October 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LATo commemorate Vote Early Day this Saturday, CMT is helping Nashville get out the vote, and they’ve got some serious star power in their corner.

Reba McEntire, Mickey Guyton, Gabby Barrett, Ingrid Andress and The Band Perry are just a few of the participants in CMT’s upcoming “Hometown Vote-a-Thon,” a digital event that will feature stars sharing their personal stories about how voting has impacted their hometowns.

Also chiming in with their experiences are Hailey Whitters, Midland, Lainey Wilson, Russell Dickerson, Runaway June, Ray Wylie Hubbard and many more country artists. The “Hometown Vote-a-Thon” is a partnership with Ingrid Andress, a rising star who scored her first chart-topping hit this year with “More Hearts Than Mine.”

The virtual event is also tied to Vote for Your Life, an early voting and get-out-the-vote campaign aimed at providing voters with the tools they need to participate in elections.

You can tune into the “Hometown Vote-A-Thon” on CMT’s YouTube page on Saturday between 8AM CT and 8PM CT.

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

October 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAMiranda Lambert is mourning the loss of one of her beloved four-legged friends.

The dog-loving singer shared an emotional post to social media this week, letting fans in on the sad news that her dog, Waylon, has died. His death comes after nearly 13 years of friendship with the country superstar. 

Miranda shared the story of how she first met her dog and his sister, Jessi.

“I found him and his sister on the side of the road in Oklahoma in January 2008,” the singer wote. “They were abandoned, starving and freezing nearly to death. I was listening to Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings at the time me and mom saw them and pulled over to pick them up.”

At that time, Miranda recounts, Waylon’s chances of survival were slim because of his selfless love for his sister.

“I took them straight to the vet and she told me that the little boy was not doing too well (malnourished and dehydrated) because whatever they had found to eat while they were homeless, he always let her eat first,” she continues.

“She said he probably wouldn’t make it but he did. For almost 13 years,” Miranda adds.

Miranda’s love of dogs is well documented: Waylon was one of several rescue dogs that call the superstar’s farm home. She also established her MuttNation Foundation in 2009 to help rescued animals find homes.

Today I lost one of my best friends. My old pal Waylon. I found him and his sister on the side of the road in Oklahoma in January 2008. He was a rock in our family and always held down the fort. He lived his life with no fences. The way we all want to live. Dogs change your life. pic.twitter.com/q6vlc3T2RG

— Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) October 23, 2020

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

October 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Legacy RecordingsFans of Johnny Cash will get the chance to revisit the country superstar’s Forever Words album, as a deluxe version of the project is being released.

Forever Words originally came out in 2018, as a collaborative album that featured the legendary singer’s poetry and lyrics set to music for the first time. Acts like Kris Kristofferson, Kacey Musgraves and Ruston Kelly, Elvis Costello and Brad Paisley signed on to record the songs.

The 16 original tracks will be included in the new version of Forever Words, but the project will more than double, with 18 new songs being included in the deluxe version. Sixteen of those 18 songs are as-yet unreleased.

The new album will be released digitally in four installments, the first of which comes out on Friday. The first wave of new music includes performances from Ana Christina Cash, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Hard Working Americans and Shawn Camp, all with words penned by the Man in Black himself.

Included in that collection are “Big Hearted Girl” and “I’m Comin’ Honey,” two Cash songs that have never been heard before.

Much of the new material was recorded at The Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee. John Carter Cash, the only child of Johnny and June Carter, produced the album.

The second installment of the deluxe edition of Forever Words will appear on December 11.

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

October 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Sony Music NashvilleMitchell Tenpenny is embracing the Christmas spirit.

The “Drunk Me” singer drops his Neon Christmas EP on Friday, a seven-track set of tunes that mix cozy Christmas favorites with a few seasonal originals.

Mitchell offers up his spin on classics like “Joy to the World,” “Let it Snow,” “O Holy Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — the latter of which the singer says is his favorite.

“It just makes me feel like sitting in front of a fire or watching an old Christmas movie at my family’s house,” Mitchell explains of the song. “I knew I could take and make that song more of my own, too, which can be hard with Christmas songs.”

Speaking of making the music his own, Mitchell literally included some of his own contributions on Neon Christmas, adding three original tracks into the mix. Those songs are “Snow Angels,” “Naughty List,” and the project’s title track.

Here’s the full track list of Neon Christmas:

“O Holy Night”
“Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”
“Snow Angels”
“Neon Christmas”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
“Joy to the World”
“The Naughty List”

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

October 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Kelia Anne/Universal Music GroupCanadian EDM duo Young Bombs enlisted some country royalty in the form of Darius Rucker to give an extra boost to their new single, “Wrong Side of Love.”

Placing Darius’ crooning vocals front and center, the song is a brooding ode to a doomed love story, set to a catchy and dance-able beat.

“Wrong Side of Love” comes off of Young Bombs’ debut EP, The Young Bombs Show.

The tune represents a new direction for the rising EDM duo, and is their first foray into twang-tinged country sounds and vocals. But for Darius, genre-blending styling is nothing new, of course — he enjoyed a successful career as the frontman of pop-rock outfit Hootie & the Blowfish before making his move into country music. 

Most recently in his solo career, Darius released a sunny new single called “Beers and Sunshine.”

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