December 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAJust in time for Christmas, Dan + Shay have teamed up with the Safe Haven Family Shelter to give three Nashville-area families the gift of a lifetime.

The duo recently surprised three families experiencing homelessness with their own starter homes, fully furnished and even decorated for the holidays. When the families arrived to check out their new homes, the band mates were waiting inside to greet them in person, wish them happy holidays and even play a song or two.

“For us to be able to come here and sing some songs and help people get back on their feet, to get into a home, to get some amazing new furniture — it’s an incredible feeling for us,” the band mates explain in a video.

Dan + Shay also told People that the experience was a deeply meaningful one for both of them.

“I speak for both of us when I say it was life-changing,” explains Dan Smyers. “It put everything into perspective, and made us truly appreciate all the blessings in our life that we can sometimes take for granted.”

The pair is getting into the holiday spirit from a musical standpoint, too. They recently released two festive original songs, “Take Me Home for Christmas” and “Christmas Isn’t Christmas.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

BBR Music Group In a year when many are seeking comfort in Christmas cheer, Runaway June‘s Jennifer Wayne got a head start by writing a Christmas song in the middle of a scorching hot Tennessee summer. 

Jennifer co-wrote “When I Think About Christmas” alongside Tiffany Goss and Josh Matheny, which describes the joy of having someone to celebrate the season with. The jazzy song ultimately became the title track to Runaway June’s Christmas EP. 

“It’s funny, we weren’t even trying to write a Christmas song. It was like in the middle of August and we were so hot. It was two of my friends and they were over at my house and we were drinking wine and we were like ‘gosh, I wish it was Christmas,’ so we just started writing it,” she explains to ABC Audio about the writing process.

“We were like, ‘When I think about Christmas, I think about all these things,’ and that’s kind of what inspired it,” Jennifer adds. “So we wrote a Christmas song in the middle of August.” 

When I Think About Christmas features another original song, “Christmas on the Radio,” along with covers of holiday classics including “O Holy Night” and “Let it Snow.”  

By Stephen Hubbard & Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 22, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Phylicia J.L. MunnFor Mickey Guyton, her Grammy nomination is bigger than herself.  

Joining Hoda Kotb for a recent interview on the Today show, Mickey says she’s “still trying to process” her historic nomination for “Black Like Me” for Best Country Solo Performance, making her the first solo Black woman to be nominated in a country category. 

“This award is just so much bigger than just the Grammy nomination for me. This award is for Black women, for every single woman that has felt unseen and unheard and put in a corner and not acknowledged,” she proclaims. “It’s just been so overwhelming, I’m just so blessed.” 

Mickey adds that she views the nomination through the lens of Booker T. Washington‘s famous quote: “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”

“That is what this is all about. It’s about opening that door for other women of color no matter what you are,” she continues. “This is such a huge monumental moment for women of color.”

Mickey and her husband Grant Savoy are expecting their first child, a boy, early next year. They plan to name their son Grayson Clark, combining her husband’s name with that of his best friend, Tyson, who passed away in 2019.  

“I just want to lift him up in whatever it is that he decides he wants to do with his life,” Mickey says of how she’s approaching parenthood. “I just want to be that beacon for him.”

The Grammy Awards air on January 31 on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

We spoke with country singer @MickeyGuyton after she received her first Grammy nomination! She tells us about that special moment and how she got to this historical moment. pic.twitter.com/Z9RHdm447w

— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) December 21, 2020

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 22, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Jeff NelsonZac Brown Band and Brantley Gilbert are closing out the year with livestream concerts.

Zac Brown Band is presenting the “Proud American Thank You” concert honoring veterans and military personnel on December 27 at 8 p.m. ET on nugs.tv.

The virtual concert is in benefit of ZBB’s nonprofit Camp Southern Ground‘s Warrior programs, which offers mental health support to veterans transitioning back into society. 

The night of the show, presenting partner Polaris will match donations up to $25,000.  

Days later, the “Bottoms Up” singer will set up shop at “Brantley’s Dawg House” at his home in Georgia for a show that balances a full-band performances with an acoustic set.

“We know that this year has been tough for everyone, and we couldn’t think of a better way to wrap it up than doing what we do best,” Brantley says in a statement. “We wish we could be back out on the road with BG Nation in person but connecting with y’all through this livestream is the next best thing,”

The show streams on nugs.tv on December 30 at 8 p.m. ET

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

December 22, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABCThomas Rhett learned a valuable lesson in 2020 that he plans to carry with him into the new year. 

The singer acknowledges that a year ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a myriad of challenges for many people, and commends the tireless efforts of teachers and other frontline workers. 

“2020 has definitely been hard in many ways, especially for a lot of different families who have either lost work or people that have been on the front lines working in hospitals, or teachers trying to teach three-year-olds how to learn their letters and their numbers,” he says. 

But the “Life Changes” hit maker adds that spending the year off the road has had a few positive side effects for him and his family.

“…For us, I think 2020 has had several silver linings, and for me, I think I was going at such a rapid pace that 2020 definitely forced me to slow down,” he describes. “And so I hope I can take that mindset back into 2021.”

Thomas recently announced that he is taking a break from social media after receiving backlash for posting photos from a vacation he and wife Lauren took to Cabo. 

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.