What are some of your favorite stars doing to welcome in the New Year? A few of them are working to help fans celebrate. Several artists have taken the time off around the holidays and will hit it hard when they return to the road in 2022. Some artists have resolutions, some artists look ahead to 2022 and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.
For several country stars, they’ll be ringing in the new year with Dierks Bentley in Nashville on New Year’s Eve as CBS presents NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH on Friday (December 31st) at 8-11pm ET/PT and 11:30pm-1:30am ET/PT. The special programming will air on CBS and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Originating from downtown Nashville across multiple locations, the star-studded special will be packed with high-energy performances celebrating the excitement and anticipation of a new year. In addition to Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Sam Hunt, Jon Pardi, BRELAND, Jason Aldean, Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Brooks & Dunn, Dan + Shay, Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell and Zac Brown Band, among others will perform.
Music City has built an outstanding reputation for hosting the most musical New Year’s celebration and country’s biggest party. The five-hour celebration will feature nearly 50 performances from locations across the city, including the main stage in Nashville’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park anchored by headliners Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band and Dan + Shay. The broadcast will cross multiple time zones, with the traditional countdown at midnight ET, culminating with the renowned Nashville music note drop and fireworks at midnight CT.
Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about how people spend the last moments of the year, and the first moments of the new year.
DownloadBrothers Osborne (New Year) OC: (TJ) …next month. :44
JOHN: “I think it’s kind of funny how we spend literally the last moment and the very first moment of every year being extremely intoxicated, extremely, because you don’t want to wait until like 12:30 to get your buzz on. You’ve got to do it before midnight, and then once midnight happens, you’re like, ‘Omigod! Now it’s time to celebrate even more.’ Debauchery is the literally bookending your entire year.” TJ: “I love how everyone starts the year off with diets and then we end the year with like excessive amounts of food. And then you get to the end of the year, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to start a diet on the 1st, so I’m going to eat everything that’s in front of me.’ I love it.” JOHN: “And come February 1st, ‘what diet?’” [laughs] TJ: “What diet? I’ll start it next month.” [laughs]
Audio / John Osborne of Brothers Osborne says a little hair of the dog is definitely the cure for a hangover.
DownloadBrothers Osborne (hangover cure) OC: …of the year. :07
“Usually drinking more. I mean, a little hair of the dog never hurt anybody. Plus, it’s the first of the year.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about the big New Year’s Eve special from Nashville he’s headlining.
DownloadDierks Bentley (New Year’s Eve 2021) OC: …on CBS. 1:07
“I haven’t played a New Year’s Eve show in a really long time. Somewhere along the way, I just decided I wanted to be a regular fan of New Year’s Eve and just be doing the stuff with my kids and watching the ball, the countdown in New York or in Colorado, I think we had a pair of skis that came down instead of a ball. But I just kind of enjoy being off and just doing all that, but when I found out that this big CBS special is happening in my adopted hometown of Nashville where I’ve lived for almost 30 years, I really wanted to be a part of it, because it’s a special moment for the city, it’s a special moment for country music. I love our town and I love country music, and I watch the stuff out of New York and some of the other networks that do New Year’s Eve Countdowns, and there’s no reason why Nashville shouldn’t, why Country Music shouldn’t be the No. 1 thing everyone’s watching on New Year’s Eve. We have all the artists and they’re all great to work with and they’re just gonna put on great performances and I think it’ll be a big moment for the city and a big moment for Country Music. So, I asked the powers that be if I could be a part of it, and they said yes, and I’m really excited to showcase our city on CBS.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley talks about special guests for this year's New Year's Eve TV special.
DownloadDierks Bentley (New Year’s Eve Special guests) OC: …one-time event. :31
“There’s so many artists down there, so many people involved. I think they had maybe 50 different artists performing at this event, so definitely would love to have some collaborations. I’ve looked around to see who else is also performing on the stage with me and there’s some great artists there, so if they’re hanging around, we’ll definitely be pulling people up and trying to make it great.’ Cause it’s not just about the people watching on CBS, I think we’ll have over 100-thousand people in the Bicentennial Mall, so really want to make it special for all of the Nashville people and the people who traveled to Nashville for this one-time event.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley says he's not making any resolutions for 2022 other than to enjoy every moment and have gratitude for what he does get to do, especially after the past two years.
DownloadDierks Bentley (2022) OC: …you know. :30
“Just like everyone coming out of 2020 and coming back into this year, it’s been such a great year for us to be back out on the road and readjusting life in Nashville. I can’t say I have any 2022 resolutions other than just enjoying every day and enjoying every show and getting a chance to make a record right now; it kind of feels like starting all over again because of what we’ve been through the last two years. So, no, I’m just looking for another great year and again, it’s a lot of gratitude for what I get to do moreso than ever just because 2020 and…you know.”
Audio / Eric Church has a couple of hangover cures for those times (especially on New Year’s Eve) when you might imbibe a little too much.
DownloadEric Church (hangover cure) OC: …every time. :17
“The best hangover cure – I’ve got two. One is 5-hour Energy [bottles], because of all the B-vitamins that are in it. You can start pounding those, and it’s either gonna work, or it’s gonna keep you up and prolong your misery. But the other one I have is just take two Advil and a beer in the morning. Hair of the dog, man – that works every time.”
Audio / Jon Pardi says he's looking forward to new music in 2022.
DownloadJon Pardi (2022) OC: …this album. :20
“What I’m looking forward to the most for 2022 is a brand new album. We haven’t had no time to work on it because I’ve (only) been home about two or three days for the past three months, it seems like, and I haven’t been writing. I’ve been doing nothing but touring. So, I’m gonna get some songwriting in and finish this album.”
Audio / Jon Pardi says Bloody Marys are the way to go to cure a hangover.
DownloadJon Pardi (hangover cure) OC: …deal with it. :20
“My hangover cure is Bloody Marys, but be careful – because once you have a couple, don’t go to beer, because if you go to beer, you’re gonna start drinking again and you’ll end up a morning drunk. OR if you want to go the non-alcoholic route, there’s nothing you can do for hangovers. [laughs] You just go deal with it.”
Audio / Jordan Davis takes a look back at 2021.
DownloadJordan Davis (reflecting back on 2021) OC: …of 2021. :18
“Reflecting back on 2021, man, we released the EP Buy Dirt, and that’s been really special for us, so seeing that EP really connect with the fans, and the son in general, you know, ‘Buy Dirt’ with me and Luke has been really, really cool to see people gravitate towards that one. So, that’s been one of the coolest things of 2021.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says the biggest thing he's looking forward to in 2022 is playing for the fans.
DownloadJordan Davis (2022) OC: …the fans. :15
“Looking ahead to 2022, just getting back on the road playing shows. We’re going out with Dierks early in the year, and then just gonna stay busy for the rest of the year playing shows. So, really the thing I’m most looking forward to is just getting back on the road and playing for the fans.”
Audio / Kacey Musgraves has her own hangover cure.
DownloadKacey Musgraves (hangover cure) OC: …water. Yup! :32
“Coconut water is a major help with hangovers and also, a lot of times we go and eat Vietnamese pho. It’s a soup, and it’s got this awesome broth. You can get different things in it or whatever, but for some reason, it’s just like…it’s almost like a chicken noodle soup kind of an idea, you know, but it’s good. That’s good for hangovers too. That, sleep, Tylenol, coconut water and just water, in general. And when you’re drinking, have your alcohol, drink a little bit of water, drink some more alcohol, drink some water. Yup!”
Audio / Kip Moore gives advice on how to avoid a hangover on New Year’s Eve.
DownloadKip Moore (avoiding hangovers on NYE) OC: …yourself. :03
“Pace yourself on New Year’s – that’s the remedy. Pace yourself.”
Audio / Lauren Alaina reflects back on 2021.
DownloadLauren Alaina (reflecting back on 2021) OC: …normalcy. :23
“When I reflect back on 2021, I think the thing that stands out most to me is how much I’ve realized that we’re all in this together. Even though we’re all separated, and it’s been such a rough couple of years, I have felt overwhelming love and support from people, and I hope that everyone is feeling that and that we’re all feeling like we’re getting back to some sort of normalcy.”
Audio / Lauren Alaina talks about her hopes for 2022.
DownloadLauren Alaina (2022) OC: …as I can. :19
“My hopes for 2022 are normalcy (laughs). As much as we can get back to our lives, I’m looking forwarding to touring. I’m looking forward to celebrating my new album, Sitting Pretty On Top Of The World, and getting to play that music in front of my fans and just connecting with people as much as I can.”
Audio / Luke Bryan’s favorite New Year’s Eve has to be when he and his now wife Caroline reunited.
DownloadLuke Bryan (New Years-best) OC: …great night. :17
“My best New Year’s Eve is definitely when my wife and I started back dating. We started back dating right before Christmas, and we went on a trip down to Florida and met some friends. And her birthday is New Year’s Eve. We celebrated it that night. It was just a great night.”
Audio / Priscilla Block is looking forward to 2022 for more music, more shows and meeting more fans.
DownloadPriscilla Block (2022) OC: …awesome year. :33
“I cannot believe that 2021 is almost over. This has been seriously one of the best years of my life. And I’m just so thankful I’ve been able to put out new music, meet new fans. I am so excited for 2022. I feel like it’s just gonna be bigger and badder. I cannot wait for y’all to hear new music, me get out on the road and meet all of y’all, and I think it’s gonna be a really, really awesome year.”
Audio / Travis Denning recalls his favorite New Year’s Eve party.
DownloadTravis Denning (favorite New Year’s Eve party) OC: …it was good. :41
“I think my favorite New Year’s Eve party ever was when my sister got married, and my sister’s party got done at 10:30, 10:45 and she got married right behind a little club that I played a lot in Macon, Georgia called the Crazy Bull and love the owner. We’re boys, you know? So, we just literally walked right over and burned the house down. That was one of my favorite New Year’s Eve memories, ‘cause I got to see my sister and brother-in-law get married and that was such a great, great time, and then me and my older cousin and best friend, we ended up at Waffle House that night, so it was good.”
Audio / Travis Denning talks about his hangover cures.
DownloadTravis Denning (hangover cure) OC: …me better. :17
“You know, I think my hangover cure is just sitting on my butt, [laughs] not doing anything. Drink some water, a cup of coffee, but usually anything greasy or just some big ole Mexican food that’ll get me at least to a nap, which will get me better.”
