Travis Denning is a huge Southern Rock fans, citing The Allman Brothers as one of his biggest influences and the cornerstone of the music he makes. He just kicked off a new podcast series, “Headin’ Down South,” which he talks about the foundation of Southern Rock, as well as spotlights certain bands for a “history lesson” on the genre. This week, he debuted the series with part one of a look at The Allman Brothers as well as a few select songs of the iconic group.
“The influence of the Allman Brothers Band specifically to me, and not only my music but my life, was so early that I cannot tell you where it started,” says Travis. “But the earliest thing I can remember was that my dad had their Decade of Hits album, which was pretty much greatest hits. I just remember the cover. It was a blue jean jacket with an Allman Brothers patch on it, and it was just a really close up pocket of that. And that had your most basic introduction to the Allman Brothers music. Looking back now that I’ve dove back into the catalog and all this stuff, it was ‘Statesboro Blues,’ ‘Ramblin’ Man,’ ‘Jessica,’ ‘Melissa,’ ‘Little Martha.’ It was really just kind of like, I say the hits, they only had one radio hit, but it was the hit songs that even just the regular, everyday, occasional Southern Rock fan knows.”
You can listen to this week’s podcast, as well as future installments on Pandora, right here.
Travis is currently making his way up the country charts with “After a Few.”
Audio / Travis Denning says he's been a huge fan of the Allman Brothers for as long as he can remember.
Travis Denning (introduction to the Allman Bros) OC: …knows. 1:00 “The influence of the Allman Brothers Band specifically to me, and not only my music but my life, was so early that I cannot tell you where it started. But the earliest thing I can remember was that my dad had their Decade of Hits album, which was pretty much greatest hits. I just remember the cover. It was a blue jean jacket with an Allman Brothers patch on it, and it was just a really close up pocket of that. And that had your most basic introduction to the Allman Brothers music. Looking back now that I’ve dove back into the catalog and all this stuff, it was ‘Statesboro Blues,’ ‘Ramblin’ Man,’ ‘Jessica,’ ‘Melissa,’ ‘Little Martha.’ It was really just kind of like, I say the hits, they only had one radio hit, but it was the hit songs that even just the regular, everyday, occasional Southern Rock fan knows.”
The opening of NBC’s Sunday Night Football debuts Sunday (September 8th) as last year’s Super Bowl champions,the New England Patriots, play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it will feature Carrie Underwood once again, as well as 13 NFL players. Carrie, who stars in the NBC SNF show open for the seventh consecutive year, welcomes Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joan Jett, who makes an appearance during Underwood’s performance.
“We always look for ways to keep the Sunday Night Football open fresh and exciting. This year, we thought the best way would be to kinda kick it back OG and go back to ‘Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,’ which was the first theme song of this SNF era,” says Carrie. “So, I thought, ‘Well, how do we make that new and exciting, and for me, I was like, ‘What if we got Joan Jett in the mix?’ ‘Would she ever do anything like that?’ We got super lucky that she was excited to be on board. The song is one of hers – ‘Hate Myself for Loving You’ – that they rearranged to fit Sunday Night Football, so I just feel like having her involved just felt really right. It was so exciting just to be able to stand up next to her and film the open and get to know her a little bit ‘cause I feel like she’s a person I could learn a lot from. She’s so stinkin’ cool!
Thirteen NFL players, who have accounted for 31 Pro Bowl selections (including 10 2018 Pro Bowlers), four Super Bowl rings, and nine first-round draft picks, are in the show open. Following is the complete list:
Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones
Chicago Bears DB Kyle Fuller
Chicago Bears LB Khalil Mack
Chicago Bears QB Mitch Trubisky
Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff
Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins
Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz
Philadelphia TE Zach Ertz
Philadelphia Eagles DT Fletcher Cox
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson
Tripp Dixon is creative director of the SNF show open.
For the first time in the series’ 14 seasons, the SNF show open was filmed inside an NFL stadium, with Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, serving as the “stage.”
Carrie, who is currently making her way to the top of the country charts with “Southbound,” resumes the new leg of The Cry Pretty Tour 360 – featuring Maddie & Tae and Runaway June – on Tuesday (September 10th).
Audio / Carrie Underwood talks about having Joan Jett as part of NBC’s Sunday Night Football opening.
Carrie Underwood (Sunday Night Football) OC: …to see that. 1:00 “We always look for ways to keep the Sunday Night Football open fresh and exciting. This year, we thought the best way would be to kinda kick it back OG and go back to ‘Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,’ which was the first theme song of this SNF era. So, I thought, ‘Well, how do we make that new and exciting, and for me, I was like, ‘What if we got Joan Jett in the mix?’ ‘Would she ever do anything like that?’ We got super lucky that she was excited to be on board. The song is one of hers – ‘Hate Myself for Loving You’ – that they rearranged to fit Sunday Night Football, so I just feel like having her involved just felt really right. It was so exciting just to be able to stand up next to her and film the open and get to know her a little bit ‘cause I feel like she’s a person I could learn a lot from. She’s so stinkin’ cool! And like I said took it to a whole new level, so we’re excited for people to see that.”
Vince Gill appeared on CBS This Morning earlier this week. He talked about his new album, Okie, some of the stories behind the songs, his first guitar he bought, touring with The Eagles and much more. Check out the interview from his home studio below.
Current CMA Awards Vocal Duo of the Year nominees and PLATINUM-selling Maddie & Tae will unveil Part Two of their album on October 18th titled Everywhere I’m Goin’ (Mercury Nashville). Continuing to “usher in their new era” (Billboard), the new music produced by Jimmy Robbins and Derek Wells is anchored by the swaggering stomper “Bathroom Floor,” available now. Written by Maddie & Tae’s Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye along with Josh Kerr, the fiery new track is a resilient response to the award-winning duo’s current single “Die From A Broken Heart,” which continues to strike a deep connection, tallying over 75 MILLION global streams, helping to propel the pair as the Best Streaming Country Female Duo of ALL TIME with 686 MILLION streams worldwide. Meanwhile, “Die From A Broken Heart’s” “revealing” (PEOPLE) videos have mounted over 17.4 million views total, catapulting Maddie & Tae as the top video streaming female artist(s) on Billboard’s Top 200 Streaming Chart for current tracks for multiple weeks.
The EP follows widespread praise for the album’s first part shared earlier this year, propelling critics to note, “a more sophisticated side” (Associated Press) and “their finest moment yet” (Esquire), and is a continuation of stories of love, loss and redemption. The project features the effervescent title track and “Trying On Rings,” which is a true-to-life reflection for Marlow and her fiancé. Later, the award-winning duo reunite with former tour-mate and multi-PLATINUM entertainer Dierks Bentley on a vocal firepower duet, “Lay Here With Me.” Rounding out the project, “Ain’t There Yet,” offers an honest interpretation of healing after heartbreak.
“We are so excited to keep telling our story through this next collection of songs,” shared Marlow. “We are so proud to have co-written all of these songs as well. This project as a whole is super personal, but these five songs in particular take you on an even deeper dive into our lives.”
“We were absolutely blown away by the reaction to the first part of the album,” added Dye. “Hearing our fans relate to our stories is something that will never get old. We can’t wait to continue to show more of our hearts and journey through this next chapter of music.”
Next week, Maddie & Tae will continue to showcase “the stage confidence of a seasoned duo” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) as they resume direct support on Carrie Underwood’s The Cry Pretty Tour 360 hitting the West Coast in San Diego (9/10) and Los Angeles (9/12). The tour routes through several major cities and marquee venues through October 31st.
Award-winning duo Maddie & Tae are drawing praise for their new music “anchored around their stellar vocal pairings and some of the tightest harmonies on Music Row” (Rolling Stone). Following the first part of their new album in April, the next installment will be released on October 18, while “the sound is identifiable while still representing a distinct step forward” (Billboard). Maddie & Tae first broke out in 2013 with their brilliant take down of bro-country, “Girl In A Country Song,” which took Country radio by storm, skyrocketing to the top of the charts and quickly going PLATINUM. The duo became only the third female duo in 70 years to top the Country Airplay charts, also earning trophies from the Country Music Academy and Radio Disney Music Awards along with multiple ACM, CMA and CMT Award nominations. Receiving widespread praise from NPR, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, Glamour and others, country music’s hottest stars including Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice and Brad Paisley have welcomed Maddie & Tae on the road, with Carrie Underwood recently inviting the duo out as direct support on her 2019 The Cry Pretty Tour 360. For additional information, visit www.maddieandtae.com.
Nine months after delighting fans with the news of their first album in nearly fifteen years, Hootie & the Blowfish share the first taste of what’s to come with Imperfect Circle’s November 1 release via “Rollin’,” now available at all digital retailers and streaming platforms.
Written by Hootie & the Blowfish together with Adam Doleac, Zach Kale and John King, the track premiered exclusively with Billboard yesterday, September 5th.
“When we started getting that one going I was like, ‘Man, we’re a Southern rock band when we play this,’” frontman Darius Rucker shared. “I loved it. It’s like us trying to play a Black Crowes or Allman Brothers cover. I love the feel of that ’cause we don’t do that a lot.”
Billboard also broke the news of Imperfect Circle’s track listing, with highlights including a Lucie Silvas feature on “Wildfire Love,” which features Ed Sheeran as a co-writer, as well as Chris Stapleton’s penmanship on the only outside cut, “Hold On,” and Sheryl Crow on backing vocals throughout the album.
“I think it’s cool that Imperfect Circle kind of has the same ring to it as Cracked Rear View where you’re looking back and you realize nobody’s journey is perfect, but here we are,” says guitarist Mark Bryan of the album’s name. “We’ve been playing together for thirty-something years and for us to be here and to be doing this tour, to be making a record, it just seems like Imperfect Circle was perfect,” adds Rucker.
Set for release November 1st on Universal Music Group’s Capitol Nashville imprint, the album is now available for pre-order HERE.
Imperfect Circle Track Listing:
1. New Year’s Day (Hootie & the Blowfish, Tofer Brown, Eric Paslay and Jeff Trott)
2. Miss California* (Hootie & the Blowfish, Andrew DeRoberts and David Ryan Harris)
3. Wildfire Love (Featuring Lucie Silvas) (Hootie & the Blowfish, Joel Crouse, Kyle Rife and Ed Sheeran)
4. Hold On* (Jim Beavers and Chris Stapleton)
5. Turn It Up (Hootie & the Blowfish and Jeff Trott)
6. Not Tonight (Hootie & the Blowfish, Andrew DeRoberts and David Ryan Harris)
7. We Are One (Hootie & the Blowfish)
8. Everybody But You* (Hootie & the Blowfish and Frank Rogers)
9. Lonely On A Saturday Night (Hootie & the Blowfish, Eric Paslay and Jeff Trott)
10. Why (Hootie & the Blowfish, Chris August and James Slater)
11. Rollin’ (Hootie & the Blowfish, Adam Doleac, Zach Kale and John King)
12. Half A Day Ahead (Hootie & the Blowfish)
13. Change (Hootie & the Blowfish) Album Produced by Jeff Trott
*Produced by Frank Rogers
Remaining Group Therapy Tour Dates:
September 6 Pelham, Ala. | Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
September 7 Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena
September 11 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
September 12 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
September 13 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
October 4 Dublin, Ireland | 3 Arena
October 6 Bristol, England | O2 Academy
October 7 Leeds, England | O2 Academy
October 9 Glasgow, Scotland | Barrowland
October 10 Glasgow, Scotland | Barrowland
October 12 London, England | Eventim Apollo
October 15 Manchester, England | O2 Apollo
October 16 Birmingham, England | O2 Academy
About Hootie & the Blowfish
With the rich, bluesy vocals of Darius Rucker and gleeful harmonies of guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, Hootie & the Blowfish have sold over 25 million records worldwide to date after their infectious melodies hit the airwaves in 1994 with hits such as “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”
The quartet met at the University of South Carolina where endless gigs at frat houses and local bars built a major local buzz. Their blend of pop, folk, blues, soul and rock made them hard to pigeonhole, but easily accessible to anyone who loved good music.
Atlantic Records, impressed by their regional draw, signed them and released Cracked Rear View in 1994. The album had been out for six months before the band played on the Late Show with David Letterman which sent sales skyrocketing, eventually landing at No. 1 on the Billboard chart the following spring. Cracked Rear View and the band went on to win two GRAMMY Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and multiple People’s Choice Awards. Cracked Rear View went on to earn the band Billboard‘s Band of the Year Award in 1996 and the RIAA’s Diamond Award for sales in excess of 10 million units. Cracked Rear View remains among the Top 10 most-certified studios album in music business history.
The band remained a top draw nationwide and released five more albums for Atlantic: Fairweather Johnson, Musical Chairs, Scattered, Smothered & Covered, Hootie & The Blowfish and The Best of Hootie & The Blowfish, as well as Looking For Lucky on their own Sneaky Long Records and LIVE in Charleston, The Homegrown Concert Event DVD and CD. The band took a break from full-time touring in 2007, reuniting annually for a variety of philanthropic events while also pursuing solo projects. 2019 marked the band’s first full-time touring year in over a decade as they embarked on the Group Therapy Tour ahead of Imperfect Circle, their first album in nearly 15 years due out November 1 under a new record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville.
Audio / Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish talks about one of the differences from the band's previous albums and their new Imperfect Circle.
Hootie & the Blowfish (different from previous albums) OC: …the songwriting. :23 “I think one thing you might notice different is there’s 15 years since our last record, or 14 years or whatever it’s been. And as humans we’ve grown to a place where our songwriting is going to come from a little bit different place, a little more experience, hopefully a little more wisdom, and I don’t know, a place that we couldn’t have written from 15, 20 years ago. So, that might be a difference that you’ll hear is just some maturity int he songwriting.”
Due to overwhelming demand from his loyal fans, rising country star Jon Langston announced his new EP titled, Now You Know, to be released on October 25th. The EP will be comprised of six original songs all written by Langston. As an artist who has always believed in showing his fans how important they are to him, Langston will personally sign every physical EP that is purchased. The Georgia native released his rock-infused country anthem, “Now You Know,” as the current single from the project, and it will be featured on Spotify’s Hot Country playlist with a Cover Story this Friday.
Now You Know EP Track List:
1.Now You Know (Jon Langston, Brad Clawson, Brock Berryhill)
2.Dance Tonight (Langston, Dan Isbell)
3.When It Comes To Loving You (Langston, Dan Isbell)
4.Dial One Up (Langston, Jody Stevens, Brett Tyler, Cole Taylor)
5.Sunday Morning Heart (Langston, Dan Isbell, Reid Isbell)
6.Cigarettes & Me (Langston, Dan Isbell, Monty Criswell)
The news follows Langston’s first-ever sold-out headlining show at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works this past Friday night. Exclusive live photos from the show can be found HERE. The show marked the official kick-off to “The Bird Dog Tour,” Jon’s headlining Fall tour named after his fan-voted fan club name. The tour begins as Langston wraps up his dates on the road with Luke Bryan as part of the Sunset Repeat Tour. Jon celebrated the launch of his Bird Dog Club, with a party that took place prior to his show this past Friday with a select group of his top fans.
Additionally, Langston will be co-hosting #DeerWeek alongside Jeff Danker, airing on Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel September 16-22. Langston previously released his major label debut single “When It Comes To Loving You” which reached No. 1 on the all-genre iTunes Chart, and followed it shortly after with the release of fan favorite, “Dance Tonight.” Langston’s catalog has accumulated over 400 million streams to date.
2019 Bird Dog Tour:
SEP 06 Granite State Music Hall NH Laconia, NH
SEP 13 Jergel’s Rhythm Grille Warrendale, PA
SEP 20 Texas Club Baton Rouge, LA
SEP 26 Front Street Grill Dardanelle, AR
SEP 27 PBR Big Sky: A Coors Banquet Bar Kansas City, MO
SEP 28 Boondocks Springfield, IL
OCT 03 The Blue Room Statesboro, GA
OCT 04 Coyote Joe’s Charlotte, NC
OCT 05 The Blind Horse Saloon Greenville, SC
OCT 10 The Signal Chattanooga, TN
OCT 17 The Senate Columbia, SC
OCT 18 The Barn in Sanford Sanford, FL
OCT 19 Joyland Country Music Night Club Bradenton, FL
OCT 24 Elevation at the Intersection Grand Rapids, MI
NOV 15 The Tarheel Concert Lounge Jacksonville, NC
NOV 16 Cone Denim Entertainment Center Greensboro, NC
NOV 21 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA
NOV 22 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA
NOV 29 Chameleon Club Lancaster, PA
NOV 30 The Dusty Armadillo Rootstown, OH
* For a full list of Langston’s tour dates, click HERE
The man The L.A. Times calls “one of Nashville’s most forthright truth-tellers,” Eric Church returns to Country radio with his reflective “Monsters,” the follow-up to recent No. 1 hit “Some Of It.”
Praised by Vulture for “turn[ing] a yarn about irrational childhood fears into an emboldening word about faith in the face of human cruelty,” the song celebrated by NPR for its “metaphors… broad enough to encapsulate an array of evils his listeners may imagine confronting” is the third single off Church’s critically-acclaimed Desperate Man.
“Anymore when a restless feelin’ keeps me up at night / Fallin’ on my knees is my new turnin’ on the light,” sings Church in the earnest chorus. “I keep my faith intact, make sure my prayers are said / ’Cause I’ve learned that the monsters ain’t the ones beneath the bed.”
As Entertainment Weekly notes, Church “believes in [music’s] power to heal, to transport you to the past, to make sense of the present and hold out hope for the future,” the full spectrum of which he accomplishes in this “blues-inflected tune contending with demons, real and imagined.”
Initially inspired by bedtime rituals with his two young sons, Church and co-writer Jeff Hyde broadened the metaphor to encompass the adult fears and worries that replace childhood monsters under the bed.
“A specific night, I can remember going in my oldest son Boone’s room… the dimmer wasn’t right, it wasn’t bright enough and he wanted it a brighter. And when I went in and made it a little brighter he said, ‘that’s good, that’s good, that’s perfect.’ And it wasn’t much… but that stuck with me that it’s kind of all he needed was just more light,” reflects Church. “It will always be a song that I think about where I was at that time in my life, where my kids were, and just how that little bit of light is what made the difference.”
For audio and liners on “Monsters,” click here.
“Monsters” comes on the heels of Church’s recently-announced CMA Award nominations, as he earned nods in three categories: Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (for Desperate Man, Producer: Jay Joyce) and Music Video of the Year (for “Some Of It,” Director: Reid Long).
Church also returns to the road with the Double Down Tour resuming in Green Bay, Wisconsin next Friday, Sept. 13 and continuing throughout the fall. The uniquely-structured tour featuring back-to-back nights with distinct set lists in most cities has seen numerous sell-out crowds thus far, landing Church at the top of Pollstar’s LIVE75 and Global Concert Pulse charts for ticket sales averages while routinely earning praise from fans and critics alike.
Upcoming Double Down Tour Dates
Sept. 13 & 14 Green Bay, Wis. || Resch Center
Sept. 20 & 21 Calgary, Alberta || Scotiabank Saddledome
Sept. 28 San Francisco, Calif. || Chase Center
Oct. 4 & 5 Grand Rapids, Mich. || Van Andel Arena
Oct. 11 & 12 Philadelphia, Pa. || Wells Fargo Center
Oct. 25 Little Rock, Ark. || Verizon Arena
Oct. 26 Birmingham, Ala. || Legacy Arena at the BJCC
Nov. 1 Manchester, N.H. || SNHU Arena
Nov. 2 Hartford, Conn. || XL Center
Nov. 15 & 16 Washington, D.C. || The Anthem
Nov. 22 & 23 Sacramento, Calif. || Golden 1 Center
About Eric Church
The three-time Country Music Association and six-time Academy of Country Music Award winner released his highly-anticipated album Desperate Man atop the Billboard Country Albums chart in October 2018. The album also debuted at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Rolling Stone describes the album in their July 2018 cover story as “classic Church: expertly crafted and country-radio-friendly, while also pushing boundaries in a way that sounds natural and unforced” and American Songwriter notes in a cover story that it “sublimates the pain of a tumultuous year into his most adventuresome album yet.” Church has returned to the road for his 2019 Double Down Tour, visiting nearly 30 markets for back-to-back nights of two unique shows sans-opening act to give fans 6+ hours of his iconic music in each city. The tour also included a massive stop at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where Church broke the venue’s concert attendance record with 56,521 fans and nearly tripled the attendance record he set at Bridgestone Arena in 2017.
Caylee Hammack is heading out on the road with Dierks Bentley for a few dates on his Burning Man Tour, along with Jon Pardi. She tells us she cannot wait to learn from him.
“It will be my first true major tour, and I know that there’s so much that Dierks can teach me on the road,” says Caylee. “I’ve heard he’s a wonderful mentor, so I’m very excited to get to step in underneath him and learn how he puts on a show; how he treats his crew. I’ve always heard that he’s really good to people that work with him, and I aspire to learn something from that.”
She just joined Dierks at his second annual Seven Peaks Festival over the weekend where she performed her own set, but she also stepped into the role of Reba for the headliner’s Hot Country Knights’ set on Friday night (August 30th).
Caylee, who recently made her debut on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, is climbing the country charts with her song, “Family Tree.”
Audio / Caylee Hammack says she cannot wait to learn from Dierks Bentley when she heads out on the road with him this week.
Caylee Hammack (on the road with Dierks) OC: …something from that. :29 “I reacted like a kid when I was told I was going on the road with Dierks. I guess I haven’t changed much from that. I’m still childishly excited. It will be my first true major tour, and I know that there’s so much that Dierks can teach me on the road. I’ve heard he’s a wonderful mentor, so I’m very excited to get to step in underneath him and learn how he puts on a show, how he treats his crew. I’ve always heard that he’s really good to people that work with him, and I aspire to learn something from that.”
Jon Pardi recently talked to Men’s Health Magazine about his workout routine, what’s in his refrigerator, working out on the road and what keeps him grounded. He’s been trying to cut back on bread, flour and carbs, but when he has a cheat day, he loves Mexican food (rice, beans, etc.)
Men’s Health asked the California native if he indulges a sweet tooth, he opens the pantry and yells, “Boom! Coming in hot!,” as he slides an entire bucket of Red Vines across his kitchen island.
Jon, who is making his way up the country charts with “Heartache Medication,” works out between 3-5 days a week and looks to his trainer to help keep him in shape. He cites his height as being the reason leg workouts are tougher on him than say someone a little shorter than his nearly 6′ 4″ frame. “If you get a trainer, that’s all you do: legs,” he says. “So I got over that.”
Check out the rest of the Men’s Health article here.
Jon is currently on the West Coast performing as part of Dierks Bentley’s Burning Man Tour. They have stops Friday (September 6th) in Irvine, California; Saturday (September 7th) in Mountain View and Sunday (September 8th) in Wheatland.
As her duo partner and best friend — Maddie Marlow — is getting ready to tie the knot with her longtime boyfriend/fiancé, Taylor Dye (Tae) just revealed she’s engaged to her songwriter boyfriend, Josh Kerr.
Tae announced the engagement with photos showing off her gorgeous sparkler and the moment she said “Yes!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B18_ejNniRQ/
She writes, “(I) can’t wait to love you forever Joshua Peter Kerr ❤️ WE’RE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!”
Maddie & Tae are getting ready to head out on the next leg of The Cry Pretty Tour 360 with Carrie Underwood and are heading up the country charts with their current song, “Die From a Broken Heart.”
