It’s been a busy year for country’s super couple. Not only did Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood just wrap up the Garth Brooks World Tour in Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as commemorate the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor with back-to-back performances, but the happy couple also celebrated 11 years of wedded bliss on Saturday (Dec. 10).
Garth and Trisha, who were wed 11 years ago on Dec. 10, 2005, in Oklahoma, haven’t spent much time apart since that day. This year, the husband and wife team released their long-awaited duets Christmas album, Christmas Together, in November, continued touring the country on the Garth Brooks World Tour, performed at Christmas in Rockefeller Center and The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration and shared the stage at the 50th annual CMA Awards together.
“You just do it one day at a time,” Garth said. “[I] just want to be wherever she’s at. Love breathing the same air she’s breathing, whether we’re doing the same thing or not. But this is a celebrity thing. We’ve seen them all come and go. So every day, you put in. The difference is . . . I don’t have to remember to put in that time. It’s an honor to put in that time. And it’s something that just comes naturally.”
“We have a friendship that’s a great base for all of it. And we made a really conscious effort when we got married, to not be together to be apart,” adds Trisha. “It wasn’t OK to just go, ‘We’re married now; we’re just still going to do our own thing.’ So that meant that we . . . we make those decisions together when we married. And we’re together! I mean, 99 percent of the time we’re together. We don’t spend very many nights apart at all. And I think that’s a big part of it. And we actually enjoy each others company, which is nice.”
NCD wishes Garth and Trisha a very Happy Anniversary and many more!
Carrie Underwood was feeling adventurous on Saturday, Dec. 10. While in Sydney, Australia, for Keith Urban’s Ripcord World Tour, the “Something in the Water” singer decided she wanted to see what was in the air up there and jumped out of a plane at 14,000 feet for a tandem skydive.
Carrie initially teased the adventure in an Instagram video—asking “What are we doing today?”—while a medley of tunes hinted at the escapade, including Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’,” Chris Stapleton’s “Parachute” and Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.”
Check out the videos and pics from Carrie’s Instagram below.
Lee Ann Womack has arguably one of the greatest voices in country music and she’s showing her vocal prowess on a special Christmas classic, “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Lee Ann hit the studio to record—in less than a day— one of her favorite Christmas songs with just her voice and a guitar.
“In celebration of the season of giving, I’m sending my dedicated fans a special gift this year: my rendition of one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” LeeAnn said about the track. “I hope that you enjoy this one as much as I do. Wishing you a holiday season filled with much joy and happiness! Happy Holidays.”
Brett Eldredge took over Manhattan this morning (Dec. 9) in support of his new Christmas album, Glow. The Illinois native was doing double duty, appearing on both Good Morning America and Live With Kelly to bring some Christmas cheer.
When performing on GMA, the country crooner was dressed to the nines—clad in a fine-fitting tuxedo while wailing on the Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Get into the spirit and check out his performance on GMA.
Brett’s next stop was to the set of Live With Kelly where he performed, “Let It Snow!,” from his Christmas album.
After the performance, hosts, Kelly Ripa and guest host Taraji P. Henson briefly chatted with the singer about an allergy Brett has to Christmas trees.
“I’m allergic. I found out, it was the worst day of my life,” Brett told the hosts. “Because I love Christmas trees—the smell, everything. And I started sneezing. But give me the presents, give me the presents. I toughed through it.”
Brett may be spending his time singing Christmas songs for the season but his current single “Wanna be That Song,” from his album, Illiniois, currently sits at the No. 3 spot on Billboard Country Airplay Chart. If the song reaches the top spot, it will be Brett’s sixth consecutive No. 1 hit on both Billboard and Mediabase charts. How’s that for a special Christmas present?
Check out Brett singing “Let It Snow!” on Live with Kelly.
In October, rising artist Olivia Lane added some Christmas spirit to her repertoire by releasing a vibrant rendition of Brenda Lee’s classic, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.”
Known for her powerful vocals and bubbly personality, the “Make My Own Sunshine” singer is now releasing a festive new video for the classic hit and Nash Country Daily has the exclusive premiere.
The video, produced and directed by Olivia, shows the sassy singer having fun with the season by donning antlers, a Santa hat and wrapping herself in a string of lights, all while—you guessed it—rocking around some Christmas trees.
“Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday,” Olivia tells Nash Country Daily. “I wanted the video to reflect the happiness and joy the holidays bring me. This year my family and I are going skiing. So excited to have a white Christmas!”
You can find the rocking tune on iTunes and featured on the deluxe edition of Olivia’s self-titled debut EP, along with her single “Make Your Own Sunshine.”
Check out the exclusive premiere of Olivia Lane’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” video right here.
After riding “Buy Me a Boat” up the charts in 2015, Chris Janson now has the second bona fide hit of his career with “Holdin’ Her,” a tune that cracked the Top 25 on the Mediabase chart this week.
The heartfelt song, which Chris co-penned about his wife, Kelly Lynn, has taken on a life of its own during Chris’ shows by becoming the soundtrack to multiple marriage proposals as prospective grooms pop the question onstage and in the crowd. As Chris tells it, “Holdin’ Her” is almost the perfect marriage proposal song, with “a 99.9 percent approval rating,” but it’s that 0.1 percent that Nash Country Daily was interested in hearing about.
Check out what Chris had to say about his new Top 25—and climbing—hit, “Holdin’ Her.”
NCD: After “Buy Me a Boat” kind of put you on the map in 2015, you’ve had a stellar 2016. You toured with Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, and now “Holdin’ Her” is your second Top 25 hit.
Chris: Man, it’s just been amazing. I had 25 songs recorded by other artists, too, in the past year, which was awesome. A lot of which aren’t singles, yet, maybe never will be, but at any rate, they are great album cuts. It was a great honor. I toured with Blake Shelton, too. Man, it’s just been very much a banner year, because “Boat” went into 2016 very fast. We did the Buy Me a Boat Tour and everything, and it still has a life of its own. Dude, you’ve pretty much capped it right there. The most important thing is “Holdin’ Her” is doing very well.
Top 25 sounds good, by the way. I just love hearing that. I’m grateful for country radio, so grateful for the fans, for supporting it. You know, “Holdin’ Her” has been a song that I wanted to come out for a long time, and the fact that it is doing so well is a huge blessing and a huge dream come true. It makes me proud to be a songwriter. It makes me proud to be an artist. It makes me proud to be, most importantly, a family man. To have that message out there and to be translating that with people and people translating it back to me is a pretty humbling experience.
You wrote “Holdin’ Her” in 2011 about your wife, who you’ve known for 10 years or so?
Yeah. I saw her for the first time about 11 or 12 years ago. We’ve been married for, going on eight years now, just about eight years. Dude, it’s been an amazing ride. It’s been an amazing journey. We’ve learned a lot together, and we’ve learned a lot about each other, and we are best friends, already. It’s a win-win situation. I found true love, man. Not a lot of people get to experience that. A lot do, but a lot don’t. I found it and I embrace it every single second I can.
Chris Janson (left) and NCD editor Jim Casey
Speaking of true love, “Holdin’ Her” has turned into kind of a wedding proposal hit, right?
Dude, which by the way is crazy, because it has, to answer your question. I didn’t expect that. I never wrote that with that kind of intention. However, people are getting married to it, I mean, I’m getting one to two proposals per show. Whether it’s in the crowd or on the stage, people are doing it. It’s really an unbelievable thing. It’s a great thing to see and watch, because it’s just right off the cusp. I would have never imagined that. I would have never thought about it. I don’t think of it that way. I just think of it as my story, and hopefully it works for somebody.
The cool thing about it is seeing the song grow as it has. It’s a lot of people’s story, man. There’s a lot of people—it’s refreshing to see—there’s a lot of people in the world who still believe in true love, and they still live in true love, and they have found it. No matter what avenue, whether they’ve come from a split background, a divorce, a split-up, whatever it may be, or maybe they just married once and forever, or maybe they’re not married, maybe they’re very much in love. “Holdin’ Her” translates with all walks of life, which has been a very cool and universal thing that. It has exceeded all of my greatest expectations.
With one to two proposals per show, what’s the success rate of those proposals?
We have a 99.9% approval rating [laughing].
That’s great, but what about that 0.1 percent?
I had one that was a little awkward, but I didn’t let it get awkward, thank God for that, because it could have gotten super awkward. However, the girl kind of like, I don’t think she came out and said “No,” but she definitely didn’t say “Yes.” It was just awkward, and I went ahead and congratulated them, like “Whoa, great, good job, wild, give them a round of applause folks, bye.” I mean, it was so awkward. The dude whispered in my ear, “She said no,” and I’m like, “Oh my God.” I just acted like I didn’t hear it, and congratulated them anyway. It’s one of those things. But, for the most part, man, people know what they’re doing, people are in love, or at least they think they are in love, and they love the song, so that’s good. At the end of the day, man, I’m just thrilled that it’s working for them, and that it touched their heart in some way.
I saw you play “Holdin’ Her” about a month ago at the Grand Ole Opry and you got a standing ovation, which I hear happens pretty regularly since you’ve played the Opry more than 150 times.
Yeah. I mean, literally, it is safe to say, yes. I say that with a humble heart, very unpretentiously. It’s crazy cool, man. It doesn’t surprise me in the fact that the song hits people in their heart, however, I will always be the guy who is honored, humbled and shocked that people would stand up for me. It’s crazy. It’s like what you dream about. I mean, I wanted to play the Grand Ole Opry more than anyplace I ever wanted to play when I came to this town, and I’ve gotten to do it, now, so many times, thankfully.
Before “Holdin’ Her” was on the radio, it was kind of being coined as the Opry song, which is really awesome. The Opry started saying that, and tweeting it, and things of that nature. Yeah, man. People are standing up for it, they’re giving me a standing ovation, and that’s just the power of a song. Take me out of it, take my name away from it, it’s just the power of music. I wrote that with James Otto, my good buddy and one of my oldest friends in this town. It’s just a really humbling thing.
Watch Chris’ performance of “Holdin’ Her” on the Grand Ole Opry below.
In response to the wildfires that have devastated the East Tennessee Smoky Mountains area, Dolly Parton has created a telethon, Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund to help the victims of the fires.
The benefit will be a three-hour telecast—airing Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 8pm E.T. on GAC—designed to raise money for the Dollywood Foundation My People Fund, a fund established by Dolly and her Dollywood companies to help the victims whose homes and business have been destroyed.
Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers and Alison Krauss have been the first performers announced to join Dolly as participants of the telethon, with more artists to be announced in the coming days.
“My home in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee is some place special,” Dolly said in a statement. “Wildfires have affected many of the people—my people—who live in those beautiful mountains. We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything in the fires. I know it has been a trying time for my people and this assistance will help get them back on their feet.”
Smoky Mountains Rise will be simulcast across multiple radio chains, including iHeart Media’s digital and select on-air platforms, Cumulus Media’s NASH Nights LIVE and TuneIn’s Country Roads channel. During the telethon, viewers will be asked to call 1-866-CARE MORE to donate to the My People Fund.
Anyone who would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the My People Fund may visit dollywoodfoundation.org. For those wishing to send donations via mail, those contributions should be sent to: My People Fund, c/o Dollywood Foundation, 111 Dollywood Lane, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863.
NCD will keep you updated as more artists are added to the lineup and as more outlets carrying the broadcast are announced.
UPDATE Dec. 8, 4pm CT:
Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, Big&Rich, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, LoCash, Chris Janson and Montgomery Gentry have been added to the list of performers for the Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund telethon. In addition to the broadcast partners mentioned above, AXS TV, RFD and The Heartland Network will also air the show. Stay tuned for more info as we get it.
What would the Christmas season be without music? It’s the soundtrack for trimming the tree, wrapping presents and cooking Christmas dinner.
While those activities are fun for a lot of folks and Martina McBride’s White Christmas is must-have musical accompaniment, I decided to create the manliest of holiday playlists, perfect for listening to while splitting firewood, playing bocce ball in the backyard and sipping spiked eggnog around the fire (my favorite holiday activities).
Without further ado, here we go.
10. “Santa Claus and Popcorn”
Merle Haggard
1973
Most people will tell you that Merle Haggard’s finest holiday tune is “If We Make It Through December,” and it’s hard to argue against that. But for my Merle money, it doesn’t get any better than when the Okie sings “Santa Claus and Popcorn,” a warm, upbeat track that’s full of sleigh bells, mistletoe and reindeer horns.
9. “Christmas in Prison” John Prine
1973
You probably won’t hear “Christmas in Prison” on a conventional holiday playlist, but then again, John Prine is anything but conventional. What you will hear if you take the time to listen to this song are lyrics as rich as figgy pudding and an accordion that’s sweeter than wassail.
8. “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’” Jerry Reed
1983
Bill Monroe first recorded the tune in 1951 and a slew of other artists have covered it—including Johnny Cash and Sammy Kershaw—but Jerry Reed lays the hammer down on this bluegrass ditty like only the Snowman can. That’s a big 10-4, good buddy.
7. “Christmas Cookies” George Strait
1999
Not only is George Strait’s Texas two-step the greatest song about Christmas confections, it’s also quite simply the best cookie song of all-time, topping the Cookie Monter’s stellar “C Is for Cookie.” With George’s signature vocal swagger and some dynamite chicken-pickin’, “Christmas Cookies” is a sweet ditty from the first chomp to the last bite. If anyone tells you that cookies aren’t manly, they’ve never had a Double Stuf Oreo.
6. “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy” Buck Owens
1965
With the backing of his Buckaroos, Buck Owens adds a little West Coast warmth to the holiday season with his Bakersfield-infused tune. Everyone’s Christmas needs equal doses of honky and tonky, and Buck happily supplies it with “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy.”
5. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Gene Autry
1949
Many country singers have tried to top Gene Autry’s version of “Rudolph”—including Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton—but the Singing Cowboy’s classic interpretation of “Rudolph” is the like a spiked glass of eggnog: the perfect holiday concoction.
4. “Come On Christmas” Dwight Yoakam
1997
The holidays aren’t always as warm and fuzzy as a pair of Frosty the Snowman footie pajamas—for many people, it’s a sad, lonely time of year. Dwight captures those forlorn sentiments with his haunting, melodic voice in “Come on Christmas,” a tune that beckons the season to conclude so his loneliness will end.
3. “Blue Christmas” Elvis Presley
1957
Ernest Tubb took “Blue Christmas” to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country & Western chart in 1950, but Elvis Presley cemented the tune as a perennial holiday must-hear when he put his aching croon on it in 1957, and later featured it on his 1968 television special. Bing Crosby can keep dreaming of a “White Christmas”—I’ll take a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas every year.
2. “Pretty Paper” Willie Nelson
1964
With both a whisper and a roar, Willie delivers a melancholy ballad about a disabled street vendor trying to sell pretty paper, ribbons and pencils to busy holiday passersby. Much like a medieval minstrel going from town to town to sing his story-songs, Willie’s tender rendition of “Pretty Paper” is the perfect parable to prompt us to slow down during the holidays, help those in need and be thankful for what we have.
1. “Merry Christmas From the Family” Robert Earl Keen
1994
Robert Earl puts the “fun” in dysfunctional with his twisted Texas anthem of Christmas cheer. In keeping with the spirit of the season, REK reminds us that the holidays are about spending time with family—in this case, a motley crew that likes to drink champagne punch, smoke Marlboro Lights and eat bean dip while singing “Silent Night” and making runs to the local Stop ’N Go for “some celery and a can of fake snow.” That’s my kind of crowd.
Listen to “The 10 Manliest Christmas Songs This Side of Paradise” Playlist
Willie Nelson by Jim Herrington/UMG; Dwight Yoakam courtesy Warner Bros. Records; Gene Autry courtesy Buena Vista Home Video; Merle Haggard from If We Make It Through December album art; Illustrations from OpenClipart.org
With a new album, The Devil Don’t Sleep, set for release in January 2017 and a headlining tour of the same name kicking off in February, Brantley Gilbert is going to be a busy man as the new year begins.
Before he gets down to business in 2017, Nash Country Daily caught up with “The Weekend” singer to find out 17 random things that you may not know about him, including the story behind some of his tattoos, what he’s binge watching on Netflix and what makes him happy. Check it out.
1. What’s your favorite animal to hunt?
White-tailed deer.
2. Last place you went on vacation?
Mexico. I took my wife to Mexico. That was fun.
3. What question do you hate to answer? That one.
4. What’s your favorite movie or TV show? Roadhouse. That’s a great movie. I do like that one. I like The Notebook. I like Rambo and Rocky.
5. Did you say The Notebook?
Yeah. I love that. You got to throw that in the mix, right?
6. What makes you happy?
My wife.
7. What makes you sad?
My wife, when I don’t get my way.
8. What’s your favorite word?
I can’t say it.
9. What’s your favorite item of clothing to wear?
I guess my hat.
10. What’s one vice that you have?
Cigarettes.
11. Are you usually late, early or right on time? Early, which wasn’t the case today.
12. What’s your middle name?
Keith.
13. What are you binge watching right now?
Binge watching? I just set up a Netflix account yesterday, actually.
14. Just yesterday?
Yeah. I’m kind of behind the time. A lot of catching up to do.
15. Tell me one person you admire.
There’s a lot of people I admire. My mom, my dad. My grandfather. I admire my wife a lot. A lot of people I work with—a lot of guys in my band. I have a lot of admiration for a lot of people.
16. How many tattoos do you have?
I don’t know if I have a legitimate answer that’s very accurate because all of them kind of molded into one. They’re all kind of connected. This one goes up to my chest and then around to my back.
17. Do you have a favorite tattoo?
It kind of tells the story of my life. There are flames and skulls on the bottom part of my arm and my initials, which we also use for the logo of the organization, and that stands for the hell that I put myself and everybody else through for a little while. As you go up, you’ll see the flames dissipate. There’s a big cross on my arm. Modern Day Prodigal Son was the title of my first record. It’s right there on the front of my arm, because this was the transition spot. I do see myself as definitely a modern day prodigal son. As you go up, that’s the journey home. I got Jesus on my arm and I have three angels. I have one chubby angel, in particular. It has a pretty awesome spear, and they’re keeping the devil off my shoulder. The devil’s right there on the back. I have brass knuckles tattooed on the back of my elbow to symbolize the good fight, and then I have a hand here and a hand here, and it’s God’s hand reaching down and my hand reaching up. It says mama in the middle, because before my wife, my mom was always that connection there.
After Dolly Parton set up a telethon—Smoky Mountains Rise—to help those affected by the wildfires that devastated her hometown in East Tennessee, Zac Brown Band is stepping up to the plate by headlining the Mountain Tough Benefit set for Saturday, Dec. 17, in Gatlinburg, Tenn.
The day-long outdoor festival, presented by Ole Smoky Moonshine, Yee Haw Brewing Company, The Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau and Music City Roots, is designed to raise money for the Gatlinburg community with 100 percent of proceeds going to the Sevier County Community Fund.
Along with Zac Brown Band, other artists participating in the the festival include Jim Lauderdale, Sam Bush, Derek St. Holmes, Jason D. Williams, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Randy Kohrs, Sarah Potenza, Moe Pitney and Chelle Rose, with more announcements expected in the coming days.
“Our hometown has experienced immeasurable pain and suffering over the last week,” said Joseph A. Baker, founder of Ole Smoky Moonshine. “We’re working hard to open up the city, get people back to work and start making memories again for the millions of families that love to visit Gatlinburg. We’re incredibly grateful to the Zac Brown Band, Music City Roots, and many others for their help in making this Mountain Tough Benefit possible. While this event is free and all are invited, we hope that people will share what they can knowing that 100 percent of all proceeds from this effort will go to those affected by the recent fires.”
![Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Celebrate 11 Years of Marriage: “[I] Just Want to Be Wherever She’s At,” says Garth](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2016/12/26151910/Garth-Brooks-Trisha-Yearwood.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
![[Listen] Lee Ann Womack Takes On “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful” – Just Her and A Guitar](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2016/12/26151915/Lee-Ann-Womack.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Lee Ann hit the studio to record—in less than a day— one of her favorite Christmas songs with just her voice and a guitar.
“Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday,” Olivia tells Nash Country Daily. “I wanted the video to reflect the happiness and joy the holidays bring me. This year my family and I are going skiing. So excited to have a white Christmas!”
![[UPDATE] Reba, Kenny Rogers and Alison Krauss Join Dolly Parton for “Smoky Mountains Rise” Telethon To Benefit Victims of East Tennessee Wildfires; More Performers Added](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2016/12/26151922/Dolly-Parton-Kenny-Rogers.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
The benefit will be a three-hour telecast—airing Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 8pm E.T. on GAC—designed to raise money for the 
