Sneak peek at March edition of Inside Track on Music Row
Catch up with what’s happening with my monthly column, Inside Track on Music Row, the longest-running country music column in the USA. You can read the entire column when it is posted at Nashville Music Guide. Meanwhile, click here to read the full February 2022 column, complete with photos, graphics, music links and more, at NMG.
Scroll down for a sneak peek at some news items set for the March column, featuring Elvie Shane, Cole Swindell, western artist Bobby Marquez, songwriter Steve Dorff, Scotty McCreery, The upcoming ACM Awards, and the launch of Country Rebel Records…
Elvie Shane’s “County Roads” a ‘most added’ song at Country radio
On the heels of his No. 1 smash hit “My Boy,” Wheelhouse Records singer/songwriter Elvie Shane’s new single “County Roads” launched at country radio, and immediately became one of the ‘most added’ songs of the week. Co-written by Shane with Dan Couch and Oscar Charles, his new single is full of untamed energy, flying like an unguided missile of passion down “County Roads” and paints a picture of Shane’s early days in Grayson County, KY. Listen to “County Roads” here.
“The story in ‘County Roads’ is the American graffiti that painted my coming-of-age years,” shared Shane. “Knowing where you came from is important to understand where you are and where you could go. All the full throttle mistakes made, lessons learned, and good times had are equally important. The choice for next single was a no-brainer after showing my better sides with ‘My Boy.’”
The Gold-certified “My Boy” is taken from Shane’s just-released debut full length album, Backslider. Shane is currently on his first-ever headlining My Kinda Trouble Tour. Dates, tickets, music and more here.
Cole Swindell’s Stereotype set for April release
Grammy-nominated multi-Platinum superstar Cole Swindell will release his fourth album, Stereotype, on April 8. Stereotype includes Swindell’s milestone, 10th career, multi-week No. 1 “Single Saturday Night,” as well as his current fast-rising single, “Never Say Never,” with Lainey Wilson. Produced by Zach Crowell, Chris La Corte, Jordan Schmidt and Michael Carter, Stereotype highlights Swindell as a hit-making songwriter across the project.
Continuing to stay true to his loyal Down Home Crew, the award-winning songwriter began revealing details on his fourth Warner Music Nashville album including the title, release date, cover and track listing to them throughout the week. It is available for preorder now at all digital retailers. Special fan bundles, including a limited edition t-shirt box set and autograph album, are also available now here. Preorder Stereotype here and get the album’s song “I’m Gonna Let Her” instantly.
“I hope every song we recorded for Stereotype makes you feel something,” said Swindell. “I can’t wait for the Down to the Bar Tour to start and play some of these songs for the fans.”
Bobby Marquez rides off on Cowboy Up/Keep Smiling’ Tour
Award-winning singer/songwriter Bobby Marquez continued his 20-plus year run at the annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo February 12th and 13th, at the fairgrounds hotspot, The Watering Hole. Marquez performed his own hit recordings and a string of rodeo favorites leading into the nightly PRCA Rodeo competitions.
These appearances mark the kick-off of Marquez’s 2022 tour, Cowboy Up/Keep Smilin’. Known for his charismatic smile, Bobby Marquez hopes the brand for his upcoming show dates will send a strong message of resilience after a rough couple of years of shutdowns and restrictions as the rodeos continue to raise record scholarships for our youth. Also on the books for this year, Bobby Marquez will be a featured performer on The Merlin Gene Show on RFD-TV. A casino run through Oklahoma and appearances in Branson, Missouri are scheduled as well. More dates are coming and will be posted on the ‘Appearances’ page of Bobby’s website.
Marquez is an awarded singer/songwriter, originally from South Texas. His timely song, “Speak Love,” shows his kind heart and has earned him the CMA of Texas Americana Award for 2021.
Steve Dorf and friends tell stories behind their songs
It’s always fascinating to hear songwriters tell stories about the origins of some of their hit songs. Check out an upcoming show at City Winery Nashville on March 15 at 7:30 pm CST, billed as ‘BMI Presents An Evening of Songs and the Stories Behind Them with Steve Dorff and Friends.’ The one-of-a-kind evening of music and stories will be hosted by Steve Dorff, a 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and long-time award-winning BMI writer, who will showcase an evening of hits he co-wrote with his guests as well as others that became some of the biggest songs of the last four decades.
Featured guests include John Berry, Jeffrey Steele, Phil Vassar and more surprise guests to be announced. Tickets on sale now, with a portion of sales going to the Andrew Marshall Dorff Memorial Fund to continue his legacy to uplift a new generation of music lovers. Tickets can be purchased here. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 virus, City Winery will require all restaurant and ticket holders to show proof of a negative Covid test or full vaccination status.
“Damn Strait” Scotty McCreery’s pays homage
As Triple Tigers recording artist Scotty McCreery’s current Mediabase Top 30 single races up the charts at Country radio, the multi-Platinum selling singer/songwriter has shared the official music video for “Damn Strait” via YouTube. “Damn Strait” is McCreery’s fastest rising single of his career.
The video was filmed in the historic Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where George Strait himself played for years honing his craft before landing a record deal and becoming the King of Country Music.
It was McCreery’s first visit to the legendary venue. The video, like the song, pays homage to Strait, showcasing photos and memories from the beginning of his decades-long career while McCreery and band perform on the famed stage. “Damn Strait” was directed by Austin, TX-based filmmaker Jeff Ray, who also directed McCreery’s videos for “Five More Minutes,” “This is It” and “In Between.”
“‘Damn Strait’ is both a classic country heartbreak song as well as a tribute to George Strait,” said McCreery. “I knew I wanted to film it at a place that paid respect to both elements of the song. Tour news, tickets, etc, here.
ACM Awards to stream live, March 7
The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards are set for March 7, 2022, taking place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and will be streamed exclusively on Prime Video. Dolly Parton will host along with co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. Find a full list of nominees here. Among the highlights:
- Chris Young leads with seven nominations including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. Young shares three of his nominations with fellow artist and collaborator Kane Brown for their song “Famous Friends.”
- Chris Stapleton is nominated in five categories, including Single of the Year for his current hit “You Should Probably Leave.”
- Miranda Lambert receives record-tying 16th Female Artist of the Year nomination (tied with Reba McEntire), as well as four other nominations.
- Walker Hayes receives five nominations as a first-time nominee. This comes 17 years after Hayes moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music.
- Women continue to see an increase in representation, pulling in 37% of nominations, compared to an average of 35% in the past 5 years.
- Kelsea Ballerini and Miranda Lambertboth receive nominations as producers for the first time.
Justin Holmes debut artist on Country Rebel Records
Leading music and lifestyle brand Country Rebel has launched Country Rebel Records, it was announced by company founders Darin and Kevin Blue. The new label provides an outlet to support a growing community of artists through social content, digital advertising and live acoustic performances enjoyed by a fanbase of over 18 million. The brothers concurrently announced singer, songwriter, veteran and viral Soundcloud, YouTube and TikTok sensation Justin Holmes as the label’s first signing. His debut single, “Damn Addiction,” is available here.
Justin Holmes and Country Rebel first connected in 2017 when Country Rebel shared one of Holmes’ cover videos he had posted to Facebook. After sharing to the Country Rebel network of over 18 million Facebook fans, the video went viral and inundated Justin’s inbox and Facebook page with supportive messages and new fans. Country Rebel continued to support and share Holmes’ videos, and in 2019 Country Rebel invited Holmes to participate in ‘The George Jones Sessions’ in which Country Rebel was hosting over 30 artists to film and record acoustic sessions to share and promote on its platform. More about Justin Holmes on Facebook.
Can you say, “I Know Country”?
If you’d like to test your knowledge of country music – or simply discover some fascinating facts about the songs, the songwriters and the recording artists who brought them to life – treat yourself to my book, I Know Country! Subtitled “The Big Day-By-Day Book of Country Music Questions and Answers,” it features 366 Q&As, many of which are date-specific, about Blake Shelton, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Hank Williams, Chris Young, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Crystal Gayle, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley plus hundreds more.
- You can instantly download the Kindle edition from Amazon here.
Read the March edition of my column, Inside Track on Music Row, when it is posted at Nashville Music Line.
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