Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Sam Hunt, Toby Keith are among the artists performing during CMT’s upcoming special event, CMT Giants: Alabama.” The star-studded tribute concert, which will also feature performances by Blake Shelton with Steve Wariner, Jason Aldean, Old Dominion, Jamey Johnson and Riley Green, will celebrate the extensive and extraordinary career and music of one of the legendary supergroup, Alabama.
Filming at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville, the two-hour special will air later this year. Luke Bryan, Vince Gill, Lionel Richie, Martina McBride, Pam Tillis, Lorrie Morgan, boxer Evander Holyfield, among others will appear both in-person and virtually to share personal stories on Alabama’s impact on music, plus an all-new interview with Alabama.
Jordan Davis has released an acoustic version of his latest hit single, “Tucson Too Late.” The Louisiana native co-wrote the follow-up to his previous multi-week No. 1 “Next Thing You Know” with his brother Jacob Davis and brothers Josh and Matt Jenkins, the same dream team behind “Buy Dirt.”
Middle Tennessee, including Nashville and the surrounding areas, received several inches of snow Sunday night through Monday, and many of your favorite country stars (with their children and furbabies) enjoyed the snowstorm. Sam Hunt, who looked like he stepped out of the pages of a magazine, posted a photo of him and his daughter Lucy outside, while Jon Pardi, wife Summer (who is pregnant with their second daughter), daughter Presley and Jon’s father, along with the dogs enjoyed the snow after their flight to Mexico for LukeBryan‘s annual Crash My Playa event was postponed. Carrie Underwood posted in her IG stories a photo of son Jacob looking out the window at the snow, as well as a photo of making sourdough cinnamon snowflakes. Maddie & Tae‘s Maddie Font posted photos of both her and husband Jonah with baby son Forrest looking out the window at the huge snowfall on her IG story.
Brothers Osborne will perform during the iHeartCountry Festival on May 4th in Austin, Texas. Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean, Old Dominion, Ashley McBryde and many others will also perform. Tickets to the public go on sale January 26th at 1pm ET at Ticketmaster.
Travis Denning and Kip Moore will join HARDY on his upcoming Quit!! Tour, kicking off May 30th in Rogers, Arkansas. Ella Langley and Stephen Wilson, Jr. will also be on the bill.
Chris Stapleton earned three new heavy metal certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.). His latest single “White Horse” and “The Devil Always Made Me Think Twice” from his Starting Over was certified Gold, while “I Was Wrong” on his 2017 From A Room: Volume 2 has been certified Platinum.
Little Big Town‘s “Boondocks” is now three-times Platinum. The foursome co-wrote the song with Wayne Kirkpatrick and released it in 2005 as the first single from their second album, The Road To Here, and it became their first Top 10 hit.
Sam Hunt‘s current single, “Outskirts,” is certified Gold. The Georgia native co-wrote the song with Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Jerry Flowers.
KaceyMusgraves‘ “Rainbow,” “High Horse” and “Butterflies” have all been certified Platinum.
Audio / Chris Stapleton talks about writing “White Horse.”
Chris Stapleton (White Horse) OC: …guitar riff, really. :37 “’White Horse’ was a song that I wrote with my friend, Dan Wilson. We were out in Los Angeles, it was about I think probably late 2012, early 2013, and there was a movie called the Lone Ranger that was coming out, and I walked in the room to write with Dan at his house, and he said, ‘Hey they’re looking for songs for this Lone Ranger movie.’ I said, ‘Cool. Let’s write something. What do you know about it?’ He goes, ‘Well, we don’t really know anything.’ I was like, ‘Well, let’s just make a song that might sound like that.’ And so, that’s kind of where that came from, and we got to talking about how it would be cool to have a kind of rock-driven-western-themed song, and that’s kind of where the song came from and we kind of built it around a guitar riff, really.”
Audio / SAM HUNT TALKS ABOUT HIS SONG "OUTSKIRTS."
Sam Hunt (Outskirts) OC: …gist of it. :55 “It’s going to sort of be in line with this character who has come to a crossroads in his life between sort of choosing the world and his dreams and maybe a family and future kids and his roots. And as he gets off down the road, out into the world, he’s kind of looking back like, uh, did I do the right thing here? That’s kind of the theme that runs through most of these songs that’ll be coming out here. But it’sthe idea is, uh, that, you know, he’s living in town and fills his schedule and always busy just trying to find his way in the world. And it’s easy to do in town, but as soon as he gets out, out on the outskirts of town, he’s reminded of the choice, the road he didn’t take, and he’s second guessing whether or not he’s on the right path or not. So that’s essentially the gist of it.”
Sam Hunt revealed to PEOPLE Magazine the identity of his second-born child. He and his wife Hannah Lee Fowler welcomed a baby boy named Lowry Lee on October 24th. His name comes from his parents’ middle names — Lowry is Sam’s, while Lee is Hannah’s.
Lowry Lee joined 18-month-old big sister Lucy Louise (Lu).
The pair announced their son’s arrival last week on Instagram.
Sam is making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Outskirts.”
Concluding a significant year for the publishing powerhouse, CTM Outlander today announces the acquisition of five-time GRAMMY nominated, multi-platinum-selling, award-winning singer/songwriter Sam Hunt’s publishing catalog and signing of Hunt to a go-forward publishing deal for his future works. Hunt is widely cited as one of the most innovative writers in country music.
Global superstar Sam Hunt has quickly assumed recognition from both inside and outside the country music community for his blending of genres, incorporating the use of R&B and pop into the production and songwriting of his songs. Hunt has been honored with numerous awards including multiple Academy of Country Music Awards, an American Music Award, CMT Music Award, and multiple nominations for the GRAMMYs, Country Music Association Awards and Billboard Music Awards.
CTM Outlander is a partnership between the innovative and disruptive Dallas, Texas-based Outlander Capital, led by Les Ware and Mike McKool, and the Dutch-based leading independent music entertainment company CTM, led by industry veteran André de Raaff.
“Discussing the sale of some of my catalog took a while and I am glad that it did, as I got to know André and his CTM Outlander team better and better. They continued to meet with me and my team over the last several months to discuss what working together might look like. I appreciate their diligence and belief in what I am doing as an artist, and more importantly, as a songwriter. I believe we will have a productive partnership both internationally and here at home,” said Hunt.
André de Raaff (CEO, CTM Outlander): “Sam has been on our radar for a long time, and we were very eager to work with him. Since we landed in Nashville, we signed some of the most prolific songwriters like Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby, Ross Copperman and Michael Tyler. By adding Sam to our roster, who is not only one of the most respected songwriters in town but also a global superstar and touring artist, we feel we can service the community even better.
We are truly honored that Sam, after being in talks with us for a long time, decided to sign with our company. Sam is an example of an artist and songwriter that we can help move forward in the international market; his body of work doesn’t only dominate the U.S. radio waves and streaming world but also travels throughout the world. We look forward to supporting Sam in his endeavors and expansion, and are excited to work with him in the country music space and international scene.”
Mike McKool (Director, CTM Outlander): “We’re thrilled to add a singer-songwriter with the stature of Sam Hunt to the CTM Outlander family. Not only is he the type of artist that we want to be in business with, but more importantly he’s the type of person that we want to invest in. Sam has clearly experienced an immense amount of success, and our goal at CTM Outlander is to provide Sam with the resources he needs to achieve all his future endeavors.”
Hunt’s debut studio album, Montevallo, broke several chart records with five singles, including three consecutive Hot Country Songs chart and four Country Airplay chart number ones. The lead single from the album, “Leave The Night On,” peaked concurrently on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, making Hunt the first country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus 22 years ago, to reach the top of three country charts simultaneously in the Nielsen SoundScan-era.
Hunt released his GRAMMY-nominated, Triple-Platinum-selling sophomore album titled Southside in 2020, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and in the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 200 all-genre chart. The album was also named one of the Best Albums of the Year by The New York Times and US Weekly.
The Georgia native has nine No. 1 hits including: “Body Like a Back Road,” “Kinfolks,” “Hard to Forget,” “House Party,” “Leave The Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “Make You Miss Me,” and “Breaking Up Was Easy In The 90’s.” Hunt also has success as a songwriter with several top artists. Some of his No. 1 hits as a songwriter include “Come Over” by Kenny Chesney, “Cop Car” by Keith Urban, “I Met A Girl” by William Michael Morgan and “We Are Tonight” by Billy Currington. Hunt has continued his success with the release of his No. 1 hit “23” and his current radio single “Outskirts,” which is currently Top 40 and climbing on country radio.
Hunt’s single “Body Like A Back Road” recently obtained RIAA Diamond-certification (10x platinum), becoming the 8th country artist ever to reach this status. The single has since surpassed that status, and currently sits at 11x Platinum-certification.
George Strait and Jon Pardi will take part in a tribute show celebrating the late singer-songwriter-musician-producer Keith Gattis at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl on Tuesday (November 28th). Sheryl Crow, Wade Bowen, Randy Houser, Dean Dillon, Jack Ingram and Kendell Marvel, among others will also perform.
During a recent television taping, Jon Pardi‘s Aunt Shane got to meet her idol, Wynonna, and she couldn’t have been more excited.
Reba McEntire joined Willie Geist for his TODAY Show Sunday Sitdown on NBC on Sunday (November 26th) to share details on her emotional moment at Madison Square Garden concert and her first big break in music. She also talked about her new book “Not That Fancy,” which is chock-full of stories about family, friends and parties with Solo cups.
Sam Hunt and his wife Hannah Lee Fowler welcomed their second child earlier this month. Sam revealed Baby Hunt No. 2 had arrived with a social post, writing, “Thank you, Lord.”
The War And Treaty (Michael and Tanya Trotter) performed a stunning rendition of the National Anthem on Thanksgiving Day ahead of the Detroit Lions versus Green Bay Packers game.
Mickey Guyton is set to host the National Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday (November 30th). This year’s special holiday event will feature performances by Darren Criss, Samara Joy, Ledisi, Reneé Rapp, St. Vincent, Joe Walsh and Dionne Warwick, as well as performances by the United States Coast Guard’s Guardians Big Band. CBS will broadcast the event on December 15th and you can stream it live on Paramount+.
“Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. If I were to re-write the ’12 Days of Christmas,’ I would include things like chocolate, Bourbon, guitars and maybe not French Hens or Geese a’laying.”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Penguin James Penguin)
The Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth, in the state that’s now known as Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s. People now celebrate the holiday by giving thanks for their blessings over the past year, as well as feasting on turkey and other festive goodies.
Some festive fun facts about Thanksgiving:
President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3rd, 1863.
Harry Truman is often credited with being the first president to pardon a turkey, but that’s not quite true. He was the first to receive a ceremonial turkey from the National Turkey Federation – and he had it for dinner. John F. Kennedy was the first to let a Thanksgiving turkey go, followed by Richard Nixon who sent his turkey to a petting zoo. George H.W. Bush is the president who formalized the turkey pardoning tradition in 1989.
The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4,500.
Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions via their Butterball Turkey Hotline each November and December.
The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has become known as “Drinksgiving.” Bars experience a huge boom the night before the holiday.
Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 23rd, and most people might be enjoying time with a group of their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Catie Offerman, Caylee Hammack, Dalton Dover, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Jon Langston, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire, Sam Hunt, Travis Denning, Tyler Hubbard and more. They share their thoughts of thanks this year, their lessons in gratitude, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his favorite Thanksgiving dish.
AJ (Thanksgiving) OC: …enjoy it. :19 “My favorite Thanksgiving dish would be the homemade dressin’ that we, cornbread-based kind of dressin’ that we always have with turkey. That recipe is a kind of a combination of my mama, and Denise has taken it and perfected it over the years, so that me and my children really enjoy it.”
Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Thanksgiving tradition – a Misfits Thanksgiving -- that they started when they moved to Nashville because they couldn’t afford to go home for the holiday.
Brothers Osborne (Misfits Thanksgiving) OC: (TJ) …Happy holidays, y’all. 1:02 “What’s up, y’all? It’s Brothers Osborne here. And a Thanksgiving tradition that we did for so many years. John and I would host what we would call a Misfits Thanksgiving, and we would have everyone, I mean we must’ve done this for 15 years or so and it really started because we didn’t have enough money to go back home to see our family, so we would hang out in Nashville. And so everyone that was kind of in our same shoes, we’d all end up at our house, and it really turned into really blossoming some of our most cherished relationships. We would be there with Kacey Musgraves. It was the first time I really got to hang out with Mickey Guyton (JOHN: “Maren Morris.”) Maren Morris. They would come over and we just became like family to each other because we couldn’t get home to see our own families. And that’s a Thanksgiving tradition that we still to this day try to keep, and it’s a revolving door of who’s there or who’s not there, but yeah, it’s a wonderful tradition. And let me tell you, spending it with our friends in Nashville, there’s a little less arguing than back home. (laughs)” JOHN: “We’re still arguing, but we get over it faster.” (laughs) TJ: “Anyways, Happy Holidays, y’all.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood says she’s grateful for her family.
Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving 2023) OC: …we all are. :30 “I am grateful for so many things this Thanksgiving. I think the thing I’m most grateful for, though, is family. I mean, that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what this life is all about. I’m blessed to have two incredible boys that I get to take care of and that love on me daily, and they’re just giant blessings in my life, and of course, my extended family, as well. That’s what this time of year’s all about – getting together and just realizing how blessed we all are.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood says she and her family don’t have too many Thanksgiving traditions.
Carrie Underwood (Thanksgiving) OC: …the other one. :34 “We don’t have too many set-in-stone Thanksgiving traditions. I find myself a lot of times working on or around Thanksgiving or unable to get home or whatever. We try to be together, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out. But yeah, I mean, I think it’s just about we eat. I eat a lot every year on Thanksgiving. [laughs] I never skip THAT tradition. But yeah, that’s the gist of it, and I’m kind of lucky. I get two Thanksgivings, because I also get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, so if I don’t hit one, I’ll definitely be able to get the other one.”
Catie Offerman (Thanksgiving) OC: …what I do. :17 “I am so thankful for a lot of things. I think my family, the gift of being able to put music out this year has been huge for me. I think that’s something I’ve waited on for a really long time, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for my health and just being able to keep playing music and doing what I do.”
Audio / Caylee Hammack says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, because she gets to just spend time with her family.
Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving) OC: …favorite holiday. :27 “Thanksgiving is the one holiday where we stay at home. We stay at my family’s house, and it’s just me, my mom and dad, my brother and sister and their families. We all sit around and just eat all day. And I love Thanksgiving because you don’t have to worry about getting gifts for people; you don’t have to worry about wrapping them. You just show up and you eat all day with the people you love. So, I absolutely love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday.”
Audio / Caylee Hammack talks about her favorite Thanksgiving dish.
Caylee Hammack (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …cranberry jelly. :15 “My favorite Thanksgiving meal (dish) is definitely cornbread dressing. My mom makes the best, er, some people call it stuffing, but I’ve always called it dressing for some reason. But I love that with canned cranberry jelly.”
Audio / Dalton Dover says this one dish HAS to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.
Darius Rucker (favorite part of Thanksgiving) OC: …my family. :17 “My favorite part of Thanksgiving is easy – it’s food. It’s eating. It’s hanging out with family and getting some great food, ‘cause that’s really what Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for all of the great things you’ve got, and I always give thanks for the greatest thing I’ve got and that’s my family.”
Audio / Zealous football fan Darius Rucker says Thanksgiving is his favorite sporting day of the year.
Darius Rucker (Thanksgiving Day favorite sporting day) OC: …big for me. :10 “Thanksgiving Day is my favorite sports day of the year. It’s crazy how much football you get to watch (laughs) on Thanksgiving Day, so I really like that a lot. Thanksgiving is big for me.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley, who is thankful for his wife, two daughters and son, talks about his Thanksgiving must-have! It’s an oldie, but a goodie!
Dierks Bentley (Thanksgiving must-have) OC: …for Thanksgiving. :34 “You gotta have a big turkey. Thanksgiving is not possible without a turkey. We cook it traditionally, but when we’re in, a couple of Thanksgivings ago, we were here in Nashville, we did the whole fry the turkey up, and it was great. It just tasted so good; all those juices get locked in there, and I love that too. You really can’t, to me, cook a turkey wrong. I’m gonna eat it any way, and I have over the years. Trust me, I’ve played a lot of county and state fairs, where I’ve seen gigantic turkey legs, you know, I’ve had the flat meat. I’ve done turkey every way you could do it. I’m pretty good any way you want to cook it up, but you’ve got to have a turkey for Thanksgiving.”
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about his childhood Thanksgiving traditions.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving) OC: …lot of football. :12 “When I was growing up at Thanksgiving, we just got all the family together. You know, did the traditional turkey, ham, all the sides, but it was always at either one of my grandparents’ house. Just a lot of family, a lot of food and a lot of football.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says his favorite Thanksgiving side dish makes him happy all year round.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving side dish) 2 OC: …Cheese guy. :09 “My favorite Thanksgiving side dish – Macaroni and Cheese – anytime. Thanksgiving, a random Tuesday. I don’t care. I’m a Macaroni and Cheese guy.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says one of his new favorite Thanksgiving traditions is frying a turkey.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving turkey) OC: …most forward to. :11 “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me? I just recently got into frying the turkey, so I’m the turkey-frying guy, and I’m getting pretty good at it. So, I would have to say that’s my thing that I look most forward to.”
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about the Davis family Thanksgiving.
Jordan Davis (Thanksgiving memory) OC: …really special. :17 “A typical Thanksgiving in the Davis household growing up – we would always go to East Texas to my grandparents’ house. You know, during the day, me and my grandfather would always go fish. My grandma would always have a huge spread, and just get to spend time around a lot of family members I don’t get to see a lot of, so they were always really special.”
Audio / Josh Turner shares his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.
Josh Turner (fave side dish) OC: …’em myself. [laughs] :24 “Uh, deviled eggs! [laughs] Where I’m from in South Carolina, I don’t think I’ve tasted a bad deviled egg. It’s like everybody has their own twist on it, but they’re all good, but I always loved it when my mama made ‘em. I’m learning as I get older, making deviled eggs is no easy task. It’s more complicated than it looks, and so that’s probably why I never made ‘em myself.” [laughs]
Audio / Josh Turner explains what he enjoys about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Josh Turner (holidays) OC: …the peace and quiet. :38 “I love being outside in nature and the outdoors, and the holidays is a great time for me to go and partake in that part of my life. A lot of times, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a little cold to go fishing, but when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a great time to go hunting, especially in South Carolina, that’s when the temperatures are starting to drop and the conditions are getting right, and especially in November, kind of the tail end of the rut, as far as deer season. So, it’s a good time to get in the deer stand whether you kill anything or not, it’s just a great time to just get away from everything and get away from the noise and the lights and the diesel fumes [laughs] and just relax and just enjoy the peace and quiet.”
My first Thanksgiving actually was with a family who, it was the Crane family. I was friends with the guy called Billy Crane and his brother was the guitarist in Charlie Daniels band. And so the Crane family, very, very, very Southern, that was my first Thanksgiving and it was the greatest experience because first of all, I realized like, I make sure you don’t eat two days before Thanksgiving. Don’t eat anything for two days because not only are there going to be like eight dishes all brought by all the relatives. All the relatives are watching to see if you eat their dish. And Billy Crane was saying to me, oh, you got to try this, you got to try that. And I’m like, I’m good. And I go, no, no, no, I’m saying you have because they’re watching. It was awesome.
Audio / The members of Little Big Town love Thanksgiving since they get time off to be with their families.
LBT (Thanksgiving) 2 OC: (Kimberly) …and eat. :31
KIMBERLY: “Thanksgiving—we love Thanksgiving, ‘cause we get to be with our families and we don’t often get to spend time with our families, our extended families, until the holidays. I love being around the table with my family and talking and laughing and cooking and eating…” JIMI: “And eating and eating and eating and eating…” PHILLIP: “The laughter around the eating, the good cheer, the celebration, the music…” JIMI: “The eating, going taking a nap, then coming back and eating.” KIMBERLY: “Go to bed with a full belly, take a nap, and then get up and eat.”
Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about their Thanksgiving traditions.
Maddie & Tae (Thanksgiving) OC: (TAE) …I do. :41
MADDIE: “I love Thanksgiving because I get to see my family, and it’s not as much pressure as Christmas I feel like because there are no gifts exchanged. It’s just all about quality time and I love quality time. My favorite dish is some broccoli-cheese casserole and Tae’s favorite dish, I know, is cranberry sauce, just plain. Just plain ole cranberry sauce, no turkey, just cranberry sauce.” TAE: “She knows.” MADDIE: “That’s it.” TAE: “I genuinely feel there’s something wrong with me. (MADDIE: “Out of the can.”) out of the can. My parents know just to have cranberry sauce for me, like no one else can touch it. There’s a home video where my brother Mason tries to eat it, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? This is mine.’” MADDIE: “She eats it out of the can.” TAE: “I do.”
Audio / Mickey Guyton talks about one of her favorite Thanksgiving traditions.
Mickey Guyton (Thanksgiving traditions) OC: …Thanksgiving traditions. :17 “One of my Thanksgiving traditions is playing charades after Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not the most competitive person in the world, but as soon as you put some Charades in the picture, I am crazy, and you will definitely want to be on my team if we’re playing Charades. I’m just saying. So, that’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions.”
Audio / Mickey Guyton reveals her favorite Thanksgiving dish.
Mickey Guyton (favorite Thanksgiving dish) OC: …both so much! :39
“My favorite Thanksgiving dish that has to, has to, has to be at Thanksgiving dinner is dessert. Dessert is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. I mean, it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s sweet. My mom actually makes an Italian cream cake that’s absolutely awesome. It’s homemade, and the entire family, that’s the first thing to go at Thanksgiving dinner. And my Grandma D, she makes a pecan pie that is awesome. She taught me how to make them when I was little, and I just love them, and that’s the other thing that I look forward to at Thanksgiving dinner, and I love them both so much!”
Audio / Parker McCollum talks about his family’s Thanksgiving tradition.
Parker McCollum (Thanksgiving tradition) OC: …go there. :27 “I mean, my parents have been split up for a long time, but they’re all from the same town. My mom and dad went to high school together and all that stuff and all the family still lives back there on both sides. So, we kind of do a Thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family, but all my life, we’ve always gone to my mom’s parents’ house on Thanksgiving, and they got a big ole house and a bunch of property and it’s really where I grew up is right there. That’s kind of home for me, so that’s kind of our thing. We always go there.”
Audio / One of Parker McCollum’s favorite dishes at Thanksgiving is his Aunt’s creamed corn.
Priscilla Block (Thanksgiving) OC: …so much. :34 “Thanksgiving has always been chaos, actually any holiday that my entire family is there is straight chaos. But for Thanksgiving, we all try so hard to be together and it’s such a fun holiday to, my family’s a little cheesy. Like, we actually still go around the table and being like, ‘What are you thankful for?’ ‘What are you thankful for?’ So, that means a lot where it’s not about presents, it’s not about anything else. It’s just about truly being thankful, and that’s why I love Thanksgiving so much.”
Audio / Reba McEntire explains what she's most thankful for this year.
Reba McEntire (Thankful) OC: …happy camper. :39 “Omigosh I wake up in the morning grateful that I can, that I’m alive, I can breathe, I can move, I can get out of bed on my own. (I’m) very grateful for the lifestyle that I have and if anybody needs help, please Lord please, direct me in what you want me to do. Just grateful for getting Rex in my life, my family being healthy and happy, my friends being healthy and happy. I’ve got a great job and people I love and get to work with, and I’ve got a huge faith. So, no matter what happens to me, I know where I’m going, so I’m a happy camper.”
Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his favorite Thanksgiving eats.
Sam Hunt (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …disappears. :12 “When I pile my plate up, it’s mostly turkey and then I’ll put a little dressing on the side, and I’ll usually go ahead and grab my dessert on the first run [laughs] and have it ready before it all disappears.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about a typical Thanksgiving holiday growing up.
Travis Denning (typical Thanksgiving holiday) OC: …a lot of people. :22 “A typical Thanksgiving growing up was essentially and the men of the family – Dad and Uncle Mike and my granddaddy — watching football, while grandmama and my mom pretty much yelled at each other in the kitchen the whole day. But they threw down and made the best food you could ever imagine, which you know is kind of how it is for a lot of people.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about his ideal Thanksgiving menu.
Travis Denning (Thanksgiving menu) OC: …then beer. :17 “The ideal Thanksgiving menu to me is a little bit of turkey, but definitely prioritizing ham. I’m a firm believer in ham at Thanksgiving. Squash casserole, broccoli casserole, stuffing and then beer.”
Audio / Tyler Hubbard talks about his favorite Thanksgiving traditions.
Tyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving) OC: …I love it. :22 “Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me is probably just getting together with family, having a big meal and watching a little football and taking a nice long nap. I mean, we didn’t reinvent the wheel with Thanksgiving by any means. But my Nanny (grandmother) does make a pretty mean sweet potato casserole, so that’s one of my favorites that I look forward to and I don’t know if that’s a tradition or not, but in my head it is. I love it.”
Tyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving 2024) OC: …be grateful. :47 “This year’s Thanksgiving, it’s a time to reflect and I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for. This year’s been incredible. On the personal front, on the professional front, I have so much to be grateful. (I) got to do my first headline tour. I got to put out my second album, got to go to Australia and Canada and yeah, it’s just been a great year. I had a lot of great time with the family, as well, got to go on some great trips and so I’m just in a place of gratitude all around. Life is good, and I can think back to times when life wasn’t so sweet and life was a lot more difficult, so this is truly a time where I’m just reflecting and being grateful for the things in my life – my kiddos, my wife, our house and just the time together. Anyway, it’s been a great year, and I’m excited to shut it down for a little bit of time and just reflect and be grateful.”
Diamond-selling hitmaker Sam Hunt releases new song “Came The Closest” today. Hunt continues to master somber introspection and aching reflection with this latest tune written with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, which Hunt also co-produced with Zach Crowell. To the relief of his fans, Hunt has surprise dropped new music every few months including his recent “Women In My Life,” “Start Nowhere,” “Water Under The Bridge” and his latest country radio staple, “Outskirts.”
Hunt recently announced his arena headlining OUTSKIRTS TOUR 2024 produced by Live Nation. On sale today, the tour kicks off Feb. 22 in Grand Rapids with stops across the country including Louisville, Nashville, Milwaukee, Green Bay, and more. Special guests include multi-Platinum-selling country artist Brett Young and fellow Georgia-native Lily Rose. For ticketing and more information, visit www.SamHunt.com/Tour.
Came The Closest – written by Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, and Josh Osborne
I cut my hair off, I wore a tie
Woke up at 7, came home at 5 for a while
I traded whiskey for Miller Lite
And I know your momma calls me polite
Mr. Right
Aw, but that ain’t right
‘Cause I always gotta know what’s behind the other door
I’m never gonna be that straight-laced Sunday morning man you were lookin’ for
Nobody’s ever tied me down in clapboard house
With some kids and a bed of roses
But you came the closest
We never married ’cause I never asked
I left the diamond under the glass
Someday you’ll be glad
‘Cause you’ll find somebody who shaves everyday
When your dad comes around
He’ll know what to say
I just ain’t that way, I just ain’t that way
‘Cause I always gotta know what’s behind the other door
I’m never gonna be that straight-laced Sunday morning man you were lookin’ for
Nobody’s ever tied me down in clapboard house
With some kids and a bed of roses
But you came the closest
Moving on is the only thing I know how to do
If I could’ve stood still then I would have stood still with you
But I always gotta know what’s behind the other door
I’m never gonna be that straight-laced Sunday morning man you were lookin’ for
Nobody’s ever tied me down in clapboard house
With some kids and a bed of roses
But you came the closest
You came the closest
About Sam Hunt: Sam Hunt is a five-time GRAMMY-nominated, Diamond-selling, award-winning hitmaker. His sophomore album SOUTHSIDE debuted to critical acclaim and was one of the top country albums of 2020 landing at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Named one of the Best Albums of the Year by The New York Times and US Weekly, the Platinum-selling project features 12 songs all written by Hunt including his No. 1 hits “Kinfolks,” “Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90’s,” one of NPR’s Best Songs of 2020 “Hard To Forget,” and his three-week No. 1, Diamond-selling, GRAMMY-nominated smash, “Body Like A Back Road.” Hunt also wrote his most recent, eighth chart-topping hit “23,” his latest radio staple “Outskirts,” and recent releases, “Start Nowhere,” “Water Under the Bridge,” “Walmart,” and “Women In My Life.”
SOUTHSIDE follows Hunt’s GRAMMY-nominated, Triple-Platinum-selling debut album, MONTEVALLO, which also topped the Billboard Country Albums chart and produced four No. 1 singles. All ten tracks on MONTEVALLO are RIAA certified with seven achieving Platinum or Multi-Platinum status including “Leave the Night On,” “House Party,” “Take Your Time,” “Break Up In A Small Town,” “Speakers,” and “Make You Miss Me.”
Called “stylistically provocative” by The New York Times and “deceptively phenomenal” by The Washington Post, Hunt has received accolades from Associated Press, Billboard, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, SPIN Magazine, Village Voice, The New York Times,The Washington Post and more. Since MONTEVALLO’s 2014 release, Hunt has accumulated over 14 billion global streams and has earned 47.5 million RIAA certified units.
