The Hero Collectionby NYCountry Swag is inspired by the men and women of the Fire, Police and Military Departments across the country. We are dedicated to honoring their service and remembering their sacrifice.
Each month a portion of sales from this collection is donated to organizations & charities affiliated with fire & police departments nationwide to raise awareness by supporting and spotlighting their stories. During the month of July 2018, We partnered with country artist, Luke Pell to raise $313.42 for his choice Organization of the Month: Wounded Warrior Project.
Read more about this organization below & Click Here to read more about our current Organization of the Month.
This month we’ve teamed up with country artist, Luke Pell to raise money and awareness for his choice Organization of the Month: Wounded Warrior Project.
Wounded Warrior Project is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. WWP offers free programs and services to hundreds of thousands of warriors and family members. These programs directly connect warriors with each other and their communities; serve them by offering resources designed to meet their greatest needs; and empower them to live life to the fullest. Warrior families and caregivers are provided comfort, care, and education to help support the recovery of their injured service member. All programs are provided free of charge.
Now through the end of July, 10% of all sales from our Hero Collection will be donated to WWP and the wounded service members WWP proudly serves. You can shop the collection here. Thank You in advance for your support. We hope that we can continue to pay it forward!
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Luke_Cover.jpg288480Stephanie Wagnerhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngStephanie Wagner2018-07-10 13:43:322018-08-16 10:31:30NYCountry Swag x Luke Pell: The Hero Collection
Each summer, country music fans from New York City and Long Island gather to enjoy their favorite music on the water at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater. The Back to Us Tour was the first country show to make its way to the beloved venue Friday night featuring Carly Pearce, Dan + Shay and Rascal Flatts.
The pit section filled early, fans singing along to Carly Pearce’s set which was filled with songs from her debut album. “I feel like the luckiest girl in the entire world that I get to welcome y’all to the Back to Us Tour,” Pearce told the crowd. Her set included “Careless”, “If My Name Was Whiskey” and of course her first number one single “Every Little Thing”. She closed with her current radio single “Hide the Wine” after thanking country music fans and country radio for changing her life.
Next up on the Back to Us tour was Dan + Shay, a duo who is already having one heck of a summer. With their latest single “Tequila” going number one the week prior and the release of their incredible self-titled album just a few weeks ago, the boys were pumped to play for New York fans. Not only did they perform songs from their new album including “Alone Together” and “All to My Self” but they took fans back to their very first single “19 You and Me”. Their harmonies and energy had the entire theater on their feet, swaying to the music and singing along.
Just as the sun was setting and creating the most miraculous cotton candy colored sky, the duo stopped to chat with the crowd. “Huge shout out to our country radio family here, we’ve got something to celebrate here with you tonight Jones Beach, we have the number one song in the country right now!” they exclaimed. “Let’s sing it together”. Head to our Instagram to catch one of the best moments of the night when the audience sang along to “Tequila”. Continuing their incredible set, they covered Justin Timberlake’s smash “Can’t Stop The Feeling” which started a giant dance party in the venue.
Headliners Rascal Flatts have been touring together, as a band, for almost two decades, perfecting their live show and giving their longtime fans a show full of their hits and their incredible harmonies. They released their latest album Back to Us last year and are traveling the country this summer promoting the new music as well as playing classic hits from their previous records. Mixing classic Flatts songs like “Feels Like Today” with more current hits like “Yours If You Want It” the packed venue danced along, feeling nostalgic as well as invigorated from the trio’s set. “I look out at our crowds every night and I see everybody from all different walks of life, united under one thing and that is country music,” band member Jay Demarcus stated in between songs. “This is still the greatest country to live in on the face of the planet, so let’s have a party tonight, let’s escape for the next hour.”
A highlight of the night was when Dan + Shay and Carly Pearce came back to the stage to join Gary, Jay and Joe Don to perform “Hopin’ You Were Lookin'” from Back to Us as well as Maren Morris, Zedd and Grey’s smash crossover hit “The Middle” and then their throwback hit “Here’s To You”. Closing out the night with “Bless the Broken Road” and “Life is a Highway” the Back to Us Tour was certainly one to remember as the first country show of the summer at Jones Beach.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/RF-cov.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-07-09 14:02:362018-07-09 14:02:36Rascal Flatts Brings the ‘Back to Us Tour’ to Jones Beach
For Brandon Stansell, his love of country music collides with his passion for advocacy for the LGBT community, being open with his fans about his journey and using his music to connect. Growing up right outside of Chattanooga, Tennesee, Stansell recalls his entire family listening to country music. At the age of six, his mother and sister surprised him with tickets to see Reba McEntire, a night that he says changed everything. “It was one of the first shows I ever saw, it was one of those moments where I was like ‘Yup, this is what I want to do’.” Shortly after that, his parents brought him to Nashville and he was one of the children who performed at Opryland. It’s where he cut his teeth as a performer, learning to sing and dance and spent his childhood around very talented people who all loved country music. “I was six when I did my first show, it was on the Opry stage so I joke about telling people that my first paid gig was at the Opry house then I’ve spent the rest of my adult life just clawing and scraping to get back to that circle,” he laughs.
Graduating Belmont University in Nashville in 2009, he pursued his music career in Nashville for a few years, but never quite felt like he found his voice. After a brief stint in New York City, he moved out to the West Coast where he now resides. It took him leaving Nashville and experiencing the hustle and bustle of New York City to finally start writing his own music and find his songwriter’s voice.
As a songwriter, he has decided that writing about what is going on in his life, or things that are personal to him has really allowed him to come into his own and hone his craft. “I have a strict philosophy that you have to write what you know and up until now, it’s been working for me.” His most recent single, “Slow Down” features Ty Herndon, an artist that Stansell lived next to in Nashville and became friends with. “I grew up listening to him, he just has one of those quintessential country voices and he definitely made my record better and I am really proud to have him on there, it was one of those unforgettable moments,” he recalls.
Ty Herndon (L) Brandon Stansell (R)Rick Diamond/Getty Images for The 2018 Concert for Love & Acceptance
A big part of Stansell’s personal journey is his coming out story, which he explains to us as something he always is sure to talk about during his live shows. “It was actually really painful and difficult and it didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but fast forward a decade from there those experiences have really shaped me into the person that I am and that’s a person that I am deeply proud of,” he tells us. “I just don’t know that I would be the person or be doing what I am doing now if I didn’t have to go through what I went through to get me here.” Blending artistry and advocacy is what he strives to do with his career, participating in festivals across the country and even playing at the Concert for Love and Acceptance hosted by CMT’s Cody Alan earlier this summer during CMAfest.
I feel like music has been for me, as an independent artist, has been a vehicle where I’ve been able to talk to people especially in the south that I was in years ago, that are having struggles and I have been able to connect with them,” he explains. “In those exchanges I feel that there is a sentiment that we are not that alone even though we may feel it at times, and it’s an easy thing to feel when you are LGBT in the South and have a conservative or religious family that doesn’t understand you or support you and can’t find a way around their religion to love you in the place where you are.” Using his platform he is proud to talk about his experiences and to try and help others going through similar things.
His next single, “For You” is available now, take a listen below and be sure to follow Brandon on social media, Facebook,Instagram, and Twitter.
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Nashville based Wes Cook Band released their “I Stand For The Flag” single and video on Monday to coincide with the Fourth of July holiday. The patriotic song which promotes equality and loving the country we live in was flagged by Facebook when they would not allow the band to boost the video, stating it contained political content. The band went on to perform the song live on Fox & Friends and sit down with news broadcasters to explain their stance that the song is patriotic, not political. The chorus lyrics state “Don’t care if you’re black or white or who you love, I stand for the Flag and the Flag stands for all of us.”
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/WC.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-07-05 17:37:192018-07-05 17:37:19Wes Cook Band “I Stand For The Flag” Puts Facebook Under Scrutiny
The perfect way to kick off the 4th of July holiday is seeing some of your favorite rising country acts after tailgating in the parking lot. The Fest which takes place each year at Bald Hill Amphitheater on the east end of Long Island is known for showcasing rising talent and for being one big party. If you arrived early you would see tents, corn hole games and a whole lot of American pride. Men and women alike were decked out in the American Flag, some with their faces painted, drinking beer and celebrating their freedom. With three seating options, the lawn section was filling up quickly as Emily Brooke took the stage to open the festivities.
Fans gathered close to the stage in the pit to see the duo from Texas and London, Brown & Gray, who sang each song from their brand new debut EP Salt in the Coffee. Kaci and Sam announced that their next single is “Home” before playing the first track from the EP, which highlights their perfect harmonies. They closed their set with their first single to country radio, the perfect summertime hit “Top Down” and mashed it up with Tom Petty’s “American Girl”, the perfecting ending to a set that fans were excited to see.
Next up in the lineup was Mitchell Tenpenny, an artist New York Country Swag has been following since last year when we hosted a Swag Session with him in Times Square. Tenpenny who’s gritty vocal and catchy lyrics have earned him a current spot on country radio attracted a ton of fans to watch his 40-minute set. Along with singing songs from his debut EP, he covered Billy Currington’s “Good Directions” and sang the song he wrote that Granger Smith cut, “If The Boot Fits” which he said completely changed his life. Closing out he played three of his biggest hits so far, “Alcohol You Later” which fans knew and sang along to, his current radio single “Drunk Me” and “Bitches” which he said is for all of the assholes, liars and cheaters that we all have dealt with in the past. With obvious charisma, we are so excited to watch Tenpenny’s career soar.
The next New York Country Swag favorite to take the stage was Russell Dickerson, bringing his high energy set, which we know well from our early Country Night events with Russell, to Long Island. The sun just started to set as Dickerson performed songs from his debut album for a packed crowd including “Would You Love Me”, “Every Little Thing” and “FLOAT”. Taking time to slow things down just a bit, Dickerson paused to recognize the reason we were all there celebrating. “Thank you to all of the men and women overseas, we send our love and support to our troops and our service men and women of this country, it’s why we get to celebrate the 4th of July,” he exclaimed. Immediately following you could hear “USA” chants throughout the entire open venue, proving country fans are absolutely proud of their country. He closed his 50-minute set with his current single “Blue Tacoma” and then, of course, his very first number one, the love song he wrote for his wife Kailey, “Yours”.
The Fest concluded with country superstar Dustin Lynch who took the stage around 9:30 PM, ready to close out the night of incredible acts and patriotism. Kicking things off with “Hell of a Night”, he also performed songs from his latest album including “I’d Be Jealous Too” and “Love Me Or Leave Me Alone”. During his first ever single “Cowboys and Angels” he changed the words to include “Long Island girls and guys like me” pausing to recall his 2012 single that got him started in this business and brought him to Long Island for the very first time, changing his life. “I wrote that song about my grandma and my grandad who have been married 63 years this summer and to see y’all sing and dance to this song is unbelievable,” he told the crowd. His most recent number one single, “Small Town Boy” was the perfect way to end a night of celebrating America and the country music that we all love leaving fans already excited for next years The Fest.
For more country music in New York, make sure you are following us on Instagram, @NYCountrySwag.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/festcover.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-07-05 14:52:542018-07-05 18:25:47Long Island’s The Fest Kicks Off The 4th of July
The ladies of Spinn, twins Stephanie and Cheryl Lynn Spinner have been interested in music since they were in the second grade, learning to play piano and both participating in the church choir. Growing up in New Jersey, they recall in a recent interview with New York Country Swag that there was always music playing in the house, but it was a rare occasion when their parents would agree on the genre. Their father although he grew up in New York City, loved country music while their mother loved rock n roll. “In the house, we would have Bruce Springsteen and Heart then Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton and they always battled, music was always playing, but they couldn’t stand each other’s music it was kind of funny,” they explained. They took their first family trip to Nashville when the girls were twelve years old, attending a show at The Ryman, which only solidified their love for the genre.
The duo went to college originally in pursuit of a music business degree, to learn the ins and outs of the industry, then one of their professors told them they were crazy for not pursuing their career as singers instead. “Having taken those classes in the music business, it helped us understand and guide our career and the failures were more rational, we understand that it is a business and things don’t always go the way you think they are going to,” they tell us. “It’s not a no forever, it’s just a no for right now.” They started to play shows when they were in college, eventually leading them to stages in New York like Rockwood Music Hall. They can recall when Nash FM 94.7 hit the New York City airwaves and how that was a game changer for them. “Nash FM changed our lives, now with the resurgence of country music and finally having a station, it changed everything,” they explain. The duo went on to compete in Nash’s regional Nash Next competition, beating out 750 other bands or artists and coming in first place. This then allowed them the opportunity to head to Nashville, compete in their competition then hit the road with all of the finalists. “It was so much fun, the entire thing start to finish,” they explained. “We signed up to push fan engagement since we were about to release a music video. We had people voting, we got to do the live show, we won and it was the craziest thing in the entire world to be able to represent New York City and have that be your stamp “country duo from New York City”.”
Since then the duo has opened for LANco, Kalie Shorr, Drew Baldridge and Trent Harmon and in each instance they take everything in like sponges, absorbing every aspect of the artists’ live show. “We watch everyone and we try to take away what the best things they do at their meet and greets, how they interact on stage. For us, it is a blessing to be able to play in front of their fans and we enjoy bringing our fans to see incredible artists,” they tell us.
Spinn’s latest single, “Crazy For You” was written on a whim at 5:30 in the morning, Stephanie explains. “I had an epiphany and the first three lines of the chorus just popped in my head, I was feeling so lazy, I did not want to get out of my bed but I laid in my bed and sang it into my phone.” After some rearranging and writing the rest of the song together, Cheryl and Stephanie had their next song. “It’s about balance, it’s about the people in your life who balance us out, we are chaotic and all over the place but those people are so important to us and we think finding the balance between the chaos and enjoying the simple things is a really big part of life and keeping us moving forward and on track and something we are focusing on right now,” they tell us.
We discussed their decision to pursue their career in New York instead of moving to Nashville and they explained that their families are here and that they are able to express a different narrative growing up here. “We love country music, but our experience and our journey in life is different than someone who grew up in the south, or anywhere else in the country,” they say. “Our families and friends are here and they are the ones that shape us and support, our roots are something we hold very dear to us.” They talk about the family of country music artists that are all making their dreams come true from the North East including Lauren Davidson, Carolyn Miller, and Tommy Cole. “We love Nashville, but this is home for us and for us to be able to experience what we can here, its something we have fought so hard to be able to do what we do here,” they explain.
Looking forward, Spinn is excited to release another EP this fall and plan a tour that will hit the northeast. Be sure to be following the ladies of Spinn on their social media channels, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, for all announcements and upcoming releases.
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Ten nights, ten cities, one incredible artist. Australian native, Morgan Evans has spent the past week touring the country, playing ten shows in ten nights and night number eight just happened to be New York City. Having played shows so far in California, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Texas, and Georgia, Evans teamed up with Southwest Airlines to jet set to each location to promote his current single “Kiss Somebody”.
New York Country Swag has been following Evans since last year when he first played Opry Circle in the City, his infectious charisma hasn’t changed one bit as his American following has grown immensely over the past year. Signed to a record deal with Warner Music Nashville and gearing up to release his debut EP later this fall, Evans is primed and ready to bring the success he found in Austraila over to the states.
He opened his set with a single that was only released two weeks ago to digital outlets, however, the sold-out New York City crowd knew every single word to “Day Drunk”. “You guys are officially singing this song the loudest I’ve heard yet,” he stopped to tell the audience. Having moved to the United States just a few short years ago after traveling back and forth, Evans has since then met the love of his life, Kelsea Ballerini, got married and signed a record deal with a major Nashville record label. His life has changed drastically and he wrote a love song to not only his wife Kelsea but also to America called “American” as well as “Life Changes” which he then mashed with Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin'” and The Beatles huge hit “Hey Jude”.
One of the most unique and interesting parts of Evans’ show is the fact that he has the ability to play all of the instruments needed for each of his songs. With the help of a pedal loop which allows him to record each individual part of the song he then plays them all together while he sings. It is fascinating to watch and to start each song the crowd was attentive watching his talent shine through. He sang “I Do” which was released just days after his wedding, pointing out that in the audience right up front was a couple who got engaged before he sang that song in Nashville a few months back.
His set wouldn’t be complete without “Kiss Somebody” which Evans’ explained, “As of last week, officially, crazily, became a top 1o single” thanking John Foxx and his team at Nash FM 94.7 for playing the tune. The smile on his face watching the sold-out crowd sing every word back to him was priceless and the perfect way to end a great night of amazing music from the newcomer.
For exclusive videos from Morgan Evans’ 10 in 10 Tour in NYC head to our Instagram.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mecov.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-06-29 15:53:142018-06-29 15:53:14Morgan Evans 10 in 10 New York City Tour Stop
After his Swag Session with New York Country Swag, Craig Campbell headed to Opry City Stage in the heart of Times Square to perform his first New York City show for fans. The 75-minute set took place in The Studio, the fourth floor of the Opry City Stage venue and Campbell sang songs from his previous albums as well as tracks from his latest EP, which was released earlier this month. Included in his set were “My Little Cowboy” which he wrote when he found out that he was going to be a father, as well as “Family Man”. “This song may have single-handedly gotten me my record deal,” he said before singing the heartfelt track from his debut 2011 album.
“I’m going to play you some of my favorite country songs of all time,” he said before performing a medley of “Two Dozen Roses” by Shenandoah, “Killing Time” by Clint Black, “Brand New Man” by Brooks and Dunn and “Here’s a Quarter” by Travis Tritt. “Those are just some of the reasons why I fell in love with country music,” he said after the intimate audience cheered for him.
“I’m excited to be here tonight to play you these new songs,” he said referring to “Me Missing You”, “Mas Tequila” and “Kids in the South” which all are featured on his new EP. These songs have been written over the course of Campbell’s past three years, getting ready to release the best possible music for his fans. With a little bit of everything, each song highlights another side of the singer and his ability to spin real-life stories into song.
Continuing to showcase his talent and versatility he stepped up to the piano to play John Legend’s “All Of Me” and even stated that since his daughter wouldn’t stop singing this song around the house, he had no other choice, but to learn to play it, leading him into the Disney phenomenon “Let It Go” from Frozen. Putting his own twists on classic tunes, his vocal ability was showcased throughout the night.
Being sure to thank his entire team from Broken Bow Records and BMG, many who were in the crowd, he was humbled by the success and love he felt from the room. Closing the night with his latest single “See You Try”, “Outskirts of Heaven”, “Keep Them Kisses Coming'” and the hilarious play on words “Fish”, Campbell entertained and proved that listening to his new music was the perfect way for New Yorkers to spend a Wednesday night.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CCcov2-1.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-06-28 17:24:312018-06-28 17:24:31Craig Campbell Plays His First NYC Show at Opry City Stage
Making the rounds in New York City, Craig Campbell is promoting his latest EP all around town. The singer stopped by Refinery Rooftop for a NY Country Swag Session to play his latest drinking song “Mas Tequila” as well as his current radio single “See You Try”. After playing the tunes, Campbell told our Managing Editor, Christina all about hearing “See You Try” for the first time and his album release week which included his 6th annual charity cornhole tournament and took place during CMA Fest in Nashville.
Watch the full video below and for more on Craig Campbell check out his Swag Spotlight.
NYCountry Swag Founder, Stephanie Wagner with Craig Campbell and NYCS Managing Editor, Christina Bosch at Refinery Rooftop, NYC
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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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