July 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Image Group LAScotty McCreery delivers a plaintive performance of the Vince Gill classic “Go Rest High on That Mountain” in honor of his late friend. 

Scotty turned to social media to share the news of his friend Yameer Greene‘s passing through the power of song. Poised with an acoustic guitar, Scotty let each lyric simmer as he thoughtfully sang, “Go rest high on that mountain / Son your work on earth is done / Go to heaven a shoutin’ / Love for the father and the son.” 

According to WRAL Raleigh, Greene, a childhood friend of the singer, was killed recently in a head-on collision on the interstate in Knightdale, North Carolina. He was 26 years old. 

“For my buddy Yameer. One of the kindest and brightest souls I’ve ever met. Everyone who knew him loved him. Love you and miss you man,” Scotty writes on Facebook alongside the video. “Rest easy.”

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

July 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Mark LevineLuke Combs has announced that his What You See Is What You Get Tour will resume in 2021. 

The hitmaker shared the new tour schedule on Instagram, which shows more than 30 dates taking place June through December of next year. The tour will launch on June 22 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and run through December 3, where it wraps with a two-night stay in Boston. 

Along the way, Luke will perform double shows in cities including Raleigh, Dallas, Chicago and New York. Tickets purchased for the previous dates will be honored at the new ones.

“Never in a million years did I think the show I played in Europe this past March would be the last headlining show I’d play this year,” Luke professes in the post. “Believe me, I’m just as bummed as y’all are… Playing shows for y’all is what I love to do, but I want y’all to be completely safe…I can’t wait to see y’all in person next year.”

Luke is one of many artists who’s been forced to postpone or cancel tours in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Named after his chart-topping sophomore album, Luke got through a handful of What You See Is What You Get Tour shows in February and March before quarantine began.

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

July 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Jamie McCarthy/WireImageThree music icons and longtime friends are reuniting on the Grand Ole Opry. 

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell will join forces on the Opry’s 4,935th show on Saturday, August 1. The singers have crossed paths several times over their multi-decade careers, which includes rotating stints performing on their respective albums and with their bands. 

Rodney was a part of Emmylou’s Hot Band in the 1970s after she recorded his song “Bluebird Wine” for her 1975 debut album, Pieces of the Sky. When he later launched his own solo career, Rodney formed his band known as the Cherry Bombs, which Vince became a part of. 

The Grammy-winning country star then spent time in Emmylou’s backup band for three of her albums, including 1986’s Thirteen, on which he and Rodney both provided background vocals.  

“I don’t have two better friends in the world,” Vince remarks, with Emmylou adding, “There’s nothing better than singing with old and dear friends, especially if those friends happen to be Rodney and Vince.” 

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that has seen an end to large scale in-person events, the Opry has remained on the air each week. Closing its doors to the public in March, the long-running country music show continues to broadcast on Saturday nights with a skeleton crew and artists spaced six feet apart on the stage without an audience present. 

You can hear the show each week on WSM and watch it on the Circle TV network.

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

July 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Mark LevineTim McGraw is offering a thoughtful gesture to healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The “I Like It, I Love It” hitmaker is the latest star to take part in Spotify’s online series The Drop In, where artists surprise their loyal fans. In the latest episode of the series, Tim pays a virtual visit to a staff of nurses at Virtua Health in New Jersey to thank them for their tireless efforts. 

In between stories from the nurses about the challenges of working on the front lines of a pandemic, Tim offered an acoustic performance of his song “I Called Mama,” along with some words of gratitude. 

“…One of the bright lights I think through all of this is being able to see how much people care, how hard people work, how selfless people can be, especially you guys, our front line workers who put your lives on the line to take care of people,” Tim says. 

The singer has dropped in on fans before — he surprised one with a video call for Mother’s Day and included a clip of the exchange in the video for “I Called Mama.”

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

July 23, 2020 • No Comments • Country Music News

Eric Ryan AndersonSkeletons, the third studio album from Brothers Osborne, won’t arrive until fall, but one thing’s already a reality: TJ and John are anxious to play it live right now.

In fact, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire effort was designed for the day the duo could bring it to life onstage, especially the lead single, “All Night.” 

“We made this record specifically with the idea of going out and performing live,” TJ tells ABC Audio. “Our last record, Port St. Joe, we really loved, but it was a little more chill.”

“We thought, ‘Man, let’s have some songs that we can play to thousands of people and just kind of get the party going and have a good time,'” he continues. “And this record really does it from start to finish.”

“We were just grinning at the idea [of] once this record’s done and we get a couple of singles out, particularly this first one, it’s gonna be so fun playing this live,” he admits. “And we knew people would eat it up.”

It’s a concept Brothers Osborne already road-tested, as far back as their debut, Pawn Shop.

“When we would play ‘It Ain’t My Fault,’ before it was even a recognizable hit,” TJ recalls, “people just responded to it. And that’s actually why we chose to make it a single… We were like, ‘Man, when we perform this song live, people just go crazy for it, and they’ve never heard it before.'”

“And we felt that this was gonna happen with a lot of these songs that are on this new project,” he adds. “And of course, we can’t perform, so it is driving us crazy.”  

The time when traditional concerts can resume remains to be seen, but Brothers’ full Skeletons album arrives October 9. 

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