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“CMA FEST” RETURNS WITH SUMMER’S MUST-SEE MUSIC PERFORMANCES WEDNESDAY, AUG. 3

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“CMA FEST” RETURNS WITH SUMMER’S MUST-SEE MUSIC PERFORMANCES WEDNESDAY, AUG. 3 AT 8/7c ON ABC 

The Music Event of Summer Features 30 Can’t Miss Collaborations and Stellar Performances from Today’s Top Music Stars  

“CMA Fest” is Hosted by Dierks Bentley and Elle King 

Watch a Sneak Peek of “CMA Fest” HERE 

NASHVILLE— “CMA Fest,” the Music Event of Summer, celebrates its grand return, bringing the top music acts together on one stage for three full hours of can’t miss collaborations and unforgettable performances Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 8/7c on ABC and available next day on Hulu. The primetime special is led by first-time hosts Dierks Bentley and Elle King. Catch a sneak peek of “CMA Fest” HERE.  

“I think Elle brings so much to the table,” shared Bentley. “Onstage she’s just a riot and also super talented – a great combination of talent with comedic humor. A lot of spontaneous moments between the two of us and just a lot of laughs.” 

“I am co-hosting this whole shebang,” laughed King. “Not only do I get to do it with my buddy Dierks, I also get to see all these incredible performances and be a part of a big party!” 

“When Dierks and Elle first performed together at Fest in 2016, I knew they had something special,” said “CMA Fest” Executive Producer Robert Deaton. “The festival itself may be over, but thanks to these two, along with a solid slate of performances and special collaborations, the party continues in homes across America. It was a fun challenge to think differently with our setup these last two years, but it felt great to be back with a full house at the stadium.”   

Filmed from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN during the 49th CMA Fest in June, the television special features 30 performances from music’s hottest stars as they take the stage during the four-day festival. Fans will be talking for weeks about stellar collaborations including Bentley and Billy Ray Cyrus, Wynonna Judd and Carly Pearce, Dustin Lynch featuring MacKenzie Porter, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson, King and Ashley McBryde, Lady A featuring BRELAND, and Zac Brown Band with Darius Rucker. Additional performers include Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Russell Dickerson, Parker McCollum, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood.   

About CMA Fest 
The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience™ began in 1972 as Fan Fair®, which drew 5,000 fans to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. Now celebrating its 49th year, the legendary festival has become the city’s signature Country Music event that hosts tens of thousands of fans from all 50 states and 39 international countries. CMA Fest is a one-of-a-kind festival with artists donating their time to perform so ticket proceeds can directly benefit high-quality music programs across the country through the CMA Foundation. This is the 19th consecutive year CMA has produced a summer music program to be broadcast as a network television special.

About ABC Entertainment   
ABC Entertainment’s compelling programming includes “Grey’s Anatomy,” the longest-running medical drama in primetime television; ratings juggernaut “The Bachelor” franchise; riveting dramas “Big Sky,” “The Good Doctor,” “A Million Little Things,” “The Rookie” and “Station 19”; trailblazing comedies “Abbott Elementary,” “The Conners,” “The Goldbergs,” “Home Economics” and “The Wonder Years”; popular game shows, including “The $100,000 Pyramid,” “Celebrity Family Feud,” “The Chase,” “Press Your Luck” and “To Tell the Truth”; star-making sensation “American Idol”; “Judge Steve Harvey,” the network’s strongest unscripted series debut in a year; reality phenomenon “Shark Tank”; family favorites “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Holey Moley”; “General Hospital,” which has aired for more than 55 years on the network; and late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”; as well as the critically acclaimed, Emmy® Award-winning “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” specials. The network also boasts some of television’s most prestigious awards shows, including “The Oscars®,” “The CMA Awards” and the “American Music Awards.”  

ABC programming can also be viewed on Hulu. 

Interviews

Interview: Johnny Dailey Talks Inspiration Behind His Music Video, Favorite Beer, and His Secret Talent – Watch

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Originally hailing from Alabama, before finding a home in North Carolina, Johnny Dailey and his family moved to Nashville, TN several years back to give country music all he’s got. He has a passion for telling stories through his songs and is inspired by what he knows.

With CMA Fest finally back for the first time in three years, Dailey had the opportunity to play the CMA Spotlight Stage inside fan fair hall. Getting to introduce his music at the biggest country music festival was definitely a highlight.

Variety Beat sat down with Daily to talk about his current single “Beers in It” along with the inspiration behind the music video. His family is very involved in providing feedback for his music and they get to be his first audience. His down-to-earth nature makes him immediately lovable. Be sure to check out the interview below along with his official music video. We also chatted about his favorite beer and a secret talent fans might not know about him!

WATCH- INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY DAILEY AT CMA FEST

WATCH- “BEERS IN IT” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

About Johnny Dailey

Johnny Dailey discovered his love for country music as a kid riding around in his cousin’s truck listening to songs. When his dad gave him his first acoustic guitar at the age of 12, his destiny was all but set in stone. Following high school, the Trussville, AL, native moved to Charleston, SC, where he honed his performance chops playing original songs up and down the city’s infamous King Street. Nashville quickly took notice and, in the summer of 2018, he, wife Michelle and son Cooper began the next chapter of their lives in Music City.

“I grew up loving country music,” says Johnny. “I’ve always had a desire to tell my story through song and have it connect with people in some way. Songs have always been a source of comfort for me and I’ve always wanted to sing songs that provide that comfort for other people. It’s a good feeling when you know someone else has been in your shoes.”

The rising country star, with his anthemic, feel-good brand of Country music, signed his first major publishing deal in 2019 and is now signed to a global publishing deal with Endurance Music Group. Johnny is currently focused on his songwriting and honing in on his sound. When he’s not writing and performing in Nashville, Johnny enjoys spending time on his family’s farm, making furniture, taking trips to Charleston and surfing.

Interviews

Interview: Belles Performs at 1st CMA Fest, New Music Coming!

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CMA Fest was finally back after a three year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. It was an especially exciting time as it marked the first time Belles was able to perform during the 4 day music festival in Nashville, TN. Hailing from Nebraska, Belles has spent three years on the road with Jojo Siwa.

As a new solo artist, Belles told Variety Beat about the transition from a duo (formerly with her mom, her brother also plays drums for her!). Writing constantly, it felt only natural to become more of a solo focus. With her family’s full support, she is starting to show the world what she can do. Her mother and brother still perform with her at shows as part of her band.

Belles loves spending time off with an adorable pup and even takes time to knit in her spare time. She told us about a time where there was a collision with a camel, some amazing songwriters she’s been working with, her latest single “He Gave Me a Ring,” and that she has new music coming out in just a few weeks!

Check out our interview below and her latest single! Stay tuned for new music from Belles, coming soon!

WATCH- BELLES INTERVIEW AT CMA FEST 2022

Watch- OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR “HE GAVE ME A RING”

Connect with Belles

Music

Kalie Shorr Releases New Single “My Voice” – Listen!

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Kalie Shorr is giving fans a glimpse of her personal reflections with the release of “My Voice,” her honest and unabashed tale of her journey as a Nashville singer-songwriter. Still celebrating the success of her debut album Open Book, No. 7 on New York Times’ all-genre Best Albums of 2019 list, Shorr is turning the page to a new chapter with Open Book: Unabridged coming later this year. “My Voice” is just the first page of this new chapter, continuing her truth-filled and authentically irreverent point of view. With sonic influences from her diverse country roots and mid-2000s pop-punk, Kalie Shorr doubles down on her self-assured, rebelliously-unique sound. Listen to “My Voice” here.

Variety recently called her “the most attention-getting DIY artist in country [music],” a trait that recently landed Shorr her first recording contract with New York based major player TMWRK Records.

“I never thought I’d get to release ‘My Voice.’ I wrote it in March of 2019, the week before we started recording Open Book. I was going into the studio with this sense of confidence that I hadn’t had before, like I knew that album was going to change my life. I still had plenty of episodes of self-doubt, but writing that song was so cathartic and empowering for me. When it came time to pick songs for the extended version of the album (Open Book: Unabridged), I threw that in the Dropbox not expecting anything. The head of my new label championed it from day one. I’m so happy I get to let people hear my truly unfiltered thoughts on the music business and my career. When I wrote it, it was more of a stream of consciousness musing on the industry and now it’s turned into a personal mantra,” says Shorr.

Some of music’s most esteemed critics praised Open Book. Rolling Stone compares the record to a mix of “Shania Twain, Red-era Taylor Swift, Dashboard Confessional and Alanis Morissette,” while Taste of Country calls it “bold,” “raw,” and “real.” As for Shorr, NPR touts the singer/songwriter as “one of Nashville’s most promising” and in the U.K., The Guardian dubbed Shorr “the new queen of country”.

Last month, Shorr launched a podcast in partnership with iHeartMedia called “Too Much To Say with Kalie Shorr,” executive produced by nationally syndicated radio host Bobby Bones. “My Voice” is her first release on TMWRK Records.

Features

Sarah Harralson Gives Listeners Insight to Single “Put a Rock on This Rolling Stone”

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Nashville country artist, Sarah Harralson, recently released her new single, “Put a Rock on This Rolling Stone” under Busy at Play Publishing, which is her newest release since her collaborative album ‘West of Me’ in May 2019. This is her first released track since signing with producer Johnny Garcia (Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood), and it brings her music to a whole new level.

“Put a Rock on This Rolling Stone” means pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Harralson states, “The song is about someone who is a free spirit and an independent person, but at some point they want to settle down once they find the right person. I relate to this a lot, and I think a lot of others do too.” This East Tennessean native has influences of The Dixie Chicks, Jewel, and Alanis Morissette, which you can hear in her music.

Although the song was finished in mid-March, Harralson was unsure of when to put the song out into the world in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. “At the time, a lot of artists were postponing their tours and music releases, so I decided the beginning of summer would be the best time to release the single. After all, people want happy, feel-good songs in the summer. I had no idea it ended up being the perfect time to release it. Things were opening up again, and with all of the shotgun courthouse & zoom weddings due to canceled wedding ceremonies, it ended up being the perfect song for people to add to their wedding playlists. Because at the end of the day, people are just ready to put a rock on it instead of waiting!”

A couple days after the song was released, Harralson gave us another surprise with the music video for “Put a Rock on This Rolling Stone”. She says, “Another challenge was figuring out the music video concept. I originally wanted to have a party scene in the video with some people, but I knew it would be safer at the time to only have myself in the video. I like that we went with this concept instead because it promotes social distancing, but it also made sense to have just myself in the video since a rolling stone usually is alone when they’re moving from one place to the next.”

We asked her if she still considers herself to be a rolling stone: “I think I will always have a free spirit in me, but at the end of the day, I do want to settle down and have that true love, which I really feel like I have found.  I think all gypsy souls feel like they will never find the one until it just comes to them one day. I will always advocate love because there is truly nothing better, and if you are unsure if you will ever find it, don’t look so hard for it, just be patient.”

Sarah’s Socials:

About Sarah Harralson:

This Knoxville native began writing songs when she was ten years old, her grandfather, a bluegrass musician, being her biggest musical influence. After her grandfather passed in 2011, Sarah decided she would move to Nashville two years later to pursue music at Belmont University. A year after releasing her debut EP in 2014, she was discovered by Scotty Schultz, drummer of Shooter Jennings (Waylon Jennings’s son). Scotty opened up his publishing company, Raindrop Music LLC, in 2015 and after hearing Sarah’s original song “Watered Down Whiskey”, he knew he wanted to sign her right away. This would be Sarah’s first publishing deal. Scotty decided he would produce her first country EP, Watered Down Whiskey, of all original songs that Sarah has either written or co-written.

One of the tracks on the EP includes the song, “Radio Static” that was co-written with Johnny Garcia (lead guitar for Garth Brooks). Over time, Sarah began writing and working with Johnny, which evolved to the point where Sarah would sign her next publishing and artist development deal with Busy at Play Publishing (Johnny Garcia’s company). She is currently recording her next record with Johnny and you can expect to hear her new singles soon. Besides performing, Sarah also produces music herself and decided to release a collaborative album with co-writer Christine Bauer in early 2019 that she self-produced. She also plays at hospitals once a month for Musicians On Call. Sarah hopes that her music will help people in some way across the world. She is a big believer that music heals.