thing”
“Long Haul”
“2 Places at 1 Time”
“Family Table”
“My Old Man”
“Start Over”
“Your Majesty”
“Trying to Drive”
“All the Best”
Check out a few of ZBB’s new songs below, including “Long Haul,” “2 Places at 1 Time” and “Your Majesty”
Leave it to Blake Shelton to get to the bottom of things. After rumors began to swirl that ABC was interested in Kelly Clarkson serving as a judge on its upcoming re-boot of American Idol, Blake dropped a reality TV bombshell on Facebook Live today (May 11).
To kick off the video, Blake said he had “a big announcement to make today.” After more than three minutes of suspense, Blake finally revealed that Kelly—who was invited in to the live video—would be joining The Voice as a coach on Season 14 in Spring 2018.
“I’m so excited to join The Voice at NBC,” Kelly said in a press release. “We’ve gone back and forth about a role as a coach for years, but the timing hasn’t been right until now. I have always loved appearing on the show as an advisor or performer and established an amazing relationship with the network during my Christmas special. I can’t wait to turn my chair and see the faces of up-and-coming artists and provide them with the help and support they’ve needed to break into the industry. Watch out Shelton, I’m comin’ to win!”
Currently, Season 12 of The Voice is in full swing with coaches Blake, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys. Season 13 of The Voice returns this fall with coaches Blake, Adam, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson.
Watch Blake’s Facebook Live announcement with Kelly below.
![Chris Young Is Hoping New Single, “Losing Sleep,” Has the Makings of a Winner at Country Radio [Listen]](https://www.wivk.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/602/2017/05/Chris-Young-652x228.jpg)
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