Core Country

Are you as ready for the summer as we are? One of our favorite parts of the summer is that so many amazing country artists go on tour. Check out the list of 2017 Summer Tours, including ticket links, and listen to our playlist HERE to get ready!

Sam Hunt’s “15 in a 30″ Tour with Maren Morris, Chris Janson, and Ryan Follese

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s “Soul2Soul” Tour

Dierks Bentley’s “What the Hell” Tour with Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi

Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day” Tour with Brett Eldredge, Lauren Alaina, Granger Smith, Seth Ennis, Craig Campbell, and Adam Craig

Zac Brown Band’s “Welcome Home” Tour

Jason Aldean’s “They Don’t Know” Tour with Chris Young, Kane Brown, and Dee Jay Silver

Lady Antebellum’s “You Look Good” World Tour with Kelsea Ballerini and Brett Young

Florida Georgia Line’s “The Smooth Stadium Tour” with Nelly, Chris Lane, and The Backstreet Boys

Brantley Gilbert’s “The Devil Don’t Sleep” Tour with Tyler Farr and Luke Combs

Chris Stapleton’s “All American Roadshow” with Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Brent Cobb, Lucie Silvas, Anderson East, Margo Price, and Lindi Ortega

The 59th GRAMMY Awards are only two days away and we can barely contain our excitement. Country is extremely well represented in the incredible performance line-up. Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban will be teaming up on stage, hopefully to perform their new single “The Fighter.” Kelsea Ballerini is making her GRAMMY stage debut. Sturgill Simpson, album of the year nominee, will hit the stage as well. Little Big Town is taking the stage to perform a song from their highly anticipated upcoming album, The Breaker. Do you think they will sing their Billboard Hot Country #1 hit, “Better Man,” written by the one-and-only Taylor Swift? We sure hope so. Last but not least, is the talented Maren Morris, who has four nominations this year. She will be taking the stage with Alicia Keys, who has already proven to be an amazing teammate for Morris during their CMT Crossroads performance. Not only are these powerhouse country artists performing, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Thomas Rhett are presenting some of the music industry’s most esteemed awards. There is no way to contain our excitement for Sunday’s ceremony. 

On Wednesday, The Recording Academy announced the first wave of performers for the 2017 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards, airing on February 12th. 

Country is already well-represented in night’s performances, with Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood each confirmed to play! Keith Urban is a four-time Grammy Award winning artist and has 2 more nominations this year, for both Country Album (Ripcord) and Country Solo Performance (”Blue Ain’t Your Color”). Seven-time Grammy winner, Carrie Underwood has 1 nomination this year for Best Country Solo performance for “Church Bells.” Urban and Underwood even collaborated this year on Ripcord, releasing “The Fighter!” Which of your favorite country artists do you want to see perform as well? 

Today, The Recording Academy announced the 2017 GRAMMY nominations, which recognizes projects that have impacted the music industry over the past year. MusicRow projected that over 21,000 recordings were submitted to be considered for these awards – they were definitely given a lot to choose from! For the Country categories, some of our favorites, like Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban racked up several nominations for their works in 2016. Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris also scored a HUGE nomination in the overall category for New Artist of the Year. Check out these nominees and others in our 2017 GRAMMY Nominations Spotify playlist.

The GRAMMY Awards will be held in Los Angeles, CA and will be broadcasted on February 12th, 2017. The host for the show is James Corden, who is famous for his Carpool Karaoke.

 The country nominations for the 2017 show are below:

 Best New Artist

Kelsea Ballerini

The Chainsmokers

Maren Morris

Chance the Rapper

Anderson Paak

                                      COUNTRY FIELD

Best Country Solo Performance

-       “Love Can Go To Hell” — Brandy Clark

-       “Vice” — Miranda Lambert

-       “My Church” — Maren Morris

-       “Church Bells” — Carrie Underwood

-       “Blue Ain’t Your Color” — Keith Urban

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

-       “Different For Girls,” Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King

-       “21 Summer,” Brothers Osborne

-       “Setting The World On Fire,” Kenny Chesney & P!nk

-       “Jolene,” Pentatonix Featuring Dolly Parton

-       “Think Of You,” Chris Young With Cassadee Pope

Best Country Song

-       “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” Clint Lagerberg, Hillary Lindsey & Steven Lee Olsen, songwriters (Keith Urban)

Track from: Ripcord Label: Capitol Records Nashville; Publisher(s): Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Songs of The Corn, admin. by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.; HillarodyRathbone Music, admin. by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC; House Of Sea Gayle Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights/Spirit Catalog Holdings, S.a.r.l. admin. by Spirit Two Nashville.

-       “Die A Happy Man,” Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett & Joe Spargur, songwriters (Thomas Rhett)

Track from: Tangled Up Label: The Valory Music Co.; Publisher(s): EMI Blackwood Music Inc./Cricket On The Line admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC./ Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Eastman Pond Publishing admin. by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Music of Big Deal/Nice Life/Frederic and Ried Music. admin. by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC.

-       “Humble And Kind,” Lori McKenna, songwriter (Tim McGraw)

Track from: Damn Country Music Label: Big Machine Records; Publisher(s): Songs of Universal, Inc./Hoodie Songs

-       “My Church,” busbee & Maren Morris, songwriters (Maren Morris)

Track from: Hero Label: Columbia Nashville; Publisher(s): International Dog Music/Words & Music/BMG Platinum Songs/BMG Rights Management/Hello I Love You Music

-       “Vice,” Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)

Track from: The Weight of These Wings Label: Vanner Records/RCA Nashville; Publisher(s): SonyATV Tree Publishing/Pink Dog Publishing/Smack Songs LLC/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing/Anderson Fork In The Road Music/Kobalt Music Publishing

 Best Country Album

-       Big Day In A Small Town, Brandy Clark, Label: Warner Bros. Records

-       Full Circle, Loretta Lynn, Label: Legacy Recordings

-       Hero, Maren Morris, Label: Columbia Nashville

-       A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, Sturgill Simpson, Label: Atlantic

As we begin to reflect the best moments (and maybe worst) of 2016, country music fans will definitely remember all of the amazing concerts/performances from this year. However, 2017 is about to be SO much better. Several country acts, including superstars Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, have announced 2017 tours that will touch upon major cities in the United States. Recent tour announcements include: Martina McBride with Lauren Alaina (CMT Next Women of Country), Blake Shelton with Raelynn (Doin' It to Country Songs), and Luke Bryan with Brett Eldredge (Kill The Lights). In addition, Kenny Chesney has announced ONLY 2 dates for 2017 and they will both be held at Gillete Stadium in Boston, MA. These lineups are only the beginning of so much more to come for 2017- stay tuned!

Tis’ the season to movie marathons, toasty hot chocolate, and shopping. We have all been looking forward to this time of year for several months now and we finally get to soak up all of the joy that comes with Christmas, including fresh new holiday albums. One in particular that captures all of the moments of Christmas is Kacey Musgraves’s “A Very Kacey Christmas.”

One of the great parts about the album is that it’s not the typical Christmas compilation. It features several collaborations and originals that will make you laugh and cry- yes, I said cry. The 12 track disc is clearly influenced from Musgraves’s Texas heritage with its steel guitar-driven melodies. Her current holiday single, “Present Without a Bow,” is a collaboration that features gospel/soul singer Leon Bridges.

In addition to her holiday studio album, the “Follow Your Arrow” singer is hitting the road on A Very Kacey Christmas tour, which will continue throughout the remainder of the year.

                           A Very Kacey Christmas Tour Dates:

Nov. 26: Windsor, Ontario, Canada; The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor

Nov. 28: Nashville; Ryman Auditorium

Dec. 8: New York City; The Town Hall

Dec. 9: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; FM Kirby Center for the Performing Arts

Dec. 10: Washington, DC; National Theater

Dec. 15: Joliet, Illinois; Rialto Square Theater

Dec. 16: Knoxville, Tennessee/Tennessee Theater

Dec. 17: Evansville, Indiana/Victory Theater

After surprising millions of people by winning New Artist of the Year at this year’s CMA Awards, it’s easy to say that Maren Morris is having a FANTASTIC year. To top things off, she was recently named one of Billboard’s ‘Women in Music’ honorees for 2016 and will take home the award for Breakthrough Artist. But, she’s not done yet. Morris has announced her first headlining tour, The Hero Tour 2017. The multi-month tour, will feature opening acts such as Ryan Hurd and Devin Dawson. Look out world, Maren Morris is the girl on fire!

 The Hero Tour 2017:

Feb. 3 — Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club with Ryan Hurd

Feb. 4 — Philadelphia, Pa. @ TLA with Ryan Hurd

Feb. 16 — Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club with Ryan Hurd

Feb. 17 — Knoxville, Tenn. @ Bijou Theatre with Devin Dawson

Feb. 18 — Athens, Ga. @ Georgia Theatre with Ryan Hurd

March 1 — Oxford, Ohio @ Brick Street with Devin Dawson

March 2 — Chicago, Ill. @ Joe’s on Weed Street with Devin Dawson

March 3 — Springfield, Ill. @ Boondocks Pub with Devin Dawson

March 4 — Louisville, Ky. @ Headliners Music Hall with Devin Dawson

March 23 — Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues with Devin Dawson

March 24 — Houston, Texas @ House of Blues with Devin Dawson

March 25 — New Braunfels, Texas @ Gruene Hall with Devin Dawson

April 5 — Nashville, Tenn. @ Cannery Ballroom with special guests

April 29 — Indio, Calif. @ Stagecoach Country Music Festival

It comes as no surprise that Kenny Chesney’s new album, Cosmic Hallelujah, was well worth the wait. The album was originally scheduled to be released in Summer 2016, but was pushed back for creative purposes. This album might showcase his best effort for a couple of different reasons. First things first, Kenny remained true to himself on this album – which we all love. In addition, Chesney did an excellent job at balancing out the “vibe” of the record by mixing up strong ballads with up-tempo feel good songs. Lastly, he connects with his audience now more than ever with songs like “Noise” and “Rich and Miserable,” that both speak out about the issues in our society. We highly recommend this album, especially to those who are inspired by lyric-driven music.

 Last night, the Country Music Association celebrated 50 years of incredible Country music. Several decades of artists attended last night’s reunion, as well as a few non-country acts such as Elle King, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift. The show was filled with so many great surprises and the performances were nothing short of perfection.

To recap:

-       The show opened with a magnificent melody sang by Vince Gill, Roy Clark, Charley Pride, Alabama, Charlie Daniels, Reba, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Ricky Skaggs, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, and Carrie Underwood, which ended with a tribute to the one and only Randy Travis

-       Maren Morris + the Brothers Osborne both shocked the audience when they received their very first CMA Award (New Artist of the year, Duo of the Year).

-       Beyoncé and the Dixie Chicks sang “Daddy Lessons” and it was FLAWLESS. PS- you can actually DOWNLOAD the song the song for FREE!!

-       Alan Jackson and George Strait performing together was a dream come true

-       Carrie FINALLY winning Female Vocalist of the Year was worth the wait

-       Kacey Musgraves, Reba, Jennifer Nettes, Martina McBride, The Pentatonix, and Carrie Underwood did a tribute to Dolly Parton and it made you feel all good inside. Side note- Dolly’s acceptance speech should never be cut off

-       Garth Brooks won the biggest award of the night (Entertainer of the Year).

 Here is the full list of winners from last night:

 Entertainer of the year

Garth Brooks (winner)

Luke Bryan

Chris Stapleton

Carrie Underwood

Keith Urban

Male vocalist of the year


Dierks Bentley

Eric Church

Tim McGraw

Chris Stapleton (winner)

Keith Urban

Female vocalist of the year

Kelsea Ballerini

Miranda Lambert

Maren Morris

Kacey Musgraves

Carrie Underwood (winner)

New artist of the year


Kelsea Ballerini

Old Dominion

Maren Morris (winner)

Brothers Osborne

Cole Swindell

Album of the year

Dierks Bentley, “Black”

Eric Church, “Mr. Misunderstood” (winner)

Maren Morris, “Hero”

Keith Urban, “Ripcord”

Carrie Underwood, “Storyteller”

Single of the year

“Record Year,” Eric Church

“Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw

“My Church,” Maren Morris

“Die a Happy Man,” Thomas Rhett (winner)

“Nobody to Blame,” Chris Stapleton

Song of the year

“Burning House,” Cam (written by Camaron Ochs, Tyler Johnson, Jeff Bhasker)

“Record Year,” Eric Church (written by Eric Church and Jeff Hyde)

“Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw (written by Lori McKenna) (winner)

“My Church,” Maren Morris (written by Busbee and Maren Morris)

“Die a Happy Man,” Thomas Rhett (written by Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett and Joe Spargur)

 Vocal group of the year

Lady Antebellum

Little Big Town (winner)

Old Dominion

Rascal Flatts

Zac Brown Band

Vocal duo of the year

Brothers Osborne (winner)

Dan + Shay

Florida Georgia Line

Joey + Rory

Maddie & Tae

Musical event of the year

“Different For Girls,” Dierks Bentley feat. Elle King (winner)

“Home Alone Tonight,” Luke Bryan feat. Karen Fairchild

“The Fighter,” Keith Urban feat. Carrie Underwood

“Think of You,” Chris Young with Cassadee Pope

“You Are My Sunshine,” Morgane Stapleton with Chris Stapleton

Music video of the year
“Burning House,” Cam

“Fire Away,” Chris Stapleton (winner)

“Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw

“Record Year,” Eric Church

The 50th annual CMA Awards are ALMOST here!  We all know we cannot contain our excitement, but to celebrate early, The Country Music Association has selected a handful of country acts to cover several previously awarded songs to honor the show’s 50th celebration…Who doesn’t love a good cover?! The list of artists ranges from former nominees like Eric Paslay, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Jo Dee Messina to new and upcoming artists like Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery, and Drake White. So far, CMA has released the following videos:

“Forever and Ever Amen” by Jon Pardi:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkHkzjaVp1g

“Believe” by Lauren Alaina:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-umtCvS8W0

“Friends in Low Places” by Dustin Lynch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9g-Yj8vcqk

“Sunday Morning Coming Down” by Michael Ray:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdixNLDd02A

“The Gambler” by Mark Wills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k18XBmtMoos