Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

Gary Allan is poised to enter the top of the country charts with his latest single, “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain),” which he co-wrote with Hillary Lindsey and Matt Warren. Hillary, of course, has written songs for Carrie Underwood (“Last Name,” “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Two Black Cadillacs”), Lady Antebellum (“Lookin’ for a Good Time,” “American Honey”) and Martina McBride (“Blessed”), among others. Matt, who wrote numerous songs for Gary, including “Learning How to Bend” for 2007’s Living Hard, used to sell merchandise for Gary on the road. However, that didn’t seem to be his real calling. “He used to sell T-shirts and do the merch, but he wasn’t very good at that,” laughs Gary. “I remember when I let him go. I said, ‘Man, you can’t do this for me, but I’ll write with ya. I love the way you write.’ He used to write in the back lounge, and I think this is like eight cuts with me, or nine cuts, over the years.

“Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” is the first release from Gary’s latest album, Set You Free, which just arrived in stores and online this week.

Gary Allan (Every Storm-Matt Warren) OC: …over the years. :13
“He used to sell T-shirts and do the merch, but he wasn’t very good at that, so [laughs]. I remember when I let him go. I said, ‘Man, you can’t do this for me, but I’ll write with ya. I love the way you write.’ He used to write in the back lounge, and I think this is like eight cuts with me, or nine cuts, over the years.”

Luke Bryan kicks off the year with the Dirt Road Diaries tour and the first LBTV of the year. We’ve got new songs, new crew & band members, and a whole new show!

Gary Allan performs his hit song, “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain),” on NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Wednesday night (January 23rd). It’s the first single from his brand new album, Set You Free, which arrived in stores this week!

Scotty McCreery returned to American Idol in Charlotte on Wednesday night. The Season 10 winner, who’s at work on the follow-up to his debut album Clear As Day, greeted the contestants waiting in line to audition…signed autographs…received a marriage proposal…and ran into a former junior high classmate.

Ever since the day the 19-year-old singer from North Carolina took home the coveted title in 2011, he basically can’t go anywhere in public without being recognized.

AUDIO: Scotty McCreery talks about going out in public.

Scotty McCreery (going out in public) OC: …it’s fun. :09
“It’s definitely weird, you know. It’s a big life change. It’s just one of those trade-offs that comes from doing this kind of job, but it’s fun. It’s fun.”

Why don’t you sing along to Lady Antebellum‘s new single, “Downtown,” with their lyric video. Check it out below!

SINGER/SONGWRITER KACEY MUSGRAVES TO RELEASE HER DEBUT ALBUM, SAME TRAILER DIFFERENT PARK, ON MARCH 19

MUSGRAVES RECEIVES NOMINATION FOR NEW FEMALE VOCALIST FOR THE 48^TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS 

EMBRACED BY ROLLING STONE, ESQUIRE AND NPR

Nashville, TN – Mercury Records singer/songwriter Kacey Musgraves will release her debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, on March 19^th. The album is co-produced by Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Luke Laird and features her current single and top 15 hit “Merry Go ‘Round.” Musgraves wrote or co-wrote all tracks on the album.

“The making of this record was such a fun and meaningful time for me,” said Musgraves. “As a writer, singer and producer I learned so much throughout the whole process. I am proud and excited to present a project alongside Shane McAnally and Luke Laird that came from a very real and inspired place in my brain and heart.”

The 24-year-old Texas native has garnered massive critical acclaim with the release of “Merry Go ‘Round” and her reputation for portraying an honest and sometimes uncomfortable truth has been featured in multiple press outlets. Esquire named Musgraves as one of their “15 Music Artists to Watch” and said “This supernaturally effortless East Texan is a songwriter’s songwriter to the point where it’s going to be as fun hearing the songs that don’t wind up on the radio as the ones that do.”

Rolling Stone gave “Merry Go ‘Round” FOUR STARS and named it one of their “50 Best Songs of 2012” while NPR named her as their “Best New Artist of 2012” and included her in the “Best Music in 2013 preview.”

Musgraves recently received her first country music award nomination for New Female Vocalist for the 48^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards held in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7. Fans can vote at www.VoteACM.com and www.GACtv.com/ACM January 21st – February 4^th.

Little Big Town has invited Musgraves to open their Tornado Tour starting January 31^st in Murray, KY and this summer she will join Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Nation stadium tour. For a full list of tour dates please visit www.kaceymusgraves.com. 

Download “Merry Go ‘Round” on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/KMMerryGoRound

Follow @KaceyMusgraves on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KACEYMUSGRAVES

Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaceyMusgravesOfficial

Lady Antebellum have just released their brand new single, “Downtown,” the first single from their upcoming album due out later this year. The song is fresh, upbeat, sassy and fun, and as Lady A’s Hillary Scott says a bit “quirky.” She also is proud of the girl in the song as she stands up for herself. “I liked the girl in the song is not afraid to just be like, ‘What are you doing? Why aren’t you doing this?’” says Hillary. “Like being so forward and strong, just empowered, I think. I loved it. I love the voice that she has in the song.”

“There’s some sass to this track that makes it really fun to sing…it’s definitely a roll down the windows and bob your head kind of thing,” said Lady A’s Hillary Scott in a press release. “We thought it was a fun way to launch the next record and a fitting preview of what’s to come!”

Lady A will debut the track next week on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (January 28th) and fans can catch a second performance the following week on CBS’s The Talk (February 6th). The group also announced this week that they will collaborate with Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks for an all new CMT CROSSROADS episode set to tape next week in Los Angeles and air later this year.

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott loves that the girl in the band’s new single, “Downtown,” is strong and unafraid.

Lady A (strong girl) OC: …in the song. :16
“I just loved it. I thought it was playful. I liked the girl in the song is not afraid to just be like, ‘What are you doing? Why aren’t you doing this? Like being so forward and strong, just empowered, I think. I loved it. I love the voice that she has in the song.”

Lady A (quirky song) OC: …seriously. [laughs] :23
“I think there’s a really cool quirkiness to the song and to the delivery and to, you know, the way it was written – and I can say that ‘cause we didn’t write it. It’s just fun and quirky, and that’s so unlike us, that image. I think it just shows that we’re all continuing to grow and change and not take life so seriously.”

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum intro liner for “Downtown”

AUDIO: Lady Antebellum :90 vignette for “Downtown.”

Kacey Musgraves came by her artistic talent naturally. Her parents, sister, grandmother and cousins are all creative, but in different ways. The Texas native’s talent is obviously her penchant for capturing real life in song and music and being a conduit for that message with her voice. Her mother not only taught her to sing harmony, but also is an artist herself. “My mom’s an artist with all different kinds of mediums – paint – but she’s always working on something different. Last time, she had like this huge, life-sized horse that she had made out of driftwood, and it was beautiful,” says Kacey. “My Mee Maw, she’s a soap maker. She makes soap, and they’re beautiful and they smell really good and they’re all-natural. My sister has an Etsy store, and she’s constantly creating something and sewing pillows and taking pictures.” Her parents also own a print shop, which among other things, creates graphic designs for labels, T-shirts and more.  

• Kacey is currently sitting inside the Top 15 on the country charts with her debut single, “Merry Go Round.”
• Kacey is up for ACM New Female Artist of the Year, along with Jana Kramer and Sunny Sweeney. Fans can begin to vote today (January 21st) for their favorite artist at voteacm.com.
• Kacey has been chosen as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country, which will showcase the rising talent from female artists and will feature exclusive content such as video premieres and performances. Check it out at CMT.com.

AUDIO: Kacey Musgraves comes from a very creative and artistic family.

Kacey Musgraves (creative family) OC: …and music. :51
“There’s not any musicians, per se, in my family. I mean, my mom has like a musical ear and can pick stuff out on the mandolin. She kinda taught me to sing harmony. But they’re all very creative in their own right, and it’s weird…my mom’s an artist with all different kinds of mediums – paint – but she’s always working on something different. Last time, she had like this huge, life-sized horse that she had made out of driftwood, and it was beautiful. My Mee Maw, she’s a soap maker. She makes soap, and they’re beautiful and they smell really good and they’re all-natural. My sister has an Etsy store, and she’s constantly creating something and sewing pillows and taking pictures. My dad and my mom have had a print shop for the past 20-plus years, where they do stuff like Kinkos, like faxes and copies, but then they also do graphic design for labels and T-shirts and stuff like that. So, everyone  just kind of has their own, I don’t know what it is. Mine was singing and music.”