March 24, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABCSeveral country artists are lending their voices to the second annual Music Lives virtual festival. 

Jimmie Allen, Matt Stell and Jake Owen are among the more than 100 artists taking part in the three-day online music festival presented by LiveXLive in benefit of MusiCares March 26-28. Trace Adkins and Zac Brown Band are also performing alongside multi-genre acts John Mayer, Wiz Khalifa,Nelly, Nashville star Lennon Stella, Chris Bandi and many more. 

Artists will appear from locations across the world including music venues, studios and their own homes. In honor of Women’s History Month, LiveXLive has also partnered with the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville to spotlight up-and-coming female artists, including Grammy winning songwriter Emily Weisband, who’s co-written songs cut by Keith Urban, Hillary Scott and Thomas Rhett. 

The Music Lives festival begins streaming on LiveXLive Friday at 6 p.m. ET and continues through Sunday.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 24, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesJustin Timberlake is joining the ranks of several country stars who own bars and restaurants in downtown Nashville. 

According to National Restaurant News, Justin has invested in a new restaurant called Twelve Thirty, a 30,000- square foot place near Broadway. The first two floors will open in April, while the third floor is due to open in late summer. 

The concept includes The First Level, a “refined honky-tonk” with live music and a mezzanine lounge serving upscale comfort food and Southern cuisine, and a third-floor, 400-seat Supper Club, where the average bill per person will run about $120.

Sam Fox, the restaurateur who’s spearheading the project, says Twelve Thirty’s name was inspired by Prohibition-Era supper clubs and speakeasies, which would open at 12:30 a.m.

The city’s Lower Broadway area is currently home to Blake Shelton‘s Ole Red, Luke Bryan‘s 32 Bridge and Florida Georgia Line‘s FGL House. Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley also have venues downtown, and it was recently reported that Miranda Lambert will become the first female country artist to have a bar on Broadway with Casa Rosa. 

Over the years, Timberlake has co-owned or endorsed several restaurants. It’s unclear if the Tennessee native plans to spend any time at the new place.

By Andrea Dresdale & Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 24, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Beth GarrabrantMaren Morris is collaborating with Taylor Swift on a song “From the Vault.” 

When Taylor announced she would release the re-recorded version of her album Fearless, she added that the project would include “6 never before released songs from the vault.” Thursday, we’ll get to hear one of them.

The superstar shared via Instagram that she’ll be releasing a “From the Vault” song off her Fearless (Taylor’s Version) album called “You All Over Me,” which features background vocals by Maren.  

“One thing I’ve been loving about these From The Vault songs is that they’ve never been heard, so I can experiment, play, and even include some of my favorite artists,” says Taylor. “I’m really excited to have @marenmorris singing background vocals on this song….can’t wait for you to hear it!!”

Taylor included a photo of herself and Maren together onstage in the slideshow she posted along with the announcement. She added that the song was produced by Aaron Dessner, her collaborator on both folklore and evermore. It’s co-written by Scooter Carusoe, a songwriter who’s written tunes for Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Chris Janson and Brett Eldredge.

“You All Over Me (From the Vault)” drops at midnight E.T. 

HI. I wanted to let you know that the first “From the Vault” song I’m releasing from Fearless (Taylor’s Version) comes out tomorrow at midnight eastern. It’s called You All Over Me (From The Vault). pic.twitter.com/0GdNXHvPM0

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) March 24, 2021

By Andrea Dresdale & Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

March 24, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Lauren DunnSure, Ingrid Andress is the sweet girl who worried about her family getting too attached to her boyfriend in her chart-topping “More Hearts Than Mine.” But if you want to get to know the Best New Artist Grammy nominee better, just check out her current hit, “Lady Like.” 

“It sums up who I am as a person,” she tells ABC Audio. “After you listen to it once you’re like, ‘Okay, I know who that girl is.'”

“And I feel like it’s a message,” Ingrid continues, “that not just [a] woman, but everybody should be reminded [of]… just owning who you are and not having to apologize for not fitting into a certain kind of stereotype is okay. And in fact, you SHOULD be your own thing, because that is what makes us all human beings.”

It was the culture shock Ingrid experienced after relocating from her native Colorado to Nashville that inspired the title track of her debut album. Ingrid couldn’t quite understand some of the expectations men often put on women in the Deep South. 

“‘Lady Like’ kind of summed up my feelings of like, you know, moving to Nashville, and I just wanted to empower everybody to just own who they are,” she reflects.

“Because when I moved to Nashville, I was like, ‘Oh, what does ladylike mean?’ Like, ‘Why are my guy friends giving me crap for, like, not doing certain things?’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is happening. Got it,'” she adds.  

In October, Ingrid released the Deluxe edition of Lady Like, which adds three new songs, as well as a version of “More Hearts Than Mine” that features Little Big Town‘s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman. It also includes Ingrid’s take on “Boys,” the pop hit she wrote for Charli XCX.

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. 

March 23, 2021 • No Comments • Country Music News

Rachel Deeb/Phylicia J.L. MunnTenille Arts is setting a personal record with her debut single, “Somebody Like That.” 

The Canadian-born singer has clinched the #10 slot on the Billboard Country Airplay chart this week, marking her first top-10 hit. Its 58-week climb to that position makes for the longest ascent into the top 10 for a solo woman.

Tenille is in good company, following in the footsteps of Gabby Barrett‘s “I Hope,” the first debut single by a female artist this year to make the top ten. It eventually topped the chart.

Tenille’s trek is surpassed only by LoCash‘s 2020 hit, “One Big Country Song,” which took 59 weeks to reach the top 10 on the Country Airplay chart. 

Additionally, Mickey Guyton has achieved a milestone. Following her performance of the autobiographical “Black Like Me” at the Grammy Awards, the song has earned a #4 debut on the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart, marking her first top-10 entry on a Billboard chart. 

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.