New Music Video From Hayes Carll & The Band of Heathens - "Any Other Way"

Courtney Patton Announces Her Upcoming New October 7th Release, Electrostatic

Influence. Webster defines it as the power to have an important effect on someone or something… that if someone influences someone else, they are changing a person or thing in an indirect but important way forever. With a poet’s heart, Courtney Patton fuses the power of lyrics, a healthy dosage of musical influences and narrative to build an incredible set of songs on her new 2022 album, Electrostatic. With one listen, you will be changed how you will think about music.  

To know Courtney Patton is to know that she can do anything and everything. Patton’s a mother, a wife, a producer, a singer, a songwriter, a sometimes personal-tour-van driver and a musician. When the Covid world as we know it stopped concerts in their tracks in early 2020, Patton and her husband, fellow Texas troubadour, Jason Eady, kept the heart of live music alive with a weekly program called Sequestered Songwriters. It included all of their dearest musical friends, from Matraca Berg to Cody Jinks. The shows were themed, doing covers and dedications to bygone country artists some weeks and performing favorite country 90’s tracks other weeks. It was over the course of this year, with weekly and always-beautiful dedications to the likes of Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Vince Gill, The Eagles and Ronnie Milsap, Patton- perhaps consciously, perhaps subconsciously- had her songwriter craft and musical tastes both sharpened and broadened.  

The result on Electrostatic is clear. Compared to previous more-stripped down previous projects, this new album has more depth musically without losing any of the of the highly personal and open-book songwriting that she’s become so loved for. It feels more soulful, more full than previous projects. In spots it feels jazzier, and on one track, even draws on Spanish influences to create an incredibly rich tapestry of sound to go with lyrics that are armed with sensitivity and sentiment. It’s as if she’s internalized the influences of her own musical heroes and manifested it into her own autobiographical dedication to music itself. Says Patton on the project, “I didn’t initially start the project with this intent, but as we were making it, I could hear all of my musical heroes and influences organically coming out in each song. And that brought me so much joy and comfort.”  

The new project follows a wild two years of her own personal deep dive into the back catalogs of nearly every single artist she ever loved, not just listening and hearing the lyrical idiosyncrasies and chord progressions, but actually spending hours upon hours learning how they were played. Studying why they connected with her emotionally. Investigating how they were delivered and what made them so meaningful. Patton became a deeper student of music. And it shows on and through this new project.  

They lyrics themselves are as personal as anything that Patton has recorded before, however. Nowhere is this truer than with the title track, a dedication to her sister whom she lost in a vehicle accident nearly two decades ago. The song is a tribute to the influence that still exudes from those that have passed away. Patton says, “It’s a song about finding the beauty still around you in the memories of those that we’ve loved and lost. If energy can’t be created or destroyed, then we can see and feel them all around us every day and there’s something comforting and beautiful about that in itself.” 

Every piece of the new project has Patton’s fingerprints and influence on it. She co-produced the project with both her husband and the Band of Heathens’ Gordy Quist. Musicians on her latest project include a group of all-star musical talents such as Geoff Queen (Kelly Willis, Bruce Robison, Reckless Kelly) on guitar and pedal steel, Trevor Nealon (Jerry Jeff Walker, Rodney Crowell, Jack Ingram) on piano and keyboards, Heather Stalling (Max Stalling, Johnny Lee, The Old 97s) on fiddle, Richard Millsap (Ray Wylie Hubbard, George Strait, Lee Roy Parnell), Naj Conklin on bass and half of the acclaimed band The Trishas on back-up vocals in Jamie Lin Wilson and Kelley Mickwee. Each bring their own unique influences to the project as well.  

The project follows previous solo albums, Triggering a Flood (2013), So This Is Life (2015), her acoustic collaborative project with her husband Jason Eady, Something Together, (2017), and her extremely autobiographical project, What It’s Like To Fly Alone (2018). 

Jason Eady To Release Highly Anticipated New Album in August

 

Artist: Jason Eady

Album: To The Passage Of Time

Label: Old Guitar Records

Release date: August 27, 2021

Mississippi-born, Texas-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Jason Eady has announced his new album To the Passage of Time will be released on August 27, 2021. Eady has also shared "My Best Friend," the second song to be pulled from the album. Last month, Eady released the new song "Back To Normal," which was praised by many including Rolling Stone who described the song as an "on-the-nose exploration of what happens — God willing — a few months from now when the pandemic ends and we re-emerge into the light."

"'My Best Friend' is one of the first songs I wrote for this new record. When it came time to record it, we went back to the stripped down country sounds of fiddle and steel guitar, and kept the production simple to give the lyrics plenty of space," said Eady about the song. 

To the Passage of Time first took shape in a frenetic burst of creativity back in the doldrums of quarantine. Over the course of a three-day period last August, the Fort Worth-based musician wrote more than half of the album, locking himself in his bedroom and emerging only when he felt completely burnt out. "I went in thinking I was going to write just one song—but then the songs kept coming, and I didn’t want to break the spell," Eady recalls. "I’d go to sleep with the guitar by the bed, pick it back up when I woke up the next morning, and do it all again. I’d never really experienced anything like that before."

With its nuanced exploration of aging and loss and the fragility of life, To the Passage of Time arrives as the Mississippi-bred artist’s most lyrically complex and compelling work to date. As Eady reveals, the album’s understated power stems in part from the intentionality of the recording process, which involved enlisting Band of Heathens’ Gordy Quist as producer and gathering many of Eady’s favorite musicians he’s played with over the years (including Noah Jeffries on mandolin and fiddle, Mark Williams on upright bass and cello, and Geoff Queen on Dobro, pedal steel, and lap steel). 

To the Passage of Time will be Eady’s eighth studio album and follows his critically acclaimed I Travel On, which saw a deluxe release in 2019. NPR Music said, "I Travel On is the sound of a deep, restorative breath being taken, of wooden instruments pushing air around a room together in real time, of middle age as a source of strength instead of crisis." The album was also embraced by The Austin Chronicle, Rolling Stone, Noisey, Wide Open Country and many more.

To the Passage of Time Tracklist:

01) Nothing On You

02) These Things

03) The Luxury of Dreaming

04) Back To Normal

05) Possibilities 

06) French Summer Sun

07) Gainesville

08) Saturday Night

09) My Best Friend

10) To the Passage of Time

That Nashville Sound Saturday Newsbytes: Stapleton, Rimes, Collie, Malo, Monroe & More

With the nation getting vaccinated at a record clip and herd immunity getting ever so closer with each passing minute, a day on the horizon in which we get back to a day full of live shows and normalcy seems within reach. It certainly has ramped up the country music machine and lots of news from a lot of country music vets was released this week. Here's some snapshots. 

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Some new music videos over the last week:

Aloe Blacc & LeAnn Rimes - "I Do" - watch HERE

Leslie Jordan ft. Chris & Morgane Stapleton - "Farther Along" - watch HERE

Ashley Monroe - "'Til It Breaks" - watch HERE

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Midland, in conjunction with their music label and CMT have released a new musical documentary of sorts that highlights their origin story. It's called Midland: The Sonic Ranch Documentary. Here's the description: "In the Spring of 2014, Mark Wystrach, Jess Carson, and Cameron Duddy took 11 days out of their very separate lives to head down to the Sonic Ranch, a studio nestled along the dusty American side of the Rio Grande outside El Paso, Texas. Midland was not so much a band as an experiment fueled by an assortment of spirits - but mostly tequila and the possibilities painted in their imaginations. They had no record label or manager and they had never played a show together. These recordings capture three friends, at a live-in studio in the desert, trying to make a dream come true." You can watch the doc HERE.

 

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Rising country newcomer Tiera has released her self-titled debut EP.  The Alabama-native was the flagship songwriter for Nicolle Galyon’s female-driven publishing house, Songs & Daughters. She was inducted into CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2020 and was honored by the AIMP for their Rising Songwriters Class of 2020. Tiera also hosts an Apple Music Country radio station.

“When I put out ‘Found It In You’ I hadn’t planned to release a full EP, but as my fans grasped onto the single I decided to release this whole collection of songs,” says Tiera. “It was really important for me to release my first full project independently because I wanted to make my stamp on country music in my own way. This is my way of introducing everyone to who I am as an artist. I wrote all of the songs with my friends and favorite collaborators; it is 100% true to me and I hope people have just as much fun listening to these songs as we did writing them.”

Tiera Track List:

“Found It In You” (Tiera, Cameron Bedell)

“Not Your Girl” (Tiera, Cameron Bedell, Jack Newsome)

“Laid Back” (Tiera, Mike Robinson, Rocky Block, Sarah Troy)

“Miles” ft. BRELAND (Tiera, Cameron Bedell, Daniel Breland, Jared Scott)

“Shut It Down” (Tiera, Cameron Bedell, Jared Scott, Neil Medley)

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Country music vet Mark Collie announced the upcoming release of his new album Book of My Blues set for June 4, 2021 on BFD/Audium Nashville/Orchard in association with Harvest Entertainment, Creator Label Co., and Collie Kuhl Music. The first single, “Born Ready” is available on all digital services today along with an accompanying video that is one of a series of music videos from the album directed by acclaimed director and screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh and shot by award-winning cinematographer Tom Stern.

The themes in Book of My Blues, those of love, lust, betrayal, addiction, recovery, damnation, and redemption are derived from the graphic novel Rockabilly Hitman, a long-gestating collaboration between Collie and director Hensleigh (“The Punisher,” “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” “Armageddon” and the soon-to-be-released “Ice Road” starring Liam Neeson) that depicts the exploits of rockabilly singer Jesse Wayne Hardin, who by night is an avenger of evil, as he travels the hard backroads from Muscle Shoals to Memphis, from the Mississippi Delta to Music City.

“Writing songs from the perspective of this character has been an enlightening journey. Some of my life experiences are in that character and I have stood at many of those same crossroads,” commented Collie. “Every line and nuance is intended to help bring Jesse Wayne and the ‘Book of My Blues’ to life. There are a lot of ways to describe the music, maybe Roadhouse Rock, Southern Gothic, Americana, Country, but at its core it’s a reflection of me and many others who came before me.”

The album features twelve original songs written or co-written by Collie, plus three rockabilly classics – “Hey Boba Lou” by Ronnie Hawkins, Jacqueline Magill and Robbie Robertson of The Band fame, “Night Train to Memphis” written by Country Music Hall of Fame member Owen Bradley along with Marvin Hughes and Beasley Smith, and the rockabilly standard by Carl Perkins, “Matchbox.” The album was co-produced by Kenny Greenberg (whose producer credits include Allison Moore, Josh Turner, Toby Keith and the Mavericks) and Chad Cromwell (whose credits include his work with Joe Walsh, Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Boz Scaggs).

The co-writers with Collie reads as a who’s who of songwriter elite, including Collie’s long-time friend Billy Bob Thornton who combines with him on the title cut, Tom Douglas, Gary Nicholson and John Scott Sherill, as well as Jonathan Hensleigh and co-producers Greenberg and Cromwell.

Track Listing with songwriters:

1. Book of My Blues with Billy Bob Thornton (Mark Collie, Billy Bob Thornton)

2. Born Ready (Mark Collie, Kenny Greenberg, Gary Nicholson)

3. On the Wings of Your Love (Mark Collie)

4. Right This Wrong (Mark Collie, Kenny Greenberg)

R. Matchbox (Carl Perkins)

5. Holly Springs (Mark Collie, Kenny Greenberg, Chad Cromwell)

6. Unfinished Hurting (Mark Collie, Tom Douglas)

7. Queen of A Hungry Heart (Mark Collie, Kenny Greenberg, Chad Cromwell)

8. Sinking Sand (Mark Collie, Kenny Greenberg, Chad Cromwell)

H. Hey Boba Lou (Ronnie Hawkins, Jacqueline Magill, Robbie Robertson)

9. Put the Gun Down (Mark Collie)

10. Walk the Floor, Kill the Lights, Slam the Door (Mark Collie, John Scott Sherill)

11. A Little Every Day (Mark Collie, Kenny Greenberg, Chad Cromwell)

12. The Son of a Gun (Mark Collie, Jonathan Hensleigh)

13. M. Night Train to Memphis (Owen Bradley, Marvin Hughes, Beasley Smith)

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Dillon Carmichael delivers his distinctive Kentucky-bred deep holler baritone that's far more 90s country than much on the radio dial today on his ‘Hot Beer’ EP, out May 14. The 6-track collection is chock-full of music from standout songwriters including Hardy, Ashley Gorley, Jessi Alexander, David Lee Murphy and others. 

This week, Carmichael shares his rendition of Montgomery Gentry’s “Lucky Man,” a song close to his heart — not only because it was recorded by his uncle Eddie Montgomery, but also because the pandemic has allowed him to reflect on the many reasons he has to be thankful. The visualizer with this song includes an Opry performance, family and friends, the cities his career has allowed him to visit, and on top of that, his recent engagement. Watch the heartwarming video here: youtu.be/wdxSdn2ZYqs 

“Lucky Man” follows the Bakersfield-tinged title track “Hot Beer" and TikTok-viral hit “Sawin’ Logs,” which both showcase Carmichael's knee-slapping humor and were produced with the help of Jon Pardi. In the hilarious “Big Truck," Carmichael questions the motives of his girlfriend’s affection — is it because of his big heart or his lift kit? On a more serious note, “Somewhere She Ain’t” addresses heartbreak, and “Since You’ve Been In It” is a traditional Carmichael love song. 

‘Hot Beer’ is part I of Carmichael’s new music, and a full LP is expected later this year. 

1. Hot Beer (Michael Hardy, Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson) 

2. Big Truck (Dillon Carmichael, Jessi Alexander, David Lee Murphy) 

3. Lucky Man (David Lee, Dave Turnbull) 

4. Somewhere She Ain’t (Carmichael, Alexander, Ben Hayslip) 

5. Since You’ve Been In It (Carmichael, Ray Fulcher, Michael Whitworth, Daniel Ross) 

6. Sawin’ Logs (Brandon Kinney, Brice Long, Wynn Varble)

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Mavericks frontman Raul Malo released a large collection of songs he recorded over the last year this week and has called the album Quarantunes, Vol. 1. 

Malo says about the project, “As the pictures came in of empty streets across the globe, it was apparent this pandemic was going to last a while. This project stemmed from the idea that we were all in this together — everyone at home, doing what they can. It started in my home studio one rainy day, just me and the Mellotron, recording songs I’d never done before. As time went on, I brought in other talented players to contribute: Hector Tellez Jr, my sons Dino and Max, my friends The Band of Heathens, and of course The Mavericks. Although this quarantine chapter will be behind us one day, I hope this record can serve as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there’s always room for a song.”

1. Love

2. Spanish Eyes

3. Ramblin' Rose

4. Solamente Una Vez

5. Wooden Heart

6. Galway Bay

7. Cha Cha Cha D'Amour

8. Jersey Girl

9. Santa Lucia (feat. Lisset Diaz )

10. Hey Gumbaree

11. Besame Mucho

12. Forever and Ever

13. Perfídia (feat. Hector Tellez Jr )

14. Maria Elena (feat. Hector Tellez Jr )

15. I Just Want To Dance With You

16. Moonglow

17. Those Were The Days

18. Brazil

19. All Of Me

20. My Way

21. The Sound Of Silence

22. Every Little Thing About You

23. Here Comes The Sun (feat. The Mavericks )

24. (Waiting For) The World To End (feat. The Mavericks )

25. Sweet Caroline (feat. The Mavericks )

26. Sinners and Saints (feat. The Mavericks )

27. Ventura Highway (feat. Hector Tellez Jr )

28. Back In Your Arms Again (feat. The Mavericks )

29. My Sweet Lord (feat. The Band of Heathens )

30. A Change is Gonna Come

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens - "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?"

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens with Ray Benson - "Rainy Day Woman" (Waylon Jennings Cover)

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens and Jamie Lin Wilson - "You're No Good"

This brilliant Lone Star State collaboration features the guys from The Band of Heathens along with their good friend Jamie Lin Wilson on Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" from her 1974 album, Heart Like a Wheel. The song was written by Clint Ballard Jr. and was actually first released in 1963 by Dee Dee Warwick. Betty Everett also had a killer version of this tune. Video edited by Jesse Wilson. 

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens - "South By Somewhere"

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens and Ray Wylie Hubbard - "Papa Was A Rolling Stone"

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens - "Rock and Roll Doctor" (Little Feat Cover)

That Nashville Sound Sunday Newsbytes: Tons Of New Album Projects On The Horizon

As the editor of this site, I wanted to pass along to my readers my thanks for your continued support of the site if you're here reading this. Since March, we've had more regular video content and less editorial/written content not out of preference, but out of necessity as the Covid-19 outbreak has given me less time to dedicate to the site than I would normally have liked. The non-music world has pulled me away and demanded my attention. That being said, things on the day-to-day front seem to be (slowly) returning a bit back more to normal and it's my hope that we'll continue to invest in news, reviews and updates that you find of value- and most important, deliver what I hope to be new musical discoveries that you'll carry with you in your life. Thanks for the support.

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~ Platinum-selling, singer-songwriter Jamie O'Neal announced that she will release her first new album since 2014 with the October 2 release of Sometimes via Orchard Records. The announcement coincides with the release of new single "Wreck Me," a "sultry country song showing the physical side of love that you can listen to HERE.  The ACM Award winner shares, "‘Wreck Me’ really comes from that primal place of being in the moment one on one with someone you’re so attracted to that you’re willing to throw all caution to the wind. It’s like a fire that takes over and makes you let down your walls giving into love no matter the cost. That’s an incredibly powerful and passionate emotion to me.”

~ Singer/songwriter Joel Crouse has released a timely new track, “Survivin,’” that you can listen to HERE. Released independently by Crouse’s Hum Records, the song offers fans an early look at what to expect from his forthcoming EP, wasteLAnd, available Friday, August 7. Written and produced by Crouse along with Todd Clark almost two years ago to the day, the song carries even more weight with challenges facing society today as the brooding vocals implore: “We’re just survivin’, we’re just survivin’ / All we’re gonna do is take it day by day / Survivin’.” “When Todd and I wrote this song back in 2018, I had no idea we’d be releasing it during a global pandemic and a global civil rights movement,” shares Crouse. “The world feels especially heavy right now, but I hope these songs help people feel less alone. Every morning I remind myself, ‘all we gotta do is take it day by day.’”

~ Warner Music Nashville recording artist Tucker Beathard is set to release the second installment of his debut double album, King, on August 21.  Beathard’s new LP, driven by personal growth and unthinkable tragedy, rounds out the 20-plus song opus Beathard began with Nobody's Everything and signals that the bold breakout talent has found his voice. A tribute to the middle name of Beathard’s late brother, Clay, sees Beathard steering his own creative ship with co-producer, co-writer and lead guitar and drum credits throughout the 13-song set. “For me music has always been a way to escape,” explains Beathard. “There’s a lot of things people are dealing with internally that they don’t have voices for right now, and I’ve learned that if I write from the heart, if I sing from experience, I can be that voice. Some people can’t pinpoint what they’re feeling, but they can hear a song and be like ‘Damn, that’s it,’ and I hope I can help them get there with this record. These songs mean a lot to me and I feel really ready to share them with the world.” 

~ That Nashville Sound-favorite Erin Enderlin debuted a brand new music video for her Nitty Gritty Dirt Band cover of "Fishin' in the Dark."  “It’s always brought a smile to my face, always been one of my go to feel-good songs. I think we could all use a little more of that right now,” says Enderlin, an Arkansas native who now lives in Nashville. “It’s even more special to me because Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played guitar on the track.”

~ Grammy-nominated songstress Cam has officially announced the release of her highly anticipated sophomore album The Otherside, out October 30 via Triple Tigers/RCA Records. The album was written over the last three years in LA, Nashville, and NYC with collaborators Tyler Johnson (Harry Styles, Sam Smith) and Grammy winner Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Bruno Mars), who she calls her fellow “tinkerers.” The album announcement also ties into the news that she is releasing a new single titled “Classic,” which you can listen to HERE. The new single was co-written and produced with Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, St Vincent, The Chicks). “Jack and I caught something in the air that day and ran with it,” Cam says. “The track is so much fun. Jangling guitars, claps, it feels like when a group of familiar people get back together over the holidays, clanking around after dinner with too much wine, and amidst the chatter and laughter and closeness they are really telling each other, deep down, just how much they love each other.”

~ Artists/songwriters Michael Logen and Jennifer Hanson have collaborated on and just released a new EP titled Here’s To Hoping.  You can here their collaboration on the song "Travel On" HERE. “This EP was really a passion project for me and a labor of love,” Hanson said. “Everything from the writing to the production, I’m really proud of this body of work." Both Logen and Hanson are successful solo artists and songwriters and credit their songwriting as the inspiration to team up and record together. The first song they wrote together, “You’re Breaking Your Own Heart,” found its way quickly to Kelly Clarkson, who included it on her Grammy-winning album, Stronger. According to Hanson, she and Logen have always had an effortless writing chemistry and because they were also artists, they fell into a natural rhythm when writing, with Logen singing lead and Hanson creating the harmonies.“That sound and feel became a signature part of the songs we would write,” Hanson said. “Over time we had created a handful of songs that we all loved, and decided to release them as an EP. All the songs are written by either myself and Michael, or Michael, Nick Brophy and I, with Nick and I co-producing the project.”

~ 'Whisperin' Bill Anderson, the sole songwriter in history to write and chart country songs in seven consecutive decades, whose storied career includes membership into country music's most prestigious institutions, will release his 73rd album, The Hits Re-Imagined, July 24. The album includes 10 of the Country Music Hall of Famer's most iconic songs he's written and recorded himself, as well as songs of his made famous by George Strait, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney and more. For The Hits Re-Imagined, Anderson explains he wanted "to go to both ends of the spectrum," including on the project some of his earliest hits like "City Lights" and "Po' Folks" as well as his more contemporary cuts such as "Whiskey Lullaby." The project was co-produced by Anderson with Thomm Jutz.  You can here his take on his song that Strait took to "Song of the Year" with "Give it Away" HERE. 

~ Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and musician Brent Cobb will release his new album, Keep ‘Em On They Toes, October 2 on his own label, Ol’ Buddy Records, via Thirty Tigers. Produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchie, Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger), the album features ten new songs including the title track. The song’s official music video, which was directed by Christian Hansen, is available to view/share HERE. Keep ‘Em On They Toes was created after Cobb moved back to his home state of Georgia after several years between Nashville and Los Angeles—a decision that greatly influenced his songwriting. These ten songs find Cobb with a new reflective mindset, focusing on how he views the world and expressing his own opinions, thoughts and feelings. “To me, listening to this album feels like I’m sitting there with somebody, having a conversation,” Cobb comments. “I would hope that it feels like sitting with an old friend you haven’t seen in a while. There’s nothing like being alone and listening to an album that is quiet and conversational—like those old records by Jerry Lee Lewis, Roger Miller, or Willie Nelson. I hope my music is that way to somebody now.”

~ Parrotheads far and wide will be excited to know Jimmy Buffett has just released the new music video for "Down At The Lah De Dah" from his latest album release: Life On The Flip Side. Recorded in January at Buffett's Shrimp Boat Studio in Key West, Florida, the album was produced by long-time Coral Reefers Michael Utley and Mac McAnally. Buffett assembled his Coral Reefer Band with frequent collaborator Will Kimbrough, Irish singer Paul Brady, along with guest performers Lukas Nelson and Enrique Muricano. The album contains a 64-page insert, which reads like a journal with the looks of a photo album and contains a message from Buffett about releasing an album during a pandemic, “Hopefully, the songs we wrote and recorded will also help folks deal with the fallout… There will be a time and a place when we emerge from these troubled waters and things will change for the better.” The new music video for "Down At The Lah De Dah" features Buffett and the rest of the Coral Reefer Band performing their parts to the song at their homes while in quarantine along with shots of Buffett surfing and spending time at his beach home in Key West and you can watch it HERE. 

~ Capitol Nashville’s Caylee Hammack is offering fans a look into her recently-announced upcoming debut record If It Wasn't For You (August 14 release), releasing her scorching new song “Redhead” that is featuring superstar Reba McEntire available to listen HERE. Co-written by Hammack with Natalie Hemby and Trent Dabbs, the song details the clothes line, tightrope and dare devil high hopes childhood of the brazen “Redhead” with an assist from fellow flame-haired vocalist Reba McEntire. “This song was inspired by an older cousin of mine with fiery red hair,” shared Hammack. “You don’t hear about redheads very much in songs, so I simply wanted to write one for her and all the redheads in my family. Then, Reba came in the studio and transformed this song. She helped me create an anthem for all redheads. Whether you get it naturally or find it in a bottle, this is for the firecrackers!”

~ Superstar vocal group Rascal Flatts will be releasing new music, with their forthcoming How They Remember You EP dropping July 31 via Big Machine Records. A seven-track project, Rascal Flatts’ EP will include six unreleased tracks as well as their recently-released heartfelt rendition of Kenny Rogers’ “Through The Years.” The trio co-produced the tracks throughout the collection. The EP also boasts a notable calibre of songwriters with tracks co-written by Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Josh Osborne, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and more. “We are so excited about our new EP and single, ‘How They Remember You,’” shared Gary LeVox. “It’s a song about what kind of impact and legacy you want to leave in life. It’s a fantastic song to celebrate 20 years of making music together. It’s an incredible message with a melody to match and we hope the fans love it, and that whatever legacy we all leave behind, it’s beautifully impactful.”

~ Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, Cassadee Pope, has released the first two tracks; "Let Me Go" and "Built This House," from her upcoming acoustic album, Rise and Shine. You can listen to "Let Me Go" HERE. "It’s a very emotional song for me because it reminds me of a time in my life where I felt like I wasn’t accepted for who I am. I have a few songs on the album that are more reflective of where I’ve been rather than where I am in my life today, and this is definitely one of them. ”Rise and Shine, releasing on August 7th, is considered to be one of Pope's most personal to date. The eight-song collection marks the first time she has had a hand in writing all of the songs and marks the first time she has served as co-producer, as well. Rise and Shine showcases her evolution both personally and as an artist. 

~ Acclaimed singer, songwriter, musician and Sirius/XM DJ Elizabeth Cook will release her anticipated new album, Aftermath, September 11 on Agent Love Records/Thirty Tigers. In advance of the release, the album’s lead single, “Perfect Girls of Pop,” is debuting today. Watch/share the official music video—directed by Curtis Wayne Milliard—HERE. Produced by Butch Walker (Green Day, Weezer, Taylor Swift), Aftermath is an album about survival and resilience. The twelve songs – all written by Cook – address life’s most fundamental and difficult subjects including heartbreak, addiction, death and resurrection. Created following a period of significant loss and pain, Aftermath chronicles Cook’s journey through a personal hell and how she made her way back. Of the album, Cook reflects, “This is the first time that I’ve been completely unchained, really. I wasn’t in an oppressive relationship, I wasn’t trying to meet some sort of label’s expectation, I wasn’t trying to meet some sort of market expectations. And that’s the way I wanna do it, or not at all.

~ Austin’s The Band of Heathens return with Stranger, their most inventive release to date, on September 25.  The follow up to 2017’s critically acclaimed Duende, the band recorded this new effort in Portland OR with producer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse). New track “Today is Our Last Tomorrow” is a sardonic take on the divisive nature of media. “I heard it on the news, a version of the truth, was it fact packed or fiction and fable?” begins the song, and the creative video parodies the sentiment with caricatures of world leaders, politicians and media figures.  LISTEN/WATCH HERE. “This song is about our obsession, both as a culture, and within the media, with doom and gloom,” says co-founding member Ed Jurdi.  “If you're watching the network news channels, it seems like the world is literally going to end once or twice a week.  They're constantly fanning the flames of our divisions and shortcomings, with hardly a mention of the daily triumphs and victories.” The album title references the famed existential Albert Camus novel and Robert Heinlein’s sci-fi classic Stranger in a Strange Land, but it also touches on the “strangers” who make up the band’s loyal fan base and who continue to support the band during this period with all touring canceled.  In lieu of live shows, the band has been spending four nights a week live-streaming personal private concerts to fans, and one night a week publicly live-streaming with the whole band “Zooming” in from their respective homes in California, Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee.  Co-founder Gordy Quist notes, “At first it seemed very strange until these walls started coming down and we realized how connected we are by the fabric of music.”

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens - "Today Is Our Last Tomorrow"

New Ray Wylie Hubbard Tribute Album Features Outstanding Collection Of Americana Artists

Artists: A Who's Who Of Americana Artists

Album: The Messenger: A Tribute to Ray Wylie Hubbard

Label: Eight 30 Records

Release date: August 2019

The Messenger: A Tribute to Ray Wylie Hubbard, a new collection from Eight 30 Records, features performances by a who’s who of Americana music including Rodney Crowell(“In Times of Cold”), Bobby Bare (“Snake Farm”), Charlie Musselwhite (“Resurrection”), Tom Russell(“Dust of the Chase”), James McMurtry (“The Messenger”), Terri Hendrix (“Without Love”), Jonathan Tyler (“Wanna Rock N Roll”) and others. “We're so proud of this record,” says Jenni Finlay, who co-produced the set with label co-owner Brian T. Atkinson. “We are so excited to celebrate one of our very favorite songwriters and humans alive today.” Additionally, James McMurtry and his band served as the “house band” on several key tracks on the album, which was released digitally on August 16 and is scheduled for a physical release later this fall.

The album serves as a companion to Atkinson’s new book The Messenger: The Songwriting Legacy of Ray Wylie Hubbard, published by Texas A&M University Press. “You know, I've never thought about my songwriting legacy,” Hubbard admits. “I guess I’ve written some pretty cool songs that nobody else seems to be writing. As guess as far as legacy, I hope it’s that I wrote some cool, badass songs. Some sold and some didn’t. Most didn’t.” The Messenger features forewords by Jerry Jeff Walker and Hayes Carll and marks Atkinson's third book for TAMU Press, following I'll Be Here in the Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt (2012) and Kent Finlay, Dreamer: The Musical Legacy Behind Cheatham Street Warehouse (2016), co-written with Jenni Finlay.

“Ray Wylie Hubbard has been overlooked in the conversation about great Texas songwriters for far too long,” Atkinson says. “He shouldn't be passed by. As several dozen songwriters within these pages proclaim, Hubbard has created a catalog over the past four decades deserving mention among the catalogs of monumental tunesmiths such as Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Lightnin' Hopkins, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, Billy Joe Shaver and Townes Van Zandt.” All the songwriters on the tribute — including Texans Slaid Cleaves, Scott H. Biram, The Band of Heathens, Ray Benson, Walt Wilkins, Radney Foster, Shinyribs, Chris Fullerton and others — effortlessly back the claim.

Finlay and Atkinson plan to follow The Messenger by celebrating another Texas treasure with If It Weren’t for You: A Tribute to Walt Wilkins (Eight 30 Records, fall 2021). Iconic Guy Clark sideman Verlon Thompson started recording sessions recently by cutting the title track.

The Messenger: A Tribute to Ray Wylie Hubbard track list: 

James McMurtry • The Messenger
The Band of Heathens • Drunken Poets Dream
Ray Benson • Easy Money Down in Texas
Charlie Musselwhite • Resurrection
Bobby Bare • Snake Farm
Radney Foster • Screw You, We're from Texas
Tom Russell • Dust of the Chase
Tim Easton • Conversation with the Devil
Scott Biram • Chickens
Slaid Cleaves • The Sun Also Rises
Walt Wilkins • Wishbones
Shinyribs • Whoop and Hollar
Rod Picott • Portales
Jon Dee Graham • Mother Blues
Terri Hendrix • Without Love
Chris Fullerton (feat. Slaid Cleaves) • Stone Blind Horses
Jonathan Tyler • Wanna Rock and Roll
Rodney Crowell • In Times of Cold

The Skinny: Brand New Projects From Willie Nelson, Tracy Lawrence, Will Hoge, The Band of Heathens & Jimmie Allen

Artist: Willie Nelson
Album: At the Boarding House: San Francisco Broadcast 1975
Label: All Access
Release date: September 7, 2018

By the mid-1970s Willie was writing and performing "Outlaw Country". He performed a dynamic show at San Francisco's Boarding House venue on 7th June '75, playing a selection of tunes from his recent albums, plus a number of covers, this entire show is now available as an album for the first time.



Artist: Tracy Lawrence
Album: Frozen In Time
Label: Lawrence Music Group
Release date: October 12, 2018

An official release hasn't been made on this one, but the timing of this project, along with the name and album cover would lead us to believe this will be a holiday album. No news on whether it will be Christmas standards or originals (or a combination thereof).



Artist: Will Hoge
Album: My American Dream
Label: Cumberland Recordings
Release date: October 5, 2018

The release features eight songs of rabble-rousing political commentary that turns a critical eye on the crisis of conscience and culture threatening to tear apart his country. The album is Hoge's impassioned portrait of what he holds dear - and what we all might risk losing.

Artist: The Band of Heathens
Album: A Message From The People Revisited
Label: BOH Records
Release date: September 14, 2018

The Band of Heathens have shared a new track, their version of "Take Me Home, Country Roads." While best known as a hit song first performed by John Denver, the song was also recorded by Ray Charles on his seminal 1972 album A Message From The People. Today, the Band's new version of the song is from their ambitious re-envisioning of Charles' album in its entirety. Aptly titled A Message From The People Revisited, The Band of Heathens' upcoming record offers new takes on the original album's ten tracks including "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong," “Hey Mister,” and "Heaven Help Us All" presented in The Band of Heathens' own voice while staying true to the weight and tone of the originals - as well as Charles' own indelible interpretations. The band chose to re-record the often forgotten album because of its moving commentary on social justice, abuse-of-power, and its vision for a stronger, more-unified America.

Artist: Jimmie Allen
Album: Mercury Lane
Label: Stoney Creek
Release date: October 12, 2018

Allen's debut single "Best Shot" is racing up the charts and it appears his debut album is not far behind: “It’s incredibly special to be able to introduce myself to Country music with such a personal song that was inspired by the person who always encouraged me to pursue my dreams,” said Allen. “I’ve always dreamt of what it would feel like to turn on the radio and hear my own song playing through my speakers and I’m so thankful to country radio for helping make that dream a reality.”

 

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens - "America the Beautiful"

The Band of Heathens Release Live Album, Live Via Satellite

Artist: The Band of Heathens
Album: Live Via Satellite
Label: BOH
Release date: April 27, 2018

That Nashville Sound missed a release last month and we'd be remiss if we didn't make a mention of a project on a band we love.

The Band of Heathens made a giant leap with their last full length album Duende, which landed on Rolling Stone's top 50 Americana and Country Albums of 2017 list - It's only natural that the Band of Heathens – a tireless touring outfit – has made a live album to go along with it. Touring the United States and Europe relentlessly to support the release last year, they found themselves at SiriusXM's satellite radio headquarters in New York City in January of 2017 to perform songs from Duende live in the studio for a recorded session on the Outlaw Country channel. They also offered an incendiary cover of the classic Neil Young song "Alabama" which they wryly dedicated to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on air (and received a pile of hate mail for doing so) and delivered a touching version of the Dave Rawlings' (Dave Rawlings Machine/Gillian Welch) ballad "Ruby".

A year later the band finds themselves still riding the wave they created with the release of Duende and plan to follow it up with the release of a 5 song EP from the SiriusXM session called Live Via Satellite (out April 27th on the band's own label BOH Records). According to the press release:

"The session finds the band in excellent form right in the middle of a big album release tour. There's an energy and dynamic present in the live recording true to the Heathens' sound, seamlessly blending rock-n-roll, country and R&B with big vocal harmonies and impeccable instrumental dexterity."

Kelly Willis' New Album Back Being Blue Out April 19

Artist: Kelly Willis
Album: Back Being Blue
Label: Premium Records/Thirty Tigers
Release date: April 19, 2018

Kelly Willis’ new album Back Being Blue is out May 18 on Premium Records/Thirty Tigers.

“Willis steps into the solo spotlight with her seventh full-length project, an enchanting collection of self-penned tunes and impeccably chosen covers. Showcasing the jagged, vulnerable vocals of a honky-tonk angel who's also freely dabbled in rockabilly, power pop, new wave and R&B, it's that last genre that informs the dazzling title tune” lauds Rolling Stone Country. Read HERE.

Of the title track Willis explains, “Up until writing that song, my songs were all feeling a little bit wordy and complicated and personal, and they just weren’t clicking. Then I wrote that one, I just felt like, oh!––what I need to do is try to simplify, and write these stories in a way that feels like you’re not quite sure what era they were written in.”

Back Being Blue is Willis’ seventh full-length studio album and her first solo project since her 2007 LP Translated from Love. Willis’ husband, Bruce Robison produced the new album analogue style in his rural recording studio in their home state of Texas. Willis wrote six of the 10 tracks herself, with help from the likes of Rodney Crowell on the additional four. Notable guests on the record include Eleanor Whitmore (of The Mastersons and Steve Earle and the Dukes), Mark Spencer (of Son Volt) and Trevor Nealon (of Band of Heathens).

Willis explains, “I attempted to make music that could fit in any era but leans on the simplicity of the music that first inspired me. Roots rockabilly country blues, to narrow it down for you! Kind of a Nick Lowe meets Skeeter Davis meets Crystal Gayle. Sounds that were in full blaze when I first moved Austin.”

Willis is herself a longtime feature in the city, having moved to Austin to pursue music shortly after graduating from high school. Not long after, famed singer/songwriter Nancy Griffith took a shine to her voice and recommended Willis to producer Tony Brown, one of the titans of Nashville country, who signed her to a deal with MCA. Willis found herself in the spotlight of country music world in Nashville, with three albums released to widespread critical acclaim.

 

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens - "Trouble Came Early"

New Music Video From The Band of Heathens - "Sugar Queen"

This is a 360 video. You can move the camera around by yourself and be the director.
Here are the rules to enjoy properly:

On Smartphone - must watch in YOUTUBE app (not web browser)
On Computer - Must watch in Chrome Browser
 

New Music Video From Band of Heathens - "Deep Is Love"