• FATHER’S DAY 2021

    Father’s Day is Sunday (June 20th), and we have audio with many of your favorite country stars! Download the soundbites below.

     

    For 2021 Father’s Day liners, click here.

     

    Audio / Adam Hambrick explains what he most admires about his father.

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    Adam Hambrick (Father’s Day-Dad) OC: …about my dad. :45“When I was a kid, my dad always included me on what he was doing. I feel like I learned a lot from watching go about life and watching him treat people well and with kindness. My dad is a pastor and I watched, my whole growing up, I just watched him serve other people, like put other people’s needs in front of himself and show up in the hospital when Sister Jeanette had surgery or whatever that thing was like any given day, it could be anything. I watched him tile floors in a new Sunday School building. I watched him do literally everything for a ton of different people in a really selfless way. That’s one of the things I admire most about my dad.”

    Audio / Brandon Lay is a father of two – Ryder and Lara June – and it was a bit of transition from one to two kids.

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    Brandon Lay (father of two) OC: …embrace. :26
    “Oh man! Now that I’m a father of two, it’s really it goes from more than just keeping one little guy alive and still having more me and Nicole time to wow, I’m actually a father. We’ve got a party of four now, not that I wasn’t before a father, but you know what I mean. I’m reaching real dad status. It’s a weird feeling, but it’s one I embrace.”

    Audio / BROTHERS OSBORNE GREW UP IN A MUSICAL FAMILY – BOTH THEIR PARENTS WROTE AND PERFORMED MUSIC. THEIR FATHER LISTENED TO A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT ARTISTS WHICH GAVE THEM THEIR OWN FOUNDATION.

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    Brothers Osborne (Dad’s music) OC: (John) …anything else. :34
    “Our dad listened to everything from Hank Williams to Willie Nelson to even pop music like Mariah Carey and Tom Petty to Bob Seger. You name it and he listened to it, so we really didn’t think about specific genres. We really just kind of soaked it all in, so we listened to it all at one time. It was just music to us. Th ere wasn’t a day in our house without the radio on or there wasn’t a weekend at our house that there wasn’t a party and people had their guitars out, so music to us is like eating and breathing. It’s just as essential as anything else.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about her own father and her husband Mike Fisher, who's a father to two young boys.

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    Carrie Underwood (Father’s Day) OC: …guy all around. 1:18
    “Well, I am very lucky in my life to have two incredible fathers – my own father and then I get to watch my husband be a father to our boys – strong, amazing men, I am very lucky to be around them. Mike as a dad is just super involved in our boys’ lives, very hands on. It takes a team, definitely, to be able to support my crazy life and Mike’s always running around doing a lot of charity things and he’s always meeting with people and he’s on different boards and stuff like that, so we’re very much switching off duties as far as taking boys here and there to school and  sports and to all the extra-curricular activities. I just love that I feel like we’re such a great team. I love it that he gets to now work with Isaiah on sports and things like that, and I know he loves it too. So, I think that’s one of my favorite qualities about Mike is just how hands on of a father he is and very willing to pick up the slack when I’m crazy busy. Obviously, he’s just a very Godly father, as well. He keeps God as the center of our family and gets to teach our boys all about that, as well. So, he’s just a great guy all around.”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack says her father is a good man.

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    Caylee Hammack (Dad) OC: …forget that. 1:19
    “My dad has this really unnerving ability to be able to build anything at all just by thinking of it. He can look at something and build it in his mind and build it by hand, and it always works. I’ve always respected him for that. He’s a very hard worker.  He’s worked every day of his life. He’s also kind, even when he doesn’t have to be. He’s the type of guy who always gives money at the light to whoever it is on the street. One of my favorite moments with my dad was when we were driving to Macon, Georgia. I was playing a show that night, and we were driving up and we saw this dog and I could tell she was a mama dog. I could tell she had babies somewhere that she was trying to nurse, and she was so skinny. And I’m a bleeding heart. I get it from my Mama, and I just start crying, and I’m like, ‘That poor dog. She’s starving trying to feed her babies.’ I thought, ‘Poor dog.” And my dad doesn’t say anything, goes up two more blocks and pulls into the McDonalds. And he goes through and he asks me if I wanted anything, and I say no. I just think he’s hungry. He goes and he buys three or four burgers, and then he goes back to that block and he drives around until we find that dog to feed it to ‘em. I just remember looking at him, being like this is what a man is; this is what a good man does, and I’ll never forget that.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker says his kids would say he was a fun dad, unless they did something wrong.

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    Darius Rucker (Father’s Day) OC: …loving dad. :41
    “I think if you asked my kids what kind of Dad I was they would probably say…Dani would say that I was a fun Dad. My little daughter would say that I was a fun dad; she thinks I’m a lot of fun. I think if you caught them at the right moment they would say I was mean [laughs] because when I’m home I’m not afraid to discipline them. I’m all fun until it’s not fun anymore and then daddy’s not the fun guy. I think that they’d say that I was a fun Dad, I’m a loving Dad and I think they would say that. I’m gone so much that when I’m home, I just shower love upon my kids. I say ‘I love you’ probably fifty times a day. We hug, we kiss all the time. I’m always wanting them to know how much I love them. So I’d hope they’d say that I was a loving dad.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker says his mother made him a good father to his three children.

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    Darius Rucker (mother’s qualities makes him a great father) OC: …my mom. :45
    “She had a lot great qualities, but she was always, family was first for her. She was always a rock and making sure she took care of us and making sure we had things we needed to have to survive – food and clothes and a home – and seeing that and seeing how hard she worked and all the things she did just really made me the father that I am today. I mean, I’m so crazy and hands-on with my kids. I think it all comes from watching my mom have to struggle so much to support us. And so now, I don’t want me or my wife to ever have to struggle, and I don’t want my kids to ever want or wonder where I am or where there mom is. I want them to always know where we are and always be taken care of, and that all comes from my mom.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley enjoys being both dad – to daughters Evie and Jordan and son Knox – and country music performer.

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    Dierks Bentley (dad & performer) OC: …to do both. :28
    “When I get home, it’s a totally different reality that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Just hanging with my girls and doing the things we do and seeing life through their eyes, it’s incredible. It takes a man to do it. It’s not a boys’ game. It takes a man to do it. I love the juxtaposition to be able to be that man and to also go on the road and act like I’m 13 years old and play video games all afternoon waiting for the fans to show up. So, it’s really a blessing to be able to do both.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley, the father of three, is very grateful to his own dad for turning him on to country music as a kid.

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    Dierks (Father’s Day) OC: …that’s for sure. :10
    “My dad was my biggest influence in country music because my dad loved country radio. So, we always drove around listening to country radio and George Strait, Hank Williams and Randy Travis and all these guys, so. Without him, I wouldn’t be doing this, that’s for sure.”

    Audio / Eric Church describes his father and the qualities he admires in him.

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    Eric Church (Father’s Day) OC: …always admired. :29
    “My dad is a, I’m trying to find the right words to describe him. My dad is a great guy, honest guy, very call it like he sees it, which is where I get a lot of that. No BS. I’m gonna tell you how I feel whether you like it or not. I’m that guy, I’m me…My dad’s that way, so I get a lot of that from him. There’s also an honesty and an integrity that my dad carries himself with that I’ve always admired.”

    Audio / ERIC CHURCH ADMIRES HIS FATHER, AND WILL PASS ALONG SOME OF THOSE QUALITIES HE’S LEARNED TO HIS OWN CHILDREN, SONS BOONE AND HAWK.

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    Eric Church (his father’s influence) OC: …same thing. :32
    “My daddy’s always preached, and it’s something that rung true, he’s always preached authenticity. He’s always preached being honest and being true. My daddy’s from a small town, you know it’s a blue collar town, and he’s just always been pretty even-keeled; never too high and never too low. He’s always been honest and authentic. I think it’s a good template. It has been for me thus far, especially with this industry, ‘cause it’s really easy to get high and low. So, I think just keeping everything in perspective and trying to be real, and I think people can sense that, and I certainly will tell my kids the same thing.”

    Audio / Jon Langston looks up to his father and hopes to become just like him.

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    Jon Langston (Father’s Day) OC: …just fine. :16
    “My Dad has been my hero all my life. He’s the man I want to be one day when I grow up. I’m thankful for all he’s done for me and the sacrifices he’s made for our family. If I’m half the man he is one day, I’ll be just fine.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS SAYS HE LOVES GETTING HIS DAUGHTER UP IN THE MORNINGS.

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    Jordan Davis (fatherhood 2020) OC: …here myself. :46
    “Fatherhood is something, it really is tough to put into words, but one of my favorite things to do is to go in and get Eloise up in the mornings, and I just see this little bundle of joy. She is just so happy. She’s got a smile just like Kristen, and so it really is just crazy to go in in the morning. She could be crying, screaming and then you walk in, and the second she sees you, it’s all smiles and laughs. I don’t know. I think the coolest thing with a kid like her age is just the innocence. You see just how happy she is to be here, and I’m very happy she’s here myself.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE QUALITIES OF HIS DAD.

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    Jordan Davis (Father’s Day) OC: …my music. :45
    “The thing I love most about my Dad is just his overall love of life. He’s a guy that’s worked hard and is now at a point where he can enjoy it, and he’s living every day to the fullest. That’s something that I’m very thankful that I’ve seen my Dad do and something to learn from. So, that’s probably my favorite quality about the old man, and just the hard work too. My dad ran a furniture business in Shreveport for a long time with his Dad. It was great to grow up and see a guy work hard and helped his Dad build a business from the ground up to a very successful business, and that’s something that I even try to carry over into my music.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HOW HIS LIFE HAS CHANGED SINCE HE'S BECOME A FATHER.

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    Jordan Davis (fatherhood and impending fatherhood) OC: …ever happened to me. :30
    “I’m very blessed to have Eloise and to have another baby coming in September. It’s tough to put into words the change of becoming a dad. It really is an instant change in just your outlook on everything. I think it’s been amazing for me just to come home and see Eloise be so excited. It puts a lot of things into perspective. I think it’s helped with my music. It’s helped with every aspect of my life. Becoming a dad, it’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

    Audio / PROUD DAD OF FOUR (HAMPTON, COLBY, MARION, HAWKE), JOSH TURNER TALKS ABOUT HOW HIS THREE OLDEST SONS ARE LEARNING THE FAMILY TRADE.

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    Josh Turner (Father’s Day) OC: …one of ‘em.  1:05
    “As far as talent and potential, my oldest three, especially, they could do anything they wanted to do if they put their mind to it and their heart was there. My oldest [Hampton] is incredible at playing mandolin. Colby, we kind of noticed him turn the corner lately with the fiddle, and Marion is actually playing a ukulele that’s tuned like the top four strings on a guitar, so in essence, he’s learning how to play guitar. They’ve just kind of started incorporating some singing into some playing, so they’re starting the whole singing and playing at the same time kind of thing, and not only that, they’re even learning to play songs together on their individual instruments. So, it’s amazing to see how much they can learn in such a short amount of time. It makes me realize how much I missed out on when I was that age, ‘cause I did take some music lessons growing up and everything, but I think they feed off of each other honestly. I think that’s why they’re getting so good is because they’re all doing it, not just one of ‘em.”

    Audio / Keith Urban – father to daughters Sunday and Faith -- says there are a number of things that are at the top of the list of being a dad.

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    Keith Urban (Father’s Day) OC: …experience that. :36
    “The first thing is probably just having someone call you dad. I’m like, ‘Omigosh! I’m her dad! That’s amazing.’ That’s probably the first thing to me. I don’t know, I mean, the different personalities that our two daughters have, that’s amazing. It’s such a long list I think. I always say…I think for the people that haven’t had kids – which I hadn’t for a long, long time. I didn’t have kids ‘til later on, and being around it is not the same as having them, you know? I realize that it’s not something that can be explained until you actually sort of have it, so I’m glad I got to experience that.”

    Audio / Kip Moore talks about his late father’s influence on his music career, and how he’d play classics on their fishing trips.

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    Kip Moore (Father’s Day-dad’s influence) OC: …of us singin’ ‘em. :29
    “He would just play all those classic records – Little River Band, Jackson Brown, Springsteen, Seger, Willie Nelson, the Red-Headed Stranger, Kristofferson, Sam Cook – like classic music. He’d be singing the songs and telling us why it was such good music. And I looked up to him so much, that’s the music I gravitated towards and that’s what I continue to listen to. Whenever I think about those old fishing trips, that’s what I think about is on the way down there, him singing those songs and all of us singin’ ‘em.”

    Audio / Lauren Alaina enjoys Father's Day so she can celebrate, along with her brother, how much he means to her.

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    Lauren Alaina (Father’s Day best friend) OC: …my brother and I. :29
    “My dad is one of my best buds. I absolutely adore him. He is hilarious, and every bit of my personality came from my father directly. (laughs) He is awesome and I’m lucky to be his daughter, and I’m thankful for Father’s Day so that I can celebrate him and show him how much he means to my brother and I.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan talks about the life lessons his father taught him.

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    Luke Bryan (Father’s Day-life lessons) OC: …live by that. :46
    “Well, my dad was, I always just go back to the life lessons that always started either in a fishing boat or hunting somewhere, and that’s why I’ve always kind of been a champion of those types of behaviors certainly with your boys and your children because you get to spend time and hand down values. My dad was always big on just hard work and being good to people and a handshake is the contract. A handshake is your bond, your word. His famous saying always was, ‘Do something right the first time and you won’t have to go back and do it over again.’ I won’t say I batted a thousand perfectly on that, but I’ve kind of tried to live by that.”

    Audio / MADDIE MARLOW TALKS ABOUT HER FATHER’S FAVORITE GIFT SHE’S EVER GIVEN HIM FOR FATHER’S DAY.

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    Maddie & Tae (Father’s Day) OC: …for Father’s Day. :26
    “So, for Father’s Day, I made my Dad – I think it was right before I moved to Nashville – I made my Dad this little photo book where it had like his quotes that have stuck with me my whole life and then some pictures, and it was really funky. It looks horrible. It’s not put together, but that’s one of his favorite gifts that he’s ever gotten, and I cherish that ugly photo book thing that I made for him for Father’s Day.”

    Audio / Travis Denning says his father is his best friend.

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    Travis Denning (Father’s Day) OC: …for sure. :43
    “My dad – I call him ‘Diamond Dave’ and a lot of other people do too. Honestly, I don’t know if I drink more with anybody else more than my Dad. I think a super cool thing now is getting older and knowing that I’m starting to get more and more sustained as a human that it’s like my parents get to be friends now with me and my sister, which is such a cool thing. And so, yeah, me and my Dad – we love music and we love heavy metal and we love all that. We get to go to concerts and football games and drink beer and just enjoy that cool part of a father and a son and a mother and a son where now we get to be friends and it’s really cool. My Dad is my best friend, for sure.”

    Audio / Vince Gill talks about the qualities he hopes for his children.

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    Vince Gill (Father’s Day) OC: …feels like. :33
    “Kindness-hopefully make them kind and that’s all we got. Five great kids, a couple of grandkids. Those grandkids are the complete light of my life. You know, they just show up and the rest of the world can kiss my you-know-what. (laughs)  I say, ‘We’re just gonna go swing in the backyard; we’re gonna wrestle on the bed; we’re gonna eat those Goldfish (crackers), you know? And nothing else kind of seems to matter. And then I think what I love seeing, more than anything, for my kid to finally understand what it means to love, and it’s awesome to see my kid finally get it what that unconditional love really looks like and feels like.”

     

  • ERIC CHURCH SETS OUR “HEART ON FIRE” WITH LATEST RELEASE.

    Eric Church has just released his new single, “Heart On Fire,” the follow-up to his recent No. 1 smash, “Hell Of A View.” Written solely by Church, the nostalgic track is credited for getting Church’s entire Heart & Soul project started.

    “‘Heart On Fire’ was the first song we recorded when we got to North Carolina. I already had pretty much, I wrote this song by myself, but I already had this song on the rails and we were heading down the path of what this was going to be,” says Eric. “I thought we needed to kind of break the ice and get started on something, you know, we were doing something that was tough to do – writing the song the same day we were record it. This was the song that was kind of the icebreaker for the whole project, and I credit this song a lot for getting us to where we ended up getting to with the project.”

    The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year will launch his Gather Again Tour this fall.

    Audio / Eric Church credits “Heart On Fire” with kicking off the whole Heart & Soul project.

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    Eric Church (Heart On Fire) OC: …the project. :34
    “So, ‘Heart On Fire’ was the first song we recorded when we got to North Carolina. I already had pretty much, I wrote this song by myself, but I already had this song on the rails and we were heading down the path of what this was going to be. I thought we needed to kind of break the ice and get started on something, you know, we were doing something that was tough to do – writing the song the same day we were record it. This was the song that was kind of the icebreaker for the whole project, and I credit this song a lot for getting us to where we ended up getting to with the project.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Heart On Fire) 1

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    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Heart On Fire 2

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    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Heart On Fire) 3

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  • FOURTH OF JULY 2021 AUDIO

    Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. The holiday is commonly associated with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues and concerts…and with restrictions easing up all across the nation, celebrations are coming back in force, although a few may still be virtual. Some of your favorite country stars take time to remember their Fourth of July traditions, memories and what the holiday really means to them.

    Alan Jackson and Mickey Guyton are set to perform during A Capitol Fourth on the Fourth of July (Sunday) on PBS beginning at 8pm ET. Vanessa Williams, Gladys Knight, Jimmy Buffett, Jimmie Allen and Train are also among the stars performing during the special.

     

    Reba McEntire is set to perform during this year’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The special, which will also feature performances by the Black Pumas, Coldplay and One Republic, among others, will air Sunday, July 4th from 8-10pm ET with an hour-long encore presentation at 10pm ET.

    Priscilla Block will perform during Nashville’s Fourth of July celebration, Let Freedom Sing!. The free event will take place in downtown Nashville on lower Broadway and will also feature performances by Lilly Hiatt, Regi Wooten and Friends, the Nashville Symphony and headliner Brad Paisley.

    Parker McCollum will perform on the Fourth of July at the WhiteWater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, Texas.

    Click here to access liners.

     

    Audio / Adam Hambrick has two things that make the Fourth of July spectacular.

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    Adam Hambrick (Fourth of July) OC: …July. :11
    “Fire up the grill and blow something up. Two things that are important for a good time on the Fourth of July – one (is) fire and meat. Those two things make a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / Alan Jackson recalls one of the coolest Fourth of July memories he’s ever enjoyed.

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    AJ (fave 4th of July memory) OC: …very cool. :58
    Well, this one is hard to beat. A couple of years ago, maybe longer than that now, I had an old boat in Florida. It’s like an old antique motor yacht, and it was kind of a cool old boat. I had taken that boat, I’ve always wanted to take it up north like to New York and up in that area, up in the northeast where it’s so pretty. So, we took the boat up there and Denise and the girls, we all went up. They like going to New York City, which I don’t really care about going to the city. So, I got to stay in my boat there at the harbor tied up, which was cool anyway. So they spent time in the city a few days and then that was Fourth of July, and we went out in the Hudson River that night and they shot the fireworks off and we were anchored out in front of the Statue of Liberty and New York City was behind us, and the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks were going off sitting on that boat. That was the coolest thing and my girls still talk about that. I mean, that was the coolest thing on Fourth of July I can ever remember. I can’t top that one probably. It was emotional sitting there watching the Statue of Liberty and thinking about all that. It was very cool.”

    Audio / Billy Currington talks about his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Billy Currington (4th of July) OC: …of my life. :16
    “My best memories would be hanging out with my mom, brother and sister on the beach on Tybee Island right off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. We’d go there every year, and we’d light our own fireworks and watch the ones that they had for us. They were the best times, some of the best times of my life.”

    Audio / Brandon Lay talks about what he and family would do over the Fourth of July holiday.

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    Brandon Lay (Fourth of July) OC: …good times. :47
    “I remember everybody hanging out at my grandmother’s and we would drive down the road to a fireworks stand off the side of Highway 45 out there in Jackson [Tennessee]. Just getting the bottle rockets and Black Cats and bringing ‘em back to the house, it felt like it was an eternity before it got dark. We just kept wanting to light ‘em and our parents would tell us it ain’t time, but just how exhilarating it was to see ‘em shoot up. We’re not talking big time fireworks here, but you would’ve thought that it was. It’s funny just how you remember things, but I just remember a screen door at my grandmother’s, running in and out, in and out, in and out and four wild little cousins running around. It was good times.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood recalls one of her favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Carrie Underwood (favorite Fourth of July memory) OC: …work out. :51
    “I think my favorite Fourth of July memory would be going to the fireworks stand and picking out which fireworks I wanted to do. I must’ve been like 7 or 8, and I came home and made a list of what order I wanted to do them in, because I wanted to put a show on for Mom and Dad, and of course I couldn’t wait until it was dark outside (laughs). So, I made my Mom and Dad get the lawn chairs and come out to the backyard and watch some not very dramatic fireworks at like six o’clock in the evening, but I was so proud of myself, and I was so proud of the show that I put on. So, I feel like that was a little training for what I do now – putting on shows, figuring out how it’s all going to work out.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker enjoys setting off fireworks.

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    Darius Rucker (fireworks) OC: …off once. :15
    “Oh, I love fireworks. We had the bottle rocket fights and all that good stuff. I was the typical little crazy kid, you know. In South Carolina, it was always legal, so we shot fireworks when it was legal. We did all that sort of stuff. I almost blew my hand off once.”

    Audio / Dierks Bentley says the people of this country are what define America.

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    Dierks (people are America) OC: …all about. :17
    “The definition of America to me, you know, getting a chance to travel across the country on a tour bus, stepping upon stages whether it be county fairs, state fairs, arenas, rock bars, the Opry stage, anywhere across the country and looking out at that crowd and seeing people. The people, to me, are what America’s all about.”

    Audio / Eric Church recalls his family activities on the Fourth of July holiday.

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    Eric Church (4th of July) OC: …freedoms. 1:17
    “The Fourth of July for me, growing up we would always go to the lake, we didn’t live on the lake but we would all go to the lake. Had a buddy who had a pontoon and we would always get on the pontoon and you go out and you’d tie all the pontoons together and just have a big time. This was before, I was younger then, the adults were having more fun than we were, you know it was just to go swim in the water and shoot off fireworks. Basically, water tailgating is what it was. And then as we got older, same thing…we would just, us younger kids had our own boat and we had as much fun as the adults.”

    Audio / Jon Langston talks about what he usually does on the Fourth of July,

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    Jon Langston (Fourth of July) OC: …either way. :17
    “The Fourth of July is usually different every year. We’re usually playing shows, or we’re out on the lake or at the beach, or sometimes I’ve said, ‘I’m staying at home,’ shooting fireworks off the back porch or something. That’s probably not the safest thing, but we have a good time either way.”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT SOME OF HIS FAVORITE CHILDHOOD FOURTH OF JULY MEMORIES.

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    Jordan Davis (Fourth of July) 2 OC: …really cool. :17
    “Probably baseball games, firework shows at baseball games. We’d go to Shreveport Captains games, so yeah, we’d do that or barbecues and fireworks. I can remember being on the lake for a couple of Fourth of Julys. We’d take the boat out and we’d watch the downtown fireworks show from the boat, which was really cool.”

    Audio / Josh Turner talks about the fireworks “wars” his family would have when he was growing up.

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    Josh Turner (fireworks) OC: …of money. [laughs] :20
    “Yeah, we had fireworks around, especially my Daddy’s family. All the individual families had a lot of competition with each other and tried to outdo each other to try to see who had the biggest and baddest fireworks and all that. [laughs] My daddy, I think, was the smartest one. He just went out and bought maybe $25 worth of fireworks and let everybody else put on the big show, so he saved a lot of money.” [laughs]

    Audio / Keith Urban recalls coming over to America for the first time.

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    Keith Urban (coming to America 1st time) OC: …as I could. :39
    “1989 was the first year I came to the States, and it had always been my goal, but I had no plan on how to get here. It was just a case of keep playing, keep getting better at what you do, and then hopefully, somehow, some way I’ll end up over here. The guy who was managing me at the time, we just planned a trip over here – it was actually for the New Music Seminar in New York. And we came over for that, and then we did a trip down to Nashville, and I shopping my little demo around. I think I humored everybody more than anything else [laughs] with my tragic, ill-fitting demo for the time. So, I left there, but I was just so committed to coming back as quick as I could.”

    Audio / Kip Moore says he’s very proud of the U.S. military and can’t imagine having to do what they do to protect the United States.

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    Kip Moore (Fourth of July-soldiers) OC: …every day. :32
    “I’m a very, very patriotic person, proud of the country that I live in, and I’m very proud of what those guys do for us each and every day, and I don’t take it for granted one bit. My grandparents were in the military, fought wars, and I’ve seen the battle that they go through, just the horror of remember things. When I start to think that I’m half-way tough, I realize how I’m not one bit when I talk to soldiers when I’m out and realize the things that they go through. I can’t imagine facing what those guys face every day.”

    Audio / Luke Bryan recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.

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    Luke Bryan (4th of July memories) OC: …we used to. :21
    “Some of my favorite Fourth of July memories were spent on Lake Blackshear down in Georgia with my family. I was always kind of in charge of driving home from Tennessee and picking up all the fireworks and my nieces and nephews always got excited when I rolled in because they knew I had all the fireworks. But, it was always a great memory, and I miss not getting to do that as much as we used to.”

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE TALK ABOUT THEIR FOURTH OF JULY TRADITIONS.

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    Maddie & Tae (Fourth of July) OC: …it’s perfect. :29
    TAE: “One of my favorite Fourth of July traditions – I’d say it’s a tradition ‘cause it happens every year, but I’m not always able to make it – is that we go to my grandparents in Oklahoma, and we all line up lawn chairs right in front of their garage and we just light fireworks. We always do it far away and then we light it, and we always run back and watch the fireworks, but that’s probably one of my favorite memories.” MADDIE: “My birthday is July 7th, so I always get built-in fireworks for my birthday, and sometimes we actually celebrate it on the 4th, because there’s fireworks everywhere, so it’s perfect.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum talks about his favorite Fourth of July memories. NOTE: Do NOT try this at home.

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    Parker McCollum (Fourth of July) OC: …days of my life. :23
    “My favorite Fourth of July memories growing up are actually kind of dangerous now that I think about it, but we used to have fireworks wars where we’d shoot like roman candles and bottle rockets. We’d always go to my grandma’s house, pop fireworks and we’d end up shooting ’em at each other and having wars; no eye protection, no nothing, just shooting bottle rockets at each other’s faces. But it was so fun; some of the best days of my life.”

    Audio / Priscilla Block says the Fourth of July is one of her favorite holidays.

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    Priscilla Block (Fourth of July) OC: …we get crazy. :26
    “I love Fourth of July. I usually always have a Fourth of July party. It is known that there is a slip-n-slide at my house on Fourth of July. You know, it’s such a great holiday to just bring friends together and, I don’t know, we get wild on the Fourth. We get crazy.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt talks about what he and his family did over the Fourth of July holiday when he was growing up in Georgia.

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    Sam Hunt (Fourth of July) OC: …good time. :39
    “My granddad on the other side of my family, he would always take a lot of pride…fireworks were actually, I’m from Georgia, and most of them were illegal, I’m pretty sure, growing up. But over in Alabama, that’s where all the firework stands were, and we only had to drive 10, 15 minutes to get to the Alabama line, so we could go get a bundle of fireworks pretty easy. But he would always take a lot of pride in going and finding all the good stuff, and coming back with a  big pile. He’d have his torch out there at the end of the driveway and we’d all eat homemade ice cream and put down towels on the driveway and he’d shoot off fireworks for 30-45 minutes. Such a good time.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING TALKS ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY EVENTS HIS HOMETOWN OF WARNER ROBINS, GEORGIA WOULD THROW EVERY YEAR.

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    Travis Denning (Fourth of July) OC: …will love. :51
    “Fourth of July in Warner Robins, Georgia is an event. It’s something else. In fact, forever they’ve thrown an Independence Day concert, and back in the day, it was huge. It was the biggest thing they did all year. They would actually have the concert in the MAC (McConnell-Talbert Stadium), which was the high school football stadium that Warner Robins and Northside and Houston County shared. I mean, one year they had Wynonna play and then they had Josh Turner one year, Darius Rucker. I mean it was like a big deal, and there’d be 15,000, 20,000 people there, and I think it’s so cool that there’s a little bit of a legacy of people coming together in that town and making something happen, you know? I’ll never forget going to those shows and thinking, I was more proud of what the city had done. I was like, ‘That’s just so cool that they could put together a show like this, an event that everybody will love.”

     

  • ERIC CHURCH IS MOST ADDED WITH NEW SINGLE “HEART ON FIRE.”

    On the heels of his recent 11th career No. 1 at Country radio, Eric Church earns most added distinction today with his latest single, “Heart On Fire,” the greasy, rock-infused anthem which serves as the lead track on his Jay Joyce-produced Heart & Soul trilogy, already named among the year’s best projects by Rolling Stone and Billboard on their respective mid-year lists.

    Written solo by the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, “Heart On Fire” offers nostalgic musical references to everything from Elvis’s “All Shook Up” to Guns N’ Roses “Paradise City” over a driving guitar and piano melody.

    A turned up radio but the static was heavy / Couldn’t make out any words but ‘take me to the levee’ / That look on your face was full of wild desire / Soakin’ my soul in gas and settin’ my heart on fire,” Church belts in the chorus of the song praised by Entertainment Weekly as a “fan favorite in waiting” and “some of the most liberating and freewheeling work of the 44-year-old Country star’s career… [which] reflects the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of the sessions that made it.”

    The single arrives at Country radio today having already earned a well-received spot in the set list at recent live shows as Church gears up for The Gather Again Tour this fall. Making the most of the long-awaited opportunity to “gather again,” for the first time in his career Church will adopt an in-the-round set up, with the stage at the center of each arena floor in order to accommodate as many fans as possible. The tour kicks off September 17 in Lexington, Ky. and visits 55 cities across the U.S. and Canada before a grand finale at the iconic Madison Square Garden in the spring of 2022. Tickets are on sale now at www.EricChurch.com.

    Church will also make a headlining appearance alongside George Strait on November 5 for a special “The King & The Chief” show as part of the newly announced ATLive festival at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He has passionately taken a leadership role in the industry’s return to touring, appearing on the cover of Billboard getting his own second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine after consulting with epidemiologists and industry experts. A full list of all upcoming concert dates is available HERE.

    For more information, visit www.ericchurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    The Gather Again Tour
    Sept. 17, 2021                   Rupp Arena                                          Lexington, Ky.
    Sept. 18, 2021                   Nationwide Arena                                Columbus, Ohio
    Sept. 24, 2021                   Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse               Cleveland, Ohio
    Sept. 25, 2021                   KeyBank Center                                   Buffalo, N.Y.
    Oct. 1, 2021                      Alerus Center                                       Grand Forks, N.D.
    Oct. 2, 2021                      Canadian Life Centre                           Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Oct. 8, 2021                      PPG Paints Arena                                 Pittsburgh, Pa.
    Oct. 9, 2021                      Wells Fargo Center                               Philadelphia, Pa.
    Oct. 15, 2021                    Ball Arena                                            Denver, Colo.
    Oct. 22, 2021                    Scotiabank Saddledome                       Calgary, Alberta
    Oct. 23, 2021                    SaskTel Centre                                     Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
    Oct. 29, 2021                    Rogers Arena                                       Vancouver, British Columbia
    Oct. 30, 2021                    Climate Pledge Arena                          Seattle, Wash.
    Nov. 12, 2021                   Thompson-Boling Arena                     Knoxville, Tenn.
    Nov. 13, 2021                   Ford Center                                          Evansville, Ind.
    Dec. 3, 2021                     SNHU Arena                                        Manchester, N.H.
    Dec. 4, 2021                     UBS Arena                                           Belmont Park, N.Y.
    Dec. 10, 2021                   The Anthem                                         Washington, D.C.
    Dec. 11, 2021                   The Anthem                                         Washington, D.C.
    Dec. 17, 2021                   Bon Secours Wellness Arena               Greenville, S.C.
    Dec. 18, 2021                   Greensboro Coliseum                          Greensboro, N.C.
    Jan. 7, 2022                      Pinnacle Bank Arena                            Lincoln, Neb.
    Jan. 8, 2022                      Denny Sanford PREMIER Center       Sioux Falls, S.D.
    Jan. 14, 2022                    Scotiabank Arena                                 Toronto, Ontario
    Jan. 15, 2022                    Canadian Tire Centre                           Ottawa, Ontario
    Jan. 21, 2022                    Van Andel Arena                                  Grand Rapids, Mich.
    Jan. 22, 2022                    Little Caesars Arena                             Detroit, Mich.
    Feb. 4, 2022                     KFC Yum! Center                                 Louisville, Ky.
    Feb. 5, 2022                     Bankers Life Fieldhouse                       Indianapolis, Ind.
    Feb. 11, 2022                   CHI Health Center Omaha                   Omaha, Neb.
    Feb. 12, 2022                   Wells Fargo Arena                                Des Moines, Iowa
    Feb. 18, 2022                   T-Mobile Center                                    Kansas City, Mo.
    Feb 19, 2022                    BOK Center                                          Tulsa, Okla.
    Feb. 25, 2022                   Hampton Coliseum                               Hampton, Va.
    Feb. 26, 2022                   Spectrum Center                                   Charlotte, N.C.
    March 4, 2022                 Amway Center                                      Orlando, Fla.
    March 5, 2022                 Amalie Arena                                        Tampa, Fla.
    March 11, 2022               United Center                                        Chicago, Ill.
    March 12, 2022               Enterprise Center                                  St. Louis, Mo.
    March 18, 2022               Resch Center                                        Green Bay, Wis.
    March 19, 2022               Resch Center                                        Green Bay, Wis.
    March 25, 2022               Legacy Arena at the BJCC                   Birmingham, Ala.
    March 26, 2022               Simmons Bank Arena                           Little Rock, Ark.
    April 1, 2022                   Dickies Arena                                       Fort Worth, Texas
    April 2, 2022                   AT&T Center                                        San Antonio, Texas
    April 8, 2022                   Toyota Center                                       Houston, Texas
    April 9, 2022                   Smoothie King Center                          New Orleans, La.
    April 15, 2022                 Moda Center                                         Portland, Ore.
    April 16, 2022                 Spokane Arena                                      Spokane, Wash.
    April 29, 2022                 ExtraMile Arena                                   Boise, Idaho
    April 30, 2022                 Vivint Arena                                         Salt Lake City, Utah
    May 6, 2022                    Pechanga Arena                                    San Diego, Calif.
    May 7, 2022                    STAPLES Center                                  Los Angeles, Calif.
    May 11, 2022                  Golden 1 Center                                    Sacramento, Calif.
    May 13, 2022                  T-Mobile Arena                                     Las Vegas, Nev.
    May 14, 2022                  Gila River Arena                                   Glendale, Ariz.
    May 20, 2022                  Madison Square Garden                       New York, N.Y.

    For audio & liners, click here.

  • FOURTH OF JULY LINERS 2021



    PLAYER ERROR

    Audio / LINER AJ (4th of July)

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    “Hey! This is Alan Jackson, wishing you a happy and safe Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Billy Currington (4th of July)

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    “Hey guys! I’m Billy Currington, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Brandon Lay (Fourth of July)

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    “What’s up, everybody? This is Brandon Lay, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Bros Osborne (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all! I’m John, and I’m TJ, and we are Brothers Osborne, wish you a very Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Fourth of July)

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    “Hi! This is Carrie Underwood wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Independence Day)

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    “Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack. Happy Independence Day, everybody!”

    Audio / LINER Chrissy Metz (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey! This is Chrissy Metz, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Darius (4th of July)

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    “Hey y’all, what’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a very, very happy Fourth of July!”

    Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (4th of July)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing you a Happy and safe Fourth of July.

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (4th of July)

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    “Hey this is Eric Church, wishing you a very happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Gary Allan (4th of July)

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    “Hey! This is Gary Allan. Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Langston (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all, this is Jon Langston wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (4th of July)

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    “Hi, it’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Keith Urban (summer)

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    Hey everybody, Keith Urban here, wanting to wish you all a fantastic and safe summer. Enjoy the sunshine. Hopefully, you’ll get to spend some time with the ones you love, and hopefully, we’ll also get to see you out on the road.”

    Audio / LINER Kylie Morgan (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all. This is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Lauren Alaina (4th of July)

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    “Hey! It’s Lauren Alaina. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER LBT (4th of July)

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    “Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Fourth of July!”

    Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (4th of July)

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    “Hey! This is Luke Bryan, wishing you a very happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae and we’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a safe and happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (4th of July)

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    “Hey! This is Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey everybody. I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy and safe Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey, it’s Priscilla Block, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

     

    Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a safe and happy Fourth of July.”

    Audio / LINER Travis Denning (Fourth of July)

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    “Hey y’all! It’s Travis Denning, wishing you a safe and Happy Fourth of July.”

     

  • ERIC CHURCH SCORES A “HELL OF A” NO. 1 SONG.

    Nearly a decade after first topping the charts at Country radio, multi-Platinum superstar Eric Church has earned his 8th solo career No. 1 with “Hell Of A View,” the endearing ode to rebellious love featured on his critically acclaimed new triple album Heart & Soul. This is his 11th chart-topping song overall, having hit No. 1 with Keith Urban on “Raise ‘Em Up,” Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan on “The Only Way I Know” and the most recent “Does To Me” with Luke Combs.

    The hit song – celebrated by Entertainment Weekly as reigning among Church’s “most liberating and freewheeling work” and by Rolling Stone as a “kaleidoscopic jangle” that “further refines the melodic, mid-tempo storytelling Church excels at,” – sees him join forces with powerhouse vocal partner Joanna Cotten for what Billboard describes as “blazing their own path more reliant on adventure than safe choices.”

    This ain’t for everybody / Toes hanging off the ledge / Like we got nothin’ to lose / Ain’t always heaven, baby / This livin’ on the edge / You holdin’ me holdin’ you / It’s a hell of a view,” Church croons in the tender mid-tempo track written together with Casey Beathard and Monty Criswell.

    This latest No. 1 hit for the man praised by The Wall Street Journal as “knowledgeable and respectful of Country’s history, but not shackled by it” comes nearly a decade after he first topped the charts. Despite earning 10 No. 1 hits in nearly as many years, he has never shied away from the unconventional – yet with unabashed honesty and a Church Choir as loyal to him as he is to them, the Chief has still found radio success while writing his own rule book.

    Earning his first chart-topper via 2012’s Chief, Church broke through with rowdy blue-collar anthem “Drink In My Hand” and quickly followed with his 5x Platinum smash hit, “Springsteen.”
    List of solo No. 1 Hits:

    “Drink In My Hand”
    “Springsteen”
    “Give Me Back My Hometown”
    “Talladega”
    “Record Year
    “Round Here Buzz”
    “Some Of It”
    “Hell Of A View”

    Now, with his most-recent No. 1 born from his most aggressive recording process yet, Church is already dreaming up ways to push the limit further.

    “This is my favorite project of my career,” Church shared with Billboard of the triple album, which features “Hell Of A View” on its final chapter, Soul. “I really appreciate radio’s support to bring attention to it. I can’t wait to see where we go next!”

    First on that journey will be a chance for fans to see these songs and more live, as the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year returns to the road with a vengeance on his 55-city The Gather Again Tour where he will perform in-the-round sets for the first time in his career, touring full-capacity arenas through the U.S. and Canada. Tickets are on sale now and a full list of dates is available HERE.

    For more information, visit www.ericchurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

     

    Audio / Eric Church talks about the song – and his latest single – “Hell of a View.”

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    Eric Church (Hell of a View) 2 OC: …next day. :49
    “So, ‘Hell of a View’ – we were in the mountains of North Carolina and we would write a song the same day. We’d record the song that night, which is an incredibly hard thing to do and do it well. I came back one day from a jog, my manager was there, a few people walked into the room and Casey Beathard, the co-writer on this song, was working on something. And I remember walking in, and I remember he had reading glasses on and he pulled ‘em down and he looked at me and he goes, ‘This is good. Listen to this.’ And he started, (I was no Daddy’s dream’ you know, the whole deal and to the Bronco, smoke my Bronco tires line, and I go, ‘This is really good.’ So, we wrote that song that day and the next day.”

    Video /

    View
  • ERIC CHURCH EARNS BACK-TO-BACK NO. 1 DEBUTS ON THE ALL-GENRE BILLBOARD TOP ALBUM SALES CHART AS SOUL REPLACES HEART IN THE TOP SPOT.

    As critical acclaim for Eric Church’s new triple album Heart & Soul continues to roll in, the 10-time GRAMMY nominee is also making waves atop the Billboard charts. Not only does the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year replace himself atop the all-genre Top Album Sales chart, as Soul takes over the No. 1 spot following Heart’s chart-topping debut last week, he also continues to occupy three of the Top 10 spots with the expansive project: Heart at No. 9, the fan-club exclusive at No. 3 and Soul at No. 1.

    In addition, Church sits atop the all-genre Billboard Artist 100 chart while also becoming the first country artist to simultaneously occupy the top two spots on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart since its inception in 2011, with Soul and & at No. 1 and 2 respectively. Meanwhile at radio, his current single “Hell Of A View” off the Soul album also enters the Top 5 on the Mediabase chart.

    The ambitious triple project has received glowing reviews from fans and critics alike, with Variety celebrating Church as “a flexible, emotional singer whose songwriting and curatorial skills go beyond country’s current crop of boys-own crooners, with an experimental edge, but without forgetting its traditions” while Rolling Stone praises the “urgent, seat-of-your-pants records,” noting that “the Nashville maverick delivers his biggest, boldest statement.”

    “The albums feature some of the most liberating and freewheeling work of the 44-year-old country star’s career,” adds Entertainment Weekly, reflecting that “the three-part project also reflects the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of the sessions that made it.”

    Church also plans to take that energy to the road this fall for his appropriately titled The Gather Again Tour. As part of what Billboard described as “Church’s crusade to get fans vaccinated – and bring concerts back,” he has planned a 55-city run of full-capacity arena dates through the U.S. and Canada, kicking off this September in Lexington, Ky. and wrapping in May 2022 at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden. Church Choir pre-sales begin tomorrow, May 4, with tickets on sale to the general public beginning this Friday, May 7. A full list of dates is available HERE.

    For more information, visit www.ericchurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    About Eric Church
    Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and 10-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church has spent the past year-plus releasing new music at a relentless pace; providing a glimpse into the marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day – including current Top 5 single “Hell of a View” – while sequestered in rural North Carolina. The resulting project, his critically acclaimed new triple album, Heart & Soul, is available now.

    Just as unique as Church’s approach to recording and releasing music is his tenacity on the road. During his most recent outing, 2019’s Double Down Tour, Church played back-to-back nights of two unique shows in each market sans opening act, giving every city’s fans six-plus hours of his iconic music. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where he broke the venue’s concert attendance record with more than 56,000 fans in attendance and became the first artist to sell out the venue with a solo lineup. Church also took to the field at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, February 7 to perform the National Anthem with R&B star Jazmine Sullivan ahead of Super Bowl LV and will return to the road for The Gather Again Tour this fall.

    A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner, and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Church has amassed a passionate fanbase around the globe known as the Church Choir as well as a critically acclaimed catalog of music. His previous album, Desperate Man, earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and produced his most recent No. 1 hit, “Some Of It.” Additional releases include the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”)as well as 22 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified singles.

    Audio / Eric Church talks about really letting creativity take the front seat for his new collection of albums, Heart & Soul.

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    Eric Church (albums) OC: …we’ve done. :39
    “The main fact about my new album(s) was we wrote and recorded 28 songs in 28 days. We secluded ourselves in the mountains of North Carolina, and I’d get up in the morning and write a song and we would record the song that night. And the thinking was we’d remove all the barriers of what people think or a publisher thinks or a label thinks. It really was letting creativity be creativity, and some of my favorite records from the ‘70s and ‘80s were done that way. So, we tried to go back and let creativity reign, and it is unequivocally my favorite music we’ve done.”

  • MOTHER’S DAY 2021 AUDIO

    Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 9th, and some of your favorite country artists are celebrating the mothers in their lives this weekend.

    NOTE: In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.

    Audio / Alan Jackson lost his sweet Mama a few years ago, and he wrote a song for her funeral, “Where Her Heart Has Always Been,” which is now included on his new album Where Have You Gone (out May 14th).

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    Alan Jackson (song for mother)…really, really sweet. :51
    “I think one song on there, especially I wrote my mama died three or four years ago, four years ago maybe.  I don’t remember now. But I wrote it for her funeral, that’s “Where Her Heart Has Always Been.”  And I really love that track.  It’s just really – I tried to write it in a way that I know she would appreciate it. And then after we had cut it and we were just about to finalize the record, my sister sent a recording of mama reading from the Bible for a Christmas story or something from a few years ago that I hadn’t heard, or I don’t remember if I had ever heard it.  And I thought that would be cool to put that on there.  So, we tried to pick a little piece of that that didn’t sound so Christmasy and put on there on the front end and that made it really, really sweet.”

    Audio / Brandon Lay says he probably gets his work ethic from his mother.

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    Brandon Lay (Mother’s Day) OC: …comes from her. :2
    “She works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen. She can outwork most 20-year-olds in the yard still. She grew up on a farm, and I think a lot of that just bulldog it and get it done attitude, I probably get from her. She’ll go from sunup to sundown, and she doesn’t complain, and that’s just so rare. I feel like the work ethic, as far as grind it out and get it done, that toughness comes from her.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about now being a mother to two boys.

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    Carrie Underwood (having 2 boys) OC: …little brother. :49
    “It’s kind of crazy to think, sometimes I’ll literally look at my husband and be like, ‘We have two sons. We have two kids. We live on a farm.’ Like it’s just weird to think how life turns out sometimes. Life is very different with two. We kind of got out of that baby stage with Isaiah. He’s much more self-efficient, and he can brush his own teeth and put his own clothes on, and he’s making decisions for himself, and then we start all over with the little squishy one again. It’s just kind of crazy. You forget how hard it is, to be honest, but you just figure your way through it. I am so blessed to have Isaiah who is super helpful and super sweet, and he loves his little brother.”

    Audio / Carrie Underwood says she doesn’t really have any Mother’s Day traditions.

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    Carrie Underwood (Mother’s Day traditions) OC: …even more so. :38
    “We don’t really have like any Mother’s Day traditions. I feel like I remember me and Dad making breakfast for Mom like once as a kid. I’m pretty sure we just made a giant mess in the kitchen and we never did that again, so. Being on the other side of things, I obviously don’t expect anything, but my husband’s really good at getting presents from quote unquote Isaiah. It’s really sweet, because he likes to bring me things. He’s such a sweet little guy, and anytime he’s outside, he’ll pick me flowers and things. So, I’m like, ‘You’re learning. You’ve already got me wrapped around your finger, and then you do stuff like that, and it’s even more so.’”

    Audio / Caylee Hammack describes the qualities she most admires in her mother.

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    Caylee Hammack (Mother’s Day) 1 OC: …love fully. :53
    “I love that my Mom is a no-nonsense woman. I love that she always speaks her mind and she’s super stubborn, because she handed it down to me and it’s come in handy, to be honest. She’s a great cook. I wish I was half the cook that she is. She’s obsessive about Tupperware and plates, which I used to hate, but now as an adult whenever I break a dish or something, I just call her, and I know that I have one on standby. I love that she loves random things so that I can squirrel them away and take them to Nashville sometimes. And I love that she loves big. She either gives all of her heart or nothing at all; she always gives all of her heart. She loves, you know, she has a bleeding heart, and I think that’s just one of the most beautiful traits in the world is to love fully.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker talks about not disappointing his beloved mother, who passed away several years ago.

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    Darius Rucker (Mother’s Day) OC: …killed me. :17

    “I think that’s the main reason I am how I am…an innate fear of disappointing my mom.  My mom’s not even alive, and I have a fear of her looking down from heaven and going, ‘Man I’m just disappointed in my son.’ She could have said anything in the world to me, but if she would have said, ‘Son, you just disappointed me,’ That would have killed me. It would have killed me.”

    Audio / Darius Rucker recalls one of his favorite memories of his mother.

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    Darius Rucker (favorite memory of his mother) OC: …my Mom’s song. :34
    “Oh goodness! A lot of great memories of her, but probably one of my favorite memories, I was a young kid, probably eight or nine, and she was in the kitchen cooking and listening to the gospel station and Shirley Caesar’s ‘No Charge’ came on and she was singing ‘No Charge.’ I just remember I ran into our living room which was adjoined to our kitchen and I just sat there and I just listened to her sing that song, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow! What an amazing voice.’ That’s just always a memory I’ve always had, and that song still to this day when I hear it just moves me because that was my mom’s song.”

    Audio / DARIUS RUCKER’S MOTHER, WHO PASSED AWAY IN 1992, WAS ALWAYS THE SINGER’S BIGGEST SUPPORTER.

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    Darius Rucker (Mother) OC: …in my corner. :44
    “My mom was just always great. She worked a lot. She was a nurse and she worked a lot. She took a lot of overtime and stuff to make sure we could live basically, but she always just so supportive, ever since I was a kid. I was always a music kid. Growing up in an African-American neighborhood, I was never that guy who was gonna be pigeonholed to let people say I could only listen to this and I could only do this, because I was African-American. She always supported whatever I wanted to do, whatever I wanted to listen to, wherever I wanted to go, she always had my back. Going to college and everything, she was my biggest supporter and never let my brothers and sisters knock me down or try to tell me I can’t do this or that. All of my success comes because my mother was always in my corner.”

    Audio / DIERKS BENTLEY RECOGNIZES AND APPRECIATES HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO BEING A MOTHER.

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    Dierks Bentley (Mother’s Day – Cassidy) OC: …to have her. :
    “It’s the toughest job out there being a mom, and I know from my life with my wife Cassidy. We work as a team together when I’m home, and it takes everyone to get the job done, me and her, working together. So, when I go on the road, I just have so much respect for her because it’s hard to do it right, if you want to do it great, and she does a great job with it. It’s really rewarding, but it’s also very challenging. I’m so thankful that she takes it on the way she does, and our kids are very lucky to have her.”

    Audio / Eric Church says he’s learned quite a bit from his mom.

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    Eric Church (Mother’s Day) OC: …as a man. :57
    “My mom, even though my dad won’t like this, my mom is by far the toughest person that I’ve met. She’s tough. One of those people that’s been through a lot in her life, adversity wise and never complains, always really resilient with anything that’s happened to her. And it’s just that attitude, the positive attitude, regardless of what has happened that I think is the one thing that I got from her. With career, she’s always been a person that’s been really positive through times that I couldn’t find a positive streak, [laughs] and she was always really positive, and very much believes in tough it out, keep working hard, and that’s her motto with stuff like that. I’ve always been impressed with that stuff. Then musically, she’s where I get my talent from, musically. She sings great, always has, her mom sang great. I owe my musical chops to her. And she still sings some. So, career-wise, I owe her everything. And just in life-wise she’s given me a lot of the qualities that it has taken for me to get me where I am. Not only as a musician, but as a man.”

    Audio / Jon Pardi says his mother, Shelly, is an angel.

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    Jon Pardi (Mother’s Day) OC: …worrying about me. :29
    “My mom’s always been there for me. First of all, she’s a great mom. She’s an angel. She takes care of people that aren’t even in the family. She’s always been like that, and she’s a great mother. She’s always proud, and she’s always there supporting and being a great mom. She’s just a good human being. There’s not one mean bone in her body. And she cries about every time I talk to her. She always worries about me. I have to tell her, ‘Stop worrying about me.’”

    Audio / JORDAN DAVIS SAYS HE’S A “MAMA’S BOY” AND HOPES HE HAS HER KINDNESS AND POSITIVE OUTLOOK.

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    Jordan Davis (Mother’s Day) OC: …Mother’s Day. :30 [laughs]
    “I’m a Mama’s Boy. I love my Mom, and it’s the way she finds the good in everything. With my Mom, as opposed to finding anything negative, she’s gonna find something positive first. That’s something I really hope I can be more like her on; one of the many things I wish I could be more like my mom on. My mom, she loves flowers, so we’ll get her flowers or take her to, we’re slowly getting her into sushi, so we love to take Mom out to sushi spots on Mother’s Day.” [laughs]

    Audio / Kacey Musgraves comes from a very creative family, and here she talks about the women in her immediate family and their talents.

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    Kacey Musgraves (creative women) OC: …taking pictures. :16
    “My mom’s an artist – all different kinds of mediums, paint, but she’s always working on something different. My Meemaw, she’s a soap maker. She makes soap and they’re beautiful and they smell really good and they’re all natural. My sister has an etsy store, and she’s constantly creating something, sewing pillows and taking pictures.”

    Audio / Keith Urban explains why his wife Nicole Kidman is an extraordinary mother to their two children, Sunday and Faith.

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    Keith Urban (Nicole is extraordinary mother) OC: …to see. :45
    “She’s an extraordinary mum, she really, really is. Those girls are very, very lucky, and I feel very lucky that the children I should have in this world happen to be with Nic. I don’t know anything about raising kids and Nic does, and that comes in extremely, um, it’s really made for an experience I wouldn’t have had without that. Her patience, her recognizing them as people and not just little kids is really extraordinary. Her attention to honoring their feelings and listening to them right from day one – really being attentive to that is not how I was raised at all, so it’s really beautiful to see.”

    Audio / Lauren Alaina says she can count on her mom for just about everything.

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    Lauren Alaina (Mom keeps her grounded) OC: …same for her. :19
    “I honestly would not be able to do it without my mom. I get overwhelmed sometimes, and if she wasn’t there to comfort me or tell me, ‘Look just realize what you’ve got going for you,’ I’d be up the creek [without a paddle]. She’s got my back. My mom would walk through a fire pit for me, and I’d do the same for her.”

    Audio / Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman says she always dreamed of being a mother…and her dream came true nearly 13 years ago when she gave birth to daughter, Daisy (July 27, 2007). In 2017, she and her family welcomed daughter Dolly Grace.

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    LBT (Mother’s Day) OC: …for my mother. :34
    “Being a mother is a life-long dream for me. When I was a kid, that’s what I wanted to be is a mama. It took a long time. I wasn’t ever sure that I would be, but I am now, and it’s the greatest gift of my life. And as I’m a mother now, I see what my mother gave up and her sacrifices and her love and how she made us the most important thing in her life, and that’s what I strive to do for my little girl. It’s the most important job I have, and it’s the most responsibility that I have, and I try to live up to a great example that I had for my mother.”

    Audio / MADDIE & TAE’S TAE DYE SAID SHE PULLED OFF A GREAT MOTHER’S DAY SURPRISE A FEW YEARS AGO.

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    Maddie & Tae (Mother’s Day-Tae) OC: …was so fun. :25
    TAE: “To this day one of the best surprises I’ve ever pulled off was on Mother’s Day three years ago. ‘Cause my mom’s birthday always tends to fall on Mother’s Day Weekend – it’s coming up – and my mom and dad were coming into Nashville and I was like, ‘Okay-this has got to be a big weekend. It’s Mother’s Day, her birthday and the weather was going to be beautiful, so I planned this awesome surprise where we would drive first – she wouldn’t know where we were going, and then we ended up going canoeing down the Harpeth River [located south of Nashville], and it was so fun.”

    Audio / Maddie & Tae’s Maddie Marlow says her mother is great at balancing life and that a hug from her mother can fix almost anything.

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    Maddie & Tae (Mother’s Day-Maddie) OC: (Maddie) …everything’s okay. :51
    MADDIE: “She is so good at balancing is what I’m trying to say. My Mom is such a great balancer, but as I’m coming into our adulthood, and all that kind of stuff, she’s very conscious about when I’m trying to be perfect and have everything in order with everything. And she’s like, you can’t. You can’t do that. Life, you have to figure out how you’re going to deal with the curveballs that are thrown out you. Are you going to catch them and whine out about it or are you going to catch them and move on? Like you have to just go with what’s thrown at you. And my Dad’s been a really, really good supporter on just not letting life’s trials bring you down and letting them just be learning tools and all of that. But, most of the time, a Mama hug can really fix anything.” TAE: “Ahh…it’s the best.” MADDIE: “If my Mom hugs me while I’m crying, everything’s okay. There’s just something about it. I’m grown, but, my Mom, if she hugs me, everything’s okay.”

    Audio / Parker McCollum says he hopes he got some of his mother's qualities.

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    Parker McCollum (Mother’s Day) OC: …those from her. :20
    “I mean, she’s just a fantastic woman who went above and beyond for us as kids to always make sure, probably even when we weren’t able to have things, she still made those happen. Everybody says I look like her. She’s just an incredibly caring and very, very sincere person, so I would hope I got those from her.”

    Audio / Sam Hunt says he's lucky and blessed to have his mother.

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    Sam Hunt (Mother’s Day) OC: …with my mom. 1:10
    “I knew I had a great mother, and I was blessed and lucky to be born into my family, but until I got out into the real world, I didn’t realize how unique and rare and how much I really hit the lottery with her. She’s raised in the South, and she is all the things that a lot of Southern women are, the good things, but selfless is the word that comes to mind right off the bat. Her life has been devoted to me, my brothers and our family for as long as I can remember her. So, her life revolved around us and that was something that the love that she showed us through those sacrifices has been, I know, a huge part of my ability to go out into the world and cope with all the things that come my way. I’m standing on firm ground, I know, because I grew up in a loving household and that started with my mom.”

    Audio / Shania Twain says it’s such a joy to be a parent.

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    Shania Twain (joy to be a parent) OC: …means everything. :14
    “It’s such a joy to be a parent. So, I relate to all the mums out there who are getting all their love and appreciation from their kids, and I hope, when you’re a kid, a child of somebody, show your mum you love her, because it means everything.”

    Audio / TRAVIS DENNING TALKS ABOUT WHAT HE AND HIS MOM HAVE IN COMMON.

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    Travis Denning (Mother’s Day) OC: …like crazy. :29
    “You know, my favorite thing about my mom, especially as I get older, is realizing how much me and her have in common. I just love that she’s passionate about music. She loves it. I mean, she’s turned me on to a lot of artists, but at the core like she’s still Mom. She reminds me to do things and does these things which that I couldn’t live without. I love that we get to be friends, we get to be best friends, but at the same time, she’s still Mom and she still loves me and my sister like crazy.”

     

     

  • RHYTHM, REBELLION AND RESPECT RATTLE ERIC CHURCH’S SOUL.

    Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and 10-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church continues to give fans new music with today’s release of Soul, the third chapter of his critically acclaimed Heart & Soul trilogy. Featuring nine songs, including current Top 10 single “Hell Of A View,” the album is the final installment of music from his now-famous sequestered session in rural North Carolina early last year.

    “The thing that made it three projects, to me, was the songs grouped together differently,” Church recently explained to Rolling Stone regarding his decision to split the music into a triple album. “Once they started grouping up is when I truly saw the project. Before that, I loved the recordings… but I couldn’t figure out: what is this? I think a listening experience should be condensed; this is what it is – it’s meant to be done and then you move to the next one – and I think that’s where we came up with the three albums.”

    The full three-part project has already garnered significant praise from fans and critics alike, with The Wall Street Journal noting “Eric Church and company have stepped up to the challenge of delivering more than a double album’s worth of pointed, memorable recordings for tough times, with frankness, hope – and engaging sounds.”

    Heart & Soul is a concept record of sorts,” adds Rolling Stone in the lead review of the April print magazine, “about the everlasting power of music – the music he makes and the music he loves, which spans the gamut from the Doors to Bobbie Gentry to Elvis and Guns N’ Roses.”

    Indeed, even within the themed grouping of Soul tracks, Church offers a breadth of musical influences and deliveries, with Billboard proclaiming that “each song tells its own full, vivid story with no word or note wasted.”

    Opener “Rock & Roll Found Me” is a direct reflection of the immensely creative state Church found himself in during the monthlong consistency of producing new song ideas daily. The song’s title was inspired by a single line from the “Rocketman” Elton John biopic, which Church watched with his family in an attempted reset between scheduled writes.

    “There’s a line when he stands up and he says, ‘I was however many years old when rock and roll found me,’” Church notes. “As soon as I heard it, I asked my wife to pause the movie and I picked up a guitar that was beside me and wrote ‘Rock & Roll Found Me.’ That’s all it took – I was so in tune with creativity at that point in time that it was all I needed to hear for a song to pour out of me.”

    From rebellious numbers “Break It Kind Of Guy” and “Bad Mother Trucker” to funky, playful takes on romance in “Look Good And You Know It” and “Where I Wanna Be,” as well as bare-boned ballads “Bright Side Girl,” “Jenny” and “Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones,” each track further reveals the results of Church’s uniquely creative writing and recording process.

    Fans can hear these new songs and more as Church’s longstanding SiriusXM show, Outsiders Radio, takes over Y2Kountry on SiriusXM Channel 61 for the second straight weekend (starting today, April 23, and running through this Sunday, April 25). In addition to sharing brand new songs from Soul, the programming will also feature music from Church’s personal playlist as well as live shows recorded during past tours.

    Church plans to hit the road for a brand new tour this fall, appropriately titled The Gather Again Tour. As part of what Billboard described as “Church’s crusade to get fans vaccinated – and bring concerts back,” he has planned a 55-city run of full-capacity arena dates through the U.S. and Canada, kicking off this September in Lexington, Ky. and wrapping in May 2022 at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden. Church Choir pre-sales begin Tuesday, May 4 with tickets on sale to the general public beginning Friday, May 7. A full list of dates is available HERE.

    For more information, visit www.ericchurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter @ericchurch and Instagram @ericchurchmusic.

    Soul Track List
    Lyrics linked HERE, songwriters in parentheses

    1.  Rock & Roll Found Me (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Driver Williams)
    2.  Look Good And You Know It (Eric Church, Jonathan Singleton, Travis Meadows)
    3.  Bright Side Girl (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Scotty Emerick, Clint Daniels)
    4.  Break It Kind Of Guy (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick)
    5.  Hell Of A View (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
    6.  Where I Wanna Be (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Jeremy Spillman, Ryan Tyndell)
    7.  Jenny (Eric Church)
    8.  Bad Mother Trucker (Eric Church, Casey Beathard, Luke Dick, Jeremy Spillman)
    9. Lynyrd Skynyrd Jones (Casey Beathard)

    About Eric Church
    Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and 10-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church has spent the past year-plus releasing new music at a relentless pace; providing a glimpse into the marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day – including current Top 10 single “Hell of a View” – while sequestered in rural North Carolina. The resulting project, his critically acclaimed new triple album, Heart & Soul, is available now.

    Just as unique as Church’s approach to recording and releasing music is his tenacity on the road. During his most recent outing, 2019’s Double Down Tour, Church played back-to-back nights of two unique shows in each market sans opening act, giving every city’s fans six-plus hours of his iconic music. The tour also featured a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where he broke the venue’s concert attendance record with more than 56,000 fans in attendance and became the first artist to sell out the venue with a solo lineup. Church also took to the field at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, February 7 to perform the National Anthem with R&B star Jazmine Sullivan ahead of Super Bowl LV and will return to the road for The Gather Again Tour this fall.

    A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner, and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Church has amassed a passionate fanbase around the globe known as the Church Choir as well as a critically acclaimed catalog of music. His previous album, Desperate Man, earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and produced his most recent No. 1 hit, “Some Of It.” Additional releases include the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”)as well as 22 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified singles.

    Audio / Eric Church cites the Elton John movie, Rocketman, as the inspiration behind the song “Rock and Roll Found Me” from his upcoming Soul album.

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    Eric Church (Rock And Roll Found Me) OC: …needed to hear. :52
    “We were watching the Elton John Rocketman, and there’s a line in that movie. I was off. Normally what I would do, I would take a day like Sunday, and we’d let the writers change out, so that was my day to kind of try to get away for a second and wait on the next group to come in, maybe work on stuff. And we have a place up there, so my family was up and I went over to see my wife and my kids. My wife and I were watching Rocketman, the Elton John movie, and there’s a line, I think he’s in rehab or something like that when he stands up and he said, ‘I was (however many years old) when rock and roll found me.’ And I immediately as soon as I heard it, I thought, ‘Ah.’ I said, I just told her, ‘Just pause it.’ And I grabbed the guitar that was beside me and I went to the kitchen, and I wrote ‘Rock and Roll Found Me,’ and that’s all it took. It just took that one line, and I was enough in tune with creativity at that point in time that that’s all I needed to hear.”

    Audio / LINER Eric Church (Soul available now)

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    Video /

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  • ERIC CHURCH TO SHARE EXCLUSIVE AMAZON MUSIC PERFORMANCE ON APRIL 20th

    Amazon Music announced today that 10-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Church will share an exclusive performance and live Q&A for fans on April 20. Following the release of Heart this Friday, the first album from his highly anticipated new three-part project, Church will perform new music, including “Rock And Roll Found Me” from Soul for the first time ever ahead of the album’s release next Friday. Starting at 8 p.m. CT on April 20, fans can watch along via the Amazon Music Twitch channel and within the Amazon Music mobile app. The performance will also be available to watch on the Amazon Music Twitch channel for four days afterwards.

    Heart & Soul was born from a secluded session in rural North Carolina, where Church and his collaborators wrote and recorded a song from start to finish each day for nearly a month. The three-part, 24-song collection from the man Stereogum praises as “the most consistently interesting star in the Nashville ecosystem” begins with Heart, out this Friday, April 16, and concludes with Soul, out next Friday, April 23. In keeping with his longtime commitment to put fans first, Church created the middle album, &, specifically for the Church Choir and will make it available exclusively to those fans and only as a vinyl record on Tuesday, April 20.

    To gear up for the event, fans can now explore Eric Church’s full discography on CD and Vinyl in his Amazon Music Store, featuring 22 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified singles off Gold-certified Desperate Man (“Some Of It”), Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”).