Catching up around Nashville’s Music Row
Despite the continued restriction on touring due to the pandemic, there is still a lot going on in country music. Among the good news: streams in the country music genre are up 21% for the first six months of 2020 vs the same period last year! But wait, there’s more. Including:
- Tyler Childers’ hilarious new animated music video for “Country Squire”
- ‘Nash trash’ duo Hasting & Co. sport a new “Canadian Tuxedo”
- Brett Eldredge takes fans on a Sunday Drive” with new single
- Chris Young test-markets “If That Ain’t God” on social media
- Whisperin’ Bill Anderson reimagines big hits on his 73rd album
- We need music more than ever during pandemic
- Stars and fans honor Charlie Daniels at memorial service
- An I Know Country Q&A to test you Country IQ!
- …and more. Scroll down to continue reading
Need a reason to smile? You need to take a look at the official music video for Tyler Childers’ “Country Squire”! The hilarious animation is directed by Kentucky-based comic book artist, Tony Moore (known for his award-winning work on The Walking Dead, The Exterminators and Fear Agent), “Country Squire” is Moore’s first music video project and was created in partnership with Bomper Studio. Watch the animated video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxuLRkHn7rQ
“Country Squire” is the title track of Childers’ new album, out now on Hickman Holler Records/RCA Records (stream/purchase here). Once again produced by Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson, Country Squire debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. More at https://tylerchildersmusic.com/
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New music: It’s always a pleasure to find music from artists you might not have heard before. If you haven’t heard any songs by Hasting and Co., now’s a good time to do it! I’ve been listening to their music for a few years now, and they’ve just dropped a new track.
The self-proclaimed “nash trash” duo Hasting & Co. have released their latest single “Canadian Tuxedo” – available now to stream and purchase. The tune talks of wanting a relationship with someone a bit “extra” – and uncovers the truth about the term “Canadian tuxedo” (hint – it’s much more American than the name lets on). Listen to “Canadian Tuxedo” at https://songwhip.com/hasting-and-co/canadian-tuxedo
Earlier this year, the duo released the video for single “Brunch Drunk” – which trended on the CMT homepage for several consecutive weeks. The duo call Nashville home now. They might not be from the south, but they’re sure as heck ‘country.’ Born and raised farm kids in Ohio (Hasting) and Wisconsin (Beale), the duo met at a local Nashville dive and began writing together.
More at https://hastingco.com/
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“Nashville is a ten-year town.” That’s something I remind all the aspiring singer-songwriters who I talk to. Just ask Brett Eldredge, whose latest album, Sunday Drive, was released this week. Brett told The Tennessean that, twelve years ago, he was a lowly intern, at a desk in the basement of Universal Music Publishing while working toward his goal of being a successful recording artist.
“It was kind of like a dungeon,” he told the newspaper, “There was one window, maybe.” His job was to go through stacks of songwriters’ demo CDs and tapes and transfer them, one at a time, to a digital database. He said he got “kinda numb” hearing thousands of songs. But one song stopped him in his tracks: the demo of “Sunday Drive” written by Barry Dean, Steve Robson and Don Mescall. No artists picked up the song back then, but it made such an impression on Brett that he never forgot it.
Now, twelve years later, it’s the title track of his new album, and the only song on it that he didn’t co-write. Finally breaking through in 2012 with the hit single “Don’t Ya,” Sunday Drive is his fifth studio album, produced by Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian, the Grammy-winning duo behind Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour. More info at https://www.bretteldredge.com/
- Sunday Drive includes a song titled “Paris, Illinois,” about his beloved hometown. When he first became a hit recording artist, the town created a “Brett Eldredge Day” and gave him the key to the city.
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Chris Young used social media to ‘test market’ a new song before releasing it as a single – and found it was a good and affordable way to get fast fan feedback. Now he has released the track titled “If That Ain’t God.”
The full song and lyric video are available everywhere now at https://CY.lnk.to/ITAG After teasing a 56-second clip to social media, the song received an overwhelming response from fans. His first new music in over a year, “If That Ain’t God” is written by Young, Matt Roy, Mitchell Oglesby, and Greylan James and co-produced by Young and Chris DeStefano. The song’s uplifting and inspiring message feels especially poignant in today’s times.
“If That Ain’t God” follows his most recent releases, including his latest single, “Drowning,” which had over 1.2 million streams in its first week of release.
Chris Young has over 2 Billion career streams and 12 Million singles sold, 17 RIAA Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum certifications, and over 400,000 tickets sold for his 2019 arena and amphitheater headline tour. More at https://www.chrisyoungcountry.com/
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Whisperin’ for SEVEN decades…
‘Whisperin’ Bill Anderson is the sole songwriter in history to write and chart country songs in seven consecutive decades. His storied career includes membership into country music’s most prestigious institutions. Anderson released his 73rd album, The Hits Re-Imagined, July 24. The album includes 10 of the Country Music Hall of Famer’s most iconic songs he’s written and recorded himself, as well as songs of his made famous by George Strait, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney and more. In addition to these fresh, re-imagined hits, the album includes instrumental versions of each track.
For The Hits Re-Imagined, Anderson explains he wanted “to go to both ends of the spectrum,” including on the project some of his earliest hits like “City Lights” and “Po’ Folks” as well as his more contemporary cuts such as “Whiskey Lullaby.” The project was co-produced by Anderson with Thomm Jutz.
Fans who pre-order the new album can get a free fan club laminate. Details at https://billanderson.com/
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With “One Margarita,” Luke Bryan now has the sixth-most Country Airplay No. 1s since Billboard started compiling the chart in 1990. Ahead of Luke: Kenny Chesney with 31, Tim McGraw (29), Blake Shelton (27) and Alan Jackson tied with George Strait, each with 26. “One Margarita” is Luke Bryan’s 23rd song atop the radio airplay chart compiled by Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
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People still need music – particularly Country music. The results are in for the first half of 2020 that included an almost total elimination of live shows, concerts and touring. But according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data’s U.S. Midyear Report, total ‘audio consumption’ increased 9.4% compared to the same period last year.
The reason? Staying at home while quarantined or furloughed meant that people turned to recorded music more than ever. Audio streams are up 16.2% and vinyl LP sales rose 11.2% over the prior year.
The big winner: Country music that showed an amazing 21% gain in streams, year-over-year. And that’s despite the cancelation of the CMA Fest and moving the ACM Awards from April to September. Country music as a genre made substantial gains in market share of audio on-demand streams from 6.9% to 8%, as the effect of the coronavirus began to have an effect on streams and sales in early March.
Many record labels delayed album releases due to Covid-related uncertainties. Luke Bryan’s Born Here, Die Here was moved from April to August while The Chicks’ Gaslighter was pushed from May to a July 10 release. The decision to postpone or delay album releases largely affected artists who had planned to bundle new albums with concert ticket sales. (Of all music genres, Country is the most album-focused and CD sales still play a significant role.)
Many Country albums released during the pandemic still achieved significant success in the Billboard 200 ‘all-genre’ album chart, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data:
- Jimmy Buffet’s Life on the Flip Side debuted at No. 2, week ending June 6.
- Kenny Chesney’s Here and Now debuted at No. 1, week ending May 7 (ahead of Drake’s new album).
- Kenny Rogers album, The Best of Kenny Rogers: Through The Years appeared at No. 9, week ending March 26.
As the Mid Year Report noted, music helps consumers escape, relax and feel energized during stressful times.
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The stars and lifelong fans came out to honor Charlie Daniels at his July 10 memorial, held at the World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Among the tributes: Gretchen Wilson sang “I’ll Fly Away,” Travis Tritt gave a heartfelt rendition of “Amazing Grace,” Trace Adkins sang “Arlington” and Vince Gill sang “G Rest High on That Mountain” and “America the Beautiful.”
In many ways, the memorial felt more like that for a head of state than a country singer, with full military honors and crowds of mourners both inside and outside the church.
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This week’s “I Know Country” Q&A
From www.IKnowCountry.com
QUESTION:
What is the title of the 2006 Disney/Pixar animated movie whose soundtrack included “Behind the Clouds” and “Find Yourself” by Brad Paisley?
ANSWER:
That movie was “Cars.” It premiered, appropriately, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina. Also featured in the movie: “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts and a lot of music by Randy Newman.
For 365 more country music Q&As, see my book, “I Know Country” and download your own e-book copy at http://iknowcountry.com/index.html
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Preshias Harris is a music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Visit www.collegeofsongology.com for more details. Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
Preshias is also the author of “I Know Country” with 366 daily country music questions and answers. You can buy and instantly download your e-book copy at www.IKnowCountry.com.