Keith Urban teamed up with Variety to premiere the video for “Superman,” the fourth song Keith has released from his upcoming album, “The Speed of Now Part One,” available September 18th.
Keith is always looking for different and creative ways to present new music, and this particular video pairs him with an animated drawing flipbook of him singing and playing guitar. “Obviously trying to shoot a video right now is challenging, as any artist can testify,” Keith tells Variety. “So it’s about trying to come up with a way where we could do something a little different and not just be dependent upon solely green-screen type performance or a solo performance. I was talking with Ben Dalgleish, who’s this really great creative designing artist in my world who put together our whole Vegas show that we did. We were talking about the Aha “Take on Me” video, and he said, “Well, what about a flipbook video?” He hooked me up with a guy called Andymation, who has a really popular channel on YouTube, and we brought him to start work on the concept. I did some filming here in Nashville over at our warehouse. We have a warehouse where we store all our equipment and we have a big green-screen setup there, so we shot all of my performance there.”
Of writing the song, he explains, “I did a writing retreat here in Nashville, and I particularly wanted to put together people I’d written with, but hadn’t written with together. There’s this three-man collective from Los Angeles called Captain Cuts that I wrote a song with on the “Graffiti U” album, and they bring this kind of frat-house, loose, go-at-anything vibe it’s really exciting to be around. And Craig Wiseman, a Nashville writer who I really, really love, comes at things from a different vibe again. I put Captain Cuts, Craig Wiseman and myself in a room, and “Superman” was the result of that first-day collaboration.”
Keith hits the Top 10 with his latest single, “God Whispered Your Name.”
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. This year with the pandemic still raging across the country, the holiday may look a little different for most people, including musicians. Some of your favorite country stars take time to remember their Fourth of July traditions, memories and what the holiday really means to them.
Lauren Alaina and Chrissy Metz will be among the performers on this year’s A Capitol Fourth this weekend. They’ll be joined by a slew of other famous faces, including hosts John Stamos and Vanessa Williams, as well as Trace Adkins, Brantley Gilbert, Patti LaBelle, John Fogerty and Yolanda Adams among others. Chrissy is set to sing “I’m Standing With You” from last year’s film, Breakthrough, as a tribute to first responders and frontline personnel. Celebrating a special 40th anniversary presentation, A Capitol Fourth will air Saturday (July 4th) at 8pm ET/7pm CT.
Lauren will also perform on the iHeart Country 4th of July BBQ on Friday (July 3rd) at 8pm ET/7pm CT on The CW.
Audio / Adam Hambrick has two things that make the Fourth of July spectacular.
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.
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.
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 recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.
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.
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 talks about what the Fourth of July means to him.
Darius Rucker (4th of July) 1 OC: …in the world. :24 “The Fourth of July to me is a day to celebrate freedom. We get to travel all over the world and see a lot of stuff, and I’ve been to a lot of countries that aren’t like ours and that’s when you really appreciate the fact that you can do whatever you want. As long as you’re willing to deal with the consequences, you can do whatever you want, you know? [I] appreciate those soldiers who died for us to be sitting here doing this, and we live in the greatest country in the world.”
Audio / Darius Rucker enjoys setting off fireworks.
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 explains why he is so patriotic.
Dierks Bentley (4th of July-patriotic) OC: …all the time. :17 “I’m extremely patriotic. I love this country, and I love the history of this country. I read books on this country. I spend my time on the road traveling physically throughout the country. The soldiers and their families are constantly on my mind. We work closely with the Wounded Warriors Project. We think about this stuff all the time.”
Audio / Eric Church recalls his family activities on the Fourth of July holiday.
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,
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.
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.
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.
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 / Luke Bryan recalls one of his favorite Fourth of July memories.
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.
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 / Sam Hunt talks about what he and his family did over the Fourth of July holiday when he was growing up in Georgia.
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.
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.”
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 / ALAN JACKSON ALLOWED HIS THREE DAUGHTERS TO LIVE AND LEARN.
AJ (parenting style) OC: …what they did. :19 “We try to be just not pushy hands-on parents. We let them live and be their own way. I’m not stern with them. You know, I’m funny and light, and try to give them guidance and let them live and learn their own ways. And that’s something, I think, my parents did. It was accidental, but that’s what they did.”
Audio / Brandon Lay celebrated his first Father’s Day last year with his then nine-month-old son, Ryder. His wife Nicole gave birth to their second child, daughter Lara June, nearly two weeks ago. Brandon explains some of his favorite moments as a dad.
Brandon Lay (Father’s Day 2020) OC: …to experience. :21 “Honestly, the best thing about fatherhood is just someone that looks up to you. My favorite moments are when (Ryder) is scared and I’m there or he wants to figure out something and I’m there, or he needs lifting up and I’m there. I think that’s a God-given gratification that’s really cool to experience.”
Audio / Brandon Lay is now a father of two since his wife gave birth to their second child, Lara June, last week.
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.
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 / Caylee Hammack says her father is a good man.
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.
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.
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, a father of three, is very grateful to his own dad for turning him on to country music as a kid.
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 / Dierks Bentley explains how being a father (to three children) has changed him.
Dierks Bentley (how fatherhood has changed him) OC: …different. :07 “There’s a whole kind of different universe that has opened up that I never knew existed, and I’m not the center of it, which is really cool. It just makes you look at things totally different.”
Audio / Eric Church describes his father and the qualities he admires in him.
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. I think the both of them combined, and they’ve been married for I think 40 years, to be together that long in this day and time is a feat in itself.”
Audio / Jon Langston looks up to his father and hopes to become just like him.
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.”
Jon Langston (Father’s Day) 2 OC: …a great guy. :46 “My dad’s always been my biggest mentor and hero. He’s just been everything to me since I was a little kid. From taking me to every single football practice to being a coach in baseball and stuff to even when I couldn’t play sports anymore and I started doing music and traveling the country and he helped me by renting this family RV. Me and the boys would hop in. He drove us everywhere. He would like take us all over the country. He was taking off work every single week just so I could have a chance, a shot at tis dream. He’s the most selfless, humble human being ever, and if I’m half the man he is one day, then that’d be fine with me. He’s a great guy.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says he loves getting his daughter up in the mornings.
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.
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 life has changed for him since becoming a father to his daughter Eloise.
Jordan Davis (how life changed when he became a dad) OC: …my daughter. :43 “I asked so many questions to Dads about what to expect and how my life was gonna change. I never really got a straight answer. It was just kinda like, ‘Dude, just do it and it’s gonna change for the better.’ It really is the most unbelievable, just the amount of love you have for this thing that just got into the world, it is indescribable. I can’t put that into words the first time you get a chance to hold your kid. And man, I’m very, very grateful for the blessing that is my daughter.”
Audio / PROUD DAD OF FOUR (HAMPTON, COLBY, MARION, HAWKE), JOSH TURNER TALKS ABOUT HOW HIS THREE OLDEST SONS ARE LEARNING THE FAMILY TRADE.
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.
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.
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, Seeger, 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 / Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook says fatherhood is absolutely beautiful. He and wife Karen Fairchild became parents to Elijah Dylan on March 5, 2010.
Little Big Town (Jimi-Father’s Day) OC: …beautiful. :32 “It’s still such a new experience for us, and man, I’m telling you, people can tell you all day long how great it’s going to be, but it still never touches it. That little man looking back at me, it’s the most unbelievable feeling. And every day, for me who hates mornings [laughs], waking up to a slap in the face; he’s like pounding on me, then he’s like kissing on me and stuff. It’s unbelievable. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
Audio / Luke Bryan talks about the life lessons he learned from his father.
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.
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.
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 what he hopes he passes to his kids and his grandkids.
Vince Gill (Father’s Day) OC: …feels like. :40 “Kind, hopefully make them kind. It’s all we got. We’ve got five kids, a couple of grandkids. These grandkids are the complete light of my life. They show up and the rest of the world can kiss my youknowwhat (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, you know? And nothing else kinda seems to matter. And then I think what I love seeing more than anything is for my kid to finally understand what it means to love. Man, it’s awesome to see my kid finally get it what that unconditional love really looks like and feels like.”
Keith Urban is racing up the country charts with his latest smash, “God Whispered Your Name,” which was written by James Slater, Shy Carter, Micah Carter and Chris August, While Keith writes a lot of his own material, he does gravitate towards songs from outside writers when it feels right.
“The song is everything, and it either feels like something that works for me or doesn’t,” says Keith. “Because a lot of times I can love a song and go into the studio and cut it and work and work on it, and I can’t get it to fit, you know? It’s so frustrating sometimes. It’s like seeing a great jacket in a store and you put it on and you go, ‘Is it me?’ And your friends are like, ‘Not really. You’re like, ‘But maybe I can make it me?’ And they’re like, ‘Not really.’ (laughs) Then you buy it anyway and then you never wear it. But for me, loving the song is number one. I think Eric (Church) said it, when we did ‘Raise ‘Em Up,’ he said, he goes, ‘Keith and I didn’t write this, but it feels like something we would’ve written.’ I thought that’s the perfect way to describe it. I think if you’re a writer and you want to cut a song you didn’t write, it’d be one you’d wished you’d written.”
“God Whispered Your Name” is closing in on the Top 10 on the country charts.
Keith Urban (on outside songs) OC: …you’d written. :49 “It’s just the song. The song is everything, and it either feels like something that works for me or doesn’t. Because a lot of times I can love a song and go into the studio and cut it and work and work on it, and I can’t get it to fit, you know? It’s so frustrating sometimes. It’s like seeing a great jacket in a store and you put it on and you go, ‘Is it me?’ And your friends are like, ‘Not really. You’re like, ‘But maybe I can make it me?’ And they’re like, ‘Not really.’ (laughs) Then you buy it anyway and then you never wear it. But for me, loving the song is number one. I think Eric (Church) said it, when we did ‘Raise ‘Em Up,’ he said, he goes, ‘Keith and I didn’t write this, but it feels like something we would’ve written.’ I thought that’s the perfect way to describe it. I think if you’re a writer and you want to cut a song you didn’t write, it’d be one you’d wished you’d written.”
“Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, wishing all the fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day. Here’s to you, Senior. Insert beer can opening sample (sound effect). (laughs)
Brandon Lay will be performing on Country Outdoors Live on the Outdoor Channel on Friday (May 29TH) beginning at 7pm ET/6pm CT.
Jordan Davis will be answering your questions about his new self-titled EP tonight (May 29th) on Instagram beginning at 7pm ET/6pm CT.
Caylee Hammack is joining fellow Georgian Trisha Yearwood this weekend as a guest on “Trisha’s Southern Kitchen.” Airing tomorrow (May 30th) on Food Network at Noon ET/11am CT, Hammack and Yearwood share stories of their roots and indulge in a menu that takes them back to their days in Georgia. Hammack was a guest on Yearwood’s tour late last year and the two bonded over small town life in Georgia.
Little Big Town will perform their new single, “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: At Home Edition on Monday (June 1st).
Brothers Osborne will be holding their 2020 Family Reunion fan club party virtually. The party will be on http://BrothersOsborne.com, exclusively for all members of The Family. The guys will also be doing a virtual m&g with a few lucky premium members.
Keith Urban and Reba McEntire have been added to the list of artists taking part in CMT CELEBRATES OUR HEROES: AN ARTISTS OF THE YEAR SPECIAL, premiering Wednesday (June 3rd) at 8pm ET/PT on CMT and will simulcast on Paramount Network, Pop TV and TV Land. The two-hour special will also include appearances by Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Lee Brice, Sean Penn, Gary Sinise, Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Munn and Zac Brown. Previously announced artists include Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker,
CMT aired their CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special on Wednesday night (June 3rd) with numerous appearances and performances by such artists as Carrie Underwood, Sam Hunt, Darius Rucker, Brothers Osborne, Little Big Town, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs, Blake Shelton, Kelsea Ballerini, Kane Brown, Jason Aldean, Lee Brice, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Florida Georgia Line Cand many more. The special honored heroes on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, including doctors, nurses, teachers, first responders and more.
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. However, by the turn of the 20th century, Memorial Day honored Americans who have sacrificed their lives in all wars.
“Hey! What’s up guys? We’re Brothers Osborne. We just wanted to send our thanks to all you service men and women and the ones who’ve gone before you for sacrificing time with your families, sacrificing your own needs and even sacrificing your lives so we can be free to do what we want to do. It means more than you’ll ever know.”
Eric Church (grandfathers in WW2) OC: …touching to me. :21 “Both of my grandfathers were World War II veterans. I mean, that’s something that’s very rare. I’m not unique, you know. There’s a lot of people out there like that that their grandfathers served. The way that I was raised was very much red, white and blue and very patriotic, and I think that it’s the fact that what they give up is the real thing that’s very touching to me.”
Sam Hunt (Memorial Day) OC: …those freedoms. :40
“My granddad was in World World II. He was on the USS Texas battleship, and he was over at Normandy and over near Japan and he spent a lot of time right in the thick of World War II. He really took pride in what that meant, and it was something I got to see it first hand, as somebody who got to experience that; somebody who had that galvanized American trait. It’s hard to describe it. It was just somebody who’s been through that, seen that and really appreciates what that means. I try to channel that into my life, because I haven’t fought in any war, but I have a ton of respect for folks who have, folks who’ve sacrificed, families who’ve lost lives and just sacrificed years of their own lives and time and effort to maintain those freedoms.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Photo courtesy Grand Ole Opry LLC. Chris Hollo, photographer
Grand Ole Opry members Keith Urban and Kelsea Ballerini as well as Warner Music Nashville’s rising singer/songwriter Morgan Evans performed on the Grand Ole Opry’s 4,924th consecutive Saturday night broadcast last night for fans watching around the world.
“I want to thank the Opry family here for the keeping the lights on. Keeping the circle moving,” said Urban. “It means the world to us and to everybody out there watching and listening tonight.”
“I was really interested to see what it was going to feel like to be in here without these pews full,” reflected Ballerini. “It’s still magic, still sounds good, feels rich and feels special. That just shows how special this place is.”
Urban kicked off the broadcast with “Coming Home” and offered other hits throughout the hour including “God Whispered Your Name,” “Long Hot Summer,” “Somebody Like You,” “Wasted Time,” and “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (as the Opry barn turned blue in honor of 2020 graduates).
Ballerini performed songs from her new album, “kelsea”, including the Opry debut of “a country song,” which she says was a song she put on her album specifically to play on the Opry stage. She also performed “hole in the bottle” and “homecoming queen?.”
Evans performed his debut hit single “Kiss Somebody” and honored the country’s frontline workers saying “Thank you to all the essential workers out there that have been keeping the world going and keeping us all safe as can be” before performing the first song he ever played by himself in public, the Glen Campbell classic “Try A Little Kindness.”
“In addition to the frontline workers and all the healthcare workers … I want to say a big thank you to all the drivers out there,” said Urban. “Truck drivers, van drivers, delivery people all over the world that are doing an amazing job getting everything where it needs to get to. Medical supplies and food and all the things we would normally take for granted. The fact that it is still arriving is not being done by magic. You guys are out there doing the hard work so we thank you. We thank your families too because that takes a lot of support on the homefront. So thank you to all of you.”
The show that made country music famous is scheduled to salute the United States Military with its annual pre-Memorial Day Salute the Troops Opry performance next Saturday, May 23. Among the artists scheduled to perform are Craig Morgan, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Kellie Pickler. This year the Opry will also honor essential workers who are on the frontline against the war on COVID-19.
Morgan, Chapman and Pickler will step on the stage Saturday, May 23 at 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT. Like this week’s show, next Saturday’s performance will be broadcast live on Circle and Gray TV stations, DISH Studio Channel 102, Sling TV and other TV affiliates in addition to a companion live stream on Circle All Access and YouTube. TV and radio personality Bobby Bones will host the Circle telecast, while Mike Terry will serve as radio announcer for those tuned in on 650 AM WSM and SiriusXM.
For the past ten weeks, during this current global pandemic, the Grand Ole Opry has overcome many challenges and obstacles as health guidelines and local/state government restrictions have evolved weekly. The Opry, with the help of its membership and wider artist and industry community, has continued to bring millions of fans around the world together to keep the music playing without an Opry House audience in attendance. Embracing today’s technology, the Opry is broadcast and streamed with a very small production team as the show’s artists perform acoustically.
The Opry’s paused shows without an audience since March 14 have included Opry members Trace Adkins, Bill Anderson, Garth Brooks, Terri Clark, Luke Combs, Dailey & Vincent, Vince Gill, Dustin Lynch, Craig Morgan, Brad Paisley, Jeannie Seely, Blake Shelton, Ricky Skaggs, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, and Trisha Yearwood along with special guests Lauren Alaina, Mandy Barnett, T. Graham Brown, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, Jason Crabb, Amy Grant and daughters Jenny Gill and Corrina Grant Gill, Ashley McBryde, Gwen Stefani, and Sam Williams.
Keith Urban took to a stage Thursday night (May 14th) to perform for first responders at the Stardust Drive-In Movie Theater, about 40 miles east of Nashville, Tennessee – the first performance of its kind in the United States. “To all of you guys here tonight, for everything that you’ve done, and continue to do, to all of your families, we say thank you – this concert is for all of you,” Urban said as he took to the stage.
The private, and unannounced show, which lasted over an hour, was set up exclusively for more than 200 doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians and staff from Vanderbilt Health, part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which has 140 locations throughout Tennessee and surrounding States. The nearly 125 vehicles honked and flashed their lights throughout the performance in support of Urban and in a show of unity to each other.
“I did this to say thanks to the healthcare workers who are putting their lives on the line for us every day,” said Urban. “And performing in this environment, with everyone in their cars at a safe distance from one another, seems like an amazing opportunity for everybody to just let go and have fun….and I’m a musician, I HAVE TO PLAY!”
