Reviver Records has signed David DeVaul to its roster. The former American Idol contestant has recently penned songs for Josh Gracin, Aaron Goodvin, and collaborated with producer OHKI to create a country/hip-hop flavored EP titled Dixieland, available now. David has been cutting his teeth as a member of Reviver Publishing, experimenting with different genres like country, pop, soul, & hip-hop, and is excited to further his already blossoming career.

Reviver CEO David Ross states: “David DeVaul is one of those songwriters that has a keen sense of the elements that it takes to make a great song – honesty, authenticity and a musicianship that enables him to come away from a write with a powerful product that connects with both music lovers and our country music community. Reviver Publishing is proud to add David to our growing roster of talented, up and coming hit songwriters.”

Hailing from the small farm town of Britt, Iowa, DeVaul was drawn to music at a very early age, leaning towards both rap and country music for the multitude of stories they tell. David honed his craft while working a number of odd jobs to help support his musical career, and wrote songs for Red Marlow from The Voice and Rayvon Owens from American Idol. David also serves on the board of 4:13 Strong – a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disenfranchised men get back on their feet by providing educational, vocational and life-skill training to help them serve productive and rewarding lives.

“We hope to set a very bad example for all of you tonight,” egged Miranda Lambert from centerstage of country music’s mother church The Ryman Auditorium Thursday night (Oct. 25).

Together, Lambert (Lonestar Annie) and her Pistol Annies cohorts Angaleena Presley (Holler Annie) and Ashley Monroe (Hippie Annie), performed their first full show in nearly seven years, offering songs from the Pistol Annies’ upcoming third album, Interstate Gospel, which arrives Nov. 2.

In truth, as the three talented women played a sold-out show at one of Nashville’s most cherished concert halls, before a largely female audience, Pistol Annies set a very good example of what country fans—particularly female fans—want to hear.

Perhaps the show’s zenith came with a moment of glorious unity during the anthem “Girls Like Us,” as Lambert, Monroe and Presley linked hands and raised them high in a show of solidarity and praise for honest, hardworking, hard-loving women.

No need for pyrotechnics, just three fully-competent artists fusing their talents and road-weathered life stories into flawless harmony.

They offered the first song the trio ever sang together with “Lemon Drop,” as well as several tracks from the new album including “Milkman,” “Sugar Daddy,” and the title track, which they said was “inspired by Jesus.”

For just over an hour, the trio tackled divorce, dead-end marriages, temptation and liberation, though they let the music do most of the talking (and scourging).

“We’ve had two husbands, two ex-husbands, two babies, one on the way, and 25 animals,” Lambert said. “Needless to say, we’ve lived a lot of life and some of it was happy and some of it was ‘Unhappily Married.’”

In introducing the resilient, independent “Got My Name Changed Back,” Presley cautioned, “This song is not about anyone in this band; it was very difficult for us to write about this,” to which Lambert retorted, “She’s full of shit.”

Another fiery moment came a few songs into the evening, during a tender take on the new track “Cheyenne,” when a slightly unruly concertgoer made her way to the front of the stage. After ushers could not convince the attendee to return to her seat, Lone Star Annie took control.

“Alright, I’m not gonna have you stealing our show tonight. You’re gonna have to go sit down,” she told the woman. “This is our night right here, sorry.” Ultimately, Lambert walked to the front of the stage, taking the woman’s hand and leading her out of the front row area.

Lambert donned a washboard for a track from 2013’s Annie Up, “Damn Thing,” while “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On” was punctuated with snaps and the full-throated singing of a rapturous audience.

They thrilled the crowd and earned a standing ovation from sing-alongs on “Takin’ Pills” and the sultry “Hell On Heels,” from the 2011 album of the same name.

The evening’s lone cover song honored Elvis Presley, “the one man we all want to marry,” according to Lambert. With that, the trio offered a stunning rendition to Elvis’ 1956 song “Love Me.”

The show closed on a blissful note as Monroe took the lead on the romantic “I Hope You’re The End Of My Story,” which she called her wedding song. Given all the love, heartache, and life Pistol Annies packed into their too-brief headlining show, there are plenty more tales where that came from.

The Country Music Association’s CMA Songwriters Series wrapped the second-annual U.K. and European tours with a final show in London, England from Oct. 8 – 22.

The stops included Kassi Ashton, Ashley Campbell, Chris DeStefano, Tenille Townes, Drake White and Charlie Worsham in Stockholm, Oslo, Hamburg and Amsterdam, Glasgow, Liverpool, Gateshead, Manchester and London.

Chase Rice made a surprise appearance at the final show in London at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, followed by the exclusive announcement of the lineup for the three-day 2019 C2C: Country to Country Festival.

Local artists also joined the lineup at each leg: Swedish artist Jill Johnson in Stockholm and Oslo; German-based artist Martin Kelly opened in Hamburg; and Dutch artist Joe Buck opened the show in Amsterdam. Special guests Catherine McGrath and The Wandering Hearts joined two shows, with Gary Quinn opening at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester.

CCM group Newsboys were honored at their Nashville tour stop earlier this week for total career sales in excess of 10 million units. During a VIP reception at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena, FairTrade Services president/founder Jeff Moseley recognized the band’s achievement within the genre. Since forming in Australia more than three decades ago and arriving in America in 1987, Newsboys have released 23 recordings and are heralded as one of Christian music’s most iconic bands.

Cledus T. Judd has inked an exclusive management and booking agreement with comedy production and management company Bang Productions.

Headed by company CEO John Edmonds Kozma, Bang Productions is known for utilizing social media and extensive touring to break comedians such as Darren Knight (aka Southern Momma), Gary Cargal, Andrew Conn, Catfish Cooley, Ginger Billy and Red Squirrel. The company signed Judd upon the success of his hilarious comeback video “My Weight’s Goin’ Up Down.”

“When we looked at Cledus and how his fans react to him, I knew we had to have him as part of our family,” said Kozma. “No one does what Cledus does, and we’re excited to work with someone so incredibly creative, talented and ready to take on the world.”

Bang Productions and its roster of comedians have amassed a network of 6.2 million comedy fans. Kozma discovered Darren Knight in 2016 and went on to produce his Southern Momma An Em Comedy Tour that has since sold out over 200 consecutive shows all across the US.