The Grand Ole Opry released a new video in its Radio Replay series, which asks artists to take the last song they heard on the radio on the way to the Opry and put their own spin on it.
Keith chose Miranda Lambert’s “Vice,” which he sang on the spot.
“I’m going to play you a snippet of a song I love at the moment,” said Keith. “I’ve never played this, so Miranda bear with me, but this is a great song, even if it is weird that a guy is holding shoes in his hand at 7 a.m.”
Watch the video below.
Lisa talks with trio Midland about how they picked their name, when they got started in music, the artists who influenced their sound, their debut single, “Drinkin’ Problem,” and more.
The Writers Room, Ep. 60, 25 minutes
photo by Jason Simanek
A little more than a year after the death of Joey+Rory’s Joey Feek from ovarian cancer, the singers debut solo album, If Not For You, is set for release on April 7.
Produced by husband Rory Feek, the 12-track album was recorded in 2005 and will included Joey’s original recording of the song “That’s Important to Me.” The tune was also a single for Joey + Rory in 2010 and featured on their sophomore album, Album Number Two.
“[The album is] filled with songs that spoke to her and, even more, spoke volumes about her. About what’s most important to her. The lyrics of this record made it clear who she was and who she wanted to be,” Rory said in the album’s booklet. “Yes, her voice might have changed a bit in time, but her character was already rock-solid.”
Included with the album will be a 48-page booklet of photos and stories from Joey, Rory and her family as they remember the beloved singer.
Rory lost his wife, Joey, in 2016 when she passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 40, leaving behind a 2-year-old daughter, Indiana, who was born with Down syndrome. Rory, who has been raising the little girl, has kept the world informed of their progress and honored his wife today (March 9) in his blog, This Life I Live.
Below is an excerpt from Rory’s blog post, a year after Joey was buried. You can read the full post at Thislifeilive.com.
A year ago today we laid Joey to rest in the grove of trees behind our farmhouse. It was just a few days after she “took her last breath on this side of heaven and her first on the other”. And now, here we are… the “dust” has settled from the pastor’s ‘dust to dust’ message and a deep bed of grass has grown over that mound of freshly broken soil.
Indiana and I sat together on that spot as the sun fell from the sky this evening. Indy played with the flowers as I let my mind drift back to her Mama’s memorial service last year. And all that has happened since then.
Some things have changed since that day last March, and some haven’t changed at all. There is still only a wooden cross to mark that piece of hallowed ground – nothing permanent – like stone or marble. Maybe it’s waiting for me to join my wife, or maybe it’s just not time yet for those chiseled dates-seperated-by-a-dash. Or maybe, a hand-made wooden cross wrapped in twine is just more my wife’s style.
From where Indy and I sat together, I could see our farmhouse and the big red barn beside it. It’s been a year-and-a-half since Joey and I sat our guitars down and walked off the stage of our concert hall together. Five months later, I was back on that stage. But this time alone. There was an audience sitting in the chairs, and there was music, but it wasn’t ours. It was for Joey’s memorial service. The room was filled with friends and family, all lifting her up in song and in prayer.
Since then the barn has remained mostly silent. No music and no life, except for a few neighborhood get-togethers, a taping the Gaither folks did for Bradley Walker, Indy’s Signing Time show and some family dinners now and then.
Photo by Bryan Allen / Slanted Records
Margo Price’s 2016 debut album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, won the second annual American Music Prize for Best Debut Album.
Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, which was released via Jack White’s Third Man Records, bested more than 250 all-genre debut albums released between August 2015 and July 2016, including finalist like Fantastic Negrito’s The Last Days of Oakland and Gallant’s Ology. The winner was selected by a jury of media and industry professionals.
Margo was surprised with the award in front of friends and family during a presentation at Nashville’s Third Man Records. Along with the trophy, Margo was awarded a cash prize of $25,000.
“I have never been surprised before, except when I was pregnant—that was a surprise,” said Margo. “Thank you so much for coming, I’m really speechless right now. I wasn’t expecting this at all, and that’s maybe what makes it so sweet. Thank you so much . . . .”
Watch Margo get surprised in the video below, courtesy of The Tennessean.
With public television’s Front and Center now in it’s seventh season, the live music series has teamed up with the CMA to feature country’s consummate performer, Jennifer Nettles, as part of their CMA Songwriter’s Series for a new episode.
Jennifer is no stranger to performing. The Georgia native performed as one half of the super group Sugarland, enjoys her own country solo career, performed as Roxy Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago and most recently starred as Dolly Parton’s mother in NBC’s Coat of Many Colors and Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.
“My love of performance actually comes from a love of live performance,” Jennifer says in the show. “So if it happens to translate through a camera or a recording, I love that. I love that we have the technology to record performances and repeat them as many times as we want to—in our cars or in our headphones or on our televisions, whatever it may be. But really for me in how I grew up—I started out singing in church and as I started to write original music and played out in clubs and I really cut my teeth in the club scene—for me the live performance is what it’s all about. I love that connection. It is a moment in time that you share from the stage with the audience. For me, that is thrilling.”
Filmed at the Iridium in New York City, Jennifer takes the stage to perform songs from her current album, Playing With Fire, including “Drunk In Heels” and “Stupid Girl.” Jennifer is also joined by Brandy Clark to perform Brandy’s single, “Love Can Go To Hell,” off of her 12 Stories album and Amos Lee, singing on Sugarland’s “A Very Last Country Song.”
Additional performers that have appeared on Front and Center include Cheap Trick, Dawes, Shawn Mendes, Southside Johnny, Kaleo, Southside Johnny, The Cadillac Three, and Rob Thomas.
Jennifer’s episode will air nationally on public television. Check local listings for air dates and times.
Check out a clip of Jennifer on Front and Center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63HVlaOeVAg
Photos by Jim Belmont / CMA
Dierks Bentley is used to writing songs for his many albums, but the “Drunk on a Plane” singer has never written a song for a feature film . . . until now. Dierks’ “Days of Dark” is featured on the soundtrack of the new movie The Shack.
“I couldn’t be more humbled, honored, excited, proud that a song of mine that I was a co-writer on made it into the soundtrack for the movie The Shack,” Dierks says. “The song is called “Days of Dark.” It’s a song I wrote with some of the guys back in Nashville and just thinking about The Shack and the plot and the story—the idea of the song is that these days of dark need to be overcome. It has kind of a dark title but at the end it’s kind of an emotionally uplifting song. I feel like The Shack is the same way. It’s a very powerful book.”
While Dierks hasn’t seen the movie yet, he’s excited to have his first movie cut.
“I think the song fits perfectly for the movie,” he adds. “It’s one of the first movies I ever had a song in. Like I said, I couldn’t be more excited about that. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
The faith-based film, which stars Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Radha Mitchell and Tim McGraw, also features a new song, “Keep Your Eyes On Me,” which was written and performed by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Other country artists appearing on the soundtrack include Lady Antebellum, Dan+Shay and Brett Eldredge.
Watch Dierks talk about “Days of Dark” from the movie, The Shack.
Photo by Ida Mae Astute / ABC
George Strait kicked off his 10-date 2017 residency at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Feb. 17 and 18 with back-to-back sold-out shows. After looking at the early returns, it’s definitely good to be King.
Billboard reports that George’s two shows raked in a combined $5.5 million via gross ticket sales.
Obviously, George doesn’t pocket all that moola—there are plenty of people to pay, including sound, lighting, management, etc.—but let’s just assume that George’s take of the $5,546,145 is 75 percent. That comes to $4,159,608 for the two shows. George is scheduled to play eight more shows in Vegas this year (April 7 & 8, July 28 & 29, Sept. 1 & 2, Dec. 8 & 9). If he keeps selling out the T-Mobile Arena—and there’s no reason to think otherwise—George stands to clear (by my unofficial estimation) $20,798,043 from his Vegas shows in 2017.
The Cowboy may have officially ridden away from touring in 2014, but the call of the sirens—in this case, 20 million of them—is enough to get George back on the stage.
“[The Vegas shows] just kind of worked perfectly with what I said I wanted to do,” George told NCD in 2016. “I wanted to have a few dates here and there, and when this came up, I said that this is what I was looking for. This venue is so beautiful and it’s going to hold close to 20,000.”
Keep in mind, aside from the reported gross ticket sales, all of my numbers are my unofficial estimations.
photo courtesy EB Media
Dierks Bentley’s third Whiskey Row restaurant is up and running. The new location in Gilbert, Ariz., joins previous ventures in Tempe and Scottsdale, Ariz.
The new Gilbert bar and grill includes a 4,600-square-foot outdoor patio with space for cornhole and table tennis as well as a large indoor dance floor and stage. The venue, which boasts more than 50 beers on tap, will host live music on the weekends. To celebrate the official grand opening on March 16, Kelsea Ballerini will play a free concert.
“When we opened our first Whiskey Row three years ago, I never would have guessed we’d be three bars in, in three years,” said Dierks. “The Riot [Hospitality] Group and I have spent a lot of time making sure each Whiskey Row is our version of the perfect place to listen to music, watch a game or grab some great food and drinks. The vibe is really unique and special, and it’s awesome to see so many people enjoying themselves at Whiskey Row.”
According to Dierks’ Whiskey Row website, he has additional plans to open a Whiskey Row on Nashville’s Lower Broadway in “early 2017,” which would mark the concept’s debut outside of Dierks’ home state of Arizona.
![Zac Brown Band Teases New Song, “Real Thing,” From Upcoming Album, “Welcome Home” [Listen]](https://www.wivk.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/602/2017/03/Zac-Brown-Band-652x228.jpg)
Zac Brown Band’s Twittersphere has been abuzz the last few days, teasing the March 10 release of the second song, “Real Thing,” from their upcoming album, Welcome Home, which is slated to drop on May 12. The album’s lead single, “My Old Man,” is currently No. 29 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Yesterday (March 8), ZBB shared a clip of Zac and the boys in studio with producer Dave Cobb as they recorded “Real Thing,” with the message: “Getting back to the real thing. Excited to share it with you this Friday.”
As the one-minute video comes to an end, you can hear Dave say, “Yeah, yeah, that’s gonna be awesome. That’s gonna be bad to the bone . . . ”
Bad to the bone, indeed. Check it out.
Getting back to the real thing.
Excited to share it with you this Friday. pic.twitter.com/CaIXPr6lLS— Zac Brown Band (@zacbrownband) March 8, 2017
![After Unexpected Loss, Old Dominion Releases New Single, “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart” [Listen]](https://www.wivk.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/602/2017/03/Old-Dominion-1-652x228.jpg)
Following the “unexpected loss of an immediate family member” that forced Old Dominion to cancel performance dates this week, the group has announced on Instagram that they will be releasing their new single, “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart.”
The song, written by Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Brad Tursi and Jesse Frasure, is about facing the world head-on and not letting life get you down.
“Cause you can’t keep the ground from shaking / no matter how hard you try / you can’t keep the sunsets from fading / gotta treat your life like / your jumping off a rope swing baby cause the whole thing’s really just a shot in the dark / you gotta love like there’s no such thing as a broken heart. / you gotta love like there’s no such thing as a broken heart,” OD sings in the chorus.
Due to be released to country radio on Friday, March 10, the new tune is the first single from Old Dominion’s second offering. The album will be the follow-up to their debut, Meat & Candy, which featured hits “Breakup With Him” and “Song for Another Time.”
Listen to a live performance of “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart” by Old Dominion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNojCPCfKsM
Photo by Trae Patton/CBS
