Jerry Lee Lewis Inducted Into Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Hall Of Fame

Pictured (L-R): MAX President/CEO Mark Tullos, MAX Board of Directors Chair Ann Alexander, Linda Gail Lewis, Jerry Lee Lewis III and Hall of Fame/Walk of Fame Consultant Marty Gamblin. Photo: Ron Blaylock Photography

Thursday evening (Sept. 3), Jerry Lee Lewis was one of five legends inducted into The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) Hall of Fame. Although Lewis was unable to attend the ceremony hosted by Marty Stuart, Jerry Lee Lewis III accepted the award on his behalf with his father’s sister, Linda Gail Lewis, who performed her brother’s major hits “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin.’”

The 2020 Hall of Fame inductees include the late Country Music Hall of Fame member Tammy Wynette, singer/songwriter Bo Diddley, poet and writer Margaret Walker (Alexander) and bluesman John Lee Hooker. The Hall of Fame consists of influential men and women that have had an impact on arts and entertainment and count their roots in Mississippi. Previous inductees include Jimmy Buffett, Charley Pride, William Faulkner, Morgan Freeman, John Grisham, Elvis Presley and Oprah Winfrey among many others.

The nomination process consists of a nationwide committee of various arts and entertainment experts who nominate artists and entertainers from various art forms including music, writing, cultural arts, performing arts and visual arts. In order to be considered as a nominee, they must have a connection to the State of Mississippi. A panel of electors and fans then vote on which nominees should be inducted into The MAX Hall of Fame.

This is the third class of inductees into The MAX Hall of Fame.

Q&A: HARDY Discusses His Songwriting Evolution, And Crafting His Debut Album ‘A ROCK’

 

HARDY. Photo: Tanner Gallagher

Through writing No. 1 hits for Blake Shelton (“God’s Country”), Morgan Wallen (“Up Down”), Florida Georgia Line (“Simple”), “I Don’t Know About You” (Chris Lane), and most recently LOCASH (“One Big Country Song”), HARDY has quickly become one of Nashville’s most trusted songwriters in the past two years.

Along the way, he’s offered fans a taste of his own innately detailed, at times irreverent brand of music and pledged his allegiance to songs that celebrate the Mississippi native’s rural roots with songs like “Rednecker.” He proved his rising star status with his Hixtape Vol. 1 EP, featuring a staggering 17 collaborators, including Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Tracy Lawrence, and Lauren Alaina.

His current single, “One Beer,” featuring Alaina and Devin Dawson, is currently in the Top 20 on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart and at No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart; and he is currently nominated for Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year (for “God’s Country”) at the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards. Earlier this year, he took home the AIMP Songwriter of the Year honor.

But on his full-length album A ROCK, out today via Big Loud Records, HARDY expands on the narrative and his soundscape, both leaning into that “Rednecker” vibe on new songs such as “Unapologetically Country As Hell,” while adding a harder edge, pulsating percussion such as “Boots” and deepening lyrical craft with the somber “Give Heaven Some Hell.” Throughout, HARDY’s ability to convey evocative details with universal appeal through his lyrics bodes well for his longevity in the format.

HARDY spoke with MusicRow about crafting the new album during the COVID-19 pandemic, his evolution as a songwriter and artist, and his hopes to soon be able to play his music live for fans again.

MusicRow: When did this full-length project begin coming together?
HARDY: I wrote “Boyfriend” around a year ago and I would say that’s the first thing that I put on hold. I sent that song to everybody, and [HARDY’s manager and Co-Founding Partner/CEO, Big Loud] Seth England was like, “Hey, you need to hold this one. We are getting ready to do a record and you need to start being conscious of the songs you write and keeping them on hold.” We started recording around Christmas of this past year, cut four songs, and kind of during quarantine and maybe a little bit before, I just started writing and holding songs, recording them as we went.

What was it like recording this during quarantine?
You would have the recording files from making the demo and Joey [Moi, HARDY’s producer] would ask for the stems, the individual instrument recording, so he would get 20 different stems and just pick that apart. For a song like “So Close,” he might say, “Let’s take the drums out,” and send the drum-less recording to Jerry Roe and Jerry would play real drums on it. Joey would get it back and then take the guitars out and send them to Derek Wells and Derek would play guitar on it and send it back. It was just that process all the way through until it’s done. It’s just a matter of mixing and editing after the playing. But yeah, not a lot of it went down in the actual studio, which is crazy.

Ashland Craft is featured on “So Close.”
She opened some shows for me, and I love her personality. She’s a bad ass. She’s authentic and she’s gritty and she’s got a great voice. At first, “So Close” wasn’t even going to be a duet, at least not when we wrote it. That came after the fact. I just shot her a text and I said, “Look, I have this song and I’d love for you to sing it with me.” I wanted her on this record, and she crushed it.

Between “So Close,” and especially “One Beer,” which appeared on Hixtape Vol. 1, those feel very transitional from your last project to this one.
To be honest, the song is doing really well at radio right now, and I think it deserved a spot on this record because of that.

“Boots,” which you wrote with David Garcia and Hillary Lindsey, definitely features an edgier sound than fans are used to hearing from some of your earlier work.
I think that “Boots” at this point may never be a single or anything, but I think it’s a good flagship. If someone I never met said, “Play one song that describes your sound,” I think that’s the one I would play, because it’s the direction I’m going. Even when I did the demo, I told David [Garcia], “I want this thing to rock your face off.” And Joey just took it that much farther. The drums got heavier, the guitars got heavier. They made it sound one hundred times better.

The title track kind of goes back to that classic country triad of lyrics, where it progresses from childhood and ultimately through the end of a life. It just feels like such a great throwback in the way it’s structured.
You’re the first person I’ve heard compare it to old country and I think that’s really cool. It’s like “Don’t Take the Girl,” or “There Goes My Life.” It’s a life progression song.

I was driving down the road one day, and I thought, “Man, there are so many moments where a rock plays an important part in everything.” I saved the idea and later me and Smith Ahnquist and Jake Mitchell were out drinking at the bars and decided to go back to the house and write. I told them about the idea, and I was like, “I don’t really want to write a chorus, I just want to tell a cool story about the direction of life and I wonder if there is a way to do it without a chorus.” Thank God that they were two of my buddies that kind of trust me and some of my weird ideas.

“Hate Your Hometown” is a clever twist on a topic, and it’s one of your most personal songs.
That is the most true of any song on this entire record. That came from a real place. Caleigh is my girlfriend and we’ve been together for about two years. She’s from San Diego which, who could hate San Diego, right? She went to Ole Miss, but then she went back to San Diego for a few months and the plan was for her to move to Nashville. I didn’t say this to her, but I had the thought, “I really hope you go back, and I kind of hope that you hate it and you don’t fall back in love with your hometown, because if you do, I feel like I might get a phone call one day that says you’re staying.” And I would hate for that to happen. So it’s a really specific subject matter, but I wanted to write about it. It’s something that I was really going through, so I wanted write that hook exactly how I thought it. It was the last song I wrote for the record.

You still have some very country songs on this project, most obviously “Unapologetically Country As Hell.”
I know how much my fans love the redneck side of me and I would have cut the song anyway, but I did it for them. That song is still very much me, and I’m going to have a song like that on every piece of work I put out. I wrote that chorus in the deer stand, too. I was hunting.

That’s kind of a lane that’s wide open. I can’t remember the last time I heard a song in the “Country Boy Can Survive” kind of category, and that’s what I wanted to say. I’m proud of how I grew up and I just think that there are a lot of people out there that are true blue, they’re rednecks and I think that there’s a certain negative stigma that goes along with that sometimes. But I think as long as you’re a good person, if you’re a redneck, you should own it and be proud of it.

Like most artists, I’m sure you wish you could play your new songs in concert. Would you consider doing a drive-in show?
I would consider it, yeah. At the beginning, I didn’t think I would, but I’m just so fricking down to play a show that I would play for a bunch of three-year-olds right now.

I’ve seen concepts where it’s a big field and each group of people has a little pod they stay in or whatever. That looks like it could be a real thing. I just want to get out there and play shows and see faces. If anything, it’s making me more appreciative of everything. Because you can get burned out from anything. And there was a time where I was like, “I just want a break.” Now I want to do the opposite. If anything, it’s given me a little bit of perspective on how strong shows really are and how important it is to get out there and let your fans see you, and sing songs with you.

Adam Hambrick Goes ‘Top Down, Southbound’ On New Release Out Today

Adam Hambrick has released the first of three “flip sides,” his new series of two-track releases each bound together by a common thread. The first, Top Down, Southbound, on Capitol Records Nashville/Buena Vista Records, is comprised of his two new songs “Sunshine State of Mind” and “Do The Math.”

Written by Hambrick, Kelly Archer and Gordie Sampson, the hypnotic “Sunshine State of Mind” creates a mood evocative of driving down a warm Spanish coast. The poignant “Do The Math,” penned by Hambrick, David Fanning, and Nick Donley, measures a man’s pain by adding up the drinks he uses to drown it.

Hambrick will continue to drop Flip Sides through the Fall and the beginning of 2021, culminating into a complete body of work. He previously released his Amazon Original cover of Alan Jackson’s classic hit, “Midnight In Montgomery,” and has written hits for Dan + Shay (“How Not To”) and Justin Moore (“Somebody Else Will”), among others.

Creature Comfort Release Newest Track From Upcoming Album, ‘Home Team’

Creature Comfort. Photo: Daniel Chaney

Nashville-based band Creature Comfort have released a new track, “Single Soul,” from their upcoming LP Home Team, due out on Oct. 30. The song was penned in 2017 by lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Jessey Clark in reaction to the shootings of Philando Castile and Charles Kinsey.

“I was on my computer one day and saw a video of yet another black man being shot by police… but this was different because he didn’t lose his life,” Clark told V13, referencing the 2016 shooting of Kinsey. “He was able to tell his side of the story and the whole situation angered me deeply. He was literally doing his job, taking care of an autistic child, and someone called the police on him. As he was lying there, not being aggressive at all, an officer decided to shoot him. This song is sort of my attempt to grasp what he must have been feeling in those moments.”

To coincide with the release, Creature Comfort will donate all proceeds from sales of “Single Soul” raised today via Bandcamp to the Milwaukee Freedom Fund.

The band, whose lengthy tour experience includes performances at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and Lightning 100’s Live on the Green Festival, is gearing up for the release of their new record Home Team, set for release later this year. The band’s sound, which mixes elements from rock, folk and psychedelic pop, is deeply rooted in and influenced by their home state of Tennessee.

YouTube video

Sheryl Crow Announces ‘Songs From The Big Green Barn’ Virtual Shows


Sheryl Crow will perform two new virtual concerts from her home property on Sept. 18-19. Titled “Songs From The Big Green Barn,” the shows will be broadcast live at livestream.sherylcrow.com.

The Sept. 18 show will be an outside performance, airing at 9 p.m. ET, a fully electric concert featuring members of Crow’s touring band. The inside show on Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. ET, will be a stripped down, intimate acoustic set also featuring accompaniment from her band. The song selection will vary across both shows and include classic hits, fan favorites, and deep tracks. Crow has solicited fans to submit song requests on her social media accounts, which will influence the set lists for both shows.

“I’m really excited to bring fans inside the Big Green Barn for this pair of shows, they’re going to be special,” Crow said. “Obviously with COVID, we haven’t been able to tour this year. We put a lot of thought into how to make these shows unique, and to reach people around the world in countries that we haven’t played for in a long time, perhaps ever.”

Tickets for each performance are available for $19.99, as well as a bundle ticket combo which provides access to both shows for the discounted price of $34.99 (until day of show). Unique merchandise has been created to commemorate the shows, and will be available in limited quantities. “Songs From The Big Green Barn” tickets and merchandise are available for purchase starting today (Sept. 4) at  livestream.sherylcrow.com.

Alabama Adds Martina McBride To “50th Anniversary Tour” Concerts In 2021


ALABAMA has recruited Martina McBride to join them as their very special guest at the band’s rescheduled 50th Anniversary Tour concerts in Nashville next year. ALABAMA and McBride will perform back-to-back concerts at Bridgestone Arena on July 2-3, 2021.
Tickets for both shows are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, at all Ticketmaster locations and at the Bridgestone Arena box office. Pre-pandemic, the shows were originally slated to happen July 17-18 of this year but were rescheduled due to COVID-19.

Five decades since starting the band, ALABAMA has charted 43 No. 1 singles, including 21 chart-toppers in a row, and have won dozens of CMA, Grammy, and ACM Awards. They are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame and have their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Wade Bowen Releases ‘The Waiting’ EP


Wade Bowen released a surprise EP today (Sept. 4), featuring studio recordings of some of his biggest live-only favorites. The Waiting features six tracks, including “Who I Am,” one of the first songs Bowen ever penned.

“Who I Am” has become a fan-favorite moment in every Bowen show. A 2003 live recording from Lubbock’s famed venue The Blue Light Live has organically garnered more than 12 million streams and is one of Bowen’s most popular songs on streaming platforms.
The album also includes three other fan favorites, a Phil Collins cover and a new song, “Fairest Lady,” which Bowen co-wrote with Brent Cobb.

“I figured folks have been waiting long enough to hear these songs,” Wade Bowen says. “We’ve all been playing “the waiting game” and I couldn’t think of a better way to thank my fans than to put this EP out as soon as I had it in my hands.”

Bowen and his band recorded the main tracks together at Gruene Records in New Braunfels, Texas. Then, musicians in Austin and Nashville added steel guitar, background vocals, and keyboards, sending parts and overdubs to Bowen via email.

“Recording this project during the pandemic was both a fun and frustrating experience” Bowen says. “I usually am in the room while every part of my record is being played but due to circumstances beyond my control that wasn’t possible,” Bowen concedes. “So giving up that control was a little nerve-racking.”

Bowen hit the ground running in the early 2000s, and has released a steady stream of records, averaging nearly an album a year over the past six years including his famed collaboration with fellow artist and longtime friend Randy Rogers. The Waiting marks Bowen’s first collection of original solo tunes since 2018’s Solid Ground.

THE WAITING EP Track List
1.“Getaway”
2.“Who I Am”
3.“Red Headed Woman”
4.“Mystery Of A Woman”
5.“Fairest Lady” (written with Brent Cobb)
6.“I Wish It Would Rain Down” (Phil Collins cover)

Weekly Radio Report (9/4/20)

Click here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Radio Report.

Spotify Enhances Indigo Playlist With Video Feature

Orville Peck

In March, Spotify gave a visibility boost to artists across the spectrum of country and Americana music with the launch of its Indigo playlist. The playlist now has more than 255,000 followers and highlights artists from country radio mainstays such as Eric Church, Maren Morris and Miranda Lambert, but also Americana and singer-songwriter favorites such as Brandy Clark, Cody Jinks, Will Hoge, Marcus King, Rhiannon Giddens, Tyler Childers, and more.

Today, the streaming service is doubling down on ways to bring music fans deeper into the artists’ stories, with the launch of a new playlist video format that will run weekly throughout September for the Indigo playlist.

Beginning today, the first artist to be highlighted through the new video assets is Orville Peck, who released his EP Show Pony on Aug. 14. Peck focuses as intensely on the visual aspects of his work as the musical side, and recently issued an attention-grabbing music video for “Legends Never Die,” featuring superstar Shania Twain.

MusicRow Magazine discussed the new video playlist enhancement with Mary Catherine Kinney, Manager, Spotify Artist & Label Partnerships, Spotify Nashville.

Since the Indigo playlist launched earlier this year, what kind of response have you been getting from listeners and from artists and their management teams about this new offering?

Kinney: The response to Indigo has been resounding excitement from artists, fans and our industry partners. More than a year ago, our Spotify Nashville team identified the opportunity for a playlist of Indigo’s nature by observing user listening habits on-platform combined with what was happening in the culture as well. We had an inkling this playlist would strike a chord, but the overwhelmingly positive response and consistent growth of daily consumption has been really thrilling to witness.

The first artist you will highlight with the video feature is Orville Peck. What makes him such a great artist to launch this feature with?

With this new video feature, the goal is to bring an artists’ music to life for their fans in another dimension within a playlist and Orville felt like a great fit. His creative vision combined with the stories behind his new project Show Pony really created a beautiful piece.

He is a highly visually-oriented artist. What was it like working with his team to select and create content to further promote his work on the Indigo playlist?

I’ll never forget the first meeting the team had with Orville at WME’s office in Nashville last year. We were spellbound by the music, his stories, the authenticity of his sound and his vision for the lines he is writing in the country music narrative. In between talking about his vision for Pony and his deep affection for country music, he shared the iconic images from his first GQ photo shoot and the concept behind his stunning mask collaboration with Dior. He brings his music to life in all forms of art and design, so working with him on this feature, we knew he’d have a great eye for what to create. Due to the circumstances and social distancing practices, we leaned on self-shot content from Orville and he was incredibly creative in how he used the tools at hand for this piece.

Can you say more about the playlist video format and what is most exciting to you about that?

Country music is built on stories and songs, so this video feature for Indigo truly provides an exciting opportunity for Spotify to offer artists a chance to take fans behind the curtain and into the creative process of their music.

Could this promotion go beyond September?

Spotify is always exploring new on-platform avenues that bring artists and fans closer together to encourage discovery and listening. The inaugural slate for September is really exciting, so stay tuned!

What message do you hope offerings like this send to artists who have a harder time getting airplay on traditional country radio?

I think this is a really exciting time for country artists as there are more diverse opportunities than ever before to connect with fans. From Spotify playlists to radio and social media, the various lanes to reach current and future fans are growing as the genre’s audience continues to expand.

Ricky Skaggs, Loretta Lynn, Michael W. Smith Set For "Pure River At The Ryman" Livestream

Ricky Skaggs

Several country and CCM artists, including Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Michael W. Smith and more, will take part in a 24-hour livestream event, “Pure River At The Ryman.” The event will be livestreamed from the Ryman Auditorium over the course of two days, on Sept. 21-22, 2020, from noon until midnight each day.

Others appearing and/or performing include The Katinas, Danny Gokey, Phil Keaggy, Jason Crabb, Rhonda Vincent, Eddie James, Beckah Shae, Jason Upton, and more.

“We’re going to have 24 hours over two days of praise and worship, music, prayer, in Nashville, for not just our city, but for our nation, and the nations of the world because our world needs Jesus now more than ever,” said Skaggs.

“Pure River At The Ryman” will feature a wide collection of artists spanning across genres. Every half hour, an artist will perform a semi-acoustic set as part of the livestream. The event will be hosted by Harvest Sound International.