Shawn ShamburgerDB Moultrie, GA 5’11” 185 (3-star) Committed 11/4/16
Josh Ward’s Take:
Shamburger transferred high schools before his senior season and greatly improved his status as a prospect when he was able to face stronger competition. Shamburger could prove to be a “sleeper” in the class who will have an opportunity to make an impact at cornerback.
Will McBride QB League City, TX 6’2″ 200 (3-star) Committed 12/12/16 (Early E)
Josh Ward’s Take:
Tennessee needed to land someone like McBride, who was able to enroll in school in January. The depth chart for Tennessee could be up in the air in 2017, which made McBride’s ability to go through spring practice vital. Height is the biggest question mark for McBride, but he’s a good athlete with a solid arm.
Matthew Butler DE Garner, NC 6’4″ 265 (3-star) Committed 12/20/16
Josh Ward’s Take:
Tennessee spent a lot of time during the recruiting process pursuing Butler, who could develop into a defensive tackle at the college level. He’s a physical lineman who performed well at the Shrine Bowl following his senior season.
Riley Locklear OL Huntington, WV 6’5″ 285 (4-star) Committed 7/8/16 (Early E)
Josh Ward’s Take:
Locklear enrolled at Tennessee in January and arrives as one of the top players from West Virginia. Locklear, who had a strong senior season, will likely be a redshirt candidate in 2017 with the opportunity to play a big role in 2018.
Known for making working-class songs like “You’ve Got to Stand for Something, “Working Man’s Ph.D.” and “Kiss This” a part of the country music landscape in the ’90s, Aaron Tippin is taking his own working-class attitude on the road in 2017.
The “As Close as I Get to Loving You” singer will crisscross the country when the tour kicks off on Feb. 9 in Airway Heights, Wash., making stops in Nashville, Tampa and Anchorage, as well as a few stops in Canada.
“Wow, looks like I’m going to be busy this year!” said Aaron in a statement. “I’m so thankful that the fans still come out and spend their hard earned money to see me. I know there’s a million other things they could be doing so it’s very humbling and much appreciated that they let me keep doing what I love. We’re going to have a blast in 2017!”
In addition to the tour, Aaron has released Aaron Tippin 25, a two-disc set of 25 songs that consists of 10 re-recorded versions of his biggest hits, as well as 15 brand-new songs, to celebrate 25 years in the business. Aaron Tippin 25 is available at iTunes.
Aaron Tippin Tour Dates
Feb 9 / Airway Heights, Wash. / Northern Quest Casino
Feb 10 / Pendleton, Ore. / Wildhorse Resort & Casino
Feb 11 / Fort Hall, Idaho / Fort Hall Casino
Feb 17 / Hinckley, Minn. / Grand Casino Hinckley Event Center
Feb 18 / Nashville / Grand Ole Opry
Feb 20 / Tampa, Fla. / Florida State Fair
Feb 24 / Youngsville, La. / Route 92
Feb 25 / Panama City Beach, Fla. / Panama City Beach Mardi Gras & Music Festival
March 9 / Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada / Lunenbury County Lifestyle Centre
March 10/ New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada / Pictou County Wellness Center
March 11 / Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada / The Centre at Casino New Brunswick
March 18 / Kissimmee, Fla. / Runaway Country
March 25 / Louisa, Va. / Louisa Arts Center
April 22 / Yorktown, Texas / 5D Steakhouse & Lounge
May 5 / Fort Myers, Fla. / The Ranch
May 6 / Live Oak, Fla. / Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park
May 12 / Bulverde, Texas / Tejas Rodeo
May 26 / Anderson, Ind. / Hoosier Park Racing Casino
May 27 / Seneca, S.C. / City of Seneca
May 29 / Victorville, Calif. / San Bernardino County Fair
June 8 / Del Mar, Calif. / San Diego County Fair
June 17 / Bowling Green, Ky. / BGWC Regional Airport
July 1 / Ninety Six, S.C. / 9th Annual South Carolina Festival of Stars
July 2 / Milner – Ga. / Rock Springs Church
July 15 / Beckley, W.Va. / Friends of Coal Auto Fair
July 21 / Herman, Minn. / Grant County Fair
Aug 5 / Cobleskill, N.Y. / Sunshine Fair
Aug 10 / Point Pleasant, W.Va. / Mason County Fair
Aug 11 / Milledgeville, Ill. / Carroll County Fair
Aug 25 / Miles City, Mont. / Eastern Montana Fair
Aug 31 / DuQuoin, Ill. / DuQuoin State Fair
Sept 1 / Philippi, W.Va. / Barbour County Fair
Sept 13 / Sioux Falls, S.D. / Jeschke Fine Arts Center
Sept 15 / Jamestown, N.D. / Jamestown Civic Center
Sept 16 / Bismarck – N.D. / Bismarck Civic Center
Sept 18 / Casper, Wy. / Casper Events Center
Sept 20 / Evanston, Wy. / Evanston High School
Sept 22 / Jackson, Ohio / Jackson Apple Festival
Sept 28 / Manteo, N.C. / Roanoke Island Festival Park
Sept 30 / McMinnville, Tenn. / Cumberland Caverns
Oct 7 / Winchester, Ohio / Red Barn Convention Center
Oct 14 / Jefferson, Iowa / Wild Rose Casino & Resorts
Oct 16 / Hiawassee, Ga. / Anderson Music Hall
Oct 20 / Kenai, AK / Kenai High School
Oct 21 / Anchorage, Alaska / William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center
Oct 22 / Fairbanks, Alaska / Carlson Center
Oct 24 / Juneau, Alaska / Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall
Oct 26 / Ketchikan, Alaska / Ketchikan High School
Oct 28 / Springfield, Ga. / Springfield Fall Festival
Photo Courtesy Absolute Publicity
It was a big day for Brandy Clark as she made her Today show debut (Jan. 31) by performing a song from her new album, Big Day in a Small Town.
The singer/songwriter performed “Love Can Go to Hell”—the second single from her critically acclaimed sophomore album—for her debut. Briefly talking to hosts Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, Brandy said, “This song I’m going to do is up for [Grammy] Best Solo Country Performance, by me.”
Brandy, who has written many songs for other artists, including Miranda Lambert and Jennifer Nettles, will be heading to Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards on February 12, where she is nominated for two awards: Best Country Album for Big Day in a Small Town and Best Country Solo performance for “Love Can Go to Hell.”
Check out Brandy’s performance of “Love Can Go to Hell” on Today.
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have a special announcement regarding their Soul2Soul World Tour.
The husband-and-wife tandem teased the announcement on their Instagram page, but you’ll have to tune in to Facebook Live tonight (Jan. 31) at 5:30 p.m. ET for the juicy details.
Join Tim and Faith on Facebook Live tomorrow at 5:30pm EST for a Soul2Soul The World Tour 2017 special announcement. Go to Soul2SoulTour.com now to ask questions and enter to win tickets to the show of your choice! #TeamMcGraw
The Soul2Soul World Tour kicks off on April 7 in New Orleans and caps Oct. 27 in Brooklyn, with more than 60 dates in between.
2017 Soul2Soul World Tour Dates
April 7 / New Orleans, La.
April 9 / Tupelo, Miss.
April 20 / N. Charleston, S.C.
April 21 / Birmingham, Ala.
April 22 / Atlanta
April 27 / St. Louis
April 29 / Indianapolis
May 4 / Newark, N.J.
May 5 / Uncasville, Conn
May 11 / Tulsa, Okla.
May 12 / Lincoln, Neb.
May 13 / Oklahoma City, Okla.
May 18 / Spokane, Wash.
May 19 / Bozeman, Mont.
May 25 / Boise, Idaho
May 26 / Portland, Ore.
May 27 / Tacoma, Wash.
May 30 / Vancouver, British Columbia
June 2 / Calgary, Alberta
June 3 / Edmonton, Alberta
June 4 / Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
June 7 / Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 9 / Sioux Falls, S.D.
June 10 / Des Moinse, Iowa
June 15 / Moline, Ill.
June 16 / Milwaukee, Wis.
June 17 / Grand Rapids, Mich.
June 22 / Ottawa, Ontario
June 23 / Toronto, Ontario
July 7 / Boston
July 14 / Los Angeles
July 21 / Glendale, Ariz.
July 23 / San Diego
July 28 / Sacramento, Calif.
July 29 / San Jose, Calif.
Aug. 1 / Denver
Aug. 3 / Little Rock, Ark.
Aug. 4 / Nashville
Aug. 17 / Cleveland
Aug. 18 / Philadelphia
Aug. 24 / Fargo, N.D.
Aug. 25 / St. Paul, Minn.
Aug. 31 / Chicago
Sept. 2 / Cincinnati
Sept. 7 / Columbus, Ohio
Sept. 8 / Detroit
Sept. 14 / Knoxville, Tenn.
Sept. 16 / Jacksonville, Fla.
Sept. 21 / Wichita, Kan.
Sept. 22 / Omaha, Neb.
Sept. 23 / Kansas City, Mo.
Sept. 27 / Salt Lake City
Sept. 29 / Fresno, Calif.
Sept. 30 / Bakersfield, Calif.
Oct. 5 / San Antonio
Oct. 6 / Houston
Oct. 7 / Dallas
Oct. 12 / Pittsburgh
Oct. 13 / Washington, D.C.
Oct. 14 / Greensboro, N.C.
Oct. 19 / Sunrise, Fla.
Oct. 20 / Tampa, Fla.
Oct. 26 / Buffalo, N.Y.
Oct. 27 / Brooklyn, N.Y.
There’s nothing like the smell of freshly brewed coffee to get you out of bed in the morning. But no matter what it takes to wake you up, as long as you are familiar with the Folgers coffee jingle—and who isn’t—you can have a chance to be mentored by country star Chris Young. Chris has partnered with Folgers coffee to inspire songwriters to get creative with the iconic jingle. Sing it with us: The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup.
“The Folgers jingle is an iconic tune that has lived in my memory since childhood,” said Chris. “I’m excited to be a part of this year’s Folgers Jingle Contest, which gives up-and-coming musicians an opportunity to showcase their musical talent and look forward to mentoring the finalists on their Folgers jingle submissions.”
The contest is open now and runs through Feb. 20. You can submit your video to Folgers website with your creative interpretation of the jingle to receive a mentoring session with Chris himself. Good luck.
Here are the rules: Musicians are invited to create their own unique version of the Folgers Jingle in video format. The video must include the complete melody and lyrics of “The best part of wakin’ up is Folgers in your cup.” Once complete, the video must be posted to Folgers website. A qualified judging panel will select five semi-finalists for an online vote and a special mentoring session with Chris Young. From March 20, 2017, through April 16, 2017, fans around the world will have the opportunity to vote daily for their favorite finalist’s jingle. In May, one jingle finalist will be selected as the grand prize winner of $25,000. For official rules, visit Jingle.FolgersCoffee.com.
Check out past winners here.
Garth Brooks retired from touring and recording in 2000 so he could spend more time with his three daughters. If the new video of his youngest daughter, Allie, 20, singing “She’s Every Woman” is any indication, the time together was well spent . . . because the girl has pipes.
Allie, whose Facebook page is filled with performance clips of original and cover songs, recently covered her dad’s “She’s Every Woman,” a song from Garth’s sixth studio album, Fresh Horses. Garth, who co-penned the tune with Victoria Shaw, took the song to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1995.
Watch Allie sing “She’s Every Woman,” accompanied by her acoustic guitar.
Four-time Grammy Award nominee Maren Morris will team up with 15-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys for a performance on the 59th Grammy Awards on Feb. 12.
Maren is nominated for four Grammys this year, including the all-genre Best New Artist, Best Country Album (Hero), Best Country Song (“My Church”) and Best Country Solo Performance (“My Church”).
Maren joins Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban as the only country artists slated to perform during the show. Other performers included Adele, John Legend, Bruno Mars and Metallica, while Anderson .Paak will team up with A Tribe Called Quest and Dave Grohl, and the Weeknd will join Daft Punk onstage.
Hosted by James Corden, the Grammys will air on CBS on Feb. 12. See this year’s country music related Grammy award nominees.
