Tag: Dan + Shay

Country Singles! Albums! Tours! In June’s ‘Inside Track on Music Row’

Riley Green, Josh Turner, Dan + Shay, Luke Bryan, Zach Top, Walker Montgomery and more

By Preshias Harris

Preshias Personal Note: This column is a little shorter (and later) than usual. It’s been a challenging few weeks with doctor visits, CT scans and MRIs ending with a biopsy of my liver, two urgent Emergency Room visits and hospital admission for severe abdominal pain requiring an emergency procedure. The good news: no evidence of liver or pancreatic cancer, but a LOT of pain. Despite my many health issues over the years, I’ve always managed to publish/post Inside Track on Music Row, America’s longest continuously-running monthly Country music column, and I wasn’t going to let this latest challenge break that 30+ year run! Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers. Publicists: please send your media releases to me at this address: nashhvillemusicline@gmail.com

Scroll down for news about new music, tour updates and more from Luke Bryan, Zach Top, Walker Montgomery, T. Graham Brown, Dan + Shay, Riley Green, Josh Turner and more!

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “The greatest award in the music business is to be called a songwriter.” – Garth Brooks

BIBLE VERS OF THE MONTH: My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I whom you have delivered. – Psalms 71:23

ALBUM & EP NEWS

KYLE CLARK

KYLE CLARK: Just ahead of Memorial Day weekend Kyle Clark has released your summer soundtrack. The Platinum-certified songwriter, producer, and rising artist’s new 10-track album Better On A Boat is a laid-back, coastal-inspired country record made for long weekends on the water. Stream Better On A Boat here.

Alongside the album release, Kyle spotlights the project’s title track, “Better On A Boat” — a breezy coastal country anthem built around freedom, connection, and soaking up life’s simple moments. With vivid scenes of sunlit water, cold drinks, good company, and summer stretching endlessly overhead, the track pairs relaxed island-inspired production with heartfelt storytelling and romance. Easygoing yet deeply nostalgic, “Better On A Boat” captures the feeling of leaving the noise behind, embracing the moment, and finding peace somewhere out on the water.

Clark blends island ease with Southern grit — a duality that shapes both his sound and Better On A Boat. Produced and mixed by Clark and mastered by Sam Moses, the project leans deeper into his beach-forward lane within the genre.

Previously released singles from Better On A Boat — “Checking Out,” “Me, God And The Ocean,” “Blame It On The Sun,” “Dock And A Hard Place,” “Fake Dead In Fiji,” and “Florida On My Mind” — reflect Clark’s coastal-country perspective, capturing the easygoing rhythms and playful spirit of life by the water throughout the record. More at KyleClarkMusic.com; follow Clark on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. 

THOMAS CSORBA

THOMAS CSORBA has released his new album Tender Country via the newly-launched Turtlebox Records. (Pre-order / pre-save album here.) His third studio album, Tender Country, is country music uninterested in posturing, guided instead by tenderness, humor, and an acceptance of impermanence. That mentality comes across acutely in his new single, “The Big Time” (stream here), a gorgeous country ballad that poignantly illustrates the hardships of a life on the road and the family milestones you can miss along the way.

Csorba on the new single: “This song is the most honest song on the record. It’s a song that sits right there on the edge of the cliff of giving up. I figured there’s no other way to start but by addressing the elephant in the room. How does someone who values his stable home life and family reconcile that with his life as a travelling musician?”

Born in Houston, Texas and now rooted in Dallas, Thomas Csorba writes country music that feels less like performance and more like witness. The songs on Tender Country are deeply invested in the emotional architecture of family life. Marriage, routine, fatigue, joy, and discovery are all treated with equal seriousness. In Csorba’s hands, washing dishes and falling in love again become similar acts of quiet devotion. Tender Country follows Csorba’s 2024 release Windchimes. More at ThomasCsorba.com; follow Csorba on Instagram, Facebook and X.

Continue reading “Country Singles! Albums! Tours! In June’s ‘Inside Track on Music Row’”

Six songwriters honored at Number One party

Dan + Shay celebrate two consecutive Number Ones 

What’s better than a Number One party? A DOUBLE Number One party, and that’s what happened Tuesday January 30th for writers of two of Dan + Shay’s recent chart-toppers.  The double-header, co-hosted by ASCAP and BMI, was held at ASCAP’s Nashville HQ.

“From the Ground Up” and “How Not To” are the second and third U.S. Country Airplay chart toppers for Warner Bros. Nashville artists Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney) following 2015’s “Nothing Like You,” a cut from the album WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.  The two latest Number Ones are both cuts on OBSESSED.

The honorees for “How Not To” were songwriters Kevin Bard, Paul DiGiovanni and Adam Hambrick. Publishing honors went to Kevin Bard Music, Ole Red Cape Songs, Paulywood Music, Sony ATV Music Publishing, Red Like The Sunset Music and Universal Music.

Accepting songwriters’ awards for “From the Ground Up” were Chris DeStafano, Shay Mooney and Dan Smyers, while the publishers’ nod went to Beats and Banjos, CDS Words & Music, Shay Mooney Music, Sony ATV Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing.

Inspired by grandparents’ long-lasting love

From left: Dan Smyers, Shay Mooney, Chris DeStafano talk during media session. Photo: Preshias Harris

At a pre-presentation media session, Dan, Shay and Chris talked about the origins of “From the Ground Up.” The idea was sparked by a very personal incident. “Driving back from my grandfather’s funeral, we ended up at [Chris] Stefano’s place,” said Dan.  “When Chris stepped outside to take a call, [Shay and I] started talking about how both our grandparents were married for 65 years. it so incredible to married for 65 Years!” It was from that discussion and family memories that the song took shape. “We knew we had something special and it was written in about 45 Minutes,” Dan added.

‘Personal moments’ shape songs

Personal life moments are often the genesis for songs, as Dan and Shay can attest. During the media session, they recalled writing “When I Prayed For You.” The song, about a soon-to-be-father praying for his child, was featured in the movie, “The Shack.”  Shay noted that it was written when he and his wife Hannah were expecting their daughter, Asher. Anticipating the birth of a child in real life added poignancy to the writing, Shay recalled.

Getting back to “From the Ground Up,” Chris DeStefano said, “It’s amazing to me to be part of a song that fans can connect with.” Chris is no stranger to chart toppers, having written or co-written Number One songs for Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Brett Eldredge, Jason Aldean and more. “I won’t ever take it for granted, being a songwriter,” he said.

Wexford, Pennsylvania, native Dan Smyers and James Shay Mooney (from Natural Dam, Arkansas) met in Nashville in December 2012 and began songwriting together. They were quickly signed to Warner/Chappell Music. The following year, their first single – “19 You + Me” – went to Country radio.  Although it never topped any chart, the song continued to sell steadily since then and has since been certified Platinum by RIAA.

Pictured (l-r): Songwriters Chris DeStefano, Paul DiGiovanni, Kevin Bard, Adam Hambrick and Dan+Shay’s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney. Photo: Ed Rode/ASCAP

On the road with Rascal Flatts

Continue reading “Six songwriters honored at Number One party”