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Maren Morris’ headlining show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday (Dec. 2) came just weeks before her 10-year anniversary of chasing her dreams from her native Texas to Music City.
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“I cry at simple things, so this will be overwhelming,” Morris told the crowd, recalling the many times she’s been at Bridgestone. “I’ve opened shows here, I’ve won awards, I’ve lost awards in this room, but it’s the first time I’ve walked out here and known it was my stage.”
The Nashville concert marked the end of Morris’ Humble Quest Tour, and she said, “It felt appropriate to end it at my doorstep.”
To that end, her concert both chronicled and honored her musical journey from her Texas roots to her early days in Nashville, hustling to write songs with meaning that will stand out from the usual Music Row denizens in the writing rooms on 16th Avenue (“Circles Around This Town” particularly resonated with this Music City crowd of dreamers, who seemed to chant along in particular glee). She recounted her days of playing local Nashville haunts such as Belcourt Taps and Basement East and ascending to venues such as the Ryman Auditorium and finally to Bridgestone.
Now enjoying the fruits of her years of work toiling in writing rooms and steadily building her fanbase one song and concert at a time, she took a moment later in her set to pass along the lessons she’s learned to other aspiring writers and artists in the room.
“There are so many talented people in this room, in this town and there are so many people in line ahead of you that it’s ok to just wait and the waiting makes the fruit so much sweeter. I just can’t thank you enough for your support over the years.”
She welcomed Hozier to perform with her on “The Bones,” saying, “I’ve seen songs go all the way up to the top of the charts, I’ve seen songs fall, this one went to the top right as the world shut down, so we didn’t really get to have our flowers and celebrate it. But I always wanted to play this song in here for y’all.”
The genre-fluid singer showcased her innate versatility with her slew of country-leaning releases, such as “’80s Mercedes,” the anthem to resilience and confidence with “Girl,” and “I Could Use a Love Song,” but also her pop smashes “The Middle,” and “Chasing After You” with her husband and fellow artist-writer Ryan Hurd. There were also a plethora of songs from her tour’s namesake, her current Humble Quest album, including “Good Friends,” “Background Music,” “Tall Guys,” “Detour,” and another collaboration with Hurd on “I Can’t Love You Anymore.”
She also noted to the crowd the life lessons she chronicled on her Humble Quest album, and her journey through motherhood amidst a global pandemic, a process of learning “when to shut the f— up and when to absolutely not shut the f— up,” which brought cheers from the audience.
“Good Friends” was an apt inclusion in the setlist for this Music City show. Along the way, Morris has cultivated a community of fellow artists and songwriters who build each other up, support dreams, share hardships and champion one another as humans and creators. That essence of friendship was a theme that also rang throughout the evening, as Morris brought out not just a cavalcade of guest artists, but clearly artists whom she counts as friends, confidants, and peers.
She welcomed the majority of her The Highwomen bandmates, including Brittney Spencer (who also opened the show), as well as Sheryl Crow, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires for singalong renditions of “Redesigning Women” and the inclusive, heartwarming “Crowded Table.” Together, Morris and her cohorts showcased music and messages that have been a salve in uncertain times.
“This is a crowded arena,” Hemby said. “After the pandemic, let’s be glad we can be in a crowded room together.”
Also a self-professed “musical theater kid,” Morris even went note for note with Broadway luminary, actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth (who now resides in Nashville) to perform the Wicked favorite “For Good” (in 2003, Chenoweth portrayed Glinda the Good Witch in the show’s Broadway run and earned a Tony nomination for her role). The duet was notable not only for the two singers’ vocal prowess, but the obvious tender friendship between the two, as they stayed close together throughout the performance, hugging and holding hands. Morris noted that they met at Bridgestone back in 2019 during the CMA Awards.
Though Morris often gets credit for her personal, vulnerable songwriting, the evening also proved a showcase for her in equal measure, as evidenced by her thunderous, soulful glissandos on “Once.” Though vocally and musically, her vibe is often soaked in pop and R&B, her stage production, a lush staging of trees and grass surrounding her band, was understated, never overpowering the message of her music and her polished, relaxed stage presence.
She ended the concert by welcoming Hurd and co-writer Jon Green to the stage for a tender encore featuring the final song on Humble Quest, “What Would This World Do?,” a piano ballad tribute to her previous producer busbee, who died in 2019 and who had worked on Morris’ first two albums. Morris shared that she had yet to play the song during her tour. With busbee’s wife and children watching in the audience, the performance seemed a fitting ending for an evening that celebrated friendship and love, in the city that has supported Morris’s journey to headlining status.
Opening the show was Spencer, who first found a champion in Morris after uploading a cover of The Highwomen’s “Crowded Table” on social media. Spencer’s elegant voice and vulnerable songwriting has led her to become part of The Highwomen’s collective. She recently inked a label deal with Elektra, and released her project if i ever get there: a day a blackbird studio. On this Nashville night, Spencer noted that just a few years ago, she was busking on the streets of Nashville not far from Bridgestone. Her free-spirited, engaging performance style further enhanced her powerful, engaging vocals on songs including her own “A Hundred Years” and a version of the Chicks’ 1999 hit “Cowboy Take Me Away.”
Fellow opener Ruston Kelly, known for his albums Dying Star and Shape & Destroy, led the audience through his own surging country-rock releases including “Cover My Tracks” and “Faceplant,” though the audience seemed to reserve its biggest cheers for his moody version of the 2000 Wheatus hit “Teenage Dirtbag” and a sterling, angsty cover of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well.”
Keith Urban is among those paying tribute to the late Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie, who died Wednesday (Nov. 30) after a short illness. McVie was 79.
During a concert in Australia, Urban told the audience, “Today, we lost one of the members of Fleetwood Mac, the incredible Christine McVie, who was amazing. For me growing up, listening to their music, you had three incredible vocalists in that band. You had Lindsey Buckingham, who brought this kind of punk, angular, ethos to the whole thing. You had Stevie Nicks’ voice, which is angelic, otherworldly. Then you had Christine, who for me, is the maternal, soulful heartbeat, vocally.”
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He performed snippets of the group’s “Say You Love Me” (from their self-titled album), “Everywhere” (from the group’s 1987 album Tango in the Night) and “Songbird,” which appeared on the group’s 1977 album Rumours.
As the country star honored McVie, a photo of the late singer-songwriter was shown on the massive screen behind him.
This isn’t the first time Urban has offered his take on a Fleetwood Mac hit. In 2013, he joined fellow country crooners Little Big Town to perform the Fleetwood Mac hit “The Chain” during the CMT Music Awards.
Since news of her death broke, many artists have paid tribute to her. Among them is Harry Styles, who performed a rendition of “Songbird” during a concert in Chile on Dec. 1.
See Urban’s tribute below:
Parmalee’s “Take My Name” is No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay year-end chart for 2022, and its success caught even the band by surprise.
“It’s a big honor,” says the band’s frontman, Matt Thomas, of the song capturing the title. “Mind-blowing, to be honest with you.” Thomas wrote the song with David Fanning, Ashley Gorley and Ben Johnson. It was produced by Fanning (who is also the group’s manager).
The love song spent two weeks atop the list in June, while it reached No. 2 on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs survey. And it’s still going as it crosses over into pop: “Take My Name” ranks at its No. 23 high on the Dec. 3-dated Adult Pop Airplay chart. “Name” displayed uncommon longevity during its Country Airplay chart run, spending 22 weeks inside the top 10, the fourth-longest top 10 residency since the chart started in January 1990.
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“Name,” released on Stoney Creek/BBR, became the band’s third Country Airplay No. 1 and its second straight, following “Just the Way” with Blanco Brown (for a week in March 2021), both of which appear on Parmalee’s 2021 album, For You. The quartet’s first leader, “Carolina,” ruled for a week in December 2013. The band’s latest single, “Girl in Mine,” is at No. 40 on Country Airplay and is slated to be on Parmalee’s next album.
In addition to Thomas, the band includes his brother Scott Thomas (drums), cousin Barry Knox (bass) and longtime friend Josh McSwain (guitar). All four members hail from Parmalee, N.C. Currently on tour and gearing up to open for Jelly Roll Dec. 9 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Billboard caught up with Matt Thomas in Nashville, where the group has been based for the past 11 years.
Did you have any idea when you wrote and recorded “Name” that you had something special?
Well, my brother Scott is the regular listener guy who I lean on for feedback. We played the work tape for him on the bus and he was like, “There’s something here.” I felt like we had something that was right on, too, but as a songwriter you’re never really sure what’s going to connect with people. I mean, you’re always hoping something will hit but no one really knows for sure.
When “Name” was released, you were following up another No. 1, “Just the Way,” with Blanco Brown. That followed a pretty long No. 1 drought, since 2013 when you scored your first leader, “Carolina.” Did you put pressure on yourself to have another hit quickly?
Yeah, I know about the drought (laughs). Yes, in fact we needed this one [“Name”] to be as big or bigger than “Just the Way.” We had to show people we were more than a fluke, a group that has a hit every so many years. We definitely put pressure on ourselves to come up with a hit and keep our career on track.
As the group’s frontman, do you place that extra stress on your shoulders to keep the band moving forward?
Yeah, it’s natural I think because I do a lot of the songwriting. It’s different now, though, because we’ve had back-to-back hits, so lots of people are offering to help.
What about during the span when you didn’t have a hit? What was the atmosphere in the music community like?
It’s definitely more of a challenge to get into the writer’s rooms. But you know what you signed up for, right? It’s kind of a cutthroat business. When you’re hot, people want to work with you, and when you’re not, a handful of loyal friends stick with you while others have written you off. It’s just how it is. Thankfully there were some songwriters who have stuck with us and kept believing. It can be frustrating, but hey, it’s business.
Do you watch the charts?
Are you kidding, yes! I examine the charts every week, even when on the road.
Changing gears, it feels like you have a great relationship with radio.
We do and, honestly, the COVID shutdown helped in a way, because I was able to spend some time with programmers and reconnect on a human level. I wanted to see what was going on in their communities.
“Name” performed well on the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart. How do you juggle two worlds: TikTok, for instance, and terrestrial radio?
They’re so different, I have to take a drink now and then to clear my head (laughs). It’s a completely different audience between, say, TikTok and your average radio listener. We see that at shows, the mix of younger and older fans. It’s a puzzle that we’re still trying to figure out.
In concert, have you had solid response on your last couple of hits?
When we were out with Walker Hayes in the fall, we noticed great reaction and we’d have whole arenas singing along to “Take My Name.” It was amazing.
You’re playing at Bridgestone next week, opening for Jelly Roll. Is it your first show there?
We’ve never played Bridgestone before, so we’re both excited and nervous. We just need Jelly to come out and give us his blessing.
Your new single “Girl in Mine” will be on an upcoming album, correct? And are you working on that currently?
Yes, I have a bunch of great fun songs already, I think, and I’m going to be doing lots of writing in January and February. We’re shooting for early summer [to release an album].
Is it still a thrill hearing your music on the radio?
Always, man. In fact, I was just on my way to a writer’s room yesterday and driving through east Nashville checking out the neighborhoods and “Take My Name” came on the radio. I was grinning ear to ear. It never gets old.
What about touring next year?
We’ve got some good things on the burner, and hopefully we’ll have some news soon.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.Wanda June Home is getting festive for the holidays. Miranda Lambert added several holiday pieces to her popular home line sold exclusively at Walmart.
The newly added items include dessert plates, mugs, place mats, table runners, stemless wine glasses, throw pillows and more featuring cute little holiday phrases such as “Naughty Is the New Nice” and “Santa I Can Explain.”
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Wanda June Home has received rave reviews from customers. The collection, which was unveiled on June 14, is designed to help create a “warm, comfortable, casual gathering place where everyone can feel at home.”
Inspired by three generations of warm and sassy Southern hospitality, Wanda June Home by Lambert is named after the “If I Was a Cowboy” singer’s mother Beverly June Lambert and her grandma Wanda Louise Coker, who taught her everything she knows about entertaining and welcoming guests. From three generations of warm, Southern hospitality, Wanda June is a brand inspired by memories.
“Wanda June Home is named after the two most influential women in my life, my mom Beverly June Lambert and my grandma Wanda Louise Coker, a.k.a. Nonny. They both taught me everything I know about being a woman and how to make a warm home full of laughter, love and memories. That’s really the heart of my Wanda June Home brand,” says Lambert. “The products are a physical representation of a long line of beautiful memories with amazing women. I am thrilled to launch Wanda June Home with Walmart where my grandpa was a greeter back in the day and where I’ve shopped all my life.”
Wanda June Home features more than 80 kitchen, bar, tabletop and home décor items priced from $12.97-$170, although most of the pieces are under $30. This inaugural collection is designed to mix, match and collect, featuring tabletop essentials inspired by Lambert’s own Southwestern retro farm kitchen, such as the Vintage Stripe Porcelain Dish Set ($39.97), fun and feisty barware, including the Saucy Sippers Stainless Steel Stemless Set ($20.98), and home décor that features Lambert’s take on Southern charm.
Shop items from the collection below.
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Wanda June Home Holly Express 8.5-Inch Dessert Plates, Set of 4 $16.97
From cakes to cookies, pies and other holiday delights, these Holly Express dessert plates from Wanda June Home will be a jolly addition to any holiday table.
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Wanda June Home Wanda Santa’s Fuel 15-Ounce Stoneware Mug 5-piece Set with Metal Rack $26.97
Wanda June’s holiday mugs are perfectly sized for eggnog, hot chocolate and other seasonal beverages. An easy-to-clean metal rack comes included with the five-piece set of 15-ounce mugs.
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Wanda June Home Santa’s Saloon 18 Oz. Stemless Wine Glass Set, Set of 4 $22.97
Toast to the holidays with these stemless wine glasses! The set for four 18-ounce glasses feature playful phrases such as “Tipsy and Bright,” “Resting Grinch Face,” “Closer to Jolly With Every Sip” and “Don’t Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle.”
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Wanda June Home Swiss Knot Fabric 4-Piece Placemat Set $12.98
Make your table even more lively with these Wanda June place mats featuring a charming design. The set includes four 14-inch x 19-inch placement mats made from 100% cotton.
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Wanda June Home Naughty Nice Pillow, 14-inch x22-inch $20
Make a style statement with this “Naughty Is the New Nice” throw pillow in classic holiday plaid. The decorative pillow measures 14 x 22 inches.
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Wanda June Home Wanda June Home Dear Santa Coir Mat, Multicolor, 18-inches x 30-inches $12.88
Your guests (and maybe even Santa) will get a kick out of this witty doormat. The Dear Santa 18-inch x 30-inch door mat is made from coir with PVC backing and designed for indoor or outdoor use.
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Vintage Stripe 12-Piece Porcelain Dinnerware $39.97
A mix of trendy and nostalgic, the Wanda June Home by Miranda Lambert Vintage Stripe 12-piece Porcelain Dinnerware Set is a head-turner. It’s made from porcelain and features hand-painted, vintage-inspired patterns that add a ‘70s mod style to your tabletop. The pieces are dishwasher and microwave safe.
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Wanda June Home Where Dreams Are Made Blue 2.3-Quart Stoneware Casserole Dish $34.88
Serve up a signature chili dish, mama’s casserole, and more! The 2.3-quart casserole dish with a matching glass lid bakes and browns evenly, it’s dishwasher and microwave safe and oven safe up to 450 degrees (350 degrees with lid). This stoneware baker is a charming, oven-to-table piece with country-style designs making an easy-going but impressive statement.
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Wanda June Home Novelty Porcelain Pedestal Cake Stand $24.97
Let them eat cake! This durable, 10-inch porcelain cake stand is made for everyday baking and special celebrations. Available in blue and orange, this vibrant confection item features a flat top decorated with a sassy surprise that reveals itself after the last slice is gone.
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Wanda June Home Novelty Porcelain Pedestal Cake Stand $24.88
For baking delicious casseroles, creamy potatoes, lasagnas, cakes and more, the Big Mistake Orange 11-inch Stoneware Baker Dish gets the job done. It features a thick stoneware build ensuring lasting durability to bake delectable dishes for years.
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Wanda June Home Game On Assorted 18-ounce Stoneware Camper Mugs $19.84
The Game On 18-ounce mug set are kitchen must-haves that can perk up any mood, any time. Each durable mug features a wide mouth for convenient sipping and a sturdy handle for a safe and comfortable grip when drinking.
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Wanda June Home Textured Zig Zag Pillow $20.88
Add an eye-catching pattern and an extra-comfy accent to your bedroom, living room or another space. The 18-inch x 18-inch pillow features a richly textured, cotton-blend with contrasting zig-zag design on the face and a smooth solid fabric on the back.
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Wanda June Home Persian Shag with Fringe Area Rug $85
This Persian Shag with Fringe Area Rug offers a stylish and modern update on a traditional motif, with a plush shag construction that delivers cozy softness under your feet and an inviting feel for any space.
Fans of Kane Brown and his wife Katelyn have long wanted the two to perform a song together — and they got their wish on Brown’s latest album, Different Man, with the track “Thank God.” The song is also becoming a sturdy radio hit, currently residing at No. 13 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.
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On Thursday evening (Dec. 1), the couple made their first live performance of the song, onstage during a concert in Ottawa, Canada. Brown shared the sweet performance on social media, as the couple stays close for the first verses. Then, as Katelyn begins singing her verse, her husband breaks into a big grin, looking at his wife proudly. The couple then walks the catwalk together, waving to fans.
“My baby’s first time on stage singing our song together … she killed it of course and I’m so proud of you!!!! (Thank god)!!!!! Ottawa Canada y’all slayed,” Brown said in the caption of an Instagram post.
Katelyn replied, saying, “Speechless. Thanks babe for making me as comfortable as possible and for everyone being so kind.”
Other artists also chimed in with comments, with Walker Hayes saying, “Dang she crushed it,” and Chris Lane saying, “Freakin’ awesome.” Carly Pearce added, “Yes @katelynbrown !!!!”
During a previous interview with Billboard, Brown relayed their plans to perform the song together during some of his shows.
“We’ll have a nanny that can watch the kids while they are sleeping, and then Katelyn can be onstage and sing with me,” he says. “We’ll do ‘Thank God,’ and she’ll sing Lauren [Alaina]’s part on ‘What Ifs.’ Katelyn hasn’t done anything musically since she left Orlando, so we just gotta get her bearings, like learning how to use the in-ears [monitors] onstage. She’s never used those before.”
Of course, this is far from her first foray into music. Under the name Katelyn Jae, she previously recorded pop songs including 2014’s “24KT.”
First Country is a compilation of the best new country songs, videos & albums that dropped this week.
Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time — Sampler
Morgan Wallen has released a three-song sampler as a teaser for the new music he’s been working on in the studio. One Thing at a Time — Sampler is made of the tracks “One Thing at a Time,” “Tennessee Fan,” and “Days That End in Why.” He’s at the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart with “You Proof,” while another Wallen song, “I Thought You Should Know” is in the top 25 on the same chart. “One Thing at a Time” teems with shades of ’80s pop, as he declares he knows he should give up booze, pills, cigarettes and the memory of her, but he knows he’s only gonna “quit one thing at a time.” In “Tennessee Fan,” he revels in making a Tennessee fan out of an Alabama girl who was “raised Roll Tide.”
Jelly Roll, “She”
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Through singles like as “Son of a Sinner” and “Dead Man Walking,” Jelly Roll has crafted a slate of songs that affirm and uplift people struggling with addiction and temptation, who are looking for forgiveness and hope. His new song, which he’s a co-writer on, traces a young woman’s descent from “the life of the party” into a journey with pill addiction. His burly, everyman vocal approach rings with authenticity.
Adeem the Artist, White Trash Revelry
On this stellar album, the Tennessee-based, non-binary and pansexual artist blends classic country instrumentation with a rough-hewn voice and plainspoken, keen observations about the insidiousness of local politics (“We’re gonna run this town straight into the godd–n ground/ But we’re gonna run it,” they sing in the honky-tonk shuffle “Run This Town”), rising rents and overworked residents (alongside pedal steel in “Books & Records”), and the experience of shifting liberal perspectives in the South (the bluesy “Redneck, Unread Hicks,” with piercing lyrics about “Singing ‘Black Lives Matter’ to a Jimmie Rodgers melody,” and a backyard celebration with two wedding gowns). On “Middle of a Heart,” they sing about learning to “put a bullet through the middle of a heart,” first while learning to hunt, then sharing the passion of a first kiss, and later while in service to the military. The closer, “My America,” wrestles with the kind of country they will leave behind when they are gone.
Jenny Tolman, “It’s a Boy”
Tolman, known for plucky, quirky songs including “High Class White Trash” and the concept project There Goes the Neighborhood, wrote this track with co-writer Corey Wagar after finding out she and husband Dave Brainard were expecting a son. This sweet ode to motherhood takes familiar phrases that pepper songs about pining over a romantic crush and reinterprets them, in light of the joy of soon welcoming her son.
Parker McCollum, “Stoned”
In this moody track, Parker McCollum’s feeling misunderstood, alone and missing the one he used to hold — all reasons to find a way to numb the emotional pain. “Well, I know it’s not the answer but it’s all I know to do,” McCollum declares, his flawlessly rendered vocal capturing both urgency and resignation.
Lainey Wilson, “New Friends”
Wilson recently made her acting debut on season 5 of the hit TV series Yellowstone and performed this new song as part of the show. Her warm, intimate voice purrs on the soft acoustic track, which finds her longing for both a lost love and something to provide a distraction from the heartbreak. “New Friends” has been newly added to her excellent October album, Bell Bottom Country.
Shane Profitt, “Country Boys”
A rapid-fire beat under shimmering guitars sets the tone for Profitt’s listing of all the ways country boys will continue to be country boys — and the requisites to do so, including tins of Skoal, beer cans, Texaco, Walmart, Dollar General, hunting dogs, Zebcos, and deer in the woods. The song’s premise is nothing new, but Profitt sings it with gusto and exudes personality.
Muscadine Bloodline, “Made Her That Way”
Duo Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton earned a breakthrough with their raging “Dispatch to 16th Avenue” and hard-charging “Me on You.” They shift toward self-recriminating regret in their latest release, acknowledging the stubbornness that led to a fizzled relationship. This stripped-down song, written by Muncaster and Jordan Fletcher, proves to be another ace outing from this duo.
Toby Keith is opening up about his battle with stomach cancer in a new interview with the CMT Hot 20 Countdown. The 61-year-old country legend revealed earlier this summer that he was taking a break from music to undergo chemotherapy, radiation and surgery after getting a stomach cancer diagnosis in the fall of 2021.
“I’m thinkin’ about getting back in fighting shape,” Keith said in a preview of the interview posted earlier this week. “I need a little bit of time to rest up, heal up… it’s pretty debilitating to have to go through all that. But as long as everything stays hunky dory then we’ll look at something good in the future. The full interview will air on Saturday (Dec. 3) at 9 a.m. ET.
“Last fall I was diagnosed with stomach cancer,” Keith tweeted in June. “I’ve spent the last 6 months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax. I am looking forward to spending time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can’t wait.”
Keith cancelled some dates as a result of the diagnosis, then made a surprise appearance at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Lexington, Kentucky in early November, where owner Ruby said he performed songs including his 2003 hit “I Love This Bar”; it was Keith first performance since revealing his cancer diagnosis.
Ruby also shared a photo of himself with Keith, saying, “Grateful for my good friend Toby Keith! Rocking our Lexington stage after a year of kicking cancer’s a–!”
Watch an excerpt from Keith’s interview below.
George Jones and Tammy Wynette were both long gone by the time Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain began filming George & Tammy, a six-episode series that premieres on Showtime Dec. 4. However, the actors still found a way to commune with the legendary country artists.
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“We came to Nashville and did some recording,” Shannon tells Billboard. “The studio that we recorded at was adjacent to the cemetery where George is buried and Tammy’s remains are. So, we would sing their songs and then go and visit them.” Wynette died in 1998 and Jones in 2013.
Playing the country icons was daunting, the actors admit, especially when it came to doing their own singing. “I had so much anxiety and stress about trying to sound like her, but that’s an impossible thing to do,” Chastain says. “She had a once-in-a-lifetime gift.”
Taking on the emotional weight of the troubled couple, who were married from 1969-1975, could also be taxing, so Shannon would try to lighten the mood “if you think fart noises are funny,” he says, cracking Chastain up. “We did actually do something that probably no one would ever expect,” she adds. “We had a bouncy castle day because it was someone’s birthday and I got Mike into the bouncy castle, which is a sight I thought I’d never see.”
The pair, who have been friends since they appeared together in 2011’s Take Shelter, sat down with Billboard recently in Nashville to discuss how they prepared for their roles, why they did their own singing and reveal their favorite Jones and Wynette songs.
Billboard: Jessica, Abe Sylvia, whom you worked with on The Eyes of Tammy Faye, is writer and co-executive producer of George & Tammy. Is that how you got involved?
Chastain: No, someone approached me in 2011 at the Golden Globes, and said, “Hey, do you want to play Tammy Wynette?” It was like my first awards show and I was like, “Yeah, that sounds great. I love that song.” (laughs) There were many, many iterations of it, different directors. And budget wise, it was so expensive with all the music and all the stories we wanted to tell in two hours, it just felt like it wasn’t going to happen. At one point, it just kind of disappeared because it was so expensive. And then, in the beginning of the pandemic, Abe called me and said, “What if we make it a mini-series?” And that sounded very exciting. I’ve been reading about Tammy Wynette for 11 years.
Michael, you’ve said you didn’t know that much about George and that you’re more into jazz. What was your interest in playing him?
Shannon: Jessica asked me about it. I read his autobiography. I was really seduced by his voice, by his singing and his songs. I felt a little self-conscious about it because I don’t think I really resemble George Jones much, but I was excited to have an opportunity to sing and tell a story through singing because I do like to sing.
You used to have your own band. How did that help you since you’ve been in front of an audience performing?
Shannon: I don’t get super nervous about being up in front of a bunch of people, but to try and sing like George is no small feat. I don’t really think anybody can sing like George. But I sure worked hard on it, and we had a vocal coach, Ron Browning, who helped us train for a few months before we even started shooting.
What was your approach in terms of capturing their vocal styles?
Shannon: We wanted to tell the story through singing. The part that really intrigued me is how George and Tammy would tell the story of their life every time they sang together or alone. Even though the songs oftentimes weren’t written by them, they were still communicating by singing them. You can pick the same song and watch 10 different performances of it and get 10 completely different stories just based on the way they’re looking at each other. We could have just lip-synced everything, but I think in order for us to inhabit the people, we had to perform.
When you were doing your research, was there one thing that you clued in on that helped you find the character?
Chastain: I don’t know that this is right at all–I never had the opportunity to meet her–but I felt like she was an incredibly sensuous person, watching her sing, watching her interviews. Everything about her, I think she loved being a woman. She loved cooking. She loved makeup and hair. I found that to be a way in. She loved men at a time where you get married and stay married forever, she married five times. I think a lot of that also has to do with the fact that she loved being around men. Again, my interpretation, but it was kind of my way into playing her.
What about for you, Michael?
Shannon: I don’t know. It’s such a complex journey, George’s life. Every day when I got to work, there was an interview I’d listen to. It was an interview that George and Tammy did together. It coincided with the release of record that they made together for Epic and George talks about finally getting to Epic 17 years (in). It was kind of my morning ritual, put that on and listen to his voice. Listen to him and Tammy together.
There’s a scene in Ken Burns Country Music documentary where record producer Billy Sherrill calls them wounded animals. These are really talented, but tragic people.
Chastain: I think what’s so interesting sometimes about people is when they’re not afraid of their darkness and they’re willing to live in it and willing to explore it and try to move through it. And I think a lot of times we live our lives trying to hide it from others, try to appear to be perfect and hide anything that feels ugly or might upset someone away. The thing about George and Tammy that you see when they sing together is they were just so open. She was in another time period, so she had to hide a lot about who she was, but I don’t think she had to hide from George. I don’t know how I would have been able to even approach playing this character without coming to set knowing that Mike was going to be there playing George because when you’re telling those kinds of stories, you need open people willing to go to dark places to do it.
Do you think they were the love of each other’s lives?
Chastain: We gotta be careful because there’s some people still alive. Do you know what I mean? Oof.
Shannon: I’ll put it this way, I don’t really see the point in making this show if the basic premise of the show isn’t that George and Tammy were the love of each other’s [lives]. That’s kind of the Christmas tree that all the ornaments are hanging on, at least in this particular show. Now, there’s 555 million versions of the story and everybody’s got a different one. Neither one of us would say this is the absolute, irrefutable God’s honest truth of every single moment of George and Tammy’s life, but it’s the story that we signed on to tell.
Chastain: And sometimes being with a love of your life isn’t a healthy thing…It’s not written in any of the books, but people who were there said that they were still romantic later in life. So that’s in our show so I’m not speaking out of turn. So, there were a lot of surprises.
Whether musically or otherwise, after they split, they always found their way back to each other.
Chastain: And when she died, George wrote letters to DJs talking about the circumstances of her death. They were always connected.
What’s your favorite George song and favorite Tammy song?
Chastain: I love “The Race Is On.” I think that’s one of the best songs ever written. I love the lyrics. I love the music. And for her, “Apartment No. 9.” That’s pretty great.
Shannon: “Help Me Make It Through the Night” for Tammy. With George, “Bartender’s Blues.”
Lasting impressions of Nashville?
Chastain: I just loved the people that we got to work with. The guys in the band, a lot of them are session players here in Nashville. There were times I would come on to set and, Mike, I think you were getting ready to do “Beneath Still Waters” and in the breaks all the guys would just start playing and Michael started singing a different song and they would just be jamming. That was incredibly inspiring to be around that all the time. I loved the people here in Nashville and the kind of music history that I got to learn.
Morgan Wallen has released a trio of new songs for his One Thing at a Time–Sampler project, a teaser of new music he’s been working on.
The new tunes include “Tennessee Fan” (written by Wallen, HARDY, Ashley Gorley and Mark Holman), “One Thing at a Time” (written by Wallen with ERNEST, Gorley and Ryan Vojtesak), and “Days That End in Why” (written by Driver Williams, Blake Pendergrass and John Byron).
“I’m not quite done making this new album, so I’m going to keep making it through the holiday break and early January to chase this inspiration,” Wallen said via a statement. “I promise I won’t wait too long to reveal the album details. To hold you over, I’m dropping three new songs today as a sampler of what I’ve been working on. Can’t wait to take it one night at a time in 2023.”
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Wallen previously shared a snippet of “Tennessee Fan” on social media back in October, featuring lyrics about bringing a girl “across the [University of Tennessee] Vols state line” with him. “She was raised Roll Tide ’til the day she died/ But ever since that night she’s been a Tennessee fan,” he sings.
The trio of tracks follow the recent news of Wallen’s upcoming One Night at a Time World Tour, which will play in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Ernest and Bailey Zimmerman are set to open the concert run, with HARDY and Parker McCollum opening select shows.
The new songs also come as Wallen’s “You Proof” has topped Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart for six (non-consecutive) weeks, while his new single “Thought You Should Know” resides inside the chart’s top 25.
Stream Wallen’s One Thing at a Time–Sampler below.
Brittany Aldean’s Balenciaga merchandise is getting kicked to the curb.
The wife of country singer Jason Aldean took to Instagram on Wednesday to share her disdain for Balenciaga amid the fashion house’s controversial ad campaign that depicted children holding teddy bears wearing bondage gear and paperwork from a Supreme Court decision on child pornography.
Aldean uploaded a photo of herself taking out the garbage, which included two clear bags filled with Balenciaga items. “It’s trash day,” Aldean wrote, tagging the brand.
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The post from Aldean garnered applause from her followers, including husband Jason. “Show em how to ‘walk the walk’ babe!” he wrote to his wife, alongside clapping emojis. Brittany also got support from some fellow country music wives, including Brittney Kelley, wife of Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley, who commented “Same”; HARDY’s wife Caleigh Ryan who wrote “YES HAHA”; and Russell Dickerson’s wife Kailey Dickerson, who said “Yes mama.”
The holiday campaign that launched on Nov. 16 received so much backlash that it prompted the fashion house to release a statement condemning child abuse. “It was never our intent to include it in our narrative,” the brand wrote on Instagram, with comments turned off. “The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”
The photographer of the ad, Gabriele Galimberti, also issued a statement on Instagram, writing that he “was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither [choose] the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same.”
Balenciaga filed a $25 million lawsuit against North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, accusing both parties of taking part in “inexplicable acts and omissions… malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless” in the campaign.
While Aldean is receiving praise this time around, over the past few months, she’s stirred up some controversy of her own. The 34-year-old found herself in hot water when she took to Instagram in August, writing alongside a glam video, “I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.”
She was called out by several musicians, including country superstar Maren Morris, for the transphobic comments. “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie,” Morris tweeted.
Morris was labeled a “lunatic” by Fox News host Tucker Carlson following the feud, and the country star ended up making and selling T-shirts with the phrase “Lunatic Country Music Person.” She donated the funds to the Trans Lifeline and the GLAAD Transgender Media Program, raising more than $150,000.