New Music Video From Lori McKenna - "When You're My Age" (featuring Hillary Lindsey & Liz Rose)

Write You a Song Podcast Episode VII - An Interview With Songwriter Liz Rose

This morning we share another new podcast from host Tom Mailey from Bonneville radio station New Country 105.1 KNCI in Sacramento. Tom is a country radio veteran with over 30 years of experience in Seattle and Sacramento and a key partner in our Golf & Guitars Children's Charity Music Festival, a little event in our twelfth year that has raised well north of a million bucks for kids and individuals with disabilities. It highlights the songwriters in our industry and is entitled Write You a Song.

It's his hope that this podcast will shine a little overdue spotlight on the talented men and women who, mostly behind the scenes, write the songs that become part of our lives. You know their words and music, but maybe not their names: Write You a Song will feature some of country music’s biggest songwriters--like Jeffrey Steele, Brett Warren, Ashley McBryde, Tim Nichols and more.

From helping a young Taylor Swift find her voice as a songwriter, to soaring success writing songs for Little Big Town, Gary Allan, and others, Liz Rose has one of the most unique songwriter stories you'll ever hear, not the least of which is--she doesn't play music.

Hear one of the more unlikely Nashville success stories from one of country music's most sought-after collaborators, this month, on this unique Write You a Song podcast.

New Music Video From Little Big Town (with Hillary Lindsey, Natalie Hemby, Liz Rose & Lori McKenna) - "Sober"

That Nashville Sound's Top 100 Songs of 2017 - A Year-End Best Of List



2017 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 2017, 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 2017, 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 2016 or before, it couldn’t be included- even if it wasn't released as a single until 2017.

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

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"

Let us hear what you think. Anything we missed? Without further ado, here is That Nashville Sound’s Top Songs of 2017. Each song is linked so you can hear it for yourself by clicking on the link.

The Very Best:

 
 1. Sunny Sweeney – “Bottle By My Bed” - What stands out as her most astounding musical achievement is the heart-wrenching, emotional powerhouse, honest and autobiographical "Bottle By My Bed." Written about her battle with miscarriage and difficulty conceiving, it easily shows how tragedy can transform a piece of art and give it a substance filled with pain, guilt and regret that oozes from every pore of this song. It makes you ache listening to this song.

          2. Jason Eady – “Waiting to Shine” – There are several songs off his outstanding self-titled album that could take this spot, but this particular track stands out above all others. The ultimate singer-songwriter sings of chasing the ultimate song and it's absolute perfection. Eady has done it again with a project that digs deep with a production that allows that storytelling to breathe.

    3. Drew Kennedy – “When I'll Miss You Most” – My family sat around listening to this track earlier this week and had a fascinating experience. This tale of loss and looking back on yesterday was interpreted by my wife as lost love. I envisioned looking back on an old town you were from. My son had the protagonist looking back at his youth. Kennedy says it's a story extrapolated from a 80-something  widowed man going down his drive to pick up his newspaper thinking about his wife. That just might be the genius of the track- so brilliantly and poetically pieced together that the listener can immerse themselves in it and find their own story.

       4. John Mayer – “In the Blood” – So it wasn’t officially released as a county single, but some life breathed into it by Sirius XM has uncovered this nugget that has more country roots than more singles played on that station. The song debates just how much we actually control our destiny or how much it controls us. It’s deep nature vs nurture stuff.

         5. Liz Rose – “Grocery Money” – She’s written smash hits for the likes of Little Big Town and Taylor Swift, but Rose takes the center stage for the first time this year on her solo debut. And she hits it out of the park on this track about how a Mom turned a weekly shopping trip into a lifetime of special memories for her daughter despite barely making ends meet. This might be the finest image painted in lyrics on any release this year.

  6. Brent Cobb – “Ain't A Road Too Long” – Swampy. Groovy. Soulful. This might have the best guitar riff of anything we've listened to all year long. Cobb's unique vocals are a callback to the best of 1970's southern rock icons like the CDB and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Terrific stuff.

  7. Radney Foster - "Belmont and Sixth" - “For me, the goal of writing is always to touch that one person so much that they wonder how I got a peek into their living room–how I understood exactly what they felt,” says Foster about his process. “More than just rhyming or having a pretty melody, I try to express a part of the human condition that can make someone want to laugh, cry, make love, or all of the above.” One of our favorite tracks of the year comes from this project with “Belmont and Sixth.” It’s a heartbreaking look at the plight of a homeless vet and the reaction he gets (and doesn’t get) from a daily passer-byer.
 

8. Erin Enderlin - "Broken" - There wasn't a more fragile song released this year. Enderlin takes on the power of a generational shadow and how, like a compass, it points you in directions whether you want to go there or not. "Broken family trees" have a tendency to do that. It's a punch to the gut emotionally. And genius.

9. Lee Brice - "Boy" - Brice's stint on Curb Records has been a steady output of songs of content and consequence. "Boy" continues this streak. In this observation on fatherhood, he sends a dedication to his son filled with advice and subtle reminders that it's all been done before with Brice himself. It's a loving tribute that anyone with a child of their own will find common ground with and personalize.

10. Chris Stapleton - "Midnight Train To Memphis" -  Yes, we know this is a cover of his own song with the Steeldrivers. But this is a whole new Stapleton this time around. With a raucous array of gritty guitars backing him up, he lets his vocal rip through this fantastic rocker.

Cream of the Crop (Top 35):

Alan Jackson - "The Older I Get"
Jason Eady – “Where I’ve Been”

Jason Eady – “Not Too Loud”

LANCO – “Greatest Love Story”

Midland – “Drinkin’ Problem”

Love & Theft – “Love Wins”
Scotty McCreery - "Five More Minutes"

Steve Moakler – “Wheels”

Ashley McBryde – “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega”

Chris Stapleton – “Second One To Know”
Chris Stapleton - "Tryin' To Untangle My Mind"
Chris Stapleton - "A Simple Song"

Tony Jackson – “The Grand Tour”

Glen Campbell – “Just Like Always”

Jason Isbell – “White Mans’ World”

Jason Isbell – “If We Were Vampires”

Pistol Annies – “Tulsa Time”

Carly Pearce – “Every Little Thing”
Rhonda Vincent & Daryle Singletary - "Golden Ring" and "After the Fire Is Gone"
Hannah Blaylock - "Fences"
Big & Rich - "My Son" (featuring the Issacs)
Drew Kennedy - "House"
Lee Ann Womack - "The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone"
Blake Shelton - "I Lived It"
Dillon Carmichael - "Old Songs Like That"

Upper Crust: (Top 70)

Jennifer Paige – “January”

John Baumann – “Old Stone Church”

Saints Eleven (featuring Courtney Patton) – “Let Them Go”

Candi Carpenter – “Burn the Bed”

Aaron Watson – “Run Wild Horses”

Band of Heathens – “All I’m Asking”

Jason Eady – “Black Jesus”

Jason Eady – “Barrabas”

Sunny Sweeney – “Pass the Pain”

The Mavericks – “Damned (If You Do)”

Joey Feek – “See You There”

Trace Adkins – “Watered Down”

Brad Paisley (with John Fogerty) – “Love and War”

Brad Paisley – “Gold All Over The Ground”

Chris Stapleton – “Either Way”

Willie Nelson – “Your Memory Has a Mind of It’s Own”

Tony Jackson – “Old Porch Swing”

Maggie Rose – “Body on Fire”

Jake Worthington – “A Lot of Room To Talk”

Natalie Hemby – “Cairo, IL”

Brantley Gilbert – “Three Feet of Water”

Brett Eldredge – “Somethin’ I’m Good At”
Will Hoge - "Little Bit of Rust"
Erin Enderlin - "Ain't It Just Like A Cowboy"
Joe Nichols - "We All Carry Something"
Brett Eldredge - "Superhero"
Lee Roy Parnell - "Tied Up and Tangled"
Cadillac Three - "Demolition Man"
Emily West - "Symphonies"
Hannah Blaylock - "Should've Been"
Chris Young - "Where I Go When I Drink"
Lee Ann Womack - "Mama Lost Her Smile"
Carly Pearce - "I Need A Ride Home"
Granger Smith - "When The Good Guys Win"
Donna Ulisse - "A Little Past Lonely"

Best of the Rest (Top 100):

John Schneider – “How Do You Stop The Water”

Willie Nelson – “Delete and Fast Forward”

Ray Scott – “Growin’ Old”
Tony Jackson – “They Lived It Up”

Lindi Ortega – “Waiting ‘Round To Die”

Lady Antebellum – “Hurt”

Steve Moakler – “Steel Town”

Lila McCann – “Still ChooseYou”

Little Big Town – “Drivin’ Around”

Marty Stuart – “Air Mail Special”

Marty Stuart – “Wait for the Morning”

Joey Feek – “Southern Girl”

Chris Stapleton – “Broken Halos”

Zac Brown Band – “My Old Man”

Natalie Hemby – “Worn”

Natalie Hemby – “This Town Still Talks About You”
Will Hoge - "The Grand Charade"
Will Hoge - "17"
Parmalee - "Savannah"
Caroline Jones - "Country Girl"
Cadillac Three - "American Slang"
Hannah Blaylock - "Bandit Queen"
Big & Rich - "Freedom Road"
Midland - "Out of Sight"
Jerrod Niemann - "God Made A Woman"
Drew Kennedy - "Cream and Sugar"

Radney Foster - "For You To See The Stars"
Blake Shelton - "The Wave"

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Unveil New Collaborative Album, The Rest of Our Life

Artist: Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
Album: The Rest of Our Life
Label: Sony/Arista
Release date: November 17, 2017

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will release their first-ever album together, The Rest of Our Life, on Nov. 17. The two Grammy-winning artists announced the news on Oct. 6, their 21st wedding anniversary.

The new album contains 11 songs, and the country royalty couple has already given fans a small sampling of their new music. In addition to announcing the new album, McGraw and Hill dropped their new single "The Rest of Our Life" penned by Ed Sheeran, Amy Wadge, Johnny McDaid, and Steve Mac along with a corresponding music video that you can watch HERE. The 11-song collection will be released by Sony Music Entertainment under the Arista Nashville/McGraw Music label.

Hill and McGraw produced nine of the new album’s 11 songs with Byron Gallimore, and two tracks with Dann Huff. The track listing and writer credits for The Rest of Our Life are as follows:

1. The Rest of Our Life (Ed Sheeran/Amy Wadge/Johnny McDaid/Steve Mac)
2. Telluride (Jon Randall/Jessi Alexander)
3. The Bed We Made (Lori McKenna/Liz Rose/Hillary Lindsey)
4. Cowboy Lullaby (Brett James/Brett Beavers)
5. Break First (Emily Weisband/Ashley Gorley/Jerry Flowers)
6. Love Me to Lie (Hayley Warner/Maureen McDonald/Nathan Chapman)
7. Sleeping in the Stars (Jaida Dreyer/Mark Irwin/Gareth Dunlop)
8. Damn Good at Holding On (Lori McKenna/Barry Dean)
9. Devil Callin’ Me Back (Jesse Frasure/Ben Caver/Nolan Sipe)
10. Speak to a Girl (Shy Carter/Dave Gibson/Joe Spargur)
11. Roll the Dice (Shy Carter/Bobby Hammrick/James LeBlanc/Meghan Trainor)

Showtime Networks will air the concert special Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul on Nov. 17 at 9pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME, on-air, on demand and over the internet. This marks the first ever county music concert film for the network.

That Nashville Sound's Best Songs of 2017 (So Far)

The first half of 2017 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 week, we unveiled our top albums from the first half of 2017, 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 2017, 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 2016 or before, it couldn’t be included- even if it wasn't released as a single until 2017.

Let us hear what you think. Anything we missed? Without further ado, here is That Nashville Sound’s Top Songs of 2017 (so far). Each song is linked so you can hear it for yourself by clicking on the link.

The Very Best:

1.      Sunny Sweeney – “Bottle By My Bed” - What stands out as her most astounding musical achievement is the heart-wrenching, emotional powerhouse, honest and autobiographical "Bottle By The Bed." Written about her battle with miscarriage and difficulty conceiving, it easily shows how tragedy can transform a piece of art and give it a substance filled with pain, guilt and regret that oozes from every pore of this song. It makes you ache listening to this song.

2.       Jason Eady – “Waiting to Shine” – There are several songs off his outstanding self-titled album that could take this spot, but this particular track stands out above all others. The ultimate singer-songwriter sings of chasing the ultimate song and it's absolute perfection. Eady has done it again with a project that digs deep with a production that allows that storytelling to breathe.

3.       John Mayer – “In the Blood” – So it wasn’t officially released as a county single, but some life breathed into it by Sirius XM has uncovered this nugget that has more country roots than more singles played on that station. The song debates just how much we actually control our destiny or how much it controls us. It’s deep nature vs nurture stuff.

4.       Liz Rose – “Grocery Money” – She’s written smash hits for the likes of Little Big Town and Taylor Swift, but Rose takes the center stage for the first time this year on her solo debut. And she hits it out of the park on this track about how a Mom turned a weekly shopping trip into a lifetime of special memories for her daughter despite barely making ends meet. This might be the finest image painted in lyrics on any release this year.

Cream of the Crop:

Jason Eady – “Where I’ve Been”

Jason Eady – “Not Too Loud”

LANCO – “Greatest Love Story”

Midland – “Drinkin’ Problem”

Love & Theft – “Love Wins”

Steve Moakler – “Wheels”

Ashley McBryde – “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega”

Chris Stapleton – “Second One To Know”

Tony Jackson – “The Grand Tour”

Glen Campbell – “Just Like Always”

Jason Isbell – “White Mans’ World”

Jason Isbell – “If We Were Vampires”

Pistol Annies – “Tulsa Time”

Carly Pearce – “Every Little Thing”

Upper Crust:

Jennifer Paige – “January”

John Baumann – “Old Stone Church”

Saints Eleven (featuring Courtney Patton) – “Let Them Go”

Candi Carpenter – “Burn the Bed”

Aaron Watson – “Run Wild Horses”

Band of Heathens – “All I’m Asking”

Jason Eady – “Black Jesus”

Jason Eady – “Barrabas”

Sunny Sweeney – “Pass the Pain”

The Mavericks – “Damned (If You Do)”

Joey Feek – “See You There”

Trace Adkins – “Watered Down”

Brad Paisley (with John Fogerty) – “Love and War”

Brad Paisley – “Gold All Over The Ground”

Chris Stapleton – “Either Way”

Willie Nelson – “Your Memory Has a Mind of It’s Own”

Tony Jackson – “Old Porch Swing”

Maggie Rose – “Body on Fire”

Jake Worthington – “A Lot of Room To Talk”

Ray Scott – “Growin’ Old”

Scotty McCreery – “Five More Minutes”

Natalie Hemby – “Cairo, IL”

Brantley Gilbert – “Three Feet of Water”

Brett Eldredge – “Somethin’ I’m Good At”

Best of the Rest:

John Schneider – “How Do You Stop The Water”

Willie Nelson – “Delete and Fast Forward”

Tony Jackson – “They Lived It Up”

Lindi Ortega – “Waiting ‘Round To Die”

Lady Antebellum – “Hurt”

Steve Moakler – “Steel Town”

Lila McCann – “Still Choose You”

Little Big Town – “Drivin’ Around”

Marty Stuart – “Air Mail Special”

Marty Stuart – “Wait for the Morning”

Joey Feek – “Southern Girl”

Chris Stapleton – “Broken Halos”

Zac Brown Band – “My Old Man”

Natalie Hemby – “Worn”

Natalie Hemby – “This Town Still Talks About You”

Taylor Swift Collaborator Liz Rose To Release Her Debut Solo Album This Week

Artist: Liz Rose
Album: Swimming Alone
Label: Liz Rose Records
Release date: May 12, 2017

Liz Rose, Grammy-award winner, co-writer of many Taylor Swift hits (twenty of Swift's officially-released songs and singles, including "White Horse," "Teardrops on My Guitar," and "You Belong with Me") and mother of Caitlin Rose has announced details of her highly-awaited debut solo record, Swimming Alone.  Taking in numerous decades and recounting memories of swimming with her friends in the heat of Irving, Texas, or going to work in her Father’s shop on a Saturday morning with her siblings, Rose has compiled a collection of stories with the help of Caitlyn Smith and longtime co-writers Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey.

In a conversation with The Tennessean: "The feel on the record is kind of vintage. There are songs about my life, there’s a song about the five and dime, there are songs about me growing up. You can tell on the record I’m kind of free-spirited, I don’t have a plan, I just go through life,” Rose said. “I’m proud of the songs, I’m proud of the message. I’m not a great singer, I’m not really a great performer, but I love doing the songs and telling stories so it’s really just about people getting to know me and realizing what songwriting is really about,” Rose said.

The title track comes from a childhood story of when Rose’s mom couldn’t find a two-year-old Rose — and later discovered her swimming in the pool alone.

“I just realized, that’s kind of the story of my life. Even though I’m married and have kids and have tons of friends, I really do feel like whatever I jump into I really jump in alone and hope somebody is going to jump in with me,” Rose said.

Track listing:
1. Grocery Money
2. Five & Dime
3. Tulsa
4. Letters from Prison
5. Swimming Alone
6. Ex-Husbands
7. Sacred Ground
8. Yellow Room
9. Woodstock
10. My Apology