NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Rarely do I agree to write a story on a person based on one single. But when I heard the song “Stronger Than That,” it was a no-brainer for me. I knew I had to interview this up and coming artist. Andrew Hopson is a true country boy from Tazewell, Tennessee (located where West Virginia meets Kentucky), whose music will bring you back to the traditional honky-tonk sounds of Hank, Willie, and Waylon.
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If you long for the music of England Dan and John Ford Coley along with a little George Benson and Joe Jackson, you will love the tracks from Christian Gratz’s record, 1979. If you are young and not familiar with this type of music, I would like to introduce you to Christian Gratz.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Nashville’s all-female, singer-songwriter collective, Song Suffragettes, celebrated their milestone sixth anniversary on Monday with two rounds featuring nine women singer-songwriters including Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely.
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As a Valedictorian of a North Carolina Engineering High School and a soon-to-be graduate of UNC-Charlotte, this twenty-two-year-old dynamo is not your typical country music star.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcasting live from Music Row on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by Frank Leahy, a member and only brother of the musical group Leahy.
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On Wednesday’s the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed new-found distant cousin, Maria Leahy of the Leahy music group, to the newsmakers line.
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Nashville — When I created my Music Spotlight column that would tell an artist’s “where they came from” story, never did I ever imagine interviewing the three-time Grammy-winning and 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. However, Nashville’s Symphony Publicist Dave Felipe advised that I needed to hear her story, and I am thrilled to tell it.
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Portland, Oregon based root-rockers Fruition will be in Nashville on March 6 for their show at Basement East with Katie Toupin. I spoke with lead singer Jay Cobb Anderson to find out how this eclectic group got their start.
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I’ve known Regie Hamm for many years and my husband grew up with him. I even know the highlights of his amazing career, but what I didn’t know was his “where I came from” story. So finally after nearly three years of entertainment reporting, I decided it was time to sit down with this remarkable songwriter/artist/blogger.
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When I first heard Mia Morris play and sing with the Song Suffragettes, it was obvious that she was super-talented. What I did not know initially was that this young musician was just 15 years old and that playing for the Song Suffragettes is just a small part of what this talented rock drummer does. I had to find out more about her.
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Kasey Tyndall isn’t a little bit country and a little bit rock n ’roll. She’s a whole lot country and even more rock n’ roll. If Joan Jett and Gretchen Wilson had a baby, it would be Kasey Tyndall.
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Nashville, TN Steve Moakler was featured in my Music Spotlight column in 2018 when he released his Born Ready record. Since then a lot of has shifted in his life and his newest album, Blue Jeans, reflects these naturally occurring changes.
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Even though everyone in her family is from Texas, this daughter of country music royalty was born in Nashville. Aubrie Sellers’ father is artist/songwriter Jason Sellers and her mother is Lee Ann Womack. Her step-father for most of her life has been Carnival Music owner/producer Frank Liddell.
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Nashville, TN It is not surprising at all when a country music singer says they come from a small rural town. What is surprising is when that small rural town is in Canada. Heidi Raye was born and raised on a hobby farm Dawson Creek, British Columbia, a place that she describes as the Texas of Canada. Her dad was a John Deere salesman and a Pro Team Roper while her mom was a Pro Barrel Racer. She began singing in church when she was 3, learned to play guitar when she was 12, and then began exploring songwriting soon thereafter. The only genre of music she was exposed to was Country Music. “We say ‘y’all’. I didn’t know it was only a southern thing until I moved to America.”
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The lineup also includes Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, The Struts, Amanda Shires and the Fisk Jubilee Singers along with rising artists Kalie Shorr and Bren Joy.
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Circle, a new country music and lifestyle television network launching January 1, 2020, announced 16 original shows and two major distribution partnerships that will broadcast Circle in markets covering more than 50 percent of U.S. TV households.
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Town Mountain is a bluegrass band featuring guitarist and vocalist Robert Greer, banjoist Jesse Langlais, mandolinist Phil Barker, fiddler Bobby Britt, and Zach Smith on bass – they will be playing at Nashville’s Station Inn December 4th and 5th with surprise A-List guests.
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Comprised of vocalists Trey Smith and Jennifer Fielder, SiriusXM “Highway Find,” SmithField comes from Waxahachie, Texas. These life-long friends have taken the stage by storm with their memorable music and stunning harmonies. Here is their story.
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RCA Studio B is a historic landmark that initially helped Nashville to earn the name of Music City. Located at 1611 Roy Acuff Place, in Nashville, Tennessee, Studio B was part of the beginning of the renowned Music Row to which musicians still aspire. Between 1957 and 1977 over 18,000 songs were recorded at Studio B, and over 1000 of them became hits.
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Nashville, TN Levi Hummon is a rarity when it comes to singers and songwriters. He was actually born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, “literally on ‘The Row’” as he explains. His father, Marcus Hummon, was and still is an accomplished songwriter and he wrote songs like the Grammy Award Winning “Bless the Open Road” (Rascal Flatts), “Ready to Run” and “Cowboy Take Me Away” (Dixie Chicks), “Born to Fly” (Sarah Evans) along with songs for many country music artists, including Top 40 singles for Tim McGraw, Wynonna Judd, and Alabama. His mother, Becca Stevens, runs a non-profit, Thistle Farms which helps women who have survived trafficking, prostitution, and addiction get a second chance at life.
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Long before Dolly Parton tweeted her praises on October 9, 2019, Candi Carpenter was on my radar. I had heard about her via Kalie Shorr and the Song Suffragettes and had been following her for over a year. I finally got the chance to meet up with her. Carpenter’s ‘Where I Came From” story is like none other.
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Lady Antebellum, Clint Black and Mac McAnally to be Inducted into Music City Walk of Fame; Chet Atkins and DeFord Bailey to be Honored with Stars.
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When I initially heard George Ducas sing at Bluebird café, I didn’t realize he was an accomplished songwriter with quite a few songs under his belt. What I did immediately perceive was what strong, smooth vocals he had and how was completely at ease he was in the intimate setting. When I interviewed Ducas a few weeks later, I was shocked to find out that he had no previous formal musical training. Here is his story.
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Kenny Chesney announces Chillaxification Tour with Florida Georgia Line, Old Dominion, Michael Franti & Spearhead at 20 majors stadiums and more to come.
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Friends and media assembled Tuesday to celebrate Eric Church’s two most recent Number 1 hits, “Round Here Buzz” (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Luke Dick) and “Some of It” (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Bobby Pinson, Clint Daniels) in BNA’s Hangar # 9.
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The night I interviewed Abi Hoffman at the Bluebird Café I met two other songwriters. Greg Friia, who was a mentor to Abi in Nashville and Kyle Rife who is an accomplished guitar player and had recently co-written songs with Darius Rucker, Joel Crouse and Ed Sheeran. I knew right away I wanted to interview him as soon as we could get it arranged.
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Twenty-eight years after performing their first Nashville show at the revered rock club Exit/In, Hootie & The Blowfish brought their Group Therapy Tour to the city’s Bridgestone Arena for a sold-out show Saturday night.
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Martin Guitar and the John R. Cash Trust have released the new DX Johnny Cash guitar, a more affordable option than the original Johnny Cash models sold previously.
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If you long for music that tells a story with relatable characters who embrace heartache and remorse like they did in country music’s onset, then Erin Enderlin is the artist for you to listen to today.
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“Twice the Dream” is the perfect family film for Nashville music lovers.
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The Grandview Pickers prove that family bands and bluegrass music as still alive and going strong in the southeast.
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Greg Friia provides an in-depth understanding of what it is like to be a songwriter in Nashville.
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New album, You Don’t Know Me, features classic country standards, plus a highly anticipated trio with sisters Loretta Lynn, and Peggy Sue Wright.
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Northeast native, singer-songwriter, Parker Mckay has established herself in Nashville as the breath of fresh air that pop-country needs.
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The “One That Got Away” is a song written by Jesse Frasure, Josh Osborne, Matthew Ramsey, and Trevor Rosen, and recorded by American country music singer Michael Ray. Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen are part of the blazing hot country band, Old Dominion, and are among the top songwriters in Nashville and America. They, along with Jesse Frasure and Josh Osborne decided to “let this one go” and not put the song on their own album. Yet somehow, in the back of their heads, they knew they had written a likely hit. It got tossed in the pile with all the other “later” songs.
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Outlaw Country singer Gethen Jenkins came to Nashville to promote his newly released single “Basket Case” ahead of his soon to be released album, Western Gold.
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Live for the first time on CMT- Brett Eldredge, Mac McAnally, Jessy Wilson and Dylan Scott Part of Diverse Lineup
Let Freedom Sing! Will Feature One of Nation’s Largest Fireworks Shows
Written by Chase Rice, Ashley Gorley and Chris DeStefano, “Eyes On You” becomes the first number one song for Chase Rice as an artist.
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After winning the NASH Next competition at the end of 2018, the former Belmont University graduate, Jessie Ritter signs a contract with Big Machine Label Group and releases first hit under their label, ‘Nothing But you’.
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Known to “Stretch Country Music’s Boundaries,” the “Country Superstar” Delivers an “Emotional Epic” Fourth Project.
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For KING & COUNTRY will be performing at Dollywood’s Rock the Smokies Christian Music Festival on August 24 at the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville on September 29.
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After playing arenas with Kelly Clarkson and Pentatonix, ABI make her Bluebird Cafe debut.
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For the second year in a row, Greenwood delivered an inspiring rendition of ‘God Bless The U.S.A.’ to over 1,8000 esteemed members and guests at the Washington Hilton on behalf of The Congressional Club.
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Kenny Chesney wins Billboard Music Award for Top Country Tour.
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Kelsea Ballerini was inducted as the newest and youngest current member of the Grand Ole Opry tonight by Carrie Underwood, an Opry member since 2008.
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Billy Ray Cyrus, Charlie Daniels, Gavin DeGraw, Home Free, The Katinas, Wes King, Nicole C. Mullins, Michael Tait, Matthew Ward and Zach Williams join the star-studded tribute concert ’35 Years Of Friends: Celebrating The Music Of Michael W. Smith’ at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
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The Grand Ole’ Opry will Salute the Troops with a special show on May 21. Ninety-five-year-old veteran, Ernie Andrus, who is running across America, will lead a red carpet parade Into the Opry House.
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New series will tell the story behind some of country music’s biggest hits.
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After collaborating with country music giants such as Bubba Strait, Dean Dillion, Luke Laird, Barry Dean, Lori McKenna and Willie Nelson, iconic entertainer, George Strait, continues his reign as the King of Country Music with the release today of his 30th career studio album ‘Honky Tonk Time Machine.’
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The Nashville Symphony has announced the schedule for its 2019 Community Concerts series, which will showcase the Grammy® Award-winning orchestra in free performances at seven public parks and green spaces throughout Middle Tennessee. An integral part of the organization’s mission to make great music accessible to everyone in the region, the Symphony’s Community Concerts have been a local summer tradition since 1974 and annually draw thousands of concertgoers. Admission to all seven concerts is free of charge. The 2019 series opens with a return to Centennial Park on June 6 as part of a special partnership with Musicians Corner. This year also features two first-time Community Concerts locations: Smith Springs Community Center in Antioch and The Estate at Cherokee Dock in Lebanon. The complete schedule is listed below: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 6: Centennial Park at Musicians Corner 7 p.m. Friday, June 7: Cumberland University, Lebanon 7 p.m. Saturday, June 8: Smith Springs Community Center, Antioch 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 9: Two Rivers Mansion, Donelson 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 11: Historic Rock Castle, Hendersonville 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 25: Key Park, Lafayette 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 26: The Estate at Cherokee Dock, Lebanon The Nashville Symphony once again invites the…
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