September 2, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LADan + Shay, Kane Brown and Eric Church are among seven new performers just added to the bill at the 2020 ACM Awards show. Others newly added to the bill include Mickey Guyton, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan and Morgan Wallen.

All seven will take the stage at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, one of three iconic Music City Venues which will host this year’s ACMs. Performances will also broadcast from The Bluebird and the Ryman Auditorium.

In addition to serving as performance stage, the Grand Ole Opry will also be the venue where awards are handed out.

The new additions to the bill join a number of other acts already slated to perform, including Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett and Jon Pardi. Tenille Townes and Riley Green are both delivering performances as winners this year; they’ve already been announced as the New Female Artist and New Male Artist of the Year.

Keith Urban is set to host the show, which takes place on September 16 after being rescheduled from its usual April date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

September 2, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LALabor Day is just around the corner, and the Grand Ole Opry’s own network, Circle TV, will celebrate the holiday with a stacked lineup of country music-themed “Hard-Working Heroes.” Featured artists include Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Blake Shelton and many more.

There’s a full day’s worth of fun in the works. Labor Day programming kicks off at 7:00 a.m. ET with a 1980s-era episode of the classic country comedy show Hee Haw, featuring the late Charlie Daniels. As the day continues, Circle TV will feature shows like a CMA Songwriters Series with Ronnie Dunn and Brett Eldredge, an Americana spotlight on roots favorite Tyler Childers, and a performance from Darius Rucker.

Things will heat up even more starting in the 8:00 p.m. hour, with an in-the-round Opry Live performance from Brad, Marty Stuart and Vince Gill. Up next will be Garth and Trisha, who will give a one-hour performance together.

To cap the night off, Blake will take the stage alongside Dustin Lynch and Trace Adkins.

To learn more about the Grand Ole Opry’s “Hard-Working Heroes” event, visit Circle’s website.

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

September 2, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Black River EntertainmentBack in March, Kelsea Ballerini dropped her third studio album, kelsea. Filled with the effervescent, pop-country sound that the singer is known for, it featured songs like “homecoming queen?,” “l.a.” and “the other girl,” her duet with Halsey.

The project came out right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Kelsea had to shift quite a few planned album release events as her project came into the world. But this summer, as quarantine has forced her off the road and kept her from seeing fans in person, the singer has used that time to embark on a new creative endeavor.

Kelsea has made stripped-down, vulnerable recordings of each of the songs on kelsea, in order to highlight another side of the album. That project, ballerini, will be out in full later this month, with the new remix of her song “club” available for immediate release.

“kelsea is glitter: Bold and effervescent and dreams that are boundless. She’s who I want to be,” the singer notes. “While ballerini is emotional, vulnerable, soft: Observes her surroundings and chooses her words carefully. She’s who I am.”

Kelsea adds that she hopes the new version of her album will allow fans to get to know her even more intimately.

“The album ballerini is the result of the wonder and gets down to the heart of it. Introducing ballerini…the other side of the same story,” she adds.

Kelsea’s new album will be out on September 11, but you can pre-order it now.

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

September 2, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Warner Music NashvilleGabby Barrett lends her megawatt vocals to a country classic in her new performance of Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You,” available via Amazon Originals.

The rising star says she chose to cover Dolly’s iconic song in part because it’s one of her favorites, and in part because she believes it exemplifies all the best parts of classic country songwriting.

“The thing about this song and about all of Dolly’s catalog is that her music is timeless; it comes straight from her heart,” Gabby shares. “You can tell that she’s being honest and sincere in every lyric she writes. Every story is genuine to her life.”

That’s a quality the young performer hopes to aim for in her own career, she goes on to say, adding that it’s something that Dolly “has set such a perfect example of in country music.”

In conjunction with “I Will Always Love You”’s release, Amazon also today released footage of Gabby’s virtual interview with Dolly, marking the first time the two got to have a conversation.

While Gabby has long been a huge fan of Dolly’s, it turns out that the feeling is mutual.

“I know that Gabby will have a long and prosperous career ahead of her,” Dolly states. “She has what it takes to make it in our industry…talent, she’s hard-working, humble and kind.”

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

September 2, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Mark LevineIt seems like Luke Combs can do no wrong on the country charts.

The upstart hitmaker just scored his ninth consecutive number-one single on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with “Lovin’ on You.” It took the song just 12 weeks to get to the top, making for the fastest run to number one of any single of Luke’s career. Previously, his personal record was 13 weeks, courtesy of 2019’s “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”

With his nine-song run, Luke is tied with Thomas Rhett for the longest consecutive string of number-one hits on the Country Airplay chart. Thomas netted his ninth chart-topping hit with “Beer Can’t Fix,” a duet with Jon Pardi, earlier this summer.

“Lovin’ on You” follows Luke’s most recent chart-topper, “Does to Me,” a duet with Eric Church.

Both of those songs, as well as “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” are featured on Luke’s sophomore album, What You See is What You Get. Last month, the singer announced plans to unveil a deluxe version of that album in the fall, featuring five new tracks.

It’s been a big week for Luke thus far. Not only is he celebrating a number-one song, he also notched six 2020 CMA Award nominations, including his first-ever Entertainer of the Year nod.

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