One Flew South's Chris Roberts To Release The Way West On 10/23

Artist: Chris Roberts
Album: The Way West
Label: Catch This Music
Release date: Oct. 23, 2015

The Way West features many of Chris’ favorite co-writers, including Gantt, Sam Ashworth (Switchfoot, Joy Williams, Kris Allen), Johnny Bulford (Lee Brice, Chris Young), Chris Gelbuda (Meghan Trainor, Billy Currington), and Scott Stepakoff (Tim McGraw, Kip Moore, Kelsea Ballerini), and also includes contributions from Nashville’s own Fleming & John on the track “Heartless World”. The Way West is an album full of the kind of musical diversity and emotional longing you might expect from a wanderer such as Chris Roberts.

Track listing:

1. Some Beginnings
2. On My Way To You
3. Picture on the Wall
4. Love Gets Gone
5. 63' Airstream
6. Trying to Stop the Rain
7. I Believe In You
8. Kill Me Again
9. Heartless World
10. The Way West
11. Song for a Girl

6th Annual Golf & Guitars Music Festival & Children’s Charity Golf Tournament Set For Sacramento’s Haggin Oaks Golf Course On 5/20 & 5/21

We are partnering with KNCI 105.1 FM and hosting the 6^th Annual Golf & Guitars Music Festival and Children’s Charity Concert on May 20 and May 21 at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex. That’s right! In 2013, we’re bringing the general public two nights of music! Golf and Guitars is a celebrity pro-am golf tournament and concert featuring nationally recognized & major label country music artists that raises money for two key children's charities here in Sacramento.  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. And for the first time ever, we’re featuring different performers on each night of our concert series! The hottest acts in country music and the up-and-coming artists you’ll soon see topping the charts are all donating their time to help raise funds for two local children’s charities during the 2013 Golf and Guitars KNCI Music Festival.

The Website: www.golfandguitars.com

The Course: The Alister MacKenzie GC at Haggin Oaks

The Dates: Monday, May 20th and Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 (tournament on day two)

Ticket Prices:

One Night Ticket: $22

Ticket to Both Nights: $35 (Save $9!)

VIP Ticket: $150 - VIP Tickets include designated concert seating, a Golf and Guitars hat, buffet dinner and a non-alcoholic drink ticket for both nights

Golf Tournament Spots: $350

The Beneficiaries:

The Morton Golf Foundation

The mission of the Morton Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity, is to provide golf programs that provide exercise in a healthy outdoor environment, to create a recreational environment that builds lasting personal development and that seamlessly introduces life’s core values of the great game of golf to the youth, disabled and underserved communities in the Sacramento region.

Jenna and Patrick’s Hope Foundation

This foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization is in existence to help us find a cure for cystinosis. The foundation provides fundraising and marketing resources to strengthen nonprofit organizations and benefit local children and youth programs. Cystinosis is a rare metabolic disease that affects approximately 500 people in the United States (mostly children),and about 2,000 people worldwide. This disease causes the amino acid “cystine” to accumulate in the cells of the body. Over time, the cystine damages various organs including the kidneys, liver, muscles, white blood cells, eyes, and central nervous system. Other complications include muscle wasting, growth loss, difficulty swallowing, and developmental delays.

The Players:

Montgomery Gentry – This duo is headlining Tuesday night’s Golf and Guitar’s KNCI Music Festival. This duo has had a notable career, complete with fourteen Top 10 singles, including five No. 1s, “Something To Be Proud Of,” “If You Ever Stop Loving Me,” Lucky Man,” “Back When I Knew It All” and “Roll With Me”. Their newest collection, Rebels on the Run promises to bring “Montgomery Gentry fans back to the beginning, but with a fresh attitude.”

Joe Nichols – Four Grammy nominations, a CMA Album of the Year nomination and a stream of chart topping hits, including “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off“, “Gimmie That Girl” and “Brokenheartsville” will make Joe a welcome addition to the 2013 Golf and Guitars KNCI Music Festival!

Jack Ingram – Jack has been a longtime host of Golf and Guitars and we are thrilled he is back for another year! In 2008, Jack Ingram won the 2008 Academy of Country Music award for “Best New Male Vocalist” and we can look forward to hearing new music from his latest album Big Dreams and High Hopes.

Joey + Rory – Joey and Rory first made a splash when they signed up for CMT’s 2008 Can You Duet and placed third in the competition. Many may know them best from their hit single “Cheater Cheater” but they are finding new fans each week on their new weekly variety show, The Joey+Rory Show on RFD-TV which is filmed entirely on their quaint farm and family-owned cafe Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse.

Thomas Rhett – His first single, “Something To Do With My Hands” will quickly reveal why every record company that Thomas auditioned for wanted to sign him. There is an urban streak and a mixture of country and rock in his music- a combination that is definitely driving the direction of country music today.

Chris Cagle – Chris has two gold albums, two No. 1 albums and 12 charted songs, including “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out“. In 2012, Chris released his latest album, Back in the Saddle.

Joanna Smith – Joanna is comfortable performing on stage. That has always been her dream! You can look forward to hearing her perform her sultry ballad,”We Can’t Be Friends” on our stage Monday night!Greg Bates – A relative newcomer to Nashville, Greg made his Grand Ole Opry debut in April 2012. His first single, “Did It for the Girl” was released in 2012 and the second single, “Fill in the Blank” is brand new to country radio!

Brett Eldredge – Brett is another favorite and repeat performer at Golf and Guitars. His 2010 debut, “Raymond” was inspired by Brett’s own grandmother and I still remember him performing it in concert at our show. His current single “Don’t Ya” shows off Brett’s incredibly sexy baritone – he’ll be a fun one to watch!

Jerrod Niemann – You know Jerrod from his No. 1 hit “Lover, Lover” and his Top 5 single, “What Do You Want“. At Golf and Guitars, you can also look forward to hearing new music from his latest album, Free The Music, which defines how Jerrod feels about country today.

Maggie Rose – Maggie may be a new introduction to our line-up, but I know we’ll remember her name after we hear her sing! Her album, Cut to Impress, will be released on March 26th and the title of the album comes from a lyric in the second verse of her song, “Mostly Bad.”

Jason Michael Carroll – Jason has been a fabulous supporter of Golf and Guitars in the past and we are thrilled to welcome him back again in 2013! His unmistakable deep voice and undeniable talents can be found on his hits “I Can Sleep When I’m Dead“, “Livin’ Our Love Song” and “Alyssa Lies“.

Kristen Kelly – Kristen’s first single “Ex-Old Man” was released in 2012 and her new single, “He Loves to Make Me Cry” just came out in February. Kristen’s biggest influence is Merle Haggard. We look forward to welcoming her to Sacramento in May!

Dustin Lynch – If you were at last year’s Golf and Guitars, then you remember “Cowboys and Angels” being performed and the performance was outstanding! This year, let’s rock out to his newest single, “She Cranks My Tractor“.

Chuck Wicks – I think Chuck could run Golf and Guitars for us – he has been a staunch supporter of our event for many years and he always proves to be a crowd favorite among the ladies. He has a fabulous sense of humor and I really think we should give him a Flip camera and turn him loose in the crowd – I’m sure he’d capture some great interviews for us again! Perhaps best known for his hit songs, “Stealing Cinderella” and “All I Ever Wanted“, Chuck has announced that he will be releasing a new EP Rough on April 2nd.

Canaan Smith – If you were a Golf and Guitars VIP ticket holder in 2012, then Canaan’s name might sound familiar because he performed during our Pairings Party last year. Otherwise, you may have caught him on tour with Love and Theft. Canaan’s lastest single, “We Got Us” was released last year and he was a contestant during the 15th season of The Amazing Race. Cool trivia fact!

Love & Theft – Love and Theft has had a number of hit singles, including “Runaway”, “Dancing in Circles” and the No. 1 hit “Angel Eyes”. This year, they have also been nominated for the ACM vocal Duo of the Year – let’s cheer them on!

BONUS! BONUS!

And our pre-show entertainer on day one, Heidi Feek, has songwriting and performing royalty in her blood. She is the daughter of Rory Feek and Joey Martin of Joey + Rory and her beautiful voice and fantastic songwriting skills will be on display starting at 5 PM on 5/20.

Our pre-show entertainers on day two, Summerlin Road, will be another great highlight of the night. Johnny Bulford is the pen behind Lee Brice’s “A Woman Like You” and his duo partner Chris Roberts was formerly with One Flew South. Together, they make up the duo Summerlin Road with Warner-Chappel Publishing. 

Julie Roberts Strips Things Down Acoustically For New Naked Series

Beautiful Julie Roberts is certainly going to turn a few heads as she's announcing that she's going to be putting out Naked music over the next little while. While most folks brains might head straight for the red light district side of thinking, Roberts just means that she's going to be self-releasing some new music done acoustically. From the artist herself:

For a long time now, I’ve been contemplating the concept of having a series of musical releases called “Naked.”  I’m so excited to tell you that I am beginning this series today!

So what is the “Naked” series?

If you’ve been to any of my live shows, you know that I enjoy sitting on a stool and singing with one instrument whether that be an acoustic guitar, a piano, or any instrument for that matter.
I decided to take that intimate arrangement into the studio and record stripped down or “naked” versions of some of my favorite songs for you.  I feel like this simple production approach allows you to hear every emotion I’m feeling when I’m singing. Each song is just my voice paired with minimal instrumentation. In other words,  I am naked.  

I plan to release songs on the “Naked” series as often as I possibly can for you.  I hope you enjoy this series and come back for more.

The first release came out today and is titled "I've Been Looking For Somebody." It is written by Julie Roberts, Chris Roberts (of One Flew South and Summerlin Road) and Greg Bieck. Says Roberts on the song:

"“I’ve Been Looking For Somebody” is my first release in the “Naked” series. The day I wrote this song I was channeling the music I listened to when I was a little girl and specifically,  Patsy Cline. I wanted to write a song that I might hear on one of Patsy’s records. In this recording, we used just a Wurlitzer and my voice.  This is a fun song that makes me smile and one that I’ve wanted to record for a long time. I thought this series would be a perfect place for it. I hope y’all love it!"

Hear It Here- Chris Young Penned Demo "Don't Nothin' Take My Breath"

A songwriter friend of mine named Johnny Bulford of the duo Summerlin Road, one of the writers behind Lee Brice's "A Woman Like You," posted a demo song that he recently wrote with Chris Young and Jay Brunswick. Together, they also penned "Flashlight" that was on Young's most recent album, Neon. The new track is called "Don't Nothin' Take My Breath." Click on the player below to listen to the new track. It will take you to Bulford's ShareBand Page.

Deana Carter, Matraca Berg and Songwriter Johnny Bulford Lead Music Row Award Winners

Phil Barton and Johnny Bulford

Short and sweet, the Music Row Awards don't have the budget of the CMT Music Video Awards or the legacy of the ACM Awards. They do, however, have a list of award-winners that's traditionally more quality than marketing blitz and the 24th Annual Awards held this past week were no exception. First, the winners:

24th annual MusicRow Award winners

Breakthrough Songwriters: Johnny Bulford and Phil Barton

Producer of the Year: Frank Liddell
Breakthrough Artist: Eli Young Band

Song of the Year: “You and Tequila,” by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter, published by UMPG and Warner/Chappell

Top 10 Album All Star Musician Awards
Vocals: Perry Coleman
Keys: (tie) Charles Judge and Gordon Mote
Guitar: Ilya Toshinsky
Steel: Paul Franklin
Bass: Jimmie Lee Sloas
Fiddle: (tie) Larry Franklin and Aubrey Haynie
Drums: Shannon Forrest
Engineer: Justin Niebank

Jon Jones of the Eli Young Band said, “This is one room that understands how many people it takes to get something on the radio.” Added his band mate Mike Eli, “There are a lot of people all over this country who are dreaming of being in this room….Thank you, MusicRow magazine. Thank you, everybody.”

Breakthrough Songwriter winner Phil Barton exclaimed, “I’m just super happy right now. Thank you, Nashville!” He and fellow winner Johnny Bulford were saluted for “A Woman Like You,” the Lee Brice smash they co-wrote with Jon Stone.

“This really means a lot,” began Song of the Year winner Matraca Berg. “I wish [co-writer] Deana Carter was here, because we held hands really tightly throughout all the awards shows where we lost. Being voted on by your peers is a real honor.” Their winning song was “You and Tequila,” recorded by Kenny Chesney with Grace Potter.

Golf & Guitars Children's Charity Concert Recap- Day One

Our guest writer this morning on That Nashville Sound is my lovely bride Jennifer Morton who did a recap of the first day of our big Golf & Guitars Pro-Am Tournament and Children's Charity Concert. 

I will freely admit that Golf and Guitars is my favorite event each year at Haggin Oaks. KNCI does an outstanding job of bringing the best and brightest talent into Sacramento each year and 2012 marks our 5th year hosting this awesome fundraiser.

On Monday, May 21st, I headed out to Haggin Oaks for the Pairings Party Night which also included a new artist showcase concert for the tournament players, their guests and VIP ticket holders. Golf and Guitars is all about raising money for charity and this year's event is expected to raise close to $75000 for the Morton Golf Foundation and JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Simply stated: WOW!

The gates opened at 5pm and a scrumptious dinner was served by Chef Blanca from MacKenzie's Sports Bar & Grille at Hagggin Oaks. The dinner was perfect! Fried chicken, pulled pork, potato salad, cole slaw and dinner rolls and a dessert bar that left me speechless! So many choices and so little time! Yum!

6:00pm
At 6pm, the concert opened with Summerlin Road, featuring Chris Roberts and Johnny Bulford. Chris has been at Golf and Guitars all five years that we have held this event. You may know him best from One Flew South and he's back with a great new duo that you're sure to hear on the radio soon! They played "Get Outta My Bed" and "If He Loves Her Like I Do" before introducing the crowd to "I Didn't Count on This". Talk about new music! "I Didn't Count on This" was played for the first time in front of a crowd tonight and I absolutely LOVE this song! Hopefully it is destined to hit the radio waves soon. (Are you listening KNCI?)

"This is a fantastic event. It just gets better year after year!" - Chris Roberts

This talented duo also features Johnny Bulford who blew the crowd away with his rendition of "A Woman Like You." Johnny was the writer for this #1 hit by Lee Bryce and it is easy to see why this song went all the way to number one!

6:30pm
The lovely and talented Jana Kramer took the stage and opened her set with a song called "Whiskey". Mark your calendars, because Jana will be back in town in early July when she opens for Brad Paisley. She calls herself Sassyfrass, because "I don't want to kill any of my ex-boyfriends, I just want them to suffer a little bit." She also belted out "Why Ya Wanna" - I look forward to catching her later this summer during Brad Paisley's tour.

The crowd was fantastic tonight!

During Jana's set, I looked over to see the guys from Summerlin Road doing an impromptu meet and greet with fans while watching the music with the crowd. As the night continued, many of the artists interacted with the guests. It was fun to experience.

Between sets, Kodiak from KNCI 105.1FM named pairings for Tuesday's tournament.

6:45pm
James Wesley was next to take the stage sporting his new Adidas shoes and definite golf gear - I'm guessing James had already put in a round out there on the course today. He started his night on stage with one of the very first songs he found after moving to Nashville. He dedicated "Real" to the members of the military serving our great United States of America.

Before singing "You Should Be Here with Me", James introduced it to the crowd with "If I was a woman, this is the song I'd want someone to sing to me." After listening to the song (and as a woman) - I couldn't agree more! He rounded out his set with "Walking Contradiction".

I glanced outside during James' music to see the guys from Love and Theft doing a meet and greet. They were surrounded by many lovely ladies.

I wandered back stage and was pleasantly surprised to see that Chuck Wicks had stopped by. He wasn't originally expected tonight and it just shows how great these musicians are. I simply had to take my picture with him (for the purpose of this blog... of course!)

I also met a Super Fan who made a scrapbook with all the artists appearing at Golf and Guitars this year. I think she was planning on getting some signatures to fill her book.

6:55pm 
Dustin Lynch took the stage to sing "One More Lap Around This Town". Interesting fact: Dustin grew up not far from the Jack Daniels distillery. Dustin has an amazing voice and I was very impressed when he sang "You're Amazing Just the Way You Are." He ended his set with "Cowboys and Angels" which was inspired by his parents and grandparents who both childhood sweethearts. Great song!

I headed out back to see what was going on behind the scenes with the artists. I caught Frank LaRosa shooting an interview with Jana Kramer.

My own daughter, Heather, and her cousin, Evan, took the stage for tomorrow's concert event and were having a blast dancing and singing.

Frank LaRosa interviews Chuck Wicks.

7:15pm
The Farm takes the stage and blew the crowd away. The Farm features Damien Horne (who started with the Music Mafia - you know - Gretchen Wilson, Big and Rich, etc), Krista Marie (who told the crowd she is "a dirty girl" meaning she is a motorcross champion - you go Girl!) and Nick Hoffman who was the fiddle player for Kenny Chesney for the past 12 years. This group knows how to rock a crowd. They were awesome and certainly brought the house down. They have a new record coming out July 17th and I strongly urge everyone to pick it up as soon as it hits the shelves.

7:35pm
A surprise add-on to the night took place when Chuck Wicks walked on stage and performed several of his classic hits and introduced us to a few new ones coming out soon too! He started with "Old School" and then performed "I Don't Do Lonely Well". Look for this song on Jason Aldean's new album that debuts in September.

The next song, Chuck told us that he'll "sing this to my wife, when and if I do get married" before dedicating it to Jason and Nicole - two random strangers that Chuck was trying to hook up for the night. This is truly where Chuck shines. He has a great sense of humor and knows how to get the crowd behind him. 2012 marks Chuck's fourth year at our Golf and Guitars event, and I sincerely hope he'll be coming back for many years to come.

Chuck sang another new song that he'll be releasing in the near future called, "Whole Damn Thing" (or at least I think that is going to be the title!) It is a sexy song, but what else would you expect from Mr. Wicks? He continued to engage the crowd with his quick wit... "I love you guys... not you guys [addressing the rest of the audience]... just you guys [addressing Jason and Nicole again]."

Chuck played two more hits, "All I Ever Wanted" and "Stealing Cinderella". You can catch Chuck Wicks on Good Day Sacramento early Tuesday morning. (I had to catch this photo of concert organizer, Ken Morton, Jr. with Heather. She is definitely his little Cinderella!)

Frank LaRosa gets a great interview from Love and Theft who admit to having a little trouble in their hotel room last year. Crossing our fingers things don't get out of control for them in 2012.

8:05pm
Brett Eldredge hopped on stage for another unscheduled, yet very welcome performance. He sang "It Ain't Gotta Be Love", "One Mississippi", "Get a Little Thirsty" and "Raymond". He went fishing with Pat and Tom from KNCI 105.1FM earlier this morning and they provided the most entertaining live fishing show in the history of radio!

I met two ladies by the Meet and Greet area who flew in all the way from Pennsylvania to catch the show (specifically Love and Theft) this evening. I snapped their picture with Stephen from Love and Theft.

8:25pm
Steve Holy admits to being "the worst golfer in the NFL" which brought lots of laughter from the crowd. He sang a few of my favorites, including "She Hauled Off & Kissed Me", "Good Morning Beautiful" and "I've Got a Brand New Girlfriend". It was fun to watch The Farm singing along to "I've Got a Brand New Girlfriend" from the sidelines as they were out in the crowd, pulling up a few chairs and having a good time.

As the night continued, the crowd and groups were loosening up more and more as the night was cooling off and the music was heating up!

8:40pm
Canaan Smith came onstage this evening just for tonight's concert. He's driving to Los Angeles tonight for a show there tomorrow and it was a treat that he stopped by to play some music for our crowd. He sang "Put a Little Something in that Coozie" and "We've Got Us".

I shot this photo behind the stage as Canaan put on his show.

9:00pm
Love and Theft took the stage as our final act of the night to a standing ovation. The women here this evening are all big fans of Love and Theft and they played a new song for the crowd before singing their hit "Runaway" and their new single "Angel Eyes".

Stephen and Eric graciously took pictures with the crowd all evening and the fans stayed until the end to support this group that has been here at Golf and Guitars for the past four years. If you come out to the golf course tomorrow, you'll see them there!

Day one is done! I can't wait for the main event tomorrow when Golf and Guitars continues! The stage is set!