That (Old Camp) Whiskey Whispers Temptation In My Ear…

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Florida Georgia Line are not only sitting on a mountain of talent in terms of both songwriting and performing, but entrepreneurship also runs deep in their blood. BK and THubb have already created a name for themselves in the music and fashion industry (BK and his wife BCole have their own clothing line, Tribe Kelley!)… but now the boys have expanded to another one of their true loves… whiskey!

That’s right, you heard it hear first. FGL have been perfecting their own brand of whiskey for the past 5 years and will soon be doing a national release to stores everywhere! They’ve dubbed their brand “Old Camp Whiskey” and one of the first flavors to be released has a true Georgia feel, Peach Pecan. For those that don’t already know, Tyler Hubbard hails from Georgia, while Brian Kelley is the Florida half of the duo.

Of course, Tyler and BK love to share, so they brought out a special “radio cup” backstage for us to taste test… and this is coming from a non-whiskey drinker… it was AMAZING! Little bit of sweetness, no burn, and absolute deliciousness with both peach and pecan notes. Smooth and easy to drink! (Note: Must be of legal drinking age to consume.)

Old Camp Whiskey is gearing up for an August 2016 release nationwide! Check out their official facebook page to stay up to date on the release date!

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This is My Heartbeat Song

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By now, it’s well known that my heart beats for country music. It runs through my blood and nourishes my soul. I’ve been fearless in the pursuit of what sets my soul on fire, and following my heart has been the smartest move that I’ve made thus far. The amount of happiness that working in the country music industry brings me is immeasurable.

I am so thankful that a little over a year ago I was given the chance to work for my local country radio station, WPOR 101.9 on their street team! (You can read about my dreams coming true here!) Since then, being hired for the street team, I have also become the station photographer for shows and events, filling in at the front desk as a receptionist on a regular basis… and now…

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Dreams Chased Become Dreams Caught!

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I don’t know how else to say this, but my journey is living proof that when you dedicate your heart and soul to something, dreams really can (and do) come true.

I was inspired to write this post after today’s daily prompt was simply the word, Dream.

April 15th, 2013 – Purchased my domain name, countryheartbeat.com

April 2014 – Boutique was launched in February two months prior, official launch for this blog was June 2014, two months after. Nothing specific that I can remember happened on the 15th though…

April 15th, 2015 –  Recently hired as the very first Street Team member at WPOR 101.9 (read how here). I worked my very first radio event where I was able to be the official photographer on this significant date! (See the throwback post from my facebook page below.)

As you can see… yes, I stuck with it this time! 😉

April 15th, 2016 – Officially asked to be a part of the 7-Hills Nashville team! One of the first labels of it’s kind, 7-Hills is dedicated to putting the artist and their music first. So often in this industry, artists are told what to record and how to record it, and their label is in control of everything they do and even what they are allowed to say! Not with 7-Hills! I’m so excited to start this new adventure and to grow with this company!

Apparently there is some deep significance surrounding the date of April 15th on a yearly basis (and no, it’s not “tax day” that I’m talking about!). April 15th seems to be a pivotal point in this country music dream of mine. I cannot wait to see what April 15th, 2017 will bring! I should be living happily in Nashville at that point! 🙂

Keep chasing your dreams, guys. It’s worth it, I promise! Dig deep to discover what you’re passionate about and visualize your goals and where they will take you! I promise you’ll find happiness when you figure out what you were placed on this Earth to do! The Universe and myself are rooting for you! ❤

ACM Week – Day 4 – Party For A Cause

Saturday 4/2/16

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Day 2 of the ACM Party For A Cause Festival was INSANE. Live country music from today’s top acts from noon to midnight! That’s twelve full hours of fun for myself and thousands of other country fans! It was a lot hotter in the desert today, and this Mainer was loving every minute of the heat!

Gates opened at noon and the Cabela’s Archery Tournament was finishing up inside the gates. Team Luke Bryan (consisting of Dustin Lynch, Eric Paslay and Kristy Titus) was competing against Team Justin Moore (consisting of Chase Rice, Chris Janson, Granger Smith and Wade Middleton)in a tic-tac-toe archery tournament. (Literally shooting arrows at the space where they wanted to place their “X” or “O”.)  People were everywhere, trying to get the artists attention, waving their cameras and posters for them to sign. A few lucky groups got some selfies with Luke!

The only one that I was lucky enough to snag a photo with was Granger Smith (thank you for that Granger! Much appreciated!). I can’t wait to see where his career leads him after his first number one song, Backroad Song.

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Yee Yee Nation!

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ACM Week – Day 3 – Women Of Country

Friday 4/1/16

Total girl confession first off; I totally loved my outfit for Friday and wanted to have a mini photo shoot by the pool where we were staying with Jencita’s family. So we did.

First on our agenda for Friday was a meet and greet with Thomas Rhett at the BMLG Music Has Value pop-up store at the MGM Grand at 1:30pm. One hundred people received wristbands to meet Thomas by purchasing some Music Has Value merchandise from the shop and then there was an “if he has time” line. Since I didn’t have a physical copy of his recent album Tangled Up (I know, shame on me!), I purchased that for him to sign. One thing I learned that day? I probably shouldn’t wear white/ivory. My shirt had a lipstick stain on it within 5 minutes of arriving at MGM. So typical of me!

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Party For a Cause festival gates opened at 3pm on Friday, so Jencita and I drove down to the other end of the strip, to the new MGM Grand Festival Grounds, across from the SLS Hotel. Part of my goal during this years ACM week was to keep my radio station and all of it’s listeners, WPOR 101.9, informed with an inside look!

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ACM Week Recap – Day 2 – Guitar Pull

Thursday 3/31/16

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As soon as I learned two of my ultimate favorites, Kip Moore and Kelsea Ballerini, would be at the 95.5 The Bull’s 8th Annual Guitar Pull, I made it a goal to attend! As most of you all know, this was a “budget trip”, so funds were limited. Per usual, I reached out to 95.5 for a chance to win some tickets, but heard nothing back. As fate would have it, my friend Chris had a pair of tickets and became ill, and he graciously donated them to me! So appreciative beyond words for this opportunity to see these artists acoustically in a laid back setting.

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Thursday night’s outfit

Up first on stage was Hunter Hayes and Kelsea Ballerini! Kelsea started off by telling the crowd that her and Hunter are “real-life friends” and that he was actually with her when she found out that Dibs had reached number 1! (It appears that Cody Alan (her “favorite human”) was there too!

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ACM Week Recap – Day 2 – Cali to Vegas

Part 1: ROAD TRIP!

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Jencita and I left in the morning (after a quick photoshoot with Madison!) for a 3.5 hour road trip from California to Las Vegas, which ended up actually being a lot of fun! We finished getting ready in the bathroom at MGM Grand and our first stop of the trip was at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club in the “Underground” section of MGM Grand.

We were a couple of the very few people who were present at a special taping of ACM Sessions with Brandy Clark, which included a question and answer session with Lisa Lee, the SVP of Creative & Content Production for the Academy of Country Music. You can watch the entire Q&A session below!

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ACM Week Recap – Day 1 – Maine to California

Wednesday March 30th, 2016

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My adventures started off by being asked to call KBUL 98.1 in Revo, NV shortly after arriving at the airport! I had connected with their morning show host, Bob Richards, on twitter a couple of weeks before. During my search to win fly away’s to Vegas for the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards, I entered every contest that existed. I secured a one way flight, just in case I didn’t win, to insure that I would get there. However, while being there, I also had my hopes set on being able to attend the 3-Day Party For A Cause Festival. The price of the 3-day festival, however, was $175 before taxes and fees. Definitely not something that I could afford on my own, on top of flights, especially with this trip having a super strict budget!

Luckily I believe in manifesting your desires and the Law of Attraction. I believe that acting like you already have something (or in this care that you’re already attending) will help the Universe deliver what it is that you want. BUT, you must also put in the effort to obtain this desire, and ASK. You’re not going to get what you want magically (unless you’re insanely lucky)… you have to take some action. So I searched the official PFAC hashtag, #ACMparty on twitter to find contests to enter. I entered the ones that I could, but the “call in to win” ones, I knew I would be unable to listen to non-local radio stations day in and day out. So I reached out to the KBUL Moo Crew in Reno, NV.

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Vegas Bound for “The Week Vegas Goes Country”!

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I’m a strong believer in chasing dreams, and I know that you must do whatever it takes to make your dreams happen! Blood, sweat & tears! I spent the entire month of March picking up extra jobs and extra hours from various places, hustling, and busting my butt to be able to afford to go to Vegas for ACM week this year. I’ve worked HARD, and I’ve earned it! I wasn’t willing to accept not being there this year, especially with this being the last ACM week before the big Nashville move! There are a lot of connections to make, tons of networking opportunities, and some amazing performances that I hope to catch! I’m also extremely excited about escaping the cold and the upcoming snow predictions!

I will be sharing my adventures LIVE on snapchat! You can add me manually at @country_hrtbeat or scan my snap code below! I can guarantee that my “stories” will be filled with some exclusive behind-the-scenes stuff! You definitely don’t want to miss out!

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I will also be posting photos to an album on my facebook page, so go LIKE my page and follow along for updates throughout the course of the week! It will almost be like you’re right there with me! Feel free to live vicariously through me!

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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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