Country Chatter

WPOR Announces Old Port Festival Lineup!

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The 43rd annual Old Port Festival will be held on June 12th, 2016 from 11am to 5pm! There will be four stages with live music scattered throughout downtown Portland, Maine. I of course, will be there at the WPOR stage! See the lineup below!

WPOR Stage (Middle & Temple Streets)

12pm — American Ride (local cover band)
1pm — Matt Gary
2pm — Drew Baldridge
3pm — Dylan Scott
4pm — Brooke Eden

First of all, I’ve been dying to share this news with you since I spoke with Brooke Eden in Vegas at the BBR Music Group brunch on Sunday April 3rd before the ACM Awards. But because I knew my station had not officially announced the lineup yet, I kept it to myself. I went up to Brooke at the brunch and told her that I was that girl who made her come out of her bus in the freezing cold to come into WPOR so that I could meet her and take a photo with her, and that I needed a re-take since I was in my “work clothes” lol. She informed me that she would be coming back to Portland the same weekend as CMA Fest and I was ecstatic! She also told me she would be performing later that night at the ACM Official After Party, All Star Jam, which was officially my first time seeing her live!

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Brooke Eden and I at the BBR Music Group brunch in Las Vegas!

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World Premiere of Chris Janson’s “Holdin’ Her” Video

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CHRIS JANSON’S “HOLDIN’ HER” VIDEO PREMIERES TODAY ON CMT

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Chris Janson continues to enjoy the success of his debut album Buy Me A Boat. The title track became the singer songwriters’ first #1 single, has been certified Platinum, it won the iHeartRadio Award for “Country Song of the Year,” earned him a nomination for Breakthrough Male Artist of the Year for the American Country Countdown Awards which airs this Sunday on Fox (5/1/16), and much more. But for Janson, his greatest success is his wife and kids.

 They are the inspiration for the song and music video for his new single, “Holdin’ Her.” “It’s my number-one favorite song,” said Janson. “It’s the story of the things that I love most: my wife and my kids and my journey in life. If anyone wants a real look inside my life, here it is!”

“I’m so excited and happy about this video,” said Janson.  It is a very personal and real look into our life with my wife, kids and bonus kids. This song is our love story and I wanted real moments in the video.”

SEE THE VIDEO HERE!

In addition to his ACCA nomination, Janson will perform on the show. 2016 has been just as incredible as 2015, when he landed on multiple year-end lists, including Billboard‘s Top New Country Artist list, Rolling Stone Country’s Best list for his full-length debut and The New York Times Best Songs of 2015 for “Buy Me a Boat.” He was chosen as a 2016 Next Big Thing by MusicRow and, adding to the industry recognition, received standing ovations for his electric performance at the prestigious New Faces Concert during Country Radio Seminar. Acclaimed for his spirited harmonica playing and riveting live show, Janson has played the Grand Ole Opry more than 130 times and earned spots on tour with Blake Shelton, Toby Keith and Luke Bryan.

You have to see this sweet and heartfelt video! I had the opportunity to see Janson perform this song live at the ACM All Star Jam (after the ACM Awards) and I was blown away hearing it for the first time. It’s such a polar opposite of his #1 single, Buy Me a Boat, and shows a completely different side of his personality. Janson told the crowd when introducing the song, that he hates the term “step-children” and he instead calls his wife’s previous children, “bonus kids”. Such an admirable trait!

Hey HIGH VALLEY, Can I Make You Mine?

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I’ve been waiting for a day like today in the office since I started working for my local country radio station, WPOR! Mid morning my boss told me that High Valley would be coming in around noon to play us some songs. I’ve been covering at the desk at the radio station (which I absolutely LOVE) and switching off days with another girl. On one of the days that she was here covering, Dan + Shay came in unexpectedly and I was so jealous and bummed that I had missed them! So this definitely made up for it!

Surprisingly, I had yet to hear of High Valley and did some research immediately. Turns out, these two musicians from a rural Canadian town about as high up as Alaska are pretty talented! I guess they are a pretty big deal already in Canada, earning many accolades including 10 GMA Canada Covenant Awards, multiple CCMA Award and JUNO Award nominations and the 2013 CCMA Award for Interactive Artist of the Year. In 2014, their top 5 single, “Country Line”, held the record as the longest running Top 10 hit on the Canadian country music charts! They’ve opened up for several major acts including Little Big Town, Alan Jackson, and Shania Twain.

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Nashville Happenings

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Hello Country Heartbeat readers! This week has been packed with events from the NHL® All-Star weekend where Dierks Bentley, Eli Young Band and Kelsea Ballerini preformed on a packed street in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday. The Sunday show was the last of the daily concerts that were being preformed in downtown Nashville starting on Thursday. Other great musicians such as Big and Rich, Lo Cash, Lee Brice, Chris Young, Clare Bowen, Charles Esten and Russell Dickerson were part of the IntelliCentrics Honda NHL® All-Star Festivities Outdoor Concert Series presented by Bridgestone.

Unfortunately I was not able to attend these shows because I was up in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Kip Moore Wild Ones Tour concert at Bogarts. Kip Moore and The Slow Hearts put on a great show as always, full of energy playing some classic Kip songs and new songs off the long awaited Wild Ones Album.

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To end the weekend, on Tuesday I attended a benefit for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation at the High Watt on Cannery Row, hosted by Chris Cavanaugh and sponsored by Galena Garlic Company. Chris has been throwing this benefit for the past three years. Though Chris was the main performer, there were guest/friends who also performed. Chris invited some fellow songwriters who have written hits for many artists. Matt Rogers (“We Went” for Randy Houser), Jody Stevens ( “Lemme See Ya Girl” for Cole Swindell and “Home Alone Tonight” for Luke Bryan), Doug Johnson (“Love Like Crazy” for Lee Brice and “3 Wooden Crosses” for Randy Travis), and Scott Stepakoff (“Looking At Stars” and “Underage” on the new Kelsea Ballerini album) also came out to help raise money. Chris Cavanaugh is a touring Nashville based musician from Missouri; he just released his new EP Footprints on My Windshield, which is available now on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon MP3 and Spotify. The benefit ended up raising over $3,000 for the CCFA even with the horrible weather and tornado warnings. Congrats to Chris for a successful night!

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I’ll be posting in the next day events going on in Nashville for the week that people might want to attend…

~CK

 

 

6 Reasons Why Kelsea Ballerini Could Be Your New Best Friend

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So I got an email today letting me know that the “Summer Forever Tour” was officially on sale, and that is what prompted this post. (For those of you who don’t know, Kelsea recently announced she’d be joining Billy Currington on his tour that kicks off February 19th in Texas.)

The subject line of the email reads, “Tickets & Friendships Available Now!” Honestly, is there ANYONE that doesn’t want to be legit friends with Kelsea? She’s the most adorable, sweetest, hilarious, authentic, 22 year old girl who just happens to have had the craziest year of her life rising to fame and manages to stay humble and genuine just the same.

How many other artists do you know openly admits that they want to have real friendships with their fans? (See Kelsea talk about that in the video below!)

Here are 6 reasons why every girl wants to be Kelsea’s BFF

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I’m the Dreamer, Soaking Up Every Line…

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NEW MUSIC MONDAY!

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I’m the dreamer, soaking up every line
Searching for truth all the time
The believer, that music can save a soul
The one who’s at every show, in the front row,
Singin’… 

Trying my best to not be a “basic white girl” right now, but… I can’t even. I can’t even get over the goosebumps that I felt hearing this song for the first time today, I can’t even describe to you how much joy my heart felt and how much that I could relate to every note and every lyric. I was literally blown away when I heard Charles Kelley’s new song, “The Driver” on WPOR this morning. Upon returning home and immediately looking up the lyrics/video and downloading it from iTunes, I discovered that Eric Paslay and Dierks Bentley also collaborate on what is SURE to be the 2016 ACM Vocal Event of the Year… if not DECADE. This song is going to soar to the top of the charts and win many, many awards. This masterpiece was beautifully written by Charles Kelley, Eric Paslay and Abe Stoklasa. It’s the story of the road… these artists on tour that pour their hearts and souls into every show. Me? I’m one of those dreamers, a believer, a singer… at every show, in the front row. I wouldn’t have it any other way! Please take a look and listen! You won’t be disappointed!

If you’d like to purchase this song from iTunes, click here!

Please let me know what you think below in the comments. I would love to hear from you. 🙂

 

 

 

This Week in Country Music News

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Have you heard?

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Luke Bryan announced a save-the-date for his second “Crash My Playa” in the Rivera Maya, Mexico. Tickets go on sale April 9th at 11am CDT. Go to www.crashmyplaya.com for more event details!

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Earlier this week, Canaan Smith released his debut EP on iTunes. It includes his radio hit single, Love You Like That as well as 4 other great songs. Grab your copy here! (No, really, go buy it, it’s less than $7 bucks!)

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Thomas Rhett‘s sophomore album is largely inspired by Bruno Mars! TheBoot.com wrote up a great article that you can read here! T. Rhett has been known to cover a few Bruno Mars songs during his set. Check out this swoon-worthy cover of When I Was Your Man. Last show of his that I saw, he ended it with an AMAZING rendition of Uptown Funk! He’s also got some killer dance moves, for those of you who haven’t seen him in concert yet! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1iAxyLzBT8

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Thomas Rhett’s heart melting video he shared of his wife

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So, I’ve been a huge fan of Laur and T.Rhett’s relationship since I’ve been following them both on instagram for the past couple years. Lauren is so naturally beautiful and their relationship seems so pure and honest and full of endless love. This video, though. This just did me in. Chills. Eyes watering up. I never knew they were friends for so long before they actually dated! I knew that they were college sweethearts, but had no idea about the whole high school phase where they were just friends. Wow, I love them SO MUCH MORE now. In fear of totally sounding like a typical white girl… I can’t even… ❤

Happy Early Valentine’s Day Y’all 🙂

PS. I cannot WAIT to see him live in 8 days!!!! Thomas is on my “Must Meet in 2015” list (along with Cole Swindell and Dierks Bentley). Sending some good vibes out into the Universe, hoping a Meet & Greet falls on my lap for my show next week!

Patrick Knight's News from Nashville

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Thomas Rhett won the internet today by sharing a video of how his love with his now wife grew from friends to where it is today! Check it out…

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Chase Rice Debuts New Music Video

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Chase Rice’s new music video premiered on CMT yesterday, and it’s a great one! Most of us know Rice as a rowdy party kind of guy, but this video definitely shows off his softer side! Gonna Wanna Tonight was released to radio in November, but is currently not on the Top 40 Charts… I think that this video will change that. While I don’t foresee another number 1 like Ready Set Roll, I do appreciate Rice’s contribution to the country music world. There isn’t a single song on his CD that I don’t love and sing along to! (I’ve also seen him in concert at least twice, if not 3 times!)

Whoever directed this video deserves an A+!

Gonna Wanna Tonight

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A Little Country Rock and Roll With Frankie Ballard

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Not sure how many of you have seen Frankie Ballard live but if you haven’t, you need to do so now! When I found out Frankie was scheduled to perform with Native Run and David Nail on 11/8/14 at the House of Blues in Boston and I knew I could not miss the opportunity to see this guy again!

I had purchased the VIP experience for Frankie and for anyone who loves Frankie, this is a must. After a little bit of waiting and being ushered into the lobby, Frankie and Eddie (his lead guitarist) entered the room, guitars in hand and smiles on faces. To break the ice Frankie asked if we all felt important since this was a VIP experience, and with everyone in laughter Frankie started the night off with a little acoustic rendition of his latest single and current #1 hit, Sunshine and Whiskey. As he was working his way to the chorus people started joining in and before you knew it the whole room was singing along with him. Judging by the smile on his face, you could tell he was never going to get tired of that.

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