Country
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When two of the most singular voices in music history first came together 15 years ago, it’s not surprising that alchemized harmonies and pure, uncut vibe came as a result. Upon melding their vocals on the 2007 collaborative album Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss translated traditional Americana into mainstream consciousness by force of personality, expanding on Krauss’ extensive repertoire within the genre and furthering the work in the sound for Plant, whose own predilection for Americana had been a benchmark of popular music since he first lamented, “I can’t quit you baby,” 53 years ago on Led Zeppelin‘s cover of Willie Dixon’s Delta blues scorcher.
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But in a testament to Krauss and Plant’s respective popularity, as well as the delicate yet tantalizing sound they’d created, Raising Sand transcended well beyond fans of folk, bluegrass and blues, becoming a sort of blazing anomoly across popular music at large. The LP hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 (where it spent 72 weeks), secured the pair a headlining spot at Bonnaroo, and earned them the 2009 Grammy for album of the year. “In the old days, we would have called this selling out,” Plant said in his acceptance speech, “but it’s a good way to spend a Sunday.”
Then the project went dark, disappearing in a puff of smoke as quickly as it had arrived, as Krauss returned to her longtime band Union Station and Plant worked in the studio and on the road as a solo act and with his own outfits, Band Of Joy and Sensational Shapeshifters. But just like the many listeners who considered Raising Sand a new classic, Krauss and Planet were aware the project was special, with considerations of a reunion occupying their minds during the long hiatus.
“I really wanted to get back to it. I love it,” Plant, 74, tells Billboard, calling from the United Kingdom, where he can be heard puttering around his house during what is there late afternoon.
“Harmony singing is my favorite thing to do,” Krauss, 51, dialing in from mid-morning Nashville, adds of what she and Plant do so especially well together.
So get back to it they did, with the stars realigning last year year for Raise The Roof, another collection of covers by acts as disparate as Calexico, Allen Toussaint and The Everly Brothers, all rendered in a twangy, incandescent style built around the union of Krauss and Plant’s voices. The album — which, like its predecessor, was produced by T Bone Burnett — debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums, Americana/Folk Albums and Bluegrass Albums charts, and at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. This past summer, an attendant tour included a main stage show at Glastonbury and a performance in London’s Hyde Park (“Basically we were just passing time until the Eagles came on stage,” Plant says of that opening gig), along with three dozen other dates in the U.S. and Europe.
And now, as a surprise to precisely no one, Raise The Roof has garnered some Grammy nominations — three total, for best country duo/group performance (for “Going Where The Lonely Go”), best American roots song (for “High And Lonesome”) and best Americana album. The nods add to Krauss’ mythology as the second-most-awarded woman in Grammys history (after Beyoncé) with 27 wins and 45 nominations. Meanwhile, Plant has eight wins and 18 nominations, the first of which came in 1969 when Zeppelin was up for best new artist. (They lost to Crosby, Stills and Nash.)
“The very fact that it’s has been recognized that we’ve had a good time,” Plant says of this latest round of nominations, “is more than I could imagine.”
Plant: Hello. Good afternoon.
Krauss : Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
Plant: Hello Alison! How are ya?
Krauss: Hey, I’m fine! How are you doing?
Plant: Okay, I think we may actually be getting into a place now here on the Welsh borders where it’s starting to get chilly. We had the longest, longest, longest beginning of an autumn, but it’s beautiful. The weather’s good. Things are good. I’m looking forward to going to have a look at this little puppy dog next week, and I’m actually living a normal life, finally.
Krauss: Wow.
Plant: I hate it.
I’m curious about this puppy!
Plant: Well, you know, when I was a kid, my mom was allergic to dog hair and stuff. We never had a fluffy pet or anything like that. So over the last so many years, I’ve always prized these beautiful running dogs. They’re a combination of Greyhound and a terrier.
And the traveling folk, the gypsies and the travelers — you always see them with them; they’re just really beautiful — they’re this kind of dog you see on all those medieval paintings and stuff. There’s always somebody standing behind the blinds with a beautiful animal.
I lost my best dog after 14 years about two or three months ago, and I said I would never have another dog, but life without a dog is difficult for me. But it’s got nothing to do with “Stairway To Heaven,” thank god!
I mean, if you don’t see a connection, there isn’t one.
Plant: No, there isn’t one there. I just had to stop talking about dogs.
Okay, let’s talk about your album then. November 19 marked the year anniversary of the release of Raise The Roof. I’m curious if your relationship to the music changed in any way over the last year, particularly as you’ve been touring it.
Plant: I think that Alison and I became — I mean, we’re partners in every sense, professionally. And we’ve shared every single element and every single part of the creation of the record from the get-go, from the song selections to creating the atmosphere, and we take it into the studio together; we use it when we’re coming up with artwork. I think we’ve just grown a lot tighter and a lot closer, and we share a lot of lighthearted humor, but at the same time I think we’re pretty, professional about how good we want it to be. Would you say so, Alison?
Krauss: I don’t think that there’s a different relationship to it. I mean, you’re always looking for things that speak to you in a truthful way, whether you’re telling someone else’s story, or you’re relaying a message or telling your own story. I don’t think that that’s changed. The fun thing was to pick this up again — like, to have something be so fun and be a total surprise, then get to come back and and get to do it again. To me, when we went back in the studio together, it was like no time had gone by, especially with T Bone. It was a lot of fun. We had some new faces in there, but the energy was very generous, which it always was. So I don’t know if there’s a different relationship to it, just happy to revisit.
Plant: We had no idea how it was going to pan out, and going back together after such a long time was, well — there was a lot riding on it. Were we still able and amenable to exchanging ideas? With material and song choices, a lot runs on how we can perform within these old songs. So yeah, it was interesting to get the ball rolling again and to blow away the cobwebs. But as I said, in that kind of oblique answer, we grew closer, if you like. We were able to take the actual songs and embellish them and develop them for a live show, which made them, I think, quite tantalizing, and there was another energy to them as well.
I saw you guys in Chicago this past June, and it seemed like the vibe onstage was often mellow, and sometimes almost contemplative. What does it feel like to perform these songs live? What mood are you in?
Plant: Well, contemplative, I don’t think so — I think it’s just the nature of the song. You weave in and out of the original form of the music as you heard it, even before you recorded it. The songs have a personality. I just think that we’re very adaptable — we just go into character and we just sing the best that we can within those character settings.
Krauss: I also think this wouldn’t be appealing to us if it wasn’t natural. So I don’t feel like there’s any headspace we have to get into. It just kind of fell into place. It was a natural friendship, and it just translated — we both have a love of history and traditional music, and all the people in the band are the same kind of historians. So it was a natural thing. It didn’t feel like we had to pump ourselves up for it, if that makes sense.
Plant: No, exactly. And I think there’s a kind of melding, a kind of a great coming together on stage, especially with the way the musicians have developed the songs with us. It’s quite a liberation. We’ve been through quite a bit in the last 12 months, with working through the United States and then into Europe. We became real rolling musicians. It was something to behold, because the group personality got more and more, I suppose, charming. And also there was sort of a little bit of a warrior feel, going from country to country to country, through Scandinavia and down into Western Europe and across even into Poland. I do believe we grew more and more into the gig.
Were you able to do things at the end of the tour that weren’t happening in the beginning?
Plant: Sure, yeah. You find a groove that works, and it’s genuine.
How do you maintain the stamina required for such a massive and far-flung tour?
Plant: I think it’s just the will, isn’t it? To want to do it.
Krauss: It helps to be fun!
Plant: Yeah. We do laugh a lot. I mean, it’s not a competitive thing. It’s just such a magnificent and unexpected surprise, to be able to be from such different worlds initially and find that we have our own world. We’ve got our own place.
I read a relatively recent article that described you two as an “odd couple,” and didn’t feel like that description was entirely accurate. How do you feel like you two fit together at this point, after this long collaboration?
Plant: I just think that we’re really, really firm friends. And we confer and listen to each other when we have options. It’s really good, because we don’t tangle. Obviously life off the road is — we’re so far away from each other that these moments of hanging out or telephone conversations, or we’ll be coming back to Nashville in April — all those sort of things is all stuff to look forward to. So we’re never around each other long enough to get tired of anything. It’s just a growing condition, really.
Krauss: Yeah, I mean, it’s a really nice cast of characters in that band, and we enjoy them, and it’s a pleasure. We were happy to get to do it and happy to be going back. It’s something we talked about putting back together for years. It was a really nice idea, and sometimes those things are just a nice idea, but this one [did some back together]. I just feel really grateful. It was a surprise, from start to finish.
Why was last year the right time to come back to the project, after releasing your first album together in 2007?
Plant: I’m not in control of my own time, I just find the momentum in a project and go with it. There’s only a particular lifespan from record to record. In the old days, that was how it worked — if you’re really buying into this as a life, which we are — then as it used to be that there was a cycle of events where you would write or create a record, and you’d follow it through with the usual rigmarole of touring and stuff like that. It always used to be something like a three-and-a-half or four-year thing, from start to finish.
So when we left Raising Sand and said a tearful farewell, we went on to do other projects. And if I’d finish something and I was really looking forward to doing something fresh, maybe Alison was in the middle of one of her projects, and that’s how it was. It was no negotiation except for with the calendar and with time. I also had been on the road a lot with with my friends Sensational Spaceshifters, and this [project with Alison] was just promising to be — offering to be — a totally different experience, or a different feel. I really wanted to get back to it. I love it.
And every night when we sing, two or three of the songs where Alison takes the lead, I always find it such an adventure to join and contribute to her personality as a lead singer. I love that. I didn’t have that for several years. So once the opportunity arose, and we were both free and ready — and free to fail actually, I think would be the term — it’s quite tenuous really to go back in after such a long time, but it worked. These are different days as far as the music biz is concerned, but they’re not different days for us. We’ve got it down, and we know what we’re doing, and we like it.
Krauss: Harmony singing is my favorite thing to do. And he is a…
Plant: Steady. Be careful.
Krauss: [laughs] He always changes in those tunes, night to night, and it keeps me on my toes. I was listening to a show we did in Red Rocks, and the differences and changes in the tunes night to night — the show sounds so good, Robert. It’s just fun, because they really evolve, and it’s a much different environment than what I grew up doing, which is very regimented harmony singing where the whole gig is perfecting it. Like, you don’t go to prom because you’re working on your harmony. This is just a totally different animal, and I just love the way the tunes have changed, even throughout this past summer.
Plant: And all I did was go to prom. I still am! Life could be a dream sh-boom! That’s what happened to me. When I used to open the show for people, you know, stars in the early and mid-60s, I used to go, “Wow, this is so exotic. It’s just amazing.” When those big old stage lights came on in the proscenium arch theater, my whole heart leapt. I couldn’t wait to get to the next place to see somebody else do the same thing. And so I didn’t study anything, except for trying to be as good as Terry Reid, or Steve Marriott, or Steve Winwood, or so many people who are extraordinary singers.
Krauss: One big prom! [laughs]
Plant: But I think that’s part of the really big thing about you and I, Alison, is that we’ve leapt into each other, and it’s given me a great departure from finding myself typecast and in being challenged, which, despite its changes from time to time within the shows, just makes for a really good ride, I think.
Krauss: It’s never dull. [laughs]
Plant: I could be sort of far too serious about myself and sit in my dressing room with a star on the door, but that’s not why I do this. I do this because I only work with people who’ve got a big heart, and this is it. So it’s never dull. But if it’s dull, I’m not sticking around anyway.
You both have many previous Grammy wins and nominations. Do these awards matter to you? Does getting nominated enhance the project itself or make it more meaningful in any way?
Plant: I’ll leave that to you, Alison.
Krauss: I just think it’s always unexpected. You don’t figure it’s going to happen, that you get nominated. Like I always say, every record you make is like the only one you’re going to.
Plant: Yeah.
Krauss: And so it’s really nice to get that acknowledgement that people have heard it and like it. It’s always a relief.
Plant: And also the idea of us being considered to be a country duet is fascinating. The thing is, a nomination is a nomination — the very fact that it’s been recognized that we’ve had a good time is more than I could imagine. I didn’t get many Grammys… so to be nominated as a country duet is out of my normal radar. It’s great. I love it, and I also know that we did a pretty good job. I learned a lot, and continue to learn, which is what I want to do. I do think that’s pretty cool.
In 2009, Raising Sand won the Grammy for album of the year. Nominated in that category this year are artists like Lizzo, Beyoncé, Coldplay. Do you feel connected to those kinds of acts, or are you more at home in the country category? What’s your relationship to mainstream pop stars?
Plant: Not a lot. [laughs] It’s different worlds, isn’t it? That’s all it is. It’s just like, do you like this, or do you only appreciate stuff that come out of the Mississippi Delta or New Orleans? We’re all musicians; we all do what we do. You have to appreciate everything from where it stands in its own world.
Is there any chance of a third album from you two?
Plant: I can’t see any reason why not. I suppose if we wait another 14 years it could be a bit dicey for me, to be honest. I might find it a little bit difficult hitting a top C. But we can say it really works well, and we enjoy each other and that’s a great thing — so it seems like a great idea.
Jessica Chastain says a scene was altered in George & Tammy with the help of co-star Michael Shannon to give country icon Tammy Wynette more agency in the Showtime limited series.
In the first episode of the series, based on Wynette’s personal and professional relationship with fellow musician George Jones, the duo is confronted with their future while Wynette is still married to her soon-to-be ex-husband Don Chapel.
In an interview with Marie Claire, the actress and producer on the Golden Globe-nominated show shared that, in an early outline of the scene, Jones gets Wynette alone by distracting Don with an escort. For Chastain, the sequence around this moment was upsetting.
“I read it, and I was deeply disturbed,” Chastain recalled. “[Tammy] was just kind of sitting there. People were creating stuff so she could be caught rather than her making decisions.”
Giving the country music icon and voice behind hit “Stand By Your Man” agency in her narrative was incredibly important to Chastain. “The song isn’t about being a doormat,” she said of Wynette’s famed single. “And the reality is Tammy Wynette was married five times.”
Ultimately, the subplot was nixed and during filming, Shannon would make a tweak of his own, changing a line that implied George didn’t acknowledge Wynette’s agency in their physical relationship into one that underscored it.
“[Michael] changed the line from, ‘Yes, I’m going to f— her’ — excuse the language — to ‘I sure would like to,’” Chastain remembered. “The second he said, ‘I sure would like to,’ it was like, ‘Oh, yes, this is happening.’ Because he sees her as someone who gets to make the decision. And that’s working with an actor who’s very aware he doesn’t own me.”
Shannon, who worked with Chastain on 2011’s Take Shelter and celebrated their shared collaborator Guillermo del Toro during his recent MoMA career tribute, said the line switch was a byproduct of them being “so in tune with one another.”
“The notion of sitting in front of another man and looking at a woman and proclaiming that you’re going to f— her seems a little neanderthal to me,” he said. “I mean, if I was the woman in question, I wouldn’t enjoy that so much.”
The scene is ultimately just one way Chastain saw to not just assert Wynette’s choices and humanity in the limited series about her life and relationship — “she made decisions in her life,” the actress noted — but ensuring she was equally respected within the storytelling.
“To be a producer, and to have a production company, means you get to police that in the writing,” she said. “You get to say, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. We need to honor women as human beings. And they make their own choices — just like men do.’”
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
Zach Bryan’s distinct brand of red-dirt poetry and vivid, rich songcraft — as well as his earnest, no-frills delivery — has made him one of the hottest music newcomers of the year.
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Though Bryan first caught some listeners’ attention with his self-released 2019 album DeAnn (named after his mother, who died in 2016), this Oklahoma native and Navy veteran has seen his career surge in 2022 through streaming and live performances.
This year, his RIAA platinum-certified hit “Something in the Orange” rose to No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Rock and Alternative Songs and Hot Country Songs chart and is climbing the Country Airplay chart. In his nascent career, Bryan has already earned 2.45 billion on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate.
In 2022, he inked a deal with Warner Records (through his own Belting Bronco label), and released a double-punch of projects, with the massive, 34-track album American Heartbreak and then the EP Summertime Blues. He also headlined the American Heartbreak tour, and is already slated to headline several festivals in 2023 — including Kentucky’s Railbird Festival, Wisconsin’s Summerfest, and Chicago’s Windy City Smokeout.
Below, Billboard looks at five ways Zach Bryan’s career soared in 2022.
A Victory Lap on the Top Country Albums Chart
In June, Bryan’s American Heartbreak debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums and at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart—without the benefit of massive radio airplay (though his breakthrough single “Something in the Orange” has since been serviced to country radio, and currently ranks at No. 33 on Country Airplay after spending nine weeks atop Country Streaming Songs. In October, “Something in the Orange” was certified platinum by the RIAA, followed by “Heading South” reaching platinum status in November.
American Heartbreak lands at No. 8 on Billboard’s Year-End Top Country Albums chart, alongside sets from Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs, while currently holding at No. 2 on the weekly chart, just behind Wallen’s dominant Dangerous: The Double Album.
Key Performances at Stagecoach and Red Rocks
In May, Bryan performed at California’s Stagecoach Festival, with a show on the secondary Palomino stage. Fans flocked to the performance, singing every word and filling the venue with an electric energy and artist-fan connection more than worthy of a mainstage performance.
A few months later, Bryan had a snowy (and fiery) performance at Red Rocks Amphitheater on Nov. 3, when diehard fans faced frigid temps at the famed outdoor Colorado venue to see Bryan’s final show on his American Heartbreak tour — making songs such as Bryan’s “November Air” all the more poignant.
Dominating Billboard’s Top Country Songwriters Chart
Bryan spent 25 weeks at the pinnacle of the Country Songwriters chart, a testament to his work as the sole writer on “Something in the Orange,” as well as heavy streamers “Heading South” and “Burn, Burn, Burn.”
That trajectory helped place Bryan’s own Zach Lane Bryan Publishing Designee at No. 8 on Billboard’s Year-End Hot Country Songs Publishers, not far behind powerhouses including Warner-Tamerlane, Sony Tree Publishing, Big Loud Mountain and Songs of Universal. Bryan also lands at No. 2 on the Year-End Hot Country Songwriters chart, behind songwriting kingpin Ashley Gorley.
“Songwriting is such a massive part of this,” Bryan told the New York Times earlier this year. “If you’re missing out on it, what the hell are you doing? You’re just performing. You’re an actor.”
His First Grammy Nomination
Bryan found himself among country heavyweights in November when he received his first Grammy nomination. At the Feb. 5 ceremony, “Something in the Orange” will vie for best country solo performance with tunes by Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert and Willie Nelson.
After learning of his nod from the Recording Academy, Bryan shared with his followers on social media, “thank you for the Grammy nomination. I’m truly thankful and didn’t deserve a sold-out tour or to be successful at all.”
The Grammy nod followed a controversial moment earlier this year, when Bryan was not among those nominated for this year’s CMA Awards, prompting Bryan to later comment that he “will never want to be considered at the CMAs.” He later clarified his comments, saying, “To be clear, I’m not trying to insult the validity of a CMA, I respect any artist who receives one and the existence of them; I’m just saying on a personal level it is not one of my priorities to have awards on a shelf in my home. There’s room for more important things there.”
A Strong Year-End Finish
Bryan ends 2022 on a career high note, landing on multiple genres’ year-end charts. He ranks at No. 2 on Billboard’s all-genre Year-End Top New Artists chart. He also tops the Top New Country Artists and Top New Rock & Alternative Artists charts.
He also lands at No. 5 on Billboard’s 2022 Top Country Artists chart, behind more established hitmakers Wallen, Combs, Walker Hayes and Stapleton. Three of Bryan’s songs — “Something in the Orange,” “Oklahoma Smoke Show,” and “From Austin” — land on the Year-End Hot Country Songs rankings, while Bryan himself ends up at No. 3 on the Year-End Top Rock & Alternative Songs Artists chart.
His multi-genre success is a testament to the range of music he admires. He told The New York Times that he listens to artists ranging from Turnpike Troubadours to Radiohead and Gregory Alan Isakov, and that his fans should understand that he can’t be pigeonholed: “I want to be in that Springsteen, Kings of Leon, Ed Sheeran-at-the-very-beginning space.”
For King & Country, the sibling duo of Luke and Joel Smallbone, achieves its 20th top 10 on Billboard‘s Christian Airplay chart (dated Dec. 17). In the week ending Dec. 11, the pair’s rendition of “Joy to the World” rises 11-7, up 13% to 1.7 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
Of For King & Country’s 20 Christian Airplay top 10s, 11 have hit No. 1. The act earned its first top 10 in its first appearance, as “Busted Heart (Hold On to Me)” hit No. 3 in 2012, and first led with “Fix My Eyes” in 2014. The act reigned most recently with “For God Is With Us” for three weeks in July.
Concurrently, the twosome’s current non-holiday single “Love Me Like I Am,” with Jordin Sparks, holds at its No. 6 Christian Airplay high (1.7 million). The song became Sparks’ second entry and first top 10.
For King & Country ties Big Daddy Weave for the seventh-most Christian Airplay top 10s, and the third-most among duos or groups. Chris Tomlin leads all acts with 31, followed by Casting Crowns, MercyMe (29 each), Jeremy Camp, tobyMac (26 each) and Matthew West (24).
For King & Country also claims its first top 10 on Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary airplay survey as “Do You Hear What I Hear?” climbs 13-10 (up 47% in plays). The act previously peaked at a No. 13 AC best, among eight entries, with “Amen” in August 2021.
‘Call’ Gets Patched Into No. 1
Jor’dan Armstrong and Erica Campbell’s “Call” rises to No. 1 on Gospel Airplay, up 6% in plays. Co-written by Armstrong, the song becomes his second leader, following “My God,” which ruled for two frames beginning in December 2021.
Campbell – who is half of duo Mary Mary with sister Trecina – also adds her second Gospel Airplay No. 1 as a soloist, after “Positive” for three weeks in August.
Mary Mary boasts three Gospel Airplay No. 1s, among nine top 10s. Its initial entry, “Heaven,” dominated for 15 frames beginning in June 2005. The pair led again with “God in Me,” featuring Kierra “Kiki” Sheard (seven weeks, beginning in June 2009), and as featured, with Le’Andria Johnson, on PJ Morton’s “All in His Plan” (one week, September 2020).
Larry Strickland, the husband of late country music singer-songwriter Naomi Judd, is speaking out about The Judds member’s lengthy battle with depression and anxiety.
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Judd was 76 when she died by suicide on April 30, 2022, just one day prior to The Judds‘ induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and shortly before Naomi was to embark on The Judds Final Tour with her daughter and duo partner Wynonna Judd.
In a new interview with People, Strickland described her final months as “a very chaotic, hectic, hectic time.”
“It was extremely hard,” he revealed. “She had several therapists that she was seeing, and her energy level had gotten really low. She was getting really weak.”
He added, “Nobody can understand it unless you’ve been there. Think of your very worst day of your whole life — someone passed away, you lost your job, you found out you were being betrayed, that your child had a rare disease — you can take all of those at once and put them together and that’s what depression feels like.”
Strickland and Judd married 33 years ago, on May 6, 1989, and he says especially over the past 13-plus years, he rarely left her side, to ensure she was taken care of.
“I never left the house without Naomi knowing where I was going and when I would be back,” he said. “As far as taking care of myself, I’m not sure that fits my situation. When you have a mate that has a mental illness, you walk that path with them.”
Even so, Strickland said he was unaware of just how much his wife was struggling in the months leading up to her passing, and pondered if there were things he could have handled differently.
“I just feel like I might have overdone it,” Strickland remarked. “I was trying to get her to eat. I was trying to get her to exercise. I handled her medications and had to make sure she had what she needed. I was trying every way I could.
“If I had known where she was, I would’ve been much softer on her,” he added. “I would’ve been gentler and more understanding instead of tired and exhausted because it was wearing me out, too…I look back and just wish I had been holding her and comforting her instead of pushing her. I don’t know if that would’ve helped, but it certainly wouldn’t have hurt.”
Following his wife’s death, Strickland has begun speaking out to raise awareness about caring for mental health, including his recent contribution to the Academy of Country Music’s Lifting Lives series The Check-In. In the episode, he spoke about how he manages stress, offered advice for those struggling with mental health, and what he is grateful for.
“I was consumed by what happened, and I want to do anything I can to help relieve any kind of hurting or suffering for others,” he explained. “I’m willing to do whatever I can to hopefully help anyone not go through what our family has.”
The original short-form digital series ACM Lifting Lives Presents The Check-in launched in May and over the past seven months, has featured artists including Jimmie Allen, Brett Eldredge and John Osborne.
Watch Strickland’s episode of The Check-in below:
Kane Brown and Blake Shelton turned in an intense duet, complete with fire and pyrotechnics, when they performed the live debut of their collaboration “Different Man” on the season finale of NBC’s The Voice on Tuesday evening (Dec. 13).
“Different Man,” which serves as the title track to Brown’s 2022 album, features lyrics all too relatable for anyone pursuing a career in music: “What if I was made for the stage/ What if I was made for the lights/ What if I was chosen to write the stories, wasn’t built to work the line.”
“I was driving to the gym — that’s where I really have time to think and listen,” Brown previously told Billboard of bringing Shelton in on the track. “I wanted one more feature on the album, and Blake was the first person I thought of. The song just reminded me of the ‘God’s Country’ kind of Blake Shelton, so I felt like it made sense.”
Shelton has served as a coach on The Voice since its launch in 2011, and previously brought in Brown as an advisor for Team Blake in 2020. Brown has frequently included a cover of Shelton’s “Ol’ Red” in his concerts. Brown previously said that serving as an advisor on Team Blake was a full-circle moment for him.
“I always wanted to go on The Voice and try out for Blake,” Brown previously told Parade. “I think I said that on the show. I always wanted to go and sing ‘Ol’ Red’ in front of Blake and see if I could get him to turn around. And then, it was just a full circle moment getting to come and be his advisor.”
The season 22 finale of The Voice also featured performances from OneRepublic, Breland, Maluma and Adam Lambert. Meanwhile, Team Blake earned a ninth victory with this season’s win, as country singer and Team Blake member Bryce Leatherwood emerged as the competition’s victor.
Shelton recently announced he will step away from The Voice after next season.
Watch Shelton and Brown’s performance above.
Universal Music Group Nashville has signed actor-musician Luke Grimes, in association with Range Music. Grimes is known for his role portraying Kayce Dutton on the hit Paramount Network series Yellowstone.
Grimes previously released a snippet of his new song “No Horse to Ride,” which will release Friday (Dec. 16). He wrote the song with Tony Lane and Jonathan Singleton and is currently working on his debut major-label album with producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton).
“As an actor, Luke Grimes has effortlessly brought the cowboy lifestyle to the forefront of American culture,” said UMGN president Cindy Mabe via a statement. “As a country music artist, Luke has tapped into that same honesty and authenticity to capture a raw grit and pure depth of artistry that will expand the sound and reach of country music. We are so excited and proud to welcome Luke Grimes to Universal Music Group Nashville.”
“Luke is a special spirit who puts honesty above all else in his art,” added Range Music managing partner Matt Graham. “We at Range are excited to partner with Brian, Cindy and the rest of the UMG team to help him fulfill his dreams of sharing his songs with country music fans.”
Prior to his role on Yellowstone, Grimes appeared in movies including American Sniper and The Magnificent Seven. The Ohio native also grew up playing music in church, picking up drums, guitar and piano. Prior to becoming an actor, Grimes was a drummer and songwriter for a country band in Los Angeles.
Universal Music Group Nashville’s roster includes Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson, The War and Treaty, Chris Stapleton and Darius Rucker, among others.
Given that Brad Rempel’s hometown of La Crete, Alberta, is closer to the North Pole than any other country artist’s, High Valley is perhaps better qualified than any other act in the format to cut Christmas songs.
Although, truth be told, Rempel is hard-pressed to get overly sentimental about the holiday. He’s not a Scrooge about it, but he’s often underwhelmed by the music.
“It’s always kind of a joke among my friends that, ‘Well, you live up there near Santa Claus. You should love Christmas stuff,’ ” he says. “There’s nowhere on Earth that feels more like Christmas than northern Canada. You can literally skate on frozen ponds and ride snowmobiles, you know, watch the snow falling down. I mean, everything about it is kind of your stereotypical Hallmark Christmas movie kind of vibes.”
Rempel’s resistance to holiday tracks may have played a role in making High Valley’s new seasonal release, “Back Home Christmas,” an engaging, and pandemically appropriate, piece for 2022. When he showed up at Full Circle Studio — the workplace of songwriter-producer Seth Mosley (for King & Country, Michael W. Smith) — on May 23, the assignment was to craft new yuletide material with Jon Nite (“Pick Me Up,” “You Didn’t”) and Zach Kale (“I Hope,” “The Good Ones”). And Rempel admitted up front that they would have to clear a rather high bar.
“I was like, ‘Hey, full disclosure, guys: I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music,’ ” recalls Rempel with a laugh. “Jon and Zach were like, ‘OK,’ and then they pretend-like packed up their guitars and walked out of the room. And I was like, ‘But I love a great Christmas song. I just want to make sure this feels like a legitimate High Valley song and not just your token “Here Comes Santa Claus” type of deal.’ ”
As it turns out, Rempel was feeling disconnected from his roots as he considered Christmas. La Crete isn’t easy to reach (flying from Nashville to Edmonton takes seven to 11 hours, and then it’s a four-plus-hour drive north from there), and under COVID-19 circumstances, he hadn’t been home since 2019. He felt a need to return for this year’s holidays, and Mosley suggested they get in the spirit by writing something in 6/8 time.
“For me, 6/8 just always feels like Christmas,” Mosley explains. “It automatically just puts you in a more nostalgic head frame.”
Indeed, the holiday songs written in waltz-time signatures 6/8 and 3/4 — “Silver Bells,” “The First Noel,” “We Three Kings” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” just to name a few — have a classic feel about them. Mosley developed a chord progression for that format, called up plug-in sounds of sleigh bells and church bells, and turned the lights down to mimic the feel of a Tennessee Christmas. And they found a musical style with an old-world vibe.
“I remember playing some Celtic-y stuff, kind of an Irish singalong — almost like a reverent drinking song or like a hymn,” says Nite. “That helped change the direction of the sound.”
Rempel’s desire to get back to Canada for the holiday resonated throughout the room as they began to craft a story.
“I wanted to feel that feeling of going back home when you’re just out of high school and you go to college, and you go back that first or second time,” Nite says. “There’s something magical about when you’re 18 or 20 years old, you’re coming back for the first time after leaving town. It’s so amazing to come back home and be like, ‘OK, this is a safe place that made me who I am. These people love me no matter what.’ ”
Even though the song was about returning somewhere, it took some work to nail down a hook that would serve as the song’s destination. “At one point, we were like, ‘I’ll be back on Christmas,’ ” remembers Kale. “ ‘Back Home Christmas’ seems to land that hook a lot better and makes you feel something — just the word ‘home.’ We started writing toward that.”
The first lines of the chorus — “I miss those O holy silent nights/Popcorn-on-pine-tree traditions” — knitted the titles of two classic carols together, setting up an occasional theme: phrases from “Joy to the World,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” and “Away in a Manger” all find their way into the lyric, though they’re dropped in as casual conversation rather than obvious puns.
They avoided Santa Claus entirely, and the only mention of gifts wasn’t about what might be under the tree; it was a simple recognition that the one gift Mama wanted was for her son to be home. Appropriately, the bridge ramped up to a highly rhythmic fever, celebrating a sacred Christmas Eve church ceremony while capturing the sense of arrival.
“If you’re on that journey, on the way back home, the last mile and a half or two miles, it’s the excitement of seeing the people that you love,” Kale says. “I think that energy, we unknowingly put into the bridge.”
Mosley layered instruments onto the demo that day, and a fair amount of those sounds remained on “Back Home Christmas” all the way through to its release. “He is some kind of savant,” says Rempel. “It’s insane.”
Meanwhile, High Valley guitarist Raymond Klassen whipped up a scenic sonic side trip with an effective Dobro solo. Additionally, a group of around seven musicians gathered in Santa hats to sing an anthemic, Coldplay-like signature theme, stacked over a unison mandolin and electric guitar, creating an easy singalong for listeners who share the “Back Home” spirit.
Mosley brought the whole thing to a close with a church bell effect that brightened the ending but also leaves the listener with a complex cluster of notes. “Any time there’s a tubular bell, it’s always really hard to make them be perfectly in tune because a tubular bell has like five harmonic notes to it,” he explains. “I actually use it a lot in production, but you have to use them in the right spot. It’s one of those things where you can’t really tune it. Otherwise, it sounds fake.”
“Back Home Christmas” sounds quite authentic; it’s a fairly universal topic, and Rempel’s desire to get back to Canada is real, allowing the song to pass even his holiday-music skepticism. He released it to terrestrial radio through his Cage Free label and Sony Music Canada on Nov. 11 via PlayMPE. And yes, after three years away, Rempel and his family will be back in La Crete for Christmas.
“I was able to book flights for my family just a few weeks ago, and I was able to call my mom and let her know that,” Rempel says. “That’s definitely, definitely special.”
When Shane Profitt received the potentially career-elevating opportunity to have his first co-writing session with “Done” hitmaker Chris Janson last year, there was one person standing in Profitt’s way — his boss.
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Profitt’s day job at the time was bush hogging grass in the road medians for the City of Columbia, an hour outside of Nashville.
“All your buddies would be driving by, honking at you. It’s like, ‘Man, this sucks,’” Profitt tells Billboard. “But it did give me time to come up with song ideas.”
Profitt had met Janson and his family by chance a few weeks earlier at a Nashville sushi restaurant. Janson and Profitt ended up talking about music for over an hour that evening, and exchanged numbers. Janson later called Profitt early on a Wednesday morning to see if they could write together later that day.
Profitt recalls, “He said, “I know you’re a real outdoorsman, like I am. I have this song idea called ‘The Reel Bass Pro,’ and I want you to be a writer on it. Can you get off work today?’ I called my boss, and he said, ‘No way’.”
So Profitt devised a plan.
“I didn’t want to have to call one of my musical heroes back and tell him I couldn’t write a song with him, so I asked if we could write over FaceTime, and we wrote it over FaceTime on my lunch break,” Profitt says. That song, “The Reel Bass Pro,” ended up on Janson’s 2022 album All In, as did a subsequent co-write, “My American World.”
Profitt quit his day job last November and has since inked a co-label deal with BMLG Records and Janson’s Harpeth 60 Records, signed a co-publishing deal with Anthem Entertainment and Janson’s Old Tom Music Publishing, played the Grand Ole Opry, and opened tour dates for Janson. But Profitt’s blue-collar roots remain clearly evident on his debut EP Maury County Line, including his current top 30 Billboard Country Airplay song “How It Oughta Be.”
Billboard caught up with Profitt to discuss his rapid journey from cutting grass to cutting hit songs.
In a year, you’ve gone from working a day job to signing publishing and label deals, touring with Chris Janson and having a song rising on country radio.
It’s been crazy. When I quit my old job, at the time I had only ever been to four states. Now, a year later with the Chris tour and radio tours and everything, I’m up to 44 states.
You are just getting your big break, but you’ve played music since you were a kid.
I played banjo a bit when I was about eight years old, and later dobro. My parents were part of a bluegrass band. I picked up guitar when I was 18; my granddad taught me some basic chords and from there, I started watching YouTube videos to learn how to play different songs. Maybe a year or so later, I started trying to write songs.
You wrote “The Reel Bass Pro” with Chris Janson, who is also signed with Big Machine. How did that lead to your publishing and label deals?
About a week after we wrote “The Reel Bass Pro,” I went deer hunting with Chris and his son and when we got back, we wrote another “My American World,” in person, this time. He’s got a guitar in just about every room in his house and we wrote that song in about 30 minutes. After that, he offered the publishing deal and asked me to open shows on his Halfway to Crazy tour. When I opened for Chris at the Ryman Auditorium, [Big Machine Label Group founder/president/CEO] Scott Borchetta came backstage and offered me a label deal.
“How It Oughta Be” is a rising hit. From the lyrics, it seems family is super important to you.
My parents have been so supportive of anything I’ve wanted to do. My mom would cook supper every night when I was growing up and my parents thought it was important that we sit at the table every night and spend that time together. I feel like if everybody in today’s world had more of that family life going on, the world wouldn’t be quite so crazy. I have an older sister and she’s about to have a baby. It’s my parents’ first grandchild, so they are excited. We’re all excited. It’s a boy, Luke, and my present to him will be a lifetime hunting and fishing license here in Tennessee.
You wrote every song on your EP. Who else would you love to write songs with?
My dream co-writer would be Hank Williams, Jr., and I wish I could have written a song with Waylon Jennings, Keith Whitley or Merle Haggard.
If you could see anybody, living or dead, in concert, who would it be?
Merle Haggard, hands down. “Misery and Gin” is probably my favorite song in the whole world.
What TV show or movie could you watch repeatedly and still enjoy?
O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Walk the Line. Absolutely love both of those.
Favorite music-related book or podcast?
I don’t really listen to many podcasts or anything, but I was on the [Bobby Bones’] BobbyCast, and I’ve listened to it. I love that it is longer and it gives him more time to delve deeper into things.
What else is on your bucket list?
Just to grow as an artist and to grow my fanbase. “How It Oughta Be” is getting heard in so many places. I was in the Baltimore airport the other day, and someone came up to me and asked for my picture. That just made my day.
What is your favorite story of meeting a fan?
I got to go to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital a few months ago and I met some of the patients. Just seeing the smiles on their faces. They are real survivors and a few of them were talking about how they loved “How It Oughta Be.” That in itself — there were some tears shed, for sure. Just getting to talk with them and their families, and help take their minds off what they are going through for a little bit. I’d say that has been the highlight of my career, because the ultimate goal as an artist and songwriter is for people to use music as therapy.
After a two-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, the Country Music Association’s CMA Touring Awards will return Monday, Jan. 30 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works.
Members of the teams supporting artists including Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley and Eric Church are among the nominees for the upcoming awards ceremony, which honors country music industry members in categories including advertising/public relations/media, touring musician, record label, touring, venue, personal manager and talent agent.
“I am thrilled that we will be returning this year to host the CMA Touring Awards after a two-year hiatus,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO, via a statement. “The touring industry was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, and I have been amazed at the continued resilience and dedication from this community as they rebuild. These behind-the-scenes heroes are the ones that keep the music playing, so to be able to honor and celebrate them again is especially exciting. We can’t wait for January 30!”
Final voting for the 2022 CMA Touring Awards launches Wednesday (Dec. 14) and closes Dec. 28.
See the full list of the nominees below.
Manager of the yearClint Higham – Morris Higham ManagementMary Hilliard Harrington – Red Light ManagementChris Kappy – Make Wake ArtistsMarion Kraft – ShopKeeper ManagementJohn Peets – Q Prime South
Business manager of the year Renee Allen – Arnie Barn, Inc.David Boyer – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.Jamie Cheek – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.Duane Clark – Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.Stephanie Mundy-Self – Farris, Self & Moore, LLC
Tour manager of the year David Farmer – Kenny ChesneyLuke Holton – Brothers OsborneCurt Jenkins – Miranda LambertEthan Strunk – Luke CombsJon Townley – Thomas Rhett
Talent agent of the yearMike Betterton – Wasserman MusicJoey Lee – WMEAustin Neal – The Neal AgencyNate Towne – WMEJay Williams – WME
Touring musician of the year Jimmie Deeghan – Kane BrownDan Hochhalter – Dierks BentleyHarmoni Kelley – Kenny ChesneyJimmy Mattingly – Garth BrooksJosh Reedy – Thomas Rhett
Venue of the year Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TNBank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NHBridgestone Arena – Nashville, TNRed Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CORyman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
Coach/truck driver of the yearRonnie Brown – Zac Brown BandRhett Evans – Thomas RhettCaleb Garrett – Luke BryanJon Long – Dierks BentleyJohn Stalder – Kenny Chesney
FOH (front of house) engineer of the yearAaron Lain – Morgan WallenTodd Lewis – Luke CombsRobert Scovill – Kenny ChesneyFrank Sgambellone – Luke BryanTrey Smith – Thomas Rhett
Lighting director of the yearZac Coren – Morgan WallenPhilip Ealy – Kenny ChesneyKevin Northrup – Luke CombsChris Reade – Dierks BentleyAlec Takahashi – Thomas Rhett
Monitor engineer of the year Jimmy Nicholson – Thomas RhettPhillip Robinson – Kenny ChesneyScott Tatter – Dierks BentleyPhil Wilkey – Keith UrbanMichael Zuehsow – Luke Combs
Production manager of the year Chris Alderman – Blake SheltonErik Leighty – Miranda LambertJerry Slone – Luke CombsKevin Twist – Thomas RhettEd Wannebo – Kenny Chesney
Publicist of the yearJanet Buck – Essential Broadcast MediaEbie McFarland – Essential Broadcast MediaTyne Parrish – The GreenRoomJensen Sussman – Sweet Talk PublicityJennifer Vessio – 1220 Entertainment Publicity
Talent buyer/promoter of the year Jered Johnson – Pepper EntertainmentLouis Messina – Messina Touring GroupBrian O’Connell – Live Nation NashvilleAaron Spalding – Live Nation NashvilleAdam Weiser – AEG Presents
Tour videographer/photographer of the year *Due to a tie in this category, there are six nominees.Zach Belcher – Dierks BentleyDavid Bergman – Luke CombsTanner Gallagher – HARDYGrayson Gregory – Thomas RhettJeff Johnson – Carrie UnderwoodJill Trunnell – Kenny Chesney
Tour video director of the yearJohn Breslin – Garth BrooksJay Cooper – Kenny ChesneyRon Etters – Chris StapletonTyler Hutcheson – Luke CombsPhil Nudelman – Keith Urban