Keith Urban headlined Music City on New Year’s Eve for the third consecutive year, and as he has in years past, he paid tribute to some of the artists we lost in 2018. Keith’s medley honored Avicii, Aretha Franklin, Roy Clark and former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King, who died in August. Peter Frampton, who was on the bill, joined Keith on Skynyrd’s biggest hit, “Sweet Home Alabama.”
Jon Pardi loved being on the road with Dierks Bentley on the What the Hell Tour in 2017, mainly because the vibe on the road is like family. Speaking of family, the tall troubadour has also made quite an impression on Dierks’ daughters, Evie and Jordan.
“I love Dierks Bentley, being on tour with Dierks Bentley. He’s awesome. His girls are always excited to see me. His little girls are always like, ‘Hey, Jooooonnnn!’ They’re always excited to see me, which is super cute. They tried roping again. I brought the dummy out there for them, and it was a lot of fun,” says Jon. “Dierks does a great job of keeping everybody like they’re family, even from his crew, his truck drivers to the catering people to the opening acts, so he does a really good job, and I’ve always admired that about him.”
Jon will head back out with Dierks on the Burning Man Tour, which kicks off January 17th in Hamilton, Ontario.
Jon is currently sitting inside the Top 20 on the country charts with “Night Shift.”
Jon Pardi (touring with Dierks) OC: …lot of fun. :34
“I love Dierks Bentley, being on tour with Dierks Bentley. He’s awesome. His girls are always excited to see me. His little girls are always like, ‘Hey, Jooooonnnn!’ They’re always excited to see me, which is super cute. They tried roping again. I brought the dummy out there for them, and it was a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun on tour. Dierks does a great job of keeping everybody like they’re family, even from his crew, his truck drivers to the catering people to the opening acts, so he does a really good job, and I’ve always admired that about him.”
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 January. Some artists have resolutions, and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.
Keith Urban is set to headline Music City on New Year’s Eve for the third consecutive year. He’ll perform at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park as part of the Jack Daniels Music City Midnight bash. Peter Frampton, Judah & the Lion, Caitlyn Smith, Devon Gilfillian and the Fisk Jubliee Singers are also on the bill. Keith will be featured on “NBC’s New Year’s Eve,” which will be hosted by Carson Daly and Chrissy Teigen. The special will air Monday, December 31st from 10-11pm ET/PT and return 11:30pm – 12:30am ET/PT.
Lauren Alaina will perform during the West Coast celebration of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2019.” She joins Kane Brown, Bazzi, Kelsea Ballerini, Camila Cabello, Ciara, Halsey, Shawn Mendes, Weezer, The Chainsmokers, Foster the People, Dua Lipa, Ella Mai and Charlie Puth, as well as a performance by Macklemore with Skylar Grey. Airing just after midnight, Post Malone will perform from a stop on his current tour in Brooklyn, New York. The televised celebration takes place Monday, December 31st beginning at 8pm ET on ABC.
Dierks Bentley will perform on the FOX Network’s New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey. The special begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT.
Brothers 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]
Brothers 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.”
Clare Dunn (hangover cure) OC: …hangover cure. :10
“Greasy food is always kind of a, you can let it go for one day before you start all your resolutions [laughs] after that. So, that’s probably my best hangover cure.”
Dierks (NYE) OC: …for that. :10
“I think January first is universally accepted as a dog. So I mean, a little hair of the dog, I guess. But just…water and stay on the couch, I guess. There’s no real sure-fire cure for that.”
Dierks Bentley (New Year’s) OC: …in stride. 1:11
“New Year’s is rough. New Year’s hurts no matter what’s going o n. I’ve played a lot of New Year’s shows, you know, but I’ve honestly found that it’s not my favorite night to throw down. Look, for a living, that’s what I do. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I host a big party; not only on stage, but I’ve got friends backstage. It starts before the concert sometimes, [and] it goes long after the concert, so a lot of times on New Year’s, I’m looking for a really mellow hang – a good party, good friends, pretty chill. Some of my best New Year’s – it doesn’t make for great radio – but some of my best New Year’s have been just like actually hearing fireworks go off while I’m in bed, [laughs] and know I’m gonna wake up the next morning for the first day of the New Year feeling great, feeling recharged and I’m ready to go ad go into the New Year feeling good as opposed to going into it with a giant Jagerbomb hangover, which I’ve done many, many times. So, the goal this year is to go into it feeling pretty good and the kids help with that, because you really just don’t want to be hungover with children. It’s not a good feeling. You would probably admit to any crime to get them, just feel better, and get them leave you alone. So, [I’m] gonna try to hit New Year’s this year in stride.”
Eric 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.”
Jon 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.”
Kacey 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 fuh. 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!”
Kip Moore (avoiding hangovers on NYE) OC: …yourself. :03
“Pace yourself on New Year’s – that’s the remedy. Pace yourself.”
Luke 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.”
Travis 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.”
Travis Denning (wants to get dressed up for New Year’s Eve) OC: …good for it. :13
“No matter what I do for New Year’s Eve, I want to get dressed up. I want to wear a suit. I want to get real snazzied up, and I don’t care if I’m just going to a bar. Like, it’s New Year’s Eve, let’s look good for it.”
Travis 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.”
Kip Moore released his recent Room to Spare: The Acoustic Sessions in November, and it was driven by a promise to fans to share an acoustic EP. Kip co-wrote five of the seven tracks in the collection, including an acoustic versio of “Plead the Fifth.”
The Georgia native felt it was time to release the new project. “We’d been playing the Slowheart record for the last year and a few months to so many people that I knew in the Spring and the Summer we were going to be touring again and we weren’t gonna have a new record,” says Kip. “So, it was more about they’d been asking for this acoustic thing and now’s the time ‘cause we’ve got to give them something to tide them over until I put out a full new project. And then it gives us a chance to go play – we’d already been planning this acoustic tour – and it was gonna give us a chance to go play new songs acoustically for these fans. So, and a lot of ‘em are old songs that the fans have been asking for, so I just felt like it was time.”
ROOM TO SPARE: THE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS Track List:
1. Plead The Fifth (Acoustic Version)
(Luke Dick, Josh Kear)
He will play these songs plus so many more when he launches the 2019 leg of his Room to Spare: Acoustic Tour March 7th in Chicago. He’ll wrap the trek with international shows in The U.K. and Canada. The newly revealed dates follow a limited fall run, which saw Moore playing all SOLD-OUT dates and audiences praising his stripped-down, intimate set. Charlie Worsham and vocal duo, Muscadine Bloodline are set to join Moore on select dates next year.
Kip is sitting at No. 5 on the country charts with his latest song, “Last Shot,” which is the second taken from his third studio album SLOWHEART and follows his fourth No. One hit “More Girls Like You.”
Kip Moore (Acoustic EP) OC: …it was time. :46
“If I’m being honest, I could see how long this single was gonna be on the charts. I could see it happening, and we’d been playing the Slowheart record for the last year and a few months to so many people that I knew in the Spring and the Summer we were going to be touring again and we weren’t gonna have a new record. So, it was more about they’d been asking for this acoustic thing and now’s the time ‘cause we’ve got to give them something to tide them over until I put out a full new project. And then it gives us a chance to go play – we’d already been planning this acoustic tour – and it was gonna give us a chance to go play new songs acoustically for these fans. So, and a lot of ‘em are old songs that the fans have been asking for, so I just felt like it was time.”
Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour has garnered numerous awards and honors, including the CMA Award for Album of the Year and four GRAMMY nominations, including the all-genre Album of the Year category. The collection has also been named on several “Best Of” lists, including but not limited to, American Songwriter (No. 1), AP (No. 2), Apple Music’s Album of the Year, Billboard’s 50 Best Albums of 2018 (No. 3), Entertainment Weekly (No. 1), Esquire (No. 4), GQ, The Irish Times (No. 3), Noisey (No. 2), NPR (No.3), People (No. 1), Rolling Stone Best 50 Best Albums of 2018 (No. 2), Rolling Stone Best Americana and Country Albums (No. 1), Stereogum (No. 1), Taste of Country (No. 1), USA Today (No. 1), US Weekly (No. 1) and Variety (No. 1).
Kacey continues her Oh! What a World Tour January 9th in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Kacey Musgraves (moments on Golden Hour) OC: …very special. :37
“There were several serendipitous moments that really come to mind during the making of this whole record. One of the biggest ones was literally a cosmic event. It was literally on August 21st, which is my birthday, and there we were in the very middle of making this album and the total solar eclipse happened in Nashville, and it darkened all of Nashville. It just felt like this cosmic event that everyone was paying attention to, it kind of stopped time and cast a really beautiful light on Nashville itself on my birthday, my 29th year, which is kind of the golden hour of my young adult life and it just felt very special.”
Keith Urban has been tapped to be the Honorary 12th Titan during Sunday Night Football’s match-up as the Tennessee Titans play host to the Indianapolis Colts this weekend (December 30th). Keith will walk out of the tunnel with the NFL team and plant the Titan’s sword mid-field. The next day, Keith will perform his third annual New Year’s Eve show Nashville.
Clare Dunn will perform the National Anthem prior to the game that will determine a team for a Wild Card Game during the NFL playoffs.
The kick-off will take place at 7:20pm CT/8:20pm ET on NBC. Make sure to watch the televised pre-game commentary because you might be able to catch both Keith and Clare in action.
Sunday Funday 🏈 pic.twitter.com/UeKSPwKxKb
— Nissan Stadium (@NissanStadium) December 24, 2018
“Hey Everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey Everybody! I’m Adam Hambrick. Happy New Year.”
“What’s up everybody? This is Brandon Lay, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne. Happy New Year.”
“Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! I’m Clare Dunn, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Happy New Year!
“Hey, it’s Dierks Bentley. Happy New Year!”
“10-9-8-7—6-54321, Happy New Year, y’all. It’s Eric Church, and it’s time to put a drink in MY hand!”
“Hey! It’s Eric Church, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! Eric Church here…This New Year’s Eve, if you put a drink in your hand…hand your keys to a friend. Trust me guys, don’t drink and drive.”
“Hey everybody! I’m Gary Allan. Happy New Year!”
“Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston, wishing you a very Happy New Year.”
“Hey y’all, I’m Jon Langston. Happy New Year.”
“Hi! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a Happy New Year!”
“Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy New Year!”
“Hey! I’m Josh Turner. Happy New Year!”
“Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, hoping you have a safe and Happy New Year!”
“Hey! It’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year.”
“Hey everyone! This is Keith Urban. Have a safe and happy New Year.”
“It’s Kip Moore, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“This is Lauren Alaina, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy New Year!”
“Hey! This is Luke Bryan, hoping you have a Happy New Year.”
“Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey! This is Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
“Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy New Year!”
“Hi! This is Shania Twain. Happy New Year!”
“Hey y’all, this is Travis Denning, wishing you a Happy New Year.”
Hootie & the Blowfish surprised fans Monday by announcing that for the first time in over a decade they will be releasing new music and embarking on the Live Nation-produced Group Therapy Tour in 2019. Loyal fans of the band described by Rolling Stone as “mixing elements of rock, soul, folk and pop” sold out the tour’s Columbia, S.C. homecoming finale on Friday, Sept. 13 during the pre-sale and initial few moments when tickets went on sale to the general public this morning, prompting the band to add a second Colonial Life Arena show on Thursday, Sept. 12.
The band’s announcement was met with open arms by fans and critics alike, with Billboard proclaiming “Hootie & the Blowfish are back and better than ever” and “yes, we’re ready for it” while USA Today noted “1990s nostalgia will invade North America next summer.”
Citi is the official pre-sale credit card for the Group Therapy Tour. As such, Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase pre-sale tickets for the added show beginning Monday, Dec. 10, at 10 a.m. local time until Thursday, Dec. 13 at 10 p.m. local time through Citi’s Private Pass program. For complete pre-sale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.
Hootie & the Blowfish fan club members can also access an exclusive pre-sale Monday, Dec. 10. Barenaked Ladies fans who have purchased VIP packages in the past will receive an exclusive code to purchase tickets early on Wednesday, Dec. 12 before they go on sale to the general public Friday, Dec. 14 at www.LiveNation.com. All pre-sale and on-sale times are 10 a.m. local.
“We always felt there would be another tour, and it was just about timing. We’re not doing this for us. We’re doing it for those people who used to plan their vacations around the Hootie & the Blowfish tour,” shares lead singer Darius Rucker. “And we can’t wait to see them again.”
“It means the world that our fans have reacted so positively this week,” adds guitarist Mark Bryan, “especially in a city as important to us as Columbia, where we get to play for the first time in almost 20 years.”
Tickets to all previously announced dates are available now at www.LiveNation.com.
Group Therapy Tour
May 30 Virginia Beach, Va. | Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
May 31 Raleigh, N.C. | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
June 1 Atlanta, Ga. | Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
June 6 Orange Beach, Ala. | The Wharf
June 7 Tampa, Fla. | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 8 West Palm Beach, Fla. | Coral Sky Amphitheatre
June 13 Austin, Texas | Austin360 Amphitheater
June 14 Houston, Texas | Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
June 15 Dallas, Texas | Dos Equis Pavilion
June 19 Phoenix, Ariz. | Ak-Chin Pavilion
June 21 Chula Vista, Calif. | North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 22 Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena
June 23 Irvine, Calif. | FivePoint Amphitheatre presented by Mercury Insurance
June 25 Los Angeles, Calif. | Hollywood Bowl
June 28 Wheatland, Calif. | Toyota Amphitheatre
June 29 Mountain View, Calif. | Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 11 Englewood, Colo. | Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 13 Maryland Heights, Mo. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 14 Rogers, Ark. | Walmart AMP
July 19 Monticello, Iowa | Great Jones County Fair
July 20 Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverbend Music Center
July 21 Burgettstown, Pa. | KeyBank Pavilion
July 26 Cleveland, Ohio | Blossom Music Center
July 27 Bristow, Va. | Jiffy Lube Live
July 28 Camden, N.J. | BB&T Pavilion
August 2 Guilford, N.H. | Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
August 3 Mansfield, Mass. | Xfinity Center
August 4 Saratoga Springs, N.Y. | Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 8 Columbia, Md. | Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 9 Canandaigua, N.Y. | Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center: CMAC
August 10 New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden
August 16 Detroit, Mich. | DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 17 Noblesville, Ind. | Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
August 18 Des Moines, Iowa | Iowa State Fair
August 22 St. Paul, Minn. | Minnesota State Fair
August 23 East Troy, Wis. | Alpine Valley Music Theatre
August 24 Tinley Park, Ill. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
August 29 Toronto, Ont. | Budweiser Stage
August 30 Hershey, Pa. | Hersheypark Stadium
August 31 Hartford, Conn. | XFINITY Theatre
September 5 Charlotte, N.C. | PNC Music Pavilion
September 6 Birmingham, Ala. | Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
September 7 Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena
September 12 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
September 13 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
For more information, visit www.hootie.com or follow on Facebook @hootieandtheblowfish, Twitter @HootieTweets and Instagram @hootieofficial.
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 the 5th most certified studio 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 2008, reuniting annually for a variety of philanthropic events while also pursuing solo projects. 2019 will mark the band’s first full-time touring year in over a decade as they embark on the Group Therapy Tour in support of forthcoming new music under a new record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville.
Tae Dye of Maddie & Tae says one of her favorite and most personal Christmas memories was last year (2017), and it involves a new family member making her appearance right before the holiday.
“This is gonna be a personal one for me. Christmas 2017 was right around the time my niece was born,” says Tae. “She was born on December 11th, so right before Christmas, she was like the best Christmas gift ever, so basically I got to spend the whole month of December with her and my sister-in-law and brother, just holding that baby.So, that’s probably going to be one of my favorite Christmas memories ever.”
The ladies are making their way up the country charts with “Friends Don’t.”
Maddie & Tae (Christmas) OC: (Tae) …memories ever. :23
“This is gonna be a personal one for me. Christmas 2017 was right around the time my niece was born. She was born on December 11th, so right before Christmas, she was like the best Christmas gift ever, so basically I got to spend the whole month of December with her and my sister-in-law and brother, just holding that baby.So, that’s probably going to be one of my favorite Christmas memories ever.”
Keith Urban and his family, including wife Nicole Kidman and daughters Sunday and Faith, are enjoying their annual holiday Down Under, visiting family and hitting the beach, which is what he did on Christmas when he was a kid.
“We had great Christmases growing up. I really, really enjoyed them,” says Keith. “Mostly, we’d go to the beach, you know, ’cause there it’s summertime. Load up the station wagon and head off to the beach.”
He’s expected to return following Christmas to get ready for his third headlining gig on New Year’s Eve in Nashville.
Keith is making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Never Coming Down.”
Last month, he took home the CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year.
Keith Urban (Christmas-beach) OC: …to the beach. :24
“I have great memories of getting up early and going and jumping on your parents’ bed and getting them up. You know, and then of course you tear open the presents and then it’s done and it’s like eight in the morning, and you’ve got all morning now to sort of wish you had more presents to open. We had great Christmases growing up. I really, really enjoyed them. Mostly, we’d go to the beach, you know, ’cause there it’s summertime. Load up the station wagon and head off to the beach.”