Hillary Scott. Photo: Joseph Llanes
Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott is working on a gospel project. She revealed the news to fans via social media on Friday morning (April 22).
The album, titled Love Remains, is a family affair, including co-writes with her mother Linda Davis and father Lang Scott, and contributions from younger sister Rylee Scott. With Lady Antebellum taking a break, Love Remains follows bandmate Charles Kelley‘s solo album, The Driver, which was released to critical acclaim in February.
The first single from Love Remains is a song Scott co-wrote titled “Thy Will.” It is being released to country and Christian radio and credited to Hillary Scott & The Scott Family. The track is now available at iTunes and Spotify. No release date for Love Remains has been announced.
Scott says what began as a hymns album crafted to thank supporters who rallied around the family during her grandfather’s battle with cancer, blossomed into a full-fledged album of mostly original material from some of Nashville’s top Contemporary Christian songwriters, as well as three songs that Scott co-wrote.
“I didn’t think I was going to write, and then life happens and you realize, ‘Oh, I do have something to say,” Scott told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. “I was very insecure to write in Contemporary Christian music. I felt very unprepared and thought honestly, in a lot of ways, it would be too hard. Ironically, I co-wrote a song that is faith-based and is one of the most personal songs ever and now it’s the first single.”
Love Remains includes a duet with Linda Davis, and appearances from other artists. “It reminds me of O Brother, Where Art Thou, and I’m giving a little bit of a teaser because there is a song in that movie that makes its way into this song and it’s an old traditional gospel song.”
Ricky Skaggs, who also provided vocals and instrumental parts to the album, produced the project.
“Every time I would dream about this project, all I saw as captain of the ship was him,” Scott says. “He’s not only the producer for this record, he’s the ‘pastor of this record,’ is what I told him. Every morning at the studio he had an encouraging word, or he would open with a prayer.”
Scott profoundly considered the influence that her work in Lady Antebellum has afforded her. She recalled a conversation with her father about the project, as she told him, “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help build a career for almost a decade, and a lot of people pay attention to what we sing and what we say and who we are. This is something that is such a huge part of me, and wanting to share more of who I am with our fans, let’s just do this as big as we possibly can.”
The next people on board to offer their support were her Lady Antebellum bandmates Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley, as well as the group’s manager.
“I told them what was in my heart to do, and come to find out, so was Charles. He was in a place of wanting to explore creatively, and stretch himself, and [so is] Dave in his own way, with producing other artists. We hit that point, which I think is natural.
“I think what confuses a lot of people on the outside looking in, is that there wasn’t a problem. The three of us are closer than we’ve ever been. We are more solid; we are healthy in our friendship. It’s like, ‘Why would you walk away, even for a second, if there is not a problem?’ But we’ve all sensed this stirring in ourselves to kind of separate for a short amount of time, explore our own individual creativity, whatever that may be, how we want to manage that time, then reemerge stronger then we’ve ever been, and I can honestly say that’s exactly what happened.
“This is how I have chosen to look inward, dig down deep, and grow,” says Scott. “And really just wanting to live well and love well, and record music that will bring comfort to my daughter, to my family, our fans, it carries over into every area of my life of how I want to live. You can’t help but think about when it’s big subjects and heart matters, about your legacy, and for my dad and my mom being grandparents now.
“You want to leave a legacy that you are proud of, and how you want to be remembered. It’s weird to say that because I just turned 30, but I do think about that.”
Carnival Music/Thirty Tigers To Release Derik Hultquist Project ‘Southern Iron’
/by Jessica NicholsonSinger/songwriter Derik Hultquist will release his full-length debut Southern Iron June 17 through Carnival Music/Thirty Tigers.
The album’s title Southern Iron comes from a gym his father, Chip Hultquist, owned in Tallahassee, Florida.
“It represents the triumph of wills that have given me strength in the face of life’s unanswerable questions,” Derik says. “My father, who’s had not one, but two types of cancer at the same time, is in treatment now,” says Hultquist. “Southern Iron seemed an appropriate title for a man who is most assuredly the strongest person I have ever known. This album is dedicated to him, my grandmother, my family and those fighting the good fight with the greatest appreciation and endless love.”
Frank Liddell (Brandi Carlile, Miranda Lambert, Aubrie Sellers) and Eric Masse (Mikky Ekko, Rayland Baxter, Robert Ellis) produced the album at Masse’s Casino Studio in East Nashville.
“Frank and Eric were great to work with. Recording was a blast because we did a lot of interesting things in the studio. We used dynamic and old ribbon mics on the entire record. We recorded my vocals through Telefunken U47 and Shure SM7s for that ‘I’m whispering in your ear’ effect,” said Hultquist.
“We chose Luke Reynolds for guitars because he’s open to trying different sounds and naturally thinks beyond chords and solos,” said Masse. “Jordan Lehning brought it all together with his string arrangements.”
“When we met Derik three years ago, we knew he was someone special,” said Liddell. “He’s a prolific writer. He solely wrote all but one song for this album, and each of the songs on his prior EPs.”
His last EP, Mockingbirds Mouth, led to a booking deal with Paradigm and opening slots for Sturgill Simpson at The Troubadour.
Southern Iron Track Listing:
1. Darkside of Town
2. Garden of Roses
3. 1983
4. Strangeness Of The Vine
5. Racing To A Red Light
6. My New Orleans
7. Falling Out Of Love
8. Back When I Was Young
9. Devil’s In The Details
10. Highline Poles
11. One Horse Town
12. American Highway
Bobby Bones Added To Musicians On Call Board Of Directors
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Tom Poleman, Lindsay Ell and Bobby Bones visit with a patient as part of Musicians On Call.
On-air personality Bobby Bones has been added to the Board of Directors for Musicians On Call, a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities.
Bones, who is host of iHeartMedia’s The Bobby Bones Show and Country Top 30 with Bobby Bones, reaches 4.8 million weekly listeners on more than 100 stations nationwide.
“The work that Musicians On Call does is amazing and I’m such a big supporter of theirs,” said Bones. “I’m thankful that I’m able to play a bigger part in a truly great organization like this and help continue to bring music to those who need it most.”
“I’m so excited to have Bobby join Musicians On Call’s Board of Directors,” said Pete Griffin, Musicians On Call President. “If you listen to his show or spend any time with Bobby, it’s easy to see how sincere and passionate he is about helping others. We look forward to working with him to bring the healing power of music to even more patients nationwide.”
As a Musicians On Call Volunteer Musician, Bones played at the bedsides of patients at the Nashville VA and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with the help of some of his friends like Lindsay Ell and Tom Poleman, President of iHeartMedia’s National Programming Group and Musicians On Call Board Member. Bones released his The Critics Give It 5 Stars comedy/country album with Black River Entertainment, with portions of the proceeds donated for charity. His live shows have raised over $2 million for charity.
Bones’ most recent “Pimpin Joy” merchandise campaign raised $20,000 for Musicians On Call and he continues to raise funds for MOC through his current “Bobby For President” campaign.
Weekly Chart Report (4/22/16)
/by Troy_StephensonClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.
Save The Date: 28th Annual MusicRow Awards
/by Craig_ShelburneThe invitation-only event will feature award presentations for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Producer of the Year and Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year. Winners of these categories will be determined by the votes of subscribed members to MusicRow.
In addition, the publication will announce recipients of the 2016 Top 10 Album All-Star Musician Awards. These honors are determined by tabulating the work of Nashville’s session players. Each player earns one credit for each instrument played on any qualifying album. (To qualify, the album had to chart in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Country Album Chart during MusicRow‘s eligibly period.)
Invitations to the 28th Annual MusicRow Awards will be sent in May. To ensure you receive an invitation and ballot for the 2016 event, join MusicRow today.
Hillary Scott Announces Gospel Project ‘Love Remains’
/by Jessica NicholsonHillary Scott. Photo: Joseph Llanes
Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott is working on a gospel project. She revealed the news to fans via social media on Friday morning (April 22).
The album, titled Love Remains, is a family affair, including co-writes with her mother Linda Davis and father Lang Scott, and contributions from younger sister Rylee Scott. With Lady Antebellum taking a break, Love Remains follows bandmate Charles Kelley‘s solo album, The Driver, which was released to critical acclaim in February.
Scott says what began as a hymns album crafted to thank supporters who rallied around the family during her grandfather’s battle with cancer, blossomed into a full-fledged album of mostly original material from some of Nashville’s top Contemporary Christian songwriters, as well as three songs that Scott co-wrote.
“I didn’t think I was going to write, and then life happens and you realize, ‘Oh, I do have something to say,” Scott told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. “I was very insecure to write in Contemporary Christian music. I felt very unprepared and thought honestly, in a lot of ways, it would be too hard. Ironically, I co-wrote a song that is faith-based and is one of the most personal songs ever and now it’s the first single.”
Love Remains includes a duet with Linda Davis, and appearances from other artists. “It reminds me of O Brother, Where Art Thou, and I’m giving a little bit of a teaser because there is a song in that movie that makes its way into this song and it’s an old traditional gospel song.”
Ricky Skaggs, who also provided vocals and instrumental parts to the album, produced the project.
“Every time I would dream about this project, all I saw as captain of the ship was him,” Scott says. “He’s not only the producer for this record, he’s the ‘pastor of this record,’ is what I told him. Every morning at the studio he had an encouraging word, or he would open with a prayer.”
Scott profoundly considered the influence that her work in Lady Antebellum has afforded her. She recalled a conversation with her father about the project, as she told him, “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help build a career for almost a decade, and a lot of people pay attention to what we sing and what we say and who we are. This is something that is such a huge part of me, and wanting to share more of who I am with our fans, let’s just do this as big as we possibly can.”
The next people on board to offer their support were her Lady Antebellum bandmates Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley, as well as the group’s manager.
“I told them what was in my heart to do, and come to find out, so was Charles. He was in a place of wanting to explore creatively, and stretch himself, and [so is] Dave in his own way, with producing other artists. We hit that point, which I think is natural.
“I think what confuses a lot of people on the outside looking in, is that there wasn’t a problem. The three of us are closer than we’ve ever been. We are more solid; we are healthy in our friendship. It’s like, ‘Why would you walk away, even for a second, if there is not a problem?’ But we’ve all sensed this stirring in ourselves to kind of separate for a short amount of time, explore our own individual creativity, whatever that may be, how we want to manage that time, then reemerge stronger then we’ve ever been, and I can honestly say that’s exactly what happened.
“This is how I have chosen to look inward, dig down deep, and grow,” says Scott. “And really just wanting to live well and love well, and record music that will bring comfort to my daughter, to my family, our fans, it carries over into every area of my life of how I want to live. You can’t help but think about when it’s big subjects and heart matters, about your legacy, and for my dad and my mom being grandparents now.
“You want to leave a legacy that you are proud of, and how you want to be remembered. It’s weird to say that because I just turned 30, but I do think about that.”
In Pictures: NSAI Takes Copyright Reform Concerns to Congress
/by Jessica NicholsonLeaders of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), including Bart Herbison, Ashley Gorley, and Lee Thomas Miller, were in Washington, D.C. this week for meetings with more than a dozen members of Congress to discuss copyright reform.
Pictured (L-R): Songwriter Ashley Gorley, U.S. Register if Copyrights Maria Pallante, NSAI President Lee Thomas Miller, Copyright Office General Counsel Jacqueline Charlesworth and NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison
Songwriters Ashley Gorley and Lee Thomas Miller play for staff at the U.S. Copyright Office.
Songwriter Ashley Gorley performs for Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) and staff.
Levi Hummon Celebrates EP Release In Nashville
/by Jessica NicholsonLevi Hummon celebrated the release of his self-titled EP on The Valory Music Co. Wednesday night (April 20), performing new tunes for his hometown crowd at 12th and Porter. The Nashville native entertained fans, friends and industry members with a 45-minute set. Hummon shared stories about some of the original songs he penned for the project then covered some of his musical influences such as Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.
Hummon co-wrote Steven Tyler’s current single, “Red, White and You,” and will tour in support of his EP beginning April 25, including markets such as San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, New York, and Seattle. Later this year, he will join Billy Currington’s Summer Forever Tour on select dates.
Levi Hummon EP Tracklisting:
1. “Life’s For Livin’” (Levi Hummon, Matt Jenkins, Jimmy Robbins)
2. “Chain Reaction” (Levi Hummon, Jon Nite, Jimmy Robbins)
3. “Love You Hate You Miss You” (Ryan Hurd, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz)
4. “Guts And Glory” (Levi Hummon, Tom Douglas, Travis Hill)
5. “Window Down Days” (Levi Hummon, Jon Nite, Jimmy Robbins)
Levi Hummon celebrates his EP release at 12th & Porter in Nashville. Photo: The Valory Music Co.
Exclusive: Cole Swindell On Success, Creative Depth, And Sophomore Album
/by Jessica NicholsonCole Swindell’s self-titled debut album earned the singer-songwriter considerable early career success, including four No. 1 singles, “Let Me See Ya Girl,” “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” and “Chillin’ It.” The debut project was certified platinum by the RIAA and Swindell’s music has amassed more than 250 million streams, with 4.2 million tracks sold. He took home the Academy of Country Music’s New Artist of the Year trophy in 2015.
This year, Swindell is eager to build on those early stats with his forthcoming sophomore project, You Should Be Here, which releases May 6 on Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville. The album’s title track and debut single—an intensely personal song that focuses the loss of Swindell’s father in 2013–has already become Swindell’s fifth consecutive No. 1 song.
“It was a title that [songwriter] Ashley Gorley had,” Swindell recalls about writing “You Should Be Here.” “We were up in Foxboro [Massachusetts], playing at Gillette Stadium [as part of Luke Bryan’s That’s My Kind of Night Tour]. Ashley had texted a picture to his daughter of us at the stadium and said, ‘You should be here.’
“I immediately said, ‘Please let me write that with you.’ Because all I could think about was my dad and I hadn’t written about it yet. We wanted it to be where it wasn’t just about me. A lot of other people have obviously been through that. And through things way worse than what I’ve been through. I had chills on my arms the entire time we were writing that. That doesn’t happen at every writing appointment and I don’t think it can be like that, because it was something so personal to me. It didn’t take that long to write, but it was emotional. I knew if it was hitting me like that, that it would hit other people that have been through the same thing. It’s my favorite song I’ve ever written.”
“You Should Be Here” became a quality benchmark as Swindell co-wrote and searched for songs to round out the album. Seven Swindell co-writes made the final project.
“It seems like it takes a while for an artist to release a song that makes a statement like that, maybe not even on a second album. But for me, writing as much as I do, and having so much success off the last album, I had to go somewhere that I hadn’t been. Nothing made more sense to me than [writing about] the most tragic thing I’ve ever been through.”
MusicRow‘s Troy Stephenson presents Cole Swindell with two MusicRow Challenge Coins for co-writing FGL’s “This Is How We Roll” and Luke Bryan’s “Roller Coaster.”
Swindell namechecks tracks like “Broke Down” and “Remember Boys” from the upcoming project that live up to the standard.
“It’s got just an older, classical, gut string guitar and it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve done before,” he says of “Remember Boys.” “Sometimes the production can get in the way of a message that is powerful. With ‘Remember Boys’ I want people to hear every word of that song, and it’s just a stripped-down thing. Just the message of it, it’s where I am personally and in my career.”
One of the highlights on the album, a collaboration with Dierks Bentley titled “Flatliner,” is already receiving plenty of buzz.
“It’s so crazy,” says Swindell. “I wrote that with him in mind four years ago. I wrote it with Jaron Boyer and Matt Bronleewe. It sounded like something Dierks would record. So we recorded it like Dierks would. I sang the demo like Dierks…”
Bentley eventually heard the song, but it took a while for the two to record the track. “He texted me and said, ‘This is a smash,’ and I suggested we should record it together. We would joke about it when we would see each other, but you never know if it will happen. But he was serious about it and we made it happen. He’s a great guy. Just knowing how much his music influenced me, especially his first album, and every album. I’ve got every one of them. For me, Dierks is one of my favorites.”
“I was thankful I wrote ‘You Should Be Here,’ but I had to have 11 other great songs, and there are some subjects I didn’t touch on with the first album,” Swindell sums. “I think they are all great songs. I want to be a guy people will remember for a long time. If you listen to this album, you have a better idea of who I am.”
Nashville Offers Condolences After Prince’s Passing
/by Eric T. ParkerAfter the passing of music icon Prince, who died at his suburban Minneapolis home on Thursday, April 21, the Nashville industry offered condolences. Many are compiled below and will continue to be added.
“One of my most vivid memories with [Prince’s] music is when we were on the Own The Night Tour with Darius Rucker. Every night, Darius would close his set with “Purple Rain.” This is kind of a light-hearted moment, but during one of the last shows on the tour, Charles [Kelley] went out dressed as Prince. Obviously, with Prince being much smaller in stature than Charles, who is like 6’ 6”, it was one of the most sweet, funny, hilarious moments. I don’t know how you really…there is no one comparable to him. That’s a really sad loss to hear about. So many people even to this day right now are in a room on this block somewhere are trying to emulate what he did. But thankfully we have a lot of really incredible music that we will never have to not have. That’s really sad.” — Hillary Scott, Lady Antebellum
LifeNotes: East Nashville Studio Co-Owner Candice Burnside Ferguson Passes
/by Robert K OermannPhoto: bondmemorial.com
The Nashville alternative-music community has lost one of its most enthusiastic champions, Candice Burnside Ferguson.
She died at age 37 on Sunday, April 17. Ferguson was the co-owner, studio manager and engineer at Battle Tapes Recording in East Nashville. She was also a friendly fixture at Grimey’s Records.
Battle Tapes Recording’s clients have included such Music City alt-rockers as Turbo Fruits, Lambchop, Hard Working Americans, PUJOL, Forget Cassettes, Thelma & The Sleaze, Tristen, Be Your Own Pet, De Novo Dahl and Umbrella Tree.
She is survived by her husband, studio co-owner Jeremy Ferguson and by their 2-year-old daughter, Exie Elizabeth. Also mourning her loss are her brother Dennis Burnside Jr., sister Amanda Lea Burnside Proctor and her parents-in-law, Tom and Marybeth Ferguson.
Visitation will be 6-9 p.m. on Friday at Bond Memorial Chapel in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, and on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Bond Memorial Chapel and internment will follow at Mt. Juliet Memorial Gardens.
Memorial contributions can be made to Exie Elizabeth’s college fund, 1424 Greenland Ave., Nashville, TN 37216.