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Your Inside Track on Music Row, November 2024

Hot new Country singles and albums tour updates and more

By Preshias Harris

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “Undeniably, I’m a country singer; I’m a country songwriter. But I feel like I make country music for people who like country music and for people who don’t.” – Kasey Musgraves

BIBLE VERSE OF THE MONTH: My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. – Psalms 57:7

Can it be November already? With Thanksgiving fast approaching and Christmas just around the corner?! SO much to get to in this edition of ‘Inside Track on Music Row,’ the longest continuously-running monthly country music column in the USA. Scroll down to check out a whole bunch of new albums and singles to listen to, plus tour updates, Opry news, songwriter pub deals, Christmas music and a lot more. As always, my heartfelt thanks to the artists and songwriters and their reps who keep me in the loop about what’s new with you! So let’s kick off with a roundup of some albums you need to know about…

ALBUM NEWS

KELSEA BALLERINI: When you write songs from your own life, it takes a lot of living to come up with something special. Thankfully, for multiple Grammy nominee and Country Music Association award winner Kelsea Ballerini, a 30-something who never stops, inspiration is never hard to come by. Having created a deep dialogue with her fans, a lot has happened since the Grammy-nominated Rolling Up The Welcome Matand Rolling Up The Welcome Mat (For Good).

Teaming with producer and longtime collaborator Alysa Vanderheym, Ballerini opted for an all-girl approach to PATTERNS. Crystalizing after a songwriting retreat with Vanderheym, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Hillary Lindsey, GRAMMY Songwriter of the Year nominee Jessie Jo Dillon and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, the honey blond superstar decided to create an album that focused on female friendship, being vulnerable and honest, owning one’s jagged spaces and the way relationships really are, not the way they look on Instagram.

“There was an unpresumed feeling of knowingness that happened on that retreat,” Ballerini reports. “I felt safe, so then I was able to feel honest, and then more so, creative. We were all, as songwriters, in tandem but more so as women just in a real heart flow of it all. Having these heroes and friends champion the process and the guts of it all has been one of the joys of my career.” Pre-order exclusive PATTERNS on vinyl and CD here via Black River Entertainment. Listen/download the single “First Rodeo” here, and watch the evocative music video here. #KelseaBallerini

MEGAN MORONEY: The much-anticipated release of Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine) — the deluxe edition of Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records singer/songwriter Megan Moroney’s widely acclaimed sophomore album – dropped in early October. Featuring three brand-new tracks, the newly expanded version of Am I Okay? arrives just months after Moroney scored the year’s third-biggest Billboard 200 debut from a female Country artist. Listen to Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine) here.

Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine) includes a selection of songs she’s recently teased during her must-see live show and on social media. Both written by Moroney, David “Messy” Mescon, Rob Hatch, and Ben Williams, “Break It Right Back” and “I’ll Be Fine” offer the latest evidence of her enormous talent for penning truly unforgettable heartbreak ballads. To that end, “Break It Right Back” takes the form of a piano-laced stunner about the shattered hopes of falling for someone too good to be true (inspiring over 22k creates after Moroney teased it on TikTok), while “I’ll Be Fine” serves as a heavy-hearted response to the album’s wildly hopeful and Country radio-dominating title track.

Moroney will soon release Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine) on vinyl on December 13. Pre-order the vinyl here. Tour/ticket updates at Megan’s website and more on social media. #MeganMoroney

GEORGE JONES: Fans of George Jones are in for a treat with the announcement of the new album, George Jones: The Lost Nashville Sessions set to release on November 15 on Country Rewind Records. Preorder / stream the album here. Originally recorded for radio airplay in the 1970s, these tracks have been enhanced, capturing Jones’ signature sound by bringing the audio quality up to twenty-first-century standards. This was achieved by subtly adding instrumentation and background vocals beneath Jones’ voice where needed.

It’s “That Summer” for Southbound 75

Seasoned road warriors talk about their new single

by Preshias Harris

Southbound 75 have been described as “Old Dominion meets Maroon 5” which may be true but does not quite encompass their wildly popular live shows.

As seasoned road warriors – hence the band’s name – they entertain audiences all across the country. They stood still long enough to talk to me in Nashville during Country Radio Seminar (CRS).

We talked about their just-released single, “That Summer” (Brown Lee Ent/Sony Orchard) — an upbeat song about living in the moment — and about their life on the road. They even revealed their “gotta-go-to” eatery when they are burning up the miles between gigs!

Read my full interview with Southbound 75 in the Preshias on the Row section of Center Stage Magazine here.

Preshias Harris is an advocate for songwriters and a 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 @PreshiasHarris #PreshiasHarris

Our Summer NAMM top picks

Four great music finds you should check out

Oz Guitar Works Tau-6 headless guitar
ZT ‘Lunchbox’ Amplifiers
OZZtosh gleaming aluminum guitars
WalkaBout drums: replace your cajon?

A musician at a NAMM show is like a kid turned loose for a day in a candy store. Wherever you look, there’s something that makes your mouth water. That’s true if you are a seasoned visitor or a first-time newbie.

Now the dust has settled on Summer NAMM 2018, presented by the National Association of Music Merchants, we can look back at some of the ideas and products that really stood out. NAMM’s ‘Make Music Experience’ sets aside a day each year for ‘prosumers’ to get an all-day, all access pass at a very affordable price. (See previous posts here at NashvilleMusicLine.com.)

Through the eyes and ears of a newbie

I returned this year (my 28th NAMM) for the full three-day show. But on the final day, the ‘Make Music Experience’ day, I brought along Storm, a NAMM newbie, to experience the vibe through her eyes and ears. Storm is an up-and-coming alternative songwriter, artist and musician. Here are some of the outstanding products we were able to try out.

Let’s start with Storm’s report, in her own words, about two items that caught her attention…

“I can hardly believe when I got the opportunity to attend Summer NAMM, I was so excited,” said Storm. “As an artist walking down the rows of guitars and other gear, I felt like a kid in a candy store. NAMM did not disappoint. There were so many amazing booths, but in particular a couple of products stood out to me.”

Oz Guitar Works Tau-6 headless guitar

Storm tries out the Oz Tau-6 headless guitar

The first was Oz Guitar Works Tau-6 headless guitar. The Tau-6 is a compact, yet sturdy, headless guitar that is, as a NAMM goer said, “effortless” to play. It features a wood neck and aluminum body, modular removeable pick-ups, steel nuts, dual stereo jack outputs, and a clean sheet design. William ‘Oz’ Anderson was a very chill dude and took the time to answer questions and show his guitars.

When I asked Oz about his inspiration for the Tau-6 he replied, “I wanted to make a guitar that sounded and played better but took a minimalistic view. Keep the essential, chop the rest.” Making this guitar did not come without it’s challenges. Oz states that some of his biggest challenges were making the aluminum body affordable and making the petite body attractive. Continue reading “Our Summer NAMM top picks”