June 2020

The hotly anticipated new album from Margo Price, ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’, finally has a new release date of July 10. To celebrate, Price has unveiled the video for Letting Me Down, which you can see below. [wpdevart_youtube]X6kQSInjvvI[/wpdevart_youtube] The record, which has been produced by Sturgill Simpson with Price and David Ferguson co-producing and can be pre-ordered here, was initially due for release on May 8, but as a result of the pandemic, it was temporarily postponed without a date. Now though, we have a fresh date and in a statement that Price gave, she spoke about how sad she is and has been given recent events in the world and hopes that her new record can provide some form of peace to people. “Take me back to the day I started trying to paint my masterpiece so I could warn myself of what was ahead,” Price said. “Time has rearranged, it has slowed down, it has manipulated things like it always does…the words to some of these songs have changed meaning, they now carry heavier weight. “I’ve seen the streets set ablaze, the sky set on fire. I’ve been manic, heartbroken for the world, heartbroken for the country, heartbroken from being heartbroken again and again. “This album is a postcard of a landscape of a moment in time. It’s not political but maybe it will provide an escape or relief to someone who needs it. Sending love to everyone out there and hope I see you down the highway.” The tracklisting for ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’ by Margo Price is: 1. That’s How Rumors Get Started 2. Letting Me Down 3. Twinkle Twinkle 4. Stone Me 5. Hey Child 6. Heartless Mind 7. What Happened to Our Love? 8. Gone to Stay 9. Prisoner of the Highway 10. I’d Die For You

Brad Paisley said thank you to two New York residents combatting racism in his own way, by sending them crates of beer and hopping on a Zoom call with them. Benjamin Smith and Marcus Ellis from New York are long time friends in Rochester, New York and wanted to open up a dialogue channel on racism following the tragic death of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, sparking worldwide protests and riots. They put signs outside the house of Smith, a former Marine, that read ‘Black or white, relax and have a beer’ and a picture of the two outside the house with the signs quickly went viral on the internet. They asked people to join in and a vast majority of their neighbourhood turned up to get involved, before literally thousands of people clocked onto it on social media – including Paisley. As such, the Grand Ole Opry member and three time Grammy winner arranged a Zoom call with the pair and as way of gratitude for what they were doing in their community and sent them hundreds of dollars worth of beer for them to get through while they were on the call with him. In fact, Paisley sent them so many crates of Budweiser and Bud Light that he wiped out the contents of that particular brand at a nearby New York store for the pair and when speaking to them, he thanked them for their efforts and stated that he is always trying to do more to help the black community. “I’m so inspired by you and we thought we should deliver more beer than you could possibly drink,” Paisley told them, as per CBS. “I’m trying to hear out my friends in the black community, that’s what you guys are doing together. It’s the same thing. “I’m all ears, always have been. I’ve had big ears my whole life!” Brad Paisley has been very busy in lockdown aside from surprising people in this way, with the artist hosting a number of stream gigs for his supporters to enjoy from the safety of their own home.

Nashville Meets London have joined forces with the Royal Albert Hall to put on a virtual country gig on July 18 featuring a number of high profile acts. Anyone can watch via the Royal Albert Hall YouTube channel, which you can find here. Taking place at 19:30 BST, The Cadillac Three, Tenille Townes, Michael Ray and Twinnie will be performing as the show tries to raise funds for the iconic music venue, which has been closed for the first time since the Second World War. Country Hits presenter Matt Spracklen will be hosting. Speaking about the collaboration with Nashville Meets London, Lucy Noble – the Artistic Director of the Royal Albert Hall – said that the series so far has been a huge success and that she is ecstatic to be able to bring country music to the fray. “This series has spotlighted an incredible collection of world class talents working in an extraordinary array of genres,” Noble said. “Since we launched on 9 April, we’ve featured everything from Baxter Dury to Bach cello suites, from spoken word to homegrown soul. “Now we’re absolutely delighted to announce the first country music concert as part of Royal Albert Home, showcasing four fantastic acts who’ll bring a little bit of Nashville into your living room. “The line-up illustrates just how exciting and eclectic the world of country is right now, and we can’t wait to share this show with you.” Since the series has started, the likes of Rufus Wainwright, KT Tunstall, Richard Thompson and Ayanna Witter-Johnson have done streamed gigs for the Royal Albert Hall, with people donating £50,000 to the cause.

Temecula Road have given their fans a new piece of work to listen to, which comes in the shape of a cover of Miley Cyrus’ The Climb. You can watch an audio video below. [wpdevart_youtube]s4bYdd1JYe0[/wpdevart_youtube] The song, which was written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe, went multi-platinum after Cyrus released it as a single and now Temecula Road – made up of sisters Maddie and Emma Salute as well as Dawson Anderson – have shared their version of it. Speaking about why they chose to cover it, the group said that it is a song that has always been close to their hearts and with the current global situation, it’s a song that resonates a little bit more. “We have always loved this song and its message especially hits home for us with everything going on in the world right now,” Maddie said. “We came up with this arrangement and recorded the vocals ourselves during quarantine,” Emma added. “We hope you find as much comfort in listening as we did in creating it,” Anderson concluded. Prior to lockdown, Temecula Road were on course for one of their busiest years to date and in the build up to 2020, made their Grand Ole Opry debut and also supported Scotty McCreery on his UK and Europe tour. The trio were also set to perform at C2C 2020, before the festival was pulled at the last minute as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Granger Smith has opted to provide a new lease of life into his single That’s Why I Love Dirt Roads by seeking Christian rapper Lathan Warlick for a remix. You can listen to the song here. The single, which was initially released in 2019, has grown to be one of Smith’s biggest hits and the version with Warlick is indeed the third release of the track. Speaking about the song on his Instagram, Smith explained that his wife alerted him to Warlick’s talents and as soon as he realised the talent on offer, he got in touch immediately and the rest is history. “A few months ago, Amber found Lathan Warlick and showed me his insta page,” Granger posted. “He was taking popular tunes, adding his own lyrics and completely rebranding the songs with his own stories of life, struggle, rebirth and testimony. I loved it instantly. “I reached out via DM and we hit it off right away. (And one day we’ll take our boys fishin) This dude, through his own path, has pulled the layers back on life and sees things in a new way…with truth, integrity and God first. I only hope that one day I can see as clearly as he does.” Granger Smith has also been busy in other ways and on June 12, his YeeYee outdoor lifestyle brand will be marking one of its biggest launches to date.

Brantley Gilbert has released a new song that is full of positivity and overcoming rough times in the shape of Hard Days. You can listen to the track here. Gilbert hasn’t wasted a lot of time since his recent album ‘Fire & Brimstone’ was released in October 2019, with Hard Days marking the first new release since then. Speaking about the song, Gilbert explained the meaning behind the track and also highlighted just how much it means to him on an individual basis, with the track making him feel something musically he hasn’t felt in years. “Hard Days is about finding and acknowledging hope in the midst of turmoil and taking the good with the bad,” Gilbert said. “I look back on some of the harder times in my life and think about where things are now and I’m thankful for the bad that led to the good. “This song means a lot to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a song that can stand on its own lyrically. Brock Berryhill, Logan Wall, Jimi Bell and Jay Brunswick gave me the opportunity to work with them and it’s something I’m extremely proud to be a part of. “I feel like all of us are in need of a little bit of healing and in need of a little bit of hope. And this song offers that.” The last single release from Brantley Gilbert was What Happens in a Small Town with Lindsay Ell, which became his seventh Number One.

In light of recent events, Kane Brown has released a new song titled Worldwide Beautiful, which has a strong message of unity at its heart. You can watch the lyric video below. [wpdevart_youtube]4oI8haxRuPo[/wpdevart_youtube] Written by Brown, Shy Carter, Ryan Hurd and Jordan Schmidt, the Tennessee born artist has released the song in conjunction with helping the Boys & Girls Club of America in an attempt to advocate for justice and equality for millions of youngsters. You can find out more here. Coming at a very politically charged time, the lyrics from Brown clearly advocate peace and unity, including the likes of “at every show I see my people/they ain’t the same, but they’re all equal” and “still got some work, but we still got a dream/every shade, every heart, come together and sing.” 2020 has been a very busy year so far for Kane Brown, who managed to tour the UK for the first time ever in February, but it has also seen his release a lot of singles. So far this year, alongside Worldwide Beautiful, Brown has been involved with a duet with Thomas Rhett featuring Ava Max (On Me), a duet with John Legend (Last Time I Say Sorry) and a standalone single in Cool Again.

Rob Mayes has released another new single in the shape of Damage I Done, which comes hot on the heels of April release Didn’t Do This On My Own. You can listen to the song here. Since his debut EP ‘Closer’ was released in September 2019, Mayes has regularly been releasing singles and has now clocked up 13 single releases over the past 12 months. Speaking about the song, Mayes said that it’s a high octane track full of energy and that his advice to anyone listening is to grab a drink and crank it up to 11. “Damage I Done is a high-energy, rockin’ rowdy country song full of fun-lovin’ mischief that’ll have you on your boots in no time,” Mayes said. “It features big production and raises a glass to the country music drinkin’ song that we all know and love. So, go head…grab yourself a cold one and turn up the volume!” An actor as well as an artist, Rob Mayes has been extremely busy over the last year or so, but his hard work and effort is very much being rewarded – he racked up 239,000 streams last year with 107,000 listeners, while he will soon be on the silver screen again alongside Val Kilmer for ‘A Soldier’s Revenge’.

Willie Jones has released another new song in the shape of Trainwreck, which he has written with two incredibly diverse songwriters. You can listen to it here. For this single, Jones has teamed up with Justin Beach – who has worked with Dustin Lynch, Brett Young and Jordan Davis – and Mark Batson, who has worked with Eminem, Beyonce and Dr Dre. The contrast in writing team is huge, but the end result is yet another standout song from the artist and speaking about the track itself, Jones explains that it’s the first heartbreak song that he has released and knows that those listening will be able to relate, even despite some of the jovial musical elements. “This is my first heartbreak song and listening back to it, I can still remember the pain I was going through,” Jones said. “We can all relate to seeing your girl/guy with another man/woman but it sent me down a spiral that affected all different parts of my life. “Don’t let the light-hearted banjo pluckin’ fool you, this song is very real and deep.” Despite the lockdown, Willie Jones has still been very busy over the last few months, with a number of live streams and also releasing Back Porch as a single.

Eric Paslay will be releasing a new EP titled ‘Heartbeat Higher’ on July 3 and has marked the announcement with the release of a new song in On This Side of Heaven. You can listen to the track, which premiered on BBC Radio 2’s The Country Show with Bob Harris on June 4, here. Paslay released the title track for the EP, featuring Sarah Buxton, earlier this year and to much fanfare, so the EP has come as very welcome news for Paslay’s fanbase. Speaking about the EP itself, Paslay said that the response to the title track made him even more excited to release the EP into the world, while he also believes that he has something for all of his fans on the four-song collection. “The outpouring of love, support and excitement with Heartbeat Higher was so amazing that I’m super pumped to drop the EP,” Paslay said. “I think I’ve got the fans covered with four songs in every direction. I’ve got one for my Barefoot crew, my She Don’t Love You fans and something new for me… a cover.” The tracklisting for ‘Heartbeat Higher’ by Eric Paslay is: 1. Heartbeat Higher (ft Sarah Buxton) 2. On This Side of Heaven 3. I Took A Pill in Ibiza (Mark Posner cover) 4. Boat In a Bottle