New Music Video From Aaron Lewis - "Over The Hill"

New Music Video From Aaron Lewis - "Am I The Only One"

That Nashville Sound's Top Country Songs of 2019

2019 has been another fabulous year of country music. Traditional country, bluegrass, modern country and Americana are all represented well and this list proves that out- we’ve cast a wide net over that definition of roots-oriented music.  Earlier this month, we unveiled our top albums of 2019, but here we tackle our favorite songs. Few are radio singles. But you probably knew that already if you read this site.

Here are the rules by which this list was selected. It had to be released off an album that was released in 2019, is an independent release not on any other project, or is an already-released single off a to-be-released album. If the album came out in 2018 or before, it couldn’t be included- even if it wasn't released as a single until 2019. What resulted was an even-par number of our favorite 72 tracks of the year.

Looking back, there's some amazing songs that moved us more than all the others:

2018 – Ashley McBryde – “Girl Goin’ Nowhere”

2017 – Sunny Sweeney – “Bottle By My Bed”
2016 - Jack Ingram - "The Sailor and the Sea"
2015-  Chris Stapleton - "Tennessee Whiskey"
2014 - Emily West - "Made for the Radio"
2013 - Kacey Musgraves - "Follow Your Arrow"
2012 - Waylon Jennings - "I Do Believe"
2011 - Ronnie Dunn - "Cost of Livin'"
2010 - Joe Diffie - "Route 5 Box 109"
2009 - Dean Brody - "Cattleman's Gun"
2008 - Jamey Johnson - "In Color"
2007 - Miranda Lambert - "Gunpowder and Lead"
2006 – Johnny Cash – “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”

Without giving much away, below, I believe it important to note that four of the top five songs are all by women. Despite what general country radio thinks, some of the most powerful songs and projects are coming from the fairer sex and clearly deserve a better shake at being heard to a wider audience. (Steps down from soapbox.)

The Very Best (1-10):

1.    Erin Enderlin – “Broken” – Much like the rest of her new album (ranked #1 for 2019 by this very site), no song rips your heart out like “Broken,” a story of giving up a child to break the cycle of self-destructive family history. “A broken limb from a crooked family tree. When you have got that kinda history, it’s hard to break free. When’s broken’s all you know, it’s all you know how to be.” It’s poetic virtuosity. Timeless.

2.    Austin Jenckes – “Fat Kid” – Co-written and assisted on vocals with Lori McKenna, this look back on growing up is as much looking forward as it is in the rear-view mirror. We’re all insecure in our own way, and that’s okay. “Ain’t life just like high school sometimes?” he sings in the rueful chorus. “Probably sitting in the back of a cafeteria by yourself/Feeling like a fast girl, a math nerd, the fat kid.” It’s McKenna at her very best and Jenckes delivers it with a heartfelt honesty that drives it home.

3.    Hailey Whitters – “Ten Year Town” - This track is one for the ages. Chasing one's musical dreams is a passion that is done for the love of music and for every one artist or songwriter that succeeds, there are dozens of others that are equally as talented (or more so) that never make it over the hump. This track "Ten Year Town" is one of those songs that details the trials and tribulations of chasing the dream inside Music City. It's one of our favorite songs of the year and I implore you to take a minute and listen to it. It's powerful stuff.

4.    Ingrid Andress – “More Hearts Than Mine” – This fresh new face out of Colorado hit an absolute smash with her very first single. There are insecurities in bringing the love of your life home to meet the parents and this song details all the excitement and fears that rite of passage holds. Breakups can be so much harder than just getting over that person. It's their parents. Their dog. Their friends. Andress eloquently elaborates on how while she may get over a possible future break-up, her family might not be so lucky. It’s brilliant.

5.    Madison Kozak – “First Last Name” – I discovered Kozak first through the Song Suffragettes Monday show at The Listening Room- when I heard her sing this dedication to a daughter’s father.  “First Last Name,” pays tribute to a father-daughter relationship. Not only did the touching ballad kickstart her career by leading to a publishing deal with powerhouse company Big Loud, but it also feels meaningful because it was Kozak’s dad who taught the Nashville-based artist everything she knows and loves about country music. Growing up the seventh child in a family of eight siblings in rural Ontario, Kozak’s Dad introduced her to the greats — Loretta Lynn (Kozak’s first concert), Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash — and also taught her to play guitar when he discovered she loved to sing. Full circle stuff. Remember this name- she’s going to be a star.

6.    Cody Johnson – “Monday Morning Merle” – Full of good old country music production and a heavy dose of sentimentalism, Johnson name-drops artists that move him like Jackson Browne and the Eagles before admitting that nothing quite matches a broken heart quite like “Misery and Gin” from the late great Merle Haggard.

7.    Jack Ingram – “Sailor and the Sea” – One of our favorite tracks from this Texan was this little-heard dedication to his good friend and late legendary songwriter Guy Clark- about a story that he told Ingram about riding out a hurricane in a boat.  "He told me a story about riding out Hurricane Carla, 1963, in the bay at Rockport on a boat he had helped restore & was scheduled to sail to Florida the next week. Hurricane Carla took out Galveston. It was a big one. He anchored the boat out in the bay with 100 lb test rope. He tied 10 lines of rope to the anchor, each one 10' ft longer than the previous. As one would break there would be 10 more feet of line & the boat remained steady. Storm passed. Made a few minor repairs & sailed the boat to Florida." Symbolically, there might not be a better premise for a song and Jack delivers a profoundly insightful dedication to Guy. "I loved Guy. I didn't need him to but he let me know in ways he knew I'd know that he was glad I was in his world. That felt really fuckin' good. He knew I needed that from him and he gave it to me. Guy Clark took moments of absolute CLARITY and turned them into songs that were clearer than the original moment." Call me sentimental, but this ode to one of our generations finest songwriters who was lost this year is one of our favorites track of the year.

8.    Aaron Lewis (with Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss) – “State I’m In” – Life on the road and the trade-offs that come therein is at the heart of this song. “I lost my faith a long time ago/ Puttin' miles on this old road/ I lost my family and I lost my soul/ 800 miles and one more show,” sings Lewis. The fact that Johnson and Krauss sing background vocals on this one is just cherry on top.

9.    Luke Combs – “Beer Never Broke My Heart” – As big boisterous fun party radio-friendly arena-anthem drinking songs go, this one’s about damn-near perfect. It’s ear candy that’s catchy as can be and is as representative of Combs popularity as anything he’s released.

10.  David Nail – “Oh Mother”- Nail’s catalog has been criminally underrated so far in his career and this latest title track off of his latest EP is another example of just why. Nail has publicly dealt with mental health issues like depression and never shied away from it. This track- a dedication to his mom about how she’s not to blame- is a highly autobiographical and emotional deep dive into the topic. The arrangement is equal parts haunting and stirring. “’Oh, Mother’ was a song where the writing came very easily, almost as if it had been stirring inside for some time,” says Nail. “I think it’s always been very important for me to make sure that those closest to me didn’t in some way think they were responsible for any of my mental health issues.“

The Cream of the Crop (11-45):

11.  Midland – “21^st Century Honkytonk American Band”

12.  Randy Houser – “What Leaving Looks Like”

13.  Vince Gill – “I Don’t Want To Ride The Rails No More”

14.  Emily Scott Robinson – “The Dress”

15.  Cody Jinks – “William & Wanda”

16.  George Strait – “God and Country Music”

17.  Mike and the Moonpies - “Danger”

18.  Blake Shelton – “God’s Country”

19.  Logan Brill – “Walk of Shame”

20.  Miranda Lambert – “Bluebird”

21.  Carly Pearce & Lee Brice – “I Hope You’re Happy Now”

22.  Tyler Childers – “Peace of Mind”

23.  Jimmie Allen and Abby Anderson – “Shallow”

24.  Trisha Yearwood – “The Matador”

25.  Little Big Town – “The Daughters”

26.  Ashley McBryde – “One Night Standards”

27.  Emily Scott Robinson – “Ghost in Every Town”

28.  Cody Jinks – “Ain’t A Train”

29.  Emily West and Brennin Hunt – “Where We Began”

30.  Jude Cole – “Partners In Time”

31.  Jon Pardi – “Starlight”

32.  Josh Kelley – Busy Making Memories”

33.  Del Barber – “Every Day Life”

34.  Jon Pardi - “Me and Jack,”

35.  Mike and the Moonpies - “If You Want A Fool Around”

36.  Austin Jenckes – “If You’d Been Around”

37.  Gabe Lee – “Eveline”

38.  Willie Nelson – “Immigrant Eyes”

39.  Tanya Tucker - “Bring My Flowers Now”

40.  Whiskey Myers – “Bitch”

41.  Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Elle King, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes & Caylee Hammack – “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”

42.  Hardy – “Signed, Sober You”

43.  Vince Gill – “That Old Man of Mine”

44.  Erin Enderlin – “These Boots”

45.  The Highwomen – “The Highwomen”

The Upper Crust (46-60):

46.  Randy Houser – “No Good Place To Cry”

47.  Cody Johnson – “On My Way To You”

48.  Logan Brill – “Roar”

49.  Midland – “Mr. Lonely”

50.  Charles Wesley Godwin – “Here in Eden”

51.  Johnny Cash and Sheryl Crow – “Redemption Day”

52.  Miranda Lambert – “Holy Water”

53.  Riley Green – “Numbers On The Car”

54.  Austin Jenckes – “Never Left Memphis”

55.  Sheryl Crow and Chris Stapleton – “Tell Me When It’s Over”

56.  Erin Enderlin – “The Queen of Marina del Rey”

57.  Chris Roberts and Ashley Campbell – “Something To Brag About”

58.  Trisha Yearwood – “When Lonely Calls”

59.  Reba McEntire - “The Bar’s Getting Lower”

60.  Jamie Floyd – Life’s a Party”

The Best of the Rest:

61.  Stoney LaRue – “Hill Country Boogaloo”

62.  Luke Combs – “Refrigerator Door”

63.  Randy Houser – “What Whiskey Does”

64.  P!nk and Chris Stapleton – “Love Me Anyway”

65.  Willie Nelson – “Nobody’s Listening”

66.  Chris Jones and the Night Drivers – “Own The Blues”

67.  Sturgill Simpson – “The Dead Don’t Die”

68.  Tracy Lawrence – “Work On My Willie”

69.  Vince Gill – “When My Amy Prays”

70.  The Highwomen – “Streets of Laredo”

71.  Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson – “Lonely Alone”

72.  Whiskey Myers – “Die Rockin’”

That Nashville Sound Friday Newsbytes: Luke Combs, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley & More

It must be the official start to summer, because several new music videos and musical performances were released yesterday and we've got them all under one convenient umbrella for you this first of June morning. Enjoy watching.

- Steven Curtis Chapman is back with a new expansive music video for his new song "Remember To Remember."

- "Must've Never Met You" is the name of Luke Combs new music video.

- Luke Combs also released a second music video for "A Long Way" off of his new deluxe album, This One’s For You Too.

- Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne collaborated a new music video for "Burning Man." 

- Michael Ray released a new music video for his song, "Summer Water."

- Steve Moakler went on WSM 650 to do an acoustic video performance of his new song "Suitcase."

- Keith Urban and Julia Michaels released a new music video for their new music collaboration, "Coming Home." 

- Aaron Lewis stopped by to sing his patriotic original "Folded Flag" acoustically for everyone at Country Rebel HQ for the Country Rebel HQ Sessions.
 

That Nashville Sound Wednesday Newsbytes

This morning, That Nashville Sound's got numerous new album announcements to go along with a couple of new music videos to share.

- The Voice Season 7 winner Craig Wayne Boyd announced that he will be releasing his next indie album called Top Shelf on October 7, 2017 in addition to expecting his third child.

- Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers unveiled a 360 degree music video for a new bluegrass instrumental song called "Office Supplies." 

- Aaron Lee Tasjan premiered his new music video for "Till The Town Goes Dark."

- One of That Nashville Sound's favorite music discoveries has been Ashley McBryde this year. Be sure to watch her new music video for "A Little Dive Bar In Dahlonega."

- Aaron Lewis unveiled a brand new song with a powerful message entitled "Folded Flag."

-  Darius Rucker has announced his fifth solo country album When Was the Last Time will be released on October 20th. "I know what I want to do in country music right now and this is another step there," Rucker tells Rolling Stone Country. "It's a lively album, lots of upbeat stuff. My fans will be really happy and I hope to make some new fans too, because it's a country record."

- Courtney Marie Andrews has released a video for “Irene” off of her breakout record Honest Life today over on NPR.

- Kelsea Ballerini’s new album is titled Unapologetically and will be officially released on November 3. "I feel like I've been keeping a secret for two years that I finally get to tell," Ballerini admits. "I've never been more proud as I am of this record, the story it tells, and the heart my friends and I put into it. So, November 3, we get to start the next chapter! Unapologetically..."

- Teenager and child music prodigy Emi Sunshine will release her new album Ragged Dreams on August 25, 2017. “I’m pretty sure that most folks expect me to write and sing about rainbows, butterflies and unicorns, but that’s just not me. I like to write about things that are real and life just isn’t pretty sometimes…that’s just the way it is. I also get my song ideas from scary movies (I love scary movies!); I love the ‘shock factor;’ it’s just plain fun to see the 'surprise' on people’s faces!”

- Our ears are anxious to hear Dori Freeman again on her upcoming sophomore album. It'll be produced by Teddy Thompson again and released October 20 and entitled Letters Never Read.  It's "a mix of Dori's originals, though tempered with a slightly more positive outlook, plus some tastefully arranged traditional pieces. Dori's voice is shockingly great, but hearing her sing true Appalachian music for the first time is a revelation."

The Golf & Guitars Music Festival Raises Over $100,000 In 2016 For Kid Charities

We had more than 108,000 reasons to love Golf & Guitars this year. That’s how many dollars that the Golf & Guitars Music Festival & Pro-Am raised this year in a record fundraising effort in Morton Golf Foundation’s largest fundraiser on May 16 & 17, 2016.

We brought the general public two nights of music and featured different performers on each night of our concert series. The hottest acts in country music, the up-and-coming artists you’ll soon see topping the charts and some of Nashville’s very best songwriters are all donating their time to help raise funds for children’s charities during the music festival. 

The Morton Golf Foundation is proud to call KNCI 105.1 FM our partner in hosting this special event. Golf and Guitars is a celebrity pro-am golf tournament and concert featuring nationally recognized & major label country music artists.  Each golfer in the tournament gets to play with one of the celebrities and then gets a seat next to the stage where these artists put on a tremendous concert underneath the beautiful golf course sky.

The highlights were many over the two days:

Our line-up was one of our very best ever. With our headliner, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Love & Theft, Jackson Michelson, Lockhart, Green River Ordinance, Lauren Alaina, Drake White, Canaan Smith, Jason Michael Carroll, LOCASH, Eric Paslay, Parmalee and Aaron Lewis, we had arguably our finest line-up ever on night two.

Our Singer-Songwriter Showcase and Pairings Party on night one was equally as special. We had Logan Brill, Hailey Whitters , Jordan Reynolds , Francesca Beghe, Chris Roberts, Ella Mae Bowen, Scott Stevens, Faren Rachels, Jennifer Paige, Ashley Campbell and Megan Conner- with Jimmy Wayne acting as our first night host. When Campbell covered her father’s touching “Wichita Lineman,” our event had its first standing ovation in its history.

For the second consecutive year, Jason Michael Carroll played a round of golf with four very special local heroes out of our Wounded Warriors golf program. PING Golf generously donated a set of clubs and personalized golf bag to each of the players that was gifted to the veterans up on stage to a rousing applause.

On night one at our Singer-Songwriter Showcase & Pairings Party, not only did the Morton Golf Foundation gift 21 different high school seniors $26,000 in scholarship money mostly donated by our incredible sponsor Air Force One Golf, but Sleep Train founder Dale Carlsen generously donated $2,500 to kick off a new and upcoming foster child golf program that was brainstormed by frequent G&G participant and country artist Jimmy Wayne, a tireless advocate and former foster kid himself.

The local California Eagles, our Special Olympics golf program held here in the Sacramento region, had many of their participants on-hand on night two running our raffle for an autographed guitar signed by all of the G&G artists, raising nearly $5,000 for their own program.

Mother Nature contributed in her own way with two gorgeous springtime days with nary a cloud in the sky. The concerts under the sky are one of the highlights of every local music fan with the music held right on the 17th tee.

Another highlight was our generous foursomes that came out and enjoyed great shots and bad shots alike across both the Alister MacKenzie and Arcade Creek GC’s at Haggin Oaks. Our gracious hosts Love and Theft did wonderful jobs with their storytelling and artist introductions in their regular hosting gig they’ve handled over the last several years. They’ve just signed a brand new recording deal with Curb Records and we can’t wait to hear what is in store for them.  

All in all, it was a highly successful two days of fundraising and a memory everyone that was in attendance will remember for a lifetime.

 

Block your calendar for Monday, May 15 & Tuesday, May 16, 2017 for Golf & Guitars X.

New Music Video From Aaron Lewis - "That Ain't Country"

New Music Video From Aaron Lewis - "That Ain't Country"

New Music Video From Aaron Lewis- "Granddaddy's Gun"