NYCS Swag Spotlight: Carolyn Miller

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Carolyn Miller

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Carolyn Miller is our next Swag Spotlight.  Just like Tommy Cole and Lauren Davidson, Miller is pursuing a career in country music by growing her fanbase up north and taking frequent trips down to Nashville for meetings and songwriting sessions.  She tells us in a recent phone interview that like most performers, she was performing before she even knew it.  “When I was 2 in church if my parents blinked I would run up onto the altar, as I  got older they just realized it was I just loved to perform and be in front of people,” she laughs.

Besides not having the typical ‘growing up on a farm’ experience, Miller also went a different route during her early years, acting for television and Broadway. Starting with local community theater when she was merely six years old, and being signed to a top children’s talent manager when she was eight, Miller has worked professionally since then, working on a national commercial with Rosie O’Donnell, voiceover work for Jenifer Lopez’s perfume, landed a role in Daredevil with Ben Affleck and guest starred in Law and Order SVU.  All of this before she exited her teen years, Miller was accepted to the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College on scholarship.  After graduating college she was inspired by some friends who were posting cover videos on YouTube. She gathered some friends, Mikel James and David Wong and they recorded their own version of A Great Big World’s “Say Something”. Within 48 hours the video garnered over thirty thousand views, reaching now almost a hundred thousand views.

The exposure from the YouTube cover lit a fire under her to start exploring the recording artist side of her passion, something she had never really thought about before.  Although she grew up on Long Island, which did not have a country radio station for almost 20 years, she recalls seeing Carrie Underwood win American Idol and being hooked.  “the reason why I connect with it so much is country music is so real, honest, authentic, it tells a story, it’s vulnerable and it has something to say and there is always a purpose,” she explains.  “Coming from my acting background I love authentic stories and I love really getting up and singing I don’t want beats and autotune, country is just that real beautiful pure genre of music.”

After a chance meeting with Russ DeSalvo who has produced Celine Dion and Lionel Richie, Miller started working with him on her debut EP which will be out this summer. The EP features five songs that songwriters in Nashville, LA, and NY wrote, songs that she felt spoke to her.  She looks forward to honing her songwriting craft and performing songs in her live shows and for future albums that she has written herself.

Her background in performing and acting has given her the foundation in this industry to move at a much faster pace than someone just starting out. “I learned discipline, dedication and work ethic from the time I was 8 years old. I understand how it works, I’ve been exposed to it all from a young age,” she tells us. “Everything I’ve been through just proves to me that I know I am ready for this and I know this is what I am meant to be doing and the ups and downs of the industry are expected.”
Miller considers herself pop-country crossover, very New York City meets Nashville and is excited to release her debut EP, Unbreakable later this year.  While in NY she has performed at shows all around town, including the Country Christmas Showdown, was a Nash Next Finalist and is booking opening slots with bigger acts for the remainder of this year. “You have to live and eat and breathe and sleep your craft and feel it in your blood and DNA that there is no other option,” she thoughtfully exclaims.  “If that this is your happiness then you just know that this is what you are meant to do.”
Follow Carolyn Miller on her social media platforms, Facebook,  and Instagram, for announcements on upcoming shows and releases.

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

NYCS First Impression: Ashley McBryde Releases ‘Girl Going Nowhere’

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Adding to a day of great music released by badass women in country music, Ashley McBryde‘s new album Girl Going Nowhere is available everywhere today. She has spent the last 11 years in Nashville, gigging in biker bars, growing her tattoo collection and writing songs.  Now with her very first major-label debut record, McBryde is serving up some of her best songwriting, with producing genius Jay Joyce. The debut single off the project “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega” hit number one on Sirius XM The Highway’s Top 30 Countdown and is currently sitting top 35 at country radio.

She has cut her teeth in Nashville and Memphis bars, but since then has landed opening spots for Eric Church and Miranda Lambert and was also on the bill for the most recent Sirius XM Highway Finds Tour with High Valley and Adam Doleac.  During her set she told the audience  “I was four or five years old when I told my parents this is what I wanted to do for a living,  so now we are doing it and I am in New York City for the first time,” reflecting on what a ride it has been from her little town in Arkansas to the stage in the Big Apple.

The tracks are sentimental without being mushy, they all weave a story of the artist that McBryde strives to be, and the niche of the country music world that she has carved for herself. “The Jacket” is simple, about a piece of clothing that her father gave her, but the way she poetically explains the fabric and the imperfections seemingly tug at even the toughest of hearts strings.  “Livin’ Next to Leroy” doesn’t shy away from a topic that is rarely talked about, let alone sung about in country music, where beer and dirt roads are all the rage.  The track tackles meth addiction and the downfall that the main character encounters over an upbeat, soulful melody.

“Andy (I Can’t Live Without You)” is the closest thing you’ll find to a love song on the project, and McBryde says it is about one of her bandmates, not a romantic relationship.  “Radioland” takes you all the way back to a 5-year-old girl sitting in her parent’s vehicle or kitchen learning about life as it flowed out of the speakers.

Ashley McBryde

The lyrics on the project are straightforward and it is undeniable the mark that she has left on this project, co-writing the album in its entirety and recording it with the same band that she is on the road with night after night. Authenticity rings true, making Girl Going Nowhere the quintessential country album, telling stories that McBryde just knew in her soul that she needed to tell.

Grab your copy of Girl Going Nowhere on iTunes here and check out McBrydes full 2018 tour schedule below.

 

2018 Ashley McBryde Tour Dates:
4/03 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy
4/04 San Jose, CA City National Civic*
4/05 Irvine, CA Bren Events Center*
4/06 San Diego, CA The Observatory North Park*
4/11 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex*
4/17 Portland, OR Roseland Theater*
4/19 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo*
4/20 Garden City, ID Revolution Concert House*
4/21 Spokane, WA The Knitting Factory*
4/23 Vancouver, Canada Commodore Ballroom*
4/25 Calgary, Canada MacEwan Hall*
4/26 Edmonton, Canada The Ranch Roadhouse*
4/29 Indio, CA Stagecoach Festival
6/09 Hunter, NY Taste of Country Music Festival
6/20 Oshkosh, WI Country USA
6/21 Brainerd, MN Lakes Jam
6/23 Cadott, WI Country Fest
7/15 Rhinelander, WI Hodag Country Festival
7/20 Twin Lakes, WI Country Thunder- Twin Lakes
*Denotes dates on Luke Combs’ Don’t Tempt Me With a Good Time Tour

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

NYCS First Impression: Kacey Musgraves Sparks Ethereal Wonder on ‘Golden Hour’

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Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour

Kacey Musgraves is a Grammy winner who writes and creates songs that are important for this generation and for the country genre.  While her sophomore album Pageant Material focused more on her hometown of Golden, Texas and the ups and downs of growing up in such a small town, Golden Hour is focused more on love, her place on this planet and even a little bit of 70’s disco flair.

From the opening track “Slow Burn” to the LSD fueled “Mother” and the closing track “Rainbow” the entire project is luminous, airy, and meaningful.  When listening to Golden Hour, you can almost see the sounds and feel the colors that she wanted to portray.  In fact, earlier this week she hosted her album listening party at a planetarium in Nashville and each song had its own psychedelic, starry-filled video to accompany the track.  The last single and instant gratification song released to those who pre-ordered the album, “High Horse” is nostalgic of the disco era, lava lamps and the word “boogie”.

Her vocals flit and float over the melodies especially in “Rainbow” and one of the first singles off the project “Butterflies”, which our team got to see her perform live when she opened for Little Big Town at Radio City Music Hall.   As a new bride, Musgraves seems to have a new appreciation for the brilliant feeling when you find the one your heart longs for.

Though many of the songs are light and playful, she stays true to her artistry in never shying away from raw, honest subjects in her music. “Happy and Sad” zeros its focus in on always waiting for the other shoe to drop, not appreciating the good things because of fear of the bad.  “Space Cowboy” one of the strongest, somber songs of the entire project was released the same day as the love song “Butterflies” proving that on this project both love, sadness, and breakup can live peacefully.

Golden Hour is a true masterpiece, weaving delicate lyrics into stories, laced over some of the most unique and colorful melodies.  Grab your copy of Golden Hour on iTunes or listen below:

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

#TBT Luke Bryan’s Very First Number One Single “Rain Is A Good Thing”

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Luke Bryan is celebrating his 20th number one single this week with “Most People Are Good”, off his recent album, “What Makes You Country,”  In honor of the moment, Let’s take a look back at the video for his very first number one single, “Rain is a Good Thing”.

The video starts out by testimonials from real farmers who spent their entire lives in the fields. “Sixty-something’ years, this has been my livelihood all my life, and it all depends on the water,” a farmer says from his front porch. The video is a clip from Bryan’s ‘Welcome to the Farm Tour’ on Hurricane Plantation in Claxton, Georgia back in 2009.

The video ends with Bryan singing during a huge rainstorm and everyone dancing along. Check it out below…

 

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

4.7.18 – NYCountry Swag Presents: Country Ride with Swerve Fitness

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New York Country Swag Presents:
Country Ride
with Swerve Fitness 

Join Us for a Country Music themed ride at Swerve Midtown

Saturday, April 7th, 10:30AM

Swerve is a team inspired indoor cycling workout
which uses teamwork & tech to create the best cardio workout

Whether you come alone or with friends, the team dynamic keeps you motivated, supported, and accountable, without ever singling you out. Class is a 45-minute rhythm ride and the bikes are arranged into three teams (Red, Green, and Blue), so when you get on your bike, you’ll meet your teammates.

New riders can take advantage of Swerve’s “Buy One, Get One” Class Special

Click Here to Register
Limited seats are available.
We’ll see you there!

*For all questions please e-mail: [email protected]

NYCS Swag Spotlight: Parmalee

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Parmalee

This week’s Swag Spotlight shines on a band that has been together since 2001, Parmalee.  Brothers Matt and Scott Thomas, as well as their cousin Barry Knox and friend, Josh McSwain, moved to Nashville from North Carolina in 2011 to pursue their dreams of being a country music band.   “I think that country is just a part of who we are, we sort of landed there because we were kind of the band that nobody could pinpoint who we were,” Matt Thomas says in a recent chat with New York Country Swag.   “We were always a little too country for rock and too rock for country and too country for pop, it was always kind of blurred lines for us, so it was just a natural progression of where we needed to be.”  He explained that when Jason Aldean, Big and Rich, and Eric Church started making there mark on the genre, they felt they added a similar edge to the traditional music that had been popular in country for so long.

When discussing their influences growing up, Matt laughs and says “honestly everything”.  “Our dad brought us up on soul, blues, and southern country, but also a lot of rock and roll and my mom listened to whatever pop music was out. There was a classic rock radio station back home, that was a staple, it was always a lot of soul rock and roll and country music.”  Now the band explains they are fans of good songs and great melodies, no matter the genre. At any given time you can find them listening to jazz music, or a Frank Sinatra album.  Scott will play the new Chris Stapleton record or even listen to pop music.

Their latest album, 27861 which is also their hometown zip code was released last summer on Stoney Creek Records. They decided to name the album after their hometown because that zip code had been essential to them coming together as a band and represents their roots. They even all have the numbers tattooed on their arms. The album features a collaboration of incredible Nashville songwriters including Rodney Clawson, Tom Douglas, Andrew Dorff and lead singer of Parmalee Matt Thomas.  Writing with those legendary writers, Thomas tells us “I love those guys, there are so many talented people in Nashville that you just have to soak it all in, learn more about people and I think I’ve learned to listen and know what people do best, it’s a very unique, crazy cool thing. ”

Thomas discussed narrowing down over forty songs down to twelve and how they made those decisions. “You want hits the band loves and wants to put on there, what your fans want, and what radio is going to want to play, what is going to help for the live show,” he told us. Looking to the future the band is gearing up to play some festivals and shows across the country this summer and are excited to announce their next single very soon.

Follow along on the band’s social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For full tour dates head to www.parmalee.com

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Ryan Hurd’s New Single “Diamonds or Twine” is the Quintessential Love Song

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With his upcoming nuptials to country superstar Maren Morris looming, Ryan Hurd released a brand new love song today.  “Diamonds or Twine” is not only the perfect love song, but it also represents the day that the couple got engaged back in July of 2017.  “I played this song for Maren the night we got engaged,” says Ryan. “We were at the lake in Michigan, on the dock, and I will never forget that moment.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s diamonds or twine / I’ll be wrapped around your finger / Girl, you got me ’til we run out of time / Rich or poor, rain or shine, / The wind’s gonna blow wherever it goes / And the road is gonna wind / Doesn’t it matter if it’s diamonds or twine / Forevermore, I’ll be yours, and you’ll be mine.”

The two who are slated to get married tomorrow, March 24th met back in 2013 when they were both just coming up in the industry as songwriters. Listen to the beautiful new song below.

 

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

First Impression: Jordan Davis Impresses with Debut Album ‘Home State’

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Jordan Davis Home State

Cover art courtesy MCA Nashville

Rising country artist and one of our New York Country Swag 2018 Artists to Watch, Jordan Davis released his debut full-length album today.  Home State, available everywhere, comes following Davis’ biggest week yet. During his Whiskey and White Wine show Wednesday night at Nashville’s Exit/In, the newcomer was presented with his very first certified gold record for his breakthrough single, “Singles You Up”.  His very first headlining tour wrapped last night (Thurs, Mar. 22) and now Davis starts his album release week.

All twelve tracks on the album were co-written by Davis, allowing fans to peek into his personal story and his pride for his hometown of Shreveport, Louisana. Country radio was first introduced to the Lousiana native when he released “Singles You Up” which is now sitting in the top 10 on the country charts.  The music video released earlier this year has already garnered over six million views and was the perfect single to kick off his debut LP.

 

Besides the playful “Singles You Up” and “Take it From Me” Davis does an outstanding job of blending sub-genres of the country music world including pop, rock and even r&b.  The project features heartbreaking ballads, “Leaving New Orleans”, “Dreamed You Did”, and “Going ‘Round” as well as sensual, love songs such as “Selfish”, “Slow Dancing in a Parking Lot” and “Sundowners”.

Standouts on the LP are “Tough to Tie Down” which expresses a woman who is wild and free but despite her always leaving, he will love her “as long as this world keeps spinning ’round.”  “Made That Way”, another love song highlighting taking someone as they are, quirks and all. “You’re Christmas lights in August / won’t wake up ’til 10 am / my heart pounds just like a kick drum any time that you walk in.”

Fans of John Mayer, Drake White, Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett will all find something to absolutely love and appreciate on Home State.  Grab your copy on iTunes here or take a listen below.

Hear some of our favorite tracks from the record on our New Country Spotify. playlist, here.

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Ellen DeGeneres Surprises Devin Dawson

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Devin Dawson made his Ellen debut today, performing his debut single “All on Me” from his album Dark Horse. Wearing his signature all black, Dawson and his band performed the track which is currently sitting at number 3 on the Country Airplay Chart.

After the performance, Ellen DeGeneres joined Dawson on stage and after exclaiming that each member of the audience would be getting a copy of his album, she said: “I have a surprise for you, this is a really, really great song…it’s so good that it’s gone gold.” Dawson clearly shocked, started jumping up and down with excitement as his very first RIAA gold-certified plaque was presented to him.  Watch the full video above.

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Eli Young Band

#TBT Eli Young Band’s Summer Beach Hit

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After yesterday’s snowstorm, let’s listen to Eli Young Band’s 2017 smash summertime hit, “Saltwater Gospel” to get in the mood for summer 2018.

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag