2022 - Page 32 of 32 - STAGING Maverick

Maren Morris to release new album ‘Humble Quest’ March 25th

Grammy-winning superstar Maren Morris’ new album, Humble Quest, is slated for release on 25th March via Sony Nashville. The album features lead single, “Circles Around This Town,” released last week. Fans can pre-save/pre-order the album now from HERE! Maren began writing the songs on Humble Quest in the beginning of the pandemic as a series of major life changes unfolded—new motherhood, an upended career, the death of beloved friend and collaborator Michael Busbee and more, further compounded by lockdown. She felt control over life quickly slipping until she had a freeing realization—she was never in control in the first place. It’s from this place of personal truth and clarity amid darkness that Maren’s most genuine songs yet began to flow, creating an important distraction from the times rather than a snapshot of them. Maren found herself reckoning with humility in ways she’d never imagined as she thought about how the goal of appearing humble puts artists, especially women, in a box with unrealistic demands to keep them small. Humble Quest documents Maren’s journey to redefining humility on her own terms as a grounded state of understanding one’s own truth rather than the capacity to appear authentic to others. Produced by frequent collaborator Greg Kurstin (Adele, Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters) and written alongside her husband Ryan Hurd, Julia Michaels, Jimmy Robbins, Natalie Hemby, Laura Veltz and Jon Green on Busbee’s piano, Humble Quest finds Maren on a journey to embrace the imperfections in her life through snapshots of her rises and falls, overshares, lullabies, wine-soaked conversations with one old friend and a final goodbye to another one. “Am I humble enough now?” Maren asks herself sometimes. “Maybe. Or maybe I still haven’t found it yet. Or maybe, who cares as long as your friends and, most importantly, you know what your heart is all about? But here’s to taking the quest to find out.” To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Michael Ray Earns Fourth No. 1 Single with “Whiskey And Rain”

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

At age 8, Michael Ray’s grandfather taught him his first guitar chords. Listening nonstop to Merle Haggard and George Jones as a kid, he fell in love with intricate stories sung by legends. Determined to make his own distinct contributions to the genre, Ray made a mission of sharing his deep appreciation for traditional Country music while pushing the format forward, leading to his fourth No. 1 single “Whiskey And Rain.” “I owe this one to the fans who love Country music just as much as I do,” shares the Florida-native. “I knew when I first heard this song, it embodied everything I love about Country music, and I hoped people would find it as relatable and personal as I do. “The support for ‘Whiskey And Rain’ has been so overwhelming and exciting,” Ray continues, “I can’t think of a better way to gear up for 2022 than this: celebrating with a song that’s so special to me.” “Whiskey And Rain” was written by Josh Thompson and Jesse Frasure and released as the lead single from his seven-song collection Higher Education. To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Caitlyn Smith releases Monarch theme tune ‘The Card You Gamble’

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

Country singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith’s latest single “The Card You Gamble” (Arista Records/Monument Records), the theme from highly-anticipated new US TV series MONARCH, is available now. Stream it HERE! Caitlyn will visit the UK in March to perform at the prestigious CMA Songwriters Series on March 10 at Indigo at The O2, part of the C2C (Country To Country) festival. Look out for more live shows to be announced. With a penchant for storytelling, The New York Times boasts Smith “has a striking voice of her own…with glimmers of both the girl-next-door naturalism of Sheryl Crow and the way ward attack of Sia,” while NPR declares “Caitlyn Smith has a voice that grabs you the first time you hear it,” all while being an in-demand songwriter who has had cuts by Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean, Miley Cyrus, Meghan Trainor, John Legend and more. “To jump into a song like “The Card You Gamble” that has so much drama, suspense and mystery was such a fun experience,” says the Minnesotan. “I love that the Love Junkies wrote the song almost as its own character in the show. The music is so central to the storytelling in MONARCH, and I’m just excited and honoured to be a part of it.” Produced by three-time GRAMMY Award nominee and series executive music producer Adam Anders and co-producer Peer Åström, “The Card You Gamble” was written by The Love Junkies – Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose. “The Love Junkies wrote an amazing song that encompasses the themes of our show both lyrically and musically, but stands on its own legs,” shares Anders. “Caitlyn’s voice perfectly matches the sonic landscape that Peer and I wanted to create.” To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Maren Morris releases new song ‘Circles Around This Town’

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

Grammy-winning superstar Maren Morris shares a new single today, “Circles Around This Town,” alongside a music video directed by Harper Smith. The song was written by Maren and frequent collaborators Ryan Hurd, Julia Michaels and Jimmy Robbins and produced by Greg Kurstin. More music from Maren is imminent. Maren says: “I could see the visuals for ‘Circles Around This Town’ the moment I wrote the song. I’ve always been so inspired by the industrial, blown out colors of music videos from the 90s, so Harper Smith and I wanted the aesthetics of this video to reflect that grainy, devil-may-care attitude of all my females heroes from that era: Sheryl, Fiona, Alanis. Obviously, having a penchant for the nostalgic, we decided to recreate my teenage bedroom and pin old photos of me as a kid on the walls and have me typing on an old PC computer. I knew I didn’t want to take anything too seriously in this video, so all our amplified ‘signs of the universe’ are purposefully campy, but they also ask the viewer, ‘Is the universe actually showing you signs or do you just know when you need to make a real change?’ ‘Circles Around This Town’ is my story, so I felt like I truly got to relive my journey from Texas to Nashville again.” Furthemore, Maren is nominated for two Grammy awards this year: Best Country Song for “Better Than We Found It” and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Chasing After You,” the #1, Platinum-certified collaboration with her husband Ryan Hurd. One of music’s brightest stars, Maren released her massively acclaimed, record-shattering album GIRL in 2019, one of country’s most celebrated albums that year which spawned smash hits including the four times Platinum-certified, Grammy-nominated “The Bones;” and the Platinum-certified #1 title track. Maren won 2021 ACM Awards for Female Artist of the Year—for the second year in a row—and Song of the Year and three trophies at the 2020 CMA Awards. GIRL arrived three years after Maren’s breakout, Platinum-certified debut album HERO, for which she won countless accolades including Grammy, ACM and CMA Awards. To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Dolly Parton kicks off 2022 with 47 Gold and Platinum certifications from around the world

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

Proving that seven decades into her unprecedented career new ground continues to be charted, Dolly Parton is presented with a staggering 47 new sales certifications from around the world to kick off the New Year. Already awarded a plaque from the RIAA in 2014 for over 100 million units sold worldwide, these new honors show continued engagement in Parton’s extensive catalog. “I’ve often said that my songs are like my children, and I expect them to support me later in my life. Well, it looks like they are doing just that!” proclaims Parton. “I am so humbled to have been surprised with this incredible collection of certifications from around the world. I owe a big thank you to my fans, old and new, who continue to be there for me year after year. This is a wonderful way to kick off 2022!” The new awards presented cover certifications from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Finland & Sweden. To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Dolly Parton teams up with Kelsea Ballerini for ‘Run, Rose, Run’ Audiobook

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

It was announced over the festive period that Kelsea Ballerini will voice one of the characters in the Audiobook version of ‘Run, Rose, Run’ – Dolly Parton’s first novel which she penned with best selling author, James Patterson. The novel comes out on March 7th and will be accompanied by a 12 track album of original songs written, recorded and produced by Parton. It’s an enthralling read which centres around aspiring country singer AnnieLee Keyes, the character Ballerini will portray, as she moves to Nashville to pursue her dreams and escape her dark past. Once there she is guided by country music veteran Ruthanna Ryder, who will be portrayed by Dolly herself. “I think our fans are going to love hearing us in a totally different way than they’re used to,” Parton said in a release. “And they’re going to love following our characters on their unpredictable journeys through the Nashville music scene and beyond.” “Working on a creation from the ever-brilliant mind of Dolly Parton has to be a dream job for anyone, especially as a young artist in country music,” Ballerini said in a statement. “And as a writer myself, to be asked to join this project that is also a collaboration with James Patterson—another incredible storyteller not to mention bestselling author—has been truly thrilling.” ‘Run, Rose, Run’, it’s accompanying Audiobook and album will be released on March 7th! To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Lady A releases new single ‘What A Song Can Do’

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

Lady A launches into the new year with their next single “What A Song Can Do” (BMLG Records), available now. The title track from their eighth studio album serves as a love letter to fans that is steeped in music’s power to get us through and has already garnered nearly 4 million on-demand streams. Written by the group’s Charles Kelley with Ryan Hurd, Sam Ellis and Laura Veltz, “What A Song Can Do” also illustrates the patience and optimism the trio has taken from their years together. “We have been overfilled with gratitude after releasing this album and we don’t take it lightly that after eight albums our music still resonates with so many people,” Kelley said. “This song is the summation of where our hearts are right now and how much music can really pull us through in times of need. We love writing songs about lost love and things like that, but I feel like our favorite material comes with a strong positive message.” In the US, Lady A delivered a live multi-set performance during CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash where they “got the massive crowd fired up” (Sounds Like Nashville) as they launched into the first song of the night with the fan-favourite hit “You Look Good.” Read our interview with the group HERE! To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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