Pressroom | UMG Nashville

JON PARDI REVEALS TOUR DATES FOR HIS HEADLINING CMT ON TOUR.

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ACM New Male Vocalist Jon Pardi today announced the initial markets for CMT On Tour Presents Jon Pardi’s Lucky Tonight Tour. Kicking off in Birmingham, Alabama October 12th, the award-winning singer/songwriter will bring his critically-acclaimed classic country with a modern twist to venues across the United States for the multi-city run that includes Chicago, Fort Worth, Grand Rapids and more. Pre-sale tickets will be available starting tomorrow, Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. local time on www.jonpardi.com/tour, with tickets officially on-sale this Friday. Additional tour dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

Pardi’s current hit single, “Heartache on the Dance Floor” is climbing Top 15 on the country radio airplay charts and it marks his fourth single to break the Top 15 on country radio. “Heartache on the Dance Floor” follows Pardi’s back-to-back No. 1 singles off his No. 1 album, California Sunrise. His first No.1 hit, the Platinum-selling “Head Over Boots” was followed by the three-week No. 1 smash “Dirt on My Boots.” CMT On Tour Presents “Jon Pardi’s Lucky Tonight Tour” is the third headlining tour for Pardi, who is quickly becoming a household name. In addition to the singer/songwriter’s ACM win earlier this year, he was also nominated for Breakthrough and Video of the Year categories at the 2017 CMT Music Awards. The California native has also toured with country music icons including Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Alan Jackson, and is currently on the road this summer with Dierks Bentley.

Accompanied by two rising country trios, Midland and Runaway June, “CMT On Tour” aims to shed light on new artists in the industry. “CMT On Tour” was created in 2002 and has played a role in launching up-and-comers towards superstar status. In the past, the phenomenon has featured numerous wildly successful artists, including Brett Eldredge, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Sam Hunt, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Keith Urban, Jake Owen and Kip Moore.

CMT On Tour Presents Jon Pardi’s Lucky Tonight Tour Dates:

10/12/16	Birmingham, AL	Avondale Brewing Co.
10/13/17	Savannah, GA	Grayson Stadium
10/14/17	Charlotte, NC	Coyote Joe’s
10/19/17	Houston, TX	House of Blues
10/20/17	Austin, TX	Stubb’s Outdoors
10/21/17	Fort Worth, TX	Billy Bob’s Texas
11/2/17	Worcester, MA	The Palladium
11/3/17	Silver Spring, MD	The Fillmore Silver Spring
11/4/17	North Myrtle Beach, SC	House of Blues
11/10/17	St. Paul, MN	Myth
11/11/17	Madison, WI	Orpheum Theatre
11/16/17	Chicago, IL	Joe’s on Weed Street
11/17/17	Rosemont, IL	Joe’s Live
11/18/17	Milwaukee, WI	The Rave
12/8/17	Grand Rapids, MI	The Intersection*

*Indicates Jon Pardi and Runaway June only

Additional tour dates to be announced

SAM HUNT’S ‘BODY LIKE A BACK ROAD’ MAKES HISTORY WITH 25-WEEK STREAK ATOP BILLBOARD’S HOT COUNTRY SONG CHART.

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Sam Hunt

Sam Hunt performing on his headlining 15 In A 30 Tour Photo Credit: Connor Dwyer

Country star Sam Hunt’s smash single “Body Like A Back Road” shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart over six months ago, where it has remained for an unprecedented 25 consecutive weeks, breaking the record for most weeks atop the nearly 59-year-old chart. The three-week country radio No. 1 hit written by Hunt, Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne also consistently landed in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for 16 straight weeks, longer than all other songs in the chart’s 25-year history.

While also climbing Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, “Body Like A Back Road” is currently the No. 1 most streamed country song, the No. 1 most downloaded country song and the No. 3 most downloaded all-genre song of 2017 and it is now RIAA-certified Triple Platinum. With over 261M streams, the massive single has set and broken 14 country streaming records including becoming the fastest song to cross 100M and 200M streams.

“Body Like A Back Road” comes as fans eagerly await Hunt’s forthcoming sophomore album, the follow-up to the singer/songwriter’s Grammy-nominated, Triple Platinum-selling debut album, Montevallo, featuring a record-breaking four No. 1 singles and five Platinum and Multi-Platinum-selling hits including “Leave the Night On,” “House Party,” “Take Your Time,” “Break Up In A Small Town” and “Make You Miss Me.”

Hunt is currently selling out venues across the country on his 15 In A 30 Tour with special guests Maren Morris, Chris Janson and Ryan Follese. Upcoming dates include San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento and two nights in Los Angeles.

For information on Sam Hunt, “Body Like A Back Road,” the 15 In A 30 Tour and more, visit www.SamHunt.com.

www.SamHunt.com | facebook.com/SamHuntMusic | twitter.com/SamHuntMusic | instagram.com/SamHuntMusic

Sam Hunt (Body Like a Back Road started with a phrase) OC: …enjoyed it. 1:04
“You know, I try to think of titles or lines that’ll cross my mind and I’ll put ‘em in my phone, and this was one that I wanted to write for a while – the title ‘Body Like a Back Road’ – or use it as a lyric, do something with it. I didn’t have a melody, but one night this melody got stuck in my head and the phrase ‘Body Like a Back Road’ sang perfectly to it and the chorus came out pretty quick. And then we went in and started working on the song with the producer and a couple of writing buddies, and I wanted to write it because I thought it was a fun song, but I didn’t know for sure if I wanted to put it out. I didn’t want it to come across as objectifying women or be too, to lack depth and just, I don’t know. So, anyway, I had some concerns, but I tried to make it fun to offset any risks of those things happening, which made writing it fun, and I think that came across in the lyric and in the way we recorded it and everything else. When we finally finished it, it finally hit me as ‘Ok. Wait a minute. Maybe I underestimated the potential of this song. I think this could be a fun song and it will connect with folks.’ So, at that point, I was excited to put it out and fortunately folks have enjoyed it.”

BILLY CURRINGTON AND KEITH URBAN SPLIT THE COUNTRY CHARTS.

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Billy Currington / Keith Urban

Keith Urban’s “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood and Billy Currington’s “Do I Make You Wanna” are both No. 1 this week. “The Fighter” tops the Country Aircheck/Mediabase Country Chart, while “Do I Make You Wanna” is in first place on the Billboard Country Chart.

For Keith, this song marks his fifth consecutive No. 1 hit from his latest album, Ripcord, following the success of “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Wasted Time,” “Break on Me” and “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.” It’s also his 23rd single to reach the top of the country chart.

In Billy’s case, “Do I Make You Wanna” is his 12th chart-topper, following the No. 1 smash, “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To,” from his album, Summer Forever. The song, which was written by Ashley Gorley, Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins and Jerry Flowers (who just so happens to play bass in Keith Urban’s band), was one of Billy’s favorite demos he listened to in making his current album and said it has that certain special thing. “‘Do I Make You Wanna’ was a strong contender [for first single] for me and I think other people at the label,” says Billy. “It’s just got that laid-back thing, and easy to sing and just a really, really cool song. A cool vibe, that’s definitely what I’d say about this. It’s got that vibe.”

Keith Urban (The Fighter) 2 OC: …pretty universal. :37
“It was a really simple idea that you’re in a relationship, at the beginning of the relationship, and in my case, the girl is saying, she just wants reassurance, and I thought I’d love to hear that in a song where the girl says really simple things, like ‘What if I fall?’ And the guy’s like, ‘I won’t let you fall?’ ‘And if I cry?’ ‘I’ll never make you cry.’ ‘And if I get scared?’ The guy says, ‘I’ll hold you tighter, and when they’re trying to get to you, I’ll be the fighter.’ I just liked the simplicity of all that, because that’s been my experience. More often than not, the more real, simple scenario is pretty universal.”

Billy Currington (Do I Make You Wanna) OC: …number ones. :42
“‘Do I Make You Wanna’ was recorded, actually, it was one of the first three songs that was recorded. It was ‘Don’t It,’ ‘Do I Make You Wanna’ and a song called ‘Soundtrack.’ And those three were recorded and sent in for the first single. You know, we had to pick a song out of those three songs. ‘Do I Make You Wanna’ was a strong contender [for first single] for me and I think other people at the label. It’s just got that laid-back thing, and easy to sing and just a really, really cool song. A cool vibe, that’s definitely what I’d say about this. It’s got that vibe. The writers aren’t too bad either. [laughs] They’ve had quite a few number-ones.”

LUKE BRYAN CELEBRATES HIS ‘FISHY’ BIRTHDAY ON THE ROAD.

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Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan celebrated his birthday on the road in Cleveland, Ohio on his Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day Tour, complete with a big ole cake made to represent a salmon, surrounded by his band, crew, family and friends. Check it out in the latest episode of LBTV below.

I almost said a big ole salmon cake, but that sounded pretty gross…and misleading. LOL

ERIC PASLAY RELEASES THE WORK TAPES.

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Eric Paslay

Eric Paslay is currently in the studio working on his sophomore album as the follow up to his critically acclaimed self-titled debut that produced three hit singles including the No. 1 “Friday Night.” In the process of creating this new music, Eric has spent many months writing and immersing himself in his catalog of over 1500 songs. In a desire to share music with his fans now, Eric is releasing a collection of five ‘work tapes’ that invite his fans to peek behind the curtain and take a look at the real music creation process. The Work Tapes was released on Friday (July 28th).

“While working to finalize my second album, I spent weeks revisiting all the songs I’ve written,” shares Eric. “I couldn’t believe how many were left behind never to be heard, but also how refreshing it was to hear them again in their raw, imperfect state just moments after they were written. I hope my fans will enjoy listening to the very beginning of a songs journey with this collection.”

To see and hear more from Eric himself about the inspiration behind this music go HERE.

The Work Tapes is available http://strm.to/EPWorkTapes

‘Work tapes’ are the first recordings of the song, often the day the song was written and sometimes recorded acoustically on nothing more than an iPhone. These songs, in this rare and honest form, are exclusive to this collection and offer a true picture of Eric as an artist and songwriter.

The Work Tapes Track List:

Less Than Whole (Eric Paslay and Big Kenny) from his Eric Paslay debut album
Amarillo Rain (Eric Paslay and Amy Stroup)
Back Home To You (Eric Paslay and Carey Ott)
Come Back To This Town (Eric Paslay and Dean Alexander)
Let Go (Eric Paslay, Dylan Altman and Rose Falcon)

About Eric Paslay

EMI Records Nashville breakout country artist, Eric Paslay, delivers a powerful punch as a renowned, Platinum-selling, hit songwriter and dynamic performer. Paslay has celebrated five No. 1 hits including “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (Eli Young Band), “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” (Jake Owen), “Angel Eyes” (Love & Theft), “Rewind” (Rascal Flatts) and “Friday Night,” the smash lead single from his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. The Temple, Texas native earned nominations for GRAMMY Best Country Song, ACM Song of the Year and CMA Song of The Year for “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” in 2013 and earned his first GRAMMY nomination as an artist in 2016 for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “The Driver”- a collaboration with friends Charles Kelley and Dierks Bentley. Eric was also honored with an ACM Song of the Year nomination for “She Don’t Love You.” A true artist’s artist,USA Today calls Paslay “flat out-brilliant” and American Songwriter names him an influencer of country music. For the latest information on Paslay go to: www.ericpaslay.com

For the latest information on Eric go to:

www.ericpaslay.com

https://twitter.com/ericpaslay

https://www.facebook.com/ericpaslay

http://instagram.com/ericpaslay

Eric Paslay (Work Tapes) OC: …the future. :25
“It really I s wild. There are so many great songs written in Nashville. I mean ur job is to write a good one and occasionally you catch the great ones and these are the hidden gems that, for some reason, they haven’t wound up on an album yet and maybe these work tapes will help people hear them, [and] help me hear them again and record ‘em on an album in the future.”

Eric Paslay (The Work Tapes) OC: …written it. :17
“Chances are you won’t hear these songs on the radio, but I love ‘em. I wrote these songs with the most talented people in Nashville, and I couldn’t help sharing with you all. There’s something so refreshing about hearing a song in that raw, imperfect state just moments after we’d written it.”

JORDAN DAVIS TAKES YOU BEHIND THE BEARD.

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Jordan Davis

Jordan Davis has been receiving a lot of compliments and questions about his well-coiffed beard, which is one of the first things you notice about the new artist, besides his awesome talent.

How does the Louisiana native keep the beard looking so good? The first part of his regimen is of course a good cut, and beard oil is definitely an essential part of the beard grooming process.

“It’s just like the hair on the top of my head, like I got to shampoo it. I’ve got to condition it,” Jordan explains. “I usually get out of the shower, I run a beard comb through it, and then I get it where I want it and then I use a beard oil. It’s usually about a 20-minute process, as sad as I am to say that. [laughs] But, then you have to keep it groomed, keep the length long, but keep it tight on the sides.”

Jordan’s been doing the media rounds lately surrounding the release of his debut single, “Singles You Up,” and many of the interviewers are asking about his extraordinary facial hair. “It’s definitely become a pretty big talking point, and I get a lot of questions if they can touch my beard. I don’t know if they want to see if it’s, I don’t know, maybe they don’t think it’s real. Let me go on record: This is 100% real, 100% my beard. I’ll always have a career path as being the mall Santa if this music thing doesn’t work out.”

Jordan Davis (Beard care) OC: …my beard up. :42
“The best present is either a beard comb, or I’ll get a new beard oil. I got a peppermint beard oil one time, so I walked around all day smelling peppermint. It was awesome. It’s just like the hair on the top of my head, like I got to shampoo it. I’ve got to condition it. I usually get out, I run a beard comb through it, and then I get it where I want it and then I use a beard oil. It’s usually about a 20-minute process, as sad as I am to say that. But, then you have to keep it groomed, keep the length long, but keep it tight on the sides. It’s so funny when I’m going in to get my hair cut when I’m just like, I don’t really care how you cut my hair on top, but don’t screw my beard up.” [laughs]

Jordan Davis (Beard care) 2 OC: …doesn’t work out. :26
“It’s definitely become a pretty big talking point, and I get a lot of questions if they can touch my beard. I don’t know if they want to see if it’s, I don’t know, maybe they don’t think it’s real. Let me go on record: This is 100% real, 100% my beard. I’ll always have a career path as being the mall Santa if this music thing doesn’t work out.” [laughs]

SHANIA TWAIN RELEASES NEW VIDEO FOR ‘LIFE’S ABOUT TO GET GOOD.’

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Shania Twain

Shania Twain has provided inspiration to millions of fans all over the world with songs of hope, love and realization, as well as with songs to put a little pep in your step. With her brand new video for “Life’s About to Get Good,” the international superstar continues to inspire and evoke feelings of acceptance and joy. Check out the colorful and fun video below. “Life’s About to Get Good” is the first release from her first album in 15 years. The collection, titled Now, is available September 29th.

NOTE: You will see a throwback to one of her biggest hits and most iconic videos.

NEWS AND NOTES: Dierks, Jon, Chris, Lauren, Easton

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Chris Stapleton / Dierks Bentley / Easton Corbin / Jon Pardi / Lauren Alaina

Dierks Bentley and Jon Pardi will appear on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown this weekend. The cameras caught up with the tourmates backstage at the recent Faster Horses Festival. Check out what the two had to say on Saturday (July 29th) at 9am ET.

.@faster_horses here we come! Hang with @DierksBentley @JonPardi and more this weekend on #CMThot20… pic.twitter.com/sVoGJvRiIg

— CMT Hot 20 Countdown (@CMThot20) July 26, 2017

Chris Stapleton is set to perform during the annual iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which runs September 22nd and 23rd. The two-day event will also feature performances by Pink, Thomas Rhett, Miley Cyrus, Kings of Leon, Harry Styles, Coldplay, Niall Horan, The Weeknd and Thirty Seconds to Mars, among others.

Chris Stapleton, along with Lee Ann Womack, will perform in honor of the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis on August 24th for a taping for the online series Skyville Live in Nashville. The show will premiere sometime in the coming months.

Lauren Alaina has released the lyric video for her current single, “Doin’ Fine,” the autobiographical song she wrote with busbee and Emily Shackleton. Check it out here.

Easton Corbin, who’s making his way up the country charts with “A Girl Like You,” recently took in a New York Yankees baseball game at Yankees Stadium.

Cool to be here at #YankeeStadium! ⚾️ @yankees pic.twitter.com/81XM1VvilU

— Easton Corbin (@eastoncorbin) July 26, 2017

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: July 26th

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Eric Church

On July 26th, 2011, Eric Church released his third album, Chief, which produced five singles, including the first two No. 1 songs of his career – “Drink in My Hand” and “Springsteen” – as well as two Top 10s – “Creepin’” and “Like Jesus Does” – and the Top 20 country hit, “Homeboy.” The album has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for more than three million copies.

Eric is currently sitting inside the Top 25 with his latest hit, “Round Here Buzz.”

Eric Church (title of Chief) OC: …title to me. 1:25
“Well, Chief, became my nickname on the road, really as a joke for the last couple years, maybe 3 years now, we have been playing a lot of little bars and clubs and honkytonks where the lights are about a foot from your face. And I wore contacts, where this all started, the initial inception was, my contacts would fall out, pop out on stage, and I would be blind for half the show, so I started wearing sunglasses, then I put on a hat to stop the sweat and it just became this thing, and we got in bigger venues, I tried to adjust that, but people in the crowds would have on hats and sunglasses and wouldn’t let me adjust that, so it just became this thing naturally. So, that was show time, it was kind of my uniform. The band starting joking with me, when I put the hat and sunglasses on, they go ‘Alright, its Chief time, Chief’s here.’ But I laughed about it, it was a joke. But what they didn’t know, the really cool part of the story, my grandpa was the chief of police in Granite Falls, North Carolina, and everybody called him Chief. Everybody, my dad called him chief as his son-in-law, so it was just very neat to me, that across generations, it became my nickname naturally and nobody knew about it being my grandpa’s nickname, nobody. When it came time to title the record, because it felt live, and because it was something I wanted to show — a part of the live show, Chief was the right title from my point of view, but also because of my grandfather and what he meant to me. And I just thought it was the right title, and you know it happened so naturally, it happened so not thought out, you know. When I said the title of the record, I had to explain to everyone why, you know. They were going, ‘What’s chief?’ ‘Well, Chief’s a nickname.’ Then it became a cool thing when they heard about it being my grandfather’s nickname, too. It just felt like the perfect title to me.”

DARIUS RUCKER ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW ALBUM, ‘WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME.’

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Darius Rucker

On the heels of his eighth No. 1 Country single Darius Rucker has responded to fans’ appeals for new music with an announcement on the TODAY Show this morning, letting them know they won’t be waiting much longer for a new album from the 3-time GRAMMY winning star. When Was The Last Time, the long-awaited fifth studio country album on Capitol Records Nashville, will be released nationwide Friday, October 20th. Fans can preorder the album beginning today at http://umgn.us/DariusPreOrder.

The Platinum-selling star released the album’s second single, a song he wrote with Derek George and Travis Hill, “For The First Time” to Country radio just yesterday, Monday, July 24th. “For The First Time” is the follow-up to his most recent No. 1 single, “If I Told You, marking eight country No. 1 singles for Rucker since his country music debut in 2008.

Earlier this week, Rucker spoke with Billboard about teaming up with esteemed Nashville producer Ross Copperman (Dierks Bentley, Brett Eldredge, Keith Urban) to bring his vision for the album to life.

“On top of being a genius with the equipment, Ross is so high-energy and funny; that kid is never not laughing.” He added, “Every time we were in the studio we had a great band who had great ideas of their own, so it was the farthest thing from tedious, but just, let’s get in and do it. I think for the whole record we spent just three days tracking music.”

This fall’s release will be yet another signature moment in the multiplatinum career of one of music’s most beloved figures. Rucker has never been busier while working on his new album with a slate of television appearances this spring and summer including a CMT Crossroads episode with John Mellencamp, an appearance in Adam Sandler’s Netflix original, Sandy Wexler, and his own episode of Celebrity Undercover Boss on CBS.

Rucker, an avid golfer and passionate fan of the game, will host a new monthly show in SiriusXM’s 23/7 golf channel, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. On Par with Darius Rucker will debut tomorrow, July 26 at 3pm ET.

The pre-order packages available include exclusive merchandise and the option to receive an autographed copy. For more information about new music, appearances and tour dates, please visit www.dariusrucker.com.

About Darius Rucker
Rucker first attained multi-Platinum status in the music industry as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of GRAMMY award-winning Hootie & the Blowfish. Since re-introducing himself to the world as a country artist, he has released four consecutive albums to top the Billboard Country albums chart and earned a whole new legion of fans. In 2014, Rucker won his third career GRAMMY award for Best Solo Country Performance for his 4x Platinum selling cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” off his album, True Believers. Rucker’s first two country albums, Learn To Live and Charleston, SC 1966 produced five No. 1 singles including “Come Back Song,” “This,” “Alright,” “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” and “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It.” Southern Style, his fourth studio country album, features his seventh No. 1 single “Homegrown Honey,” co-written by Rucker, label mate Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and Nathan Chapman. Rucker’s last single, “If I Told You,” is his eighth No. 1 on country radio and the first cut from his forthcoming fifth album for Capitol Nashville.

Darius Rucker (When Was the Last Time title) OC: …on a limb. :40
“Picking an album title is hard. Sometimes you go with one of the songs, because you’ve been wracking your brain for days and finally you just go Southern Style, but that fit so well for that record, because it did. But When Was the Last Time, I was just thinking, I just thought that was what I wanted to say with this record. That was really the big gist of the record for me was ‘When was the last time you did something different? When was the last time that you did something that made you scared or made you worried, but you’d always wanted to do it?’ So, I just thought that was a great title. I didn’t want to call it For the First Time, you know, so I went with When Was the Last Time, because that’s what the record’s all about for me is going out on a limb.”