Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Before launching his 2018 MOUNTAIN HIGH TOUR this week, award-winning entertainer Dierks Bentley assembled his band and crew along with tour opener LANCO today at Nashville’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. The group helped launch the “Hunger Free Summer” campaign where they packaged over ten thousand pounds of food to supply more than 8,600 meals to families in need when school meals are not available during the summer months.

“Typically when a tour is a about to launch, you get your band and crew together for some drinks before the run, but I wanted to make sure we did something different this year,” said Bentley. “We got everyone together to really start off with what it’s all about for me right now…gratitude. The more we get to do and grow out there on the road, the more I want to make it all mean something and Second Harvest is doing great work to make a difference in our community.”

Bentley has built a reputation as both a forever-young drifter and a dedicated family man, put in millions of miles on headlining tours and taken the fearless stylistic detours of a truly authentic artist. He continues that journey with his highly anticipated ninth studio album, THE MOUNTAIN (Capitol Records Nashville), set for release June 8th. Reaching a new creative high, Bentley co-wrote 10 of the 13 new tracks that are unified by themes of presence and positivity, and range in style from textured rock to acoustic folk, feeling both rooted and expansive at the same time. After his 2017 tour claimed the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Tours selling over 750,000 tickets, Bentley will fuel arenas and amphitheaters throughout the summer with his 2018 MOUNTAIN HIGH TOUR launching this weekend in Columbia, MD (5/18), Holmdel, NJ (5/19) and Camden, NJ (5/20). For more information visit www.dierks.com.

For 40 years, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee has followed its mission of feeding hungry people and finding innovative ways to solve hunger issues in our communities.  As a private, not-for-profit and tax-exempt organization, Second Harvest distributes food and other products to approximately 490 nonprofit Partner Agencies in 46 counties in Middle and West Tennessee. Our partners include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, childcare facilities, senior centers, group homes, and youth enrichment programs. For more information about Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, its mission and programs, please visit secondharvestmidtn.org.

Jordan Davis made his debut performance at the world-renowned Grand Ole Opry Saturday night (May 12th). Performing “Slow Dance In A Parking Lot” and “Leaving New Orleans” off his debut album Home State, Jordan highlighted why critics and audiences alike have praised the singer/songwriter for “melding the songcraft of artists like John Prine and Jim Croce with the genre’s pop progressiveness” (Rolling Stone).

“To think of the history and the people who have stood here before me, it’s crazy,” says Jordan. “I want to thank the friends, family and everyone who has helped me get to this point.”

Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, Jordan has made a strong impression with his classic lyric-writing melded with tech-tinged production. After graduating from LSU in 2012 with a degree in Resource Conservation, Jordan moved to Nashville and honed his songwriting craft influenced by his love of lyrically-driven songwriters and genre-defying musicality.

Jordan is nominated for “Radio Disney Country Best New Artist” at the upcoming Radio Disney Music Awards. In addition, Jordan continues to demonstrate his notable songwriting talent with a recent nomination for “Nashville Artist-Writer of the Year” from the Association of Independent Music Publishers after winning The Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Abe Olman Scholarship for Excellence two years ago. Past recipients of that prestigious award include John Legend and Bebe Rexha.

Earlier this year, Jordan made his national TV debut with NBC’s TODAY and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” which can be viewed HERE and HERE. The Louisiana native recently wrapped his first headlining “White Wine and Whiskey Tour” and will embark on Jake Owen’s “Life’s Whatcha Make It Tour” starting this Friday, March 18 at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, TN. Additional upcoming stops include SRP Park in Augusta, GA and UPMC Park in Erie, PA. For a full list of tour dates, news, images and more, visit www.jordandavisofficial.com

Fans can click HERE to listen to Home State.

On the eve of the release of his ninth studio album, Dierks Bentley will perform a late night album release show on Thursday, June 7th at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium with all money raised from ticket sales going to the Opry Trust Fund.

In a rare one-night-only event, Bentley will perform all thirteen tracks from THE MOUNTAIN. Bentley’s 2018 tour opener LANCO will also join the lineup. Pre-sale tickets are available Tuesday (May 15th) with a public on sale set for this Friday (May 18th) beginning at 10a CT.

“This album started as the smallest seed of an idea,” said Bentley. “It was inspired by where I am in my life right now, but also by the people I meet out on the road who triumph over hardship every day. We all share this underlying sense of gratitude and hope, which really became the base of THE MOUNTAIN, so I wanted to introduce it as a whole story for the first time with all the fans in town for CMA Music Fest. Doing it at the Ryman and to help out the Opry Trust Fund makes the night even more special.”

The Ryman is the ideal room for sharing THE MOUNTAIN’s “textures of mandolin, banjo, fiddle and flatpicked guitar,” (NPR). Touted as a sonic mix of UP ON THE RIDGE’s bluegrass soul and the modern-rock polish of BLACK, THE MOUNTAIN ranges in style from its rock essence to acoustic folk. Reaching a new creative high, Bentley co-wrote ten of the thirteen songs that are unified by themes of presence and positivity while feeling both rooted and expansive at the same time.

The Arizona native has scored 17 No. Ones and 13 GRAMMY nominations – including at least one stemming from each of his last six albums. Bentley has amassed more than one billion digital streams, countless additional nominations from theGRAMMYs, ACM, CMA and Billboard Music Awards. After his 2017 tour claimed the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Tours selling over 750,000 tickets, Bentley will fuel arenas and amphitheaters throughout the summer with his 2018 MOUNTAIN HIGH TOUR launching this weekend in Columbia, MD (5/18), Holmdel, NJ (5/19) and Camden, NJ (5/20). For more information visit www.dierks.com.

Started in 1965, the Opry Trust Fund’s mission is to help those in the country music industry when they need it the most, by offering financial assistance during their time of need. Since its inception, the Opry Trust Fund has distributed more than $2 million. For more information, visit www.opry.com/trustfund.

Kacey Musgraves appropriately dropped a music video for the song, “Mother,” on Mother’s Day (May 13th). The tribute to her mother is featured on Kacey’s new album, Golden Hour.

In other news, Kacey just landed in Tokyo for a week of promotion.  Ahead of her trip, “High Horse” has climbed to the Top 10 on Tokyo’s most listened to Pop station, J-Wave.

https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/996006715047923712

https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/996002451571408896

Kacey Musgraves performed “High Horse” and “Slow Burn” from her new album, Golden Hour, on NBC’s Saturday Night Live this past weekend (May 12th). Check out the performances below. Comedienne and actress Amy Schumer hosted the show.

Brandon Lay released his new single “Yada Yada Yada” today. Rolling Stone describes the song as “a breezy, unruffled look at the way young love makes nonsense of all other concerns.” Written by Brandon, Heather Morgan, and Mikey Reaves, the laid-back tune comes just in time for the Summer season. Additionally, Brandon recorded a stripped-down performance of the song in the greenroom of Nashville’s famed Marathon Music Works, which can be viewed HERE.

Brandon shares his inspiration behind the song, “’Yada Yada Yada’ is a song I wrote with Mikey Reaves and Heather Morgan.  I had the melody in my head one day as I was driving home from a gig but I didn’t have any lyrics yet, so I was just humming yada yada yada as dummy lyrics (into my phone). A few days later I was in a writing room with the voice memo and Mikey and Heather thought that would make a pretty good title in itself so we went with it.  It’s a fun tune that I hope people will enjoy.”

Brandon is currently on the road with Kenny Chesney performing on all 19 shows of Kenny’s Trip Around The Sun stadium tour. The remaining shows are listed as follows:

May 19                        AT&T Stadium                                                Dallas, Texas
May 26                        Mercedes-Benz Stadium                                  Atlanta, Ga.
June 2                          Heinz Field                                                      Pittsburgh, Pa.
June 9                          Lincoln Financial Field                                    Philadelphia, Pa.
June 16                        Mapfre Stadium                                               Columbus, Ohio
June 23                        Chase Field                                                      Phoenix, Ariz.
June 30                        Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium Denver, Colo.
July 7                          Centurylink Field                                             Seattle, Wash.
July 14                        Arrowhead Stadium                                         Kansas City, Mo.
July 21                        Busch Stadium                                                 Saint Louis, Mo.
July 28                        Soldier Field                                                    Chicago, Ill.
August 4                     Ford Field                                                        Detroit, Mich.
August 11                   Nissan Stadium                                                Nashville, Tenn.
August 18                   MetLife Stadium                                              East Rutherford, N.J.
August 24                   Gillette Stadium                                               Foxboro, Mass.
August 25                   Gillette Stadium                                               Foxboro, Mass.

Carrie Underwood sat down with the Today Show’s Hoda Kotb to talk about her return to the spotlight, her single, “Cry Pretty,” her injuries from a fall late last year, as well as her ACM Performance, her Calia by Carrie Underwood fitness wear line and her mom, Carole.

Carrie’s new album, Cry Pretty, will be available September 14th.

Leading up to the release of his new album, The Mountain, on June 8th, Dierks Bentley is releasing a few preview videos of some of the songs from the project. He’s released a video for “Living,” which  is the second in a four-part series in a partnership between Dierks and Apple Music to showcase real stories of resilience, persistence and hope. Check out the clip below.

Dierks, who is making his way up the country charts with “Woman, Amen,” will launch his headlining Mountain High Tour May 18th in Columbia, Maryland, and in late August will headline his inaugural Seven Peaks Festival in Colorado, which will also include sets by Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne and Dan + Shay, among others.

Don’t forget to catch Kacey Musgraves on NBC’s Saturday Night Live this Saturday (May 12th). She is the musical guest, while Amy Schumer will host. Kacey is also scheduled to perform on the Late Late Show With James Corden on May 17th.

Set your DVR for Carrie Underwood on Sunday night’s (May 13th) American Idol, as she performs her new hit “Cry Pretty,” as well as be the superstar guest mentor on the show.

Jordan Davis will make his Grand Ole Opry debut on May 12th.

Lauren Alaina has been added to the lineup for the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game June 9th at Nashville’s First Tennessee Park.