Sammy Kershaw, Collin Raye, and Aaron Tippin, collectively known as Roots & Boots, are playing their first show together at the Ryman on July 31st.
The trio, the brainchild of Kershaw, started playing together more than 10 years ago when Joe Diffie initially held the spot now occupied by Raye. The show is a collaborative event to celebrate 90s country music, with all three on-stage together using one band, and trading hit songs and stories.
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Nashville native Jet Jurgensmeyer has been performing all his life. At age 19, his resume is longer than that of many who are three times his age. Jurgensmeyer has been acting since he was a small child and has recently done a lot of voice-over work. He can be seen in everything from Last Man Standing to Bubble Guppies.
When I met Jurgensmeyer at the 2024 Country Radio Seminar, I discovered that his passion for singing and songwriting may almost be greater than his affinity toward acting. Growing up in Nashville, his parents are the former owners of the Nashville Palace, a long-time popular music venue across from the Opryland Hotel and Grand Ole Opry.
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Tiffany Woys has always wanted to be a performer. Her mother was a huge Celine Dion fan, and when she was five, her mother took her to her first concert. Even though she was so young, it had a profound impact on her. She wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but she knew she wanted to hold a microphone and sing.
A few years later, Woys heard LeAnn Rimes sing the National Anthem at a Dallas Cowboys football game, so she started singing the National Anthem whenever she could. Her parents finally started taking her desire to sing as a career more seriously. However, they insisted that she attend college and get a degree. She could become a singer later on.
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Them Dirty Roses is a southern rock band from Gadsden, Alabama. Brothers James Ford and Frank Ford, along with their hometown friends Andrew Davis and Ben Crain, taught themselves to play music by learning how to bend a string and break a heart like Skynyrd and Hank.
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Danielia Cotton has made a name for herself in the Americana/Roots Rock world. When I heard that voice, I knew exactly why. She has opened for Gregg Allman, Bon Jovi, Robert Cray, Robert Randolph, Cristone “Kingfish” Ingram, Derek Trucks Band, and Aimee Mann.
Cotton comes from a musical family. Her mother was one of ten children, four boys and six girls. The girls formed a capella band. (Her aunt Jeannie Brooks also has a remarkable jazz solo career and is quite popular in Philadelphia.)
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The Country Music Hall of Fame® (CMHOF) and Museum on Wednesday celebrated the opening of its newest exhibition Luke Combs: The Man I Am. The exhibit traces Combs’ story from singing with his school choirs in North Carolina to headlining stadiums worldwide. The exhibit, which opened on Thursday, is included with museum admission. Combs’ exhibit will go til June 2025.
Besides the CMHOF staff and Sony executives, Luke Comb’s wife and parents, his high school choir teacher, and his pals from Town Tavern in Boone, North Carolina, where he first began performing, were in attendance for the unveiling.
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Slash’s sixth solo project, a blues album entitled Orgy of the Damned, is out on Gibson Records. To celebrate, the iconic Grammy-winning guitarist and songwriter has curated an all-star Blues lineup for the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Blues Festival touring North America this summer. His tour includes locations across the USA, including a stint in Franklin, Tennessee, on August 14 at the FirstBank Amphitheatre.
When asked how he came up with the title for his latest blues album, Slash told Germany’s Rock Antenne, “Blues and Rock n Roll have long been considered taboo and devil’s music—hide your kids from it —especially the Blues…”
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Music Spotlight artist Jay Allen released his debut album, Des Moines named after his hometown. Inspired by a moment that happened 11 years ago, Allen takes listeners through the experience of leaving Iowa to pursue his music career in his new home in Nashville, Tennessee—this well-thought-out project looks at divorce, grief, healing, and growth.
Allen’s new album follows his recent releases, including “No Present Like the Time,” a tune he wrote when his mom endured early-onset Alzheimer’s. The track is included on his debut record and is on country radio to serve as a beacon of hope for those facing their struggles. “Blank Stares” was also inspired by his mother’s journey.
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Country music legend Lynn Anderson became the U.S. Marines’ unofficial ambassador 50 years ago when they used her award-winning song, “I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden),” in a recruitment ad campaign.
The term “rose garden” is an ironic reference that led to one of the most memorable recruitment campaigns in the Marine Corps history, forever linking country music superstar Anderson with the Marines.
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Britnee Kellogg grew up listening to all the good stuff: Waylon, Willie, Dolly, and 90s country. But it was when she was just six years old that her life was profoundly impacted. She attended a Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash concert. Smitten from the first note, the young girl knew she had found her chosen career.
“I knew that [singing] was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” she recalled.
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Having lived in Nashville for more than 12 years, I have learned you never know who you will meet or see perform at a random writers’ round who may become the next big thing. And even though I only watch bits and pieces of the music competition shows, I was watching The Voice this year because Music Spotlight artist, Donny Van Slee, was on it.
But I got the shock of my life when I saw Tae Lewis in the Knockout Round. When he sang Cody Johnson’s “Nothing on You,” you could have picked me up off the floor. I remember sitting next to Lewis at the Listening Room a few years back. His friend introduced him as a new artist in town (of which there are literally hundreds).
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Jordan St. Cyr is from a small town of around 1,200 people located outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As a child, he remembers his dad showing him a few chords on a guitar, and then he took it from there. He attended a youth group at his church, and they asked if anyone was interested in singing and playing guitar. He was soon enlisted to lead worship.
St. Cyr recalled, “My competitive nature took over and I’d spend three, four hours a night just learning these songs and singing. It’s really what helped me learn my craft.”
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The Les Paul Foundation partnered with Gibson Gives to award Peter Frampton last week with the annual Les Paul Spirit Award. Bob Weir, Nile Rodgers, and U2’s The Edge are previous recipients of this award. Frampton continues to write and perform despite being diagnosed with inclusion body myositis in 2019.
Les Paul was a trailblazer with recording technology, sound effects, and the solid body guitar. He championed music trailblazers, paving the way for rock and roll, metal, punk, country, pop, and all forms of modern music. The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing Paul’s legacy through the support of music education, recording, innovation, exhibits about Paul, and medical research related to hearing.
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Nashville has no shortage of super-talented singers, songwriters, and musicians. For every hit song you hear, somebody somewhere had to write and play the music, engineer and produce it, and somehow get it to radio or streaming services.
Without these studio musicians, we wouldn’t have the quality of music we have today. High Mountain Breezes (HMB) is a collection of Nashville’s finest studio musicians who create music for other artists. But sometimes, these musicians want to make music for themselves, not just to accompany a famous lead singer.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee—Zach John King is from Fayetteville, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta with a population of 18,000. His grandparents exposed him to country music, but his dad gave him a preloaded iPod shuffle with everything from Otis Redding to Alabama on it. King took guitar lessons for four years…
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When I met MaRynn Taylor at CMT’s Next Women of Country 2023, I knew I would love her music because I immediately loved her personality. And while I covered her at CRS and her music in my Christmas blog, I had not done a full feature on the songstress. When I learned her debut EP, Get To Know Me was being released at the end of May, I knew it was high time that I get to know her.
Taylor grew up in Rockford, Michigan, listening to country music. Although no one in her family was particularly musical, she was obsessed with artists like Hannah Montana, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift.
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Allie Colleen has been around music her entire life. She began writing poetry at age eight and got serious about learning guitar by age 14. Combining these two hobbies, she dove headfirst into songwriting.
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I first heard the duo Smithfield in 2018 on Sirius XM’s The Highway when their song “Hey Whiskey” was a big hit. Comprised of vocalists Trey Smith and Jennifer Fielder, they are lifelong friends who grew up near each other.
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Matt Oakley grew up around all kinds of music. His dad was a DJ in the military in Germany.
He recalled, “We always had those little boomboxes going and those old CD players that were like small oval-shaped. We have our home videos. And almost everyone, whether it was on a desk or a kitchen table, or me and my sisters dancing around, we were always around music. And in car rides, when we would go on road trips, we would play music trivia or play the song. The first person to get what the song is and who it’s by gets a point.”
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Last July, when NBC The Voice alums, Katelyn Drye and Derek Drye announced their lead single “Sawdust” off their forthcoming EP, I was keen to feature them because I loved the song so much. Now, after the success of the rowdy Raisin’ Beers & Hallelujahs EP, The Dryes have chronicled a more serious side of the past four years of their lives with their newest EP, Dear Heart.
Even though they are an extremely talented, happily married couple, they still go through struggles like the rest of us. This newest body of work showcases moments of grief, honest questioning, finding relief in moments of hope, and living with a beautiful new perspective. This is especially important now as May marks the highly important Mental Health Awareness Month.
In February, the duo released the first track off of their newest EP, “A Little Longer.” The video for the song, which was played on CMT, features a breathtaking sunset. The couple pic
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Anybody who follows me or my column knows that I have a type. Traditional country music stirs my soul. When I find someone young who can do the same thing, I do my best to track them down.
Zach Top is such an artist. His name kept showing up all over my feeds. When I heard the popular “Sounds Like the Radio,” I was thrilled and couldn’t stop smiling. I relentlessly pursued his people until I got an interview.
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To say 2024 has been a banner year for Scotty McCreery would be an understatement. From his beloved North Carolina State making it to the NCAA Final Four to recently being added to the prestigious roster of Grand Ole Opry members, you would think that there wasn’t much left for the 30-year-old to accomplish.
In 2011, 17-year-old McCreery beat out Lauren Alaina to win American Idol. In June 2018, McCreery married the love of his life, Gabi, and in 2022, they welcomed a son, Avery. Since becoming a solo artist, the Triple Tigers recording artist has garnered five number-one hits, including the fan favorites “Five More Minutes” and “Damn Strait.”
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Donald Ralph “Skip” Ewing is a musician’s musician. To say that his singing and songwriting are brilliant is an understatement. And he can play almost any stringed instrument.
He said, “I don’t remember when I couldn’t play a guitar. I took a woman’s pink foam curler, took the plastic out of it, and stuck it up under my strings so I could play late into the night without the guitar making a sound.”
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Since I interviewed Donny Van Slee back in 2022, I’ve always been intrigued by the chiropractor/country music singer who unashamedly goes to the beat of his own drummer. He was the first person to bring artists like Zach Bryan and Jack Johnson to my attention as they are performers that Van Slee likes to emulate.
Because his life is spread in so many directions, you can imagine my surprise when Van Slee showed up on Reba’s team on NBC’s The Voice earlier this spring. When he sang Lanco’s “Greatest Love Story” he was so good that Reba blocked Dan & Shay so she could have him all to herself. He was confident, showing that he was having the time of his life.
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I’ll confess. Sometimes I get so many emails I can’t read them all. The downside to that is I am sure I have missed several great artists. But thankfully, I did open Taran’s Smith email when she pitched Nicolette & the Nobodies to me.
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One thing I have learned about TV singing shows is that the finalists are nearly always as good (if not better) as the actual winner. So, I try to interview as many country singers from these shows as possible.
Presley Tennant is a powerhouse singer from Norco, California, a horse town that is 35 miles east of Los Angeles. She was a finalist on Season 16 of NBC’s The Voice in 2019 when she was just 16. She has often been compared to Whitney Houston and Carrie Underwood.
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Lindy Boone, daughter of Pat Boone and sister to Debby Boone, Cherry Boone, and Laurey Boone, has been singing all her life.
They attended a church that didn’t use musical instruments, so everyone learned to sing instead. Their mama, singer Shirley Lee Foley, taught her daughters to sing harmony.
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In September of 2023, my brother sent me a video of a country song called “If Daddy Didn’t Have a Truck” by Cody Webb. At the time, TikTok wouldn’t play it because of “sensitive religious content.” That naturally made me want to listen and find out what about the song was so offensive.
For inexplicable reasons, the lyrics I’da never known Jesus loves me/ Fell in love with kicking up dirt/ I’da never known how forgiveness or a carburetor works/ Only the good Lord knows how a good ol’ boy like me mighta wound up/ If Mama didn’t have a Bible/ And Daddy didn’t have a truck were not permissible to the general public.
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In a historic event at Belmont’s Fisher Center, the female collective known as the Song Suffragettes celebrated its tenth anniversary to a packed-out crowd last week
Each year, they celebrate their March anniversary, and they honor a significant female singer and/or songwriter. This year’s Yellow Rose of Inspiration award fittingly went to Wynonna Judd, an acclaimed singer/songwriter and long-time promoter of women in country music. Past Yellow Rose of Inspiration award winners include Laura Veltz, Ashley McBryde, Natalie Hemby, and Kelsea Ballerini.
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Cicely Mason is an American singer/songwriter from Milan, Tennessee. She comes from a singing family and is the youngest of six children. One of her earliest memories is singing for a talent show.
“It wasn’t for the competition. I just wanted to sing,” she recalled.
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When I heard the buttery twang that encapsulates Bryce Leatherwood, I knew exactly why he won Season 22 of NBC’s “The Voice.” Even before he sang a word, you knew he had it.
Leatherwood is a 23-year-old singer/songwriter who aims to carry the torch of the country music he grew up with. He was born and raised in Woodstock, Georgia, and spent every summer working on his grandpa’s farm and listening to his grandpa’s music.
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With her newest movie, Someone Like You, fans of Karen Kingsbury’s movies and books are in for the treat of their lives. While her books have been put to film on many occasions, this is the first time that her new production company, Karen Kingsbury Productions, has released a movie completely on its own.
Kingsbury said, “While I was very thankful (for the other movies) it was never the movie that God put in my heart.”
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As a product of the 80s music scene, I discovered country music later in life. When country rocker Kelsey Hickman came across my desk, I knew she was right up my alley.
Hickman is from Central Illinois. No one in her family is particularly musical, but she can remember singing all her life. She started as a tot singing Disney songs, then joined school choirs and got her first exposure singing in musicals.
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When Amy Sheppard who is part of the wildly popular Australian band, Sheppard, decided to put out country music, I was intrigued. I wanted to find out more about this family and their musical roots.
Amy Sheppard is an Australian singer-songwriter. Along with her siblings George Sheppard and Emma Sheppard, she is a founding and current member of the indie pop band Sheppard. The group is 34X platinum, and their massive hit “Geronimo” has had more than 750 million streams.
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More than 30 years in the making, the movie The Neon Highway debuted on the silver screen this last week in Nashville. Originally written by Phillip Bellury and directed by William Wages for the likes of Johnny Cash, the deal never worked out. They say everything happens for a reason: Beau Bridges was meant to play Claude Allen, and Rob Mayes was meant to play Wayne Collins.
Here is a synopsis of the plot: 20 years ago, Collins, played by Mayes, an aspiring singer/songwriter, was a heartbeat away from making it in Nashville when a car accident derailed his ambitions. Now working a 9-5 job and struggling to support his family, Collins has a fateful encounter with waning country music great Allen, played by Bridges, who reignites Allen’s musical dreams. Together, they go to Nashville with one of Collins’ songs, believing they can make it big with Allen’s fame and contacts. The problem is the industry has changed and no one is interested in the song – or Allen. Devastated and out of options, Collins creates a way to get the song out to the public; not for himself, but for Allen.
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An artist I have been wanting to interview for years is RaeLynn. Born Racheal Lynn Woodward, the artist has a singular spunk and sass that is a huge asset in the sea of female country singers/songwriters. But her gift for storytelling through her honest lyrics endears her so fiercely to her fans.
RaeLynn grew up in a musical family and began singing in church at a young age.
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It’s hard to believe that I interviewed 13-year-old Darci Lynne six years ago. In 2018, she was the reigning winner of season 12 of America’s Got Talent proving her skills as an exceptional ventriloquist, puppeteer, and entertainer. Lynne was in town to perform at the Ryman and the Opry.
I remember thinking, “If she can sing that well with her mouth closed, how great she would be singing with her mouth open.” The answer is, “Very well.”
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Flat River Band consists of three brothers Andy Sitze, Chad Sitze, and Dennijo Sitze, who grew up in a multi-generational family band. Performing alongside their parents and grandparents, they held residencies at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, and at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
No strangers to success, the Missouri natives have charted #1 hits on the bluegrass gospel charts and have opened for Natalie Maines, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent, TG Sheppard, and more.
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After three packed days of musical performances, informative panels, and engaging sessions, Country Radio Seminar (CRS) has concluded.
This year’s event was a success, with attendees enjoying a full-day Streaming Summit, with insightful panels and CRS anchor events such as the “Amazon Music Presents: Country Heat at CRS” showcase, Warner Music Nashville’s Luncheon, Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley, “Team UMG” at the Ryman, Big Machine Label Group’s Luncheon, BBR Music Group Decades Party, “Paddle Royale” Ping Pong Tournament, and the New Faces of Country Music Show and Dinner.
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Anyone who follows my blog knows I like a good hometown rockin’ country band. When I first heard Bettin’ On the Mule (BOTM) from Rockmart, Georgia, I instantly loved their energy.
The “Hometown Rock” pioneers consist of Jacob Wilson on lead vocals, bass, and rhythm guitar, who also serves as the band’s lead songwriter, new member Phil Beavers on lead guitar and backing vocals, Rick Norris on drums and backing vocals, and Shannon “Beef” Wilson on bass and backing vocals for the band.
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Due West is a trio of country musicians who met at a house party in 2004. Tim Gates, Matt Lopez, and Brad Hull are from the western U.S., but like many aspiring artists, they found themselves in Music City.
The three of them were all invited to the same party. As happens in Nashville, when everyone gets together, they usually sing. When Gates started singing, Hull and Lopez chimed in, playing and singing harmony.
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Following three sold-out shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Clint Black is going on tour to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the award-winning album Killin’ Time. He and his electrifying band will play the album top to bottom, along with many other number-one hits.
Black moved to Nashville over 35 years ago with his bandleader and longtime songwriter colleague, Hayden Nicholas, where he readily signed a deal with RCA Records.
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One of my favorite country music couples is T.G. Sheppard and Kelly Lang.
I learned last year that the pair were planning a new duets album for 2024. They decided the first song they would release off the upcoming album would be a cover of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.”
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I often encounter veterans while writing about country music. And while only a few veterans also become performing musicians, something about having served makes their music ring true, especially in the patriotic realm of country music.
Scotty Hasting is from the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area. Although he was in several school choirs, being a musician was never a life goal. He joined the army in October 2010, and by April 2011, he was shot and was lucky to be alive.
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One of the bands I have been wanting to feature for a while is the Josh Abbott Band. With multiple hit songs having multi-million streams, they are hugely popular in their home state of Texas and across the globe. You may be familiar with the perennial favorites, “Settle Me Down” and “She’s Like Texas.”
They have also teamed up with megastars like Kacey Musgraves in “Oh Tonight,” Carly Pearce in “Wasn’t That Drunk” and Pat Green in “My Texas” to bring their music to an even wider audience.
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Artimus Pyle, a distinguished Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and former drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, unveils his tribute album, Anthems – Honoring The Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Nearly 47 years after the horrific plane crash that killed Lynyrd Skynyrd leader Ronnie Van Zant, a new album honoring him and the original Lynyrd Skynyrd band is being released.
I first heard the Artimus Pyle Band in 2020 when he, Dolly Parton, and others raised money to benefit the W.O. Smith Music School and the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation. I met Pyle in May of 2022 when the former Marine was at an event honoring my ancestor, Lt. Presley O’Bannon.
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An artist that I have featured a few times in the past is Becca Bowen. I love her energy, passion, and big, beautiful voice. The South Carolina native mixes her authentic country charm with her background in gospel music and musical theater to bring us a traditional country sound with a soulful approach.
While Bowen has been releasing singles since 2020 and her debut album in 2022, it wasn’t until recently that she became brave enough to release an entire EP, County Line, where she co-wrote every song.
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A duo that kept showing up in my Instagram feed was a couple of kids, known as Jake & Shelby. Jake Lawson and Shelby Haim are teenagers from Hendersonville, Tennessee. Known for their smooth vocals and intricate guitar arrangements, their magical mix of melody and lyrics is enticing. The pop duo has nearly 900,000 followers on Instagram. Their TikTok videos have had over 70 mllion views.
At just 18 and 19 years of age, I knew if I had any chance of featuring them, I had better contact them as soon as possible.
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Krystal King has had country music in her soul practically since birth. Her parents told her that when she was a toddler, they were scanning the radio stations and when it got to an Alan Jackson song, she squealed, “Oh stop, stop.” And she has been listening to country music ever since.
As she got older, the North Carolina native was visiting friends on the coast. A man was DJing at a restaurant. Her parents dared to get up there and sing a song. So, she walked up to him and asked him if I could sing “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain.
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Hosted by legendary country singer Clint Black, America Salutes You Presents ‘A Concert For Gratitude’ that will air on five distribution platforms from January 20th – February 20th.
This televised event mobilizes support for our troops and first responders through music with its eighth event and telecast. The TV special features performances by Clint Black (with Lisa Hartman Black and Lily Pearl Black) Chrissy Metz, Dustin Lynch, Jo Dee Messina, Alana Springsteen, Megan Moroney, Walker Hayes, Charles Esten, Lecrae, War Hippies and Lee Greenwood (celebrating the 40th anniversary of “God Bless the USA.”) Craig Morgan, Jelly Roll and Trace Adkins will have special performances and Gary Sinise was honored with the America Salutes You Lifetime Achievement Award.
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