March 2019 - Nashville Music Line

Scotty McCreery’s romance inspired “This Is It”

Number One party celebrates with co-writers

Scotty McCreery turned his own love story into a No. 1 hit. “This Is It” became Scotty’s second No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay charts, following 2017’s smash hit, “Five More Minutes.”

(L to R) Aaron Eshuis, Scotty McCreery, Frank Rogers. Photo: Ed Rode

He celebrated the success of “This Is It” at a Number One party on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, with co-writers Aaron Eshuis and Frank Rogers. The song was produced by Eshuis, Rogers and Derek Wells. The party, co-hosted by ASCAP and BMI, was held at ASCAP’s Nashville offices.

“If you’d told me a couple of years ago that I’d be here, I’d have told you you’re crazy,” said Scotty as he began his remarks at the party. “It’s been an incredible ride.”

A very personal song

“This Is It” has become a very personal song for Scotty. He and long-time girlfriend, Gabi Dugal, had known each other since kindergarten and dated for about six years before Scotty proposed while on a hike to a romantic spot near Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.

“I wrote it a couple of days before our engagement,” Scotty revealed during the No. 1 party. He played the song to Gabi just an hour after he proposed. He sang the song to her at their wedding and says that he sees Gabi in his mind when her performs it on the road every night. “It’s easy to write love songs about you, baby,” Scotty said to Gabi during the presentation ceremony. “I appreciate you saying yes and marrying me, otherwise this song probably wouldn’t have made it to radio!” He added, “’This is NOT It’ is not a good title!”

Scotty thanked co-writers Eshuis and Rogers for being by his side. “Frank, you’ve been a mentor to me for years now. I feel you really ‘get’ me and what I want to say, and you help me say it. I appreciate you, brother.” Continue reading “Scotty McCreery’s romance inspired “This Is It””

‘Inside Track on Music Row’ March 2019

30+ music news items you’ll want to read

The March edition of my column, Inside Track on Music Row, is now ready to read at Nashville Music Guide. Inside Track is the longest-running monthly Country music column in America. This month’s column includes dozens of news items about upcoming tours, new releases and music industry news.

Among this month’s 30+ music news items…

Johnny Lee’s tell-all autobiography
Marty Brown’s new single from upcoming album
LA trio Honey County is ‘High On The Radio’
Brooks & Dunn share more details on Reboot album
Music Biz 2019 convention set for May 5–8
Tin Pan South hits Nashville March 26-30

BOOK NEWS: Johnny Lee racked up 17 Top 40 country hits in the early and mid 90s. His 1980 single “Lookin’ For Love” became a crossover hit, making it to the Top 5 of Billboard’s pop charts and No. 1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. Now, Lee has written “STILL Lookin’ For Love: Johnny Lee: An Autobiography” with Scot England. In it, he tells of the highs and lows of his life as a country artist… continue reading here.

CD NEWS: Marty Brown returns to Country radio via Play MPE with “Umbrella Lovers,” a hypnotic new single from his upcoming CD, AMERICAN HIGHWAY (Plowboy Records). The track combines a laid-back, big-city vibe with Brown’s distinctive vocal. Jangling guitars, a slight “island vibe” and easy vamps keep the track moving along with a “live” room sound. Fans can hear “Umbrella Lovers” on SoundCloud now… continue reading here.

CD RELEASES: LA-based trio Honey County’s new EP, ‘High on the Radio,’ is loaded with six tracks of California cool and southern spice. The EP showcases the girls’ stacked harmonies and layered musical styling. The girls of Honey County, Dani Rose, Devon Jane and Katie Stump, have released a plethora of videos throughout the past two years leading up to this release… continue reading here.

DUO NEWS: The best-selling duo of all time Brooks & Dunn have revealed more details regarding their upcoming album REBOOT. The duo shared with fans their collaborator for each timeless track, with each artist contributing their own unique spin. Available on April 5, the 12-track release will see the duo team up with… continue reading here.

INDUSTRY NEWS: Entertainment Industry’s Convention– Music Biz 2019 is set for May 5 – 8 in Nashville. Every year, these efforts to support the business culminate at the Music Biz conference, four days of insightful presentations and powerful discussions on the most pressing topics affecting our industry… continue reading here.

TIN PAN SOUTH NEWS: The 27th Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival just bumped the scheduled show count up to triple digits. Fans will have the opportunity to choose between over 300 songwriters performing at over a 100 shows at ten of Nashville-area music venues featuring hit-makers from all genres of music. The popular week-long Fast Access passes are now on sale… continue reading here.

To read the entire column, visit Nashville Music Guide.

Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com

Lockeland harmonizing ‘Til The Cows Come Home’

Trio’s new single due out March 8

Kyndon Oakes, Mark Vikingstad and Michael Boris make up the trio known as Lockeland. They were drawn to Nashville by their mutual love of music and have been writing and performing together now for several years.

Each brings a unique music vibe that blends them together as a trio. Kyndon began singing alongside family members before moving to Nashville in 2009, originally to pursue a solo career. Mark says he joined his high school band “because chicks dig it.” He moved to Music City just days after receiving his BA diploma in Music Business from SUNY Fredonia. Michael grew up in Apalachin, NY, but moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University, graduating with a degree in Commercial Music Percussion.

Together they create a three-part harmony that gives them a unique edge in the world of contemporary country music.

They are about to break out with their infectious debut single, “Til The Cows Come Home,” released March 8, 2019. Check out their website here.

A couple of days before Country Radio Seminar (CRS) hit town, we met up to talk about their new single and how they make music together.

Trio ‘locked in the land’

How did you come up with the group name Lockeland?

Kyndon: When we came together to form the group, we were trying to come up with a name and we kept texting each other with all these different names that we thought would work best. We fell on Lockeland just by chance. Mark and Michael are from New York and I’m from Kansas, and we ‘locked the land’ in between and met in Nashville. Plus it helps that Nashville is landlocked, so we settled on Lockeland.

Looking at your set list, it seems you’re open to playing music from a lot of different genres. What do you think of as your musical influences?

Michael: That’s one of the very cool things I love about this band because we all come from very diverse musical backgrounds. I started playing drums when I was eleven. I played a lot of ‘fife and drum core’ stuff. Then I moved into classical music, then I started listening to hard rock and a lot of punk, stuff like that. When I moved to Nashville, I simply hadn’t listened to a whole lot of Country. But when I moved here eleven years ago, I gave it a try and I was like, “You know what? There’s a lot of really great music here.” So there’s honestly not a music genre that I, personally, don’t like. I love R&B, rock, funk, country. I think that’s kind of the same for all of us.

“When people come up to you after the show and they’re talking to you and giving you that feedback, that’s when you know you’ve had a good show. You can feel that. You can feel the energy. They’re singing along, they’re clapping along, they’re in it.” – Kyndon Oakes

Continue reading “Lockeland harmonizing ‘Til The Cows Come Home’”

Alexis Ebert is set to “Ride Or Die” with new single

Free-spirited singer songwriter creates music to have fun to

Alexis Ebert’s list of achievements is impressive. When you meet her, it’s even more impressive to realize that she has already packed all this into such a young life. Her resumé includes items that performers twice her age are still dreaming about.

Alexis Ebert. Photo: Rezonant Music Publishing

Opening for Tanya Tucker as a child, snagging a song publishing deal at the age of eleven. Then performing in a major theater production and touring when she was twelve, as well as singing for the President. Sharing the same stage as Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Sugarland, Trace Adkins and many more. Having her songs included in the soundtrack of theatrical movies. Arriving in Nashville and cutting an album followed by the heartbreak of a major label record deal that fell apart.

Experiences, both good and bad, that have served to empower Alexis to make her the songwriter and recording artist she is today. Now she has a new single, “Ride or Die” with a full album to follow. During the 2019 Country Radio Seminar, we sat down to talk about her new music (the video for “Ride or Die” includes a cameo appearance by John Rich) and her unique musical journey.

‘Ride Or Die’ drops March 29

Your new single, “Ride or Die,” will drop March 29, and that’s a real rockin’ song that you wrote with Tammy Hyler. It sounds like you had a lot of fun with that song.

Alexis Ebert: Yes, a lot of fun! I went into it wanting to write a bad-ass song. Basically, the story of “Ride Or Die” is about the guy who isn’t just going to pick you up from jail, but he’d be sitting right next to you, there in jail. That person who is just going to be there regardless, good or bad. They’re going to hang with you. You’re probably going to get into some trouble but it’s going to be worth it. That’s the whole idea behind it. There’s a music video that we shot. There’s a cameo from John Rich in the video. That video should come out in the next couple of weeks. Continue reading “Alexis Ebert is set to “Ride Or Die” with new single”