Diversity is the name of the game today at DISClaimer.
You’ll find soul singing, gospel energy, country ballads and pop boppers on the menu. Four Black performers and four women are here to defy country music’s white-male dominance.
Stars like Brett Young, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett are mixed with the newer sounds of Karley Scott Collins, Fancy Hagood and our DISCovery Award winner, Jelly Roll.
The Disc of the Day goes to living legend Willie Nelson. If you’d rather give the honor to a different, authentically country Texan, you couldn’t do any better than Wade Bowen.
JELLY ROLL / “Son of a Sinner”
Writers: Ernest Keith Smith/David Ray Stevens/Jason Deford; Producers: Ilya Toshinskiy/Ernest Keith Smith; Label: Stony Creek/BBR
–Very compelling. He’s gripped by substance abuse, but still has a grasp on righteousness. The vocalist’s hoarse, urgent delivery grips you by the throat while the echoey, suppressed boil in the production creates an emotional undertow. This is magnetic, star-making stuff.
MIRANDA LAMBERT / “Actin’ Up”
Writers: Jon Randall/Luke Dick/Miranda Lambert; Producers: Jon Randall/Luke Dick/Miranda Lambert; Label: Sony
–This new track finds our female superstar indulging in some real audio creativity. The spare, loopy track wobbles in echo and twang while she drawls the artfully crafted lyric of rebellion. If this is any indication, her upcoming Palomino album is shaping up to be a monster. Anticipation builds.
FANCY HAGOOD / “Bored”
Writers: Fancy Hagood/Alysa Vanderheym; Producer: Alysa Vanderheym; Label: Concord
–Don’t be put off by the acoustic, underproduced beginning. As the band kicks in, he muses about all the things we do to keep from facing our realities. We might lose our way, but there’s always a way to come back. Nashville has a large recovery community, and this could be its anthem.
THE KENTUCKY GENTLEMEN / “Alcohol”
Writers: Brandon Campbell/Chris Sligh/Derek Campbell/Paul Wrock; Producer: none listed; Label: TKG
–Finger snaps and bluesy accompaniment are the underpinnings of this groove-soaked, semi-humorous heartbreak tune about numbing your pain with you-know-what. This twin-brother duo from the Blue Grass State continues to impress. Keep it coming, guys, I’ve loved all three tracks I’ve heard so far.
WILLIE NELSON / “Tower of Song”
Writer: Leonard Cohen; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Label: Legacy
–Beautiful and haunting. Cannon’s production is exquisite: A bass thumps softly, an electric guitar twangs gently and Mickey Raphael’s harmonica blows mournfully as the master vocalist unspools this stunning Leonard Cohen ballad. This poetic, breathtaking performance will stop you in your tracks. The album it is drawn from, A Beautiful Time, will be out on April 30, the date of Willie’s 89th birthday.
KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS / “Tattoos”
Writers: Karley Scott Collins/Brock Berryhill/Brett James; Producer: Nathan Chapman; Label: Sony
–Her burlap-and-velvet voice has a deliciously husky quality. This power ballad is punctuated by a searing electric-guitar solo, but it’s her riveting delivery of the scarred-by-love lyric that you’ll remember.
BRELAND & THOMAS RHETT / “Praise the Lord”
Writers: Daniel Breland/David Garcia/Jacob Durrett/Jessie Jo Dillon/Julian Bunetta/Kyle Fishman/Michael Hardy/Rocky Block/Thomas Rhett; Producers: Julian Bunetta/Kyle Fishman/Jacob Durrett; Label: Bad Realm/Atlantic/Warner
–Gospel energy abounds here. The burbling, hand-clapping track is a joyous banger, and Breland’s performance bursts with youthful exuberance. Rhett comes in with just as much enthusiasm.
CARL RAY / “Moments Like This”
Writers: Jacky Jack White/Carl Ray; Producer: Greg Cole; Label: Sucarnochee
–Previously noted for his “I Can See Clearly Now” tribute to his Houston mentor Johnny Nash and for his album Play That Country Music Black Boy in 2021, Carl Ray (Williams) offers a poignant ballad here. Steeped in steel guitar, it has a traditional country vibe, yet his performance has an unmistakably modern edge. The sweet, super-positive lyric is about savoring love, family and serenity.
ASHLEY COOKE & BRETT YOUNG / “Never Til Now”
Writers: Ashley Cooke/Matt Roy; Producer: Jimmy Robbins; Label: Big Loud
–Wonderfully romantic. This was previously an Ashley solo track, but the addition of Young lifts it into the stratosphere. Their vocal blend is extraordinary. The swirling song could easily find its way into wedding celebrations.
VALERIE JUNE / “Use Me”
Writers: Valerie June/Jennifer Decilveo; Producer: Jennifer Decilveo; Label: Fantasy
–The dreadlocked, genre-defying Valerie June mixes Memphis soul, jaunty pop, New Orleans brass and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” country quotes on this dazzling outing. She earned an Americana Grammy nomination last year, and this sounds like it could be on the same path. Marvelously eclectic.
WADE BOWEN / “Phones Don’t Work”
Writers: Wade Bowen/Aaron Raitiere/Rhett Akins; Producer: Paul Moak; Label: Thirty Tigers
–Here is a steadfast, real-country Texan I’ve always admired. This rolling, yearning track finds him on a quest to find someplace in the great outdoors where she can’t get to him. I got lost in its many pleasures. A perfect performance. Wade’s sold-out showcase last month in Nashville’s Exit/In featured guests Miranda Lambert, Leroy Parnell, Rhett Akins and Charlie Worsham. The rest of you need to get on board, too.
JAMESON RODGERS / “Porch With a View”
Writers: Jake Mitchell/Brent Anderson/Hunter Phelps/Jameson Rodgers; Producers: Jake Mitchell/Chris Farren; Label: Sony
–This track from Jameson’s album Bet You’re From a Small Town is a country boy’s dream of buying a place in the country. As always, he’s as country as grits.
Carrie Underwood’s Latest Album ‘Denim & Rhinestones’ To Drop June 10
/by Lorie HollabaughCarrie Underwood. Photo: Randee St. Nicholas
Carrie Underwood is heading into summer with brand new music as she announces her latest album, Denim & Rhinestones, out on June 10. The title track from the project and an accompanying lyric video are available everywhere now.
The new single was penned by Underwood, David Garcia, Josh Kear, and Hillary Lindsey, and co-produced by Garcia and Underwood. Garcia co-wrote Underwood’s hit songs “Love Wins,” “Southbound,” and “Drinking Alone,” while Lindsey and Underwood have collaborated on a string of previous hits, including “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “So Small,” “Last Name,” “Smoke Break,” “Church Bells,” and “Cry Pretty.” Kear co-wrote Underwood’s signature hits, “Before He Cheats” and “Blown Away,” and co-wrote “Two Black Cadillacs” with Underwood and Lindsey.
Underwood co-wrote 11 of the 12 tracks on the project, and worked with more recent co-writers on the album as well, including Michael Hardy and Lydia Vaughan, the latter of whom co-wrote “If I Didn’t Love You,” Underwood’s multi-week No. 1 smash duet with Jason Aldean.
“We cover a lot of ground on this album,” Underwood explains. “We have a lot of songs that have a bit of a ‘throwback’ feel, but they sound super fresh. I grew up listening to so many different kinds of music and that is extremely evident in this body of work. These are musical influences that are all in me and work their way out, and I just decided this time not to get in their way. I think this whole album ended up being a big reflection of me as a person and as an artist.
“After spending over two years with My Gift and My Savior, which were such passion projects and so close to my heart, putting together ‘Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency’ was really the catalyst for this album. I was just ready to have fun and to write songs that make me happy to listen to and happy to sing.”
The album announcement comes on the heels of Underwood’s 8th Grammy win for Best Roots Gospel Album for My Savior at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards where she also performed the first new single from the album, “Ghost Story.”
Denim & Rhinestones Track List:
1. Denim & Rhinestones (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Josh Kear, Hillary Lindsey)
2. Velvet Heartbreak (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
3. Ghost Story (David Garcia, Josh Kear, Hillary Lindsey)
4. Hate My Heart (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Michael Hardy, Hillary Lindsey)
5. Burn (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey)
6. Crazy Angels (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Lydia Vaughan)
7. Faster (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
8. Pink Champagne (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey)
9. Wanted Woman (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Josh Miller)
10. Poor Everybody Else (Carrie Underwood, Chris DeStefano, Josh Miller)
11. She Don’t Know (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Hillary Lindsey)
12. Garden (Carrie Underwood, David Garcia, Josh Miller)
Jason Aldean Has No ‘Trouble’ Reaching MusicRow Radio Chart Peak
/by Alex ParryJason Aldean. Photo: Brian Higbee
Jason Aldean hits No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart just a few weeks ahead of releasing the second half of his double album, Macon, Georgia, on April 22.
“Trouble With A Heartbreak” appears on the Georgia half of his album and features Kurt Allison, Brett Beavers, Tully Kennedy, and John Morgan as writers.
Aldean was the recipient of the 2022 Artist Humanitarian Award presented by the Country Radio Broadcasters at this year’s CRS Honors ceremony. His “Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour” will launch in June with support from Gabby Barrett, Dee Jay Silver, and John Morgan, who recently signed to Night Train Records, Aldean’s imprint within BBR label Group.
Click here to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.
Thomas Rhett’s Full Discography Now Available In Spatial Audio On Apple Music
/by Lydia FarthingThomas Rhett. Photo: John Shearer
Apple Music has made Thomas Rhett’s full career-spanning discography, including his recently released sixth studio album Where We Started, available to stream in Spatial Audio exclusively on the platform. Spatial Audio on Apple Music is a premium listening experience that makes songs feel as though they’re happening all around and above the listener.
“I listened to my first bit of music in Spatial [Audio], and all of a sudden, it’s like you’re listening to music in 3D. That’s the best way I know how to describe it,” Rhett told Apple Music Country host Kelleigh Bannen in a recent interview. “I mean, obviously, I think the new stuff is cool because I feel like every record we make is just so much more detailed and there’s so many parts that, if you’re not intently listening, you might miss something amazing that the bass player did or something amazing the piano player did, or a drum fill that the drummer did that kind of gets lost in the wash. But when I heard my catalog in Spatial [Audio], I was like, ‘Holy crap, these people can play music.’
“Every time you turn your head, it stays centered somehow,” he adds. “You can hear guitar solos blasting in your right ear, but you hear your vocals so clear in the left, but then the guitar’s in the top right hand corner and the bass is in the lower left hand corner, and then it completely flip-flops. It is like listening to music in 3D. That’s the best way I can describe it.”
In conjunction with the release of his new album, Rhett recently announced Where We Started Radio, a new weekly radio series airing on Apple Music Country. Each week, he will break down the making of Where We Started, pulling back the curtain on his own creative process and looking back on how a 20-year-old emerging songwriter with a new record deal became a chart-topping country artists. Guests include famed producer Dann Huff, fellow artists Riley Green and Parker McCollum, Rhett’s wife Lauren Akins, and his father, the celebrated songwriter Rhett Akins.
Where We Started Radio airs every Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT on Apple Music Country.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Takes On Bob Dylan’s Discography On Upcoming Record
/by Lydia FarthingNitty Gritty Dirt Band. Photo: Glen Rose
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will give fans their take on the Bob Dylan songbook later this spring. On May 20, the band will release Dirt Does Dylan, a ten-track album highlighting some of the gems from Dylan’s vast catalog.
In preparation for the full album, Dirt Band’s cover of “I Shall Be Released,” which Dylan originally recorded with The Band during their infamous Basement Tapes sessions, is available everywhere now. The new rendition sees blues-rock duo Larkin Poe lending their voices and lap steel guitar skills to the mix.
The new project will feature three new band members: fiddle specialist Ross Holmes, singer-songwriter and bass player Jim Photoglo who wrote the Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in the Dark,” and Dirt Band founder Jeff Hanna’s son Jaime Hanna on vocals and guitar. Produced and recorded by Ray Kennedy at Room & Board Studio in Nashville, Dirt Does Dylan finds the band playing alongside Jason Isbell, The War & Treaty, Steve Earle, Rosanne Cash, and more.
The group originally formed in 1966 as a Long Beach, California jug band and scored their first charting single in 1967. Their first major hit came in 1971 with “Mr. Bojangles.” In the 1980s, the Dirt Band reeled off 15 straight top 10 country hits, including chart-toppers “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” “Modern Day Romance,” and “Fishin’ in the Dark.”
The band will be criss-crossing around the country through this fall on their headlining tour. For a full list of upcoming dates, click here.
1. Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You
2. Girl from the North Country
3. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
4. Country Pie
5. I Shall Be Released (ft. Larkin Poe)
6. She Belongs to Me
7. Forever Young
8. The Times They Are A-Changin’ (ft. Rosanne Cash, Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, and The War and Treaty)
9. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
10. Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
Grand Ole Opry To Celebrate Loretta Lynn’s 90th Birthday
/by LB CantrellLoretta Lynn. Photo: Les Leverett
The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate country legend Loretta Lynn‘s 90th birthday on Opry Country Classics on Thursday, April 14 at the Grand Ole Opry House.
The birthday celebration will feature performances by Lynn’s sister and fellow Opry member, Crystal Gayle, as well as The Gatlin Brothers, Elizabeth Cook, Maggie Rose and the Opry debut of duo Twitty and Lynn.
Lynn, a Country Music Hall of Fame member, was born on April 14, 1932 in Butcher Holler, Kentucky. She made her Opry debut on Oct. 15, 1960, was officially inducted as a member on Sept. 25, 1962, and went on to become one of the institution’s most celebrated legends. Of her countless accolades, Lynn has been honored with three Grammy Awards, eight CMA Awards, membership into the Country Music and Songwriters Halls of Fame, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was the first female artist to win the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year prize in 1972.
Twitty and Lynn, who will make their Opry debut at the celebration, is a duo comprised of the grandchildren of Lynn and her frequent duet partner and country legend, Conway Twitty. Tayla Lynn and Tre Twitty have taken to the road to honor their grandparents with their tributes to Lynn and Twitty.
Tickets for “Loretta Lynn’s 90th Birthday Celebration” are on sale now at (615) 871-OPRY and opry.com.
Red Door Music Group, Warner Chappell Music Announce Two New Signings
/by Lydia FarthingPictured (L-R): Kenton Bryant; Shawn McSpadden, Manager at Red Light Management; Abbey Adams, GM/SVP of Red Door Music Group; Gina Venier; Rian Ball; and Mike Walker. Photo: Jordan Walker.
Red Door Music Group has celebrated a great deal of achievements since its founding in 2020. Now they’re adding the announcement of two new signings.
In partnership with its joint-venture partner, Warner Chappell Music, the publishing house has inked a new deal with ASCAP songwriter Mike Walker. A Belmont graduate, he has had releases with such artists as Luke Bryan, Chase Rice, Morgan Wallen, Ryan Hurd, Lee Brice and more.
Abbey Adams, GM and Senior Vice President of Red Door Music Group, says, “I have been a fan of Mike’s writing for years. I always loved his voice, but I have especially come to appreciate his craft in writing lyrics. I am super excited to be working with him. I think Mike will be a writer we’ll still be talking about generations from now.”
Also joining the Red Door Music Group/Warner Chappell Music family is BMI songwriter Kenton Bryant. A Kentucky native, he came to Nashville eager to learn the craft of songwriting from the best Music City has to offer.
“I was blessed to have the best mentor a young songwriter in Nashville could ask for: Jonathan Singleton. I learned the value of a great song, what it takes to be a studio musician, and most importantly, how working hard pays off,” Bryant shares. “I’m forever grateful for those lessons and proud to be able to call him one of my best friends and someone I’ll always be excited to share my music with.”
Rian Ball, RDMG’s first signing, is celebrating two of his penned songs being released by K-Pop artists in 2021, including “Amnesia” by Kai and “Supplier” by Super Junior D&E. Additionally, Jimmie Allen‘s newest single, “Down Home,” is Ball’s first country radio single. Co-written with Allen, Tate Howell and Cameron Bedell, this song is a heart-felt tribute to Allen’s late father. Ball is also one of the three songwriters in The Boat Boys, along with Holden James and Zack Dyer, who are on tour this spring with Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line.
Additionally, RDMG’s Gina Venier recently released her eighth single through Red Door Music Group/Warner Chappell Music. The song “Nora Jane” tells the true story of Venier’s journey of coming out to her family.
“I feel like people can relate to me when I feel nervous about bringing a girl home to my family. I’ve had people come up to me after I sing it live and say things like, ‘I have a Nora Jane’–and they have a story of their own to tell,” Venier explains. “It feels good knowing that people feel like I am telling their own story too.”
DISClaimer Single Reviews: Willie Nelson Gives Breathtaking Performance On Newest Release
/by Robert K OermannDiversity is the name of the game today at DISClaimer.
You’ll find soul singing, gospel energy, country ballads and pop boppers on the menu. Four Black performers and four women are here to defy country music’s white-male dominance.
Stars like Brett Young, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett are mixed with the newer sounds of Karley Scott Collins, Fancy Hagood and our DISCovery Award winner, Jelly Roll.
The Disc of the Day goes to living legend Willie Nelson. If you’d rather give the honor to a different, authentically country Texan, you couldn’t do any better than Wade Bowen.
JELLY ROLL / “Son of a Sinner”
Writers: Ernest Keith Smith/David Ray Stevens/Jason Deford; Producers: Ilya Toshinskiy/Ernest Keith Smith; Label: Stony Creek/BBR
–Very compelling. He’s gripped by substance abuse, but still has a grasp on righteousness. The vocalist’s hoarse, urgent delivery grips you by the throat while the echoey, suppressed boil in the production creates an emotional undertow. This is magnetic, star-making stuff.
MIRANDA LAMBERT / “Actin’ Up”
Writers: Jon Randall/Luke Dick/Miranda Lambert; Producers: Jon Randall/Luke Dick/Miranda Lambert; Label: Sony
–This new track finds our female superstar indulging in some real audio creativity. The spare, loopy track wobbles in echo and twang while she drawls the artfully crafted lyric of rebellion. If this is any indication, her upcoming Palomino album is shaping up to be a monster. Anticipation builds.
FANCY HAGOOD / “Bored”
Writers: Fancy Hagood/Alysa Vanderheym; Producer: Alysa Vanderheym; Label: Concord
–Don’t be put off by the acoustic, underproduced beginning. As the band kicks in, he muses about all the things we do to keep from facing our realities. We might lose our way, but there’s always a way to come back. Nashville has a large recovery community, and this could be its anthem.
THE KENTUCKY GENTLEMEN / “Alcohol”
Writers: Brandon Campbell/Chris Sligh/Derek Campbell/Paul Wrock; Producer: none listed; Label: TKG
–Finger snaps and bluesy accompaniment are the underpinnings of this groove-soaked, semi-humorous heartbreak tune about numbing your pain with you-know-what. This twin-brother duo from the Blue Grass State continues to impress. Keep it coming, guys, I’ve loved all three tracks I’ve heard so far.
WILLIE NELSON / “Tower of Song”
Writer: Leonard Cohen; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Label: Legacy
–Beautiful and haunting. Cannon’s production is exquisite: A bass thumps softly, an electric guitar twangs gently and Mickey Raphael’s harmonica blows mournfully as the master vocalist unspools this stunning Leonard Cohen ballad. This poetic, breathtaking performance will stop you in your tracks. The album it is drawn from, A Beautiful Time, will be out on April 30, the date of Willie’s 89th birthday.
KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS / “Tattoos”
Writers: Karley Scott Collins/Brock Berryhill/Brett James; Producer: Nathan Chapman; Label: Sony
–Her burlap-and-velvet voice has a deliciously husky quality. This power ballad is punctuated by a searing electric-guitar solo, but it’s her riveting delivery of the scarred-by-love lyric that you’ll remember.
BRELAND & THOMAS RHETT / “Praise the Lord”
Writers: Daniel Breland/David Garcia/Jacob Durrett/Jessie Jo Dillon/Julian Bunetta/Kyle Fishman/Michael Hardy/Rocky Block/Thomas Rhett; Producers: Julian Bunetta/Kyle Fishman/Jacob Durrett; Label: Bad Realm/Atlantic/Warner
–Gospel energy abounds here. The burbling, hand-clapping track is a joyous banger, and Breland’s performance bursts with youthful exuberance. Rhett comes in with just as much enthusiasm.
CARL RAY / “Moments Like This”
Writers: Jacky Jack White/Carl Ray; Producer: Greg Cole; Label: Sucarnochee
–Previously noted for his “I Can See Clearly Now” tribute to his Houston mentor Johnny Nash and for his album Play That Country Music Black Boy in 2021, Carl Ray (Williams) offers a poignant ballad here. Steeped in steel guitar, it has a traditional country vibe, yet his performance has an unmistakably modern edge. The sweet, super-positive lyric is about savoring love, family and serenity.
ASHLEY COOKE & BRETT YOUNG / “Never Til Now”
Writers: Ashley Cooke/Matt Roy; Producer: Jimmy Robbins; Label: Big Loud
–Wonderfully romantic. This was previously an Ashley solo track, but the addition of Young lifts it into the stratosphere. Their vocal blend is extraordinary. The swirling song could easily find its way into wedding celebrations.
VALERIE JUNE / “Use Me”
Writers: Valerie June/Jennifer Decilveo; Producer: Jennifer Decilveo; Label: Fantasy
–The dreadlocked, genre-defying Valerie June mixes Memphis soul, jaunty pop, New Orleans brass and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” country quotes on this dazzling outing. She earned an Americana Grammy nomination last year, and this sounds like it could be on the same path. Marvelously eclectic.
WADE BOWEN / “Phones Don’t Work”
Writers: Wade Bowen/Aaron Raitiere/Rhett Akins; Producer: Paul Moak; Label: Thirty Tigers
–Here is a steadfast, real-country Texan I’ve always admired. This rolling, yearning track finds him on a quest to find someplace in the great outdoors where she can’t get to him. I got lost in its many pleasures. A perfect performance. Wade’s sold-out showcase last month in Nashville’s Exit/In featured guests Miranda Lambert, Leroy Parnell, Rhett Akins and Charlie Worsham. The rest of you need to get on board, too.
JAMESON RODGERS / “Porch With a View”
Writers: Jake Mitchell/Brent Anderson/Hunter Phelps/Jameson Rodgers; Producers: Jake Mitchell/Chris Farren; Label: Sony
–This track from Jameson’s album Bet You’re From a Small Town is a country boy’s dream of buying a place in the country. As always, he’s as country as grits.
Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Bryan Adams, More Added To CMT Music Awards Lineup
/by Lorie HollabaughThe CMT Music Awards has revealed a new round of performers and presenters for the upcoming show on April 11 in Nashville, with Jason Aldean, Bryan Adams, Thomas Rhett, Little Big Town and more set to perform.
Aldean, nominated for Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year, will perform with Bryan Adams; Jimmie Allen, nominated for Collaborative Video of the Year, will team up with Monica and Little Big Town; Thomas Rhett, nominated for Male Video of the Year, will take the stage with Riley Green; and Walker Hayes, who is up for Male Video Of The Year, will also perform.
Additional presenters for the show have been announced as well, including Jimmie Allen, Gabby Barrett, Rob Corddry, Jordan Davis, Billy F. Gibbons, Gayle King, Taylor Lautner, Dustin Lynch, Martina McBride, Joel McHale, Kacey Musgraves, Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France + Antoni Porowski, LeAnn Rimes, Dylan Scott and Dennis Quaid.
Fan voting for the six Video of the Year finalists remains open at vote.cmt.com. The top three videos will be announced on April 11, with the winner revealed live in-show.
Hosted by Kelsea Ballerini and Anthony Mackie, country music’s only entirely fan-voted award show will broadcast live from Nashville on Monday, April 11 at 7 p.m. CT on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
Stevie Woodward Joins Runaway June As Lead Singer
/by Lydia FarthingRunaway June. Photo: Gregg Rothe
Country trio Runaway June has added a new face to the group. Stevie Woodward will take over as the lead vocalist and front-woman for the all-female band.
At just 5 years old, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Woodward wrote her first song, and taught herself how to play the guitar by age 10. She began sharpening her live performance skills by playing solo-acoustic shows along the coast of South Carolina as a teenager before moving to Nashville to further pursue a career as an artist. She attended MTSU to study songwriting and has shared stages with the likes of Kip Moore, Scotty McCreery, and more.
The trio shared the news via social media on April 7, saying: “Y’all welcome Stevie… we can’t wait until y’all fall in love with her as much as we have!! It’s been so hard to keep it a secret, but we can’t wait to share the music we’ve been working on!!! Get ready for some harmonies and dueling solos!!! We’ll see you on the road soon!!!!”
This announcement comes after the recent news that former front-woman and original band member Naomi Cooke would be leaving the group to pursue her own solo career after seven years with Runaway June. Former original member, Hannah Mulholland, also left the group in May of 2020, after which current member Natalie Stovall joined.
Now comprised of Woodward (lead vocals/guitar/harmonica/piano), Stovall (vocals/fiddle/guitar), and Jennifer Wayne (vocals/guitar), the band has been nominated for ACM Awards and CMT Awards, as well as performed at Stagecoach, C2C Country To Country, and opened for superstars such as Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson and Carrie Underwood. Honored as a coveted New Face at the 2020 Country Radio Seminar, the trio’s top 5 single “Buy My Own Drinks” was the highest charting song by a female group since The Chicks in 2003.
Opry Celebrates Merle Haggard During Special Wednesday Night Tribute
/by Lorie HollabaughCody Johnson. Photo: Chris Hollo
The Grand Ole Opry celebrated legend Merle Haggard on a special Wednesday night Opry on April 6, which was the anniversary of both Haggard’s birth and his death. Born on April 6, 1937, Haggard passed away on April 6, 2016.
The special Wednesday Night “Opry Salutes Merle Haggard” show featured performances by some of the countless artists who have been influenced by Haggard. Among the performers were Suzy Bogguss, Haggard’s son Marty Haggard, Cody Johnson, Joe Nichols, Eli Paperboy Reed, and Lainey Wilson, among others.
Artists performed Haggard classics as well as their own hits inspired by the Country Music Hall of Famer during the special tribute show, which was filmed to air as a future Saturday night Opry Live on the Circle Network, Circle All Access Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Marty Haggard. Photo: Chris Hollo
Lainey Wilson. Photo: Chris Hollo
Joe Nichols. Photo: Chris Hollo