Brad Paisley has unveiled his ongoing project titled Tacklebox. The first track, “Fallin’,” is available now.

“I see this ‘project’ as never-ending. It’s almost like the fans have a direct link to my Dropbox or to a playlist that never ends,” shares Paisley. “We are calling it Tacklebox because it’s a box full of hooks, country lyric hooks. In this digital age, I have every song I’ve ever written at my fingertips. This project gave us a license to dig back into the catalog of songs that were never released, that feel like a time period, a style of writing, a sound, and nostalgia. We went back into the studio to record or re-record at The Castle in Franklin, TN, the same place where several of my first few albums were recorded. When I first started writing and recording music, I couldn’t have dreamed of the ability to put something out instantly for the fans.”

Additional songs from the project are slated to be released this week.

Paisley has also added new dates to his fall tour schedule, with shows in Connecticut, Florida, Virginia, Texas and more. Jake Worthington will join for select dates and ticket information can be found here.

Paisley is set to appear tonight on American Idol, joining contestant Lucas Leon for a performance of “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” during the live finale.

NEWLY ANNOUNCED DATES:
August 27- Bridgeport, CT- Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater+
August 28- Boston, MA- MGM Music Hall at Fenway+
August 29- Bangor, ME- Maine Savings Amphitheater+
September 2- Fargo, ND- Scheels Arena+
September 4- Milwaukee, WI- BMO Pavilion+
September 17- Estero, FL- Hertz Arena
September 18- Ft. Lauderdale, FL- FTL War Memorial Auditorium
September 19- St. Augustine, FL- St. Augustine Amphitheatre
September 25- West Springfield, MA- The Big E*
September 26- Richmond, VA- Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront
October 8- Houston, TX- The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion+
October 9- Corpus Christi, TX- Hilliard Center Arena+
October 10- Ennis, TX- Stars of Texas Music Festival at the Texas Motorplex*
*Festival dates
+Jake Worthington opens

Backbeat Troubadours have signed with Big Machine Records.

The duo, consisting of Mark Collie and Billy Bob Thornton, has released their debut song, “True American Racer (500 Miles) (featuring Slash),” featured in the upcoming BOBBY RAHAL: TRUE AMERICAN RACER documentary.

“This has been one of those rare experiences where so many amazing things aligned all at the same time to create a truly unique musical moment,” says Big Machine Records Founder and Chairman Scott Borchetta. “Mark and Billy Bob have been creating music together for decades, but this is the first time that the world will get to hear them in their own unique element, and it’s going to blow people’s minds!”

“Mark and I are proud to be a part of the song and the Bobby Rahal story with Scott,” adds Thornton.

“True American Racer (500 Miles) (featuring Slash)” will also appear on the documentary’s accompanying album, BOBBY RAHAL: TRUE AMERICAN RACER, which features songs from Riley Green, Brothers Osborne, The Jack Wharff Band, Mackenzie Carpenter, Greylan James, Marfa, Cole Goodwin, Danielle Bradbery and Rascal Flatts and is scheduled for release in July.

Vince Gill embraces his love for the blues on his latest EP, Nobody Held Her Like Me, the seventh volume in his monthly 50 Years From Home EP series.

“I love soul music,” Gill explains. “I’ve loved the soulful side of music forever, whether it’s Ray Charles or Bruno Mars. George Jones was as soulful a singer as anybody who ever lived. I heard a lot of blues music from my big brother. I would hear Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, people like that. To me, in some ways, it’s all blues. I’m just drawn to it.”

Nobody Held Her Like Me kicks off with a melodic title track in the vein of the Eagles’ “I Can’t Tell You Why,” which Gill co-wrote with Joe Glaser and Jimmy Nalls. It’s another love song in his vast repertoire.

“Joe is the guy in Nashville who fixes everyone’s guitars. He asked me if he could bring Jimmy, a ‘great guitarist,’ over to the house,” recalls Gill. “He mentioned that Jimmy was struggling with Parkinson’s. The three of us spent the day together and talked about what Jimmy missed about being a musician. It inspired a guitar lick that I came up with. Eventually Jimmy passed away and I wanted to give both Jimmy and Joe credit for the lick they’d inspired that day.”

Gill penned the laid-back broken-heart track “Back When My World Was Blue” with Ernest and Chandler Walters. “Goin’ To Tampa” takes it to the honky-tonk with the help of co-writers “Big Al” Anderson and McKinley James. Anderson plays acoustic guitar on the track, which features a hot piano ride by John Jarvis. Tearjerker “I Cried All the Way to Memphis,” a first-time collaboration with Patrick Droney, features backing vocals from Maggie Rose.

Just in time for Mother’s Day, “Mama’s Gone to Heaven” cranks up the tempo in a hand-clapping direction marked by piano by Gordon Mote and a stinging guitar solo by Gill. The song was inspired by a conversation with John Parks, who works in the clubhouse at Gill’s regular golf course. “I’m On To You” brings things back to mellow and more heartbreak as Gill heads back into that lane with co-writer Harper O’Neill. It also features America’s Got Talent finalist Lamont Landers, a blue-eyed soul singer from Alabama Gill discovered from online performance posts.

Gill caps Nobody Held Her Like Me with one of his previous hits, “Whenever You Come Around,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Country charts as the first single from his When Love Finds You album in 1994. The cover art for Nobody Held Her Like Me features two Fender Stratocasters owned by Gill: one is a 1959 Gill bought from the son of Duane Eddy, who originally purchased the guitar, and the other is refinished 1965 model he bought for $200 and a pair of boots from his late best friend and longtime guitar tech, Benny Garcia.

Commemorating his departure from his native Oklahoma to begin his music career, Gill has been releasing a new EP each month, drawing from songs he has accumulated during the past few years, with each collection built around a unifying theme. During this time he continues to play with the Eagles, including a run of stadium shows as part of its “The Long Goodbye, Act III Tour,” as well as solo dates that resume in June and run through August.

Nominations for the 13th Annual K-LOVE Fan Awards have been unveiled, with Phil Wickham leading the pack with four nominations.

Lauren Daigle, Brandon Lake, Jamie MacDonald, Jeremy Camp, Josiah Queen, and Elevation Worship each received three nods for the upcoming awards, which honor artists, songs and performances in Christian music across multiple categories, as well as recognizing standout achievements in film, television, books, sports and digital media.

Daigle and Sadie Robertson Huff will host the awards show, which will take place live at the Opry House on May 24 and will air exclusively on Trinity Broadcasting Network on May 29 at 6:30 p.m. CT. An encore presentation will air the same night and on June 5. The event is part of a weekend of programming and performances in Nashville, including previously announced concerts and showcases, with Levi Lusko now confirmed as the speaker for the Sunday morning worship service.