There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love the CMT drama Nashville, and those who wish an asteroid would hit Music City and send the cast of characters to dinosaur heaven. If you’re the former, we’ve got good news for you. The second half of Season 5—consisting of 11 episodes—will begin airing on CMT on June 1.
You’re less that one month away from Deacon, Juliette, Scarlett, Will, Gunnar and the rest of the gang, but if you can’t wait that long, check out the new teaser below.
The NHL’s Nashville Predators were back in action against the St. Louis Blues for Game 4 of their Round 2 playoff series on Tuesday night (May 2). Like the Preds three previous home playoff games, a country superstar sang the national anthem—this time it was Vince Gill and his daughters, Jenny and Corrina.
In Round 1 of the playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks, Carrie Underwood (April 17) and Luke Bryan (April 20) sang the national anthem before Games 3 and 4, respectively.
In Round 2 against the St. Louis Blues, Little Big Town (April 30) had the honor before Game 3. Tonight at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Preds super-fan Vince Gill and his daughters sang the anthem in front of the sellout crowd.
Watch Vince, Jenny and Corrina’s performance below.
![John Mayer’s “In the Blood” Cracks Billboard Country Airplay Chart [Listen]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2017/05/02190940/John-Mayer.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
On April 14, seven-time Grammy winner John Mayer dropped his seventh studio album, The Search for Everything. The 12-song offering debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk chart and No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, selling 132,000 units in its first week, according to Nielsen Music.
When the album’s “In the Blood” began garnering unsolicited airplay on country radio, John’s label—Columbia Records—decided to officially release the single. After one week, “In the Blood” reached No. 59 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, marking the first time John has cracked a country chart. The new tune, which John penned, features background vocals from Sheryl Crow, although she’s not officially credited.
Listen to John’s “In the Blood” below.
Mark Bradley coached Tennessee’s offensive line for five years. He worked with two tackles taken among the top 10 in the 1991 NFL draft.
The past decade, Bradley has served as a high school offensive line coach for his son, Rusty Bradley, who has been head coach at Christian Academy of Knoxville and University School of Jackson.
Mark Bradley knows the ins and outs of the position, and what it takes to play on the college level.
He also knows that Trey Smith is ready to play right away for the Vols – about that, Bradley has no doubts.
“I would bet the ranch that he will be able to contribute immediately,’’ Bradley said. “And not only contribute, but if he is not one of the five starters (opening day) then they have some really, really good players that he can’t beat out.
“If he stays healthy, I would love to be his agent.’’
Bradley believes Smith has the mental and physical makeup to play in the SEC right away.
“Trey is a very, very self-confident guy,’’ Bradley said. “The thing you like most is when there is a guy who is really, really good who knows he is really, really good, but he doesn’t act like it. That’s Trey.’’
Bradley should know. He coached or was on the UT staff when the Vols had such O-line stars as Antone Davis, Charles McRae and Kevin Mays. Bradley sees some of Smith in each of them.
Bradley said Smith has the “terrific balance’’ of Davis, the “incredible flexibility’’ of McRae and the “nastiness’’ of Mays.
“Trey has the combination of a lot of the things those guys had in one package,’’ Bradley said.
Bradley watched UT’s spring game and came away with the impression that Smith was UT’s best offensive lineman, although Brett Kendrick and Chance Hall did not play. Smith started at right guard after starting at right tackle much of the spring.
“I think eventually over his career he will be a left tackle’’ Bradley said. “But he could also be an elite level guard. He could play at least four positions, and if they wanted to work him at center, he could probably play all five positions.’’
Although Smith doesn’t turn 18 until June, Bradley said Smith has the strength to compete in the SEC as a true freshman.
“No question, absolutely,’’ Bradley said. “He was serious about the weight room.’’
Bradley said Smith took a weight lifting class at USJ, then lifted again in the afternoon.
“He is a strong guy,’’ Bradley said. “He has strong hands, which is important for an offensive lineman. At UT, he will maximize his strength.’’
Bradley told Smith he was doing a “smart thing’’ by enrolling at mid-term.
“You’ll get the period of adjusting out of the way,’’ Bradley said. “There is a learning curve that you are going to have to deal with. He was able to get that out of the way in the spring. He will be a veteran pretty quickly.’’
What about Smith’s foot work?
“Loved it,’’ Bradley said. “I thought he had everything you were looking for. He is obviously very gifted. He has some things that in the business, we call `crib’ things, things that he had when his mother picked him up out of the crib. If you don’t have them, you can’t get them, and he had them.’’
Like flexibility, balance, bend.
Bradley said he worked on some “little’’ technique improvements.
“Where to put your body in relation to the rusher, playing angles, playing percentages, what can you learn before the ball is snapped,’’ Bradley said. “I always teach guys to play the game first with your eyes and teach them how to see the correct things, and teach them how to anticipate what’s going to happen before it happens.’’
What about Smith’s tenacity?
“Loved it, absolutely loved it,’’ Bradley said. “And that’s the part that will surprise you about him. Off the field he is as nice a young man as you could ever want to be around.’’
At USJ, when Smith walked the halls, he was surrounded by 6th and 7th and 8th graders. Smith never snubbed them.
“He was so pleasant and so nice to those kids, and he didn’t have to be,’’ Bradley said. “There are a lot of kids that wouldn’t be.
“But then you watch him on the field and he is nasty, tough, a competitive guy. It’s just like he is two different people.’’
Bradley watched plenty of tape of Smith before they spent their one-and-only year together, in 2016. Bradley knew it would be difficult to create competitive reps in practice since Smith was so much better than his teammates.
So Bradley skipped the next level and went straight to the NFL to impress upon Smith.
“When I first go there,’’ Bradley said, “I said, `Trey, you can honestly dominate these 200-pound defensive ends you are going to go against and you’re not going to prove anything.
“Now this was right after the Super Bowl between the Broncos and the Panthers. I said, `If you want to get where you want to be, then you have to get where you can block (Denver pass rusher) Von Miller coming off the edge because Won Miller just dominated the Super Bowl.’’
Smith responded.
“He took the challenge,’’ Bradley said. “As skilled and as talented as he was, he understood there were areas where he could improve. It’s a real testament to his character that he really wanted to be coached and he accepted coaching.
“He could not have been a more pleasant person to be around.’’
Big Kahuna Wings; The wings that changed it all
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![Blake Shelton Playfully Says Next Album “Will Probably Be My Last Record” & “This Will Be My Last Season of [The Voice]”](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2017/05/02123621/Blake-Shelton.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
First of all, relax. Blake Shelton was just kidding around . . . we think.
During a press junket on May 1, Entertainment Tonight’s Sophie Schillaci caught up with The Voice coach to ask about his girlfriend, Gwen Stefani, who recently suffered a ruptured eardrum. While it sounds like—excuse the pun—Gwen’s eardrum is on the up-and-up, Blake did make a couple of playful comments regarding his next album and his future as a coach on The Voice.
“I mean, that last album that I made [If I’m Honest], I said that was going to be my last,” said Blake. “This next album that I’m making is probably going to be my last album. And so I’ve really got to decide what I want to do. It’s probably going to be my last record. And this is will be my last season of this show [The Voice] too. So I don’t really do . . . I don’t entertainment anymore, kids. I’m sorry.”
Check out the video below, which also features The Voice coach Alicia Keys hamming it up with Blake during his retirement talk.
Check out the new 6th edition of QB Meetings with Erik Ainge presented by LCUB, Amerigas, Heritage Propane and SafeT Systems!
On this video, Erik breaks down how to attack “Cover 2” teams with the play action.
Submit your specific play suggestion in Tennessee history that you want Erik to analyze on an upcoming show and find out more about the exclusive weekly feature HERE.
The NHL’s Nashville Predators hockey team has another home playoff game tonight (April 2), which probably means another country music star will sing the national anthem.
In Round 1 of the playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks, Carrie Underwood (April 17) and Luke Bryan (April 20) sang the national anthem before Games 3 and 4, respectively.
In Round 2 against the St. Louis Blues, Little Big Town (April 30) had the honor before Game 3.
Tonight at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, the Preds will take on the Blues in Game 4. But before the puck drops, who will sing the national anthem?
We’ve come up with five possible names—some more likely than others—but now it’s your chance to vote who you think will sing the anthem. By the way, the Preds have won each of their three home playoff games, which means Carrie, Luke and LBT have been good luck. Let’s keep the streak alive.
Which Country Star Will Sing the National Anthem Tonight?
Keith Urban courtesy PFA Media; Dierks Bentley courtesy The Greenroom PR; Vince Gill courtesy Auerbach PR; Kelsea Ballerini by Joseph Llanes/Sweet Talk Publicity; Chris Stapleton courtesy UMG Nashville
Born: Swainsboro, Ga.
Lives: Nashville
Current Single: “Lucky Strike”
Influences: Kathy Mattea, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams
Twitter: @marybragg
Mary Bragg grew up surrounded by music at her home in Georgia. Her father is a musician and choir director at her hometown church, so she and her family spent Sunday mornings singing together. While she credits church for her musical education, she also has vivid memories singing along to the radio and trying to harmonize Alabama songs as a youngster. It wasn’t until her first trip to Nashville following high school graduation that Mary was introduced to Americana music. A colleague at an internship handed her a Patty Griffin album and soon she delved into the works of other artists like Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams. After 10 years living in New York City and navigating the music scene there, Mary moved to Nashville and will release her latest project, Lucky Strike, on Friday, May 5. Her fourth full-length project, Lucky Strike, is her first album recorded in Music City.
Navigating Nashville
“When I first came to Nashville, I just wanted to write great songs. I did continue playing shows and toured, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make a career as an artist work. I’d go to shows all the time and it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the amount of talent here. What I’ve learned from writing every day was that writing is just as fulfilling to me as playing shows and so I let that temporarily dictate how I directed my time. I continued writing every day, not thinking about touring as much, and really not thinking about making records. It was Jim [Reilley], my co-producer [who said], ‘Stop it. It doesn’t have to be this or that. You are great and you need to make this record.’”
The Big Apple
“As much as I loved living in New York City for so long, I did feel like an afterthought to the city, because really everything is an afterthought to the city. [The song] ‘Lucky Strike’ is how I feel about my career and my struggle because it’s about believing in something despite not being dealt the hand that you wanted to have been dealt. Somehow you’re still believing that it is possible, that it can happen, that you can find some semblance of success as you go along. It’s not that you’re suddenly successful, it’s that your definition of success is changing. I feel like my current measure of success is unrelated to what the outward impression of success appears like.”
Honest Writing
“In pinpointing sadness, which can often feel isolating, we’re telling that listener out there, ‘Hey, you’re not alone. You’re not the only person who’s felt invisible in a sea of 8 million people in New York City. You’re not the only person who’s lost a parent.’ That’s the beauty of music—that people can feel comforted by hearing someone else’s pain, which might be much like their own. Every now and then, somebody’s listening close enough where they’re like, ‘Oh, man. That really got me just then,’ and that’s the moment that I’m always looking for.”
Finding That “Wildfire”
“I grew up in the South, the deep South, where it’s not unusual for people to get married before they’re 24. Telling people they should get married so young, I think, for me, was a distraction from things I should have been focusing on in my life. What was interesting about writing ‘Wildfire’ with Liz [Longley] was, because a lot of my friends ask me about my marriage or what it was like in the beginning, usually this question comes up when somebody is not really sure about the person they are with. I instantly tell that person, ‘Get out! This is not it. You might think it is right now, and you might think you might regret it later, but if it’s meant to be, you guys will get back together.’ I think that the person you are partnered with for the rest of your life should be somebody that you have no doubt about. Of course your relationship will be difficult at times, it is totally work, but I think you have to be crazy about that person. It has to be like a wildfire. It has to be a bit out of control.”
Songwriting Advice
“Often, the thing that I enjoy the most is when someone asks the question, ‘What is it you’re really trying to say?’ We can spend hours and hours writing and still not say what we’re trying to say. I’m always trying to get better at really looking at the lyric as I go and seeing how much attention is given to one particular thought or feeling and if that’s what I’m going for then great but if it’s not, then why is it in that place? The most important thing in writing is rewriting. In conversation we ramble on, but in a song you have three minutes so you better hurry up and get to it!”
Mary Bragg 2017 Tour Schedule
photo by Alex Berger
Over his Hall of Fame career, Garth Brooks has created a lot of special moments onstage. The G-man can add another to his list thanks to an Illinois teen named Kate.
As Garth was performing his first of two shows in Champaign, Ill., on Saturday night (April 29), he spotted a teenage girl holding a sign that read, “Gonna be late to prom, Garth comes first.”
Garth was so tickled to see the sign that he began conversating with the teen from the stage, and when he found out that Kate didn’t have a prom date, he made her a deal: “I’m gonna make a deal with you, OK?” said Garth. “I’m gonna get one of my guys to come up and get your information. If you go to the prom tonight and it sucks, we’ve got a show here later. If you want to come back and shoot the [confetti] cannons and do stuff like that, you come hang with us, OK? Alright, I love you.”
Kate took Garth up on his offer and came onstage during his second concert to shoot the confetti cannon while Garth sang “Friends in Low Places.” The look on Kate’s face is priceless.
Well, done G-man.
You can watch Garth and Kate create a memorable moment in the video below, which is from Garth’s Inside Studio G series on Facebook.
