State Champ Radio Country
Page: 10
In her upcoming documentary, Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country, the “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” singer will take fans deeper into her journey from the Louisiana-born artist who once lived in a camper trailer when she first arrived in Nashville, to her current CMA entertainer of the year-winning and four-time Billboard Country Airplay-topping status.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I experienced a lot of rejection, a lot of heartache,” Wilson says in the opening scenes of the documentary’s trailer, which premiered Monday (May 6). “I’m a tough woman, but it’s not easy. I have my days where you gotta do whatever you can to crawl out of those dark holes.”
The special was produced by Robin Roberts’ ABC News Studios production unit, and features not only Wilson in conversation with Roberts, but also commentators, including radio/television personality Bobby Bones and Wilson’s labelmate and fellow country artist Jelly Roll.
Trending on Billboard
The trailer features photos from Wilson’s childhood, as well as images and footage of her early days in Nashville — including that camper trailer, which served as a home base and a place of solace in her trying early days in Music City.
“I remember sittin’ out in this camper trailer, cryin’ my eyes out, thinking, ‘Is it ever gone happen?’” she says at one point in the teaser. “But Mama and Daddy didn’t raise no quitter.”
The special highlights some of the key moment’s in Wilson’s meteoric career rise, including her CMA entertainer of the year win and her Grammy win earlier this year (Bell Bottom Country was named best country album). Additionally, the documentary delves into the hardships Wilson has faced along the way, including her father’s health struggles in 2022 while Wilson was filming her role on the television series Yellowstone.
The documentary will release on Hulu on May 29, just days before Wilson launches her headlining Country’s Cool Again tour with two shows at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on May 31 and June 1.
Wilson is also nominated for five trophies at the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards airing May 16, including entertainer of the year and female artist of the year.
Watch the trailer for Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country below:
[embedded content]
This week’s crop of new releases includes Miranda Lambert’s first new music since inking with Republic Records in partnership with Big Loud, as well as Randy Travis’s new song, which was recorded with the help of AI. The lineup also includes music from Kameron Marlowe, Tenille Arts, Colby Acuff, Jesse Daniel with Ben Haggard, and more.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Miranda Lambert, “Wranglers”
[embedded content]
Lambert returns to the kind of burn-it-all-down revenge stories that first served as her musical introduction, and as her fans know, this Texan’s vocal is often at its best when issuing a twangy, low murmur of a warning to anyone who has dared do her wrong. Written by Audra Mae, Evan McKeever and Ryan Carpenter, this song etches the tale of a woman dead-set on independence and undeterred by the fiery bout of revenge required to set those plans off the ground. “Wranglers” is Lambert’s first new music under her recent deal with Republic Records, in partnership with Big Loud.
Randy Travis, “Where That Came From”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Though the use of AI has largely been viewed as a threat to artists and songwriters over the past few years, Country Music Hall of Famer Travis’s label team at Warner Music Nashville was intent on using the technology to aid the singer, who has had limited speech for more than a decade, following a 2013 stroke that left him with aphasia. This song, originally recorded by singer James Dupre and written by Scotty Emerick with John Scott Sherill, serves as a key vessel, one that feels every bit as classic as many of Travis’s previous hits. Through the help of AI and meticulous sonic editing from Travis’s longtime producer Kyle Lehning, Travis returns with “Where That Came From,” with his vocal sounding remarkably close to Travis’s timeless recordings in the 1980s and 1990s.
Tenille Arts, “So Do I”
[embedded content]
Arts delves into the despair of loneliness on “So Do I,” drawing on feelings of confusion, frustration and not quite measuring up, while wrapping it all in a beguiling pop hook. “Do you feel like the whole world’s waiting for you to get it right?,” she asks on this track, written by Sasha Sloan, King Henry, Demi Lovato and Laura Veltz. The song is featured on Arts’ latest album, to be honest, which was released on May 3 and draws on her penchant for soul-excavating frameworks and deeply detailed story arcs. The album is released via Dreamcatcher Artists and distributed through STEM.
Colby Acuff, “Scared of the Dark”
[embedded content]
Acuff, who signed with Sony Music Nashville last year, excels in pairing acoustic-propelled sounds with his grainy voice and deeply personal storylines. His latest, which he wrote solo and produced with Eddie Spear, builds from pared-back fiddle and vocal into pounding percussion, razor-sharp fiddle lines and relentless acoustic guitar, drawing out the lyrical arc of an incessant mental health battle with depression and shame, but ultimately drawing out the hope for better days ahead.
Lonesome Ace Stringband with The Andrew Collins Trio, “May Day”
[embedded content]
It’s been nearly two decades since the Lonesome Ace Stringband played a sound-refining residency at Toronto’s Dakota Tavern — roughly the same time that Lonesome Ace’s Chris Coole wrote this track with Andrew Collins of The Andrew Collins Trio. The two groups combine their talents on this breezy, exquisitely performed instrumental, with a mesh of mandolin, banjo, bass, guitar and fiddle that capture the warm, lively essence of springtime.
Kameron Marlowe, “On My Way Out”
[embedded content]
Marlowe’s formidable vocals are front and center on his new song, written by Michael Hardy, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps, Taylor Phillips and Bobby Pinson. By turns soaring and tender, Marlowe’s voice is an ace foil for this song musing on how he wants to leave this life better than he found it, right his wrongs and give thanks for those who meant the most to him. A top-shelf outing from this North Carolina native and former The Voice contestant.
Chase Matthew, “First”
[embedded content]
He’s trying to move on from a fizzled relationship, but everyone he spends time with only comes in second place when compared to his first love. He catalogs each of the first moments of burgeoning love in that standard-setting relationship, from the first time she called him “baby,” to the first time she kissed him. Sonically, the song stands up to the pop-oriented songs on radio, while the melody gives his burnished vocal room to soar. Matthew wrote the song with Ben Hayslip and David Lee Murphy.
Jesse Daniel & Ben Haggard, “Tomorrow’s Good Ol’ Days”
[embedded content]
Dripping with harmonica and winding guitar, this collaboration between Daniel and Ben Haggard (son of country music legend Merle Haggard) is the latest hard-hitting honky tonk release from neo-traditionalist Daniel. Here, they lament a country that is “on the brink of war,” kids who “are growin’ up too fast” and corporations buying up farmland and reshaping the economy in the process. Their weathered, craggy voices are a perfect foil for the storyline, in a throwback to other classic country compositions that have grieved over various economic and societal changes they have deemed damaging. The song is from Daniels’s upcoming project Countin’ the Miles, out June 7 on Lightning Rod Records.
The anniversaries are piling up on Curb | Word Entertainment chairman Mike Curb.
This year is the 60th anniversary of Curb Records’ founding. April 29 marked 30 years since Belmont University announced its highest-profile program was being renamed the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business. And the school just wrapped the 50th-anniversary campaign that celebrated the department’s founding. All those milestones come as Curb approaches his 80th birthday on Christmas Eve.
“I like everything except the last statistic,” he deadpans near the start of a three-hour interview.
The conversation acknowledges the landmarks, but it comes, more importantly, as Curb’s latest investment wraps some of his deepest passions — education, music preservation and legacy — in a structure likely to enhance the relationship between Belmont and Music Row. Belmont announced April 9 that the Curb Foundation made a $58 million donation that will seed a multipurpose Curb College building on Music Circle South, wedged between the BMG offices and the historic Columbia Studios.
Trending on Billboard
Neither Curb nor Belmont president Greg Jones could specify the breakdown of the $58 million — both called it “complicated” — but the figure encompasses the value of the land, which Curb donated; future rent; and cash. It also includes an expansion of the Buddy Lee Attractions building that’s adjacent to Columbia, while the school attempts to raise an additional $40 million for the project, which will encourage interplay between Belmont students and working music professionals. A 150-capacity performance space will provide an ideal concert-audio learning facility and offer label showcase options. Songwriting rooms will serve the college and, perhaps, some independent writers. And a coffee shop is expected to lure lunchtime visits from nearby businesses, setting up the possibility for students that a springboard for their careers could be just a handshake away.
The building is in the works at a time when large chunks of Music Row have been overtaken by non-music developers. Curb owns 12 properties on the Row — including RCA Studio B, Ocean Way and the former Masterfonics building — and he’s doggedly determined to maintain the character of the neighborhood, where he has control. That’s particularly true on Music Circle South, a block with numerous studios that have yielded hits by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, George Strait, Tom T. Hall and Dan + Shay — just for starters — through the decades.
“We made it impossible for the developers to get to it,” Curb says. “Even the WNAH radio building is just the way it is. Even the buildings that we’re using for Curb Records or for Word Records. Those are staying exactly the way they are. So we’ve got it pretty locked.”
Curb established his label as an 18-year-old college student at Cal State Northridge who was too young to sign the startup papers without a co-signer. He made a deal with Capitol, wrote a Honda commercial and landed a bundle of songs on movie soundtracks, including the 1968 Clint Eastwood picture Kelly’s Heroes. Curb became the president of MGM in his 20s, working with The Osmonds, Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis Jr. and Hank Williams Jr., and by the end of the ’70s, he was California lieutenant governor, serving alongside Ronald Reagan.
Post-government, he extended the Curb label’s independent run by partnering with the majors in the careers of Williams, The Judds, T.G. Sheppard, Lyle Lovett and Debby Boone, among others.
“Back then, you could walk up and down Hollywood Boulevard or Sunset Boulevard, there were hundreds of independents,” he remembers. “Now they’re all owned by the three majors. That’s one of the big issues now, you know: The deep catalog of our industry is owned and controlled by three majors.”
Curb arrived in Nashville in the early 1990s, earning multiplatinum sales from Tim McGraw and LeAnn Rimes along with hits by Sawyer Brown, Hal Ketchum, Jo Dee Messina and, in the 2000s, Rodney Atkins. McGraw and Rimes had public spats involving their Curb deals, and Curb ended up in litigation with Big Machine Label Group over McGraw, who ultimately moved on. Despite that battle, Curb is on good terms with BMLG president/CEO Scott Borchetta, who has partnered with him in auto racing.
“I consider Mike a genius, I consider him a friend, I consider him misunderstood by a lot of people,” Borchetta says. “The guy’s a walking encyclopedia.”
Curb’s ability to maintain relationships, even amid sharp disagreements, is a skill he perfected during his political career. His relationship with Belmont, for example, continues despite his previous opposition to the university’s firing of a lesbian coach. (The school ultimately amended its policies.) In 1978, Curb helped defeat a California proposition that would have banned gay teachers from schools, convincing conservative icon Reagan to join the battle. Currently, he continues to speak highly of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who agreed to a meeting with his gay employees, though they were unable to change her position on key issues. Writing people off, he reasons, is a poor long-term strategy.
“What I always tried to do was not criticize the people who disagreed with me, but tried to bring them together,” he says. “As I learned from Ronald Reagan, you just need 51%.”
Curb has certainly won over Belmont’s Jones. He suggested doing something with the Music Circle South property to benefit the music business program shortly after Jones became university president in 2021. The school already had an ideal location at the Southern edge of Music Row. With the new building, it will be in the heart of the district.
“We weren’t just thinking of the present and then making incremental changes,” says Jones. “We wanted the next 50 years of music business to be really transformational.”
It’s a goal that Curb shares. His label’s 60th anniversary will be celebrated June 6 with a CMA Fest show at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater featuring Atkins, Sawyer Brown, Dylan Scott, Hannah Ellis, Kelsey Hart and Lee Brice, among others. Curb is excited over the prospects of Brice’s new single — “Drinkin’ Buddies,” featuring Nate Smith and Hailey Whitters — which debuts at No. 26 on the Country Airplay chart dated May 11 (see page 4). But he’s just as enthusiastic about Brice’s collaboration with Christian band for King & Country on “Checking In,” which could — like Curb’s efforts for Belmont and for marriage equality — make a lasting mark. The anniversaries are important, but the future still beckons.
“We’re impacting the culture of Nashville, of country music — maybe pop music, the culture of the nation,” he says with youthful enthusiasm. “That’s what’s so exciting about what we do.”
Subscribe to Billboard Country Update, the industry’s must-have source for news, charts, analysis and features. Sign up for free delivery every weekend.
Randy Travis is thanking his fans for helping to inspire him to record his first new single in a decade, “Where That Came From.” The 64-year-old singer whose voice was mostly taken from him following a 2013 stroke released the new ballad on Friday and appeared on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend in a package describing how his team used artificial intelligence to create the affecting track.
“Eleven years ago I never thought I would be able to have a hand in music production of any kind,” Travis said in a statement. “But by God’s grace and the support of family, friends, fellow artists and fans, I’m able to create the music I so dearly love. Working with [longtime producer] Kyle Lehning and Warner Music Nashville again has been so special and nostalgic, and I’m so excited to share my new song ‘Where That Came From’ with you today. Many thanks to my wonderful team and the best fans in the world for putting me back in the saddle again! I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”
Trending on Billboard
In the CBS interview, Travis’ longtime producer Lehning described his initial trepidation about using AI to fill-out the track, describing his fear that it sounded like a “parlor trick.” Travis suffered the stroke in 2013, after which doctors gave him a 2% chance of surviving following the discovery that in addition to paralysis the brain attack caused damage to the area of his brain controlling speech and language that had left it nearly beyond repair.
Lehning’s painstaking process began by pulling 42 classic Travis tracks from the his label’s vault, stripping away everything until just the vocal tracks remained and then adding some additional, new vocals from James Dupre, the singer who has been handling Travis’ vocals on tours by the country star’s band over the past few years.
Using an AI program that took Travis’ voice and overlaid it over Dupre’s singing, Lehning — who has worked with Travis for four decades — melded the two, telling CBS that having his longtime friend be a “vital part” of creating the song made a huge difference.
“Being a part of new Randy Travis music, I mean, that’s like… what?,’” Dupre told CBS.
“It’s Randy Travis. Randy’s on the other side of the microphone … It’s still his vocal,” Cris Lacy, co-chair/president of Warner Music Nashville said in the interview about the Grammy-winning legend who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016. “There’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to make music … And to deprive him of that, if he still wants to do that, that’s unconscionable to me.”
The song was originally recorded, but not released, by Dupre and written by Scotty Emerick and John Scott Sherrill.
“The motivation behind a musical recording is specific to each individual artist,” Lacy added. “The genesis of this particular track came from a visceral desire to restore what was taken away from someone we know and love – Randy Travis. It was inspired by his courage to continue as a vital contributor to the music community. In working with him to make new recordings, the byproduct is a gift that goes straight to our hearts. AI may have been a tool that helped us along, but it was a group of dedicated and passionate humans, including Randy himself, that brought this beautiful song to life.”
The piece included a scene from two months ago where Warner Music Nashville gathered a small group of fellow musicians in a studio to debut the new song, with Travis watching along with what was described as a “Cheshire Cat grin. The reaction that day was described as a mix of “joy and wonder,” plus some tears from Travis’ wife, Mary.
“You forget how much you missed it until you hear it again,” she said of her husband’s rich baritone. Fellow country star Carrie Underwood. whose 2009 collab with Travis, “I Told You So,” was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, also on hand and she seemed bewildered and entranced by the studio magic. “How… how, how?” she asked a smiling Travis as she attempted to unpack the spot-on computer-assisted vocals.
Cole Swindell was also on hand and he said listening to the song reminded him of why he became a country singer. “So y’all let me hear it, that means a lot,” Swindell said choking up, adding, “Damn, I’m glad to year you sing.” Veteran country star Clay Walker was seen sharing a laugh and a smile with his old pal as they took in the song.
The CBS package also revealed that the team is working on a second untitled “new” song, though so far that one has proven more elusive. “It’s a life inspiration,” Mary Travis said. “Speak kindly, love fully, live completely, and leave the rest to God.”
Watch the full CBS piece, and listen to “Where That Came From,” below.
[embedded content]
[embedded content]
George Strait is a ready for another round.
The country legend used the platform of his concert at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of NFL franchise Indianapolis Colts, to announce Cowboys And Dreamers (via MCA), his 31st studio album.
According to reps, more than 51,000 filled out the stadium for Strait’s two-hour performance on Saturday, May 4. “We got some new stuff, too, I’m gonna throw in throughout the night, because I broke down and did another record, and I’m gonna play a few of those for you tonight,” he told the audience.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The new LP is the the followup to 2019’s Honky Tonk Time Machine, which opened at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. A release date for Cowboys And Dreamers has not been announced.
The 71-year-old Texas native shared several new songs from the forthcoming album, including “Three Drinks Behind,” and was joined by Chris Stapleton on two numbers, “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame” and “You Don’t Know What You’re Missing”.
Trending on Billboard
The Indianapolis date was one of just 10 shows Strait will perform in 2024, and marked a return to the stage following a string of devastating losses to his industry family including his manager of nearly 50 years, Eugene Ervine “Erv” Woolsey, Ace in the Hole member Gene Elders, and tour manager Tom Foote.
“It’s so good to be back,” he said from the stage, “man, it’s been six months, and that’s too long.”
Paying tribute to his lost friends, Strait remarked, “The last couple of months have been a tough time… music makes it all better. Thank you for coming out – we’ve had a great time tonight,” he said, as he closed out a six-song encore in their honor.
The County Music Hall of Famer and three-times CMA entertainer of the year has had a remarkable career, during which he has notched 44 Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-toppers, a record-tying 61 Country Airplay top 10s, and a record 27th No. 1s on Top Country Albums Chart, most recently with Honky Tonk Time Machine.
Strait’s 2024 Concert Calendar:May 4 — Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, INMay 11 –EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, FLMay 25 — Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IAJune 1 — Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NCJune 8 — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJJune 15 — Kyle Field, College Station, TXJune 29 — Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UTJuly. 13 — Ford Field, Detroit, MIJuly 20 — Soldier Field, Chicago, ILDec. 7 — Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Morgan Wallen‘s Nashville bar will soon be open for business, according to the “Last Night” hitmaker. During his headlining set at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Saturday (May 4), the country music star revealed that his Morgan Wallen’s This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen will open on Memorial Day weekend. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and […]
A criminal case against Morgan Wallen for allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a six-story Nashville bar is moving forward after an initial court hearing Friday (May 3).
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Wallen’s attorney Worrick Robinson appeared on behalf of the star before a Nashville judge, who set a new court date for Aug. 15. The hearing did not involve entering a plea, and Wallen had waived his right to appear in person, but Robinson said the star himself would be at the next hearing.
“This is obviously very complicated case and it’s not going to resolve itself without subpoenas and witnesses,” Robinson told the media after the hearing. “The state will subpoena witnesses and we’ll work on the case on our end. Morgan will be here on Aug. 15, and several things can happen in the case. We might have a hearing, we might settle the case or the case might continue. Those are the options.”
Trending on Billboard
Wallen, who is in the midst of three sold-out headlining shows at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on his One Night at a Time Tour this weekend, was arrested in Nashville on April 7 in connection to the chair-throwing incident. Two Metro Nashville Police Department officers were reportedly standing on the street below Chief’s on Broadway, owned by country singer Eric Church, when the chair landed approximately three feet from the officers. Police then reportedly spoke with staff and witnesses and viewed security footage to confirm Wallen’s alleged actions.
After the arrest, the country star was charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
“I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen said in a statement on April 19. “I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change.”
Speaking with the media after Friday’s hearing, Robinson confirmed that there is surveillance footage of the incident, which he has viewed. He also addressed the issue of the police report noting that Wallen was seen “laughing” after the incident. “As each of you know, you can’t always believe everything you read, and I haven’t seen anything to suggest that at all, so I don’t have any proof that that is correct.”
Asked by media if they have a preference to settle the case, Robinson said, “These cases are always complicated and you just never know what’s going to happen. As an attorney, all you can do is be prepared and that’s what the district attorney’s office will do also. Everybody will prepare as if there’s going to be a hearing, but I think everybody generally wins if you can resolve it in a manner that everybody can live with.”
Robinson also responded to media who asked if Wallen was denying throwing the chair, saying, “I think he has said he takes responsibility for what he’s done … We’re not required to enter a plea of any type. But you’ve read his words and I think you understand them clearly.”
Friday night (May 3), Wallen continues with his second of three sold-out shows at Nissan Stadium as part of his One Night at a Time tour.
Assistance provided by Bill Donahue
It has been more than a decade since Randy Travis has recorded new music. But on Friday (May 3) the country legend released the gentle “Where That Came From,” an emotional ballad featuring his signature warm baritone and lovestruck lyrics.
In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning‘s Lee Cowan slated to air this weekend Travis’ longtime producer describes how the singer’s team constructed the track using artificial intelligence in the wake of the near-fatal 2013 stroke that took away the Grammy-winning country star’s voice.
“It’s Randy Travis. Randy’s on the other side of the microphone … It’s still his vocal,” says Cris Lacey, co-chair/president of Warner Music Nashville in the interview. “There’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to make music … And to deprive him of that, if he still wants to do that, that’s unconscionable to me.”
Trending on Billboard
While Lacey acknowledges the “chatter about all the negative sides of AI,” he says that when the Travis team began thinking about recording “Where That Came From” using AI they wondered what that would look like for them. “And the first thing that came to mind… was we would give Randy Travis his voice back,” Lacey says.
According to the piece, when Travis suffered the stroke doctors gave him a 2% chance of surviving after discovering that in addition to paralysis the brain attack caused damage to the area of his brain controlling speech and language that had left it nearly beyond repair.
Cowan also spoke with Travis, 64, and wife Mary for the piece that takes viewers behind-the-scenes for a look at how longtime producer Kyle Lehning pieced together the song with the singer’s blessing using old audio tracks of his voice as a launching pad. With another singer pitching in, a custom AI program overlaid Travis’ voice on the new recording, with Lehning using the country legend’s input to “painstakingly” mold the AI-generated vocals into a song that felt authentically Travis.
“It’s not about how it sounds. It’s about how it feels,” Lehning says. “Him being here and him being able to be, you know, a vital part of the decision-making process makes all the difference to me.” If he’s being honest, though, Lehning says when he first realized that the AI experiment was working it, “freaked me out… when I played it back it was like, ‘oh my!’ And I immediately thought, ‘this might work.’”
The more he listened and dug into the nuance, Lehning says the song clearly needed more “massaging,” which required him to approach it “syllable-by-syllable.”
Cowan also observed the moment when Travis’ fellow country music friends and family heard the song for the first time, with stepdaughter Cavanaugh Mauch commenting, “It’s so weird to try and explain everything that goes through your head when you’re listening to it.”
In the wake of the stroke, Travis’ manager Tony Conway cooked up the idea for The Music of Randy Travis tour, which features the singer’s eight-piece band fronted by James Dupré, who played Travis’ son in the 2015 movie The Price. The latest iteration of that show, the More Life tour, is currently on the road, with the next date slated for May 23 at The Paramount in Abilene, Texas.
Travis — who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016 — has also released a trio of albums post-stroke, including two volumes of covers, Influence Vol. 1: The Man I Am and Influence Vol. 2: The Man I Am, as well as 2020’s Precious Memories (Worship & Faith), a collection of worship songs recorded in Feb. 2003 at the Calvary Assembly of God in Orlando.
The CBS News piece will run on Sunday (May 5) at 9 a.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Listen to “Where That Came From” and watch a preview of the CBS segment below.
“It freaked me out.” In 2013 country music star @randytravis suffered a stroke that robbed him of his singing voice. Travis’ longtime producer, Kyle Lehning, gives Lee Cowan an exclusive inside look at how cutting-edge AI enabled Travis to once again raise his voice in song. pic.twitter.com/vxzXQ5k2OK— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) May 3, 2024
There are stadium headliners, and then there are stadium-headlining artists capable of drawing in nearly 70,000 fans each evening, over multiple nights.
Just two years ago, Morgan Wallen sold out three concerts at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. On Thursday night (May 2), Wallen brought a cascade of hit songs to Music City’s biggest stage, Nissan Stadium, for the first of three headlining concerts (May 2-4) at the venue as part of his massive One Night at a Time tour—the same stadium where pop queen Taylor Swift held court for three nights last year.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
In the process, this stadium headliner from Sneedville, Tennessee, who has six nominations heading into the Academy of Country Music Awards later this month, offered a premier display of his entertainer of the year-worthy credentials.
Trending on Billboard
Following opening sets from Nate Smith, Lauren Watkins and Bailey Zimmerman, Wallen walked out to the music of “Broadway Girls,” and amid billows of smoke and fire, along with a screen lit up in bold neon red. He opened his show with “Ain’t That Some,” making his way to very front to prowl the edge of the stage, infusing his show with audience-connecting energy from the opening notes.
“It feels good to be home, man,” Wallen greeted the crowd, eliciting cheers. “Me and the boys, we’ve had this one circled on the calendar for a long time,” he said, giving praise to his crew members, before adding, “It’s an honor and privilege to be singing in Nashville, Tennessee tonight.”
He sailed through songs that have sent his albums including Dangerous: The Double Album and One Thing at a Time to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart for multiple weeks, including “I Wrote the Book,” “One Thing at a Time,” the Allman Brothers “Midnight Rider”-interpolated song “Everything I Love,” “7 Summers” and his 19-week Hot Country Songs chart leader “You Proof.”
He had bleachers set up as a backdrop for his song “’98 Braves,” as he related to the crowd the story of a high school baseball coach who kept him from being kicked off the team.
“There have been so many people in my life that have never given up on me,” Wallen said.
He often ran the length of the catwalk stage with an athlete’s stamina, offering a slate of songs such as “Whiskey Friends,” “Man Made a Bar” (sans collaborator Eric Church), “Wasted on You,” and the singalong “This Bar.”
Often his songs meshed imagery of heartbreak, alcohol-fueled partying and rural living with pop/hip-hop rhythms, coalescing into communal rallying cries that reverberated through the stadium.
Nearly midway through his set, he left he main stage, walking through the throng of fans in the stadium, shaking hands as he made his way to an intimate stage at the back of the venue.
He talked about his journey from playing bars and clubs to his current stadium-filling role, recalling how one of his favorite things about playing intimate venues was being able to look every fan in the eye.
“This is my attempt to recreate some of that,” Wallen said. From there, yearning ballads such the new “Lies, Lies, Lies,” his version of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up” or the piano ballad “Sand in My Boots,” brought his acuity as an emotional translator to the fore.
Throughout the show, wristbands worn on fans’ hands glowed in red, blue and orange hues, coordinating with the stage lights.
Extending his One Night at a Time World Tour into 2024, Wallen has already proven his status as a global artist, having previously brought his tour to New Zealand and Australia last year. The past few years of expanding his headliner-status, show by show, as well as stacking a dozen Country Airplay chart-leaders, and eight top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, have fashioned an artist with a keen sense of pacing a show and a comfortable relationship with his audience, even if that means pausing the show for a few seconds to sign posters or take photos with fans crowded against the stage.
His ace band offered crashing percussion and rock guitar-runs aplenty on hits such as “Up Down” (when he welcomed opener Zimmerman back to the stage). Later in the set, Wallen welcomed his buddy, Nashville native and fellow artist-writer ERNEST for their collaboration “Cowgirls,” before giving a shoutout to ERNEST’s new album—appropriately titled Nashville, Tennessee.
Family and friends were common ties throughout his show, as later on, the stage featured a setup that resembled Wallen’s mamaw’s house as he led into “Chasin’ You.” That modest house is also on the cover of Wallen’s One Thing at a Time album.
“Y’all know how much my family means to me…they’ve been with me through this whole weird, crazy ride we’ve been on,” Wallen said, recalling how his mamaw helped raise him, his cousins and sisters. He recalled that she got to see him play one bigger show—a fair in East Tennessee to about 7,000 people.
“Thank you for allowing me and my family to do this, it’s something I feel honored to do,” he told the audience.
Meanwhile, the massive screen wrapped around the entire stage from above, offering a theatre-style view to the audience around the stadium. Prior to the show, those screens highlighted Wallen’s growing business ventures including his upcoming Nashville bar and his Field & Stream venture with Eric Church. Earlier, fans could visit the Field & Stream pop-up booth set up just outside the stadium’s main entrance.
But during his set, Wallen was all about fitting in as much music as possible. He concluded his show with songs including “More Than My Hometown,” and his breakthrough 2019 hit “Whiskey Glasses.”
“Thank you very much Nashville!” he concluded as he left the stage, leaving the fans chanting his name as another round of fire popped into the air.
A few moments later, those fans were rewarded, as their wristbands began glowing anew, drawing a new round of cheers, as Wallen returned to the stage for “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” “Last Night” and brought things full-circle, returning to the beginning with his debut single, 2016’s “The Way I Talk.”
“God bless all of yall,” he said, shouting out each of his opening acts, his band and his crew and ending with a series of thank yous to the crowd, before promising, “See you next time.” But instead of heading for the exit, Wallen took his time making his way around the stage perimeter to sign shirts and posters and shake hands with the fans that have helped build his stadium-sized career.
Moviegoers who see the new movie The Fall Guy, starring Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, might hear a familiar voice as the film‘s final credits roll. Country singer Blake Shelton has recorded a version of “Unknown Stuntman,” which also appears on the film’s soundtrack. The film is loosely based on the television series The Fall […]
