Jack Ingram is hosting a new podcast, Jackin’ Around With Jack Ingram, set to launch Jan. 15. The first guests on the upcoming new podcast will include Wade Bowen on the inaugural show on Jan. 15, and Waylon Payne on Jan. 22.

During the open dialogue shows, Ingram delves into the personal stories of a variety of guests from the sports, entertainment and music worlds. The ACM award winner is no stranger to the airwaves, as host of the Texas Music Scene, a half-hour weekly TV show that airs in over 70 U.S, markets and has won 22 Telly awards and two People’s Choice awards.

During the course of his career Ingram has released 10 studio albums, six live projects, and charted 12 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Charts. He won an ACM for Best Country Song in 2018 as co-writer of Miranda Lambert’s “Tin Man,” which was also nominated for a Grammy and a CMA award as well.

NEEDTOBREATHE has announced a brand new live album, Live from the Woods Vol. 2, set for release on April 16. The album is available to pre-order physically and digitally now via Elektra Records. Fans are invited to witness the live recording of the album during two socially distanced outdoor concerts at famed venue The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee on Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14. Pre-sale tickets will be available for The Insiders Fan Club beginning Wednesday, Jan. 13 HERE, and general on sale begins this Friday, Jan. 15 at 12:00 pm CT HERE.

Live from the Woods Vol. 2 follows NEEDTOBREATHE’s 2015 live album Live from the Woods and marks one of the band’s first concerts in front of a live crowd since January 2020. NEEDTOBREATHE decided to invite local audiences to experience these unforgettable shows, while simultaneously capturing them for listeners worldwide. Fans can expect electrifying performances of tracks from the Platinum-selling group’s catalog, songs off their chart-topping new album Out of Body, and more.

The band and venue ensure the utmost adherence to COVID-19 guidelines for maximum safety. As such, the venue is following guidance provided by the CDC and the State of Tennessee’s “Tennessee Pledge” for reopening. Guests will arrive at staggered times, be asked COVID-19 screening questions, receive a temperature check, and enjoy the show from 2-person, 4-person and 6-person socially-distanced pods. Pods are spaced with a minimum of six feet distance between each other with wide foot paths between pods to maintain social distancing. The concerts are “bring your own chair.”

Masks will be mandatory, except when guests are in their pods. All concessions and merchandise will be ordered through an app and delivered contactless to pods eliminating lines and limiting the need for guests to leave pods. While the music plays on above ground, restrooms will be used inside The Caverns to give guests an opportunity to duck below the surface to see the world-famous, subterranean music venue. Restrooms will be continuously cleaned with limited capacity.

NEEDTOBREATHE’s critically acclaimed 2020 studio album Out of Body is available physically and digitally via Elektra Records/Centricity Music now. In October, the band unveiled a brand new version of the album’s current single “Who Am I” featuring vocals from multi-Platinum recording artist, Elle King. “Who Am I” (feat. Elle King) is available to stream and download as an official Out of Body bonus track now.

NEEDTOBREATHE. Photo: Brett Warren

Jeff Worn, Thomas Rhett

Thomas Rhett is collaborating with his cousin Jeff Worn on a new ultra-premium tequila, Dos Primos. Spanish for “Two Cousins,” Dos Primos is a blanco tequila made from hand-harvested 100% Blue Agave sourced from estates in Los Altos and the valley area of Jalisco, Mexico. Dos Primos is available in select U.S. markets now and nationwide soon.

Third-generation Master Distiller Rodolfo González worked with Rhett and Worn to create the product’s taste profile and oversees the distillation process.

“Our decision to create a new tequila brand grew out of just loving being with family,” said Rhett. “Jeff and I wanted to create a tequila that was expertly crafted and could be enjoyed year-round—regardless of the season or activity—with the people we care about most. Dos Primos is all about who we are and what’s important to us. My wife and I love to enjoy tequila together and I’m excited for people to share a bottle with friends, sip it around a bonfire or enjoy it on a fishing trip, tailgate or concert. Dos Primos is about unwinding and enjoying the people and things that really matter in life.”

“There’s no greater thrill or commitment than putting your name on something you believe in,” added Worn. “Our names are more than just our reputation—they represent our legacy and our future. That’s not something Thomas Rhett and I take lightly. We are proud and we’re excited to introduce Dos Primos.”

Known as a member of Christian group Newsboys, Phil Joel is releasing a new solo project on Jan. 22. The six-song EP, Better Than I Found It, was written, recorded and produced entirely by Joel with some help from his family and a few friends in an old carriage house-turned home studio on his property during last year’s quarantine, and is available for pre-order now. 

Kicking off with the Beatles-esque title cut—a plea to leave our world better than we found it—the collection finds Joel reflecting on timely topics, including the embrace of a simpler life; seeking unity in a divided nation; offering comfort for the hurting; and mending broken relationships. Highlights of Better Than I Found It include “Sailing Speed,” an ode to the pursuit of life’s simple joys, and EP-closer “Alright,” an impassioned call to unity showcasing spoken word interludes from President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I’d felt for quite a while that I needed to take some time and musically get back to simply making art, but I didn’t know how I was going to make it happen,” Joel said. “Well, 2020 made it happen for me. In March, we got word that touring was off until further notice, so I went home and locked myself away in my studio. It put me in a position to have to make production decisions alone and create a sound that’s truly me.”

Auckland, New Zealand native Joel first arrived in the United States in 1994 to join one of Christian music’s most iconic bands, Newsboys. During his 12-year tenure in the Platinum-selling group, Joel was featured on such seminal albums as Take Me To Your Leader and Step Up To The Microphone. Rejoining Newsboys in 2018, along with founding member Peter Furler, the supergroup has since played hundreds of shows around the country and released Newsboys United in 2019. In addition, Joel has seven solo albums to his credit, he founded and fronted the acclaimed worship band Zealand, and his first book, Redwoods and Whales: Becoming Who You Actually Are, a collection of personal stories and truths learned from his life and musical journey, was published in 2019 by Thomas Nelson’s Emanate Books.