July 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Wheelhouse RecordsCountry trio Runaway June wasn’t expecting to find much creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only did bandmate Jennifer Wayne personally battle the virus, but longtime member Hannah Mulholland decided to exit the group.

But what began as a frightening, uncertain time ultimately became a clean slate.

“We’ve been together quite a bit in a really beautiful, authentic creative space, which has been really awesome because this time of year we’re normally touring and it’s a pretty rigorous schedule,” Naomi Cooke explains to Rolling Stone.

After Hannah’s departure, the two remaining band mates knew that replacing her would be difficult. Ultimately, they tapped fiddle player Natalie Stovall, in part because she was already a seasoned touring artist.

“It is not for everybody. After two week of [being on the road], if it’s not what you think it is, you can just implode,” Naomi points out. “So the list was really short and we thought of Natalie.”

Though Runaway June had already decided on “Head Over Heels” as a follow-up single to their top-ten hit, “Buy My Own Drinks,” they switched gears amid the pandemic. They recorded a new version of the tender ballad “We Were Rich,” featuring Natalie’s fiddle and vocals, and sent it to radio.

“It goes back to the simpler times of your parents doing everything they can to make you comfortable and happy,” explains Jennifer. “And I feel like right now, this message is so important for people. It’s like the perfect time to put out a song like this. And then it just felt so perfect with Natalie coming in — it’s like a fresh start.”

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

July 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Circle NetworkLuke Bryan and Darius Rucker were just revealed as the lineup for an upcoming Grand Ole Opry broadcast. The two superstars will step into the circle together on August 15, marking the stage’s 4,937th consecutive broadcast.

Both artists will have fresh music to share during their performance. Luke’s next album, Born Here Live Here Die Here, is scheduled to drop on August 7, just over a week before he takes the Opry stage. That project includes his newest number-one single, “One Margarita.”

For his part, Darius also has new music up his sleeve: On August 7, he’ll share a summery new single called “Beers and Sunshine.” Before taking the Opry stage, he’s also got plans to helm a virtual version of his annual “Darius & Friends” concert benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. That event takes place this Thursday night at 7PM CT, with pay-per-view tickets available now.

Amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Ole Opry has been continuing its weekly broadcasts without a live audience. Instead, you can tune in to the show through the Opry’s own Circle Network, as well as the venue’s flagship radio station, 650 WSM AM, and online.

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

July 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Warner Music NashvilleKenny Chesney is getting ready to do something he’s never done before.

Next month, the country superstar will release his latest album, Here and Now, on vinyl. Pressed onto clear, sea-glass green vinyl, the record will be available via his official online store, as well as through an exclusive partnership with Walmart. The new packaging for the record, which first dropped in May, becomes available on August 21.

Kenny says he was inspired to release the record to vinyl in part because of the COVID-19 quarantine, a time when more fans than ever are listening to music in their homes.

“With so many of us staying home, having the time to really dive into the music and listen — and based on the passion for this project — it seemed like now is the time to do vinyl,” he explains, adding that his own recent experience with LPs further convinced him to explore a different listening format.

“I had a friend give me a stack of albums from the ‘70s and ‘80s a few years ago, and there really is something different about settling in and listening. It’s warmer. It has a bit more presence, sonically,” Kenny goes on to say. “It’s a whole other way to listen, and right now, that feels like a good thing.”

The first single and title track off of Here and Now recently became the superstar’s 31st number-one hit at country radio. Late last month, he served up a new track to radio with the uplifting “Happy Does.”

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

July 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMMA few weeks ago, Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood announced that they were postponing a performance due to possible exposure to COVID-19.  They ultimately tested negative, but now Garth has revealed that the person who was the source of that exposure was his youngest daughter.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Garth said daughter Allie had tested positive for the coronavirus, and while he hadn’t seen his daughter, he noted that her husband “works with us every day,” which is why everyone got tested.  Allie quarantined for 14 days after she tested positive, and she’s fine now except for a sore throat, Garth said.

“As a parent, nobody knows what COVID is going to do in the future so you just watch over them,” Garth said. “You pray a lot and hopefully she will come out of this thing with just that.”

He added, “As parents like you, like me, all you do is pray your knee bones off and hopefully following the guidelines so hopefully your family doesn’t have to experience this.”

The superstar went on to say that he and Trisha had used quarantine “as a time to face everything, ’cause now you can’t leave, you can’t walk away. This is probably, you know, the blessing and the curse.”

Admitting that the experience of the past few months has “probably been the most we’ve ever gone through as a couple,” Garth noted, “What’s on the other side is so great, especially when you are with the right one.”

Garth also announced yesterday that he was taking himself out of the running for CMA Entertainer of the Year, having already won the coveted honor seven times.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

July 30, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC AudioOn Wednesday, Garth Brooks revealed he’s officially taken home an Entertainer of the Year trophy for the very last time. 

Reiterating he’s not retiring or slowing down — and still hopes to be competitive in other categories —  the superstar admitted he’s been thinking along these lines ever since winning a record seventh title in November. 

Initially, it looked like the Country Music Association might be on the road to giving him an emeritus honor at CMA Fest. But after the annual celebration had to be cancelled because of COVID-19, CMA ultimately decided they could not “pull [Garth] out of [the running for] an award.”

So, “with all the gratefulness, [all] the love in the world,” he did it himself.

“There was one tweet in there that really stuck in my head,” he explained, “that said, ‘Hey, man, this guy, why doesn’t he step down and just have the Entertainer for the next generation?’ [I] one-hundred-percent agreed…”

“The last thing I want to do is seem ungrateful to the CMAs and everybody that has voted for us…” Garth added. “My number is seven… And we feel very lucky with seven.”

“It’s time for somebody else to hold that award, [to] know what that Entertainer feels like. Because they’re all out there busting their butts,” he said of his contemporaries.

After a year when touring was mostly sidelined by the global pandemic, Garth points out it should be an interesting race.

“This is probably the perfect year for it,” he reflected, “because I don’t know how they’re gonna judge Entertainer this year… I feel very grateful. And for twenty-five years, you get to be the Entertainer of the Year. So that’s been pretty sweet.”

Garth first won in 1991, nearly thirty years ago. 

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