Category: country music

Alan Jackson was presented with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday.

In his acceptance speech, the country music legend told the crowd at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, that “Country music has been real good to me and I fell in love with it when I was a young man.”

“I really love the instruments, the steel guitars and the fiddles and things like that that gave it such a unique character to me and made it its own,” the musician said. “And I love the lyrics and the songs and the artists and the melodies and the harmonies. It’s just a real American music to me.”

Jackson, known for several hits including “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” also thanked his wife Denise saying, “We started out as teenagers and she’s been on this roller coaster ride with me for 40 something years now.”

He added that he’s “not always the easiest person to love, but she’s hung in there and helped me through hard times and we share great times. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad. We’ve survived a lot.”

The Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes artists who have contributed to country music in a significant way and have positively impacted the music genre.

Jackson has also been named CMA entertainer of the year three times.

Brett Yeagley recalls the moment country music artist Mitch Rossell asked those in the audience of 50,000 fans at a Garth Brooks concert to enter a contest with a chance to win a backyard show by the opening act.

Seated in the fifth row on one side of the stage at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, the Canton Local Schools superintendent was having a blast even before the iconic Brooks took the stage. That included when Rossell gave Yeagley’s daughter a guitar pick.

More:Garth Brooks songwriter Mitch Rossell says Canton South concert is ‘going to be amazing’

Through a QR code scanned into his cellphone, the local school official joined other fans in entering the contest. Brooks gave a rousing performance, and weeks passed as the 41-year-old Yeagley returned to his life in Stark County. With so many fans at the show, he didn’t like his odds of winning the contest.

Then came a surprise phone call from Rossell, who has been holding a series of backyard concerts for contest winners this year.

“Yeah, hey, it’s Mitch, actually, Brett,” Rossell said. “How are you doing?”

“Mitch, hey, how are you?” Yeagley responded excitedly.

“I’m good, man, I’m good,” Rossell said while smiling in a video of the call posted on Instagram. “I was just calling you to say hello and tell you that you won the backyard concert.”

“Are you serious?” Yeagley said.

“I’m serious, man,” Rossell answered.

“Oh my gosh, that is awesome!” Yeagley enthused.

Finishing the conversation, Rossell beamed another grin before laughing over some small talk. “Great talking to you, looking forward to hanging out with you, and playing some music for you.”

© Larry McCormack / tennessean.com
Garth Brooks performs “Ask Me How I Know” with Mitch Rossell, who co-wrote the song, during the CMA Awards Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

More:Vitale father, son bond through music while forming All-Star band The Vinyl Machine

Yeagley’s story only gets better.

In addition to a private show at Yeagley’s home on Saturday with his friends and family, Rossell also will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Canton South High School, 600 Faircrest St. SE in Canton Township. Tickets are $20 for the public concert, and can be purchased online at https://www.cantonlocal.org/ or by calling school offices at 330-484-8010.

Rossell at Canton South ‘is going to be a great night’

A diehard country music fan, Yeagley has seen Rossell open for Brooks at least five times. He’s seen Brooks in concert 18 times.

“To me, there’s nothing much better than live entertainment,” Yeagley said. “I love concerts, and being there live and having an opportunity for $20 to be right here in our community. (Rossell) always puts on a great show, and he’s able to command a stage in front of 50,000 people.”

Rossell proved that at a Brooks concert in 2017 in Cincinnati.

“Mitch came out … and by the end of the three songs he earned a full standing ovation,” Yeagley said. “I saw Mitch take a crowd that didn’t know who he was, and in three songs, had a standing ovation from 20,000 people.”

“To have him in a 900-seat auditorium is going to be a great night,” he added. “He puts on a great performance. You don’t get many opportunities (for country music shows) in Stark County. We’re very excited to see someone as talented as Mitch.”

A total of 115 tickets have been purchased by local sponsors and made available for free to Canton Local students. A pre-sale made tickets available first for students and staff and their families, Yeagley said.

Rossell is donating $5 from each ticket sold to upgrade the Performing Arts Center.

“We are extremely grateful for that,” the superintendent said.

Yeagley is excited for both shows.

“We’re going to have a small get-together at our house, but I think this Friday night concert is going to be something really special,” he said.

“Hopefully, this concert with Mitch is the start of something we can do to bring people into Canton Township and then into Canton Local Schools,” Yeagley added. “Our community’s blessed us with a great facility, and we want to make sure it’s utilized.”

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

If you go

What: Mitch Rossell country music concert

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Canton South High School (Performing Arts Center), 600 Faircrest St. SE in Canton Township

Tickets: $20 each and available online at https://www.cantonlocal.org/ or by calling school offices at 330-484-8010

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Country music loving school official wins Mitch Rossell concert at Canton South High

She may be up for one of the night’s biggest prizes, but Maren Morris opted not to walk the red carpet at the 2022 CMA Awards.

After a September interview with the Los Angeles Times in which the country star expressed her discomfort with the annual award show, fans had wondered if Morris, 32, would show at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night. Her most recent album, Humble Quest, is nominated for album of the year.

She did, about halfway through the night’s events, but skipped the red carpet.

During her chat with the Times, Morris, 32, said she had mixed feelings about attending the CMAs, and said she often feels “awkward” at such events.

RELATED VIDEO: Maren Morris, Cassadee Pope Call Out Jason Aldean’s Wife for Transphobic Comment: ‘Real Nice’

“Honestly, I haven’t decided if I’m gonna go,” she said at the time. “I’m very honored that my record is nominated. But I don’t know if I feel [at] home there right now. So many people I love will be in that room, and maybe I’ll make a game-time decision and go. But as of right now, I don’t feel comfortable going.”

She continued: “I think I was more sad going last year. Some nights are fun. Others I’m just crawling out of my skin. I’m not good at those events because I’m awkward. But this time I kind of feel peaceful at the notion of not going.”

Check out PEOPLE’s full CMAs coverage to get the latest news on country music’s biggest night

The CMAs discussion came just weeks after the “Circles Around This Town” singer publicly criticized Brittany Kerr Aldean — the wife of fellow country star Jason Aldean — for making a transphobic comment in an Instagram video amid ongoing debate and efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care.

“I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life,” Brittany captioned a makeup reveal video in September.

Morris responded on Twitter: “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”

The exchange sparked additional back-and-forths between Morris, Brittany, and other stars like Cassadee Pope, Lindsay Ell, and more, and when Brittany appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show to discuss the situation, Carlson labeled Morris a “Lunatic Country Music Person.”

Morris, in turn, stuck the phrase on T-shirts and sold them to fans, ultimately raising more than $150,000 for the Trans Lifeline and GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program.

The 2022 CMAs hosted by Luke Bryan are airing live Wednesday night from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The Revivalists left Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on a high note on Monday, delivering a highlight-filled show featuring four new songs and a sit-in from Roosevelt Collier. The concert at the Mother Church of Country Music was the New Orleans roots rock band’s second in as many days.

Following an opening run of “Oh No”, “Change”, and “Bulletproof”, the first debut came with a song called “Long Con”. Sprinkled in among other fan favorites like “Monster”, “Keep Going”, and “Otherside of Paradise”, the David Shaw-led eight-piece dropped another newbie with “Alive”. Toward the end of the main set, The Revivalists delivered another debut with “Good Ol Days” prior to “Got Love” and the closing “Celebration”.

Taking the hallowed stage once again, the band kicked off what would prove a four-song encore with “Gold to Glass” followed by “Zombie”. Sean Johnson then emerged to lend the band a hand on the final debut of the evening, “Kid”, before celebrated pedal steel guitarist and frequent Revivalists collaborator Roosevelt Collier jumped in on lap steel to close the run with the band’s best-known song, “Wish I Knew You”.

Related: Neal Francis Welcomes David Shaw For “Can’t Stop The Rain” In New Orleans [Photos/Videos]

The Revivalists have not released an album of new, original material since 2018’s Take Good Care, though it now appears another may be on the way.

Check out a gallery of images from The Revivalists at Ryman Auditorium courtesy of photographer Skylar Watkins. The band’s tour continues tonight, November 9th, at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. For tickets and a full list of tour dates visit their website.

Setlist: The Revivalists | Ryman Auditorium | Nashville, TN | 11/7/22

Set: Oh No, Change, Bulletproof, Long Con [1], Monster, Keep Going, Otherside of Paradise, Alive [1], Need You, Concrete (Fish Out of Water), Good Ol Days [1], Got Love, Celebration

Encore: Gold to Glass, Zombie, Kid [1] [2], Wish I Knew You [3]

[1] Debut

[2] w/ Sean Johnson

[3] w/ Roosevelt Collier

The documentary film The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile is currently airing in select theaters across the United States. Directed by Kathlyn Horan, the film was made during the production of Tanya Tucker’s 2019 comeback record While I’m Livin’, which went on to win Tanya two Grammy Awards, including Best Country Album—Tanya’s first Grammy Awards of her career.

Though Brandi Carlile is given primary credit as the producer of While I’m Livin’, along with title-level credit for the documentary distributed by Sony Pictures as an Executive Producer and co-star, Shooter Jennings was also a co-producer on Tanya Tucker’s album, and was also the guy that had the idea of making a comeback record for Tanya Tucker in the first place, and to bring Brandi Carlile on board to help.

But the story goes even farther back than that, and believe it or not, legendary underground country band Hellbound Glory and frontman/songwriter Leroy Virgil played a pivotal role as well.

Hellbound Glory’s 2011 album Damaged Goods was a bit more of a stripped-down affair compared to their previous records, allowing the songwriting of Leroy Virgil to rise to the forefront. It was an album about those who’d spent their lives partying past their prime, and one of the jewels of the album was a song called “Better Hope You Die Young.”

In 2018, Hellbound Glory re-released the song as part of a Record Store Day exclusive of their 2017 album Pinball called Pinball (Junkie Edition), released on the record label of Shooter Jennings called Black Country Rock. The album included a cover of Tanya’s signature hit, “Delta Dawn.” Since “Better Hope You Die Young” seemed almost like it was written for Tanya Tucker, Tanya was solicited to see if she wanted to sing on a new version of the song as a duet with Leroy Virgil. Tanya took a listen to the song, and accepted.

“You can live your whole life just like there’s no tomorrow but, baby, it’s a fact/ that all them all-nighters are just time you borrowed; someday you’ll have to pay them back,” Tucker sings. When she recorded the song with Hellbound Glory, Tucker hadn’t released a new album in nearly 15 years, and had been pretty much put out to pasture by the country music industry.

Recording her parts for Hellbound Glory’s “Better Hope You Die Young” (the 2nd version is officially called “You Better Hope You Die Young’” got Tanya Tucker back in the studio, and back in the business. After Tanya Tucker won her two Grammy Awards in 2020, Shooter Jennings was interviewed backstage, and explained how it all went down.

“I was working with a band called Hellbound Glory, who is one of my favorite bands of all time, and she was singing one of their songs, and that’s how a guy named Adam Sheets … this whole project would have never happened if it hadn’t been for Adam Sheets and Hellbound Glory. We did this one cut of Tanya, and I told Brandi, ‘I just recorded Tanya Tucker.’ And she said, ‘I love Tanya Tucker!’ And I said, ‘Why don’t you co-produce [her album] with me?’ [At first] Tanya didn’t want to do it. We talked her into it, and now she has two Grammys.”

…even more backstory, Shooter Jennings first discovered Hellbound Glory when the band played a livestream here on Saving Country Music, and Shooter was enthralled by the band’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire.” Adam Sheets, who was referred to above, was another music blogger in the Shooter Jennings orbit at the time.

Now Tanya Tucker is enjoying a second wave in her career. And though the Grammy Awards, big names like Brandi Carlie and Shooter Jennings, and other industry types are involved in keeping the ball rolling, it was little ol’ Hellbound Glory and elements of the underground that helped get it started. Just remember that the next time you see Tanya Tucker on a big stage, or when you watch the new The Return of Tanya Tucker documentary.

Hellbound Glory’s new album The Immortal Hellbound Glory: Nobody Knows You was released on September 30th.

The first ever 20th annual world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade announced Monday the grand marshal is an Arkansas country music star.

County music superstar, Jason Moore will be the celebrity grand marshal at the parade on Bridge Street, downtown Hot Springs.

“All of us here in Hot Springs consider Justin almost a hometown boy since his hometown of Poyen is only a couple of miles down the road on Highway 270,” said Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison in announcing Moore’s selection. “He’ll be a great grand marshal as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our huge little parade and while he won’t be performing as part of the celebration, he will be having a great time meeting some of his biggest fans who have come to see him in the parade.”

Moore will be joining actor Chris McDonald who played Shooter McGavin in the iconic movie “Happy Gilmore” and McDonald will fire the starter’s pistol as the official start of the parade.

WORLD’S SHORTEST ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE TO WELCOME A ‘HAPPY GILMORE’ GUEST NEXT YEAR

The parade has brought forth international attention to Hot Springs since its establishment in 2003.

Moore has built a loyal following over the past decade with his traditional country sound and captivating live shows.

His current single, “With a Woman You Love” has him climbing the country radio charts.

The emotional tune follows in the footsteps of his 10th number-one hit, “We Didn’t Have Much” which is featured on his eight-track collection of tunes, ‘Straight Outta The Country.‘

The Arkansas native’s fanbase helped boost his fifth studio album, ‘Late Nights and Longnecks,’ to the top of the charts.

Lead track “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home,” and follow-up “Why We Drink,” both hit number one on both Mediabase and Billboard.

His previous project ‘Kinda Don’t Care’, earned him his third consecutive number-one album debut and features his chart-topping singles “You Look Like I Need a Drink” and “Somebody Else Will.”

It served as a follow-up to his second No. 1 album release, the gold-certified Off The Beaten Path.

During his 10-plus-year career, Moore’s No. 1 hits have also included “Point at You,” “Lettin’ the Night Roll” “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” “Small Town USA” and “Till My Last Day” as well as seven Top 10 hits and platinum-certified albums Justin Moore and Outlaws Like Me.

Moore has been busy hosting his Justin Moore Podcast with tour manager JR and interviewing guests such as Matthew McConaughey, Tracy Lawrence, Jon Pardi, Brantley Gilbert, Diamond Dallas Page, and Marty Smith.

He has recently taken on a new role as co-host on 103.7 The Buzz’s morning drive-time sports talk show, Morning Mayhem.

“The 20th-anniversary edition of the parade will be pretty special,” said Arrison. “We’ll want the crowd to enjoy Hot Springs in celebrating our city’s equivalent of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago when a bunch of us were sharing a beer at Spencer’s Corner and wondering how to take advantage of the fact that Bridge Street — right outside the door — is recognized as the shortest street in the world in everyday use. It dawned on me that we could have a 98-foot parade and bill it as the world’s shortest. That was 20 years ago, and for years now our wacky little parade has brought international attention to Hot Springs as a really great place to have a good time.”

The parade annually attracts crowds of upwards of 30,000 people to watch Irish Elvis impersonators, marching units, floats, dancers, and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders as well as other unique units throughout the 98- foot length parade.

For more information reach out to Steve Arrison at (501) 321-2027.

Showtime has released the first trailer for Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon’s upcoming country music series George & Tammy. The project was created by Abe Sylvia (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Nurse Jackie) and directed by John Hillcoat (The Road). The story will focus on the tempestuous marriage of C&W music couple George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

The series is based on the book The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George, which was written by the couple’s daughter, Georgette Jones.

The story “chronicles the country music power couple, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, whose complicated-but-enduring relationship inspired some of the most iconic music of all time. Remembered as the ‘First Lady of Country Music,’ Wynette’s most successful song ‘Stand by Your Man’ remains one of the most iconic and best-selling country singles by a female artist. Known for his once-in-a-lifetime voice, George Jones’ song ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today,’ is still widely called the greatest country song of all time. With over 30 number-one country songs between them, including duets ‘We’re Gonna Hold On,’ ‘Golden Ring’ and ‘Near You,’ George and Tammy’s legacy, both musically and romantically, remains one of the greatest love stories ever told.”

It was previously explained that Shannon and Chastain will do their own singing in the series. Steve Zahn also stars as George Richey, “a songwriter, producer and mainstay of the Nashville country music community who married Wynette after she and Jones split up in 1975.”

The premiere episode of George & Tammy will debut simultaneously on Showtime and on the Paramount Network behind Yellowstone on Sunday, December 4th.

I never liked country music. I mean, I thought I never liked country music. Growing up in British Honduras in the 50s and 60s, we had no TV; radio was our only contact with the outside world, for news, sports and music. One radio station for the entire country, and everyone always tuned in until it signed off at 11:00 p.m. The music varied, local or Caribbean, Latin, jazz, pop and classical, and yes, country. At that time I didn’t realize that Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Skeeter Davis, Burl Ives, Johnny Cash, Hank Locklin and so many others, were country music singers. I loved the songs and the stories they told and just thought of it as music, without definition! Then the Beatles, Motown, and rock and roll took over. I was in my mid-teens by then, and my taste changed. Or did it?

As a black kid growing up in Belize, it would have been strange and unusual to admit that I was a fan of country music, so I decided I hated it, and that was that! I turned my attention to reggae and pop music, jazz and Latin music, and life was good. Then I heard “Sweet Dreams”, by Patsy Cline, “Paper Roses”, “The end of the world”, and Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, George Jones and all the great singers of the 60s and 70s! I loved their music, but still hated country music! Those weren’t country; they were great songs of love and loss and suffering. And of course Elvis could never have been country! Country music wasn’t sophisticated enough, all that yodeling and nasal twang; no, I hated it.

As I grow older, now a grandfather, I realize that good music is good music, no matter the genre. I have been watching the Ken Burns documentary on country music, and understand that music, especially in America, is an amalgam of the cultures, and oh, I fell in love with Jimmie Rodgers and yodeling! And the Carter family, the pioneers of country music.

The romantic poet Shelley said that “our sweetest songs are those that tell of our saddest thoughts.” He was absolutely right! The pain and suffering and rejection these people went through, and still persevered, is a testament to their greatness, their genius to be able to make people feel better, especially through times as tough as The Great Depression. I realize that during this period people who looked like me were not in a good place, segregated and marginalized, but remember what Shelley said. I always believed that country music was white, in spite of Charlie Pride. Now I know that it came from African, Irish, Scottish, English and European sounds, as in the yodeling.

I remember fondly, in the 80s, meeting Glen Campbell in an elevator at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. I shook his hands and let him know the many times I’d gotten laid because of his music. He couldn’t stop laughing and invited me to his show that night, which I unfortunately missed because of work! But the man with the best mellow music, seduction music, will always be Kris Kristofferson. “Help me make it through the night”, “Sunday morning coming down,” and his countless other songs, designed for copulation.

These days country music has morphed into pop and rap, and rock. I am a traditionalist and don’t really care for it — give me the old time music. I suppose I do like country music, to a point!

“Put your sweet lips, a little closer to the phone. Let’s pretend that we’re together, all alone.” — Jim Reeves.

Glen

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