Travis Meadows. Photo: Joshua Black Wilkins

Hit songwriter Travis Meadows will release a full-length album, First Cigarette, on Blaster Records, Oct. 13. The collection is produced by Jeremy Spillman with executive producer Jay Joyce.

“I’m an orphan who turned into a preacher, a preacher who turned into a songwriter, a songwriter who turned into a drunk, and a drunk that is learning to be a human being,” Meadows says, describing his journey.

Meadows grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, and endured physical and emotional pain at an early age, coping with abandonment by his parents, the loss of a sibling, and a near-death experience with cancer at only 14. While music was his sanctuary, drugs and alcohol became his crutch as he laid the foundation for his musical career at local blues bars in his hometown. By 24 years old, a religious experience led him into the world of Christian music where even in the midst of his self-destruction, he had eight Top 20 singles in the genre.

Pursuing his dream of writing country music, Meadows scored a publishing deal with Universal Music bringing him to Nashville. Though Meadows was successful as a staff writer, his spiral of addiction continued until in 2010 when he hit an all-time low. Between jail and rehab, Meadows began a journal for his counselor, which transformed into Killin’ Uncle Buzzy. The album, which now has an almost cult-like following “changed everything” in Meadows’ words. The brutal honesty in his writing connected with other songwriters, publishers and artists and in the next two years he scored album cuts by artists including Eric Church (“Knives Of New Orleans”/”Dark Side”), Dierks Bentley (“Riser”) and Jake Owen (“What We Ain’t Got”) while maintaining his new-found sobriety.

First Cigarette paints a brighter outlook. Expanding on the themes of recovery and survival, Meadows delves into the healthy expression of emotion (“Sideways”) to finding contentment where you are in life (“First Cigarette”) to the quest for satisfaction in (“Hungry”).

Kris Kristofferson. Photo: Marina Chavez

Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Payne have been added to a special Skyville Live event that will honor Jerry Lee Lewis on Aug. 24 in Nashville.

The event will feature performances from Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as Kristofferson, Payne, and previously announced performers Chris Stapleton and Lee Ann Womack.

“This is going to be a tremendous night of music packed with so many memorable moments,” commented Wally Wilson, creator of Skyville Live. “We pride ourselves on being a show that artists really enjoy doing, and the amazingly talented group coming together to celebrate Jerry Lee Lewis will make it a great night for everyone and surely lead to some more of the fantastic collaborations we’ve seen on the Skyville Live stage.”

The show will film live in front of a studio audience on Aug. 24 and streaming details will be announced at a later date. The latest edition of Skyville Live will also feature the Skyville Live band of industry elites. Led by guitarist Kenny Greenberg, the band features the best session musicians around including Mike Rojas (keys,) Mickey Raphael (harmonica,) Fred Eltringham (drums,) Justin Schipper (pedal steel/utility) and backup singers.

Waylon Payne

Tyminski (Dan Tyminski) contemplates the struggles we all face between the light and the darkness on his anticipated solo project, Southern Gothic, set for release Oct. 20 on Mercury Records Nashville. The project features 13 tracks co-penned by Tyminski and writers like Jesse Frasure, Josh Kear, Carey Barlowe, and Sarah Buxton, and came to life when Tyminski realized he wasn’t ready to let go of the songs he had been writing for other artists.

After lending his vocals in 2014 to Avicii’s international pop hit “Hey Brother,” (which went No. 1 in at least 18 countries and has global streams of over 1.1 billion and downloads of 5.3 million), Tyminski began to realize that he could fit outside of his acoustic music box. He enlisted the help of producer Jesse Frasure to meld together the genres that make up Southern Gothic.

“I feel that the light and dark in this record are truly my journey, my personal journey in life,” explains Tyminski. “I think we all feel that whisper from each side of your shoulder, someone saying, ‘yeah do it,’ or ‘no don’t do it.’ I have an enormous struggle with that in my life, but it’s something that I’m aware of. I try to make sure that I understand what the right voice is. I don’t make quick decisions because light and dark, in my opinion, can often look very similar.”

The Vermont native who taught himself how to play banjo by ear has been a member of Alison Krauss’ Union Station for the past 25 years, and was also the singing voice of George Clooney’s character in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?. He has won 14 Grammys throughout the course of his career.

Southern Gothic Album Track List:

• Southern Gothic (Dan Tyminski, Jesse Frasure, Josh Kear)
• Breathing Fire (Dan Tyminski, Cary Barlowe, Will Weatherly)
• Gone (Dan Tyminski, Kyle Fishman, Nick Bailey)
• Temporary Love (Dan Tyminski, Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure)
• Perfect Poison (Dan Tyminski, Jesse Frasure)
• Devil Is Downtown (Dan Tyminski, Ashley Monroe, Paul Moak)
• Hollow Hallelujah (Dan Tyminski, Sarah Buxton, Jesse Frasure, Amy Wadge)
• Good For Your Soul (Dan Tyminski, Sarah Buxton, Jesse Frasure)
• Wailing Wall (Dan Tyminski, Sarah Buxton, Tofer Brown)
• Haunted Heart (Dan Tyminski, Andrew Dorff, Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure)
• Bloodline (Dan Tyminski, Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure)
• Wanted (Dan Tyminski, Brad Rempel, Seth Mosley)
• Numb (Dan Tyminski, Kyle Fishman, Nick Bailey, Ryan Ogren)

Brett Eldredge is gearing up for a string of media appearances to celebrate the release of his upcoming self-titled album, which will be available on Friday (Aug. 4). He takes over Today on Aug. 7, followed by an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Aug. 9, at 11:35 p.m. ET. The singer-songwriter will perform “The Long Way” from the upcoming album.

Leading up to the album release, Eldredge has offered fans early listens to tracks including “Castaway” and “No Stopping You,” in addition to his current single “Somethin’ I’m Good At.”

Eldredge says he pushed himself in the writing room, exploring new ways of relating universal experiences. On “Cycles,” penned with Matt Rogers, Eldredge looks at relationships realistically.

“Cycles was one of the hardest songs I’ve ever written,” Eldredge says. “It’s very continuous – I mean, literally, it’s in a cycle of how the lyric goes, but it’s all about a relationship where you’re falling in love and you’re falling out of love. [When] they come back and they show up at your door again, how do you say no to that person? You love them but you know it’s never going to work out. It’s a vicious cycle and you can’t stop it.”

On another track from the album, “Superhero,” penned with Ross Copperman and Heather Morgan, Eldredge demonstrates his aspiration to come through for the one he loves.

“I love the thought of being a superhero. I love the story of someone coming in and saving the day. I was always so envious of Superman, because I want to be that guy. I think that’s why Superman was so popular. We all picture ourselves as that nerdy guy who can go hop in a telephone booth and change into a superhero and save the day and win the girl over.”

Eldredge is currently on Luke Bryan’s Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day Tour.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has revealed more details for its exhibit Loretta Lynn: Blue Kentucky Girl, set to open on Aug. 25.

The exhibit chronicles Loretta Lynn’s 50-plus years in the country music industry, and will include her handwritten manuscript for the 1970 hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” along with the American DR-332 ribbon microphone used during her first recording session at Western Recorders Studio in Los Angeles in 1960. That session would yield her first single, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl.”

Numerous dresses will be on display, including the green chiffon gown Lynn wore to the 1972 CMA Awards, where she was named Entertainer of the Year. The red dress Lynn wore on the cover of her 1968 album Fist City, will also be included in the exhibit, as will the 1956 model 99 Singer sewing machine Lynn used to make her own stage clothes early in her career.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented to Lynn by President Obama in 2013, will also be on display.

Loretta Lynn: Blue Kentucky Girl will run through Aug. 5, 2018.

Lynn, who is recovering from a stroke she suffered in May, says, “I am so excited for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s exhibit to open this month. It’s gonna show off my 50 some odd years in country music, and I’m so proud to share my life and music with the museum. Y’all come see us!”

“Owen Bradley once described Loretta Lynn as ‘the female Hank Williams,’” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “Like Williams did, Loretta has created music that echoes the challenges and joys of the working class. She has influenced countless artists who followed her, and her unique sound continues to transcend genre and inspire her many listeners. We are thrilled to share the story of this ‘blue Kentucky girl,’ and we look forward to the day when Loretta feels well enough to see the exhibit herself.”