Our very first Swag Session back in October of 2017 was with rising artist, Adam Doleac and you can watch the Facebook Live here. This past weekend during Taste of Country Music Festival, we caught up with the singer-songwriter as he celebrates having his single “Famous” be in the number one slot for the second week on Sirius XM The Highway’s Hot 30 Countdown. In our interview, he tells us his plans for new music and the inspiration behind “Famous”.
Watch the full interview with Adam Doleac below and take a listen to “Famous” on our New Country Music Playlist.
Adam Doleac rockin’ a NYCountry Swag Camo Flag Tank from our Hero Collection – Grab yours here
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/adam-doleac-cover.jpg6301200Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2019-06-11 20:41:272019-06-11 20:45:16Adam Doleac Talks About The Story Behind “Famous”
This past weekend at Taste of Country Festival up at Hunter Mountain, NY, we caught up with Walker Hayes. Besides telling us a hilarious dad joke, Hayes talked about the inspiration behind his brand new single “Don’t Let Her” as well as his plans for new music.
Watch the full interview with Walker Hayes below and take a listen to “Don’t Let Her” on our New Country Music Playlist.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/walker-hayes-blog-cover.jpg6301200Stephanie Wagnerhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngStephanie Wagner2019-06-11 00:05:352019-06-11 18:36:06Walker Hayes Chats About New Music, Dance Moves and Dad Jokes
This weekend at Taste of Country Festival up at Hunter Mountain, New York we interviewed Ryan Hurd before his set, opening up the festival. His newest release “Her Name Was Summer” is officially out now and Hurd explained the story behind the song as well as the process from going from being just a songwriter for other artists to an artist himself.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ryan-hurd-interview-cover.jpg6301200Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2019-06-07 15:28:352019-06-11 18:08:56Ryan Hurd Chats About New Music and Playing for NY Country Fans
Walker Hayes has released his newest single “90’s Country” which marries his progressive and modern twist on the genre with twenty-two classic songs that have influenced the singer-songwriter and most country fans from an era of music that will never grow old. In a recent chat with New York Country Swag, Hayes lets us in on the decision to drop “90’s Country” as well as the writing process that took place with critically acclaimed songwriter and producer Shane McAnally and LYRX.
The most interesting part of the idea behind “90’s Country” is the duality of meaning it brings to the fans across the country and specifically here in New York. On one hand, fans of country music who grew up listening to Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Joe Diffie, Alan Jackson, Shania Twain and all of the other artists referenced in the track, there is a wave of nostalgia that runs over you. For New Yorkers and fans who live in New York, country music hasn’t always been accessible to us. For seventeen years the New York and the metro area did not have a radio station playing current country music, so in order to keep up with what was popular in the country music world, prior to streaming and Spotify, you had to go out and buy CDs. For many fans especially the younger generation of New York country fans, they are hearing these references for the very first time, possibly now choosing to seek out the generation of country music that is so revered everywhere else around America.
Piecing together songs of the past while still creating an entirely new song is no easy task and Hayes explains it was written over months of texts and arguments back and forth. On his debut album boom. each track was authentic to his story, sometimes dark and always personal so when it came to “90’s Country” he was experimenting with a new side of songwriting. “It was such a unique song for me because most of my stuff, actually, 100% of my stuff is personal experience, I just dredge for feelings and emotions and thoughts and details from the emotion that is inside of me and that is the vocabulary I am allowed to use, otherwise I feel like if I select stuff outside of my experience the song begins to become too written,” he explains. But after releasing “Craig” which although it is an inspiring, real story, it is heavy, he felt he wanted to give his fans something lighter, something different. “I told my team I just want to put out something fun, infectious and when it’s over you have to press rewind and something you want to learn the words too.”
It wasn’t until 2004 when Hayes decided to pursue a music career and to make it his full-time job, therefore, he was able to grow up with music, soak it all in without dealing with the politics and business that come along with making the career choice. “I was able to be a teenager and experience all of those firsts with music constantly in my life, but not yet a business or a dream, because those 90’s country songs influenced me so much without me even knowing,” he tells us. “Looking back now as someone who writes every day for a living to provide for my family, it’s incredible to look back and realize I was in 7th grade listening to and experiencing deep lyrics like Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take the Girl”, and I was just loving it, pressing repeat. Who knew 20 years down the road I would be hopefully writing songs that people would be doing the same thing to in the car.”
Although the process of writing this song took a long time he is thrilled with the finished product. “It maintains my musical perspective while at the same time, throwing it back to my favorite songs,” he explains. “I’ve been so happy with the reaction it was really tedious but also therapeutic, it was like we put a puzzle together. I feel like this was a good move for me, it sets up a new album and new music in general. We are really glad we spent all of the time we did on it.”
Hayes will join Old Dominion on their Happy Endings Fall Tour which heads overseas stopping in Dublin and the UK for several dates. “I am really looking forward to going back because they are such a unique listener over there, they are very attentive,” he tells us. “They listen to full-length albums they love the material, which is an artists dream.”
Hayes joined us for a Live Swag Session back in April. He returns to New York City this October and country fans can grab tickets to his headlining show at Mercury Lounge on October 9th before he heads overseas.
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Managing Editor, Christina Bosch interviewing Chris Young
As country fans, we all know that Chris Young is a multi-platinum selling artist, responsible for hits like “I’m Comin’ Over”, “Think of You” and most recently his 10th no. 1 song “Losing Sleep”. The internet, however, had something entirely different in mind. For a brief moment when you Google ‘Chris Young’ pictures of the country star appeared on the page, but something very strange was written underneath his name…”American Rapper”. Young documented the moment in a recent Instagram post commenting “Um…@google I’ve been described in a lot of ways…this is the first time “American Rapper” has been used tho. #hanginon #googleisdrunk”
Photo Via @ChrisYoungMusic Instagram
When we spoke with him last night before his Stage 17 performance at Nash FM 94.7 studios, Young laughed when we brought up the mishap. “I just started laughing, it’s one of those things that, with all of the stuff that lives on the internet, there are so many things that can get edited.” he joked. “I’m not surprised that something like that happened but it’s still really funny because it’s next to all of these photos of me, right underneath where it said it.” He laughed as he told us that although he probably could rap if he was put to the test, he doesn’t think anybody would buy the record.
Coming off of an early morning, playing for Good Morning America, Young told us that it was great to be back on that stage explaining he would get up at 3 AM anytime to play for those viewers. He performed his latest single “Hangin’ On” which is about to be Top 20 on the charts as well as his most recent number 1 single “Losing Sleep”. Young told us that he just found out that “Losing Sleep” also has hit platinum status. “It’s always a two-prong thing, you want a number 1, but you also want people to buy the song, so having both of those marks for a song is just really, really cool and especially since it was the first single off the new record,” Young says.
His Losing Sleep World Tour resumes in September and hits the New York area on December 7th at Nassau Veterans Coliseum. When discussing how he keeps it fresh for his loyal fans, Young explained “For me the biggest thing is putting on the best show possible, there are a lot of things when you get to the size and scope of an arena tour where it’s locked in, these songs are happening in this order and there is video content to go along with them and then there are parts of my show that I like to keep very much organic where I can do whatever the hell I want to be honest.” He told us that fans can look forward to acoustic parts of the night where the set list will change from city to city.
For the full interview, take a listen below.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CY_InterviewCover.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-08-08 14:53:272018-11-12 22:33:59[Listen] Chris Young Chats About Google’s “American Rapper” Mistake
Right before taking the stage at Taste of Country Music Festival, Dustin Lynch took a few minutes to chat with New York Country Swag about what fans can expect from his set as well as 3 essentials he would need if he were the one camping on the mountain.
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“These are some of the most authentic, country fans anywhere you go.” Rodney Atkins says during our interview about playing shows in New York. He also revealed some tidbits about his brand new album due out later this Fall. Watch the full video above and for more from our weekend at Taste of Country Music Festival, click here.
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After a life filled with success and country music, a founding member of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John McEuen conversed with New York Country Swag about his new book and venturing out on his own to create music that he can call all of the shots on. After looking for direction in his life in the 1960’s McEuen saw a group called The Dillards play hot Bluegrass music in Orange County, which significantly changed his life forever. He learned how to play the banjo when he was 17 years old, recruiting some young guys who were still in high school hanging around the music store and they started Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with a dream of being played on the radio. Just seven short months later, they had their first tune being played across the airwaves.
After fifty years together as a band, countless hits and an album that is now in the Library of Congress as well as the Grammy Hall of Fame as a historic recording, McEuen made the decision to part ways so he can pursue other endeavors. “It became apparent it was time to pursue what I started doing before I started the group, a solo career, and all through the years of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I also played solo or with other people but now I am able to do anything I want,” he tells us. “We created a platform together that reached the world, that was living the dream and we did that but I wanted to broaden the platform.”
“I’m playing the Grand Ole Opry tonight, this is the magic of my career, I am the luckiest guy in the room most of the time because I am on the Grand Ole Opry stage tonight and Monday I’ll be at Opry City Stage in Times Square,” he tells us. Tickets are available for his Opry City Stage show here. He is looking forward to playing some of the classic hits from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band along with past band members, Les Thompson and John Cable.
Besides creating music, McEuen decided about a dozen years ago that he wanted to write a memoir. He was always writing down stories and anecdotal notes that weren’t in any specific order until a friend convinced him he should go for it. “Steve Martin who has always been a close friend of mine and a coworker at times and a good inspiration, he told me ‘You should put these in an order where it has a beginning and an end where it doesn’t jump around’ and so I spent years doing that, a couple years editing and then a year to come up with a title,” he explained. And so on April 1st, “The Life I’ve Picked: A Banjo Player’s Nitty Gritty Journey” was released. We asked McEuen if the days leading up to the book release were at all similar to releasing a new album. “Yes and no, because when you release an album you start getting airplay, there is no airplay with a book, so I didn’t know if I was going to raise the garage door and there be nobody outside, but the week before it came out it was #1 on the Amazon bestseller for new releases list, and it’s been there for 6 weeks and that was very exciting because the word got out somehow,” he explained. “I found out there is an audience for it, it reaches into people’s lives and it’s a reflection what their life had been if they are a fan of myself or the Dirt Band or just what happened in the 70’s or 80’s or 90’s. It’s just my story it’s the story of people who went through this period.”
The book chronicles his story, the ups and downs of the music industry and what he says, the angst of wanting to be the quarterback but sometimes being too often sitting on the bench. “I’m like Forest Gump with a banjo, one day I’m standing on the White House lawn the next day, I’m in a dressing room with Eddie Van Halen and Bob Dylan,” he laughs. Looking back on his career and this life, he says writing the memoir was a good way for him to realize how fortunate he’s been.
We talked about modern country music and the fluidity of the genre, to which McEuen explained that not too much of hte new music attracts him now, however, he is a big fan of Brad Paisley and Vince Gill. “Country music, the way I define it, has edged over more towards the parameters of pop music and all that means is what is popular right now, more popular is often new things, a new type of movie, a new type of shoes for women, it’s popular trends because people can’t do the same things over and over,” he says” Things change, the one thing you can count on is things change.” With his new music, he is eager to put an edge on what he does best and is proud that his new music goes over well with his fans. “I try to base what I do on the live aspect of a performance, the stage show, and hte music that is represented will take people back to a space that they will be glad to remember.”
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/JE2.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-05-18 17:50:222018-05-22 11:56:26John McEuen Chats About His Book “The Life I’ve Picked”
What’s Tyler Rich’s idea of ‘The Difference’ between Love & Lust… Cupcakes & Muffins… Traditional & Modern Country? Check out our full interview with the rising country star below to find out and to hear about his TODAY show debut and his choice to make “The Difference” his first single.
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Our next Swag Spotlight is focused on highlighting another local New York country artist, Tommy Cole. Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Cole explains in a recent interview that his town was a blue-collar, steel town, and although it wasn’t the nicest place in the world, it was a great place to call home. Growing up with a vast array of musical influences, Cole listened to everything from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, to Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, to 70’s rock music. He recalls playing his very first cassette tape, which just happened to be Trisha Yearwood’s, “She’s In Love With the Boy,” and spending endless hours watching Garth Brooks VHS tapes.
When making his decision to play baseball or pursue a music career through theatre he laughs and explains, “I was an 18-year-old boy who wanted to have fun and chase girls, so of course, I decided to go play baseball.” While playing catcher for the team, fate stepped in when Cole discovered his friend and the team’s pitcher also played the guitar. The two quickly formed a duo, playing local gigs and bars around their college town. Eventually, they recorded an EP, Southern Boulevard and spent the summers through school on the road.
After graduating college, Cole took the leap to move to Nashville, ready to pursue his singing career once and for all. He recorded his first solo artist EP, My Kinda Crowd and spent three years on the road up and down the east coast.
Something happened when he moved to that magical town, he realized that although he loved singing, he found a passion for learning the craft of songwriting. “I moved down there to be a singer, it was all I knew, I didn’t know how to play guitar, I didn’t know how to write a song really, I wrote some, but they were awful,” he explained “I played out on the town on Broadway for the first two years, did nothing but play 8-12 hour sets and I had a guy come up to me and tell me I was really good, but I had to start writing songs.”
He also learned that being a great singer doesn’t always mean being the loudest or the biggest voice. “I wanted to belt and be as loud as I could be, but the real proof that you are good is not blowing it up, but being able to be real quiet in a song and have everyone hang on every word,” he tells us, referencing some of his now favorite influences, Sean McConnell, Charlie Worsham, and David Nail.
Back in July of last year, Cole followed his heart to New York City and ended up falling in love with the city itself. “I’m a Northern boy at heart, I can’t help that,” he tells us “They won’t sugarcoat anything for you, they will tell you how it is and I love that. As much as I fell in love and that’s how I ended up here, I really did fall in love with this town.” He appreciates that the New York/New Jersey country scene is a tight-knit group of musicians and artists all working together as well as separately to achieve one common goal.
He continues to play shows on the east coast and is working now to put out new music that he has been working on and writing since his move to New York. He frequently collaborates with another one of our Swag Spotlights: Lauren Davidson. “Just enjoy what you are doing, enjoy putting out music and people liking your music and then go from there, because especially having so many people pursuing this dream it’s not easy,” he concludes with. Fans can follow along with Tommy Cole on his social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/TCcov.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-03-05 16:50:032018-03-05 17:36:51Swag Spotlight: Tommy Cole
