Wednesday and Thursday night set the stage for a fantastic finish with unbelievable shows Friday and Saturday!
Friday night things got rolling with Whitney Duncan‘s Beach Stage performance…
With Ashley McBryde unfortunately not being able to make the trip this year, Luke called on his friend and “Buy Dirt” co-singer Jordan Davis to head to Crash My Playa 2022 and perform…
Friday evening was closed out with Jason Aldean taking the stage…
After his performance Jason made to secure his spot for next year, “I love this guy to pieces!! My brother for life, thanks Luke Bryan for having us back at Crash My Playa this year. See y’all in 2023!”
After a night of rest, on Saturday it was time to close out the event with one more evening of awesome performances….starting with Jameson Rodgers…
Riley Green made his second appearance at Crash My Playa 2022 – this time on the Beach Stage.
Riley was even inspired to write a new song on his trip. Riley shared, “Drank tequila and wrote this song in my hotel room last night. Enjoy. ‘Good Mornin’ from Mexico’.”
The final spot in the line-up was reserved for the host of all this fun – Luke Bryan, and his special friends…Darius Rucker and Jason Aldean who stuck around in Mexico for one more performance.
With a whole year to plan, fans can’t wait to return to the beach for Crash My Playa 2023.
2022 will see a new project from Kip Moore that was inspired by a song from his 2012 debut album, Up All Night.
“Crazy One More Time” is a track on Kip Moore’s first album, and while it was never a single it did become a fan favorite that has always been at the top of the songs requested for Kip to play.
Kip explains how being stir crazy during the pandemic, and giving “Crazy One More Time” a new sound inspired his new collection of music, “3 months into the initial lockdown, I got a call from a good buddy Matt Bubel. We caught up briefly before bringing up the obvious situation at hand and how stir crazy we were both getting. I told him to bring over all of his gear and let’s just see what happens…No thought of genre, lines or any other inhibitors. Some of the songs we wrote during that month will be on this next project coming, but the recreation of this tune was the magic dust that got us going. Thank you lil buddy for always being a steady friend in this not so steady world.”
Kip shares, “The initial idea for ‘Crazy One More Time’ came about after running into someone that I hadn’t seen in years, and someone that I had a lot of history with”.
“Crazy One More Time” is Kip Moore’s single at country radio.
Following the cue from their hit song “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde got together to answer a few questions with a “Never” or “Always” answer – but as you’ll see…Ashley and Carly added their own options on how to complete the question.
Watch the video here…
Watch the music video for Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce’s duet “Never Wanted To Be That Girl”
Even before Chris Janson’s current single hit country radio, he knew there was something special about “Bye Mom.”
Chris shares, “I was playing it for the fans before was on the radio and so I was seeing the real reaction whether it was going to work or not you know by looking at faces in the crowd.”
He adds, “The first time I played ‘Bye Mom’ was an immediate reaction…it was a reactive song I mean people were putting their video cameras up and videoing it, like you know, that doesn’t happen every song. So, they were doing that and that was kind of my first clue and then played it live on the Opry one time…impromptu…didn’t tell anybody I was doing it – nobody had any clue. Nobody had any idea what the song was. Never heard it before. I played it to a standing ovation…to a sold out Opry, and it’s just because the lyrics. It was just me and a guitar but the lyrical content struck a chord with people, so we knew we had something really special.”
More fans will get to have a special moment seeing Chris Janson perform this song live in concert as his Halfway To Crazy tour launces next month on February 10th in Dubuque, Iowa.
Check out the music video for Chris Janson’s “Bye Mom” which features the song’s co-writer Brandon Kinney and his family.
Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort & Spa hosts a Winter Music Series each year with some amazing performers and songwriters. Sign up to win an overnight stay at the resort, dinner for 2 at Song & Hearth Restaurant and 2 tickets to enjoy one of the winter music series events!
On an injury update for Josiah-Jordan James… “He’s working his way back. It will really be a game-time decision. But, again, we’re trying to work his way back, that’s what he’s trying to do.”
On if LSU is a team that plays with as much emotion as any team in the SEC… “It’s really hard for me to say that one team plays with more (emotion). In this league, I think every team has its own personality and emotion, whatever word you want to put on it. I believe that. I think Will (Wade’s) teams play the way he wants them to play. They do a really nice job of mixing their defenses. They’re a team that really relies on your turnovers and you not taking care of the ball. I think they lead the nation in steals, No. 1 defensive team in the country. Then on the offensive end, they’re really good in isolation, good one-on-one players. But there’s a pace they like to play with. He’s done a good job with them. You go back over the last couple years, you can’t argue with the success that he’s had.”
Vols HC Rick Barnes / Credit: UT Athletics
On LSU defeating Tennessee four straight times… “I think they’re a good team, I do. I think they’re a good team. I don’t know what else I could tell you. Like any other team in the league, we need to play good basketball. We need to have everybody playing good basketball. But again, and I’ve said it, they really do a good job with their one-on-one matchups, the way they like to do that. They’ve had athletic players. We need to play better, we need to do better.”
On the injury for Josiah-Jordan James… “He just got hit. He had a little cut above his eye, on the forehead.”
On Vanderbilt being physical while guarding Santiago Vescovi… “I told him he ought to be honored with it. I said it tells you how good of a player you’ve become and how people think you’re that important. And Santi is having a great year. You look at his numbers across the board, with everything that he’s doing. I think, one, he will continue to adjust to it. But I told him yesterday, you should be proud of that. The fact that people recognize you’re that kind of player. Again, I like him showing some frustration, if that’s what you want to call it. You know what? Santi doesn’t mind being physical at all. He really doesn’t. I think all players feel it gets to a point where enough is enough. I think that’s what he feels at times. I think he felt that the last time we played LSU. But he’s not going to back down. He’s not going to back down from anybody.”
On Zakai Zeigler’s stat line at Vanderbilt… “We have talked about him a lot. He is probably, arguably the biggest surprise on our team this year. We were excited when we got him. The impact that he has made, did we think we were going to get that? Probably not. After him being here a short time—I keep going back to it, what is in his DNA. I don’t think there’s any question he is a competitor. I also think that is a sign of a good player that understands how to impact the game when he is not making shots. Some guys, they get so wrapped up in making shots and making shots. The play of game the was arguably his defensive steal. He impacted the game on the other end. I wish more players would let their offense go. I don’t think he took a bad shot in the game. It didn’t go in, but he found a way to the free-throw line. He impacted the game by just playing hard and not letting the fact that he was 0-for-8 get him in a funk where he couldn’t think and couldn’t play. That goes back again to his DNA.”
On if Uros Plavsic will start again… “Yes, he will.”
On Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and the way he played at Vanderbilt… “We are trying to get to where we get that rotation that we want to have. I think we are hoping he will continue to grow and blossom in there. We need production, there is no doubt about it. Brandon still has to catch up with the speed of the game and understand that activity that is always going in even when he is not involved in it. I say it all the time, but going from one play to the next play. Doing his work early. Getting set defensively. It is there in him. He just has to decide he wants to bring it out. It is a process. We knew that. I have said before, he has come a long way. People have no idea how far he has come in many different areas. Now, we would like to see him keep going and get more production when he is in the game.”
On if the starting lineup could still change… “I think it could change. I have told you guys every year since I have been here, I don’t really care who starts the game. I am more interested in who we have to have to finish it. I think the first four minutes of the game are important. I think the most important part of the game is the three minutes coming out of halftime. We will go in and come up with a starting lineup based on what we see with consistency every day in practice.”
On facing LSU so quickly after the first game… “It seems like it is a long time ago from my perspective because we have had so much in between and so many things we have worked through with our team and games. It seems like it was a long time ago to be quite honest with you.”
On Olivier Nkamhoua’s recent play… “If we can just get Olivier to truly buy in to what we need from him—again, I think it kind of goes back to what Uros stated after the game the other night, it took him awhile to totally figure out what he needed to do to help our team. I still think Olivier is working through that in terms of consistency. We need him. He is arguably the most athletic guy on our team, and we need him to show that athleticism in a lot of different ways, whether it’s rebounding and blocking shots, which he’s proven he can do, or whether it’s when we go to our switch package and he can defend guards and stay in front of them while still doing what we need him to do on the offensive end. Again, we hope that he can get to the point where we know exactly what we’re going to get form him every single night.”
On if he thinks LSU is one of the more athletic teams in the SEC… “I think they’re athletic. I think the way that Will (Wade) wants to build his team, I think I would say athletic and quickness. I think he likes offensive-minded players. They’ve changed their style from a year ago…their defense is different in terms of they’re trying to create a lot of offense with their defense. If you go back and look, they get 23 or 24 points per game off of their defense. You could maybe even break it down where it could be more. So when you play against them, everything you’re doing on your offensive end could dictate how good they are on the offensive end. Shot selection for us is really important because if you take shots where your isn’t ready to be in position to defend in transition defense or they just don’t expect it—(LSU) does a great job of capitalizing in those situations.”
On the top things he emphasizes to his team when facing LSU… “Obviously you have to take care of the basketball. That’s really important against a team that thrives on your turnovers and your mistakes—early missed shots, whatever it may be. You have to take care of the ball, and I think it’s really important from our perspective that we understand scouting reports from individual personnel. Every game is going to go back to the fundamentals of the game. You have to rebound the basketball. Our defense has to be on point. We just need a great effort from everyone.”
On how Quentin Diboundje has progressed and what situation he’s looking for to put him into a game… “Quentin has continued to work. He’s like all freshmen that come into college basketball. It’s all new to him, he’s still trying to figure it out. It’s just like Jahmai (Mashack). I think he slowly but surely is understanding more and more what we need from him and how we need it. I think Quentin has gotten to that point as well. The question you ask is a hard one to answer as far as what point in time in a game—I don’t know, I wish I did. We’re proud of him, he’s continued to work, he’s working hard every day, and at some point it’ll happen. All I know is that I’m excited he’s in our program and he has a great future ahead of him.”
On the success the team has found in home games with a 9-0 start in home matchups this season… “Really, I think it’s just the energy that Rocky Top brings to us. We know that coming into every game here, they’re going to have our backs no matter what. In every game, we have the same mindset that we believe we’re going to win. It’s like no other.”
On his late-game steal at Vanderbilt in Tuesday’s win… “A few plays before that, I saw them being lazy while taking the ball out-of-bounds. They were being a little lackadaisical, so I knew on one of those times that I was going to get one of the steals. When I saw that moment happen, I saw the guy taking it out and being lazy under the basket, I knew I could jump for it.”
On the athleticism of LSU… “They’re a very, very athletic team. We know that they have a few shot blockers, some guys that can play above the rim and some guys that can shoot the ball. But, we also know that we can bring that same energy right back to them. We’re not really worried about how athletic they are. We’re just getting back to us.”
On the team’s scrappiness, especially that of Santiago Vescovi in the win at Vanderbilt… “I love it. We bring that physicality every day in practice to each other, no matter what. Once we go and play other people and see how other people react, it just brings out a fire in all of us once we see one person get into it.”
For those that weren’t able to make it down to Riviera Cancun, Mexico for Crash My Playa 2022, Luke Bryan put together a little video to give an idea of how day 1 of the 4 day event went.
Caitlyn Smith was the first to take the stage on night 2 of Crash My Playa 2022
LOCASH cranked up the party…
Luke Bryan returned to the stage after losing his voice due to his Georgia Bulldogs winning the college National Championship game a couple weeks ago – but there’s no way he was missing out on entertaining this crowd.
With a list of hits a mile long, Luke had the crowd going with this one…
While the night did end, there’s still two more days for Crash My Playa 2022 – with performances from Jordan Davis, Jameson Rodgers, Whitney Duncan, Riley Green, Jason Aldean, Dustin Lynch and Luke Bryan with Darius Rucker for the closing show on Saturday.
Walker Hayes new project, Country Stuff The Album is available now!
If fans were surprised that Walker Hayes released a new album, turns out they weren’t the only ones…Walker shares, “We weren’t even thinking about an album six months ago. ‘Fancy Like’ happened, and they said, ‘Hey, we need an album.'”
Walker continues, “Work got really busy, so you know it was kind of tough to focus on writing new material, while we were out there just riding that that ‘Fancy Like’ wave. But, somehow it came together. It’s such a great relief, you know, to get it out.”
Country Stuff The Album track listing;
01) “Drinking Songs” 02) “AA” 03) “Life With You” 04) “U Gurl” 05) “DeLorean” 06) “Fancy Like” 07) “Craig” (feat. MercyMe) 08) “What You Don’t Wish For” 09) “Country Stuff” (feat. Jake Owen) 10) “I Hope You Miss Me” 11) “Briefcase” (feat. Lori McKenna) 12) “Cry” 13) “What If We Did” (feat. Carly Pearce)
Along with “Fancy Like” fans are reaching out to Walker about his music and sending messages of what his songs mean to them, “I’m just so grateful that people can relate. That gives me a job. My kids and my wife, they get to have a father and husband, who, who just really finds a lot of joy in my occupation. And that kinda makes me a better husband and father you know when I’m with them.”
Country Stuff The Album from Walker Hayes features his latest single at country radio – another track that fans are relating to and loving – “AA.”
Brothers Osborne released Skeletons in October of 2020 – and at the time TJ and John Osborne felt the album got lost because of everything else that was happening in the world.
But now the duo has added some new tracks , and created a Deluxe Edition of Skeletons – which is available now.
Along with the original 12-tracks on Skeletons, the deluxe version adds 3 new songs “Headstone,” “Midnight Rider’s Prayer” and “Younger Me.”
Skeletons Deluxe Track List:
1. “Lighten Up” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk) 2. “All Night” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne and Andrew DeRoberts) 3. “All the Good Ones Are” (TJ Osborne, Lee Miller and Craig Wiseman) 4. “I’m Not for Everyone” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby) 5. “Skeletons” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne and Andrew DeRoberts) 6. “Back On The Bottle” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne and Hayes Carll) 7. “High Note” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Casey Beathard and Dustin Christensen) 8. “Muskrat Greene” (John Osborne) 9. “Dead Man’s Curve” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne and Lee Miller) 10. “Make It a Good One” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne and Stephen Wilson Jr.) 11. “Hatin’ Somebody” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne and Casey Beathard) 12. “Old Man’s Boots” (John Osborne) 13. “Younger Me” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Kendell Marvel) 14. “Headstone” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Kendell Marvel) 15. “Midnight Rider’s Prayer” (John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Paul Moak, Willie Nelson)
“Headstone” is produced by Jay Joyce while “Midnight Rider’s Prayer” was recorded at John Osborne’s home studio and co-produced by the duo and, with Willie Nelson’s personal blessing, uses elements of “On the Road Again.” “Younger Me” rounds out the Skeletons Deluxe track list.
Brothers Osborne’s current single at country radio is “I’m Not For Everyone.”
Texas Hill‘s debut full-length album Heaven Down Here is available now.
Texas Hill is a trio comprised of Adam Wakefield, Casey James, and Craig Wayne Boyd.
The formation of Texas Hill started in 2019 when James and Boyd ran into one another at an event in Nashville which led to a friendship that also revealed the musical kinship the two native Texans had.
After several weeks of getting together and playing music, Craig Wayne brought in his friend Wakefield into the mix.
Two became three, and the sound solidified.
Adam Wakefield says, “We have our own sound as a collective, and nothing shows that more than when we flip parts around and still sound the same. These three timbres together, regardless of what register they’re in, they create their own sound.”
Casey James shares why the trio of singers works, “Everybody has strengths in different places, and that’s what makes this so rewarding. It’s three lead singers, and we each can take the reins at different times. But we’re also able to kick back and let somebody else take charge.”
Along with their music, the 3 men could relate to one another because of their experience on The Voice (Boyd, Wakefield) and American Idol (James).
Craig Wayne Boyd shares, “When you go through something like that, the only people that can really relate to it are the ones who’ve also gone through it,” Boyd adds, “The navigation is going to be just as hard as it ever was, but it’s so much more rewarding when you’re doing it as a group.”
After releasing a couple of EPs and a holiday project, Heaven Down Here is the group’s first full-length album that includes the title track, “Up One Side,” “Where The Lonely Go,” “For The Love Of It,” “Easy On The Eyes” and 7 additional tracks.
Heaven Down Here track list
01) “Heaven Down Here” 02) “For The Love Of It” 03) “Up One Side” 04) “Four Roses” 05) “Love Me When I’m Leaving” 06) “Neon Heart” 07) “Easy On The Eyes” 08) “Where The Lonely Go” 09) “Love Is A River” 10) “Sugar Cane” 11) “Darkest Sky” 12) “For The Love Of It” (Encore Version)
