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As Willie Nelson played “On the Road Again” toward the close of the first of two star-packed birthday concerts at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday (April 29), that song’s joyous declaration was more poignant than ever. “The life I love is making music with my friends,” he sang.
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More than 45 of those friends gathered over the two nights for what presenter Ethan Hawke called “a celebration of love — love of music, love of storytelling, and love of Willie Nelson… an American icon.”
Saturday’s spectacular show offered performances by: Beck with Daniel Lanois, Edie Brickell with Charlie Sexton, Leon Bridges with Gary Clark, Jr., Rosanne Cash with Kris Kristofferson, The Chicks, Charley Crockett, Snoop Dogg, Warren Haynes, Jack Johnson, Jamey Johnson, Norah Jones, Tom Jones, Miranda Lambert, Lyle Lovett, The Lumineers, Ziggy Marley, Lukas Nelson, Particle Kid (Micah Nelson), Margo Price with Nathaniel Rateliff, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, George Strait, Stephen Stills with Neil Young, Billy Strings and Bobby Weir. Presenters introducing the artists Saturday included Hawke, Jennifer Garner, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson.
On tap exclusively for Sunday: The Avett Brothers, Buddy Cannon, Randy Crowell, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Booker T. Jones, Dave Matthews, Lily Meola, Wayne Payne, Orville Peck and Allison Russell, along with additional presenters Chelsea Handler, Woody Harrelson and Gabriel Iglesas.
All came to celebrate the long, rich, triumphant life of Nelson, one of the most acclaimed songwriters and singers of his age, and an accomplished actor, author and activist.
Nelson’s friends came to mine a motherlode of remarkable songs. According to BMI, Nelson has registered nearly 450 works since becoming a member of the performing rights organization in the 1950s. Still a vital, creative force, he won the 2023 Grammy Award in February for best country album for A Beautiful Time and last month released a collection of the songs of Harlan Howard, I Don’t Know A Thing About Love. It is his 150th album, according to Texas Monthly.
Led by musical director Don Was on bass, the night’s stellar band included Nelson’s longtime sideman Mickey Raphael on harmonica, keyboardist Benmont Tench, guitarists Audley Freed and Tom Bukovac, Gabe Witcher on violin, Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar, and backup singers Alfreda McCrary, Ann McCrary and Regina McCrary. If one member of this band deserves a shout-out it is Raphael, whose harp was a constant, sweet sonic thread throughout the night.
Produced by Blackbird Presents, Live Nation and Hewitt Silva, the event’s executive producers are Nelson’s longtime manager Mark Rothbaum, Blackbird’s Keith Wortman, promoter Bill Silva, film director and producer Brian Smith and Nelson’s longtime representatives, Creative Artists Agency.
Rothman says plans for this event began a year ago and the decision to spread the celebration over two nights not only recognized the depth of talent involved but also Nelson’s long-celebrated double birthday in April.
“I was born before midnight on the 29th,” Nelson told listeners of his SiriusXM radio show in 2018, “but it didn’t get registered in the county courthouse [in his hometown of Abbott, Texas] until the next day. So it went out officially as the 30th. So I just do both days.”
On Saturday, Strings kicked off the birthday party with “Whiskey River,” which was written in 1972 by Johnny Bush but has been Nelson’s signature show-opener for years. Crockett followed with “The Party’s Over,” which Nelson recorded in 1967, and later became a staple for Monday Night Football host Don Meredith whenever a football match headed for a blowout. Nelson’s son Micah, who performs as Particle Kid, was joined by Lanois on pedal steel, for a dreamy and spooky version of “The Ghost” from a 1967 album produced by Chet Atkins. The song was a reminder of how rich Nelson’s repertoire was even in the Nashville years he was considered a failure as a recording artist.
“Willie is a spirit guide,” said Brickell as she took the stage with Sexton for beautiful harmonies on “Remember Me (When the Candle Lights Are Gleaming),” which Nelson recorded on his landmark 1975 album Red Headed Stranger. That spirit side of Nelson — call it zen — was evident in his writing early on, in songs like “Hello Walls,” a No. 1 Hot Country Songs hit for Faron Young. “I’ve always thought of it as the perfect song,” said Lovett as he sang that classic.
“Willie’s musical world is vaa-hst,” said presenter and famed British actress Helen Mirren. Echoing Brickell’s comment, Mirren said, “He simply follows the spirit, whenever the spirit leads.”
Nelson’s generous spirit in 1985 led him to create Farm Aid, the organization which has advocated on behalf of America’s family farmers with its annual benefit concert for nearly four decades. Price, now a member of the Farm Aid board, was joined by Farm Aid mainstay Rateliff, to duet on “I Can Get Off On You,” which Nelson co-wrote and recorded with Waylon Jennings in 1978.
Beck’s rendition of “Hands on the Wheel,” from Red Headed Stranger, was a measured, intense, fist-clenched performance. Jones played the piano romp “Down Yonder” in memory of Nelson’s younger sister and piano player Bobbie, who died in March 2022. She then sang “Funny How The Time Slips,” with the kind of off-the-beat vocals which Nelson has perfected. Former Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes played that band’s “Midnight Rider,” which Nelson contributed to the soundtrack of the 1979 film The Electric Horseman.
Nelson in 1985 teamed up with three lifelong friends, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson, and the four were later collectively billed as The Highwaymen. Introduced by Hawkes as “the first daughter of The Highwaymen,” Rosanne Cash came onstage with Kristofferson to sing his classic “Lovin’ Her Was Easier.” Cash caressed the neck of the 86-year-old Kristofferson, who embraced her in return, in one of the night’s most moving moments.
Lukas Nelson channeled his father’s love of the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt with his solo on “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” Bridges sang “Nightlife,” accompanied by Clark, who then honored another great Texan by scorching through Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Flooding Down in Texas.” Jack Johnson credited two of Nelson’s favorite pastimes, smoking marijuana and playing poker, singing his lyric “Willie got me stoned and took all my money.”
Tom Jones, acknowledging Nelson’s milestone birthday, quipped, “I’m only 83 myself so I have a lot to look forward to,” then dug deep into the singer’s catalog for “Opportunity to Cry” from the early ’60s.
In a night filled with non-stop memorable moments, Jamey Johnson’s song choice stood out as he sang Billy Joe Shaver’s “Live Forever,” which Nelson recorded with Lucinda Williams last year for a Shaver tribute album. Johnson sang: “Nobody here will ever find me/ but I will always be around/ just like the songs I leave behind me / I’m going to live forever now.”
The Chicks turned “Bloody Mary Morning” into a double-tempo, fiddle-fired rave up. The Lumineers sang Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” — which Russell and Ray Charles sang with Nelson at his 70th birthday concert in New York in April 2003. Rateliff returned to the stage for Steve Goodman’s exuberant “City of New Orleans,” which Nelson covered back in 1984.
Bedecked in red-fringed sleeves on dark blue sparkling dress, Lambert elicited cheers as she declared she had come to honor Willie Nelson “the cowboy,” then raised the temperature of the chilly Los Angeles night with her version of “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”
The back-to-back stars continued as Stapleton chose two songs from Nelson’s 1982 album Always on My Mind, the title track and “Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning,” which Stapleton later covered on his own 2017 album From a Room: Volume 1.
For the second time in a week, following their April 22 concert at the Greek Theater to benefit Autism Speaks, Neil Young reunited with Stephen Stills and aptly offered “Long May You Run,” recorded by the Stills-Young Band in 1976, as their gift to Nelson. Stills took lead vocals on the Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth.”
The placement of three stools at center stage — for Nelson and his sons — signaled the arrival of the guest of honor. Young and Nelson revived their 1985 collaboration “Are There Any More Real Cowboys.” Then, as if to answer that question, George Strait took the stage and the two country superstars parried on Strait’s 2019 song “Sing One With Willie.”
Norah Jones earlier in the evening had called Nelson “genre-less,” crediting his ability to create community and connections across the scope of American music. That was wonderfully clear as Snoop Dogg and Nelson sat alongside each other to sing “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.”
“Happy Birthday to me!” shouted a delighted Nelson as the show came to a close with “On The Road Again” and his traditional finale of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “I’ll Fly Away,” joined by the evening’s entire ensemble. Hawke stepped forth to give what must have been scripted show-closing remarks. But Nelson has never followed anyone’s script and instead closed the night with the self-deprecating humor of Mac Davis’ “It’s Hard to be Humble.”
Flanking the Hollywood Bowl stage was the logo designed for this event. It showed Nelson, in silhouette, guitar over his back, upon his horse and riding into the sunset. It’s hard to imagine that sunset will come any time soon.
Additional reporting by Melinda Newman
Bonnie Raitt is undergoing surgery for an undisclosed “medical situation,” according to a statement issued by her team on social media. She has called off a handful of upcoming tour dates, which have either been rescheduled already for 2023 or will be rescheduled for 2024.
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“Bonnie has a medical situation that requires surgery to address. The doctors say that in order for her to heal properly, they recommend she not perform for a couple of weeks,” a post on Raitt’s Twitter account said on Friday (April 28).
The update continued: “Unfortunately, this overlaps our five tour dates in May, and we are very sorry to have to cancel our performance at @brandicarlile ’s Mothership Weekend on May 14th and postpone our shows in Athens, Louisville, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Please see below for more information about the rescheduled appearances. We deeply apologize for this delay and inconvenience. It’s always upsetting to have to disappoint her fans, band, crew and our promoters, but sometimes unforeseen things just happen.”
The statement addressed her health, noting that “thankfully, Bonnie’s in great hands,” and thanked fans for their well wishes. “We very much appreciate your respecting her request for privacy at this healing time,” it read.
Concertgoers have been told to hold on to their tickets, as they can be used for the rescheduled show date. Additional information will be available through their point of purchase.
See the rescheduled dates and the official statement via Twitter below.
Bonnie has a medical situation that requires surgery to address. The doctors say that in order for her to heal properly, they recommend she not perform for a couple of weeks.(1/7) pic.twitter.com/kxhxB9Bhsl— Bonnie Raitt (@TheBonnieRaitt) April 28, 2023
RESCHEDULED DATES:* Athens, GA – rescheduled date TBD 2024* Louisville, KY – rescheduled for June 30, 2023* Indianapolis, IN – rescheduled for July 1, 2023* Pittsburgh, PA – rescheduled date TBD 2024(6/7)— Bonnie Raitt (@TheBonnieRaitt) April 28, 2023
People unveiled its annual “The Beautiful Issue” on Friday (April 28), with Lizzo, Olivia Rodrigo, Dolly Parton and more making the 2023 list.
While Melissa McCarthy is the issue’s cover star ahead of her starring turn as Ursula in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, Lizzo and Parton are each part of the magazine’s “A Year of Beautiful” feature, along with the likes of P!nk, Rihanna, Jennifer Aniston, Riley Keough, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Elizabeth Banks, Margot Robbie, Michelle Yeoh, Florence Pugh, Ali Wong and more.
Rodrigo, meanwhile, kicks off the yearly “Beauty at Every Age” list. The 20-year-old hitmaker is followed by fellow musicians Halle Bailey (23), Latto (24), Zara Larsson (25), Doja Cat (27), Meghan Trainor (29), JoJo (32), SZA (33), Jhené Aiko (35), Lindsay Lohan (36), Ashley Tisdale (37), Mel B (47), Alanis Morissette (48) and Tanya Tucker (64). Living legends like Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Charo, Bernadette Peters and Gladys Knight go on to populate the upper echelon of the list in their confident and gorgeous 70s.
In another section, Kelsea Ballerini speaks about her divorce from ex-husband Morgan Evans and how the “turmoil” of the split inspired her latest EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. “When I sing ‘Penthouse,’ it’s a guttural moment with every woman in the room relating to some heartbreak,” the country singer says. “It’s a really healing thing.”
Elsewhere, Taylor Swift poses with her cats Benjamin Button, Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey for the “Beauties and Their Beasts” segment, while Demi Lovato, Victoria Beckham, Selena Gomez, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Lopez and more all write letters to their younger selves in a feature called “Cuties to Beauties.”
People‘s “The Beautiful Issue” is out on newsstands now.
In 2015, before Luke Combs had broken through, his manager, Chris Kappy, gave fans a merchandise discount at concerts for showing they paid to subscribe to Spotify or Apple Music. “I was trying to push people into the digital age as quickly as I could,” he says. “And the fastest way I knew I could do it was giving them $1 off a T-shirt.”
Combs was one of the first country superstars who built his career digital-first. Though most of the recorded-music industry has been streaming-focused for over a decade, until recently country music — and its fans — have remained driven by radio play and album sales. Thanks to artists like Combs, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan and others, from 2019 to 2022, country audio streaming jumped 58%, according to Luminate, outpacing the industry’s 48.5% growth and increasing faster than every other genre besides Latin music. In early March, Wallen’s No. 1 album One Thing at a Time racked up 483 million audio streams in its debut week, according to Luminate — the fifth-largest streaming week ever, after albums by Drake, Taylor Swift and 21 Savage. Later that month, Combs’ Gettin’ Old hit 83.5 million streams.
“Finally! Thank God,” says Tim Foisset, senior vp of commercial partnerships for Warner Music Nashville, which represents Bryan. “The A&R’s really good right now, and it appears to be really sticky with a younger audience.”
New stars who are digital natives — and have careers rooted in the digital world — are one key reason for country’s streaming boom. Combs started out on Vine, and Kappy boosted his profile through a Facebook fan group; one of Wallen’s breakthroughs was 2020’s “Heartless,” with EDM star and social media wizard Diplo; Bryan recorded songs on his iPhone and posted them to YouTube. Whereas pop, dance and hip-hop tracks took off at streaming as early as 2011, the country tipping point from physical to digital didn’t start until roughly 2017, shortly before Wallen released his debut, If I Know Me.
“It was the perfect storm of incredible music, the younger demographic that was already gravitating to Morgan at that time and the audience shifting mediums,” says Patch Culbertson, GM and senior vp of Big Loud Records, Wallen’s label. “That rocket exploded, and he carried that audience with him. We’ve seen a massive move onto streaming.”
Another reason for the growth of country streaming is the COVID-19 pandemic, which pulled older fans and digital holdouts away from terrestrial radio and CDs. “Some of the more mature demographics of country weren’t in their cars, they weren’t going to the office, and they used that time to say, ‘OK, I’m going to figure out what streaming is all about,’” says Randy Goodman, CEO of Sony Music Nashville, which represents Combs. “And there are no more boundaries, genrewise. Kids are listening to Kendrick Lamar and to Morgan. It’s a younger demographic we’re appealing to.”
Both Sony’s Goodman and Warner’s Foisset say radio remains “incredibly important,” but add that country hits now often start on streaming, then take off at radio instead of vice versa. In 2019, Goodman explains, “the world began to change,” and country stars followed their pop, hip-hop and EDM counterparts into YouTube, TikTok and Spotify virality long before radio took notice. “From a record-company perspective, we realized we had to make these shifts,” he says.
Wallen has led this transformation: Dangerous: The Double Album racked up 3.6 billion audio streams in 2021, hitting No. 1 in overall consumption that year, outpacing Olivia Rodrigo, Drake and Adele. Last September, tracks by Wallen, Bryan and Combs hit the top 10 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart, the first time at least three non-holiday country songs reached the milestone. That week, 13 of the chart’s 50 songs were country; on the chart dated April 15, Wallen has three tracks, and Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” is No. 14. And there’s more to come: Foisset notes that some of country’s biggest young stars, including Cole Swindell, Bailey Zimmerman and Jelly Roll, are scheduled to release albums in 2023.
Country streaming-music fans are unusually dedicated. According to a new Digital Media Association survey, they spent about 1,270 hours per year listening to music annually, about 1.6 times more than country music fans who do not stream. Which is not surprising to Emily Cohen Belote, principal music curator for Amazon Music. The service has emphasized country for years through Country Heat, including a playlist and an online radio station and hit 13 billion streams in 2021. “We’ve been doing this for a while, and it’s not just a flash in the pan,” she says. “Country music is happening in streaming in a really big way.”
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Dolly Parton has something special in store for Amazon Pet Day. The country legend is teaming with Amazon for the two-day sale event launching next Tuesday (May 2).
Parton and her god-dog, Billy the Kid, will join Amazon Live both days to share their Pet Day favorites with audiences. “We’re gonna celebrate the pets that we all love,” Parton told Billboard during a phone interview this week.
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Prime members will be able to shop “two wonderful days” of sales, which includes 20% off Parton’s pet products line, Doggy Parton.
“We’ve gotten such wonderful responses [from] people,” Parton said of the pet line, consisting of clothes, hats, scarves, toys, leashes, collars and harnesses. Parton plans to expand the pet line to feature clothes for larger dogs and eventually items for cats.
Amazon’s 48-hour sale, which coincides with National Pet Month, will feature deals on treats, toys and supplies, along with home, electronics and personal care products to pamper your beloved pets.
Pet Day kicks off at midnight PT on Tuesday (May 2) and ends at 11:59 p.m. PT on Wednesday (May 3). Pet lovers can save 20% off select Purina pet food and treats, 20% off Blue Buffalo treats, 30% off Furbo dog cameras, 30% off all Frontline Plus Flea and Tick products, and other savings.
And it’s not just products: Save up to 50% on select pet movies and shows on Prime Video during Pet Day too.
Pet Day is open to all Amazon shoppers, but Prime members get fast and free shipping on pet supply orders over $25 (visit Amazon’s Pet Day page to shop early deals).
Parton has had several pets over the years, though she’s currently without a dog of her own. “I lost my last little dog just a few years back and I haven’t had time to pick another one and take it on the road with me. I’ve been so busy, but I love everybody’s animals, and Billy the Kid,” she said of the adorable French bulldog. “We’re together all the time! I got so attached to Billy we thought, ‘Well, we’re just gonna have to make a show out of him!’ So that’s kind of what we’ve done.”
Parton’s manager’s dog, Billy the Kid, inspired her new children’s book, Billy the Kid Makes It Big.
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Billy the Kid Makes It Big is about a dog who dreams of making it big in Nashville. “[Billy] meets up with some other friends with the same kind of dreams and they set out together to win the big contest in Nashville,” Parton explained. “Everybody [said] they couldn’t do it, but they kept on, kept the faith and stood up to bullies.”
In addition to Pet Day, and promoting her books and Duncan Hines cake mixes, Parton is gearing up to take the stage for the 2023 ACM Awards on Prime Video next month. Parton and Garth Brooks are set to host the awards show live from The Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas. Parton will also debut the lead single from her upcoming rock album during the show.
“I’m just looking so forward to working with Garth because he’s just a legend and he is one of the nicest people ever. He and Trisha [Yearwood] are two people I really love and admire,” said Parton, who hosted the show last year.
“I always get a little nervous because you want to do well and hit your marks, and hope everything goes good. The lighting, the sound, you hope your [microphone] works and all that.
“I’m not scared to death,” she joked. “But I’m always scared just enough to do well because it makes me try harder. It’s more like having butterflies until you get started and then you’re off and running.”
The 58th annual ACM Awards will stream live on Prime Video and the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch on May 11 at 8 p.m. ET.
As Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in late 2022, the country music icon promised to make good on the induction by recording her first rock album, titled Rock Star.
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Though Parton has previously said that her list of A-list collaborators on the project (which releases in November) will include Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, there is one rock music icon she couldn’t quite wrangle to be part of the project: The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
“I never got him!” Parton told ET Online, quickly adding, “But I love Mick Jagger no matter what. I’ll still be runnin’ after him all through the years, because I’ve always had a crush on [him].”
Parton added that the album was largely inspired by her husband of more than five decades, Carl Dean. “I did a lot of the songs he loves, because he’s the the rock ‘n’ roller,” Parton said.
Even sans Jagger, music fans will get a first listen to the upcoming rock album when Parton co-hosts the ACM Awards on May 11 alongside Garth Brooks. Parton plans to premiere “World on Fire,” the first single from the album, at the awards show. This year’s Academy of Country Music Awards will stream live on Amazon Prime Video.
Parton is only the second woman, after Brenda Lee, to be inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“I think Brenda Lee has some great songs that would be considered rock,” Parton previously told Billboard. “She was such a crossover artist. I love Brenda, she was a great, great artist. She should be in there. I found out later there’s more people than I knew are in there, and I found out more about what the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame really stood for. … I even have a lot of my rock ‘n’ roll friends and people that are, you know, to the point of being bitter about the fact that they’re not being nominated or in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. So it’s like, ‘If they’re not able to be recognized in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where do they go?’ I was trying to be nice and good about not trying to take something away from somebody that had truly earned it.”
Burly-voiced vocalist and songwriter Nate Smith is swiftly accumulating career milestones. His debut major label single, “Whiskey on You,” spent two weeks atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, becoming the first multi-week No. 1 debut single on the chart since 2019. He’s nominated for new male vocalist of the year at the upcoming ACM Awards and this weekend he’ll make his first appearance at Indio, California’s Stagecoach Festival.
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“This past year has been crazy and a dream come true,” he tells Billboard, seated in an office at the Sony Music Nashville offices, where he shifted to the RCA Nashville imprint after his former Arista Nashville label home folded last month.
But he’s most excited about his self-titled, debut major label album, which comes out Friday (April 28), because he considers it a full-fledged testament to his devotion to writing and finding great songs.
“I want to sing songs that mean something, songs that people can relate to and take hope from,” says Smith, who is managed by The Core Entertainment. “I think of songs I love like Rascal Flatts’ ‘What Hurts the Most,’ and Keith Urban’s ‘Tonight I Wanna Cry.’ Those songs just set the bar.”
Nate Smith offers a hefty mix of heavy-hitter ballads like “I Don’t Miss You” (which Smith calls “the epitome of what I want to hear in a big rock ballad”), uplifting, romantic compositions such as “You Shouldn’t Have To,” and fun fare including “Alright Alright Alright” (inspired by actor Matthew McConaughey’s famous catchphrase in the 1993 movie Dazed and Confused).
“I think my agents have even reached out to [McConaughey’s] team, hoping he will do something with us on it,” Smith says. “It’s a nod to him in a lot of ways—it’s catchy, and people can sing along with it easily.”
As Morgan Wallen continues to top the Billboard charts with back-to-back albums with more than 30 tracks each, Smith’s debut weighs in at 20 tracks. But Smith is already augmenting his album with a deluxe version that also releases on Friday, adding six songs to the mix, because of a last minute addition that he felt passionately about releasing.
“Didn’t you think it would end up just always being singles?” he says, pondering the change in how music is released since the advent of streaming. “And then it moves back to these large albums. I think Morgan [Wallen] pioneered a lot of that.”
Smith wrote 13 of the songs on the 20-track album, and five of the six songs on the deluxe version. One of his co-writes is “Raised Up,” an ode to his small-town roots and growing up, as he sings, “Any time I lose my way, I turned to the way I was raised up.”
“I remember tearing up when we wrote that, because it made me think of home,” Smith says. “Life goes so fast and people get so busy, it’s just a great nod to remembering where you come from.”
But further fueling these songs is Smith’s formidable, rangy and raw vocal power, especially on songs such as the piano-laced “Wreckage” and the HARDY and Taylor Phillips-written “Better Boy.” The latter is among the songs Smith performed when he showcased for country radio professionals during the New Faces Show during March’s Country Radio Seminar. The song offers up an earnest warning to give a relationship a full-hearted effort, and to “never let her think somewhere out there’s a better boy.”
“It’s a miracle that I got that song before anybody else did,” Smith says. “I got the worktape from Taylor. I was listening to it, and it was HARDY singing on it. I felt such a connection to it and they let me cut it.” Growing up in Paradise, Calif., Smith says his interests always slanted toward music rather than sports.
“I went hunting a bit with my dad when I was younger. I tried every sport and I wasn’t good at sports,” Smith says. “I grew up listening to country music, artists like Garth [Brooks] and George Strait, but in junior high and high school, I was more into rock artists like Blink-182.”
At church, he honed his skills by playing worship music on Wednesday nights for his youth group and often favored jam sessions over studying. “In high school, me and my friends would skip school. We knew the secretary in the church and she’d let us sneak in,” he says. “We’d leave school and would be in there jammin’ out. I don’t know how we didn’t get in trouble, but we didn’t.”
Smith moved to Nashville in 2008 and, initially, Smith’s path seemed aligned with contemporary Christian music; he signed a publishing deal with Centricity Music and came close to inking a deal with Word Records. But the soon, the deal fell through, at the time same as Smith was weathering a divorce. The string of obstacles led Smith to return to California in 2011, where he worked as a nursing assistant. But even prior to leaving Nashville, he was already exploring his country roots.
“Before I left Nashville, I made a 10-song album and everyone was like, ‘It sounds kind of country,’” Smith recalls.
In 2018, Smith became one of the 14,000 residences who lost their homes when the Camp Fire raged through Paradise. He poured his pain and perspective into the song “One of These Days,” and was determined to give Nashville another chance. He made a month-long road trip from California to Nashville, playing bars and clubs along the way. Soon after returning to Music City, Smith released the viral track, “Wildfire.” Soon, labels came calling, he signed with Sony Music Nashville and released the radio single “Whiskey on You.”
Another fire-fueled song, “World on Fire,” which Smith wrote with Ashley Gorley, Phillips and Lindsay Rimes in November 2022, led to Smith’s decision to release a deluxe version of his debut album in tandem with the original.
“We weren’t planning on doing a deluxe album at all,” Smith says. “But the demand for ‘World on Fire’ was so high and it was doing so well on socials. We were like, ‘If we add it to the album, it takes away all our pre-saves of the song.’ We could have waited until after the album was done and just dropped it separately, randomly, but opted to include it in a deluxe version. Fans have been asking for this song, so I’m glad to finally release it.”
Later this year, Smith will perform many of his new songs as part of Thomas Rhett’s Home Team Tour 2023, which launches May 4. As much a student of the stage as he is of songs, Smith keeps finding new ways to enhance his live show, and says he paid close attention to when he was previously opening shows for Brett Eldredge.
“It feels like Brett’s never in a rush onstage, in a good way,” Smith says. “His transitions between songs are really powerful, but then when it’s just him and an acoustic, it’s magical. He taught me to realize the importance of moments. Also, he doesn’t rush off the stage — he will thank people and take his time getting offstage. And I do that at every show now, and I completely stole that from Brett.”
Looking ahead, Smith teases an upcoming collaboration with Ashley Cooke, and has his sights set on a Saturday Night Live appearance one day.
“I really want to do it because I love being silly,” Smith says. “I would love to act and be on the show and sing and all that. That would be a dream.”
“Son of a Sinner” hitmaker Jelly Roll is known for a music career that has incorporated modern country, rock and hip-hop elements. But during a recent performance in Huntsville, Ala., as part of an all-star tribute concert to the late George Jones, Jelly Roll proved he can take on a country classic just fine.
During an all-star tribute concert in honor of the 10th anniversary of the death of Country Music Hall of Famer Jones, who died April 26, 2013 at age 81, Jelly Roll offered a cover of Jones’ 1978 classic “Bartender’s Blues.” The track was written by James Taylor, who included it on his 1977 album JT, before Jones recorded it the next year, as the title track of his Bartender’s Blues album (with Taylor offering harmony vocals). Jones’ version became a top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1978. Jones would later re-record the song on his 1994 album The Bradley Barn Sessions, this time in collaboration with Trisha Yearwood.
Joining Jelly Roll on the bill for the Alabama tribute show that evening were artists including Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Chesnutt, Michael Ray, Sam Moore, Tanya Tucker, Tracy Lawrence, Trace Adkins, Tracy Byrd, Travis Tritt, Wynonna Judd, Joe Nichols, Randy Travis and Sara Evans. The concert was also taped to air on PBS later this year.
Jelly Roll recently dominated the CMT Music Awards, held in Austin, Texas earlier this month. Jelly Roll took home male video of the year, breakthrough male video of the year (both for his “Son of a Sinner” video), and the CMT digital-first performance of the year honor, for his performance of “Son of a Sinner” on CMT All Access.
Listen to Jelly Roll’s cover of “Bartender Blues” in the video above.
Old Crow Medicine Show has earned a reputation for top-shelf musicianship and hits including the now-classic “Wagon Wheel,” but the two-time Grammy-winning group is also advocating for gun reforms.
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The group has released the protest song “Louder Than Guns” to all streaming platforms, in partnership with 97Percent, a bipartisan gun-safety organization that is working to create research-backed policies supported by both gun owners and non-gun owners.
Old Crow bandleader and Nashville resident Ketch Secor wrote the song in the aftermath of the March 27 school shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, which took the lives of three children and three school staffers. (The shooter was also killed during the incident.) “This time it was people I know, gunned down in a minute or so/ Only God knows when it’ll stop/ But thoughts and prayers ain’t enough,” Secor sings in the song.
“When the lives of six teachers and students were snuffed out in a couple minutes at Covenant School in Nashville, I knew I had to speak out, and so I sought every opportunity to do so,” Secor said via a statement. “I wrote the song ‘Louder Than Guns’ and recorded it just a week after the funerals for the slain. Before we recorded the track, I carved their names in my fiddle — Hallie, Evelyn, William, the three 9-year-olds, and Mike, Cynthia and Katherine, the three educators. I dedicate this song to them because I swore when the shooting came to Nashville, I was going to work my hardest to make it the last stop on this runaway train of murders, gun violence and terror. I stand up not knowing the answers as to how this will be done. I am a musician, not a politician. But I will use my voice from now on to demand the change our communities deserve. Won’t you join us in Old Crow Medicine Show and take a stand in your community, too?”
Secor, a father of two children and a co-founder of The Episcopal School of Nashville, has been a leading voice for change following the shooting at The Covenant School. He performed at a benefit concert at Belmont University’s The Fisher Center to support those impacted by the Nashville school shooting, as well as at a vigil held in downtown Nashville. He is also joining the board of the 97Percent.
On Wednesday (April 26), 97Percent and Wunderman Thompson launched the Aim For Change campaign, a petition featuring four gun reform laws that 97Percent’s research shows are supported by gun owners.
Of the band’s partnership with 97Percent, Secor said, “We’re proud to partner with 97Percent, an organization focused on pragmatic, impactful solutions that both non-gun owners and gun owners want, because we recognize the huge importance of getting through the gridlock on the issue of gun violence. Parents across America must set the example for politicians; the time is now for the Left and Right to come together at the bargaining table. As 97Percent believes, we’re never going to make progress without engaging gun owners. Old Crow hopes our partnership will be a calling to gun owners and sportsmen. The time to act is now and both sides simply must come together before the next innocent lives are lost.”
Listen to “Louder Than Guns” below:
Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday just got a little longer and a little more star-studded with the addition of a big-name presenters who will help Willie Nelson celebrate his milestone this weekend at the Hollywood Bowl.
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Woody Harrelson, Chelsea Handler, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner, Owen Wilson and Gabriel Iglesias will be presenters at the two-night Los Angeles extravaganza, which boasts more than 45 acts on hand to celebrate the national treasure that is Nelson.
The presenters join a diverse artist lineup for Saturday and Sunday that includes George Strait, Snoop Dogg, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Tom Jones, The Chicks, Chris Stapleton and more who will salute the “On the Road Again” singer, who is also slated to perform.
Also on the bill are Allison Russell, Beck, Billy Strings, Bobby Weir, Booker T. Jones, Buddy Cannon, Charley Crockett, Daniel Lanois, Dwight Yoakam, Edie Brickell, Emmylou Harris, Gary Clark Jr., Jack Johnson, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Leon Bridges, Lily Meola, Lukas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff, Neil Young, Orville Peck, Particle Kid, Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, Shooter Jennings, Stephen Stills, Sturgill Simpson, The Avett Brothers, The Lumineers, Tyler Childers, Warren Haynes, Waylon Payne and Ziggy Marley. Kacey Musgraves, who had originally been scheduled to perform, can no longer appear.
Each evening is expected to last at least four hours with the two nights’ experiences varying from each other.
At 90, Nelson continues to be a musical force. He was nominated for four Grammys earlier this year and a multi-part documentary on Nelson, titled Willie Nelson & Family, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. On March 3, he released his latest album, I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, which highlighted songs written by Harlan Howard, on Sony’s Legacy Recordings.
Produced by Blackbird Presents, Live Nation and Hewitt Silva, the Hollywood Bowl event’s executive producers are Mark Rothbaum, Keith Wortman, Bill Silva, Brian Smith and Creative Artists Agency.