Mark Chesnutt

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“She Never Got Me Over You”

Lofton Creek

Responding to demand from radio, Mark Chesnutt‘s new single “She Never Got Me Over You” is being rush-released. Several stations, including WFMS/Indianapolis and KFTX/Corpus Christi, have already added it. It garnered 21 adds on MusicRow‘s CountryBreakout™ chart in its first week of being reported.

Beaumont, Texas, native Mark Chesnutt left his stamp on the ‘90s, recording some of the decade’s most memorable hits—“Bubba Shot The Jukebox,” “Going Through The Big D,” and “It’s A Little Too Late” among many others.

Chesnutt’s current album Rollin’ With The Flow was released in 2008 and features the hit title track, plus “Things To Do In Wichita” and his new single “She Never Got Me Over You.” His fruitful career boasts 14 No. 1s, 23 top ten singles, four platinum albums and five gold records.

Known as one of the industry’s hardest-working concert performers, Chesnutt has been on the road since 1990, maintaining a hefty tour schedule and steady presence in front of his fans. “The clubs and honky tonks are home for me; it’s comfortable and I’m always with friends,” says the singer.

Chesnutt has a string of live dates in his future, including the October 23-25 Beaumont Boys Bash. Hosted with his fellow hometown singers Tracy Byrd and Zona Jones, the charity festival offers a weekend of music, food and fun unlike any other.

www.markchesnutt.com
www.myspace.com/officialmarkchesnutt

Lauren Briant

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“Butterfly Tattoo”

Average Joes Entertainment
Impacting radio March 19

“Rebellious,” “playful,” and “colorful” have all been used to describe Lauren Briant. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, this country girl grew up on the vivid lyrics and instrumentation rooted in country songs. “I would listen to the radio and sing along,” Lauren remembers, “and I guess when you grow up country, country music melodies and stories are the only ones that make sense.”

Briant ventured into the pop-singer world briefly at her peers’ suggestion, but was led back to her country roots when she was discovered at a local watering hole by famed producer Shannon Houchins (TLC, Usher, Outkast).

Briant is sure to leave a permanent impression with real life lyrics such as those in her Noah Gordon-produced debut single, “Butterfly Tattoo,” which states “My daddy’s gonna kill me if my momma doesn’t first.”

“I feel more of a connection with country music, and I love the way my voice feels belting out Honky Tonk tunes,” Lauren says. “I was never really a fan of the R&B or Pop format, so it seemed foreign to me as a songwriter and performer to pursue a career just for popularity’s sake.”

www.laurenbriant.com
www.myspace.com/laurenbriant

Colt Ford

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“Ride Through The Country” (feat. John Michael Montgomery)

Average Joes Entertainment
Impacting March 19

Colt Ford embodies the seemingly unusual pairing of the Southern country and hip-hop musical influences that he heard growing up in small-town America just outside Athens, Georgia, not far from the Southern hub for urban music in Atlanta. His newly styled country music is truly a blend of many American musical styles, including country, rock, hip-hop, and rhythm & blues. With this musical mixture, Colt blazes forward with a new, creative sound for the all-American everyman. Although the stories may differ for rural and urban listeners, Colt delivers a common message and emotion with an uncommon sound.

Ford’s album Ride Through The Country was released in November 2008 and has sold over 11,000 copies on tour. He averages over 40,000 plays per day on MySpace. The title track features help from John Michael Montgomery and his album features contributions from Jamey Johnson, Jeremy Popoff, Brantley Gilbert, Adrian Young (of No Doubt), Bonecrusher, Attitude, and Soni Ledfurd.

A songwriter, golfer, musician, and family man, he continues to enjoy hunting, fishing, and spending time with his wife and two children. Although he has traveled around the globe during his 7 years as a professional golfer, he still prefers to live in his small Southern hometown.

Colt Ford grew up listening to country music, and his first concert was Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers together in Georgia. He eventually gravitated towards R&B and hip-hop and made his musical debut in high school writing a rap for a friend. Colt soon found that writing came easy to him and began working with acclaimed producer Jermaine Dupri and other developing hip-hop artists.

Ford performs over 120 dates per year with a full band, so check his schedule to find out when he’ll be near you!

www.coltford.com
www.myspace.com/coltford

Derek Joseph

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“No Cool Way”

Little House Records

Derek Joseph was raised in the small rural farming community of Phelps, in upstate New York. The singer’s Grandfather was a banjo player and had a big influence on Derek’s love of music.

Derek began his musical education at age 8 with piano lessons, and by his teen years he was playing drums and singing with local groups. He was later hired as the lead singer for Outland, one of upstate New York’s premiere country groups.

Recently, Derek signed a recording contract with Little House Records Nashville. His first single, “No Cool Way” has been released to country radio and is currently climbing MusicRow’s CountryBreakout™ chart.

Derek will attend his first Country Radio Seminar in Nashville March 4-6. He says, “I look forward to making many new friends while I’m in town.”

www.derekjoseph.net
www.myspace.com/derekjosephmusic

Love and Theft

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“Runaway”

Carolwood Records

Utterly delicious. It’s a foaming, frothy pop-country outing that’s drenched in melody, harmonies and happy-feet rhythm. This sparkles with sunshine and begs for a drive on an empty two-lane blacktop. Summer is officially here.
Robert K. Oermann, Music Row

Love and Theft is the Carolwood Records trio of Stephen Barker Liles, Eric Gunderson and Brian Bandas, and “Runaway” is the group’s debut single. The young group’s career to this point has been filled with some magic moments.

When making the rounds to the labels, they played a short showcase for Lyric Street A&R Chief Doug Howard who said, “You should never have made it into my office… you should have already been signed! Please don’t play for anyone else.”

To make matters sweeter, Taylor Swift heard the trio’s music and brought them on board as an opening act for her headlining concerts in 2008. Others quickly came on board–like Robert Ellis Orral and Jeff Coplan, who are producing the group’s debut album.

“We rehearsed for six months before we ever felt like we wanted to take our music out in front of people,” says Stephen. “We wanted to spend time writing music,” adds Eric, “and making sure we had the right songs to showcase our vocals and make our harmonies stand out.”

In fact, all three are able songwriters who wrote or co-wrote every song on their debut album. They met not long after each arrived in Nashville, and their special chemistry enabled them to forge a unique sound.

“We consciously decided not any one of us would be the lead singer,” says Eric. “We all rotate singing lead and see where the harmonies fall most naturally. In most songs, each of us will sing a different verse or the bridge. Then, our signature is that big three-part harmony on the chorus. It doesn’t really matter who’s singing lead or who’s singing harmony. Somehow it just works.”

“Nothing beats country songwriting,” says Stephen. “That’s as real as it gets and that’s why we’re here. We love what it represents and we want to carry it forward.”

www.lntlovesradio.com
www.myspace.com/loveandtheftmusic

Derek Sholl

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“But It Was”

CO5 Nashville

“But It Was” is Derek Sholl’s newest release to country radio. Penned by Joe Doyle and Tim Johnson, the song appears on Sholl’s album Here, which hit shelves in October 2008. His previous single “(I’ll Be) Here” charted in the top 50 of MusicRow’s CountryBreakout™ chart.

Sholl’s journey from pro baseball hopeful to fast-rising country star is a true-to-life tale of one big man, two big talents, and countless nights of dues-paying gigs that took the singer/songwriter from local bars in his native southern California to state-of-the-art stages in Vegas, to Nashville’s top recording studios, all the way to his current touring base in Texas.

“I first started listening to country music when I got drafted by the Kansas City Royals,” Sholl recalls. “I’d come into the clubhouse singing Randy Travis and Alan Jackson in my ‘new’ country voice. I was half kidding, but everybody would always say, ‘Hey, that’s really good.’ I was learning a lot of songs, but baseball was my first love. I still thought I was going to be a professional ball player.”

Baseball was his life until a series of injuries effectively ended his sports career. He began to delve into country music, honing his high energy live act, which has taken him to places like the Mirage in Las Vegas, where he supported appearances by TV host Jay Leno.

“I take a lot of pride in our live stage show,” he says. “What I’m doing up there is not an act. On a big stage or in a small bar, it’s high energy and it’s exactly who I am.”

www.dereksholl.com

Lance Miller

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“George Jones & Jesus”

Big 7 Records

“When I die and they carry me to the final frontier, I want them to play Lance Miller’s ‘George Jones & Jesus.’”
—Ken Batista, KPIX-CBS/San Francisco

Lance Miller’s new single “George Jones & Jesus” is being released to country radio. The song recently debuted at No. 61 on Music Row’s CountryBreakout™ chart in its first week of being reported.

Gleaning the best from the past (his father Melvin Miller and outlaws like Haggard and Waylon) and the present (George Strait, Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw), Lance Miller has forged a unique sound for himself. Unapologetic about the breadth of his influences, Lance is the guy who not only knows all the words to B-side country classics but also has Tom Petty and Def Leppard on his iPod.

Growing up in Southern Illinois, Lance looked up to his father, a pretty solid country singer himself. When he was younger, Lance didn’t even realize those Haggard tunes weren’t his daddy’s. “We thought Dad wrote those songs, they were so much a part of our lives,” he says. His father’s influence has carried with him to Nashville, through a season of Nashville Star, and still informs his work.

“George Jones & Jesus” can be found on Miller’s debut album, Old Back in the New School, which is available on iTunes. Programmers can download the song from Play MPE.

www.lancemiler.com

Trailer Choir

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“What Would You Say”

Show Dog Nashville

Trailer Choir’s second single “What Would You Say,” co-written by the group’s Butter and Big Vinny with David Fortney, was inspired by the Jan. 2006 Sago, West Virginia mining tragedy. Thirteen men were trapped after the accident and, as the nation watched the drama unfold, all but one of the men perished. In the days following, it was revealed that some of the men had been able to write and leave short notes for their loved ones.

“My father and I talked about the mining accident and both of us were taken aback by the loss and devastation it must have had on the families and friends of the miners and the Sago community,” says Butter. “He asked me what would I say if I were in that situation and I knew my chances of making it out alive were fading?  What would I write on that note at that moment in time? He said, ‘I think that would be a question to ask in a song. What would you say?’

“I was inspired to try and write a song that showed how these hard working men who were just trying to support their families died with a heroic impact,” he continues. “They are examples of how we all should live our lives—to have the courage and love to write a note on a piece of paper in such a desperate moment.”

The trio of Butter, Big Vinny and Crystal signed to Show Dog in 2007 and joined Toby Keith’s Big Dog Daddy tour. Their debut single “Off The Hillbilly Hook” was used in Toby’s feature film Beer For My Horses and their self-titled EP is available in all digital outlets.

www.trailerchoir.com

Randy Houser

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“Boots On”

Universal Records South

Randy Houser’s “Boots On” is the followup single to his hit debut single “Anything Goes.” Taken from his first Universal Records South album Anything Goes, the song was penned by Houser with Brandon Kinney and inspired by Houser’s dad.

“Melodically, the song was based on that slide-blues-guitar riff you hear,” says Houser. “As we were sitting down to write, I started playing that lick. And I remembered something that my Daddy always told me: ‘If you’re going to go out, make sure you go out with your boots on.’ Toward the end of his life, we had this talk and I had to make some difficult decisions at the time. I was just 21 years old when he passed, and it was tough. But I will say this: he did go out with his boots on. He didn’t die; he lived. He really did.”

Houser is currently on the Jagermeister Country Tour with Pat Green. His songs have been recorded by Trace Adkins (”Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”), John Michael Montgomery (”If You Ever Went Away”) and many others.

http://www.randyhouser.com/

Jonathan Singleton & The Grove

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“Livin’ In Paradise”

Universal Records South

Since signing his breakthrough publishing and production deal two years ago with Crosstown Songs Nashville, singer/songwriter Jonathan Singleton has been caught up in a creative whirlwind. His song “Watching Airplanes” (co-written with Jim Beavers) was a No. 1 hit for Gary Allan, earning Singleton an ACM nomination as well as a nomination for Music Row’s Breakthrough Songwriter Award. Singleton also recently had another No. 1 with Billy Currington’s smash “Don’t.”

Singleton and his longtime band The Grove have partnered up with superproducer Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts) to record his debut album for Universal Records South. Huff has long had the Midas touch for creating mainstream pop/country hits, but he is moving a bit left of center with Singleton, creating a more roots-rocking, bluegrass sound for the singer and his band.

“Being part of Dann’s publishing and production companies is the perfect place for someone who writes the way I do,” says Singleton, whose lyrics focus on the here-and-now simplicity of everyday life. “Dann’s very in tune with where I’m coming from as a writer and singer, and he’s never felt inclined to do the straight down the middle pop thing with me that he does so well with other artists. The new songs have more of an edgy old school country rock flavor that’s got both of us very excited. My main criterion for a good song is one that makes me want to pick up the guitar and play again and again. It’s never about what’s commercial or how it will reap a certain audience, but all about having that gut instinct that it just feels good.”

Catch Jonathan Singleton and the Grove live in 2009 when they join Eric Church as part of the Young & Wild tour.

www.myspace.com/jonathansingletonandthegrove