Transcript

7.4.25 · Country Weekly

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Speaker 1: Now it's time to catch up with Countryweekly, where we
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check out news and gossip from the world of country music.
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I'm your host as always, Ken Dawkins, and I will
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be reading from various sources found online. As a reminder,
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RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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read printed material. We'll begin with the first article day
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to June thirtieth, and this is from Peoplecountry dot com
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or People dot Comcountry. A lot of mishaps and illnesses
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continue on the concert tours. Willie Nelson cancels concert after
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extreme weather ruins his gear. Willie Nelson is canceling a
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major date on his tour after bad weather ruined his equipment.
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The ninety two year old musician was the headliner for
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the twenty twenty five Outlaw Music Festival with Bob Dylan,
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Cheryl Crow and others, until extreme weather caused the anniversary
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concert event be canceled. The Outlaw Music Festival's tenth anniversary
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concert events schedule for July first at the Lucky Star
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Amphitheater in Elreno, Oklahoma, has been canceled due to an
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unforseeable circumstances statement shared to the festival's official Instagram account.
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An extreme weather event on the evening of June twenty
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ninth in Ridgedale, Missouri at thunder Ridge Nature Arena produced
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heavy rains and high winds, forcing the crowd to evacuate.
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The statement continued. Because of the weather, organizers said much
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of the scheduled performers, equipment, and artists' instruments were damaged
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and waterlogged, making their condition difficult to assess in time
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to accurately and safely use for tomorrow's show. The decision
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was made to cancel Tuesday's show to recover and replace
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whatever was needed to continue additional dates. Blackbird Presents, Lucky Star,
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Amphitheaterre and DCF Concerts are disappointed to have to cancel
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the engagement and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that cancelation
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may cause, the company set, adding that refunds would be issued.
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Elson shared the same message to his Instagram account. His
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comment section was filled with fans asking if Trigger, his
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famous guitar, was okay after the extreme weather incident. A
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rep tells people the Trigger is safe after all. The
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Outlaw Music Festival is North America's largest touring music festival,
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bringing musical legends and dedicated fans together for live songs,
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food and drink shopping, and creating an unforgettable experience. For
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the twenty twenty four show, Nelson shared a statement in
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a press release to express his excitement regarding forthcoming concerts.
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He later missed the opening show due to not feeling well.
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The Always on My Mind singer and other artists included
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on the twenty twenty five lineup are expected to resume
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the show in Austin, Texas on July fourth. Well, then
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it's Post Malone's turn. Post Malone suffers on stage fall
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while attempting to toast fan mid concert. Post Malone is
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falling for his fans, and a fan TikTok shared on Sunday,
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June twenty second. The Circle singer walked up the stage
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catwalk performing his in Blake Shelton's song Somebody Pour Me
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a Drink during his State Farm Stadium concert in Glendale, Arizona. However,
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when he approached the fan recording the clip and attempts
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to toast them, Malone twenty nine falls forward as a
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piece of the stage gives way and over he goes,
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I'm so sorry, Austin, I love you such an amazing show.
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The fan captured the video, tagging the artist. Fans flooded
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the comments section of the video, hoping that Malone was
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all right after the misstep and fall. Despite the nasty spill,
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Malone's tour seemingly continued without a hitch, carrying on as scheduled.
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This isn't the first time the Sunflower singer took a
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tumble on stage. Back in September twenty two, Malone fell
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through a trap door and appeared to hit his chests
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during his twelve Carrot tour stop in Saint Louis, Missouri.
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He carried on in the performance following the spill, as
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manager revealed via Instagram that he suffered bruised ribs from
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the incident. He's updated he has updated his fans on
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a video on ax after leaving the hospital after falling
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through a big ass hole on stage. Everything things good.
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They gave me some pain meds and everything. We can
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keep on kicking ass on the tour. Days later, Malone
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postponed his Boston show, still in significant pain. That October,
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Malone twisted his ankle in one of the holes on
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his stage during his Atlantic concert, and then he's currently
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wrapping up his Big Ass Stadium tour with Jelly Roll.
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The musicians who collaborated on the song Losers from Malone's
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f one Trillion album began their trek in late April
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and Salt Lake City and have made stops in Philly,
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New York, Las Vegas, Dallas, Atlanta, Toronto, and other cities.
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They performed their final show for the US leg at
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San Francisco's Oracle Park on July first. Then, as we
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move over to countryliving dot com with an article dated
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June twenty eighth, we find out that Casey Musgraves reveals
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she's in a lot of pain and canceled shows. Country
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music star Casey Musgraves has been forced to do something
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no singer wants to do with their fans. The Golden
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Hour singer was recently forced to hit pause on her
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current tour following a painful injury sustained during a recent
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performance in Mexico. The Grammy winning singer, who prioritizes being
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transparent with her fan base, took two x to share
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that she suffered a broken rib after slipping on wet tile.
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So I'm in Mexico with a broken rib. Muskraves wrote
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candidly alongside a screenshot of her X Ray show in
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the Break Wednesday night. It was raining and I was
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running to grab some towels and had an extremely hard
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fall on some very slick tile. I didn't see. Thankful,
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I didn't smack my head, but I landed very very
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hard on my back left rib cage and broke number six.
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The thirty six year old stars certainly didn't hold back
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and describing the pain and frustration that followed, this is
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no joke, coming a lot of pain in doing anything.
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It's extremely difficult, but I'm managing and being well taken
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care of. As a result of her injury, the singer
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was unfortunately unable to perform her highly anticipated show at
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the Riemann Auditorium in Nashville. There's no physical way I
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can get on a plane back to Nashville, she explained
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in her social media post. The concert has since been
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rescheduled for a week later, and ticket holders were encouraged
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to hold on to their tickets for the new date.
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I'm extremely bummed to have to reschedule, as I've been
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looking forward to this for months. But there's literally no option.
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Casey added, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. Fans and
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fellow artists have been flooding musgraves social media, of course,
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with messages of support like sending you all our love
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for safe and speedy recovery and oh God, I'm wishing
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you a speedy recovery. I broke a rib a few
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years ago, and You're right, the pain is no joke.
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There's still no word yet on whether any additional dates
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on her tour will be affected, but here's hoping that
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Casey takes all the time she needs to rest and recover.
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Moving on to countrynow dot com with the first article
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dated June thirtieth, Corey Kent snags second number one at
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country radio with This Heart. Corey Kent just notched another
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major milestone. On Monday, it was announced that the Oklahoma born,
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Texas based country artist has officially scored his second number
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one at country radio with his emotionally charged single This Heart.
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The track, which has already racked up more than seventy
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five million streams, now sits atop both the Country air
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Check Media Base and Billboard Country Airplay charts. Kent had
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been eagerly counting down the days for this moment to
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finally come to fruition. Just two days before the milestone
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was official, the rising country star took to social media
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to commemorate the feat. He wrote, Damn, this Heart is
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about to hit number one on country radio. I can't
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believe it. Ever since the song's released in January twenty
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twenty four, fans haven't been able to stop singing detention
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filled tune alongside the true power that lies within Kent's vocals.
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This Heart was written by Thomas Archer, Blake Bollinger, Jacob Hackworth,
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and Michael Taylor, and produced by frequent collaborator Chris Farren.
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The opening guitars from set the tone for Kent's aching
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delivery as he dives deep into the pain of heartbreak.
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Listeners follow along as Kent strives to release the pain
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felt deep within his heart, letting frustration flow throughout every lyric.
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The hard hitting storyline is further elevated by the energy
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of the electric guitar riffs and passionate drum beats. Corey
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Kent's latest accomplishment with This Heart follows the massive success
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of his breakout hit Wild as Her, which went triple
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platinum and hit number one on country radio and served
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as the lead single off his major label album debut, Blacktop.
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Before that, his second single, Something's Going to Kill Me,
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became a career standout when it earned an RIAA Gold certification.
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Despite not cracking the top forty. In the midst of
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his chart topping street, Kent continues building momentum on the road.
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He's currently headlining shows across the country, including two sold
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out hometown dates at Caine's Ballroom in Tulsa. He recently
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wrapped up a run with John Party on the Honky
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Tonk Hollywood Tour as a slew of fair and festival
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dates booked for the summer, and recently got to play
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his first stadium show while opening for Morgan in Houston.
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He'll reunite with Wallen again at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts,
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for back to back shows on August twenty second and
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August twenty third. Next, Cole Swindell opens up about the
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long road to his new album, Spanish Moss. Cole Swindell
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has finally unleashed his new album, Spanish Moss, and he's
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getting real about the recording process, the pressure he felt
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when making the album, and how taking a step back
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to live his life ultimately made him realize he wasn't
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quite finished. During an open and honest conversation with members
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of the Nashville media this week, Swindell admitted that the
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album making process had its share of ups and downs.
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This album, for me love it this much, it sure
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didn't feel like that the whole time. I'm just being honest,
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he confessed, just going into making an album after Stereotype,
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which she had me at Head's Carolina, never Say Never
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in Landy Wilson, I mean, come on, you just don't
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want to think about that at the time. You just
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want to enjoy it. Recognizing the pressure he felt coming
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off what was undoubtedly the biggest album of his career
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so far, the Georgia native also realized, hey, this album's
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not going to make itself. Just before getting engaged and
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beginning to plan his weddings, Swindell says he went into
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the studio with Zach Crowell and cut seven or eight songs. Well,
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he knew there was more work to be done. Swindell
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says he was happy to get a start on the project.
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That's when life happened and making an album was no
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longer his first priority. I think after those songs, I
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kind of put the album on the back burner. Not
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on purpose, he pointed out. I've waited a long time
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to just live life and not have to worry about
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that for a minute. And I think getting engaged, getting
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married and just doing that, and then finally waking up
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and saying I'm not finished. It's not even close to finish.
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So that's kind of when it all started. Back getting
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back into the album molds, Twindell spent time writing and
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combing through songs that were pitched to him. He says
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it was an eye opener realizing just how much work
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had to be done to complete the project, a true
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labor of love. Swindell poured everything into the project, determined
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to ensure that it had the right songs, and to
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his surprise, some of the most important tracks came together
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just in the nick of time. I just knew it
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wasn't quite there. It just didn't cover all the bases yet,
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and it wasn't ready, he explained. And I think, as
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frustrating as it was, I think the moment it all
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kind of came together. A lot of these songs came
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the last week before, well a day before he went
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into the studio to cut it the last time, and
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it's two albums in a row that that's happened, and
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they were some of the biggest songs of the whole thing.
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Although the process didn't unfold the way Swindell initially imagined,
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he admits he's grateful for how it all came together
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in the end, just another reminder that I'm not in
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control of my plan. That's not how it's going to happen,
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and it usually works out a lot better than I
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had planned initially. But finally I got it all and
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I'm like, I'll go play this for anybody anywhere. I'm
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proud of it. Among the album's twenty one tracks is
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the chart topping single Forever to Me and the previously
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released fan favorite Kill a Prayer. Songs like Left to
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Get Right and Bottom of It Would Click become the
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soundtrack to fans Saturday Nights, but it's the tender moments
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like the heartfelt Dale Junior and the grief stricken Heads
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Up Heaven where Swindell seems to shine the most. After
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previously releasing You Should Be Here in honor of his
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late father, Swindell says he wanted to find a way
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to honor his late mom as well, and that's how
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Heads Up Heaven came to be. I know she since
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I moved up here, she couldn't believe anything that was happening.
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It's just to see the shock on her face. I'm like,
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I know, trust me, I feel the same. But I
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think when I had the title heads Up Heaven, the
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whole point of it was a lyric in the song
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as I guess, I just wanted you to know what
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you're getting just giving them heads up, she's an angel,
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he explained. That kind of was the whole idea behind it.
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He continued, one of my favorite lines I've ever been
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part of writing is she was always telling me about you.
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Now I bet she's telling you about me. That's why
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I write songs, and even the sad ones, those seem
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to be the ones that mean the most. I'm cool
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with that, and that's why I love country music. But
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I can't have a set full of them songs, so
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I like to have some fun ones in there too,
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But those are I really think who I am and
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the storytelling part. Twenty twenty five is shaping up to
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be quite a year for Swindelle. In addition to releasing
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his new album and expecting his first child with his wife, Courtney,
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the multi platinum selling superstar and multi ACM Award winner
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is also gearing up to hit the road on his
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headlining Happy Hour Sad to Her. The track, which features
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special guests Priscilla Block, Logan Crosby, and Grayland James, will
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kick off on September fourth and Toledo and continue through
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October twenty sixth, which stops across Georgia, Colorado, Washington, Florida,
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and Moore. Next, Ella Langley and Hardy deliver a savage
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twist and highly anticipated new song. Ella Langley had us
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all fooled. Based on the title and the teasers Langley
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has been dropping on social media, it was easy to
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believe that her new single Never Met Anyone Like You
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featuring Hardy, was going to be her sweetest love song yet.
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But with today's release, we finally get the full picture,
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and it's not the love story we expected. What starts
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off sounding like a romantic confession quickly unravels into something
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incredibly heartbreaking. Langley's usual gritty vocals give a more soft
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and tender appearance than the beginning of the narrative as
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she recounts how incredible her love interest is and how
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easy he was accepted into her life. She sings, all
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of my friends can't quit talking about you. They've never
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been like this before. The way that you turn every
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head that's around you, the second you walk through the
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door safe to say that you made me insane, even crazy,
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got my whole world upside down. And I know that
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you know, I kind of know a lot of folks,
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But honey, there just ain't no doubt. Langley appears to
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be falling head over heels for this man. She makes
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him out to be a gentleman who shares her love
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of music, is kind to his mama, and has a
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big heart, and fully states you're one in a million.
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One she hits the chorus. Unfortunately, what we were convinced
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was a fairy tale love story by this point suddenly
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comes to screeching halt as Langley drops a true bomb.
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Turns out that this person is in fact one in
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a million, not because of how amazing he is, but
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instead it's because of the terrible actions that he's committed.
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After convincing Langley's character that he was the one, the
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real story comes out as Langley reveals, because you said
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it was us till the end. Then you went and
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hooked up with my friend and you blamed it on me,
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left me crying in pieces. Damn, what a piece. I've
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never met anyone like you. I've never met anyone like you.
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All the snippets the Alabama native shared across social media
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leading up to the release had fans sharing the lyrics
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with loved ones and eagerly awaiting the heartfelt tune to
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be added to her catalog. Today, she finally set the
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record straight, and she wrote, this isn't a love song.
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In fact, the song serves as a clear warning about
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how easy it can be to fall fast and hard
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for someone's charm, only to later realize it was all
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in act. This clever country track, with an edgy tone
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elevated Hardy's vocals and a perfectly executed curve ball, was
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penned by Langley, with Hardy and Jordan Schmidt. Speaking on
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how proud he is to have had a hand in
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writing this track, Hardy shared, this is one of my
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favorite songs I've been a part of in a really
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long time. I love the craft of songwriting, so anytime
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that we get to have a twist at the end
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of the song. It's my favorite thing in the world.
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It was right. That wasn't even supposed to happen, which
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is a beautiful thing. We were caught off guard by
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our own creativity. Everybody in the room crushed it that day.
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I can't wait to see people's reactions because I really
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do think it's one of the coolest songs I've ever
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been a part of. I'm really excited for it. The
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Powerhouse Songstress is currently on tour as direct support on
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Riley Green's North American Damn Country Music Tour, and we'll
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join Morgan Wallen later this month or this summer for
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eight stadium shows on as I'm the Problem Tour. Additionally,
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Langley recently announced that she is extending her sold out
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Still hung Over headline tour this fall. The newly added
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dates and her full set list of tour can be
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found at Ellalangley dot com. Now on to saving country music.
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With the first article dated July fir the Apostles Family
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the Billy Strings Moment in Lexington, Kentucky. In an editor's note,
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this is actually a review and it's a contribution from
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a Billy Strings devotee named Willie Kaufman recalling his experience
17:14
seeing Billy Strings perform at Kentucky's rupp Arena on June
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twentieth and twenty first. The show's occurred after the passing
17:21
of Billy's mother, Deborah Apostle. By now, the story of
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what William Apostle, better known as Billy Strings, was going
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through that Friday night. As he walked on to stage
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and Lexington is well known walking out to a darkened
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stage for the first of a sold out to night,
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Ronnie delivered the heartbreaking news through tears that his mother,
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Deborah Apostle, had passed away unexpectedly. Billy asked the crowd
17:44
not for silence, but for cheers for his mom. With
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tears streaming down his upturned face, he sobbed and the
17:49
crowd roared. What came next for those who filled Kentucky's
17:53
Basketball Mecca was devastating and magical. As Billy and his
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bandmates began playing, his voice cracking slightly, the crowd did
18:01
as he asked, We let him lean on us. He
18:04
fell deeper into the music. Huge cheers of the kind
18:07
normally reserved for end of show favorite songs or encores,
18:10
met Billy at every transition, adding an instant boost to
18:13
the already high powered bluegrass he plays nightly, wiping tears
18:17
from our eyes. We danced and sang, begging him to
18:20
feel the love we are sending him and again a reminder.
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This is a review from somebody named Will Kaufman in
18:26
Saving Country Music about a concert in Lexington. So, as
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he says, we watched nervously, so did Billy, Failing on banjo,
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Jarred Walker mandolin, Royal Massot on bass, and Alex Hargrave's fiddle.
18:38
We all watched as our hero continued to cry, play
18:40
and sing. Thank you very much, he said humbly, after
18:43
a scorching version of Bronze Back. These thank yous, which
18:46
came after several songs over the two night run, are
18:49
not typical for Billy, and only with the benefit of
18:52
time is it clear that he was thanking us for
18:53
being there for him. Again and again. As Billy broke
18:57
into the beatles, here comes the Sun, it was almost
18:59
too much to bear for all of us, especially Billy.
19:02
His voice was timid when he sang the first It's
19:04
all right. The crowd, singing louder by the second, supported
19:07
his every word. By the time the song concluded, the
19:10
gap between artists and audience seemed nearly imperceptible. We sang
19:14
for him, and he sang for us. Another Beatles cover,
19:18
Rocky Raccoon, followed, as did many legendary Billy fan favorites.
19:22
We cried and sang along as he wished to be trained,
19:26
feeling no pain, having no heart, and somewhere along the way,
19:30
love began to overtake tragedy. This is the best I've
19:33
felt all day, Billy said, after a set break. In
19:36
two songs, we love and appreciate you. More love from
19:39
the crowd, More magic from Billy. Poignant lyrics about loss
19:42
and family pulled us all together into a warm sing along,
19:45
supported by his and the band's incredible playing. When he
19:49
introduced Elderly Woman behind the Counter in a Small Town
19:52
as a song his mom taught him in fourth grade,
19:55
the moment could not have been more full. The ripping
19:58
version of End of the Rainbow provided the evening 's climax,
20:01
sending the crowd into a dancing and singing frenzy. Billy's
20:05
song Enough to Leave is about loss and death, As
20:07
the first notes of this ballad came from his guitar.
20:10
A hush went over the crowd, except for the sobs,
20:12
for a woman we didn't know, and for a man
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we like we think we do, for ourselves, for our
20:18
parents and our children and friends, for loss unspoken or unrealized,
20:21
for happiness, for sadness, and for Billy. Night Too began
20:27
slowly thanks to some testicular difficulties with Royal's bass, but
20:31
by the time the first banjo solo kicked on online,
20:35
the crowd was in end concert form, clearly still buzzing
20:38
from the night before and willing to do anything we
20:40
could for Billy. We sang every chorus, danced and loved.
20:44
It's been a doozy, he said just before the set break.
20:47
We appreciate it more than you could ever know. A
20:50
mystical electricity ran through the arena during that first set
20:53
of the second night. Billy seemed happy and loose, evidenced
20:56
by an extra funky lumpy bean, pollen dirt, and a
21:00
perfect Everything's the same and the set setlist. Officionado's will
21:04
acknowledge that the ten tunes and two encores he played
21:07
after the break contained some of his best songs. Nugs
21:11
dot Net viewers and listeners may admit having goosebumps after
21:15
Heartbeat in America and in the morning Light began the
21:18
show's closing set, But only those present can understand how
21:22
linked Billy, the band and his audience were during their
21:25
last hours together. It's been very special here, Billy said,
21:28
after his first cover of Tangled Up in Blue since
21:31
twenty twenty one put the show train in runway mode.
21:34
He added more thank yous. The crowd screamed and sang
21:37
and danced their gratitude back to him. Slow train did
21:40
nothing of the sort, as the gathering momentum created a
21:42
giddy intensity, and when Billy and friends walked up to
21:46
a single microphone for the anthem Richard Petty, some fifteen
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thousand voices became one as we committed to wake up
21:53
and change our ways one of these days, meet me
21:57
at the Creek. A musical rocket ship wrapped up the
21:59
blue Grass Journey is a Billy fan favorite. Those who
22:02
experienced the just over twenty minute version played last Saturday
22:05
night may spend the rest of our lives arguing that
22:08
that iteration rises above all others. None of us wanted
22:13
to leave that second night. We knew he had seen
22:15
and done something extraordinary. To leave that place was to
22:18
go into the world where death and life make us
22:20
very weary. For a June moment in Lexington, love was
22:23
greater than tragedy, and family did what family does best,
22:26
love unconditionally. We let Billy Strings lean on us. He
22:29
thanked and overwhelmed us. We will none of us ever
22:32
be the same next. Kentucky Headhunters on fifty plus years
22:38
and music ahead of Master Musicians fest as we know,
22:42
the Kentucky Headhunters is a chosen name from one of
22:44
the bluegrass states, most humble, beloved and celebrated country, blues
22:48
and Southern rock family bands of all time. They probably
22:51
hail from the small farm town of Edmonton, Kentucky, and
22:55
from a state that is undoubtedly rich in its contributions
22:57
of some of the greatest songwriters in recording artartists on
23:00
the worldwide stage. You know the name Nilready, Bill Loretta,
23:04
John Dwight, Ricky, Patty Keith Tyler, Chris Tergel. Now add
23:08
the Kentucky Headhunters to that list in your mind from
23:11
this day forward, says saving country music the core foundation
23:15
of the Headhunters. His brothers Richard and Fred Young, cousin
23:18
Greg Martin and friend Doug Phelps. Richard and Fred first
23:22
began playing music together back in nineteen sixty seven on
23:25
their farm. We've always been interested in rock music, even
23:29
when we were kids, before we even started playing, Fred
23:32
Young recalls our cousin Anthony Kenny also played, and the
23:35
three of us started a band back in sixty seven
23:37
called Truce. It wasn't until nineteen eighty six when the
23:42
Kentucky Headhunters namesake was first established. The Young brothers, along
23:47
with cousin Greg Martin, recruited Doug Phelps to make up
23:49
the core of the band as we know it today.
23:52
Doug's brother Ricky Lee Phelps joined the band briefly as well.
23:56
Over the years, the Headhunters have built their musical reputation
23:59
and method methodologies by doing things their own way and
24:03
not bowing down to standard industry norms formulas for success,
24:08
and instead remaining true to their rock and blues musical
24:10
roots throughout their long standing careers. Yet, despite doing things
24:15
their own way, the Headhunters did find mainstream success with
24:18
their landmark nineteen eighty nine album Picking On Nashville, recorded
24:22
its sound Shop in Nashville and released by Mercury Records
24:26
after being signed by President Harold shed The album would
24:30
thrust the band from the Kentucky underground and into the mainstream. Catchy,
24:34
hook laden songs, which genre hopped between country blues and
24:38
southern rock, made up the album, leading with their self
24:41
written feel good anthem doomas Walker. Clever renditions of Bill
24:45
Monroe's walked Softly on This Heart of Mine and Don
24:48
Gibson's O Lonesome Me propelled the album and produced several
24:51
top forty placements on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, including
24:56
a top ten skipping to twenty thirteen. The head Hunters
24:59
were inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, in
25:02
honor they especially cherished because they were being inducted into
25:06
the same class as two of their other in state
25:08
musical heroes and influences, Exile and Jackie DeShannon. In twenty
25:13
twenty one, they released their thirteenth studio album, That's a Fact, Jack,
25:16
which contained songs written most entirely by the Headhunters and
25:20
recorded at Barrack Studios in Glasgow, Kentucky. That Headhunters also
25:25
had been waiting in the wings for more than thirty
25:27
years to receive an invitation to perform on the Grand
25:29
Old Opry Stage, which finally happened on December fourth in
25:33
twenty twenty one. In the early nineties, when the head
25:36
Hunters released their debut album Pickin' on Nashville, Bill Monroe
25:40
approached Royo Akoff about having the group perform on the
25:43
Opry Stage. Now, the Kentucky Headhunters are looking ahead to
25:47
their upcoming performance in the thirty second annual Master Musicians Festival.
25:51
This will take place on July eleventh and twelfth in Somerset.
25:55
They'll be headlining along with Jamie Johnson and a slew
25:58
of both seasoned and up in coming artists like Buffalo
26:01
Wobbs and The Price, Hill Hustle, Hunter Flynn, The Creakers,
26:04
Cody Lee Mease, among others. Master Musicians Festival has an
26:09
established track record of bringing some of music's masters to
26:12
its stages over the years, and always keeps its focus
26:15
on giving artists hailing from the bluegrass state a place
26:17
on their stages. It's played host to the likes of
26:20
John Prine, Willie Nelson, Jason Isbel, Steve Earl, Nitty Gritty
26:24
Dirt Band, Billy Strings, Winona Dwight, Yoakum Old Crow Medicine Show,
26:28
Nappy Roots, among a slew of other established and up
26:31
and coming singer, songwriters and recording artists of all musical genres.
26:36
Independently operated and ran by a nonprofit board led by
26:39
executive director Tiffany Finley, the festival grounds are nestled within
26:43
the campus of a small community college, tucked away in
26:46
the heart as we know of southern Kentucky's Cumberland Valley.
26:49
As fellow Kentucky writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson once wrote,
26:53
buy the ticket and take the ride. Now on to
26:58
the boot dot com with the first article only. Article
27:02
was published on July first, The twenty five most important
27:05
countrymen of the last twenty five years ranked. And we're
27:09
not going to be able to have time to get
27:10
into a lot of detail, but this list of the
27:12
twenty five important country music men of the last twenty
27:14
five years includes five Hall of famers, but you'll find
27:18
just as many relative newcomers. This list of country music's
27:22
most important men since two thousand evaluates commercial success, songwriting, talent,
27:27
critical opinion, and fan base. Stated influence on the next
27:31
generation was also considered. Duos, combos, and groups were not
27:35
considered so to the list number twenty five, Dirk s
27:38
Bentley number twenty four, Jamie Johnson Kid Rock number twenty three,
27:43
Caine Brown at number twenty two, number twenty one, Luke
27:47
Bryant the twentieth most important male since two thousand country
27:51
music jelly Roll number nineteen, Sam Hunt number eighteen, Zach Bryant.
27:57
Then comes Stergil Simpson at number seventeen, Thearrius Rucker at
28:00
number sixteen, fifteen, George Strait fourteen, Jason Isbel thirteen, Garth Brooks,
28:07
Alan Jackson at number twelve, Brad Paisley at number eleven,
28:11
then the top ten, Luke Combs, Keith Urban at number nine,
28:16
Jason Aldeane at number eight, number seven, Tim McGraw, Blake
28:20
Shelton number six, Morgan Wallen number five, number four, Eric Church,
28:25
Toby Keith at number three, Chris Stapleton at number two,
28:28
and of course Kenny Chesney not a surprise at number one. Well,
28:32
this concludes the reading of Country Weekly for this week.
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If you have any comments or suggestions about our program,
28:39
kindly call us at eight five nine four two two
28:41
sixty three ninety. Thank you for joining me and on
28:44
behalf of everyone here at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins,
28:48
wishing you a great day.