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Music

Idina Menzel Slays Like The “Queen Of Swords” on New Album ‘Idina’ and Announces Engagement!

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Tony Award winner Idina Menzel is back with her new album Idina. Usually, debut album are self-titled, but Menzel felt the need to call her new album Idina because she says  it is “the most personal, introspective albums I’ve ever made.”

If that’s not exciting enough, Menzel also annouced that she and actor Aaron Lohr are engaged!!

The album is filled with deeply personal songs as Menzel felt it was time to get back in the studo and make an original album.

“I chose to call this album Idina because I want people to understand that I’m just being my truest self and poured my heart out into this album. This is an album about rediscovering myself, learning from mistakes, and finding the courage to move forward.

Menzel co-wrote 9 out of the 12 tracks on the album. Idina opens with a song called “Small World” which immediately sticks out. It’s one of those songs that could be sung to a room filled with 5 people or a stadium full of people and still be just as powerful. Wicked fans will also love this song, not only because is might be reminiscent of the song “Defying Gravity” but because of it’s similar message of being independent and being your true self, which is the inspiration of the entire album.

I’m standing in a field / My feet lift off the ground / No one here will see me / No one will hurt me now / I’m brushing off the rain / While climbing through the clouds / Nobody can see me / No one can hurt me now / Goodbye gravity / Goodbye enemies / I’m going up to a place / Where the world is small / Where I can fly above it all / If I don’t make it, sing my song / From here I’m weightless / And no stars are famous / And the world is small. 

 

This album is filled with such inspiring lyrics that show a woman just trying to find herself, learning from her past and being strengthened in the knowledge of what life has taught her.

“Queen Of Swords” also sticks out with it’s fast beats and quick lyrics that make you want to stand on top of a mountain and shout them to the world.

There’s no way I’m holding back anymore / I’m slaying like the queen of swords / I’m slaying like the queen of swords / I can be delicate as a flower / Or a warrior on a throne / Isn’t life for us to  devour / Even if we do it alone /  When I look into the future / And see my story in the cards / Somedays it’s hard and the truth hurts / But I’d never trade my broken heart…. Gonna live to seize the moment / Leaving nothing left unsaid / I am standing here wide open / This queen has no regrets

 

Things slow down with “I See You” but it’s a song that lets people know they aren’t alone even when they are going through horrible times. It’s also a song a lot of fans will connect to Menzel on as they get a sense of her talking directly to them.

Here’s to the lonely / To the broken-hearted / I want you to know I feel your pain / Here’s to the hapless / The almost forgotten / To those who got lost along the way I see you / I see you

Although we get a sense of what Menzel must have been feeling while going through a divorce, we also get the hope she feels with new love in her life and the joy that brings in the song “Everybody Knows.”

Menzel has fun with the story of “Jack and Jill” and putting a new twist on it in which people can’t always give the perfect story with a “textbook happy ending.”

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Co-writing most of the songs on the album really makes the songs feel meaningful. When an artist connects to the words, listeners can feel that and then they connect as well. Thank you Idina, for your courage in making this album and saying what you needed to say. Congratulations on all your hard work and best wishes for a happy Marriage!!!!

Listen to Idina 

Music

Lindsay Ell’s New Single “All Alright” is a Smash – Listen

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One of CMT’s Next Women of Country, Lindsay Ell is more than just your typical Country Music Artist. She’s a phenomenal guitarist who is always crafting her trade.

 

If you follow her on social media such, you’ll find her constantly working on her music. It almost seems to never stop. Even when Ell is delayed at the airport, she’s busting out her gear and working on her latest creation.

 

Ell’s previous single “By The Way” has amassed almost 2 million streams on Spotify and now she is back with her new single “All Alright.”

Ell posted a video clip to twitter sharing her excitement for her new single and added that it was just the start of new music coming!!!

“All Alright” talks about things going wrong, but how a person can bring so much happiness and light into any situation and it makes even the dreariest of times hopeful, that everything will be alright.

We could make money / That don’t last forever / If we go broke / We go broke together / If you’re with me / Baby / It’s gonna be / All alright / We can make plans / That change on a dime / End up somewhere / We didn’t have in mind / But if you’re with me / In the front seat /  It’s gonna be / All alright / 

We can’t wait to hear this song live next week when we cover her show in! Stay tuned for updates!! Listen to “All Alright” below and buy it on iTunes!

Music

The Time Jumpers Reveal ‘Kid Sister’ Album Art and Tracklisting!

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NASHVILLE – July 12, 2016 – Comin’ at you September 9 straight outta Nashville:  The Time Jumpers’ radiant third album, Kid Sister, on Rounder Records.  This treasury of 14 tunes—new and classic—is both a sweet tribute to the band’s late “girl singer,” Dawn Sears (the “Kid Sister” of the title), and a sparkling celebration of western swing and traditional country music.


For the uninitiated and yet-to-be dazzled, The Time Jumpers is a 10-piece band made up of superpickers who normally work recording sessions and/or tour with major artists.  On Monday evenings, their usual night off, they convene at the 3rd & Lindsley nightclub in Nashville for shows that routinely pack the house and attract big name artists, many of whom join them on stage.

The band members are Vince Gill, vocals and guitars; Kenny Sears, fiddle and vocals (and Dawn Sears’ husband); Joe Spivey and Larry Franklin, fiddles and vocals; Paul Franklin, steel guitar; “Ranger Doug” Green, guitars and vocals and founding member of the Grand Ole Opry’s Riders In The Sky; Billy Thomas, drums and vocals; Jeff Taylor, accordion, piano and vocals; Andy Reiss, guitars; and Brad Albin, bass.

Gill produced Kid Sister with the entire band creating the arrangements.

Kid Sister track listing:
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1. “My San Antonio Rose” (Freddy Powers)
2. “I Miss You” (Vince Gill, Ashley Monroe)
3. “We’re The Time Jumpers” (Vince Gill)
4. “Table For Two” (Vince Gill, Max D. Barnes)
5. “Empty Rooms” (Doug Green)
6. “All Aboard” (Paul Franklin)
7. “Blue Highway Blue” (Debi Smith Cochran, Billy Thomas)
8. “I Hear You Talkin’” (Cindy Walker)
9. “The True Love Meant For Me” (Vince Gill)
10. “Honky Tonkin’” (Vince Gill, Troy Seals)
11. “Bloodshot Eyes” (Hank Penny)
12. “Sweet Rowena” (Vince Gill, Pete Wasner)
13. “This Heartache” (Kenny Sears)
14. “Kid Sister” (Vince Gill)

The Time Jumpers will take selections from Kid Sister and other crowd favorites to the people starting Thursday, July 21, at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, OK.  From there, it’s to the Globe Performing Arts Center, Amarillo, TX, July 22; the Civic Center Theatre, Lubbock, TX, July 23;and 16 more dates, including a West Coast swing in September and October.

Kid Sister Album Bio:

Kid Sister isn’t just The Time Jumpers’ fond farewell to a fallen musical comrade. It’s also a luminous demonstration of how music alleviates pains of all sorts, whether death, heartbreak, separation, loneliness, or just the messy fallout of plain bad judgment.

The ‘kid sister’ of the title is Dawn Sears, The Time Jumpers’ infinitely versatile “girl singer,” who died Dec. 11, 2014 after 10 years of gracing the band and 22 years of touring as harmony singer for Vince Gill, now an enthusiastic Time Jumper himself. She was the wife of Time Jumpers bandleader and fiddler, Kenny Sears.

Gill and his wife, Amy Grant, were doing a Christmas show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium the night Dawn died. “I remember it vividly,” he says. “I felt Dawn’s presence come through the Ryman at the moment she passed, I think to tell me goodbye or give me the finger, or maybe both. I didn’t know, but I felt something in the room that was beautiful. Then Kenny told me the following morning she was gone. I came home after the Christmas show and spent maybe two hours reminiscing about Dawn, listening to her sing, still not knowing she had passed. When I got the news, I sat down and realized I had to put this in some form of a song.”

Thus was born the album’s title track and emotional focus. In “Kid Sister,” Gill sings Dawn from this life to the next, marveling all the while on her remarkable presence and voice. “I smiled when you laughed,” he croons to her, “and I wept when you sang.”

The album was conceived and started in mid-2014, before cancer stripped Dawn of her ability to sing. And so the first two tracks feature her voice. On the sprightly “My San Antonio Rose,” the last song she sang before losing her voice, Kenny says there were certain vocal lines she wanted to do over but couldn’t. Knowing that, Gill suggested Kenny sing the lines Dawn would have been dissatisfied with, thereby turning an intended solo into a duet recording.

“I Miss You,” the other Dawn cut, first saw life as a song Gill co-wrote and recorded for his most recent album but didn’t use. On it, Dawn sang harmony. To give it a proper place in this group album, Gill stripped off the original instrumentation and rewrote some of the lyrics to reflect Kenny’s perspective on missing Dawn and had The Time Jumpers replay all the music.

Country

Charlie Worsham Teases New Album And Goes To Capitol Hill

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It’s been 3 years since Charlie Worsham released his debut album Rubberband. Looks like the wait may be close to over! Worsham sent out a series of tweets on June 19, 2016 giving fans a little bit of news.

CHARLIE WORSHAM AND KRISTIAN BUSH TAKE CAPITOL HILL!

We were lucky enough to attend Worsham’s annual Donuts and Jam at CMAfest this year, and he spoke of a new album and even played a couple songs that may be on the upcoming album. While there is still no word of a release date, Worsham does have plans for this year. In the fall he will be heading overseas to open for country legend Kenny Rogers! Embed from Getty Images

Worsham had a busy week at Nashville’s biggest party! Thursday-Saturday night he did a late night jamboree at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop on Broadway. The event drew a large crowd and some big names! The Friday night edition of the event seen Brandy Clark and Eric Church showing up! It drew so many people that cops had to do crowd control and turn people away.

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Charlie took to his twitter the next day, reaching out to some of the fans who had been turned away ensuring they would get to see the Saturday night show. He also announced a change in venue instead of one of the oldest record shops in town the Saturday night show would be in Warner Music pop up store. The Saturday night show featured guests Hunter Hayes and Kid Rock among others.  Worsham proved you didn’t need to be part of the stadium show to show fans love. He did it his own way with his late night jams and early morning donuts!

On June 23rd, Worsham was in Washingtion D.C. Meeting with different  representative and congress from his home state  of Mississippi! He is talking to them about music education! His day is being documented on the Country Music Assocation’s snapchat (cmasnaps)!

Kristian Bush joined Worsham in D.C. and the two put on quite a concert for every one!

 

Cover photo by: Katie Kauss

EP Review, Music

EP Review: Kelleigh Bannen’s ‘Cheap Sunglasses’ Is A Must Have! – Listen

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We are so excited that Kelleigh Bannen has finally been able to put out an EP titled Cheap Sunglasses! We’ve been following her career closely for the past several years and she’s released four different singles over that time: “Sorry On The Rocks,” “Famous,” “You Are What You Love” and “Smoke When I Drink.”

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It’s been a long wait to have something in the form of an EP/Album and with her courage and bravery of signing off on her current deal, she is finally able to put out new music!

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The best part of Bannen’s EP is that there are 5 brand new songs that have never been released before. “Welcome To The Party” is a personal favorite and includes our now adopted mantra Welcome to the freak show / it’s come as you are. It’s definitely a song you can put on repeat and sing while drinking a bottle or wine (or Dr. Pepper,) driving in the car, getting ready for the day and pretty much any other scenario you can think of.

“Landlocked” is a great song for everyone because it doesn’t appeal to one gender over another. It’s the perfect summer song, especially if you live in an area that isn’t close to a big body of water and it’s hot outside! The sky looks kind of like the sea / and a big box fan feels kind of like an ocean breeze. Making the best of circumstances is something Bannen knows all too well, but don’t worry because up next is the title song!

“Cheap Sunglasses” is one of those songs where you think it’s about one thing (i.e. a relationship) but it’s actually about something entirely different. The beauty of the song is that even though it’s about something specific to Bannen (drawing a line in the sand), it can be applied to so many different scenarios which makes it relatable. You won’t miss ’em much / only costs a couple bucks / I don’t want to be your cheap sunglasses/ … So easy to break / Just throw away / Well, I’m not made of plastic / I don’t want to be your cheap sunglasses.

 

As Bannen shares on her blog This Nashville Life:

So this week I’m going all in, again. I leave one chapter of my music behind, so that I can start a new chapter. It’s sad to say goodbye to the old chapter. I liked it. It was safe (safe-ish, I guess) but I wasn’t growing the way that I longed too, and I wasn’t able to put music out for myself, or share my music with my fans. So I’m going all in. And I’m starting with this small body of work—“Cheap Sunglasses.” And the title track is about making a change. Drawing a line in the sand. Standing up for yourself, and moving on.

“Once Upon A” slows things down a bit but showcases Bannen’s vocal ability as she shares the story of a relationship unfolding. When we think of the phrase “Once Upon A” it usually continues with the word “time” and tells the story of something that has already taken place and concluded. Bannen takes is another step to say she wants to start that story aka a “Once Upon A.”  Hey, you’re moving fast but you’re forgiven / Stay, every memory has a beginning / This is us, this is now / Starts tonight, don’t know how / Just know I wanna / Start a little once upon a

The EP concludes with “All Good Things” which is a great way to finish the EP before putting it back on repeat! It’s definitely a feel good song that allows the listener to just sort of appreciate life and who they have in it. All good things are wild and free / You’re the fire in my veins / I’m a runaway train / And together we’re crazy/ All good things are wild and free / No it don’t cost nothing / But your kiss is so money / So baby lay it on me. 

LISTEN TO KELLEIGH BANNEN’S CHEAP SUNGLASSES EP

Don’t forget to support the artist and songwriters by buying it on iTunes!