EMI Nashville’s Brothers Osborne will perform a free live stream concert, Brothers Osborne: Let’s Play Live, Aug. 21 at 7pm CT here to raise for the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund.
Jerry Lee Lewis was one of five legends inducted into The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) Hall of Fame. Although Lewis was unable to attend the ceremony hosted by Marty Stuart, Jerry Lee Lewis III accepted the award on his behalf with his father’s sister, Linda Gail Lewis, who performed her brother’s major hits “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin.’”
The2020 Hall of Fame inductees include the late Country Music Hall of Fame member Tammy Wynette, singer/songwriter Bo Diddley, poet and writer Margaret Walker (Alexander) and bluesman John Lee Hooker. The Hall of Fame consists of influential men and women that have had an impact on arts and entertainment and count their roots in Mississippi. Previous inductees include Jimmy Buffett, Charley Pride, William Faulkner, Morgan Freeman, John Grisham, Elvis Presley and Oprah Winfrey among many others.
Jerry Lee Lewis found fame at Sun Studios in Memphis with hit records on the Rock n’ Roll and Country charts. Lewis, along with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins would become known as the Million Dollar Quartet. More about the Mississippi HoF at https://www.msarts.org/the-max-at-home/
Martina McBride will be the special guest for Alabama’s two-night stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The back-to-back concert dates are July 2nd and 3rd, 2021. The dates are part of Alabama’s rescheduled 50th Anniversary Tour.
Can it really be 50 years? Yes, it can! In 1972, they were known as Wildcountry and began to find their first taste of success, not in their ‘namesake’ state but in Myrtle Beach, SC, as the house band at a club called The Bowery. They officially became The Alabama Band – and then simply Alabama – in 1977.
Since then, they’ve racked up scores of No. 1 singles, multi-platinum albums and are the most-awarded band in the history of country music. See tour updates at https://www.thealabamaband.com/
Lauren Akins has launched the limited-time ABLE x Lauren Akins Collection benefitting Love One. The line features two styles of women’s bags and is available for pre-order here. Akins serves on the Board of Directors for Love One, whose mission is to provide life-saving medical care for children in Uganda. Buyers have an option for a special bundle price of her upcoming memoir Live In Love: Growing Together Through Life’s Changes (available Aug. 18) through Nashville’s Parnassus bookstore. https://www.livefashionable.com/pages/able-x-lauren-akins
Congratulations to Chris Janson, Kristen Williams, Tom Martens, and the Warner/ WAR promotion team on landing at No. 1 with “Done.“ The song is the second single from Janson’s third studio album, Real Friends. Songwriters are Mitch Oglesby, Jamie Paulin, Matt Roy and Janson.
Creative people can’t stop creating just because they can’t perform live shows. Case in point: singer-songwriter Cassadee Pope whose new album Rise and Shine is a project she created during the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic. Cassadee has the distinction of being the first female winner of The Voice in 2012, having previously fronted the rock band Hey Monday. Her debut country album, Frame by Frame, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Now she has taken advantage of the down-time away from performing to release Rise and Shine, a set of eight acoustic songs that she co-wrote and co-produced. “Rise and Shine is a collection of songs that talk about where I’ve been and where I’m headed,” said Cassadee. “I wanted people to hear these in their purest form so I went with a more stripped back sound that really lets the lyrics stand out. My hope is that these songs help aid people into feeling every emotion they need to let out.” Check out the album and updates at https://www.cassadeepope.com.
Hitmaker and songwriting powerhouse Ashley Gorley has set a new record, notching his 50th No.1 song at Country radio with LOCASH’S Mediabase chart topper, “One Big Country Song.” Gorley isn’t just the first songwriter in the Country format to achieve this feat, but it stamps him as the only songwriter of any genre to earn 50 No.1s in the history of the Mediabase and Billboard Airplay charts. “I love what I do,” shares Gorley. “I love writing songs – the challenge, the process, and the way that each day brings something different. 50 No.1s is an achievement I’m proud of and grateful for, but I’m even more grateful for the friendships these 50 No. 1s have granted me; friendships with the artists that have given these songs life and success, my co-writers who motivate me to dig deeper each day, and mentors and early believers who continue to cheer me on.” Gorley, known for hits recorded by Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett, has been named four-time Billboard Country Songwriter of the Year, three-time NSAI Songwriter of the Year, eight-time ACM Songwriter of the Year nominee, and securing three CMA Awards and two Grammy nominations.
Just a few weeks ago, Randy Travis released his first single since his stroke in 2013. “Fool’s Love Affair,” a never before heard song, quickly garnered over one million streams on digital platforms. Download and stream the song at https://orcd.co/foolsloveaffair. Travis also joined the viral app TikTok and has four million views on his first video in less than two days. “Fool’s Love Affair” not only is the first new Randy Travis music in years, but it also marked the 35th Anniversary of his first radio single “On The Other Hand.” Originally recorded as a demo, the song sat in storage until one of the writers, Charlie Monk (who wrote the song with Milton Brown and Keith Stegall) rediscovered it and sent it to Travis and his longtime producer Kyle Lehning. This release was long awaited by country music fans and artists who credit him as musical inspiration. In addition, country radio across the country and around the world truly embraced the song, featuring it on release day along with commentary on Randy Travis’ impact on the genre. More about Randy at https://www.randytravis.com/
Luke Bryan talking about his latest single and new album: “The song ‘Born Here, Live Here, Die Here’ paints such a beautiful picture of rural life and a rural mindset. Every line tells of that small-town life and not needing to go look anywhere else, they’re happy, they’re content, they have everything they want right there. There’s something really, really special about those types of people. For many years I was that guy that was gonna be born there, live there, and never leave. But somehow I left and became a country music singer… but I still love to sing about those topics.” – Luke Bryan. The album Born Here, Live Here, Die Here also includes his No. 1 hits “One Margarita,” “Knockin’ Boots” and “What She Wants Tonight.” Videos, music and tour info at https://www.lukebryan.com/
Allie Colleen, has announced an original concept project consisting of two singles simultaneously released which shares a personal experience of her journey to nurture and mature through a relationship with a longtime friend. “Best Friend” was co-written by Allie Colleen along with Dallas Remington, Scott Barrier and Cyndi Limbaugh Torres while “Road You Take” was co-written with Melissa Bollea. Production of the impassioned song project was brought to life by Joe Costa at Costa Gold Studio. As a flourishing artist and songwriter, Allie is aiming to present a range of songs to share what she is capable of as an individual and offer listeners content that fits multiple genres. The concept to share the two songs together came from vinyl 45’s having a side A song to reveal the tender lyrics that expose a broken heart and side B to share the journey of healing to the listeners. Both “Best Friend” and “Road You Take” are now available for streaming and download from http://smarturl.it/BestFriendRoadYouTak See also https://www.alliecolleenmusic.com.
Michael Ray’ HONKY TONK TUESDAYS. https://linktr.ee/michaelray (Deana Carter)
Preshias Harris is a music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Visit www.collegeofsongology.com for more details. Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
Harris is also the author of “I Know Country” with 366 daily country music questions and answers. You can buy and instantly download your e-book copy at www.IKnowCountry.com.
