Do you follow us on instagram?! You should! If not, here’s a peek of Country Heartbeat‘s 9 most liked photos of 2016! I can’t wait to see what concerts and experiences 2017 brings!
Sam Hunt
Faux-Chella: My Perfect Country Music Festival
With Coachella just around the corner, TickPick and I have teamed up to present with Country Heartbeat readers my ideal country music festival! I have so many favorites that they had to divide the festival between two days! If you’ve been following this blog for a while now, it’s pretty obvious who my favorite country artists are. Whenever someone asks who my favorite artist is, I ask them if I can give them a top-5 or top-10 list instead, because it’s entirely way too hard to narrow down. I then proceed to list the above 10 artists, and a few others… depending on whose show I may have seen recently and re-fell in love with.
For All Those Underappreciated Supporting Musicians Out There!
I’ve always felt that the band members never get as much credit as the artists themselves. They can go out in public without being recognized (for the most part), and they rarely get to attend awards shows or join the main singers on stage when they win. Half of the time, they don’t even get to record their instruments on the record (there are of course exceptions to this rule!). After following certain bands for several years, I’ve noticed a lot of changes. It seems like just after I’ve finally located all of the band members on twitter and/or instagram, next show I go to, they’ve already been replaced! I guess the supporting musicians aren’t as set in stone as the singers, but I still feel like they play a very important role. I highly respect artists like Kip Moore who make it a point to include his band members in all that he does, and publicly recognizes “The Slow Hearts” as part of his success. We need more artists like him that truly believe in their band, and who know that it’s the support of the guys behind them on stage that make the live shows an amazing experience.
TO ALL OF THE BAND MEMBERS: Thanks for all that you do! Your efforts and kick ass performances do not go unnoticed by the true fans!
I think I will start with Kip Moore & The Slow Hearts, because I have so much friggin’ respect for those guys! Besides, who else’s band has their own name? With the exception of a change in drummer, Kip has stuck with his original crew that he started off with.
My Best Nine of 2015!
Do you follow Country Heartbeat on instagram? (If not, maybe you should!) 😉
Today’s trending topic is the “2015 Best Nine”… everyone’s doing it! Here are my 9 most liked posts of 2015!
Sam Hunt for the win!!!!!!
Check it out and get yours at 2015 Best Nine!
New Music Monday
Songs you should be listening to (and downloading!) right now:
Kelsea Ballerini, “Dibs”
Kelsea’s debut album, titled The First Time, came out last week… and I really hope that you all bought a copy! Kelsea is definitely the next big thing in the female country genre… you might know her from her first Top 10 Single, Love Me Like You Mean It. While her whole CD is amazing (even Taylor Swift thinks so!), I’m really liking this one right now. It screams girl power and confidence, knowing exactly what you want and going out to get it. I don’t see how anyone could not love Kelsea, she’s just so sweet and talented!
Michael Ray, “Run Away With You”
This song will always be special to me, because I got to hear the demo version back in October of 2013, way before it was released. I was at a bar in Nashville, hanging with some of Michael Ray’s band mates, and he let us listen to this song. My first thought was, “that’s totally going to be a big hit!” While Big & Rich cut it for their album, Gravity, you’ve got to hear Michael Ray’s original version, which I will always be partial to! (John Rich and Michael Ray wrote the song together.) Michael Ray’s version can be found on his EP which is ONLY available at Walmart! Get your copy here!
Drake White, “It Feels Good”
Just like the title suggests, this is really a “feel-good” song that perks you right up and makes you want to dance and/or stomp your boots! White combines some blues with his natural twang, and it’s nothing like all the other songs that you hear on the radio! This song has a very unique style and is sure to be a hit with both new-country and old-style country lovers! This is totally a fun-loving country summer jam! View the lyric video on YouTube!
Luke Bryan, “Kick The Dust Up”
I’ll always be partial to Luke, despite all of the cr@p he gets for his bro-country-hip-hop style. This song automatically had me bopping my head a long to the beat. Lyrically, it’s much like all of his other songs about partying in the middle of nowhere, moonshine, trucks burning up a back road, boots on, etc. Despite this, Luke knows what the radio stations want and he continues to deliver. It’s sure to be a summer hit! It’s definitely not my favorite Luke song, but I do love the guitar/banjo picking beat!
Outshyne, “Moonlight Crush”
This song is a bit older, being first released to Sirus/XM Radio in August of 2013. I’ve liked it since day one, but I’ve been really getting into it more lately with summer on it’s way. Boy meets girl, boy develops crush on girl. You know how you tend to love songs that you can relate to the lyrics? This song is magic to me for that reason. Everyone loves a good summer romance, right? 😉 Check out the music video!
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New Music Monday!
Songs you should be listening to (and downloading!) right now:
Kip Moore, “I’m to Blame”
We’ve been waiting for his new album for over a year now… his new single hit radio on February 2nd. Request it! It’s raw and honest and sexy… bet you won’t be able to get the hook out of your head! Kip is one of my all time favorite artists and this song is so true to him and his personality.
Love & Theft, “Whiskey on my Breath”
Love & Theft is back with some amazing heart-felt and soul-filled harmonies. This song is GOLD. I have so much love for these two, and this is one of my favorite songs they’ve written so far! This song better get the praise and recognition that it deserves!
Sam Hunt, “Take Your Time”
I could not be more obsessed with Sam Hunt. His acoustic mix tape (Behind the Pines) and debut album (Montavello) are consistently on repeat in my car. This is his newest radio single and is currently at #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Old Dominion, “Break up With Him”
It’s been a number 1 hit on Sirus XM’s station, The Highway, but hasn’t dropped to radio yet. It’s a fan favorite at their live shows and when I saw them live, it’s the song that convinced me to buy their EP! Give it a listen!
Chase Bryant, “Take it on Back”
Country newcomer Chase Bryant is quickly making a name for himself. He is now on my “Artists I Want to See in Concert” list! Lyrically, this song is like 90% of all the other bro-country songs out there, but it’s catchy and is destined to be a radio hit.
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